Sweeter than Song and Wheel
Jeb Cain sighed to himself as he climbed to the top of the Northern Island's highest tower. The stairs echoed his footsteps, as lonely as his own heartbeat.
What does a revolutionary leader do when there's no more revolution?
The Queen had offered him a position as her private security. The guards had guaranteed him a captaincy. Many a pretty girl had brazenly offered to be his wife, but none of those appealed to him.
None appealed to his heart.
"You have to have heart," he muttered to himself, echoing his father's words from long ago.
It seemed his life to this point was but a dream. Victory was achieved with one glorious battle after years of running ragged in the woods. The young princess was alive. His father was alive. The world was at peace.
So why was he so unhappy?
There were still Longcoats to hunt down, towns to rebuild, and a new government to train. Gone was the monarchy of House of Gale. Now revolutionaries and advisors could make their own laws and edicts.
DG certainly didn't want the job. The Queen wished to spend her remaining years with her husband.
Azkadellia… well… Let's just say the first outing of her in public was a disaster. His father's trigger finger was itching as he wiped the broken eggs from his duster.
Then the eldest princess of the O.Z. disappeared.
Without a trace, all of the Shining City on the Hill's troops searched for weeks in vain. The townspeople begrudgingly looked for the girl, too haunted by the Sorceress' tyrannical reign, but their efforts, too, proved futile.
Jeb let the others do the searching. He had his own methods. His interest in the possessed girl was starting to be an obsession.
Was it the witch who dictated the orders, or if it was the beautiful woman?
No one could be trapped for ten years without fighting somehow.
Interviews had proved enlightening.
"She was a genius with her magic," Tutor intoned with his deep voice.
Glitch butt in, "She knew all of the elements in the Ozian Periodic Table before she was nine years old!"
"She loved us," the Lavender eyed Queen smiled with her husband.
The unspoken before lingered in the air.
Before the witch.
The holo-vids clearly showed the separation of the two atop the dias after the suns were frozen behind the moon, but who controlled whom?
He patted his pocket, feeling for the small brown journal he found in Azkadellia's childhood room. It was the writings of a teenage girl, noting the annoying advisors, boring lessons, or handsome guards. He found himself sympathizing with the girl. A distinct handwriting and tone change just before DG's death had been proof of another personality, a parasite living within the princess.
I was wrong about you, Azkadellia. No one could be trapped like you were, and stay sane. As soon as the people read your diary in the newspapers, maybe you'll come out of hiding.
He made to leave the Northern Island, but something called him to the high tower.
TinManTinManTinManTinMan
If ever a person embodied the word, "princess," it would be the one in front of him, he thought with wonder.
She was dressed in long silken emerald green, with flowing waves of black curly hair. A slender jeweled circlet was the only indication of her lofty station. Her slim, pale hands were throwing red and yellow poppies onto a roaring fire. Surprisingly these blooms held their form as the fire raged.
"Jeb," she said with a smile. "You came."
He gave a clumsy bow. "You know my name?"
"I know all who live in my kingdom. You know me too. I am Princess Ozma."
The young man never cared for history, but it was still to his amazement that one of the first rulers of the Outer Zone now stood before him.
"How can I help you, your majesty?"
The beautiful woman gave him a generous smile. "You have already sacrificed your youth to free your people. You could live a life of ease, yet you still offer to aid me?"
Jeb shuffled his feet, embarrassed. "I don't like being idle. Give me a battle to fight, or a task to finish. You must be here for a reason."
"You certainly have a tactician's mind, but I can tell your heart is troubled. I hope this will solve both of our problems," the princess stated with a mysterious smile. "When you return to the palace, you'll find the royal family stricken with an illness."
The young commander nearly wanted to rush out the door immediately. His father could be in danger! It must be the Sorceress' allies, still carrying out her cause!
"Peace, Jeb. All you hold dear to your heart are safe, for now. I am giving you two things to help you in your journey."
TinManTinManTinMan
The creature was ugly.
Vaguely dog-like with massive webbed paws, a snaggle toothed beast came out from the shadows. Jeb recoiled in horror.
"Hush, Lia," Ozma soothed the animal with a soft hand on its brow. Lia merely cowered, hiding its large yellow eyes in her paws.
