dg_cain | Whispers of the Heart-Chapter 5: Journey Into the Unknown

Here’s the next chapter!
Sorry it took me so long, I kinda hit a couple of snag’s along the way.
Hope that you like it!

Title: Whispers of the Heart
Author: nadeshiko1
Characters/Pairings: DG/Cain, Glitch/Az, multiple Tin Man characters, multiple OCs.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings/Spoilers: Tin man, all three parts. L. Frank Braum's Oz books.
Summary: The Eclipse is over, but the O.Z. needs to heal. DG & Az can only do that by finding its missing guardians before evil tries to destroy the land once more.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Just playing in the Tin Man sandbox.
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Chapter 5: Departure Into the Unknown
The two sisters giggled and laughed as they ran down the hall as if they were children again. They were so wrapped up in themselves, DG, who was in front, didn’t watch what was in front of her as she and Az rounded the corner. One minute she was laughing and running as she turned to the next hall, the next she smacked right into someone.

She would have fallen had it not been for the hand that grabbed her arm and held her upright. DG looked up with an apology on her lips and stopped when her eyes met that of Wyatt Cain.

“You alright, Princess?” asked Cain, concern written in his eyes.

“I’m fine,” said DG. She then realized she was hanging onto the lapels of his duster and he had a gentle but firm hold of her waist. Feeling a pinkish-red tint gracing her cheeks, she asked, “What are you down doing here?”

Cain’s brow furrowed in confusion. “‘What am I doing down here?’ What are you doing down here? You should be getting ready to leave, not running around the palace like a loon.”

“Mr. Cain.” At Az’s voice, DG dropped her hands from Cain’s duster and Cain dropped his hands from DG’s waist and they both looked at her. Both of them had forgotten that Az was there.

Az took a tentative step in their direction. “I don’t think that you’ll believe us if we told you.”

After what happened to him last night, Cain would believe anything. “Try me.”

DG raised her eyebrows at her sister, as if to ask, Is this a good idea? Az just shrugged her shoulders slightly as if to say, Fine by me.

DG turned to Cain and took a deep breath. Here goes…”Leora and Hadrian visited us in our dreams last night.”

Cain’s eyes widened a little, but it wasn’t in surprise. “What’d they tell you?”

DG was surprised to see that he didn’t think that she and Az were crazy and needed to be sent to the loony bin or have a very good shrink. Then again, Althea had raised Cain through his teen years. Who knew what she’d shown him.

Az stepped up beside DG. “That there’s a cure for what ails me, Mr. Cain. They showed us a secret passageway to a cellar where it’s being held. Come and we’ll show you.”

Az led the way down the hall as Cain and DG followed behind. No one spoke as they walked through the halls. Az finally stopped in front of a set of double doors. One door was decorated with a carving of one of the suns rising on the surface of a body of water with clouds in the sky. The other door had one of the moons rising behind mountains with stars in the sky. Each sister stood on one side of the doors, Az with the moon and DG with the sun. They each took a doorknob, turned it, and pushed the doors open.

Inside was the plush sitting room Az and DG had passed through to get to Leora and Hadrian’s office. Across from them was a set of double doors, no doubt leading to Leora and Hadrian’s bedchamber. The furniture and fixtures were covered with white sheets. A thin layer of dust covered the surfaces telling anyone who looked inside that this room hadn’t been used since Finaqua had been brought back to life.

Az and DG went straight for the office doors and pulled them open. Just like the sitting room, the office furniture was covered with white sheets and dust. The sisters walked to the bookshelf behind the desk and pulled the sheet hanging from the top.

As DG laid the sheet on the desk, Az searched for the book. Smiling in triumph, she pulled the “Grimm’s Fairy Tails” from its shelf. The bookshelf gave an audible “click” and opened an inch or two. DG tried pulling the bookcase forward, but after years of not being used, the case wouldn’t budge.

Suddenly, she felt Cain’s hand on her back. “Let me,” his voice said in her ear.

DG stepped to the side as Cain stepped in. He griped the edge of the bookcase and gave it a firm pull. The hinges groaned as they were made to move, but the bookcase swung forward. As it opened, they were met with moist air and darkness.

