Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2010. Rewritten: 2015. Found: 2018.- Licia

Tension filled the air; it crackled and sparked, and time seemed to stand still.

Eventually, a soft sigh escaped her, and she licked her lips nervously. She adjusted her hold on the small black clutch held tight in her grasp, and stepped back, squaring her shoulders and lifting her head. "Hello, Yero." Her voice was soft as it caressed his name, like a lover caressing his skin during the most passionate of acts. Her dark gaze darted to the blonde at his side, and she softened, both visibly and vocally. "Hello, Glinda."

The blonde, for her part, just stood with her mouth agape, blue eyes wide in shock, at the sight of her best friend standing before her again after a year's absence. And then, suddenly, tears began to fill blue eyes, and she choked on a sob. "Oh, Elphie..." But she didn't move, other than to reach up and brush the tears falling away. Elphaba watched her, a tiny smile tugging at her lips, before she finally spoke.

"You've changed, Glinda."

Sniff. "So have you."

She was right.

It was now that Fiyero allowed himself to look at the girl he loved. She was still thin- she would always be thin, no matter how many years passed- but there was a softness to her body, as though the curves she hadn't possessed when she first arrived at Shiz had come in while away in the City. Her skin still shone like a fresh cut emerald; it was supple, young, healthy. She looked a hundred times healthier now than she had three years earlier, on that cloudy day in August, at the beginning of their freshman year. Her dark eyes still remained those same mysterious remnants of the night sky, dusted with stars and glittering in the early afternoon light. Her features had lost some of their sharpness; now he realized that her face was closer to heart-shape than a hatchet, and there was a slight upturn to her small, slender nose. A light smattering of dark freckles danced across her cheeks and nose- had they always been there, and he'd just never noticed?

She was dressed in a pair of black pants, with a dark green scoop-neck blouse and a black tweed jacket with a mandarin collar, held closed by the top button at her throat. A pair of black kitten heels were on her feet and her long black hair was tumbled down her back to her waist in layered waves. Flashes of purple could be seen amid the black-

It's like she's got drops of Jupiter in her hair; just enough to tease you, but not enough to completely surprise you. She looks beautiful.

She cleared her throat, and his gaze was torn from her hair to her neck; a silver chain hung down. The lavaliere necklace ended in a crescent moon, with a single blue star sapphire teardrop dangling in the center, from the top of the moon. A pair of crescent earrings dangled from her ears, and her makeup was subtle, but just enough so that it highlighted her dark eyes.

"How... has the year gone?"

Silence.

Glinda swallowed thickly. "When you first left," She began, ignoring the question deliberately. "I dreamed of this moment, when you'd come back. And always, it was the same. You show up at Shiz, with some... half-assed apology, and my first response would be to smack the green right out of your skin." She choked on a soft laugh, the corners of Elphaba's eyes crinkled as her glossed lips tugged upwards slightly in the hints of a smirk; Fiyero kept silent, his thoughts too out of control for him to form coherent sentences at the moment. "But now... now that you're really back..." She dissolved into soft sobs, and sadness appeared to flick across Elphaba's features.

"I'm not back, Glinda. Not to attend."

The blonde swallowed thickly, turning tear-filled eyes to her former roommate.

"You're leaving us? Elphie, you left us once, how could you-"

"I just needed to get some things settled with Shiz before I return to the City, that's all. Paperwork and whatnot." Elphaba replied, soft voice all business now. She bit her lip, glancing at Fiyero, who had been listening to everything, but hadn't yet said a word. "I don't belong at Shiz anymore. I have more important matters to attend to now."

"Like what Ms. Yenter said?" His voice was thick with unshed tears, and he swallowed against the lump. It was the only thing he could really latch onto, the only thing that jarred him from the shock that the girl he loved was back on campus. "Elphaba, is it really true?"

A heartbeat. "... is what true?"

She met his gaze, lifting her chin slightly, attempting to make herself appear taller than she was. While Elphaba may have been the older of the two girls- having turned twenty in September of the previous year, before Glinda's upcoming May birthday- she was the shorter of the two former roommates. It was a joke between the girls that everything about Elphaba, minus her mind, was small- from her size four feet, to her natural eighteen inch waist, to her five foot three inch height. Glinda, despite being younger, was naturally taller than the older girl by a good three inches.

"What Ms. Yenter said." He replied softly. He glanced at Glinda, who shrugged, sniffling. "That..." A deep sigh escaped his throat. "That you're the Wizard's..."

"Grand Vizer." Glinda whispered, biting her lip. Silence settled between the trio, and after a moment, Elphaba lifted her gaze from the sapphire diamond peaking out from beneath the collar of Fiyero's shirt, to meet her friends' eyes. Slowly, she nodded, swallowing thickly.

"Yes, Yero." She breathed. "It is. It's true, what Ms. Yenter said. I'm the Wizard's Grand Vizer. That's why I didn't return from the City last year. After you left, Glinda, he offered me the position. And I accepted, on one condition."

"To free the Animals." Glinda automatically replied, and Elphaba wrinkled her nose briefly.

"No, actually. Something else. Something more... personal." She stopped, biting her lip, falling into thought, as though weighing the impact of her next words. "It was good to see you again, Glinda, Yero. I missed you." A small smile tugged at Glinda's lips, but Fiyero watched her, wary of her words. "Now if you'll excuse me, I... I have to go."

And without another word, she turned, long black waves fanning out around her as she turned one the ball of her foot and quickly strode down the path, towards the waiting black car. The driver held the door open for her and she slipped inside with a soft nod to his, "Madame Vizer", and soon, the car was gone, whisking her back towards the City, and once more out of their lives, as quickly as she'd come.