Disclaimer, you know.
It was a nice spring day after a lesson with the professor that the group of them had decided to go and spend some time at the riverside and docks. Setting up a little picnic for themselves. Dorothy was laying with Ozma in the grass. The slippers and satchel holding the Grimmerie set to the side. she smiled. Tin Man, Scarecrow, Lion, Marshall Mallow, and the China princess had taken Tugg down the river on an excursion to candy county. Wiser was doing some more flying around.
Betsy, Trot, Annabella, Emma were engaged in a game of tag, with Polly interestingly keeping score.
Nadia was chatting with Brianna, Alison, Caitlyn and Chrissy. She had made something of a friend group out of Ellie's Fellow soldiers. Zeb and Elena were on the river bank, skipping stones together. Neither of them having admitted their feelings for each other yet. Though both having that desire. Tora was sat fairly close by with Jon, Oscar, and Cap'n Bill, Aislynn was sat there her nose in a book, her back against her grandfathers facing away from everyone and the action.
Every now and again Dorothy would glance over at The Wizard and the others and notice them looking back over at them. She would wave every now and again, locking fingers with ozma smiling. Eventually the shadow of a large wolf would fall over the two of them. Alex had gone out for a run while Annabella had been engaged and returned at this time. transforming back he chuckled looking down at both of them, appearing upside down with how they were laying
"Enjoying yourselves?" Alex asked curiously.
"Content." Dorothy said reaching into her dress and taking out his ring, handing it to him
"Have a good run?" Ozma asked with a giggle.
Alex slipped the ring on, walking over to their feet and sitting down, facing the others.
"depends on what you call good, I didn't get attacked if that's what you meant." He said with a chuckle.
Dorothy and Ozma both giggled and pushed themselves up into a sitting position.
"well, that's certainly a positive" Dorothy said leaning forward to kiss him.
"Surprised Ellie and Jude haven't made an appearance." Alex said moving his head to kiss her back.
"Honestly, so am I." Ozma said looking at the others "you'd think they'd love to take advantage of the general lack of supervision."
"Perhaps they are." Dorothy giggled, "ill go see if I cant find them." She said getting to her feet "alex, you and Ozma can relax I'll hopefully only be a couple of minutes." She said padding off, not bothering to grab the slippers or even the scepter.
As she ran back to the palace, and got inside, she found things eerily quiet. Quieter than usual, as she walked along the halls.
"Finley, you're usually around somewhere these days, can you come out?" Dorothy called into the palace, raising her voice.
"they cant hear you." Came a voice from behind her which gave her a start. "well, mostly." she added.
She whipped around and was met with the mysterious girl again. leaned against the wall, diary in hand, which she scratched something out.
"you know, you're just as bad as Maddie, turning up with little fanfare." Dorothy said catching her breath, then registering what the girl had said, "what do you mean they cant hear me, whats wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"nothings wrong, yet anyways." The girl said walking off, dorothy quickly following after her.
"and how am I supposed to take that?" Dorothy asked worriedly
"however you'd like, doesn't change a thing, for your guy's little day out, Elphaba appealed to time for a request" the girl said with a grin that made Dorothy shudder.
"And she did this because?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"You guys have earned it, the peace, the relaxation, but so long as glinda is tempted to keep a watchful eye on you, theres always something tingling at the back of your neck and keeping you uneasy." The girl said smiling, again dorothy shuddering.
"and what was the appeal she made?" Dorothy asked as she suddenly found herself with the girl in front of Ellie's bedroom, the two of them conversing with each other on her bed, a plate of crackers and cheese between them and a bowl of fruit.
She walked into the room, looking at her best friend. And it was then that she realized she couldn't hear them. They were speaking yes, but they couldn't be heard. To her this was strange but not entirely unusual.
"we're…out of step with them?" Dorothy asked waving her hand in between them, still getting no response.
"separated time tracks, they've made a picnic for themselves by the looks of it." She said smiling warmly at them
Dorothy nodded and stepped out of the bedroom.
"I assume things will be back to normal by, I assume sundown?" Dorothy asked curiously.
"you would assume correctly, Madeline, as I know you're wondering." She said holding up her diary "isn't apart of this, she's not with you guys because…" the thumbed back through to her page, "oh yes, she's back at her old home, searching for a couple of extra silver buckles."
"Oh…right, she used to get those from Roquat didn't she?" Dorothy asked, thinking about the time she had ended up as mostly rabbit.
"yes, yes she did." The girl said sighing and scratching another thing out "and unfortunately at present Roquat isn't around."
"hopefully he turns up, I really do hope he's alright." Dorothy said heading towards Glinda's room.
The girl followed her curiously, as she walked along. She found the door open. Both Glinda and Elphaba were sat on the bed. Glinda's head rested on Elphaba's shoulder. She appeared to be asleep while Elphaba had her attentions on a book. Her own feet bare and propped up on a chair in front of her. she pushed a pair of reading glasses up her nose and smiled as her gaze fell in the direction of dorothy. She looked up.
