Her Own Personal Tin Man
Rating: K
Words: 608
Summary: What started as a simple promise to an old man quickly grew into something more.
Wyatt Cain had not left DG's side for over a year. In that year he had gotten job offers from near and far. From Central City he was given the offer of returning to work as a Tin Man. He turned it down. From Queen Lavender he was given the extreme honor of receiving an offer to lead the Royal Guard. He would have a title and an army all his own. He turned it down. The only title he wanted was that of DG's bodyguard, confidant and friend. Her own personal Tin Man.
After Cain spoke with the Queen about his decision on the Royal Guard he walked to the gazebo where he knew he would find the woman that had become the reason for all of his refusals. She was standing against the railing watching the sun drop beneath the horizon. He stopped walking and watched the way her hair blew about in the soft summer breeze. Her skin nearly glowed as silver moonlight began to overtake golden sun.
As he took a step forward Cain released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He shoved his hands deep within his pockets and began up the steps of the gazebo. His footsteps echoed slightly in the silence of the dusk, announcing his presence to the young princess in front of him.
DG turned towards the man, welcoming him with the soft smile that he could call his own. She walked towards the swing in the center of the gazebo and sat down on one side. She looked up at him asking him to sit, and confess, in a look that spoke volumes. He obeyed.
"I turned the Queen's offer down." He said softly, catching her eyes with his. He felt something inside of him flutter as the light behind her blue eyes shone ever brighter.
"Why?" She asked, trying to hide the smile that threatened to never stop growing.
"I once made a promise to the Mystic Man," Cain began "to never leave your side."
The smile that had grown across DG's face slowly fell away. She looked down to where her fingers gently played with a ribbon on her dress, hidden tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
"So, that is why you stay with me." She whispered softly, a fact not a question. "Because of a promise you made to an old man."
"That was the reason in the beginning." His voice was as soft as hers, but confident and firm.
Cain placed his fingers beneath the young woman's chin tilting her face towards his until she was forced to look up into his eyes. He ran a thumb across her cheek, wiping a stray tear away.
"But now," He whispered as a soft smile spread across his lips "I stay because I want to."
"You want to?' DG asked both quietly and unsure.
"Yes. I want to." Cain chuckled "Honestly DG, I don't know what I would do with myself if I had to go a day without following you on one of your crazy adventures, or saving you from unwanted suitors, or… hell…just being away from you at all would drive me insane."
That's when he saw it, the look he had been searching for for months. The mirror of the emotions he knew were shinning from his own eyes. He hadn't wanted to fall in love with the princess. Bodyguards were not supposed to fall in love with their wards. Yet he had nonetheless. Despite the age difference, despite being a widower, despite her royal blood, he had fallen in love with her. That was the reason he stayed.