Author's note: I do not own Tin Man or its characters.
After the Dawn
DG sighed and slumped against the wall. She was exhausted. The problem was DG didn't want to go to sleep. She was fairly certain that if she did, she'd have more nightmares. The one's she had while tramping across the O.Z. in search of the emerald had been bad enough. Given the events of the past few days, especially the time she spent in that coffin, DG was certain that the new ones would be worse. And that was why she was trying to find something else to keep her busy.
She'd spent the day with Az and Siri, the resistance fighter's medic, working on the wounded. They'd found Az a change of clothes and fixed her hair, so she looked less like the witch. DG would have spared her sister if she could have, but Az knew the most magic right now, and they needed as many fighters as they could get. They had dealt with the longcoats that were here at the tower, but DG knew there were others. Besides, it was good for people to see Az as herself rather than the sorceress. She'd been worried when they had first arrived to help out, but it seemed that Az's own behavior was dealing with most of the problems. DG had overheard one of the older men say:
"The girl's afraid of her own shadow. That ain't the witch."
Az had a long way to go, but DG was confidant that her big sister would recover. She was looking forward to getting to know her sister again. However, none of that solved her current problem. She needed to find something to keep her hands and mind busy. The wounded had been treated the best they could manage. Jeb had ordered Siri to get some rest, and Glitch had taken Az back up to their parents. DG had the feeling that if she tried to help out with any of the preparations for setting up camp in the tower, someone would tell Cain, and she'd be dragged off to bed.
The young woman was in over her head, and she knew it. DG had been able to manage running around the countryside on a quest to save the O.Z., but the idea of being a princess daunted her. She was a grease monkey and waitress from Kansas. She didn't know anything about proper manners or politics. It didn't help that she really couldn't remember her family. Her only memories of her sister and her mother were the ones that had surfaced to help her find the emerald. DG couldn't remember Ahamo at all.
That was another reason she was avoiding rejoining the family and getting some rest. It was awkward and uncomfortable. For DG her parents were still the couple from Kansas that had raised her. She didn't know how to act or interact with the Queen and Ahamo. Azkadellia was easier. All Az really need from her was reassurance that DG didn't hate her. Which DG didn't, but it was sometimes hard facing her sister knowing that her actions had condemned Az to be possessed by the witch for all these years. Truthfully, the only people she was really comfortable with here were Cain, Glitch, and Raw.
"What are you up to now, Princess?"
Speak of the devil. DG tried to muster a smile for Cain.
"Just talking a walk."
"Uh huh." He wasn't buying it.
DG fiddled with her sleeves. "I thought I'd help the resistance fighters get the camp set up."
Cain raised an eyebrow. DG sighed.
"I don't want to go to sleep. I'll dream about the coffin."
Cain frowned. "What coffin, DG?"
Right. She hadn't told them about that. She wasn't sure she wanted to. It would probably make everyone even more overprotective. She didn't need people worrying about her any more than they already were. Of course, given the look on Cain's face, she probably wasn't going to have a choice in the matter unless she escaped right now. And since she was now trapped between the wall and Cain's arms, DG didn't think that was likely.
"What coffin, DG?" he repeated.
She gave in. "After I got the emerald, but before you guys found me, the witch showed up. She did something and made Ahamo disappear then took the emerald. Then she said I looked good in marble and did something. The next thing I knew I was in the coffin in the Gale Mausoleum. It took me twenty minutes before I could get out."
DG blinked. Sometime during her explanation she had ended up in Cain's arms rather than trapped by them. She was tucked up against him in what DG could only describe as a comforting embrace. There was a hand stroking her hair, and she felt something tight in her chest release. She was safe. She wasn't panicking like she always did when she thought about it.
"Darlin'," his voice was soothing, "you're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you. If you're worried about being shut in, we'll find some place with lots of windows for you to sleep. I'll stay with you, and if you have nightmares, I'll wake you up, and we'll just talk."
DG let him lead her back towards the rooms the Royal family had settled into. She was exhausted enough to lean on him and just let Cain take care of her. Oddly enough, she found her body relaxing and herself yawning. The last thing DG really remembered was being tucked into a bed by Cain and feeling safe. Maybe she would get some sleep after all.
