Azkadellia kept her hold on her younger sister's hand as they followed Ambrose toward the garden the Mystic Man was walking through with his litany of Tin Men.
By the time they reached the garden, however, DG could hold back her tears no longer and ran away from her sister and the stuffy advisor.
Tears blocked the child's vision and she ran straight into what felt like a wall.
"Whoa, there," a deep voice timbered above her as a pair of large male hands came down to steady her little body and stop it from falling. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
DG looked up through her tears at the large man with kind eyes. She felt something stir within her that she didn't understand but knew was coming from the Land. All she knew for certain was that this man would give the best hugs and he might be able to make her forget everything for a little while.
She nearly fell onto his now crouching form, wrapping her little arms tightly around his neck as she cried long and hard into his shirt. The man was at a loss of what to do aside from trying to comfort the child as best he could.
Long after DG had stopped crying she held onto the man's neck in her vice grip and he did nothing to loosen her hold on him.
It wasn't until he heard someone coming up behind them that the man even rose to his feet, taking the distraught child with him as she refused to be parted from him by even a millimeter. DG didn't look up from the man's shirt, knowing that whomever it was most likely was going to make her let go. She just wanted to feel safe for a little while longer.
The newcomer tried to hide a laugh in a cough, only to receive a glare from DG's comforter. "You need somethin', Zero?"
The man now identified as Zero shook his head, "I don't know, Cain, I didn't know you had a soft spot for little girls."
Cain's glare intensified as DG tightened her grip on his neck and buried her head further into his shirt collar. "Little girls running around in tears tend to illicit a response, Zero."
"DG, there you are!" Ambrose said as he and Azkadellia approached the pair of Tin Men and their glaring contest, one of them clutching the missing princess protectively. DG finally looked up from Cain's shirt, her blotched cheeks telling the advisor and her sister all they needed to know.
Az took a step forward to remove her sister from the Tin Man's arms but at the slight shake of DG's head, she stopped. "You had us worried sick, Deej. You can't just run off like that."
DG didn't respond, she just nodded, tears filling her eyes again. She gave Cain one last hug before letting him go and hopping out of his arms. Walking sedately over to Zero she smiled up at him before driving her small foot into his big one. "That's for making fun of people for being nice!"
--
Nesa stiffened as she felt the bond between DG and the Labyrinth flex and reach for the third party that would complete the bonding. Quickly thinking, Nesa did her best to keep that second bond loose and fragile. She'd do whatever it took for her daughter to have a chance to live a normal life.
--
Dinner came and went in a haze for DG. She couldn't really pay attention to anything aside from that she'd soon have to leave this place with an uncle she barely knew. All because the Land had decided that she would be its voice.
She'd have to leave Azkadellia.
"Your Highness?" a kind voice pierced through her thoughts. She looked to her right where the Mystic Man sat talking with her mother. "Your daughters look distraught tonight."
The Queen straightened her back and responded to the unasked question, "Yes, they are. My brother, King Jareth of the Labyrinth, has requested that Princess DG stay with him for a time."
The Mystic Man raised his eyebrows as he felt one of his Tin Men stiffen behind him, "Is that so? And what do the princesses think of that?"
Azkadellia put on a brave face as she smiled at the Mystic Man, "My sister shall learn a great deal from our uncle and his court. The change of scenery will be beneficial."
The Mystic Man smiled at her response, "I'm sure it will, highness."
DG looked back down at her plate as the servants removed them for the next course. She didn't understand why they thought taking her away from Az would be "beneficial" at all.
Cain's heart went out to the youngest princess, sitting at the table with the most dejected look on her face that he had ever seen.
--
Jareth bowed his head to his sister and her family before holding out his hand for his five annual old niece to take. "Until the solstice, then," his voice was calm despite the litany of curses that flowed through his mind. How dare his sister use him like this! Now, of all times!
Azkadellia and DG shared one last look, promising their love to each other before Jareth and DG left in the blink of an eye. The elder princess looked at the spot her sister had disappeared from, her heart crying out for her sister. When the tears came, she began to run not even looking at where she was until she came face to face with DG's door. The princess pushed the door open and ran over to collapse in tears upon her sister's empty bed.
--
DG, at the same time, was looking in curiosity and a little fear at the goblins that were inspecting her with the same curiosity.
"Your highness?" one of the taller goblins asked, bowing to Jareth.
"I have brought you a princess and heir," he replied, his voice tired and bitter. As he sat on his throne he addressed his niece, "DG, this is Coriander, one of the castle guards, she will give you a tour of the castle and answer any questions that you have."
The hobgoblin bowed again, "Yes, sire. Come, princess," she held out her hand to the child, her voice and smile kind, "I'll show you to your rooms. This all must be quite a shock for you."
DG took hold of the hobgoblin's hand, her eyes flickering to her uncle who nodded with a reassuring smile. "You must be exhausted, DG, I'll be up to say good night later."
The little girl nodded, trying to suppress the surge of loneliness she suddenly felt. She wanted her sister!
Before she knew it, DG was standing alone in a bedroom fit for a princess. Tears started spilling out of her blue eyes as ahs collapsed in a heap on the bed, not caring if Coriander or anyone else saw.
--
Wyatt Cain grunted as he lifted his pack off the cart. After two weeks one the road with the Mystic Man he was finally on leave and able to go see his wife and boy. A smile came to his weary face as he thought of his son, Jeb, now almost one month old.
He frowned when he noticed the lights were off inside the small house on the outskirts of town. He'd sent a letter last week to Adora to let her know that he was coming home. His heart pounded as he instinctively reached for the six-shooter his father had given him on the day of his graduation.
"Adora?" Wyatt called out into the house as he opened the door. He dropped his pack and turned on the light to find a note propped up on the table.
As he set his gun down he picked up the note and read the words, his face going from concerned to panicked to livid as the words sank in:
Wyatt -
Jeb's across the way with your parents. I can't do this anymore. I never wanted to be a mother and I don't even know how to be one. Don't try to find me - I left the necessary paperwork at the courthouse for you to sign ending our marriage and dissolving my rights to your son.
- Adora
It was cold and heartless. Unconsciously he crumpled the note in his hand, his eyes drifting back to the door and the swiftly approaching sunset beyond it. If he hurried he could make it to his childhood home before the light from both suns was completely gone.
Without a second thought he picked up his gun, holstering it again, and ran.
When he burst through the door a few minutes later, he found his mother rocking his son in the same chair she had once rocked him to sleep in. She put a finger to her lips, silently telling him that Jeb was sleeping and he needed to be quiet.
Wyatt strode over to where his mother sat by the fireplace before bending down to look at his peacefully sleeping son. He looked back again at his mother and she shook her head, "She left 'im on the stoop. She was gone when Hunter found the bassinette." Her voice was soft as she whispered the news to her son.
"How long?" he whispered back. He'd only been gone two weeks!
"'Bout a week." One of her hands disentangled itself from the baby's blanket and rested atop Wyatt's where it lay on Jeb's arm. She didn't say anything else, but silently offered her support to her oldest boy in whatever happened.
A lone tear made the trek from Wyatt's eye down the curve of his cheek to splash on his shirt collar.
A/N: Not as long as I originally intended, but I figured it was safer to upload this now instead of making you guys wait another week for the next chapter. I'm in the middle of moving right now and this is the last week of one of my summer classes (the next one starts next week). Calling it hectic wouldn't do it justice.