Az created a glowing orb in her hand and started down the stone staircase. DG and Cain followed behind her with DG’s own glowing orb. After a few steps into the dark cellar, DG noticed that Cain’s breathing had become shallow. She cast her eyes to him to see that his body was very tense and was sweating, even in the dim light. Why was he acting this way?

Then, realization hit her like a ton of bricks and she could’ve kicked herself for forgetting that fact about him. The man spent eight years in an Iron Maiden, so it was no surprise that he’d suffer from claustrophobia. Even while being in the Black Tower to rescue her and Raw and then to stop the Sun Seeder, he’d been so focused on his mission that it hadn’t affected him. Even while being in the Witch’s cave, he’d been alright, being near the entrance with plenty of light and air.

DG herself had suffered from claustrophobia for awhile. Her time in the green marble coffin in her ancestor’s crypt had been very short, but DG had been extremely frightened. With no way to get out plus the fact that she was losing air rather fast, DG felt as if she was going to actually die. Those first few days in the Tower after the eclipse, with its dark corridors and tight spaces, and even in her rooms in Finaqua, she’d felt as if she’d never get enough air. She couldn’t sleep through the night without waking up in a panic attack from lack of air. To combat those feelings, she spent plenty of time outside with its fresh air and wide open spaces until the feelings passed. She knew exactly how Cain was feeling at the moment.

Knowing that he needed someone to provide him with some sort of stability to right himself, DG took his hand in hers. Cain immediately stopped going down the steps at her action and looked at her. DG gave him a small smile and ran her thumb over his knuckles. His eyes searched hers for a moment. He then gave her a small smile back, laced his fingers with hers, and squeezed her hand. They then continued down the stairs.

When they reached the cellar, they saw that Az had put the orb on the desk and was now searching for the key to the potion cabinet. They watched on as she found the key, unlocked the cabinet above the mantle, and took out the potion.

DG smiled at the happiness and relief on her sister’s face. Now all we have to do is convince Mother.

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After both girls got dressed in their travel clothes, they went with Cain in search of their parents. They found Lavender and Ahamo along with Raw, Glitch, Jeb, and Tutor in the dining hall having breakfast. After telling the Queen and the Prince Consort about the dream and the potion, the Queen’s form immediately became stiffened. She narrowed her eyes at the potion bottle in Az’s hands, deciding whether or not it was safe for consumption.

Cain then decided to step in. “Ma’am?” The Queen’s eyes went immediately from the bottle to Cain’s. “If it’s any consolation, your daughters weren’t the only ones visited by the guardians in their dreams.”

Lavender’s posture relaxed a little and she sat back in the plush chair. “Please elaborate, Mr. Cain.”

“Althea visited me last night.” DG’s eyes widened at this information and Jeb’s attention was now on his father alone at the mention of his grandmother.

“As you know, ma’am, Althea is my foster mother.” The Queen nodded in understanding, but Az, Raw, and Glitch looked at him in surprise.

Cain swallowed before continuing. “She came to me and warned me that the White Wizard has released Braxus.”

Lavender gasped at his words and took a hold of her husband’s hand. Az gave a small gasp of fright and covered her mouth with her hand.

Cain ignored their reactions. "She also told me that he’s at the Northern Island palace, watching her prison and waiting for us to arrive. I don’t think this to be a trick of the Wizard’s. I doubt that he or the Witch knew about Althea’s relationship with Jeb and me.”

“No, Mr. Cain, she didn’t know.” Cain turned to see Az looking at him.

She gave him a sad smile. “She just thought you were a Tin Man that she favored along with others; never her son.”

Az then turned to her mother. “Mother, please let me use this. The Witch never knew about the cellar, otherwise she’d have searched it when she burned Finaqua down long ago and destroyed everything in there. I felt nothing evil from Leora or Hadrian and neither did DG.”

The Queen’s eyes softened as she listened to her daughter’s words; crying to be released from the Witch’s hold over her. She smiled at her eldest. “If this potion can heals you, then by all means use it.”

Az smiled, walked forward to the table, and poured herself a glass of water from the glass pitcher into the glass goblets there. She pulled the stopper from the potion vile and poured a drop of the elixir into the glass. The drop spread until the glass a translucent white color. Az picked up the goblet, took a deep breath, and drank the whole thing in one sitting.

