Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: Nessa and Shell are older than Elphaba in this.

Question: How old are they (Elphaba and Fiyero) in this?

Answer: Let's see, both of them were born in 1950... the prologue was set in 1960... so they were ten

Thanks to Beautifully Tragic Girl, Hedwig466 and lizziemagic for reviewing 1.

"Fabala! Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm coming!"

She hurried down the stairs, suitcase in one hand, a book open in the other. On the last step, she stumbled, the book flying out of her hand as she flew towards the ground.

"Whoa, careful little sis. We don't want you going to school with a broken nose."

She looked up, blushing slightly as Shell set her back on her feet.

"Sorry Shell."

The blush got deeper as she stepped onto the front parlor floor, where her older brother stood.

"Ah, it's okay sis. Just be careful." He chuckled softly and ruffled her hair.

"Shell, stop." She cried, pulling away. A sigh caused them to turn, to see Elphaba's older sister Nessa kneel down to pick up her book. Closing it, she joined her sister and brother and handed her the paperback.

"Reading and walking again, Fabala?" Elphaba blushed deeper this time, taking the book as Nessa rolled her eyes. "Honestly Fabala, try to keep your nose out of at least one book this semester, okay?" Elphaba nodded.

"I'll try, Nessie." Nessa chuckled, wrapping her baby sister in a hug.

The oldest of the Govenor of Munchkinland's three children, at twenty-nine, Nessa was a professor at Emerald University, teaching Drawing. Her chestnut hair and green eyes were inherited from her father, and when she was born, she'd been crippled, unable to walk the first ten years of her life. After having surgery at age eleven, she was able to walk with leg braces, and after another surgery at age twelve- metal rods placed in her legs to hold her weight- now, seventeen years later, was able to walk without help.

"Come on, Ness, it's not like we're telling her to go absolutely crazy and have wild, insane sex with everything that moves. She's better than that, right Elphie? Besides, we all know who does that." Shell said, wrapping an arm around his little sister's shoulders, so that her neck was in the crook of his arm. A strangled smile came to Elphaba's features, along with a nervous glance at her older sister.

Nessa rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you." She replied, taking Elphaba's book and smacking her brother's chest with it. Elphaba giggled as her brother and sister bickered and poked fun at each other.

"Hey!" She watched as Shell reached out and ruffled Nessa's hair, before her sister struck back, poking him in the chest with her car keys. They went after each other for several minutes, forgetting Elphaba completely. After several minutes of sibling bickering, the "fight" ended with Shell holding Nessa in a headlock.

"Shell!" Elphaba found herself standing there laughing at the fact that even though Nessa was four years older than Shell, she still managed to lose every fight they got into. "Shell, let go!"

As the middle child and only son, Shell was responsible for looking after Elphaba when Nessa left to live her own life. Although he didn't really look after her, since he joined his sister at EU when he turned eighteen, and by then, Elphaba had been seven. While he'd checked on her every so often, Elphaba had basically raised herself from seven on. But Shell loved his baby sister, and even though seven years seperated them, Shell found himself closer to Elphaba than Nessa, even though the passage of time between he and Nessa was much shorter. Shell worked as a prosecutor in the City, and so he and Nessa spent more time together than he and Elphaba did. With black hair and the same green eyes as Nessa, he cut a handsome figure in the courtroom.

"Dad! DAD! Dad, tell Shell to let me go!"

Elphaba stopped laughing when her father, Frexspar, entered.

"All right you two, that's enough. Shell, let Nessa go. Is that any way to act on the day your sister leaves for college?"

"Sorry Dad."

"Sorry." Shell released her, and she smacked him quickly on the arm, to which he retaliated by pulling her hair. "Ow, Shell!" Another "fight" soon started up, and would have gone farther, unless Frex hadn't stepped in.

"Come on, let's get going." They packed Elphaba's bags into the car, and then climbed in, driving the two hours to Shiz University. Once there, Shell and Frex removed Elphaba's bags, as Nessa pulled her sister aside and proceeded to lecture her on college life.

"Now, you do know that you don't have to spend every night in your dorm studying. Breaks are your friend, Fabala." She said, taking her sister's face in her hands. "Okay? You can also wear whatever you want- within reason- to class. You don't have to wear uniforms- Shiz doesn't have uniforms, not like Nest Hardings High. I'm not saying just show up to class in a thong and heels- you get what I mean, don't you Fabala?"

Elphaba nodded, blushing. "Yeah."

"Good. And you can date, too. Dad won't be watching you, so you won't be on a short leash like you were at home. You can date and kiss and hold hands and-" After a moment, Nessa shook her head. "Never mind. Just... try not to do anything you'll regret, okay? You may thing you're ready for sex, but trust me Fabala, you'll want to wait. Because pregnancy or disease, is not worth it.Trust me." Elphaba's blush deepened as she realized that Nessa was talking about her own pregnancy scare at eighteen. "You have my number, right?" Elphaba nodded. "You can call me at any time, and you can talk to me about anything, you know that?" Elphaba nodded again. Giving her sister a small smile, Nessa pulled her into her arms and hugged her close. Elphaba's breath caught as her sister hugged her tight, and she had to breath slowly through her nose to get air until Nessa released her. Then, she kissed her sister's forehead before pulling away.

"Be good, Fabala."

"I will, Nessie."

Once Nessa released her, she turned to Shell, who watched her for a moment, before holding his arms around. "Come here sis." Smiling, she went to him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tight. He pressed his nose into her black hair, breathing in her scent, before kissing the top of her head. "Be good, you hear?" She nodded against his chest. "But not too good, you can't be an angel all of the time. You have to be a devil some of the time. Okay? Parties and drinking and dating-"

"Don't give her any ideas, Shell." Nessa ordered from her perch on the hood of the car. He chuckled softly.

"Don't listen to Ness, Elphie. We both know she can be a bit of a stiff." He whispered into her ear, as she giggled softly. "You have to have some fun. Promise?" She nodded.

"I promise."

"Good." He smiled at his little sister, ruffling her hair before kissing her forehead. Then, Elphaba turned to Frex.

Silent, Frexspar Thropp watched his youngest child, realizing that she wasn't a baby anymore, but a grown woman of eighteen. Her black hair and brown eyes were a replica of Melena's, and while the harlequin green skin was a bit of an anomely, he had to admit, it was very pretty on her. She fidgeted under his gaze, and after a moment, he went to her, wrapping her in a hug. Rubbing her back slowly, he whispered,

"I'm so proud of you, Fabala."

"Thanks Dad." He kissed her forehead, before pulling away and going to the car. As the three waved goodbye and left, Elphaba turned back to look at the sprawling campus. She didn't notice that the young man that had come out of the student union was staring at her in shock. Sighing, she gathered her bags and made her way to the student union as he headed back to his dorm, stopping to look back every so often.

But he had every right to stare.