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Fic: Ever Wonder What Would Happen if the Sheep Hit the Finaqua?
Title: Ever Wonder What Would Happen if the Sheep Hit the Finaqua?
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: DG, Cain, Az, the Queen and eight OCs (mention of RoboMom, Popsicle, Jeb, Adora and about five other random guards/OCs)
Rating: PG
Summary: Who ever thought that confining a Princess was a good idea obviously never met DG.
Warning: post-series *The three weeks between Why Eat Crow When There's Pie? and There's Something about Wheelers. More filler.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
Scarecrow | The Cafeteria Boys | Dinner Conversation | Cafeteria Food | Stallone and Rabbits | Rabbits - and Cain - Can be Scary | Why Eat Crow When There's Pie? | No Laughing Matter | Only in the O.Z. Would the Bible Be Funny... | There's Something About Wheelers | Ever Wonder What Would Happen if the Sheep Hit the Finaqua? | DG and Leo's Excellent Adventure (Which Turned Out to Be a Bogus Journey) | What Happened When the Sheep Hit the Finaqua | Preparations of Titanic Proportions | Boys are Cute When They're Flustered | Checkmate | The Blue and the Gray | Times They Are a-Changin' | Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Cain? | Subterfuge | Royal Guards Don't Dance
DG was in the garden with Az the next afternoon when she spotted Aybol and another guard. She nodded in his direction at one point and returned to listening to her sister talk about the advantages to hosting a royal ball.
“Az,” DG asked, tracing a pattern in the dirt with her shoe. “You go to lots of balls when...” She trailed off with a wave and Az shook her head.
“Well, no,” Az replied. “But, don’t you remember all the parties Mother and Father used to have? There was always something happening. Some visiting-” Az rambled, stopping when she heard DG sigh. DG gave her sister a smile.
Honestly, she didn’t remember much of anything. She knew her parents - her real parents - and her sister. She knew Finaqua, the cave... Milltown. Pretty much every place she had been while traveling across the O.Z. with Cain, Glitch and Raw. She knew she knew the O.Z., but she just didn’t...
She remembered Popsicle carrying her back into the house after she fell off Richie Cooper’s motorbike when she was nine; she remembered Sarah McCartney’s twelfth birthday party at the community pool, when she didn’t quite clear the jump and cracked her head on the edge of the diving board; she remembered all the times Mom gave her that I’m-very-disappointed-in-you look and Popsicle would wave it off later.
She was the only girl in the automotive class; all the other girls were cheerleaders or in the drama club. She wasn’t even ‘one of the guys,’ which was fine with her. She’d only taken the job at the Hilltop to pay for the bike - because Mom said it was the only way she’d ever get the money for it - and stayed, simply to put the cash away for a rainy day... or a trip to any place that wasn’t Kansas.
DG figured the farthest she could get from Kansas was the best and, short of Antarctica, Australia was her next bet. She’d made that decision in the tenth grade, after a project for World History with Mister Beckett. It was the easiest ‘A’ she’d ever earned.
DG snapped back to the conversation with Az and looked at her sister with a slightly worried expression. “They’re not gonna try and marry us off? Right? I mean, I’ve seen enough movies-” DG said, jumping up from the stone bench they were sitting on. She frowned, seeing that Az was shaking her head and giving DG ‘that’ look.
Again. DG hated that look. That look that said: ‘Stop being so dramatic, DG. Don’t act like such a fool, DG. You’d think you haven’t lived here for over ten years, DG.’
Az stood up and moved next to her sister. Looking out over the horizon, she leaned toward DG and said quietly: “I doubt the O.Z. is ready for a wedding. Besides,” she faced DG. “If anyone, it’ll be you. I can’t imagine that there’ll be a line, breaking down the door to get to-” Az laughed lightly and looked away again. “I’m famished,” she stated a moment later. She held out a hand for DG and smiled.
As the girls returned to the palace, arm in arm, DG threw a smile to Aybol and the other guard. “Gentlemen,” she said as they passed. Aybol tried to hide his smirk as both guards nodded to the girls.