DG waited with baited breath as her sister took a shaky breath and set the glass on the table. She gave DG a weak smile and DG smiled back. It worked! She’s okay!

Then, Az clutched her chest and cried out in pain as she slumped to the floor. Luckily, Glitch got to her side quick enough to ease her to the floor.

Lavender, Ahamo, and DG were at her side in an instant. DG felt tears well up in her eyes and then fall down her cheeks. She had allowed her sister to drink the elixir without a thought to the consequences if it was actually harmful rather than helpful.

Suddenly, Az’s body began to glow with white light. It then dimmed until it was just where her heart was. Then several, small orbs of light shot out of her body and she stopped glowing. The orbs began to disappear as fast as they appeared until only two were left.

They touched the ground and began to take human form. The first was the Mystic Man. Now this wasn’t the Mystic Man who was a broken old man recovering from the effects of the vapors that the Witch had killed. This Mystic Man was at the prime of his life. He was elderly, but he had a vibrancy in him that could put the most fit and youngest man to shame. All of his scars and deformities from the Witch torturing him were gone and both of his hands were whole. He was dressed smartly in his stately robes worn in the presence of the Queen with his cane at his side.

The other orb of light gave the projected image of a child. DG gave a small gasp. It was her, at the same age when Az had killed her when she was little.

DG stood slowly and just stared in shock of the presence of her younger self. She figured that the Witch had used up her life-force and she’d never be able to get it back along with her memories of her childhood.

The younger DG just smiled and closed her eyes. She transformed back into the orb of light and immediately shot off to DG, landing on her chest. As her mind, body, and soul absorbed the orb, hundreds of thousands of senses, memories, and feelings hit her all at once. The sudden impact forced her backwards and she would’ve fallen if Cain hadn’t been by her side. With one arm around her waist and the other her hand, he lowered her to the floor.

To DG, it was as if the sun had risen and chased away the fog surrounding her memories. She now saw them with crystal clear clarity, as if they had happened only moments ago instead of annuls. She breathed deeply as her mind sorted through the chaos of her past to bring her back to the present.

After a few moments, the assault lifted and she could see clearly again. It was then she also realized that Cain’s arm was wrapped around her waist and his chest against her back.

“You alright, Kiddo?” His gruff voice soft and concerned as he spoke through her hair.

She twisted so that she could look at him only to see his silver-blue eyes filled with concern for her. “I’m okay; just a little dizzy.”

Cain nodded and then looked at the projection of the Mystic Man behind them. DG followed his gaze and waited for the Mystic Man to make the first move. He obviously was there for a reason since he hadn’t disappeared along with the other orbs.

The Mystic Man took a step towards them and bowed. “I must say that a hearty ‘congratulations’ are in order, ladies.” His voice was also stronger and richer than before; almost ethereal sounding.

DG smiled at his words. She then heard sniffling and turned to see her sister trying to hold back her tears. DG grasped her sister’s hand and held on tightly.

The Mystic Man smiled at Az and DG. “My essence being here before you must mean only one thing: the guardians of the OZ have reached out to you.” He sighed and his smile turned into a worried frown. “You have a long and arduous journey ahead of you and you must take extreme caution. The creatures that you will most likely meet are to be handled with uttermost caution. Good luck to all of you and may the Ancients smile upon you always.”

And with that he disappeared in a flurry of lights.

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Within a coupe of hours, the palace servants had six horses saddled up and ready for departure. With Az’s improved condition and time being of the essence, there was no need for the wagon.

Az and DG embraced their parents as they did when they were reunited after the eclipse. Each held the other tightly, not wanting to let go.

After a few moments, Az and DG gave their parents one least squeeze before letting go. Lavender turned to her daughters and gave them a long, hard stare. “Now, both of you watch out for each other and, for Ozma’s sake, please be careful.”

DG then remembered her promise to Cain and she cast her eyes in his direction. He was standing next to the horses talking with Jeb, Raw, and Glitch, now doubt discussing the route of their journey and the protection of her and her sister.

Suddenly, Cain’s eyes met hers. She quickly looked back at her mother and grasped her hand. “Don’t worry, mother.” Cain’s eyes still on her as she spoke. “Az and I’ll look out for each other, no matter what.”

