Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2013. Found: 2017.- Licia

The door of Dorm 1031 shut softly and locked with a click.

Elphaba leaned back against the door, watching the girl who she'd just boldly lied for down in Morrible's office. She couldn't have been older than eighteen, nor younger than fifteen, her long black hair streaked with purple and pulled back in a braid. Her skin was pale, and she had the biggest violet eyes anyone had ever seen. For a very brief moment, Elphaba felt as though she were looking at herself from an alternate universe. The dark purple dress she wore hit her knees, and she wore a pair of black ballet flats; clearly, she'd lain in bed dressed and ready to run-

She's a lot like you, before you met Glinda and Yero. A lot like you were last year. Except she looks terrified.

Raven stood nervously wringing her hands, gaze darting between the floor and the green girl standing across from her. The blonde sat on the edge of her bed, and there was a guy sitting at a desk, watching her from the corner of his eye as he flipped through a notebook.

"I lied for you, now I want you to tell me who you are, and how you got here."

The girl glanced at her, swallowing her nerves. For some reason, this green girl made her nervous, but it was more... well, she couldn't explain the type of nervous this girl made her. "My name is Raven. I'm from... Bookend."

"Bookend?" The girl raised an eyebrow. She nodded. "And... where is that?"

"It..." But she snapped her mouth shut. "I couldn't... tell you. I... I don't know how I got here, exactly."

The green girl shared a glance with the blonde. A conversation passed between the pair, and eventually, she offered,

"The only way I can think is if she came over the rainbow, Glinda."

"But is that even possible, Elphie? Going over the rainbow? I know that lullaby of your mother's talks about going somewhere over the rainbow, but do you think it's really possible?"

The green girl- Elphie- bit her lip, tears misting her gaze briefly. "I don't know, Glinda. I always thought it was a reference to when someone died. Going over the rainbow, to no more pain and suffering... stuff like that." She turned back to Raven. "How old are you?"

"S... seventeen. But... at EAH, I was forced into the sophomore class with all the fifteen-year-olds, even though my father had had me privately taught by tutors until I turned fifteen. Headmaster Grimm ignored my father's wishes and put me in the sophomore class instead of the senior class, which means I also had to room with them." She rolled her eyes, and the pair shared a glance. She's only a year and a half younger than us.

"What's... E-A-H?" The blonde asked, and Raven turned to her. She reminded her of Apple- curly blonde hair, pale skin, and big blue eyes. Exactly like Apple. She shook her head, sending thoughts of her blonde roommate from her head. Former roommate.

"Ever After High. It's... the private high school in Bookend, that children of all fairy tale characters attend, so they can... can... learn... learn to follow in the footsteps of their parents... so that the stories can keep being told, and their destinies can be pre... predetermined."

"So... you're a fairy tale character? The daughter of a fairy tale character?" Raven nodded.

"Who?" Glinda asked, glancing at Fiyero, who shrugged, setting the notebook down.

"The... the Evil... the Evil Qu..."

The blonde started, mouth dropping open in shock. "The Evil Queen?"

Elphie ignored her roommate. "You don't want to be the Evil Queen, do you?" She asked softly, seeing the tears begin to well in Raven's violet eyes. The girl shook her head.

"Legacy Day is coming up."

"Legacy Day?" The young man asked, and she glanced over her shoulder.

"It's... it's the day where you pledge to follow your destiny- you're parents' destiny really- and sign your name in the Storybook of Legends. I didn't want to. I don't want to be evil, I don't want to lose all my friends and my freedom... but Apple... she doesn't understand..."

"Apple?" The young man asked, and she finally turned to face him.

"My roommate. She's Snow White's daughter. Her destiny is to be the next Snow White..." She reached up, quickly brushing the tears away. She hated crying; it was always so messy and it took her minutes to calm down and stop- hours if she was really upset. But considering the last few hours... hell, the last several days... it wasn't any surprise that she was now a blubbering mess.

The man quickly stood, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to her. She accepted it, with a watery smile. "Thank you."

"That's Fiyero." Elphie replied, nodding to the man. "Glinda, my roommate."

"Yero and Elphie are dating." Glinda added, and Raven nodded, blowing her nose. She turned back to the green girl.

"I didn't purposefully intrude. I didn't mean to end up here, I swear. I just... I wanted out of Bookend... I want to write my own destiny. I don't want others to write it for me. I don't want something that's predetermined."

Elphie nodded, letting the words sink in. Then, she pushed herself away from the door, making her way towards the girl. After a moment, she took Raven's hand, squeezing gently. "Then you're in the right place. We aren't bound by storybooks or fairy tales here. They're nothing but stories and folklore. There are no pledges or Legacy Days or Storybooks of Legends in Oz. We write our own destinies, and no one can get in our way. Nothing is predetermined here."