Disclaimer: I own nothing! I guess I shouldn't be excited about that…
Shit. Plan A- divert his attention. "That would be my motorcycle. I bought it when I turned nineteen with my work money. To bad the travel storm trashed it, they're wicked fast and fun to ride. You'd like it."
Cain gave her the 'don't even try it' look. "Not a chance Princess."
"You don't think so? I would have pegged you as a speed daemon."
His jaw twitched.
Plan B- pretend the photo does not exist. She gave him a false smile closing the album and turning around put it back in her trunk. She ignored the battered picture in his hand closing the wardrobe doors and brushing off her pants. She stretched as she headed to the chair her book was resting on scooping it up.
"DG, don't make me ask again. I know there's a story here and we've been having such a nice chat." The Tin Man's voice had a jovial ring to it as he hauled himself up. She felt the hair at the back of her neck stand on end. This was so not good.
"Sorry Cain, I'm all out of stories today. Give me some time, I could have one for you by tomorrow." She flipped the book open and waved a hand at her fireplace lighting it.
She felt Cain at her back. He was so close she could feel his body heat against her skin. It took all her willpower to pretend he wasn't there. His arm came around her taking the book out of her hands before she could react. "Hey! Give it back!"
He held the book out of her reach as she lunged upward at it. It wasn't fair that she was short when the rest of her family was so tall! She jumped up at the book twice more before he caught her around the waist with the hand holding the photo. Pressed firmly against him she pouted ignoring his smirk and the way her body wanted to wrap itself around him.
She started to whine. "Come on Cain! It took me forever to sneak that book out! At least let me diagnose myself before you steal it back!"
"Whose in the picture DG?" She had piqued his interest to astronomical levels. His eyes were dancing with mirth and something else. If she didn't know better she could have sworn it was jealousy. But that was ridiculous Cain had no reason to be jealous of anybody, especially anybody that had been involved with her.
"It's nobody. Now give me back my book!"
"Nope." He shook the book in a mocking fashion just out of her reach.
Plan C- stomp him. She used the heel of her boot to smash his big toe with enough force to make him flinch. "Ow!" He dropped his arm in surprise and she grabbed the book twisting it and her body away from him. She got away but hit the ground with a thud.
"Ooff!" That freaking smarted!
"That hurt!" Cain growled at her.
"Suck it up Tin Man! That's what happens when you steal my stuff!" The last few sentences came out as a wheeze. The air had been forced out of her lungs when she smashed into the carpet.
Cain eyed her as she lay on the ground protectively cradling the old green book in her arms. She glared up at him daring him to try something. He glanced back down at the image then back up at her. She had a badly timed flashback to eight months before and turned over to pick herself up. It didn't really matter anymore anyway. She'd made her choice and knew it had been the right one.
On her knees she met Cain's now suspicious eyes. "Can I have the photo back Cain?" Her voice was even and she thought the request sounded more than reasonable. She held out one of her hands.
He stood gazing down at her for a long minute before he held it out to her with two fingers. Taking it she crumpled it back up in a ball. "Thank you." Then she tossed it in the fire standing up. Pity she killed it too late. How Elmer Gulch managed to cause her trouble in the Outer Zone was beyond her.
Not looking at Cain she went to the chair they had slept in last night, kicked the blanket to the side and sat down. She opened the book and started reading, ignoring Cain completely. He may have had the classic love story when he was courting Adora, she didn't know, but her story had been less than a fairytale. In fact, at the end it had been more like a dark comedy.
She heard Cain sit in the other chair as she tried to focus on the words scrawled across the page. "Kid do you want to talk about-"
"I'm not a kid and no." There was no way in hell she talking to Cain about Gulch. For starters telling Momster what had happened had been bad enough. Talk about bonding time. Secondly she though she had shared enough with Cain in the last day and a half. Thirdly if she did tell Cain he'd probably go to the Otherside and kill the cop. She pondered that for a second. Maybe she should… No that was wrong… Sorta.
She pushed all thoughts of her past out of her mind and began to read in earnest. The first fifteen pages proved to be both disgusting and useless. At some point Cain left and returned thirty minutes later with sandwiches and some reading material of his own. She perked up snatching one with a thank you before burying her nose back in the book.
As the first sun began to sink behind the horizon she hit the jackpot. Elated she read the full five pages on life giving. Then she reread it. Then to be sure she read it again. She closed her eyes in dismay. This was really bad. She dog eared the page and set the book down in her lap.
Without moving his eyes form his own book Cain asked. "Find anything?"
"Yeah." She was staring blankly at the wall. She was going to have to leave soon if she wanted to fix this.
Cain's blue eyes had come up to regard her. She turned to stare at him not wanting to believe what she'd just learned. But it fit what she was feeling. She could feel the blood draining from her face as the implications sank in.
"Princess?" Cain was standing up as she bolted out of her chair. She raced to her wardrobe and fished out the old key she'd stolen from Ahamo not two days ago.
"I need to go find my parents. Right now." The tone of her voice left no room for argument. She was in high alert mode. She figured she could panic after all the plans had been made, until then she needed to stay as calm as possible.
"What's the-" Cain did not like being left in the dark.
"No time, I'll tell you when we find them!" She headed for the door at a swift walk. Her parents would be in her mother's office now. No doubt having another meeting, she hoped it wasn't over anything important because she was going to kick everyone out.
