Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2006. Found: 2018.- Licia

It started off simple.

She sneezed.

It wasn't uncommon, with the weather turning as it was towards spring from winter, with the flowers slowly starting to come out of sleep and the air starting to warm. Fliaan could be unseasonably hot in summer, but in spring, between the Feast of Saint Aelfastia and the first day of the summer solstice, the weather was always cool and light, as though the country were just starting to shake off the dust of winter and embrace spring.

That being said, Elphaba often spent her free days at home outside in the sprawling gardens of Colwen Grounds, chatting with Glinda, Partra, Trot- when she and Zor came to visit with the children- and Locasta over tea, or playing with her children, be it on the wooden swing Trism had had constructed further back in the smaller section of the garden that he deemed his wife's, or through a game of Hide and Seek or Blind Man's Bluff.

So it was one afternoon while she and Trism were spending the afternoon outside in the garden; Glinda, Partra and Locasta had joined them and were sitting together having tea not far from where Elphaba and Trism were playing Blind Man's Bluff with the children. Elphaba snuck up behind her husband, a light, black scarf in hand, and quickly tied it around his head, cutting off his sight. "Oh, very funny, Fabala!"

The young monarch giggled, turning her husband to face her. "You were the one who suggested it, my love, it's only fair that you start us off." She adjusted the blindfold, taking on a serious tone. "Now, can you see me?" He shook his head. "Good." She made a show of kissing him, before proceeding to gently push on his shoulders to get him to turn around. "What to help me, loves?"

By the time they backed away, Trism was well and truly dizzy, and he took a moment to get his bearings before reaching out for the others. "All right, where are you?"

Laughter met him; with the exception of Ryn, Vala and Ruli, who were all too young to play, and stuck close to Cattery, who was helping them pick flowers, the older children were enjoying the sunshine with their parents. Having finished their lessons early, Trism and Elphaba had agreed that they could spend a couple hours outside, that the fresh air would do them good. Trism made sure that if either Chiss or Kio got hurt, that they were to inform either him or their mother immediately. The two oldest boys had agreed, promising to be careful.

Blindly, Trism reached out, narrowly missing his oldest son as the boy backed away, bumping into his mother, who rested her hands on his shoulders. She leaned down, whispering softly in his ear, and he nodded, giving his father a wide berth before reaching out to tug on the pocket of his slacks. Trism turned, but the boy dashed away with a giggle. With her father turned, Faola, six months shy of turning eight, snuck up behind him, reaching up and tapping the young king on the shoulder. Her father immediately turned, and she fled, dashing into the garden with a laugh.

"Faola?" Trism turned, reaching out, but Havni ducked, and after a moment, Fechin grabbed her sister's hand, tugging her away. Slowly, Faola came back, stopping not far from him. "Havni? Fechi?" Only Trism and Elphaba called the young girl by the shortened version of her more common nickname- it was personal, to both her parents, and the girl often got upset when someone else in the family used it, for it was strictly 'Mama and Daddy's nickname' for her. "Kio?"

Chiss moved closer, reaching out to grab his father's hand and tug before pulling away. Elphaba wrinkled her nose, feeling the desire tickle, and after a moment, she turned her head, sneezing into the side of her arm a couple times. The noise caused her husband to turn, and she looked up as he advanced, backing up a couple steps, even as he reached out, those long, slender fingers she loved reaching up to caress her cheek. Unlike the children, who often fumbled when they reached up to touch her face during this game, Trism knew his wife by heart. His fingers slid over her features, both hands now gently caressing her skin. Despite the blindfold, his brow creased, and a look of confusion crossed his features. His thumb gently moved down the bridge of her nose and over the small depression between her nose and upper lip and he stopped, feeling something sticky glide over his skin. Without a word, he reached up, tugging the blindfold up in order to see-

"Unnamed God, Fabala, you're bleeding!"

