Chapter Two
Title: Life Would Be (2/?)
Author: Eleanor Ariail
Genre: Drama/Romance
Rating: PG
Summary: Glitch is adjusting to his new life, but still having some difficulties...
Notes: This chapter is dedicated to the men and women of law enforcement (my husband especially!)
Chapter 1 - Having a Brain
Months passed and the residents of Finaqua began to settle into a regular routine. The royal family would meet with their council every morning. There, they would plan and monitor the progress towards restoring the trust of the people and the health of the lands. The queen would often go on to sit in meetings throughout the day with various advisors and diplomats. Ahamo had returned to the Realm of the Unwanted, rallying the people there and promising protection and respect under the crown. The princesses spent most of their time studying the people and the law of the OZ, as one girl had been gone for years, and the other had been completely disregarding both.
Ambrose, as he was going by to the public, spent most of his day with other great minds, gathered together to rebuild the kingdom. He was proving to be an invaluable resource, always contributing in their meetings.
This day, however, he was relaxing outside with DG. They were walking along a garden path, when they came upon a net hammock overlooking an open field.
“Oh, we used to have a hammock when I was little,” DG pulled Glitch over to it. “Come on, there's room for two!”
“Alright, you get on that side, so we'll balance out,” Glitch said, always thinking ahead now.
Unfortunately, thinking about the right way to get in a hammock is often much easier than doing it. They laid down at the same time, and ended up rolling into the center, their bodies suddenly pressed flush together.
DG was the first to get over the shock of being nose to nose unexpectedly. Giggling, she wriggled away onto her back as he did the same. “Sorry about that, I remember it being a lot easier!”
He smiled back, “That's okay, at least we didn't end up on the ground.” He finished settling in, and rolled his head back to stare at the clouds. Their arms were just barely brushing together now.
They relaxed together in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. DG was looking across the field, watching someone in the distance grooming a horse. “It's a beautiful view,” she said.
“Yes, it is.” He had turned his head so he could see her lying next to him. She cut her eyes at him, second guessing his meaning. He merely smiled enigmatically.
Ever since they made up after his surgery, they had been spending most of their free time together. At first it was wonderful, just like old times, but now, DG wasn't sure what was happening. There were moments when she would have sworn he was flirting with her, but as soon as she tried to return the gesture, he seemed to close up and become distant.
Now her skin was burning where their hands brushed together, and she felt her heart jump into her throat when his littlest finger rubbed up over hers and hooked around it.
She gulped loudly, but didn't say anything about it, trying not to scare him off again. “Oh look, here comes Az.” The older princess was riding a beautiful pinto, her soft riding dress fluttering around her legs, and her hair pulled back in a simple braid.
Glitch sat up as she galloped by. “That's a nice horse.” He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “That horse looks familiar. Cain once had a horse. It saved his life.”
DG looked at him when she felt his hand go rigid. He was staring into space, his eyes twitching a little and his mouth in an open grin.
“What if a person could have a horse all over them? That could save lots of lives.”
“What?” DG was beginning to get concerned. It was sometimes hard to tell if Glitch was experiencing a moment of brilliance or mental failure. She suspected this was a little of both.
“But it would have to be flexible... I have to write this down!” With that, he jumped up out of the hammock, sending it rocking wildly. DG was promptly thrown off the other side and landed hard in the dirt.
Moaning and rubbing her sore places, she got up slowly to see Glitch running back to the palace. She made her way after him as quickly as she could, calling out for him to wait for her. After a mad dash to the door, she only saw the tails of his coat around corners as he hurried through the halls ahead of her, making his way to his office in the western most part of the palace. The pain in her hip finally grew too great for her to run, so she slowed down to a hobble until she got to his door.
Glitch was sitting in the floor, his back slumped against a wall, a closed notebook hanging limply from one hand. He looked heartbroken; his eyes were unfocused and his chin trembled. DG knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder, startling him out of his despair. He turned to her and said, “I forgot. It was a wonderful, important idea, and I've already forgotten it.”
Forgetting her own pain for a moment, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and sat next to him. “We'll work on it together. I'll help you remember,” she tried to encourage him.
“But it's not just this. It's been happening to me all the time lately.” He propped his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands. “I'm fine when I'm talking to other people, when I'm in meetings. It's only when I try to record ideas on my own that I'm having trouble.”
He began to gesture with his hands. “Every night, as I lay in bed trying to sleep, brilliant and powerful thoughts come to me, driving me to find a pen and notebook, but by the time I pick them up, my mind goes blank again. A few times I've been lucky, and could remember something the next day, but most of the time it's gone forever.” He glanced at DG, then looked away in shame.
DG just rubbed her hand over his back comfortingly. “Sounds like you just need a little help. How about you tell me what your thinking, and I can write it down?”
He looked up at her with a cautious hope. “You really think that will work?”
She smiled at him, “I don't see why not. You can talk about your thoughts just fine.”
“Are you sure you can keep up with me though?” He ducked his head bashfully, but grinned at her through his eyelashes.
DG laughed, happy to see her friend regaining his confidence. “Are you kidding? I was a waitress and a part-time college student before I came back here. I have an excellent shorthand.”
Glitch handed her the notebook and pen that he had dropped in the floor. “Well, let's get started. What was I saying when I came in here anyway?”
DG stood up and took the small book over to the desk. She got comfortable, then looked back at him. “You said something about horses, and how they saved Mr. Cain's life one time?”
“Of course! It was his son's toy horse. It caught the bullet when Zero shot him.” He began to pace around the room. “If we had something like that that could be worn over the body, at least covering the vital organs, something that could stop bullets.”
He stopped and stared at the wall, shaking his head. “But wood would never work on a large scale; it would shatter, and they couldn't move in it. No, we need something soft and flexible, but strong enough to absorb the impact of a bullet... Silk!!” He jumped straight up in the air as he shouted the last word. DG wrote furiously, keeping up with every word.
His eyes were wide and his hands were flying wildly through the air as he stalked around the room. “Woven together thickly, I think it could work! I'd have to do trials on it, test the bullet speeds, experiment with different plies, and thread counts, and weaving styles, maybe soak it in something first... This could change the world! All the tin men in the OZ could have one, soldiers too! No more scaring people like when Cain was shot. Of course, he fell out the window too, which made things a lot worse.” Glitch began wringing his hands.
“I was so frightened. I just knew he was dead, and what would we do then? How could a brainless fool and a timorous viewer be any help to you? And you!” He spun around on her, pointing briefly, then turning away again.
“You scare me to death too! You always have. But of course, now, it's worse. Because, now, every time I see you, all I can think of is how I want you, but I can't tell you that! I can't tell you how you make my mind spin, how you inspire me...”
DG heard a small 'tink' and stopped writing to look over at Glitch. He was resting his forehead against the window, gazing out forlornly, with the bottom stop of his zipper against the glass. “I can't help it though, every time I see you, I want to take you in my arms and kiss you, and more, but that's horrible and you would never want-”
He was cut off suddenly as she threw the notebook to the floor and stood up. He spun around, horrified, realizing the last few words he had spoken. DG walked up to the dumbfounded man with a determined look, took him by the shoulders, and kissed him. His mouth was frozen in a slight “o” of surprise, and his arms were limp by his side as he allowed her to push him back against the window.
She pulled back to look into his wide eyes and smiled a little. “You're right, you do have really good ideas,” she whispered next to his lips, “And I am absolutely certain that they will all work out.”