Rifiuto: Non Miriena

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

Pounding pulled Madeline Hatter from her sleep, and it took a few minutes before she was finally able to climb out of bed and make her way to the door. A moment passed, before she glanced at the clock on her mirrorphone.

Six A.M. exactly.

Who the hell would be waking her up at six in the morning? And more importantly, why?

She quickly ran through a mental list of her friends who would willingly wake her up at this un-wonderful hour: Cedar wasn't the type that would. Cerise might, because she was usually up at all hours of the night, but not without a little warning first. Kitty was sound asleep, and Lizzie preferred daytime interactions to nighttime ones. Briar was always sleeping, and Ashlynn was... well, Ashlynn, so no. Bunny or Alistar might, but they were both back in Wonderland...

That only left Raven.

She shook her head. Raven usually messaged her before coming over, just to make sure it was okay and that they wouldn't wake Kitty up. Besides, they usually took blankets and pillows up to the lookout and spent the hour before dawn there, chatting and sharing secrets over Wonderland Rosebud tea as the sun rose over the town of Bookend and the land of the Ever After.

Unless Raven had decided that there was just something too important to tell her, and she'd decided to break from 'protocol' as the young witch called it, and rushed over because it was just too important and exciting.

She yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she moved towards the door; something crackled beneath her foot, and she looked down; in her half-awake state, she didn't register that it was a rolled up piece of parchment until she'd knelt down and picked it up. The purple ribbon that was tied around it made it clear that it was from Raven. Ignoring the pounding on the door, she quickly untied the ribbon and unfolded it-

"Maddie! Let me in! It's an emergency! It's about Raven! She's-" Absentmindedly, Maddie pulled the door open, her eyes never leaving the note. Apple White stopped her pounding, even more worry filling her eyes as she caught Maddie's gaze. The Wonderlandian silently held out the note, tears pricking her eyes. Quickly glancing at the other girl, she took the note, gaze shifting until she recognized Raven's tidy scrawl.

Maddie,

I know this seems abrupt, and I'm so sorry for not telling you goodbye properly, but I have no other choice. I can't do this anymore; I can't attend EAH and pretend to blindly go along with my destiny, when my destiny is the last thing I want. The rehearsal for Legacy Day made me realize that I don't want to become my mother; I don't want to lose everything, simply so everyone else can have their happy ending. I want to chart my own path, find my own destiny, make my own life on my terms. I don't want the black cloud that is my mother hanging over me for the rest of my life. So I've decided to leave EAH, and Bookend. I don't know exactly where I'll go, but I know that wherever I go, whatever I do, I'll be going and doing on my terms, no one else's. I'm going to create life how I want to live it, without anyone telling me to follow someone else's destiny. Please, Maddie, try to understand, I have to do what's best for me, and this is what's best. I'll never forget you. You're the best friend a girl could ever ask for. Think of me fondly, and remember me when you see the dragons fly.

Your Best Friend Forever After,

Raven

"I don't understand. How could she do this to me? I'm her roommate! She's such an important part of my destiny! Why would she let you know that she was running away and not me?"

Maddie's gaze narrowed, and she snatched the note back, glaring at Apple. "This isn't about you, Apple! This is about Raven!"

"How can you say it's about her?" Apple demanded, and Maddie quickly pushed the blonde into the hallway and shut the door behind them when she heard Kitty meow in her sleep from her bed in the tree. The last thing they needed to do was wake a very irate Cheshire at six A.M. on a Saturday, when the majority of the campus was still sleeping. "This is about me! What will I do now? Without Raven, I'll never be poisoned, or get kissed by my prince, or become queen-"

A hand slapped over her mouth, and she found herself staring into Maddie's gaze. "Now you listen to me, you selfish, conceited..." She stopped, deciding that silence was probably better than what she really wanted to say. "I may not be happy that Raven ran away, but if it makes her happy, then I'm happy for her! She's doing something for herself, thinking of herself and what she wants and not what you want. She's following her heart, which is more than I can say for you, who's only concern is for your own happily ever after! Raven has more heart than you do or ever will and she deserves only the best! And I hope she gets it! If you want my honest opinion, she's more of a Snow White than you are because of her heart! Now you can either be happy for her or not, and personally, I'm going to be happy for her! I hope she gets her Happily Ever After, because she deserves it, and you..." She stopped, removing her hand from Apple's mouth. "And you don't."

Then, without another word, she turned and stormed back into her dorm, shutting the door softly behind her without a glance back.