They spent many afternoons together, just like that, sitting alone on the couch in her room. Sometimes she read and Jeb napped, or the other way around, and sometimes they chatted quietly about the most unimportant things in the world. He felt like he'd known this woman all his life. She was the imaginary friend he'd had or the fish he used to talk to because no one else would stop long enough to listen to his stories when he was a child. Jeb was happy with her, although his nagging voice constantly reminded him that she was mildly afraid of him. Of course, there was also the fact that she was the princess of the OZ, perhaps someday the queen, and he was nothing but a guard who spent a little too much time with her. He was honestly quite surprised that the papers hadn't decided they were too scandalous yet.

"What were you thinking all those years?" Az put down her book, breaking the perfect silence and startling Jeb out of his thoughts about possible scandalous headlines for the two of them.

"Which years?" He had a nagging suspicion that she was talking about the long years under the witch's reign and silently wondered why she kept bringing it up. Every time they were together alone in her room, she would ask something or other about his time as a rebel leader or what exactly the people thought about her or something else that would do nothing but upset her. He didn't want to talk about it and could plainly see that she didn't either, but there was nothing to be done. If she were talking about what he thought she was talking about, he'd try to spare her the gory details.

"While… you know… when you were fighting against the Longcoats," Az prompted, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them, her eyes on Jeb.

"I don't really know. Many things," he replied carefully, watching her for any sign of anything. Jeb would rather avoid the topic and wished she would too.

"Specifically."

"I missed those I knew, mourned for many I didn't. People were angry with anyone who tried to take them away from their families. Everything was to be expected really…"

"I'm really sorry. You lost Wyatt and… what happened to your mother?" Az hadn't gotten this bit of the story yet, although she'd been a little afraid of asking.

"I didn't lose him. I could hardly believe my father was alive that day… but I thought I had. The idea of his death took a lot out of mom. She went half-mad in the first year without him. Sometimes she'd come to my room and call me by his name… I wasn't sure what she thought of me or him or anything. I know I reminded her of him a little too much and threw myself into my work instead. She died." It didn't hurt him anymore to talk about Adora Cain. It had all been too long ago and he had settled with the idea of her no longer being the same wonderful, happy woman she'd been before the incident with the Longcoats.

"I'm so sorry," Az managed to say, covering one of his hands with her own. "It's all my fault." There were tears in her eyes now as she looked at him, managed to meet his gaze. "I should have been able to stop her… I didn't want any of it to happen! I was there each time she took over my mind and forced me to say and do things I never wanted to. She's killed so many people and I'm so--" Jeb kissed her before she could finish the sentence and she pulled back, away from him. "Sorry."

"None of it was your fault," Jeb stated firmly, taking both of her hands into his own and meeting her eyes. How could this woman hurt anyone? How could she even think she could? This woman who stopped in the streets to pet a stray cat and give him a scrap of her own lunch, this woman who caught spiders and let them loose outside, this woman who was one of the kindest people he'd ever met. How could she think that? Of all things, that was one Jeb wasn't able to understand.

"Yes it was."

"No. It was not. None of it, Azkadellia, was your fault." No matter how many times he repeated it to her, it didn't seem to settle down to stay. "Trust me, anyone who knows the full truth understands. Please just believe me…"

"You shouldn't be here," she stated in his tone of voice with significantly less feeling. Az lowered her eyes and attempted to pull her hands from him. "I want you here, but you should be trying to kill me. You shouldn't have forgiven me so easily because I killed your mother… You thought I'd killed your father… I've killed so many…"

Jeb cupped her chin in his hand and lifted her face up to look at him.

"Tell me, Az. Am I lying to you?"

"I—I don't think so… but you should be!" she exclaimed, bursting into tears. "You shouldn't have these feelings for me. It's so… not right…"

"Am I not right?" That hurt.

"Yes. No. That's not it at all… The idea isn't right, Jeb. You're…" Her lower lip continued to quiver as she reached up and wiped her tears away. "You're too perfect. It can't be right, happening to me."

"You deserve a little happiness, Azzy." He kissed her again. "Please believe me."

"I can't… So many people hate me…"

"No one does." That was a lie.

"Yes they do, Jeb, they do! You should hate me too… remember how I thought you were going to kill me?"

"Azzy, that was over six months ago. I didn't want to kill you then and I don't want to kill you now. Please. If anything, believe this… I love you."

"I—You do?"

"Yes."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him this time and meaning every second of it. This man was perfection. She didn't deserve him, she didn't even deserve to be friends with him, but this one time Az shoved the voice in the back of her head aside and let her feelings go.

