The Breaking - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine...sorry.

Author's note: This is the Dragon-Verse version of "Children of Earth". This story is complete and I hope to get a chapter a day posted. Hope you enjoy!

14 September 2009

Day Zero

Estelle Cole awoke that morning, knowing that something was wrong.

She sat up in bed, looking around the room to see if she could find the source of her feeling. Her bedroom was just as it should have been, and she frowned.

But then she noticed Moses.

Her familiar sat just beyond the open door, facing down the hallway and toward the stairs. Estelle could see the stiff set of his back, and his tail was bristled quite spectacularly. A growl-like whine came from the cat, and Estelle was out of bed at the sound of it, heading toward the hallway and Moses.

Moses didn't move, but his ears swivelled and his stance loosened a little, signs telling Estelle that he was well aware of her presence behind him. The cat stood, and began slinking down the hall almost on his belly, and it obvious that every sense was alert to something only he could feel.

Estelle could sense it, too. There was a strange electricity in the air, the ozone sharp in her nose and on her tongue. She called her power to her, and then checked the wards around her home; they were still intact, so whatever was going on hadn't penetrated her personal sanctum. She was, for the moment, safe.

Still, something was happening. Something close by. Estelle didn't know if it meant her harm, but it was tingling her magical senses in ways she'd never felt before, and it was disturbing.

She followed Moses down the stairs and into the hallway below. Her familiar let out another loud whine, and if anything his hackles rose even further. Estelle let her senses guide her, and from what she was feeling that meant going into the kitchen.

There was nothing out of place. Even the tea mug she'd left out last night was still on the small table. Estelle frowned at it, feeling as if it were somehow mocking her. Picking it up, she made her way to the sink, the atmosphere still heavy about her but realising then that she needed to look out of doors to find the source.

Estelle sat the mug in the sink, and took a look out of the window in front of her.

There was a strange girl playing in her back garden.

She looked to be about ten years old, and was wearing what appeared to be a school uniform. She had long blonde hair, and was skipping about the garden, her fingers trailing along the late summer blooms that still decorated some of the flowering bushes. There was something off about the way the girl moved, and it took Estelle a few precious seconds to figure out that her body appeared to be skipping in and out of reality with every step she took, flickering like a piece of film that had jumped its guiding sprocket.

Estelle shivered.

The girl suddenly stopped moving, and turned to face toward the house.

That was the moment Estelle knew exactly what she was dealing with, and her hands curled into fists. Her power began humming through her, even though she knew she wasn't nearly strong enough to face this threat if it decided to try to breach the defences around her home.

The girl smiled, revealing inhuman teeth.

She waved, and beckoned to Estelle. Almost against her will, the witch jerked toward the back door, Moses hissing at her in warning. Grinding her teeth, Estelle stopped her forward movement, needing to meet this threat of her own will, and not because she was being summoned like some mindless lackey. No, this child wasn't going to order her to do anything.

"It's alright," she murmured to Moses, reaching down and stroking his bristling fur. Static electricity arced from her familiar and made her hand tingle. "Stay inside. Don't come out unless I call you."

Moses looked up at her, and Estelle interpreted his expression as being one of, 'You are nuts but I shall do as you say.'

He had never been very subtle.

Estelle unlocked the back door, taking a step out onto the small covered patio just beyond. Her wards extended to the edge of the roof, and so she was protected as much as she could be in these circumstances, plus she had her own personal defences ready to cast. "You wanted to speak to me?"

The girl stepped closer, almost to the invisible barrier of the wards. Her presence would have once been a pleasant thing, back when she'd believed in the inherent goodness of her 'special friends', but Estelle was much more attuned to the world than she once had been, and she would never quite trust these capricious beings again.

"I did, lady witch," the girl answered, her voice an unnatural sing-song. The smile left her pixie features, and she stared at Estelle as if she could read into the older woman's soul. "I am here as a Witness, and also because you understand our nature. They understand our nature. We are a part of this world, and will be until the day the Earth burns for the final time. You know this."

"I do," Estelle agreed. "What is it you're supposed to witness?"

The smile was back, but there was something off about it…and not simply because it was a horrible, sharp thing on a face that should never wear that sort of expression. "The Breaking," she answered.

And, with that, she was gone in a cloud of sweet-smelling rose petals.

Estelle's heart felt as if it had been stopped during their confrontation, and was just now restarting. She drew in a deep breath and then made her unsteady way back into her home, reaching for her phone by sheer instinct.

It rang twice before it was answered. "Hey, Estelle," Jack's distinctive voice calming her far more than just being within her wards ever could. "How's one of my favourite ladies today?"

