Chapter X: Plotting Course

There was no ceremony for the King-consort of the O.Z., or even word of his death to the citizens of the O.Z. The advisors, including Glitch, believed that it was better that everything was kept quiet. The last thing they needed was the people thinking that the monarchy was slowly being killed off. Lavender had her husband taken to the central room where she and Azkadellia had used their powers to encase him in crystal. Nothing could reach him to mar his body or his memory. He would be taken to the Gale mausoleum when they retrieve DG and bring her home. Then there would be a ceremony and a proper burial for him. He deserved to have his whole family with him on the first step of his final journey.

For six hours, Cain and Glitch poured over the maps of castles and overlapping them with the growth periods of the Blossom of the Sun. Raw stood near by to help them heal from their wounds, but would leave quite often to stay away from Cain who wouldn't calm down. The viewer would spend more time with Hank and Emily as they tried their best to calm Lavender and Azkadellia.

Cain ran a hand through his hair for the hundredth time that night and looked at Glitch who had just singled out two different castles that would fall within DG's description.

"What's the verdict, Glitch?" Cain asked.

Glitch sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Two castles. One was in ruin the last I heard and was at the South Eastern corner of Winkie Country. It borders the Southern forests and what used to be one of the largest fields of the blossom. The other is at least two days ride North of the first one along the border of the Deadly Desert. It's a strong fortress and is rumored to have a large field of the blossom next to its gates and a large forest guarding one side."

"We don't know for sure about the flowers?" Cain asked and looked at the map and at the two castles in question.

"No, Cain, we don't," Glitch rubbed at his eyes.

"If we go to the one in the South we could lose valuable time in reaching her if she is in the north and he could move her when we are making our way to the second castle," Cain went over the options, "But if we go straight to the Northern castle, we would have to back track and waste precious time if she is in the Southern castle."

"There's not much to do but to check one and then head to the next one if we're wrong," Glitch sighed, "DG will survive this. She's survived being buried in a marble coffin, being thrown off a balcony… she's survived dying. She's going to be there when we find her."

"But in what condition?" Cain growled and stood up, "I should have never left her."

"It's not your fault. You wouldn't have guessed that the coward would have raised colors against the palace when you and Ahamo were gone."

"She needs me and I'm not there," he kept fuming and began to pace, "I let her father get captured and later killed. Now she blames herself when she should blame me. I can't get-"

Suddenly Cain found himself on the ground with a throbbing cheek. He looked up at Glitch who was standing over him, breathing deeply and nursing his hand he had just used.

"Don't you dare," Glitch shook his head.

"Don't I dare what?" Cain rubbed his cheek and pierced into the advisor's eyes.

"Blame yourself. I've heard enough of that around this palace," Glitch shook his head and took a deep breath, "DG will need you when we find her. She will need you strong and will need you to be her rock. Just like you need her to be yours. I will not allow you to fall into your pity cycle and to close up on yourself. When you do that you push everyone else out and make some sacrificial choices. I won't let you do that… you're my friend, Cain. And DG deserves to have her future husband in one piece."

Cain took a deep breath and then watched as Glitch offered his hand down to him, "And if you're ready to stop that nonsense you were spouting just a moment ago and go fetch your bride, I'll help you up."

Cain shook his head and grinned up at his friend while taking hold of his hand, "Thanks, Glitch."

"What are friends for?" Glitch asked and heaved the Tin Man off of the floor.

Cain looked over the castles again and looked at Glitch, "Why didn't she teleport herself back?"

"She didn't have enough power to start with," Glitch mentioned, "And think of yourself in DG's place and her way of thinking. She probably wasn't even sure if she would be able to send us Ahamo. And if she did have enough power for one person, she wouldn't leave her father behind even under direct order from her mother."

Cain pinched the ridge of his nose and took a deep breath, "She's too damn stubborn with too big of a heart."

"Probably why you love her so much," Glitch smiled.

"It's exactly why I love her so much as infuriating as it could be sometimes," Cain nodded and concentrated on the castle in the South. He focused and felt himself drawn to the small drawing of the castle. Something told him to look deeper, to find something that was hidden, "You said this one is in disrepair?"

"Last I heard of it," Glitch nodded, "Castle of Balance it was called back in its hay days. Walls are now falling and people who had worked on it fell into the desert. They shut the project down right before the witch took Azkadellia. No reason to keep working on a castle that may be part of a dying land."

"What if someone started on it again? They had fifteen years to do it under the cover of the witch's rule. I'm guessing that the witch never really kept other castles under watch when she had her tower and the emerald to worry about. I have a strong feeling that we need to head there first."

"You see something I don't Cain?" Glitch asked.

"Cain feel DG," Raw came in through the door happy that the hate radiating off of Cain had died down, "Connected deeply. DG want Cain to find her. Doesn't know she's giving magic to him to find her."

"Then we'll follow your feelings, Cain. You'll lead the way," Glitch nodded.

"I just hope I'm right."