"I think I love you too," she managed, breaking the kiss when she finally needed air.

"Good. You're the best thing ever, I don't want to lose you."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"One-hundred percent serious, Az."

She snorted a sort of laugh and kissed him again.

---

"Um. I'm sorry, I'm not really sure how to go about this but…"

Jeb stood awkwardly in front of Queen Lavender and her Prince Consort Ahamo in the meeting room, gnawing on his lower lip. He'd asked one of the queen's guards to get this meeting together in hopes of actually knowing what to say but found himself hardly able to speak.

What was the right way to do this, anyway? How did his father do this? He didn't know… His father wouldn't tell him… 'Do what feels right, but don't forget they're royalty.' What the hell did that mean?

"What're you trying to say, child?" Lavender asked, giving him a warm smile. He didn't feel at all comforted by it. She was the Queen, for god's sake. He'd never dreamt of meeting her, let alone asking for something like this…

"At least in the country… This is how my friend said it's done…" Excuses. "But… Anyway… I'd like to ask for Princess Azkadellia's hand in marriage." Err… Wait. Should that have been a question or a statement?

"Glinda's knickers, not another one!" Ahamo covered half his face with his hand, groaning before glancing up toward the ceiling. "Why? Why does this happen?"

"Err… I'm sorry, sir?" Crap. Clearly he'd done something wrong. Had there been other people asking after Azkadellia? Was she already engaged? Married? Promised to become a nun? She certainly hadn't mentioned anything before… Was now a good time to back out of the room and forget the whole idea? Or, say, get himself appointed to guard a patch of desert on the border someplace? That sounded quite good, actually.

"Don't be afraid, child," Queen Lavender asserted, giving her husband an annoyed glance and elbowing him in the side. For just a few moments, Jeb was extremely confused before Ahamo turned his eyes on him and laughed again.

"Yeah, I scared your dad too. I bet that's why he didn't want to talk about it," he said in perfectly friendly tone, giving his wife an apologetic glance at the same time. "Sorry, kiddo, but why the heck are you asking us?"

"I… I just thought, you know… Maybe I should?" Was he not supposed to?

"Go ask her, you're going to be her husband after all, not ours. It's her choice."

"Oh well… Thank you, sir. Your highness." Jeb gave them both a bow in attempt to at least do something right and the Prince Consort let out a low snicker again only to be elbowed once more by his wife.

"Go ahead, child. What Ahamo meant to say was, you have our blessings, but the decision is ultimately hers and hers alone. It won't be influenced by us, her status or the people around her."

As quickly as he could, so as not to embarrass himself again in front of the two royals, Jeb fled the room, a feeling of happiness warm and snuggly in his chest. Azzy said she'd loved him just yesterday. Hopefully she wasn't afraid of commitments… hopefully he wouldn't scare her out of his life forever…

---

"What?!"

"DG! Calm down, girl… He's just going to ask."

"Dad! She didn't say anything. Oh my god, what if she says yes? She will, won't she?" DG laughed midway through her questioning, suddenly out of breath with excitement for her sister. "She'll have to. They're the cutest thing since the wolfhound puppies and Jeb totally loves her!"

Wyatt Cain stood by DG's side, looking totally and utterly shocked at the news her father came over to share. Jeb was going to propose to Az? And he was about ready to marry DG? Well… There was nothing wrong with family trees that took a few wrong turns and ended up circling a couple times, was there? Still. As far as Wyatt had known, Jeb and Az were very good friends, not… anything more serious… DG hadn't told him a thing.

"Deep breaths. You're not allowed to ask her anything until she brings it up, alright?" Ahamo warned, giving DG a stern glance before turning to leave. "Keep it in mind," he called over his shoulder when he was almost out the door. Leave Jeb's mother-in-law-to-be and his father to talk over her sister marrying their son. Geez, that was complicated.

"Kiddo, you didn't tell me anything about this," Wyatt stated, raising an eyebrow at his fiancée. "I was under the impression that they were only friends…"

"Wyatt!" DG dragged his name for almost a quarter of a second, rolling her eyes. "Those looks they give each other, the holding hands, the long walks in the gardens… I thought you might have noticed. Didn't Jeb say anything about it?"

"No. He goes to you for his Az-advice, remember?"

"Right-o. Either way, I'm so excited. Ooh, do you think he'll ask her tonight? Right now? After he talked to mom and dad?"

"Like your dad said, kiddo, deep breaths--"

"Stop calling me that. I'm not a kid, Wyatt, I'm your fiancée." DG placed her hands on her hips and attempted to walk away from him looking annoyed, but ended up tripping over her own skirts that were just a little too long. "Hate these things," she muttered angrily when he caught her.

