A/N: Hey guys! I know I'm still not the best with timing but I assure you I'm doing the best I can! Sorry for the kind of abrupt ending on this one. I promise it will flow alright into the next chapter (and that's where things will get intense, so you don't want to miss that one). Until then, enjoy this chapter and the fact that I am a total 100% pureblood nerd. :)
Chapter 3 – Lessons
After changing his shirt (and disposing of the old one in an undoubtedly Cain-like way, most likely involving fire), the Tin Man entered the dining room for breakfast only to come face to face with the youngest princess yet again. (Or rather, she came face to chest with him. He always forgot how small she was.) They barely managed not to crash into each other, but both of them seemed to be at a loss for what to do next. Cain looked down at her, and her bright (but not as bright as usual) blue eyes looked right back at him. He noticed she'd changed into her usual attire- denim pants and something she called a t-shirt (although really he couldn't see what it had to do with tea at all). Also she wore a soft grey jacket with a hood on it and a zipper up the front. His mouth turned down slightly in one corner. Grey did her some serious injustice, in his opinion. It reminded him of the phantom version of her.
DG also seemed to take note of his attire, specifically that his shirt was a different color than it had been before. (He'd been wearing a white one earlier, and this one was blue.) She stared at it as if she were seeing things, but in her head she knew she was right- he had most definitely been wearing a different shirt. She wasn't entirely sure how to feel about the change. Mostly, she couldn't understand what his reason for it could possibly be, and this was what confused her most. Once they had stood there awkwardly staring at each other for a sufficient amount of time, Ahamo looked up from his breakfast.
"Oh, there he is," he remarked. "I told you he'd be around soon enough, darling." DG recovered at her father's words and turned away from Cain finally, walking rather like a wounded puppy back to the table. Cain was puzzled by Ahamo's statement. He stepped towards the table as well and decided to satisfy his curiosity.
"Were you looking for me, Princess?" he wondered, tacking her title onto the end of his sentence hastily. (After a whole morning of calling her nothing but DG, he had nearly forgotten she was anything but the girl who freed him from the tin suit.) Her silverware clattered to the table, attracting the attention of her entire family. She looked up from her breakfast (which he quickly noted she wasn't actually eating) and over to him, her eyes widening with something like shock or panic. He saw her mouth open and close once or twice as if she didn't know what to say. Finally, she managed to stumble through something.
"I just wanted to ask about those self-defense lessons we talked about," she said, almost too fast. Azkadelia turned back to her food after a moment, and her mother and Ahamo both turned their eyes to Cain. Luckily, he had always been quick to catch on.
"Oh. Right," he said. He paused as a servant brought him a plate full of food. "Well, I can show you a few things after breakfast, if you like," he said. It was Azkadelia's turn to drop her silverware, and when everyone looked in her direction, she was also gaping over at Cain with wide, startled eyes. She recovered more easily than DG.
"I'll come with you, if you don't mind," she said, a little awkwardly, but not enough to arouse suspicion in her parents. "The Longcoats got a bit too close last time, I'd like to know how to give one a really good sock in the jaw, in case it should happen again." Cain blinked at her, knowing her to be quite capable of some physical violence when she needed to be, and wondered how he'd possibly be able to shake her off after the meal. Lavender Eyes turned back to DG.
"Well, I'm glad you've finally come to your senses, dear," she said. "I think a lesson from Mr. Cain could be quite useful, even if you do think you can take care of yourself." Cain couldn't help but smile at this, and his eyes flickered back over to DG, who shrugged and managed a tiny smile back.
"It couldn't hurt to know more defensive moves," she answered. Azkadelia nearly choked on her water down the table, but this time when the gazes turned to her again, she was very determinedly not looking at any of them, choosing instead to focus intently on her eggs.
After they had finished their meals, Cain and DG rose to leave the table under the guise of a self-defense lesson. Azkadelia was sure to jump up from the table as well and join them, an act so awkwardly abrupt that Ahamo and the Queen stared at the trio as they left the hall, the former with a forkful of eggs halfway up to his mouth.
"I must say, I never knew Az would be so concerned with learning how to fight," Lavender Eyes said after a moment. "She's usually all about books and science."
