Disclaimer- I don't own Wicked or Rent.

A/N- Again, I'm just reminding you that I love reviews. I like how this chapter came out, so please let me know what you think of it.

Emaurie woke up with a jolt. Everything was dark, everything was quiet, yet somehow she knew something was very, very wrong.

She turned and looked to see if Elfie was awake too, and received a shock. Elfie was gone! Not only was Elfie gone, but her bed and everything in the room that belonged to her was as well.

Emaurie shot out of bed and stood looking about her room. It was …wrong. Somehow, everything about the room screamed to her that she did not belong there. But why? How? Through her fear, she remembered something Aunt Faba had told her. "Trust your instincts. They're a gift, trust them. If you do, you'll never go wrong."

She thought about her aunt right now and wished she were here. Aunt Faba was always so sure, so in control, and so smart! She'd know what to do.

Slowing her breathing down, Emaurie realized "She wouldn't panic! Aunt Faba would find out what was wrong and fix it."

She started towards her bedroom door and reaching it, opened it to the hallway. Stepping out, she looked both up and down the corridor and again noticed that it looked 'wrong'. This was not 'home'! This held none of the touches that her mother had brought to the palace to make it a home. The colors were dark and somber; there were no paintings on the walls…not even a portrait of her father!

Daddy! He'd know what to do! He and Mommy would know how to make things right again! If she couldn't find them, she'd look for Aunt Faba and Uncle Yero. They could help her, and besides, she had to tell them about Elfie!

She started to walk down the hall and realized that she heard no sounds. Even at nigh, her instinct told her, there were noises in the palace. How many times had she awakened in search of her mother only to meet one of the guards along the way? Each one of them would ask her what was wrong, take her hand, and lead her to her mother or father.

This time, there were no guards…anywhere! Now her steps quickened. Before long, she was in a dead run heading for the staircase. It was hard to remember to trust her instincts, but she tried, and they told her to go downstairs to the main rooms of the palace. Everywhere she looked she saw shadows and items that did not belong here. At every turn she missed things she had come to know and almost overlook.

She was almost at the bottom of the main staircase when she heard a blood-curdling scream and then a strange sort of almost 'monster-y' sound. Emaurie dropped to the floor, curling up as small as she could, holding onto the banister for dear life.

After a moment, she realized that she would find no answers here. She had to keep going. Standing up, she gave the banister one long, last stroke of her hand.

How many times had Daddy caught her sliding down this banister with Elfie? Wasn't it just yesterday when he had caught them again? Only this time, Mommy was sliding with them. Emaurie remembered how hard her mother had laughed as she ran back up the stairs to slide down again, only to be caught by her father at the bottom. He had kissed Mommy…hard.

Emmy felt something different now…she was angry! She wanted her home back! She wanted Elfie back! She knew now what she had to do. Walking toward the closed doors of the formal sitting room, the room she now knew the noise had come.

She made up her mind to get back her home, and her parents and her cousin, and her aunt and uncle…no matter what! Emaurie pushed against the doors and the scene before her drew a ragged scream from her throat.

There, on the floor of the room lay a man. He looked at her when she entered, fear in his eyes. He was covered in blood! However frightened she was, her keen eyes just made out a shape as it fled through the other doors.

It was large and hairy and left bloody prints on the floor before it disappeared.

A gurgling sound captured her attention. It was the man who had been attacked. His shirt and jacket were covered in blood and he was having trouble breathing. His eyes had never left her, though, and now he managed to hold his hand out to her. It was bloody and shaking, but Emaurie moved toward him quickly. His eyes looked afraid.

It was only after she took his hand that she recognized him. "Ambassador Gorrian?" Her voice was shaking, but only a little bit.

This man was a friend of her Aunt Glinda. Emmy remembered overhearing Aunt Faba and her mother wondering if this man was, 'the one'. He was very kind and seemed to like Aunt Glinda a lot.

Now, she held his hand and comforted him. "Don't worry, it's gone. You'll be alright. I'll find Mommy and Aunt Faba. They'll save you, I know it. Just don't give up, okay?"

