DISCLAIMER: I don't own TINMAN and more's the pity.
A/N: This one's a bit belated since I kept getting called away every time I got into the groove for it. But it's the thought that counts, yeah? Mucho gracias to animegus farmus for the lookover.
It wasn't like searching for DG was actually a new thing, she often wandered off chasing whatever caught her fancy, but this was starting to border on ridiculous. He'd been at this for nearly two hours now, and Wyatt Cain had yet to find the erstwhile princess. The palace in Central City was a large, awe inspiring building with its sheer size alone, but it made it a damn pain in the ass when one was stuck in some frustrating version of the children's Seeking Game.
She wasn't in the Throne Room, the family apartments, the libraries or any of the other places he'd found her on previous exercises when he'd finally run her to ground. And after nearly two hours of hunting, he was beginning to think she wasn't actually in the palace. It was on his way through the large industrious kitchens towards the cooking garden that DG liked to visit, that he finally struck silver. One of the cooks' runner girls mentioned that she had seen the princess come through in dark clothing, only to slip out the delivery entrance, nearly two hours ago.
Cain thanked the girl and followed suit, only briefly stopping by one of the sentry points to leave a message with one of the patrolmen on shift. He probably should have taken a few of the Royal Guards with him, since only Ozma knew what the girl could get up to in the city, princess or no. But the palace uniforms were colourful and eye-catching and would only serve to catch attention while scouring the streets for DG. No, Cain's own plain clothes would serve best for discreet inquiries about a lonesome girl, and besides, he'd move quicker on his own.
The only problem was where to start.
DG had been through Central City several times in her capacity as a member of the newly reinstated Royal family, and just as often as simply herself on the sly, in her attempt to explore the Shining City and all it had to offer. She was a patron of the arts and enjoyed the gallery down in the heart of the theatre district, but she was well known there, and instinct said that a woman who was slipping out the back door of places wasn't looking to be recognized.
He searched for nearly another hour before running out of ideas on where to look. Irritation warring with worry. It wasn't that he was worried that she'd run, but Central wasn't the place it used to be, and far less safer for a young woman on her own than it had been, he thought, absently nodding to a pair of females dressed in the traditional dark mourning clothes that had sparked that...
...dark clothing...
Wyatt paused. DG had been wearing the dark clothing, something she generally wasn't known for. And while she might consider most of the popular fashion in the Zone to be rather muted, a kitchen girl would not, and to mark something as dark cloth, was to generally state that it was mourning cloth or Long Coat leather. And since the princess was obviously not a Long Coat, that only left one option. But who would she be dressed to mourn? Everyone she knew personally was alive.
...Except the Mystic Man...
But why now?
As he pondered over that, Cain turned and let his feet lead him on a hunch.
He found her sitting on one of the low benches that faced the Remembrance Wall, the Ozian Monument that bore the list of names of those who had died because of the Witch.
The Wall had been DG's first project during the reconstruction. She explained that there was a similar monument in the capital city of the U.S., over the rainbow, dedicated to the soldiers that had fallen in battle, and she wanted to do something to recognize those that had been lost to the Witch's schemes. She had originally suggested using the materials from the Sorceress' deconstructed tower to build the wall, but Princess Azkadellia had uncharacteristically, but firmly nixed that idea by claiming that she didn't want to desecrate the memory of those who died with the taint of such evil she felt still present in the pieces of the tower. Instead, the Guilds of the Outer Zone were invited to share up whatever materials they felt would best be used for a memorial to honour their dead. The Wall was a blend of magic, sciences and some of the most precious offerings of the O.Z.
As he always did, Wyatt felt a spark of pride flare in his chest for the young woman, whenever he thought about the Wall. DG had personally overseen the project from conception to construction with a passion and zeal that the blond had never seen from her before. She had insisted on being the one to unveil it to the public, despite her self-professed discomfort at large crowds and public speaking and he knew the long hours she had spent in the libraries and archives, digging through dusty tomes, scrolls and listening patiently through long history lectures in effort to collect every name to memorialize. She had sent out notices throughout all of the Zone to encourage the citizens to submit their list of those they had lost to the dark reign of the Sorceress, and the correspondence that crossed her desk in regards to that was absolutely mind numbing. He knew her guilt was a large factor in the reason she pushed through the meetings with archivists and members of the team on this project, but she never showed anything but absolute sincerity at overseeing her goal happen.
He watched DG for several moments as she sat amazingly still, seemingly oblivious to those that also visited the Wall. Despite the fact that there were many others surrounding her; undoubted aware of who she was, no one approached the princess. He supposed he shouldn't be that surprised, given the somber air surrounding the Wall. Ozians came to pay their respects to the dead, not people-watch. Still, Cain frowned at her lack of escorts. If it wasn't safe for a young woman to wander the city alone, it went doubly so for a princess, good intentions or not. He let out a sigh and headed for the young woman.
