Chapter Eleven

And so it goes…

To say that DG was surprised would be a very, very, very large understatement. In fact, if Az's dropped open mouth and wide, shocked eyes were any indication, Azkadelia was feeling a bit flustered as well. Jeb and Wyatt, ever stoic, merely looked at the twenty foot Glinda replica like it was some sort of interesting bug they'd encountered on the sleeve of there jacket.

Funny that.

DG blinked, looked again, then blinked once more. In an act that was starting to become more habitual, DG rested her hand on her belly and tried to figure out just what the hell Glinda the Glowing Giant was doing sitting in the middle of the road. With a wand. That shot sparks! Blue sparks at that.

Holy shit.

"Uhm, Wyatt?"

He didn't respond, so much as grunt.

"What's that?"

A jerked shoulder told her he didn't have a damn clue.

Great. The guy that suggested they come to this place as a safe haven didn't know why there was a twenty-foot statue of the Great Glinda in the middle of the damn road. Just freaking wonderful.

"So, are we just going to stand here and stare at it all day?" Az asked, remarkably under control again. Even that damned eyebrow was arched in all its bored glory. DG was starting to think she liked her sister better as a quivering mass of remorse. Then she immediately felt guilty for thinking that. Of course she was happy Az was feeling better. But did she have to be so damn droll about it?

"How would you suggest we get past the gate, your highness?" Cain asked with a hint of the old ornery Tinman DG remembered from when she'd first met him.

"Knock on the gate?" Az answered reasonably. Sitting next to the monstrosity decked out in blue-with sparks-was a large gate. A large, round knocker was set conspicuously in the center of the left half.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Wyatt asked with a twitch of his lip. Whether it was a smile or a grimace DG didn't know. She figured the only reason he stepped forward was to end the torture that had been this trip. She and Az had managed to keep their bickering to a minimum, but there was no doubt the tension was thick when the truck finally stopped.

With a resigned sigh, Wyatt picked up the heavy knocker and dropped it back against the wood three times. The noise that action caused should have gotten everyone within five miles attention. Surprisingly, no one answered.

"Try again." Jeb suggested. Wyatt arched a brow, sighed yet again then grabbed the ring. Only to have it ripped from his grip as a secret panel in the door swung open.

"Waddya want?" A man appeared in the window, a long beard caught between his body and the edge of the opening. It, the crazy handlebar mustache and his hair were a dingy gray, his eyes almost the exact same color. His skin was dark like melted chocolate and he had the ruddy look of a person who spent a lot of time outdoors. Which made sense since this was supposed to be a fishing village. Most of his body was hidden from view, so he had a kind of disembodied quality about him that seemed unsettling.

"My companions and I were looking for shelter." Wyatt said, eyeballing the man through narrowed lids. DG almost resisted reminding him that he wasn't a Tinman anymore and he might want to ease off on the 'intimidating' look. Almost.

"Season don't start for 'nother month. Ain't got no shelter till then."

"Season?" Az said, immediately snapping her mouth shut when she realized she spoken out loud. She didn't' need the sharp look from the Cain men as a reminder that she was supposed to stay silent and let them do the talking. She dropped her gaze and tried to turn invisible. DG moved next to her and linked their fingers together. And just like that. All the bitterness that had been spewing about in the back of the truck for the last several hours was gone.

"Yeh. Season. Park don't open till the day of Glinda's birthday."

"How's that when no one's exactly sure when she was born?" Wyatt countered, confusion becoming more prominent on his face.

"So's the times approximate. Don't matter none if it's when we say it is or ain't. People still come."

"To what?" Jeb asked this time. They weren't getting anywhere fast. But at least this man was talking.

"The park." The man countered with a lot of annoyance. He looked at them all like they were a bit 'tetched' in the head. DG always liked that word,'tetched'. She just never thought it would be applied to her.

"Oh." Was all Jeb came up with.

"Look, sir. My wife is pregnant and her sister isn't well. Are you telling me there's no where for us to stay?" DG pressed her stomach out to try to accentuate the tiny bump forming and Az just kept her eyes downcast and sagged lightly against her sister. Jeb reached back and put a gentle hand on her elbow, drawing her away from DG and taking her weight himself.

"Well," The man hedged, looking over at the Gale women. Finally his ruddy face seemed to soften and he scratched his ear. "Pregnant you say? Hold on." And like that, he disappeared. The group stayed silent and waited for the strange man to return. Perhaps that might be a strange reaction. But in truth, none of them knew what to say. Cain was wondering if he'd made a serious misstep in protecting the safety of his wife and child all the while bringing his son and sister in law along for the ride. Even worse, he was worried that the others were thinking the same thing.

