A/N Just a tiny little thing inspired by reading far too much fanfiction than is really healthy.
Shall We Dance?
We've just been introduced,
I do not know you well.
But when the music started,
Something drew me to your side.
On a bright cloud of music shall we fly?
Shall we dance?
Shall we then say 'good night' and mean 'goodbye'?
Or, perchance when the last little star has left the sky,
Shall we still be together with our arms around each other,
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?
The morning was cold and DG could sense from beneath her eyelids that the blue light of a cold day would be filtering through the windows. Yet, something was wrong. Her bed seemed too large and the room seemed too vast. And there was something else as well… what was it?
Then through the Monday morning sleep-induced mist that covered her senses something stirred beside her. DG's eyes snapped open, her senses flaring as she screamed long, loud and piercingly. Realising that both she and the man beside her were naked she clutched the sheets to herself, moving to the furthest part of the bed she possibly could, which caused her to scream again.
The man jerked awake by her screams, gazed at her blearily and DG managed to get a good look at him – she gulped – all of him. He was strong, fit and handsome, in a rugged sort of way. He had blonde hair cropped short and ice blue eyes.
'Deej?' he asked, trying to get himself some of the blanket.
DG screamed some more.
'DG, what the hell are you screaming about? And can I have one of the sheets please? It's freezing.'
'Who the fuck are you?' DG managed to screech out after extracting a thinner top sheet.
At the question the man's head shot up to look at her directly. 'DG, stop messing around. I'll get us some breakfast and since you're feeling shy this morning, I promise not to peek.'
'How do you know my name?' Her voice shot up several octaves.
'DG,' he complained, rolling his eyes. 'Stop it, you're starting to scare me.'
Glossy tears started rolling down DG's cheeks before she could stop them and sobs started to rack her body. How could this happen to her? She was in a strange place with a strange man who she'd clearly… her mind shied away from the thought. Not that. She thought. Anything but that.
'Hey, what's all that about?' the man asked leaning across the bed to embrace her, but she cowered away from him and he quickly retracted to the other side of the bed. 'You really can't remember? Anything?' he asked.
'I want my parents,' DG muttered feebly for lack of anything better to say.
'Oh… ok, I'll go get them,' the man said, stepping out from the sheets and quickly getting changed as DG averted her gaze. She heard him leave and sighed a breath of release before quickly getting up to get changed. The clothes she found all seemed to be her size, but she recognised none of them so, despairing, she grabbed the outfit that was still on the couch and put that on. It smelt a little funny, like pine trees and wood sap, as if she'd worn it for too many days in a row, so one more day couldn't hurt, right?
The smell stirred something in her that tugged at the edges of her mind, as if there was a new wall separating her from the place she was in and understanding it. DG let another dry sob rack her body before squaring her shoulders and straightening her back. However she'd got into this situation, her parents were here and they'd be able to help her understand.
There was a tentative knock on the door and DG acquiesced that the stranger could come in.
'Deej, you felling better darlin'?' It was the same guy and, judging by his tone and facial expression he really did care for her – or at least put on a very good show.
'Who are you?' she whispered, her voice slightly hoarse from her suddenly too dry throat.
The door opened further and two people entered, a woman and another man who seemed to be a couple. Their hands were intertwined and they shared the same concern for her.
'And who are they?' DG asked the first stranger again, hoping maybe if she just acknowledged him the rest of the craziness would dissolve.
'Oh dear,' the woman said with a tired, but now less concerned voice.
'W-what's happening? Who are you? Where am I? I want to go home!' DG cried out, suddenly slumping to the floor in a bedraggled heap.
'Mr Cain, Ahamo, I think it'd be best if you leave,' the woman said, her voice also stirred some hidden memory in DG, though what she couldn't say. She waved her hand significantly and the two men left.
'Do I know you from somewhere?' DG asked, her frown deepened as she tried to think of where she knew her…
'I was afraid this would happen. DG, you are in the O.Z. You just saved the world from the witch possessing your sister and,' here she paused, 'the man I – um – believe you slept with last night not only helped you and your other friends on the journey, but is also very much in love with you.'
'What?' was all DG could offer as a reply.
'Sweetheart, to protect your identity as you were growing up I hid your memories from yourself. This created a very large magical wall in your mind that over the past wee you succeeded in knocking down. There was always this fear that…' the kind lady looked DG directly in the eye and although DG thought all this was impossible, she knew she was telling the truth, 'a fear that a strong emotional few hours would rebuild the wall as a safety precaution.'
DG blinked very hard in a hope it would bring back some of those lost memories, but she found nothing.
'So… who are you? Who was… who were the others?'
The lady considered for what felt like a very long time, but was probably only as few minutes. 'I'm the queen of the O.Z. You are my daughter. The first man you saw was an ex-Tin Man Cain, the other was my husband, Prince Consort and your father, Ahamo.'
'Oh fuck,' DG said, burying her head in a nearby pillow. From the honesty in the woman's eyes she saw she was telling the truth but… how could all this possibly be true?
