*\*
They made it back to Central City without incident and had been there almost a week when a pounding on the door to their rooms disturbed a rare lie in for the newest royal couple. DG groaned and muttered something under her breath about banishing the guilty culprit to Munchkin territory, pulling the blankets over her head even as Cain deftly rolled out of bed, reaching for his clothes.
"Give us a minute, for Ozma's sake," Cain grumbled, hurriedly getting dressed. He was fastening his holster even as he made it to the door, unlocking it and swinging it open to greet the messenger with a glare.
"Sorry, General Cain." Bran stood to attention, all traces of his usual amusement gone from his expression. That spoke volumes to Cain as to the seriousness of the problem even before the soldier could continue. "The Queen and Consort request you and Princess DG join them in the conference room as soon as possible."
"We'll be there in five minutes," Cain told him curtly. He closed the door and turned towards the bedroom, only to find DG standing in the doorway, wrapped in a sheet. Her hair was a mess but there was no trace of sleepiness in her suddenly sharp eyes. "Better get dressed, Deege."
She nodded and turned back into the bedroom. He followed at a slower pace, only needing to visit the bathroom and find his socks and shoes. He finished getting ready quickly and sat on the edge of their bed, watching with the same fascination as always as the transformation took place.
His DG slowly disappeared behind the mask of Princess Royal, the polished façade becoming easier for her to slip into the more she did it. Before she could tie back her hair, he surged to his feet and covered the distance between them. The quick action startled her enough that she turned away from the mirror to face him, which gave him ample opportunity to thread his fingers through her hair, grasping her head as he kissed her deeply and thoroughly. He was rewarded by her sagging against him, her own hands clutching at his vest as she returned his ardour.
When he pulled back, he was satisfied to see her eyes were a little dazed, her lips swollen.
His DG stared at him for a moment, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth as she turned away from him to finish getting ready.
It might not have been much but at least some of the tension in her small frame was gone, and they were reminded that whatever waited for them in the conference room was something they would face together.
They walked hand in hand to the conference room, neither caring that there were some older members of the staff and others at Court who would see the contact as being overly affectionate to be demonstrated in public. DG had laughed when she'd first heard such an innocent gesture could be deemed scandalous and ever since then had initiated some kind of physical contact with him every time they were walking together. She liked to show her affection, not just for him but for her friends, and could often be seen linking arms with Glitch or Raw, though Cain had noticed she had stopped with the spontaneous hugs when there were other people around.
With him, though, she'd often take his hand or lace her arm through his, sometimes rising on her toes to brush her lips against his cheek or whisper something in his ear, uncaring of what anyone who saw them thought or felt about it. For himself, he found he appreciated the little gestures and found the constant touches reassuring.
After so long being without physical contact, he found he shied away from it when it came to most people but couldn't get enough of the sensation when it was DG and was free himself when it came to bestowing affection on Jeb, with a frequent hand on his son's shoulder or occasional one-armed hug if the situation called for it.
Her parents weren't alone in the conference room, and Cain watched as DG squared her shoulders as she moved slowly towards her designated seat. He followed, pulling the chair out for her before taking the seat beside her. He took her hand when she moved to take hers, putting on a united front as they faced the Queen and Consort, the Queen's advisors, Jeb, Azkadellia and Rafe.
"My darling," the Queen began, her own hand wrapped in Ahamo's as he looked grave-faced beside her. "I am afraid there's been an unfortunate development with Duke Montague and Count Faraday."
"Formerly known as," DG interjected, an eyebrow arched. "They were stripped of their titles."
"They were," the Queen confirmed, a sliver of a satisfied smile on her face before it died in an instant. "They haven't taken kindly to it, DG. They released a statement, entirely unauthorised but doctored to hold the Royal seal, at some stage either late last night or early this morning. It's been delivered to every town, village and city in the country."
"What kind of statement?" Cain felt something settle in his stomach, his gaze flicking from the royal couple to his son. Cold fury flashed in Jeb's eyes, his jaw clenched as he fought to control his temper.
"It might be best if you read it," Ahamo told him, and slid a piece of paper across the table towards them.
Cain reached for it and placed it on the table in between himself and DG so they could both read it.
His eyes went flat and he felt chilled as he read the words distributed throughout the realm by the disgraced nobles. Poison dripped from every sentence, condemnation of DG oozing from every letter on the paper.
