Tin Man

Chapter Eight-Reunited

I stood with Glitch and Raw. Raw immediately knew what was wrong and didn't bother to 'read' me.

"Why Emma afraid to let Cain know how she feels?" Raw inquired, studying me with his dark eyes.

Glitch was watching me too, his eyes filled with concern.

I could feel Cain's eyes on my back, almost burning into me. I sighed and pretended to be interested in the stew pot that was set up over a fire.

"Because I've had nothing but bad experiences with guys," I replied finally feeling a bit better talking to someone about my feelings. DG wasn't here and I figured the next best thing was to talk to either Glitch or Raw. But luck had it I was able to talk to both of them. "All my life I had guys either cheat on me, or they abused me"

They had startled and horrified expressions on their faces. I gave a watery smile.

"Not physical, but verbal," I explained. "They would tell me I'm not worth anything and that I was ugly and not worth dating blah blah blah. You kind of get the idea. Plus, Cain has a son. I'm sure he'll want to pick up the pieces and start over."

Raw sighed.

"Emma," Raw began. "Raw feel that Cain feels same way about Emma."

I looked at him startled. Then turned my eyes onto Glitch.

"It's true," Glitch, err Ambrose said softly putting a hand on my shoulder. "When he asked where you were and Cain's son had said how you were tied up, about to be killed, Cain went into panic mode and nearly tore the table in half trying to get up and get to you."

I shrugged.

"Any best friend would do that," I said dismissively. "I'm sure you would've done the same thing for me."

"True," Ambrose said with his eyes twinkling. "But neither Raw nor I would ask a best friend if she felt the same way toward him."

I looked at him puzzled.

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly.

"Cain asked Raw about you," Ambrose said softly and quietly. " He knew Raw had read you and wanted to see if felt the same way toward him."

All the color drained from my face. "Oh God," I whispered.

So Cain now knew that I had fallen for him…but why didn't he say anything to me yet? I wondered.

"Don't worry," Ambrose said softly. "I have a feeling things will work out in the end."

Ambrose gave me a gentle wink before he and Raw headed off to another picnic table. I stood there feeling a bit numb until I sensed Cain behind me.

"Are you alright? You look a little pale," he said worriedly behind me. I turned around and faced him. His expression was naturally of concern and worry. I chuckled and waved a hand dismissively in the air.

"Psh yeah I'm fine," I lied. "I think maybe the stew settled in my stomach a bit wrong."

I had tried to sound nonchalant and I hoped it had come out like that. Cain studied me closely, his blue eyes peering into mine from beneath his brim hat but he said nothing more.

The night had crept up on us quicker than we expected. I couldn't sleep so I sat outside on the porch that led into the cabin. I knew Zero was tied up to a chair inside so I kept my guard up in case he tried to do something. Deciding that if he did try something, I'd change into the wolf but so far it was quiet behind me. I drew my knees up to my chest and let my arms wrap around them. I rested my chin on top of my knees and just stared into the warm darkness. Torches were lit and were the only source of light. I heard someone coming toward me as their shoes crunched over the gravel. I tensed my body, not knowing if it was Cain, Ambrose or Raw, or someone from the resistance. I blinked and spied Cain's profile. I relaxed completely as he came up to me clearer in the light.

"Couldn't sleep huh?" I asked him softly.

He looked as though he'd been having a nightmare and it was only then that I realized he was holding a long sword. He also looked as though he was in some kind of trance. He began approaching me, holding the sword at his side so the blade glinted in the full moon light above. My heart pounded in my chest as fear took over. Could Azkadelia have put some sort of trance on him? So I'd be killed by someone I cared about? I thought as sheer fear settled into my chest now.

"Cain?" I asked slowly, rising to my feet and gripping the railing on the side of the steps. He kept walking toward me, but it wasn't slow. It was a normal pace. As he reached me, I shut my eyes and prepared to feel the blade.

