Disclaimer: I do not own Tin Man or any characters, places, etc. located therein.
DG was curled up in an armchair by the huge fireplace in one of the many great halls in the Ice Palace, reading, when her Other Side father entered the room with a large box and walked up to her. She glanced up at him, mildly surprised when he said "Here you go, Deeg." and held out the box to her.
She looked back at him, a bit puzzled. "What is it, Popsicle?"
"They're your sketchbooks and your drawin's, baby girl." he explained. "Your mom and I got 'em from some o' those little Muchkin fellas who found 'em in one of their villages. They must have got swept right through the storm, all in one piece. We figgered you an' your sister would like goin' through 'em together."
DG looked at Azkedelia, seated by herself in another armchair, pensive and withdrawn as always. She turned back to the man she had always seen as her father, smiling. "Thank you so much, Pops. I didn't think I'd ever see these again." She pulled him into a huge hug. He grinned over her shoulder.
DG turned from her father, box in her arms, and walked to her sister's side. She still had
trouble believing that this was real, that she actually had her sister back, that she was home. Everything seemed too wonderful and strange to be anything but some elaborate dream. Her father and mother from the Other Side were still living with her in the Palace, on her insistence. They refused any royal title, and instead asked that everyone call them Mom and Pops, including Cain, much to his embarrassment.
She smiled. Cain. He was something else, all right. Ever since her return, he had stuck to her like her own shadow. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere or do anything without him at least being in the room. It was getting really annoying, and she thought he was taking the whole 'Official Bodyguard to the Princess' thing a bit too far, but he was having fun, so she let him. The only reason he wasn't here now was because he was visiting his son in the little town set up in the woods by the former rebels. Secretly, though she always missed him, she was glad he visited his son often; if he was here, he'd be shooting furtive suspicious glares at her big sister the whole time.
Her smile faded as she thought of Azkadelia. It seemed like, though she was obviously herself again, no one trusted her. The palace servants gave her a wide berth, the citizens of the OZ were almost openly hostile, and even Raw and Cain were nervous around her. The Queen and Ahamo had welcomed her back with open arms, but they were almost always out in the OZ, showing themselves to citizens and helping put things to rights. The way most people treated Azkadelia saddened DG. Couldn't they see that Az was back to normal? Couldn't they understand that she felt horrible about what she had done, and that she hadn't even been in control of what she was doing? It seemed like the only person other than her absent parents who had really forgiven her was DG. Well, Glitch was friendly to her, but that was only because he couldn't remember who she was half of the time. So DG spent every moment she could with her sister, hugging her and talking to her and trying to reassure her that she really was forgiven. Her Mom and Pops, too, Emily and Hank, understood that Az wasn't wicked anymore, that she was hurting and needed to be forgiven before she could forgive herself. They tried to set up as much time for DG to spend alone with her as they could, hence this sketchbook stunt. Smiling again at the prospect of some true alone time with Az, Dg touched her lightly on the shoulder.
Azkadelia looked up, startled, her eyes cloudy with memory. She smiled timidly up at DG, and DG grinned back, showing her the brimming box she held. Az looked at her quizzically, waiting for an explanation. Instead, DG balanced the box on the arm of the chair and tugged on her sister's sleeve.
"Come on," she said. "I want to show you something."
Azkadelia rose from her chair and followed DG out of the room, shaking her head at the sight of her sister literally bouncing with anticipation of whatever it was she wanted her to see. She followed her through the winding hallways and passages of the Palace until they stopped in front of a familiar door- DG's room. Pushing open the door, DG went in, crossing to the huge bed and setting the box down on it. Then she sat beside it and patted the bed next to her, inviting Azkadelia to join her. Still slightly uncertain around her little sister, she sat down carefully, not too close, and DG promptly scooted over right next to her and laid her head on Azkadelia's shoulder.
She had to smile. Despite her caution around her younger sister, she really loved DG. She was still trying to believe that it was really all over, that she was free and safe and most of all that her little sister was alive and well and had somehow forgiven her for everything she'd done. Every time she saw DG, she marveled at the way she could still love her big sister. She had come back from the dead and, days later, found the strength to save her from her prison of fifteen long annuals. She had seen right past her hard exterior and realized that she was still herself in there, and had figured out how to pull her out using nothing more than her heart. Azkadelia honestly hadn't expected anyone to accept her again, least of all the sister she had killed. She didn't like to see the way that DG still blamed herself for everything that had happened. None of it was her fault, and Azkadelia took every opportunity to try to show her that.
