AN: NymhadoraTonks: You're not that far off with your predictions, but there's going to be a little more to it. And oh yes, Laura is going to suffer many consequences as we all know, but you'll see why.

Mia: Don't worry. Matt and Eliza are going to have a talk in this chapter. Sadly this where everything changes. More on the mystery man in this and upcoming chapters. No, Eliza didn't want magic. It was an accident that happened when Fauna got her magic. Laura tried to do what she can, but she's not as experienced as she thinks she is. She has powerful but complicated magic. More on that soon!

THANK YOU BOTH!

Chapter 14

Breaking Away

Laura had done all that she could to help Eliza's accidental magic that weekend. There wasn't a reversal spell in the Sapphire Sorcerer's book, so she went to the library that weekend in hopes to find something. But she couldn't find anything. She could ask for help from her mother or Baba Yaga, but how would that conversation go? Laura just happened to find the spellbook from the once legendary wizard and accidentally used a risky spell on her best friends.

That wouldn't end well.

When Laura told this to Eliza, she didn't have much of a reaction. "Matt's not going to be happy," she shook her head.

As much as Laura wanted to tell Eliza Matt's opinion didn't matter, she felt her tongue. He was right, to some degree. Eliza was in danger, but Laura could help her if she couldn't fix it completely. "I can teach you to control it." Laura offered. "Unless I find a spell there's no other way I'm going to be able to help."

Eliza looked skeptical at first but then gave her a small nod.

Eliza wished she never took a step closer to that ring of a candle fire. Her outburst in the woods scared her. She didn't even feel like herself when she shot that silvery flare through those branches. She could've hurt Matt, or worse. Eliza shuddered at the thought as she stared at her hand. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes before gently knocking on the door.

There was a few moments of silence before the door opened. Chester looked at her with a confused expression. "He's not here."

"Where is he?" Eliza asked.

"The library," Chester rolled his eyes. "Where else would that book nerd be?" He had a point. Matt had stated many times that books were his life.

"Thanks," Eliza said, she was about to turn away, but then she turned back to him. "Have you seen Oakley at all today? I was going to ask him a question on an assignment."

Chester's cheeks turned the faintest of pinks, but he shook his head. "No, I haven't."

Eliza raised a brow but then nodded. "Well, if you see him tell him I was looking for him."

"Will do," Chester saluted her before closing the door. His behavior was suspicious. The last Eliza had heard from Oakley was that he and Chester had made up. She thought their relationship would become official, but Chester still seemed to be secretive.

Eliza walked down to the library. Usually, it was empty by this time of the day, but Eliza looked for her boyfriend. She found him in between shelves, reading a book intensively. His mint green curls were dangling away from his face as he bent over the story. Eliza suddenly saw his face in the woods. The terror in his eyes before she lost it.

She hadn't talked to him since that day. She had been put on bedrest, and Matt was gearing up for another big game only three days away. They were to play Wonderland again, and it was going to be a good challenge for the undefeated team. Eliza planned on being there this week. She wouldn't want to miss her chance to sit with Luara and the other book ball player girlfriends.

"Matt," Eliza whispered so faintly she wasn't sure if he would be able to hear her. He proved her wrong when his head snapped up. At first, he looked startled, but then his face relaxed. He closed the book. Hermon crawled down his arm and onto the book's cover before he set the book on the ground. Wordlessly, Matt crossed to her. Before he could reach out to her, she put up her hands. "Don't touch me. I don't want to hurt you."

Matt stiffened slightly. "So Laura didn't find anything."

Eliza shook her head. "She's gonna teach me to control them instead."

"We should tell Baba Yaga," Matt shook his head. "This could be dangerous."

"No," Eliza shook her head. "I don't want to get Laura in trouble."

"Why not?" Matt's eyes widened. "She is the one who gave you these powers. I'm no expert here, but when you faint like that after a magical outburst, I don't think that's a good thing."

She could really help me," Eliza defended. "You don't know her power."

"I know enough," Matt folded his arms. Eliza didn't like his cold tone anytime they talked about Luara. It seemed to be mutual hate between them.

"Well, it's my problem," Eliza crossed her arms. "Not yours."

