DG stood outside the queen's bedroom, mentally preparing herself to enter. This was one of the few times her mother was present in the Palace, and she had an important question. She pushed the door open quietly to see her mother reading on her bed.
"Mother? May I…um…ask you something?" DG approached her mother slowly, holding her sister's hand tightly. She had asked Azkadelia to come with her for this, and of course she had said yes. The two of them had grown incredibly close over the past few weeks, redeveloping the bond they had shared as kids.
Queen Annemairya of the House of Gale set aside the book she was reading and looked at her younger daughter curiously. "Yes, my angel? What is it?"
DG swallowed. Azkadelia squeezed her hand comfortingly, and DG threw a grateful smile her way. "I wanted to ask…if you could take your magic off of my memories." The words came out in a rush.
The queen looked surprised, then concerned. "Are you sure, dear? Do you think you're ready?"
DG glanced up at Azkadelia for a moment before nodding. "Yes. I want to remember everything again. I'm tired of having five years of blankness in my head. I want those years back." The queen didn't answer right away. Afraid she had somehow said something wrong, DG looked at the floor.
Queen Anne (as she was commonly called) crossed to DG's side and lifted her chin gently. "If this is what you want, I can do that right now." Lavender eyes peered seriously into ice-blue. Ice-blue eyes met lavender squarely. The queen nodded, and placed one warm hand on DG's forehead. DG tightened her grip on her sister's hand unconsciously. Anne closed her eyes and concentrated. Her brow furrowed for a moment, and then she stepped back, her eyes alight with the magic she had reabsorbed from DG's mind. DG looked at her, confused.
"Why hasn't anything happened-"
Her words were cut off by a startled cry of pain. Her hands flew to her head and she dropped to one knee as her mind was flooded with countless memories. Instantly, she couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't feel her sister's or her mother's comforting touch. She was lost in her own past, fighting to remember the present as the past threatened to overwhelm it.
A little girl was lost in the woods, scared and calling out for her sister. Her dress was dirty, and she had fallen several times. She heard movement in the bushes behind her, and she turned quickly, terrified. Out of the bushes stepped a person like no one she had ever seen. He looked like a man, but he was very hairy, almost furry. His hair and mouth made him look like a lion. He scared the girl, and she backed up slowly. He frowned, cocking his head, and spoke haltingly.
"Little girl…princess. Princess scared. Not be scared. Raw not hurt princess." He reached out a gloved hand carefully, and she took it, somehow knowing that he was sincere.
"Why princess scared?" he asked curiously.
"I'm lost," she whimpered. "I can't find Az, and I don' know where the Palace is. The woods're too big." She started crying.
The furry man wiped her tears tenderly. "Raw help princess. Come."
He led the little girl through the woods until she could see light ahead, and then they were standing on the Palace lawns. In the distance, the queen was frantically searching the grounds. With a happy shout, the little girl ran to her, leaving the furry man to melt back into the woods, unseen.
He never learned her name.
"Amber! Amber! Come see!" The little girl ran laughing to a tall, thin man with untidy dark hair that resisted all attempts to tame it. She grabbed the sleeve of his long, fancy coat and tried to pull him after her. He chuckled and, gently disengaging her hands, turned her until she was facing him. He crouched down slightly to address her.
"How many times do I have to tell you," he asked teasingly, "my name is Ambrose, not Amber." They both knew he didn't really mind. "So what's up, little Princess?"
She tugged on his sleeve again. "Come see!"
Smiling fondly at her, he followed her to her room, where she proudly showed him a painting she had completed earlier that day. It showed three figures, the two on the outside much taller than the one whose hands they held. They were sitting on a hanging swing under a pavilion. The painting held all the charm and love of any four-year-old's picture.
"It's me an' you an' Az, Amber, on Mommy's swing, can you see? It's my two favoritest people in the whole world! I wanted to show you right when I did it, but Mommy said you was doin' inventy-ing in your lab-astory." She hugged him happily, and he looked down at the little painting with tears in his eyes. He kissed the top of her head without a word.
And suddenly she was older, five maybe, and she was meeting one of the OZ's best Tin Men. She approached him shyly, as he stood talking to her mother, slightly overawed by his weather-beaten coat and hat and his tough look and his gun. She liked his eyes, though. They were blue like hers, and they held a kindness that belied the man's appearance. He heard her behind him and turned to look down on her. He crouched and tipped his hat to her. "And who might you be, kiddo?"
His voice was quiet, and she liked that. She decided that this was a nice man. "I'm DG," she told him, her natural boldness overcoming her shyness. "What's your name? My mommy says Tin Men aren't really scary like they look. Are you scary?"
He grinned. "Well, I suppose I can be scary, but only to the bad guys. My name's Wyatt Cain, little lady. I'm mighty pleased to meet you."