Even as she spoke to him, Emaurie knew that he was going to die, and with one long, last gurgle from his throat and a squeeze to her hand, Ambassador Gorrian died.

Looking down at him, Emmy realized that even though he was dead, his eyes still stared at her in warning. Finally at her wits end, Emaurie let out a piercing scream that echoed through the empty palace hallways.

--

More terrified than she had ever been in her life, Emaurie shot to her feet. She wanted…no, needed her mother! She needed to be held by her father.

Blindly, she ran through the open doors and down the corridor. She had no idea where she was or what was happening. Emaurie only knew she needed to feel safe. She needed her parents, or if not them, she needed her Aunt Faba and Uncle Yero. She could make it right! He would keep her safe!

Tears spilled from her eyes and she rushed to wipe them, bumping into someone as she did.

This was not her mother! These were not Aunt Faba's arms that held her still!

In fear and frustration, the little girl fought to get away, but she was held tight. Then she heard a voice, a concerned female voice…one that she knew.

Finally able to see, she looked up and saw Joanne. She looked at her in confusion and then looked around herself.

Everything looked the way it should. She was in the upstairs corridor, down from her room.

A guard looked on in concern. Relief poured through Emaurie and she latched onto Joanne for dear life. Her mother's friend held her close and stroked her back, kneeling on the floor as she did.

"Hey, hey, it's alright! It's okay! Are you…are you sick? Is your cousin alright?"

Emaurie still looked at her in confusion. She still looked around in fear.

Again, softer this time, Joanne asked her, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

The guard nearby spoke to Joanne, "Shall I get the Queen, Ma'am?"

Having little experience with children, Joanne nodded. "Yes, please. Tell her that the Princess is safe though. I'll stay here with her."

He gave a nod and left. Joanne looked back at the child. For all her power, for all that she could do, she was just that, Joanne finally realized…a child.

Maureen's daughter was no different than other four-year-olds in most ways. She finally saw past the ways that she was different and saw only the ways she was the same as any other little girl. Joanne remembered being that age herself. Now she wiped stray tears from the girl's lovely green face and sat down on the floor, pulling her into her lap.

"Did you have a nightmare? You know… a bad dream? I had them all the time when I was your age."

She avoided the word 'little'. Even now she scowled as she remembered how much she hated being called that as a child.

Emaurie nodded slowly. "I…I guess so. It… it didn't seem like any of my other nightmares though. It felt real…but not real. Do you know what I mean?"

Joanne nodded slowly. "I think so. I mean, my scariest nightmares were always about normal things that sort of …turned inside out. Was yours like that…sort of normal at first and then suddenly nothing makes sense?"

Emaurie nodded violently. "First I woke up and Elfie was missing and then nothing looked the same and then there was nobody here so I went looking for everyone, and then I heard a noise and then there was a monster that killed a man. I know the man. He's a really good friend of Aunt Glinda. The monster killed him and he died holding my hand. He was scared…really, really scared."

Joanne hugged the little girl. No wonder she'd been so terrified!

"You know what?"

"What?" Emaurie answered, calmer now.

"That dream would have scared me too. I don't think I would have been brave enough to go looking for everyone, though. I probably would have stayed right where I was and waited for someone to find me."

Emmy looked her with sincerity. "But Elfie was missing. What if she needed me? I had to go look."

Joanne was speechless. Maureen's daughter had just summed up what was wrong with Joanne's whole life without realizing it. Whereas Maureen, Collins, and Angel, and even Mimi and Roger had braved what was ahead of them and gone searching for happiness, she, Joanne, had stayed put waiting for happiness to come to her. That's why they had all found love…however fleeting in some cases, but love none-the-less. She had to warn Mark not to make the same mistake.

"Thank you, Emaurie."

"For what?" The child asked.

"For reminding me what's important in life. For reminding me that life is not working late at the office and complaining about the past. It's about living and loving here and now. Thank you, I forgot that."

"You're welcome, Joanne" With that, Emaurie hugged her. "Thank you for helping me feel safe again."

