"Tell Me of Your Yesterdays" - 4/13
Disclaimer: "The Wizard of Oz" is owned by the estate of L. Frank Baum. "Tin Man" is owned by its various production companies. The following is for entertainment only. No money is being made and no infringement is meant.
Thanks to: darling_lisa for her amazing beta work. Without her this would be unreadable.
Missed something? Go back to Chapter Three or visit the Story Index.
The O.Z. 484 A.G.
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It had been a long week; the Eastern Guilds had been fighting amongst themselves for nearly a year, quietly and without blood shed until last month, the Queen had waited for them to solve the dispute internally but was now forced to call a gathering. For the last ten hours there had been nothing but short, angry multi-colored men spouting complaint after complaint, and in rhyme no less.
Hearing the door creak Violet opened her eyes and saw her husband coming into the room with a large mug in his hand. “I thought you might be in need of this.” He said as he sat down next to her.
Violet took the mug and the scent of jasmine floated up to her. She let out a sigh as she felt Ahamo's hands start to rub her neck. By the time the tea was gone the knots that had taken up residence in the neck had been worked away by her husband.
“I don't remember the last time you were so tense.”
“I tend to react badly when my subjects are killing each other.” Violet said in a low voice. “There were so many times today I just wanted to...”
“I know my dear.” Ahamo said as he laid a kiss on her temple. “But it's not just the Fighter's, for the last few months you have been, well, I can see that something is bothering you.”
Violet let her head droop down; her husband was a smart man, and as her consort her should have the truth from her. “It's Azkadellia.”
“What's wrong with Dee?” Ahamo asked.
For a moment Violet was confused, “Nothing is wrong with DG.” Then clarity came to her. “I have told you repeatedly not to call her that. Her name is Azkadellia. All that is noble.”
“Violet...”
“No!” Violet closed her eyes, she could feel the headache coming back. She took a deep breath.”The majestic queen of the O.Z. had two lovely daughters she.” She reached out and took hold of her husbands hand. “One to darkness, she be drawn, and one to light, she be shown. Double eclipse, it is foreseen, Light meets dark in the stillness between. But only one and one alone shall hold the emerald and take the throne.”
Ahamo just stared at her for a minute. “Violet,” There was a chill in his voice that Violet had never heard before. “What does that mean?”
“The last double eclipse was the day that Dorothy defeated the wicked witch of the west.” Violet took a deep breath “The next eclipse is in fifteen annuls.”
“Fuck!” Ahamo stood up and walked swiftly to the far side of the room.”Fuck!”
Violet flinched at that word; that alien word that reminded her that no matter how well Ahamo fit in he still wasn't from the O.Z.
Ahamo turned around and looked at her. Ahamo brought a hand up to the side of his head, “My light? You've always called Dorothy your light.” The hand clenched into a fist. “Which means that you think that Azkadellia is the, that she is this daughter of darkness?”
“Yes.”
Ahamo's eyes widened, “Bullshit!” He turned quickly and, before Violet knew what he was doing, he punched the wall.
“How can you just say that Violet! Yes.”
How dare he. Consort or no, she was the Queen, ever since she found out that she was pregnant again she had been thinking about this, been planning for it. “I have taken measures.” She said coolly.
Ahamo looked at her over his shoulder, “Measures? You've taken measures? They are our daughters Violet!”
“And as long as they are together nothing can harm them.”
“What?” Violet could tell that Ahamo was starting to calm down.
“Their magic is linked, as long as they are together nothing can hurt them. No animal or person or ancient prophesy.” Violet watched her husband process this information before continuing. “That's why I was concerned with Azkadellia spending so much time with those other girls. She needs to form a stronger bond with DG.”
Ahamo let out a long sigh then walked back over to the sofa. He sat down and Violet leaned into his embrace. They sat like that for some time, just being together, when Ahamo broke the silence, “Maybe we should go to Finaqua. No court, no business, just us.”
