Chapter 01: The Slipper at Breakfast

The Majestic Queen of the O.Z.

Had two lovely daughters she

One to darkness she be drawn

One to light she be shown

Double eclipse it is foreseen

Light meets dark and the Stone is between

But only one and one alone

Will hold the Emerald and take the throne

Only one and one alone…

A green glow saturated her vision, the words repeated over and over in the voice of a gnarled, ugly woman with eyes deeper and blacker than the cave in which they'd found her, over fifteen annuals ago.

"Only one and one alone," she chanted gleefully, reaching up to gather the green light to herself. "And the two of you never managed to take it at all! It was mine!" Her laughter pierced the soul, sharper than a mobat's screech, and the woman suffering beneath that cacophony cowered on the shining emerald stone, cold and unforgiving beneath her. The witch continued to laugh and laugh, louder and louder until the woman screamed in pain, feeling the blood run from her ears at the onslaught of sound. She pulled them away to stare at the blood, realized that the crimson liquid continued to flow down her hands, staining them beyond repair. The ghosts of dead men and women swirled around her head, yelling obscenities and taunting her for her weakness. For it had all been her fault, hadn't it?

Somewhere in the grand palaces of the Northern Island, the newly revived Princess Azkadellia awakened in an icy sweat, and howled her agony to the rising suns.

Never an early riser, it took several knocks on the door for DG to finally wake up completely, and she grumbled an answer to Glitch's hurried questions after her health. She resisted the urge to throw a pillow at the door, knowing that the action would be entirely lost because it wouldn't actually hit his head.

She sat up despite her fierce desire to curl back up in the piles of blankets — she wasn't used to the freezing cold temperatures as the rest of her family seemed to be. The light of the O.Z.'s twin suns gave little warmth as they sent streamers of light into the room, dancing off the crystal light fixtures and the metal trim of plush furniture. DG had protested the idea of living in such a space, far too used to the farmhouse attic where she kept all of her treasures close at hand, her drawings and dreams spread haphazardly on the walls around her as she lived her humdrum life.

No longer so, she found herself now Princess of a realm left behind long ago to save her life… a life lost to a sister possessed by a witch. A sister now saved, and preparing to step into the role of Queen. Which left DG where? "Court Sorceress" her father had called it, and the blasted irony of it made DG twitch. Not only did she feel that her fledgling powers remained less than formidable outside of some parlor tricks and cool little enchantments that did little more than what anyone with a bit of training could do, but "Sorceress?" The Long Coats still combed the land, and they wanted to stick her with a cursed title like that?

She rubbed her face with both hands, finally deciding it was far too early to think about serious matters. Besides, she didn't want Glitch — or even worse, Cain — coming by to check on her while she still sat in bed in her nightclothes and nowhere near ready for her busily scheduled day. She suppressed a groan, thinking of her "responsibilities." Mom always said I had to learn to be organized. Now I have a whole set of servants organizing everything for me. God, this sucks. But she rose from her cocoon of cozy and yanked open the drawer of an old wooden dresser, having to brace a foot against the base, as the cold had caused the wood to warp slightly. It finally gave, and she relentlessly sorted through various garments, deliberately avoiding the fancier stuff suggested by her mother in favor of more casual wear.

Switching out the heavily padded nightclothes for knee-high socks, jeans, a couple of layered shirts and her old leather jacket, DG stretched to warm herself further, gave her hair a quick run-through with a brush, and hurried down the hall to grab some breakfast. A glance at the clock told her that she'd be just on time if she picked up the pace just a tiny bit. The morning had begun at a much cooler temperature than usual, and the fog on the sea had condensed onto the marble, making it incredibly slick for princesses without the proper footwear. But a grin grew on her face as an idea struck, now tapping into the magic that was still so new to her. A golden glow grew around her feet, and then her wayward slide became a smoothly controlled one; DG gave a whoop with a childish grin as she passed several astonished servants in the halls. I bet Toto never thought of this one!

