Chapter Three

Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life and all DG could think about was puking. It seemed that the little darling inside of her was all in a furor and had been working over time on emptying her stomach. With that and the whirlwind wedding plans, all she wanted was death. Or a bed. Whichever came first was good.

"DG, come on. I know you feel awful…" Az cajoled, trying her best to get the Princess out of the bathroom.

"Awful is such a benign word. Try horrible, or worse than horrible or like the stuff they scrape off the street after a car accident." Yeah, she was going to die and she really wished she'd get on with it. She knew Az was on the other side of the door looking gorgeous. Her sleek, midnight hair was done in an elaborate upsweep with thin tendrils curling around her face. Her make up would be perfect, her dark blue dress a glorious contrast against her alabaster skin.

The blue wound up being the color of the wedding as the bride and groom both had blue eyes. The idea made DG want to puke. Of course, everything else did too-breathing did for Gayle's sake-so she wasn't sure if that was a good indicator of her true feelings on the matter.

All she wanted to do was lay here on the cool tile of her bathroom floor and die. Why couldn't they understand that?

"Oh good. Maybe you can get her out of there." She heard Az say on the other side of the bathroom door. DG didn't hold out any hope of her mother being able to pry her off the floor.

"I'll see what I can do." That voice was definitely not her mother. DG groaned and tried like hell not to start crying. God damned hormone swings. She didn't want Cain…Wyatt, to see her like this. They'd barely seen each other at all during the past seven days. Only at meals and whirlwind wedding meetings. He'd actually had to be outside the castle quite a bit, working in Central City to keep the peace. Not that anyone wanted to tell her what was going on in her condition.

DG sighed and pressed her forehead to the floor and willed the latest wave of nausea to go away.

"DG, open up, darlin'." Her lips twitched at that. He'd taken to calling her those little endearments over the week, when they could actually say 'boo' to each other without anyone interfering. She wondered if he was playing up the part of fiancé, but then he started calling her 'darlin' on a regular basis. She liked it.

"I don't think I can move," she said, sounding pitiful to her own ears. "Door's not locked. Az just didn't want to see me hurling."

"Do you blame me?" Came Az's response through the slowly opening door. No, she really couldn't. "I'm going to go tell Mother your ill. Maybe she can stall."

Ill, how delicate that made DG's agony sound. There wasn't a damn thing delicate about it.

"Sit up a little bit." Cain said, gently. She angled her head and looked up at him.

"You look pretty." She said. He rolled his eyes but he couldn't stop the smirk. She couldn't help it, he did look good. He was wearing a pair of black slacks that were tailored to perfection. To say they put those tan pants of his to shame was saying something. A crisp, white shirt was perfect contrast to the tailored jacket he wore over it. The high collar of the shirt complimented him instead of making his neck look too short. His face was freshly shaven, his silvery blond hair recently trimmed. He was wearing the medal her mother had presented him, as well as Glitch and Raw, after the eclipse on his left breast and his Tin Man star on his right. Then she remembered that couldn't be his tin man star since he'd left it on Adora's grave. Next to that was the medal that indicated he was the Captain of the Royal Guard. She thought he should have more, but maybe that was just the fact he was in a dress uniform and every one she'd ever seen had been practically swimming in medals.

Lord she hoped that woman didn't haunt her for allowing Cain to do this.

Cain…Wyatt, smiled a little and settled down on the floor next to her.

"Don't do that. You'll get all dirty." DG protested. He ignored her and put a hand on her arm.

"Come on, sit up."

"Don't wanna."

"I know. But I have something that might help." DG wanted to whine and flail and get really, really bitchy. She decided against it after she reminded herself whom she was dealing with. Besides, if he annoyed her too much she could just puke on him.

"All right." As slowly as possible, DG sat up. Wyatt helped her settle against the wall then he took a minute to look at her. "What?" DG asked, looking at him from the side of her eyes.

"Besides being a little green around the edges, you clean up nice Princess." That's it, she was marrying the devil and this was her hell.

"Bite me, Tin Man." She said testily. She was wearing her wedding dress. She'd gotten that far, at least. And what a battle that had been. Who knew that deciding on a simple column of eggshell colored satin could almost cause a civil war? A Royal Civil war. Her mother had wanted her to wear this elaborate number layered with lace and silk and it had a bustle. There was no way in hell she was wearing a bustle. Her hair was a mess, she was sure and with no make-up she was probably giving the white tile floor a run for its money. Cain chuckled and picked up a glass and a plate of small cookie looking things.

"Here. Sip this slowly, then nibble on one of these." She looked at the glass full of a clear liquid dubiously. He just held it patiently until she reached out and took it. She took a sip and was pleasantly surprised that it reminded her a little of warm Sprite. Then she took one of the cookies and literally nibbled the edge. It almost tasted like licorice and her roiling stomach actually seemed to calm down.

"What is that?"