It never came. I felt his long rain coat brush against me as he headed up the stairs and entered the cabin. I shakily opened my eyes and let out my breath which I hadn't realized I was holding until now. I heard a racket inside and then Cain came out gripping Zero by the collar and pushed him toward the tin suit that Jeb had kept as reminder. He pushed him inside. Jeb had awoken as well and came forward.

"Dad, he deserves to be killed," Jeb said to Cain.

Cain turned to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know son. But if you haven't got a heart, you haven't got anything,"

With that, he glanced over his shoulder at me. Jeb followed his gaze but gave his father an affectionate cuff on the shoulder. I sat back down on the steps as Cain began approaching me. He cleared his throat and sat down beside me, fixing his rain coat so he didn't sit on it. He let his elbows rest on his thighs as he clasped his hands over his knees. He glanced at me.

"Sorry I scared you," he said quietly. "I had a dream about my wife. I don't think she wanted me to constantly dwell on things."

I gave him a smile and nodded. "I'm sorry about your wife though,"

I took my eyes off him and gazed into the darkness now, listening the cricket's humming and the gentle crackling of the torches nearby. There was that awkward silence that hung now before I spoke.

"I hope DG finds out the truth about our family," I said. "It's just so much to take in but I'm ok with it now."

Cain nodded in sympathy. "What I don't understand is why your father denied you knowledge of the O.Z,"

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter anymore. I've just accepted the fact that no one cares about me except you guys so I'm going to stay here. I'm not going back to the other side,"

"Good," Cain said firmly. I looked at him in surprise but grinned and slinked my arm around his. I kind of snuggled up against him, letting my head rest on the upper part of his arm. Surprisingly this time, he didn't tense up like he did before when I hugged him flat out. I found that while I was around him, I was relaxed and calm. I shut my eyes and just listened to Cain breathing and the soft nature sounds. A gentle breeze blew, tossing a few threads of m hair in all directions. I heard a soft rustling of Cain's rain coat and then I felt him gently sweep the bangs away from my forehead. I found his touch rather gentle and not gruff but I was surprised he actually did that. I ended up dozing off there.

In the morning when I woke up, I found Cain's raincoat around me. Cain was already awake and grinning down at me.

"Morning sunshine," he said. "Let's go. We've got some work to do."

I grinned back and slipped out of his raincoat and handed it to him. He pulled it on again and adjusted his hat. He said goodbye to his son and the four of us set off again. We hadn't any idea where Toto had gone to or what had become of DG. Suddenly, as we were walking, the flash went off before my eyes and I grabbed Cain's arm.

I saw Azkadelia standing in front of a building which was chameleon-like to the surroundings. I saw DG and then saw Azkadelia use her magic to encase DG in a green marble tomb. A glowing emerald in Azkadelia's hands was the next scene. The flash vanished.

I blinked once the vision slowly vanished. I looked to Glitch, to Raw and then back to Cain. I swallowed, my voice coming out rather hoarse and dry.

"Azkadelia's got the emerald," I said. "And DG's in trouble."

Immediately, Cain asked his son to give us four horses. I was given a chocolate bay with four socks. I quickly climbed into the saddle and slipped my feet into the stirrups. I gathered up the reins and spurred my horse into a gallop. Cain was on a white one and Glitch and Raw were on a bay and chestnut.

"Where is she?" Cain called over the thundering of hooves as the horses' shoes kicked up the topsoil and flung it backward. Just then, we heard barking. Toto appeared in his canine form and sneezed, eagerly wagging his tail for us to follow. So we did.

When we arrived at the spot, Toto was already barking at DG's feet. We quickly hopped down off the horses and rushed over to her.

"Are you alright?" Cain demanded worriedly.

DG nodded.

"But Azkadelia's got the Emerald," she said dejectedly.

"Then I think it's time to pay our dear old sister a visit," I said coldly narrowing my eyes.

We'd all come up with the plan to sneak into the tower. While DG and I headed off to stop Azkadelia, Glitch, Cain and Raw would seek out the 'sun-seeder' and stop it. With the emerald, the O.Z would be encased in darkness forever. We were now crouched in shrubs in the forest that surrounded the tower. Raw however, had oddly hung back. Glitch gently tapped DG on the shoulder.

