It took the royal party two days to travel to the city, still glimmering brightly from the precious emerald that had created it. The emerald, one of the most powerful energy sources of the OZ was safely stored in the crypt of her first ancestor, Dorothy Gale. While the girls stayed with their father, Lavinia and Ambrose sought out the Mystic Man. When they reached his headquarters they were quickly stopped by a tall blond man wearing a Tin Man's badge.
"The Mystic Man isn't ready for guests today," he said firmly.
"He'll see us. Now if you wouldn't mind stepping aside," Ambrose said and was about to reach for the door when the other man grabbed him and shoved him against the wall. As Ambrose stared at the other man's face he recognized him immediately.
"I don't think you heard me. I said the Mystic Man is not receiving visitors today," the man said icily.
Wyatt Cain? Is that you? he heard the advisor ask in his head.
How do you know my name and how can you speak to me in my head?
You already know the answer to that. It's me...Ambrose Benu.
Son of a bitch, you look different.
Yeah.
Royal advisor, huh? Better not be neglecting your Talon training or Jeb's gonna have a fit.
I'm not but Lannot is an ass. He won't give me the trial.
Why not? You're ready for it, more than I am.
Must be afraid I'll hack him to bits in his sleep.
That bad?
You have no idea.
"You'll take your hands off my advisor this instant Officer." the queen ordered.
"Really? Who do you think you are to give me orders, lady?"
"I am Lavinia, Queen of OZ!"
"Sure you are. If you're the queen why aren't you dressed like it?"
"Because we have been riding for two days and we avoid attack by dressing like regular travelers. Now release my advisor at once."
"Wyatt, what in the name of Lurline are you doing attacking the queen's advisor?" the Mystic Man cried out from his window on the second floor. The man released his hold on Ambrose and bowed.
"Your Majesty! I'm sorry. I didn't know!" he stammered. "It's been a while since I've seen you."
"You are forgiven Officer," the queen said with a smile. "And it has."
He heard Ambrose snicker and glared at him.
"If you'll uhhhh follow me," he said nervously as he led them into the Mystic Man's home.
"How is your wife, Mr. Cain?"
"Adora? She's good. We have a son now."
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
Jeb Mysticos was standing in the hallway and embraced the queen.
"It's been a long time Vinny," he said, using the nickname he'd given her when they were younger. Jeb Mysticos, also known as the Mystic Man had once been a serious contender for Consort until Ahamo arrived in the OZ but their friendship hadn't ended after they broke their engagement. "This stubborn mule here is Wyatt Cain, head of my protection force."
"You do your job well Mr. Cain," the queen said softly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"He even named his boy after me," The Mystic Man said proudly. "Wyatt, why don't you take the rest of the day off and go spend some time with Adora and my godson," the Mystic Man suggested to his protector.
"Are you sure, sir?" Wyatt Cain asked hesitantly.
"Ambrose'll be able to help if I have any problems."
"You promise you'll send for me if you need me?"
"I will, now go!"
"Sorry about roughing you up," he said to Ambrose.
"No harm done. Goodbye Mr. Cain."
"Your Majesty," Wyatt bowed once more to the queen before he left the manor. Although he was technically off duty, his Tin Man's senses were always on high alert. There was so much crime in Central City these days that the Tin force was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Wyatt had been relieved when he was assigned to The Mystic Man's protection detail. The older man gave him less headaches than chasing Antoine Demilo and his constant supply of whores out of the city did. Making matters worse, he was certain a few Tin Men were regular customers of Demillo's in exchange for letting him keep his business going. It hadn't come as a surprise to him when he caught Tin Man Gregory Zero with one of Demillo's girls. He wondered how Zero would feel if he saw the picture Wyatt had of Demillo and his first wife in bed together. Zero had suspected his wife was cheating on him but not who with. Wyatt hadn't felt the need to use his secret weapon yet. There was no need now. Zero would just have to find out on his own.
He was halfway to the apartment he and he wife had in the city when he collided with a sobbing little girl.
"Whoa…what's the matter sweetheart?" he asked gently.
"I…I can't find my daddy and sister," she moaned.
Wyatt kneeled down so that he was at eye level with her. "Do you remember where you last saw them?"
"I…I'm trying."
"Try a little harder," he suggested, taking her hand in his. Once her small fingers laced with his large ones they began to glow. "What the hell…?"
His mind was being invaded by strange images, a cold, dark cave, an old menacing woman, the little girl curious about something she'd seen in the city and wandering off while her father and sister weren't looking. He quickly pulled his hand away. This was no ordinary child, she was a young sorceress and only three people he knew possessed that kind of magic; the queen and her daughters. This one looked too young to be Azkadellia so she had to be Dorothia or DG as he heard they liked to call her. The last time he'd seen her she was just baby.
"Come on Your Highness. I know where your mother is so I'll take you to her."
The child's blue eyes lightened. "You do?"
"I just left her."
After the strange incident that occurred simply by touching hands, he tried to avoid having any further physical contact with the child but when a truck started coming toward them at a speed faster than was permitted by law in Central City, he picked her up and held her protectively. As her palm pressed against his chest it began to glow again and once again he started seeing visions in his head only this time they were accompanied by a female voice.
Have courage for the task at hand will be hard
This half of our heart you must now guard
The other half lives inside of you
And to both you must always be true
Divided we will fall
As one we form an impenetrable wall
Bound by light and love will we be
One heart forever to protect the OZ.
He stared down at the little girl. "What did you do to me?" he demanded.
"What?"
"You didn't hear that?" he asked her.
"Hear what?"
"That voice."
"No."
He shook his head. This little princess was strange, there was no doubt about that and although she denied it, he suspected she put some kind of spell on him and the safest thing he could do was get her the hell away from him.
"I wish I had an answer for you Vinny but unfortunately I don't. Maybe if I knew more details about this 'accident' I'd have more of an idea what could be wrong with your daughter," The Mystic Man admitted.
"Neither Az nor DG will discuss it," Lavinia said.
