Chapter XII: Hope

It took a few more moments until the rest of the guards made it up the stairs behind Glitch and Raw. They all stared wide eyed at the blood of the youngest princess and their Lord Soren that covered the stone. Some of the younger guards stepped away and had to find somewhere to empty their stomachs.

Glitch and Raw stood with their backs against the wall on the balcony while Cain still held DG with closed eyes. He took a few deep breaths of her hair and wanted to smile because it still smelled like her favorite O.Z. scent- Papay fruit. He wanted to smile because he could see her smiling face behind closed eyes and could almost hear her laughter in his ears. He wanted to smile because of everything she was, but he knew that the dream he had only nights before was never to come. It was torn apart like a destroyed masterpiece in front of him. He slowly opened his eyes and finally noticed the guards had caught up to them.

He looked over at his two friends and considered each of them. He tilted his head forward and nodded over to them, "Raw."

Raw crawled over and Cain put DG into Raw's arms. Raw was confused for a moment until he felt something from inside Cain. He caught Cain's sleeve before Cain stood up, "What Cain do?"

"I'm going to dance to my heart's content," Cain growled and looked down at DG. She looked as if she had just fallen asleep reading or listening to a story if it weren't for the blood smeared on her face, "Just hold on to her for me. It won't take long."

Glitch began to stand to help Cain, but Cain put a hand out to stop him. He didn't look up from DG and Glitch frowned once he knew Cain meant to do it on his own, "You don't dance well solo."

"I'm going have to learn from now on, won't I?" Cain kept his eyes on DG and Glitch barely heard the break in his usually calm voice.

Cain heard Glitch take a deep breath as if to argue and lifted his head to meet with Glitch's eyes. It was there that both Ambrose and Glitch had found something they had feared more than the witch or any other sorceress ever known in the history of the O.Z. This was Wyatt Cain when he had nothing left. When he didn't have DG. Glitch took a step back and Cain turned to the guards still frozen on the top step.

Cain grabbed the first one he could by the collar of his uniform and shoved him against the wall, "Do you have idea what you all just did?"

"We- we…" the guard struggled to find his thoughts, "We never wanted to hurt the princess. We just followed our lord- our master."

"Didn't want to hurt her!" he screamed and threw him against the wall again, "She's dead! Her blood is all over the ground! The woman I love more than life itself has died before I could reach her because you and your orders stopped me from getting up here! I could have saved her!"

"If we had known what he had planned- we thought he was taking back what was his-"

Cain heard enough from him and punched the guard in the jaw, breaking it to the side and sending him to the ground. Cain took a deep breath and rubbed his knuckles as if putting them back into place. He didn't care if he broke his hand, much less if he broke his neck at that point. His voice died down from yelling to a harsh whisper, "There was an imperial order from the queen of the O.Z. Why didn't you heed it?"

The guards would have much rather if Cain had stuck to yelling at them. His harsh whispers sounded more like growls and none of them wanted to face the beast with in Cain. They backed away from Cain and tried to back down the stairs. They weren't getting away from him when he wanted his answers. He took steps forward to follow the retreating men until a hand fell on his shoulder. Cain turned and expected to see Glitch trying to stop him. Instead he found a young girl no more than fifteen annuals staring up at him.

"Are you Wyatt Cain?" she asked softly. He didn't answer her at first from slight shock and stood as still as he could as if that would make him disappear. Slowly he nodded his head and she gave him a small smile, "She loved you, you know? She told me that you were the noblest man in the O.Z. and her best friend. I just wanted you to know this isn't what she would have wanted on your mind. To have the death of soldiers who were only following orders on your hands. I don't tell you this to lecture you or tell you that I'm any better. I think it's a way for me to say thank you to both you and her for helping to free us."

Cain looked behind her and saw dozens of other girls behind her. Most of their faces were dirty and half of them looked starved. Soren was keeping captives. He looked back down at her, "I didn't do anything. He killed himself."