~*~
DG was in the library, reading up on the O.Z. - yet again - when boredom finally overtook her. She dropped the heavy book to the table and sighed heavily before looking around the room and pushing herself up.
She needed her sketchpad. The Queen had denied DG’s request to return to the Other Side for a picture of the dress she’d agreed to wear. And, the moment she’d tried to describe it to the woman her mother presented as the dressmaker, chaos had ensued. The problem was that DG didn’t know the proper terminology. And, apparently, ‘it’s got a beaded-thingy here and the collar goes across here and it has a kind of poofy thing back here’ wasn’t what the woman wanted to hear.
Why had she agreed to this? Not that she wasn’t completely against dressing up every once in a while. Granted, she’d never gone to prom. She’d tried the first dance of junior high, but it was a total bust. Mom took her shopping for a dress and dropped her off. DG gave it twenty minutes: raiding the snack table and rolling her eyes at the girls dancing together in a group. Knowing Mom hadn’t made it home yet, she called home and begged Popsicle to come get her. They spent the rest of the evening in the garage, working on the truck. Until Mom came out looking for Popsicle, as DG needed to be picked up.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if DG hadn’t been playing mechanic in the dress.
‘Come on,’ DG told herself as she moved into the hallway. ‘You have always dreamed of being the princess at the ball.’ DG sighed, cursed Rogers and Hammerstein - and that stupid cast album of Cinderella Mom bought her after they’d seen it at the local theater and DG had fallen in love with the songs - and thought of all the movies she’d enjoyed growing up; ironically, the ones where the guy saved the girl in the end.
Who would expect that Grease Monkey-Waitress-Biker Chick DG would have a chick flick at the top of her favorite movie list over action or comedy? Granted, it did have action. And comedy. Even suspense.
She laughed at the memory of the look of horror on Cain’s face when she’d claimed that ‘nothing in the O.Z. could be as bad as an R.O.U.S.!’ He’d silently freaked at her descriptions of fire pots and quicksand traps... and she couldn’t bring herself to tell him that it was from a story and not what Kansas was really like.
But, it had changed his attitude toward her as they traveled; which was good, because she had gotten sick of him playing the ‘I’m-the-guy’ card. Reaching the door to her room, DG snorted as she realized that she’d just contradicted herself: She didn’t mind a guy playing knight-in-shining-armor for the damsel-in-distress if it was a movie; but she would be damned if it happened to her.
~*~
It took DG three days to figure out how to get to the cafeteria without being seen by any of the guards. Granted, most of her success had been thanks to Leo, who she’d roped in to helping before Az and her mother found her again.
He’d met her that same evening, in one of the empty rooms on the main level, and the two snuck outside the castle, via a set of tunnels; back inside, through a service entrance; and in through the entrance of the cafeteria.
Lona had slapped Leo, repeatedly, for a good ten minutes while Mo gave DG tips on a better path that wouldn’t require her to go outside.
That got Mo smacked.
~*~
DG spent the next two weeks disappearing from her family and randomly appearing in the cafeteria. She listened to Mo’s stories of the O.Z. and Central City and occasionally helped prepare dishes.
One afternoon, the guards had all come in at the same time and DG simply pulled on a spare apron and helped out - just out of view - bringing out fresh trays when there was a gap in the line. Lona found her a hat and DG pulled her hair up, knowing that she was really pushing her luck, especially if one of the guards looked closely.
Or, worse, if Cain came in for lunch.
DG had been pulling trays when she saw Kory enter with two others, who were deep in conversation. They grabbed trays and didn’t even look at Mo as he filled their plates. They both said thanks and moved on, leaving Kory to take his plate. He glanced up to Mo, nodded to DG and began to turn when he realized she was standing there. DG smiled, picked up the empty tray and disappeared around the corner.
Kory clenched his jaw and looked at Mo, who refused to make eye contact, beginning to fill plates for a group just coming in. Kory breathed heavily and turned away from the counter, shaking his head and he moved to join Fitz and Zek.
~*~
“Mister Cain.” Cain turned sharply at his name and moved toward the Queen, who’d just appeared in the hallway.
