Disclaimer - yep, still not mine. I'm still pretty sad about it, too. Oh, well...maybe in another lifetime.
Precisely an hour later, DG managed to wake up and drag herself out of the comforting warm water in the tub. It was a supreme effort, but the loud pounding on her door made it pretty clear that she had no choice. She rotated her neck to try and ease the stiffness from resting it unnaturally on the hard edge of the tub.
"DG, answer the door!" Cain's voice easily penetrated the two rooms and the thick wood of the two doors between the main door of her suite and her bathroom. "If you don't let me in and let me know you're okay, I'm breaking down this door!" he bellowed. Whimpering with pain under her breath, she wrapped herself in her robe and threw open her door. Cain stood poised mid-knock, intense light blue eyes taking in the image of the straggled-haired, dripping wet princess with no clothes on. "Erm...," he mumbled. Water trailed steadily down her back and shoulders, soaking through the thin robe. "You're running late?" he tried, trying not to look at her. She heaved a sigh and stepped aside to let him in. She did not really want to admit that she had fallen asleep after scrubbing away the blood and dirt. She turned to walk back to the bathroom, contemplating what excuse to give for running so late instead.
Cain instantly forgot all discomfort as the noticed the spreading stains on her bandages. "Deeg, you're bleeding everywhere again." He caught up with her and swung her around to face him. With no sign of the embarrassment he showed just a second ago, he pushed the robe off of her left shoulder to examine the blood seeping down her arm and chest from her wound. An inarticulate noise made its way from deep in his throat as he watched his princess bleed. Fending off her attempts to pull her robe closed, he pulled a tube of topical anesthetic out of his duster pocket and smeared it liberally all over her shoulder. He left her standing there with her robe falling off of her to go get a clean, damp cloth and clean the blood off of her skin. Then he rebound it tightly, much more effectively than she had done on her own, and only then seemed to realize how much of her skin was exposed to him from cleaning her up.
At any other time, his blush would have delighted her, but now DG only felt embarrassed that she had put him in this position. She was an adult. Shouldn't she be able to take care of herself? When he asked about her hand, she looked at it dully, surprised that it was not bleeding also. She unwound the bandage anyway and let him smear more of the deadening cream over the deep slash on her hand. Like the shoulder wound, the pain quickly lessened to a minor ache that was nothing compared to the deep, insistent throbbing agony she had been trying to ignore for the past four hours.
DG sat at the small vanity in her bathroom, leaving the door open so she could talk with Cain. "I fell asleep as soon as I finished washing," she offered after a moment, suddenly aware that she hadn't actually said anything to him yet and he was gazing at her with open worry in his eyes. It was almost funny; it didn't usually take so much effort to talk to him. Wyatt Cain was one of the few people she absolutely trusted in the OZ and that translated into having very open conversations with him on a regular basis. She was just so tired at the moment. Surely he would understand? She picked up her hairbrush in her uninjured hand and started to untangle her hair. She stopped the motion instantly as her numbed shoulder pulled uncomfortably and stared at the brush helplessly. DG's blue eyes filled with tears she just barely prevented herself from shedding.
Cain seemed to understand her dilemma and took the brush from her hand. "Here, Deeg, I can brush your hair. Unless you want me to call for a maid?" He was already pulling the brush gently through her snarled hair. His big hands felt good on her head and she managed a tiny shake in negation before closing her eyes and letting all other sensations go except for the gentle pull of the brush through her tangled hair. Each stroke seemed to release some of the tension she had pent up inside of her. He had a wife, she thought absently. He must have brushed her hair before. He was too good at it to have never brushed a woman's hair before. It just felt so nice. He was finished with it too quickly.
DG managed to dredge up a few more words to go along with a halfhearted smile. "Thank you, Cain. Just give me one more moment and I'll be ready." He retreated into her sitting room to give her some privacy and she pulled on clothes – another soft, loose button-down shirt and a long skirt that was easy to pull on and lace tightly with only one hand . It took her longer than she would have liked to admit, but she refused to ask for help again and she was eventually able to make herself presentable. An awkward twist of her damp hair into a knot at her neck and she felt slightly more human. Maybe dinner will be over swiftly. Maybe my parents want to make sure I'm okay and then I can come back here and sleep forever. She glanced at her too-pale face in the mirror. And maybe pigs will fly. She sighed again, softly this time, and left her rooms.
