Elphaba lived in a world where people were born with the name of their Soulmate written upon their wrists. The name on hers read "Fiyero Tigelaar". For 18 long years, she would stare at that name and wonder. Who was this man? And what was he like? Would he be friendly? Or would he be repulsed when he realized that his Soulmate had green skin? Would he be understanding? Or grudging? And what did he look like? What color was his skin? What sort of things did he like and dislike? Even though Elphaba didn't usually like to ponder these sorts of things, just because pondering often led to hoping which led to disappointment, but a Soulmate was monumental enough that she couldn't help it.

But fast-forward those 18 years and the answers she received to her questions were not at all what she had expected. Maybe she hadn't had any clue what this "Fiyero" person would be like, but an arrogant and ignorant Winkie Prince was not at all what she had in mind...

"The name's Fiyero Tigelaar!" he had introduced himself with a very grandiose air, practically shoving his hand into Elphaba's face with a cocky, prideful, self-absorbed smile. "And may I inquire as to who your royal greenness is?" he asked her.

And all Elphaba had needed was to hear that mocking tone mixed with that self-assured smirk to know that she would never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever accept him as her Soulmate. Even she deserved better than this! What did it matter what was written on her arms? Or in the stars? Or in the law? Screw fate! Screw destiny! She was going to blaze her own path! Write her own story! Even if it ended in tragedy and left her forever alone, it would be better than saddling herself with this frat-boy monstrosity who held no respect for her at all! This was unacceptable!

From then on, Elphaba lived her life according to her newfound goals. She never ever told Fiyero her name, for she knew that if she did, he would either try to force her to be his Soulmate, or he'd reject her outright. She didn't know which would hurt more. So she took the third route and ignored him. She shook his hand, but refused to give him a name. That first interaction was their last. Instead, she became bent upon living a life alone. Maybe once upon a time she had thought that Soulmates were romantic, but the longer she thought about it, the creepier and sicker the whole setup really felt to her. It was almost like an arranged marriage, of sorts. Even if the Soulmate System had a 100% success and satisfaction rate, there was still something sort of sad about realizing that such a large part of life was already preordained. No choice, no freedom, just a name already written in the stars. Maybe to some, such a setup was convenient, but to Elphaba, there was something quite demeaning about it all. She was a mature human adult! She could make her own choices in life! She didn't need some prophecy to tell her how to live!

"I think I'll try defying the system!" the green girl muttered to herself one night as she covered up Fiyero's name with green paint to match her skin tone. She was going to start with a clean slate. A nameless arm. Good riddance!

"What system?" a voice beside Elphaba piped up. It was Elphaba's little blond roommate, Galinda Upland. Elphaba was on guard at once. Even though she and Galinda had since entered a sort of truce, the green girl still did not like or trust the blond entirely. And she especially didn't feel comfortable with confessing such an intimate and treacherous thought. However, Elphaba finally decided to push aside her first instinct of silence and tell Galinda anyway. If she really wanted their little truce to blossom into the friendship it had the potential to reach, they needed to start somewhere. Besides, knowing Galinda, she would only be half-listening anyway. This meant that Elphaba could tell her anything she wanted to and Galinda would likely not even hear it! Who better to tell such a deep secret to than someone like that?

But once again, Galinda managed to surprise Elphaba. Instead of ignoring or misunderstanding Elphaba, Galinda had actually paid very close attention to Elphaba's tirade against the Soulmate System. She even sounded interested in the whole idea as well!

"Hmmm, I think I like that idea," Galinda said when Elphaba finally admitted to wanting to live a life without a Soulmate.

"What? Really?" Elphaba hardly dared to believe that Galinda was actually taking her seriously, but she only needed to take one look into those blue eyes to know that Galinda was being dead serious. She really meant it when she said she liked Elphaba's ideas about defying the system.