Matt's face suddenly softened. There was a small silence between them. "I don't want to fight. I want you to be okay."

"I will be," Eliza assured. He raised a brow. "I am," she corrected.

"So are we gonna talk?"

"About what?"

"About what we were fighting about before you almost killed me last week."

"Oh," was all she had to say. She had almost forgotten about that conversation.

"Have you really been holding yourself back from me this whole time?" Matt asked with a sincere voice.

"Yes-no-I," Eliza bit her lip and sighed. She wanted to let him in. She did. But she didn't know how to. He had been so honest and open with her about himself, and she wished she could return the favor.

"When we first met," Matt filled the silence, "I wanted to figure you out. We've been dating for almost a month now and I thought that I at least know you a little bit. Then you start saying how I don't know you and I-"

"You do know parts me," Eliza cut him off. "I've told you about my life, but when it comes to what's truly me...I'm not sure myself. I'm mostly confused, and not sure what my purpose is. I still want to try new things and rebel from my parent's hold but...I'm scared."

There. She had finally admitted it to him. After all of this time, she had finally let him know what was really going on. When she was done speaking she allowed herself to looked up at him. Thinking his face was going to be full of confusion, Eliza was surprised to see his eyes were instead filled with understanding. He suddenly reached forward and took her shaking hands in his.

"Of course you have a purpose, Eliza. You mean much more to me than you give me credit for. I care about you, and I'll support you as you find yourself. But I also believe you already have."

"What makes you say that?" Eliza asked.

"Well, I know that you have certain tastes. Like how you like rock music. You care about your friends, and you don't like being controlled," Matt listed off easily. "And also that you have a great taste in men, but that's just a given."Eliza laughed before he continued, "Thank you for telling me, though. I feel as if I finally have a glimpse into your mind."

He let go of one of her hands and tucked her hair behind her ear. Eliza wasn't used to being touched this way. She wasn't used to any of this. Being cared for, or anything like this. Eliza thought she would've scared him off long ago. But here he was, being kind to her. She smiled as her cheeks began to heat up under his touch. Nervously, Eliza wrapped her arms around his middle.

He stiffened, but then returned her quick embrace. For once all week, Eliza felt like herself completely.

After school, Laura wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but she had a fair clue. She was just walking out of her dorm when she was caught by Mitchell on his way to practice. They hadn't seen much of each other this week due to the fact that Laura was worrying over Eliza, and he was leading the team for tomorrow's game. They still kept up the regular conversation, but Laura had to admit there was some lack on her part.

He stopped in the hall when he saw her. His lips curved into a smile. Mitchell ran his fingers through his blonde hair before scooping her up into his arms. "Long time, no see," he said before planting a kiss on her cheek. Larua gave him a smile as he let go of her.

"You just saw me at lunch," Laura reminded.

"Yeah, but," Mitchell's hands lingered on her waist, "I miss you."

Laura's grin widened. "Well, we've both been busy lately."

"How's Eliza doing after her fainting spell?" Mitchell asked.

"She's doing fine," Laura bit her lip slightly as they walked along. "Matt's mad at me though. He thinks it's my fault."

"Wasn't he the one that was with her when it happened?" Mitchell raised his brows. "Besides, she just fainted. It wasn't like her life was at stake." Laura bit her lip again. She didn't want to share her guilt with Mitchell. She just didn't have the heart to tell him how she messed up. Laura really didn't need his disappointment weighing on her guilt.

"Right," Laura nodded. "He's just concerned for her is all. Although I don't appreciate his disrespect to my magic."

"Why would he do that?"

"Jealousy," Laura shrugged. "I think he feels left out in Sorcery. All he can do is talk to that stupid mouse of his."

"I'll have to straighten him out," Mitchell said, cracking his knuckles. Laura knew Eliza wouldn't appreciate it, but she wasn't exactly going to stop him.

"Don't do anything too drastic," Laura gave him a small nudge. "He still needs to play tomorrow."

"I wouldn't hurt him," Mitchell shook his head. "I'm too much of a coward for that."

"I"m sure under the right circumstances you could prove yourself to be quite brave," Laura theorized. "But don't worry, I'll protect you the best I can."