Violet thought it over for a moment, “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”
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The second sun was casting the last of its light across the valley of the clan. Lylo and two other boys stood in the center of the village waiting for it to set, once the first torch was lit they would be leaving for their walk-out. Lylo could just feel a shiver of excitement that was coming from one of the other boys. He could also faintly see memories of walk-outs that were long done, those must be coming from the elders that had gathered to see them off.
A howl went up from the edge of the village; then sun was set, the walk-out had begun.
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Dee looked around for another stone. They had been at Finaqua for nearly a week and she was ready to go mad.
She stooped down to gather a flat stone. She straightened up and glanced over to see her mother watching over Dorothy's lesson. Tutor was trying to show how to spin the doll.
“Concentrate DG.”
Dee let out a rather inelegant snort. She had never needed to concentrate to make the doll spin.
“You must let the light flow through you. Effortlessly.”
Dee thought about the day that she had learned to spin the doll. Andra's father had been her tutor then.
Dee remembered how the first few times the doll had crashed after leaving her hand. But then Andra had grabbed her other hand and said, “Come on Dee. It wants to float.” She had no problem letting the light flow through her after that.
Dee flicked the rock away across the lake.
“Light as air.”
Oh, goodness. Tutor would never get anywhere if all he could do was say the same thing over and over.
Dee marched towards them. The man was utterly inept! She would just have to show Dorothy herself.
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This was it, the day Wyatt had been working to for the last three annuals. He tugged at the collar of his dress uniform, then walked to his place in front of the crowd.
He saw his parents sitting in the front row. His mother had the largest smile he had ever seen and his father keep wiping at his nose.
The opening notes of the march rang out loudly and to Wyatt everything faded, his parents, the crowd, his collar, all he could focus on was Adora walking towards him.
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Despite the best of intentions, after only three weeks, Ahamo had to ride away from Finaqua.
“Dorothy my dear, don't cause your mother too much worry.” He told the girl in his arms.
“I'll try, but things just sort of happen.” The dimpled girl said.
“Well, if you were doing the work that Tutor asks you to do instead of crawling through the maze a lot of those 'things' wouldn't be able to just happen.” Ahamo tickled his daughter as he said this.
He set down the squirming Dorothy and turned to Azkadellia. “Have a safe journey daddy.” Ahamo brushed her check before pulling her into a hug. “I love you Dee.” he whispered in her ear. “Don't tease your sister too much.”
“I won't daddy.” she said with a blush that warmed Ahamo's heart. This time at Finaqua had brought his girls closer to each other.
Azkadellia took Dorothy's hand and the two girls went off to find some amusement.
“So, should I tickle you too?” He asked in a teasing voice as he pulled Violet to him. “You don't have the time.” Violet said with a laugh.
“When I get back then.” He replied with a wink as the guards he would be riding with approached.
“When you get back.” Violet pitched her voice so only he could hear as she told him exactly what she would have ready when he came back.
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Lylo sat under a tree just feeling. The bugs that made their home in the tree, the hawk that was circling in the sky, a school of fish in the stream.
The other two cubs were having a harder time accessing their powers, the thought they were sending to him seemed like they were covered in fog, but Lylo was confident that by the time the walk-out was over they would have as firm a grasp of their powers as Lylo had of his. Lylo sent this confidence to them and he smiled as the images cleared.
Suddenly Lylo felt a, a... Pain, so much pain. Expanding his awareness Lylo felt for the source of the pain. South, cave, evil. Lylo let out a howl as another wave of pain swept over him.
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The O.Z. 485 A.G.
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The first sun was just starting to spread its rays over Central City as Officer Wyatt Cain walked into main booking.
“Have a good night Cain?” one of the officers going on asked him in a teasing voice “How many whores offer to do you for free this time?” the older man laughed as a blush spread over Wyatt's face.
“Leave 'em alone Ray.” The officer's partner said “Just 'cus you had to trick your wife into marrying you doesn't mean you can take in out on pretty boy Cain here.” The younger man gave Wyatt a light slap on the cheek. “Thanks for the help Tom.” Wyatt said sarcastically as he tried to walk away from the pair. “Any time. And if you ever want to send those ladies my way, I, unmarried buck that I am, will be more then happy to help them out.” Tom yelled after him.