"But why?" the green girl was curious. Of all the people to want to defy the system, Galinda was not someone she would've suspected. She was far too bright, bubbly, happy, chatty and pretty to be the kind of girl who would willingly oppose the idea of a Soulmate. And yet, she did! And with almost as much vehemence as Elphaba! But the moment Elphaba tried to ask her why, Galinda suddenly looked very uncomfortable and she refused to answer. Elphaba had the good sense not to push any further.

But life had a funny way of changing totally around in the most surprising of ways, as Elphaba should've known through her own unexpected friendship with Galinda. As the year rolled on, Elphaba finally got the chance to know Fiyero a bit better and he proved to be a fairly decent guy, once she got past all the airheaded layers and walls surrounding his true self. She began to see a sweeter, softer, smarter side to the Winkie Prince and she began to realize that he was far more than what he appeared to be. He was actually really charming and kind! It had only been Elphaba's own misjudgments and Fiyero's emotional walls that had created a rift between them earlier. But as the two began to spend more and more time together, those misjudgments and walls crumbled away.

"I think we might be Soulmates," he said to her one day, too shy and too nervous to meet her eyes.

"What makes you think that?" Elphaba asked, heart pounding in her chest.

"I know your name is Elphaba Thropp," he replied, then he rolled up his sleeve. The jig was up, and Elphaba mirrored the movement. She rubbed the green paint off her arm as she rolled up her own sleeve. Fiyero's eyes widened in awe when he saw his name written upon her wrist.

From then on, the two began a slow and uneasy relationship. Fiyero had been the one to push for it, just like Elphaba had suspected he might, but he had been so kind and gentle that Elphaba hadn't felt coerced or guilted into it at all. Instead, it had all happened quite naturally, over time. Fiyero spent more and more time around Elphaba and began to show a better and better man than what Elphaba had first expected and, in time, Elphaba realized that she might actually have feelings for the Winkie Prince after all. And from the way he looked at her, she could sense that the feeling was mutual. Both of them had proven to the other that they were far more than what they appeared to be.

But even so, for as much as Elphaba adored Fiyero, there was always a tiny hint of doubt in the very darkest corners of her mind. All through her relationship with Fiyero, there had been hesitation and reservation. For all of the love Elphaba felt for Fiyero, there was also one lasting disconnect between the two of them that no amount of romance was able to heal. So, for years, even though Elphaba and Fiyero did begin to date, Elphaba had never been 100% with it. She'd hit 99%, but that remaining 1% never came. For that reason, when graduation rolled around and Fiyero finally, actually, proposed to Elphaba, Elphaba said no.

"What? Why?" Fiyero asked, sounding genuinely surprised and hurt. And maybe even a little scared.

"Because I don't really love you," Elphaba replied. There were tears in her eyes, but she was able to explain. "I mean, I do love you, but I don't think I love you in that way. I don't think I love you enough to want to spend my whole life as your wife. I really am sorry, and I do believe that you will make a great husband one day, but it won't be to me. I hope you can forgive me..."

Elphaba's apology had been sincere and passionate, but her rejection had still hurt Fiyero worse than anything else ever could have. All he heard was Elphaba refusing to marry him and, after about three years of dating, this was a hard thing for him to cope with. He had genuinely loved her, and to hear her saying no to him was a devastating blow. He stood up slowly, getting back off of his bended knee. He threw his engagement ring to the ground, and walked away without another sound. Elphaba watched him leave, tears still falling from her eyes, but watching him go made her feel relieved, as heartless as this made her sound.

"I'm so sorry, Fiyero," she told his retreating figure, but even if he had heard her, it wouldn't have made him feel any better at all.

When word of what Elphaba had done spread around the campus, it didn't take long for her to become worse than a monster in the eyes of her fellow students. Even though they had all just graduated, they somehow managed to make Elphaba's last couple days on campus into a living nightmare, worse than what she had faced when she first arrived four years earlier. But worst of all, this mass-punishment did not end when Elphaba finally left campus. Instead, word managed to reach the public sphere as well and soon, society as a whole began to despise and disparage her. Her name grew in infamy across the land as she made all sorts of news and gossip articles, shows and radios talking endlessly about how she had heartlessly, monstrously rejected her Soulmate. Her one little "no" had been the spark for a country-wide revolution and it was not going to be over quickly or quietly. There was no place in the entire country she could go where she did not face the severe consequences of her actions.

