Preparations were still not one hundred percent done as the night of the ball came upon the royal family. Of course, everyone's outfits had been fitted and made by the best seamstresses, the cooks had been toiling in the kitchens since before dawn to create a feast, and Glitch, armed with a large group of page boys was decorating the ballroom. Nonetheless, there was always more to be done. The ribbon of DG's dress wasn't perfectly straight, Jeb kept complaining his tie was too tight, and Queen Lavender was completely overwhelmed by everything in general. She'd been a major part of the planning, but when it came to doing, Lavender's magic really was much too weak for more than lifting a few of the sparkling candles into the air to float above the ballroom.
It truly was beautiful.
DG had attempted to make the dance as casual as possible, finally getting out of wearing a full ballroom gown and slipping into a comfortable, although still quite formal dress. A periwinkle blue in color, it reached down to the ground and spread around her feet in a small circle. Teasingly, she told Cain that if he stepped on her dress while dancing with her, she would have to call off the engagement. He'd been a little too busy attempting to make her pull on a shawl, because apparently, a low-cut dress that draped off her shoulders was anything but appropriate. It had sleeves - that was her excuse. Cain had been forced to match her color choice with a periwinkle tie. He hadn't been too happy about that.
Azkadellia, on the other hand, had chosen her dress based on simplicity and the low-cut neckline. She wasn't the sorceress anymore. Az would not wear the fancy dresses the sorceress had, nor did she have the mobat tattoos on her chest, which she proudly showed off. Her dress was similar to her sister's, minus the trail of cloth on the floor as long as she had her heels on. It was split down the back to reveal most of that too. See, guests? Az was mobat-free. Jeb, as Azkadellia's escort, wore a matching red tie.
Jeb and Cain were both horribly uncomfortable in their suits. The two men were used to the freedom of whatever they could find to put on that morning, or at least a guard uniform, which, while starched, was not uncomfortably so. These suits were chocking, hard to move in, and generally uncomfortable, but what the two men would not do for their girls…
Lavender was dressed in a rich purple gown with a matching Ahamo at her side.
Now, standing behind the double doors into the ballroom, the royal family was arranged by order of who was going in first. As soon as the guests were quiet, they would be announced: first, the Queen and Ahamo, then DG and Cain, and finally Az and Jeb. After that, the guests would be expected to applaud, and Lavender would silence everyone again to announce the engagement of her younger daughter. Then, there would be dancing.
The doors opened to reveal a massive crowd of people and Jeb realized he did not like balls. Crowds of people were almost sure security breaches. Although, with Zero secured and most of the Longcoats hanged, there was little to fear, but the guard in Jeb couldn't help but stir. He didn't even have his gun if something happened.
On top of all of that, Jeb was not comfortable in crowds. His resistance group had been twenty, sometimes thirty people, with a maximum of forty-five on a particularly lucky year. This crowd? It was literally thousands of people whom Jeb did not even know the name of. As the escort of Princess Azkadellia, he would no doubt be expected to meet at least some of them.
A loud, booming voice of one of the heralds startled him out of his worries with his announcement. Az poked him in the ribs at the same time, giving him a coy smile. "Excited?"
"Terrified." Might as well be honest.
"I'll take that as a yes, then," she gave a small laugh as Cain and her sister stepped forward.
"Finally, announcing Princess Azkadellia Gale and her escort, Sergeant and ex-resistance leader Jebbidiah Cain."
Well, weren't they formal? Now all of those thousands of people knew who he was. A soft whisper spread through the crowd, though all eyes were on the couple that stepped forward. A resistance leader accompanied the woman whom everyone had known as the sorceress!
Az threaded her fingers between Jeb's, giving him a small tug, and he let her guide him down the stairs, eyes on the crowd of people around them. Once they came to stand beside the rest of the royal family, some man near the front began with a clap, and the applause spread and grew to fill the room.
Lavender raised one hand, calmly waiting for the room to fall silent before beginning with the official announcement for tonight. "Ladies and gentlemen of many countries near and far from our land of the Outer Zone. Tonight, I am pleased to announce the engagement of my youngest daughter, Dorothy Gale, to the Captain of the Guard, Wyatt Cain." She finished with a small smile. The uproar of the applause and chatter between the guests fluttered to a new peak and the ball had officially begun.
--
The moment the orchestra began the first waltz; Azkadellia pulled Jeb out unto the floor.
"You can dance, can't you?"
Now would be a bad time to mention he hadn't danced since he was eight or nine, back with his mother. "I learned… though I haven't for a long time…"
"It's like riding a horse," Az assured him, placing one hand in his and the other on his shoulder. "If you learned once, you'll never forget it, you just need to get back into the rhythm." If he stepped on her toes, she'd send him off to dance with Glitch. That man could make a pair of Papay perform a flawless tango.
"I apologize in advance for anything I might do."
"Come on, silly. You try leading so we're not in the way."
Jeb rested his hand on her waist, holding unto her other one as he took the first step, leading Az in the waltz and taking care to avoid running into other couples. Surprisingly, she'd been right. While it wasn't exactly like riding a horse, the waltz was an easy dance, and the orchestra's tune had a clear beat to it.
Maybe balls weren't so bad after all.
--
DG led Cain straight to one of the tables, picking up a glass of wine from one of the waiters along the way. Cain frowned at her, standing by her chair. She should've started that first dance. This whole ball was in the honor of her – well, and his – engagement, after all.
"Come on, Princess. One dance."
