DG woke up the next morning to an empty bed. She vaguely remembered Cain getting up before dawn. She could feel the place where his lips touched her forehead, gently kissing her without disrupting her slumber. She counted down the days until there wouldn't be a need for him to get up and rush off to prevent being caught by a guard or even worse, a parent. She just wanted the process to go by as fast as possible; she wasn't one to be calm and patient when it came to waiting for things. Hell, she ran into all kinds of trouble without a second thought, how different could marriage be?
She felt alone in her large bed without him there. He was always up before she awoke and except for a few appearances throughout the day, she didn't see him again until nighttime. She wondered if this is what Adora felt. Is this why she strayed so far from Cain and into the arms of Zero? She shuttered at the thought of that cold, cruel man and tried to remember that he was locked away somewhere.
She felt bad about disobeying her mother and father's rules. She just wasn't disobeying them, she was blatantly doing so. She just couldn't help saying good bye to him at night. She felt safe in his arms. Even if they really did nothing but sleep, it was still a comfort to know he was there, in case trouble occurred.
She knew, however, that rumors would get back to her parents and then she'd be in trouble. What scared her most was what could happen to Cain. Would they fire him? Send him out into the farthest reaches of the kingdom? She'd have to talk to him today even though he might regret it.
As she rolled onto her back she stretched her arms. She attempted to lift her head but immediately regretted the decision as it throbbed with pain. She slumped back on the bed and closed her eyes tightly. She felt so sick, like she lacked all energy. All day wedding planning and late night slumber parties with Cain were starting to take a toll on the young princess. She groaned and dug her head into her pillow. She pulled the covers up to her chin and snuggled back into the warm area where her body once slept. There was no way she'd be getting out of bed this morning. No way, no how. She closed her eyes, willing the headache to go away. There were dozens magical tricks up her sleeves, but none of them could make the headache go away.
"Deeg, wakie wakie." Her sister's soft voice filtered through her dreams. All she wanted was one morning free from disruptions. Opening an eye and seeing her sister there clarified to DG that this would not occur this morning.
"What Az." DG mumbled into her pillow and shut her eye. "I don't feel good. Cancel all my plans for the day." Azkadellia's mouth dropped and she placed a hand on her hip.
"Do I look like you're personal assistant? I don't think so." She hopped onto the bed, pushing her sick sister to the side. "I have another date I have to go on."
"Really Az, I don't feel good." DG whimpered. Azkadellia nodded.
"I know. The whole palace does in fact. Some maid was furious with you when she left this morning. Something about you screaming at her about your head hurting." Azkadellia tried to remember the exact words. "It doesn't sound like you."
"It isn't me. The maids hate me anyway. They'll say anything bad against me."
"Why is that?" Azkadellia patiently tried to be a good sister, even though she really needed advice on her date.
"Because I'm marrying Cain." DG said with a huff as she quickly sat up in bed, ignoring the pain in her head, focusing on the pain in front of her. Azkadellia looked at her sister curiously. "Yes. The entire maid staff hates me because I stole the only man worthy of getting married to. They all hate me." DG threw her hands in the air and fell back on a pillow. Azadellia frowned and smoothed the hair out of her sister's face.
"You do feel warm. I'll tell mother you should stay in bed." DG pushed her sister's hand away.
"Did you hear me? The entire maid staff hates me!" DG cried. Azkadellia rolled her eyes. Since when has DG been the drama queen?
"How do you think I feel? No one looks at me because I tried to take over the kingdom and bring eternal darkness to the kingdom." She patted her sister on the leg. "Now focus." Her brow crossed and she looked to her sister for support.
"So you have a date?
"Yes. I have a date with a," Azkadellia looked down at the little day planner in her hand. "Zachary Thackeray." She looked up at her sister. "He sounds promising. 44, single all his life, still lives with mommy, has a comb over. Oh, and what's that? Yes, his freaking name rhymes. I'm doomed." She fell back onto the thick quilt and sprawled her arms out.
"Oh, by the way, mother and father want you and Cain at dinner tonight." DG's head sprung up from the pillow faster than she would have liked. She held her head in her hands and glared over at her sister.
"You don't think you could have mentioned that when you first got here." Azkadellia shrugged. "What do they want?" DG's mind raced. What could they want? Maybe it was just a dinner to welcome Cain into the family. This could not be good. Maybe they found out about the late nights the two had been having. She groaned and shook her head. This could only end in misery.
"I won't' be there, so please take pictures." Azadellia smiled with glee.
