I see this as a two parter, I never really write more than that. This was just a story that grew out of the first line, it's no masterpiece, just a bit of fun. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: The only part that belongs to me is the part at the lake, this actually happened to me many years ago... My mother wasn't happy!
Wyatt Cain was a simple man, he had led a simple life, one to be proud of, until the throne was overturned and the evil witch took control. He had been a Tin Man then, one of the best, but as the witch began to form her army the Tin Men went one of two ways they joined her or they joined the resistance. There was no question which Wyatt would join, and he had proved to be a valuable addition, he was a great soldier, and a brilliant strategist.
The resistance caused quite a stir among the witch's Longcoats but it wasn't long before the Longcoats gained the advantage. The day they came to his home would live with him forever. He had watched as his family had been torn apart every minute of every day as the annuals passed him by. He had no way to measure the passage of time, but he knew it had been too long to hope that his family had survived.
His body had refused to give up on him long after he had lost the will to live, he prayed to Ozma to take pity on him but still he was forced to endure the agony of watching as his life was torn apart. One day the image that replayed before him changed. One time the Longcoats didn't win, they were defeated by a young slip of a girl armed only with a small branch, that was the day Wyatt Cain's life stopped being a simple one.
He had been ready to walk away from her with a mere thank you, but the silly girl to whom he owed his life was set on continuing her journey toward certain death. The very least he could do was accompany her as long as she was heading in the same direction. He found her a way into Central City and then bid her a farewell, determined to continue his own journey and get revenge for his wife and son. That would have been fine if the girl could just stay out of trouble long enough for him to put some distance between them. Instead he found himself returning to her side to rescue her from the very same people he was searching for.
After the many bumps on their journey he found that he needed to keep her safe, not simply because he had made a promise to a dying man, but because she was a ray of light in his otherwise dark existence. Once the witch was defeated he had a choice to make, he could move back to his home filled with the dark memories he had been haunted by, or he could stay at the palace in the hopes that her light would provide him the comfort he so desperately needed.
In the end he had decided to stay, he instinctively knew that even as she took to her life as a princess she was not likely to settle down to a life free from danger. She was a spirited young woman who thrived on adventure, and she was going to need someone strong to watch over her. He believed he was more than up for the challenge.
"What are you thinking?" He was broken from his reverie by DG's gentle tone. They were in the library where DG was studying the history of the land as per her mothers request.
He turned from the window with a small smile on his face. "I was thinking about the simple life I used to lead."
"Regretting your decision to stay?" All four of DG's friends had been offered a place in the palace after the witch had been overthrown, but nobody had expected the former Tin Man to accept his position.
"You know I don't." His sincerity surprised her each time they had a similar conversation.
She had expected him to return to his home, to spend as much time as he could with his son following their triumph. As much as it had pained her she had been fully prepared to bid him a farewell, instead he had asked only for a few days. When she had queried his decision his response surprised her. "My son is a grown man now with a life of his own. Do I want to get to know him? Of course. Will I be there for him when he needs it? No question. But a man of his age, looking to begin a family of his own, does not need his father around full time. It pains me to stay away, but I would be doing him a great disservice to impose myself on him." Her only response had been to reach out for his hand with hers and give it a gentle squeeze before changing the subject.
He had taken his few days, getting to know the man that his son had become, and assuring him that he would always be around for him, and then he had returned to the castle where he had been appointed bodyguard to the youngest princess. He had initially been offered a position of greater responsibility but had respectfully declined on the grounds that he had missed much in his time in confinement, and didn't feel he was qualified for the position. He had then asked if he could be placed on the youngest daughters detail knowing her penchant for finding trouble, and convincing her parents that as someone with first hand experience he was better equipped to stave off trouble.
DG smiled at him from behind her book, "Don't you find this life dull?"
He nearly laughed out loud but controlled himself and settled for a raise of his eyebrow, "Princess as your bodyguard I could only wish this life was dull. You do insist on finding trouble wherever you go, you couldn't even visit the lake at Finaqua without falling in."
Her smile became one of mischief as she thought of the day she had fallen in the water. She had been tossing rocks as she and her sister had done as children, when she misjudged her strength. She threw her final rock with such force that her body went with it, once in the water she decided she might as well make the most of a bad situation and had begun to swim about. She had stopped only when she saw the exasperated expression on the face of her self appointed protector as he swam toward her. Laughing she had changed her course and swam to the edge of the water and together they climbed out, without word they headed back to the palace to dry off, all the while DG could not keep the smile from her face.
She continued with her work and he turned back to the window, they stayed silent for a few minutes before DG raised her head from her reading once again. "Do you wish I was more like my sister?" DG knew she was not what the people had expected from a princess, her sister had taken to the role like a duck to water. DG wasn't deliberately rebellious, it was just that she didn't do well with the rules imposed on her, she didn't like being confined.
He sighed deeply, "DG you and your sister are very different people, from what I understand you always were. I can't deny that my life would be easier if you were more inclined to life as a dignitary, but after all those annuals in a box, it's kind of refreshing to have something else to think about." As he spoke he had moved so that he could sit at the desk beside her, his eyes wandered over the papers there and settled on a picture of himself gazing out of the window as he was moments ago. "I know I'm getting on kid but I'm not sure I qualify as history."
Her eyes followed his and she smiled, "You looked deep in thought, I rarely see you so still I wanted to capture the moment."
"I was thinking about you." It was a simple statement that revealed nothing. For a few seconds she sat examining his face for a trace of something, she didn't know what.
"Are we ever going to talk about this?" On many occasions they had shared what she could only describe as moments, when the air between them had prickled and she had wanted to do nothing more than reach across the distance between them and kiss him. He had pulled away every time, whether it was her age, her title, or simply that he just wasn't interested she didn't know. He would just change the subject and continue like nothing had happened, she was getting frustrated.
"Kid." He sighed, a hint of desperation evident in his breathing.
"I'm not a kid, I'm a woman Cain, don't you see it?" She was tired of playing games, she was going to force him into this conversation.
"Of course I see it, that's the problem." He clamped his jaw shut rising from his seat beside her and walking back over to the window, keeping a safe distance between them.
"Why is that a problem? We're both free agents." Suddenly she was struck with the realisation that she had no idea how he spent his free time. "Aren't we?" There was no denying her uncertainty as she tacked on the last question.
"You know there's nobody else." He muttered quietly.
"Then what is it?" She raised her voice exasperatedly. Before he had time to respond there was a knock on the door. "What?" She yelled at the unwitting person behind the door.
Her sister poked her head through the door nervously, "Dinner is being served, Mother asked me to find you."
She let out a deep breath before answering, "I'm on my way." Azkadelia didn't wait for her sister to follow sensing the atmosphere in the room. DG turned to her bodyguard with fire in her eyes, "This isn't over." She stormed from the room her heavy steps the only outlet she had for her frustration, at least until after dinner when she would retire to her room, where she would either tear it apart or cry herself to sleep.
Behind her she failed to hear the whispered words from her bodyguard as he answered the question she had last thrown at him. "It's complicated."