Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2012. Rewritten: 2014. Found: 2018.

Fiyero watched in silence as his wife gently laid the baby in the cradle he had made. She hummed a lullaby she had heard somewhere before, but could not place the name or person who had once sung it to her. As she gently rocked the baby back and forth, the motion and her voice eventually lured the child to sleep. At two months old, Irji was a good baby, with his mother's thick black hair and his father's blue eyes.

Once the babe was settled, she slipped beneath the blankets of their bed, lying onto her back, as her husband stretched out beside her on his side. He couldn't seem to get over how beautiful their son was. We are lucky. Our babe is healthy and strong, and will continue to grow. He gently stroked her cheek, leaning down to kiss her softly. Eventually, sleep came for them both, and they settled down among the blankets of their bed, the fire crackling in the center of the tent making the area just warm enough to ward off the spring chill.

Two hours later, however, Elphaba awoke to the babe's soft whimpering, and being careful not to disturb her husband, she climbed out of bed, scooping the child out of the cradle and then settling by the fire. She shrugged out of her dress, pulling a blanket around her bare skin, and gently guided the babe's mouth to her breast. They sat in silence for several minutes, with only the crackling of the fire and Fiyero's even breaths to break the silence, before she finally decided to slip outside.

As she settled near the still burning bonfire, she turned her gaze upward, to the thousands of stars overhead. He shall learn of the love between the sun and moon, and the bridge of stars built so that every hundred days, the moon can be with his love. She turned her gaze back to the baby nursing at her breast. He stared up at her, one tiny hand curved against her breast as he nursed contentedly. She gently rocked him back and forth, letting herself get lost in his eyes. She began to hum the lullaby she'd been singing earlier, and once more, the words came back to her.

"Brilla, brilla la stellina
Come mi chiedo che cosa sei
Sopra mondo così in alto,
Come un diamente nel cielo"

She wished she could remember who had once sung this very same lullaby to her, so that she could thank them for passing it down so she could sing it to her son, but she couldn't remember anything other than a gentle voice. Perhaps her mother had once sung it to her? She couldn't remember, but that had to be it. No one in the tribe knew the song except for her, so it had to have been her mother.

Mother.

She had very few memories of her mother; the most prominent ones being of her long, reddish-brown hair, and a print dress, similar to the one she kept hidden. And the lullaby, but that was it. She couldn't remember her name, or her father or if she had any siblings. Surely she'd be able to remember her siblings? But no, there was nothing but a blank space where memories of her family should have been. Though she had only been with the Arjiki for a little over two years, that was still enough time to turn her from 'the white' as she'd been called when she first arrived, to Elphaba, 'Daughter of the Raven'. And now, with the arrival of her and Fiyero's child, she was fully, officially, Arjiki.

"Stai pensando?" She jumped, having not heard Fiyero, as he knelt beside her, slipping his arms around her from behind. She thought a moment.

Thinking? How did she tell him that she'd been thinking of her life before the Arjiki? Back when she had been the 'white', living among other whites? A moment passed, before she turned to him. She couldn't even begin to figure out how to tell him that. So she went with the best option. "Marito, niente. Niente."

He chuckled softly before standing and helping her. After gently unlatching the baby, she held him to her shoulder and rubbed his back before adjusting her hold on him and following her husband back into their tent. As she took a seat beside the cradle, Fiyero joined her, watching as she laid the baby back inside and gently rocking it. An arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer, as he kissed her head. "Sei felice?" She turned to him, meeting his gaze, dark eyes widening in surprise.

"Felice?" He nodded. "Sì. Sì. Assolutamente." She shifted in his arms, wrapping her own around his neck. "Fiyero, ti amo. Ti amo."

He rested his forehead to hers, releasing the breath he'd been holding. "Ti amo, Fabala."

She grinned, hearing the shortened version of her name, and pressed a firm kiss to his lips. He tightened his hold on her, burying his face in her hair when they parted. They stayed that way for several minutes before he finally pulled away and she let his stand. Once they returned to their bed, he pulled the blankets over them and tucked her into his embrace. With her head against his chest, she could hear the steady rhythm of his heart, like the strongest of drums. She could feel the diamonds tattooed on his chest, and gently traced one with her finger. A moment passed, before he traced the diamonds on her back, and she buried her face in his chest, enjoying the sensation of his fingers trailing up and down her spine. Eventually, his gentle touch put her to sleep.