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When the furball growled under his breath and started to pace, Cain knew he'd made the right decision in following Bates back to DG. Though the Viewer wouldn't say anything as to why he was suddenly so upset, to Cain's way of thinking it was pretty obvious that it was linked to DG.

His suspicions were confirmed when the Princess herself walked through the door, doing her best to keep her expression from giving her feelings away but still very much unaware that her eyes truly were the window to her soul, at least where he was concerned.

She stopped so suddenly that the guard behind her – Rafe, he guessed by process of elimination – almost walked into the back of her.

Their eyes locked and everything else seemed to disappear, time itself coming to a slow stop.

He drank in the sight of her greedily, taking in everything about her. It'd been almost an annual since he'd seen her last and every single second of it suddenly felt like a second too long.

How he'd managed to keep himself away from her for so long, Cain didn't know.

How he managed to stop himself from closing the relatively small distance between them and pull her into the circle of his arms, Cain couldn't say.

It dawned on him that the feelings he felt for her could have diminished with the time and distance they'd put between themselves; he didn't know whether to be pleased or startled that if anything, they'd only grown in intensity.

There was a voice in his mind, in his heart, that declared her as his. His Princess, his DG.

In that second, he knew he would be keeping the promise he'd made to her what felt like a lifetime ago on the balcony of her rooms at the palace; now they were together again, he wasn't going to be able to let her go.

DG opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her lips moved, and his gaze was drawn to them but still, no sound escaped her.

He sensed movement behind him but didn't feel any danger from it so kept his eyes focused on her. He was vaguely aware of Bates and Elliot moving off towards the stairs at a low murmur from Jeb.

The one he knew as Bran entered his peripheral vision, blocking his view of DG momentarily as he went up to Rafe and spoke quietly. At his words, Rafe, too, headed to the stairs while Bran moved outside to arrange who'd take first watch with the men who'd travelled alongside Jeb and himself.

The movement of the guards left just himself and DG, Jeb, Raw and Glitch.

Friends. Family.

He should have been able to relax but couldn't. The tension in the air shifted, but it was still palpable.

"Well, this is quite the reunion, isn't it?" Glitch spoke up, clearing his throat when neither Cain or DG moved.

Raw made a small noise behind him, but there was a note of distress in it that caught Cain's attention and was finally enough to pull his attention away from DG.

"DG shielding but can feel distress," the Viewer murmured. "Need to calm."

His gaze went straight back to DG at Raw's words and he noticed that in the time he'd taken his eyes off her, she'd started to glow. Literally. Her entire body kept lighting up in short bursts, her blue eyes were wide, and her lips were parted as though she couldn't quite catch her breath.

The girl was in the midst of a panic attack and he hated the thought he might be partly to blame for it.

There was no hesitation as he crossed the gap between them and set his hands on her shoulders. He had to dip his head a little to put them on the same level but he did it so he could look her in the eye and make sure he had the whole of her attention.

"Breathe for me, DG. You've got to breathe, Darlin'." His hands tightened on her shoulders even as hers rose to cover them.

He mimicked the slow breaths he needed her to take and DG slowly followed suit, her eyes never once leaving his.

Only when her breathing was even and he knew she was in no risk of passing on out him did Cain move, his hands moving from her shoulders, sliding down her arms to her waist. When he pulled her towards him, DG didn't protest. She lifted her arms to go around his shoulders, his name escaping her in a cry torn from her throat as she tried to almost bury into him, pressing her face against his shoulder as all of the tears she'd kept at bay since the day he'd left began to pour out of her.

He lost track of time as he held her, murmuring nonsensical reassurances and rubbing her back in slow circles. He kept his cheek pressed against the top of her head but watched as those who remained with them started to move.

Jeb took up position on the inside of the front door, just in case one of the guards decided to come back in. Glitch, likewise, moved to the only other door leading into the room from the inside, blocking the entrance just in case the inn's well-meaning owners tried to come in from their own home which was adjoining the property. Raw came up to stand beside him and DG, tentatively reaching out to lay a furry hand on the top of DG's head as he closed his eyes and concentrated.

A soft growl escaped the Viewer, and the sound was enough to make DG lift her head from Cain's chest. She took a half step back; it was all his arms would allow because he could quite get the message to his hands that he needed to let her go.

"I'm sorry, Raw," she said quietly, her cheeks damp but her eyes clear. "You shouldn't have had to feel that. And I'm sorry to you, too, Cain," she continued, lifting her head to look at him directly. She looked embarrassed, the beginnings of a blush rising in her pale cheeks. "It's been a long day, and I wasn't expecting you to be here. I didn't mean to use you as a human handkerchief."

"Not complainin', DG." He lifted one hand from where they'd come to rest on her hips to touch her cheek, wiping away the residual tears with the pad of his thumb. "You want to tell me what set you off, Kid?"

