Chapter Text
One singular moment can change the universe. It is the one drop in the ocean that creates ripples, that change everyone’s destiny. The one stubborn soul who refuses to cave in the face of terror, that became a legend. That one beat of your heart that skips and changes everything.
Sarah Alder changed the world when she released her song on that spring night in Salem. Her actions set the course of history, she changed the fate of all witches. She went against centuries of tradition. She used the songs she learned from her mother, and the skills she had learned from her father, to release her anger on the people of Salem. She turned on the people who had continually hunted her, had continually chased her- the people who were always seeking her blood. She looked into the eyes of her tormentors and screamed. She fought back.
One moment of courage changed the course of history, but what if it didn’t? What if Sarah Alder had never fought back? What would our world look like? What would the world be if her family never made it to the New World? What if their neighbor hadn’t seen the girls playing in the rain- what if they never went to Samuel Parris? What if one moment in time, seemingly innocent and unimportant, was altered… what would change?
One moment, one second, one heartbeat- that’s all it takes. One moment of locking eyes, one cosmic meeting of souls, and the world can change.
- - -
Raelle had been late. Another great start to a training day- her sisters were at each other's throats. Tally rolled her eyes in exasperation. She was tired of these young women, girls who were supposed to be her support, constantly being at odds. This was where she was supposed to find her family, in this witch's place. She was supposed to find her sisterhood, her coven- she was supposed to find her purpose.
All she had found was a disappointment.
Abigail and Raelle hated each other, the two mixing like oil and water. Tally had no one. Her mother hated her for leaving and her sisters apparently wanting nothing to do with her, their constant bickering almost guaranteeing the three positions as war meat. The only relationship she seemed to have was her somewhat cordial relationship with Sergeant Quartermaine. Anacostia was honest with her, always straight to the point, and never sugar-coated anything. She told her the truth, no matter how hard it was to hear. She told Tally about Abigail going to Alder, asking for reassignment, about her sister’s attempted desertion of her unit. Anacostia held them accountable and was training them to be the best- she wanted them to stay alive. Yet, while this relationship gave Tally hope of finding a place here, she had yet to find true comfort on these sacred grounds.
She found a brief reprieve in seeing Glory. Glory had brought her a sense of warmth and it was refreshing to be able to hold a part of home. Glory’s fear and anxiety, only proved to Tally that is was important she was here, even if her purpose was nothing more than bringing comfort to a friend. Holding Glory’s face between her palms, she was centered. She was able to breathe. She sunk into that warmth, reassuring Glory in her purpose, but also reminding herself why she had forgone her dispensation. She was at Fort Salem to fight, to protect her people and the rest of the country… she was here to help.
Tally stepped back from Glory, hearing footsteps approaching behind them. “We ran out, so we’re raiding your mess.” As General Clary approached Tally’s mind went blank. Here was a woman she idolized, a woman she revered. She had seen photos of the General in Reveille, there was a story on the mother and daughter duo fighting the Spree side by side last summer. This was the first time she had come face to face with someone she held on a pedestal, the closest thing was seeing General Sarah Alder at her welcome address, but they had no personal interaction, Tally was merely a face in the crowd.
Up close, Tally realized that General Clary was human. A silly thought, but Tally had simply forgotten that these women she so respected were, at the end of the day, soldiers just like her. They were not gods or superheroes, they were women seeking to protect those they love, just like her. Women who answered the call that their ancestors had been answering for centuries. A soldier she was awkwardly staring at and not addressing properly. “Ran out of…?” Smooth Tally. Way to make an impression. “Coffee.”
With a gasp Tally moved aside, apologizing for blocking the sought beverage. General Clary laughed at her awkward retreat and offered a compliment. “You remind me of my daughter.” The warmth in the General’s eyes was refreshing to Tally- a mother proud of her daughter’s choice to serve. Tally yearned for that support, that dedication from her own mother. Tally’s familial musings were quickly drowned out by her drill sergeant’s halting address.