DG sat by the window with her arms folded on the window sill and her chin resting on them. The suns were going to rise in less than an hour, but she couldn't sleep. Her eyes still burned from the crying she had done for her father and were probably extremely red. She had thought that once she had stopped crying she would fall asleep in the ball on the floor. Instead her mind kept her up. It was still calling out to her sister, to her mother, to her friends and most of all to Cain. She wanted him there with her, but at the same time she wanted him safe. Maybe she wanted too much. Besides that her stomach was nauseous, probably from all the blood that still surrounded her. Sure, she'd seen horrible battles and wounds in her day, but nothing like this on her own family.

Once the first sun rose DG heard her door to the room open and someone gasp at the picture that laid out before them. In the middle of the room there was a large pool of partially dried blood where the body of the King-consort should have been. From the blood pool they saw a few drag marks along the floor all the way to the window where a young princess was perched with her dress covered in dried blood. Her face slightly smudged half with blood and the other half with now dried tears.

"Where is the body?" his voice sounded a bit strained. The situation must have throne him off. Apparently the great Lord Soren does not have as much experience with magic as he presents himself to have. DG doesn't turn toward him or move from her spot. She hears his boots as they scraped the floor and stepped over the puddle that her father left as he came closer, "Princess Dorothy, where is your father?"

"I would think that you would know the answer to that," DG said in monotone and watched the sky light up in the early morning colors, "He's dead, Soren. You stabbed him yourself."

"I know he's dead. Where is the body?!" Soren asked in frustration, "Who took it?"

DG turned to see him look around the room a bit paranoid. She smirked to herself and thought that she probably looked like Cain when ever he was amused by her naivety toward Ozian things or customs. She rolled her eyes, "You think that if someone came to take the body I wouldn't be here either."

"You should address me as Lord, or you my call me 'my Lord' if that suits better to your tastes," he smiled and focused on the bed to his right.

"That's not going to happen anytime soon," DG mumbled.

"You haven't slept," he noticed the bed was still made and that she was moving a bit sluggishly, "That's not healthy for you."

"It's kind of hard to sleep when you have 'My father's been murdered' scrolling through your head," DG spat.

"Isn't it though?" Soren chuckled to himself and cleared his throat, "You still haven't answered my question, princess."

"And if you haven't figured it out by now, you're an idiot," DG looked back at the sunrise.

Soren stepped next to her and looked down from her perch, "You couldn't have."

"Couldn't have what?" DG frowned and looked down at the sand.

"Did you push your father into the sands?" he asked with an eyebrow raised, "I thought you were better than that. But I suppose it was a way of keeping him out of my hands. Wasn't it?"

DG turned away. If that's what he wanted to believe, it was all the better for her. Cain would get here and the lord would never be the wiser that she had contacted any one of her family or friends back at Finaqua.

"Something caught your tongue, Dorothy?" he asked in a soothing voice and tried to rub her shoulder. She threw his arm off of her and walked to the corner of the room. He sighed and shook his head, "If we are ever going to make our marriage work, you must trust me."

DG glared at him, "Trust? You killed my father over his signature on a fucking piece of paper and you're talking about trust?!"

"Watch your mouth. That's no language for a future queen to use."

"I talk the way I want to scum bags like you, Soren. And you can forget about marriage. I will never marry you, I'd rather die! Once Cain and the others come to get me you are as good as dead!"

"If Wyatt Cain is even alive at the moment," Soren laughed to himself, "He's probably bled out by now and the palace is none the wiser."

DG shook her head to block out the picture even though she knew Cain to be alive and healing at Finaqua or on his way to her rescue. He paused for a moment and took a moment to look at her face and her expressions.

"You are very different than you were as a child," he said off hand and looked into her eyes when she turned to look at him with a large frown, "Your eyes and your emotions are different."

"I grew up," she mumbled.

"Do you remember when we were children?" he asked in a softer voice. She didn't answer and sat to look out the window once again, "We used to race through the maze at Finaqua and when you would come to my parent's castle we would play hide and go seek. We were happy. So happy."

DG noticed his change when he talked about them together and tilted her head a little. Flashes of memories fluttered through her mind and she saw herself laughing as a child. She saw a small boy too, but didn't feel anything but friendship for the boy who kept giving her small flowers. Her eyes narrowed and she looked back at him briefly, "You really loved me when I was a little girl, didn't you?"

"More than I loved anything," he admitted and hoped that he had broken the wall she had between them.

"I'm sorry," she said and then shook her head, her mind immediately going on the defense and her rage building again, "I am not that little girl, Soren. My name is DG, and I love Wyatt Cain. You need to let me go and answer for my father's death."

"Well, I believe that all that excitement from last night might have worked up an appetite. Breakfast is on the floor. A maid will be up shortly to help you wash off and get in to something cleaner," he said quickly in a business like voice and walked to the doorway, "Oh and I'll get her to wash the mess off the floors as well. Until next time, my sweet princess."

A large metal tray was set by her door with bread, fruit and a piece of what looked like cake on top of it. The door closed and locked with Soren smiling behind it. She stared at the tray for a little while and tried to decide whether or not to take the food he offered her. She wasn't hungry even though she knew she should eat. Something was off about the food and she knew it. She didn't need any poisons or serums into her body without knowing how to defend herself against them.

