Author's Note: Okay, plot still isn't quite here yet, but definitely starts in the next chapter. I still felt this was necessary to setup where the characters are at... (Or I'm just playing, but I guess that's what this is anyhow, just me playing)
Running for the large, intricately carved wardrobe, DG pulled the offensive pinkish dress over her head, tripping slightly as she refused to slow down. She tossed it to the side, completely forgetting her earlier concern that someone could look in with the drapes thrown wide open and see her in her compromised state, and this time in nothing but her panties.
Not of it mattered, not so much as getting to the wardrobe and digging out some decent, worn out clothes to throw on.
Because she was going to spend the afternoon with Wyatt Cain.
She had bumped into him when she was leaving (okay, running from) her lesson with Toto and Az, heading towards what she was dreading to be another boring lecture by Gl-Ambrose about the history of the OZ. Quite literally, she had /bumped/ into Cain, colliding with the tin man as he was exiting a meeting with the head of palace security.
Given his perpetual vigilance, it seemed odd that she'd catch him off guard enough to knock him off kilter (although not at all odd for her daydreaming self). But it had been during his one possible vulnerable moment, when he was putting his hat back on his head, and he was obviously preoccupied with processing what had transpired in whatever meeting he had just finished.
"Unh-whoa, kiddo," he had exclaimed, grabbing her arms to prevent her from falling to the floor. She had found herself leaning heavily against him, so close she could feel his warmth, smell the unadulterated scent of him. The blush from embarrassment over her flighty accident deepened for a different reason.
Maybe he had seen it in her eyes, for he hastily steadied and released her, taking a step back.
"Uh, sorry, Cain," she had apologized awkwardly. "Those lessons in etiquette and poise are obviously not taking."
This had gotten a chuckle from the generally stoic tin man. He wasn't so rough and tough as his exterior purported to be and DG knew it.
"Off to another one?" he had asked, perhaps eyeing her dress a little too carefully.
She had pulled a face. "Gli-Amrbose's Complete History of the OZ."
"But then I'm free for the afternoon," she had added, cheered by the thought of a few hours without lessons, without meetings, without thinking of recovery projects, social programs, or power struggles of the old elite families battling to reassert themselves.
"Any elaborate schemes for escape?" he had asked, picking up on her immense relief, and facetiously pointing out her alacrity for causing trouble.
"Is that an offer for those riding lessons you said you'd give me, tin man?" she had shot back, not entirely seriously, but not completely joking either. Once, it seemed like forever ago, she had made him promise to teach her to ride horses, something she'd always wanted to learn.
"Sure, why not," he had conceded with a smirk.
Obviously, she hadn't thought ahead. It was near impossible to sit still through Ambrose's lecture. She hadn't been able to answer any of his questions the first time around, and barely managed to concentrate enough to answer them on the second or third try. For sure, she hadn't behaved so badly since a child stuck in school anticipating recess. Her life had become a little stifling as of late and she just couldn't help feeling excited at the prospect of a little freedom, of leaving the palace grounds, of a few hours without responsibility to spend with a friend, the best kind of friend, one that made no demands upon her, that didn't expect her to be anything but herself.
She pulled on an old pair of jeans...her favorite pair, probably worn beyond the point where they should've been tossed, but that was part of why they were the favorite pair. With a t-shirt, her old shoes and a jacket, she bounded for the door, feeling like her self again.
Forget all this Princess stuff!
An afternoon just to be DG was all she wanted and everything she needed.
...
Dammit! Busted!
DG turned around to face the person who had called her name. And she had almost made a clean break, too!
"Yes, mother?" she tried to remember the polite and proper way to speak as royalty. No matter the instant bond she had felt towards the woman, the memories she had recovered, it still felt strange to call her 'mom.' She had settled for 'mother' which sometimes felt cold, but in this case, sounding respectful would get her a lot farther than 'yeah, ma! What dya want?!'
