TIN MAN: Burning in the Corner (Chapter 1 of ?)
Title: Burning in the Corner (Chapter 1 of ?)
Author: anogete
Fandom: Tin Man
Rating: PG (Rating subject to change in later chapters.)
Warnings: Spoilers for the mini-series, through Part 3.
Pairings/Characters: DG/Cain, Azkedellia, Glitch, Raw, Tutor, Ahamo, the Queen
Summary: DG's feelings surface at the worst possible time. She isn't sure she can handle a new threat to the O.Z. and her developing crush on Wyatt Cain.
Beta Thanks: Big thank yous go out to mooney_blues and nawag1r for their help with this fic. I appreciate both of you greatly.
Author's Note: The title of this fic was taken from "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" by Jeff Buckley. Specifically, the line, "Burning in the corner is the only one who dreams he had you with him." It's a beautiful song, and I'd be happy to send it to anyone interested in listening to it.
CHAPTER 1
"I hate this more than you know," DG whispered as she and Cain decended the wide staircase into the ballroom. Arrangements of white and yellow flowers that DG could not identify were positioned on each of the round tables where people were sitting and chatting. Some guests were already twirling across the shining marble floor that had been cleared for the purposes of dancing. DG wanted to pull off the midnight blue gown her mother had given her and slip into some comfortable jeans, but she was a princess now, not the daughter of a farmer.
Cain, her escort for the evening, shifted his broad shoulders inside the confining white suit jacket he had been ordered to wear. He looked dashing in it, but he also looked terribly awkward. The only response he gave to her comment was a grunt of acknowledgement. He, too, hated these formal functions.
DG felt a pang of guilt. It was not his job to escort her or anyone else to the regular balls thrown by the Queen. He was the head of security for the royal family, and he was a busy man. He had nearly fifty men under his direct command, and he had been charged with the safety of whatever location the family happened to be occupying. For the last several months, they had been living in Central City, though before that they had stayed at Finaqua for nearly half an annual in an attempt to heal Azkedellia's wounded spirit.
It was DG's idea to have Cain escort her to the balls. They had already been through so much together, and the task did loosely fit with his job of protecting the House of Gale. Going alone meant that she was fair game to all the young men born to privilege and seeking to connect their name with royalty. However, she didn't feel comfortable asking just anyone to play buffer for her. In fact, she could think of no one but Wyatt Cain. And, the first time she asked him, she certainly didn't have any idea how good he would look in formal clothing tailored just for him.
She smiled and glanced over her right shoulder to take a peek. "So, do they sew you into those pants?" she asked with a smile playing on her lips.
Cain raised a brow at her as they stepped off the stairs and made their way to the table where Azkedellia and Ahamo were sitting. "You have a problem with my pants?"
"Oh, no, they're... great. They look nice... on you..." DG tried to will away the tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. She wasn't quite sure when it happened, but over the last annual, she had developed quite a crush on her tin man. DG was sure she couldn't be blamed. He was, after all, the man who had saved her life many times. And, he did look extremely good in those pants.
When she looked up, she saw Azkedellia giving her a curious look. DG shot her a sheepish smile before releasing Cain's arm. He pulled out her chair and gently pushed her into the table before he took his seat beside her.
"You're blushing," Azkedellia whispered in her ear.
DG simply looked forward as her mother approached the table and placed a hand on Ahamo's shoulder. She did not want to discuss her crush on Wyatt Cain with her sister while he sat only a foot from them. "Shut up, Az."
"I saw you look at his--" Azkedellia squeaked and snapped her mouth shut when she felt the pointed toe of DG's shoes dig into her leg.
"Girls, you both look lovely," the Queen said with a soft smile at her two daughters. "I see you've asked Mr. Cain to escort you again, DG."
"I'm in the process of torturing him until he lets me ride out to Finaqua on my own," DG said flatly.
"Never going to happen, Princess," Cain muttered under his breath.
"Well, Mr. Cain, you look dashing, and I'm sure DG is happy to have your company at these events she finds so boring." The Queen smiled at Cain before shifting her eyes to her daughter and giving the younger princess an unhappy look. As much as her mother wanted her to enjoy the parties and balls, DG couldn't quite bring herself to morph into the social butterfly her mother seemed to desire.
"Mother thinks he looks dashing." Azkedellia's voice was dry and teasing and just loud enough to reach DG's ear.
"Shut up," she hissed, elbowing her sister in the side. The scuffle caught Cain's attention, and he gave both princesses a questioning glance before turning to answer Ahamo's question about the security detail in the gardens. "Not one more word, Az," she leaned in and whispered to her sister.