They heard the front door close and went into the hallway to see Wyatt Cain with DG at his side. Lavinia kneeled down and embraced her daughter.
"I found her wandering around so I figured I'd better bring her back here," Wyatt explained.
"Thank you again Mr. Cain, " the queen said softly.
"You're welcome. Now I'll be getting back..owww…what the hell?" he cried. His palm was on fire as if someone had taken a match to it. He turned it over to see a strange symbol carved into his flesh and glared down at the little girl. It looked like a series of circles with an eye in the center.
"What kind of spell did you put on me you little witch?" he hissed. DG screamed and hid behind her mother's skirt.
"Mommy, I swear I didn't do anything…" she sobbed.
"What do you call this? It wasn't on my hand until now," Wyatt growled, holding up his palm so that the others could see the mark. It was now glowing brightly. Lavinia and The Mystic Man gasped in shock.
"It can't be…." Lavinia gasped and seized her own daughter's hand. Turning it over, she saw the same mark on her child's palm glowing as brightly as the one now on Wyatt Cain's. She led her over to the Tin Man and placed the child's marked hand in his and once their hands were joined a protective shield formed over them just as it had every time DG and Az's hands were joined. Wyatt snatched his hand away.
"Keep that girl away from me!" he growled.
"Wyatt, please calm down. You're scaring her," The Mystic Man said gently.
"I'm scaring her? She puts a spell on me and you're worried about me scaring her. She's scary enough. Power like that does not belong in the hands of a child. What do you think she'll do when she gets older?"
"I didn't mean to do anything bad!" DG sobbed.
"Ambrose, would you keep an eye on Mr. Cain and DG while Jeb and I talk," the queen asked softly.
"Of course Your Majesty. Come here DG," he said softly to the little girl and lifted her into his arms. "Mr. Cain, you stay put."
"Fine but I mean it…keep that kid away from me!" Wyatt grumbled as he sat down on one of the chairs while Ambrose sat on the sofa holding DG while she cried.
Nice going Wyatt.
Well, let me know how pissed off you get when she puts a spell on you?
Ambrose leaned back on the sofa and smiled. He had a feeling that these two were going to be a handful.
"…There's no mistaking it Vinny. DG has performed a bonding spell on my Tin Man." Jeb Mysticos informed her once they were alone in his office.
"She shouldn't have that ability at her age," Lavina reminded. "And why your Tin Man? There is a great age difference between them. Also he is married with a son not much younger than she is."
"Yet when their hands were joined we saw the protective shield form over them."
"Wyatt Cain does not possess magical ability, does he?"
"He didn't before but he does now through the bonding spell. They now have equal powers."
"Can we break the spell?"
"I'm not sure. We'll have to see how powerful it is."
"How can we do that?"
"We need to get them to join their marked hands again and place ours over the shield it forms. That will allow us to look at it."
"Mr. Cain will never agree to it and now DG is frightened of him."
"We must do this Vinny. If they refuse to do it willingly, we'll have to make them do it unwillingly." He walked over to his desk drawer and took out a small bottle. "This is a mild sleeping potion I keep handy for Wyatt. When he has to spend more than two nights here he has difficulty sleeping. I've been slipping it into his drinks without him knowing for years. If they refuse to cooperate, we'll give this to them. It should give us the time we need to look at the spell."
Lavinia sighed. "I don't want anything to harm my angel and I need to find a way to break this bonding spell if it will harm her."
When they returned to the sitting room, DG was asleep on Ambrose's lap while Wyatt Cain dozed comfortably in a nearby chair. Using her magic, Lavinia opened a mental connection with Ambrose and Jeb.
Jeb and I know what kind of spell has been cast Ambrose but we need to see how powerful it is and it seems the only way we can do this without a fight is while they're asleep. Try to take DG over to Mr. Cain's side without waking either of them.
This isn't going to be easy, Vinny. Wyatt has the senses of a bloodhound. He can smell trouble a mile away. We may have to use the potion on them.
I'd like to avoid that if I can.
Let me try this first Your Majesty.
Thank you Ambrose.
Ambrose slowly rose to his feet and walked over to the sofa where Wyatt Cain was sleeping, DG still asleep in his arms. She stirred for a fraction of a second and then fell back to sleep again.
Now what do I do?
Place her marked hand in his and try to keep them joined as long as you can.
I'll try but he'll shoot me if he wakes up and catches DG anywhere near him. I don't know what she did but it scared him.
That's what we're trying to find out.
Ambrose took a deep breath and raised DG's marked palm and pressed it against Wyatt's, hanging limp at his side as he slept. Immediately the hands started to glow and the shield formed over them, trapping Ambrose outside of it. Lavinia and Jeb stepped up to the glowing dome and placed their own hands on it. They began to see visions of an older DG and Wyatt together with Rumplestiltskin, Azkadellia, another man, a young boy and a girl, standing in a circle.
Lavinia and Jeb pulled their hands away from the shield, gazing at each other. DG's hand slipped out of Wyatt's, making the shield vanish.
Majesty, what is it?
It's all right Ambrose. Take her back to the sofa before Mr. Cain wakes up. We'll be back in a minute.
Lavinia closed the mental connection with Ambrose and she and Jeb retreated to his study, both of them frightened yet amazed at what they'd both witnessed.
"Your daughters are two of the four Guardians and Wyatt is DG's bonded," Jeb whispered. "We can't break this bond Vinny nor can we allow anyone else to. There is a price..."
Lavinia sank into a chair, her face pale. "My poor angel. Mr. Cain will never love her. He's married and she's only a child."
"That's the way it is now but you saw the same vision I did. DG will be able to complete the bond once she's a woman. And we have to do everything we can to make sure that happens."
"But what about his wife and son?"
"Their fate is the will of the OZ."
"No. I will not have my angel being held responsible for taking away everything Mr. Cain loves. I am breaking this bond."
"Lavinia, please, think about this."
"I have. I would sacrifice everything, including the OZ for my daughter's happiness. If you won't help me I'll find some other way."
