Chapter 7: Wild Goose Chase
A/N: So it's been a while since I've updated, and I apologize. My time it being eaten up by law school applications. But I've finished my first, mailed it out and decided to celebrate! So here you go!

Dani loved Finaqua; it was beautiful, she got to play outside, and it was the one place where she wasn't constantly under surveillance. Since the entire palace and the grounds surrounding it were guarded with magic that would alert any mage inside to a new presence, it was essentially self-guarding. True, there were still guards posted around the perimeter and intermittently within, but they weren't hovering over her, watching her every move. It was very liberating.

DG sat in the gazebo watching her daughter play while Az and Mara sat close by. "They grow up way too fast."

Azkadellia bounced Mara in her lap. At just over six months old, the little girl with chubby cheeks and the most unruly black hair one had ever seen clapped her hands and smiled. "I know what you mean," Az laughed.

"I wonder if there's a spell or something we could do," DG mused. "You know--something that would keep them young and cute forever. Stop the aging process?"

Az laughed. "I'd wait on that one. At least until this one is out of diapers."

"There are my girls," Glitch announced as he neared the gazebo. Mara's head instinctively swiveled at the sound of her father's voice, her hands reaching for him as he approached. Glitch gladly scooped her up in his arms, planting a kiss on each cheek.

"Good morning Glitch," DG greeted him.

"Morning, Doll." He took a seat on the bench next to his wife and settled his daughter on his lap. Mara grabbed his thumbs and began pulling at the appendages.

"Uncle Glitch!" Dani exclaimed running into the gazebo.

"Good morning sunshine," Ambrose said.

"Come play with me!" Dani shouted.

"I'd love to," Glitch responded. "Give me a few moments with your mom and then we'll play."

"Okay!" Not wasting a second more, the young girl darted from the gazebo back into the sunshine.

"What have you been up to all morning, Ambrose?" Az asked.

Before he could respond a guard cleared his throat to get the attention of those gathered. "Sorry to interrupt, sir, but the Queen is requesting both Princesses' presence in her office." Having delivered his message, the guard bowed and fell back into his place outside the gazebo.

"Well I suppose this little rendezvous will have to wait until later," DG groaned climbing to her feet. "Come on Dani!"

"I'll watch her Deeg," Glitch offered as Azkadellia took Mara from his arms. Both princesses hesitated.

"Are you sure Glitch?" DG questioned. "She can be a handful."

"Of course I'm sure," he replied, shooing the two women from the gazebo. "I haven't gotten to play with her in a while." DG just smiled at her brother-in-law.

"I'm going to put this one to bed before she gets cranky," Az said bouncing Mara in her arms. "Say goodnight to Daddy." The little girl looked at her mother before grabbing two fists full of Azkadellia's hair and yanking down.

"Well that's not very nice," Glitch said choking back his laughter. Gently he untangled his wife's hair from the infant's chubby fingers. Leaning over he placed a soft kiss on the crown of Mara's head before planting a firmer kiss on Az's lips.

"Geez, get a room!" DG called over her shoulder.

"We have one," both Az and Glitch responded in unison. She bid her husband farewell and followed her sister into the palace, trailed by two guards.

Glitch watched them leave before setting off to find his niece. He located her crouching down by the reeds near the edge of the lake. "Whatcha doin there?"

Dani's head whipped around. "I found a frog!" she exclaimed holding the creature between her hands. The little thing's eyes were bugging out of its head (more so than usual) due to the pressure the little girl was exerting on its body. It seemed to be calling out to Glitch for salvation.

"Yes you did," he grinned. "What do you say we play a game of hide-n-seek?"

"Yeah!" With no warning Dani turned back to the lake and tossed the frog back into the reeds.

Glitch cringed as the animal made a plopping sound as it hit the water. "Okay you go count in the gazebo and I'll hide first," he suggested.

Dani dashed into the gazebo climbing onto the swing and covering her eyes. "One, two, three…"

Glitch looked around for a moment before spotting the perfect hiding place. He covered the distance in a few steps and crouched down behind a large flower pot. He listened as her counting ended and she shouted, "Time's up! Here I come!" Her footsteps echoed on the wooden stairs as Dani raced out of the gazebo and began her search. It took her only seconds to discover the advisor's half-hidden form behind the foliage.

"Found you!" she shouted.

Glitch climbed to his feet, groaning as his knees popped with the exertion. "Now it's your turn to hide."

"Okay," she exclaimed and took off.

"Don't go outside the palace grounds!" Glitch called after her. "And stay away from the lake!" He watched her run into the gardens noting the two guards that followed closely behind. Climbing the steps to the gazebo he took a seat on the bench and began to count to himself. 'One, two, three, four...wait four! That could be it. It was four parts water, three lemons, and one papay fruit.' He smiled brightly having finally remembered the recipe to…to…'What was the recipe to? Muglug? No that definitely doesn't contain fruit. What was it?' He sat there for a few minutes contemplating his current problem when at last the pieces aligned and he remembered why he was sitting in the gazebo.