Cain kept pace with her his eyes flicking between worry and annoyance. She didn't much care what he was thinking at the moment. She also didn't care that she had to shove the two guards blocking the doors to her mother's office out of the way with her magic when they refused to let her pass. They slid to opposite sides of the hall and Cain made an odd choking noise in the back of his throat. Well, she tried to be polite.
She knocked briskly on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer. Her parents were sitting at a large rectangular table in the middle of a political meeting with a pair of viewers. Ahamo was obviously startled by her abrupt appearance and her mother frowned delicately at her and her bodyguard.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to talk to you." She kept her voice as bland as possible shoving her emotions down. She did not want to upset her parent's guests.
"Can it wait my Angel? We are a bit busy." Her mother didn't sound angry but one of the viewers shifted uncomfortably. That was all she needed to work that out.
"No it can't. This is important." Her father simply nodded. Rising to his feet he courteously showed the viewers to the door with his promise that they would continue the meeting as soon as possible. He shut the door behind them and she let her light flare casting a silencing spell around the room. This discussion was not going beyond these walls.
Her mother was surprised by the magic show. The Queen may not have much power left but she recognized the spell that had just been placed around the room. "DG what's the matter?"
She moved in front of her mother and opening the book to the proper page nearly slamming it down in front of her. Now that the viewers were gone she let her temper loose. She tossed the key down next to it. "Are you completely insane! What the hell were you thinking!"
Lavender eyes widened in shock at both the rage in her voice and her language. "DG! That is no way to speak to your mother!" Ahamo, usually soft spoken, snapped at her.
She rounded on him. "Stay out of this! You don't know what she did!"
Her mother had leaned down to read the passage as she and her father squared off. They had gotten along very well over the last few months. He was therefore unprepared to see her in fighting mode. Cain on the other hand was less than impressed with her display. He shook his head and leaned against the wall arms crossed.
Ahamo had barely opened his mouth when her mother shut the book with a snap behind her. Her head whipped around to find a very scared looking ruler. "How long have the dreams been coming DG?"
"Over a month now." Some of her anger melted at the sight of her mother's face. "But I've been taking Az's dreams for the last seven weeks."
Her mother put a hand to her face. Ahamo had given up looking for answers from the two of them and turned his attention to her Tin Man. Cain shrugged watching her.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Her mother's soft question pushed her over the edge she had been balancing on for the last month.
"Why didn't I tell you? Gee I don't know! Maybe because I thought I was going crazy! Maybe because you tend to get a little skimpy with details when it comes to my past! Maybe because I can't find it in myself to trust you after you sent me to live on the Otherside with robot foster parents who were forbidden to tell me who I was! Pick one and we can go from there!"
Ahamo was taken aback by her outburst. "Spitfire that's hardly fair. We did that to protect you."
She snarled at him. "By what? Lying to me? Leaving me unprepared to face the witch? Or splitting my soul into several pieces?"
Ahamo had lost track of the conversation. So had Cain. Her mother stood up slowly. "My Angel that was not supposed to happen."
"No really?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "What did you think was going to happen when I came back and my magic started to grow and replace what you gave me? No wonder I can't sleep! I'm amazed I even know who I am!"
"Soul splitting rarely occurs DG. I thought you were unaffected."
"Your the Queen of the O.Z. mother! Your magic is directly linked to the realm. You can't bring someone back safely unless you have complete control. I've only been using my magic for a few months and know that."
"What is she talking about Love?" Ahamo had moved toward them but she shied away.
Her mother averted her face from her and to her husband begging for understanding. "When I brought her back I gave her my magic. You know that. I panicked when I saw her. I didn't know what else to do." Ahamo pulled the Queen into his arms and looked to her for an answer.
She started pacing feeling trapped and helpless. Drawing on her lessons and reading she told her father and the silent Tin Man what had happened. "She had already divided her magic to help protect the Outer Zone during her coronation. When she brought me back the magic thought I was part of her until she sent me away. She never let me leave her side until she sent me into the travel storm. When I came back and my magic started to push hers out the O.Z. thought I was attacking the Queen of the realm."
Cain stood straight. "What does this have to do with your dreams and soul splitting?"
"The O.Z. isn't conscious Mister Cain but it does protect the Gale line as we protect it." Her mother was sitting straight in her chair. "It felt DG die when she was a child and turned its attention to Azkadilla as the last remaining heir. As she said, it thought she was me until her magic grew and therefore wasn't threatened. Now it thinks she is some kind of disease feeding off her sister. It doesn't recognize her as a member of our household because she isn't all here. It's trying to protect the next queen from harm."
"Azkadilla is the next queen then?" Ahamo didn't sound all that surprised.
Her mother tilted her head as if listening to something. "Yes, it has made its choice."
"The dreams are the O.Z.'s defense. It's probably making them worse for Az because it wants to get to me. As far as the soul splitting goes… I'm not all that clear."
Her mother pushed away from the table and went to stand next to the window. "When I brought DG back I lost focus. I must not have completed the spell properly. When her magic started to respond to her it broke through the cracks in the spell and part of her slipped out. It most likely fled to the places she has considered home."
She heaved a sigh yanking a chair out from the table. "How am I supposed to find them? And how long do I have until they shimmer out like the book said they would? I can't live like this and from what I read I don't think the rest of me is going to stay in unless we can find the stray pieces."
"You don't have long My Angel. You'll have to leave in the morning."
Author Note: Oh dear, I never give this girl a break do I? Don't worry she's tough and has a hot Tin Man. Leave me one.