She took in a second deep breath, and then said as steadily as she could, "I just received a visit from Jasmine Pierce."

Estelle had no idea how long it took Jack and Ianto to get there, but it seemed to equally take both forever and mere minutes.

It was with a sense of relief that she let both men into the house. Jack looked angry, and he gave her a hug and an onceover, obviously checking to see if she was all right. Ianto also hugged her, his personal magic mixing with hers and grounding her. He was less angry and more concerned. He guided her to her favourite chair and, after making sure she was comfortable, headed into the kitchen to make tea.

Jack sat opposite her on her sofa, and he leant forward, his elbows on his knees. "Are you sure it was Jasmine Pierce?"

Estelle nodded. "Yes, I'm positive. There was a picture of her in the paper after her disappearance. It was definitely her." Moses jumped up into her lap, purring fiercely. She ran her hand down his back, and he settled in against her thighs. "Plus, she was obviously a new-made Fae, because she was still mostly in her human form." The Earth Dragon had explained to her that it took several decades before a Chosen One was fully integrated into the magic of the Lost Lands.

Her former lover rubbed his face, sighing. "What the hell was she doing here?"

"She said she was a witness," Estelle answered.

"A witness to what?"

"She said…the Breaking. And, before you ask, I have no idea what she meant by that." It had been bothering Estelle as she'd waited for her friends to arrive. She felt she should know what Jasmine was intimating. "Although, for some reason I think I should, but it won't come to mind."

Jack frowned. "She didn't say anything else?"

Estelle shared their very brief conversation. "And I'm assuming that the 'they' she spoke of were you and Ianto. Which makes sense, with your histories with the Fae. She said you would also understand, whatever that means."

"As long as you're okay," Jack said, sighing. "We can figure the rest out later."

"I'm fine, but I got the distinct impression that she could have gotten through the wards on my house if she'd really wanted to."

Jack's face went stern. "You can't stay here, if your wards won't keep the Fae out – "

Estelle rolled her eyes. She should have known this would have been Jack's reaction; her former lover was extremely overprotective of those he cared about. "I'll be fine here, Jack. I promise. Besides, if the Fae really wanted to hurt me, they'd find me wherever I was. You know that."

She didn't get to hear what Jack was going to say next, because Ianto came out of the kitchen, carrying Estelle's favourite silver tray with a teapot, cups, and saucers on it. A small jug of milk and sugar bowl came with it, along with a plate of Estelle's good biscuits. "She's right, Jack," the dragon said, setting the tray down on the coffee table. He took a seat next to Jack, leaning over and pouring the tea. "Milk and sugar, Estelle?"

"Yes, please."

Ianto prepared her cup, handing it over when he was finished. He started on Jack's. "I couldn't help but overhear the conversation, and you're right, Estelle…your wards are very good, but against a concentrated attack of the Fae, they wouldn't hold very long."

He passed a cup to Jack and then began on his own, continuing the conversation as if Jack wasn't glowering at him. "But I'm more interested in this Breaking Jasmine mentioned. Did she give you any clue as to what that was?"

"No, I'm sorry," Estelle answered, taking a sip. It was perfect. "But, I got the distinct impression that we should know what she was talking about." She'd learnt much about the Fae in her time living in the valley of Ddraig Llyn, but she honestly couldn't remember a thing about something called that. "I also got the feeling that this was some sort of warning. Although why the Fae would warn us of anything is beyond me."

Ianto nodded. "They would if it was in their best interests."

"So what would be so bad that the Fae would want us to know about it, and then not say anything at all?" Jack fumed, setting his teacup down hard enough to rattle the cup on its saucer.

Estelle gave him a stern look at the rough treatment of her good cups. Jack leaned back, pretending that her expression hadn't, in fact, cowed him. "Because that's the way they are, Jack. They want our help but just aren't willing to ask. They also want us to work for it."

"The Breaking…" Ianto mused. "What would Jasmine mean by that…?"

Estelle took one of the biscuits and nibbled on it. "I think the question is," she said once her mouth was empty, "what would the Fae want us to stop, and yet make a half-hearted attempt to warn us? And why would they send one of their own to witness it?"

"Anything the Fae want us to do can only be a bad thing," Jack put in. "We can't trust them."

"Something is going to break…" Ianto trailed off, and suddenly his face went pale. "Gods and Goddesses, of course!"

"What is it?" Jack demanded.

Estelle echoed the question, confused at the dragon's reaction.

Ianto looked at them both. "It's obvious, isn't it? One of the many Pacts that the Fae have sworn is about to break."