Chapter IX: Final Decision

DG still heard the laughter from Soren and his men hours after they had left from her small room. It echoed in her mind as much as the picture of Cain dying flashed in front of her blinking eyes. Soren and his men had left her father next to her, thankfully. It was bad enough that she was worried to death about Cain; she didn't need to worry what they were doing with her father as well. She sat on the windowsill and looked back at her father who was still pacing the floor, more than likely still trying to figure a way for them to get out. One look out the window and he agreed that they were on the border of the Deadly Desert. A breakout attempt out the window would result in their death.

He seemed to pace more furiously as time passed. Something burned at the back of his mind, reminding him of something that he didn't want her to know. Something that had to do with Soren and the position she now found herself in concerning the young lord. She didn't know how much longer she was knocked out than her father. In that time, Soren could have given him an ultimatum and the way that Ahamo was pacing, that's probably just what happened. She got some of her stubbornness from him and she knew that once he had made up any decision that had to do with family, he wasn't going to budge on it. Whatever the alternative was, it didn't look good.

She looked back out the window and wished that she had some living dust like her greatest grandmother had her adventures. Pour some of that stuff on a couch, find something for wings and they would be in business. They would fly right back to get Cain and then to the palace to figure out their next move. No waiting in a tower for the royal guard to come and get her.

"How are your powers doing, DG?" Ahamo paused in his pacing, "Any change?"

"They're still low, but they're building higher than what they were when I woke up," DG looked at her fingertips and showed Ahamo that they were beginning to glow once again, "I think the cut from that 'magic' blade is going to stop me from doing the harder spells. So forget the Ages. I'll be lucky if I could even spin my doll with what they are now."

"Do you think you have enough to contact your sister?" Ahamo walked to her and sat on the other side of the large window.

"I don't know," DG took a deep breath, "The last time I tried I hit a blank wall that almost threw me to the floor."

"Try again," he nodded, "If we could get a message to them, then you could get out of here."

DG paused and looked at her father, "Me? You mean us."

"DG, you are the future of the realms-"

"And you are my father," she frowned, "I don't like what you are inferring here."

Ahamo looked out the window and then back at her, "I don't have much more time, spitfire… You do have your mother's spirit, you know? And I am proud of both you and your sister. So proud."

"This sounds like a goodbye," she said nervously and smiled hesitantly at her father, "But that can't be right. You still have to walk me down the aisle. Wyatt is waiting for both of us. He's going to bust through that door and get both of us out of here any time now."

"Soren is going to be back," Ahamo watched the last of the light from second sun disappear from the sky, "And when he does, my time is up. He still doesn't have the answer he wants and he never will."

"What did he want you to do?" DG pulled both of her father's hands into her own, "And if it means your life, you better agree to it. I will not allow anyone I love to die for me."

"That's a curse that you must live with as a queen, DG," Ahamo brought one of his hands from hers and cupped the side of her face, "People die for you constantly. I do this proudly. I will never allow what he wants to reach you. As a father, and as a man that loves you dearly, I cannot."

"Father…"

"How touching," Soren stood in the doorway and looked at both father and daughter on the window, "I'm guessing that you have made your final decision, my lord."

"I have and the answer hasn't changed. I will never give you what you want. I have given it to a man that deserves it," Ahamo stood tall and walked away from DG, who jerked him back for a moment because of her hands still clutching one of his. He looked back and pulled his hand from her, "Let me go, DG."

DG shook her head, "I just started to know you again."

"Unfortunately, princess," Soren rushed forward and plunged the blade into Ahamo's gut, "Some of us never get a second chance to get to know our parents. We lose them before we get the opportunity."

He quickly pulled the blade from the king-consort and watched the older man collapse to the floor.

"No!" DG ran from her position and to her father. She turned him over and into her lap. She kept his eyes trained on her face and kept him still, "No, no… Come on Seeker. You're strong. You've been through worse. You can beat this easy."

"It was an easy decision, my lord," Soren looked down at the bleeding man and at the princess holding him, "All you had to do is give me your blessing to marry your daughter. A signature was all I required."

"And a lifetime of misery for my daughter," Ahamo groaned and felt the copper taste of blood enter his mouth, "I would never allow that. Even when faced with death."

"I see that," Soren looked at them both and the tears starting to form in DG's eyes. He turned quickly to the doorway and nodded to his guards, "Let them alone for a time. The man earns at least that little of respect."

DG heard the lock settle into place and focused on her father. She put one of her hands over his wound and tried to heal it. The gold colored magic sparkled on her fingers, but soon died as it didn't affect the wound.

"No!" DG screamed and hugged herself around her father's head, "Why isn't it working?!"

"DG, it's okay. I saw this coming…"

"It's not okay," DG heard the unleashed sob in the back of her throat, "Mother shouldn't lose you twice. Neither should your daughters. We barely now the man you are now. You should have signed the damn paper."