Or at least, there was almost no place she could go. But that was where Galinda came in. After Elphaba had first made it public that she was dating Fiyero, her relationship with Galinda had soured slightly. Although Galinda still called Elphaba her friend, the way she treated Elphaba told a very different story. Instead, she had become increasingly cold, distant and bitter towards the green girl, and Elphaba never fully understood why. She had tried to ask on numerous occasions, but Galinda would only give her a scoff and a glare before muttering something under her breath and stalking away again. Elphaba initially chalked it up to the fact that Galinda must've been jealous, still being single while Elphaba had managed to find and enter a relationship with her Soulmate.

What really tore a rift in their friendship, however, was one particular fight they had upon the night of Elphaba's one-year anniversary with Fiyero. Elphaba argued with Galinda that she really did love Fiyero, and she deserved to be happy with him. Meanwhile, Galinda argued that Elphaba was only lying to herself. She had made a promise about defying the system, yet here she was now, succumbing to that very same system! In Galinda's eyes, Elphaba was like a traitor, turning her back on her own revolutionary cause to become the very thing she used to so despise. Elphaba did not disagree there, but she still argued that no matter what her decisions in the past may have been, she still deserved a life with the person that she loved, Soulmate or not. She deserved a happy life with Fiyero because she wanted it, not just because his name was on her wrist. But Galinda simply could not see it that way and, for a little while, their friendship went completely dark.

But the moment Elphaba started getting death-threats for what she had done, Galinda wasted no time in stepping back up to the plate. She offered to give Elphaba a safe place to stay, and she had been totally sincere in this offer. This was no joke or trick at all!

"I know we've had our fights in the past," she said. "But your life is in danger now and I am not just going to stand idly by until someone takes it! Let me help you! Let me hide you! I know a place where you can lay low until all of this blows over!" And with no other choice, Elphaba agreed.

For the next few years, it was just Elphaba and Galinda, alone together against the world. But they didn't just hide and wait for all of it to pass on over, instead, even from their hiding spots, they continued to spread this doctrine of choice over destiny. They continued to encourage anyone and everyone who would listen that they should go out and choose their Soulmates for themselves, and not just rely upon some random name that happened to be inscribed upon their skin from birth. It was still a very dangerous and revolutionary message to be spreading, but it was message both Elphaba and Galinda believed to be worth spreading. Their efforts did not go to waste. On the contrary, even though it took a while, their ideas finally started to catch momentum. Even though the vast majority of Oz was still beholden to the Soulmate system, a large chunk of the country had since started to form a rebellious minority with Elphaba and Galinda's doctrine as their very way of life. It was still very rare to see a married couple that weren't also Soulmates, but at least it was starting to happen. Social changes such as this always had a very slow, shaky start.

Then at last, almost a decade after Fieryo's proposal, Elphaba received a letter from him. It was one asking for her forgiveness. It was also an apology for what he had done. And attached to the letter was a picture of a beautiful young lady named Sarima. The picture was titled "My Wife". Elphaba burned the letter and picture immediately after seeing them both. She still wasn't quite sure how to feel about Fiyero. Although she was glad he had managed to find a happy ending, she still felt bad for causing him so much trouble and heartache all those years ago. Yet she still did not regret her decision to say no to him. After all, her happiness was just as important as his.

"You made the right decision," a voice from behind Elphaba said as Elphaba watched the letter burn. It was Galinda. Sweet, faithful Galinda. For all these years, she had remained ever at Elphaba's side, their past "breakup" over Fiyero long since forgotten in their minds. Elphaba couldn't help but smile when she felt Galinda come up and hug her from behind. She owed that girl her life.

"Thanks," she said, turning around to return the hug properly.

"Always," Galinda replied happily, nuzzling Elphaba's chest as they continued to embrace.

