Such A Refuge There Was Given
Title: Such A Refuge There Was Given
Pairing: Elphaba/Glinda
Rating: PG
Author: runawaytrain31
Bookverse
Author's Note: So I never post my writing. I cower away and read. The cowering still stands right now.
#2: You should know the lines before and after this one: The ostlers cooed and shrieked in the stableyard below, the kitchen maids came and went noisily, at odd hours.
It had been a very long day. No one looked forward to the bitter cold months. The travelers, as expected, all asked for something warm to eat and drink, which was getting to be rather exhausting seeing as they were just about to run out of soup. They hardly had enough soup to serve when the inn was half full. Now it seemed as if everyone had put aside their thoughts of traveling just a little bit further in hopes that the weather would improve.
It wouldn’t.
Leaves swirled outside and the sky was a deep indigo, no stars to be found. Snow was imminent.
She sighed and watched her arm move in lopsided circles as she stirred the soup. The rising heat from the stove was welcoming, and in times like this she almost didn’t mind her job. Almost.
A bit of salt and the soup would be ready to serve, making it the last pot of the night. It was already past midnight, so the travelers had to understand. Surely one night of rest with an empty stomach wouldn’t kill those who missed their share. There was always breakfast.
Reaching to her left she grabbed the saltshaker and shook it over the pot of soup only to find that it was empty, save for a few grains that fell and disappeared nearly instantly. Cursing, she tossed the saltshaker on the counter and started climbing the stairs to the upstairs room. The door was opened just slightly, and without thinking, she pushed it open and clambered in. What she saw confounded her. In a tiny bed pressed up against the wall she saw two figures huddled together. They didn’t even have a blanket to cover them. One of them, her back facing her, a head full of hair, was curled around the first figure, her arm draped across a waist and one leg pressed across a thigh. Her head was hidden in the figure’s neck and in her hair there were - oz, there were green fingers!
The kitchen maid gasped and turned the lantern up more brightly so that she could get a better look. Indeed, the fingers were green, the girl was green, and she was staring at her, pressing the curled up girl more tightly to her body.
“I - I, I’m sorry - I didn’t mean -,” she started, whispering the words.
The green girl didn’t say anything but she didn’t take her eyes off of her either.
The kitchen maid backed out of the room quietly and went back down into the kitchen. She reached into one of the cupboards and pulled out an old tablecloth. It was a little tattered, but it was soft. She tucked it under her arm and walked back up the stairs and into the room, once again meeting the green girl’s eyes. Hesitantly, she made her way over to the bed and set the tablecloth down at the girls' feet. She gave a slight smile and turned towards the little closet area in the room that held different foods and kitchen utensils.
Suddenly she heard a very soft voice calling out.
“Elphie?”
“Shh, it’s okay,” she heard.
She couldn’t help herself. She peeked through the crack in the door and saw the girl with the mess of blonde hair sitting up, her arms wound tightly against her midsection as she shivered. The green girl was leaning over her slightly, reaching out to grab the old tablecloth. As she began to undo it the blonde girl leaned her head against her shoulder.
“Come here, lie back down,” the green girl said softly, as she held the tablecloth open in her arms. The blonde girl wrapped her arms around her waist, loosely, and waited for the soft covering to hug around her. The green girl’s feet were left uncovered, probably completely frozen by now, but the blonde girl was completely bundled up. They resumed their same position that the maid had first found them in except now those green fingers were combing through that glowing blonde hair. One of them sighed, probably the blonde, and she saw the green girl’s head dip low and disappear for a moment, but for what reason she would never know.
She turned back to the shelves and grabbed a new bag of salt. There were still guests to serve, pots to clean. She looked back towards the bed on her way out of the room and found the green girl looking at her, head resting softly atop a mess of curls.
She smiled.
Pairing: Elphaba/Glinda
Rating: PG
Author: runawaytrain31
Bookverse
Author's Note: So I never post my writing. I cower away and read. The cowering still stands right now.
#2: You should know the lines before and after this one: The ostlers cooed and shrieked in the stableyard below, the kitchen maids came and went noisily, at odd hours.
It had been a very long day. No one looked forward to the bitter cold months. The travelers, as expected, all asked for something warm to eat and drink, which was getting to be rather exhausting seeing as they were just about to run out of soup. They hardly had enough soup to serve when the inn was half full. Now it seemed as if everyone had put aside their thoughts of traveling just a little bit further in hopes that the weather would improve.
It wouldn’t.
Leaves swirled outside and the sky was a deep indigo, no stars to be found. Snow was imminent.
She sighed and watched her arm move in lopsided circles as she stirred the soup. The rising heat from the stove was welcoming, and in times like this she almost didn’t mind her job. Almost.
A bit of salt and the soup would be ready to serve, making it the last pot of the night. It was already past midnight, so the travelers had to understand. Surely one night of rest with an empty stomach wouldn’t kill those who missed their share. There was always breakfast.
Reaching to her left she grabbed the saltshaker and shook it over the pot of soup only to find that it was empty, save for a few grains that fell and disappeared nearly instantly. Cursing, she tossed the saltshaker on the counter and started climbing the stairs to the upstairs room. The door was opened just slightly, and without thinking, she pushed it open and clambered in. What she saw confounded her. In a tiny bed pressed up against the wall she saw two figures huddled together. They didn’t even have a blanket to cover them. One of them, her back facing her, a head full of hair, was curled around the first figure, her arm draped across a waist and one leg pressed across a thigh. Her head was hidden in the figure’s neck and in her hair there were - oz, there were green fingers!
The kitchen maid gasped and turned the lantern up more brightly so that she could get a better look. Indeed, the fingers were green, the girl was green, and she was staring at her, pressing the curled up girl more tightly to her body.
“I - I, I’m sorry - I didn’t mean -,” she started, whispering the words.
The green girl didn’t say anything but she didn’t take her eyes off of her either.
The kitchen maid backed out of the room quietly and went back down into the kitchen. She reached into one of the cupboards and pulled out an old tablecloth. It was a little tattered, but it was soft. She tucked it under her arm and walked back up the stairs and into the room, once again meeting the green girl’s eyes. Hesitantly, she made her way over to the bed and set the tablecloth down at the girls' feet. She gave a slight smile and turned towards the little closet area in the room that held different foods and kitchen utensils.
Suddenly she heard a very soft voice calling out.
“Elphie?”
“Shh, it’s okay,” she heard.
She couldn’t help herself. She peeked through the crack in the door and saw the girl with the mess of blonde hair sitting up, her arms wound tightly against her midsection as she shivered. The green girl was leaning over her slightly, reaching out to grab the old tablecloth. As she began to undo it the blonde girl leaned her head against her shoulder.
“Come here, lie back down,” the green girl said softly, as she held the tablecloth open in her arms. The blonde girl wrapped her arms around her waist, loosely, and waited for the soft covering to hug around her. The green girl’s feet were left uncovered, probably completely frozen by now, but the blonde girl was completely bundled up. They resumed their same position that the maid had first found them in except now those green fingers were combing through that glowing blonde hair. One of them sighed, probably the blonde, and she saw the green girl’s head dip low and disappear for a moment, but for what reason she would never know.
She turned back to the shelves and grabbed a new bag of salt. There were still guests to serve, pots to clean. She looked back towards the bed on her way out of the room and found the green girl looking at her, head resting softly atop a mess of curls.
She smiled.