Disclaimer: Sadly, Tin Man is not my property.
As he watched Deeg being dragged off by her sister he felt a twinge of pity for her. He certainly wouldn't want to be going to a ball after being made up by the heir apparent if he were her. Then again the girl had said she didn't want to go to the party at all. He had never seen anyone less interested in the fact that it was their birthday, and when he found out she was only going to her party so her sister could make an announcement, he felt as if she had been cheated out of something.
He had learned a few things about her in the last week. Once you managed to wiggle your way into her trust she was utterly charming. She was quick witted and sweet. She had listened to him while he talked and had an amazing way of keeping a conversation going if she was interested. Deeg was also one the most observant people he had ever met, not including himself. She could pick up on shifts in emotion nearly as well as her viewer could and responded to what was going on unconsciously.
The Kid was also extremely shy. He had no idea how she managed to keep that hidden with the way she reacted around her family and the few nobles that had shown up while they were here. If he hadn't been aware of her ability to hide herself he never would have known she was pretending to be so outgoing. He thought she probably put more effort into fighting back her flight response to people than she did into anything else. It had become apparent in one day that she did not want to be in Central City. She refused to leave the palace and avoided her family at almost any cost.
Most days he found her hidden away in some room with the viewer. She enjoyed reading as much as she did drawing, but he had never seen her sketchbook out when there was a chance one of her parents might walk in. She was also able to sit in silence for long periods of time without making it awkward. If he hadn't thought the rumors about her were false before they got here he was sure they were now. People like her didn't go out looking for trouble, not the drinking kind at any rate.
Setting down the cards he looked at the viewer. "She looked like she was being led to the gallows."
Raw huffed out a laugh. "Would rather be in gallows then at party."
"No kiddin'." He shook his head. "Some birthday."
Raw shrugged as he collected the cards. "DG know this would happen. Has accepted. Does not mean she likes."
"She doesn't fit in with the rest of the nobles I've met over the years."
"No." The viewer agreed. "When magic destroyed DG leave."
"What?" His voice was sharper than he had meant it to be. The last thing the girl needed was to disappear without protection. He tried to ignore the fact that it would bother him a great deal more than it should if he didn't know where she was.
"Not happy here." Raw seemed sad. "Wants home. Raw think she leave this place forever. Not come back."
"Wouldn't you be goin' with her?" The fact that the viewer seemed to think she would leave without him was even more troubling.
"Raw have family. DG knows this. Would not ask Raw to leave them with her."
"She could be killed if she's alone."
Raw nodded in agreement. "DG takes care of self. Has been taking care of self since seventeen. Forced. Does not know how to accept help."
He let out a frustrated breath as he stood from the table. "I'm starting to seriously question her parents regard for her welfare."
Raw was silent and he figured he wasn't going to get an answer out of him about what had happened between Deeg and the royal couple. Leaving the study and the contemplative viewer he spent the next few hours with the duke before leaving to change for the party. The walk down to the ball was uneventful and the guests were already hip deep as he slid into the hall. Keeping toward the outskirts of the crowd he spotted the viewer on the other side of the ballroom as he made himself aware of everything that was going on around him. He hated events like this. It was always chaotic, in bodyguard terms dangerous, and when you added possible magic attacks into the mix it was downright treacherous.
Keeping one eye on the Mystic Man's movements and one on the ever-shifting crowd as he stood in the background was not his idea of a good time. Forty minutes in and he started to feel a headache coming on. Three minutes after that and the royal couple was announced. He watched as they descended the stairs followed closely by their oldest daughter and her fiancé. Azkadilla looked giddily happy as she leaned into the advisor. He wondered how many people were going to be surprised at her announcement tonight with the way they were hanging on each other and their matching colors.
He shook his head over the two as Deeg was announced. When she came around the corner he actually felt his heart skip a beat. She was the most beautiful woman in the hall without question. He thought she looked every bit the princess she was as she glided down the grand staircase. As she came closer to the bottom though, he noted that a small fake smile was plastered over her face as her eyes flew over the hall. He tried not to clench his fists as her father began to lead her toward a group of nobles and her eyes died.
He had never seen anyone look as unhappy as she did in that moment and he spent nearly two decades arresting people. He caught her looking the other way and followed her line of sight. Deeg had managed to pick the viewer out of the crowd and he saw her noticeably relax even as a few stray whispers about her made their way to his ears. None of them were very complimentary. Keeping his temper under firm control he found the Mystic Man again and realized why she had been so reluctant to come here.