Jeb sighed sadly. He knew she hadn't given the matter as careful consideration as she should have and feared that by severing one of the most powerful forces in the OZ, she was damning them all.
"All right. I'll see how we can break it. Give me some time to look through the old texts. There should be an answer in there."
"I'm going to be taking the children to the Northern Island. Once you find out how to do it, let me know."
"I will," he said. He was known as the man who had all the answers or knew how to find them but this was one answer he hoped he would never find.
When they returned to the sitting room DG and Wyatt were awake but they weren't speaking to each other. Wyatt was carving something while Ambrose entertained DG with a story. When the little girl saw her mother, she jumped off the sofa and ran over to her, throwing her arms around her.
"My angel," she crooned.
"Humph…that kid is anything but an angel," Wyatt muttered from where he was sitting. Lavinia glared at him, once again convinced that breaking the bonding spell between this cold man and her daughter was the best course of action she could take.
DG detached herself from her mother's embrace and stomped over to where was sitting, her blue eyes ice cold as she met his.
"You're a mean man Mr. Cain," she said through gritted teeth. "I don't think I cast a spell on you but I hope that if I did, you turn into a frog or something."
To her surprise he simply laughed. "You're brave kiddo, I'll give you that."
"What are you making?" she asked when she noticed his carving.
"Oh, just a toy horse for my boy. He's not old enough for it yet but I wanted him to have it done before that."
"Can I see it?"
"Uhhh…sure."
DG took the small statue in her hands and closed her eyes, calling on her magic. It would be a beautiful horse but it needed some color to it. She pictured her favorite horse at Finaqua and painted the toy with the same colors. Now painted, she handed the finished horse back to him. It was brown with white patches and she'd even added a small star like the one on his badge on its back. He gazed at it in wonder. She'd done in less than a minute what it would have taken him hours, even days to do.
"Thanks kid."
"I hope he likes it."
"I'm sure he will."
Jeb glanced over at Lavinia and opened up a mind connection to her.
You see. This can work. Give it and them a chance.
She's still too young to understand the commitment she's made to him. We cannot be certain that this bond will hold once DG is a woman.
The risks are too great to break it.
DG's happiness is my only concern.
"We must be going, my angel. Your father and Az are probably worried sick about you."
"I don't know where they are."
"I'll find them. Thank you for looking after my daughter for me Mr. Cain. I am sorry about what happened."
"It's all right Your Majesty." He looked down at DG. "Try to stay out of trouble kiddo."
"I'm sorry I called you mean Mr. Cain. You seem really nice."
"Thanks kid." He held out his unmarked hand to her and she took it her own, shaking it timidly. "See you around."
After the royals left the house Wyatt turned to his employer with his arms crossed over his chest. "Now, do you wanna tell me what the hell just happened? She did put some kind of spell on me, didn't she?"
"Yes," Jeb admitted.
"Well, what was it?"
"A protection spell," he lied, hoping Wyatt's magic was not yet strong enough to see through the lie. He used a mental spell to block the younger man from accessing his memories. "But by doing it she passed some of her magic on to you."
"Huh? Are you telling me she made me a sorcerer?"
"One whose powers are not fully developed like hers."
"What did she do it for?"
"I don't know. Maybe because you were kind to her."
"Well break it or something."
"I can't!"
"Can I?"
"No!" Jeb cried.
"Why?"
"Just listen to me when I tell you that you are not to try to break this spell unless you absolutely have no other choice." Jeb said fiercely. "Promise me Wyatt! It carries too high of a price."
"All right, all right, I won't but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
Jeb breathed a sigh of relief and reminded the younger man he still wanted him to take the day off while he retreated to his office to study the old Ozian texts. As he suspected, only two forces had the strength to break the bonding spell. One was the dark essence that, thankfully was imprisoned, and the other was Wyatt, the stronger of the two hearts as long as their bond had not been consummated, which wouldn't happen for years to come. He was not a man who enjoyed lying but he would lie as long as he could if it meant protecting the OZ and the ones he loved. In the meantime, now that his Tin Man possessed magical ability, he would need to learn how to use it.
"You're home early," Adora Cain said softly as she kissed her husband. "Uh oh...I don't like that look. What happened?"
"I had an interesting encounter with the royal family," he said as he sat down in his favorite chair. He held up his marked palm. "The youngest princess put some sort of protection spell on me and now I'm a sorcerer! You know how I feel about magic!"
Adora felt her heart break. Her grandmother had been a powerful Ozian priestess and schooled her well on the ancient legends. The moment the small child's hand touched his heart, the will of the OZ was undeniable. DG and Wyatt were two of the Guardians of Light and it had been Adora's duty to prepare him for the day when the Princess would come to claim him as her own.
When she was a child, Adora hadn't believed her grandmother when she used to tell her that she was a guardian angel. She assumed her grandmother was only telling her this to make her feel better about herself when she was lonely or depressed. Now she remembered the full truth, she was Ozmalita herself, bound in human form until her final task was complete.
"Nana, does that mean I'll live forever?"
"No, darling. Guardian angels come in many forms and some of them are here in the OZ. You are one of them. We all have limited time here and you have to use yours wisely. Find your purpose and dedicate yourself to fulfilling it."
She began to believe she never would until the day she walked out into the schoolyard and saw a group of boys fighting. Three of them were attacking a smaller, blond haired boy named Wyatt Cain. He sat a few rows away from her in the classroom and everyone teased him because he had the lowest grades and lived on the poorest farm in the village.
"Leave him alone!" she yelled. Two of the boys glanced over at her in surprise.
"It's pretty bad when you gotta get a girl to stand up for ya, Wyatt," one of the boys said and laughed.
"Shut up!" Wyatt yelled back and kicked him in the shins. His face was bloody and his nose was probably broken again but he didn't care. The last thing he wanted was to be branded a sissy who needed to hide behind a woman's skirts. He never hid behind his mother's when his stepfather came after him with the belt, a board or whatever else he could get his hands on and he was going to be damned if he hid behind the skirts of Adora Kantrine, the daughter of the wealthiest merchant in the village.