"That's ginger water. Adora always swore by it when she was pregnant with Jeb. And the cookies are my mothers old remedy for sour stomach."

Praise be the Cain women, DG thought Then, she realized he'd mentioned his mother and her curiosity got the better of her.

"Where is your mother?" His smile turned sad and DG wanted to kick herself for asking. For better or worse, this was their wedding day and dammit, he should be cheerful, at least.

"She died when I was in the Academy. My father went soon after the witch took power." And then he'd lost his wife and thought he'd lost his son. DG wanted to hug him and weep for his losses. She wasn't sure she would have been able to get over it. She guessed he must have seen it in her eyes, because he cleared his throat and dropped his gaze, an embarrassed tinge turning his ears pink.

"Thank you, Wyatt. I think I might be able to stand long enough to get married now." She offered him what she hoped was a bright smile. Then, the reality of the day dawned on her now that her stomach wasn't taking up precedence in her thoughts. "You can't be here." She exclaimed suddenly, scrambling up. He looked surprised when she tugged him up and started to push him out of the bathroom. "It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. And we need all the luck we can get. Tell Az I need her for damage control."

This last was shouted through the door that had been slammed shut. Cain stared at the door, amazed that she'd gone from miserably sick to frantic bride in the space of ten seconds.

"Is DG all right?" Az came back in the room, followed by her mother.

"She's fine now. She needs you." Az nodded and skirted around the Tin Man to knock on the door.

"I thank you for helping my daughter, Mr. Cain." The Queen said once Az was in the bathroom with DG. He had a feeling she was talking about more than just helping with some morning sickness.

"Not a problem, ma'am." He inclined his head to her and left the room. Once in the hallway he tugged on the high collar of his shirt. A dress uniform. He couldn't believe he'd been talked into wearing one. Hell, he hadn't even owned one up until three days ago, when Jeb delivered it to his room. Wyatt had stared at it, horrified. DG had gotten out of the bustle, why did he have to wear the uniform? He quickly found out that his future mother in law was a force to be reckoned with.

Jeb fell into step next to him as he made his way down the grand ballroom. The whole palace looked like a floral shop had exploded inside. Flowers, blue bunting and candles covered every available surface. The tables were draped in silvery white linen with dark blue runners. His first wedding had been a simple, quiet affair with just him, Adora and some family. This…this was a madhouse.

"I guess this is what you get when you marry a princess." Jeb seemed to answer his unspoken thoughts. If he didn't know any better, he'd think his son was laughing at him.

"Don't see why we need all these people here. DG hasn't been in the damn OZ for fifteen years. She can't possibly know any of them."

"That doesn't matter. It's all about keeping up relations with the other kingdoms. There will be some that have their noses bent out of shape that the next Queen is marrying a commoner and this is a way to let them in on the fun, even if they don't get the prize." Jeb told him as they came to a stop outside the main hall. People were milling around, looking over dressed up and overly curious.

"DG's not a prize to be won." Wyatt sounded appalled at the notion. This was why he hadn't been able to allow her to marry one of the pompous asses wandering the grounds. They were probably estimating the price of the china and how much they lost by her marrying him.

"I agree. But that's not the way royalty thinks."

"And how, my boy, would you know how royalty thinks?" Cain asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Last time I checked, you were just as common as me."

"Well, I've spent a lot of time with Princess Azkadelia this week in preparation for this fiasco. She explained things."

That figured.

"A lot of the nobility around here already thinks they lost out when Ahamo married the Queen. Now the heir apparent is gone and Azkadelia doesn't seem to be an option for any of them." Jeb shrugged and raised a hand as if to run his hand over his hair. He seemed to think better of it and dropped it. He was wearing a uniform much like his fathers, but the color was a deep blue to match Az's dress. He looked about as comfortable as his father felt.

They stood in silence for a moment, each watching the hustle bustle in the castle. It was only going to get worse as the day wore on. Cain suddenly felt a migraine working behind his eyes.

"You know, dad, I'm still not sure how to feel about this. But I like DG. I hope you're happy." Wyatt turned and looked at his son, shock widening his eyes. Jeb just gave him a smile and clapped him on the back. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Cain smiled and pulled his son into an embrace. He held on to him, trying to convey all the emotions he felt but could never manage to say. They stepped away from each other and smiled. Then, Cain turned and made his way to the ballroom, all the eyes turning to him and making him twitch.

Damn, I wish I wore my gun, he thought. He didn't even try to smile at the curious people turning to look at him. He saw distaste on some faces, anger on a few others. Most seemed to just be hungry for gossip and their first look at the man about to marry the future Queen was something to chew on.

He and Jeb marched up to the altar. He really just wanted to get this over with. He hadn't had much time to think lately and today definitely wasn't the day for self-reflection. He'd barely been able to talk to DG, which annoyed the hell out of him. They were going to be married and no matter that this wasn't a great love affair going along its natural course, he still needed to talk to her. To get to know her better.