"I heard the guards on our floor talking about you two," Azkedellia said softly.
"About who?"
"You and Cain. Apparently, they all think you two are having some torrid affair."
"What?" DG's voice was louder than she had intended, attracting the attention of her father and Cain. She wiped the bewildered look off her face and motioned that she hadn't meant to interrupt their conversation. After a long moment, they both turned away and began talking again. DG turned back to her sister. "You're kidding, right?"
Azkedellia grinned. "Not a bit, Deej. I wouldn't be surprised if there are already some bawdy songs written about your non-existent affair." She paused. "It is non-existent, isn't it? You would have told me if anything--"
"Of course it's non-existent, Az."
"Not that you wouldn't mind something happening, though."
DG ignored his sister's insinuation and knocked back half her glass of wine. "I don't believe this. If Cain finds out about this, he'll be mortified. He'll never agree to escort me again. He'll never go riding with me again. He'll insist that a whole line of guards stand between us when we're in a room together."
"What are you girls talking about," Ahamo asked.
DG looked at her father and Cain. She hoped they hadn't heard anything. "Oh, nothing. Just... girl stuff."
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"Hey, kiddo!"
DG jerked up in her saddle and tightened her grip on the reins. "What?"
"What's wrong? I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes, and you haven't heard a word I said," Cain replied, pulling his horse up to walk beside hers.
She shook her head as he adjusted his hat, pulling it low over his eyes to block the sun. He had taken the afternoon off to ride with her, so he was out of uniform and wearing the clothes she loved--the long duster and tight pants with a dress shirt and vest. He looked like a true cowboy, sitting atop his horse with a gun strapped against his right side.
"I feel weird," she replied. DG looked up at the bright suns sweeping across the clear blue sky. "Something feels... wrong."
Cain grabbed the reins out of her hands and pulled her horse to a stop. "If you aren't feeling well, then we should go back to the castle."
"That's the thing; I feel fine. Something in the air doesn't feel right."
After over an annual of watching over her, after living through the final days of the Wicked Witch's reign with her, he knew enough to trust DG's instincts. Within two seconds, Cain had pulled out his gun. He scanned the small clearing they had just entered. The tree line was sparse at first before growing into a thicker forest. Nothing seemed amiss or out of sorts, but when he turned back to DG, she was still looking up at the sky, shading her eyes with a raised hand.
"Do you think the suns look different today?" she asked.
Cain tipped back his hat and dared a quick glance at the brightness of the sky. "I don't know, kid. They look fine to me."
DG frowned. "Oh. I must be imagining something." She shook her head to clear the heavy thoughts of impending doom and smiled at Cain. "Race you to the trees," she said, kicking her horse and leaning against its neck to cut down on wind resistance.
Cain chuckled under his breath before prodding his horse to follow. Her hair was flying wildly behind her, and he knew he wouldn't beat her with the head start she had.
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DG did not look forward to planning sessions with her mother. They were always filled with matters of state that made her high school history class on the Other Side seem riveting by comparison. Her only salvation was Azkedellia. They both enjoyed sitting on the far end of the Queen's meeting chambers and poking fun at all the pomp and circumstance involved with running the Outer Zone. With the exception of Glitch, the Queens advisors were the stuffiest people DG had ever seen.
She knocked lightly on her sister's door before letting herself in. Their mother had called a special session with all of her advisors, and she had requested that DG and Azkedellia attend. DG hadn't seen her sister outside the chamber, so she had gone in search of her. "Az, mother's called--" DG broke off the sentence when she saw her sister lying in the floor at the foot of the canopy bed.
Immediately, she called out the door for the guards to send for help, and then ran over to her sister. "Az, wake up," she cried, shaking Azkedellia's limp body. The thump of boots running down the hallway outside was the only sound she could hear. "Az, please!"
Slowly, Azkedellia's eyelids fluttered open to reveal dull, hazy eyes. "Deej?"
"It's me, Az. What happened?"
Azkedellia frowned and blinked her eyes several times. With each blink, the dullness seemed to fade away. "I--I don't know. I felt so weak. The room started spinning. How long have I been out?"
"I just got here a few seconds ago. I don't know," DG replied just as three guards burst through the door.
Cain pushed them out of the way and ran across the bedroom to kneel beside DG. "What happened?"
DG shook her head. "She doesn't know."
Azkedellia sighed and turned her head to the tall windows lining one wall of her chambers. "Do you think the suns look different?" she asked in a soft voice.
Leaning forward, DG looked around the bed to watch one of the suns slowly moving across the sky. She glanced over at Cain who met her eyes with a look of worry.