So, he remained quiet and hoped like hell he hadn't royally fucked up.

To his great relief a few seconds later, he felt DG's tiny, soft hand slip into his larger, rough one. She gave his fingers a squeeze and he hazarded a look down at her. A flash of a smile on her lips eased some of the guilt that he felt at being careless. Not much. But a little.

A scrape of metal and the creak of wood was all the warning they had that the gate was about to swing open. The man returned and was a lot shorter than any of them had realized. The top of his head barely grazed Az's shoulder. DG wondered if he was a Munchkin and tried to do a delicate search for feathers. She didn't see any, but she wasn't sure if that meant anything. Considering her last experience with that particular tribe, DG had to struggle not to glare at the man.

"Sorry 'bout that." The man said with a wave back to the noisy gate. "Better remember to get that fixed 'for the Season starts. Come on then. Jenna at the Inn says she can clean up a couple a spare rooms. Long as you got money?" This seemed to suddenly dawn on the man and he eyeballed Wyatt and Jeb as if trying to gauge their wealth from their clothes.

"We've got money." Wyatt assured him in a gruff voice. "We'll follow you in." He said, and then made to get into the truck.

"Ah ah ah. That thing ain't coming in here. We gots a carriage for getting' 'round in here. Park it round back. Gimme your luggage first." At Wyatt's hesitation he rolled his eyes. "Come on then. It'll be safe enough back there."

Wyatt narrowed his eyes, but he didn't see any point in arguing. If he did, they might get turned away. And there was really nowhere else to go other than back to the palace.

"Fine." He growled. Jeb came over and helped him yank out the few cases they'd brought with them. "I'll be right back." And true enough, he was. He found the area the man had indicated and parked the truck as close to the large fence surrounding the town. He couldn't see it from inside, and to tell the truth, it wasn't a great loss if it got stolen. But it was their only transportation at the moment and he really didn't want to lose it.

"Right this way then. Ladies pleasin' to watch your step. 'specially you missus." The man told DG ushering her through the doors. Just inside the gate was a simple carriage with a canopy to protect from the weather and the host of trees overhead, with a gorgeous white horse hitched up to it. Here, DG could finally hear the sea, smell it, almost taste it. As a farm girl in Kansas, she'd always wanted to see the ocean. Now it seemed she was going to get her chance.

"Careful, there missy. Name's Tibbs by the by." He held out a hand and assisted Az into the carriage. The older Princess smiled her thanks, her dark eyes drifting the horse.

She stopped dead, her mouth once again gaping open.

"A…er…Zelda, what's the matter?" DG grimaced when she almost slipped and called her sister by her real name. But no one seemed to notice.

"The horse?"

All eyes turned to the horse and only Tibbs didn't seem surprised by what they found. The once pristinely white horse was now…blue.

"Oh tha'." Tibbs guffawed, his dark face crinkled as he grinned. "Ain't ya ever heard of a horse of a diff'rent color? The kids love 'im."

"Uh, ok." DG managed, reaching out to take Az's hand and pulling her into the carriage. Wyatt and Jeb followed, sitting in the bench across from them. DG looked around, trying to studiously ignore the horse, that was now green, and take in her surroundings. They seemed to be in a clearing. Trees surrounded them in varying heights and foliage colors. DG could honestly say she'd never seen a tree with actual gold leaves before. They shimmered in a way that suggested they might have been painted, but she didn't want to find out.

When the horse started to move, purple now, it guided them towards a large structure that reminded DG of a ticket booth. To her surprise, as they drove through another open gate next to the structure, she realized it was a ticket booth. And there were two others just like it.

Ooooookay. They passed under a tunnel of trees. That was all she could think to call it, as the canopy overhead was so thick. The further they drove down the tunnel, the better DG could hear the sea. The smell of brine got stronger and DG took a deep breath.

Wait…was that corndogs?

Her eyes had drifted closed as she took in the smells. They suddenly snapped open in time for them to break out of the tunnel and straight into the Kansas state Fair.

