Chapter 22
By Schammielynn
"So the screaming between you and Oswin. What was it?" Terrence addressed carefully. "I would guess that you two never fought."
"Not usually. He just keeps stuff from me a lot."
"What was it this time?"
I popped a few snowflakes in the air and juggled them for a little bit, trying my best not to tear up, "I know who my real mom is."
"Wait, wait, wait," he sat up from his spot on his tree branch and I looked up from mine. Although we were much older, the tree was huge and it wasn't any effort for it to cradle us in its branches. "Like your Enchanted Forest mom?"
"You bet."
"Who?"
"Her name is Regina. Apparently she was from a family of people with strong magic; which explains my ice."
"And?"
"And…" I sighed. "Zelena's my aunt."
I could tell he almost fell out of the tree at that, and I looked up at him. "I can't say I'm totally surprised. The targeted attacks, magic, my lack of ability to make friends, ya know. There had to have been a reason."
"Come on, let's get out of the tree." He weaseled his way out of the tree and helped me down as well. We took a seat on the bench below.
"What?" I said, curious as to why he looked so serious.
"I know how you're mind works, Ess. Not for one moment, one moment, should you think that you are anything like Zelena. You could never be that evil even if you tried. Just because you found out you're related, doesn't mean that you're like her."
Although I hadn't told it to anybody, Terry, as usual, had hit the nail on the head. I bit my lip, and he continued, seeing that I was still uneasy.
"Your power can be used for good. You've still got so much life ahead of you, and I just know you're going to prove that you're a wonderful, talented, special, brilliant person. So don't you worry. Whoever your mother is, she can be damn proud you're her daughter. Just like Aly and Oswin already are." He took a deep breath. "You don't know it, but you've been a light in everyone's life around here, no matter what you think. Life would be very different for a lot of people if you'd never come to the Emerald City. Especially me."
He looked into my eyes, and there, under our favorite tree in the most beautiful garden of Oz, Terrence and I shared our first kiss.
The months practically flew by in front of our eyes. The Emerald City and the land around it began to transform back to normal, I turned 16, and head over heels was probably an understatement.
Oswin knew that Terrence and I considered ourselves a couple; there was no way he couldn't have known. He was perfectly fine with it, as Terrence now resided at an orphanage assistant where he had grown up only minutes away.
It was all fine and dandy, until the crystal ball.
I was waiting for Terrence to knock on the door to take me out to the garden's for the day, so when there was a knock, I didn't think anything of it.
When I opened the door, there was nothing there except for a globe-sized glass orb.
"Oswin!" I called. "Come here."
A few minutes later, we stood there staring at the orb, wondering what it could possibly be.
"I mean look at it," I commented, reaching down to stare at it. "It looks harmless."
Oswin picked it up and rolled it around in his hands, "It's completely normal."
That's what both of it thought until it glowed bright green, and Oswin dropped it on the ground. Any normal ball of glass would have shattered, but a burst of black and green fog shot out of it, while part of it stayed inside. Oswin waved his hand over the orb to figure out what it was. Then, in what appeared to be panic, sent a blast of magic to get it out of the Emerald City, and it soared away.
"What was that?"
"Zelena. Sh-She used that crystal ball like a way to keep her magic. Dorothy…." he seemed at a loss of breath. "Dorothy never killed her, only trapped her. Inside that ball. And I released her."
"How?"
"Those are magic holding cells, and can only be opened by somebody with magic." His hands were on his head and I could tell he was trying hard not to freak out. "She planned this. If she died, she would have a way to preserve herself that wouldn't weaken her, but make her stronger. That fog was Zelena. She's back."
As bad as this was, I couldn't not help but worry about Oswin. Usually so calm and collected, he was nearing what I feared would be an anxiety attack. With my magic uncharacteristically in control, I did my best to take care of Oswin.
"Okay, Oswin. Let's go inside." I searched the skies for anything that seemed dangerous, and when it looked clear, I ushered him in and shut the door, locking it tight.
"She can't have… Essie, what if…" His eyes shot to me. "She'll kill you. That's how she got away with it with Aly, putting her life or her magic into another object until she was revived."
I didn't know what else to do, so I just wrapped my arms around him and clutched him tight.
"We're going to be okay, you and I," I said quietly. "We're going to be okay. We always have been, and we always will be."
He pulled away, a look of stone cold seriousness in his eyes, "I'm sending out the word. Forces will be deployed tomorrow. I'm sorry Essie, but that means Terrence too."
"What?! No! NO!" I shrieked, beginning to feel my emotions slipping out of control.
A knock sounded on the door, and Terrence looked angry as I opened it.
"She's out there," he cried. "She's writing in the skies. Warnings and threats and that Oz is rightfully hers."
"Of course," Oswin grumbled. "Terrence… You… the Ozian army…"
"It's all so fast," he whispered to himself. "I know, Sir. I will be on full lookout."
"You'll be a higher ranking soldier, this time, Terrence. I have high expectations of what you will accomplish. As for today, there's not much we can do. You're welcome to stay here with Essie and I until you deploy."
"Certainly, Sir."
After Terrence had packed and returned, the chefs cooked us a warm meal and we sat down for dinner. None of us had much of an appetite, and I had hardly spoken since I learned of Terry's deployment.
"How long do you think we'll be gone, Oswin?" Terrence asked, trying to spark conversation.
"A while. Getting the troops to Zelena will be harder. Getting Zelena will be harder."
