She'd been nervous about seeing Jeb again ever since the ball. He'd kissed her! He had, he had, he had. It had felt more like a dream than anything else. All that dancing, all that love, romance, happiness, and just about everything else in the room at the time. It had been perfect aside from the glances she'd gotten from families like that of the boy.

Az had broken down in tears after Jeb walked her back to her room. She wasn't able to help herself. What that little boy had said had struck her, even though Jeb had been able to distract her long enough for her to enjoy the rest of the night. She broke down and cried helplessly, with Jeb sitting on the side of the bed, holding unto her. Eventually, she'd thrown her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shirt. That night, Az had cried herself to sleep in his arms and he hadn't once complained. However, the lingering thought of being hated, or at least even mildly disliked by him for her outburst were too strong. He didn't stay the night. She understood why he hadn't. After all, that wouldn't be proper in any world! He had his own bed, his own rooms… Hell, he had his own life outside of her.

How could she be so selfish? How could she just expect him to stay with her like that? She'd wished he had, even though she barely knew the first thing about him. He felt so right holding her like he had that night.

So Azkadellia chose to hide from Jeb. She spent time in her rooms; having means brought up to her, wandering out only when she was certain that Jeb was on duty and away from her chosen path. She read in her rooms while she was trapped there and told the guards to tell anyone aside from DG that the princess had a headache and needed a nap. She knew that Jeb didn't accept the explanations, she couldn't be sure he even believed them, but she knew they would keep him away. He couldn't very well force his way in.

---

"DG, can you help me?" Unable to seek out the elder princess, Jeb went to his father's fiancée. He'd given Az two weeks since the ball, wondering if she really was sick or feeling under the weather, but knowing that it was more likely than not simply a plot to keep him away. He didn't want her to feel pressured by him. He didn't want her to stop. All Jeb wanted now was to know why she was hiding.

"What's up?" DG asked, flopping on her back on his dad's bed. She didn't know Az had been avoiding him. As far as Az had let her know, Az would see anyone, she just didn't want to leave her rooms more often than she absolutely needed to and DG assumed that it had something to do with avoiding those who still did not understand.

"It's about your sister."

"Az? What about her?" Turning over, DG tilted her head at him curiously. Was something wrong with Az?

"She's been avoiding me like the plague. Did I do something wrong? I can't remember. I mean, I took her back to her rooms that night at the ball and she burst out crying and I held her because it was the only thing I could think of doing and she fell asleep and I went back to my own rooms because otherwise that would probably be considered scandalous and--"

DG had gotten up while he was rambling and held a finger up to his mouth to stop him now. "Jeb, you've done nothing wrong, trust me," she stated matter-of-factly, smiling up at him. "No clue why she's been avoiding you, though. I was under the impression that she wasn't…" Certain that he wasn't about to ramble again, DG crossed her arms over her chest in thought.

"Hey! I have an idea!" The younger princess grabbed his hand, startling Jeb slightly, and pulled him toward the door, practically skipping out. "Let's go find out!"

---

Az placed the book facedown on her bed; still open to the same page she'd been on ten minutes ago. Could she really avoid the man who'd seemed so absolutely, hopelessly perfect until he didn't want to see her again?

Oh, but what if he was angry with her? What if he already didn't want to see her again because she'd been avoiding him? What if he'd gone and left or something because of her? What if he was dead? What if—

Her increasingly more morbid train of thought was interrupted by one of her three guards opening the door as if to say something to her only to be shoved aside by a bouncing DG who was pulling along a nervous looking Jeb. Oh. Oh! She'd brought him. Oh, she would have to get her sister a present and her eternal thanks for this moment, assuming Jeb wasn't nervous because they all wanted to hear him lie. He still liked her, right? Right? Oh, for the love of everything holy, speak boy. Speak! As if reading her mind, DG pushed Jeb forward and prodded him sharply in the ribs.

"Um. Hi," he said, giving her a meek smile. What does one say to a princess who's been avoiding them now? It seemed like straight-out asking her why would be rude and it didn't seem like a subject he could tiptoe toward slowly. "So…"

Her eyes were brimming with tears and she knew it wasn't helping the situation. At least he wasn't angry! At least he still seemed to want to see her, or want this conversation to happen… As DG gave Az a signature look that said too much to the other princess, Az moved forward and flung her arms around his neck.

"I missed you." She let the tears come, snuggling into his neck and holding herself close. To her great surprise and joy, Jeb wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her temple as best as he could.

"I missed you too."

"Excellent!" DG exclaimed, patting Jeb on the shoulder and turning to flounce out of the room. "I'll leave you two alone."

Az was the first to break the embrace she'd flung herself into once she heard the door to her room close.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm such a mess, I know. I haven't really been eating well, or sleeping well or anything really. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. I didn't know what to say or how you would react when I'd exhausted myself sobbing into your shirt. I'm sorry I probably ruined that shirt too…" Her voice got softer as she spoke, dying out when her eyes turned away from his face to stare at the ground just in front of him. "I'm really sorry."

