Don't worry. I haven't destroyed the Cain you all know and love. I've just momentarily confused him. Next weekend is going to be very busy, but if I have enough incentive (reviews), I might be able to post a chapter or two during the week. I swear that wasn't a threat. Also, I know longer chapter are nice, but I tend to get lazy and then busy and not post, so I'm afraid the chapters will still be pathetically short for awhile. Sorry.
Her eyes widened in surprise before she started kissing him back, desperately, hungrily. It was fierce and gentle, sweet and intense. It was a kiss meant only for a moment and only for mouths, but it lit a little spark in her that seemed to explode all the pain that had been welling up inside her. Afterwards she was left shuddering and wonderfully empty.
She hugged him closer; he shoved her away and scrambled backwards on the ground. As he sat there panting, he reached up a hand to his mouth. "What've I done?" he asked horrified.
She glared at him miserably and wiped the back of her hand over her lips. "Obviously made a mistake which neither of us are going to make again." She stood up and strode past him. He let her, and she could see the shock and confusion still in his eyes as she passed him. What had she done? He had a fiancé he loved. He was going to have son he adored, and she was screwing with his head. Damn her and her damn feelings.
Lost in her own thoughts, she walked right into a chest. A hand tilted her head up. Those eyes. "I need to talk to you," Rhys said. Had he seen them? Why was he looking at her like that?
"Later, okay," she pleaded.
"Later," he nodded and let her move past him.
No one had questioned her after she'd returned. Cain had said nothing; he hadn't even looked at her. They'd walked in silence until just before sunset and had then gotten rooms at a small inn.
She went up to her room immediately, and no one followed her. She was grateful for that. As she sat on the bed, she realized that this morning had been the first one since the one where the witch had infiltrated her dreams that she had woken up in a real bed. She hadn't even noticed. Nathan had sat in the corner of the room all night to watch her since the tin men had still been wary of another flickering incident. In just over a week, her life on the Otherside had started to become a dream to her. She wondered for a moment whether she'd ever really lived there at all, but that was silly. This was home, or it would be in a quarter century or so.
She started laughing then though she couldn't figure out why, and the part of her still paying attention to the world around her was glad no one could hear the hysterical note in her voice. After a few minutes, the laughter gave way to ragged breaths, and when at least those calmed down too, she felt unexpectedly better and quite calm.
She had kissed Cain, she thought disinterestedly. That couldn't happen again. It had been wonderful and even therapeutic, but she couldn't let it happen again. She loved him for his dedication and his loyalty, his strength and his determination, for everything he was and would be because of Jeb and Adora, and for some reason, her presence here threatened that. She would have to go to Finaqua alone. It would be easy, maybe; all she had to do was make them think she'd disappeared for good this time.
She pulled the emerald out of her pocket and stared at it. The witch had once used it to transport her into the marble coffin; perhaps she could use it to transport herself to Finaqua. As she recalled the incident, her mind drifted back to her green prison. As in the field earlier that day, the air around her got tight and suffocating, and she dropped the emerald. It hit the floor with a clink and rolled a short way. After a moment of white-hot panic, she reminded herself that she was no longer trapped, shook her head, and bent to retrieve the emerald.
It floated up to her hand. Her brow crinkled. Had she just done that? "I'll trade you a secret for a secret," Rhys said smiling somewhat painfully and shaking his hand at the wrist.
DG stared at him in shock. "You have magic?"
He shook his wrist harder, "No, I have tricks, and that little stunt's going to sting for the next few hours. I'm not like you and Chrissy. I have to concentrate to the point of migraines just to live a marble an inch off the table. I couldn't use my power as a weapon to save my life or anyone else's. That's one of the reasons I carry a gun. More effective, you see." He sat down beside her. She rubbed her hands together till they were hot then placed them on his wrist. "Thanks," he said afterwards giving his wrist a final shake, "that feels better."
"It hurt that you couldn't stop your sister, that you couldn't save her?" she said more as a statement than a question.
"Yeah," he answered. "Now how about returning the favor. My secret for yours. Why are you here?"
She glanced at him then stared at her hands, "The truth?"
"The truth," he answered calmly.
"I'm DG, Dorothy Gale, the queen's younger daughter, or I will be in twenty years or so. There was an accident, and I wound up here. I thought I could prevent a mistake I made, am going to make. That's why I need to go to Finaqua." It came out in a rush.