After that he mostly lost track of her as she was taken out to the dance floor by one man after another. Every now and then he would flick his gaze in her direction and see she was either bored out of her mind or fighting back her urge to leave, until the last time he looked up and saw her that is. The first thing that tipped him off was the strangely growing space between the other dancers and the man that was dancing with her. The second thing he noticed, the thing that made him start shoving past the guests was the look of pure rage on her face. Her mask had vanished and he knew something was very wrong.
He caught sight of the viewer pushing in from the other side of the crowd with an expression of flat out fear as the Kid stopped mid-spin. He saw the man say something to her with a sick smile before he grabbed her and pressed his lips against hers. Fury like he hadn't felt in years exploded in his chest as the princess hit the man with a spell that sent him reeling backwards.
He had his gun drawn and pressed against the back of the man's head before he even realized that magic was fanning off of him in dark waves. After his growled warning the man had locked eyes with Deeg and threatened her with pleasure before his magic engulfed him. Another sundial suddenly clattered to the ground next to his feet and he knew, more or less, what must have happened.
He had taken hold of her arm and started her up the stairs without once thinking about the safety of his actual charge. She had started shaking the moment she spotted the viewer and he felt confusion spark in him. Raw had been even more nervous than the girl as he insisted they get back to her rooms. He knew better than to question the protective instincts between pack members and took them there without question.
Once they were there and he was sure the rooms were safe he had asked her if she was all right. She had retreated and he knew whatever had happened had upset her more than she was going to admit to. He saw anger, disappointment, and disgust rolling behind her eyes as she insisted she simply needed to change out of her dress. Despite his instinctive reluctance to leave her he knew he needed to find out if anything had happened in the hall. When she had accepted this without question he felt another jab of rage. He doubted anyone had ever stayed with her when she was frightened. Ordering the viewer to remain with her he had rushed back to the ball so he could get back to her more quickly.
What he found was a number of panicked people and an incensed old man. "Is Dorothy injured?"
"Not that I could tell." Drawing the Mystic Man toward a wall he kept his eyes on the exiting crowd. The party was over for sure now. He saw the queen and consort trying to maintain order as the crowd dispersed, then heard a scream from a side entrance. His hand flew to his gun as a middle aged woman tripped back out into the hall pointing toward the door she had been trying to leave out of. Four guards had rushed toward the area with their weapons drawn. A moment later and one came back out looking grim. He heard the woman shrieking about the two dead guards and decided they needed to get out of there. "Time to go."
The duke shook his head and started toward his oldest niece. "There are three mages down here, Wyatt. We can take care of anything that happens with the guards and if I go missing too it will only cause more panic. Go back to Dorothy."
For once he didn't argue with the stubborn man. He had simply tilted his head in acknowledgement and vanished from the duke's side. When he got back to her room Deeg was pacing like a caged animal. She had changed into her preferred set of clothes and he knew she was trying to gain some sort of control over the situation. When he didn't see the Furball with her his temper rose up again. He was supposed to be watching her while he was gone!
She had immediately asked him about the safety of everyone else as if she never considered the fact that she should be worried about herself. He told her what had happened and fought the urge to curse as he saw guilt fly over her face. Catching her he had held her as still as possible so he could make sure that she hadn't been injured in a place he couldn't see. When her iron control finally snapped all he could do was try to comfort her.
She had gone stiff as he pulled her to him before hiding her face against his chest as she shivered. Her small hands had come up and bunched in his jacket, and he wasn't sure if he would ever stop being angry over what had happened to her. He could only imagine what she must be feeling and started running his fingers through her curly hair. She had burrowed closer to him and he felt guilty for not paying closer attention to her.
Then she had tried to convince herself she was fine and failed miserably. He blamed her still vulnerable state for her mistaken confession to him. Deeg was usually so in control of herself that he was amazed she had let slip that something was off about her magic. It was the first time she had even hinted about what had happened to separate her so completely from her family. At her wild eyed start he had started questioning her.
"How is it not the same?" When she shied away from him he had softly asked her why she was so frightened. He had a feeling he was very close to finding out about her past. All she needed was a small push. "What has you so scared, Sweetheart?"