"You scared him… that drove him to do it quickly. You gave him no choice in the matter," she smiled wider.

"Who are you?" he asked down at her.

She sighed loudly, "I am the sister that Lord Soren said he never had."

"Lady Aniline's unborn daughter," Glitch paused for a moment and saw the eyes of the late Lady of the Eastern Winkie lands.

"Yes, I am Gladra," she nodded and looked at the body of her brother, "My brother has tried to keep me hidden away and made sure that I was not known of. That way he had full control over the lands and no one questioned him. Now that he has done this… maybe I will be able to help this land like my mother and father wanted. The line isn't dead- part of it was just forgotten."

Cain stared at her for another moment, unsure what to feel for the young girl. She was so young, but she had maturity behind her eyes. Annuals of suffering under the hand of her brother could have done that to her.

"I am truly sorry for you, Mister Cain," she said softly, "I had talked with the princess and I wish nothing more than to be the one upon that blade. Not her. She's so much better than that. Our princess."

Cain took a deep breath, looked at the guards who now cowered from him and then walked back over to Raw. He took DG from his arms and cleared his throat.

"Let's get her back to Finaqua. Let's go home," he walked to the stairs and Raw followed behind him quickly. Glitch took the black bladed dagger, wrapped it in a cloth that was handy and stuffed it in his pocket. It needed to be studied and then destroyed. If it stopped Gale magic it couldn't do any good in the O.Z.

Glitch turned to Gladra, "What are you going to do now?"

"What ever I can," she nodded and looked at the ground, "My parent's dream for this land is not forgotten by a long shot. Tell the queen that once this is passed… I will do whatever she wishes of me. I want to undo my brother's wrongdoings. At least, what can be undone."

Glitch nodded briefly and ran after Cain and Raw.

The guards parted for the trio and especially Cain who carried DG up front. They walked straight out the front gate and successfully found their horses grazing nearby. All the girls that were trapped in Soren's tower ran off in the direction of their homes. Galdra stood at the top of the stone balcony and watched the three men ride off. She and DG were more alike than they had thought. They were so young when they were shoved into a seat of power.

Cain held on to DG when he mounted his horse. He wanted to hold her for as long as he could considering that once they got back to Finaqua he would never have her in his arms again. He held her in front of his body where he had to wrap his arms around her to get to the reigns of the horse. As soon as Raw and Glitch settled on their own horses they were off. They headed home.

DG felt herself floating. She knew she wasn't in water or any where near any water supplies. Besides, this sensation felt much more different than the waters of Finaqua or the small pools around the palace had felt in the past.

Wait a minute… wasn't she stabbed?!

Her eyes flung open and her hands flew to her chest. Nothing was there except for the tattoo of her family's crest. Of which, strangely enough, was glowing. She also noticed that she was no longer in that God-awful, pink monstrosity that Soren had put her in. She was now in a white robe-like dress that had a deep v-neck down her front and back. It was simple and quite comfortable, something that should could have used back at the palace. Nothing was on her feet or under her feet for that matter. She was completely surrounded by a fog, a deep green-gray fog. Instead of stepping through it she seemed to just glide.

"Ok, this is a bit freaky," DG said to herself, "Am I dead?"

"Not in the complete sense of the term, no," a voice giggled behind her.

DG shifted around the best she could. There in the mist stood a young looking woman with the same kind of dress as hers and long black hair. She looked through crystal green eyes, smiled softly and held out a hand for DG.

"Who are you?" DG asked and squinted her eyes at her new floating companion.

"Someone you can trust, dear princess," she laughed at DG's hesitation, "Take my hand, you are in no danger here."

DG did so since she doubted that she couldn't get any more dead than she already could be. The woman pulled her down to the denser fog that acted like a floor. Her legs wobbled twice and then she had her balance once gravity took place once more. She looked at the woman a little closer and then her eyes were immediately drawn and focused on the crown on top of her head.

"You're a queen!" DG knew there was no mistaking the crown. It was just like her mother's. She had seen it millions of times before the coronation in pictures of her mother and past monarchs.