The walk to the family dining room was silent. Cain walked next to her, not bothering to hide his increasingly worried glances. It was unlike DG to remain so quiet, no matter how tired she was. Even after a week of non-stop running, she managed to have lots of energy before her battle with the Witch as they approached the tower. Not for the first time, he questioned the wisdom of having the Council meeting and an intense family dinner so soon after the attack. He still only had the bare bones of what happened, but it was obvious that it affected the princess deeply. Uneasily, he wondered if her nightmares would be worse now. She tried so hard to pretend that she slept easily, but he knew better. The nights he wasn't watching over her himself to hear her cries in person, the guard he had posted at her door reported hearing them. Unconsciously, his face settled into harsh lines and his hand clenched around his gun.
He started when DG reached a hand across his body to pry his hand off of his gun. "It's okay, Wyatt," she said softly. "I'm okay."
"No, you're not," he replied, but he was relieved to see the ghost of his familiar princess anyway. She was very pale and grave, but somehow managed to look beautiful anyway.
A half smile passed across her lips briefly. "Well, I will be then. I'm just tired. Soon, I'll be able to sleep and then this will be nothing but a nightmare." The unwitting echo of his thoughts pushed him back into his grim thoughts and the rest of the walk through the halls went in silence on both of their parts.
The Queen and Consort both stood involuntarily as their youngest daughter entered the dining room. "My angel!" the Queen cried out softly and quickly moved to embrace her. "I am so sorry to deny you the rest and healing you well deserve! Are you well?" Ahamo touched his daughter's cheek lightly, the same sentiments in his eyes.
Cain moved apart from the worried parents to give them a semblance of privacy with their children. The first thing he noticed was that other than Glitch and Tutor, no one else was in the room. There was an ample dinner spread out buffet style against one wall, but there were no servants anywhere. For even a private dinner among the royal family, that was highly unusual. Azkadellia rose from the couch in one corner as soon as the door shut behind him and closed her eyes briefly. Just a glimmer of light limned her form briefly, but it was enough to let Cain know that she used her magic. "A shield?" he murmured.
"Yes. Anyone who listens now will hear only the pleasantries and reassurances of any family threatened by violence," she replied.
"What about other magic users?"
The Crown Princess gave one of her cool, elegant shrugs. "Any magic user that attempted to listen in with their magic would know that our conversation is not as it sounds, of course," she said. "However, if the magic user in question is strong enough to penetrate the shield to hear the real words we speak, then I will know instantly and I fear we will have far more grave concerns to deal with than wondering how much they hear."
"Point taken," Cain said dryly.
Ahamo came over and shook Cain's hand. "Thank you for coming, Captain," he said. "Let's go ahead and get something to eat and we'll talk once we're all seated." The Consort retained some of the earthiness of his life on the Otherside and generally managed his duties with a minimum of formality where possible. The more time Cain spent with the Consort, the more he liked and respected the man.
Everyone filled their plates at the sideboard and sat themselves at the table in the center of the room. It was reasonably small, meant only for immediate family and close friends, but there was still enough room for two or three times their number to eat comfortably. Az sat next to DG and Cain was struck by the picture they made together. They were both beautiful women, but DG was normally vivacious and full of energy, while Azkadellia retained the pale, serene grace associated with the Witch. Tonight, those roles seemed reversed, with Azkadellia still quiet and controlled, but DG so pale that the older princess seemed robust in comparison.
Glitch must have noticed as well, since he put down his plate and touched DG's arm with a gentle hand. "How are you feeling, Doll?" he asked.
DG smiled reassuringly. "I'm just tired, Glitch, that's all. That weird cream works great and I'm not in much pain right now."
Cain didn't miss the troubled frown that Tutor exchanged with Azkadellia, but decided to let it go for the moment.
After a few more polite exchanges, DG finally put down her fork and gave her mother an even look. "Ok, so why exactly are we here? And why did it take three hours of mumbo jumbo from the Lords Stuffypants to get here to begin with?" She figured that she got her point across even if the Otherside slang went right over their heads.
Her parents shared a long, unreadable look. Her mother turned toward her and DG realized that her mother's hands trembled just slightly before they were pressed flat against the table to still them. "Again, I am sorry, my angel. I know you are exhausted and hurt. I wanted you at the Council meeting for two reasons. One, of course, was to learn of the Lourden threat yourself. The second reason," the Queen took a deep breath and seemed to brace herself. "The second reason, angel, is because I wanted to convince the Council that nothing is being done without them; that they know and control everything that is going on in regards to this situation." The Queen's large, lavender eyes gazed into the bright blue gaze of her youngest child. "You will have to leave Central City tonight, and the Councilors cannot be aware of it."
Author's Note: I know some of this seems pointless or very slow, but I do have a plan and it will all tie in soon. I do it in the name of plot bunnies and character development that refuses to be put aside for more interesting scenes just yet.