"Don't call me that, Cain. I can barely stay on a horse, what makes you think I can dance…"
"I'll take the chance, Princess, my toes have felt worse, trust me." Cain reached for her hand and DG let him take it.
"Can't I finish my wine first?"
"You can have all the wine you want later. One dance." Perhaps one would lead to another, then another, and DG would forget all about the wine toward the end. "Your sister seems to be enjoying herself."
She glanced toward Jeb and Az, who were already smiling at each other with hopelessly enamored looks on their faces. "Those two were practically made for each other." DG was surprised they hadn't gotten together earlier, though she couldn't blame their hesitance either. Az had been a woman Jeb had been raised to despise, and now he was doing the opposite. Finally the boy saw sense, as slightly strange as it did make their family tree.
"Just like you for me, DG. Come on, kid." Cain pulled the untouched glass of wine from her hand, setting it on the table, and practically lifted DG out of her chair. "You didn't make me wear this hideous colored tie for nothing."
DG smiled at him, letting him lead her several steps away from the chair. "One dance, Wyatt Cain, you know I can't stand these heels." She hadn't wanted to wear they at all, though the dress was beautiful.
Cain stopped, staring at her for a few moments before leaning in to place his lips by her ear. "Take them off."
"Really?"
"As long as it makes you have fun, darling, I don't care what you do. You'll always be my girl."
DG grinned up at him, pressed a kiss to his cheek, then returned to the chair and slipped off the pesky shoes, sticking them under it. They'd sit there unless someone else wanted to try them on. She certainly wouldn't miss them.
"Come on." This time, DG grabbed Cain's hand, pulling him into the middle of the floor for a dance.
--
Several dances passed before Az decided she wanted a little break along with a little drink. Jeb promised to find the waiter with the type of cider she wanted and return as quickly as possible, leaving her standing by the chair where DG had left her shoes, munching on a pastry. Hopefully this wouldn't be too hard.
Without Jeb's presence at her side, Az felt strangely alone. Licking the cranberry sauce of the pastry from her fingers, she looked around at the guests she could see, finding none of them to be anyone she even vaguely recognized. Of course no one wanted to talk to the woman who used to be the witch, no matter how many times anyone told them otherwise or how much proof they had that she was no longer possessed.
A young boy chasing a little girl ran past her, then whirled and stared at Az for a few moments before approaching.
"You're the witch!"
She was slightly taken aback by his sudden accusation, but smiled and knelt down to his eyelevel. "I'm not the witch, sweetheart. I was possessed. She was a different person who was inside me, but she's gone now. I'm just Az."
"No, you're the witch," the kid insisted, nodding several times before crossing his arms over his chest. "You killed daddy!"
Oh, gods, why did this have to happen tonight? The smile dropped off of Az's face as she glanced between the floor and the boy's accusatory eyes. Maybe… Maybe… Oh goodness, what if he was right? She had been the witch, after all. What if she had some sort of dual personality? What if part of her had enjoyed the things she'd done? A small flicker of fear crossed her eyes until a shrill voice broke through her thoughts.
"Brandon! What in the world are you doing? I told you not to speak to…" She paused, staring at Azkadellia for several seconds. She was still the princess, even if she didn't have the best of public relations right now. "…Her."
"I'm sorry, mommy." The kid ran up and grabbed his mother's hand, continuing to give Az apprehensive glances. "I just told her she killed daddy…"
"Yes, she did, now let's go."
While the last thing he woman had said had been hushed up, it was clearly meant to be heard. Az stood back up slowly, her gaze following the mother and child as they walked away. Is that what people thought of her? Did they consider her some sort of cruel monster who murdered their families in the night because she enjoyed it? She didn't! Did she?
The fear and confusion was painfully obvious in her eyes by the time Jeb returned with the drink she'd asked for. He set it down, taking both her hands into his. "What happened?"
"N-nothing. There was just this boy… He told me I killed his father…"
"You didn't, Az. You now that. She did, not you."
"But what if I did, Jeb? How could you even be here with me? You hated me!'
"I hated her."
"What if it's all a lie meant to protect me? What if she was part of me… something Mother or DG blocked off that night, with the power of the emerald." Her voice sounded a little too frantic, a little too panicked, causing one of Jeb's hands to move to her upper arm, holding her still lest she bolt. It was clear Az wanted to run from everything that had happened in this room tonight. Several of the dancing couples stopped to watch their conversation.
"You are not the witch."
The calm tone of his voice brought her back to her senses. Az threw her arms around Jeb's neck, hiding the tears in her eyes in his shirt. "I'm sorry," she muttered softly, "I know… I should know. I'm just afraid that she might be me."
"She isn't." He pulled away, placing another spark of fear in Az's eyes until Jeb leaned back toward her. "I know she isn't." He closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers for barely a second before pulling away.
Az tilted her head to one side, staring at him with wide, wet eyes. He'd kissed her. Jeb had kissed her. As it fully registered, she pulled him closer again and kissed him.
--
Cain stopped DG in mid-twirl to point back to where she'd left her shoes, where Az and Jeb were now standing. "Look at them."
"At least they're happy."
She finished the spin by herself, getting closer than she should've to continue the dance. Pulling her hand out of his, DG placed it on his other shoulder, and kissed Cain herself.
The Gale girls liked their Cain men.
--
"Thank you, Jeb."
Author's Note: They kissed! They actually kissed! I'm excited, are you guys excited? I'm excited.
This chapter was a bit on the longer side for this story too, heh.
