*/*

For the second morning in a row, he woke with his princess in his arms. DG was still sound asleep as he slowly became aware of his surroundings, and he took advantage of the opportunity to study her without making her self-conscious.

She still looked pale, but the shadows under her eyes had started to recede. Her features were relaxed and calm, a small smile on her lips as she tried to burrow further into his warmth. He tightened his hold on her so he could roll them over, keeping her between the side of the tent and his body on the narrow cot.

She'd lost weight, he realised, not that there'd been much of it for her to lose. Thinking back, he couldn't remember seeing her eat much more than a bite or two during the meals they'd shared; she'd barely touched her muglug the night before, and he doubted she'd had much of an appetite during her evening meal the night before that with the Lord he'd heard nothing but bad things about.

While DG was preoccupied with her mission to heal the OZ and clear Azkadellia's name, he'd make it his mission to take care of her. She'd fight him at first, of that he had no doubt, but she was going to have to get used to it.

As if sensing his thoughts and wanting to protest them, DG began to stir. She woke slowly, her eyelids fluttering before she opened them to look at him. When she saw he was already awake and gazing at her, a beautiful smile spread across her face, and it was all he could do to lean in and kiss her in greeting.

"Good morning," he mumbled against her lips.

"Mmm, morning." She stretched against him, a wicked sparkle in her eye at the muted groan he gave in response. "I could get used to waking up like this."

"Precariously balanced on a cot in a cold tent in the middle of the forest?"

She snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes at him. "Of course, what else could I mean?"

They lay watching each other for a few moments more until sounds from outside of the tent started to intrude on the moment. Knowing it was time to get back to reality, Cain stole another soft kiss from her lips before rolling away from her and off the cot, rising swiftly to his feet.

DG watched him unashamedly, a smile playing on her mouth. "Very graceful. You'll have to show me how you do that."

He snorted and shook his head. "You're too tangled in the blankets to attempt it without breakin' something."

She was wrapped in the blanket and, she belatedly realised, in his duster. Snuggling into the latter with a sigh of contentment that it still held his scent, she watched him methodically get ready to face the day, collecting what he needed to take down to the stream with him to clean up but making sure anything unnecessary was neatly folded and stored in his pack.

"What's so amusing?" He asked when he turned around and noticed her watching with a smirk on her face.

"You're a neat freak," she told him matter-of-factly. "Have you always been so neat and tidy or is it a Tin Man thing?"

"It's a 'my mother would've had my hide if I didn't tidy up after myself' thing," he told her. "She was downright frightenin' when she wanted to be."

The mention of his mother brought his father to mind, and DG sat up on the cot, her eyes narrowed. "Speaking of parents, are you sure you don't want to go and see your father? He said it'd been eight annuals, maybe more, since he last saw you. It's why he thought you and Jeb had died during the war."

"We're going to go and see him, on the way back to Central City when you're done on your tour."

"You don't have to wait until then," she told him quietly. "You and Jeb could go now. I'm sure Sam would be thrilled to see you."

"He'll be just as thrilled to see us in a few weeks," Cain assured her. "I'm not going anywhere unless you're going with me, no arguments. Which means you've got about two minutes to get yourself out of bed and ready to go to the stream to wash."

She tried pouting to see if he would make him lenient, but his response was to arch an eyebrow and stride towards the cot. He leaned in, and she thought, just for a second, that he was about to kiss her, but he merely held himself a few inches away from her and reached out to yank his duster from around her shoulders.

"That was mean, Cain," she complained, rubbing her arms when the cool air hit her through the shirt she'd slept in.

"The name's Wyatt, DG. When we're alone at least." He shrugged into his duster and reached for her coat, tossing it to her. "One minute left."

Grumbling the whole time, DG reluctantly left the relative comfort of the cot and started to collect her things. She muttered under her breath about overbearing Tin Men, but Cain didn't comment, standing patiently by the flap of the tent until she was done.

She was just about ready to leave when a thought struck her and she stopped, staring at him with wide eyes.

"What?"

"You spent the night in here," she said, covering her mouth with a hand.

"I'm aware of that," Cain replied wryly.

"And so is everyone else! What will they think? What will Jeb think?" Her cheeks flushed and she blinked at him. "Oh, my god. If my parents found out, they'd flip."

"Not quite sure what flippin' has to do with it but I'm sure it won't get back to them, Deege." His expression was entirely unconcerned. "Besides, I think I've made my intentions towards you quite clear. If I hadn't, Jeb would've no doubt set anyone straight if they were nosey enough to ask."