"Where are you off to?" the much more elegant woman asked, her voice as smooth as silk. Despite the even authority in her tone, there was still that omnipresent twinkle in the Queen's lavender eyes, the one that suggested she had been prone to getting herself in as much trouble as DG when she was her age.
"Uh..." DG stalled, considering her options. Lying wasn't going to get her anywhere, but she had this strange feeling that her mother didn't especially approve of Wyatt Cain. It was probably nothing. She had genuinely thanked the tin man for his service in saving her daughters and stopping the witch, had offered him any position he desired in the OZ's military and protective services. When he had requested to serve in the palace's security detail, there had been that little hesitation in her mother's ever-charming nature. It was probably for the best then, that she did not know it was DG who had asked him to stay, even if it was just because at that time, she only felt safe around her friends in the strange new place.
Her mother tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. No doubt that's where Az got that expressive ability.
"I didn't have any lessons scheduled for the afternoon, and..." DG began to make her argument, then stopped when she realized it sounded too much like excuses and evasion of the question. "Cain promised to teach me to ride a horse, and since I have the afternoon free, I thought it would be a good time."
Please, please don't tell me riding horses isn't proper for princesses!
"Where will you be going on this excursion?" her mother asked, a concerned look in her eye despite the sweet smile on her lips.
"I don't know," DG confessed. "But don't worry, mother, I'll be safe with Cain."
"All right, then, DG," she relented with a warmer smile. "I'll see you at dinner."
Feeling a little uncomfortable about it, but knowing she'd feel more awkward if she didn't do as expected, DG went up to her mother and kissed her cheek. She received the warmest smile of all for the gesture before she did all she could not to run out of the palace.
...
"Cain!" she exclaimed, tackling her friend with a hug. He wasn't really the touchy-feely type, but maybe that's why she liked to catch him off-guard all the more. Of course, she never did manage to knock him over completely, no matter how she tried to loosen him up.
He grunted when she hit him with all her weight, and then proceeded to give her a warning, displeased look. But the smile that he tried to hide after she released him belied his genuine affection for her.
"You in a hurry to run away from the palace, princess?" he asked teasingly, knowing how all the rules, protocol and structure had started to drive the fiery young woman mad.
"Maybe," she replied noncommittally. "And please don't call me princess. I'm just DG."
"Hear tell you're both, kid," he pointed out, walking over to the horses and loosing the mare he had chosen for DG to ride. "And you had better find a way to live with that."
He tried not to laugh as DG rolled her eyes at his lecture. It would've been too short to be considered a lecture had it been given by anyone else, but coming from the terse tin man, that's exactly what it was.
Happily for DG, that was the last they spoke of her woes or her responsibilities for the entire afternoon. Instead, when she could get him to talk, they discussed everything from why he was so attached to that damn hat (he had won it in a bar fight, something he seemed both proud and ashamed to confess) to what she missed about the other side (county fairs, cotton candy, movies, and surprisingly, the flat rolling fields of the prairies).
She was late for dinner, her own fault for not telling Cain that she had to be back to the palace by sundown (she felt too much like testing to see if she'd turn into a pumpkin). And she hoped to god that her mother wouldn't hold it against him, especially when she received that disapproving look when she rushed to her seat, still in her riding clothes. However, it didn't stop her from talking about how much fun she had riding Ruby, that was the mare's name and she was so sweet-tempered but liked to go fast, too, and that Cain thought she was a natural for it even though DG had always felt clumsy at practically everything physical she had ever attempted for the first time.
Az seemed to take to her sister's good mood and excitement over the new experience, her face lighting up to match DG's while she asked her questions and encouraged her newfound interest. Even though Az was apparently the only other one to find such a simple experience so riveting, DG didn't notice. Or maybe she just didn't care to...She wasn't going to let anything ruin her mood.
If she were lucky, she'd be able to carry it over to the next day, which promised to be a challenge with her extremely busy schedule.
No rest for the wicked witch slayer...
A/N: I didn't intend for the Queen to be so cold/mean, but I don't think DG's relationship with her mother would be picture perfect.