Rifiuto: Non Mirena

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

"You've got to be kidding me." Raven dropped the heavy tome onto her desk, causing Elphaba to look up from the chapter on Transfiguration she was reading through for her Sorcery class.

"What's wrong?" Glinda asked, coming out of the bathroom. She was quickly drying her hair with a towel, and furrowed a brow as Fiyero shut the door behind them, removing the book bag once he'd done so and going to Elphaba's bed.

"Professor Brr partnered us up for our project in Myth and Magic." He replied, dropping the bag by the bed before he dropped onto the mattress as Elphaba closed her book and set it aside, scooting towards him and wrapping her arms around him from behind. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her forehead as he did so.

"So? Don't you want to be partners?" Glinda asked, continuing to dry her hair.

"It's not that." Raven replied, turning to the blonde.

"Then what is it?" Elphaba asked, and Raven turned to her sister, sighing.

"Our final project is to... to figure out... to..." She stopped, closing her eyes and burying her face in her hands.

"To look at how myth and magic play into the world of 'Happily-Ever-After'." Fiyero finished for her, scooting to settle back against the pillows of Elphaba's bed, stretching his long legs out before him after toeing off his shoes. Elphaba moved to join him, brow furrowed in confusion before she realized why Raven was so upset.

"You... basically have to look at... your homeland." Raven nodded, as Glinda lowered herself onto her own bed, removing the towel from her slightly damp short curls.

"You don't want to, do you?"

"What do you think?" Raven snapped, before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Glinda, I didn't mean to-" She sighed, dropping heavily into her desk chair. "No matter how far I run, I'll never be able to outrun Ever After High." She propped her chin on her arm. "Maybe I should just go back-"

"No." Elphaba shook her head. "Even if you wanted to, we don't know how to get you back. Besides, do you really want to return?" The younger girl shook her head. "Then there's really no point in saying that you should, is there? Besides, if you somehow did manage to go back, you'd just be forced to sign your life away and become the Evil Queen, which you've made plainly clear is the last thing you want. And here, you get to choose your own destiny, make your own decisions, start your own life. And you actually have people here who love you."

Raven sighed. Elphaba did make a good point. Despite her friends back in Ever After, nothing compared to having a sister- even a half- who understood what it was like to be considered the outcast. Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero had definitely been the best part of about her ending up in Oz so far, and she loved that she could turn to them when she needed to get something off her chest or if she needed advice. She missed her friends and her father, yes, but she was glad she was here.

"I just," She stood, pushing herself from the chair and meandering over to the fireplace. The flames danced in the grate, the light illuminating her violet eyes. "It just feels like... like whatever I do, wherever I go, I can't escape Ever After High or 'legacy'. It's like... like it follows me, like an annoying gnat that won't go away. I'm half afraid that one day I'm going to wake up and find that this was nothing but a dream and that I'm back in my dorm at EAH."

"Rae, that's not going to happen."

"You don't know that, Elphaba." Raven replied, turning to the older girl as she climbed off her bed and made her way towards the fireplace. "It might."

Elphaba shook her head. "It won't. You know why?" Raven shook her head, dark curls swaying. With a sigh, Elphaba wrapped her arms around the younger girl, holding her close. "It won't happen, because it can't. No one who's ever gone over the rainbow once has managed to do so a second time. There is no bridge between worlds- they're the fabric of myth, just like the fabled ocean that borders the impassable desert. It's not real, and therefore it can't happen."

"Then how do you explain how I got here?" Raven asked, turning to meet her gaze. Elphaba sighed, teeth sliding out to bite her lip.

"An accident?" Glinda offered from her bed as the sisters turned to face her.

Fiyero shrugged. "I'd say a regime change, but... you're not a monarch or public figure."

"An accident?" Raven repeated, gaze lighting on Glinda. "That's what you call my-"

But Elphaba grabbed her about the waist, holding the girl in place. She could sense the hurt, that Raven wanted to run, and wouldn't let her. "It's not an accident or a regime change." She cast an exasperated glance at Fiyero who shrugged, tucking his hands behind his head. "It's... a... a bizarre and unexpected twister of fate." Raven turned, and all three cast wide eyes on the green girl, who shrugged. "What? It's basically true. There was a storm the day Raven showed up; is it really so unlikely that a tornado brought Raven over the rainbow?"

"Tornados don't just appear out of thin air, Elphie." Glinda replied, getting up and going to her closet. She grabbed a pair of pajamas and made for the bathroom, but Elphaba's voice stopped her.

"You're right, Glin, they don't. Not unless someone is controlling the weather." The blonde turned back.

"What are you saying, Elphie?" The green girl shrugged, never letting go of Raven, and the younger girl felt herself relax; the desire to run was disappearing, thanks to her sister's calming embrace.

"Nothing. I just... think it's... funny... that there's one person we know who's specialty is the weather. And not long after a strong storm, Raven shows up in the bushes outside Crage Hall. Don't you think it's a little strange, Glinda?"

The blonde glanced at Fiyero, who held up his hands and stood, slipping back into his shoes and grabbing his bag. "Don't look at me. I have no idea what you two are talking about." He slipped the bag over his shoulder and went to Elphaba, kissing her quickly on the lips before squeezing Raven's shoulder and making for the door. He stopped, however, when Glinda spoke up.

"Wait, Elphie, are you... are you suggesting that... that Madame Morrible is responsible for Raven's arrival at Shiz?"