Disclaimer:
Tin Man, Wizard of OZ or anything associated with it belong in no way, shape, or form to me. Sadly, this includes Cain's gun. For some reason, there's no money either. ::pouts::"Princess? Come on, kid, you've got to wake up now." The voice forced its way into the comfortable darkness cradling her body. She whimpered a little and turned her head away from the voice. She did not want to wake up. There was pain and fear if she woke up. No, it was much better to stay unconscious for a little bit longer. With any luck at all, everything would be back to normal in the morning. A rough hand touched her face and stroked it gently. "Come on, DG. You know I wouldn't wake you up if it wasn't important."
After a few more minutes, DG realized that the voice just was not going to leave her in peace. With a reluctant groan she opened her eyes and tried to turn away from the light stabbing into her eyes. It was just too bad for her that she turned onto her wounded shoulder. With a yelp of pain she hunched over and waited breathlessly for the pain to subside. The sharp, grating pain brought back all of her memories and she yelped again, this time in panic. "Az?" she asked frantically. "Where's Az? Is she okay?" She struggled to kick off the light blanket and sit up straight. "What about my parents?"
Cain restrained her as gently as he could, cursing himself and the doctors as he saw the pain wash across her pale features. DG had lost way too much blood to be awake so soon. "Princess, look at me," he said in a firm voice. "It's just me, Deeg, I've got you," he continued as she kept fighting him. "Everyone's fine, I swear. Az is in a royal rage that you're injured, but since you're the only one and you're relatively okay, Glitch managed to head her off at the pass after she fired Lord Ossin."
That caught her attention long enough for her to stop trying to get up too quickly. "Az fired the Lord Marshal's own assistant? He's a noble on the council!" she gasped. "What on earth happened?"
Cain rolled his eyes. Only Deeg would be severely injured in an assassination attempt, insist on walking herself to the med hall, wake up with no pain meds and then be more interested in her sister's altercation with a grasping toady of an official than her own wounds. "I'm sure you'll get the entire story out of Headcase later; he was there to witness the whole thing." He helped her to sit up gently, pushing back the hair that fell into her eyes so that she did not have to move either of her injured arms. The dark strand slipped like silk through his fingers as he tucked it carefully behind one of her ears. The pain showing on her face eased a little bit once she caught her breath, but still etched small lines around her eyes and mouth. Cain watched her for a moment, then brought over a small cup. "Here, Princess," he said gruffly. "Drink this."
DG sniffed it cautiously. It smelled like cough medicine on the Other Side. "I don't have a cold," she sulked, pushing it away.
Cain looked confused for a second before sighing and pushing it right back at her. "DG, drink the medicine. It's for pain, not a cold. And you're going to need it because the Queen and Heir want to hold a Council meeting. They want you to be there and apparently you've slept long enough for the day." Cain's tone made it obvious that he did not feel the same way. "They refuse to tell anyone what is happening, including the guards, until you are there to hear it also. All anyone has been able to get out of the Heir is that if affects you more than anyone else." DG looked up at him, pain and confusion swimming in her blue eyes. He swore under his breath. "I don't know, DG. They won't tell me anything." His frustration came through more than he wanted, because all of a sudden DG drew away. She looked so small and vulnerable as she drank down the cup. Despite a grimace at the horrible bitter taste, she made no complaint.
Cain studied her face for a long moment, then swore again and reached out to touch her face gently. "Princess," he said softly. She avoided his glance, twisting the light blanket with her good hand. "DG," he said, a moment later. That got her attention and she looked up at him hesitantly. He caressed her cheek then dropped his hand over her uninjured one. "DG, this is not your fault," he murmured. "You can't think like that. I'm sure that Azkadellia has good reasons for waiting for you before telling anyone what she or the Witch knows." As soon as he said it, he realized that he really did believe that. The Heir had proved herself in too many ways and in too many different situations over the last six months for him to hold onto any anger at her reticence now. If she did know something, it was something DG deserved to hear first. Some of that belief must have registered with DG, because she gradually relaxed and looked less haunted.
"Can I at least change before we go?" she asked. When Cain touched her cheek and looked at her so intently, as if he could see right through her, she had realized just how dirty she was. Granted, the doctor and the nurses had apparently sponged away most of the blood, but dirt and blood were splattered liberally all over her clothes. She gingerly raised her right hand to smooth her uninjured wrist down her hair and winced. It was probably best not to even wonder about what her hair looked like right now. With a gentle squeeze, Cain released her hand.
