Rifiuto: Non Miriena
A/N: Written: 2014. Found: 2018.- Licia
Nor kept close watch on her parents, making sure they didn't wander too far, though she didn't know why. Mama and Papa were adults, they didn't need to be watched like children. As the new dawn on the first day of the new year began to appear, Fiyero gathered the tribe; Elphaba joined his side, looking every bit the part the dutiful Chieftess she was, standing by her husband's side, in that beautiful buckskin dress with the blue and red beading. Elphaba wore a simple beaded headband with a beautifully intricate design upon it. The customary four dove grey feathers she always wore- that she had worn from the moment of her marriage, for only the wife of the Crown Prince or Chief was allowed the four feathers, though the reason why had been lost to history- were woven into her hair along with the leather strands of beads.
Nor couldn't help thinking that Mama was perhaps the most beautiful woman in the tribe, even though she had not been born of the tribe. But as she stood beside Papa, both of them dressed in all their finery, it was now evident exactly how beautiful they were together. For Papa's ruddy brown skin beautifully contrasted with Mama's beautifully milky skin, and in the light of the fire, she almost looked similar to Papa. She watched in silence as Papa slid his arm around Mama's waist with ease, pulling her close.
"Abbiamo visto molto quest'anno; e siamo grati alla Grande Madre per tutto ciò che ci ha fornito, perché facciamo del nostro meglio per provvedere a lei in cambio. E in questi ultimi anni, ci ha fornito molta fortuna e cuori forti tra di loro-" Everyone caught the look the Chief cast to his wife, as he turned to meet her gaze. They knew he was speaking of her, and her deep link to the tribe, how Great Mother had prophesized her arrival many, many, many moons before she or the chief had been born, and how her return from the white man's world had not only saved herm but the tribe.
It was evident, as everyone watched, that the Chief deeply loved his wife, and that she loved him just as deeply. Gently, he reached up, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, and she closed her eyes at his touch. "Ringraziamo la Grande Madre per tutto ciò che ci ha dato, e tutto ciò che continuerà a provvedere a noi nel prossimo anno e negli anni successivi."
Now, Nor watched as her father nodded for the drummers to begin. Slowly, the steady rhythm began to play; a rhythm all Arjiki children grew up following, from the time they were in the womb until they crossed into the next world. She knew this dance that was to begin; it was praise to Great Mother for helping them through the past winter and allowing them to see the new year.
And it was the one dance both men and women were allowed to partake in together.
She watched, a smile tugging at her lips as Papa gently stroked Mama's cheek with his thumb, before leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss, tugging her closer. Mama reached up, resting her hand against his wrist, drinking him in, her eyes sliding closed. The village, used to seeing their Chief and Chieftess often partake in subtle moments of affection, cheered, for dawn had broken over the horizon, and in Arjiki tradition, the first kiss shared at the breaking of the new dawn by the Chief and his wife meant that they would continue to lead fairly and be able to face any new challenge that faced the tribe with grace and respect, together.
Many knew that Chief Avaric, Fiyero's father, had not had the option for every new year, for his wife had passed in childbirth and taken the babe with her when Fiyero had been no more than six moons. He had then turned the old tradition on its head- for the first new year Elphaba spent with the tribe, Avaric had informed the girl that it was old Arjiki tradition that the Crown Prince and Princess share a kiss as the new dawn broke, for good luck in the coming year. And Elphaba, still new to the tribe, had believed her father-in-law, though her husband knew different. But over time, it had gotten to be a common thing to see the Crown Prince and Princess kissing at the new dawn of the new year, that by now, it would have been strange had the Chief and his wife not kissed at the new dawn.
When they finally broke the kiss, Fiyero whispered softly to her before kissing her forehead. He pulled away from her, moving to the join the others in the dance, before turning back, and taking her hand. She shook her head, but he kept tugging, until he got his wife to join the other dancers. The steady beating got louder, and soon the singing began. Nor and her siblings- for Irji and Manek chose to sit this one out, in order to watch their parents- watched in delight, seated near their aunts and uncles and cousins, as the men and women partook in the dance.
