Well, this didn't take long to post!

BTW, as I'm not sure I mentioned it the first time around- I obviously don't own anything. pouts

It took DG several weeks to realize she wasn't sleeping. In the days following the witch's demise, sleep tended to fall rather far down her list of priorities. Az was still recovering from the strain of channeling the emerald's power; their mother was struggling to prove to the citizens of the O.Z. that she was indeed back on the throne; the Long Coats still at large were more than a pain in the ass; and DG herself found herself forced into rapidly learning everything from etiquette to controlling the magic that had been unlocked within her. On top of all of that came the meetings, dinners, and other myriad events taking place to "re-acquaint" the returning aristocracy with their royals. By the end of the day, she generally just fell into her big bed in the Central City palace, certain that exhaustion would lead to sleep.

But it never really did. The dark circles under her blue eyes just kept getting darker, and she found herself sneaking cat naps between lessons with Tutor and council sessions with her parents and Az. It was Raw who finally dared to mention it to her. The Queen had asked each of DG's little band to stay on in one official capacity or another: Glitch might still be brainless, but as an Advisor he was brilliant, Tutor felt comfortable in his previous office, Cain had command of the royals' personal Guard, and Raw kept close as personal Healer and Viewer to the princesses. It was he who quietly told her that "DG tired. DG need rest. Need sleep."

She supposed that was the kicker- she might have been sleeping off and on, but it was hardly restful. She couldn't remember ever having problems sleeping back on the Other Side. Granted the dreams had recently appeared, but even then she could usually fall right back to sleep afterwards. Hell, she even slept fairly well while traipsing about the O.Z. looking for that damn emerald. So what was different?

Early on, it might have been the Tower. Sleeping in a place like that was not likely to be conducive to peaceful dreams, after all. Still, her sleeplessness had continued even after the Royal Family had relocated to Central City, and the Tower had gone up in a rather explosive display.

Later, she wondered if it might be the quiet. In the week after she arrived in the storm, she'd never truly slept in silence. After all, 3 or 4 men were not going to sleep soundlessly, not even those who had been Tin Men. There was always some rustling as Raw rolled over, or Glitch muttering to himself in his sleep. Even Cain, during the rare hours he allowed one of the others to take watch, would breathe deeply enough for DG to hear him; that sound as comforting as any other.

Well, that must be it, she mused. Even with the hustle and bustle of the palace, it was too quiet when she slept. That was easy enough to fix. After a quiet word to her sister, who frankly admitted she was often too afraid to wake alone herself, and a rather brilliant job of rearranging furniture by their new staff, DG took to sharing her large room with her sister.

At first, it had seemed to work. They both took heart from knowing that someone would be there when they woke, whether with mirrored scowls at the morning light or clasped hands after yet another nightmare, and soon the circles under both their eyes actually began to fade. Az, especially, began to show signs of healing, finally regaining that gentle smile that did more to prove to the people of the O.Z. that the witch was finally gone than all the royal proclamations ever could.

After only a few weeks however, DG realized that she was, in a way, back to square one. She spent far more time lying awake and listening to Az sleep than actually sleeping herself, and that just wasn't going to cut it in the long run. She began wracking her brain again, for anything that might have contributed to her sleep deprived self.

She stumbled upon the answer rather literally. She was late, as usual, for one of the multitude of lessons, and rushing down the palace halls with little care for her surrounding, when she tripped on the carpeting and slammed into a very solid body that had appeared out of no where. She'd known who it was, of course. True to form, Cain had been out of the dress uniform and back into his own clothes almost before the round of celebration balls and events had actually ended. Despite the rank of his new position and the indignation of some of the stuffier nobles, Queen Lavender had condoned his choice of dress just as long as it never "interfered with his authority." DG had laughed at that; most of the newer guards had served under their new Commander's son and were highly unlikely to doubt the older Cain's prowess just because of the way he dressed.

So, as strong hands kept her from going ass-over-teakettle, she found herself grasping the edges of that familiar coat and gasping in the scent. It was like a revelation: that combination of forest and sweat and metal that she'd fallen asleep to on the search for the emerald, curled up on that battered duster and face buried in the comforting fabric night after night. For a moment, she almost felt herself falling asleep where she stood, completely safe for the first time in days at least.

"-Princess?" She realized he'd been speaking to her, growing more concerned the longer she stood there motionless. She jerked back, eyes going wide.

"I-lesson-late-bye!" And she was off again, down the hall, leaving him more than a bit bemused behind her.

The lesson had been less than a success, unsurprisingly, and it was only her sister's timely arrival that saved her from a blistering lecture from the Mistress of Etiquette. Back in their room for a brief rest, Az had noticed her sister's distraction and wasted no time dragging the reason from her lips. She'd been sympathetic, but hadn't had any answers to offer the younger woman. It was their new ladies maid that presented a solution. Jessalyn was a former resistance fighter, and undoubtedly one of the new Guard Commander's layers of protection, who had spent enough time around young Jeb to start carrying her own Cain-fueled torch. Not that DG carried any kind of torch, or so she said. Jessalyn had just smiled and said she understood and within the day managed to acquire a soft blue button-down shirt that smelled just like a certain ex-Tin Man.

That night, DG slept soundly, clutching the shirt to her like a lifeline.

Hope yall liked that one and don't forget- I'm still looking for someone to catch the fandom reference in the first chapter! There's a requested prompt in it for you!