"You shouldn't be here, alone, kid," he stated quietly, once he drew even with her bench.
DG's shoulders twitched in surprise, but other than that, she showed no outwards signs of the being startled. She turned her head and tilted up her chin ever so slightly to glance at him, before snorting softly. "Took you longer than I thought, Cain," she replied softly, a hint of amusement in her tone.
He took her answer as an invitation to sit down, both to join her as well as to avoid calling attention to a man guarding the Crown Princess. He followed her gaze to the section of names that sat in front of, but didn't recognize any of the people listed.
As if sensing his confusion, DG nodded to the Wall. "These were the guards stationed for the Royal Wing when the Sorceress tried to..." she drifted off, but Wyatt knew what she meant to say: when the Sorceress murdered her, using Azkadellia's body. "When my mother took me to be sent away, the Witch killed them when she couldn't find me or my mother that first night."
He nodded.
"Today's supposed to be Remembrance Day on the Other Side," she explained. "We call it Veteran's Day in the States. It's basically the whole reason we have our wall back in D.C.. We honor all our fallen soldiers."
Wyatt nodded again. Throughout the project, DG had shared what she knew and could remember about the holiday on the Other Side. She claimed that another country called Ing Land actually wore poppies for remembrance, which seemed silly to Wyatt, as everyone knew that over exposure to those led to slumber and memory loss, but to each their own.
"All these men and women...they died because of-"
"Hey." Cain cut her off firmly. They'd been over this more than once, and saddened him and made him annoyed in equal parts that for a young woman who shared his affinity of not rehashing previous conversations, she seemed unable to let this one go. He waited until she turned her face fully to him, blue eyes thankfully tear-free, but still wide and sorrowful. "We've been over this," he reminded her not unkindly.
DG sighed. "It's just...back in Kansas it seemed so abstract. Yeah, we lost guys fighting in the war, but the people here...they guarded my family, or lost to the Witch because they tried to stand up to her and she just...tore this place apart. It just seems so much more personal, yanno?"
He did know. Intimately. First his family and then nearly a decannual of his life had been taken-ripped away-from him for doing the very thing DG mentioned. He wasn't the only one, and over the annuals, he'd come to realize that those weren't the first he'd lost.
"It was personal when we lost you too, you know."
DG's startled expression showed clearly on her face at that statement. They'd never spoken quite like this, despite their close friendship.
"Losing you, the entire Zone went into mourning. Not just because you were a member of the Royal family, but because you were a child of the Zone. Everyone loved you, kid, you and your sister, both."
The Gale girls had been present at nearly every public appearance their mother was. Azkadellia, being the older one, was a little more stately, but both sisters had a bright enthusiasm about them one couldn't help but adore. They beamed as Lavender made her speeches and waved to the crowd, they charmed any adult they spoke with and played with any children they could find. DG was known to wander, and both guards and citizens alike, watched the child with careful eyes to ensure no harm befell her or that she did not get lost. Wyatt himself, had seen her frolicking throughout the palace once while escorting the Mystic Man, and had double checked that someone else was also keeping tabs on the girl.
"People were devastated. When it came out that the Sorceress had murdered you, that's when folks really started getting angry." The coup was one thing. It was certainly an ugly surprise, but not completely unheard of. The Queen was never quite the same after the death of her youngest daughter, not with her family fractured. But killing an innocent child in cold blood served as one of the strongest rallying points for the Resistance.
"Just as well I came back to clean up my mess, then, huh?" the young woman replied.
Frowning at the underlying bitterness he heard in her tone, Wyatt hesitantly laid a hand on her shoulder. "Just as well you came back, period. We couldn't have done it without you."
She dropped her gaze at that pronouncement, but a smile quirked at the corner of her mouth. "Thanks, Cain," she whispered, squeezing the hand on her shoulder.
They sat for a moment in silence, until Wyatt cleared his throat and slid his hand from her shoulder. "You ready to go back?"
She heaved a sigh. "I guess so." They stood and though the Tin Man turned to leave the Wall, DG walked the few feet between the bench and list of names in front of her, before stooping to leave a folded piece of paper at the foot of it. At her companions quizzical glance, she smiled softly. "Just a thank you," she explained as she joined him, standing close. "I couldn't have done it without them, either..." she lifted her eyes to him. "Or you guys."
She'd said as much before, but the mood surrounding their talk at the Wall still lingered and her confession and expression made the spot in his chest twinge for a moment. Wyatt Cain offered her a rare grin and placed a careful arm around her shoulders, tucking her neatly into his side. "Come on, kid."
In Remembrance of our own fallen soldiers. Rest In Peace and thank you for your sacrifice.