Turning now to look at DG, still leaning against her, she kissed the top of her head and asked "So, Deeg. What did you want me to see?"
DG sat up and reached for the box, pulling it on to her lap. She pulled out a small, beat-up brown book and showed it to Az. "It's one of my sketchbooks," she said. "Mom and Pops got all of my sketchbooks and drawings and paintings from some of the Munchkins. They all seem to have made it through the storm ok. Pops thought it'd be nice if we could just kinda go through them together. I thought now would be a good time, since Cain is gone and we can talk without him breathing down our necks with that 'I'm-Big-And-Scary-Don't-Mess-With-Me' look on his face." She imitated the face for her sister's benefit, and Azkadelia cracked up. DG started laughing, too, leaning on her again. She was happy to hear Azkadelia laugh- she didn't do laugh enough.
Eventually, they calmed down, and DG handed the sketchbook she was holding to Az.
"Here, go on, open it." she said, sounding for all the world like a little kid giving someone a present.
Just to tease her, Azkadelia didn't open right away, instead asking, "Where did you like to draw? What did you draw?"
Dg made a face at her. "If you would open the book, you'd know."Seeing the book was not being opened, she sighed and answered the question. "I'd go somewhere quiet, usually in my room or out back on the big swing in the oak, and do one of two things. I'd either just sit, start moving my pencil, and see what came out, or I'd sketch things from my dreams."
Azkadelia looked at her. "From your dreams?"
DG sounded defensive. "Yes. Just open it, ok?"
Grinning slightly, Azkadelia opened the sketchbook and gasped. There, on the first page, was an amazingly accurate sketch of Central City. She turned the page, aware that DG was leaning on her shoulder again, watching her. On the back of the first page was a drawing of a bright lantern in a dark place, and Azkadelia shuddered and looked at the next page. This one held a perfect rendition of the queen.
She turned to DG. "You drew these, Deeg? While you couldn't remember anything about the OZ?"
Dg nodded. "I didn't know what the drawings were. I just thought they were things I'd made up, or random images my brain threw in my dreams."
Slightly stunned, Azkadelia turned back to the sketchbook. She turned the pages one by one, seeing picture after picture of the queen, stone markers by the side of the Brick Route, travel storms, the Ice Palace, her little dancing doll, Central City, the Mystic Man, Toto, even a Munchkin village. The last page held a beautifully colored drawing of Fenaqua, correct down to the last detail. Closing the book, Azkadelia handed it back to DG, who replaced it with another one. They went on this way for some time, Dg handing Azkadelia a new sketchbook or painting or loose drawing whenever she was done with the last one. They went through them together, talking ad laughing and remembering. Azkadelia told DG what was in each drawing, and DG tried to remember, and if she couldn't she just listened to Az explain it.
Finally, there was only one sketchbook left, the largest of all of them. Holding this one on her lap, Azkadelia noticed that DG had shifted a little, and was now curled up against her side. She reached over and put an arm around DG's shoulders, hugging her close.
DG smiled and, reaching over, opened the sketchbook for Azkadelia.
Looking at it, Azkadelia's eyes widened in shock. There, on the page, was a drawing of a young girl with dark hair and eyes, smiling down at a younger girl by her side. Light glowed from their clasped hands. Azkadelia stared at her younger self for a moment, then turned the page with trembling hands. This page held the same girl, this time skipping a rock over the lake at Fenaqua. Az kept turning pages. Every one held herself in a different scene- helping DG make her doll fly, gathering apples, laughing with her mother and father, crouched over some new thing DG wanted her to see. The last picture was an incredibly sweet drawing of young Azkadelia and DG hugging. Shaken, Azkadelia closed the book gently and looked down, straight into her sister's ever-surprised blue eyes. She couldn't speak. DG, realizing this, spoke instead.
"That was what I drew most often. I saw her all the time in my dreams, and my pencil seemed to always want to draw her. I called her the Dancing Princess. She was almost my imaginary friend, I guess. I felt like I knew her." DG's earnest gaze fixed her sister to the spot. "I didn't even remember you," she added quietly, "and I missed you. I missed you so much."
Azkadelia choked up. Still unable to speak, she just hugged her little sister tighter. DG returned the hug, sitting up a little so she could. They just sat like that for awhile, before Azkadelia whispered "I missed you, too, Deeg. More than I can say, I think. I didn't even really know what was going on most of the time, but the one thing I never forgot was you. I'm so, so glad you're back."
She felt DG nod against her shoulder. After that, they didn't speak. There was no need for words. It was enough that they were together again. And nothing could hurt them now.
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