Jeb cupped her cheek in one hand, tilting her face upward. "Look, I understand," he stated simply, giving her a little nod. "Well, I don't, but I think I do. I mean… I know how you feel. That little voice that always seems to think you're doing everything wrong…" She nodded and he smiled at her, pulling her closer again into a hug from which he could look down into her eyes. "It's alright, really. I understand."

"I didn't know what else to do," she muttered, relaxed by his arms around her and that soft blue of his eyes mixed with his warm smile. This man was absolutely perfect. Az laughed at the irony of the situation, and then blushed furiously, realizing she'd probably have to explain.

"Did I miss a good joke?"

"Oh, no… I'll… Um. I'll tell you later."

"Aw, come on, Princess Az. I'd like to hear the funny," he teased lightly, still picking his words carefully around her. He didn't want to upset her, and achieved the desired little smile.

"I'll tell you if you're good, Mister Cain." Az kissed his nose before wriggling out of his hug and picking her way toward a couch by the window on the other side of her room. "What have you been doing while I've been avoiding you?"

"This and that. Guard-stuff."

"Just tell me about it. I feel like I haven't seen you for weeks…"

"You haven't."

"Come on." Az patted the empty space of couch next to her and he came over, already chatting as easily as they had before the whole incident. Thank god he was quick to let things go. Could he really care about her that much?

---

"Let's play a game." Az dragged Jeb out to the gardens one day after his shift and her classes, before dinner. She felt restless and bored in her rooms, cooped up. She'd been there way too long for her own good and needed to stretch her legs a little bit. The guards accepted her idea of a little walk with Jeb in the gardens and kept a safe distance back. They could still shoot anyone that had their hands on the princess when it was undesired and could not catch more than unimportant snatches of conversation.

Lacing her fingers with his, Az grinned up at him as he raised an eyebrow. "Please, please! I want to play a game. I'm bored, come on."

"Well, alright princess. Your word is my command," Jeb teased as he let her go and gave her a fancy bow, earning himself a punch on the shoulder.

"Don't call me that. Its just Az."

"Princess Az."

Azkadellia paused for a moment, thinking of a fun game to play. Tag? Nah, she hadn't played that since she was a little girl. It held some not-so-good memories of childhood associated with it, anyway. The whole concept of chasing made her strangely nervous. Hide and seek? That was a pain in the behind with all the guards all over the place. Someone would think she was really trying to hide from Jeb and accidentally shoot him. Word games were no fun at all. What else was there?

"So what about that game?" Jeb inquired, crossing his arms in mock impatience at her.

"I'm thinking!" Az crossed her arms too, sticking her tongue out at him. "I just can't think of anything! You think of something…"

"You're the one who wanted to play a game." Jeb took her hand again as she uncrossed her arms, guiding her toward one of the larger ponds in the gardens. "How about skipping stones? That's… good, right?" He remembered something about her and DG skipping stones when they were young, and then DG finding the perfect stone on the perfect day… Hopefully it wouldn't make Az think of that time.

"Yeah, sure," she said, grinning up at him.

"Great."

---

Jeb picked up a particularly smooth stone only to have her stop his hand mid-flick, just before he let it fly across the pond.

"I like this one," Az proclaimed, pulling it out of his grip. It was really just a regular old stone, except, now that he got a closer look at it, it was an odd lavender color and almost perfectly round. "It's the same color as mother's eyes." She gave him a smile, holding it up for him to see. "Let's keep it. The perfect stone for the…" Az stopped. There. That line. She'd said it before, hadn't she?

Her eyes widened with a hint of fear. She didn't notice she'd dropped the stone and Jeb bent to pick it up for her. Suddenly, the perfect world around her twisted into a sick painting of something too good to be true. Why did this have to happen now? Why did Jeb have to lie to her like this? He couldn't possibly truly love her, could he? No, not after everything she'd done to him and his family… It simply wasn't possible!

Az took several steps back, now terrified of the man and the small rock in his hand, eyes scanning the little scene around them. It was possible to kill someone a thousand and one ways here and it was, no doubt, part of his plan.

"You dropped it," Jeb pointed out, picking up on her sudden fear. What had caused it? Was it something about previously skipping stones in Finaqua with her sister? He should have suggested something else…

She turned, as if to run, but then turned back. He had a gun, he had to have a gun, and running would do no good.

"Az. Azkadellia." Jeb took a tentative step toward her, hoping it wouldn't spook her. It didn't. "Azzy, I'm not going to hurt you. I wasn't going to hurt you that first night we met, I'm not going to hurt you now. The thought has never, ever even crossed my mind." Something snapped in her mind and his simultaneously then.

He's lying. Run. She ran.

"I love you."

Author's Note:
There is no excuse for not updating. Nothing tragic happened. I haven't died.
I don't know why I haven't done it. I'm really sorry. :[
I'm going to sit down and try to finish the story now though, so hopefully I'll update a little more often than once in forever.
Yes. Yes I will.