The children knew this dance; they'd watched their parents partake in it for years; for Irji, the strongest memory he had was of Mama and Papa getting up to join in the dancing at the dawn of the new year. Mama had been newly pregnant with Nor, and she'd insisted on joining the dancing, saying it was tradition, even though Papa had had reservations about her dancing with their new child growing just a month within her womb. But Mama had insisted, as she always did, and gotten her way, as she often did. And Papa had taken extra care with her, for the dance was a partner dance, and that care had carried through each year, regardless of whether she carried a child in her womb. Though given that Manek had followed Nor a year later, and with Oziandra growing in her womb not long after she returned to the tribe, she had been forced to sit the dancing out, for both she and Mulhama had been greatly swollen with child then. Mama had been miserable, not necessarily because of the babe, but because she hadn't been able to join in the dancing, and Papa had done all he'd could to make it up to her, even though it was his child she carried in her womb, and therefore, by Mama's belief, his fault.
But now, the four royal children sat together, watching as their parents joined in; the light from the flames casting sparks into the air and making the milky whiteness of Mama's skin vanish for a time. Traditionally, in dances, couples didn't touch, or, more commonly, the sexes didn't mix, however this was the one dance where they did. Papa took Mama's hand, pulling her close. "Questa è la parte in cui Papà la bacia." Manek whispered to Nikko, who sat in his lap. The child made a face in disgust, and Manek laughed.
The dancing continued; Nor glanced over her shoulder towards where Aunt Mulhama, Uncle Tibbett, Aunt Candle and Uncle Shell were; Shell, as usual, was enthralled by the dancing. He seemed to be enthralled by everything in regards to the tribe his sisters lived in. Perhaps it was the difference in the way of life, or the fact that Elphaba had lived sixteen years of her short thirty-three years within the tribe, for she had not set foot in the white world since her return, spurning any and all to do with it except her beloved little brother. And Shell never asked her to come to their home, for he knew the unease his sister still carried in her heart in regards to the white's world. Shell and Candle were the link to the white world the sisters retained; for though the years had passed, their parents still lived, though even Shell had broken ties with Frexpar and Melena.
And Nor, having heard the story of her mother's week in the white world, always wondered why Uncle Shell had broken off ties with his parents so willingly. He had not been the one searched for for seven years; he had not built a life, a family like his sister had. And yet, he willingly watched as his sister's unwillingness to reassimilate- as well as his other sister's disappearance in search of her sister's tribe- tore their already fractured family apart. And then proceeded to walk away from his parents without a backwards glance, to marry a tribeswoman, to have children with her, and reconnect with his older sisters. Nor shivered; she couldn't imagine doing so with Mama and Papa, for they were a part of her.
But that was a different time; Mama had been stolen as a child, and stolen back as an adult. Her family did not understand her or the life she chose. It makes sense, that Uncle Shell would leave his family in search of his sisters, for it is evident they love each other deeply.
With the dancing finishing, people began to mingle; occasionally, someone would come up and greet Shell and Candle, but never for long. No longer mistrusting of the white, for he had proven himself an ally, some in the tribe still watched him carefully. Elphaba, however, stayed away, for she and Fiyero were deep in conversation with Sarima. A moment passed, before the young Chieftess glanced back at her family, catching Nor's eye, before she turned back to Sarima and nodded. Without a word to their family, the young leaders followed the former medicine woman and the shaman into the counsel tent, the festivities forgotten. Their departure didn't go unnoticed by their children or Elphaba's siblings, though the adults tried to hide that they'd been watching, and after a moment, Nor snuck off, saying something about going back to their tent to get a wrap. Once out of sight of her aunts and uncles, she hurried to the counsel tent, worried. The look in Mama's eyes was one Nor had only seen once before- when Papa had banished her from the tribe after her came back from the white man's world.