Dorothy turned around and noticed that the girl had conspicuously vanished just in time for Elphaba to notice. She placed a finger to her lips as she looked at dorothy. Summoning forth a pad and pencil. She realized, faintly, that she could hear her writing big letters, large enough to read. She held up the page.
"we are the center of the time distortion." Dorothy read quietly to herself as Elphaba scribbled something else down and held it up "I can largely see and hear you, and so can Glinda, its why I have her asleep." She read.
Dorothy nodded, but looked really confused. Elphaba nodded and took a moment to write quite a bit out and floated the book over to dorothy. She read quietly to herself.
"you guys deserve to have a somewhat fun and relaxing time, so I decided it would be best to try and isolate you guys' from glinda's watch. Negotiated with time to do separate time tracks. Give the palace a bit of silence. Ellie and Jude volunteered to stay behind with Nessa and be pulled in as well. since you two were good enough to get her some leave from glinda's eyes months ago. she is sorry though, and will try to make it up to you at some point, she promises. It'll last til sundown when everything will synchronize again. this room is the center point of it all and I don't want Glinda to wake up and accidentally get you pulled into it. I know what I'm doing I think." she read, it wasn't any clearer, but at least she understood the logic behind it. she nodded and tucked the pad under her arm, backing away from the room.
The only sounds she could hear were her own breathing, her heartbeat, and her bare feet against the floor. It wasn't the first time she felt properly isolated, it wouldn't be the last time she was sure as she turned and found the girl once more stood behind her, giving dorothy another start. She scratched something else out of her diary and snapped it shut.
"content?" the girl asked curiously.
"Kitten!?" she heard alex calling loudly.
"well I am now, I was worried I might have become part of this." She said sighing in relief.
She ran to meet alex by the throne room.
"when you weren't back in 10 minutes I decided it best to check on you, what's happened?" Alex asked curiously.
Dorothy presented him with the pad of paper. He read it and sighed.
"so, Elphaba is on the defensive of glinda's meddling." He said, he shrugged, "well it cant be helped now it seems." He rolled his eyes, and was met with the girl, he immediately growled.
"Down boy." She said with a giggle
"You again, every time you turn up…" And Dorothy clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Muzzling the dog, great plan." The girl said giggling, "anyways, yes, time is being messed with, where else would I be?" she said
"Apart from being general exposition, and warning us that everything that happens is meant to happen, predetermined, already lived, and you cant change it, is there anything else that you actually ARE able to do?" Alex asked genuinely curious.
The girl grinned again, this once more got a shudder from dorothy, but no reaction at all from alex.
"well, you basically hit the nail on the head, it's the reason why most of our meetings, none of you can remember. You'll know I was around, and in this case you still have the pad so you know something's up with time, you'll know I was here." She said smiling warmly at them, "It's never easy"
"what, seeing the past like this?" Alex interjected before dorothy could say anything.
The girl nodded, but said nothing more. She simply walked past them, boots clacking against the floor. Humming a tune that sounded familiar to dorothy, but she couldn't place it. the two of them followed the girl, but as she rounded the corner, and they followed, they found she had vanished. Already most of their discussion with her starting to fade from their minds.
"what do we know about her?" Alex asked quickly "apart from the fact that she's able to utilize the scepter?"
"that she comes from the future, she was able to give us little sneak previews of whats to come at occasion, heck she even acted as couriers with messages from ourselves to ourselves pretty much." Dorothy said sighing as they walked out of the palace.
"Honestly, I don't like her, and I cant place why." Alex said a growl entering his voice "I'm having fuzzier memories about my watch but that's the least of the worrys."
"to know what happens, you couldn't change even if you wanted to." Dorothy said nodding "and considering the warning, I should probably just be preparing to throw the Grimmerie open and cast the first spell I find"
"Not the best strategy, Kitten." He said in response, "considering we have no idea what all those spells are capable of and you haven't so much as opened that book since it came into your possession."
"and nothing is compelling me to either." Dorothy said sighing "we know somethings coming, even without the girl, remember that dream we all shared?"
"yes, someone else is pulling strings in this show." Alex said taking dorothy's hand "and we will get through it together, you know we will."
Dorothy smiled and nodded as they got back out to the field, it took them a minute to explain what was going on. Alyssa and Terrance had finally joined them, taking time off from maintaining The Gale. The girls were rather shocked to learn that Ellie played a part in this. They all collectively agreed at this point, considering her general attitude that if anyone deserved peace at the moment it was her.
"I think she's trying to be the perfect friend, and not take advantage of your kindness, without paying you back." Ozma said taking dorothy's hand "But that doesn't fix her problem in general."
Dorothy nodded, and sighed. She could feel something, like a distant storm. Brewing in the wake of everything. A force was building up strength, and she knew as usual it would come for her. what she would do about that this time, she was unsure.