Tin Man: Quick, Painless and Easy (7/?)
Title: Change is Gonna Come
Series: Quick, Painless and Easy
Author: Vashti (tvashti)
Fandom: Tin Man
Character(s): Wyatt Cain, The Queen, Ahamo
Rating: G
Summary: The Royal Couple have a request of the former Tin Man.
Length: 770 words
tm_challengePrompt: plans (circa 2009)
Disclaimer: Only the words are mine, and that’s probably up for philosophical debate.Series title inspired by the song of the same name by Ivy.
Dedication: To anyone who still thinks this is worth reading! I love you all!
Notes: Written for 2009's Big Prompt Table seasonal challenge at tm_challenge. If you want to follow along, my prompt table is here. Although if you do, that is some serious dedication on your part, dude, and I feel honored.
“Mr. Cain.” The Queen gestured to the bench in front of her. “Please take a seat.”
“Thank you, ma’am, but I really should-”
Her smile, though pleasant, didn’t do much to brighten up her face. “I’m sure Azkadellia will not come to any harm if you let her be for just a few moments.”
Cain wasn’t. From the expression on the Consort’s face he wasn’t hiding his opinion very well. But he nodded and took the seat, glad that he had his coat against the springtime chill. The Royals had a brazier set in the middle of the assorted chairs and benches to ward off the cold. It was dead now, and the seats around him were empty. Cain had seen quite a few people wandering the gardens while Princess Azkadellia had stood at the window. He could only figure some or all of them had been the ones sitting here under the white canopy among all the ready-to-bud flowering hedges. Had the royal couple waited until their guests had left on their own, or had they sent them away?
Cain shook his head when a footman offered him a glass of cold water, and then again when he was offered a dainty cup of tea. When the footman disappeared, he was alone with the Queen and Consort. No, there was a page sitting unobtrusively beside and behind the Queen with a small writing desk on her lap. Her pen was busily working, but from where he sat he couldn’t tell whether she was drawing or writing.
“Thank you for waiting on us, Mr. Cain.” The Queen’s smile had already faded, leaving behind a faintly troubled expression. It was one she’d been wearing in private for some time, however, so that in itself didn’t raise any alarm.
Being thanked, on the other hand… “No trouble at all, ma’am.”
“I know you take your duties as our daughter’s protector very seriously.”
He could only nod.
“Which is why we have a proposition for you.”
Cain felt his lips thin.
The Consort sat forward. “The threat to Azkadellia’s life is pressing and immediate. We know that. It’s also unlikely to change during her lifetime.”
An argument Cain had already had with himself, so he trusted his expression didn’t change when he heard the Consort say it.
“What no one has really talked about is the threat to the rest of the family.”
Cain frowned. “Sir?”
“We are all of us, Lav, myself and DG, as at risk of assassination as Azkadellia. If for different reasons,” he conceded.
Times like this, Adora use to say that she could see the wheels turning behind his eyes. Cain already knew what the Consort, and the Queen, wanted. If he were honest with himself, he’d say that he had already considered it. But it wasn’t his place to put it out there. Maybe they were just asking questions.
“You’re thinking you’re going to need a permanent guard.”
The Consort nodded.
The Queen reached across the narrow space and laid a hand over Cain’s where it rested on his knee. “It pains me to ask, but we will continue to need your services, Mr. Cain.”
He nodded.
“We would like you to be Captain of this guard, Mr. Cain,” she said, settling back in her seat. “You would be at complete liberty to choose the best from the ranks of the army, and anywhere else you might find talented soldiers.”
The Consort took his wife’s hand. “The OZ has never had anything like bodyguards for the royal family. You would be free to design it from the ground up.”
“Can I take a couple of days to think about it?”
Both royals nodded. “We would like to begin building the Guard as soon as possible,” the Queen said as she stood.
Cain and the Consort hastily followed suit. The little page, Cain noticed, did not.
“I would like to say you can take as much time as you please, but the danger is too present. If you could-”
“I’ll have-" Cain stopped himself, realizing his error. "I’m sorry, You’re Majesty. I didn’t mean to cut you off.”
She waved a negligent hand. “If you could make a decision before the end of next week?”
Cain bowed. “Saturday.”
The Queen smiled and Cain found out where DG got it from. The royal couple escorted him out of the enclosure.
He stopped them at the opening. “DG’s not going to like this.”
Mischief was also, apparently, an inherited trait.
Fin[ite]
AN2: I have apologize to you all. I've been sitting on this story for two years. Two years! I have some idea of why I did so at the time, but good grief! I can promise you 3 more stories before this well runs dry (at least as of this moment).