Looking to her sisters as Anacostia described their competition, Tally came to a realization- she had to win this time off base, her unit had to win this time. They needed this. After their disastrous training time and continuous fights, they needed something to truly bring them together. Glancing to Glory with a soft smile as Anacostia finished describing the parameters of winning their prize, Tally headed back to her unit’s table.
“Best of luck ladies.” General Clary’s voice carried behind her. Glancing back with a smile, Tally saw the General nod and walk out of the mess behind Sergeant Quartermaine. Turning back to her unit's expectant gaze, Tally vibrated with excitement. “We have to do everything we can to win this time off base.”
Abigail rolled her eyes to the heavens at Tally’s excitement, while Raelle scoffed into her breakfast. Both clearly did not want to entertain their sister’s enthusiasm, but Tally would not be swayed. “I mean it you two. We are struggling and to be honest, you owe it to me.” At their affronted looks, but hesitant silence, she continued. “You both have been dragging your asses and fighting at every turn. Between Abigail trying to jump ship and Raelle’s inability to tell time, we are at the bottom of the pack. I gave up everything to be here when I didn’t have to… you owe me.” She held her sisters’ stares, she could tell Abigail wanted to object, but eventually, she sighed with a muttered assent and fell back into her chair, Raelle similarly agreeing moments later.
“Good. Now get rid of your trays and let's go, we are already late.” Tally grabbed Raelle’s plate and turned, dropping it in the trash as she headed towards the door.
“Tally?!?!?” Her sisters exclaimed as she headed out of the mess, with them hot on her heels. Well, that was one way to get them to work together.
- - -
General Sarah Alder completely abhorred surprise visits from the civilian President. They were unnecessary, a waste of time, and as of late, completely insulting. How dare this woman come into her home and insult her people this way. Condescending remarks and flippant mischaracterization of their work, all in an effort to make the General feel less than or unimportant. After everything she has given for this country, Sarah Alder should have more than earned the President’s respect.
But that is the problem isn’t it- Sarah hasn’t. She has not earned their respect and is unsure if she ever truly will. The civilian public sees her as a myth, while their leaders see her as merely a tool. A dog on a leash. The second she signed their Accords she became their pet, a weapon to win their wars. It is what she had to do to save her people, but that doesn’t make it right. Her decision has followed her for centuries, affecting every personal relationship (no matter the nature) she has ever had. Everyone assumes something of her on the basis of that one signature, that one moment. She did what she had to do, but it is always what she has had to do that has haunted her.
Sarah heard someone slowly approaching behind her and the Biddies- Anacostia. She would know her daughter’s gait anywhere, she had been hearing it down the halls of Fort Salem for years. Hustling to her lessons, running to tell her about her day, and sprinting to the mess before the breakfast rush. As her daughter’s steps slowed to a stop beside her, Sarah does not move her eyes from the President’s departing vehicle.
“Let’s walk.”
She cherished these moments, quiet time with her daughter. Granted, they were talking strategy or about her growing cadets, but it was time. It was time they got to spend together, and if there was one thing that Sarah Alder cherished- it was time. She had lost so many through the years that she learned you need to savor the moments you have, no matter how they are spent. Her daughter had grown so much in the past few years. She had developed into a fine soldier, a treasured confidant for Sarah. Anacostia had truly flourished here at Fort Salem, but Sarah feared the day she would pull away. That was why she treasured this time, Sarah never knew how much of it she had left.
Up ahead of their imposing group, Sarah saw the fosterlings huddled with their guardians. A soft smile appeared on her features, she always loved her time with fosterlings, however fleeting. They were the future of her people and she was charged with their protection. They reminded her of simpler times when children raced across the fields of Fort Salem with little worry, with little fear of the world around them. She glanced at Ana, seeing the soft smile reflected on her daughter’s face. She was once one of them- it was how they came together.
“Well, hello there.” She knelt down as the fosterlings ran to her, one jumping up onto her knee. Holding them close she whispered a prayer to the Mother for protection. She hated that these poor darlings had to be alone in this world. Yes, they had each other and the protection of everyone at Fort Salem… but Sarah knew what it was like to lose your family.
