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Thank you for your reviews. I am working on fixing some of the grammar mistakes from the previous chapters…every once in awhile they slip by. Thank you to those who brought some to my attention. I'll update those when I load chapter 12. Here is chapter 11, hope you like it.
Let me know what you think.
As always, thank you for reading!
Chapter 11: Men!
When the door opened, Jeb hugged DG tightly, pointedly ignoring his father just beyond the young woman. He whispered in her ear that everything would work out for the best and if they got married he would treat her like a Princess, eliciting a small giggle from DG at the irony. Giving her a kiss on the cheek as a good-bye, she smiled into his collarbone in return.
They parted and reinstituted the barrier between them. Jeb turned his back on the door only to find himself faced with his father. Cain was still seated in the chair as he had been when Jeb had first arrived, nearly two hours earlier. He was tilted forward, his forearms leaning on his thighs with hands clasped out in front, and his head slightly bowed. Glaring at his son from under the shade of his eyebrows there was an intensity behind them that left Jeb quaking in his shoes.
"Well," his father said, breaking the peace. "What's going on?" It was more of a growl than anything. And the question was plagued with innuendo. There was no friendliness to the tone, and there was emotion behind it that made Jeb extremely uncomfortable.
"Too much," Jeb replied, knowing it would get his father's blood pumping and not caring in the least. It was the truth, however simplified. How was he supposed to explain what he had been told, what he had offered? He was prolonging the inevitable.
"Care to elaborate," his father responded. It wasn't a question, this time it was a command. It wasn't clear whether it was from a father or a Tin Man that the command came, but either way it was clear that his father wanted answers, and fast.
Sighing, Jeb focused his attention on Cain's clasped hands. They were so tightly held together that the knuckles of his fingers had gone completely white. The pressure evoked would have crushed many an object between them. "What exactly do you want to know?" he asked, feigning stupidity. It was a self-preservation move that had a strong chance of backfiring.
The growl that came from Cain's mouth was intimidating and the fact that he kept glaring at his son from under his eyebrows made Jeb begin to sweat. "You could start with you're little escapade to the other side," Cain stated blandly. He smirked upon seeing Jeb blanch, not aware that his father had known of his trip. "Oh, I knew all right," he answered in response to his son's surprise. "I was the one they had asked for, but I wasn't about to leave the Princess knowing she wants to run away again. So, I had them tell you to go." He paused, lifting his head which only made matters worse for Jeb. If he thought the shaded glare was bad, it was nothing compared to the heat behind the eyes that could be seen without any obstacles in the way. "Spill!" another command.
The pressure inside Jeb's chest was constricting his airway and made it hard to form words using his swollen tongue. "They wanted a message given to DG." It was short, too short, and he knew that if he didn't clarify his father might explode, quite literally. "Wanted her to know she has to get married."
The last word hung in the air between them. Jeb expected his father to redden, become aggravated or completely burst with expletives. He did nothing of the sort.
Jeb's eyes widened and his jaw became slack when laughter broke forth from his father's lips. Soft, sustained laughter; it was the last thing Jeb expected to hear when he told him the news from the other side. Even though he emitted the noise, the frivolity didn't reach his eyes which were still smoldering with suppressed anger.
"I already knew that," the elder Cain admitted, waving a hand through the air. "She was told that the week after the eclipse." Unknowingly he echoed a response similar to the one the Princess had earlier. Both had been blissfully unaware of the deadline that had been put in place. DG now knew; it was Cain's turn to be told.
Swallowing hard, Jeb looked his father in the eye before explaining the change in plans. "She said the same thing," he started and stopped abruptly, the words hard to push out using his still swollen tongue. "She has two weeks to pick a husband before her family returns or the queen will pick one for her." It was rushed and strained. He only hoped his father had understood the words because he was certain he wouldn't be able to say it again.