"I was a queen, yes," the woman put a hand over DG's, "My name is Ozma."

"Ozma?" DG's eyes bugged, "You mean the Ozma?"

"The last queen before the royal line of the Gale House began," Ozma nodded, quite amused by DG.

"But if I'm here talking to you wouldn't that mean that I am dead?" DG asked.

"Not quite. You are enchanted by an evil of old disguised as a treasure," Ozma frowned for the first time since meeting DG, "You are trapped, DG."

"That figures," DG huffed, "Just got rid of the witch, why not enchant me with an evil knife? So where exactly am I trapped? The O.Z. version of the Twilight Zone?"

"No, dear one. This is the gates to the final resting place of the queens of the past. I am here to make sure that you do not cross just yet."

She patted the front of her chest, "That was a pretty good sized hole for me not to… permanently retire. Not to mention the blood loss."

"The motion of the blade piercing you was meant to send you beyond these gates and into his hands. Not to take your life entirely."

"His hands? You mean, Soren? He's here?"

Ozma nodded and turned her around to show her a portion of the fog in the far distance stained red, "He will stop at nothing to claim you. He felt as if you should forever be his. Don't stop fighting him. Never stop fighting him. Your love will come for you and with it your salvation. Don't give up hope. It is your best weapon."

"How do I fight him?" DG asked.

"Follow your magic and your heart," Ozma whispered and looked behind her as if being called. She nodded and turned back to DG, "You will be here with us one day, DG. But it shouldn't be until you are old and gray and the next generation has taken the throne."

"Good to know," DG sighed as she sat down and watched the red fog in the distance. Ozma joined her in the fog. They both could hear Soren's voice yelling for her through different banks. He didn't know that she'd land in a totally different place than he did. He was expecting to fall right behind her.

"What do I do now?" DG asked softly.

"You wait. You will awaken soon enough," Ozma looked at the fog, "You must have patience for those on the other side of consciousness. They will free you soon enough. And then the real tests begin."

"Tests?"

"Trials and tribulations lie ahead of you. Your true salvation from this monster is going to be found in not only yourself but also in the one you truly love."

"Wyatt…"

"He needs to be the one to lead the way back."

DG thought to herself and came up with a few ways to get his attention. She turned to Ozma, "Why is that I always receive big spouts of news from past monarchs or huge players that have died in the O.Z.?"

"I'm not quite sure, your highness. Maybe it is one of your gifts."

"Great, I'm a princess and a medium," DG smirked at Ozma, "Are you going to sit with me until I go back?"

"As you wish, princess."

"Mother, come quickly!" Azkadellia screamed from the central room of the palace. She was taking some time to collect her thoughts and more or less talk to her father when the emerald began to glow on its own. Lavender and Jeb Cain ran into the room to see what had Azkadellia so alarmed.

"'Dellia?" Lavender ran to Azkadellia and hugged her tightly, "What is wrong?"

"The emerald," Azkadellia pointed to it and touched her chest, "My chest feels… I don't even know how to quite describe it. It felt so heavy a little while ago, but now I feel so light. Like I'm floating."

Lavender's eyebrows furrowed and she grabbed the emerald from its resting place, "I feel that something is coming."

"Another storm?" Azkadellia put a protective hand over her stomach.

"No… something new-"

"Captain! Your majesties!" a young guard burst through the doors, "Captain, your father has returned. He's at the edge of the maze as we speak. It looks like he has the princess riding in front. Advisor Ambrose and Raw the viewer are with him."

"Thank the stars. They are all home," Lavender breathed and ran out the door with Azkadellia by her side. Jeb kept a strong pace behind them.

At the edge of the maze Cain still held DG close. They had walked the horses the entire way back. They never stopped for too long of a time. The horses would drink and graze for a few moments and then they were back on the road again. The ride didn't bother Cain, he was numb- both physically and emotionally. He heard Glitch try to reach out to him a few times on the way back, but everything seemed to be blocked out except for the memory of DG's laugh in his head.