“Your majesty?” he asked with a nod, as they met in the middle. She smiled and gave him a polite nod.
“Have you seen DG?” she asked calmly. She smiled at his expression, knowing that his mind was currently processing just what kind of trouble her youngest daughter was getting into.
“No, I haven’t,” Cain responded with a slightest shake of his head. Thinking about it, Cain realized he hadn’t seen much of DG at all in the last week - other than during his daily report at breakfast and the occasional passing in the hallway.
The Queen sighed, which didn’t comfort Cain, but he said nothing. “It seems she is avoiding her fitting,” the Queen said with a smile. Cain smiled back, understand a child’s knack for disappearing to get out of an unwanted chore. Jeb favored climbing trees so that he wouldn’t have to help Adora.
Giving her a nod, Cain stated: “She’ll be there within the hour.” The Queen nodded and walked away, leaving Cain alone in the hallway once again.
Cain checked DG’s room; the libraries and sitting rooms; the garden; Ahamo’s office; Glitch’s lab; he even quizzed Azkadellia. Returning to his ‘office,’ Cain tried to run through any of the possible places he didn’t think of on his initial walkthrough. She’d promised him - because he begged - that she would never leave the grounds without telling him, but he was drawing a complete blank.
And that was most frustrating.
Taking a few moments, Cain flipped through a stack of reports on his desk while he ran through DG’s possible hiding spots. At the sound of a clearing throat, Cain raised is eyes to see Morris, one of his senior guards, standing stiffly on the other side of his desk.
“Unless someone’s storming the castle-” he said, shaking his head.
Morris rocked on his heels slightly. “Were you looking for the Princess?” Cain frowned and looked back up. Cocking his head slightly, Cain raised and eyebrow and gave Morris his full attention. “Cafeteria,” he said simply. Cain blinked.
There was only one cafeteria within the confines of the palace and it wasn’t on a level DG shouldn't even know about.
~*~
Cain stopped in the doorway of the cafeteria and raised an eyebrow at Zek, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. ‘Surprise,’ he thought, seeing who else was at the table. Then he saw-
‘Of course.’ Breathing deeply, Cain clenched his jaw and moved into the room.
“...I just think that, if Wheelers did exist,” he heard Kory say as he stopped behind the farmboy from the West and crossed his arms. “More people’d be seein’ ‘em.”
Zek cleared his throat again, but it was Cain who spoke: “If you’d like a transfer to the Eastern border, I’ll be happy to put in a good word.” Cain didn’t take his eyes off of DG and he unfolded his arms. Seeing Kory’s shoulders drop, Cain reached out to push him back into his seat as the young soldier began to stand up.
“That won’t be... necessary... sir.” Cain hoped the boy was turning red. He glanced up and realized he had the audience riveted. Clenching his jaw, Cain raised an eyebrow to the rest of the occupants in the cafeteria, who all immediately looked away.
“Princess,” he said, hoping that his tone said: ‘Yes, I am pissed.’ “Your presence is requested. Upstairs.” His eyes shot back to her and he noted that she was avoiding eye contact with him. He did see, however, a silent conversation between DG and the young man he was currently behind. As she stood up and moved around the table to her left, Cain glanced at Aybol, then over to Fitz and Zek. He frowned again as she leaned between the two boys and whispered something.
Nearing Cain, DG pushed through the small space between him and the still-seated Kory and Leo. Cain noted that the Princess put a hand on Leo’s shoulder as she breezed past, but that was soon forgotten as he watched a smile spread across Aybol’s face. Of course, Aybol soon forced it away, realizing that Cain was looking at him.
Taking a last glance around the room, Cain decided that it would be enough punishment for them, right now, to sit and wonder. “Gentlemen,” he stated, almost congenially, before stepping away from the table.
He cleared the doorway and turned, knowing that DG was right there waiting.
“What the-” she whispered loudly as he came into view. Cain ignored her, grabbed her around the upper arm and pulled her along the hallway. Part of him wished that she had been one of the recruits, so he could simply kick her out the door and be done with it.