Sarah Alder, for all her accolades and accomplishments, was an orphan. She felt the loss of her family keenly, and it was why she took such an interest in the fosterlings- she was one of them. Like many on the hallowed grounds of Fort Salem, she knew what it was like to lose the ones she loved. It was why she tried to shelter the young ones from that pain. She gave them a space together so that they could grieve, heal, and grow. It was what she wished she had in those early years after the Accords. It was the coven she thought she had found but ultimately lost.
“A blessing on you children, so you can stay safe and strong.” The General closed her eyes, imbuing work into her next words, demanding of the Goddess safety for these children. “My word is done. As the rising moon and the setting sun.” The Biddies and her daughter joined her in the work, her chosen family strengthening her blessing. With a shining smile and hope for the future, she took one last look at the fosterlings and stood.
“Go play.”
She stood, turning her eyes from the younglings, and her world tunneled to a singular gaze, as glacial blues met the warmth of amber for the first time.
- - -
Her sisters were complaining the whole way out of the mess hall. Berating her for making them leave, questioning her desire to be first to training… but they were doing it together and Tally had to start somewhere.
They were headed down the path to the training center, across the main courtyard, when Tally felt a pulling in her gut. It was a strange sensation, one she had since she was a child. Her mother called it simple intuition, but Tally knew it was something more. Her mother's unease and trepidation in discussing it ensured it was about her skills as a witch, so Tally went looking elsewhere for answers. When she disclosed this feeling to some of the retired witches back on the compound, they told her to hold it tight and that it was something that would serve her well in the army. They told her it was her natural ability as a Knower, an instinct that would protect her from harm and guide her on her path. She never forgot that, so she never ignored that instinct.
Slowing her pace slightly, her sisters seamlessly falling in line, Tally turned towards the center of the courtyard. There, in the mid-day sun was the General… or was it? Yes, it was General Sarah Alder, but she looked far more like a person than a General. She looked human with the small fosterlings crowding around her as if she was their personal jungle gym. Anacostia and the Biddies were there too, all smiling down at the scene in front of them like it was something they saw every day, not the General of the United States Armed Forces being cuddled by a bunch of toddlers.
The General was smiling, had Tally ever seen her truly smile? She saw her photo in Reveille and on the recruitment posters, but this was different. In those glossy photos the General never smiled, she always was looking straight into the camera with a blank facial expression. She would project control, power, and an elegance Tally had always admired. Yet, Tally thought she preferred her smiling. Now, gone were the lines of worry, of responsibility that normally marred the General’s features in her forced photoshoots. In their place was joy and light, a hope for the future. She smiled on these fosterlings with the force of the sun, demanding their protection- forcing the Goddess to hear her. Tally thought she looked beautiful.
As the General stood, Tally let the thrumming of her magic, her knowing, lead her focus and their eyes met across the courtyard.
Tally felt her entire body still, her mind stop. Sarah’s breath caught, her mind void of chatter for the first time in centuries. Sarah had not felt this clarity, this trueness, since the trials. Since the moment she was standing on that scaffolding, staring at her sister's swinging body. Tally had never felt such calmness, such serenity. It was like she was feeling the warmth of the summer sun for the first time.
The world completely stood still- silence echoing around them. This was one of those moments, those grand events that are written about in history. Gone was the General, gone was the Cadet- they were simply two people, locking eyes for the first time. Two hearts recognizing a twin flame.
In that heartbeat, their souls became one.
To Tally, it was a shock to the system, an electric connection. All the air left her lungs and she was frozen, but then she was jostled by her sisters and back on the way to training.
To Alder, it was a buzzing under her skin, an immediate reaction she had not ever felt in her centuries on this Earth. Yet as quickly as it happened, the Biddies wordlessly reminded her of a meeting and she was on her way with a smile to Anacostia.
Neither looked back at the other, shaking the strange moment off as a glitch in time. Neither witch truly realized what had happened, neither heeded what the Goddess was telling them… but they would. They would have to, because that moment changed everything.