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Time ticked by too quickly; the Prince of IX's arrival was imminent.
DG stood in line with her parents and sister, conscious of Cain standing only a few feet away as the Prince's arrival was announced.
She felt sick and shaky, her legs weak even as she held herself tall. When the Prince and his entourage were shown into the palace by Glitch, who was firmly in Lord Ambrose mode, she thought for a moment that she was going to pass out.
Prince Faseem was a striking man; handsome, some would say. He had sharp features, intense green eyes and dark hair that curled lightly. He bowed to her parents, kissed her mother's hand. He greeted Azkadellia with none of the suspicion their own people usually did and took DG's own hand in his as he bowed to kiss it.
"Princess DG. It is an honour to finally meet you in person."
DG managed what she hoped was a smile. "We're pleased you were able to join us, Prince Faseem."
"As am I. Your home here is most beautiful. In my country, we have no lakes to speak of, though the ocean is not far from my home." His tone was pleasant, conversational. DG wondered how she could take her hand back without offending him. "If you are fond of your lake, you will enjoy the ocean."
"I've seen an ocean," she told him softy, withdrawing her hand after a moment longer and resisting the urge to wipe the back of it against the skirt of the dress her mother had insisted she wear. "There were oceans on the Other Side."
The Prince's eyes narrowed for a moment, before realisation dawned and his eyes lit up. "Ah, yes. I had forgotten. You must tell me all about the Other Side, Princess. I am eager to hear your stories."
"And I'm sure my daughter would love to share them, Prince Faseem, but there are things we must discuss."
Grateful for her mother's interruption, DG took advantage of the Prince's distracted state to take a small step back. Cain, it seemed, had taken a small step forward, as she could feel his heat behind her and felt herself relax. When she felt the touch of his hand against the small of her back, discreet and hidden from the Prince in front of her, she drew strength from it and internally sighed.
Her parents were experts in handling tricky diplomatic situations, DG was quickly beginning to learn. She watched in admiration as they tag-teamed the Prince and his Advisor, keeping them both occupied with mindless conversation as they led the way to the drawing room that had bene prepared for entertaining their guests.
It helped soothe her nerves to focus on the potential lesson rather than the reason for the Prince's visit. It helped even more to have Cain take her hand for the briefest of moments as they moved to follow, careful to make sure the touch was hidden from the curious gaze of the rest of the Prince's entourage by their bodies as they walked.
It didn't go unmissed by Jeb, though, who saw the gesture as he trailed his father and the Princess. He was careful to keep his body between them and anyone else who might walk behind them and see the gesture, determined to protect them as much as he could.
Beside him, Ishta shifted and a glance at her showed him the reason for the change in angle was the lingering stare of one of the Prince's own guards. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again as the Western Guild Warrior glared at the IX soldier and haughtily tossed her hair over her shoulder, dismissing him.
A smile almost crossed over his face at the gesture. Almost. It faded as they took up their position in the room with the Royal Family, his father stood dutifully behind DG's chair as the negotiations regarding her marriage contract began.
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The Prince's advisor was adamant that the marriage would take place. The Prince himself didn't seem interested in the proceedings, interjecting only when he had something to add that made himself look important.
So far, DG had learned he had a property by the ocean and a property in the main city of IX, both of which were staffed by a team of over a hundred servants, artisan bakers and skilled musicians amongst them.
She wasn't interested.
The wealth he discussed, the luxuries he could afford... None of it interested her in the slightest.
"Tell me, Prince Faseem," DG interrupted in the middle of his spiel about the most exquisite portrait he'd commissioned – of himself – by the most renowned artist in IX. "What do you do the support the people of your country?"
"The people?" Prince Faseem stared at her, uncomprehending."
"The people, yes." DG fixed him with a dangerously polite smile. The conversation at the other end of the table had stopped but she wasn't paying attention. "What do you do for the poorer people in your society, the ones who can't find work to support themselves through no fault of their own such as illness or inability?" When the Prince only continued to stare at her, DG's smile sharpened. "What about the children who have lost their parents or were abandoned by them for whatever reason?"
"We... I..." The Prince glanced at his advisor for a moment before waving a dismissive hand. "That, my dear," he continued, with what she thought he assumed was a charming smile. "Is for the council to concern themselves with. I'm far too busy to be involved in such trivial matters."
"Trivial?" DG repeated, arching an eyebrow. "The welfare of your people is trivial? Then by all means, Your Highness, enlighten me as to what is so important that you can't concern yourself with such matters."
As the Prince listed a number of pastimes he would prefer to indulge in rather than pay an interest in running his country, DG's attention strayed. Firstly, to the man who stood behind her, his presence a balm she both needed and despaired of. If she could have spared him this, she would. If she thought he'd listen, she would tell him to leave her, to make a life for himself somewhere far away and be happy.