Suddenly they could hear the pounding of footsteps racing towards them. Joanne gave Emmy one last squeeze and smiled at her, "It sounds like the cavalry's coming."

Maureen and Emrys, Elphaba and Fiyero spilled into the hallway, concern written over all their faces.

The minute Emaurie saw Maureen and Emrys, she jumped from Joanne's lap. They met in the middle, and Emaurie leapt into her mother's arms. It was hard to say who needed to hug who more. Emrys took his daughter from her mother, nestling her in his strong arms. Elphaba leaned in and stroked her niece's hair. Seeing she was safe and giving Emmy a wink, Fiyero moved to help Joanne to her feet.

"What happened, baby? Are you okay?" Maureen searched her daughter's face with concern.

"I had a really, really scary dream. It was awful! Joanne helped me, though."

Maureen caught her former lover's eyes with more gratitude than Joanne believed possible. The "Thank you!" was unmistakable.

Joanne spoke up, "We helped each other. Emaurie helped me realize that I need to learn to live in the present, not blame the past."

"It was really, really scary Daddy," Emmy continued. "At first Elfie was missing from our room."

Joanne saw Fiyero and Elphaba exchange a look and Fiyero ran down the hallway to the nursery. They saw him disappear and then reappear, smiling at Elphaba. Apparently, Elfie was still asleep.

"It's okay, Uncle Yero, it was just a dream. I'm glad, too, 'cause Ambassador Gorrian is nice. I wouldn't want him to die."

Everyone stopped what they were doing, saying, and thinking. Finally, Elphaba moved to her niece who was still safe and snug in her father's arms.

Elphaba stroked Emmy's cheek gently and asked, "Ambassador Gorrian, Emmy? Can you tell me what happened to him in your dream?"

The child nodded. "Sure Aunt Faba. Some kind of monster killed him, in our formal sitting room. I didn't see much of the monster, but Ambassador Gorrian was…was all bloody and I was holding his hand when he died. He was scared, Aunt Faba, really, really scared! The whole dream was…weird."

Elphaba's soft voice soothed the child as she took Emaurie from Emrys and balanced her on her hip. All the while, she rocked her back and forth gently.

"Weird how, Emmy? Can you tell me?"

Emaurie thought carefully. It wasn't as scary now, and she felt safe here in her aunt's arms.

"It was like it was real but it wasn't. Things were wrong. Home looked different and there was no one here and Elfie was gone and so was her bed and all her things, oh yeah, and I kept feeling that if I wanted things to be right again, I had to go looking for the sounds and the monster and poor Ambassador Gorrian. I remembered what you said about following my instincts, Aunt Faba. That's what they told me to do, so I did. It's just…I guess I got scared when he died looking at me and holding my hand."

Fiyero saw a spark in his wife's eyes as she asked questioningly, "Did you feel his hand, Emmy?"

She nodded her head now on Elphaba's shoulder. "I felt everything. Even the banister. Why?"

Elphaba looked down at her niece, her voice masking something, "Oh I just wondered. Sometimes I can feel things in my dreams too."

Emaurie yawned, almost asleep. "Good night, my Emmy, don't worry. You're safe."

She handed the almost sleeping child back to Emrys. Walking to the window, she opened it and stepped back. In only a few seconds, Chistery was there.

"Emmy, Chistery is going to stay with you and Elfie tonight so you feel safe, how's that?"

Emmy smiled and yawned again. "Good, we like Chistery a lot." Then she slept.

Elphaba nodded to Emrys and he headed off to the nursery. Elphaba spoke to Chistery.

"Stay with them? Keep them safe, my friend, but don't let them know."

And then he was gone.

Maureen and the others moved around Elphaba now. Maureen caught her sister by the shoulder and asked, "Okay, Faba. What's wrong? What's the big deal?"

"The big deal, Reena, is that sometimes I have the same kind of dreams. When I feel, it isn't a dream. It's a portent."

"A who?"

"A portent, a glimpse into the possible future. If I'm right, that was no simple nightmare, it was a warning."