The Tin Man and the two princesses walked some distance away from the dining room in awkward silence. Ignorant of what the others were doing, each of the three looked suspiciously around, as if afraid of someone following them, or taking notice of their strange behavior. This, of course, achieved nothing but to make them look more conspicuous. Once they were out in the courtyard in the center of the castle, Azkadelia turned to Cain.
"As I'm sure you know, I don't actually need any self defense lessons," she said. Cain nodded and lifted an eyebrow as he wondered to himself where she was going with this. "It's just that you reminded me of something I had to ask my sister that I couldn't ask in front of our parents. Do you mind if I speak with her alone for a moment?" Cain was not expecting that. His eyes darted over to DG to ask if it was okay for him to leave. She returned his gaze and nodded slightly, and Cain turned his attention back to Az.
"Of course, I'll just wait…over there…" he said, pausing to find a spot to lurk that was far enough away for their conversation to be private (but close enough for him to still be able to hear if he felt he needed to). He turned and headed to the spot after a moment, leaning against a wall and trying to find something to focus on besides the girls' conversation. As soon as he was out of earshot (with a few more seconds tacked on to account for Cain-hearing), Az stepped close to her sister and took her arm, beginning to pace through the garden in a direction away from Cain.
"Are you and Cain having sex?" she asked in a hushed voice. DG immediately felt her face begin to burn, and she was sure she looked rather like a fish with the way her eyes snapped open wide. She turned to her sister to throw a shocked look at her, a look that Az somehow completely misread.
"Oh Great Gale, you are! How long?" she said, covering her mouth with her hands. DG shook her head furiously and answered, a little louder than she meant to, "We're not!".
Cain glanced over at the pair when he heard DG raise her voice. But she looked back and waved at him a little to signal to him that she was fine and he made sure to turn his focus away again so he wasn't eavesdropping. DG turned back to her sister and lowered her voice.
"What made you think Cain and I were-?" she demanded. Azkadelia huddled closer to her, and DG welcomed the warmness her sister's presence always seemed to bring.
"Oh, come on Deeg," she said, nearly rolling her eyes. "Self defense lessons? 'I can show you a few things after breakfast'? 'More defensive moves'?" Her tone became more implying as she went on and DG eventually got the point.
"Okay, okay, I get it," she said. "But just because your mind fell into the gutter doesn't mean we're down there with you." Azkadelia chuckled lowly.
"Well you two obviously have something going on," she said. "You were seconds away from attacking each other before father spoke up, and you couldn't stop looking at each other during breakfast." She turned and poked at DG's ribs playfully. "Did you play footsie under the table too?" DG joined Az in laughing this time around and curled her arm more securely around her sister's. Briefly, she wondered if she should be amused or worried that her sister, who had lived in the O.Z. her entire life, understood the concept of footsie.
"No, really, we're not doing anything like that," she said. She could still feel the leftover blush in her cheeks, but its presence there made her smile. It was secretly nice, to her, to think of Cain that way. Once she realized her own mind had fallen into the gutter, she shook her head slightly, and the blush on her face increased once more, which she couldn't help but smile at a little more. Azkadelia smiled too and nodded sagely.
"Oh, I see," she said. DG looked over to her questioningly and stopped walking. Az returned the look, and then stopped as well, to adjust their arms so they were holding hands and so the magic seals were pressed together. The warmth rushed through both of them in an instant, and DG's smile softened from something embarrassed into something peaceful (something she hadn't felt in quite a while). "Yes, I'm sure of it now," Az continued as she began walking again. DG followed suit, looking curiously over at her sister, whose eyes glittered when she looked at her to speak her next words. "You're in love with him," she concluded.
For the first time, DG found that she had to actually process this information herself. She'd never really thought about it before. Sure, she had certain impulses around him, certain feelings. But were they love? She was silent for a few moments, the smile on her face increasing just a bit more every second. When she turned back to Az, her eyes were sparkling too, in a way they hadn't since before the visions. "You're right," she said finally, in a voice that told Az she had just figured it out herself. Her sister stopped again and hugged her tightly, laughter bubbling out of her from the sheer joy she was feeling.
"He loves you too, DG," she said, still hugging her as tight as she could. "I know it." DG took a moment, pressed as she was over her sister's shoulder, to glance back at Cain. He was staring with very determined interest at the clouds, as if deliberately trying to distract himself from their private conversation. She was flattered that he knew how important Az was to her, and wanted to respect their privacy. (But she still caught him glancing back over at them discreetly whenever possible.) Az finally pulled back from the embrace and, holding onto DG's arms firmly, looked her straight in the eyes.
