Title: When Her Word Didn't Stop
Characters/Pairings: DG/Cain, rest of the cast, O/Cs
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Spoilers: Adult content. Smut
Summary: Companion piece to After His World Stopped. Cain and DG learn to work as a team to help the O.Z.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything, anyone or anyplace.

Chapter 1

Her world didn't stop.

DG remembered the uncertainty after the eclipse, the fear she felt learning she would be queen, when she realized how much she had to learn after finding the library, and the confusion brought about by her parents' actions.

She remembered the first time Cain made love to her. He had asked her to marry him just moments earlier. Their passion was electric and their love was magical. She would never forget the feel of his hands on her body, the worship of his lips on her skin, the flawless bending of their bodies and souls into one entity.

There was the desolation in her heart when her mother had informed her Cain had asked to leave. And the confusion when she found out her mother had lied.

But Cain had been there. She knew now that he would always be there. He had dealt with her parents lies. He had swept her away on an enchanted trip across the O.Z. They had spent time with Raw at his village. The viewer had joined them as they traveled to Finaqua.

And Cain was here beside her in Finaqua. They could stay only two days before they had to return to Central City. Their engagement would be announced. DG would be named Crown Princess. Her parents would use the love and devotion Cain and DG felt for each other as a political tool. The announcement that DG would assume the throne with a hero of the eclipse as her Consort, would help solidify Lavender's tenuous hold on the throne.

But DG didn't care. She had never wanted to be a princess. She didn't want to be queen. She wanted only what she had: Cain chasing her across the lawn at Finaqua.

With a laugh, he gently tackled her and rolled her onto the grass until she was pinned beneath him. One hand came up to caress her cheek.

He pulled something out of his pocket. With a soft smile he handed the small package to DG. Her eyes looked a question.

"Open it," he instructed.

She broke into a brilliant smile as she saw the earrings she had admired at the street market where she had found Arianna.

"You've had these since the street market?" she asked. "Why haven't you given them to me before now?"

She leaned forward to give him a lingering kiss then straightened. She put the earrings on.

"Well?" she asked again.

His eyes twinkled. "I was just waiting until I thought you deserved them."

"And what did I do to deserve them?"

He sobered as he stared into her eyes.

"You were amazing."

"Were?" she questioned, her eyes shining with humor.

He smiled. "Are," he admitted. "But I was thinking about what Raw said about his village and the people we've come across on our trip. You are a natural born queen. The O.Z. is going to be so lucky to have you on the throne."

"Not for many years if I have anything to say about it. The last thing I want is to take on that load of trouble a day before I have to."

She would look back on that sentence the next day and wonder if her magic had been trying to warn her.

For the rest of her life, she would wish she could have made her world stop on that perfect day.

But her world didn't stop.

*************

It was Cain's sudden alertness that woke DG about two hours before first light the next morning.

"Wha …"

Cain clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Don't make a sound," he whispered in her ear.

He reached for his gun, listening. DG could hear a commotion outside the palace but she couldn't register what she was hearing. She heard Cain moving around the room and felt him lay something in her lap.

"Get dressed," his voice still so only she could hear it. "I can't see anything out of these windows. We need to move."

Her hands were shaking as she dressed quickly. Her fear increased when she realized Cain had handed her jeans, a pullover and her leather jacket. He wanted her prepared if they had to flee. She slipped her feet into flat slippers, wishing she had time to find and tie her sneakers, then stood up. Cain took hold of her hand, holding his arm stiff so she was forced to walk a half step behind him.

As they crossed the sitting room, the door to the hallway began to open. Cain moved DG out of the way and raised his gun so it was leveled at whoever came through the door.

"DG frightened," Raw's voice came through the doorway in the same low whisper Cain had been using. "Raw came to help Tin Man."

Cain lowered his gun and pulled Raw closer to them.

"Raw you stay with DG. I want you two behind me – close."

"Raw understand."

The threesome moved slowly out into the hallways of the palace. As they descended the staircase into the entrance hall, Cain saw the Lieutenant in charge of the small unit of guards assigned to Finaqua. He was buttoning his uniform and moving toward the main doors.

"Gordon, are those doors secured?" Cain barked softly.

The young man turned to look at Cain. "Secured? There are people arriving."

"Do you know who's out there?" Cain asked.

"No, sir."

"Then I'm not going to let you throw open the doors with the princess here. Secure the front doors, get a man posted on every entrance to this palace. Now!"

