Title:

Better or Worse

Disclaimer:

Not mine…

General Info:

Rated M

Angst/Romance

Author's Note:

PLEASE read and review. I love to hear your opinions. As always, thank you for taking time to read my story.

To those who have reviewed:

I know I'm evil… and I'll probably hear it even more after this chapter. But never fear! Good will triumph over evil…maybe :)

Chapter 10

"Regret for the things we did can be tempered with time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable." – Sydney J. Harris

The sound of her heartbeat echoed in her ears, all other noises forgotten or ignored as DG rushed through the long corridors of the palace. Even the pain radiating out of her abused hip did not register in her thoughts. She was so focused on her destination nothing else mattered, her physical pain least of all.

Her father's face danced in front of her eyes, cold and pale and practically lifeless, in sharp contrast to her first memory of him. In the TP Ahamo used as a home while in exile he had been so full of energy and mirth, she wanted to see him that way again. He appeared to have fallen attempting to enter the palace, his legs covering the lower steps while his torso covered those above. Bruises and gashes coated his arms and what could be seen of the skin through the slashes in his shirt and pants. The man fought hard and she prayed to any God in existence, he would continue to fight to stay alive. If they were really so much alike she knew he would. They were no quitters.

The outside had been utterly void of life, so completely barren, with the exception of her father. There had to be more people here when he was injured leaving only one possible location for them to be. A deep feeling of dread seeped into her veins at what she would find within the walls.

It was not until she reached the third hall on the second story that she finally stopped her ascent, battling for every breath her lungs took. DG slid to a halt, staggering back at the sight greeting her and she had to brace her hand against the wall to remain upright. The trepidation she felt upon entering the castle came to be realized, but there was no way she could have foreseen such absolute carnage.

The bodies of guards were strewn over the floor, a carpet of congealed blood beneath them; their faces pale with open and vacant eyes staring straight ahead yet focusing on nothing. Guns flung about or still gripped tightly in the hands of the departed. Gashes disfigured much of their bodies, their faces marred by bruises and the fear of death. The smell of gunpowder was still on the air, the taste of sulfur landing heavily on her tongue.

Her stomach lurched, emptying its minimal contents along the base of the wall she leaned on for support. Someone pulled her hair out of her face, holding it behind her head and away from the regurgitated food. Soon her stomach was evacuated, becoming painful dry heaves when there was nothing left to force out. The man holding her hair rubbed soothing circles on her back in a useless attempt to ease her suffering.

When her body calmed DG hastily wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her shirt, not caring that the two men saw her at her weakest. Starting forward again, she ripped her body out of the grasp of the person who gave her assistance. No thank yous; no look of gratitude; she didn't even glance to see which one came to her aide. Sheer adrenaline was pushing her on, keeping her attention ahead.

Carefully DG stepped between the bodies, some were guards clothed in their royal garb, the dark maroon fabric concealing some of the bright bodily fluids from her sight. She would never look at a uniformed man the same again. And some of the men were dressed in dark brown and grey clothing resembling those the resistance wore prior to the eclipse. She could only assume they were the enemy.

The hardened blood cracked with the pressure from her sneakers, which she would throw out immediately upon finding alternate footwear.

One face in the sea of death caught her attention and she squatted beside his lifeless body. Rin, her bodyguard, was among the deceased. His torso, in a seated position along the wall where he apparently slipped down to take his place amongst his comrades in arms, left a gruesome trail of red above. Eyes open and empty in total disparity to the warm, tender looks he gave in life made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and the blood drain from her face.

Tears fell from her blue pools to moisten the cloth covering her legs and his legs, and the red marble of the flooring which was formerly white. Reaching out a shaky hand she attempted to close his lids only to find them stiff and unyielding. They would have to remain open.

As bile began to rise in her throat once more she bolted upright and down the hall with a fevered pace, hand clamped firmly over her mouth to keep from both retching and screaming herself hoarse. The whole of the guard had to be strewn about these corridors; hundreds upon hundreds of bodies blocking their path as they weaved through the palace of casualties.

It took three more halls and two sets of stairs to get to her destination. Throwing open the doors to the Queen's study her hand dropped to her side and she let loose another horrific scream.

The Queen lay half on, half off the settee and there was no denying she was gone. Guards surrounded her; one was the Captain who lay across the legs of his ruler, gun in one hand while the other was wrapped in a strangle hold on a dead foe.

Lunging forward she cradled her mother much the same as she did her father just a few moments earlier, but this time anguish triumphed relief.

Rocking back and forth, DG's one arm supported her mother's shoulders while her other hand brushed through her white-laced tresses.

"No, no, no, no, no…" her mantra was unending, shaking her head in utter denial. "She's just asleep," she whispered.

"Two little princesses…" her voice quivered and shook as she sung the lullaby her mother had used to lull them to sleep as children. "Dancing in a row…" her chest hitched horribly as a sob tore from her lips. "Spinning fast and freely…" the tears streaming from her eyes flooded the pale cheeks of the woman in her arms. "On their little toes…"

The sound of footsteps went unheard as Jeb and Robbie slowly approached the grief-stricken girl.

"Wake up, Mother," DG pleaded, her words wobbling. "Sing me the rest, make this all go away…" she ordered as desperation took over. "Make it all a terrible dream."

Wrapping his arms around her chest, Robbie attempted to pull DG away. She began shrieking and holding tighter to the body covering her. It took Jeb taking hold of the Queen and Robbie pulling on DG, prying at her fingers, to extract her from her death grip… for that is exactly what it was.

Whirling around suddenly, DG clung to Robbie as if her life depended on it, weeping into his chest as he tried to console her with a gentle hand to her back and fingers through her hair.