"She will obey your commands, Jeb, and in addition…"
The grand princess took the fireplace poker with surprising strength, raking the poppies until the fire blazed at its zenith.
"Place your hands in the fire."
Jeb balked, but after he gathered his courage, thrust his hands into the inferno.
It was agony, pure agony. His hands felt as if every inch was burning away into the bone. He thought to cry out, but the gentle look on Ozma's face kept him silent.
She looks familiar. It must be the resemblance to DG and Azkadellia, he thought.
Before he couldn't bear it any longer, the fairy princess drew his hands out.
"My hands! They aren't burnt at all!" he exclaimed.
The dark tresses shook in amusement. "No, my boy, but feel."
She took one of Lia's massive paws, and placed it in Jeb's.
Strange, instead of fur and muscle, he felt soft hands, like a woman's, with a small scar on the back of her right thumb.
"Your father can judge the hearts of men on sight, but you, Jeb, commander of the O.Z. resistance forces, can now feel them by touch. It may surprise you, what you discover to be human or animal."
With one last smile, the woman disappeared, leaving Jeb and an ugly beast, standing in an empty room.
TinManTinManTinManTinMan
"You can take DG's room. It's right next door."
The hour grew late, and Jeb took his rest with blankets on the floor of the eldest princess' room, where he had been for the past few days. It felt strange talking to someone that couldn't answer back.
"I got used to sleeping on the forest floor, so the bed's all yours."
The great beast whined, slightly, looking into DG's room, as if fearing the very air inside. Instead, she jumped joyfully on Azkadellia's bed, pushing a curious nose among the many knickknacks which littered the room.
Jeb was glad she wasn't one to snore.
At dawn's first light, the impromptu pair were off, making their way back to the grand palace.
TinManTinManTinManTinMan
Jeb sighed, breathing in the fresh open air.
"Maybe I'll take the hot air balloon ride with Ahamo," he spoke to his silent companion. He bet the view would be spectacular.
The creature gave an enthusiastic bark.
Ok maybe not so silent, but he smiled back with a grin. He hadn't smiled in a long time. Maybe it was better that he got away from stuffy palaces.
They stopped in a town to get breakfast.
"Jeb Cain!" A few of the townspeople exclaimed. The young resistance fighter was famous, before, with his wanted posters, and after, as the great hero of the O.Z. It was an extraordinary kind of man who could survive years being hunted by the Longcoats and Azkadellia's guards.
"The sorceress," the elders corrected the young ones. It was difficult to disengage the two.
"Maybe it would be better if Azkadellia stayed in hiding," Jeb murmured to himself.
"No, no!" The little ones cried. "Azkadellia fixed our fort," a gap-toothed child interrupted.
The young fighter quickly bent down to the girl's smaller height. "When did you see her?"
"About a month ago. She used her awesome magic to make our fort stand back up. It was so cool!"
Jeb sighed, noting the timeline mentally. A month and the elder princess could be anywhere by now! Still, he was glad the young woman was doing good deeds.
Tales like this followed the handsome man and his unusual companion.
"Azkadellia repaired the roadway!"
"She gave us money for our sick grandmother's medicine."
"She made my doll fly!"
He knew, without having to touch, that within their hearts, the townspeople loved their princess.
As he settled down for the night, out under the open sky, Jeb read outloud more passages from the young princess' musings. She talked about her hopes and dreams. She wanted to help her subjects, wash away the filth from Emerald City, and open the Northern Island to more settlements. He felt his heart begin to beat in tune with hers.
Lia had curled up beside him, sleeping soundly. In his half drowsy state, Jeb could see the woman on his mind, resting beside him, instead of the beast's ugly form.
TinManTinManTinManTinMan
His arrival back to the Sorceress' former fortress was not met with any fanfare. Jeb Cain took the smaller side entrance to the servant's quarters, not wishing to scare anyone with Lia's bulk. She merely melted into the shadows.
He was glad to see guards in the royal wing, with his father himself overseeing DG's protection.
Raw was performing a healing session on the youngest princess. Despite looking pale, DG still had fire and energy in her bright, blue eyes.
"Jeb! Get me out of here. Save me from your father!"
The son had to grin at her light teasing.
"What happened, Deeg?"
