Disclaimer: For the last time in this story, I don't own Tin Man!... But I still want to.
She decided at some point that she rather liked math if the subject matter was right. For instance, take one Tin Man and add one Princess then subtract all cloths and math was her new best friend. Seriously, if Toto had been teaching her this stuff instead of politics they would have gotten along better. Then again that was kinda disturbing. Cain was a much better tutor really.
Unfortunately this type of math had nothing to do with controlling time because their honeymoon week was going to be up in like ten minutes. She lay on her stomach across the bed refusing to put her dress, which had at some point been hung up, back on. Cain who already had on his pants on, and such nice pants they were, was shrugging into his shirt. He buttoned the bottom three buttons then turned to her with a rueful smirk on his lips. "What do you propose I do about this?" He indicated the missing buttons.
She crossed her arms and propped her chin on them. "I think you should take it back off and then we could stay naked for another week."
He snorted shaking his head. "DG…" She simply raised her eyebrow at him. "Could you please fix this?"
She sighed unhappily but nodded. He stepped over to the bed and crouched down in front of her. She uncurled one of her arms and let her light flash as she cast a spell to replace the missing buttons. Lips twitching he finished buttoning up the shirt before reaching out to run his thumb over her bottom lip. "Are you pouting, Darlin?"
She glared up at him mumbling around his thumb. "Yes."
He chuckled kissing her forehead. "Come on, DG. We have to get out of this house eventually-" She made an annoyed noise of protest but he pressed on his eyes laughing at her. "and we have to go talk to your parents." She opened her mouth to protest this plan. Because that was a bad plan in her opinion. But he kissed her swiftly again. "Then if you want we can leave."
She pulled back looking at him utterly baffled. "What?" No freaking way had he just said that.
"We don't have to stay at the palace if you don't want to. I certainly don't want you to be unhappy and considering the last time you talked to your parents you nearly blew them up. I didn't think you'd want to live there."
She shook her head propping herself up on her elbows. "But…where…we could really leave? Won't they try to stop us?"
He shrugged. "They could try. Not much they could do at this point. In fact if they want your help now they'll have to ask instead of simply assuming your going to fix everything for them."
This wasn't getting any clearer. "Huh?"
Standing he walked over to the wardrobe and tugged her dress from the closet. "Cloths on." He tossed her the wedding dress and she caught it automatically sitting up. She was staring at him holding it in her lap waiting for him to explain himself. He pointed at the silky material. "Back in the dress. I can't have a conversation with you when you're like that."
She giggled and stood up reluctantly putting the dress on. "Leave it to you to blackmail me back into my cloths." Once the dress flowed back over her body she dragged her shoes out from under the bed and slipped her feet in them before putting her hands on her hips and looking up at the smirking Tin Man. "Ok, spill."
He sighed, smirk disappearing, running his hand through his hair. "I didn't think your name would change, but since it did-" He shrugged. "Well, it doesn't matter now. I should have guessed this would happen as soon as you told me Jeb was family to you."
She continued to stare at him blankly. He stared back at her. She let out a frustrated breath. "Again with the what?"
He suddenly seemed to realize she was completely out of the loop. "DG… you're not a Gale anymore. When the magic bound us in the marriage contract it made you part of my family. I assume you must feel more at home with me and Jeb than you do with your parents. That's not all that amazing considering you told me you don't remember them."
Comprehension dawned. "So that's why Az sounded so shocked?"
He nodded pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I've never heard tell of a royal having their name change, no matter how attached they were to their consort." He nuzzled his face against her neck. "Always full of surprises, Sweetheart." She could hear the pride in his voice despite the fact that it was muffled against her skin.
"You said they couldn't make me stay?"
She felt him smile at the question. "Nope, part of my family, not theirs. And since you're my wife it makes us equals. Between that and your birthright it means you don't answer to anyone, although I would appreciate a little more consideration about your plans in the future." He nipped her neck gently and she got the hint.
"Ok, ok, I promise! No more going through with crazy plans without talking to you first."
"Good." He straightened. "Now can you get us to the palace? We can leave the key here for the innkeeper to find."
She nodded tossing an arm around his neck firmly. "Ready?" He grunted in affirmative. She let her light out and focused on the breakfast room she had found her parents in the week before and with a firm tug shimmered them into the Central City Palace.