"Your intentions," she repeated slowly. "You're talking about the whole courting thing."

He smirked, amused. "Yes."

"Potential betrothals aside, what does the courting thing entail, exactly?" She shrugged into her coat, wrapping it around herself as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"The courtin' thing?" Cain repeated. "Hasn't anyone explained it to you? Your parents, your sister? The Headcase?"

"My parents are busy trying to run a country, my sister isn't exactly wanting for suitors what with the whole 'evil wore her face' for half of her life so it would be a little insensitive to ask, and I'm pretty sure Glitch is the last person I should be talking to about this stuff. You never know when he's going to glitch and start telling the gardener what he's been talking about that day, and if you're really unlucky and get Ambrose just after, he's just as likely to go running to my Mother and tell her I'm planning to elope with said gardener. Things tend to get very confusing with him around."

Cain stared at her, trying to figure out if what she'd said had actually happened or was just a very plausible theory. "You know about suitors."

"I have several," she answered with a dismissive shrug. "I've thus far managed to avoid meeting any of them."

"Other than me," he pointed out.

"You're different," she protested with the roll of her eyes. "You're, well, you."

"I'm glad we established that." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Courting is what's done when a suitor makes their intentions known and they're not immediately rebuffed. If you'd met with any of your other suitors, they'd be sending you gifts, makin' arrangements to visit you at the palace, that sort of thing."

"You're not sending me gifts but you're here and you're sharing my tent." She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "Am I expected to spend the night with my suitors?"

His face burned, his cheeks growing an amusing shade of red as he stared at her. "No!"

"So just you then?" It was DG's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You said they wouldn't think much of you being in here because of your intentions. Your intentions are to court me, which are the same as any of the other suitors so – Cain? Wyatt?" She gulped as he strode towards her, taking his time but with a look of intent on his face.

"My intentions," he told her seriously, "are to make you mine. I want to marry you, DG. I want to make a life with you. Putting the whole betrothal aside, you've not turned me away."

Her knees had gone weak at some point during his explanation and she found herself reaching out to grab his duster by the lapels just to keep herself upright. "I'm not turning you away," she agreed, gazing up at him.

"Then that's enough for now," he murmured, hands resting momentarily on her hips before he took a reluctant step back. "Minutes up, Princess."

"Oh, how I wish we had more than a minute." Turning away from him with effort, she grabbed what she needed before turning back to see him open the tent so she could precede him outside.

There were greeted with good mornings and hellos from their fellow travellers and, though she looked for it, she saw no sign that anyone was surprised or judging of the fact that Cain walked out of her tent behind her.

*\*

Fordham was a bigger town than Hirshall. The greeting they received was a little more wary, polite but uncertain as if the people of the town weren't sure why she'd chosen to visit them.

There was no Mayor to speak to, but the town's sheriff and healer stepped forward and introduced themselves as the nominated representatives.

The Sheriff gave Cain a speculative look when he stepped up, fingers hooked into his belt. "Cain, did you say? Wouldn't happen to be Wyatt Cain, would it?"

Cain tipped his fedora back so he could get a clearer look at the man and vice versa. They stared at one another for a moment before slow grins spread across their faces. "Marty Bryant?"

"The one and the same." Bryant's grin widened at being recognised. "What's it been, Cain? Twenty annuals at least."

"At least," Cain agreed, thinking back to the last time he'd seen his fellow Tin Man. They'd worked the beat together in Central City before Jeb had been born and Bryant had chosen to leave the city for pastures new. "So this is where you ended up."

"It is." Bryant closed the gap between them, his hand outstretched. Cain took it to shake and was pulled into a half hug, and clapped enthusiastically on the back. "C'mon, I'll show you around."

And with that, the group split up. Jeb and Bran accompanied his father and DG with Bryant on their tour of the town. Myers accompanied Raw to the healer's office, while Elliot went with Glitch as they were shown the town's systems for water and generating power. Thompson, Bates and Rafe had remained back at their camp, keeping watch over their belongings to make sure everything was kept secure for the Princess's return. They'd decided not to stay in the town itself, mostly due to their extended numbers.

Though the townspeople were wary at first, they soon started to thaw as their distrust faded to acceptance. DG was pleased no noble or dignitary was demanding an audience with her and instead was content to tag along as Cain caught up with Bryant, her status as Princess of the Realm temporarily forgotten.

Such as the reprieve that DG was able to speak to some of the people of the town on her own. Well, Jeb insisted on going with her as she excused herself from the conversation, sensing there were things Cain and Bryant wanted to talk about that they couldn't with her being present.