They'd spent the better part of seven days traipsing all over the OZ together, learning all about DG's past, but she knew little about him. And aside from her past here, he didn't know anything about her life on the Other Side. He didn't suppose it was a great way to start off a marriage, but at least they'd have something to talk about for a while.

He resisted reaching up to pull on his collar again. He was a soldier and you didn't show your enemies any weakness. And right now, everybody in the ballroom was his enemy. Everybody save Jeb, Glitch and Raw, who were sitting on 'his' side of the room. And if that was what counted for his family, Cain felt pretty good about it. He looked over at them and smiled when Glitch waived enthusiastically. He was dressed in a new uniform similar to the one he'd worn on their journey. But this one at least was clean. His zipper shone bright in the middle of his head and Cain noticed that several people around him were giving Glitch looks of distaste. Luckily Glitch didn't seem to notice.

Raw sat next to him with a smile of approval on his mouth as he looked at Cain.

He hadn't talked to them about his decision to marry DG, but neither had seemed surprised when it came out. Maybe they'd all gotten to know each other better than he'd thought.

When the music started, all eyes turned to the door. The Queen entered first, graceful and beautiful in her floor length gown of lavender silk. She smiled and nodded at a few of the dignitaries. As she sat down, a gasp of surprise rolled over the crowd. Azkadelia stood at the entrance, her dark eyes wide as she realized every one was staring at her. She looked like she might bolt. Then, to Cain's surprise, Jeb materialized at her side and offered her his arm.

The look of gratitude on Az's face was bright and she happily took his arm. Wyatt swelled with pride as his son led her down the aisle, whispering to her softly. Once they reached the altar, they separated, but not before Az gave Jeb another, glowing smile.

"That was nice of you." Wyatt whispered awhen Jeb came to stand beside him as the music changed to announce the bride. Everyone stood, their curious, spiteful eyes eagerly awaiting DG.

"It was nothing." Jeb answered looking embarrassed. Cain thought that maybe it was definitely more than nothing.

He was still smiling when he turned and saw DG. Then, his breath literally stopped.

The woman currently coming down the aisle looked nothing like the woman he'd just left in the bathroom. In the little bit of time since then, she'd transformed from a pale, tired looking waif to a glowing, vibrant young woman. Her dressed skimmed down her body, floating around her ankles like a cloud. Her hair was done in an elaborate twist at the nape of her neck and her eyes were a wide, brilliant blue. She smiled at him as her father escorted her down the aisle. She ignored the people around her as much as he had done, except for Glitch and Raw. They both smiled as she kissed her father and allowed him to place her hand in Cain's.

Wyatt looked at no one but her as the preacher started to speak. She was nervous and still not feeling well; he could see it in her eyes. But she held herself with dignity and grace. Her hand held his tight, her only outward indication that she had any anxiety. He was finding it very hard to concentrate as he looked down into her eyes. He realized, that this was the first time he truly saw her as a woman. And what a woman she had turned into. She was stunning, her youth and light making her shine. He felt strangely humbled in her presence, and it was all he could do to answer the preacher when prompted.

"And by the light of the Gods and the power bestowed on me by House of Gayle, I pronounce this couple, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

If there had been one moment about this whole wedding business that had made Cain nervous, it was this. But now that it was here, nerves were the last thing on his mind. His gaze dropped to her lips just in time to see her tongue dart out to moisten them. To his astonishment, that small action made his heart skip. Slowly, he drew her to him, his eyes returning to hers as she slid into his arms.

She was a little stiff in his embrace but she didn't try to pull away. She dutifully tilted her head up to his, her fingers tightening in his lapels. He dipped his head and gently rubbed his mouth against hers, getting her used to the idea of kissing him. She let out a little gasp, her lips parting just slightly. He took the opportunity to fully capture her mouth and he felt his world tilt with the contact.

Her taste washed over his senses, erasing every thought in his brain. His arms tightened around her, pressing her closer as he took his time. She clung to him, her mouth moving under his eagerly in response. He felt a fire start in his blood, a slow burn that surprised him. Desire was a foreign concept to him these days, but his body seemed to have no problem remembering.

With a great deal of effort, Cain pulled away. To his great relief, she looked just as surprised as he felt, but her eyes held that slightly smoky haze of desire as well.

The preacher cleared his throat and startled DG and Wyatt both into remembering where they were. Somehow they managed not to jump away from each other like guilty teenagers and merely turned to face the guests. Cain couldn't get up the nerve to look at his son, so he stared straight ahead.

As he and DG walked down the aisle, thunderous claps erupted from the guests. He could still feel the heat from her lips on his, the smell of her perfume lingered in his nose. These new feelings for DG unsettled him. He wondered just what this meant for their wedding night.

A/N-Sorry this took so long to get out. I just needed a break from writing. Life changes might be imminent and we need to discuss. So, yeah. I hope you like and I hope to have the next chap of Tinman/Runaway Princess next.