But once they broke apart, Elphaba began to cry. 10 years of self-doubt and self-loathing began to leak out of her eyes and she began to question everything that she had ever done, starting for the very moment she first read "Fiyero Tigelaar" on her wrist. But, just like always, Galinda remained by Elphaba's side through it all. Form her very first tears to her very last, Galinda was right there to help her through.

"Oh, why, Galinda?" Elphaba asked at last, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "Why have you stayed by me for so long? You're the most faithful friend anyone could ever ask for. But what did I do to deserve such unconditional love?"

"You gave me hope for my own sad, miserable, lonely little existence," Galinda replied with a sad smile. "That's a debt I can never repay."

"Wait, what?" Elphaba blinked away her final tears, sniffling in confusion. Galinda only gave Elphaba another sad smile before showing Elphaba her wrist. No name. And Galinda even washed her arm off to prove she wasn't wearing any concealer. No name. Galinda had no Soulmate name.

"But... but... that's impossible! It's only supposed to be a rumor!" Elphaba breathed.

"Not for me, it wasn't," Galinda replied painfully. "For me, it was a nightmare I couldn't ever wake up from, because it followed me around every single day of my life..." then she told her story.

There were rumors of occurrences such as this. Wrists who never bore the name of a Soulmate. Those people, in the eyes of society, had been dubbed as broken, or damaged, or somehow flawed or guilty. Even though no human life could control the Soulmate system, to see a nameless wrist was to see the utmost shame a human could possess. It was considered an ultimate form of cosmic punishment. No one knew the reason why some people were born without Soulmate names, they just knew that it happened every once in a blue moon and it was not a good thing at all.

Galinda had been one of those rare and almost mythical few whom fate had left without a Soulmate. It had been the ultimate stigma, the ultimate shame. It was a secret she'd hidden from the world. Even her own parents. Of course, they had not failed to realize that their daughter was born without a name, but when she was old enough to understand what a bad thing this was, she quickly invented a name of her own and wrote it on her arm. Every day without fail, she wrote the same fake name on her wrist until the whole world was convinced that it was true and she had just been a late bloomer. But that was why Galinda never found her Soulmate. Because she'd made it all up.

But then Elphaba came along, strong as any storm and just as wild. She had bravely insisted that they try defying the system, and standing up for their own choices instead of just lying down and taking what fate did, or didn't, give to them. These words had resonated deeply with Galinda. This idea that maybe there was hope for her after all, even though she had been born an anomaly, gave her so much hope and strength. It was why she had fallen so deeply in love with Elphaba, and her cause. That was also why she'd been so devastated when Elphaba began to date Fiyero. In that one little action, Elphaba hadn't just failed her own cause, she had failed Galinda as well. And Elphaba's choice to unite with her Soulmate had been nothing but a cruel, burning reminder to Galinda that no one was free from the system and all would succumb to its wonders eventually. Even the most rebellious among them could not resist the temptation of a Soulmate, of a perfect other half. It that wasn't torture for a girl without a Soulmate, what would be?

So to Galinda, Elphaba's choice to be with Fiyero after all was only a mocking reminder that Galinda might to ever get a happy ending after all. Anomalies did not lead normal lives. They did not get happy endings. They did not find true loves. She was a freak, an outcast, an oddity, and Elphaba's decision to turn away from her own deeply-held beliefs in favor of hooking up with her Soulmate only hammered this idea even deeper into Galinda's already-broken mind. Was this really it? Was she really cursed to be alone forever?

But then, when Elphaba turned down Fiyero's proposal, Galinda's hope for herself had returned. That was why she had willingly come back to Elphaba when Elphaba was standing against all of those death-threats. The fear Galinda felt from those death-threats were nothing on the excitement she felt when she realized that Elphaba might not have been so ready to surrender her cause as it originally seemed. The two had been together ever since and Galinda had fallen deeper and deeper in love with Elphaba with each passing day. And now?

"All my life, I bore this dark secret. I believed that I would never find love, but you changed all of that the moment you told me you were going to try defying the system. You gave me hope and love, even if you didn't know it. I fell for you the moment you finished your theory about how a happy and loving life was still possible, Soulmate or not. Now if I may, I would very much like to ask for your hand in marriage..."