Author: anogete
Fandom: Tin Man
Rating: PG (Rating subject to change in later chapters.)
Warnings: Spoilers for the mini-series, through Part 3.
Pairings/Characters: DG/Cain, Azkedellia, Glitch, Raw, Tutor, Ahamo, the Queen
Summary: DG's feelings surface at the worst possible time. She isn't sure she can handle a new threat to the O.Z. and her developing crush on Wyatt Cain.
Beta Thanks: Big thank yous go out to mooney_blues and nawag1r for their help with this fic. I appreciate both of you greatly.
Author's Note: The title of this fic was taken from "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" by Jeff Buckley. Specifically, the line, "Burning in the corner is the only one who dreams he had you with him." It's a beautiful song, and I'd be happy to send it to anyone interested in listening to it.
CHAPTER 1
"I hate this more than you know," DG whispered as she and Cain decended the wide staircase into the ballroom. Arrangements of white and yellow flowers that DG could not identify were positioned on each of the round tables where people were sitting and chatting. Some guests were already twirling across the shining marble floor that had been cleared for the purposes of dancing. DG wanted to pull off the midnight blue gown her mother had given her and slip into some comfortable jeans, but she was a princess now, not the daughter of a farmer.
Cain, her escort for the evening, shifted his broad shoulders inside the confining white suit jacket he had been ordered to wear. He looked dashing in it, but he also looked terribly awkward. The only response he gave to her comment was a grunt of acknowledgement. He, too, hated these formal functions.
DG felt a pang of guilt. It was not his job to escort her or anyone else to the regular balls thrown by the Queen. He was the head of security for the royal family, and he was a busy man. He had nearly fifty men under his direct command, and he had been charged with the safety of whatever location the family happened to be occupying. For the last several months, they had been living in Central City, though before that they had stayed at Finaqua for nearly half an annual in an attempt to heal Azkedellia's wounded spirit.
It was DG's idea to have Cain escort her to the balls. They had already been through so much together, and the task did loosely fit with his job of protecting the House of Gale. Going alone meant that she was fair game to all the young men born to privilege and seeking to connect their name with royalty. However, she didn't feel comfortable asking just anyone to play buffer for her. In fact, she could think of no one but Wyatt Cain. And, the first time she asked him, she certainly didn't have any idea how good he would look in formal clothing tailored just for him.
She smiled and glanced over her right shoulder to take a peek. "So, do they sew you into those pants?" she asked with a smile playing on her lips.
Cain raised a brow at her as they stepped off the stairs and made their way to the table where Azkedellia and Ahamo were sitting. "You have a problem with my pants?"
"Oh, no, they're... great. They look nice... on you..." DG tried to will away the tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. She wasn't quite sure when it happened, but over the last annual, she had developed quite a crush on her tin man. DG was sure she couldn't be blamed. He was, after all, the man who had saved her life many times. And, he did look extremely good in those pants.
When she looked up, she saw Azkedellia giving her a curious look. DG shot her a sheepish smile before releasing Cain's arm. He pulled out her chair and gently pushed her into the table before he took his seat beside her.
"You're blushing," Azkedellia whispered in her ear.
DG simply looked forward as her mother approached the table and placed a hand on Ahamo's shoulder. She did not want to discuss her crush on Wyatt Cain with her sister while he sat only a foot from them. "Shut up, Az."
"I saw you look at his--" Azkedellia squeaked and snapped her mouth shut when she felt the pointed toe of DG's shoes dig into her leg.
"Girls, you both look lovely," the Queen said with a soft smile at her two daughters. "I see you've asked Mr. Cain to escort you again, DG."
"I'm in the process of torturing him until he lets me ride out to Finaqua on my own," DG said flatly.
"Never going to happen, Princess," Cain muttered under his breath.
"Well, Mr. Cain, you look dashing, and I'm sure DG is happy to have your company at these events she finds so boring." The Queen smiled at Cain before shifting her eyes to her daughter and giving the younger princess an unhappy look. As much as her mother wanted her to enjoy the parties and balls, DG couldn't quite bring herself to morph into the social butterfly her mother seemed to desire.
"Mother thinks he looks dashing." Azkedellia's voice was dry and teasing and just loud enough to reach DG's ear.
"Shut up," she hissed, elbowing her sister in the side. The scuffle caught Cain's attention, and he gave both princesses a questioning glance before turning to answer Ahamo's question about the security detail in the gardens. "Not one more word, Az," she leaned in and whispered to her sister.
