Mannequin

DG sat on her bed with her sister. They were cross-legged on the silvery fur coverlet, facing each other. It was the middle of the night. The two of them were up discussing how best to win over the stoic Tin Man.

“First of all, you have to get rid of those horrid trousers you wear,” Az said, laughing. “I mean honestly, Deej, what man’s going to want a woman who dresses like a man?”

“Hey!” DG put her hands on her hips in mock indignation. “I’ll have you know that MOST girls on the Other Side wear pants!”

“How do any of them manage to land a man?” Az cried, laughing harder.

For a moment, DG almost reminded her that she was possessed by an evil witch when she hit puberty, and therefore had NO experience with men, but DG knew it might hurt her feelings. Instead, she said, “How do I convince him it’s okay, Az? He thinks he’s too ‘common’ for me, that’s what he wrote in that note.”

“Common? Common how?” Az asked.

DG shrugged. “It’s because I’m a Princess, I suppose,” she replied, “and because he’s a Tin Man.”

“Technically, he’s the Royal Chief of Security,” Az pointed out. “And our mother married a strange man who blew in form the Other Side on a huge balloon.” DG smiled. “I mean, what does Cain think? The Gale women SUDDENLY raised their standards too high even for a man like him?”

DG laughed slightly. She wondered what Cain’s real problem was. It couldn’t be that she was a Princess; that never stopped them from being friends. Maybe it was the age difference. She could admit to herself that when Cain had first cornered her on the swing, that had been one of her first thoughts. But she didn’t care about that. Was it his wife? She doubted it. He’d thought she was dead for eight years. He found out later that she’d only been dead since just before he got out of the suit. But in the end, the result was the same. He’d already mourned his wife.

So, what was it? Did he just not like her? Previous evidence was to the contrary, but DG had to wonder. Maybe he was just attracted to her; but emotionally, there was no connection. At the gazebo, he’d talked about being obsessed with her. He never said he loved her, or even liked her.

DG sighed. “Az, have I made a mistake?”

Az was counting on her fingers; DG had no idea what she’d been doing. “A mistake? What do you mean?”

“I mean dragging Cain back here, practically trapping him into this job and… what ARE you doing?” DG interrupted herself. Az was back to counting on her fingers and talking to herself.

“I’ve got an idea. But you finish what you were saying first.”

“I was just saying that… Az, what if he doesn’t want me anymore?”

Az stopped and stared at her. “Are you insane?” she squeaked.

“Well… I mean what if - “ DG began, but her sister interrupted.

“I mean, forgetting for a moment the fact that he left you note saying he still wanted you, have you ever noticed how he looks at you? No, I guess you haven’t, he only does it when you’re not looking,” Az answered herself. “The point is, the man is in love with you; anyone with half a mind can tell. Even a mind as broken as mine.” Az said it with a false sort of casualness.

DG let the comment go. She’d found it was better to let Az say whatever came to her mind. She was a little like Glitch; her mind wandered, and she was easily distracted. In private their mother had told DG that the years being controlled and manipulated by the Witch had damaged Azkedellia’s mind. It would take a long time to put the pieces back together.

“Anyway, I guess my point is, I have a plan! And we’re GOING to do it, okay?” Az fixed DG with her best sisterly glare.

“Okay, okay!” DG relented, throwing up her hands. “What is this plan of yours?”

Az looked positively giddy. “We…” she began dramatically, “are going to… throw a ball!”

DG was silent for several moments. Then, “Huh?” DG had images of basketballs and soccer balls bouncing through her head.

“You know, a ball, a gala!” Az said earnestly. “We were trying to think of a way to get all the representatives from all around the O.Z. together, anyway. What we’ll do is get you all beautiful, send Cain a nice suit, and the rest is just… magic!” Az made a wave of her hand, which was followed by a trail of light. Her own magic spark.

“I don’t know…” DG began. “I… I don’t know how to dance.”

“That’s not a problem,” Az said. “Ambrose is an excellent dancer. He can teach you.”

“But…!” DG spluttered. “But, he’ll want to know WHY I need to learn! He’ll know about me and Wyatt!” -And then,- DG thought in horror, -Cain will run away. I’ll lose him.-

“Oh, he already knows” Az replied airily.

DG’s horror turned to shock. “What?!”

Az held up her hands. “Don’t look at me,” she said. “I haven’t breathed a word; he approached ME the day after your birthday. Said he thought Cain was staring at you in a very ‘unbecoming’ way. He said he thought it was cute.”

DG raised an eyebrow. “Ambrose - Glitch - he actually used the word ‘cute’?”

Az nodded. “He did; I thought it was odd as well. Anyway, just trust me, dear sister, I will fix everything.”

DG certainly hoped so.

Otherwise, she may lose Wyatt Cain forever.