But he wouldn't, and there was a selfish part of her that was glad of it even as she hated that he had to go through it with her.
In a perfect world, they'd run away. They'd go somewhere safe, maybe to the Other Side, and they'd elope and settle down. He would find a job as a sheriff in a small town; she would make a living fixing things or maybe through painting if she was lucky. They'd have a kid or two, maybe three, and they'd be happy.
There'd be no stress, no worry. No having a country to run or its people to take care of.
Just the two of them, the love they felt for each other, and everything nice that came along with it.
Distracted by her thoughts, DG was only brought back to the conversation when she heard her mother's voice go shrill.
"So soon?" The Queen was aghast. "Why, Prince Faseem, must there be such urgency?"
Feeling like she'd missed something very important, especially if the way Cain's hand strayed to her shoulder and squeezed – hard – DG focused on the Prince's answer.
"I'm afraid it cannot be avoided, Your Majesty. I must return to my home country within three days. Princess DG, as my bride, must return with me. As I presume she would prefer the wedding ceremony itself to take place here, at least the initial ceremony, we must be wed tomorrow or the day after."
DG stared at him. Her mother stared at him. Her father looked like he wanted to kill him.
In the end, it was Azkadellia who found her voice first. "Prince Faseem, surely you must understand that the people of the OZ would not accept their recently returned Princess to be married off and disappear again in such a fashion. There would be uproar amongst the people of the OZ."
"The people of the OZ are not our concern," the Prince's advisor cut in, his smile curt. "They will have a Royal Wedding when you yourself marry, will they not, Princess Azkadellia? You are to be Queen when your mother chooses to step down."
Azkadellia held her chin high, meeting the advisor's gaze evenly. "It has yet to be decided, Sir, whether my sister or I will take the throne. As such, I am afraid it will be impossible to arrange a wedding between Prince Faseem and a daughter of the House of Gale within two days as we do not know which daughter he may marry."
"He will marry Princess DG," the advisor retorted, banging on the table with his fist. "It is as agreed."
"Agreed by whom?" The Queen asked quietly.
"Count Faraday and Duke Montague wrote to us to specify it was the Princess DG who would be entering into the contract with Prince Faseem," the advisor stated. He reached into his pocket and produced a document, a scroll that he unfastened and passed to her mother. "Is that not your signature agreeing the arrangement, Queen Lavender? And your seal?"
Her mother took the document, her face growing pale and her eyes wide as she reviewed it. "I assure you, Sir, I did not sign this. That may be my signature but I did not approve this agreement."
The advisor gave her a thin smile, his eyes cold. "Be that as it may, you signed the agreement annuals ago with Prince Faseem's parents. The wedding will take place the day after tomorrow, Your Majesty, and Princess DG will return with us to IX the day after. It has been agreed, and it is what will be." He got to his feet, the Prince following suit at a slightly slower pace. "I believe our conversation has finished. There are preparations to make, and a wedding to plan."
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Azkadellia had offered herself as an alternative several times, but the Prince's advisor had turned her down each time. The agreement, he told her, stated that Princess DG would marry Prince Faseem, and that is all they would accept.
Azkadellia was devastated she couldn't save her sister, Queen Lavender distraught she had somehow been betrayed into signing DG's freedom away, and Ahamo stalked around the palace as though he'd kill someone if they dared look at him the wrong way.
Glitch had shut himself in his office, muttering to himself that there had to be a way, a loophole, to free DG from the contract. He barely ate, rarely slept, and DG found she worried about him just as much as she did about her upcoming nuptials to a man she didn't know and couldn't stand what little she did.
Raw was trying to cope with all of the emotions that were flying around and DG was doing her best to help him, despite his protests that he didn't need her to. As well as shielding her own emotions, she'd taken to shielding the Viewer, much to Cain and Jeb's disagreement. He was one of the best assets, they argued, an evasive way to scan for potential dangers to the safety and security of the Royal Family. DG stood her ground and argued that Raw's own safety was paramount and she wouldn't put that at risk.
Her mother's Advisory Council had descended on the Southern Palace as soon as word had reached them, and as such, were in meeting after meeting while frantically planning a wedding that could be deemed suitable for a Princess.
A wedding no one, it seemed, wanted to happen.
Still, hasty invitations were sent. DG was bundled off to fittings for a wedding dress she didn't want. People she'd never met before, and some she had during her failed tour, turned up to attend the ceremony.
She was ordered to stand still as seamstresses fluttered around her like overly anxious butterflies, doing their best not to prick her with their sewing needles as she fidgeted in front of the wall of mirrors she insisted she stand beside.
A wall of mirrors that showed her Wyatt Cain in all his sullen glory, watching her be fitted for a wedding dress she would wear to walk down the aisle to someone who wasn't him.
It was breaking her heart, which meant she was sure it was breaking his.
