Fic: Intent
Title: Intent [ INDEX]
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Deb (mention of Max, Tally, Dree, and everyone else)
Rating: G
Summary: Deb receives an unexpectedly expected message
Warning: after Walk Away *Written for Writing About Writing at writerverse. Max is currently serving on a crew in a Mass Effect RPG, and no one believes he has a girlfriend. o.O Muggles.
Disclaimer: The original characters of The Wizard of Oz belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters of Tin Man belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The Disney characters belong to Disney, their authors, and their respective actors. The OCs are mine and bizarra's. And, now gatechic's, by default. Garrett Cain belongs to gatechic and is, as always, used and abused with love. ♥
La'debor smiled when he saw the note mixed among the stack of papers that had just been delivered to his desk. His wife's no-nonsense lettering always amused him, as everyone else got a rather flourished, queenly script.
THIS BOY the note simply stated. It was attached to a typed page, having been transmitted from multiple relay stations and already read by at least three officers trained to find secret codes in every message, regardless of who the recipient was.
It was always annoying to know that personal messages were never truly personal, but at least the number of eyes on messages were kept to a minimum. Most of the rulers within the Council were used to it, though. They had all worked out ways to keep the truly private messages from spying eyes, by methods of hand-delivery. And, as the sender was far from their section of the galaxy, Deb knew that hand-delivery was definitely out of the question.
He smiled as the note began, Max addressing him simply and friendly instead of official and flowery. Deb had known Max all of the boy's nineteen years, having first met him at only a few months old. Not long after that meeting, Deb had met the brightest light in his life: his daughter, Talleah. She had been injured and orphaned when they met; terrified of everyone because she couldn't hear them and didn't know where her father was.
But, she hadn't been afraid of him.
Deb was the only person she knew in her four years, because he was the king. Tally's father had been one of his guards, and had always told her stories about their great king. Deb sat at her bedside at night, in case she had a nightmare. He made silly faces at her and brought picture books, so they could talk to each other.
There was no question that she was going to go home with the royal family, once she was able to leave the hospital. Tally would have gone with no one else, and Deb wouldn't have let anyone take her. Well, he would have let Max's mother take her, but Dree had a newborn to care for, not to mention injures of her own to heal from.
The women had their own bond, following the explosion, as they had both lost their hearing. Dree's hearing eventually returned, but Tally wasn't as lucky. The little girl had only just been learning her letters, so writing what she wanted or needed wasn't possible. The picture books helped with that, until she could learn to speak with her hands - she and Dree learned together - and, soon, the little girl was a spitfire with words.
As she grew older, the doctors ran tests and tried new treatments; her favorite doctor was off with Dree and Max's family, traveling the stars, but was in constant contact with the family. Every time science advanced a little bit more, they came closer to letting Tally hear.
Now, at twenty-five years, Tally was stubborn, spirited, and preparing for a new surgery that would, hopefully, repair the more-damaged eardrum. It wouldn't help her hear on that side - it had been closest to the explosion - but it would at least help with the headaches she was having.
Deb gave the note a quick glance, wondering why Max had sent him a message, instead of his parents. The first paragraph was nothing special - just word that he had fulfilled his service and was coming home. Max had followed in his other mother's footsteps, serving as an officer on a ship somewhere in a far galaxy. Any news he was able to send usually went to his parents - or Tally - first, and then that news was shared with Deb and his wife over lunch.
Deb did a double-take when he got to the next paragraph, and couldn't help but smile at Max's simple words.
I DO NOT KNOW THE RIGHT WAY TO SAY THIS. IF IT IS WRONG, PLEASE TELL ME THE RIGHT WAY AND I WILL DO IT AGAIN.
MEL WILL BE UPSET, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO BE AN OFFICER ANY MORE. I HAVE SEEN ENOUGH SPACE FOR EVER. WILL TELL YOU MORE WHEN I GET BACK. THERE IS SOME REALLY BAD STUFF OUT HERE. WORSE THAN EVEN THAT STUFF.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM GOING TO ASK TALLY TO MARRY ME, WHEN I GET HOME. I KNOW I AM NOT OLD ENOUGH YET, BUT I STILL WANT TO ASK. I HOPE SHE WILL SAY YES. IF SHE DOES NOT, THEN I WILL BE OKAY. I WANTED TO TELL YOU, FIRST, BECAUSE I REMEMBER WHEN LULU GOT ENGAGED AND EVERYBODY AT THE RANCH KEPT ASKING WADE IF HE ASKED MY DAD FIRST. TYLER SAID IT WAS BETTER TO ASK MAMABECK.