Mitchell chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders. "Thanks. I better get to practice or Coach will have my head. I'll see you later." He kissed her cheek again sweetly before running to the doors that lead to the bookball field.

Laura kept her course for the main doors. When no one was around, she looked down at the note in her hand.

...

"Ugh, those stupid books have a mind of their own these days!" Baba Yaga grumbled as she chased the flying books out of the classroom. Immediately, Laura turned to Felicity, who was sitting closer than usual. All week, they had been exchanging notes and texts. They weren't anything special, just small updates on the secret mission they've joined together on.

Today, Felicity passed a more interesting note than usual.

3:15 at the old graveyard. Meet me.

...

Laura didn't even know that Ever After High had a graveyard. When she stepped outside into the cool fall air, she gazed around. A few students were in the courtyard, shivering and pulling their coats tighter around themselves on this chilly day. Laura didn't mind the cold. It wasn't something she saw as a burden. Not bothering to button up her pink coat, Laura walked towards the Enchanted Forest.

Laura had asked Fauna about it earlier, and she had confirmed that it was along the treeline. That was all she had time to say before she was whisked away by her cheerleader friends. Laura didn't mind Fauna being busy. It was a good way to get out of talking about Eliza's situation. She didn't know anything about what had happened, and Laura would like to keep it that way.

Towards the back of the school, Laura finally spotted the gated graveyard. She couldn't see Felicity, but Laura was sure she was around in the shadows. She went all the way around the gate until she was in the thicket of trees. There was a small gravestone outside of the gate, and that was where she found Felicity. She came away from behind a tree.

"They didn't use to have a gate here," Felicity said, looking down at the stone. "They left out the most important grave."

Laura looked down at the stone. She finally read the inscription to see that it belonged to the Evil Queen. Laura took a step back in shock. "Why is she here?"

"Don't know," Felicity shrugged. "Even though she tried to take over the world multiple times, I thought she at least should get a proper burial site. She was a pioneer in spells and magic. She at least deserved some credit."

"So that's why you brought me out here?" Laura raised a brow. "To show me this?"

"No," Felicity shook her head. she then pulled a book out of her backpack. "I did some digging like we agreed on. I went home and got my mom's old yearbooks. I found him."

Laura widened her eyes. "The Sapphire Sorcerer?"

"Yes," Felicity turned the pages. She then turned it to face Luara. "He was in the same class as our moms."

"Woah," Laura ran her fingers through her hair. She studied the picture. It was the same exact boy. Only his dark blue eyes were much more prominent in this picture. She looked down at the name and gasped.

Indeevar Yaga

"What the-!" Laura didn't even finish her sentence. She looked up at Felicity, who had the same shocked expression. "Who could it be?"

"I was thinking like a cousin or something," Felicity shrugged. "There's no way that it's her son. She's never been married or even had a real friend as far as I know."

"We need answers," Laura looked back down at the photo. There was that familiar grin again. Laura had seen it before, but where?

"The thing is," Felicity turned her attention back to the plan. "Yaga isn't at the school like the rest of the teachers. Her chicken hut is somewhere in the woods. We'll have to track it down. That's I brought you out here, we can find her now."

"Wait," Laura stopped herself before she could even take a step. "There are people taking walks. Yaga will probably see us coming. Let's wait till tomorrow, during the game. That way they'll be a distraction."

Felicity took a moment to process before something lit up in her eyes. "She is usually is at the games, but then if we find the hut, we can take a look around. Then we can see what connection she has to him. But if we don't find anything, no harm done."

"Yeah, I guess," Laura agreed, but then sighed. "But Mitchell will be mad if I miss the game."

"Oh, yeah," felicity rolled her eyes. "I forgot that he's still your pretty boy."

"Hey," Laura narrowed her eyes. "He's not a pretty boy."

"Sorry," Felicity rolled her eyes again, taking the book away from Laura. "He's an angel carved from the finest marble. Do you know how many times I've heard that in my life? Way too many times."

"Mitchell isn't like that," Laura folded her arms. "He's good-looking, but he's got a sweet and kind heart."

"No one is worth that little pack of girlfriends," Felicity shook her head. "They'll eat you alive if you let them."

