Chapter Text
Everyone knows that sometime between ten and twenty, that’s when soulmarks appear. Features shared between soulmates: hair, birthmarks, eye color, shape of the ear or nose, skin color, scars—even tattoos or piercings, if gotten before the connection, are all possiblities. How much got shared varied—from one eye color each to both changed to the same, a streak of hair color or all of it or any gradation in between. Different countries in Oz, different cultures, all subscribed to different superstitions about what was shared, how much was shared, when it was shared.
Galinda’s parents never went in for that sort of nuance when they told her all about their love story–their soulmate bond. Momsie’s hair grew blonde like Popsicle’s and he got her blue eyes, same day, same time—they’d both written about it in their diaries. While they liked to make the journey to find each other sound arduous, they found each other while still teenagers and have been inseparable ever since. Momsie didn’t care that Popsie didn’t run in the same social circles as her family and they easily endured hardships until they rose back to prominence relying on only hard work and each other.
Galinda got their blonde hair, if not the eyes, and she barely remembered those more difficult years. Her parents preferred not to dwell on them and only spoke of the good times to come, Galinda learned to do the same. It was always easier to follow their lead. She learned to parrot that story when she was young enough for people to be charmed by her precociousness. To her child’s mind, they knew everything about the world, but especially about soulmates. About fate, and compatibility, and companionability, and togetherness. About how your soulmate was the most important person in the world to you.
Galinda loves her parents and they love her, but she knows it's not the same as what they mean to each other. That’s okay, she just has to wait for her own soulmate to complete her, to make her as happy as them, to ensure she’s not alone anymore. She spends a lot of her time when not diligently working with tutors to catch up to the other children of their new-old social circles daydreaming about her soulmate and that life they will live together one day.
Until then, she smiles and prances and flits through lessons, and parties, and her parents’ lives. Waiting for the day her life will be her own—hers and her soulmate’s.
Galinda doesn’t even know it’s happened until she sees Momsie frowning at her over breakfast. Her heart skips a beat at the unusual expression. Momsie hardly ever looks at her without gentle delight. Her mother loves to style her daughter’s matching blonde hair and coo over her features—a perfect blend of her parents. She likes to dote on Galinda’s paintings of their family and boast over her performances at parties. Galinda never gives her or Popsicle any reason to do otherwise. “Darling, were you doing some morning painting?”
“No, Momsie,” Galinda replies, brows furrowing in confusion at the out of place question. She never paints in the mornings. “Miss Salis comes mid-afternoon, when the light is best.” She doesn’t come on Mondays regardless, but Momsie doesn’t need to be reminded of that.
Her mother narrows her eyes, continuing to scrutinize Galinda in a way she does rarely. Even Popsicle has looked up from the paper to stare in concern at Momsie. Her hand comes up to cup Galinda’s face, her thumb draws across her cheek. “You’ve got freckles, dear.” Galinda’s never had freckles in her life and she wasn’t particularly out in the sun the other day. How could she—? Her heart nearly pounds out of her chest as her stomach swoops with excitement. Has her soulmark appeared? Does she finally have one or even many if its freckles? Freckles would be wonderfully charming and— “They’re green .”
The world freezes around Galinda as her face crumples to a baffled expression. “What?”
Her excitement over her soulmark, her fascination with having one so unique shines bright—at first. Galinda spends hours in the mirror, studying the scattered dark green freckles, connecting the dots and trying to image the face they come from—the person they come from. She’s speculated before of course, but now she had some tangible piece of information about them and such suppositions had taken over her mind once more.
Is he tall? Is she pretty? Are they kind? If her soulmate was green had never been a question before. Does this mean her soulmate can do magic like she can? She’s never managed much more than bubbles, but her parents told her that the lucky children of soulmates are often blessed with magic. From what she’s been reading recently that doesn’t seem to be completely true, but she’s always loved her magic, minimal as it is. The idea her soulmate might have magic too is wonderific.
Does she like green the way Galinda likes pink? Galinda begins to work more green into her make-up and clothes on the off chance she does. Florals of all types become an easy favorite. Maybe he has features of many colors or there was a magic adventure he survived. Maybe they’re cursed and only a kiss from her, their lovely soulmate, can cure them.
