Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Written: 2006, Found: 2018.- Licia

"Fabala! Elphaba!"

She stopped her searching, lowering the flashlight she held, as the young king turned back to her. The look on his face tore at her heart; the fear, the worry. She knew that of everything and everyone, the young empress was his light, his very heart and soul. He loved his children, all of them, he really did, but his wife was his reason for living. She was his world, and right now, that world was crumbling beneath him...

"We'll find her, Your Majesty. She can't have got far-" She stopped. "What day is it?"

Trism turned back to her. "What?"

"The day, Your Majesty? What is the date?"

Quickly, he ran back over the calendar in his head head, before, "It's the eighteenth of April. Why?"

Cata paled, hurrying to him and taking his hand, though it was unprofessional and inappropriate of a woman of her station to touch the young royal without them having offered their hand first. But right now, none of that mattered. "I know why she's gone."

"What? What do you mean? Why? Cata, what's so important about the eighteenth of April? Cata! Answer me!"

When they reached the gate, she turned back to him. "Your Majesty, April eighteenth was the day we were taken from the palace. Kauris Sophelia, Oziandra, Nessarose, the young prince, the loyal few and I. The next morning, I was separated from them; I was forbidden to follow. Those horrid, evil men held me back on the platform as they loaded the rest of my family onto the train and it pulled out of the station. That was the last time I saw them."

Trism registered her slip, subtle as it was. "My family?" He shook his head. "You... you said 'my family.'" She bit her lip, swallowing. "You told me you were part of the royal household, a servant to Elphaba's mother. And yet... you speak of them as though they were your sisters... and Fabala... all thru-out her pregnancies- every single one- you treated my wife like a sister instead of an employer. You speak of her as if you had not just watched her grow up from your place in the servants' quarters." He grabbed her shoulders, meeting her gaze. "What are you hiding, Cata? You have secrets, you and my wife- and she and I promised to never hide things from each other. And yet-" He shook his head. "Who are you?"

She shook her head. "I can't. Not until I know the Kauri is safe-" She pulled away, but he tightened his grip.

"She's not the Kauri, she's the empress!"

"She will always be the Kauri to me, no matter her station in life, Your Majesty." She pulled away. "We have to find her." Not giving him time to respond, she pulled away; he followed. They stopped before the gate, to find it slightly ajar. "No-"

"She could be anywhere. It's... five minutes to the nearest town by car, but the Unnamed God knows how long by foot. We'd have to wait until the storm cleared to search." Tears choked his voice, and he swallowed firmly. "Fabala!"

Cata shook her head, taking a deep breath. "I was born in the palace, to a kitchen maid. I grew up a companion to the Kauris, and the favorite servant of their mother. The royal family of Fliaan was the only family I knew, the only family I had. And in April of that year, I lost them. All of them but one. She is my family, Your Majesty, just as she is the mother of your children. If it bothers you so, I shall seek employment elsewhere after she is found and safe-"

He grabbed her wrist. "Don't. Fabala would never forgive me if you left. She loves you, adores you. You have given us more loyalty than half the countries in Oz. You're family. I just wish she had told me-"

"Her Majesty is private about her family, and what happened to them. She believes it's her burden to bear, and to bear it alone. She forgets that they were my family, too."

He nodded, turning back to the gate. The storm was getting worse, the rain getting thicker. If they had any hope of finding her alive, unharmed, it was now. There was no other option. "Later." He slipped through the gate, turning back to her. "Are you coming or not?"

After a couple moments, the cook followed. But there were no footprints to track, no sounds but the pounding rain and grumble of thunder to listen for. Eventually, the sound of rushing water met their ears, and Trism turned back to the woman. They weren't far from Colwen Grounds; a mile, at most, out close to the Southern moors, for Colwen Grounds was surrounded by lush, beautiful rolling hills. While not completely secluded, they were far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city that it didn't bother them, but close enough that it didn't take too long to get to the city by car. But, being tucked this far within the beauty of southern Fliaan, also meant nature was all around them. Including the Nevoka River, which cut diagonally through the heart of Fliaan, including the city where the Winter Palace resided. Cata turned to him. "The river?"

He nodded, and they moved closer. They could hear the roar of the water over the cries of the rain, and in the soaked glow of his flashlight, he could just make out a figure, standing not far from the edge. "That can't-"

"Your Majesty!" Cata cried out, grabbing his arm, and Trism's heart leapt into his throat. A flash of black hair, the pale blue of her pajamas.

"No... Fabala. Fabala!"

Pulling himself from the cooks' grasp, he rushed towards his wife, praying that he got to her before she stepped off the bank and into the rushing river below.