Rifiuto: Non Miriena
A/N: Written: 2015, Found: 2018- Licia
"You're doing very well, Your Majesty. The control you have now compared to last semester..."
Raven sighed, extinguishing the amethyst flame in her hands and standing. She made her way to the window; it was hot, stuffy, no matter where she went. Even in her lightest of dresses, she was glistening in sweat with no sign of relief any time soon. She decided that she detested Ever After in June; she would much rather be back in Marberly. By now, she and her father, and possibly Mika and his parents and siblings, would all be down by the coast, staying at the small palace the two families often shared on summer holidays.
And yet, she wasn't the only one to suffer, for the entire school seemed to be melting under the heat of the June sun. She and her friends often took to spending their afternoons in the clearing, where it was cool and there was ample shade to go around; at night, she and Mika often shared a cold shower, in attempt to cool off from the sweltering heat. Why the hell does Ever After High have to be so far away from a coastline?
"Ravenna." She lifted her head from the cool pane of glass, turning. Iovita floated towards her, no longer wearing the masking spell. It was during Raven's private lessons with Madame Yaga that the mask fell, and the gypsy princess appeared.
"It's hot." She whispered, reaching up and dabbing at the back of her neck. Her fingers came back slick with sweat and she made a face. "I'm not used to heat like this. It doesn't get this hot in Marberly, and if it does, my father and I go to the sea, spend the summer there. Mika's family usually joins us; has from the time we were children."
"You grew up together."
"Isn't that obvious?"
Iovita cocked her head to the side. "To most, yes. To others, not so much." She moved closer, and Raven met her gaze. "What is it you long for, Ravenna?"
"I don't understand."
A moment passed before the princess beckoned her to follow, and they returned to the table where Madame Yaga's crystal ball sat. "Your deepest desires are always the ones so deeply hidden we often have trouble finding them." She held out a hand, and after a moment, Raven held out her hand. It was against Marberly's protocol for anyone to touch Raven without her first offering, but in this instance-
It was two royals sharing a private moment; the Queen of Marberly and the last Princess of the Gypsies.
Gently, Iovita ran a finger over Raven's palm, before sighing softly. "Do you remember what I told you last semester?"
Raven thought a moment. "That Mika and I will have a baby someday."
The gypsy nodded, before turning her gaze back to Raven's palm. She gently caressed the soft skin of the queen's palm, a soft sigh escaping her throat. "Hardship is in your future, Your Majesty. You will suffer a loss parallel to that of your father, a loss that will make you question your very future."
Raven's heart leapt into her throat. "What... what kind of loss?"
Iovita shook her head. "I cannot tell, but it will shape not only your future, but the future of your country as well. It will drive you near the edge, but you will not go over, for you will have something to stop you, something to live for." She met Raven's gaze, before her own wandered down to the girl's abdomen. "Tell me, Your Majesty, when was the time of your last bleed?"
"I'm one the potion. And Mika and I... we use protection. We're careful. We cannot afford the time a child takes up. And I do not need an heir now, not yet. If I have not produced an heir before my twenty-second birth-"
Iovita stood, moving around around the table towards her. "You will bear a child long before your twenty-second birthday, Your Majesty. You shall have your heir before you reach twenty-one, but the child will come at a cost. A great cost that will make you question everything. This child will make you question your traditions, the very foundation of your monarchy, the very foundation of your magic. It can destroy everything you ever thought you wanted, everything you thought you knew about yourself and the history of your country, your magic. It will force you to make a choice- your country and your legacy or it."
Raven shook her head. "No! A child can't do that! A child is... is innocent and helpless and-"
"Not this child. The child you will bear will throw everything into question, everything that you believe and stand for. It will set you and your country on a course you will not be able to stop, unless you make a choice."
The young queen swallowed. "A.. a choice?"
Iovita nodded. "Yes." She turned her gaze to the crystal ball, trailing a finger down the curve of it. "When you are round and heavy with child, you will face the first difficult choice of many to come. It will be your decision, to stay or go."
"Stay or... go?"
The gypsy sighed, shaking her head. "I've said too much. I must not reveal any more of the the future lest it drive you to madness."
Raven started, horrified. "So... what? I am to... to be driven to madness like... like my mother?" She backed away, shaking her head. She didn't want to hear anymore of what Iovita had to say. "No. No! I won't turn out like her! I won't!" And without another word, she grabbed her jacket and clutch and fled the hut.
"Your Majesty!"
Her feet led her through the halls until she got to Mika's dorm. Pounding on the door, she waited anxiously until it opened. "Nevermo-" But he never got to finish, as Raven threw her arms around his neck, choking back sobs. He managed to stagger back enough to shut and lock the door, before pulling away from his wife and taking her face in his hands. "Ravenna, what happened? I thought you had your session with Madame Yaga?"
"I... did..." She sobbed, and then proceeded to tell him everything Iovita had revealed, choking on the last part. "What if that happens to me, too, Mika? What if I turn into my mother? What if I become just as mad as her? What will happen to us, to our marriage, to our children then? And Marberly? It would be my parents all over again-"
He gathered her to his chest, holding her tight against him as she sobbed, gently rocking her back and forth, one hand stroking through her hair. "Shh, hush, Nevermore. That won't happen. It won't. You know why?" She shook her head slightly. "Because you're stronger than your mother was. So much stronger than her." He kissed her head. "So, so much stronger than her. And that strength can get you through anything."