Without a word, his wife reached up, surprise filling her dark eyes as she felt the blood pouring from her nose. Chiss and Faola were by their mother's side in an instant, and after a moment, Elphaba turned to her husband. "It's nothing, my love. Just a minor nose bleed. I've gotten them before-"

"If it's so minor, Fabala, then why hasn't it stopped?" He asked, as Cattery, who had heard the commotion and came back with the younger children to see what was wrong, quickly rushed to grab a napkin from the table before returning and pressing it against her mistress's nose.

"Tris, you're over-re-"

"You're a carrier, Fabala! Or have you forgotten that?" Her husband snapped, wrapping an arm around her waist and taking her back inside. Glinda, Partra and Locasta all stood, and upon realizing what was happening, hurried to gather the children and follow their parents inside. "Cattery, fetch Dillamond, please." without a word, the maid did as told.

By the time Cattery returned with Dr. Dillamond in tow, the bleeding still hadn't stopped, and Trism had had Elphaba tilt her head forehead while he applied pressure to the bridge of her nose. Glinda was nervously standing beside the pair, wringing her hands, for this was what the blonde feared.

"What of it? Doctor, what of my daughter?"

The man took a deep breath, teeth sliding out to bite his lip as he glanced back towards the operating room. Rather than send a nurse to inform the family of what was developing, he had decided to go himself, for the situation was dire. He turned back to the emperor and empress, the other Grand Princesses and the young heir, the young countess and her parents- the emperor's brother and sister-in-law, the dowager. So many waited for news of the young girl, who was merely having her tonsils taken out- a simple procedure. Or, it should have been.

"Doctor!"

Melena's voice snapped him back to the present, and he sighed.

"The young Kauri began to hemorrhage, Your Majesty."

The other girls gasped, and the young blonde countess that was Elphaba's playmate covered her face with her hands in horror. Melena gripped Frexpar's hand, and he wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her up. "My daughter-"

"I believe it's best if we stop the surgery, Your Majesty, and you begin preparing last rites."

Melena seemed to think this over for a moment, before she met the man's gaze, and shook her head. "No. You have started this, you must finish it."

"Melena!"

"Mama, no!"

"You can't!"

"Fabala could die if he continues!"

"Auntie Melena, please!"

"Think about this, Melena!"

But the empress held up a hand silencing all protests and pleas. "If you do not finish it, my beloved Fabala could die anyway. Please, doctor, finish the surgery."

"Melena!" Frexpar grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, turning her to face him. "Have you lost your wits? She is not a fully grown adult! She is a child! A child!" He tried hard to block out the soft sobs of his daughter's sisters and brother, her cousin, as they huddled together. "Think of Fabala!"

"She'll be okay, Glinda." Trism said, in attempt to calm her fears. The blonde turned to him.

"You don't know that, Trism. You don't know this disease, not like we do. You didn't listen to Shell when he was in pain from a fall. You weren't there the day Fabala hemorrhaged on the operating table when she had her tonsils taken out. You-"

"I don't know this disease?" The young king scoffed at the countess, blue eyes wide. "Glinda, I don't know if you remember, but I watched my wife hemorrhage after the birth of our youngest children. My sons- our sons- suffer from the same disease my brother-in-law did! My wife and I have sat by their beds and held them when they're in so much pain it nearly kills us both to witness it! And you dare have the audacity to say that I don't know this disease? Forgive me, Countess Upland, if I find your bold declaration of what I do and do not know in regards to this disease just a tad out of line."

Everyone with the exception of Elphaba and Locasta shrunk back, for at that moment, it wasn't the young husband and father they normally saw at Colwen Grounds, but the Vinkun King, giving a very stern reprimand to a member of his court. Glinda stepped back, lowering her head and murmuring a soft apology. Dillamond made his way to the couple, kneeling down to study the young woman. "Look up for me, Your Majesty."

Several minutes passed, before he was finally able to assess what was happening, and then proceeded to clean her nose as best he could before cauterize the wound. Once done, he stepped back. "Her Majesty should be all right. Have her rest for the rest of the day, and place ice on it every couple of hours to help the pain. She should be fine in no time."