What DG didn't think about during this exultant dash, however, was how to stop, and she squealed, flailing her arms as the very thick, stone wall came closer at too high a speed for her to stop safely.

"YIKES!" she cried, bracing herself, and then the air left her lungs in a whoosh as some unfortunate soul stepped into her way, pushing her out of her slide and safely into a corner. But who would—?

"Really, Doll. Where's your rhythm today?" Glitch chided playfully, placing a gently mocking finger on her nose. She blinked in confusion, then groaned as she saw Wyatt Cain fast approaching on Glitch's heels, his expression stormy at the sight of her nearly face-flattening collision.

Okay, it was safe to say that his expression was normally like that, but why did he always have to pop up when she had done something stupid? It was beyond embarrassing. And Glitch had needed to bail her out of it, too! Darn it, everyone seemed to think that her bones had been made of glass — she'd made the mistake, so why not let her learn from it by letting her crash into the wall?

Because a death glare from Mr. Wyatt Cain is a thousand times worse than hitting a stone wall at thirty miles per hour, she decided petulantly, and sighed heavily, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Thanks for the save, Glitch," she said aloud, and the advisor beamed broadly, then seemed to pause, look around, and focus on her again.

"Oh, hey DG. Thank you for what, now?"

"For stopping her from splitting her fool head open," Cain groused, eyeing her critically. "What in the world was that about?"

"Trying something I'd always wanted to do as a child," she answered primly, but broke the dignified air by sticking her tongue out at him defiantly. Cain rolled his eyes and hauled both of them upright, then pointing towards the open hall in front of them with distinct impatience.

"You mean you're not still one?"

"Look who's talking, old man Tin," she baited, "Surprised you haven't rusted out here in the chilly boonies. You're even tougher than we all thought."

Glitch cut in with a glint in his eye, speaking to DG conspiratorially, but loud enough for Cain to hear. "Actually, he didn't even rust after he fell three stories and into the ice. Maybe they should rename the order and call them Steel Men?"

"Or Supermen," DG snickered, "though I think that's some kind of copyright infringement. Or do you guys have that here?"

"If you two can manage to walk twenty feet without getting yourselves into trouble, then?" Cain grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down his nose at them.

Nonplussed by his expression and not wanting his grumpiness to ruin her good mood, DG turned on her heel, hair tossed over one shoulder as she grasped Glitch's arm.

"Shall we, my loyal advisor?" she asked him with chin held high, and the typical grin re-emerged on Glitch's face. He gave an elegant bow, and DG just caught a second eye roll from the Tin Man with some satisfaction.

"Of course, Princess!"

DG noticed the emptiness of the dining hall as she stepped inside, feeling a tingle down the back of her spine that she'd learned to trust as the months wore on. Azkadellia and Raw's seats sat empty, though they often began eating long before the rest of them arrived; Ahamo, normally first to the table with those two, was also conspicuously absent.

"Where is everyone?" she asked aloud, and her mother glanced up from where she picked at her plate to smile weakly at her youngest daughter. The Queen's freedom, bought with a terrible price to the O.Z., still left scars on her gentle soul. Fifteen years of separation from a dear and doting husband, and the guilt of losing her eldest daughter to an evil, ancient witch wore heavily upon her. DG knew that she hoped to pass on the mantle of leadership soon in order to spend her years with the family she loved so dearly.

No one had mentioned the difficulty of such things to DG, but considering who stood next in line to be Queen of the O.Z., no one had needed to. The Queen and Ahamo had worked tirelessly to spin the tragic story of Azkadellia's possession by the witch to the people, playing on their sympathies as well as their joy at the reunion of the royal family, but things moved slowly, and many people remained angry and reticent to accept Az as the Crown Princess. And if DG let herself be honest, she wouldn't blame them at all for their feelings on the matter.

"Good morning, my angel," the Queen welcomed with tired lavender eyes, her voice carrying across the open hall. "Please, you and Ambrose, and Mr. Cain of course, sit and eat."