This would not end well.
____________________
EDIT: Figured it's time you saw their faces.
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: DG, Cain, Az, the Queen and eight OCs (mention of RoboMom, Popsicle, Jeb, Adora and about five other random guards/OCs)
Rating: PG
Summary: Who ever thought that confining a Princess was a good idea obviously never met DG.
Warning: post-series *The three weeks between Why Eat Crow When There's Pie? and There's Something about Wheelers. More filler.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The OCs are mine.
Scarecrow | The Cafeteria Boys | Dinner Conversation | Cafeteria Food | Stallone and Rabbits | Rabbits - and Cain - Can be Scary | Why Eat Crow When There's Pie? | No Laughing Matter | Only in the O.Z. Would the Bible Be Funny... | There's Something About Wheelers | Ever Wonder What Would Happen if the Sheep Hit the Finaqua? | DG and Leo's Excellent Adventure (Which Turned Out to Be a Bogus Journey) | What Happened When the Sheep Hit the Finaqua | Preparations of Titanic Proportions | Boys are Cute When They're Flustered | Checkmate | The Blue and the Gray | Times They Are a-Changin' | Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Cain? | Subterfuge | Royal Guards Don't Dance
DG was in the garden with Az the next afternoon when she spotted Aybol and another guard. She nodded in his direction at one point and returned to listening to her sister talk about the advantages to hosting a royal ball.
“Az,” DG asked, tracing a pattern in the dirt with her shoe. “You go to lots of balls when...” She trailed off with a wave and Az shook her head.
“Well, no,” Az replied. “But, don’t you remember all the parties Mother and Father used to have? There was always something happening. Some visiting-” Az rambled, stopping when she heard DG sigh. DG gave her sister a smile.
Honestly, she didn’t remember much of anything. She knew her parents - her real parents - and her sister. She knew Finaqua, the cave... Milltown. Pretty much every place she had been while traveling across the O.Z. with Cain, Glitch and Raw. She knew she knew the O.Z., but she just didn’t...
She remembered Popsicle carrying her back into the house after she fell off Richie Cooper’s motorbike when she was nine; she remembered Sarah McCartney’s twelfth birthday party at the community pool, when she didn’t quite clear the jump and cracked her head on the edge of the diving board; she remembered all the times Mom gave her that I’m-very-disappointed-in-you look and Popsicle would wave it off later.
She was the only girl in the automotive class; all the other girls were cheerleaders or in the drama club. She wasn’t even ‘one of the guys,’ which was fine with her. She’d only taken the job at the Hilltop to pay for the bike - because Mom said it was the only way she’d ever get the money for it - and stayed, simply to put the cash away for a rainy day... or a trip to any place that wasn’t Kansas.
DG figured the farthest she could get from Kansas was the best and, short of Antarctica, Australia was her next bet. She’d made that decision in the tenth grade, after a project for World History with Mister Beckett. It was the easiest ‘A’ she’d ever earned.
DG snapped back to the conversation with Az and looked at her sister with a slightly worried expression. “They’re not gonna try and marry us off? Right? I mean, I’ve seen enough movies-” DG said, jumping up from the stone bench they were sitting on. She frowned, seeing that Az was shaking her head and giving DG ‘that’ look.
Again. DG hated that look. That look that said: ‘Stop being so dramatic, DG. Don’t act like such a fool, DG. You’d think you haven’t lived here for over ten years, DG.’
Az stood up and moved next to her sister. Looking out over the horizon, she leaned toward DG and said quietly: “I doubt the O.Z. is ready for a wedding. Besides,” she faced DG. “If anyone, it’ll be you. I can’t imagine that there’ll be a line, breaking down the door to get to-” Az laughed lightly and looked away again. “I’m famished,” she stated a moment later. She held out a hand for DG and smiled.
As the girls returned to the palace, arm in arm, DG threw a smile to Aybol and the other guard. “Gentlemen,” she said as they passed. Aybol tried to hide his smirk as both guards nodded to the girls.