"I heard the guards on our floor talking about you two," Azkedellia said softly.
"About who?"
"You and Cain. Apparently, they all think you two are having some torrid affair."
"What?" DG's voice was louder than she had intended, attracting the attention of her father and Cain. She wiped the bewildered look off her face and motioned that she hadn't meant to interrupt their conversation. After a long moment, they both turned away and began talking again. DG turned back to her sister. "You're kidding, right?"
Azkedellia grinned. "Not a bit, Deej. I wouldn't be surprised if there are already some bawdy songs written about your non-existent affair." She paused. "It is non-existent, isn't it? You would have told me if anything--"
"Of course it's non-existent, Az."
"Not that you wouldn't mind something happening, though."
DG ignored his sister's insinuation and knocked back half her glass of wine. "I don't believe this. If Cain finds out about this, he'll be mortified. He'll never agree to escort me again. He'll never go riding with me again. He'll insist that a whole line of guards stand between us when we're in a room together."
"What are you girls talking about," Ahamo asked.
DG looked at her father and Cain. She hoped they hadn't heard anything. "Oh, nothing. Just... girl stuff."
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"Hey, kiddo!"
DG jerked up in her saddle and tightened her grip on the reins. "What?"
"What's wrong? I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes, and you haven't heard a word I said," Cain replied, pulling his horse up to walk beside hers.
She shook her head as he adjusted his hat, pulling it low over his eyes to block the sun. He had taken the afternoon off to ride with her, so he was out of uniform and wearing the clothes she loved--the long duster and tight pants with a dress shirt and vest. He looked like a true cowboy, sitting atop his horse with a gun strapped against his right side.
"I feel weird," she replied. DG looked up at the bright suns sweeping across the clear blue sky. "Something feels... wrong."
Cain grabbed the reins out of her hands and pulled her horse to a stop. "If you aren't feeling well, then we should go back to the castle."
"That's the thing; I feel fine. Something in the air doesn't feel right."
After over an annual of watching over her, after living through the final days of the Wicked Witch's reign with her, he knew enough to trust DG's instincts. Within two seconds, Cain had pulled out his gun. He scanned the small clearing they had just entered. The tree line was sparse at first before growing into a thicker forest. Nothing seemed amiss or out of sorts, but when he turned back to DG, she was still looking up at the sky, shading her eyes with a raised hand.
"Do you think the suns look different today?" she asked.
Cain tipped back his hat and dared a quick glance at the brightness of the sky. "I don't know, kid. They look fine to me."
DG frowned. "Oh. I must be imagining something." She shook her head to clear the heavy thoughts of impending doom and smiled at Cain. "Race you to the trees," she said, kicking her horse and leaning against its neck to cut down on wind resistance.
Cain chuckled under his breath before prodding his horse to follow. Her hair was flying wildly behind her, and he knew he wouldn't beat her with the head start she had.
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DG did not look forward to planning sessions with her mother. They were always filled with matters of state that made her high school history class on the Other Side seem riveting by comparison. Her only salvation was Azkedellia. They both enjoyed sitting on the far end of the Queen's meeting chambers and poking fun at all the pomp and circumstance involved with running the Outer Zone. With the exception of Glitch, the Queens advisors were the stuffiest people DG had ever seen.
She knocked lightly on her sister's door before letting herself in. Their mother had called a special session with all of her advisors, and she had requested that DG and Azkedellia attend. DG hadn't seen her sister outside the chamber, so she had gone in search of her. "Az, mother's called--" DG broke off the sentence when she saw her sister lying in the floor at the foot of the canopy bed.
Immediately, she called out the door for the guards to send for help, and then ran over to her sister. "Az, wake up," she cried, shaking Azkedellia's limp body. The thump of boots running down the hallway outside was the only sound she could hear. "Az, please!"
Slowly, Azkedellia's eyelids fluttered open to reveal dull, hazy eyes. "Deej?"
"It's me, Az. What happened?"
Azkedellia frowned and blinked her eyes several times. With each blink, the dullness seemed to fade away. "I--I don't know. I felt so weak. The room started spinning. How long have I been out?"
"I just got here a few seconds ago. I don't know," DG replied just as three guards burst through the door.
Cain pushed them out of the way and ran across the bedroom to kneel beside DG. "What happened?"
DG shook her head. "She doesn't know."
Azkedellia sighed and turned her head to the tall windows lining one wall of her chambers. "Do you think the suns look different?" she asked in a soft voice.
Leaning forward, DG looked around the bed to watch one of the suns slowly moving across the sky. She glanced over at Cain who met her eyes with a look of worry.