In their statement, they blamed her for everything. For the Witch's release, for the Queen giving up her light and therefore being unable to fight the Sorceress when she used Azkadellia to seize the throne. They depicted her as a spoilt, selfish brat whose childish tantrums had distracted the Queen and Consort from realising Azkadellia was possessed until it was too late. They described her as being unruly and uncaring for anyone but herself, returning to the OZ not as a hero but as a threat to everything any decent OZian should hold dear. Decorum, propriety, the very fabric of their society was all at risk, they alleged, because of the so-called Slipper Princess and her Other Side ways of doing things. She was inappropriate and unwilling to compromise and, they continued, was the cause of every ounce of suffering to befall their glorious realm since the day of her birth. She was punishment personified and, they urged, needed to be dealt with swiftly.
"How do they propose they deal with me?" DG wondered aloud, eerily calm as she sat back in her seat. To the others in the room, she continued. "What do you think they hope to achieve by releasing this?"
"At best, they want to discredit you in the eyes of the people," Glitch answered when none of the other advisors would speak up. "They don't like how popular you've become, DG. It's a threat to their way of life."
"Their way of life is over, and that's not because I want to win some damn popularity contest." DG ignored those in the room who winced at her words. "For too long now, the people of the OZ have suffered while idiots like Montague, Faraday and Tilton have prospered. I'm sorry, Mom, but it's true, and it goes back to before the Witch rose to power."
"I won't disagree with you, my angel." The Queen smiled wanly. "I am afraid I was allowed myself to be unduly influenced for some annuals before the Sorceress took power."
"You were trying to be a mother and a Queen," Ahamo soothed her. "It was no easy task, my love. You are supposed to have advisors you can trust to aid you in the running of the country." This was said with a steely glance around the table at those advisors who had had the chance to stand up to Faraday and Montague but hadn't taken it, opting instead for an easier life.
All men, DG noted speculatively. There were no females on her mother's council, other than the Queen herself.
"At worst?" Cain interjected before she could give voice to her realisation. "You said that was best case scenario, Glitch."
There was an uncomfortable silence around the table. Her parents exchanged a look, Azkadellia bowed her head. Rafe, he noted, moved discreetly forward to set a comforting hand on the shoulder of the elder Princess.
"At worst, General Cain," the elderly Lord Gentry spoke when no one else seemed inclined to, "they wish to inspire an uprising amongst the people against Princess DG. Our sources indicate they wish to see her tried for treason against the OZ for releasing the Witch and condemning the Princess Azkadellia to her possession."
A sob escaped Azkadellia and she covered her face with her hands.
DG fought the urge to get up and comfort her sister, rewarding Rafe and Raw, who sat at Azkadellia's side, with a grateful smile when they reached out for her instead.
Cain went still in his chair, the icy fist of fear clenching around his heart. An uprising would see the end of Queen Lavender's reign, possibly the end of the House of Gale. A trial for treason against the people, if supported by them, would result in a death sentence. He tightened his grip on DG's hand and was immediately soothed by a flutter of her magic over his skin, a spell meant to reassure and calm.
"Has there been any indication of a response from the people?" DG asked quietly, the only one in the room apparently unaffected by the grave announcement, which was unthinkable given she was the one it was about. "Do we know what their thoughts on it are?"
"It's too early to say," Duke Reed answered stiffly. "I say we make it known how Faraday and Montague betrayed both yourself and your mother, Princess DG. It must be known that they have fallen from grace and therefore have personal motivation for releasing this statement."
"And it will be, but not yet," DG assured, glancing at her mother for approval.
The Queen inclined her head slightly. "Go on, DG. You have more right than I or anyone else to decide how we proceed with this."
Cain sat up straighter in his chair, his eyes narrowing at the Queen and Consort. That was too easy, he suspected, the passing of power from mother to daughter. Though he didn't doubt the statement had been released to their people, he knew it wasn't the usual order of business for anyone other than the Queen to chair the briefing and make the decisions. He couldn't decide if it was her mother's way of apologising to DG for failing to prevent it, or if it was a test of her youngest daughter's ability to make decisions on matters of state befitting of the monarchy.
"Thank you, Your Highness." DG recognised it, too, he realised, or at least part of it. "We will, in time, release a statement of our own explaining the circumstances surrounding their removal from the Council," DG said, appeasing those who had made sounds of agreement with Reed's suggestion. "But for now, we wait." She paused until they all settled again, some members grumbling their surprise at her words. "I want to see what the reaction to it is," she said softly, her hand gripping Cain's in the way her mother's had gripped her fathers. "I want to know what the people really think. It's the truth, after all." She lifted her other hand to silence the protests that immediately began to be muttered. "There's no denying it. Maybe it's not true to the extent that they're implying but I want the people to know the truth about what happened that day. I want them to know it was me and not Azkadellia that released the Witch. I want them to know that if they're still harbouring any hatred or resentment towards her that they're aiming it at the wrong sister."