"I think you need to talk to Raw. Apparently, he's lost his nerve," he said seriously. We carefully turned around and headed back to where Raw was pacing. Smiling, DG headed up to him.

"Raw, why did you jump off the cliff and face the Papillion's?" she asked him softly.

"Raw did that for DG," he responded. DG shook her head.

"No," she said warmly. "You did it for you. You are the bravest person I know."

Raw seemed to take what she said to heart and nodded. DG hugged him. Then she moved onto Glitch.

"And you are the smartest person I know," she said softly. "Even if your marbles are in a tower."

Glitch grinned and hugged her too. She stopped by Cain who looked at her shrewdly.

"I know what you're doing," he responded. "I've been in battles before but much less hugging." DG smiled.

"When I met you, I thought you lived up to your name, Tin Man…but I was wrong," DG said softly as she held out her hand to shake it, seeing as he reacted when I had tried to hug him the last time. Cain hesitated before he too, finally hugged her. I grinned and took turns hugging Raw and Glitch as well. DG leaned close to Cain and whispered. "And tell Emma how you feel huh? We all know it," She gave him a wink and then she, Glitch and Raw went back to our hiding spot leaving Cain and I alone. I cleared my throat and stood in front of him.

"Well," I said trying to sound casual. "At least we won't have to worry about them flying monkeys anymore."

Cain regarded me with a serious expression now. He appeared nervous and tilted the brim of his hat up so he could see me better.

"Emma," he began nervously. "I saw that you were talking to Raw before at my son's camp. Did he happen to mention anything?"

I reached up and tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear and pretended to think.

"Might've, but what about?" I asked him staring into his blue eyes.

He appeared to get even more nervous now. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm not so good at these things," he responded a bit embarrassed. "I've not really been able to tell someone how I felt since…since my wife."

I folded my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow at him, but my eyes were twinkling.

"Who did you plan on telling how you feel?" I asked feeling a bit bad about teasing him. "Me?"

Cain nodded at that.

"Well, how do you feel about me?" I asked, hiding a grin.

Cain cleared his throat.

"He loves you!" Glitch's voice rang out from somewhere in front of us from the bushes. "Get on with it man!"

I burst out laughing at Glitch's outburst and was relieved to see Cain grinning too, but turning a shade of crimson. We heard DG and Raw hissing at him but we heard the amusement in their voices too. Cain's grin faded and now he turned serious again.

"A-Ambrose is right," he said finally as he took off his hat and held it in his hands, toying with the brim out of nervousness. I broke into a genuine grin at that. So, my reign of bad luck with guys has finally come to an end. Everyone was right all along. He did love me! I thought happily. Before I could react, Cain stepped forward and threw his arms around me, pulling me tightly into a hug. I slowly slipped my arms around him and rested my chin on his shoulder. The hug was warm and loving. Different from the hugs I'd gotten from those jerks back home. Those jerks just hugged me to be able to get a feel job unfortunately. But Cain's embrace wasn't anywhere near that and I knew he respected me greatly. He wasn't one to treat women wrongly. I let my cheek rest on the hollow grove of his shoulder and just enjoyed the embrace. I shut my eyes and felt a grin forming on my face again.

"Well," I whispered. "I love you too."

Cain tightened his embrace slightly and then slowly released me, keeping his hands on my shoulders. He stared into my eyes briefly before leaning into give me a kiss on the cheek.

"Aww," I heard four voices chorus.

Blushing furiously, Cain and I stepped back and spied Glitch, Raw, DG and Toto, in human form all standing there.

"Keep it up," I joked to them lightly. "Or else when I change I'll make sure to leave you presents on your pillows at night."

They all laughed but then the laughter died down when we realized we needed a plan to sneak back into the castle.

Toto looked at DG.

"I have an idea," he said. "It's the same way we escaped…through the drainpipe."

DG nodded and we took a deep breath. "Let's go," We began sneaking toward the tower, my heart hammering in my chest as Cain kept a tight grip on my hand.