CHAPTER ONE
DG sat on a couch in the middle of her sitting room. They had moved to the palace in Central City, just as her mother had planned and had started to try to set the OZ to rights. It would take a long time and there were some that didn't think that the house of Gale should still be in power. Or brought back to power. Or whatever. But with the alternative being chaos, most saw the need for the royal family.
Azkadelia was in therapy. Or what DG considered therapy. She'd suffered much at the hands of the witch and her personality was shattered at best. One moment she was perfectly lucid, happy to be with her family. In those times, she seemed child-like and DG wondered if she wasn't trying to relive the days before the possession. Other times, she would rage. Against her mother, her father, the world. DG didn't want to tell them that she thought Az had actually brought up some valid points during those episodes.
Why hadn't their mother tried harder to get the witch out of Az's body?
And DG even knew, that with Az's mental state, her mother was looking to her take the crown.
None of that, at this moment, was of any concern to DG. She sat in the sitting room, on a couch made of plush, ruby velvet and stared out the window. She could just see Central City above the palace wall in the distance. Her mind was swirling as much as her stomach was. She couldn't settle on one thought, couldn't let herself ponder the consequences for what she thought was going on.
She'd been sick again that morning. And the morning before, and the morning before that. She didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. Especially since she was late. Very, very late. Six weeks give or take a day or so. Unfortunately, there were no Epic Pharmacies right around the corner from her so she could pick up an EPT.
So, she had to settle for the next, best-probably better- thing.
She rose when the soft knock sounded on her door. She knew she looked like hell when she swung it open to the men outside. Her hair was pulled back messily from her face and she knew she was pale. Her eyes were dull with dark circles marring the skin underneath.
"You look like hell, DG." Cain was the first to step inside. She hadn't seen him much over the last month, as his palace duties kept him busy. She still found it funny that he was the captain of the guard. Still wearing his duster and grubby hat. It made her smile.
He shrugged out of that duster and hat and threw them across the back of the couch and turned to look at her. He pinned her with those eyes, his lips pressed in a thin line. She felt like he could see all her secrets right then and she tried hard not to fidget.
"Hey, cupcake. Not sleeping, huh?" Glitch came in second and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. She felt tears well up and she blinked them back quickly. No, she hadn't been sleeping. DG figured it was good practice.
Raw came in last, his eyes sad as they looked at her. He knew why he was there, even if the others just thought it was because she missed them. "It be ok, DG." He said quietly.
No, she didn't think it would ever be ok.
"What's up, kid?" Cain asked as she swung the door closed. She turned to face them, crossing and un-crossing her arms as she tried to put words to her fears. These were her best friends; the men that had helped her fight the witch and discover who she was. She needed their help more than ever now.
"Before I came here, I had a life. I know it's a shocker, but I had a job. A crappy one, but mine. I went to school, most of the time. And I dated." She paused, her voice hitching ever so slightly. The men watched her, Cain the most intently, as he always did. Concern was on all there faces and that damn knowing look was on Raw's. "I had a boyfriend. Had being the operative word. We broke up about a week before I got pulled over here. We had sex, that last night we were together." She said this quickly, her cheeks burning with what she'd just admitted.
"DG, I don't see why we need to know this." Cain started. She almost giggled when she looked at him. She didn't think she'd ever seen Cain blush before.
"You need to know it, because I think I'm pregnant. I think that's why I fainted after the eclipse and why I've been riding the porcelain bus every morning since. And I need you to know, because I need all the help I can get when I have to tell my parents." The tears came now, hot and fast down her cheeks. Her shoulders shook and it was all she could do to stay standing. Glitch came to her and took her into his arms, his hands running down her back to comfort.
"It's ok, DG. We're here." He whispered.
"We aren't going anywhere." Cain agreed. She heard Raw grunt in agreement and she nodded against Glitch's chest. It took her a couple of minutes but she managed to calm enough to pull away from the former advisor.
"Raw. I need to know, for sure." The seer looked like he'd rather be anywhere than telling DG bad news, but he stepped forward. With a kind smile, he laid a hand on her stomach. DG sucked in a breath at the sensation of Raw 'looking' into her belly. It kind of tickled which was surprising after the way she'd seen Glitch react to it.
"Baby there. Strong, like his mother."
"Oh God," she moaned as the last of her hope that she just had a hellatious bug draining out of her. What the hell was she going to do now? She didn't know for sure, but she doubted that unwed princesses were allowed in the palace.
Glitch was holding her up and Raw was still touching her stomach. Her eyes fell on Cain. She saw the sympathy in his eyes; the kindness and it nearly did her in. How the hell was she supposed to have a baby? She didn't even know who she was yet. Or if this was where she really belonged. What the hell was she going to do?
"You need to tell your parents, Princess." Cain's voice was soft, full of the sympathy she'd seen in his eyes. DG nodded and fought to stop the tears that were gathering again.
"I know. Will you go with me?" She knew it was a childish request. But she didn't think she could face them alone. Despite her returning memories, they were still strangers to her.