It was a day of firsts for both Elphaba and Galinda. It was the first time Galinda had ever confessed her dark secret, and it was the first time she'd ever been able to kiss Elphaba and it was the first time Elphaba had ever said yes to a marriage proposal.

More years passed and Galinda and Elphaba got married, just like they said they would. Sure, their union faced some backlash early on, but because it was becoming increasingly common to see spouses who were not Soulmates, Elphaba and Galinda also had a lot of supporters to protect them too. And, in time, Elphaba even finally got the chance to have a proper farewell with Fiyero. True, their relationship would never be the same again, but they were at least able to see each other's faces one last time, and leave on positive note instead of a passive-aggressive suggestion by way of family photos. Neither girl had ever felt so happy or free before.

"Thank Oz," Galinda sighed as Fiyero left Elphaba with the first smile she'd seen from him in years.

"Well, even if he still hated us, I wouldn't care. I have you," Elphaba pecked Galinda's cheek and earned a giggle in reply. They were entering the third year of a very happy marriage and the 13th since they had first run away together. But no matter how many days passed, none of it really mattered to either of the two women. Instead, all that mattered was each other. It was not the name written upon their wrists that mattered, but the name written upon their hearts.

AN: This is the last of the Soulmate series for now. But if anyone else has any other prompts or ideas, tell me and I'll write them.

Time for me to rant:

I personally love the idea of Soulmates, but I also think it's a very stupid and defeatist sort of system. Love isn't so simple as having one exact person who is meant to be your One And Only True Love. And the very concept of having and finding a Soulmate is highly "predestination" and that is a doctrine I despise. It takes away the freedom of choice and the reality of the complexity of love.

So this whole fic is a critique on that idea. Our Special Someone is neither promised nor planned. It is someone we find through time, trial, error and effort. Not magic or fate. Besides, the way Soulmates are written right now is sort of exclusive. What if someone doesn't want to get married? Or doesn't want to have a Soulmate? Or wants to have one that isn't a romantic partner? Or wants to have more than one? What happens to the people who wouldn't find joy in the type of system the Soulmate world operates on?

But mostly, my beef is with the fact that Soulmates leave no room for error, chance or choice. It's just set in stone, and there's nothing you can do about it. How defeatist is that?! So I'm changing the story here. Gelphie is endgame, even when it's not supposed to be. :P

And just one more thing, the thing I hate most about the Soulmate prompts are the ones that talk about how tragic it would be if you were to "marry the wrong person" and realize only towards the end of your (or their) life that they weren't your Soulmate after all. Let me tell you why that's crap. If you managed to stay with that person long enough to make a marriage last a life time, they were NOT the wrong person. Even if they weren't your "Soulmate" if you were able to marry and live with them for years and years, that should override any and everything else. Don't give me that crap about realizing how you wasted your life with the wrong person (non-Soulmate). If you lasted your whole life with them, it was not a waste, and they might as well be your Soulmate, or you wouldn't have lasted so long together.

Besides, imagine how much that would hurt, to love someone for DECADES and then hear them say, "Wait! You weren't the right one for me! We're getting a divorce so I can find my True Love! Bye! No regrets! Won't miss ya! Gotta find my real Other Half!"

Or imagine being the other person and saying, "Oh! You weren't actually my Soulmate! Oops! Guess I suddenly don't love you anymore! And to think I wasted years of my life with you, instead of the one I was "supposed" to get with!"

Like seriously, WTF?!

(Sorry guys, but Soulmate prompts like that rub me the wrong way. I do admit that people CAN change their mind after marriage, but that's not my issue. My issue is with the prompts that imply that just HEARING that you two weren't supposed to be together after all is what causes the split. I would understand if it were something more realistic, but just hearing that you two aren't actually Soulmates should NOT be what makes you want to file for divorce. Unless it is a satire fic that's critiquing our marital system today as we know it.)