"Isn't there some end-all magic battle that you can do? You're the most powerful man in Oz."
"It doesn't work like that. My light magic is powerful, but it's nothing against her level of dark magic."
"What about me?" I spoke up angrily. "She's my aunt. Can't I face her?"
"No." Both of them snapped.
"You can't just ice her into a statue and be done, Elsa. It's Zelena. She got out of an Ozian pact by preserving her life. You've got power, but you're still too young," Oswin explain with an edge to his voice.
"I can't let innocent people die," I looked at him desperately.
"And I can't let the city go unprotected. The army is getting deployed no matter what we do."
"I'm not hungry," I muttered, my voice breaking. "I'll be in my room."
As I bounded up the stairs and to the hallway, I heard Oswin say, "Go talk to her. She'll listen to you."
I sat in bed and waited for Terrence to come into my room.
I heard a few knocks on my bedroom door, then he stepped in. "Hey."
"Hey."
"You know I'm going to be fine, right? Can't be worse than last time."
"That's what I'm worried about. What if I never see you again?"
"You will."
"But…"
"But nothing, Essie." He kissed me quickly and then pulled away.
With no hesitation, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him harder. "I can't lose you." I whispered, leaning my forehead against his.
"Shh," he hushed gently.
"Will you stay with me? Just for the night?"
"I don't think…"
"You can sleep on my couch by the bookshelf? Or I will. I just… If this is our last time together, I don't want to spend it in different rooms."
He nodded and we made him a bed out of my couch that I usually used for reading. The book he had returned to me was sitting on it when we were putting down pillows and sheets.
"Can I take this with me again?"
"Of course," I said, biting back tears. "Remember this?" I revealed an old puzzle book and a stack of cards that so often occupied us when we were younger.
"Wanna play?"
I nodded.
Our last night together, we played cards, did a puzzle and I curled up in his arms while we read our favorite book together.
"Good night, Essie," he whispered as he kissed me gently, and then hugged me close.
"Good night." I tried to smile, but he and I both knew that we were faking our happiness.
Maybe there was a part of me that knew it would be quite some time before I saw Terry again. After he had dozed off and I removed Aly's ring to put it into it's box, all I could do was lay in bed and cry, doing my best not to wake the brave tin man that slept across the room from me.
I woke up in the morning to the curtains of my room keeping out all of the light. Terrence, wherever he was, was definitely a quiet sleeper, and I wondered how much longer he would be out before I had to wake him up.
I yawned and stretched, and finally decided it was a good idea to turn on my bedside lamp so I could read until Terry woke up.
As soon as the light flicked on, my heart dropped to my toes.
Terrence was gone.
"Terrence?! TERRY!" I cried out, wondered where on earth he could have gone. Maybe he was downstairs, eating breakfast, or maybe he had run into town for a bit before he was deployed.
"OSWIN!" I shrieked, bolting out of my room and down the stairs. He was already at the dining room table, and, nothing new, he was looking upset at a piece of toast.
"Have you seen Terrence?" I asked.
"He left a few hours ago for the army, and boarded the train at 6."
"Without saying goodbye? How could he… I-I… No."
I broke down. Snow blasted out of my hands and I fell to the ground, ice and frost creeping out around me.
"I thought I had it under control. At least by now… that… that anything like this wouldn't set it off. But he left me without so much as to wake me up and tell me that he was leaving and now… what if I never see him again?"
Oswin got up and out of the chair and knelt down on the floor next to me. He melted the ice and put a hand on my shoulder.
"I know this is hard on you, and I tried to talk him out of it, really I did, but he said you'd understand, and that, well, he didn't want to say goodbye."
"I can't believe he's gone," I sobbed.
Oswin helped me up while I tried not to haphazardly blast snowflakes everywhere, "He's not gone Essie. He's just away. And he'll be back."
"I'd like to believe that too. But you and I both know he's walking into a death trap. It's Zelena. She's out for blood. She'll destroy the army, then us, then…."
"What happened to wanting to fight her, hm? Don't lose your bravery now. Terrence is going to be just fine. What did you tell me the other day, hm? You said we were all going to be okay. I received word that already her monkeys and warriors are falling back with the little force we've sent out last night. And if that's the case, there's hope. Don't lose that insatiable positivity that you've always had."
I nodded, hardly able to speak a word, and decided to go back up to my room. Maybe getting ready for the day, pretending everything was really normal, would get my mind off of it.
As I walked in, I pulled out my outfit and reached on my nightstand for Aly's ring. Except it wasn't there. Panic, for the second time that morning, pulsed through my veins. I leafed around on my dresser, my nightstand, everything, until I saw the box for it on my desk, on top of a piece of stationary.
Terrence's unmistakable handwriting greeted me when I walked over. While he hadn't said goodbye, he had left me a note;
Ess,
Sorry I left so early, and that I didn't say goodbye, but I knew that if I did stick around, it would have been a lot harder to leave you. I hope you can forgive me when I get back.
I bet you're wondering why Aly's ring is here. Remember when you told me that Oswin once took the ring and used it to promise himself to Aly? Think of it this way, this is my promise to you.
I will be back. We will see each other again. And I will always, always be yours.
Love your best friend,
Terry
I slid the ring back onto my finger, sat on the couch, and in a burst of emotions, let out a scream and frosted over my entire bedroom.
Who was I kidding? Nothing would ever be normal again.