"This isn't good."

OZOZOZ

"This is definitely not good," Glitch groaned opening up another door. His eyes darted around the space and noticing nothing closed the door and moved on. He'd searched everywhere for her, but Dani was just too good at hiding. He'd checked the Consort's shed, the throne room, and his lab but to no avail. He was on his way down to the med ward now, hoping that she'd somehow wandered in to visit Sarah.

"Excuse me," he asked one of the attending nurses, "is Sarah Cain around?"

The young woman only smiled and pointed to the office near the back of the large room. Glitch nodded his thanks and weaved his way around cots and patients toward the room. Without thinking he pushed the door, which was previously closed, wide open and charged inside. "Sarah have you—oh sorry!"

The pair immediately broke apart, each attempting to right their clothing and hair. Sarah made an attempt to pull her shirt down over her slightly bulging stomach where Jeb had pushed it up. Why he insisted on rubbing her stomach like she was a genie she would never understand.

"What can I do for you Ambrose?" she asked looking anywhere but at their visitor. Jeb stood a few feet away from her sending daggers at the Queen's advisor.

"I was just wondering if Dani was down here," he said. "But I can clearly see that she's not, so I will leave you two to…resume your activities." He backed out of the room, shutting the door securely behind him.

As the door clicked shut, Sarah let out a breath. "Well that was mildly embarrassing."

Jeb cracked a smile and turned back to his wife. "We should probably put in a request for a lock on that door."

"It has one."

"Then why aren't we using it?" He flashed an evil grin before capturing her lips once again.

OZOZOZ

Dani was getting tired of this game. She'd been hiding forever and Uncle Glitch still hadn't found her. She really shouldn't be left alone this long; that's when her adventurous side took over. Since there were guards around every corner she knew she couldn't get very far, but this would be a perfect chance to explore the palace.

Tiptoeing along the hallway she passed a pair of guards. "Don't tell Uncle Glitch I was here." They looked at her for a second, smiled, and returned their attention back to their post. They didn't seem the least bit worried that she was wandering around the palace without an escort.

Further down the hall a pair of grand doors loomed before her. Staring up at them in awe, Dani pulled the curved handle down and pushed with all her might until the heavy door budged. Inside the room bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling. On the far side of the room a spiral staircase led to a loft filled with even more books. A few tables and comfortable looking chairs were scattered around the large room.

"Wow."

OZOZOZ

Glitch was at the end of his rope. He'd checked every room in the palace…twice. 'DG's going to kill me,' he thought, pacing the hallway outside the Queen's office. He was planning how to break the news to her when the doors opened. Azkadellia exited first meeting her husband's worried eyes with an equally confused look.

"What's wrong?"

Before he answered DG exited the room trailed by Cain. 'Sweet Ozma. Cain'll flay me like a munchkin.' His palms began to sweat.

"What's up, Glitch?" DG asked, her eyes tired from what could only be described as a trying meeting.

"Don't worry Doll, but…uh," he took a deep breath. "I may have misplaced your daughter."

Immediately Cain's face fell and his eyes bore into Glitch's. "What do you mean you 'misplaced her'?"

"Well, we were playing hide-n-seek and she's really good." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he looked anywhere but at the towering man in front of him.

"She's a four year old girl, Glitch!" Cain yelled.

While the men were throwing words around, DG had retreated into her own mind. Tapping into her magic, she scoured the palace grounds for the distinctive magic pull that belonged to her daughter. Her magic signature pulled DG toward a fairly isolated wing of the palace. Seeing the doors in her mind's eye, DG smiled softly and put a hand to Cain's chest to stop him.

"Dani's fine," she said. Her brother-in-law and husband stared at her dumbfounded. "Follow me and I'll show you." Not waiting for an argument DG led the group down several hallways, all the time following the map in her mind. Coming upon the set of doors she turned to those behind her, raising her finger to her lips to indicate their necessary silence. Pushing the doors open she scanned the room before her eyes found her daughter. She nodded to Wyatt bringing his attention to the center of the room. On one of the largest chairs Dani was curled into a ball, her head resting against the arm of the chair.

Behind them Glitch let out a breath at seeing his niece in one piece. "I'm sorry Doll," he said.

"Don't worry about it Glitch," DG smiled. "I'm sure we can lose Mara for you if you'd like."

Cain leaned over his wife and rested his chin on her shoulder. "She's definately your daughter," he whispered. "Nothing but trouble."

"And you're just glutton for punishment."