Wyatt shook his head and walked over to the watch commanders desk. “Here's my log.”
The commander nodded curtly, “Good.”
Wyatt reached over to the sign-out book, noted the time, and signed his name.
“Oh, Cain.”
Wyatt turned back to the commander, “Yes sir?”
“Drop these by the record room on your way out.”
“Yes sir.” Wyatt picked up a large stack of papers from the desk and made his way down the hall.
Wyatt walked into the records room and put the stack down on the desk. “Hello?” He called out. The few times he had been here before there had been someone at the desk to take the paperwork. “Hello!”
A voice yelled out from the stacks, “I'm coming, I'm coming, just hold on a...” The words faded out and Wyatt turned to see Quany Zero.
“Zero?” Wyatt said in disbelief.
The other man cleared his throat and grabbed a clipboard off the desk. “What do you have for me?” When Wyatt didn't answer right off Zero snatched a paper from the top of the stack. “Watch reports. Great. I'll get these filed then.”
“Wait, Zero.” Wyatt started to speak, but was quickly cut off. “Is there something else you need Officer?” Zero asked.
“No,” Wyatt said as he walked to the door “Sorry. “
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“Will it hurt?”
Just a little dear. But it is worth it.
“What do I do?”
Just close you eyes, Dee. I'll do all the work.
Dee sighed and closed her eyes. She let out a gasp as she felt a tug between her shoulders.
Open your eyes, my dear. Met your new friend.
Dee opened her eyes and there before her was a small monkey. It had blue fur, a sweet face and... wings?
Her name is Zora.
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Glynn walked over to yet another dead tree, that was the seventh one in his sector.
The reports had come in two months ago that there was some disease that was causing the blossoms to die and that was worrying in its self, but then word had come that whatever it was had spread into the trees.
Glynn had been assigned to the field team and he had thought that once he and the others could see the problem then it wouldn't be that long before they could find a solution, that there just had to be something that they were missing that wasn't being conveyed on paper.
But being out here was no help at all.
The team had been out here for only four days when they found the first dead tree. They found another the next day and the day after they had found two.
And today, the tenth day the team had been out here, Glynn had found seven trees that had died.
At this rate there might be enough of a harvest for this year, but next year...
The only way the papay would be able to survive was if the growing season somehow lasted twice as long.
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The majestic queen of the O.Z. had two lovely daughters she. One to darkness, she be drawn, and one to light, she be shown. Double eclipse, it is foreseen, Light meets dark in the stillness between. But only one and one alone shall hold the emerald and take the throne.
That rhyme had been running on a loop in Ahamo's head for the last year. At first there had been hope that maybe there was something he had missed that would undo everything. Bur that hope had faded and now it was a constant reminder of how badly he had failed his family.
The majestic queen of the O.Z. had two lovely daughters she.
It was all his fault, he had been the one to suggest the trip to Finaqua and he had been the one to leave his child, his dear sweet Dee, to be thrown into the dark.
One to darkness, she be drawn, and one to light, she be shown.
Violet had been pouring over historical documents and texts from the days before the House of Gale had come to power in the hope of finding something, but Ahamo could see the despair starting to consume her too.
Double eclipse, it is foreseen, Light meets dark in the stillness between.
Last night Violet had told him that she would be riding out on her own at first light. She had come up with a plan that might buy them more time.
But only one and one alone shall hold the emerald and take the throne.
Ahamo was afraid it would only buy more darkness.
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The call had come just a half an hour before Wyatt's shift ended. The commander radioed to him, told him to get over there right away.
As Wyatt climbed the stairs the apartment he could here the sound of a women yelling out in pain.
Coming to the door Wyatt didn't bother to announce himself, he just pushed into the main room at the same time a baby started to wail.
An older woman came out from the bedroom and looked at him for a moment, “It's a boy.”
A smile spread over Wyatt's face as his eyes lost focus, “A boy.”
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Continue to Chapter Five.