"But it was me who did all those things," Azkadellia cried, lifting her head to meet DG's gaze across the table. "It was my hands, DG. My magic she twisted."
"But they weren't your actions, Az. They were hers, and releasing her was mine." DG let the words hang between them. "You have to forgive yourself, my sister. You don't need forgiveness from anyone else."
"The same could be said about you, DG." This from the man beside her, who wore her ring as proudly as she wore his. "If the people forgive you, will you forgive yourself?"
She smiled softly, more than a little sadly. "We keep having this conversation, Wyatt. I feel like we're going round in circles sometimes."
"We're going to keep having it until you can answer yes to that question, Princess." After holding her gaze for a moment, he turned his attention back to the others. "When can we expect to start hearing back from the people? What have you got in place to monitor their reactions?"
"We've got scouts going out around the country," Jeb informed them solemnly. "Their orders are to gauge the responses of the people and send back regular reports. If it looks like the people are turning against DG, we'll act on it."
"Act on it?" DG repeated. "You mean you'll try and stop them if they decide they need to form a rebellion of their own?" Her slight smile took the sting off her words. "I appreciate the sentiment, Jeb, but I don't want any harm coming to anyone. Not on my account."
"Ozma willing, it won't come to that, Princess." He made no promises that no one would, though. DG sighed and sat back in her chair. "Is that all you wanted to share with us? I have a visit scheduled at the hospital –"
"All visits are cancelled until further notice," Glitch interrupted before Cain could, spotting the argument brewing and hoping he could intervene before it happened. "I'm sorry, Princess, I know you're disappointed but we can't take any risks with your safety. Your apologies have been sent to the hospital administrator along with a promise that we will rearrange at a later date."
"I don't want to rearrange," DG said, her voice dangerously calm. "I want to go ahead as I promised I would. It's been three cycles since I was last there and I want to make sure the promise I kept to help them upgrade has been kept."
"There's a report on the desk in your office that assures you it has," Glitch returned, Ambrose rising to the surface in response to her tone. "This is not up for discussion, Princess. It has been agreed –"
"Agreed by whom? I don't remember being consulted in the decision and as it concerns me, I really think I should have been."
Her light flared to her fingertips but Cain didn't think she realised it. Given the matching glare on Glitch's face, he didn't think the former Headcase had, either.
"Give it a day or two," Cain intervened, appreciating that it would be himself DG was arguing with if Glitch hadn't stepped in. "Let the dust settle, then we'll go to the hospital for your visit. Your safety is paramount, Princess," he added, his voice taking on a hard edge when it looked like she was going to protest. "There's no ifs and buts about this. We're not taking any risks with your safety and that's not up for discussion."
"Are you speaking as my husband or as the General?" DG asked, tilting her head to the side.
"As both," he confirmed, taking her hand and lifting it to his lips for a kiss. "I won't risk losing you, DG. You can't ask me to do that."
Her expression softened and her light receded. "I won't. But two days, Wyatt. If there's no indication it would be unsafe for me to visit, I'm going to."
"Agreed, though we'll discuss the details of your security later," he added, seeing Jeb nod out of the corner of his eye. "Was there anything else, Your Majesties?"
From the way her parents exchanged a look, he knew that there was. As Azkadellia bowed her head, he realised what it would be.
"I'm not sure if now is the right time," Ahamo began. "This statement came as quite a shock to us, but we had been planning to meet with you sooner rather than later, though perhaps not with the Council as an audience."
"The decision remains," Queen Lavender said softly, glancing at Azkadellia for confirmation. "We can delay the announcement but not the request."
"What request?" DG's hand tightened over Cain's again. "Please. Just say it, Mom."
It was Azkadellia who answered, her voice trembling in the silence of the room. "I can't be Queen, DG. I just can't do it. I'm stepping down, abdicating my claim on the throne, if you'll accept the title of successor and heir instead."
If.
The choice was hers, though both she and Cain knew it was no choice at all.
She either chose to say no, forcing her sister into a title she was unwilling and perhaps unable to carry, a role with responsibilities that could shatter the already fragile princess.