"I think I can find a clean shirt for you," he said with a slight smile. "I'm just not sure you can put it on by yourself."
DG flushed and glared up at him. "Try me," she challenged, blue eyes sparkling. He simply brought her a very loose button down shirt and tossed it on her lap. After a second glare from her, he turned his back. DG swung her legs over the bed to rest them on the floor. She had no shoes on. Gently, she worked her bandaged hand under her shirt hem to pull it up over her head. After some fancy manuevering, she managed to get it off without jarring her painful shoulder. The shirt Cain gave her had obviously come from a guard as it had the same insignia embroidered on collar and cuffs. She was almost certainly going to swim in it. With a silent sigh, she managed to justify it by telling herself it conveyed honor to the men that risked their lives for her on a daily basis to wear their shirts when she was injured.
Every stifled grunt and sigh coming from behind him made Cain clench his teeth in anger. Why was the girl so stubborn? It would not cost her anything to accept his help. Finally, after a long silence and a lot of rustling, DG cursed. He stayed where he was, and after a few more moments she heaved a sigh. "Okay, Cain, I can't button it by myself with both arms injured. As you know. Can you please help me?" He turned instantly and caught up the collar of the shirt in his hands, trying to ignore both the flush in her cheeks and the swell of cloth covered breasts on either side of his knuckles.
"All you had to do was ask, darling." His voice was a little rough, but he managed to ignore it. From the dark look on her face, DG didn't even hear the catch in his voice. He thanked Ozma silently for small favors and held up shoes. "Shall I help you put these on, too?"
Eventually the two managed to get into the corridor and head toward the Council chamber. Once DG was standing and caught her breath, she found that she did not need any support to stand upright and walk under her own power. The shirt was as huge on her as she thought it might be, but it was baggy enough that it actually did not rub up on the bandages on her shoulder. Maybe Cain new what he was doing after all. The thought brought a smile to her face and reminded her of something else. "Hey, Cain," she said, "I thought you weren't supposed to be back for another couple of days. Did someone call you?"
He was silent for a minute but shook his head after she looked at him. "No, I came back on my own. I had no idea there was a situation. I happened to reach the palace gates just as the guards locked down the grounds." A wry smile turned up one corner of his mouth. "Rob pulled a gun on me, as a matter of fact." His admiration of the guards came through and Deeg shot a sideways look at him.
"You mean that it makes you happy that a guard pulled a gun on the head of the guards?" she asked, suprised. "Shouldn't they all know you or something?"
Cain shrugged. "Sure they know me. I train with them, after all. But it's a good guard that doesn't trust to familiarity in an emergency situation and that kind of awareness should be encouraged, not punished."
"But what if they shot you?" DG persisted.
He heaved a brief sigh and shot her a wry look. "Princess, in a way, that's the point. So long as I don't do anything stupid and act within the parameters I know they've been trained with, I don't have to worry about being shot. All the men your father chose are good, steady men with a lot of experience. They're not going to react out of panic." She still did not look convinced and Cain patted her gently on her non-injured shoulder. "Just promise me you won't yell at them," he said. "Trust me when I say they did a good job out there today."
"I do," she said softly. "Lieutentant Mikkelson and the other guards were so quick to respond once Toto yelled." A hint of tears clogged her voice. "Is he okay, Cain?" she whispered, as if afraid to voice her wish out loud.
Cain quickly placed an arm around her waist and gave her a quick squeeze. "Tutor's fine, Princess. A little shaken up, like the rest of us, but you were the worst of the injured, so you know he's fine." They finally reached the Council chamber and he signaled the guards to push open the doors. "Just a few more hours, and you can cleaned up," he murmured.
The guards snapped off a respectful salute as they passed through the doors and DG laughed, albeit a little shakily. "I think I would even face the Witch on that balcony again for a hot bath," she whispered back. She hoped she kept her voice low enough that no one could overhear but then they were in the chamber and it didn't matter anymore. Drawing herself up and trying desperately to look like she was not in too much agony, she plastered a calm, neutral smile on her face and walked toward one of the two chairs left open. This was likely to be a long, long meeting, despite Cain's promises.
A/N: I know I promised quick updates, but at least you know that I haven't utterly forgotten the story! I had the worst case of writer's block trying to figure out how to segue from the actionnd character building to the storyline itself, but I think I'm okay now. Updates still won't be as often as I like because work sucks the life out of me, but I refuse to let this become a "dead" story, so no worries. Thank you to everyone that reviews and encourages me. I soooo appreciate it!