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Tutor came bounding out and began barking madly near DG’s feet. Cain gave the shape shifter a hard look. “Oh no, not this time, Pooch. You are staying here.”

“I’m afraid that’s out of the question, Mr. Cain.” Cain looked back up at the Queen. “I need Tutor to be with my girls as they travel. Their magical education is more important now more than ever.”

DG gave an exasperated sigh. Despite loving her mother, DG was getting really frustrated of her overprotective nature these last couple of months. “Mother, what am I going to learn in two days or more that’s gonna help Az and me now? No offense to Toto, but I’m gonna be a little too freaked out by the impending doom of running into a creature straight out of my nightmares to be learning any kind of magic.”

The Queen just gave DG a kind smile. “I understand DG, but I'll feel better if Tutor went along with you.”

DG closed her eyes and hung her head in defeat. There was just no arguing with her mother when she put her mind to something. “Fine,” she breathed out as she headed to her horse.

Lavender and Ahamo watched as their daughters mounted their horses along with the others and then ride out of the courtyard, Tutor running alongside DG’s horse. Lavender grasped her husband’s hand. “Do you think that they’ll be alright?”

“As long as they stay together, I’m sure they’ll be alright.” Ahamo gave his wife a small smile. “Besides, Althea has always been protective of the girls since they were born. I’m sure she’ll not let anything happen to them.”

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The Central City penitentiary was actually a whole lot cleaner than the Black Tower had ever been. The cells were a little on the small side but the food was good and there was actually a bed with bedding in the cell. The only downside was that the place was full of Longcoats.

While most of the Viewer clan head back to the Western Plains to find homes for themselves, others had stayed behind in Central City to help with the clearing process. The clearing process was Viewers looking into the minds of each and every Longcoat to see if they were trustworthy to be released back into Ozian society. Many of the Longcoats had been forced to join at the age of seventeen or had joined so that their families’ lives had been spared. Those men that were deemed innocent enough were to be released and find their way back to their homes and families or even join the Royal Militia.

Other men joined the witch’s army for power and prestige or to cure their bloodthirsty hunger. Those that were deemed harmless were to be sent to work camps to help rebuild parts of the OZ like libraries, schools, dams, etc. Those that were deemed too dangerous were to be kept locked up until further trial for their crimes, as they were the ones that carried out many of the war crimes committed over the annuls.

The only problem with this was time and resources. The Viewers that stayed behind were dutiful in their job, but it was exhausting work. They had to rest every other day, less their gift wouldn’t be so spot on to see what they needed to. The warden received word that a group of Viewers would be at the prison in a week or so, and that gave him some relief. He knew and understood that the Viewers sight was draining for them and sometimes even excruciatingly for them to endure almost every day.

What the warden refused to do was allow the Viewers to see into the minds of those in the upper most ranks of the witch’s army. Until further notice, with permission from the Queen and the Law Council, the warden kept each man in isolation and had anything done with them, food delivery, walks outside their cell, meetings with the warden, trials with the Law Council, etc., done with an armed guard.

Adrian Zero was such a person inside such a cell. Because of his high rank in the witch’s army and the spell protecting his mind, no Viewer would touch him. It would take a person of great magical power to unveil the darkness that was rooted in his mind. The only people able to do that were the Witch of the Dark herself, Leora of the Light, or Hadrian of the Dark. Any of the women of the Gale line could do it with their magic, but Queen Lavender gave most of her power to Princess DG, who was still trying to understand and control her magic and Az was in no position of doing magic in her weakened condition. So, Zero was made to wait until time for his trial.

Zero looked up as his cell was opened and a guard came in the dim light. Zero looked up at him confused. It wasn’t time for his daily stroll through the prison grounds nor was it time for him to meet with the judicial council and he never had visitors, ever. “What are you doing here?”

The guard said nothing for a moment and then began to convulse in pain. Then, the guard’s mouth opened in a silent scream as dark light came pouring out like vapors. Zero backed himself into a corner to get himself as far away as possible. He could only watch in horror as the light left the guard and he fell back into the entryway with a sickening thud.