"I don't need you stickin' up for me Adora! I can take care of myself," Wyatt growled as he punched one of the boys in his face and knocked him down. He continued beating at him until the other boy began to cry and begged him to stop. The others backed away, now terrified. He was like a wild animal that had been freed from its cage.
"Wyatt...he's had enough...you've got to stop." she said gently and touched his shoulder. He snatched her hand away with such force it nearly knocked her down.
"I'm sick of 'em kicking me down!"
"I know you are but if you keep doing this, you'll be no better than they are."
He paused and looked up at her. "Why the hell do you care?"
"Because you're a good person and deserve better than this."
He stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. "Quit pretendin' you give two shits about me Adora Kantrine. I know you laugh at me just like the rest of these sons of bitches do. I'm nothin' more than dirt under your boots." Although he was only ten years old, hard times had aged him quickly and it reflected in the way he looked and spoke.
"You can be more than that if you would just stop being so stubborn!" she cried.
"Yeah, well I don't need no rich girl tellin' me what I need to do with my life so leave me the hell alone!" He stormed off, thinking she would take the hint but she followed him. "Don't listen well, do ya?"
"Why should I listen to you when you won't listen to me?" she retorted.
"Anyone ever tell you what a pain in the ass you are?"
"No. Just you and I am going to be the biggest pain in your ass until you straighten out."
"I'm not gonna be your charity case, Adora Kantrine." he grumbed as he kicked a patch of grass.
"You're not and would you please just call me Adora!"
"Okay." He sat down on a rock in front of the lake and took a handkerchief out of his pocket. He dipped it into the water, using it to wipe the blood off his face.
"Are you in any pain?" she asked him.
"I've had worse."
"From your stepfather?"
He stiffened. "How'd you know?"
"I've seen you trying to hide the bruises. Why does he hit you?"
"I'm not talkin' about this."
Adora sighed. He wasn't making this easy for her but she wasn't going to give up. She knew that under the dirty, ragged clothes, the crude language and the bruises was a brave, honest heart that needed a gentle hand to guide it out of the darkness.
Now, years later, Adora glanced down at the gold band around her finger and twisted it. It had been a long, hard battle but in the end Wyatt was willing to lower his guard and let her into his heart and the son she bore him completed that bond. One day she would be forced to give Wyatt up and she wasn't certain she had the strength to. The first time she'd done it Dorothy failed to claim him and he died in agony. She couldn't allow it to happen again.
"Do you think your grandmother might know more about this?" Wyatt asked her.
"You hate asking Nana anything having to do with magic." she reminded him with a smile.
"I'll make an exception in this case." He sighed. "Why is it that every time I have to learn something new I end up with a mark on me like a cow being branded?"
Before they moved to Central City and Wyatt became part of the Mystic Man's protection detail, the only mark Adora had ever seen on him was the small birthmark on his hip in the shape of an axe's blade, Nick Chopper's symbol. Now his right side bore three more distinct markings: a dragon tattoo on his right shoulder blade, a pair of crossed swords on his upper arm and the House of Gale symbol on his palm.
"Being chosen to succeed the Mystic Man as the last surviving knight of the Talons of the Dragon Order was a great honor," Adora reminded him. "They were the original guardians of the OZ until the Gales assumed power."
"All I had to learn for that was the swordfighting and martial arts. I'll take that over the magic."
"Speaking of that, you still haven't told him you are training me, have you?"
He shook his head. "I will eventually. Then when our son is old enough, I'll teach him. If your grandmother knew she'd put a curse on me!"
"Oh, she would not!" Adora protested.
"Daddy's home!" they heard their son cry out from the doorway. Wyatt kneeled down and scooped up his son.
"There's my boy!" he said proudly and kissed him the forehead.
"How long are you gonna be home, Daddy?" little Jeb asked.
"All day so you and Mommy need to come up with some good ideas for stuff for us to do."
"We can do that," Adora assured him. "Why don't we go on a picnic?" she suggested.
"Can we, can we?"
"I think that settles it," Wyatt chuckled. "Can you help Mommy with lunch while I go change?"
"Uh huh."
"Okay." Wyatt set the child down and went into their bedroom. As he was opening a dresser drawer, he became disoriented and his head was throbbing with pain. "What the...?"
I hit my head.
Princess? Is that you?
Mr. Cain? Why am I hearing you in my head?
That protection spell you put on me. Kind of hard to protect you when I'm here and you must've taken a good knock to your head because I feel it.
I ahhh ran into the door.
Ouch! How did you do that?
I wasn't paying attention.
Try to be more careful, please.
I will. And Mr. Cain?
Yes?
I'll try not to bother you. I'm really sorry.
It's okay kid. It's just something we'll have to learn how to deal with, that's all.
"Wyatt, honey, are you okay?" Adora asked when she poked her head in and found him leaning against the dresser.
"This has to be more than a protection spell Adora. I can hear the kid's thoughts and feel any pain she has like it's my own."
"Something just happened?"
"She ran into a door. Hard. I was dizzy for a minute and now I have a headache and feel that someone isn't being straight with me."
"Ask the Mystic Man about it when you go back."
"I intend to. Everything ready for the picnic."
"I think our son packed everything edible in the house, not that it won't get eaten."
"Are you suggesting I eat like a hog," Wyatt teased, nuzzling her neck.
"You do."
"We'll just have to work it off later, won't we?"
"I'm going to hold you to that promise." Adora whispered.
Of all the men in the OZ to pick as the princess's mate, why does it always have to be the man I love?
That moment Adora Cain made a promise to herself. She and her son had at the most fifteen years left of their lives with Wyatt and she was going to make damned sure every minute of them counted.
"As you know the OZ is divided into four realms: North, South, East, and West and their points on the compass are like this," Jeb Mysticos explained, drawing the directions on a chalkboard. "Each direction is represented by a symbol, one of the four elements and can be either male or female."
