Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: So from what I can tell, the big changes hit right around the time Raven turns twenty, or maybe a little before... Written: 2015, Found: 2018- Licia

Weeks after Cleon's visit, the Seven Kingdoms were slowly, carefully, ending trade agreements with Ever After. It was decided that each kingdom would slowly pull out, for if all stopped at once, Ever After would know something was up and become suspicious. Mira and Raven's father were keeping both her and Mika in the loop, and if there was anything that specifically needed Raven's signature, they often sent a car to bring her home, usually with a hasty word to the headmaster that official business required her presence back in Marberly.

Raven slipped into the castleteria around seven one early-April evening, smoothing the skirt of her dark green dress. Her violet gaze searched until she found her husband sitting at a table by himself, a book open before him. Midst the noise, Raven grabbed something eat, thanking the castleteria workers with a silent nod before heading to the table; her friends were engaged in conversation and didn't notice as she slipped past them.

"Mind if I sit?"

He looked up from his book, a small grin tugging at his features. With a quick grin, Raven set her tray down and took a seat across from him. The couple settled into silence, only the sound of cutlery interrupting, before she spoke up. "I heard from Cleo today." He raised an eyebrow, sipping his coffee.

"Oh? What'd he have to say?"

She swallowed the bite of her fish, meeting his gaze. "Vispen's successfully broken the trade contracts with Ever After. Forquniz broke off the contracts with Ever After two weeks ago, and the others are slowly following."

"What about Marberly?" Raven took a sip of her coffee.

"We're working on it, it's slow, but Mira and Ivarr think we might officially be free by the end of April, early May at most. It doesn't seem possible that it's already April. The semester will be over in by the second week of June."

Mika chuckled, reaching out to take her hand. "And you've done well so far, love. I'm proud of you." He leaned forward, capturing her lips in a soft kiss. Eventually, they finished eating and got up, slipping past the girls and Hunter as they did so.

"Raven!"

The young queen glanced back at Cerise as she slid her hand up Mika's bicep; a small smile tugged at her lips, and she nodded to her friends. They then disappeared through the swinging doors, headed for Mika's dorm. Once back in his room, he started a fire in the fireplace and they changed into their pajamas, fixing coffee and tea before curling up together in bed. A movie played on his laptop, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Two hours later, as the credits rolled, he spoke up, closing the laptop and brushing a kiss to her hair. "Why am I not surprised that you claimed Darling as your partner in Hero Training?"

Raven sighed, contented as he gently trailed his hand up the smooth, flawless skin of her back as they lay in bed. Though she had a set of pajamas tucked into the back of his drawer, it was common for the young Hero Training instructor to open the door to the sight of his wife in her pajamas and cloak, escaping the dorm she shared with Apple. She stretched, thinking back on that afternoon, during Hero Training... and how she'd managed to best Darling in hand-to-hand combat, not that that was surprising. Raven had trained in hand-to-hand from the time she was a child.

And Darling... Darling was quickly catching up.

"Because she can match me block for block." She replied, propping herself onto her elbow as her husband set his laptop on his desk and then returned to the bed. "Were she not a princess of Ever After, I would request she move to Marberly and join my army. She would make an excellent general." Raven replied, scooting close and resting her head on his chest. "In fact, I may just do that."

He 'hmmed' softly in reply. "But would she really walk away from her family, Nevermore? You need to consider that. Darling's family is here, her life is here-"

"But she's so much happier learning combat than princessology. You've heard her. She hates that she's a princess, that she has to play the damsel-in-distress. She's thriving in Hero Training, Mika, you have to see that-"

"And I do, my love." He replied, shifting until she lay on her back. His lips found the soft pulse at her throat, and he proceeded to work on distracting her, but Raven wouldn't be swayed. She slid her hands up his chest, gently pushing him away.

"Then what would be the harm if I ask her to come to Marberly and join my army as a general after graduation?"

He sighed. "First, graduation is another year away, Ravenna. You will be back in Marberly by then-"

"And you? Where will you be, my husband?"

"Most likely here." He replied, kissing her softly. She pulled away, meeting his gaze.

"You mean to say that you will stay here? For how long?" He shrugged. She shook her head, pushing herself up and moving to the edge of the bed. "Don't tell me you plan on staying indefinitely. Mikalos! What about when we decide to have a child? Will you stay here throughout my entire pregnancy? What about when our child is finally born? Will you have any say in its life?"

He took her hands, tugging her back to him. "Of course I will, Ravenna. But I have a contract with the school- regardless of whether Headmaster Grimm released me from it or not, in the board's eyes, it still stands. When you become a professor here, you must fulfill ten years of teaching; if the board is satisfied with your record, then you may be given tenure- permanent residency as a professor. If they aren't satisfied-"

"So... you're basically in a... a trial period?" He nodded. "You said ten years? And you've been here for six-"

"Seven, as of two months ago. I arrived at Ever After High and received my position in late February. I officially started teaching in early March."

"Seven years. So you have..." She quickly did the math in her head, her gaze flitting back to him. "three years left." He nodded, pulling her into his arms.

"And by the time those three years are up, we will have been married roughly three years, and can focus on starting our family then."

She shifted in his arms. "And if they give you tenure? Will you take it?"

He thought a moment, brushing a kiss to her lips. "Most likely not. Because I'll have been away from you for too long, and by then our growing family will come first- all one hundred children."

She laughed, shaking her head. "You are not going to let that go, are you?"

He shook his head, kissing her soundly. "Never."