Children of the Emerald Hearts

Part 1

DG rested her head in an expression of boredom on one of her hands, leaning herself on an arm on the throne. A jewel encrusted crown glittered on the very top of her head and she had not worn her jean jacket or skin tight jeans for some time. For a week or so she guessed. They had been replaced with a light violet silk dress lined in just about every possible area with pure white lace. Her older sister, Azkadelia had requested to give the throne to DG shortly after the defeat of the witch, saying that she did not want to chance falling into another similar trap someday. DG should be able to avoid such things much easier, mother, Azkadelia's voice echoed in DG's mind. DG had just had her first full week as Queen of the O.Z. and she would fully agree- it was not a fun job. Monday's to-do list was to reinstate the Tin Men as the main police force and terminate the Long Coats, then adjust the tax levels, appoint a new captain of the guard, oversee the first wave of legal cases that Azkadelia had rejected… It was not just Monday either. Monday through Friday were all brimming with royal work and none of it was easy.

She was glad to have a breather, but not the same over being bored. Only a few days ago, Glitch was re-titled Royal Advisor but had been unable to focus on a lot of the heavier tasks and decided he would undergo surgery to get his brain put back together. DG suddenly realized he would be having the surgery later today. I should go. I'm not doing anything else today, so why not?, she thought as she quickly left the room. She arrived a few minutes too late to see Glitch before he went in but Raw and Cain were already present. Cain's face went from his usual tough-as-nails expression to a much softer one. Raw's deeply worried expression did the same. "Well hello there, ma'am. How've you been?" Cain winked a bit, not even trying to hide his smile. He knew DG preferred not to have any formalities between herself and her friends- this was a joking tease. DG grinned back. Her friends had not changed and she was certain they never would. "Oh, Cain, stop that." she giggled, albeit a bit nervously, "I've been fine. Though this job isn't the easiest thing in the world…". She trailed off, worry taking over her face as her eyes floated up to the doors that led to the surgery room. "DG… Worried. Can see it on face." Raw's voice floated from behind.

"Yeah, kid, I don't blame ya. He's one of our best friends and if I can make a guess on brain surgeries… Well, I'd say they're probably pretty tough to accomplish." Cain added with a nervous pause, looking in the same direction as DG. "Oh… Umm…" DG caught herself and snapped out of her thoughts. She had heard what her friends were saying to her clearly, but had not responded for a reason. It had occurred to her that she would feel a deep, deep sadness if she lost Glitch. A sadness somehow deeper than the loss of just a friend. "I-It's nothing… I'm sure he'll be fine." she replied, almost talking more to herself than her friends. Cain wanted to interject but he got the sudden feeling that DG needed some space. He went to sit down beside Raw and was a little surprised to hear Raw start to speak. "Raw… Raw… Raw think… Oh, nevermind what Raw think…" he said with a dejected rumble in his voice. He had wanted to do the same thing as Cain, but both knew as well as the other that now was not the time.

DG sat by herself on the little bench facing her friends and again placed her head in her hands in a sort of bored pose, leaning this time forward on her own lap. A few minutes passed between them all in worried silence. "Well, no one's come around to tell us anything went wrong… They'd tell us if something went wrong, right?" DG finally spoke up, sitting up more and looking her friends in the eyes with an even more concerned look. Cain was just about to open his mouth to reply when a nurse pushed open the doors, a little smile on her face. "We succeeded. Glitch's brain has been fully restored. He'll be back on his own feet again in three weeks." she happily announced with a glimmer in her eye.

DG stood up and glanced behind the nurse to see Glitch in bed with an IV, being taken to one of the patient recovery rooms. She bit her lip but the question forming on the tip of her tongue was worth a try to her anyway. "When can we start visiting with him?" she almost sounded demanding, quickly turning to look at the nurse. Her concern almost seemed out of place with her appearance. The bold, regal outfit contrasted with her look of deep concern. "You may have brief visits with him starting two days from now. I'd recommend you all refrain from mentioning anything too problematic or traumatic in front of him though for the next few weeks just in case, too. Not that I think any of you would do so. Just a reminder-slash-warning we have to give for all patients with neuro-surgeries." the nurse chirped in her cheerful tone before closing the doors behind her.

"Two days… I suppose we can wait that long." DG held back a deep sigh, turning to her friends. "Of course we can, kid. Why not? I know it seems long now, but it'll go by pretty quick." Cain said, getting up and placing a gentle hand on DG's shoulder. Two days… That might as well be an eternity… How can it be only a few days and I miss him so much? DG's mind raced. She was baffled, even surprised that she could miss someone this much. She began to question her side of the relationship with Glitch. It had most definitely began as friendship, but to her… This did not seem like just friendship. But she could not be sure just yet. Plus, she had no idea whether or not Glitch felt the same towards her and she might not be able to ask him for a while now without taxing his brain when it needed to recover. Her eyes met the knowing gaze of her friend Raw. No words were spoken, but she could feel that he knew what she was thinking. Please, Raw, don't tell anyone just yet she chewed a bit on her bottom lip for a second.

Cain took a step back and seemed a little taken aback by her expression. "Hey, kid, you okay there? You look worried again…" he asked, this time concerned about DG, after looking her over. She stopped chewing and nodded, looking at her feet now so no one could see her embarrassment. "I'm fine, Cain. I just need to be left alone for a while. I need to do some thinking." she half-lied, hoping Cain would not go into father mode and start asking questions. Cain took a step forward, opened his mouth and pointed slightly in DG's direction, but thought better of it. "C'mon, Raw. Looks like DG needs to work a few things out for herself. Let's go." Cain motioned for Raw to get up and follow him as he made his way out of the hall. Raw stood up and stopped to place a hand on DG's shoulder, getting her attention to listen for a moment. "Raw know what DG feels. But… Raw will not tell anyone unless… Unless DG tells Raw to do so." he whispered in his beastly yet kind voice. Raw never lied. DG had a strong gut feeling that such a concept was impossible for Raw, so his words just then were a bit of a comfort to her ears. "Thank you, Raw. I appreciate it." she replied, half smiling and giving her friend a warm hug.

Raw nodded gladly in return after hugging her and then took off after Cain. Now, DG was alone in the hospital wing and wondering what to do to pass two days. As far as she could recall, there were no checklists for the next two. The weekend was looking so depressing…

Hey there, readers, fellow Tin Man fans! I'm adding this extra note here because I have a few questions about the series and I want to see what you all think. First off, I began to wonder whatever happened to Raw's tribe? Second, why does Lylo tell Kahn that Raw is no longer one of them? Also, is Kahn related to Raw somehow? He seemed very excited to see him before Lylo told him no. My idea is that maybe the witch's troops captured all of them and Raw ran away instead of helping defend his tribe and that's both what became of his tribe before being thrown in cells and why Lylo is at first angry at him. But the whole story is so open for guesses that I wanna hear what some of you all think, too. Please be sure and comment both with reviews and your replies!