"Hey, kid." One of the guards at the door out of the kitchens tapped him on the shoulder, holding up a note in his direction. "Your dad stopped by, asked me to give this to you when your shift's done."

"Oh, thanks…" Jeb nodded, taking the note and pausing in the middle of the hallway to unfold it and read.

Jeb, meet myself and the Gales in the main dining room at seven tonight for dinner. DG's orders, and I dare not refuse, lest the little thing gets snarky with me. I wouldn't think of skipping it, DG might have your hide, or mine.

Try to not be late,

Wyatt Cain.

Well, that was a nice little invitation he had there. At least it wasn't his father threatening him, it was DG, though indirectly, and he did get to have dinner with the royalty. Jeb wondered if there was some specific way he should dress, being with Queen Lavender and the Consort, as well as probably two princesses and his father. He wouldn't, owning no formal wear, and hope nothing went wrong.

There were still several hours until seven, and nothing to do but wonder why DG would possibly want Jeb attending one of their family dinners. His father, he could understand, as they were engaged, and Cain was practically family, but Jeb? Shrugging, the young man wandered off to his rooms to shower once again, and find something that wasn't his uniform to wear.

--

By seven, Jeb was sitting next to his father, and across from Azkadellia, in a white cotton shirt and the pair of brown pants that came along with the uniform. Overall, dinner conversation began with DG muttering things to Cain every so often, and Cain giving her a reproachful look, as well as Ahamo and Lavender speaking quietly to each other and Azkadellia picking at her place quietly, though not eating much.

Finally, DG broke the awkward tension that was obvious at the table. "So…" She glanced around the room, then at each person around the table in turn. "It's nice having dinner like this, I think. The whole family…"

"I'm technically not family yet…" Jeb managed to state, only to have Cain look down at him slightly.

"You're my son--"

"And technically my step son." DG leaned on the table to look over at Jeb, who suddenly found the peas very, very interesting. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Twenty five."

"…My step son who is a year older than me." She giggled softly, turning to look across the table at her mother and placing a piece of potato in her mouth. "This is a bit odd, isn't it?"

"Whatever your heart tells you, DG." Lavender's voice surprised Jeb. He'd almost expected a loud, confident queen, but the woman seemed a lot more intent to speak with her own husband than her daughters or son-in-law. "It's never wrong."

Azkadellia finally looked up, her eyes meeting DG's across the table, as she exchanged some sort of knowing gaze with her sister, and rolled her eyes. "Why did you invite Jeb?" She inquired, a faint blush coloring her cheeks when she did.

"Azkade--" Lavender began, getting cut off by her younger daughter before she could say much else.

"I wanted to, Az. He's family now, isn't he? He can eat with us." She grinned mischievously at her sister, sticking out her tongue. "Anyway, why not?"

"I… I don't know… I mean…" She shook her head, burying her attention in the dinner, which was for the most part uneaten.

"Azkadellia, if you'd rather I leave, I will…" Jeb looked across at her with a small smile, trying his best at an understanding gaze, though having no idea what she could possibly have against him.

"No! I mean, no… it's all right. She's right. You are family."

"Sure?"

DG giggled before her sister could answer that, increasing the blush on Azkadellia's face.

"Could I be excused?" There were tears in her eyes that she tried to hide, but her voice made them obvious. Without waiting for an answer, Az left the room, leaving the rest of the table quite confused.

Another awkward silence spread across the table where Lavender looked at DG, DG glanced toward her fiancé, who looked toward his son, who was watching the open door, and Ahamo simply glanced between his wife and daughter, rather lost. No one particularly knew what was wrong with Azkadellia, but no one followed her either, for fear of making it worse through misunderstanding.

"Was it something I said?" DG asked the air that was occupied by her sister a few minutes ago, and Cain shrugged.

"She's been a little bit off for a bit."

"Azkadellia was a strong girl, she's a strong woman now. Whatever is bothering her, if we give her time, she will figure it out or ask for help if she cannot," Lavender assured the table, looking worriedly in the direction of the door, then at her husband. "Give her time."

DG rolled her eyes, Cain looked at her reproachfully and Jeb let out a soft sigh.

"I don't think I'm all that hungry. Uhh… Thanks for dinner, and all. I'm going to have to be excused. Enjoy your dinner, dad, DG, uhh… Queen Lavender and Consort." With a nod to each member of his suddenly too-big family, Jeb followed Az's recent footsteps out the door, off to his own room. That dinner was far from successful.

--

Az didn't go to her room, as she would have assumed them to think. Instead, she went out to the gardens, pulling her feet beneath her to sit rather comfortably on the swing and stare off into the darkening distance.

"What's wrong with me?" The question was largely to herself, though her guard approached at it, standing by the swing.

"It's natural to be afraid of him, but you're actions are bordering irrational, if I am be so bold, princess."

"Call me Az, I told you that before…" More familiarity between her guards and herself made her feel less like a precious little jewel to be guarded at all times and more like a human being. "I don't know what it is about him. It's like, every time I see him, something snaps inside of me, and I get completely overwhelmed with emotion."

"If you as me, I would guess at an attraction…"

"What? No. I was terrified of him a couple nights ago. I don't even know him. I'm not attracted to him."

"No, perhaps not. I may be wrong."

Azkadellia remained silent, hugging her knees now, and letting the cool breeze play with her hair. The guard moved away, standing not too far away to watch her. She was too caught up in her own faerie tales sometimes, and when reality managed to break through, it hit her so hard she had no idea what to do about it. Now was definitely one of those moments.

The glisten of tears in her eyes was obvious, even in the dimming light, but it was better to let her cry. She'd figure it out on her own. She had to.

Author's Note: This one's all short... There wasn't much to say, but Az realized something pretty important, I think.
Heheheh. Yay for guards who seem to know what they're talking about, and have been watching Az for long enough to know these things like some sort of creepy stalkers. Woo.

Anyway. Yeah.

And if anyone's still here, reviews are nice. Lena likes them. Yes?