Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Written: 2015, Found: 2018- Licia

The cool night air caressed her skin, and she quickly lowered the hood of her cloak. The light from the fire she'd built was strong, and the clearing secluded, belonging only to her for the time being. The moon was out and full, and after a moment, she turned her attention to her spell book. Cerise was out for a run, leaving Raven to her own devices.

She could feel the tattoo running down the length of her back begin to tingle, and knew it was thanks to her magic. The pendant she wore around her wrist glowed softly, and after a moment, she turned, sensing someone nearby. Slowly, she stood. "Who's there? Cerise?"

Silence.

"Show yourself!"

Again, silence.

"As... as the Queen of Marberly, I command it! Show yourself!"

Slowly, a figure stepped out of the shadows; Raven squinted to make out the features. Cerise... no, Cerise's hood is red. Slowly, the figure lowered the hood, and Raven's gaze widened.

"Aada?"

The young woman nodded. "I was hoping I could join you." She moved closer. "Spells are often stronger practiced beneath a full moon, after all."

"I belong to no coven, Aada. I am merely-"

"A daughter of the Goddess." The girl replied. "You aren't alone, Raven. We all are."

"We?" Her brow furrowed in confusion, and after a moment, the other girls in her Witchcraft classes slipped out of the shadows.

"We never dared come out at night to practice, not until you came. Not until we saw you sneaking out. Then we knew it was safe." The small, lithe redhead named Henrietta replied, lowering her own hood as Elysa stepped up beside her, taking her hand.

"We had only ever been allowed to practice in class," Elysa said, her long blonde hair pulled over her shoulder in a braid. "If we'd been caught on school grounds after curfew practicing... we'd have been punished."

"But here... here it's safe." Cressida, a petite brunette in her Divination class spoke up, lowering her hood. Raven let her gaze scan over each; they were all in her Advanced classes- Divination and Witchery and the like... all at one time cast as the villains in their stories, when all each wanted was to chart her own path. "Can we join you, Raven? Please? It would be nice to practice with someone else like us. Someone who understands."

A moment passed, as she gathered her thoughts. Despite Raven's solitary path, the times she'd snuck out of the palace and joined the other girls beneath the light of the moon to practice had been nice- she'd had others who understood what she was going through. They'd recognized the magic in her and accepted her, no matter her chosen solitary path- for Marberly witches never joined covens. They were too bound by loyalty to their royal blood to enter within the struggle that was a coven. Besides, Raven had grown up practicing her magic alone; she was used to the quiet, the solitude, the loneliness. Even though she had Mira, she was still solitary in her practice, and always would be.

But here-

She would be practicing with her classmates, going over what they had learned in class, working until they perfected it. It would be a chance to bond with other witches her age-

Slowly, she nodded.

After several minutes, the other girls gathered around the fire, each now uncertain as to what to do or where to go from here. Taking a deep breath, Aada removed her cloak, letting it drop to her feet, revealing the black and white pajamas she wore. Slowly, cloaks began to fall, and books were opened; spells practiced and enchantments attempted, as the girls settled in a comfortable silence about the fire. Raven settled on her cloak, tarot cards shuffling absentmindedly in her hands as her gaze locked on the flames. A moment passed before she randomly pulled a card-

Death.

Changes, transformation.

Her brow furrowed. Changes? What type of changes? We are already married, what more could there be? Unless... Her breath caught. Unless we're going to have a baby. But... but Madame Yaga's warning from last semester... no, it won't come true. But what if part of it does? What if Mika and I... what if we do have a baby?

She slowly put her cards away, feeling her magic begin to make her fingertips tingle. At one point, Henrietta brought of dried rosemary and sage from the small pouch attached to her book, and tossed them into the fire with an enchantment. A soft song began to fall from Aada's lips; to anyone witnessing outside the clearing, it was utter nonsense, but Raven recognized the tune- it was a familiar one, often used to call the Goddess during a ritual or practice, though not common among the witches of Marberly, it wasn't unheard of, either.

Aada's voice was soft, melodic, beautiful. No one knew she could sing, for she was so quiet... it was a struggle often to get two words out of her in class. She only opened up around Raven and the girls because she knew them; they were her friends.

"Onti marlik unti luna dea..." Slowly, the other girls began to pick up the tune, until they were on their feet, bounding around the fire, crying out the song in excitement. The herbs Henrietta had thrown into the fire burst, turning the orange flames brilliant blues and greens. So caught up in the excitement and joy, Raven wasn't aware that she was stripping off her pajamas until the cold air hit her warm skin. The tattoo on her back began to pulse lightly, and she could feel her magic sliding up her arms. Clad in only her undergarments, she reached up, tugging her hair from it's bun, allowing the black curls to cascade down her back and chest.

When Cerise returned from her run to collect Raven, she stopped, hiding in the shadows, watching in confusion and surprise as the girls from the Witchery classes gave into... whatever had caught them in their grasp, as they stripped bare of their pajamas and danced around the fire, nude. One thought crossed her mind, a thought she and so many others had been spoon-fed from the time they were children, that was only reinforced by what she was seeing.

On the eve of the full moon, in order to cast extremely strong spells, witches will dance around a fire, nude.