"Not really but I don't think you're going to let me get away with that." Her rueful smile was faint but at least it was present. She glanced away from him to see Jeb standing guard at the door and the blush returned full force. "Hi, Jeb. It's nice to see you again. And sorry, again. I promise I'm not normally like this."

"S'okay, Princess." Jeb gave her a lopsided grin and a wink. "Sometimes seeing the old man gets me all emotional, too."

A small laughed escaped the girl at that and Cain reluctantly let his hand drop from her face but refused to relinquish contact completely. He'd been starved of the opportunity to see her, hear her, touch her for far too long and wasn't willing to stop now he could. He entwined their hands, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles in silent reassurance as he led her over to the sofa beside the fire and kept hold of her hand as they sat down together.

"I'm probably overreacting," DG said sheepishly, ducking her head a little so she didn't have to look at anyone. Cain noticed she didn't make any attempt at pulling her hand away, though, and was glad of it. "Dinner with Lord Tilton isn't an experience I'd care to admit."

"Selfish man," Raw purred, sitting down on her other side. Cain noted the Viewer didn't reach for DG's hand but kept close enough that his arm brushed hers. "Man insult sister, father. Threaten Princess."

"Threaten?" His voice was sharp enough to have her lift her head to look at him.

"Not really. Not like you're thinking." She squeezed his hand and he felt something tingle between their palms, almost as if she was trying to use her gift to calm him. "He made it clear there are certain expectations I have to meet because of my position and said there'd be consequences if I didn't. Basically, there are powerful people watching and I should think twice about risking their wrath."

"Powerful people, Doll?" Glitch left his station at the inner door to sit in the armchair opposite the sofa. Likewise, Jeb moved closer to the group.

DG nodded. "I think he might have meant the Council. I can't think who else he could mean, and I'm certainly not their favourite person so it would make sense that they're watching and waiting for me to mess up."

"They're not waiting for you to mess up," Glitch protested. "They're just waiting, in general, to see what you do. They don't like change, DG. The Court has longstanding traditions that have been around for annuals... That have been around for annuals... That have been around for – oh! Hi, Doll. Cain's back, did you see?"

Since he was still sitting next to her holding her hand like a lifeline, the answer was obviously yes but Cain watched DG smile softly and ignore the question. "There's a time and a place for tradition, Glitch, but the Court and Mother's Council need to realise some things have to change. The Witch is gone, but everything can't just go back to how it was before."

"What did he say about your sister and the Consort?" Cain asked quietly, wanting to know exactly what had been said to upset her.

DG signed. "He won't accept Az isn't evil and he blames my father for tainting the Royal bloodline by being both a Slipper and a commoner. As if that even matters."

"It matters to some," he found himself saying, immediately comparing the Consort's relationship with the Queen to the one he'd been hoping to have with their daughter.

DG's gaze locked with his, her eyes flashing. "Not to me, and not to anyone that matters. He referred to me as the Slipper Princess, too, so I think I'm enough of an insult to his delicate sensibilities of my own."

"But you're not a Slipper," Jeb pointed out. "You were born in the OZ."

"Some people like to forget that. I can't blame them; I don't remember much of it myself," DG said wryly. "Anyway," she sat up a little straighter, pulling away from him slightly by no longer leaning into him, and Cain knew what was coming. "Not that it isn't nice to see you both, but I thought you'd be on your way to Coldstream by now."

"We're planning to stop by at the end of your tour," Cain replied matter-of-factly.

"We sent word to Grandfather that that's what we're going to do," Jeb added before DG could launch into a protest. "He'll understand. He was in the Royal Guard annuals ago."

Silently thanking his son for including that bit of information, knowing it would distract DG long enough for him to move the conversation on. "You'll have to catch us up on the itinerary."

"You don't have to come with us." DG turned slightly to face him. "You don't have to put your life on hold again –"

"I'm not." He ran his thumb over her knuckles again in a subtle caress.

It was signal enough for the group element of their reunion to be over.

Glitch got to his feet after a meaningful look from Raw that DG didn't see, but Cain did. The Queen's Advisor gave an exaggerated stretch and accompanying yawn as Raw slowly followed in getting up from the sofa.

"Night, Doll. Don't worry about the Court or Council. We've got your back," Glitch grinned at her and waved as he headed towards the stairs. "I'll let Rafe know we're turning in for the night."

"Thank you, Glitch." DG smiled again but didn't attempt getting off the sofa herself.

It was a good thing she didn't, Cain thought, as he wasn't prepared to let her go until they'd had the conversation he'd been replaying in his head on his journey to Hirshall.

Jeb excused himself to go and chat with the guards outside to find out what the plans were for keeping watch while Raw followed Glitch upstairs to their assigned rooms with a rumbled 'goodnight'.

And then it was just the two of them, alone for the first time in almost an annual.

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