Disclaimer, you know. And a fair word of warning, this is yet another songfic chapter.
The Holidays were largely pleasant back at the palace. it had been nice to have everyone together there again.
Christmas Day was now upon them and they had done their gift exchange. It was basically tradition at this point for everyone to come up with some kind of a scheme to get Dorothy and Alex once more under the mistletoe. However this year they both had a plan of their own as well, and that was getting Zeb and Elena under it as well.
That morning, once everything had been put away. Alex excused himself while everyone was talking. He made his way to the infirmary, where he knew Zeb and Elena would eventually excuse themselves too. It was basically the only place to truly get peace and everyone knew it.
With the help of windy, he hung it over the desk, which seemed the best place to do it. he worked diligently and quickly.
However elsewhere in the palace. Ellie decided to get herself lost for a bit. she wasn't sure if it had been done deliberately or not, but she had found herself able to see through Glinda's eyes for a moment. And she saw the papers on her desk, seeing something she felt she genuinely shouldn't have done. She quickly sealed off the connection again herself. but what she saw concerned her, all of them. from what she could view, the papers mentioned that Glinda herself had chosen to mess with time. she knew now why her memories were so screwy. She had been collateral damage in everything.
Glinda wanted her to be perfect, to make up for the mistakes she had made, but in trying to get Ellie to that point she had started pushing her away. She wanted to run now more than ever, so she did, sprinting along the hall she was in, and ran smack into Jude, nearly knocking him over.
"Whoa there Ellie, where's the fire?" Jude asked worriedly.
Ellie took a moment to compose herself, she said nothing, taking his hand, she walked with him. they walked through the hallways and soon found themselves ascending upwards. The tower Glinda had used when she had tapped into the power of the Grimmerie. As they got to the top and felt to cold air hit them…it didn't feel like it was biting as much as it should have for what they weren't wearing.
"she's worked it out, why there are four sets of memories." Came a familiar voice.
They turned to see that mysterious girl yet again. her outfit wasn't suited for the weather either.
"And its scared me, to know that I am basically collateral damage, the smothering is all just so I might not notice." Ellie said, trying to hold back some tears, Jude wrapping his arms around her tightly.
"Ellie, better you hear this from me, but you need to run, pick a day, and just run." The girl said not even opening the diary for once.
Ellie took a deep breath in, and exhaled a long breath in return. She looked at the girl, it was weird now how she was talking. Because this made it sound like she still had a choice.
"If you're from the future, you already know what choice I've made." Ellie said looking at her "so why are you suddenly trying to encourage it?"
"because time being in flux isn't just me making sure things still play out as they would, its stopping at the crossroads as well and making sure everything is tidy." She said, her eyes never leaving her, "time being in flux, the closer we get to the events that cause it, the more and bigger the ripples are, the more the changes are at stake, I remember things many ways at the moment, but when I go back to my time the memories solidify, it will happen many more times, until you reach the point where I will have to start the cycle in the right direction." The girl said smiling warmly,
"but I cant just abandon them, my team, my friends." Ellie said shaking her head.
"Its not abandoning them, they know your problems Ellie, they want to help you, they keep trying." The girl said sighing, "but you also need to take the chance."
"and what of you, what was your stance of all of this?" Jude asked curiously.
"this is my punishment, and my reward, having to do all this." The girl said chuckling darkly, "you both wont remember most of this encounter, I know that for a fact."
"so…I still have the choice, I can let this fester, I can let this build up until I eventually snap, probably at my sister for wanting me to be the perfect double for her, the perfect heiress." Ellie said taking in another sharp deep breath
"or you can go off on your own for a while, break away from it all." The girl said nodding.
"not be bound to your sister's perfection" Jude added smiling.
Ellie looked at the girl, and met her eyes. She saw sorrow there, and something else, she wasn't sure about it though.
"but what about you? If this is a crossroads, what about you?" Ellie asked curiously,
The girl smiled, tucking the diary away she turned to look out over the land of Oz.
"something is coming, something big. It will push many out of their comfort zone and into new territory." The girl said with an air of sadness to her voice
"and you want me specifically to be ready for it." Ellie said with a nod.
The girl nodded but didn't look away from the view.