~*~
DG was in the library, reading up on the O.Z. - yet again - when boredom finally overtook her. She dropped the heavy book to the table and sighed heavily before looking around the room and pushing herself up.
She needed her sketchpad. The Queen had denied DG’s request to return to the Other Side for a picture of the dress she’d agreed to wear. And, the moment she’d tried to describe it to the woman her mother presented as the dressmaker, chaos had ensued. The problem was that DG didn’t know the proper terminology. And, apparently, ‘it’s got a beaded-thingy here and the collar goes across here and it has a kind of poofy thing back here’ wasn’t what the woman wanted to hear.
Why had she agreed to this? Not that she wasn’t completely against dressing up every once in a while. Granted, she’d never gone to prom. She’d tried the first dance of junior high, but it was a total bust. Mom took her shopping for a dress and dropped her off. DG gave it twenty minutes: raiding the snack table and rolling her eyes at the girls dancing together in a group. Knowing Mom hadn’t made it home yet, she called home and begged Popsicle to come get her. They spent the rest of the evening in the garage, working on the truck. Until Mom came out looking for Popsicle, as DG needed to be picked up.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if DG hadn’t been playing mechanic in the dress.
‘Come on,’ DG told herself as she moved into the hallway. ‘You have always dreamed of being the princess at the ball.’ DG sighed, cursed Rogers and Hammerstein - and that stupid cast album of Cinderella Mom bought her after they’d seen it at the local theater and DG had fallen in love with the songs - and thought of all the movies she’d enjoyed growing up; ironically, the ones where the guy saved the girl in the end.
Who would expect that Grease Monkey-Waitress-Biker Chick DG would have a chick flick at the top of her favorite movie list over action or comedy? Granted, it did have action. And comedy. Even suspense.
She laughed at the memory of the look of horror on Cain’s face when she’d claimed that ‘nothing in the O.Z. could be as bad as an R.O.U.S.!’ He’d silently freaked at her descriptions of fire pots and quicksand traps... and she couldn’t bring herself to tell him that it was from a story and not what Kansas was really like.
But, it had changed his attitude toward her as they traveled; which was good, because she had gotten sick of him playing the ‘I’m-the-guy’ card. Reaching the door to her room, DG snorted as she realized that she’d just contradicted herself: She didn’t mind a guy playing knight-in-shining-armor for the damsel-in-distress if it was a movie; but she would be damned if it happened to her.
~*~
It took DG three days to figure out how to get to the cafeteria without being seen by any of the guards. Granted, most of her success had been thanks to Leo, who she’d roped in to helping before Az and her mother found her again.
He’d met her that same evening, in one of the empty rooms on the main level, and the two snuck outside the castle, via a set of tunnels; back inside, through a service entrance; and in through the entrance of the cafeteria.
Lona had slapped Leo, repeatedly, for a good ten minutes while Mo gave DG tips on a better path that wouldn’t require her to go outside.
That got Mo smacked.
~*~
DG spent the next two weeks disappearing from her family and randomly appearing in the cafeteria. She listened to Mo’s stories of the O.Z. and Central City and occasionally helped prepare dishes.
One afternoon, the guards had all come in at the same time and DG simply pulled on a spare apron and helped out - just out of view - bringing out fresh trays when there was a gap in the line. Lona found her a hat and DG pulled her hair up, knowing that she was really pushing her luck, especially if one of the guards looked closely.
Or, worse, if Cain came in for lunch.
DG had been pulling trays when she saw Kory enter with two others, who were deep in conversation. They grabbed trays and didn’t even look at Mo as he filled their plates. They both said thanks and moved on, leaving Kory to take his plate. He glanced up to Mo, nodded to DG and began to turn when he realized she was standing there. DG smiled, picked up the empty tray and disappeared around the corner.
Kory clenched his jaw and looked at Mo, who refused to make eye contact, beginning to fill plates for a group just coming in. Kory breathed heavily and turned away from the counter, shaking his head and he moved to join Fitz and Zek.
~*~
“Mister Cain.” Cain turned sharply at his name and moved toward the Queen, who’d just appeared in the hallway.