"This can't be happening," she sobbed through her tears. "I never said… never told her… she doesn't know I love her," DG spluttered as her knees gave out and the two of them sunk to the floor. "I should've stayed… why did I leave?"

"DG," Jeb prodded, barely audible.

Removing one hand from its fierce clutch on the back of Robbie's shirt she wiped fruitlessly at the torrential downpour of tears on her cheeks. Cocking her head to the side, though not moving one step away from his protective embrace, DG looked at Jeb. He was holding up an object from his kneeling position next to her mother.

"It was in her hand…does it mean anything to you?" he asked quietly. Blinking back the moisture from her eyes she cleared her vision enough to see the object. A palm sized stone in the shape of a heart.

Pushing off of Robbie's chest she quickly snatched the special stone from Jeb wondering, fleetingly, how she managed to retrieve it from its watery grave. Pressing it to her lips she flung it across the room as if she were skimming the stone across the surface of the lake. It bounced five times, gold ripples oozing out from each place of impact.

Robbie gasped in surprise when the shimmering ringlets emerged out of nothingness.

"Look," Jeb exclaimed, pointing toward the mirror on the opposite side of the room. With wide eyes they watched in awe as it began to gleam, the image of the Queen appearing in its depths. Neither of the men could believe their eyes, they had not been around during the first trek into Finaqua when her image materialized in the gazebo.

All save DG were slack-jawed and motionless. DG moved warily to the holographic picture of her loved one, similar to her approach in the gazebo. This time she was not surprised by the manifestation, she was too drained and raw to admire the magical display.

"My darlings…" the reflection of the Queen began. "If you are receiving this then I did not survive the attack on the palace." Her face was somber and she wore the same blue gown as she had when she passed away. It only made DG believe she recorded this message just before her death.

"Ahamo," she purred. "I love you so dearly. Do not blame yourself, as I do not." The eyes of the woman in the mirror began to water with emotion she so rarely displayed. "You need to take care of our girls. I sent a travel storm for DG but I had it leave her in a different part of the OZ for her protection. They know where she is living and I could not in good conscious leave her there unaware and vulnerable."

DG gasped in surprise. While she was sure it was not some freak accident the tornado just happened to cross their path, she had no idea her mother was the one responsible. So the Queen, to keep her daughter safe, dropped her in the middle of the papay fields instead of bringing her to the palace where she might have been of some aide. Even though she was inexperienced with her magic she knew she would be able to call on it if the need were there. Once again someone looking out for her life, her wellbeing, lead to so many deaths.

Now her Kansas friends were in danger as well. Her stomach churned again with the thought of her friends being brought into the mayhem by mistake.

"My Azkadellia," her mother cut through her musings. "I trust Ambrose got you away from the palace before the raid. He will protect you, of that I'm certain." A tentative sigh of relief was erratically expelled from DG's lungs. Her sister and Glitch were likely alive. That was something.

"None of this is your fault, my pretty one. Do not give yourself up to these people for any reason. That is my last command for you." So it was Az they were after, not that it surprised DG. But she thought things would have calmed down some, not escalated to such immense proportions.

"My Angel…" and DG lost the tenuous hold on her emotions with the tender nickname her mother used so frequently in their brief time together after the eclipse. Now she would only have this recording as a reminder. Her chest hitched again and her bloodshot eyes burned as the last of her tears escaped.

"I tried to get you as close to the village where the Cains dwell as I could, in the hope they would have heard about the attack and would protect you." So, it was not a coincidence the first village they arrived at housed Cain. She heard Jeb shuffle uncomfortably next to her but did not turn to see him, focusing all her attention on the image of her mother.

"I fear these men might try to take you in order to get your sister to give herself up. As you have heard, I have forbidden Az from doing so." The Queen's face contorted in pain. "I cannot trade one daughter for the other. I hope you understand. You must be careful."

DG did understand. She, too, would not want Az trading her own life to save the life of her sister. There was already too much blood on her hands.

"Together, I know you will discover a way to stop this turmoil." her mother continued. "Find each other. Protect each other. Love each other. I will always be with you, my darlings, as long as you remember me." DG's heart ached as her mother's image began to fade.

Scrambling across the room DG picked up the stone heart from the corner where it landed. Flinging it back across the floor toward her two companions she rushed for the mirror, watching her mother appear for a second time. Desperately she clutched the sides of the floor length mirror for support, eyes trained on her mother. She watched, not really listening to the words as much as listening to the sound of her voice. Tentatively she reached out trembling fingers to run over the mouth and jaw of the echo of her mother wavering in the reflective glass, smudging wet fingerprints onto the cool surface.

After she watched a total of four times, Robbie snatched the stone from its resting place before she could retrieve it for a fifth viewing. Pocketing the recording device, knowing she had seen enough, he braced himself for anger that never came. When she went in search of the stone the last time, noticing it was gone, she eyed Robbie who patted the side of his leg wear he placed the object. A simple nod was the only response he received as she knelt down next to her mother once more, kissing her forehead tenderly.

"Please help me…" she pleaded, not looking up from the face of her mother as she put her arms under the lifeless ones. In an instant DG was maneuvered aside as Jeb took her place, Robbie picking up her feet.

"We have to bury her properly…" DG wheezed. "She deserves that much."

Silently the three traversed back through the tomb of the palace, the men holding fast to the Queen as they followed lethargically behind the Princess. All were lost in thought, each trying to come to terms with all they had seen and heard since they crossed the barrier of the maze.

Nothing would ever be the same.

They could only hope to stop the fighting before more lives were lost.

AN: Let me know what you think... Please!!