"That would have been signing your death," Ahamo coughed and more blood stained the ground and DG's dress, "I will always protect you and your sister and mother. You three are the world to me. I'd do anything…"

"But you're the Seeker… Ahamo," DG felt he tears running freely down her face now, "How will this world be without them in it?"

"It will go on just swimmingly without me, DG," he cupped her face with one of his hands again, "It's got you now and you'll keep it going."

"How will I tell mother?"

"Tell her, that I will always love her. Just as I had the moment I saw her," Ahamo's breathing started to become ragged and DG held his other hand tightly, "I will see her again down the road. And tell your sister how much she is loved by all of us, and by her proud father."

"Father, please," DG shook her head, "I love you."

"I love you too, DG," he closed his eyes as if to blink, but didn't open them again.

"Ahamo!" she shook his shoulders and then looked at the ceiling and screamed, "FATHER!"

She collapsed over the body as it grew cold. She felt the memories of her childhood come to the forefront of her mind. Days where he had sat her and Azkadellia down to teach them art or days that he would take them in his hot air balloon over the O.Z. came in crystal clear. This man was never a stranger to her. He was always her father.

'Try again.'

DG opened her eyes and looked down at her father's face. He was peaceful and still, but that was his voice.

'Try again… get out of here.'

DG took a deep breath and called to her light inside. She concentrated on her sister with everything she had and called to her. Her ear burned and she grabbed at the small ear cuff that she still had on. The warmth coming from the family seal on the cuff was just enough to give her support to see through the spell. She couldn't use her powers to heal him, but she would do what he last asked of her. She would get out of this prison and get back to her family.

Azkadellia stood next to Glitch as he loaded the last of his things into a saddle bag in the front foyer. Cain and Raw stood across from them, their packs already to go. It had been over a day and as Cain had promised, he was leaving to find DG and Ahamo. Jeb and Kelly had come back to the palace after hearing of the ambush and had agreed to stay to watch over the queen and Azkadellia as the trio left to fetch DG and Ahamo. As much as Kelly tried to argue with Cain to make him stay and heal properly, Jeb knew there was no way to convince his father otherwise. Lavender stood behind Azkadellia for support as she said her good luck to Glitch.

"Have a swift journey and I pray that you find her quickly," Azkadellia hugged Glitch tightly around the neck and he buried his face into the side of her neck.

"I will, my love," he said steadily. He leaned back only to kiss her fiercely as a promise that he would be back to see the birth of their child. There was no doubt that he along with Cain and Raw would find her. There were no other men that loved her more in all of the O.Z.

"I have given you directions to Soren's old castle home," Lavender spoke to Cain, "I only hope that will help."

"It's a place to start," Cain nodded and turned to Glitch who now had his forehead connected to Azkadellia's, "Are you ready to go, Glitch?"

"As much as I am ever going to be," he nodded and began to turn from Azkadellia when her legs nearly buckled from beneath her. He caught her under her arms and slowly lowered her to the floor. She sat on her knees and closed her eyes tightly, "Az, what's wrong?"

"DG," she whispered and took a deep breath to seal the connection with her sister, "It's DG. She's trying to contact me."

"Can she get through?" Jeb asked as his father moved next to Glitch.

"She said she doesn't have much magic at her disposal. She's weak and can't call the Ages to her," Azkadellia put a hand to her chest and shook her head, "Something has happened. Such sorrow…"

"Azkadellia, let your sister speak," Lavender sat next to her eldest daughter and put a light hand on her shoulder. She gave over the little magic she had and helped DG talk through Azkadellia. Her eyes finally opened, except this time it was DG's blue eyes shining through and not Azkadellia's.

"Mother?" DG asked through a strained voice, "I got through?"

"DG, my angel, where are you? Are you okay?" Lavender took hold of Azkadellia's hands as if they were DG's.

"I'm in a castle at the edge of the Deadly Desert," DG choked and shook her head, "I don't have all my powers. I'm useless."

"DG, where is your father?" Lavender put a hand on the cheek to gain her daughter's attention, "Is he there with you?"

"Soren… Soren took him," DG choked again and shook her head, "I couldn't stop it. It happened so fast."

"Took him where?" Cain asked and scooted forward in front of Glitch.

"Cain!" her face lit up only a second before she was in his arms, "I thought that… he said you were injured… Shot with a bullet in your side. And you were calling for me. I thought that he had killed you."

Although he knew it was Azkadellia's body in his arms, he knew that the one that was really there behind her eyes was DG. He rubbed her back and combed his hand through her hair, "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm okay. I'm coming to get you. You and your father."

"You can't get him," DG mumbled into his collar, "Soren…"

"What happened?" he asked gently and kissed the top of her head, "Tell me what's going on."