"Which one am I?" Wyatt asked.
"You are from the western realm, therefore you now represent the west. Your symbol is the sword, your element is fire. Your female counterpart, the princess DG, is the south. Her symbol is the chalice or the cup and her element is water."
"Who are the north and east?"
"The north is the princess Azkadellia. Her symbol is surprisingly the Emerald of the Eclipse, her element earth. I cannot see who the east is but he would be a male with the staff as his symbol and his element is air."
"Wait a minute...you're saying I can control fire?"
"You will with the proper training, along with the rest of your magic."
"Couldn't the kid have chosen someone else to do this?" Wyatt asked.
"The OZ has chosen you. The original guardian was meant to be Rumplestiltskin but he is now under the control of the dark goddess Alemedia."
"But why me? I'm not a sorcerer. I'm just a farm boy from the western guild."
"You were chosen because you are the strongest male born in the western guild just as the princess DG was chosen because she is the strongest female born in the southern guild."
Wyatt sighed. "I'd give anything to go back to being a regular Tin Man."
"You can't. Now stop grumbling and pay attention!" Mysticos snapped and went back to his lessons.
If Wyatt thought swordfighting and martial arts training left him exhausted, magic training drained him more. He had headaches more often now but the insomnia he had when he was away from Jeb and Adora for long periods of time had quickly been cured and he wasn't sure he liked it.
He'd always been an early riser, a habit formed by living on a farm. He went downstairs before anyone else was awake and started practicing his sword and martial art techniques on his own until he was satisfied he was doing everything right. He sheathed his sword and put it aside.
Mysticos had just started to teach him how to control his signature element, fire. When he first tried to create fire it was not a complete success. He'd nearly burned his tutor's favorite lounging robe.
He opened his hand with the House of Gale marking on it and closed his eyes, forming the image of a ball of fire. When he opened them he could see a small ball of flame floating above his palm. He glanced over at a candle holder in the corner of the room and used his magic to guide the ball of flame over to it to light it only to his horror, it set fire to the silk drapes.
"Shit!" he cried, grabbing an ice bucket. He ran over to the drapes and tossed the bucket's contents onto them, dousing the flames yet large black holes appeared in the centers of them. "He is going to kill me," he muttered.
"What smells in here? Dammit Wyatt! What did you do to my drapes?" Mysticos demanded as he entered his parlor to find his emerald velvet drapes destroyed.
"I was ahhh trying to light the candle and I missed," he answered nervously.
"I'll say you missed. You could've burned the whole house down. Moderation boy, moderation! Fix this mess."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"You need to figure it out."
"You're not gonna help me?"
"No."
He heard a female giggle in his head. He hadn't opened a mental connection to his new charge but it appeared that she had.
Do you find this amusing, Princess?
I did something like this too. It made Tutor so mad.
I didn't call for you so how are you talking to me right now?
I felt you were upset so I wanted to try to cheer you up. I'm sorry I laughed.
So you can feel my emotions and I can feel yours? My tutor seems to have forgotten to mention that.
My tutor won't talk about this at all and neither will my parents. They get mad when I even mention your name and I heard them tell Tutor not to teach me anything that involves you.
"Is she talking to you?" The Mystic Man asked softly.
"Yeah. You want to tell me why you left out the part that my emotions are like a beacon to her and hers are like a beacon to me?"
"I was going to. It's part of the spell. If one of you senses the other is in danger and you are not together, your minds connect so that you can draw strength and knowledge from each other."
Did you hear any of that, kiddo?
The only things I can hear are your thoughts.
Then I need you to pay attention to this: if you ever get in a bind, you have to make your emotions strong enough that you can call out to me no matter where I'm at.
How can you help me if you're far away?
You should be able to draw strength from me.
Like when I hold hands with Az?
I think so.
"You explained it to her?" the Mystic Man asked.
"Yeah."
"It's good training for the day you make her your apprentice."
"As in Talons of the Dragon apprentice? I thought the royals couldn't be in the order."
"Since you and the princess are now connected, she can become your apprentice."
"She already has a magic teacher."
"Whose knowledge is limited. You will be a master by the time she reaches training age and have far more knowledge of our practices than her tutor will. But you are never going to be a master if you keep destroying things in my house."
Wyatt focused his light on the burned drapes. The holes were replaced with new fabric. The Mystic Man studied them.
"Much better. Now, try to light the candle again, only this time...make the flame a bit smaller."
Wyatt formed a smaller ball of flame in his hand. Using his magic he guided it over to the candle and held it above the wick.
Don't burn the drapes this time, please.
He lowered it slowly, breathing a sigh of relief when the wick started to glow.
"Good. Remember Wyatt, fire is one of the most powerful of the four elements. You must never allow it to get beyond your control."
"What happens if I do that?"
"You may not be able to rein it back in and run the risk of causing destruction."
"And that is the reason why I do not like having anything to do with magic. People who have it tend to abuse it."
"That is not something I have to worry about with you. However, unless you conquer your fear of your magic, you do run the risk of letting it control you and making you act irrationally. We'll practice with fire later. For now, let's work on some basic defensive spells and I'll show you how you can incorporate your Talon training into them."
Sleep proved to be difficult that night. As he often did when he was a child, Wyatt went outside and sat on the patio looking up at the stars.
Hi, Mr. Cain.
Princess, shouldn't you be in bed?
I can't sleep.
That makes two of us.
What are you doing?
I'm sitting out on the patio looking up at the stars. I used to do that a lot when I was your age and still do it when I can't sleep at night. Why can't you sleep? Don't tell me, my being upset at not being able to see my wife and boy is making you restless too. Now it's my turn to be sorry. You're too young to be having insomnia.
That's part of it but there's something else.
What?
I'm worried about my sister. She's mad at me.
Why?
I got scared by something I saw in a cave and let go of her hand when she told me not to. Then she fell.
Did you apologize to her?
Yes.
You may just have to give her time. She'll come around eventually.
I hope so. I don't want her to be mad at me.