On the eve on what was to be her wedding day, DG left her room and headed straight for that of her bodyguard.
No one stopped her. Rafe, who was on guard outside her sister's room, inclined his head in acknowledgement, his expression so full of sorrow she felt her heart clench. Her own guard for the evening, Bran, couldn't even look at her.
They all felt useless for being unable to prevent the wedding that awaited her, feeling like failures for being unable to protect her from it. DG understood on one level; on another, she wanted to grab them and shake them and scream that it wasn't their fault.
Just as it wasn't Wyatt's fault, though he was taking it harder than most.
Squaring her shoulders, knowing she had no choice but to do what she had to, she knocked on once on Cain's door before slipping inside.
"You shouldn't be here," Cain told her, though by the way he'd been pacing beside the door, it was clear he'd been expecting her. "You're getting married tomorrow."
"I know." She stepped directly into his path, lifting her arms to rest her hands against his shoulders so he couldn't walk away from her. "That's why I'm here."
His arms slid around her as he sighed, dragging her closer as he let his forehead rest against hers. "I don't know if I can do it, DG. I don't know if I can watch –"
"Then don't," she interrupted, halting his hoarse declaration. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes briefly, fingers flexing as she fought the urge to dig in and hold on tight. "I want you to leave, Wyatt. Go tonight. I don't know where or for how long but you don't need to be here for this. You don't need to watch –"
"You're sending me away?" He exploded, pushing her away so he could resume his pacing. "Really, Deege? What's what it's come to?"
"I don't want you to leave," she told him honestly, watching him helplessly. "But I know how I'd feel if it was the other way around and I won't do that to you, Wyatt. I won't!" Tears stung her eyes but she tried to keep them from falling, wrapping her arms around her waist and holding herself tightly. "It would kill me to watch you marry someone else. I don't want to put you through that."
"Whether I'm here or not, I'll know it's happening," Cain protested. "It won't make it any easier –"
"Won't it? It's one thing knowing, another to have to watch it!" She tightened her arms and watched as he stopped so he could face her. "I don't want you to have to do that. I don't want you to think of that when you think of me."
Cain stilled, his eyes narrowing. "Why would that be what I remember when I think about you? I'm going to be with you, Deege. I'm going to IX with you."
"You can't." She closed her eyes. "Prince Faseem and his advisor won't allow it. They see it as an insult that we don't trust them to see to my safety in their country. You can't come with me, no matter how much we both wish you could."
His reaction should have startled her, maybe even scared her. For some reason, it didn't. She watched as he took his frustration out on the furniture, swiping a useless ornament off the table next to the small sofa in his room and sending it to the floor, shattering into a hundred pieces. She watched as he kicked the sofa, as he paced the room to see what else he could destroy.
She watched, and waited, and was glad she'd cast a silencing spell over the room so the noise within it wouldn't be heard outside.
When he stalked towards her, normally light blue eyes dark with rage and frustration and need, DG didn't flinch. She held herself still and waited for the torrent of emotions he kept such a tight rein on to be released.
When he reached for her, she went willingly.
There was nothing gentle about the way they held each other, kissed each other, claimed each other. It was an act of raw need, of desperation.
Of goodbye.
When DG slipped out of his room in the early hours of the morning on what would be her wedding day, it was with tears in her eye and a pain in her heart that no Viewer could heal.
She stopped short when she saw Jeb standing outside, the younger Cain clearly arguing with himself on whether to go to his father or not. Glancing around to make sure there was no one she didn't trust in the area, DG moved towards him swiftly, keeping her voice soft but urgent. "Get him out of here, Jeb. I don't know where or how but he can't be here for this. I can't do this if I know he's watching. It isn't fair on either of us."
"I can't... I have a job to do, Princess." That he was torn between duty and concern for his father was clear. "My place is here."
"No, your place is with your father, wherever that needs to be." DG drew herself up to her full height, squaring her shoulders as she'd seen her mother do several times. "I will make it an order if it helps, Captain Cain."
"It might," Jeb admitted quietly, sighing as he ran a hand through his already mused hair. He fixed blue eyes so much like his fathers on hers. "He won't like this. He won't go willingly."
"Then you have to make him. You can go and see your grandfather," DG said, inspiration coming to her suddenly. "I know he was invited to join us here but that was before this all happened and we've not heard from him. Take your father and go. Have the reunion you've been putting off because of me. Please, Jeb. If an order won't work, I'll beg."
"You don't have to do that, DG." Jeb took a moment to look around; his men were all carefully not looking at them. On impulse, he reached for DG and hugged her tightly. "I'll try," he promised.
DG nodded, tears stinging her eyes and the lump in her throat making it difficult to speak. "Just take care of him, Jeb. That's all I ask."
Unable to say more, DG broke free from his embrace and fled to her room to watch the twin suns rise through her tears.
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