"What?" Laura raised a brow. "They're fine."

"On the outside," Felicity looked off to the distance. "But believe me when I say they have dark magic of their own if you don't fall into their criteria."

"How would you know that?" Laura asked.

"Lee and I used to date," Felicity grinned at the memory. "He and Fen were on a break. Oh, you should've seen her face. I liked her expression more than Lee himself. He definitely wasn't worth the attention and secret hate, so I broke it off. He and Fen have been together ever since." Laura thought about Lee and Fen. It was obvious that they had been together for a long time, but it also makes even more sense why Felicity was never seen close to them. Lee was her classmate, and Laura had never seen them remotely close.

"Well, they've been nice to me," Laura shrugged. "We can go during the weekend. Surely, Yaga won't be home all the time."

"Right," Felicity gave a small nod. "I'll see you later, then." When she suddenly disappeared, Laura almost felt guilty for not going to look for Yaga tonight. Felicity seemed thrilled about the idea of questioning Yaga. Felicity just seemed thrilled about spending time with Laura. She was definitely more lonely than she had led on. Laura had never seen her with anyone besides herself. Laura still had much to learn about Felicity, much as she had to about this mystery man.

Matt was sitting on the bench in the locker room. He took several deep breaths.

You're going to be just fine. I know it.

"I'm not so sure," Matt admitted. He looked up at Hermon. He was perched inside of his small gym locker. "It's Wonderland, it's more...personal."

Those boys treated you like dirt, so give it all you got. Eliza wouldn't want you to be a coward, and neither do I.

Matt gave Hermon a small grin. "Thanks, buddy. High five for luck." Matt held up his finger, and Hermon slapped it with his little tale. Matt laughed before Coach Gingerbreadman blew his whistle. Matt quickly stood and gave Hermon a little head scratch before strapping on his helmet. As the team assembled, the whole wight of the night sunk in. There was no room for accidents or mistakes now. Matt would have to give it his all for his team, for Hermon, for Eliza.

Oakley had just bought popcorn from the concession stands when Chester had pulled him behind the arena's view. "You've really got to give me a warning," Oakley said, placing his free hand on his heart. Chester chuckled before stealing a piece of popcorn and flicking it into his mouth. His green eyes looked serious.

"You know how we were supposed to go to Wonderland tomorrow?" Chester asked. Oakley nodded, unsure of where this was going. "What if we went tonight?"

"Uh," Oakley looked behind him. The game was going to start soon. "I want to watch the game. Don't you think that it's going to be the match of the season? The Wonderland team is going to be seeking revenge. I helped plan the afterparty with Molly too. Aren't your Wonderland friends here? Maybe I could meet them."

Chester slightly stiffened. "Well, it's not a good idea to go on enemy lines right now. But you could meet them in Wonderland. Now, will you go?"

Oakley shook his head. "Why the rush?"

"Because I just want to be...with you," Chester looked down. Oakley's expression softened.

"You know that you can sit with me with Laura and Eliza. They promised me they'd save a seat."

"Isn't that next to the girlfriend section?" Chester raised a brow.

"Well, it's actually in the student section. Although we would be next to the girlfriends, yes. But, then we could be together."

"I don't know if being so close to everyone else is a good idea for me," Chester shook his head. "I guess I'll go to the stage or just float around." He started to disappear, but Oakley leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"We can go after the game," Oakley compromised. "Who needs the afterparty anyway." Chester gave him a small grin. With a quick kiss on the forehead, the Chesire disappeared.

Laura hadn't seen Felicity all today. It was weird, she thought she would've at least seen her in school. But the dark fairy did not show her face. It was possible for Laura to miss her during lunch, there were so many people gathered around the table today, talking about the big game tonight. Matt was getting the most attention, with Eliza by his side.

In Luara's eyes, Eliza had recovered quite well from her faint last week. She had gotten herself and her magic under control. She had even appeared to be the normal Eliza Laura recognized. She wasn't moody or even rebellious, just regular Eliza. For now, Luara was grateful for it. She knew Matt was. She didn't get those angry looks from him anymore.

Laura should be glad he wasn't mad anymore, but there was still small hate for him deep within her.