Once again Cain imitated DG's response. Color drained from his face as the words and implication sunk in. "Two weeks," Cain said quietly. "Husband." It looked as though the thought swirled his insides. If Jeb didn't know his father any better, he would have thought to get out of the way for the stomach contents that were sure to see the light of day for a second time. However, Cain was too in control to allow that to happen, so Jeb stayed rooted to the stone floor.
Never taking his eyes off his father, Jeb could see the range of emotions slamming over his features; shock, anger, fear. It was hard to watch.
"How did she respond?" Cain finally asked having suppressed his emotions and replaced it with a stoic expression from which no feelings could be read. Even his tone was back to being lackluster, as if he didn't care about the current state of affairs.
Jeb had to stop himself from saying 'the same as you,' knowing it would only make matters worse and cause Cain to take offense. "Depressed at first," he wasn't going to say more if it could be avoided.
Standing suddenly, his father towered over his son much like he had the night they had words in DG's quarters. "At first?" he asked, low and guttural. Apparently his father was surprised at the statement, wanting to know the details.
To hell with it, Jeb thought, certain that the truth would come to light eventually and deciding that getting it over and done with would serve him best. "I gave her an out."
Before he could explain the out, Cain had swept down upon his son, grabbing his shoulders with his hands. "You better not have told her you'd help her escape, if you know what's best for you." There was no fatherly concern in those words, for either him or DG.
"I did nothing of the sort," Jeb commented, extricating himself, with difficultly, from his father's hold. He took a few steps back, wanting to be as far away from the large man as possible, hoping for a quick exit if it was needed. "I simply offered her my services, if it came down to it." Jeb tried to make it sound offhand, but failed miserably.
The confusion was evident on Cain's face. "What do you mean…services?" he inquired, needing his son to prove that there was nothing elicit about the term. His eyes were clouded over but his face remained impassive.
Taking a shaky breath Jeb proceeded with his explanation. "If in two weeks she finds herself without any options, we will marry."
Cain stood stock still before him, frozen to the spot. Even though his limbs would not move, there were no other signs of distress in his stance or features. It was as if he didn't care that his son had offered to marry the woman he loved. It felt awkward and unnatural. Jeb had had enough.
"Don't you have anything to say?" he posed heatedly. "She doesn't want to marry me," he practically yelled, "and you know it."
"That doesn't make any difference," he replied weakly. "She accepted your proposal." He ground out a, "Congratulations," from between clenched teeth.
Jeb growled in frustration. "Didn't you hear a word I said?" he ran a hand through his short locks and continued to stare at his father. "We're only going to marry if she doesn't have any other options." He was reining in his anger, afraid he would punch his father for his stupidity. "You are so thick sometimes," he added as an afterthought, "It's you she wants to choose, she practically told you so earlier today."
His father glared daggers at Jeb for a few moments before turning and walking swiftly down the corridor, Jeb hot on his heels. There was no way his father was going to get out of this one. "What are you so afraid of?" Jeb huffed as he tried to catch up to the speedily retreating man. "Why do you insist on being unhappy?" he tried again, with no answer. "Ignoring your feelings won't bring Mother back!" he shouted at his father's back.
That did it. Cain stopped suddenly and did a one-eighty in the blink of an eye. Too late did Jeb see the fist that was quickly approaching his face. He attempted to duck out of the way only to have the fist come in contact with his left temple. Pain shot through his head, down his neck and spine as he was flung against the wall with the force.
Clutching his pounding head, Jeb regained his feet and looked at his father. Cain was fuming, looking like a bull ready to charge. Face red all the way to the tips of his ears was in stark contrast to the pale hair on his head. His arms were stiff at his sides, hands still clenched into fists. But Jeb wouldn't back down.
"Do you really want to see DG married to someone else?" Jeb inquired while rubbing the bruise beginning to form on his already inflamed temple. "Do you really want to see her married to me?" he prodded again.
Before Cain could answer, a loud crash echoed down the hall from the direction they had come. Without a word both Cain men tore off down the corridor toward DG's quarters, hearts pounding wildly in their chests.
