Author's Note: Not mine, not making any money. So I really hadn't intended to work on this piece again for a while. I've been traveling for work and completely planned to write something else during my down time, but then you guys sent me a bunch of AMAZING reviews, and my satisfied muse decided it couldn't concentrate on anything else—hmmm—who knows; if you keep reviewing it MIGHT just work again.

Speaking of, I haven't had time to do individual review replies, but I'm hoping you'll forgive me since I spent the minutes writing instead. Also, please forgive any typos. I wrote this on my Palm, and the stupid folding keyboard is smaller than the one on my laptop. I might go back and tweak it a little later to smooth out any rough spots because it's absolutely impossible to re-read on that little screen.

 And now, without further ado, some actual plot!

Aftermath—

Chapter Four

I mentally braced myself as I walked through the door into Azkadellia's bedroom. It was silly, but knowing that Cain was still out in the main room with Ahamo—I was trying, but I still couldn't think of him as my father—made it easier for me to paste a cheerful smile on my face. I knew without asking that he'd tell me before he left.

I was a little curious—ok, that might be a teeny, tiny, understatement—about whatever Ahamo wanted to discuss with Cain. I figured it had something to do with the security of the tower, since everyone but Cain seemed to think Cain was in charge of that, but I didn't know for sure.

I hate not knowing things, even—ok, fine, especially—when they really aren't any of my business. Right now, though, I had other fish to fry. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding when I walked through the door and realized Az was sleeping peacefully.

The rustle of my clothing must of reached her ears, because the Queen looked up from her position by the bed and nodded at me, face lightening a little. She was holding Az's hand, gently rubbing the back of it. Worry and fatigue were clear in her gaze, though, and the smile she sent me was forced. She looked like a woman in need of a lifeline.

In response, I set my own smile more firmly. I might not have been the best candidate for the position, but I was all she had. And maybe I didn't feel the way I should about her, but I was determined to be what she needed in as much as I could. It was the least I could do, since—I forced my thoughts to cut off before they could start down that path. Guilt was the last thing I had time to think about right now.

"How is she today?" I asked softly.

"Better—much better, actually," the Queen said. She paused, and looked intently at me before continuing. "Az rested peacefully most of the night after you left. It was interesting, what you did DG. Interesting, and very, very generous."

Huh. Guess I hadn't been as sneaky as I thought. I blushed at the praise and tried to make light of it. "It was nothing, really."

Last night before I went to find Cain, Az's nightmares had gotten so violent, we'd all been afraid she was going to hurt herself. She was screaming things I didn't understand, a lot of mumbo jumbo thoughts about things that had happened while she was possessed—stuff about soul stealing, executions, destroying the Papé fields and Finaqua, undoing things—then she'd started in about the Mobats, clawing at her chest and begging them to get off of her.

It was more than I could take. Without thinking about it, I'd laid my hands on either side of her head and—for lack of a better word—pushed my light into her. The Queen and Ahamo were so busy trying to hold her hands away from her body, I didn't think they even noticed what I did. The way Az went still and relaxed into the mattress made the blinding pain that exploded in my head as I pulled away more than worth it.

I'd kept my face carefully blank as I stumbled away from the bed, and I was pretty sure enough attention was focused on Az that I thought I'd managed to hide the extent of the contact I'd had with her, and how painful it had been. As I sagged against the wall away from the prying eyes of my birth parents, the need to see Cain had washed over me almost as powerfully and as painfully as the backlash from easing Az's nightmares.

I didn't understand it, but I didn't have enough energy to question it. Instead, I'd weakly asked Ahamo and the Queen if it would be alright if I asked Glitch to find me a room so I could rest. I carefully ignored the flash of hurt I was in their eyes when they realized I didn't want to share the spacious suite with them.

If I were a better daughter, I might have stayed, but I just—couldn't. Cain. Have to find Cain. Need to find Cain. The words were clawing at my spinning head. I sent up a quick prayer of thanks when they looked at one another and nodded, clearly trying to mask their feelings about me leaving, and I fled the room. My internal compass was directing me forcefully downstairs, and it was just dumb luck that I ran into Glitch as I made my way toward the stairs.

He looked surprised when I paused to ask for a room, but I guess he saw in my face that it wasn't a good time for questions or arguments. Looking way more like someone I'd think of as Ambrose than the goofy Glitch I'd come to love, he'd nodded and told me which room would be ready for me. I took a second and hugged him gratefully, trying to ignore the way my head whirled with every movement.