Another hour passed until a maid made it to her room and walked in, dragging a large tub behind her. She looked up at DG and put a hand over her mouth to stop from gagging. It probably was the first time that she had seen so much blood in one place. DG noticed that she was a pretty petite woman, no older than fifteen or so- possibly younger. From the impression that she was getting from Soren, she was probably kidnapped as well.

"I'm here for your bath, your majesty," she bowed her head politely and immediately began to fill the tub with the warm water that she and a few of the guards brought in. She had pretty brown eyes that reminded DG of Azkadellia's and of another person that she hadn't been able to connect her to yet. The maid laid out a new grown on the bed and DG touched the material lightly as to not transfer any blood onto it. It was pink… not her favorite color. Just goes to show that she really was in Hell.

"Would you rather that I wash the floors after or during your bath?" the maid asked. DG watched the door close and took a deep breath.

"You don't have to worry about the floors, I will clean them before I get in the tub," DG said and got down on her knees to begin.

"No!" the girl shouted and pulled DG to her feet, "If the lord ever found out that you had done something meant for me, it would not be good for me."

"Then at least let me help you," DG offered.

"No, get in the tub, my lady. It will not take me long," she said with a nod of her head.

DG sighed, but listened to her. The girl looked distressed already and she didn't want to add to it. She stripped her clothing as the maid got to work on the floor, facing away from her. DG settled into the water and cleaned off what she could. After she scrubbed her skin raw she saw that the maid was finished with the floor.

"Do you need me to get your back, my lady?" the girl asked.

"I wouldn't ask, but I can't reach a spot and I know there's blood," DG looked away.

The maid got behind DG and scrubbed the section of her back as DG sheltered herself from view, "You have a gentle heart, my lady. I am sorry that you were taken by the master."

"How long have you been here?" DG asked and played with the water in front of her.

"I don't remember a time that I was not," she said in quick reply, "I count the days now, though. It helps me to pass by the time in a way."

"You don't remember where you came from?"

The young girl paused and thought for a moment, "I do… I just don't like to remind myself. It's too draining on me."

"I'm sorry," DG paused for a moment and caught her hand with one of hers as it washed over one of her shoulders, "What's your name?"

"Galdra," she answered in a sweet tone, "No one has asked me that."

"What does he call you then?"

"Maid most of the time," she said softer and then tapped her shoulder, "You are all clean, your majesty. You may change now if you like. I will turn around from you."

"Thank you, Galdra," DG smiled and stepped from the tub and quickly put on the new clothes. She heard Galdra empty the tube in a small drain off to the side of the room and then put all the dirty items in the tub to take out the door, "Galdra-"

"Yes, your majesty?" she asked.

"Call me DG."

"As you wish, DG," Galdra bowed her head and looked at the food quickly. DG hadn't eaten even a bite of it and Galdra smiled. Apparently DG had chosen well with not eating what he gave her. She couldn't keep it up forever, though.

DG tore the top blanket from the bed and grabbed a few pillows from the head board. She didn't trust anything in the room he had stuck her in. She'd much rather sleep on the floor. It reminded her when she was on her adventures with Cain, Glitch and Raw. Even of the times out in the wilds with her sister. She missed them all. Sleep finally found her thirty minutes later as she was curled in a small ball, her knees to her chest.

Cain pulled his horse to a stop as they neared the border line into Winkie Country. He looked behind to find Glitch and Raw both on their own horses and looked a bit saddle sore. Being an advisor and a viewer meant not that much time in the saddle. Cain looked at the border and at a small spot in the land where they could sleep for the night.

"Let's set up for the night," he called back, "We'll enter Winkie country in the morning. It looks like we all will need a break soon anyway."

"I'll say an amen to that," Glitch said as he hopped off his horse and limped over to the spot that Cain looked at earlier. He took a look back at both Cain and Raw to find them staring at him funny. He sighed, "I've picked up on a few of DG's mannerisms."

"I'll say," Cain nodded and climbed off of his horse, "How far is the castle from here?"

"Half a day's ride," Glitch nodded, "We should be there before high suns."

"Good," Cain nodded and set up his small cot on the ground.

"You know, we should do this more often, you guys," Glitch mentioned as he laid out on his own mat across from Cain's and opposite the fire pit from Raw, "I mean, not the whole rescue DG from certain death or forced marriage thing, but the whole going out and doing something thing. We haven't been our trio since the eclipse."

"Never trio," Raw said, "Always had DG."

"That's true," Glitch nodded, "Maybe we should start a men's night. What do you think Cain?"

Cain already had his hat over his eyes and in a comfortable sleeping position, "I say zipper your flap. We got a big day tomorrow and something tells me we got a big fight along with it. Go to sleep."

"And here I thought we were all going to bond," Glitch looked over at Raw who rolled his eyes and rolled over to get some sleep.

After Cain heard Glitch's light snoring and Raw's rolling he took off his hat and looked up at the stars. DG was out there and she was just waiting for him to find her.