Breakaway
Girl
Grew up in a small town
and when the rain would fall down
I'd just stare out my window
Dreaming of what could be
and if I'd end up happy
I would pray
Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Ellie
Trying to belong here
but something feels so wrong here
Both
So I prayed
I could break awaaay
Girl
Just spread your wings
and you'll learn how to fly
We do what it takes
til we touch the sky
Time to
make a wish
take a chance
make a change
And break away
Out of the darkness
and into the sun
But never forget
The ones that we love
Gotta
Take a risk
Take a chance
make a change
And break away
Break away
Got to feel a warm breeze
sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the oceans
Ellie
Get aboard that fast train
Girl
Fly up on an air plane
Far away
And break awaaaay
Ellie
so I'll spread my wings
And I'll learn how to fly
to do what it takes til I touch the sky
I gotta, make wish, take a chance, make a change
and break away,
Out of the darkness and into the sun
but I wont forget the people I love
and I'll take a risk
take my chance
make a chance
And break away
Girl
Buildings with 100 floors
Swinging 'round revolving doors
Ellie
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me
but, I have keep moving on
Moving on
Fly away
Break away
Girl
Just spread your wings
and you'll learn how to fly
Ellie
It wont be easy to tell them goodbye
but I've got to
Take a risk
take my chance
Make a change
And break away
Out of the darkness and into the sun
I wont forget the place I come from
But I've to take that risk, take a chance, make a change
and break away
Break away
Ellie took a deep breath, tears streaming down her cheeks now. she knew what she had to do, she had to make a plan now. she looked at the girl in front of her and Jude.
"Who-who are you?" Ellie asked pulling out of Jude's grasp
She looked at the girl, looked her in the eyes. She was beginning to hate the girl now. she knew Glinda had a resentment to this girl, and she could guess why. But as she looked at the girl in the eye. She felt her anger bubble up a little, and she saw it, seeing red. She let her intrusive thought give in
"I hate you!" she screamed out
The girl nodded and wrapped her arms around ellie. A strong embrace wrapped around her. one that seemed to be able to match her own if not more
"I hate you, so much." Ellie said, realizing it, why she was saying it. "I don't care why, I don't care how."
"I know, you're welcome." She said warmly, softly.
The girl released her, finally pulling her diary out again, scratching something out of her diary. She took a deep breath and grinned wide. Ellie and Jude both shuddered. Ellie's legs buckled under her, Jude caught her as she almost fell to her knees, she sobbed and cried there for several minutes. The girl had vanished, but that thought now was in Ellie's mind. Jude held her close, held her tight.
"whatever it is Ellie, I'll be with you all the way, we can do this together, you and me." Jude said firmly.
"are you sure Jude?" she asked looking at him worriedly.
"more than anything I've ever been sure about Ellie, ill be right by your side." he said "wherever and whenever you want, it hurts that we'll abandon the people we care about, but you're suffering Ellie, and and its hurting them more to see you in this state." He said pulling her to her feet and kissing her,
Ellie hugged him tightly, into her trademark crushing hug.
"we have to plan Jude…I want to tell her…at least…give" She stopped herself, she realized that the more she tried to rationalize telling her, but knew that if she actually let her know, then she might not be able to ever leave.
"Dorothy…Dorothy Madeline Louise gale, today, here and now I release you from your promises." Ellie said, her voice echoed into a whisper,
She felt it, the line sever, the vow break. And that traveled through the palace. dorothy was in the chambers with Ozma and the others, alex having returned to the chambers as well. she found herself staggering, a whispering in her head, I release you from your promises. She didn't know why, but she felt tears suddenly track down her cheeks. What this was, it didn't sound familiar, but the idea of it, in her head.
Without realizing it, she found herself back in her room, sat on her bed. She didn't know what she had been crying about. But she had been, as though something had shattered in her, fractured, and her heart now was trying to pull it all together again. she was trying to hold on to whatever it was. The promise wasn't broken but she was bound to it no longer. What promises she was not sure.
"She alright?" Elphaba asked coming in with a cup of tea.
"I don't even know what's wrong." Dorothy said blinking the tears out of her eyes.
She took the cup of tea and sipped it, she felt the warmth course through her. she took a deep breath and began to calm down. She sighed.
"I don't know what happened either." Madeline said leaned against the wall, "something happened, I don't know it, but she heard something and it felt to me like something shattered, and broke." She said pulling a cup of tea from her own hat.
Elphaba looked at dorothy with her head tilted to the side like a curious dog. She held her hand out for a moment, it began to glow. Alex and Ozma looked concerned. But nothing happened. Elphaba bit her bottom lip and sucked on it.
"Nothing magical, that checked for magical damage, so no one tried to hex her or anything…" Elphaba said thinking about it for a moment.
"interesting." Dorothy said sipping the cup of tea again
"very…because that means it was something else." Maddie said darkly
"I heard, 'I release you from your promises' I don't know why but just hearing that snapped something it feels." She said, her mind drifting to ellie.
"You've broken promises before though, why would being told you were released from them having that kind of effect on you?" Alex asked curiously.
"Depends on the power of that promise." Elphaba said darkly
Dorothy nodded and sat there in silence for a moment. Her mind kept drifting to Ellie again. the promises they held each other too. She wondered…feared that it might be from her, she wanted to give ellie the benefit of the doubt but wouldn't blame her if she wanted to go. If it came down to it, she wouldn't fight her best friend at that point, where she risked losing her. and that risk was high now, she knew it was.
Song, Breakaway, lyrical changes once again by me
Well, been a while since I've put a note down here, and much longer since I did a holiday chapter that wasn't completely happy.