Series: Quick, Painless and Easy
Author: Vashti (tvashti)
Fandom: Tin Man
Character(s): Wyatt Cain, The Queen, Ahamo
Rating: G
Summary: The Royal Couple have a request of the former Tin Man.
Length: 770 words
tm_challengePrompt: plans (circa 2009)
Disclaimer: Only the words are mine, and that’s probably up for philosophical debate.Series title inspired by the song of the same name by Ivy.
Dedication: To anyone who still thinks this is worth reading! I love you all!
Notes: Written for 2009's Big Prompt Table seasonal challenge at tm_challenge. If you want to follow along, my prompt table is here. Although if you do, that is some serious dedication on your part, dude, and I feel honored.
“Mr. Cain.” The Queen gestured to the bench in front of her. “Please take a seat.”
“Thank you, ma’am, but I really should-”
Her smile, though pleasant, didn’t do much to brighten up her face. “I’m sure Azkadellia will not come to any harm if you let her be for just a few moments.”
Cain wasn’t. From the expression on the Consort’s face he wasn’t hiding his opinion very well. But he nodded and took the seat, glad that he had his coat against the springtime chill. The Royals had a brazier set in the middle of the assorted chairs and benches to ward off the cold. It was dead now, and the seats around him were empty. Cain had seen quite a few people wandering the gardens while Princess Azkadellia had stood at the window. He could only figure some or all of them had been the ones sitting here under the white canopy among all the ready-to-bud flowering hedges. Had the royal couple waited until their guests had left on their own, or had they sent them away?
Cain shook his head when a footman offered him a glass of cold water, and then again when he was offered a dainty cup of tea. When the footman disappeared, he was alone with the Queen and Consort. No, there was a page sitting unobtrusively beside and behind the Queen with a small writing desk on her lap. Her pen was busily working, but from where he sat he couldn’t tell whether she was drawing or writing.
“Thank you for waiting on us, Mr. Cain.” The Queen’s smile had already faded, leaving behind a faintly troubled expression. It was one she’d been wearing in private for some time, however, so that in itself didn’t raise any alarm.
Being thanked, on the other hand… “No trouble at all, ma’am.”
“I know you take your duties as our daughter’s protector very seriously.”
He could only nod.
“Which is why we have a proposition for you.”
Cain felt his lips thin.
The Consort sat forward. “The threat to Azkadellia’s life is pressing and immediate. We know that. It’s also unlikely to change during her lifetime.”
An argument Cain had already had with himself, so he trusted his expression didn’t change when he heard the Consort say it.
“What no one has really talked about is the threat to the rest of the family.”
Cain frowned. “Sir?”
“We are all of us, Lav, myself and DG, as at risk of assassination as Azkadellia. If for different reasons,” he conceded.
Times like this, Adora use to say that she could see the wheels turning behind his eyes. Cain already knew what the Consort, and the Queen, wanted. If he were honest with himself, he’d say that he had already considered it. But it wasn’t his place to put it out there. Maybe they were just asking questions.
“You’re thinking you’re going to need a permanent guard.”
The Consort nodded.
The Queen reached across the narrow space and laid a hand over Cain’s where it rested on his knee. “It pains me to ask, but we will continue to need your services, Mr. Cain.”
He nodded.
“We would like you to be Captain of this guard, Mr. Cain,” she said, settling back in her seat. “You would be at complete liberty to choose the best from the ranks of the army, and anywhere else you might find talented soldiers.”
The Consort took his wife’s hand. “The OZ has never had anything like bodyguards for the royal family. You would be free to design it from the ground up.”
“Can I take a couple of days to think about it?”
Both royals nodded. “We would like to begin building the Guard as soon as possible,” the Queen said as she stood.
Cain and the Consort hastily followed suit. The little page, Cain noticed, did not.
“I would like to say you can take as much time as you please, but the danger is too present. If you could-”
“I’ll have-" Cain stopped himself, realizing his error. "I’m sorry, You’re Majesty. I didn’t mean to cut you off.”
She waved a negligent hand. “If you could make a decision before the end of next week?”
Cain bowed. “Saturday.”
The Queen smiled and Cain found out where DG got it from. The royal couple escorted him out of the enclosure.
He stopped them at the opening. “DG’s not going to like this.”
Mischief was also, apparently, an inherited trait.
Fin[ite]
AN2: I have apologize to you all. I've been sitting on this story for two years. Two years! I have some idea of why I did so at the time, but good grief! I can promise you 3 more stories before this well runs dry (at least as of this moment).