Lavender and Azkadellia watched from the front of the palace as Cain led the other two horses. Azkadellia's smile couldn't get any bigger now that she had her little sister and husband back. She watched them come closer and she caught something off. The heaviness in her chest returned and she looked closely at DG's form. She was covered in blood and was slumped against Cain.

"Something's wrong," she said quickly and led her mother to the end of the palace steps where Cain stopped his horse. He slid off of his horse carefully, still cradling DG in his arms. Azkadellia was the first to reach the group and looked into her sister's pale face. Her breathing quickened and looked straight into Cain's face, "Why isn't she breathing?"

"DG, my angel," Lavender whispered and shook her head, "No, not her too."

"Let's get everybody inside," Jeb said and pushed at his father's back.

Glitch took Azkadellia by the hand and swept her inside first. Lavender walked next to Cain who had so far refused to let DG go. Jeb walked behind with Raw who could only shake his head when asked what happened. Jeb saw something distant in his father's eyes. Something he hadn't seen since his father was first shoved into the Iron maiden so many years ago.

Once inside Cain laid DG down in her bed and nearly collapsed himself. Jeb caught him by the arm and helped him into a chair just off to the side of the bed. Lavender barked for medics and examiners for her daughter, but Raw shook his head as a negative. He already knew that noting could be done. Azkadellia sat on the bed opposite from where her mother was and looked over her sister. Lavender took the first look at the wound and covered her mouth in shock.

"What did this to her?" she turned to Glitch who was behind Azkadellia.

"This did, your majesty," he took out the dagger from his pocket and unwrapped the cloth from around it, "We believe that he used it to cut her magic as well."

"Why did you bring that thing back here?" Cain asked quietly at first and then stood up abruptly, "That thing should be burned! Destroyed, do you hear me?!"

Jeb grabbed his father by the shoulders and shoved him back down into the chair, "Father, that's not going to help or bring her back."

Cain turned away from the dagger and decided to pace at the side of the room. Jeb watched his father and looked at Raw. Raw nodded and went over to Cain to try to do what he could.

Lavender looked closely at the blade and then touched it with one finger. Her hand reared back and she shook it as if it had burned her. Glitch looked at the blade and then at the queen with a question written on his face as he didn't feel any heat coming from it.

"Did it burn you, your majesty?" he asked and tried to feel the warmth of the blade through the cloth.

"No," she shook her head, "It's ice cold."

Azkadellia's head popped up from focusing on her sister and looked at her mother, "What did you say?"

"The blade was cold. Ice cold," she looked at Azkadellia hard, "Why? What's wrong?"

Azkadellia's eyes darted from the blade to her sister's body and to her mother, "That's no ordinary magic blade."

"How do you mean?" Jeb asked.

"This is the Slayer of Hearts," Azkadellia said and leaped off the bed as fast as she could considering the weight on her front. She ran to the room across the hall which was hers and Glitch's to come back with a book. She flipped through the pages and pulled it open to a specific page, "The witch had looked for this blade while she was still in control. I remember reading about it."

"What does it do?"

Azkadellia began to read from the page in front of her,

"There is tell of a story of a treasure of old. The wielder's fate repeats over and over it's told.

This tale of a dagger that plunges in hearts, used against magic its power make lovers depart.

True love is power and love will last, but even royalty cannot escape their past.

Bonded in heart and love is pure- but when connected by blade it is never grandeur.

An affect on another heart is tricky and bold,

This, the power of metal that has grown so cold…"

"What does that mean?" Cain asked intent on the subject, but growing impatient. Azkadellia hesitantly reached her hand for her sister's praying that she was right. She grabbed her sister's hand. Immediately, just like it always had, magic shown brightly from their joined hands.

Lavender gasped at the sight, "Praise the unnamed God."

"It means, Cain, that DG might still be alive," Azkadellia said with hope shining brightly in her eyes.