"Of course we will, doll. Nothing like having the gang all together again, huh?" DG wasn't sure if he was glitching right then, but she smiled.
"Yeah." Cain agreed. He was still watching her, but his face had turned thoughtful. Before she would ask what he was thinking, Raw let out a snort.
"What?"
"Much is on horizon for you, DG. This baby not an unhappy thing." He told her, finally giving her a big smile. She wished that she could agree with him.
It took her two days to get her nerve up. When she finally did, she'd had to make an appointment to see her parents. She could have told them at dinner. But they both seemed so distracted with what was going on in the OZ and Azkadelia's recovery. She'd told Cain as much when he'd cornered her on the night of the first day.
The second day, he'd actually trailed behind her, taking her usual guard's place. She knew he just did it to drive her crazy. And it was succeeding.
"Fine! I'll go tell them." She'd said after about an hour of feeling his eyes penetrating her back while she tried to read. She'd stormed out of the library and down to the room her parent's used as an office. She was met by a stern looking woman with a pencil shoved in her hair and told that while DG was the Princess, she still needed to have an appointment. Her parents were very busy people, didn't she know that?
So, she'd made an appointment. And Cain made sure she didn't miss it.
"DG, darling. What can we do for you?" The Queen gave her youngest daughter a bright smile. DG felt like she might puke again.
"I have something to tell you." She started, her voice shaking. To their credit, they both just sat there, their smiles fading with each word. She hadn't bothered with telling them the who. They wouldn't know and there was no chance of them knowing him. She saw disappointment in her mother's eyes and it was all she could do not to cry again.
"This is upsetting." Her mother said calmly. DG managed not to pout, but only just.
"I'm sorry." DG said, her voice husky with tears.
"You do realize, that we can't have an unwed, pregnant Princess. Especially the Princess that is expected to rule one day." DG nodded, her eyes turning watery. She'd actually been prepared for this. A little reading and a few questions to Glitch and she knew that without a doubt, she'd be expected to marry. The idea made her sick, but unless she did the unthinkable, or moved back to the Other Side, she was stuck.
"Beggin' your pardon ma'am." Cain broke in, holding his hat in his hands. DG watched him, confused. He wouldn't look at her, though. He just kept watching her mother, until the Queen gave him permission to continue. "I'd be willing to marry her."
DG felt her jaw drop open in shock at his declaration. Her gaze danced back and forth between him and her mother as words tried to form in her head.
"Is that what you want, Mr. Cain?" Ahamo asked, sizing the man up in a very fatherly way.
"I don't want her sufferin' in a convenience marriage with some prissed up nobleman. If she has to marry, let her marry a friend. I'd like to think I'm a good man. I'll treat her well and raise the baby as mine."
"Are you out of your mind?" DG finally asked when the shock loosened her jaw. "You don't want to marry me." She believed that in her bones. And while she didn't want to marry anyone without love, marrying Cain seemed more a punishment. For him. Why would he want to waste his life like that? What did he get from this arrangement?
Cain didn't look at her. He didn't even twitch to acknowledge she'd spoken. That made her huff angrily.
"Very well, Mr. Cain. If you're sure." The Queen deigned with a bow of her head.
"Hold on, wait a minute. Don't I get a say in this?" The look her mother leveled on her told her that frankly no, she didn't.
"DG, I know this is difficult. But as you see yourself in a delicate situation, you need to weigh your alternatives carefully. And as I can see, being a princess in the House of Gale, you have only one option afforded to you. Marriage. As Mr. Cain put it, would you rather be married to a 'prissed up' nobleman? Or to a friend?"
DG looked back over at Cain and at least had the satisfaction of seeing him blushing again. She studied him, really looked at him for the first time since he'd fallen out of that tin suit. He was easy on the eyes. Very easy she admitted. He was a great man, not just good and strong. She knew that he would keep his promise to her mother and that her baby couldn't ask for a better potential father.
As far as husbands went, she knew she could get a worse one. Who knew whom her parents would be willing to throw at her in their rush to get her married before she started showing. But…Cain? She didn't feel anything other than a deep friendship for him. Was that enough to live a life with someone? What about sex? She didn't think that she could go her whole life without ever having sex again. Despite the fact that's what had gotten her into this mess to begin with. And she didn't think, since he was a friend, that she'd ever be able to take a lover, like they did in all those movies she'd watched.
Cain doesn't exactly look like he's in need of Viagra yet, her inner voice pointed out. That so wasn't the point. But that didn't mean he would ever want to have sex with her.
And why was she thinking about this. They were trying to marry her off. Without giving her any say.
DG started to turn away, to start arguing again, when Cain finally looked at her. What she saw in the liquid blue of his eyes gave her pause. He was asking her, with a look, not to reject him. Why he would think her not wanting to force him into a marriage was rejection she didn't know. But she found herself snapping her mouth shut and cocking her head to the side.
The Queen took her silence as acquiescence. "We must begin preparations. I'd say we have a lot to do in a week."
DG was still gasping for air at that declaration as Glitch led her out of the room.