The Lieutenant motioned for the guards posted in the entrance hall to secure the main door and hurried to make sure the rest of Cain's orders were carried out.

As Cain crossed the large hall, he could hear someone trying to open the door. With his gun he motioned the guards back. He moved to the door. He pointed to the wall beside the doorway. Raw took hold of DG's upper arms and moved her to the spot Cain had indicated.

Someone pounded on the entrance door.

"Open the door!" came a muffled voice.

"On whose authority do you come to Finaqua in the middle of the night?" Cain demanded.

"The Commander of the Palace Guards," came the response.

Cain exchanged a puzzled look with DG.

"Is the Commander with you?"

"Yes. Open the door immediately."

"I want to talk to the Commander," Cain responded.

There was a pause and then movement on the outside of the thick door. Another voice called out, "This is Jeb Cain, Commander of the Palace Guards. I order you to open this door."

The voice was too muffled to positively identify it as Jeb's. Cain's mouth made a grimacing twist. Knowing he had no other choice, he unlocked the door. He glanced at Raw who nodded, standing between the doorway and DG.

Outside, Jeb watched as the door started to open. He took a step forward only to find the barrel of a gun firmly against his forehead. He froze.

"Jeb?"

Jeb recognized Cain's voice. "Father! Thank Ozma you're still alright. Let us in."

Cain opened the door further, surveyed the scene behind Jeb and then lowered his gun.

"What the hell's going on?" Cain demanded as Jeb and his men surged into the hall.

"Secure that door as soon as everyone's inside," Jeb ordered, ignoring his angry father and the shocked princess. "Get extra guards on every entrance. Find the officer in charge and bring him to me. He's not to talk to any of his men. Locate and secure every guard assigned here and hold them for questioning."

After giving his orders, Jeb turned back to Cain. "We need to talk … just the four of us."

Cain led the way back up to DG's suite. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering from fear not cold. Cain threw a couple of logs onto the banked fired. He moved behind her and held her so her back was secure against his chest.

"What's happened?" she asked. "Is my family okay?"

"Oh, they're fine!" Jeb spat out, disgust evident in his answer. He motioned to the furniture. "This is going to take a while. You might as well be comfortable."

DG hesitated. Cain led her to the couch. Raw moved away from the heavy emotions in the room and squatted down in the far corner. Jeb started to pace, trying to control his anger.

"It started as soon as you left," he told them. "All of the self-serving scum that had hid under rocks and kept themselves safe during the witch's reign started pouring back into Central City and the Royal Court. And Lavender and Ahamo welcomed them back with open arms." He paced another lap before he could talk again. "The Consort has decided to activate the Ozian Army immediately."

"How?" Cain questioned. "A huge portion of the Army went over to the witch and are in jail as Longcoats."

Jeb nodded. "You know we've been using viewers on the lower ranks of the Longcoats that are in custody. We've found out that most of them were just caught up in the sorceress' early take-over lies and then couldn't get out when they realized the truth."

Cain nodded.

"We've started a boot camp based at the witch's tower to re-indoctrinate them and screen out anyone we think is suspicious," Jeb continued. "But the Queen and Consort are being urged to just let anyone into the Army if they say they're sorry. They want to skip the indoctrination to build the numbers faster. I've left men in charge of the camp and the continued screening that I trust completely."

"With your life?" Cain asked.

Jeb glanced at DG and then looked his father in the eye. "With the Princess' life."

Cain nodded, understanding what Jeb was telling him.

Jeb resumed his pacing and his story. "Anyway … a bunch of fobs came crawling back to the Court." He stared at DG. "For some reason, your father made them leaders of the Army. Within a few days, they convinced the Queen that she was not safe on her throne as long as Zero's loose."

Cain shrugged as he sat back beside DG. "I can't disagree with that. That's why we have scouts out everywhere looking for him."

"Oh, but they had a plan. With all the activity in the palace getting ready for the engagement ball, they soon learned about you and DG. They decided that if they could get word to Zero about the engagement that he would come out of hiding to try to get to DG."

Cain nodded. "I had wondered about that myself. I thought I'd talk to the Queen before the ball. There's got to be a way to use the announcement to our advantage and still keep DG safe."

"Yeah, the new Court thinks that's a good plan." Jeb snapped sarcastically. He stopped pacing and turned to face his father squarely. "Except for the part about worrying about DG's safety."

"What do you mean except for her safety?" Cain demanded.

"Zero started moving his troops the day after the engagement was announced."