"Don't be afraid to go after him, like me," she instructed, almost sadly. DG's smile fell away ever so slightly, and her head tilted as if to ask her sister what she meant. Az looked down, and then back up again, almost guiltily. "Ambrose," she said quietly. DG understood at once. Her sister had admired their mother's advisor even when they were kids. And now that she was the real Az again, she had found that the feelings had never really gone away. DG hugged her sister again, knowing how hard it must be for her, the type of internal struggles she'd had to deal with. Horrible things had happened in the time of the witch. DG wished there was some way she could convince her sister that it wasn't her fault.
"You have nothing to be scared of, Az," she said. "You know Ambrose adores you too." The sisters pulled away again and Azkadelia's face was tight, her brow furrowed, and she was trying very obviously not to cry. DG squeezed her arms slightly and smiled at her. "He loves you, Az. Just…watch him for a little bit some night at dinner," she instructed. "And count how many times he looks at you." Az continued to tear up a little anyway, but smiled and nodded. She sighed, managed a small laugh and wiped the unshed tears out of her eyes.
"Well, I'll leave you and your Tin Man to those lessons now," she said. And, looking like a woman who never had reason to shed a tear in her life, Az turned and started back in Cain's direction. DG admired, for a moment, her regal gait- something she had never seemed to master, despite the fact that she took lessons on the subject of walking (which she despised). She was at once confused and awed by her sister's utterly complete poise. Following her after a moment or two, DG decided that, if there was anything to be learned from Azkadelia by just looking at her, it was definitely how royalty should present themselves. She almost lamented that she wasn't the image of royal perfection she was expected to be, but then she reasoned that then she would not be DG, and she really wouldn't ever want to be anyone else. Az reached Cain before DG did, and she stopped and looked him square in the eye, an action which left Cain rather unsettled (not that he would ever admit to being intimidated by a girl ten years younger than him, and half his size).
"Don't hurt her," she said. And Cain knew, just looking into her eyes, that this statement went far beyond the potential harm that a fake self-defense lesson could cause. They both knew exactly what she was talking about, and for a split second Cain was completely frozen to the spot. But, in the next second, Az punched him playfully on the arm and flashed a smile at him as she continued past. Cain chuckled under his breath and nodded to her to show he understood. DG had undoubtedly taught her something about a punch in the shoulder being a sign of friendship to a man, something learned from the Other Side, no doubt. He remembered her trying to explain it to him at some point, but he could never really understand much of the knowledge she brought from her life before. In the O.Z., men tended to express friendship with a handshake…or a fistfight, depending on how close they were.
DG approached in the next few seconds ignorant as to what had just been said, having been out of normal human earshot and having a distinct lack of Cain-hearing. She waved a little at her sister who waved back and smiled, starting down the hallway in a direction that DG knew to be vaguely pointed towards Ambrose's study. Cain had also watched her go, and continued watching even after she had disappeared, as if to make sure she was really gone.
"What was that about?" he wondered. He turned his head back to face DG, only to find that she was already staring at him. No, not staring… More like studying. Without missing a beat though, she hinted at her sister's interest in Ambrose (without saying anything definite one way or the other). Then, in a demonstration of the kind of effortless charm that made DG so DG, she let her eyes flicker up to his as she brought a finger to her lips. And she winked at him. (And it honestly felt as if his heart stopped for a full minute.) But she was back to studying him so intently and in such a split second that Cain scarcely believed he was seeing things correctly. One of his eyebrows lifted in curiosity all on its own, but he didn't dare shatter whatever trance she was in with words. He still wasn't really sure how to feel about this whole experience. (He was, after all, the one that usually did the examining.) He felt his chest tighten slightly under her gaze and found himself briefly wondering if his body was trying to make him look tougher or simply keep his breathing under control. Either way, he didn't appreciate it. He was sure he'd been less nervous before under gunfire…
Now that she'd spoken to Azkadelia (and been honest about something), DG found herself feeling better than she had in days. And it was perhaps for this reason that she allowed herself to take her time and let her mind wander as she studied Cain. She thought back to the time of the eclipse, when his eyes had been so much more…tragic. He'd still been so deeply wounded, every look he gave her had something hidden behind it that she was too afraid to try and identify. And he still looked at her that way, but with something different behind his eyes. She thought once or twice that she had come close to figuring out what it was, but she could never be sure with him. Cain was a man who had perfected the art of keeping his thoughts and emotions to himself when he wanted to. And whatever this was, it was apparently something he felt needed to be kept secret from her (which hurt her pride, but just a little). Still, even that was enough to give DG hope. There was a chance, however small it might be, that he was feeling the same things she was. And that was enough for her, for now.