"What was the mistake?" he asked, unperturbed that she'd just told him she'd traveled through time.
Her shoulders slumped, "My sister and I went exploring in the woods, or I guess we are going to go. I heard someone crying, and when we went to help them, I set an evil witch free. She's going to cause so much pain." She turned to him, "You have no idea how many terrible things are going to happen because of me." She returned to staring at her hands.
He let out a breath, "So the man Wyatt reminds you of is himself?" She nodded. Another long breath. "The mystic man sent you on this mission?"
She shook her head, "No, he said I shouldn't try to change the future when it's my past, or something like that."
"Why?"
"If I change things, I might kill the reason that sent me here."
He held her chin with his fingers and turned her face so she had to look at him. "What will that do to you, the you right here?"
"I don't know," she said softly.
With his hand still holding her chin, he leaned his forehead against hers and kissed her so gently that she wasn't sure their lips even touched. "Don't jerk away . . . please," he whispered. "I'm not blind, and I promise that won't happen again, not unless there comes a time when you ask me. Alright?" She nodded her head not quite sure yet how she felt about what had just happened. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to try," she didn't need to specify.
"Alright. I don't like it but alright."
"And," she sucked in a breath, "and I don't think it would be a good idea for Cain to continue with us."
He let out a humorless laugh. "Alright," he said simply and got up.
They left an hour later, and true to his word, Rhys showed no signs that he had or had ever wanted to kiss her. He was silent and efficient and reminded her oddly of the Cain she'd first let out of the suit. Was that why she hadn't flipped out when he'd kissed her? He had left orders with the innkeeper for Cain and Nathan to return to Central City. He had also left a message that he'd join them after he saw 'Gail' safely to her destination.
They reached Finaqua just before midday. It seemed she was back to not sleeping in beds. Ha ha. So much for being a princess. She guided them both through the maze and down the trail to the witch's cave and listened to the soft cries of help from an unseen 'child'. Rhys seemed only able to periodically hear them. Maybe it was because he only had a little Gale blood in him or perhaps it was because he was a man.
At the cave entrance, Rhys lit a lamp. When she stared at it, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"That's the lamp Az and I found in the cave," she answered.
"There are many lamps like this," he said dismissively and moved to enter.
She stopped him and took the lamp from him. "However this falls out, it has to be something I do alone." He looked uncertain. She hesitated. She had a feeling she'd never see him again, no matter what happened. She hadn't said goodbye to Cain or Nathan; it had been too dangerous. She hadn't said goodbye to Glitch or Raw, to her family, or to the future Cain. There hadn't been a chance. Even if she was in love with someone else, she wanted to be able to give one true goodbye to someone especially if this was her last chance.
"Thank you," she said awkwardly. It was the first time she'd said goodbye to someone in the O.Z. without the threat of longcoats trying to kill her.
He gave her a small, one-sided smile, "I thought that was my line."
"I didn't do anything," she protested.
"Yes, you did. You help people all the time; you're just too focused on your own guilt to realize it."
She huffed, unconvinced, and he laughed. While he was still laughing, she leaned in and kissed him. It was a thank you and a goodbye, and she gave it to him because she knew he wanted but would never ask for it. She gave it to him because it felt good to be loved and protected and because he was a good brother and a better friend. She gave it to him because if there had been no Wyatt, things might have been different. He stared at her in shock for a moment then started kissing her back, but he did so gently as if he knew he could go no further.
She pulled away slowly, and he let her go. "Be happy," she said.
"You too," he replied and stood there as she turned and entered the cave.
She hadn't gone far when her hip began to burn. Looking down, she saw a glow of brilliant green light erupting from her pocket. She reached in and pulled the emerald out. It burned, but she held on. What the hell was happening? It was then that the underwater roar from before returned, and her body felt as if it were being ripped in two while also being spun. No, she thought turning towards the direction of the ancient stone head. No! Not now. The lamp fell through her hand, hit the floor, and spluttered into darkness, and with a final slice of pain and dizziness, she landed in a field on the edge of a makeshift camp.
It was daylight, and walking away from the camp and towards her was a man. A man with piercing blue eyes under a familiar fedora. She saw the change in his eyes the moment he saw her and watched him freeze mid-stride. "DG."