There was dead silence in the room. Cain turned pale as he rose slowly to his feet.

"But … I don't … understand," DG said. "We aren't announcing our engagement until next week."

"They made the announcement while DG was away from the city and out here with only a couple of dozen guards?" Cain's voice was so hostile Raw whimpered. "Knowing that there is virtually no trained Army … just the Palace Guards? Knowing we are sitting here defenseless without any hope of reinforcement?"

Jeb pressed his lips tightly together and nodded. Cain swore as he kicked a small side table across the room with such violence that it splintered as it hit the wall and the figurines that had been sitting on it shattered as they bounced off the floor.

DG stood up and went to Jeb. "I don't understand," she said again.

Jeb hugged her. "I know you don't, Princess. You couldn't possibly conceive of something so terrible."

She turned to look at Cain, her eyes wide with confusion. "What's happening?"

Jeb handed DG to Cain who crushed her against him so hard that she could hardly breathe.

"How many men did you bring?" Cain asked. His hands absently stroked DG as she huddled against his chest.

"We started with 100 from the Palace Guards, Tin Men and what Army personnel I could trust. We left at first light and have ridden all day and night to get here. We've picked up almost that many men as we traveled south … former Resistance Fighters. They all understand what's happening – the news is traveling faster than we did. What do you have here?"

"The 12 we started with. There are 15 guards assigned to Finaqua. You'll need to talk to them."

Jeb nodded in understanding. "Other personnel?"

"Three couples that do the service work."

"Stay with DG. I'll get things organized and then send someone for you. Viewer, will you help me screen the guards?"

With a nod, Raw hurried out of the room after Jeb.

"Wyatt, you're frightening me. Tell me what's going on."

Cain's face was hard as he held DG away from him so he could watch her face as he explained what had happened.

"By announcing our engagement, your parents have forced Zero to move against them. He would've tried to stop any move that might solidify their position on the throne. But by announcing your intention to take me as your Consort, he'll try to get to you so he can hurt me, too."

She looked puzzled. "But wouldn't my father know that would happen?"

For the first time she saw pure hatred in Cain's eyes. She shivered at the sight.

"I have no doubt he knew exactly how Zero would react," came the cold response.

"But why would he … didn't he know … that we don't have enough guards … that Zero might …"

"The only thing that makes sense is if he wants Zero to try to get to you. His advisors must have convinced him to use you as bait to draw Zero out of hiding."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Doesn't he know what Zero would do if he got hold of me? That he'd try to … that he'd …" Her breathing showed her rising panic. "He'd do … what he did … to Adora," she managed to get out.

"Heroines are very strong symbols … but then so are martyrs," Cain said with clinched teeth. "Either way …"

Cain watched as understanding dawned in her eyes, followed by sudden and total anguish. As the final comprehension of her parents' act of betrayal registered in her now sluggishly moving brain she broke down completely.

Cain sank to the couch holding her as she began to heave with sobs that wracked her slender frame. Cain held her as her last delicate hope for ever truly reuniting with her family was savagely ripped away from her. Her fists beat on his chest as she screamed her pain into his shoulder while he forced her to stay against his body.

In their time together, he'd often seen her eyes well with tears because of her tender heart. But she had only really cried three times. He had never witnessed the total desolation she was displaying now. His jaw hardened and his eyes flashed with loathing for her parents as he battled to keep his hands and voice gentle so he could comfort her.

She was sagging limply in his arms, her arms lying lifelessly against his chest, her breath still coming in huge gasps when Jeb returned to the room. Cain looked up and his son saw the traces of tears on the Tin Man's face where he had grieved for the destruction of DG's dream.

Jeb hesitated and then shook his head. "I'm sorry. You know time is of the essence."

Cain nodded. "We'll be down in a couple of minutes. Where are you?"

"We've set up a war room in the dining hall."

The two men exchanged another look. Jeb clinched his jaw in anger then turned to leave. Cain placed his hands on either side of DG's face and made her sit up.

"We'll finish our grieving later. Right now we have to move," he told her gently but firmly.

She released one last shuttering gasp before nodding. They walked together into the bathroom. Cain handed her a rag he had rinsed in cool water. She wiped her face to remove the worse of the signs of her breakdown. She turned to him and washed the remains of the tears from his face.

He caught her hand. Staring into her eyes he tenderly turned her arm. He leaned down to kiss the inside of her wrist. She gently stroked his hair as he let his lips linger on her skin.

TBC

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