"Yeah," she said. "Me too." Looking past him to the queen, she asked "Mommy? You said when I get big I'm gonna have a Tin Man to watch over me an' keep me safe. Can I have Mr. Cain, please?" Her wide-eyed seriousness had her mother and Cain chuckling gently.
"You'll have to ask Mr. Cain that, angel." Her mother said.
DG looked up at the Tin Man, who had stood up again. He ruffled her hair and said "Sure, kiddo. I'll be your Tin Man, when you get bigger. I'll be your personal protector. I promise." He set his hat on her head, and it slipped over her eyes. She giggled, and he smiled.
And then it was later that year, and the little girl was trapped in a small, dark space and was crying. She had been there a long time, and she was very scared. After another long time, she heard noises and the box she was in was lifted out of the ground and hands-her mother's hands- lifted her out.
She heard urgent voices. "Quickly, before anyone sees us." "Remember to re-close that grave." "Thank heaven she didn't pass out in the coffin"
Without a pause, her mother led her to a pair of smiling people.
"These are Hank and Emily, angel," her mother said. "They're going to look after you for a while, ok?"
The girl was confused. "But where are we going, Mommy?"
Her mother smiled sadly. "You have to leave the OZ for now, sweetheart. But you'll be safe, I promise. These people will watch over you."
"But I want you and Daddy to come! And Mr. Cain! Why are you sending me by myself? I'm scared. And I miss Az. Az like she was before she fell." Her face held more grief than any young child's should.
Her mother sniffed and hugged her daughter. "I'm so sorry, my angel There's no time to explain. You must go." She stepped back and allowed the people behind her to approach.
Her father hugged her hard, told her to make him proud, and then walked away from her, trying not to cry.
Ambrose was next. He was crying. "Looks like you've gotta leave, doll. I sure wish I could come with ya."
The little girl wiped his tears with a clumsy hand. "I'm gonna miss you, Amber," she whispered.
He smiled, sadly. "I know, Princess. I won't forget you. Ever." He walked back to the palace slowly.
Finally, the last person approached her- "her" Tin Man, Cain. He knelt in front of her.
"Are you coming, Mr. Cain? You promised you'd always be there."
"I can't kiddo. I'm sorry, but I have to stay here. You stay brave, ok, kiddo? I'll see you again, down the road. I swear it." He got up quickly and turned away.
Her mother walked up again, and, placing her hand on the girl's forehead, sealed away her memories, in hopes of saving her. "Until you return, I love you," she whispered to her daughter's prone form. Then she, too left.
All these images, and hundreds of thousands of others, crashed through DG's mind, totally overloading her. She crouched, shuddering as five years' worth of memories made themselves known, all at once. Gradually, she became aware of her mother beside her, holding her and stroking her hair. Her sister, on the other side, still held her hand. She sat up slowly, feeling shaken and dazed.
"I knew them all? I mean, I knew Cain? And I'd met Raw? Though I guess he didn't know that…" Her voice trailed off as she realized she was crying. She was completely drained, and the strain of suddenly recovering all of her memories was almost too much for her.
A long, thin hand wiped away her tears, and she was suddenly aware of Glitch's presence behind her. She hadn't known he'd come in. Then again, she hadn't known much for the past….how long had it been?
The room was cloaked in shadow now, a stark and, for DG, sudden contrast to the bright, fully lit room she had first entered. She must have been on the floor for several hours at least, as well as her mother and sister, if they'd stayed the whole time.
She turned her head to smile tiredly at Glitch, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Hi, Amber."
He looked startled for a moment before answering automatically, "What's up, little Princess?" He paused for a moment, then his face lit up with a huge, goofy smile. "Hey! I remembered your old name for me!" Then he looked confused. "Didn't I? I thought I remembered something…oh, well. Glitching again, I suppose."
"You're right," she assured him. "I used to call you Amber. I showed you a painting once, do you remember?"
He frowned. "I…I think…I don't…..Oh! Wait!" He ran out of the room abruptly, skidding into the doorjamb on his way out. DG had to chuckle.
Her mother, still holding DG half on her lap, smoothed her hair back. "How are you feeling, dear heart?"
She took a deep breath. "I'm all right now, I think. But why didn't anyone tell me I knew Cain when I was little?"
"We thought it best to let you discover as much as you could on your own," Anne explained. "We thought it would be easier to readjust to life here if you were left to remember at your own pace."
Azkadelia laughed. "Well, that plan didn't count on DG's stubborn impatience, now did it?"
The other two had to laugh as well, because it was so true.
Glitch chose this moment to slip back into the room- literally-and caught himself before he crushed the object he was holding in his hands.
He showed DG. "See? I knew I remembered something! I had it in my room."
The three women stared in awe at the thing Glitch held. DG was the first to move. She reached out a trembling finger and lightly stroked the old, somewhat yellowed paper of a child's painting.
This one didn't turn out the way I expected, so I'd really like reviews.