Or she could say yes, and say goodbye to her dreams of a quieter life, a secondary supporting role to the crown and not have to make the sometimes difficult decisions bestowed upon the reigning monarch.
"You don't have to decide now, my angel." Her mother's smile was unsteady, worry for the future of the country in her eyes. "There's time –"
"I'll do it on one condition," DG spoke up, feeling Cain tense beside her.
"And what would that be, Spitfire?" Her father asked with interest.
"That we wait and see what the people think about the statement before it's formalised," DG answered. She looked to her sister, one shoulder rising and falling in a helpless shrug. "I'm sorry I can't accept straight away, Az, but if I'm going to do it, I need to know the decision won't start another war. The OZ and its people have suffered enough."
Her sister gave a small nod of agreement.
"If that's everything?" DG waited until there was a hum of affirmation from around the table. Sensing her need to get away, Cain stood and pulled her chair back for her, offering her his arm as soon as she was standing.
Instead of heading for their suite, Cain directed them to the library. It wasn't as much of a comfort for DG as the library in Finaqua but he knew it was one of her preferred rooms in the palace. They settled quietly on one of the window seats overlooking the city, with DG resting against him as she stared out through the glass panes to the world outside, wondering what the response would be.
It was what she wanted, really, for the truth to be known. She'd just always wanted to be able to tell it in her own words.
They were both aware of being joined in the room by their nearest and dearest, the Queen and Ahamo being the only exceptions. Azkadellia arrived first with Rafe two steps behind her, gravitating towards her sister for comfort and reassurance as they waited. She sat on one of the loveseats in the library, a book she couldn't focus on in her hands.
Raw and Glitch followed not long after, both needing to be near the princess who'd come to mean so much to them both. Having been with her when she'd remembered the truth and realised her role in the Witch's rise to power, they shared her apprehension about what the truth could do to their newly reunited OZ.
Jeb joined them a little later in the day, his duties keeping him tied up longer than he'd have liked. He met his father's gaze as he took a seat at the long wooden table, a silent acknowledgement that no matter what happened, his loyalty was with his family.
Ishta accompanied him, the woman warrior aware of the situation and, DG would later learn, having offered to track down and kill the disgraced nobles who betrayed the princess so badly.
One by one, the guards who had travelled with DG on her short-lived tour and had heard the true story from her own lips as she'd recounted it to those they'd met along the way joined them in the library. Some were on breaks, they claimed, others were just doing their jobs.
Though DG didn't say it outright, she appreciated their silent support as she curled up against her husband, and waited.
*/*
The Western Guild were the first to respond, followed closely by the Eastern Guild, the Southern Guild and the Northern Guild. Representatives from all had been present at DG and Cain's unexpected wedding and had had the opportunity to meet with and talk with the youngest princess.
Their statements were damning in their condemnation of the disgraced noble's actions, and blatant in their declaration of loyalty to Princess Dorothy Gale Cain, her sister Princess Azkadellia, and the House of Gale.
After that, the OZ's largest newspaper was besieged by letters from members of the public who had encountered Princess DG and wanted to share their experiences with everyone who had not been so fortunate.
Joseph, Mayor of Hirshall, released a letter signed by the residents of the town stating that DG had told them the truth freely and had earned their respect and their support not just for herself but for her sister, too.
Sheriff Bryant of Fordham echoed the sentiment, and couldn't resist adding that she was married to his good friend, the former Tin Man and Resistance fighter Wyatt Cain, and who had better judgement for the OZ to trust than a true hero of the people?
And then there were the private letters, the personal ones DG made sure she read and replied to no matter how many she received. The response the sender got back from the princess might not have been long but they were heartfelt and appreciated.
When they'd started arriving at the palace, alongside the reports from the scouts who all said that there was a general acceptance of the truth and of DG, and a backlash towards those who'd forced her hand, she'd had to retire to her rooms. Cain had followed her without hesitation and no sooner had the doors closed behind them, she broke down in his arms and wept.
Whether it was sheer relief, joy at their acceptance or a sense of finally feeling like she belonged and was welcomed in the world of her birth, neither of them could say.
For those in the realm who were undecided and didn't know whether their loyalties should lie with the Slipper Princess who accepted responsibility for her actions as a child, the matter was put the rest when word reached them through the Viewer tribe that the non-human races of the OZ had accepted DG as their Princess.
She was, in the words of the Kalidah, a lost Child of the OZ who had finally found her way home.
*\*