Just remember Princess, she is your older sister and deserves respect. Also, if she is trying to talk you out of doing something wrong, you should listen. Okay?
Sometimes I just like to have fun.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to have fun but you have to remember that there's a difference between having fun and getting involved in something that might get you hurt.
You sound like my parents.
I am a parent DG. I'll be telling my son the same things I'm telling you now and I'm hoping he'll follow my advice, not go against it.
Do you know something?
What?
Besides Az, you're really the only other person I really feel comfortable talking to.
You may not always like my advice Princess but I'll give it all the same.
As he sat there, he felt himself starting to doze off, only allowing himself to fall asleep when he could no longer hear the princess talking. He was still asleep there when the Mystic Man came looking for him the next morning. The older man smiled. Yes, the OZ had chosen well. One half of the heart was ruled by youth and innocence, the other by age and experience. It was an equal balance that would grow in power as time passed.
Lavinia sent a message to him two days earlier demanding progress on his attempts to break the bond but he'd refused to answer it, instead committing to memory the text of the warning of what would come from breaking the bond.
The punishment is severe for those who defy the will of the OZ
A heart bond of our choosing is one that is meant for eternity
Should this bond be broken by human device
Everything it holds most dear it will be made to sacrifice
The rivers of its memory will flow with the image of spilled blood
Until the dams burst and they become a raging flood
If one day the lost half of its heart returns to reclaim
The one who has forgotten it, through love shall it be relieved from its pain.
You suffered enough when you were a child and I'll be damned if I'll allow anyone to break your bond and make you suffer a fate far worse.
Lavinia was now more distraught than before when her party arrived at the Northern Island Palace. Azkadellia's demeanor remained unchanged and now her youngest daughter was bound to a older, married man with a child. Late one evening after the girls were in bed, Lavinia summoned her husband, Ambrose and the girls' magic tutor to her study where she was reading through several books on the Ozian legends.
"There is a legend in the ancient texts that tells of a final battle between the darkness and the light of the OZ. I have ignored the signs but now that I have consulted the texts, I fear that time has come."
"What signs have you seen, Your Majesty?" Tutor inquiered.
"While you have been giving DG her magic lessons, you have seen as I have, that she draws great strength when her hand is joined with Azkadellia's."
"It's amazing, strength from the deep affection they share." Tutor said proudly.
"It is a connection much stronger than that, my friend. My daughters are two of the Guardians."
"Indeed they are. I suspected it from the day each was born."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Lurline demanded.
"You would have attempted to break the bond with their mates…and if one has been broken it will carry a price," Toto predicted.
Only Wyatt and DG will be the ones to pay it, Ambrose thought sadly.
"That is absurd!" Ahamo exclaimed. "The man is nearly twice her age, married and has a child."
"The OZ has made its choices."
"These events explain the changes in Azkadellia's demeanor then. Now that DG shares a bond with someone else, Az may feel jealous," Ambrose said.
"I'm afraid they leave me with more questions than answers when I think of how much our child has changed, my love," Lavinia said sadly to her husband. "Theoretically this knowledge should have brought them closer together yet it seems to be creating a distance between them. Her own bondmate...I suspect it is Jiminy based on what occured when he returned from the front. She healed him with her light."
"He's MORE than twice her age!"
"I know my love and he has maintained a respectable distance but I can sense rthe bond growing between them."
"Have you been able to find any answers in the texts, Your Majesty?" Tutor asked.
"None that lessen my fears."
The three men gazed at her, chilled to the bone by the pained look in the queen's lavender eyes.
"There is a cave in Finaqua that is the doorway to Ephesis. It was sealed by the first Dorothy Gale and Prince Nicolai along with our Strogoff kin and it can be unlocked by one born from their bloodline because at the time when the prison was locked, Dorothy's union also remained unconsummated."
"You aren't suggesting one of them unlocked it, are you?" Tutor cried.
"I hope not."
"What will happen if the prison is unlocked?"
"Bastinda will attempt to take control of one of the sources of the Oz's light and use it to destroy the other since Alemedia holds Rumplestiltskin," Lavinia explained solemnly. "Then they will destroy the OZ."
"How do we stop them?" Ahamo demanded.
"We cannot," the queen answered sadly. "Only the Guardians have the power to create a seal on the prison that can never be broken and send both of them back to Ephesis."
Ahamo rose from his seat, raking his hand through his hair. Lavinia knew what he was thinking. He felt helpless. This was a battle to be fought with magic, beyond his capabilities. Over the years she'd tried to help him understand that magic came in many forms and love held the most powerful magic of all. Now she no longer believed her own words.
"So what you're saying is that DG and that Tin Man she's bound to are two of the only people who can stop all of this."
"Not in their current state, no. They're both still learning how to use the powers they've been given."
Hope was renewed in her when Azkadellia's demeanor changed yet again and she was no longer distant with her sister. Lavinia assured herself that she had been worrying over nothing. The dark essence remained in its prison and DG would never have to bond with a man too old to love her.
One evening Lavinia lay on DG's bed, singing softly to the little girl as she lay beside her.
"Two little princesses dancing in a room
Spinning fast and free on their little toes
Where the light will take you, there's only one way to know
Two little princesses dancing in a room."
Lavinia lowered her head and gently kissed the child. "Sleep well my angel...my light," she whispered and left the room.
Bastinda strode into the room, the dark essence swirling around her. She glared down at the sleeping child.
"The majestic queen of the OZ
Had two lovely daughters she
One to darkness she be drawn
One to light she be show
Double eclipse it is forseen
Light meets dark in the stillness between
But only one and one alone
Shall hold the emerald and take the throne
Only one and one alone..."
She stretched out her hands and two long hands of dark magic reached out and locked the child's throat in a firm, icy grip. DG gasped and opened her eyes to see Azkadellia standing over her with an expression of pure malice on her face. The child tried to scream but was unable to speak.
Somebody help me!
Mother! Daddy?
There's no one here to help you now, you little brat! I've closed them all off.