The people of Fordham didn't bat an eyelid at seeing her after a while, and when she offered her services to try and help fix a generator that wasn't working to Glitch's satisfaction, they agreed to let her try.

They'd been expecting her to use magic she knew, but were surprised when she rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and got her hands quite literally dirty. She was in her element, taken back to the days when she could just be herself and not try to live up to the expectations place don her because of her title.

Her actions won over the last of the sceptics amongst the town, and they started to talk to her freely as though she was one of them and not their Princess. It was then she started to talk about Azkadellia and her sister's possession, answering their questions without hesitation even as a little voice at the back of her mind, which sounded suspiciously like Cain's, warned her about being too honest.

She needed to tell them the truth, though. She needed them to know her sister was as much a victim as anyone else during the Sorceress's reign. She noticed Jeb listening intently and wondered if he was listening because he was intrigued in the answers, too, or if he was mentally memorising everything she'd said so he could report it back to his father later.

There were some who were cynical, some who were surprised. After a lot of questions, most seem to accept what she'd told them and as Joseph had done in Hirshall, they thanked her for her honesty before going back to their own homes and lives, no doubt to discuss what they'd learned with their families and friends.

DG stayed at the base of the generator, focusing on the task at hand when she was left with only Jeb for company.

"You're determined to clear your sister's name," Jeb said conversationally, crouching down to get a better look at what she was doing. "Do you think it's going to help?"

"I don't know," she admitted, gritting her teeth as she tried to loosen a particularly stubborn nut and bolt. She would not give in and let her magic to loosen it for her. "But I have to try, Jeb. She doesn't deserve to be the subject of such hatred and distrust."

Jeb gave a small nod and was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. "Aren't you afraid that by telling them what happened that they might turn that hatred and distrust onto you?"

"No. If they do, then it's because it's deserved." She smiled in satisfaction when she was finally able to take apart the piece she was sure was the problem. "I'll live with the consequences of it."

"What if the consequences are that some don't think you should live?" Jeb asked quietly. She glanced up at him and saw the concern in his blue eyes, so like his father's it made her pause. "My father is right, DG, you were just a child when it happened. Most will see it that way, but I can guarantee there'll be some that won't."

DG huffed a humourless laugh and started reassembling the part she'd taken to pieces once she'd removed a broken bit and replaced it with another. "I think those people are mostly at Court, or on my mother's Council." She bit her lip in concentration and then smiled when everything started to come together. "I know your father thinks I'm being reckless and naïve, but I know what I'm doing, Jeb. I'm doing what I have to do to make amends for what I caused."

"You were six," Jeb told her.

"So everyone keeps telling me."

"Maybe if we keep telling you, you'll start to listen." It was a Cain who spoken but not the younger one she'd been expecting. DG looked up as a shadow was cast over her, smiling up at him innocently when she noticed he and Bryant for the first time. "I think that shirt is a lost cause, Princess."

She glanced down at the oil and grease stained garment, shrugging in an entirely unconcerned manner. "Better the shirt than the generator."

It took a few minutes more for her to finish what she was doing as they watched. She got to her feet, wiping her dirty hands on the ruined shirt as she stretched her back and shoulders to ease the dull ache in them from being bent over for so long. "I think that should be working now."

Bryant gestured for it to be turned on, and they all stood back to watch as the generator started to turn, slowly at first before picking up speed. "Well I'll be damned," Bryant whistled. "Can't remember the last time the thing worked so well."

"You could've used your magic, Deege," Cain admonished lightly after a moment of admiring the working piece of machinery. "Would've been a lot cleaner."

"But nowhere near as much fun." DG grinned at him, pleased with her success. "Did you boys have fun catching up?"

Bryant snorted, his gaze speculatively as he glanced between his old friend and the princess. "You're causin' quite a stir, Princess. You ain't what people were expecting."

"I try not to be. I find it keeps life interesting that way."

"That I'm sure it does." Bryant watched as Cain picked up DG's coat since she couldn't without it getting ruined, the Tin Man draping it over one arm as he let his other hand rest against the Princess's back. "There's gonna be a party in the town centre tonight to mark your visit. We'd be mighty honoured if you and your guard would join us."

DG glanced briefly at Cain and Jeb, watching the men exchange a look before Cain gave her the smallest of nods. "We'd like that, Sheriff. Thank you for the invitation."

Bryant nodded in acknowledgement. "I know you folks ain't staying in town but there's rooms at the inn if you want to get cleaned up some."

"Think that's a hint you're a bit of a mess, Princess," Jeb told her in a loud whisper, earning a smirk from his father and a glare from DG.

*/*