Az awoke the next morning, surprised to find herself feeling well rested. She hadn't had a night when she wasn't plagued by nightmares in so long… since her childhood, but last night? Last night she'd slept like she'd been killed. It was strange, different, and certainly very well welcomed. Perhaps she'd simply tired herself out the night before.

Hurrying down to breakfast, her stomach complaining about the lack of lunch and a scanty dinner, Az arrived at the kitchens to nearly bowl over her sister, who was about to open the door.

"Az! Nice to see you up and about. You disappeared on me yesterday, couldn't find you anywhere, they told me you went out riding and came back with Jeb though…" DG smirked up at her sister, opening the door into the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, and letting them both in.

For a moment, Az paused to stare incredulously at her sister. It couldn't have somehow been her fault that Jeb had fallen off his horse near her, had it? It couldn't have been. As powerful, and mischievous, as the younger princess was, even she couldn't tell a horse what to do, and then make him do it, especially not a horse like Albatross.

"Oh, well. I wanted a little ride," DG giggled, "by myself. Just a picnic in the woods," DG giggled again, and Az raised an eyebrow. "Is something I said somehow funny?"

"No, not at all, do continue." Gods, her mind was not behaving this morning. Perhaps it was the aftereffects of last night, when Cain decided to pay a little visit, and only got the chance to leave this morning. "It's just an interesting story."

"Um. Right…" Az sat down at their table, her sister followed suit, reaching for one of the pastries hungrily. "Well I was alone, with my guards of course, letting Karida graze, when his horse decided to toss him and greet mine rather enthusiastically. I helped him up, and we talked a bit, you know." That's all that had happened.

"Oh?" DG still looked a little too excited. "Is that all that happened? Really?"

"Yes, Deege. Was something else supposed to happen?" She put the pastry down, looking at her sister sternly.

"No, no. I was just curious. So, what'd you think?"

"Of?"

"The weather Azkadee, Jeb of course!"

"Well, he's nice… I guess, very nice. There was a lot I didn't know about him…" A faint blush spread across Azkadellia's cheeks as she spoke, smiling down at her pastry.

DG giggled once again, grinning from ear to ear. "I knew it. I win. I'm going to have to tell Cain I win."

"Win?" Az's voice was filled with astonishment and the blush spread. "Win what? What'd you know, Deege? I haven't said anything you didn't know before…"

"That blush… Oh, come on Az, it's practically obvious to everyone but you. I'm your sister, I'm not blind."

"What?" The blush was giving her away, and she pulled her legs up to her chest on the chair, balancing with a little difficulty. "Oh, fine… Deege, I have no idea what you win, but you're probably right. He's so… He's just so… Oh, I don't know how to describe it. He's so Jeb. He's perfect. For those hours we talked, I felt like I was a human being or something. As if I was perfectly normal. We laughed, we talked about his life and mine before… well, you know. We were friends. He… he touched my hand slightly, once; I think it was an accident, but it sent this shock through me. It was like, some realization."

"Oh, Az! I knew it!"

"So, what did you win?"

"Cain and I… well, I told him you're falling for his son, and he didn't believe me. We made a bet."

"You're already betting on my love life? What's the prize? At least it should be something good…"

"You'll see in a few days, a week at most, when I get lost on my way to breakfast and need to be spoon fed," she winked to reiterate her point, and both girls broke into giggles.

"Good enough, for you, I guess. Deege, one more question though. How do I know how he feels?"

"You ask?" She said it like it was the obvious thing to do.

"I can't do that!" The old look of fear spread across her face as she pulled her knees closer to her chest. "What if he doesn't feel the same way… or he thinks I'm a freak of some sort… or something…"

"Look, he didn't sit there, talking to you, for hours because he hated you, Az. Take a chance, live your life." She got up from the table, picking one of the lollypops and sticking it in her mouth. "I'm going to go tell Cain!" And watching her sister practically skip out of the kitchens, Az made up her mind to take initiative and do something…

--

That morning, Jeb Cain beat his father to his office, all too eager to talk to him. The conversation with Az had opened his eyes about the woman. They hadn't really sat down to speak before.

Before, he'd considered her and the witch one merged persona. There hadn't been a clear split between the cruel bitch he'd grown to hate and the woman he'd met yesterday. Her calm, slightly air-headed attitude surprised Jeb, especially when she stated she'd like to fly after a long moment of silence. She wanted to be free of her ties to the past and the negative image everyone had of her face.

He'd brushed by her hand, and something almost electric had happened between them. They ended up laughing more than he'd laughed in so many years.

Azkadellia was one surprise after another, and Jeb was not willing to take no for an answer. He wanted to know more about her, explore more of that personality the sorceress had hidden away all those annuals. It had developed all on its own in the back of her mind, and now it wanted to get out into the world.

Jeb sat down in the chair in front of his father's desk, pulling out a small penknife and a barely touched block of wood. He'd started the carving the night before: a woman holding a bouquet of roses.

After he managed to get the basic form down, the door opened, and the small craft was quickly put away along with the knife.

"Dad!"

"Jeb? What are you doing here? …Especially before me." Cain was still not one hundred percent used to the concept of having his son back, and certainly not to the fact that he might come to a man he had not seen for fifteen annuals for advice.

"I need some help," Jeb began, summarizing the story of what had happened the day before. "…So, in short, I don't know what to feel."

His father let out a soft groan, closing his eyes and sitting back in his chair behind the desk. Relationship advice. Well, there was no time like the present to get a little father-son bonding in, right? This was the sort of thing he wished he'd been around for when Jeb was in his teen years. Instead, Cain was locked in a tin can, and his son was helping lead the resistance forces against the Longcoats.

"Son, I can't tell you what to feel, but by the sound of it… you two need to spend a little more time getting to know each other." Jeb was about ten years late with this puppy-love concept he seemed to have stumbled into. "Look, talk to her, maybe, see what she's really like, find out more about her. Get to know the girl and see what your heart tells you."

Jeb nodded slowly at the advice, biting down on the inside of his lower lip before looking up at his dad to meet his eyes. "Dad, what does love feel like?"

"Well, uh…" Definitely long overdue conversation. Cain leaned his elbows on the desk, rubbing his eyes once again and running a hand through his hair before answering. This reminded him of the time Jeb demanded to be told where babies come from, then asked the strangest questions about sex for a number of days. Then, he'd been ten, now, he was in his twenties. "It's hard to explain. I'd call it a feeling… When you can look into her eyes and know, I mean one hundred percent know, that you want to spend the rest of your life with her, you can see her with your child in her arms, you can see growing old together." That described his relationship with Adora, and it certainly portrayed the one with DG as well.

"Right…" Jeb got up, moving toward the door, then changing his mind and going back to the desk. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"No. It's probably possible, but so rare it isn't worth mentioning. You have to know the person… know them well."

"Okay." It was rare, not impossible, and that kept Jeb's hopes up. "I really like her, dad, and I barely know her."

"Get to know her, kid, she might be more than you think."

"She's already good enough for me, if not too good."

"I can't really give you any more advice. Get to know her, see what she thinks, see where life takes you…" Cain just didn't know enough about his son to say more. For all he knew, the courting tactics he'd used with DG would turn Az away.

"Thanks dad, it helps, really."

As the door closed behind him, Jeb Cain realized that if he took one thing away from that conversation, it was to trust your heart. Even in a new situation like this, it had to be right. He wanted to say something to Azkadellia, but he had to be careful with his choice of words.

Author's Note: Dear all of the two of you who still care about this story...
Oh my god, I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever!

I promise I have not abandoned the story and will go back to more regular updates now.