Her daydreams start to take more concrete shape. Her and her magical soulmate, living together in the Emerald City and creating beautiful magic buildings and gardens that are the envy of everyone. A hand clasped in her own. Someone at her side and on her side. Matching green freckles dusting their cheeks. She sighs herself to sleep many a night with variations on that particular dream.
The world wears her down more quickly than she would ever have expected before her marks appeared. Everyone seems to have an opinion or a question or a joke. They stare and point and whisper. Some have tried to touch them without even a by-your-leave. For the first time, Galinda grows to dislike the spotlight. She doesn’t let it show, she knows it would only reflect poorly on her or her parents to appear anything other than charmingly affable. So she jokes about how her soulmate must live in Emerald City—where perhaps green freckle tattoos are the trend. Perhaps her soulmate is young and he spends too much time rolling around in the grass, hands buried in the soil and with other green things. Maybe she’s a fairy, one of the last descendants of Lurline who will come and whisk her away.
She used to ask people more seriously if they knew of anyone with such features, but the answer was always no. Sometimes, someone felt bold enough to make some sort of derisive comment about the skin color of those from Quadling Country or the Vinkus which was useful only that it told Galinda who not to talk to, after all, what if her soulmate was from one of those countries. Plenty of people talked down to her about fairytales, not even legends based on facts, but literal nursery rhymes. She learned to not trust their opinions either.
When it comes to those her own age, the reactions are more varied. Some are impressed she’s already showing her soulmark. Others try to tease her about the green—never more than once. Galinda feels any slight against her green freckles is a slight to her soulmate themselves and she was raised to never tolerate such an offense. Even if her soulmate isn’t here, they are Galinda’s. Blessing or a curse, the children of Miss Crinable’s Twirling Academy seem as split on the issue as their parents are.
She is able to figure out her soulmate isn’t in Frottica fairly quickly. Her parents, however surprised by the green as they might have been, both possess the opinion that one’s soulmate is fated and immutable and if he’s got green on his face, well, he’ll be easier to find. And their collective efforts turned up nothing. After that, he parents move on from the search, their full faith in destiny to bring their beloved daughter together with her fated one. Galinda dislikes feeling useless, dislikes waiting, but she has little choice but to follow their lead. Her own efforts of investigation are severely limited.
Galinda only becomes more convinced of her own fantasies and convictions that they’ll meet in the Emerald City. If she wants to do that then she must go to Shiz. Momsie had only attended for a few months before Popsicle’s business opportunities—aided by Momsie’s connections—pulled them both back home, but they both had pleasant memories of the institute. Galinda could only be grateful they were so supportive of her plans for schooling and ultimately living far away from home, no matter how it must break their hearts. She can only be grateful that no thought has ever been given to forcing her to take over Popsicle’s business and that they had no other ambitions or future plans for her beyond not dishonoring their family. It’s good that she’s able to chart her way in life, on her own.
Still, as time wears on, other’s preoccupation with her soulmarks are wearying. The questions, the speculations, the suggestions that maybe something’s broken with her soulbond or her soulmate. That the green is more than a novelty but a problem. One particular drunk preacher corners her on the street and attempts to explain how green is a symbol of rot, not growth. That it means her soulmate is sinful. Well, that was the last straw.
Galinda starts covering the freckles up with foundation the next morning.
It takes two weeks for her parents to notice. When they confront her, asking whyever she would hide her soulmark, asking if she’s ashamed of her marks—it's clear they’re displeased. Galinda doesn't know how to put into words how much she dislikes the attention, how people so often were mean-spirited about them and it was making her anxious. Her parents could never comprehend such a feeling, fate is fate, after all. So Galinda demures, saying she wants the mark to be private, to share with her soulmate—not everyone else’s endless curiosity. It’s not the full truth, but it's not a lie. They still seem worried so she confesses a little deeper of a truth: all the attention was making her lonely, longing for her soulmate more every time it was brought up.
That they believe even if they can’t understand because they’d already found each other in the time between Galinda’s marks appearing and now. A quick double-hug to comfort her is bestowed and they never ask after her soulmarks again.