Somebody help me! Mother! Daddy!
Wyatt's eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed. His throat felt tight and found himself gasping for air. It was as if something or someone were strangling him yet when he looked around he saw nothing.
Please help me...I can't breathe.
He tensed when he heard the voice of the young princess in his mind and now understood. She needed him. From the moment they were first bound he hoped she would never have to call on him until he had enough control over his magic to help her defeat whatever it was.
Princess? What's happening?
She's...she's hurting me.
Who is hurting you?
My sister...Az.
Wyatt closed his eyes and called on the magic she'd given him to merge his essence with hers to see through her eyes.
She lay on her bed, her sister Azkadellia standing over her, her hands outstretched, another pair of hands formed from dark magic reaching around the younger princess's throat and squeezing tightly. It reminded him of the times his stepfather had tried to choke him and fueled his anger.
Hands off bitch! Wyatt threw a powerful blocking spell, pushing Azkadellia back wishing he'd been able to defend himself this way when he was a child not much older than the princess.
Fool. My powers far exceed yours, he heard a menacing voice say to him as it threw the spell back at him and moved toward the child again. Wyatt suddenly realized he was dealing with a much powerful force than a prepubescent girl.
DG...I can't hold her alone! Focus on our light and help me push her back.
He felt the child calling on her own magic but it was still too weak for her to focus correctly. She'd created a wall of solid ice. The witch quickly melted it with a hot ball of flame.
No DG, not ice...something stronger. Now focus!
She tried again, this time creating a wall of stone. The witch sent an energy burst at the wall, shattering it into pieces.
Wyatt called on his magic again, willing himself to appear in the room in shadow form. The witch stretched out her hands again and a mist in the shape of icy chains flew at him, wrapping themselves around his neck while she sent another mist of chains over to the bed where DG lay.
In the next bed at the Mystic Man's mansion, Tin Man and Talon apprentice Elmer Gulch awoke to the sound of his colleague gasping for air.
"Cain...you okay buddy?"
"C..Can't breathe.."
"I'll summon a healer."
"No! Mystic Man...get him...only one who can help me.."
Elmer ran down the hall and began pounding on Jeb's door but the man wouldn't answer. Knowing he was risking his boss's wrath by doing it, he threw his weight against the door and broke it open.
"Boss, you better come quick. Something's wrong with Cain!" Jeb heard one of his other protectors calling out as the man shook him from his slumber.
"What do you mean? Is he sick?" Jeb said as he jumped out of bed.
"I don't know. He says he can't breathe...if I didn't know better I'd think something invisible has a hold of him and is choking the life out of him and there's something weird going on with one of his hands."
Dear Ozma...the bond. It's not Wyatt that's being attacked, it's the princess and he can feel it as if it's happening to him.
What do you want me to do? he heard Elmer ask in his mind.
Stay here for now.
Jeb and Carson, his other guardian, ran down the hall to the bedroom where Wyatt was thrashing wildly on his bed, clawing at his throat as if he were trying to remove an invisible garrote. The palm that bore the House of Gale symbol was glowing with a red light and blood seeped out of its center.
"Out!" Jeb ordered the other man.
"But...shouldn't we summon a healer."
"That won't help him. Now go!"
The other Tin Man reluctantly left the room. Jeb opened a mental connection to Wyatt. It was weak but the younger man still had enough strength to hear him.
What's happening, Wyatt?
The kid...she's killing her!
Who is killing who?
The kid's sister is killing her.
Her sister? That's impossible.
She's using dark magic on the girl to strangle her and I can feel it! There's another presence in the room with us, one stronger than any of us. I can't fight it off. I'm trying but whatever it is, its blocking me.
Concentrate on DG Wyatt and try. If one of you dies so does the other. Give her the will to fight!
I'm trying!
Try harder dammit!
Wyatt reached for his boss's hand. "S...She's dying. Can't help her. Dark magic is too strong."
Jeb glanced down at his fierce protector, growing weaker by the second as the strength he'd drawn from the bond left his body. He couldn't let him die. It was too late for the princess but Wyatt had a son and wife who needed him and in the years Wyatt had worked his protection detail, Jeb loved the boy like he was his own son.
"Wyatt, listen to me. No, I want you to open your eyes and listen to me!" Jeb cried when he saw the younger man's eyes close and heard his shallow breathing. You have your wife and your son, my godson. They need you."
"Don't know what to do."
"Wyatt, it's a bonding spell! You'll follow the princess to her grave unless you break it now."
"You...told me not to."
"I know I did son and you tried to use it to save her but it wasn't strong enough. Let her go. For the sake of Adora and your son, let her go."
"I don't know how."
"Look in your heart. The answers are always in your heart."
Wyatt closed his eyes again and his breath stilled. A chill pierced the Mystic Man's heart, fearing it was now too late to save either of them. How would he tell Adora that she was a widow and it was partially his fault? The bond should have been broken sooner. The odds that it would ever be completed were too great.
Suddenly Wyatt's eyes opened once more and he began to speak, his voice sounding older and wiser, yet broken.
"It is with regret that I now undo
This bond to make one heart from two
The future now is impossible to see
For with a severed heart comes a severed memory.
Myself I can never forgive
For the sacrifice I have made for us to live
Soon a storm will take you away
And through a storm we will be reunited one day
Then at last we can redo
This bond to make one heart from two
And only then will we be
One heart forever to protect the OZ."
Jeb watched as the younger man turned his palm up and the House of Gale symbol vanished along with the magic the princess had given him. His breathing returned to normal and in a few minutes he was asleep. In the morning he would awaken with no memory of the bond he'd shared with the princess or even having met her.
Lavinia, always a concerned mother walked down the hall toward her youngest daughter's room again in time to see Azkedellia leave. She entered slowly and saw her daughter on the bed, her eyes open, her body still. The queen cried out in anguish and rushed to her side.