She shook her head firmly at the question. He saw thoughts racing over her eyes as she avoided the answer. "It doesn't matter. I should have sensed him."
He was silent as he watched her. His need to comfort her was being thwarted by her habitual fear of her past. He realized they had hit a wall. If she couldn't get past this with him he didn't know what to do. He decided to go with the honesty route since she had responded to it so well before. "I can't help you if you won't trust me."
Deeg began to fight with herself. Raising his hand he brushed her skin as she struggled to break away from the secrecy she was so firmly wrapped in. When she opened her eyes he felt relief wash through him. While there was still fear in her eyes he could tell she was about to make a huge leap of faith for him.
Sucking in a breath she gave him a shaky nod. "That man…"
She stopped and he nudged her to get her started again. She had said that like she knew him. That wasn't good. "That man?"
"He knows why I can sense him." She licked her dry lips. "Cain… They'll send me away again if they find out. And not just for a few years this time." He couldn't look away from her. What would cause her parents to send her away for so long? What in Ozma's name could be so bad that she hadn't told them and still got sent away? She was all out terrified about whatever she had done, and he waited as she practically pleaded with him to keep this a secret. "I can't protect my sister if they do that."
He was on the verge of asking her to tell him when there was a knock on her door. She jumped away from him at the sound. Putting space between them to keep up appearances, he was beyond frustrated when her father walked in. "Spitfire, are you alright?"
Her mask went on before the man was all the way through the door and he could have hit the consort for coming in at such an inopportune moment. He had been seconds away from getting her story and now she had been chased back into herself. "Yes."
Ahamo moved toward her and she stepped away from him quickly, putting a couch between them. He stopped, bouncing back on the balls of his feet. "Did he hurt you?" He could see the anxiety in the other man but Deeg was acting like he might reach out and hurt her at any moment.
"No." The Kid wasn't giving him anything to work with and he was struggling.
"Did he say anything to you?"
She lied without blinking or hesitating. "No."
"He must have said something!" The consort was grasping at straws. He knew the other man needed answers to protect his family but he was sure going about it the wrong way.
"He didn't."
Ahamo's arms flew up and he saw her go stiff as the other man vented. "This is crazy! There would be no reason for him to sneak in here if he didn't have something to say! Liam said you could feel his magic! Why didn't you know he was here?"
"I don't know." There was a genuine note of confusion in her voice. "He was shielding his magic somehow."
"Are you lying to me?"
That stung her something awful. "Why would I let him hurt anyone?" Deeg blinked rapidly. "Why would I have let him touch me?"
Ahamo had good grace to look ashamed but he decided he'd had enough of this. Stepping between them he ignored every lesson he had ever learned about social standing and court protocol. "I think you'd best go."
The consort's eyes flashed. "Excuse me?"
He met Ahamo's stare with an icy one of his own. "Your girl's just been attacked and you're in here yelling at her as if she asked it to happen? You should be in here making sure she's feeling safe." His tone clearly indicated his disapproval of this man's fathering skills. "You saw her try to blast him. Leave her be."
The consort was practically vibrating with his displeasure. "Please leave." The Kid's voice was wavering something terrible. "I told you what I wanted when I got here. I told you what you wanted to know." He saw her eyes lock on her father's face resolutely. "I don't want you here."
Ahamo looked at her for a long time before jerking his head, his jaw tight. Without another word he turned and stalked out of her rooms, shutting the door behind him. When he turned back around she was staring at her hands as she gripped the back of the sofa. "You shouldn't have done that." Suddenly one of her hands darted up and swiped at her eyes. "You're going to get fired."
"First off, I work for the duke, not your father. The consort can't fire me." He walked over to her. "And second, I most certainly should have done that. You shouldn't be yelled at for something you had nothing to do with."
She shook her head. "He doesn't trust me. Old habits die hard, right?"
"Deeg-" The Kid finally looked up at him. "-You need to tell me what's going on."
Gulping she nodded. "It's a long story."
Catching her hand he pulled her around to the front of the couch. "We'd best be comfortable then." Sitting down she pressed into the side of the couch and drew her knees up. He waited as she began to sort out her thoughts.
Author Note: Ooooo. Looks like it's almost time to find out what happened! Are you excited? Can't you taste it? Make me write it faster! Leave a review!