They landed somewhat off balance and Cain tightened his grip on her hips with one arm catching the side of the table with the other. He managed to keep them upright although they staggered about like two drunks for several seconds as their legs tangled together. As soon as they got their equilibrium back she started to giggle figuring she needed to work on her landings. But to be fair the last time she'd done this she had been shot and carrying an extra person plus a hitchhiker.
She could feel Wyatt let out a soft rumbling laugh right before she heard an awkward cough behind them. Cain spun them around his free hand flying to his holster on instinct. Her head whipped around and her eyes landed on Glitch who was obviously trying to get their attention. He twitched his head to the right and her eyes flashed to her openly glaring parents and behind them to her beaming sister. This was going to be fun for sure. She felt the Tin Man relax his hold on the gun although he didn't let her go.
She gave her parents a strained smile. Then she figured what the hell? "Hey there! How was your week?"
Her mother's jaw twitched but she could have sworn Ahamo's eyes flashed with amusement for the briefest moment. She felt Cain sigh behind her and knowing him he had probably just rolled his eyes at her. Ahamo leaned back in his chair his face impassive. "I have to say our week was stressful. We spent it secretly ordering the royal guard to scour the countryside looking for our youngest daughter. I rather think it was a fruitless endeavor considering the man in charge of the search is your bodyguards son." He waved his hand at Cain. "Would you care to tell us where you were?"
Well if he was going to be nice about it she figured she could tell him. "On our honeymoon."
Ahamo made a strange sound, as if he had totally expected this answer, that was nearly covered by the scrapping of her mother's chair against the stone floor. When Lavender started talking she was no longer in mom mode. She was the Queen of the O.Z. "This is completely unacceptable, DorothyGale! I told you our family could not afford this kind of marriage right now! Do you have any idea what you've done?"
She raised her chin meeting her mother's purple eyes unflinchingly. "I know exactly what I did." Her calm tone only seemed to spark the Queen's rage higher. "And as I told you before, you don't get to tell me how I'm going to live my life."
Her mother opened her mouth and to volley back but Cain stepped in knocking the wind out of her sails entirely. "She's not part of your family anymore at any rate so any political crisis you were worried about shouldn't be a problem anymore."
Amethyst eyes flashed up to icy blue ones. "Of course she is part of this family! A impulsive mistake is not going to get her banished from our mists!"
Cain's lips quirked up at the sides at her mother's tone. He was used to dealing with her on a regular basis so what her mother thought she was going to accomplish by trying to intimidate him was beyond her. "No." His arm tightened around her possessively and for the first time ever she saw uncertainty in her mother's eyes. "She's part of my family now. Her name changed at the ceremony."
Silence fell around the room; Lavender's face was expressionless. Ahamo was obviously taken aback, "Her name changed?" His light blue eyes darted to his wife's face. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end suddenly and her hands pulsed with magic on their own accord. She felt a powerful and consuming urge to throw up a shield between her new husband and her mother.
The Queen and the Tin Man were suddenly having the stare off of the century. The Queen was pissed. "DG is a direct decedent of the Grey Gale, she is my daughter, and magically more powerful than you. It is impossible that her name changed at her marriage ceremony, no matter how foolish the match may have been."
Cain snorted at her mother. "I can see why she transitioned to my family so easily. You don't know your daughter at all. If you did this wouldn't be nearly as big an upset. If anything DG is one surprise after another." His eyes flicked to Azkadilla. "If I were you I'd get closer to that one before she marries or you might have a bigger problem on your hands than you thought. The O.Z.'s never been ruled by someone who wasn't a Gale. I wonder what that would tell your people."
She was impressed by Cain's unflinching assessment of the situation. She hadn't even begun to think of the political ramifications of her name change. Apparently Cain had and her mother, despite her anger, was listening to him. Something shifted between them quietly and Ahamo stood up. "I hadn't thought you knew much about politics, Cain."
The Tin Man's eyes flicked to her father. "I did manage to pick a few things up while working for the Mystic Man. Not that it takes a great deal of foresight to see what could happen if Azkadilla's name changes as well. You thought the people might be worried about her taking the throne after the witch left her? How do you think they would feel if she changed houses on you as well? Could throw the whole Zone into civil war. Look damned bad if you lost both girls." His eyes sparked. "Might be considered strange that your youngest is an odd ball-" She made a strangled noise at him but he ignored her. "but it'll be acceptable." He paused as her father shifted uneasily and her mother's lips compressed. "Won't be acceptable if you loose the heir apparent."
