Consorts

By: SilverLunarStar

Part I- Engaged

Continuous Disclaimer: You know, I'm thinking of just writing an overall disclaimer on my profile, 'cause this is getting depressing. I, Eli, do hereby disclaim any rights to Tin Man. Bleh.

Author's Note: In honor of Mr. McDonough's birthday I bring you what originally started off as a one-shot idea, turned into a two-shot. I guess it could be a one-shot, but… XD Enjoy!

It's hard for a parent when they finally figure out their child's 'all grown up.' On the Otherside, this transition in life could mean moving out of their home and/or simply furthering their education by attending college. Sometimes it didn't even hit home until their child had a partner and/or married. It's even more difficult when one hadn't seen their child in over a decade. Suddenly, they're not the little boy or girl they were separated from, whether forcefully, willingly, or because they had no other choice.

Prince Consort Ahamo Gale was in such a state, twice over. His two little girls had grown up without him and his wife, Queen Lavender Gale. It made his heart ache that his oldest had to grow up with such a malignant essence within her and it brought tears to his eyes that his youngest grew up in the middle of nowhere, a place where she didn't really belong. Thanks to his baby girl, the one and only Dorothy Glinda Gale, he now had her and her older sister, Azkadellia Gale, back.

'Sort of,' he thought, wryly.

Azkadellia was still dealing with the trauma of having to live with such an evil taint for so long, even after a year, but with the help of her sister and, surprisingly, Ambrose 'Glitch' Ionson, she was slowly recuperating.

He didn't quite know how to feel about how much time Az spent with Glitch, as he now preferred to be called, but even with only half a brain, he knew Ambrose would never take advantage of her. Even if it ever crossed his mind, it would probably skip his half-brain almost immediately, although his ability to retain information was getting better and better as time went on.

He couldn't say the same for the one and only Wyatt Cain. He had known since he laid eyes on the man back in the Realm of the Unwanted that he would be the one to steal his little girl away from him.

Wyatt Cain, ex-Tin Man, DG's unofficial bodyguard, savior, and, now, fiancé.

Cain could feel eyes burn on the back of his head. He knew who it was. The same person who had been glaring daggers at him since the Outer Zone had accepted Lavender Gale as their Queen again and things had started to pick up. He had been a thorn on Ahamo Gale's side since the man finally realized there would be no separating him from DG.

The ex-Tin Man, of course, had had no idea what it would have meant in the long run. All he knew was that he had to protect DG, no matter what. He had already failed one too many times for his liking. One of those times, Ahamo had been in the middle of it. There was no forgiving that. Sure, he's her father, what if it hadn't been him? What if it had been someone else who had taken DG away from them in the Realm of the Unwanted? Cain shuddered at the thought.

He understood where part of Ahamo's aversion came from. He was sure if he had had a daughter, he wouldn't have liked the idea of her with a boy. As it was, he had a son and he was barely coming to terms with the fact that Jeb Cain was courting a young woman who was about a year younger than him. Another objection he knew the Prince Consort had was that he was several years older than DG. Again, he understood. However, he and DG had already been engaged for three months and she had decided she wanted a long engagement, which was fine with him. The O.Z. still needed to recover some and he didn't think the people were quite ready to see the Heir Apparent married to an ex-Tin Man. At least this way, certain individuals could still hope such an event wouldn't happen. Only he and DG knew better and Ahamo could keep holding his breath.

To be Continued

I don't know WHY many of my Tin Man stories don't have dialogue in them, but what can I say? The characters are a little shy. =P

I'll do my best to post the second part up tomorrow!

Lots of love,

~*Eli