The light swirled around in place, like a small tornado, and then began to take on the form of a man in dark robes. His gaunt skin, which had sickly yellow splotches all over it, was stretched across his face as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. What little hair he had began at the base of his neck and fell in long strands down his back which was lanky and oily. The hands protruding from the sleeves of his robes were rough with bumps and sores and were gnarled from age and misuse. His fingernails were long and yellow with cracks and chips at the end. His eyes were an intense shade of grey, like a storm after a sea. The thing that was off about him was that they were looking directly at Zero, with a predatory glint in them, like a wild animal after finding its prey after weeks of searching.

Zeros breathed deep, even breaths to bring his racing heart under control. “Who…who are you?”

The man cackled at Zero and he cringed at the tone. It was a most foreboding cackle, like the one the Sorceress used before sucking out the souls of her victims. The man grasped the top of his robe and pulled it father down to reveal his upper chest area.

In the dim light and the distance between them, Zero had to squint to see what he was being shown. His jaw dropped and he tried to push himself even further into the wall, wishing he’d never even asked the question.

Along the man's upper chest, just beneath his collarbone were tattoos in the picture language of the Ancients. But these were not just any runes. Zero’d seen these runes before on the chest of the Sorceress; her precious mobats had always appeared from those runes when she called for them.

The man let go of his robe and crouched low before Zero. “My love, Stellania, had once been your Sorceress. I am her other half, Lucian, the Wizard of the Light. And just like my lover, I am in need of your services.”

The wizard’s voice was like his cackle, dark and foreboding and full of dark intentions. Zero then came to the realization that the proclamations of the Princess Azkadellia being possessed by the Witch of the Dark were true.

However, Zero paid no heed to the utter darkness seeping from this wizard’s proposal. His greed immediately overcame him as he heard the phrase “your services”.

Zero licked his lips, almost afraid to believe that this step towards power was that easy. “What services do you need from me, Sorcerer?”

The wizard smiled, showing off his yellow and black decaying teeth. He ventured even closer to Zero, blocking his escape. “Why, the same services that Azkadellia provided my Stellania, of course.”

Zero’s eyes then widened in realization and he began to shake his head. “No…I won’t let you!!”

Lucian gave a dark humorless laugh as he slowly, but surely kept advancing. Unlike his lover, who liked to pounce on her prey, Lucian loved to prolong their screams and begging for mercy before consuming them. “I’m very happy to tell you that you don’t have a say, nor a choice, in the matter. You are mine now!”

Zero quickly bolted from his spot in the cell and made a mad dash for the entrance. The guards may shoot him for trying to run, but he’d rather die than be someone else’s puppet.

He had nearly made it when he was pulled back. The wizard may have been old, ancient even, but he was stronger than any soldier that Zero had ever come across. Lucian pulled Zero in front of him and forced him to kneel before him. Lucian put his face right in front of Zero and breathed in deep. With his gnarled hands, he forced Zero to open his.

As he opened his mouth and let out his breath, dark light poured from his mouth into Zero’s. Zero tried to pull the wizard’s hands from his face, but to no avail. He could do nothing but watch as the wizard poured his essence into him.

The runes on the wizard’s chest glowed and tiny mobats flew from his chest and onto Zero’s. Soon enough, even the wizard’s body turned into the dark light and went into Zero’s mouth. Zero could feel the wizard taking over, going even unto the most secret and darkest places of his mind and seeping in with his dark light.

Overwhelmed by it all, Zero’s eyes closed and he fell back onto the floor with a sickening thud.

For a moment…nothing happened.

Then, as if pulled by some otherworldly force, Zero shot up to his feet. His eyes were still closed, though. He brought his hands to his face and ran them through his hair.

About halfway through, he stopped and opened his eyes. They were still that stormy-grey color, but now there was something else there. An utterly predatory look that told anyone that was paying very close attention, said that Zero was no longer in control.

Lucian, fully in control of Zero’s body, breathed deeply with his body’s healthy lungs. “Aahh…That feels wonderful!”

Dark light surrounded Zero like a funnel and when it died down, he was gone.

It wouldn’t be for another hour that the changing of the guard would take place and discover his predecessor lying halfway in Zero’s cell, dead. By the time the bells rang out in Central City, the city put on lockdown, and notice sent off to Finaqua to warn the Royal Family, it would be too late.

Adrian Zero was gone and not coming back.

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