"Sure…" DG took her normal seat at her mother's right side, certain now that something was going on. She sat back as a servant walked by to set a very warm plate and glass of ice-cold juice in front of her, waiting for his retreat before voicing the question she knew everyone hesitated to ask. "Mother, is everything all right?"

The Queen opened her mouth to speak, closed it, sighed, and then tried again. "Your sister fell ill last night. Your father heard her screaming, in the midst of some horrible dream, and called the Viewers to try and see what ailed her. They haven't come out of her room for hours, and the guards have been given orders to let no one in until they come out again."

"Az is sick? But she was just fine yesterday!" DG exclaimed, dropping her fork with a clink onto the china plate, a full bite of syrupy fruit left forgotten. She frowned. "Has she been having these dreams for a while?"

Her mother shook her head, clearly worried. "I don't know, DG. Your sister hasn't confided in us much at all since… well, since her liberation from the witch's influence. Ahamo has been the most able to speak with her, since they were so close before."

"I wonder if it has anything to do with the magic she used while the witch controlled her." All eyes turned to Glitch, not wanting to interrupt his rare moment of true lucidity. He grinned nervously, and shrugged at them. "Well, I mean, I heard stories of that soul-sucking thing that she did to people who made her angry, or failed her in some way—"

"Like the Mystic Man," Cain cut in, breaking his usual silence to urge the advisor onwards. DG noticed how his blue eyes had hardened into ice chips to rival the frozen floating fortresses outside. She had known that, as a Tin Man in Central City, he had worked directly under the Mystic Man. Beyond that, however, she knew so little about it. It frustrated her, having missed so many years here and then starting from scratch, and it didn't help that one of her closest friends seemed perfectly okay with remaining a mystery and not opening up. Hadn't they been through enough that Cain could begin to trust them?

No, that wasn't quite fair, DG decided, her irritation at him fading slightly. Cain had a right to keep to himself, and she appreciated that he had decided to stay on and protect the royal family for now. He had a son to protect, but Jeb had grown into a man while Cain had been left in a tin suit for eight years, and had his own life and responsibilities. As a leader of the Resistance, Jeb chose to continue support of the royals by hunting down pockets of Long Coats still hiding in the O.Z. He even tried to spread the truth about Azkadellia and the witch, particularly after having the chance to see the changes in her for himself. But Cain still seemed unconvinced, and incredibly bitter. Staying with DG, Glitch and the others appeared to soften his cold exterior, but they all wondered if he would simply disappear one day.

Glitch nodded to Cain, and continued. "I don't know enough about magic to really say — we'll have to ask Tutor, I suppose — but wouldn't dark magic such as that have… well, certain side effects to it? I mean, if you look at it logically, when you eat something, you digest it completely, but there are still remnants of the fuel that stay in your body, as either fat, or broken down compounds that are absorbed into vital organs…" he trailed off, looking down at his plate. "Oh! Waffles! Is it waffle day already?"

DG paid the last comment no mind, twirling a dark curl behind her ear. "Glitch has a point, you know. Maybe some of that magic is starting to backfire without the witch to help her hold it at bay."

"You could be right, DG," the Queen replied thoughtfully. "I have used such magics in the reverse, particularly to save your life when the witch killed you, but never considered the idea of taking someone's energies for my own," she shuddered visibly, placing a hand to her forehead. "I can only imagine what such things might have done to your sister's mind!"

As if on cue, the doors to the hall opened with a resounding creak, and Ahamo nearly staggered inside, his eyes bloodshot with dark bags forming beneath them. "Good morning, everyone," he tried to smile, a pale shadow compared to his normal, playful nature. The Queen rose from her seat, crossing the distance to her Consort and taking his hand, their conversation to low to be heard from the table.

DG turned to back to her friends, not bothering to hide the concern on her face. "I hope everything's all right."

"Probably is, kiddo, but then again, maybe not," Cain answered, now steadily working his way through breakfast as though nothing wrong had occurred or been said. He was nearly through, in fact, while DG's own plate remained almost untouched. Except for the apple slices, of course — she did love apples, after all, and distractedly took a crisp bite out of one.