Both girls looked up at the sound of a knock at the door. DG heard Cain's heavy footsteps as he entered the room. His face was red and wind burned. He looked cold and his breath was heavy, like he'd just run a marathon. DG looked over at him and knew he'd been out all morning patrolling the boarder of the palace's land, making sure everyone remained safe. She smiled at him, instantly feeling a tiny bit better.
"Hey you," She sat up in her bed. Azkadellia even grinned, noticing the improvement in her sister's health. "You look cold. Come warm-"DG was stopped by a succession of three sneezes. Azkadellia frowned and handed her sister a soft white handkerchief. Cain looked over, suddenly very worried.
"So it's true. You are sick." He walked over towards the head of the bed. He stopped and placed a head on her forehead. She was very warm and it didn't take a doctor to tell him that. His hand lingered a moment, brushing the hair away from her eyes. He watched her look up at him, her weak eyes needing rest. However, he knew the palace was a very unforgiving place for a sick princess, especially an engaged one. "You need rest." He looked over at Azkadellia. She stood, taking the hint to scram.
"I'll be back later to check on you." She said. DG nodded and covered her mouth as she sneezed again. "Take care of her." Azkadellia looked over at Cain and gave him a weary smile, happy to have him looking out for her sister.
"Don't forget to warn him about dinner." Azkadellia said from the doorway. DG glared over at her sister as the door closed firmly behind her. She looked over at Cain and sheepishly grinned.
"Dinner?" Cain said slowly. "What dinner?" DG wiggled down into the covers and pulled them higher.
"I'm sick, achoo, don't hurt me." DG pouted. Cain rolled his eyes up at the guided ceiling and wondered to himself what family he was about to get into. "Dress to impress." DG said in a sing-song way.
"Is there anything I can get you?" Cain asked DG. "Anything I can do?"
"You can stay with me and lay in bed all day." She grinned up at him, already knowing the answer.
"I wish I could, but I have things to do all day. And now that I'm being dragged to a dinner I'm not entirely too happy about going to, I have to prepare." He bent down and kissed her softly on the forhead. "I have to go. I only had enough time to run in to see if you were ok." DG laughed.
"Cain you have this place locked down to tight that it's amazing germs could find me." She sneezed again. "I think I'll be fine." She patted him on the hand. Cain stood, relieved her humor was still intact.
"Try to get some rest." He eyed her carefully. DG nodded as she yawned into her pillow. He backed away from the bed slowly, heading over to the door. DG's heavy eye lids closed a few moments after the heavy door shut. She thought she was safe from duty for the day, but a few hours later the same heavy door squeaked open. She groaned and sat up.
"I swear, if there are any color swatches for table linens in that bag, I will scream." DG tried to yell, but it only came out a hoarse whisper. So much for trying to be intimidating. John laughed at her scruffy appearance and sound and shook his head.
"No swatches, yet." He held up his pointer finger and gave her an assuring glance. "There is too much to do for you to take a sick day. We'll plan from the comfort of your bedroom." He smiled and gestured to a maid waiting in the hall. She walked in carrying several quilts. She sat them on a chair near the door and then walked over to the fireplace in the corner of the room. She started a warm, crackling fire and left quietly. A second maid brought in a tray with a bowl of soup and a plate of crackers. DG knew the smell instantly and grinned.
"I thought we'd hold off on wedding cake tasting for the day in favor of chicken noodle soup. Cain insisted." John took the tray from the maid and carefully brought it over to the night stand. "He sure can put together a mean batch of soup." John said. He watched DG wiggle up to a sitting position, clearing away old handkerchiefs. Her nose was red and worn and her small face seemed tired. However, her smile seemed relatively happy.
"Yes, his soup is the best." She took the soup form him and took a deep breath. The warm brothy smell filled her nose and she instantly felt better. She thought back to when she first found out Cain cooked, back all those months before to when they were trapped in Kansas. It seemed so far back now. She looked up at John and smiled.
"Tell me about your sister." John pulled over the chair from DG's desk and sat in it backwards. He rested his long, tan arms on the back of the chair and looked over at DG intently. DG swallowed her soup slowly, allowing the warm broth to seep down into the back of her throat. She didn't know what to say to this man. What did he want to know? Why did he want to know? It was confusing for someone who grew up without a sibling for so long and couldn't remember the years she did have a sibling. She thought they were going to plan for the wedding today. She shrugged and thought that any aversion was better than none. She chewed the bottom of her lip and thought for a moment.
"What do you want to know?" She asked John. John drummed his fingers on the chair and shrugged. DG watched him carefully. He had become less of the stuffy, scary man she once thought he had been. He was starting to loosen up and DG liked it. She felt like maybe she could warm up to him.