And that thought terrified more than she wanted to admit, even to herself.

````````````

Cain didn’t like it. A ball? A gala event, full of people who may still have dark intentions towards the Royal family? The Queen and her daughters exposed to people who were just recently under the thumb of, and leading rebellions against, the elder Princess? DG in a luscious ball gown? No, the whole thing was a mistake, and he had no problem telling the Queen and her consort that he thought so (leaving out the part about DG, of course).

And, of course, he was soundly struck down. Much as he admired and respected the Queen and Ahamo, sometimes he felt they were too trusting.

So, all he could do was ready his troops.

“Alright, men,” he said, hands on his hips, pacing in front of his troops. “In two cycles, the Finagua Palace will be hosting a ball. It will be our job in the days leading up to it to inspect every inch of this Palace, making it perfectly safe for the guests. We will then be inspecting every GUEST, making them safe for our Queen and her family.” -And DG,- Cain thought. “We have fourteen days to make this place sabotage-proof. You have your assignments. Get to work.”

His boys hurried off, each eager to please. They were all younger than he would have liked, but men were scarce these days. All that were left were boys.

Cain ran a hand over his hair, then headed down the hall towards Glitch’s study. After DG’s birthday, he’d stayed in town, and Cain wanted his opinion on the gala. He found the slender genius sitting cross-legged on top of his desk, surrounded by a flurry of plans and blue prints, scribbling with one hand onto a napkin while he ate a sandwich with the other. Wyatt watched him for a moment, amused. Glitch had gotten his brain back; technically, he was Ambrose. But the change in personality was permanent. His intellect was back, but Ambrose the person was gone forever. Now it was just Glitch. A much smarter, slightly less confused, no less odd, Glitch.

Glitch dropped his pencil. But his hand kept writing. He took a bite of his sandwich, then turned back to the paper… and noticed his empty hand. “What the…?” he began quietly. Then, he glanced around, muttering, “Look, pencil, I’m not in the mood for games, so you just -” He saw Cain then.

And dropped everything. His papers went flying, the sandwich fell apart on his shoe, and the second pencil stuck behind his ear, which Cain had just noticed, and Glitch had obviously forgotten about, fell down and rolled across the desk and onto the floor.

Cain had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. “Um… hi,” he said.

“Hi,” Glitch said breathlessly. “Are you, um…” he looked around, confused, “am I… hi?”

Cain did laugh, then. It seemed to wake Glitch up. “Hey, Tin Man!” he said, hopping off the desk. “What brings you to this very cluttered neck of the palace?”

“It’s about this ball that they’re throwing,” Cain said.

Glitch nodded. “Oh, yeah, and you’re worried something’s going to happen to one of them.”

After the re-installation of his brain, Glitch had become frighteningly empathic and observant. -Damn geniuses,- Cain thought. “Something like that.”

“And you’re worried about DG in particular?”

Okay, THAT was a shock. “What the hell are you talking about?” Cain demanded, in exactly the right way to confirm all of Glitch’s obvious suspicions.

“Oh, come on, Tin Man, you’re transparent,” Glitch scoffed. “Especially to a guy with soul.” He grinned. “You want me to teach you how to dance?”

“I know how to dance, Glitch,” Cain said, exasperated. “I just… I don’t like this.” Cain walked in, sat down at the chair in front of the desk.

Glitch sighed, then went to the chair behind the desk and sat as well. “The doctor is ‘in’, Mr. Cain,” he said, “vent away.”

“Well, it’s just… they can’t trust ANY of these people! Six months ago, half of these so-called ‘diplomats’ were rebels going up against Azkedellia! And, yeah, they say they’re our allies, but I know for a fact that some still blame the Royal family, Az and DG in particular, for everything that happened, and speaking from experience, when you have someone to blame for the death of your loved ones, it makes it a hell of a lot easier to live, and a hell of a lot easier to do something drastic to get revenge. And no one was in the tower but us; a lot of people don’t believe that Az was possessed, they think she was just conquered, and that they spread the story of possession because they were ashamed that they’d lost control in the first place, and… and Goddamnit, DG could get hurt!”

Cain was panting slightly. He realized that he’d stood at some point, and wondered vaguely why he couldn’t remember doing it.

“Mm-hmm,” Glitch said knowingly, nodding his head. “And, exactly, how long have you been in love with the young Princess?”

Cain glared at him, the kind of glare that sent warriors fleeing in fear. But Glitch wasn’t a warrior; he was just a genius. And he just sat there, looking clever. Finally, Cain sighed. “I am not - “ he began, but Glitch cut him off.

“I may still have a zipper on my head, Tin Man, but my marbles are very much in use. Not to mention we have our very own Viewer, who’s lain hands on you more than once, and told me in confidence that you are madly, painfully, BLINDLY in love with DG.”

Cain felt himself starting to shake; but he wasn’t sure why. He sat again, his head in his hands. He groaned. “What do I do?”

“What do you WANT to do?” came Glitch’s voice, maddeningly level. Why couldn’t he become forgetful now? When it was useful?

Cain sighed. “What I want to do… well, let’s just say it’s not worth repeating. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am twice DG’s age; I am a damaged Tin Man, and she is royalty. It’s best for both of us if I just try and forget about it.”

Glitch laughed. “Yeah, good luck with that.”

````````````



Hey, hope everyone likes this second chapter! I'm already at work on the third!

Please Review! Pretty Please?!?!