This chapter absolutely fought me every step of the way. It it literally a relief to get it posted!
In the Open
It wasn't a conscious decision to make their newly formed relationship public. It was more that in a way, for those who knew them best, it had already been public. Or at least, their friends and family had been wondering when the pair of them would have the sense to actually admit their affections to each other.
Once they had, it took very little wheedling on Az and Glitch's part to get DG and Cain to admit what had come to pass that day in the library (of course, Az had managed to acquire quite a bit more detail from her baby sister, than Glitch had from Cain... but really that was only to be expected.)
Az had told their mother; Glitch might have mentioned it to Ahamo, though he really wasn't certain when he'd done it; Cain himself told his son in one rather awkward conversation that left Jeb laughing his head off later. All told, it took less than 48 hours for the royal family and closest advisers to know and acknowledge that the younger princess finally had a suitor she wasn't likely to attack.
So, really there had been no need for them to keep themselves hidden, or so they thought. Not that there had been too much difference in their behavior before and after the library. When he was in his role as Guard Commander, Cain still remained professional, or as professional as his headcase friend and the bouncy pair of Princesses under his protection would allow him to be. Really in those hours, it was business as usual for the Palace. If DG now followed her pouncing hugs with a quick kiss on the cheek, or if his hand rested on the small of her back more often than not, who was to notice?
Everyone apparently.
It started with Cain's own men (though the housemaids claimed otherwise): with sly winks behind the pair's backs, nudging elbows, and hidden grins. Money changed hands the morning that Cain was first seen leaning his chin on DG's shoulder as he reached around to hand over her morning cup of coffee. Jeb Cain was interrogated, subtly of course, but he only grinned and shook his head, refusing to comment on the matter.
When asked later, none of the guards admitted that they'd blabbed, but apparently someone had told someone who mentioned it to someone else who took the story to every damned newspaper in Central City, and from there, everything got out of hand.
DG and Cain only got wind of it one day at lunch when Az came flying in, the offending publications in her hand. The headlines went from mild to scandalous to down right laughable, and once they'd gotten over their joint horror, the entire family had laughed outrageously at the sheer gall of some of those writers.
It was decided that a press release regarding the Princess Dorothy Gale's romantic status would probably have to be made. At the very least, it hopefully stave off the more outrageous rumors and, as Az mentioned with an amused glance at Cain, all but the most determined of her current crop of idiot suitors. In a brilliant PR move by Glitch, The Central City Statesman was chosen as the publication of choice for said announcement. It had the rather uneasy honor of having been the most read paper during the witch's reign, and had continued to keep its place in most citizens' heart after as well. It would be the very quickest way to make sure that the truth actually got out as opposed to gossip and speculation.
The whole process should have gone of without a hitch. There was just one (not exactly small) problem. Some of the more vocal of the Council members released a similar "official" statement without the Royals' consent or even consult. And they'd been adamant that no such relationship existed, that no such relationship could exist, and never... ever... would.
Glitch summed the situation up best.
"Awkward."