"I don't know. I mean I know all about the usual things about her: the possessed years, the bondage, the torture. What I really want to know is who Azkadellia is. What does she like?"
"You don't like her do you?" DG asked, suddenly very certain of John's motives. John looked down at a polished shoe. He scuffed the carpet and kept his eyes down.
"She intrigues me." He muttered. DG raised an eyebrow and thought about that for a moment. "Besides, she's the crowned princess, future queen. What would she want with me?"
"Oh I can think of several examples." DG muttered before being attacked by a sneezing fit. Papers flew everywhere and the bed shook as DG sneezed a half a dozen times. John handed her a handkerchief and looked down at her with a feeling of guilt. Part of the reason she was so sick was the fact they'd been in working nonstop trying to plan this wedding. Except for Azkadellia and Cain, no one seemed to be making sure she was ok. She looked up at him, her eyes thanking him as she blew her nose.
"Don't think that nothing could happen between the two of you. I'm a princess and I'm marrying my bodyguard. If there's a will, there's a way. I can put you on her date list; schedule you in for a broken arm or a cracked rib." She watched John smile. So he had heard about the disastrous first date. "I don't know how good your insurance is, but I'm sure we can handle all injuries being that we are the royal family." John let out a large laugh and DG smiled, happy to have some to joke around with. She was about to mention more to John about her sister when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in," DG tried to yell. John walked over and opened the door. A small, young man entered the room. A messenger in training, Oliver was one of the newest staff members in the palace.
"Hello Oliver." DG smiled from the bed. Oliver meekly stood a few paces from the doorway, holding a small envelope. "How can I help you?" DG asked. Oliver held out the letter and John took it from him softly.
"Thank you Oliver." John said. Oliver nodded and turned to leave, but John stopped him. "Oliver, I have a very important job for you." He looked over at DG and winked. The young messenger turned to face John, his wide eyes darting from John to DG. "I am looking for a messenger to deliver the invitations to the wedding. They all have to be delivered by hand. I was wondering if a man like you would like the job."
"Really?" Oliver's wide eyes grew even larger and they sparkled with opportunity. John nodded. "I would love that." The messenger practically jumped up and down.
"Good. I'll send you more information as I get it." John held out his hand and Oliver shook it with quite an amount of force. He turned around to leave, stopping quickly to thank both John and DG. Both smiled graciously and watched the excited man leave. John chuckled after the door closed. He walked over to DG, the letter in his hand.
"Why Oliver?" DG asked. She took the letter from John. "He's the worse person for the job."
"Don't worry. I'll give him just a few to deliver. It will help him feel like he belongs within the palace." DG frowned as she went to open the letter. "Just a couple and just to those we know aren't going to come anyway." John watched as DG started to read the letter before her. Her face filled with confusion as her eyes scrolled through the writing. John saw something was wrong and thought it would be best to take his cue to exit for a moment.
"I'm going to get some tea. Would you like anything?" John asked. DG looked from the letter. She nodded slowly. John looked at her carefully, wondering what was written on that paper that had DG all worried. He backed away slowly. "Don't think you've gotten out of planning anything for the day." DG looked up at him and glared. "I'll be back." He said softly and carefully shut the door behind him. After he'd left DG looked back down at the informal letter, reading the lines again one more time.
Dear Princess,
We thoroughly enjoyed meeting your fiancé the other day. You are quite a lucky young woman to be marrying such a wonderful man. If we had been blessed with a daughter we would want the same for her. I know you probably hear it a lot during your visits around the kingdom, but we are very thankful for what you and your friends did for us. We lived in fear and darkness for such a long time and we feared it would remain permanently.
I want you to know that we are happy for you and Mr. Cain. We had a son that went missing years ago. Last time we heard from him he'd run off and had a child. Now we never see him and think that the worse has happened. However, when Mr. Cain visited us today, we were honored. He reminded us of our own son and were instantly filled with a sense that maybe he was still out there. We are looking forward to you two coming to our home for your honeymoon. It is an enormous honor to have you. Again, congratulations on your momentous occasion. We thank you for everything you have done for us. Best of luck in the future.
Sincerely yours,
Jacob and Nora
She turned the letter over, looking on the back. Who were Jacob and Nora and how did Cain know them. She sat the letter on her lap and crossed her arms. Why did she feel there was so much about Cain that she didn't know? She sat up in her bed, feeling her head pound. She'd have to discuss this with him later, now she'd have to focus on this wedding she was planning.
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