She pursed her lips. "Not long after the celebrations were over for the new government, the Queen, Ahamo, and I all started feeling ill with fever and chills. We couldn't eat anything, not even cake!" she whined. "The doctor said it wasn't a disease, since it was only us three, but your dad changed the cook, kitchen staff, and even taste tested all of our food, and we're still sick!"
Jeb frowned. He knew the princess was itching to ride the motorcycle that the machinemen had made for her in Milltown.
"We'll get to the bottom of this, DG."
"We?" she asked in confusion.
A dark form emerged, gliding forth from silence itself. DG almost screamed, but she held her tongue in time.
"Aren't you adorable," she crooned, scratching the creature behind the ears. Lia huffed in satisfaction, giving the princess a small lick in gratitude. The dark beast circled the girl's bedside, concerned about the ill family.
Jeb spoke to his father privately about Princess Ozma and her task for him. He was glad his father's grip was strong, with a human touch.
"Welcome home, son."
The young soldier gave a small smile.
There's no place like home, but the palace was not home for him.
TinManTinManTinManTinMan
Jeb had run out of ideas.
He sat by the Lake, idly running his hands through Lia's fur. The great dog was panting beside him in the warmth.
Funny, it feels like I'm touching long locks of hair. It's soft.
The resistance leader shook the errant thoughts away, focusing on his situation. He had personally interviewed all those who were in contact with the royals, from the lowliest chambermaid to the royal butler himself. All of their hands held no trace of evil.
Lia also was pondering her own conundrum. She had paced back and forth alongside the Lake, as if trying to remember something, before flopping beside Jeb. He spoke randomly hoping to jog her memory.
"Father suspects it's poison, and perhaps the taste testers don't ingest enough to feel any effects. Who could sneak it in? The entrances are all guarded, unless there's a passageway we don't know about."
The creature bolted up, nearly knocking into Jeb's head in the rush. She gave him an enthusiastic kiss on the cheek before flying away on her large feet.
Now, Jeb was a fast runner, but he couldn't compare to Lia's speed. She sat cheerfully wagging her snakelike tail in front of a stone wall that seemed to have an inch of moss growing upon it.
"Yes?" Jeb spoke, as if expecting her to respond back.
She gently took his hand with her sharp teeth, pulling it towards a crevice.
A breeze? But there wasn't any wind blowing.
He grinned widely back at her, "There is a secret way into the palace! Good job, Lia!" He bent down, giving her an affectionate thanks.
It was but a moment to find the secret lever that opened the portal. Silently, the pair entered. Jeb was glad he had been trained by the fighters in stealth and movement.
Low voices drifted up the corridor.
"What's taking so long for the doctor to get here?" a voice groused.
Jeb racked his memory for the identity.
It sounded like the guard for the storeroom. Jen… Jinjur?
She was a recent transplant from Munchinkinland. Pretty, eager to learn, but something had needled Jeb when he first met her. He remembered shaking hands with all the pretty maids, and fending off their advances. It would be easy for a servant to use the hidden pathway to sneak in and out.
Her hands felt strange then, as if… she was wearing gloves!
Jeb forced his racing heart to calm.
Doctor Bower came huffing and puffing in. A rotund man with a goatee and spectacles, he was the epitome of one in the medical profession.
And also the one man who I haven't had a chance to grasp his hand yet! Jeb thought with horror.
"Jinjur! I have to meet the royals in five minutes! This is a high risk being seen together."
The women hissed, "My mistress wants to know what's taking so long. The Queen, the Seeker, and DG were supposed to be dead weeks ago! Mombi wants to be Queen, now!"
An exasperated huff of air met her complaint. "The poison is slow acting. The Tin Man watches my every move, and now his son is poking his nose where it doesn't belong. She can be happy though. The fatal dose is in my hands now. I'll administer it to them as soon as I'm through with your foolish blathering!"
Jeb and Lia didn't wait to hear the response.
Both man and beast took off running, easily escaping the secret tunnel, and vaulting the stairs and great passageways to the royal chambers.
"We…have got…to talk about… getting… everyone closer rooms," Jeb panted to Lia. The animal could only grin back at him, with her long tongue lolling out.
TinManTinManTinManTinMan
The doctor entered the room congenially, giving out an enthusiastic greeting. He brandished a green vial.