When I was in high school, the local police department did a demonstration with "Drunk Glasses." It felt like I was wearing them as I plowed on in my quest to find the Tin Man. The intoxication level dial was turning up with every step. I have no idea how I managed to make it to the ground floor without rolling head over heels down the stairs, but I did it.

I was maybe three steps from collapsing myself when I saw him, and then the most bizarre thing happened. I caught site of his back, and just like that, my headache dissipated and the tilty, vertigo world I was walking through straightened a little. When he touched me, things got even better. Sure, I was still absolutely exhausted and felt like I'd gotten into a fight with a Mac truck—and lost. But it wasn't half as bad, not even a third as bad, as what I'd been feeling.

I've never been one to question providence, so I decided to ignore it. I mean, no one knew how messed up I'd been after I did it, and I turned out fine in the end. So no reason to kick up a fuss, right?

Yes, I realize that if the whole Princess of the O.Z. thing doesn't work out for me, I have a bright future as an ostrich. But hey, burying your head in the sand is a skill—especially if you're as good at it as I am.

 Now, though, with the Queen looking at me, her tired face shrewd, I was pretty sure I hadn't fooled anyone. And I didn't think she was going to buy into my if-you-pretend-it-didn't-happen-then-it's-not-really-there plan. That didn't mean I couldn't try, though.

Carefully not meeting the Queen's eyes, I sat down in the second chair beside Az's bed and set out to change the subject.

"How long do you think it will be before her light is restored," I asked softly, careful to keep my voice low so I didn't wake my sister.

The Queen was frowning. "DG—we need to discuss this."

When in doubt, play dumb. "Discuss what?"

The Queen tilted her head, and for the first time she actually looked more like a parent than like a serene statue of perfection. If she'd been Momster, the expression on her face would have been clearly saying, "So this is how you want to play it, young lady?"

I swallowed nervously, not sure what to do about this particular incarnation of parenthood. Luckily, I didn't have to figure out what to say next, because the Queen spoke.

"Do you know why we spent so much time at Finaqua, DG?"

Ok, that was out of left field. Since I could count the number of things I remembered about my entire life in the O.Z. on the fingers of one hand, and most of them had happened at Finaqua, I decided it made sense that we must have been there quite a bit, but nope, in answer to her question, I had no idea why.

Well, other than the fact that it was a really, really cool place—except for that whole cave thing. I settled for shaking my head in answer.

"Using magic isn't without its effects, Angel, and its dangers," she continued softly. "It's like any other activity—it can make you tired, it can make you rejuvenated, and sometimes, it can be quite painful." She raised an eyebrow, practically daring me to comment.

I was a rock. No way was I breaking. "Really," I said with what I thought was an Oscar-worthy level of nonchalance. "That's—interesting."

The Queen nodded solemnly. "Yes, yes it is. And one of the most painful aftereffects of magic happens when you use your light to delve into the mind of another person when they haven't invited you there—particularly if that other has the gift, also." She paused like she was searching for words, and I had to physically restrain myself from leaning forward to make sure I didn't miss anything. "It's something like the pain a viewer feels when he's forced to look into the mind of someone unwilling. But much, much worse—in fact, if someone were to, say, try to shield the mind of one who is gifted from nightmares, well, the result would be so physically—taxing—that only a person in possession of extraordinary power would be able to do it at all. In fact, it could even be fatal should someone with a weak light attempt it."

Oh crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. I knew that tone. I was in trouble. Mayday, Mayday, Re-direct! My mind frantically ordered me. I scrambled for something to say and hit on the Queen's first statement.

"Y-you mentioned Finaqua? What does that have to do with—"

"The light within one with the gift is not without a means of—protecting itself—from reactions like fatigue, cold, pain," the Queen interrupted. "In every Gale woman, the magic chooses a shield—a protector, if you will. Contact with that shield eases the effects and rejuvenates the wielder. For me, my magic chose the waters of Finaqua as my shield."

She was gently fingering the crystals sewn into the bodice of her gown.

"These," she continued, eyes suddenly sad, "are not as vital to me as they once were, but they are crystallized drops of Finaqua's waters. You might notice that most of my clothing is decorated with them. That's so I'll never be too far away from my talisman. They aren't as effective as the waters themselves, but they'll do in a pinch."