Ahamo sighed in frustration as he nodded at Cain's assessment of the situation. Her mother remained silent and still as a statue. This was really terribly awkward. She always thought getting married was supposed to be this great thing that everyone was supposed to be happy about. No one had even congratulated them! They were talking about politics, or in Az and Glitch's case, trying to be invisible. This sucked and suddenly all she wanted to do was leave and tell Momster and Popsicle what had happened. They would at least be excited about it, and knowing Momster she'd probably throw them a party. While she was thinking about this the conversation had continued on around her, apparently Glitch had decided to speak up on their behalf. He must have been doing a pretty good job too because they were no longer glaring. But she didn't care all the fun had run out of her.
She twined her fingers with Cain's and let her light flash into him so fast no one else noticed. She sent him a strong picture of Milltown and she felt him twitch and look down at her. She gave him a one-shouldered shrug and looked longingly at the door. He followed her line of sight then glanced at her, then to her parents. She rolled her eyes at the royal couple who were now in a losing verbal battle with Glitch. Fine then. The Tin Man tried to stop her but he wasn't fast enough. He shouldn't have told her she didn't have to answer to anyone anymore. Seriously… what had he been thinking? "Enough!"
Everyone turned to look at her and she knew Cain was torn between amusement and annoyance. She stared at her parents. "What is wrong with you? I just got married and I don't even get a 'be happy' or 'I'm so glad you married the man you love?'" She felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes and Ahamo had the decency to look ashamed.
"Spitfire, now don't cry…"
She huffed at him. "What am I six? I'm not going to cry!" She pressed her lips together. "We're leaving. I can't deal with you two right now."
Wyatt pressed his hand to the small of her back and pushed her toward the door tilting his head toward her parents. "We'll be back in a few weeks to talk." He had her out of the room in so fast she wondered if he had developed magic powers too. "Let's grab our packs and change, then we can leave." She felt a sudden and immense surge of gratitude toward the man. She knew she'd married him for a reason.
They weaved their way through the halls and stairways of the palace and nearly jogged into the suite of rooms they had been given over a week ago. At least no one had messed with their stuff while they'd been away. Closing the bedroom door behind them Cain surveyed the room with his eyes while she darted toward the packs. Slipping out of her shoes she opened the bag and tore out a pair of pants and a shirt. Slipping out of her dress she set it on the bed and snatching a pair of underwear she dressed quickly as the Tin Man grabbed his own pack.
While he was getting dressed in his traveling cloths she dug out the comb he had made her and put her hair up with it. She closed her pack as he was adjusting his holster. "I want to stop at the Papay Fields if we're going to Milltown."
He grunted flashing a smile at her. Placing his fedora on his head he slung the bag over his shoulder and caught her wrist dragging her to him. He pulled her into a hug and she relaxed against him. "Don't look so sad, Sweetheart, doesn't suit you at all. They'll calm down by the time we're back."
"Yeah and pigs'll fly."
"What?" He was completely bemused by that Otherside saying. She tilted her head back and grinned at him.
"Mean's it's not going to happen. But you're right." She stood on her toes and kissed the side of his mouth. "Let's go find another adventure, Tin Man."
"Yes, that's all we need, another adventure." He muttered sarcastically.
She poked his chest. "You are so right! How do you come up with these amazing ideas?"
He sighed melodramatically. "You are nothing but trouble you know that?"
"Duh. And now you're stuck with me forever." She said in a singsong voice.
He opened his mouth to reply when they heard a knock on the door. His jaw snapped shut and his eyebrow shot up when Ahamo started talking on the other side of the door. "DG, please, I'd like to talk to you before you leave."
She shot Wyatt a confused look before disentangling herself from him and moving hesitantly toward the door. Apparently getting out quietly wasn't an option. Opening it she came face to face with her father. "What did you want to talk about, Ahamo?"
She saw a flash of desperation in his eyes but his voice was even. "Can I come in?"
