A/N: so once more my personal problems are coming out in the form of stories. Yaaay! Anywho, this was originally going to be a oneshot but I decided to make it a multi-chapter fic. There's too much going on!

Perfect. He was absolutely perfect. Well okay, he had his flaws – but overall there was nothing about him that anyone could complain about. DG knew full well that she had accidentally stumbled across the proverbial jackpot. Rich, handsome, kind, romantic … what more could she ask for? Oh, and of course, he was crazy about her. Madly in love as a matter of fact. And she received love letters from him at least once a week. They were wonderful too – a little bit cheesy, but always full of honest confessions. In spite of herself, DG was swept off her feet. It was like entering into a fairytale where things always went exactly the way they were supposed to, and she had to admit that it was a very nice world to live in. She felt like there was someone else that she could be because of him … the sort of girl who liked being a princess rescued by her prince. It was something she'd never really considered, but she was starting to think that maybe she could be happy that way. He wasn't exactly wildly passionate, or wild in any sense of the world really. But how much did that really matter? He had everything else to offer.

And it was that thought that formed through her mind as Sir Jarick got down on one knee in the gardens.

"DG," he began, "I love you. I've loved you since the moment we met and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

For a moment she was silent, looking down into the eyes of this man who loved her so much. And then the answer came from her lips.

"Yes," she said, "yes of course I will."

A smile spread across his face as he slid a diamond ring onto her finger and stood up to embrace her. Pulling back, he kissed her tenderly. DG smiled against his mouth, kicking a nagging thought to the back of her mind.

"We should go tell your parents," Jarick remarked after a moment

"Oh!" she said, "Oh yeah, of course. Come on."

Her parents would be on cloud nine, she was absolutely sure of that. They had approved of Jarick from the start, and they considered him to be the Ozian equivilant of "a great catch". DG had to agree. He was everything a parent could ever want for their daughter.

"Mother?" she called, reaching the doors to the throne room, "Father?"

She swung open the door and pulled an out of breath Jarick along with her.

"You'll never believe it," she began, "Jarick just asked me – "

The next words died on her lips, and she could feel her eyes get wide. Standing at her father's side was none other than Wyatt Cain, looking at her in a way she couldn't quite label.

"Cain," she said, not bothering to hide her surprise, "You're back."

The words rang through the room and hung in the air, carrying more weight than anyone but Cain and DG knew. There were millions of unanswered questions, there was anger, there was hurt and confusion, there was absolute shock – and there was the sudden memory of what had happened the last time they'd seen each other. The night before Wyatt Cain had disappeared.

"Cain?" DG knocked quietly on the door to the tin man's room, placed directly next to hers for maximum security. "Are you in there?"

She knocked again, but there was still no answer. Giving up, she turned to go when she heard the door open.

"What's wrong princess?"

She turned back to him, "Nightmare," she replied, "I was hoping we could sit and talk for awhile? Just to get my mind off of it. I didn't wake you up did I?"

"Nah," he replied, letting her inside, "Take a seat."

DG settled herself in a big chair next to the crackling fire, folding her legs beneath herself.

"So how're you doing?" Cain asked, sitting down across from her, "I mean with this whole royalty bit."

"Okay I guess," she replied, "I mean I'm adjusting all right. There are just so many more rules here. So many more expectations. It's a little scary you know?Like, suddenly if I fail at something it matters ten times more than it would back home. Everything is a big deal," she shifted and hugged her knees to her chest, pausing for a moment, "I miss home. Sometimes I feel like I don't belong here … like I don't really belong anywhere."

Cain watched the expression in her eyes as they reflected the firelight. He could feel how sad she was, how lonely. And he understood too. He felt the same way more often than not … except when he was with her. Somehow she could make that feeling go away, even though he didn't want to think about how. Thinking about how would only lead to more questions.

He was pulled out of his reverie by a small movement from DG as she wiped a tear away from her eye with the sleeve of her ridiculously oversized striped nightshirt. Why she insisted on sleeping in a piece of clothing that looked like it belonged to a man was beyond Cain, but she'd insisted that it was more comfortable than a nightgown. He had never really complained – the shirt showed a lot more of her legs than any gown ever would.

Mentally kicking himself for letting thoughts like that creep into his head yet again, Cain got up.

"Hey," he said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Its okay kid. I know how you feel."

She looked up at him, "You do?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I do."

DG got up out of the chair and wrapped her arms around him. He paused for a moment before doing the same, pulling her tightly against him even as he cursed himself for doing it.

"When we're like this," she whispered against his neck, "it doesn't hurt as much."

Cain pulled away slightly and looked at her tear-stained face. He knew exactly what she meant. This felt right. It felt like home. It always had, from the first time she'd thrown her arms around him. There was so much said between them every time it happened. Every time he came back after being away, every time things got to be too much for her, every time they wordlessly squeezed a shoulder or held a hand, just because they could tell other one needed it. And for a moment he leaned into her, and she leaned into him.

But he couldn't … he could never … he wasn't meant to have something so perfect.

"I can't," he said suddenly, retracting his arms, "DG, I just can't."

She looked at him for a long moment, and then shook her head, a rueful smile on her face, "Of course not," she said, "Why be happy when you can wallow in your misery?"

"It isn't that," he retorted, "You know we never could. You're the princess."

"You're hiding behind honor and rank now?" she asked incredulously, "Wyatt, you know damn well that's got nothing to do with it."

"No DG, that has everything to do with it," he said, making an effort to keep his voice down.

"Only because you make it that way."

Cain was about to counter her, but found that he couldn't. He knew she was right just as much as she knew she was right.

"Not even going to deny it?" she asked, "Well, at least you're honest."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't apologize," she replied, "At least now I know. You're afraid Cain, and whatever you feel for me scares you a hell of a lot more than anything you've ever had to deal with."

She started toward the door, but stopped.

Taking a deep breath, she turned back to him. "I just want you to know," she said, "that when I walk out that door, that's it. I can't do this anymore. I love you. You have to know that by now. And I think you love me too. But I can't wait anymore. I can't do it."

And with those words, she walked away. He didn't follow her, and the next day he was gone.

A/N: Part two is already written and will be up soon! Reviews are lovely.