'Oh, DG,' sang a friendly voice from the corridor that burst into her room without knocking. 'Good morning and did you sleep well? I know I did; real mattresses at last! But I forgot, didn't you have a certain tin man accompanying you?' The man whose voice it was sat himself squarely on the couch and draped a long arm around her shoulders, hugging her two him with a friendly wink.
'Ambrose,' the 'Queen' warned.
'Ambrose?' DG questioned… that name rang a bell too… only it didn't seem to quite match the face of the man sitting beside her. It was then that she noticed the thick silver zip running from the fan's forehead and back through his hair. 'You have another name as well, don't you?'
Ambrose looked at her with questioning eyes and she blushed slightly under his gaze as though she had done something wrong. The queen quickly explained everything to this newcomer, who seemed to take it in his stride.
'Oh, well not to worry. I'm Glitch,' he said, offering a friendly hand.
'Ambrose,' the queen corrected.
'I may have all my brain back and not glitch so often, but I am definitely still Glitch,' Ambrose/Glitch replied firmly, shaking DG's hesitant hand energetically. The queen didn't argue with his last statement.
'So how do we get your memory back?' he asked cheerfully, as if losing a – clearly eventful – weeks memory was nothing out of the ordinary.
'I- I don't know, I can't remember anything at all!' DG moaned and rolled over.
'Hey Doll, cheer up. Let's go get Tutor and Cain and see of they can help.'
DG frowned again. Tutor – yes, she recognised that. But Cain didn't seem to ring a bell at all.
Thirty minutes later and DG, Glitch/Ambrose, Tutor, Cain and the queen were sat together around the kitchen table. DG vaguely recognised most of their faces, but she felt as if there was someone else who was supposed to be in Cain's place… someone was missing.
'Who- who's not here?' she asked hesitantly.
Glitch's face lit up and he explained how Raw, another of her new friends, wasn't here due to travelling back to his own people as early that morning as he could.
'Now, what's the last thing you remember?' the queen pushed gently and DG let her mind roll back.
Now that she thought about it there was a bit of a gap, like something was missing. She remembered being late for work again and getting another ticket and- and- had someone attacked the house? Yes, that was right. She felt something nudge her fingers and DG suddenly realised her eyes were closed. Opening them she saw the concerned face of – Cain was it? His slightly calloused fingers covered hers, but she quickly withdrew them. Who was he and why did she not remember him at all?
DG felt her mind wander back to the beginning and she started telling the tale out loud – of the travel storm and the colourful midgets and the empty tin suit and so on, her young childhood memories returning at the same time. By the end of it DG remembered it, every moment of the week, except – she glanced up at the man called Cain and shook her head sadly.
'I- I'm sorry, sir, but I don't seem to remember you at all.' And with her words she could see something behind his eyes break beyond mending and she swallowed guiltily. She smiled half-heartedly at Glitch and Raw and Tutor and her mother, but when it came to the man in front of her she knew nothing.
He started talking, his words coming out rougher than before. 'The tin suit by the hologram,' he choked, 'don't you remember…?'
'Yes, but it was empty,' DG said, confused. Her words were clearly torturing the poor man and the guilt of it spread from her cheeks to encompass her and she muttered a quick apology before running back to the room she'd been in earlier. Her room? His room? Their room? But as hard as she tried DG couldn't remember him at all.
DG allowed a single tear to grace her cheek for the night she had obviously shared with the stranger before brushing it aside and struggled to regain her composure.
Several shouts and crashes came from behind the door, Glitch's voice crying out 'NO!' even as the door was slammed open.
A red faced tin man stood before her and before she could apologise again or even react to his presence one of his arms clutched her to him and swept her up into his lips. DG's eyes widened to frightening proportions before closing to the embrace. Maybe… just maybe there was something?
But no, her body reacted to the onslaught, and her emotions were in as much disarray as before but still she could not remember this man. Her blankness obviously showed in her face and the man desperately shook her shoulders.
'DG, princess, give me a sign, tell me I haven't lost you,' he swallowed and carefully removed his hands her shoulders and sank down onto the still rumpled sheets on the bed. 'Call me Wyatt again like you did last night,' he murmured, more to himself than to anyone else.
'Come on Cain,' Glitch said firmly, taking the other man's wrists and tugging at him fruitlessly.
'Wyatt,' DG said, his name escaping her mouth on a breeze. 'Wyatt,' she repeated a little louder and his eyes shot up to look at her misty face as memories, hundreds of little moments that should never be forgotten forced their way back into her head. 'WYATT! She shrieked, jumping into his arms as everything, every little detail of the previous week then of the night before flashed back into mind.
His face cracked into a rare grin and an even rarer chuckle sounded from his throat. 'Not quite that tone darlin', but I'll let you off… for now,' he said, referring to his previous remark.
'How could I ever forget you?' DG asked in wonderment. Wyatt Cain shrugged his shoulders, glad only of being able to call her his again. He pressed his mouth to hers and reminded her in a way that she knew now she would never – could never – forget.
Glitch slowly retreated from the room, closing the door behind him; a knowing smile spreading from one corner of his mouth until it curved across all his features.
So… what do you think? Please let me know! All polite comments/criticism welcomed, you lovely people make my day :0)
Cally
xx