Authors Note/Disclaimer: Tin man does not belong to me. I'm thinking about making this a two part but let me know what you think.
Jeb woke up with a start and immediately reached for the dagger lying under his pillow. He heard it again, a quiet tapping on his bedroom door. He climbed out of his bead cautiously and walked silently to the door. Opening it slowly, with the dagger behind his back, he saw a scared looking princess and her personal guard Lillian in the hall.
"Princess, come in."
As the princess shuffled into his room, followed by Lillian, he replaced the dagger under his pillow. He turned around to look Azkadellia, excepting her to say why she had come. As he waited, Jeb looked her over. Her face looked drawn and pale, there were definite circles under her eyes. She was wearing a nightgown with a robe pulled over it. It was obvious that her decision to come to his room had been a fast one. It was the most unkempt he'd seen her, and despite the fear still lingering in her eyes, no doubt from another nightmare, the most beautiful.
Finally she said, "I, I hope I didn't wake you up Jeb."
He gave her a smile, meaning to tease her a bit, "Of course not Princess, I usually am awake at 3 in the morning waiting up in case you should need me."
Immediately he regretted this answer as Az's mouth turned down in a frown. "Oh, I'm sorry for bothering you, I'll just go." She turned around and started to leave.
Jeb took a step forward and lightly grabbed her arm, "Princess, Az, I'm sorry. There must be a reason you came here, tell me what it is. I am already awake after all."
He watched as she bit her lip, "Well, I had a nightmare again. And sometimes I go to Deeg afterwards." Then she hesitated, as if unsure whether she should go on.
"But," Jeb prompted her.
"But," Az continued, taking a deep breath, "DG has been unavailable the past few times," she gave him a small smile, "and I just thought maybe you'd be awake with guard duty or something and that I could talk to you for a little bit." She finished in a rush and bit her lip again. "That was silly of me, I see that now. I'll just go and let you get back to sleep."
Jeb moved his hand to her shoulder, gently guided her over to the one chair in his tiny room and sat her down. "I'm already awake Az and I don't have to be anywhere for awhile yet. You can tell me about your nightmares anytime. The offer is always open. But," he said seeing from her body language that she wasn't about to share them with him that night, "how about I tell you a story instead." And Jeb began to tell Azkadellia about the time his friend Skipper had woken the whole resistance camp up with screaming when he had a nightmare that his mother had run off with Zero.
As Jeb finished up by demonstrating how they proceeded to chase Skipper through camp, Az was laughing harder than he had seen her laugh ever before. No one would have thought this woman had early that night needed to seek distraction from her persistent nightmares. Jeb decided he liked her laugh, and especially liked that he had been the one to make her laugh that way and wanted to make her laugh like that some more.
After her laughter had died down he jumped into another funny story, regaling her with tales of his time in camp. On finishing his fourth story, Jeb noticed that the princess was beginning to look drowsy, her head balanced on her arms, which were hooked over the top of the chair.
"You're looking mighty tired princess, would you like us to escort you back to your rooms so you can get some sleep?" Jeb asked.
Immediately Az jumped back to wakefulness and some of her early fear seemed to return. "No, I'm not tired," she fibbed. "Tell me more about your time in the resistance camps."
So Jeb began again but this time began to describe what life was like living in the resistance camps. He purposefully steered clear of any encounters he'd had with Longcoats, not wanting to disturb the peace that Az had found there in his room. Jeb began to get lost in his own stories and reminiscences, missing the moment when Azkadellia's eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.
Jeb probably would have gone on talking if Liz hadn't cleared her throat and said, "Captain, she's asleep now." She gave him a look conveying relief that her charge was finally resting and amusement at the truth I'd stretched. "Guess you won't be getting anymore rest before the early morning rounds your father assigned you.
He grinned sheepishly, "Guess not. I'd better head out soon. We can let her rest for a little while longer."
After successfully delivering the princess and guard back to her room, Jeb started on his rounds. An hour in Jeb sensed someone following him. He spun around, hand resting on his gun to find his dad giving him an unsatisfied look.
"Jeb, you've got to be more vigilant than this. I was behind you for maybe two minutes before you noticed me. You, or anyone you'd been protecting, could have been dead in that two minutes, ," he added grimly.
"Come on dad, you can sneak up on any one. Give me a break this one time."
"You've got to be aware at all times. From those yawns you've been making, which are loud enough to let anyone else in the gardens know your exact position, I'm guessing you didn't get enough sleep last night. You know how I feel about those late night card games the boys play. I need every one of you at your best each day to protect the royal family." Wyatt Cain chastised his son.
Jeb began to get annoyed. He knew how important it was to be well rested and how you never know when the next attack would come, he'd told his own men that many a time during the dark years. He just didn't like being scolded by his father when he'd done nothing wrong.
"Protection comes in many forms dad! You should know that best of all. Anyway, she wouldn't have come to me if her sister hadn't been off doing mysterious things while you guarded her. There are two princesses dad and while you are so busy focusing on the one you knew first, someone has to take care of the other, more vulnerable princess. And just remember, she sometimes needs protection from her own mind. If my princess needs me, then I'm there for her."
"She's your princess, is she," Wyatt Cain smirked at him. "Maybe I should tell Ahamo that we need to set up a guard to keep watch on you."
Jeb glared at his father. "Very funny dad."
"Well son, you have my permission to guard this princess of yours in any proper way you see fit. Mind you keep it proper and decent." Wyatt began smirking again. "Next time just make sure you're also prepared to complete your regular guard duty without yawning every five minutes."