She held up a hand to stop me when I started to reply. Probably that was a good thing, since my mind was spinning about a hundred miles an hour. I had a sinking feeling that I understood the wild rush to get to Cain.

"As I said, what you did was very generous, but it was also very reckless." She leaned forward and took my hands, eyes glittering. "Angel, I'm so very sorry I didn't realize what you'd done before you left. I didn't understand at all until this morning when I touched your sister's forehead and felt the traces of your light. My only excuse is that your father and I had—a distraction—weighing on our minds after Az calmed and you left."

Oh great—I'd made her feel bad. It was official. I was the worst daughter ever. "Mother," the word felt awkward on my lips, but I managed it, "it's ok. I'm fine now, and it helped Az. I don't see what the problem is. I think we should just let it go."

Frustration bloomed in her eyes. "DG, my magic chose the waters of Finaqua to protect me as soon as my light grew strong enough to need a shield. But your gift hasn't had time to do that for you. You must be more careful, DG. That you could do something like that without understanding it is so very frightening. We can't lose you. We need you—the entire O.Z. needs you. Yes, you recovered, but at what price? And you went off all alone."

Hm. Well, this was awkward. What was I supposed to say now?

I opened my mouth, but Az's scream cut me off completely. She went from peaceful to thrashing in zero-point-five seconds.

"No! It's tearing! It's tearing! She's undoing it! We have to stop it! We have to stop it! I can feel it!" Before either the Queen or I could move, she was sitting up eyes still tightly closed. And then, just like last night, the dream changed in a heartbeat. "They're inside me! Get them out of me! Get them off of me!"

The Queen and I threw ourselves at Az just as she started clawing at her chest again. "Get them off! Get them off!"

I dimly registered Cain storming into the room, Ahamo right behind him. Raised voices and confusion filled the space. Their entrance distracted me for a second, and I lost my grip on Az's arm. The pointed nails cultivated by the witch raked across my face and neck, and I felt three long cuts open on my skin.

Then Cain was there, holding her hand and pulling it away from me. Without stopping to think about the consequences, I grabbed Az's head again and pushed. I felt the light roar out of me, and Az stiffened and fell back against the pillow. For an instant, the room was utterly still. It was like the world stopped moving entirely.

Then my head exploded.

I reeled back from Azkadellia.

"Cain," I whispered hoarsely—I didn't have to raise my voice because he was right there, holding my arms, pushing my hair back.

"DG, are you—"

"Catch me."

And then the world went black.

I returned to awareness slowly. The first thing I registered was the feeling of arms—strong arms, holding me carefully almost like they were afraid I would break.

Voices came next.

I listened, but I couldn't make myself open my eyes just yet.

"—we think the nightmares are so severe because of the undoing." There was a pause and the Queen continued, voice tearful. "If we can't find a way to stop them, we're afraid we'll lose her entirely to madness. And who knows how long it will be before it begins to tear away at DG, too."

"You're going to have to be a little more clear about that, Your Majesty." Cain's voice was icy, hard.

"I would have explained it to you if we hadn't been interrupted, Mr. Cain," Ahamo replied stiffly. "As I told you, the O.Z. is dependant on the gifted heir of the House of Gale for it's survival, but that works both ways. The House of Gale is equally dependant upon the O.Z."

"It's a—It's a—It's a—" I heard a muffled oomph. "Thanks. I needed that. It's a double bind."

Yeesh. How long had I been out, and when had Glitch gotten here? And more than that, what the heck were they talking about? Huh. Maybe I was still unconscious.

"Your highness," Tutor's cautious voice intruded from somewhere off to the right, "are you sure you aren't mistaken? It could be just a case of nightmares. We have to consider the wisdom of placing our trust in something Azkadellia said during a dream. The undoing of the foundation of the O.Z.—is such a thing even possible?

Undoing of the O.Z. Azkadellia's dream? I concentrated and thought about the night before, trying to understand the conversation floating around me. It wasn't a pleasant memory, but it was very clear. Last night had been—bad didn't even come close to describing it. When Az collapsed, the Queen—Mother, you have got to start thinking of her as Mother—was beside herself. I lost myself in remembering.

The four of us were standing at the balcony railing, looking at the suns, and for the first time in my life—at least, what I could remember of my life—things felt really 100 percent right. Then Azkadellia swayed forward. I saw the movement out of the corner of my eye, before I could move to do anything about it, though, the color drained from her already-pale face and she was falling.

