She gave him a small smile when he squeezed her shoulder. Elphaba still strongly resented her childhood, having to endure what Frexspar did, but she was alive and she was strong. Perhaps it was because of that experience that she was as strong as she was now. True, she might have better control over her magic and her telekinesis had Frexspar not forced her to not use them because of his zealous religious beliefs, but Elphaba wouldn't be the woman she was today if he hadn't been that way. Though at hearing how Merlin spoke of books, she couldn't help but get excited. Finally, someone else who saw books the way she did! "It is difficult to decide where to start! I tend to just grab several books from several genres at once and go from there. Though I'm glad you were able to come to understand the modern language. And I don't think it's a bad thing to be overwhelmed, it is a new place and time, it takes time to adjust to it. But you'll get there."
"Yes, they do, but I think that's one of the things I like about history. History isn't linear. It's experienced by many different people, so there will always be many different views of the same point in history. It is just like there's more than one side to every story. Everyone is unique and has their own views of something that happened. And really, history is just a collection of stories with many sides to each one with vastly differing details." Elphaba finished that with a little nod, asserting her point.
At hearing that one day magic might be gone from his world, she was more than a little taken aback. "A world without magic? I can't even imagine such a thing! Magic should always exist in some form or another!"