The winds were changing.
DG sighed from inside the car. All the branches on the trees were whipping around in various directions. If she was still in Kansas, she'd say that there was a twister coming, but she wasn't in Kansas, not anymore. And the way things were looking, she'd never go back there again.
They were passing a corn-field, something the O.Z. had in abundance, just like Kansas. 'I've got to stop this. I can't keep thinking about what is the same and what isn't the same. Even if some things seem the same, they never are.' She thought to herself.
The car stopped suddenly. In her view, DG could see a lonely scarecrow standing in the middle of the field. But instead of looking like a normal scarecrow, it looked a little like a witch. One of these days, she'd have to ask why scarecrows did not seem to exist here and there were stuffed witches instead.
Cain's face entered her vision and started speaking.
"We gotta find shelter, Princess. Storm's coming."
"What kind of storm?"
"Twister apparently. We don't get too many of them here, but when we do, you best be under cover, cause they ain't nothing to mess with."
"Where can we go?"
He jerked his head towards the corn-field. "There's a farmhouse over yonder. We're going to drive the car there and ask for shelter."
She nodded. "Alright. Let's get going." Cain nodded and nodded to the driver. He nodded back and started the car up again. DG's body jerked slightly at the sudden lurch and movement, but she soon settled back down into monotony. She only looked up when she realized the corn-field was no longer in sight. She looked behind her to see dust following them. Something wasn't right.
"Umm, excuse me, driver? What's going on?"
"Change of plans your highness. I don't think that a farmhouse is safe and secure for you. There's a cabin in the woods just up the road. We should be there before the storm starts." He answered.
"But Cain said…"
"Cain is wrong! Cain has no idea what he's talking about. He spent eight annuals in the Iron Maiden! What makes you think that he's sane enough to lead a protection detail? Especially on the princess that's so valuable to former Longcoats these days?"
DG gasped. She started scrambling around the backseat trying to figure out what to do.
The driver chuckled. "You're not going anywhere Princess. I know a man who is willing to pay a lot of money for you and he's not picky about you being dead or alive."
She looked out the window and saw a forest looming before her. It was now or never. She had only seen this done in movies, but knew the basic principle of it. Tuck and roll, tuck and roll. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The driver shouted something but she didn't hear it since she was diving out of the car.
She hit the ground with an "oomph" and took a second to catch her breath and thank Ozma that the road was only gravel, but it still hurt. She took her high heels off, silently cursing her mother for packing the most impractical clothes and shoes in the entire Outer Zone for her diplomatic trip.
She threw her shoes away and quickly stepped to the grass and began running back in the direction she had come, away from the forest and towards Cain. She figured she didn't have much of a chance of escaping, especially since her attacker had a car and she on foot and it was beginning to rain.
Cain was bewildered when the driver kept going straight instead of turning down the driveway, though he didn't hesitate for more than a few seconds. He shouted orders to the rest of his men, ordering two of them to follow him and the rest to seek shelter from the approaching storm.
Mounting his horse, he urged it to go and finally broke into a gallop that quickly took him out of sight from his men. The gravel wasn't the best footing for his horse, so he urged it onto the grass, so it could run faster. The move worked until it started raining a minute or two after he had started chasing DG.
His thoughts were pure panic and chaos. Some of them formed voices in his head berating him for not being more careful in the selection of the men escorting DG around the O.Z. on the diplomatic tour her mother wished her to go on. And to think, that they were almost done; one more stop then they would be on their way to Finaqua for the first real rest in half an annual. And now this had happened.
He was so engrossed in the chase and his thoughts that he almost didn't hear the scream and a shot ring out in the rain. He spurred his horse faster, knowing it would do no good, his horse was going as fast as it could and a dead horse was no good to him. Another shot rang out, this one closer than the last and another scream reached his ears, as his horse reared at the offending sound.
He dismounted quickly and ran towards the car he could now see through the sheets of rain. DG was crawling, trying to get up and run away from her attacker. He feet were bare, her hair was wild around her face, and there was blood on her blue dress. Cain saw the driver raise his gun again, aiming for DG.
DG looked up, trying hard not to look behind her or think about the pain radiating from her side. She heard a shot ring out and tried to brace herself for the impact she knew was coming. Nothing happened. Cain's arm was outstretched and his gun was pointed towards her assailant. She turned around and saw the driver on the ground, dead.
Cain walked toward her, never putting the gun in its holster. "Are you alright?"
"I would like to say yes, but I'm afraid the answer is no."
"Where'd he shoot you at kid?"
"I'm not sure."
He looked at her, looking her in the eyes, before pulling her into a hug. "I'm so sorry, DG. This never should have happened."
"I don't blame you Cain. But can we please get out of this storm?"
He nodded and handed her his duster to wrap around her soaked figure. "I don't suppose I could wear the hat as well." She asked as he led her to the horse.
He smirked. "The hat is mine. It does not leave this head." He helped her on the horse and they began riding back to the farmhouse, the other two guards finally catching up to Cain. He glared at them for being so slow and pointed them back to the farmhouse.
He would deal with them later.
They arrived to see the rest of the guards waiting anxiously for them. A young girl showed them to the barn, where they could stay the night and ran to get medical supplies for DG's wounds. It wasn't long before she passed out, the pain and loss of adrenaline finally taking their toll.
The long night passed. She woke only once to a loud whistling noise that told her the tornado was close by and by the sound it was at least an F-3. Cain saw her wake up and told her not to move. It was hard to follow his advice. A part of her wanted to watch the twister pass by and then finally dissipate in the sky, a sight she had only seen once in her life. A few minutes later, the twister passed and she could finally lie still again. Sleep claimed her quickly.
Cain watched her sleeping. She looked so peaceful. She reminded him of a force of nature, not unlike a tornado. Rare, always causing trouble for somebody, but something to be remembered and respected, and occasionally beautiful. He looked down at his hands and noticed he was still wearing his wedding band. He'd been protecting DG for an annual and a half now and it had been so long since he'd held Adora or even truly seen her. She was dead and he knew she wouldn't have wanted him to mourn her forever. He slowly removed the ring and put it in his pocket to give to Jeb when he married.
He looked up to see DG looking at him. He almost wondered how long she'd been awake, but knew, somehow, that she had been awake the entire time he had contemplated his ring. He thought she was going to say something about what she'd seen, but instead she asked if she could look outside.
He nodded and helped her stand. Her side was bruised and hurt, so he helped her walk to the edge of the barn door. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue and there was a double rainbow in the sky. "Wow."
He nodded. She leaned against him and he was content to hold her as they watched the world begin to wake up from the angry night before.
"Cain?"
"Hm?"
"Why'd you take the ring off?"
He sighed against her hair, breathing in the fresh air and DG's unique scent. "It was time. She wouldn't have wanted me to pine after her. And besides. I love someone else now."
She turned and looked at him. "Will you rescue me, Wyatt?"
"I will always rescue you, Deeji. Always."
He leaned down and kissed her. In the tattered and blown over corn stocks a lonely black witch-crow looked on, swaying ever so gently in the light breeze.