"How can you be so calm about it, Mr. Cain?" DG raised an eyebrow at him while chewing. Did anything ruffle the man, aside from stampeding Papay or hunting renegade Long Coats?

But Cain merely stuck her with that steely blue gaze of his, and she began to feel defensive from this behavior. He was clearly biting his tongue over something, and she wanted to get right in his face and demand that he spit it out.

"Cain, are you going to elaborate on what's going through that tin brain, or are we going to have to play twenty questions?"

"Play what?" he asked, and DG groaned, dropping her face into her hands, deciding to connect the dots for him.

"You don't seem concerned at all about my sister's safety! She's the princess and the heir to the kingdom, for goodness's sake! Show a little heart, would ya?" her blue eyes flashed with an inner light at her spark of anger, and the table began to vibrate beneath her hands, but the tin man didn't seem to notice at all.

"Heart's exactly the problem here, kiddo," he shot back, bristling at the old "joke" between them and pointing his fork at her momentarily before returning to his grits. "Azkadellia — the witch, whoever — used that little soul sucking trick on countless people, and if the head case is right, there's still pieces of those souls lingering in her heart. Maybe they're even still conscious. How much confidence in the heir d'you think the people of the O.Z. will have when they find out about it?"

"Find out? It's none of their business!" DG looked to Glitch for backup on this, but her friend sighed and gave her a sorrowful glance.

"No, Cain's actually right, DG. Ideally the private life and actions of a ruler remain private, but it doesn't always happen that way in the real world."

"Yeah, I know that," she replied petulantly, her mind going over various political scandals she'd heard and read about while living in Kansas. They had never been fun, but a part of her had thought that the people needed to know what was going on with their government — ALL of their government — in order to have faith and trust in it. But was that the right thing?

Ahamo and the Queen had reached the table at last, the Consort heavily sprawling into his chair to the left of his wife and at Cain's right elbow. Both looked incredibly worried, and almost in tandem looked at DG before answering the silent question hanging over them all.

"Azkadellia is recovering in her room with your Viewer friend," Ahamo explained, his voice strained. "Unfortunately, he said that this was not the first of these kinds of dreams, and they're steadily getting worse. She'll be resting in bed for the next couple of days, at least."

Silence fell, but DG was never one to keep it for long. "I guess no lessons this week, huh?" she asked, trying to sound playfully hopeful, but it came out flat. She really only half-hated the lessons her parents, friends and various advisors had been giving both of the princesses to prepare them for their roles in the renewed House of Gale monarchy — Az as Queen and DG as Royal Princess and Court Sorceress. She shuddered again, wondering for the thousandth time if she could convince her parents to at least find another term to use — she'd take "Royal Magician" over that!

"No, my child," her mother replied with a wan smile, "You must continue your studies, especially in magic. I fear that—" she trailed off, looking at Ahamo, who nodded to his wife encouragingly. "I fear that there may be outside forces at work here which are affecting Azkadellia's health. She may need your help, DG, in shielding herself from such attacks. As Court Sorceress, such will become your job, and much sooner than you may realize."

"Ah. Great. Gotta play Gandalf to save the hobbits. Got it." When everyone looked at her strangely, she made a face and went back to her food, ignoring them all. Today promised to be a busy one, and she wanted to enter it prepared and properly fed.

Notes: Welcome, everyone, to the first chapter of "One to Light, One Alone." This tale has been brewing in my head for a while, and playing with the ideas I had kept me relatively sane during the darker moments of NaNoWriMo last month.

Tin Man as a series is a huge favorite of mine, especially when considering my major in literature and lifelong passion for science fiction/fantasy in general. My goal here is to stay loyal to the characters and series as closely as I can while trying to explore both familiar and very different plot territories.

Please feel free to leave a review to let me know if I made any errors, or if you'd like to see more of something in later chapters.

~Mekanikora