Tin Man fanfic: When Wonderland Shatters (1/14)
Title: When Wonderland Shatters
Author: Surreal
Characters/Pairings: Glitch/Cain, DG, Raw, Azkadellia, Queen, Ahamo, others
Genre: Adventure, romance
Rating: NC-17 (violence, m/m slash)
Disclaimer: The characters and settings belong to L. Frank Baum and the creative minds behind Tin Man. I do not claim to own anything.
Summary: Of all the indicators that their beautiful kingdom had gone to hell, it was the most simple of gestures that told those watching the moment they all had been utterly screwed.
Author Notes: An extension of the drabble of the same title written for avari_maethor, found here: When Wonderland Shatters. This will make way more sense if you've already read the drabble!
Structured using the Fourteen Phrase prompt table on magic4mula, found IN THIS POST..
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01. As the crow flies
Princess Dorothy tugged at the slick ribbon tied around the waist of her dress, grimacing when she only succeeded in letting the material slip free of itself. Giving up and shoving the offending item up into her sleeve until such a time she could dispose of it, she walked with measured steps across the cold, dark marble floor.
Cain was seated just past the open entryway of the balcony, the very same ledge where she and her family had stood to watch the blessedly short eclipse. His back was against the wall, legs pulled up to his chest and arms draped lazily across his knees. Without the hat, his hair tended to glow strangely in the moonlight.
“What do you suppose is going to happen to him?” Cain asked in a deceptively casual tone.
DG didn’t need to ask who he meant. She gathered the hems of her green dress and slid down the wall to sit next to Cain, not caring if it was unladylike. Blowing out a breath, she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Couldn’t face the barely concealed disappointment and frustration that had plagued the officer for days. “You heard all the same things I did,” she reminded him. “Tutor thinks he’s a danger to himself now that he’s remembering more.”
“He’s never been a danger to himself and you know it as well as I do,” Cain snapped. “Your mother is convinced Glitch is a danger to the family since he remembered how to manipulate your magic. She thinks he won’t be able to control his influence.”
“You don’t think he is?” DG pushed in spite of her own feelings.
Cain’s jaw twitched and his eyes narrowed. “Even before this part of him came back, has Glitch ever given any indication that he would, could hurt you? Hurt any of us?”
“No,” DG shook her head firmly. An embarrassed smile had her turning away from Cain. “I just needed to hear someone else say it. It’s not that Mother thinks any less of him now; she’s just really worried about losing the fragile hold she has on the kingdom.”
“She treats him like an invalid, incapable of making competent decisions,” Cain argued. He watched as a flock of nocturnal birds flew past the three-quarter moons. “I’m thinking about asking him to go with me.”
DG should have been surprised at the seemingly abrupt shift of topic but wasn’t. She found herself frowning as she considered his words. “Go with you? Where are you going?” She had a suspicion but needed to hear it come out of his mouth.
Cain glanced at her but quickly looked away again. “Back east to the cabin,” he said simply. “What’s left of it. Need to see what I can salvage, clean up the place in case Jeb wants to use it someday.” Cain didn’t need to add that he could never go back to living there permanently himself. “Get rid of some garden art.” Meaning the iron suit.
“How far from here is it? I got all turned around the last time.”
“Around two days by horse, as the crow flies,” Cain answered, lifting an arm to point vaguely in the right direction.
Shifting to brush their shoulders together, DG turned to look at him hard. “How long?”
“Couple of months,” Cain shrugged. He looked back at her, unflinching. “Glitch needs some space. He’s been on his own for annuals, a good chunk of that outdoors and alone. We’ve only been here for a couple of weeks and already everyone is telling him what’s best, not even asking him how he feels about it. It’s not healthy.”
“I know, but this is his home, Cain! This is where he belongs, where he came from,” she threw her arm out as if to indicate the world around them. “Well, not here, here like the Tower, but here with us.”
“And if you want him to adapt to being a part of this family again, he’s going to need some time, some room to breathe,” Cain told her firmly. “He can come with me. You know I’ll keep him safe. He can take his notebooks, get his head together and sort out his control without making your mother nervous.”
DG exhaled through her nose, lips tightened. After a moment, she looked down at the balcony floor. “You talk to Glitch, see if he wants to go with you. I’ll go talk to Mother.”
They stood up together, DG using Cain’s arm to balance. Cain put his hand over hers for a moment, making her pause. “You know this is the best thing for him, if not for everyone.”
“I know,” DG gave him a weary smile. “It’s just a lot to get used to. Everything’s happened so fast and now this whole thing with Glitch has everyone jumpy.”
“The last thing we need is to make Glitch jumpy along with the rest of you,” Cain returned her smile with one of his own. “Who knows what could happen.”
*
Part 2