"I'm so sorry I didn't protect you. I never thought!" the queen sobbed as she held her daughter and kissed her forehead. She called on all of her magic and opened her mouth, letting it flow from her body to her daughter's, her once chestnut brown locks now grey. DG exhaled heavily as life flowed back into her body. Lavinia collapsed beside her.
"Oh my angel. Fear not my child. There is one thing that can stop her. The emerald of the eclipse." She leaned in closer and began to whisper its location to DG's memory, sealing it tight with the last of her magic so that not even the darkness could touch it. "The secret to finding it now lives inside of you. When the time is right you will return."
She raced down the hall to the bedroom she shared with her husband and woke him. Once he saw the grey in her hair and what it meant, his heart sank into his chest. He reached for her hands.
"I can't leave you," he said sadly.
"It is the only way," the queen sobbed. "The only place our angel will be safe is in your world. The other side. You must take her there."
"Azkadellia?"
"That thing is not our daughter," the queen said bitterly.
They rose just before dawn. Ahamo took one last look at his youngest child while she slept, fighting back his tears. Lavinia promised him they would see each other and their daughter again one day but the past few hours had taught him that it was only a fool who believed in hope.
Three days later a funeral was held for the princess. The story that had been given out was that the child had died in her sleep and representatives from all four guilds came to pay their respects. Four Tin Men had been asked to serve as pall bearers, Wyatt Cain was appointed to be one of them.
He gazed down at the sarcophagus, a sorrow he couldn't explain raging in his heart. He'd never met the girl but he heard that she had been a happy child, so full of life. How was it possible that she'd been struck down so soon?
"Wyatt, what are you doing here?" Jeb Mysticos asked him.
"It doesn't make any sense. How could a child die in her sleep?"
"It is what it is, Wyatt. Let it go."
"I can't. I don't know why but I keep having this feeling that something isn't right."
Is it possible that some trace of the bond still remains? Jeb thought. He tried to open a mental connection to Wyatt but found only silence. Nor could he feel any trace of magic and the House of Gale marking vanished the night the princess died.
"Don't you dare try to question the queen," Jeb warned.
"But...sir..."
"Wyatt! Let it be!" Jeb roared.
Not wanting to risk his employer's wrath, Wyatt wisely stepped away from the marble coffin yet the suspicion that there was more to the story of the princess's death than had been reported never left his mind. The funeral about to start, Wyatt moved into his position at the front right side of the sarcophagus. He would stay with her until she reached her final resting place.
He glanced over at the surviving members of the royal family...what was left of them anyway. The Prince Consort was nowhere to be found, a fact that didn't sit well with Wyatt. Being a father himself, he couldn't understand why Ahamo wouldn't want to be at his own daughter's funeral. Other people were suspicious but they certainly didn't miss him. The general consensus was that the queen married beneath her when she chose him and his being gone was nothing short of a miracle. The queen's power seemed to diminish the moment she married the Othersider.
Then his gaze focused on the queen's eldest daughter. By rights she should have been the heir to the throne yet rumors were spreading across the four realms that Lavinia had been planning to alter the line of succession and pass the crown to the younger princess before she died. Was it possible the twelve year old Azkadellia had learned of the plot to revoke her claim and decided to take matters into her own hands? It wouldn't be the first time one Gale turned on the other but the girl wasn't acting like someone who removed a threat to her. She was a sister in mourning.
After the graveside service was over, Wyatt was startled when he felt a slight touch on his arm. He turned to face Azkadellia. He took off his hat and bowed to her.
"I'm very sorry for your loss, Your Highness."
"I don't understand what happened," she sobbed. "She was fine when I was with her last..." She glanced over at the queen and advisor. "They think it's my fault. They hate me..."
"Oh no, Your Highness. Your mother loves you very much."
"No she doesn't," the girl said bitterly. "And my father didn't either or he would've stayed with us. I shouldn't have said that. I'm so sorry."
"It's all right Your..."
"Azkadellia!" they heard the queen yell angrily.
He felt the young girl grasp his wrist tightly and she began to speak in a different voice.
"Your memory of your purpose you will one day recover
Until that day, take heed or you will be made to suffer
Think of these events as a bad dream
And mark that things are not always what they seem.
If the darkness succeeds with it has planned
It will be you who must lead her to the final stand!"
"Your Highness, what does that mean?" he asked.
"What does what mean?" the young girl demanded in a now cold voice. "I didn't say anything. I'll be going now."
She spun on her heel and walked away leaving Wyatt to wonder if he'd been wrong all along and he'd been carrying on a conversation with a murderess.
The witch savored the small victories she had achieved and contemplated her failures. She had successfully taken possession of the North Guardian. The elder princess still had some strength left in her to keep fighting back the witch's complete control. The power the young DG's portion of the heart possessed had been within her grasp when she felt fierce resistance from it's other half. By undoing the light bond between them, Wyatt Cain had prevented the witch from claiming the power she desperately craved and placed a powerful cloak on the memories their hearts held. A last descendant of Lurline, the witch had assumed the child was the strongest portion of the heart but it was not. The child's portion of the heart was ruled by innocence while the man's was ruled by knowledge. A heart ruled by knowledge held far more power than innocence and it would serve as the other's guardian. If the child was alive, the broken bond between them would not allow the witch to track her.
A clear mist rose from the center of the room, taking the shape of vines with icy thorns. It paused in its growth before its mistress, awaiting her instructions.
"I give birth to a curse of pain
On the hearts of Dorothia Gale and Wyatt Cain
I call upon all the darkness to heed my will
Cast upon their hearts a bitter chill
Destined mates you will no longer be
For you will not have that memory
When in love you try to fall
Wrap around your hearts an icy wall
Hateful words you will speak until your last breaths
For shattered hearts shall be your deaths
Here I will at last claim my final victory
And permanent darkness will come to the OZ!"
The mist floated out of the castle and wrapped itself around it encasing the once beautiful building and everything surrounding it behind a wall of solid ice and snow, concealing it and the secrets it contained from all eyes except for those whom had fought there and would return again for the final battle but only the most powerful force would leave alive.