Nodding she stepped aside and he walked into the room. Cain had set his pack down and was waiting silently for the Consort to say what he'd come to say. "Spitfire, I know you're upset with us-" She opened her mouth but he held up his hand. "I don't blame you." Oh shut up. "Heaven knows your mother and I were anything but prudent when we got married. We just didn't have to deal with any family members butting into it."
Was this his way of giving his blessing? She felt relief flood through her and with a watery laugh she hurled herself at him. Letting out a startled grunt her father managed to wrap his arms around her as he staggered backward. His arms tightened and she felt him release a trembling breath as she nearly squeezed the air from his lungs. It occurred to her somewhat belatedly that this was only the third time she had voluntarily touched him since she had gotten back to the Outer Zone. He patted her back and kissed the top of her head before he let her go. Holding her arms as they separated he gave her a genuine smile. "I'll talk your mother down by the time you get back."
"Thank you." It came out choked and more full of emotion than she would have liked. And she wasn't just thanking him for talking to Lavender either. Judging from the emotions flickering across his face he knew it.
He gave her a roguish grin and jerked his thumb to the door. "Off you go before your mother finds you. I'll tell your sister you said goodbye." He turned to Cain. "Take care of her, Tin Man, or you'll have me to deal with."
Wyatt nodded sharply and tossing his duster over his shoulders headed toward the door holding out his hand to her. "Ahamo."
Taking his hand she started to the door twisting so she could walk backward. "Bye, Dad." Her last view of her father was a good one. He had a happy smile on his face as if Christmas had come early for him.
"That should make things easier." Cain commented.
She hummed merrily holding onto his hand more firmly. "Thank Ozma for carnie parents. Really levels out the whole royal pomp thing."
He looked over at her as they walked down toward the barracks, she assumed they were going to pick up Raw and talk to Jeb. "Should I even ask what a carnie is?"
She giggled. "It's a term for people who work for a traveling circus on the Otherside. Actually it's kinda derogatory, people think it's bad to live like gypsies for some reason. Never could work that one out."
His steps faltered. "Your father was in a circus?" He was completely incredulous.
She grinned. "How do you think he got that balloon he arrived in?"
"I thought those were common on the Otherside."
"Yeah, ok, you think that, Tin Man."
"I see why you're so strange now. You can't help it, between the magic and the wanderlust its no wonder…Can you juggle? It must be in your blood."
"Hey! Since when is the real magic not cool enough?" He smirked at her. " Besides that seems unfair considering you're the one that wants to go on another adventure!"
"I never said that! Don't twist my words!"
"You say that and yet here we are getting ready to head right back out into the woods."
Cain began to grumble under his breath. "It's settled I either need more bullets or more patience. Don't know what I'm going to do with you. Because eventually something is going to eat you."
"Oh nonsense. It's far more likely that it'll eat you first giving me time to run away."
He used his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I'd love to disagree with you but I'll be twice damned if that isn't true."
Leaning into him she took his hand away from his face and stopped their progress. Looking up into his blue eyes she smiled. "Don't worry, Wyatt, I'd never let anything do more then chew on you a little bit. I love you to much."
He pressed his forehead to hers the brim of his hat brushing her hair. His lips quirked up in a smile while his eyes twinkled in delight. "That's very thoughtful of you, Darlin. Especially considering whatever would be chewing on me would have been after you to begin with." She snickered wrapping her arms around his neck. "But I suppose I don't mind being chewed on if it means you get to run away, or worse, make yet another new friend." He kissed her then and she melted against him. Pulling back he kissed her nose and cheeks tightening his arms around her. "Now let's go before I change my mind about that adventure."
She laughed enthusiastically wriggling out of his grasp and capturing his hands in her dragging him down the hall. "Awesome! Let's get Raw! Won't be any fun without him!"
He shook his head but let her drag him toward the barracks. "Love, you're going to be the death of me." She gave him a thousand watt smile loving every minute she got to harass her Tin Man. This was going to be such fun!
Author Note: Hope you all like it! I had fun with this one. And other than asking/begging/loving you all forever for reviewing I thought I would ask for your opinion on something. I want to start another story but I've gotten so many requests for a sequel to Path Less Chosen that I'm considering it. Sooooo since you guys are my readers, do you want a brand new story or a sequel? Let me know either on the review board or through e-mail. Hope to hear from ya so I can start soon!