I KNOW I AM NOT OLD ENOUGH TO TAKE OVER GRAMPA MAX'S RANCH YET, BUT IT IS MY PLAN WHEN I AM. I DO NOT KNOW IF TALLY WILL LIKE THE RANCH, BUT I HOPE SHE WILL. IF SHE DOES NOT WANT TO LIVE THERE, THAT IS OKAY. NEW CENTRAL IS CLOSE.
When they were together, Max and Tally were usually inseparable. Though, as she was almost five years older, school and friends started to pull them apart. There had been an awkward few years, when she was a teenager, where both sets of parents were worried for the kids - not that they were actively trying to set them up - but they all decided to leave the kids to themselves and, a few years back, the two of them had finally started 'dating'.
Officially, anyway...
Tally and Dree didn't take Max's absence well, and had started spending a lot of time together, in order to distract themselves. As Tally was not next in line for the throne - that duty went to her older brother - she spent a lot of time shuttling between her mother and Dree, learning the ropes of the non-ruling royal tasks. She also helped Max's little sister learn the proper ways to be a princess, though the younger girl would rather play in the mud, most days.
I SHOULD HAVE WRITTEN THIS ON PAPER FIRST, SO I WOULD BE ABLE TO SAY IT BETTER. VIDEO WOULD BETTER BUT WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SEND THOSE RIGHT NOW. I ONLY GOT PERMISSION LAST TIME BECAUSE I WAS WITH A ROYAL FAMILY AND THEY MADE THE RULES. I HAVE TO LET SOMEONE ELSE HAVE THE TERMINAL NOW. I TYPED TOO SLOW.
I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO TELL MOM. SHE DOES NOT LIKE TO BE SURPRISED. I HOPE I CAN HAVE ANOTHER TURN SO I CAN TELL HER.
MAYBE SHE WILL BE SO GLAD I AM HOME FOR GOOD THAT SHE WILL NOT NOTICE?
Deb leaned back in the chair and stared at the window for a moment, before shaking his head and smiling.
That boy, indeed.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: Deb (mention of Max, Tally, Dree, and everyone else)
Rating: G
Summary: Deb receives an unexpectedly expected message
Warning: after Walk Away *Written for Writing About Writing at writerverse. Max is currently serving on a crew in a Mass Effect RPG, and no one believes he has a girlfriend. o.O Muggles.
Disclaimer: The original characters of The Wizard of Oz belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters of Tin Man belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The Disney characters belong to Disney, their authors, and their respective actors. The OCs are mine and bizarra's. And, now gatechic's, by default. Garrett Cain belongs to gatechic and is, as always, used and abused with love. ♥
La'debor smiled when he saw the note mixed among the stack of papers that had just been delivered to his desk. His wife's no-nonsense lettering always amused him, as everyone else got a rather flourished, queenly script.
THIS BOY the note simply stated. It was attached to a typed page, having been transmitted from multiple relay stations and already read by at least three officers trained to find secret codes in every message, regardless of who the recipient was.
It was always annoying to know that personal messages were never truly personal, but at least the number of eyes on messages were kept to a minimum. Most of the rulers within the Council were used to it, though. They had all worked out ways to keep the truly private messages from spying eyes, by methods of hand-delivery. And, as the sender was far from their section of the galaxy, Deb knew that hand-delivery was definitely out of the question.
He smiled as the note began, Max addressing him simply and friendly instead of official and flowery. Deb had known Max all of the boy's nineteen years, having first met him at only a few months old. Not long after that meeting, Deb had met the brightest light in his life: his daughter, Talleah. She had been injured and orphaned when they met; terrified of everyone because she couldn't hear them and didn't know where her father was.
But, she hadn't been afraid of him.
Deb was the only person she knew in her four years, because he was the king. Tally's father had been one of his guards, and had always told her stories about their great king. Deb sat at her bedside at night, in case she had a nightmare. He made silly faces at her and brought picture books, so they could talk to each other.
There was no question that she was going to go home with the royal family, once she was able to leave the hospital. Tally would have gone with no one else, and Deb wouldn't have let anyone take her. Well, he would have let Max's mother take her, but Dree had a newborn to care for, not to mention injures of her own to heal from.