DG's eyes eased back up to Cain's after a moment. And that same look was there, as if he wanted to tell her something but couldn't bring himself to say the words. She understood. It was exactly how she'd been feeling since the visions began. She faced every one of the people she was close to and had been unable to tell them the truth about what was happening to her (except him, of course). Her mouth turned up into a smile brighter than he had seen in days and she was comforted by the fact that she wasn't the only one doing some secret keeping around the castle. (And more than that, she was standing there with the man she loved, just standing and not feeling pressured or awkward or anxious about it for once. She felt as if she could burst from happiness in that moment.) Cain quirked an eyebrow at her again, utterly confused by this point, now that he had been stared at for some time. Finally, he had to shatter the silence. (But, as much as he wanted to know what he had done to warrant such a thorough examination, he was still too afraid of the type of things her answer could be. For while they may be answers he wanted to hear, he still wasn't entirely sure it was in her best interests to say them to him.)
"So, what made you decide to come looking for me this morning?" he wondered instead. (Still a personal question, perhaps, but not nearly as personal as the other might have been.) DG's expression changed slightly, her features dimming only slightly as she answered him.
"Well I was sitting there with my family, and I had to keep reminding myself why I couldn't tell any of them about the visions…" she said. Her smile was not as wide, and was growing smaller with every new word (and Cain cursed himself for asking the type of question that made that smile go away).
"I just wanted to be with someone I didn't have to feel guilty around…" she added, and she met Cain's eyes again. She let one corner of her mouth turn up again, but Cain could tell she was really only putting forth the effort for his sake now. Earlier, she'd been genuinely happy, and once he'd opened his mouth, he'd successfully brought her down again. Great Gale, he was such an idiot.
After a brief moment of eye contact with Cain (which DG was sure she was becoming entirely too fond of), she stepped back and glanced around for any unseen eavesdroppers.
"Well," she said, her eyes listing around the empty courtyard. "We'd better at least pretend to practice some self-defense moves, just in case someone should come by." Cain nodded his agreement and followed her into the open space between two heavily ornate horticulture sculptures. DG thought for a moment.
"Teach me about pressure points," she said. "Mom and Dad would like a lesson like that if they overheard it." Cain looked at her quizzically for a moment and DG stared right back before laughing slightly and moving forward to teach him about pressure points so he could later "teach" her about pressure points when there were any other eyes around to see it. She'd always been sure she knew more on the subject than him, and this just proved her right.
A few minutes later, Lavender Eyes rounded the corner to find the Tin Man explaining something about a "Vulcan Nerve Pinch" to her daughter, and gripping a spot on her shoulder that looked quite painful indeed. Luckily, she decided to interrupt for a moment before they could move on (because the Vulcan Nerve Pinch happened to be the only thing they had been able to cover before she'd decided to sit in on the lesson, and Cain had been about to just pull out his pistol and explain how to use that instead).
"Mister Cain," she called, and the Tin Man and the youngest princess gratefully broke from their ruse to turn their attention to her. "Once you've completed the lesson I'd like to see you in my study about an urgent matter." The pair in the courtyard was suddenly very still and rigid and they quickly threw a nervous glance between themselves before Cain nodded his understanding.
"Of course, Your Highness," he said. The Queen returned his nod and paced evenly but quickly back down the way she came. As soon as she was gone, DG released a shaky breath and turned to Cain with eyes that were suddenly wounded.
"What's this about?" she wondered, anxiously sinking her teeth into her lower lip. She quieted her voice for a moment and added, hoarsely. "Do you think they found out?"
Cain glanced from DG's eyes (already stinging with tears) to the place the Queen had vanished. "I have no idea," he said quietly. And for the first time in a long time, he really didn't.