"I gave Fauna magic. That's it. Don't you think you know what I'm doing?"

"No, I don't."

The words echoed in her mind every time she saw him.

Even now, when he stepped onto the field, the words replayed themselves in her head over and over. Every time, anger built up inside of her. Laura didn't like how he had doubted her abilities. Could prove him wrong. She could prove him so wrong with a single snap of her finger. But then there was Eliza beside her. She served as a perfect reminder not to act on this anger.

The game was off to an exciting start. Throughout the first half, the scoring was quite even. Matt hadn't gotten out onto the field yet. But as soon as halftime ended, everyone knew that Matt was going to save the team. Laura caught some glimpse of Mitchell, but it was hard to tell what he was feeling. She knew he was stressed, but she hoped he was coping well.

"You two are rather quiet," Oakley commented. He had been sitting with them silently since the start of the game. Laura was caught in a casual conversation with fen, but that was about it. Eliza was a complete mute.

"I'm just paying attention to the game," Eliza shrugged.

"It's very high stakes," Laura added. "Besides, it's not like you've been chatting up a storm. What's been going on with you anyway lately? We haven't seen you like at all these last two weeks."

"Well...I," Oakley scratched the back of his neck. "I've been busy. You know, with the election, and the greenhouse."

"And the Chesire?" Laura raised a brow.

Oakley straightened and looked out to the field. "Maybe."

"I knew it," Laura grinned. "I'm happy for you." Oakley looked back at her and gave her a small grin with a nod.

"Matt's going in," Eliza suddenly said.

"This early?" Oakley turned his attention back to the field. "usually they wait until the end of third or fourth even."

"Wonderland is out for blood," Laura reminded. "They must be desperate."

"Eliza!" Fen called over Laura's shoulder. "Aren't you excited for Matt?"

"Of course I am," Eliza nodded with a grin, clearly liking the little attention she got from the group of girlfriends surrounding them.

When the whistle blew, Luara looked back to the field. She had seen this play done before. Matt was placed with the rest of the linemen, but that would soon change. After a few plays, there wasn't much action for either side. It was fourth down, so it was Ever After's final hope to score. The arena was almost completely quiet n anticipation.

That was when Matt got the book in his hands. The crowd exploded with cheers as he ran down the field, undefended. Even though Laura was happy the team would score, she still looked at Matt with slight disgust.

"No, I don't."

How could he truly doubt her talent? Just because he had made a name for himself doesn't mean everyone else is useless. He didn't know anything about what was good for her or for Eliza. He had practically taken Eliza under his own spell, taking her trust away leaving Luara with nothing but glares. He needed to be taken down a peg. Laura was there for Eliza first, not him.

"Traitor!" someone suddenly yelled, snapping Laura away from her thoughts.

That was when Matt was taken out by three Wonderland boys by the endzone. He had already scored, but the boys weren't even on the field, but on the sidelines. The crowd gasped. The Ever After High boys ran to their teammate's defense. The Wonderland players were thrown off of Matt. A small fight had broken out between the players.

The crowd gasped again when they saw Matt still down on the ground. He was as still as a corpse.

"Matt," Eliza gasped as she stood. Everyone waited in anticipation. Laura's mind went into a slight shock as she hoped that he would stand.

"Get up," Laura muttered. The players were still fighting, but then someone knocked Lee to the ground.

A scream from Fen set off the madness. Students began to flood the field. Laura was shoved from her seat, making her stand. She had already lost Oakley and Eliza in the sea of people. Laura stood up on the bleachers in an attempt to spot someone to run to. She then saw Mitchell shoving his way through the crowd, obviously looking for her.

Laura made her way down to the field. It was much harder to see down here. She could hear Mitchell's voice call for her. "Laura?!"

"Mitch!" Luara called back, but then she has suddenly pulled aside from the crowd. "Get your hands off me!" Laura grunted before even taking a look at who had grabbed her arm.

"No, we need to go now," Felicity's voice said sternly. Laura froze and turned to see the dark fairy. "Right now, or we won't get another chance." Without any other words, Laura followed her out of the arena. Only taking one last look at the chaos before breaking away from it. Small guilt washed over her. she almost felt as if she was turning away from her old life, and starting a new story.