The women had their own bond, following the explosion, as they had both lost their hearing. Dree's hearing eventually returned, but Tally wasn't as lucky. The little girl had only just been learning her letters, so writing what she wanted or needed wasn't possible. The picture books helped with that, until she could learn to speak with her hands - she and Dree learned together - and, soon, the little girl was a spitfire with words.
As she grew older, the doctors ran tests and tried new treatments; her favorite doctor was off with Dree and Max's family, traveling the stars, but was in constant contact with the family. Every time science advanced a little bit more, they came closer to letting Tally hear.
Now, at twenty-five years, Tally was stubborn, spirited, and preparing for a new surgery that would, hopefully, repair the more-damaged eardrum. It wouldn't help her hear on that side - it had been closest to the explosion - but it would at least help with the headaches she was having.
Deb gave the note a quick glance, wondering why Max had sent him a message, instead of his parents. The first paragraph was nothing special - just word that he had fulfilled his service and was coming home. Max had followed in his other mother's footsteps, serving as an officer on a ship somewhere in a far galaxy. Any news he was able to send usually went to his parents - or Tally - first, and then that news was shared with Deb and his wife over lunch.
Deb did a double-take when he got to the next paragraph, and couldn't help but smile at Max's simple words.
I DO NOT KNOW THE RIGHT WAY TO SAY THIS. IF IT IS WRONG, PLEASE TELL ME THE RIGHT WAY AND I WILL DO IT AGAIN.
MEL WILL BE UPSET, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO BE AN OFFICER ANY MORE. I HAVE SEEN ENOUGH SPACE FOR EVER. WILL TELL YOU MORE WHEN I GET BACK. THERE IS SOME REALLY BAD STUFF OUT HERE. WORSE THAN EVEN THAT STUFF.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I AM GOING TO ASK TALLY TO MARRY ME, WHEN I GET HOME. I KNOW I AM NOT OLD ENOUGH YET, BUT I STILL WANT TO ASK. I HOPE SHE WILL SAY YES. IF SHE DOES NOT, THEN I WILL BE OKAY. I WANTED TO TELL YOU, FIRST, BECAUSE I REMEMBER WHEN LULU GOT ENGAGED AND EVERYBODY AT THE RANCH KEPT ASKING WADE IF HE ASKED MY DAD FIRST. TYLER SAID IT WAS BETTER TO ASK MAMABECK.
I KNOW I AM NOT OLD ENOUGH TO TAKE OVER GRAMPA MAX'S RANCH YET, BUT IT IS MY PLAN WHEN I AM. I DO NOT KNOW IF TALLY WILL LIKE THE RANCH, BUT I HOPE SHE WILL. IF SHE DOES NOT WANT TO LIVE THERE, THAT IS OKAY. NEW CENTRAL IS CLOSE.
When they were together, Max and Tally were usually inseparable. Though, as she was almost five years older, school and friends started to pull them apart. There had been an awkward few years, when she was a teenager, where both sets of parents were worried for the kids - not that they were actively trying to set them up - but they all decided to leave the kids to themselves and, a few years back, the two of them had finally started 'dating'.
Officially, anyway...
Tally and Dree didn't take Max's absence well, and had started spending a lot of time together, in order to distract themselves. As Tally was not next in line for the throne - that duty went to her older brother - she spent a lot of time shuttling between her mother and Dree, learning the ropes of the non-ruling royal tasks. She also helped Max's little sister learn the proper ways to be a princess, though the younger girl would rather play in the mud, most days.
I SHOULD HAVE WRITTEN THIS ON PAPER FIRST, SO I WOULD BE ABLE TO SAY IT BETTER. VIDEO WOULD BETTER BUT WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SEND THOSE RIGHT NOW. I ONLY GOT PERMISSION LAST TIME BECAUSE I WAS WITH A ROYAL FAMILY AND THEY MADE THE RULES. I HAVE TO LET SOMEONE ELSE HAVE THE TERMINAL NOW. I TYPED TOO SLOW.
I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO TELL MOM. SHE DOES NOT LIKE TO BE SURPRISED. I HOPE I CAN HAVE ANOTHER TURN SO I CAN TELL HER.
MAYBE SHE WILL BE SO GLAD I AM HOME FOR GOOD THAT SHE WILL NOT NOTICE?
Deb leaned back in the chair and stared at the window for a moment, before shaking his head and smiling.
That boy, indeed.