"Oh, my, god." DG's eyes whipped around as she took in the Ferris wheel, the tilt a whirl and cotton candy stands. She turned her head and could just see the water through the frame of the roller coaster. It wasn't a roller coaster like any she'd seen before of course. She was used to large, metal monstrosities that dropped people from three hundred feet or more. This one looked like the pictures she'd seen of Coney Island in the thirties. She half expected to see a Nathan's Hot Dogs sign. There was a boardwalk lined with shops that were closed now. She was guessing when the season started they'd all be open and selling their regalia for the tourists.

Tourists. That was one word DG never thought she'd use here in the OZ. This was like their own personal version of Disney Land. Why was she so surprised?

"When did this become a resort town?" Jeb asked, his own blue eyes taking in his surroundings with a mixture of interest and horror on his face. Wyatt was a bit more covert about it, but DG could tell he wasn't very happy about this new development either.

Tibbs made a sound that indicated he was thinking about that question. "Near as I can 'member five years ago or so? Aft the take over, seemed people needed somethin' to remind 'em why the OZ was worth fightin' for. Started out as just a museum to the life of Glinda the Good and the time the Gray Gale blew in. Kinda got a little bigger over the years. Got a lot of tourists from other countries. Guess no one told that witch Azkadelia 'bout us, oth'wise we'd a been shut down quicker than you can say twister."

As the man cackled, DG's eyes flicked to her sister. The other princess was sitting ram rod straight, her dark eyes staring out over the park, looking in no way like she'd heard the comment. But DG knew she'd heard and it was yet another strike against her sister's already shifty self-confidence.

"A'right then. Here we go." The horse, brown-finally a normal horse color- turned into a circular drive outside of a…Good God, it looked just like the emerald that DG and Azkadelia had spent the better part of a week fighting over. "S'made to look like the old Emerald City. The one the Wizard used to live in a'fore he disappeared back when the Gray Gale lived."

Well, that explained…nothing. At least to DG. Things had been a little crazy what with the eclipse, her pregnancy, the wedding and possible threat of a coup. She hadn't even had a chance to crack a book on the OZ history. She'd have to grill Az about it later.

"By the way." Tibbs started as the carriage came to a stop. "What news is there of the resistance?"

"You've heard nothing about it?" Wyatt asked, surprised.

"Nah. Durin' the off-season, not too many folks come through here. Too remote. Don't usually get no news about things till the Season."

"It's over. The witch is gone. The House of Gale is back in power."

"Well, glory be. That's some good news." Tibbs face folded into one of such happiness it was hard for DG not to grin back when they got out of the carriage. "Enjoy ya stay." He snapped the reigns and whistled while the horse, now orange, led him away.

"I can't believe none of us knew about this." Wyatt said with an incredulous shake of his head. They stood on the wide steps leading up to the hotel and tried hard not to feel like he'd let everyone down.

"Well, to be fair, you were locked in a tin suit for eight years." DG piped up.

"And DG was in the other side."

"She was possessed by a witch." Jeb reminded them, pointing at Az.

"And I guess you were a bit busy growing up and fighting the Longcoats. But what about your father?" Wyatt demanded, turning his eyes back to DG.

"He's been in the realm of the Unwanted for fifteen years. Mother was in a teeny prison, Raw was in the dungeon in Central City and Glitch lost half his brain." DG ticked off the reasons none of them knew how the quaint little sea town had turned into a tourist trap from hell with quick flicks of her fingers. And that list pretty much covered everybody that knew they were coming. Fantastic.

And really, who was going to care that one, tiny coastal town with no ports or any major hub of trade going through it turned itself into a tourist attraction?

Honestly?

"Well, I guess there's nothing to do but go inside and see what's what. Get a couple of rooms, some food. Then we'll figure it out from there." Wyatt said with smile. DG thought it looked a bit forced.

"Let's go then." DG forced her own smile, slid her hand into her husband's and tugged him up the stairs.

Az watched Jeb watch his father and DG with an indescribable look on his face. When he turned to look at her it was gone. "Shall we, Zelda?"

"Of course David." She arched a delicate brow and took his offered hand as they followed her sister and his father into the hotel.

A/N- So, here's why this hasn't been updated in………yeah. That long. Sheesh. Really, I wrote myself into a corner. I couldn't decide if I wanted Emerald Isle to be this quaint little fishing town everybody was expecting it to be or more like a…convoluted tourist trap. Which I must say, I was leaning toward, but I wasn't sure how it would go over. Then I fretted and worried and wrote a bunch of other stuff in my attempt at avoidance. Then I finally told myself to get over it, make a decision and write something. So, I did. I hope you enjoyed the direction I took this and don't get too frustrated with me. You know what to do. Review, review, review. :D