"Az!" I'd yelled in surprise as she sank gracefully to the ground. Yeah, my big sister even managed to look beautiful passing out. Good thing I loved her, or I'd have to hate her for that.

The queen noticed what was happening a heartbeat after I did.

"Oh my darling Azkadellia! Ahamo, what's happening? Help her, dear Gods, please do something."

Ahamo swooped in and picked her up off the concrete. Mother was fluttering around him, managing to look like an exotically beautiful bird even in her panic. Az must have gotten that from her. Once he had Az in his arms, Ahamo was looking around helplessly, like he had not the faintest clue what to do with her.

The love and terror you could see in both of their faces nudged me into movement. They might have been strangers, but even I could see their feelings for Az, and I knew in my heart that if our positions were reversed, they'd be experiencing the same emotions about me.

"Quick, we need to get her lying down," I exclaimed. I'd pushed open the balcony doors. They led into the Sorceress' darkly lush private chambers. Normally I'd call them room, but honest to God they were too opulent for a simple word like that. When she held me prisoner, I'd had a chance to see them for myself, so I knew where the bed was.

As Ahamo rushed to follow me, Az's eyes fluttered open. She must have realized where we were headed, because she started struggling and crying hysterically.

"No! No! Please, you can't put me in that bed! You can't, you can't."

I braked so suddenly, it was lucky Ahamo didn't plow into my back. Duh. Jesus I was an idiot. The Queen caught up with us and was trying unsuccessfully to calm her oldest daughter. It wasn't working, and cracks in her perfectly polished veneer of serenity were starting to show. Instinct told me that my mother was barely holding herself together—tonight hadn't been easy for her, either—and I knew someone had to do something.

Sadly, it looked like I'd been chosen by process of elimination. There just wasn't anyone else to do anything.

Cain, you need to get Cain, my brain had screamed. It was irrational, but somewhere along the way my subconscious decided to employ a new default setting—when under duress, find the Tin Man. Stupid brain—it must be running Windows Vista. Vista was always coming up with new default settings for my laptop without bothering to ask my permission.

And much like my laptop, I was helpless against the power of the default.

"Stay here," I ordered my parents. "I'll get help."

I charged out of the chambers and into the wide stairway. I didn't know where the heck Cain was but I was going to find him. Instead, though, two flights down I ran into Glitch. Reaching out, I grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Glitch! I need a room! Az is sick—we need to get her in a bed."

"A room?" He was confused for a minute, like the word didn't quite process, but then his face cleared. "Yes! We have a room—a room with beds— ready for you. It's at the end of this hall—"

I spun on my heel without waiting another second and raced back up the stairs, slamming through the doors to the witch's chamber. The Queen and Ahamo were on the floor, holding a sobbing Az. Her eyes were tightly closed, and tears were streaming out of the corners of them. I could hear her broken sobs as I ran to them.

"We have to stop it. She didn't understand what she was doing until it was already half done. She undid it. She's undoing it right now—the emerald—she thought the power of the emerald would let her control what was happening, but she was wrong. She didn't lock the suns, but she made it worse. I can feel it—can you feel it, Mother? Fast—it's happening so fast now..."  

"I found a place to take her," I reached them as Az's voice trailed off, and panting, I spoke.

In a flash Ahamo was on his feet. "We'll follow you," he said.

When he moved, Az's moans started again, but they'd changed.

"No, please. Kill him if you have to, but not that way. Not that way. Don't take his soul. Don't take his soul…"

It went on like that for hours, so many horrors came pouring out of Az that I couldn't keep track of them. She'd quiet for a few minutes, and then start again.

"—waited until DG left last night to use my light to see if I could understand what she'd said. I thought coming out of the witch's prison was why I felt so off, but when I explored, I realized that it was more. So I sent Ahamo—"

"DG awake," Raw's voice interrupted the Queen, and all at once everyone stopped talking.

"She has been for a couple of minutes," Cain said calmly. I felt him reach up and brush a lock of hair out of my forehead.

I reluctantly opened my eyes, glad someone had apparently thought to keep the lights dim. "How did you know?" I demanded.

His smile was forced, as was the light tone of his response. "You can't fake me, Kid. I'm just good."

Maybe it's just that no one's ever had to, my treacherous mind replied. I clamped my lips shut before that little gem could pop out and forced myself to sit up. I did not, however, make a move to get off Cain's lap. All the other seats seemed to be taken, anyway.

"So, what's an undoing?"

What can I say—subtlety never was my forte.

TBC