“Your majesty?” he asked with a nod, as they met in the middle. She smiled and gave him a polite nod.
“Have you seen DG?” she asked calmly. She smiled at his expression, knowing that his mind was currently processing just what kind of trouble her youngest daughter was getting into.
“No, I haven’t,” Cain responded with a slightest shake of his head. Thinking about it, Cain realized he hadn’t seen much of DG at all in the last week - other than during his daily report at breakfast and the occasional passing in the hallway.
The Queen sighed, which didn’t comfort Cain, but he said nothing. “It seems she is avoiding her fitting,” the Queen said with a smile. Cain smiled back, understand a child’s knack for disappearing to get out of an unwanted chore. Jeb favored climbing trees so that he wouldn’t have to help Adora.
Giving her a nod, Cain stated: “She’ll be there within the hour.” The Queen nodded and walked away, leaving Cain alone in the hallway once again.
Cain checked DG’s room; the libraries and sitting rooms; the garden; Ahamo’s office; Glitch’s lab; he even quizzed Azkadellia. Returning to his ‘office,’ Cain tried to run through any of the possible places he didn’t think of on his initial walkthrough. She’d promised him - because he begged - that she would never leave the grounds without telling him, but he was drawing a complete blank.
And that was most frustrating.
Taking a few moments, Cain flipped through a stack of reports on his desk while he ran through DG’s possible hiding spots. At the sound of a clearing throat, Cain raised is eyes to see Morris, one of his senior guards, standing stiffly on the other side of his desk.
“Unless someone’s storming the castle-” he said, shaking his head.
Morris rocked on his heels slightly. “Were you looking for the Princess?” Cain frowned and looked back up. Cocking his head slightly, Cain raised and eyebrow and gave Morris his full attention. “Cafeteria,” he said simply. Cain blinked.
There was only one cafeteria within the confines of the palace and it wasn’t on a level DG shouldn't even know about.
~*~
Cain stopped in the doorway of the cafeteria and raised an eyebrow at Zek, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. ‘Surprise,’ he thought, seeing who else was at the table. Then he saw-
‘Of course.’ Breathing deeply, Cain clenched his jaw and moved into the room.
“...I just think that, if Wheelers did exist,” he heard Kory say as he stopped behind the farmboy from the West and crossed his arms. “More people’d be seein’ ‘em.”
Zek cleared his throat again, but it was Cain who spoke: “If you’d like a transfer to the Eastern border, I’ll be happy to put in a good word.” Cain didn’t take his eyes off of DG and he unfolded his arms. Seeing Kory’s shoulders drop, Cain reached out to push him back into his seat as the young soldier began to stand up.
“That won’t be... necessary... sir.” Cain hoped the boy was turning red. He glanced up and realized he had the audience riveted. Clenching his jaw, Cain raised an eyebrow to the rest of the occupants in the cafeteria, who all immediately looked away.
“Princess,” he said, hoping that his tone said: ‘Yes, I am pissed.’ “Your presence is requested. Upstairs.” His eyes shot back to her and he noted that she was avoiding eye contact with him. He did see, however, a silent conversation between DG and the young man he was currently behind. As she stood up and moved around the table to her left, Cain glanced at Aybol, then over to Fitz and Zek. He frowned again as she leaned between the two boys and whispered something.
Nearing Cain, DG pushed through the small space between him and the still-seated Kory and Leo. Cain noted that the Princess put a hand on Leo’s shoulder as she breezed past, but that was soon forgotten as he watched a smile spread across Aybol’s face. Of course, Aybol soon forced it away, realizing that Cain was looking at him.
Taking a last glance around the room, Cain decided that it would be enough punishment for them, right now, to sit and wonder. “Gentlemen,” he stated, almost congenially, before stepping away from the table.
He cleared the doorway and turned, knowing that DG was right there waiting.
“What the-” she whispered loudly as he came into view. Cain ignored her, grabbed her around the upper arm and pulled her along the hallway. Part of him wished that she had been one of the recruits, so he could simply kick her out the door and be done with it.
This would not end well.
____________________
EDIT: Figured it's time you saw their faces.