"Of course, princess," he stated, making DG roll her eyes at him again. "But… I really hadn't noticed. And here I was, thinking Jeb told me everything like he used to…"

DG stuck out her tongue at him and grabbed his hand, tugging him toward the door.

"Can we go find out? Please, please, please… Dad said Jeb came to them over an hour ago, so it's been over two hours now and he's bound to have asked her… It's almost time for dinner anyway."

It was Wyatt's turn to roll his eyes at the bouncy girl and follow her down the hall helplessly. The man could fight his way through fields of Longcoats, but when it came to this one girl, he was absolutely useless. No one argued with DG without an insane amount of puppy-dog pleading eyes and her begging. Almost everyone eventually gave in. He was surprised her guards didn't let her run around like the wild thing she was and someone, somehow, managed to get her into a dress. Give them an award.

---

Jeb knocked on her door this time, although her guards told him it was okay to just go right in. He heard the familiar, slightly curious 'come in' and opened the door to find Az curled up on her bed with a novel in her lap.

"Hello," she greeted cheerfully, giving him a small wave. "You're usually here earlier."

"I got a little caught up… had something to do," Jeb explained away, hoping she wouldn't ask him to elaborate. He had to ask her, tonight too because no doubt someone told DG and that meant half the court already knew, but he had to gather his thoughts together first.

"Oh," Az frowned but didn't question. "Well. Okay." She shifted her weight on the pillows beneath her, clearly picking something to talk about out of the blue. "I found a secret passage today behind the portrait of my grandmother, the one where she looks really scary."

"Oh. Interesting… Where does that one lead?"

"Very top of the castle, west tower. I have no idea why anyone wants to go there though… It's not much of a view of… anything."

"Maybe you'll find out," he said with a smile, wandering over to her. Jeb, just get it over with. Ask her. Now. It was easier if you didn't think about it. Just… follow your heart and do what feels right to you.

---

DG lifted a finger to her lips as one of Azkadellia's guards opened his mouth to greet them. This secret mission must be kept a secret until the last possible moment when she couldn't hold her breath anymore and needed to tackle her sister or Jeb or both in that order. Wyatt crept after her, looking both annoyed and amused by the younger princess' actions.

"I'm going to open the door just a crack," DG explained in a whisper to the mass of guards now crowded around one little door and Wyatt. "It doesn't creak, does it?" As soon as someone shook a head, she nodded and turned the handle. If she pressed her ear to the wall, she could just barely hear what was going on inside.

---

Jeb already had the ring. He'd had the ring since a few days after the day he'd told Az he loved her. He'd made up his mind a while ago, but he'd never had the guts to do it properly or to bring it up. Tonight, he'd find out how exactly Az felt about him… If they were meant to be…

Walking around the bed as nonchalantly as he possibly could, Jeb knelt before her, taking one of her hands and looking up at her. Az's surprised eyes met his, although she kept the silence. It was probably for the better.

"Princess Azkadellia… Err… Az. Azzy." Well, that was certainly an awkward way to begin anything, Jeb. Good job. Good job. "Would you marry me?"

---

DG let out a loud squeal as the words barely registered through the cracked open door, clasping her hands over her mouth and breaking out into excited giggles.

"Wyatt! Tell me what she says!"

It was his turn to press his ear to the door.

---

"I… Really?"

"Please?" He added with a small, hopeful smile.

"Yes. I'd love to." There were tears in Az's eyes as he picked the ring out of the box he'd held out, placing it on her hand. "I'd love to."

With that, DG burst into the room, dancing her way toward the bed and ending up almost on top of Azkadellia.

"You're getting married!"

"I… I am…" Az looked horribly uncertain of what had just happened and DG looked excited enough for the whole castle. Wyatt followed his overly excitable princess into the room, still amused by her antics and Jeb looked merely terrified.

"Congrats kid."

"Thanks dad."

"She's getting married!!"

"Yes, DG. Yes I am. And so are you."

"Oh, this makes the family tree a little knot, doesn't it?" DG giggled as Wyatt and Jeb exchanged glances and Az gave her sister a surprised and shocked look.

"That… shouldn't matter… right?" She wanted to be with Jeb, even if it screwed up the tree. Who looked at those, anyway?

"It doesn't, Az! You're getting married!" And DG leapt away from her sister, back out the door and down the hall toward the kitchens, singing 'Az is getting married' all the way.

By the end of the night, everyone knew.


Author's Note: Teehee. I don't think I have anything to say except that they are so cute. :]