Rifiuto: Non Miriena
Summary:
A/N: Written: 2012. Rewritten: 2014. Found: 2018.
Arjiki Encampment,
The Great Kells,
Fall,
Four Months Later
Fiyero watched as his wife sat at the bank of the waterfall, bouncing Nor in her lap. The baby giggled and cooed, reaching out for her mother's nose, even as Elphaba hummed a lullaby to her. Slowly, with the stealth of a tiger, he swam towards his family, holding a finger to his lips, asking his son to be quiet. The little boy nodded, kicking his feet in the water with glee. A few minutes passed, before Fiyero ducked beneath the water, swimming closer. Once close enough, he reached up, tickling her sides. She let out a squeal, tightening her hold on Nor, and turned, to glare at her husband.
"Fiyero!" Still holding onto the baby, she reached out, splashing water towards her husband, even as he ducked back beneath the water. He came up several feet away, laughing and shaking the water from his hair. After a moment, she laid the baby back in her basket, informing her brother strictly to watch over her, before slipping into the water and swimming towards her husband.
"Marito, ho quasi abbandonato il bambino." Once she was close enough, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Though she still wore her buckskin dress, he could tell how her body had changed with her pregnancies. She was still soft curves, even four months after giving birth to Nor. The once slim girl who had come to the encampment nearly four years ago as a captive, a bride for this young prince, had since filled out, with a woman's curves, a woman's body. Since her time with the Arjiki, she had developed meat on her bones; she was no longer stick thin, no longer looked as though she were starving. She was a woman, in every sense of the word.
He kissed her, wrapping his arms tight around her, holding her to him. Even through the soaked material of her buckskin dress, he could feel the soft swells of her breasts, how full of her milk they still were, and the small buds of her nipples. She hissed softly for the tenderness, and he chuckled softly, kissing her head when she broke the kiss and turned away. Without a word, he moved down, grasping the edges of her dress; in one fluid motion, he lifted the soaking garment over her head, leaving her bare beneath the water.
She reached for the dress, but he held it out of reach, eventually swimming back to shore and depositing it onto the soft earth beside the blanket Irji sat on, watching his little sister. He then pulled her back to him, trailing his fingers over her skin, as though it were the finest of doeskin. His lips found hers again, and he pulled her close, pressing into her. She laughed, and without a word, removed his clothing as well, depositing it beside her dress.
They swam for several minutes, free of their clothing, until they were out in the middle of the lake, near the waterfall. He turned back to make sure Irji was watching Nor; the little boy was telling her a story in his made up language, laying beside the baby in the sun, watching her giggle and laugh, well away from the lake's edge, further back on the embankment. Once certain they were okay, he tugged his wife beneath the waterfall, pulling her towards the small ledge that jutted out from the rock face.
She kissed him, pulling him closer and closer until they were lying together on the cool stone. They should not have; they knew better, for they already had two little ones to raise, but neither could help themselves. Their pull to one another was simply too strong to be ignored. After several minutes, perhaps an hour or more, they finally collapsed against the cool stone, reveling in the feel of being joined together again, for Arjiki law prohibited relations between a man and wife for the first three months after a babe came into the world.
"Marito, ti amo." Gently, she trailed her fingers over his features, never breaking his gaze.
"Ti amo." They met in a gentle kiss, letting their hands trail over skin and hair, as they once more became one.
Eventually, they left the waterfall, returning to the embankment to retrieve their drying clothing. Nudity was something that was not looked down upon in the Arjiki tribe, unlike the whites, who were modest beyond means. Elphaba had quickly learned that her body was natural, and that to wear nothing at times was akin to being one with the earth, for it was Mother Earth who gave life to her people, or so the Arjiki believed. Though they were spiritual, they were not necessarily religious.
Once they were again dressed, Elphaba scooped Nor into her arms again; Fiyero had Irji balanced on his hip, and the pair left the waterfall, returning to camp. Finally back within their tent, she laid the children down for a nap, humming softly to them both, making sure they were sound asleep before leaving the tent. She caught Fiyero's gaze across the encampment, where he was talking with his father, and felt her cheeks begin to deepen in memory of those stolen moments. She loved her children, she really did, but there were days when she just missed being a wife, without necessarily being a mother. Stolen moments like at the waterfall today, or after the children were put to bed and they could steal away for some time together under the stars... those were the moments she enjoyed most.
A moment passed, before she joined Candle and the other women in their needlework, letting the gentle conversation wash over her like the water at the waterfall earlier that afternoon. Something about a hunt that had happened earlier in the afternoon, when she and Fiyero were at the waterfall, but that was all she picked up, for she could hear Nor start to fuss. Without a word, she got up, rushing to their tent and scooping the infant girl into her arms. Irji had slept through the crying, and after a moment, she slipped out of the tent, being careful not to disturb her sleeping son. As she returned to join her companions, she shrugged out of her dress, guiding the baby's mouth to her breast as she did so.
Candle automatically leaned close, cooing at the baby in delight. Elphaba chuckled. If she knew how much work went into raising a child, Candle would refuse to have one right on the spot.