"He was stabbed by the same blade that Soren cut me with because he wouldn't agree to give his blessing to Soren," DG said slowly and shook her head as she broke down, "I couldn't save him. My powers aren't back. I couldn't heal him. The bastard killed him! And it's my fault!"

"DG," Lavender turned her face to her and cupped it gently in both hands. Through the connection DG saw her mother's eyes filled with tears, but with a gentle smile on her face, "You did everything that you could. I need you to tell us where to find you."

"All I see is desert," she closed her eyes and blinked a few times. Lavender could see the link starting to break between her daughters as the eye color shifted from blue to brown and back, "I smell pine and a flower blossom. I don't know what kind. They're sweet, like Honeysuckle."

"The Blossoms of the Sun," Glitch thought out loud, "It has to be. They're the only sweet flower that blooms that close to the desert and the forests. There are too few places that they grow."

"I'm so sorry mother," DG started to break down more and felt the connection slipping from her.

"Concentrate, DG!" she said sternly, "He didn't die for nothing. Help us find you. Tell us anything you hear, anything else you know."

"He said he still loved you just as he had the moment he saw you," DG said with a small smile, "And he told me to let Az know she's loved by all of us. Especially by her proud father."

"Tell me how to find you," Cain said from above her head. She shifted her head from her mother and looked up at Cain, "Please, DG."

"You always have a knack of doing that with or without my help. You always find me," DG smiled with a sob escaping from her throat, "I can't hold on much longer. My magic is low and growing lower. I can't do much."

"DG, please," Cain felt her lean back from his embrace. She sat on her knees and looked into his eyes.

"I love you and always will. No matter what happens," she said quickly, "I'm going to use the rest of my power to send something to you all. Even though I can't send myself."

"DG!" Cain yelled and reached for her when she closed her eyes.

A blast of magic surrounded Azkadellia's body and a form began to appear in her lap. First a head and then the body followed. Both her hands were placed gently on either side of his head and his hands folded neatly on his chest. The blast of magic died down and Azkadellia opened her eyes slowly.

"Oh daddy," she said sadly and let her own tears for him fall down her face, "We just got you back."

"My love," Lavender sat next to her daughter and looked over her husband. She gently took him from Azkadellia's grasp and held him closely to herself. She closed her eyes and put a palm over the stab wound in his lower stomach. Everyone knew that she was trying in her own way to heal him, but after a moment she stopped and began to sob over him. She screamed into the hall loudly, alerting the closest royal guards who then called to the medic and examiners.

Azkadellia hugged her around her shoulders and cried with her. Glitch knelt near Azkadellia if she wanted his comfort as well, but for now he knew that the two women needed one another. Cain and Raw sat stunned a foot or two away from the others. Raw shook his head and lowered it in respect. Jeb held Kelly against his chest to shield her eyes from the scene even though they both knew she had seen worse. Cain only shook his head and ground his teeth together.

As Ahamo's hands shifted a small trinket fell from them. Cain picked up the piece of silver and noticed that it was DG's ear cuff, "Why would she send this back with him?"

Azkadellia looked up and quickly examined the ear cuff and then the marble floor they were sitting on, "It was a way to send him back."

"How?" he asked.

"It was a link," Azkadellia nodded to the marble floor which also had the family seal imprinted upon it, "By connecting the two symbols by her magic, she was able to transport him here. She used the cuff you gave her to send him home."

Cain palmed the trinket, quickly stood and looked out the front doors of the palace.

"Cain," Glitch looked up at him before he took his first step, "First we find that castle on paper."

Cain nodded and looked at the still body of Ahamo, "He was the best man I had ever known. And that bastard will pay for killing him."

With that Cain turned down the hall and to the map room. The others stayed with Ahamo's body. He would mourn the man in his own way. He would tear through countless maps and letters to find that castle and rescue DG. He would bring his daughter back home. And he would kill the man that had torn his new family apart.

DG laid on her floor, drained of magic and of emotions. She knew there would be questions on why she didn't send herself instead of her father. She wasn't able to, even if she tried. It would be too much power to send them both and she wouldn't leave him behind.

She knew that there would be a proper ceremony in a few days to say goodbye and she wouldn't be there. Her mother and sister would say a few words and say their goodbyes, but she would still be under lock and key in Soren's castle. Better that the King-consort is buried where he deserves and not in a dirt pile somewhere in Winkie Country.

She knew that Cain would beat himself up about her father's death, but he would still come for her. And most of all she knew that it was her fault that one more person was dead. Her father was dead because she was the next queen. If that was what the crown meant… she was badly mistaken and misinformed when she took her oath to take it.

She sobbed on the floor, holding herself and trying to stay warm as her magic tried to regain some power. She felt her father's once warm blood soak into her dress and dry. The only clean area that was found on her body were the streaks of tears falling down her face and to the floor.