"An elixir from Central City! Myself and my best colleagues in the medical profession worked on this as soon as we heard you were ill, your majesties."
The Lavender eyed Queen raised a weak hand to her former advisor. "Ambrose, if you could be so kind as to analyze its contents for me?"
Dr. Bower stammered out his complaints. "No, no your highness! The solution must be administered as soon as possible. Its potency diminishes by the minute!"
"Lia, grab him!"
Jeb's command startled the physician. More so when he saw what kind of creature had seized him by the ankle. One bite from her massive jaws would easily sever his foot. The doctor gulped in fear.
The young commander smoothly took the poisoned glass from the villain. He grasped the man's hand with his free one.
It was the most revolting feeling he had ever experienced.
Slime, scales. His hands feel like a monster's!
Jeb recoiled in disgust, and Lia tightened her jaws.
"Call her off, son," his father ordered him, nodding to the guards to take their former healer away.
The "monster" reluctantly let go, growling all the while.
TinManTinManTinMan
Within the next day, the royal House of Gale was feeling tremendously better.
Wyatt Cain snarled, "It was that rat all along! He was here when they first came down with their illness. We all trusted him."
Ahamo told his spies to look for the woman, Jinjur, and her mistress, Mombi. The lithe maid had disappeared as soon as the doctor was arrested.
Both men vowed to revamp their entire security detail.
"I'm glad you were here, son" Wyatt congratulated his boy. This was the second time his child had saved the kingdom.
Oh Adora, how proud you would be to see him.
His boy blushed at the praise. "It was all thanks to Lia. She was the one who sniffed out the secret entrance."
"The sorceress must have had it installed when she lived here," Ahamo surmised. "It was lucky your pet had such a keen nose."
Their celebration dinner was a small affair, and tales soon turned to the missing princess.
"And that's when the chicken pecked Azkadellia's hand! She was so mad because she couldn't draw for a week with the bandage on!"
The Queen fretted. "We must put all of our efforts to find her. She can do so much even without being in the public eye."
Lia nosed her way into her lap, giving her a toothy smile.
She was startled, but smiled affectionately at the creature. "We could use you, Lia, to find Akadellia."
Wyatt noticed his son straighten up suddenly at her kind words to the lad's partner in heroics, but the elder man dismissed it, distracted by seeing DG's bright smile.
The next morning.
"Stay in the palace, son."
"I can't Father. I need to return Lia to Princess Ozma, but I'll be back with a surprise."
The older man gave an affectionate hug to his only child. "Come back soon. Stay safe." He wondered what his son would bring.
TinManTinManTinMan
Back in the halls of the palace located in the frozen North, Jeb again was met by the roaring fire of red and yellow poppies.
Princess Ozma appeared, just as beautiful as ever.
"Give me your hands, Jeb."
He expected another burning, but instead her cooling touch.
"My gift is gone from you, but I expect you can easily read men's hearts now."
The regal woman bent down. "Now, Lia, it's your turn."
"Please wait," the young man murmured. He, too, bent down, taking her large paws.
He could feel the soft, human hands, and the small scar on the back of her right thumb from an irate chicken.
"Only you could know about the secret entrance. You fought the witch with all you could. We'll let the whole O.Z. know, together. I'll see you soon, Azkadellia."
The golden eyes turned bashful, then shifted into a joy with an intensity like the fiery inferno before her. With one great leap, she disappeared into the flames.
Ozma, also, gave Jeb a beautiful smile before disappearing.
TinManTinManTinMan
The morning dawned, bright and clear, with light birdsong in the air.
She slid beside him, dressed in a homespun dress, so unlike the Sorceress. Her hair was braided in a long queue down her back. With a shy face, she took his hand in hers as they both watched the rising suns.
Jeb grinned back at her, his heart feeling as light as air.
I'm going to need to ask Father how to build a cottage in the woods.
Where they'd recover from their hurts, together.
I seem to write a Az/Jeb story every two years. This is a one shot this time. I'm not sure how much of an interest is in this couple, but I'll keep writing. This story was based off of The Princess and Curdie which was the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin. Jinjur is a character from The Marvelous Land of Oz, and as always I take from the original Tin Man source material.
Let me know what you think,
Grignard
