Author's note: I do not own Tin Man or its characters.

In Hiding

This probably wasn't appropriate behavior for a Royal Princess of the Outer Zone. DG didn't really care. Until Cain got back from his trip to see Jeb, she wasn't going to come out of hiding. No way, no how. Not with all those suitors out there. It was like someone had put up a big neon sign that said 'princess of eligible marriage age available here'. And the worst part was both Ahamo and the Queen seemed to think it would be a good idea for her to get married, and that she should spend time with these idiots. DG just knew that if she spent any amount of time with one of them, she was going to do something unbefitting of a Princess of the O.Z.

All of them were idiots. The amount varied, but she had yet to meet a single one of them that met any of her standards for a life partner. If Cain were here, DG wouldn't have been so worried. Her Tin Man had a way of getting her through all of her official duties while keeping her entertained and coming up with reasons to get her away from people when she needed to escape. She didn't know how she would survive court without him. Hence the hiding. But DG wasn't about to begrudge him a visit to see his son, and she had put on a good face when he left. Cain deserved a chance to reconnect with Jeb, and she was not going to interfere with that no matter how problematic it was for her.

So far, her plan had been working pretty well. No one had managed to find all of her hiding places yet, though she had lost about half of them now, and DG had been able to sneak about unseen by both the court and the servants for the most part. The few servants who had seen her were willing to keep quiet thankfully. And there was always plenty of food in the kitchens which was easy for her to flitch. Hopefully, Cain would be home soon, and she could go back to living like a normal person. Well, as normal as an otherside raised Princess of the O.Z. could be. As much as she loved the Outer Zone, there were times that DG missed the freedom she had on the otherside. There were a lot more restrictions on her here.

Some of them were understandable. It was a well known fact that she had played a major role in defeating the witch, and there were those who wanted revenge on her for that. That was why Cain was her almost constant companion. However, it was some of the manners and etiquette expected of her as a princess that really drove her crazy. Princesses were humans too. Why weren't they allowed to act like them? Az was so much better at that part of being a princess than she was. And Az didn't have to worry about suitors. That was in part due the whole being possessed by the witch thing, but there was also the fact that Glitch was so obviously besotted with her, and everyone agreed that it would be a wonderful match for everyone involved.

Unfortunately for her, DG had yet to find someone like that for herself. Well, that wasn't quite true. If Cain had been interested in her romantically, it would be another story. But DG didn't really think that was the case, and it wasn't like there was an easy way to ask him about it. Especially not without bring up painful subjects for the man. So DG was keeping her silence on that matter. Hopefully this whole suitors and marriage idea would be forgotten before too long. DG didn't mind being the bachelor princess and spoiling whatever nieces and nephews she had. As long as she still had Cain's friendship, she would be fine.

A hand came down on her shoulder, and DG jumped. Cain peered over her shoulder.

"What exactly are we hiding from?"

DG blinked then threw herself into his arms. "You're back!"

He returned the hug. "You didn't answer my question, Princess."

She sighed. "I don't want to run into any of my suitors. They're idiots and they're everywhere."

Cain raised an eyebrow. "So you're the one hiding. Next time one of them shows up, I'll set him straight."

DG fought to keep a straight face. There were some things that an overprotective Tin Man was extremely useful when dealing with. Cain wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"So how much trouble have you gotten into while I was gone?"

As they headed down the hallway, DG felt herself relax. It was good to have him home. She had been running out of places to hide.