A/N: Ok, now don't be alarmed, but this fic is going to be VERY different from my other fics....It was just an idea I got while watching the music video for my favorite song, which I won't tell you because for anyone who has seen the video, the ending to this fic will be spoiled.......Just to let you guys know, this fic will mostly be from Numair's POV so as to leave you guys wondering on A LOT of things...hehe...aren't I nice?
One last thing is this. No matter how shaky this fic gets, I mean now matter how much I put D/N through, please keep reading and please don't give up on me....This is a short fic, so you won't have to put up with it for long....
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Tamora Pierce's characters, and I don't claim to....Also, I don't own part of the plot, but I won't tell you who does just yet cuz if I did, it would give away the ending....just don't sue me....all you would get is some lent from my pockets and perhaps a rubber band...no wait, scratch the rubber band cuz I lost it yesterday!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PROLOGUE
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Numair Salmalin, the black robed mage of Tortall rode at an intense pace on his patient gelding, Spots. He raced through the woods, not paying careful attention to his surroundings. He was in a hurry and he was fair vexed. There was no stopping him when he was in one of his moods. There had been a serious problem with a large group of bandits not far from the fief of Dunlath. Being that he was Tortall's best mage, he had been sent along with several groups of Riders to put a stop to it. At the time, he had been certain it would be a minor battle and he would be home soon. This hadn't proved to be the case however, for he and his comrades had been pursuing the bandits through the woods of Long Lake for the past week without rest.
At the moment, Numair was extremely exhausted and didn't feel that he could go on like this for much longer. He knew sooner or later the bandits would run out of strength and the chase would end, but it wouldn't be soon enough for Numair. No, Numair was in a hurry to return to Corus, for he was engaged to be married in exactly one week and he didn't wish to miss his own wedding on account of bandits. He dearly missed his wife to be, Veralidaine Sarrasri, and wanted very much to get back to her. She hadn't wanted him to go on missions for the crown this close to their wedding date, but there had been no avoiding it. When he was given orders from the king, he had to follow them, no matter how soon his wedding was.
Daine had been fair vexed with him upon his leaving, he remembered. She had been so upset, that she hadn't even bothered going outside of the room they shared together to see him off or even to say good bye. He had felt horrible in leaving even after all of this, but what choice did he have? It was considered high treason to refuse a direct order from the king, no matter how much he wanted to.
"Gods, Daine, I hope you can forgive me," He muttered under his breath so quietly that none aside from himself could hear. From behind him, he could hear Sir Raoul of Goldenlake calling out orders to the Riders. Since Numair was the only mage that had accompanied the Own, he rode up in the very front. The mage was always expected to ride in front when pursuing the enemy, for they had all sorts of spells that could protect themselves and their company in an instant if their was a surprise attack. This made it necessary for a mage to be up front at all times so that they could be the first to notice the signs of sabotage.
Just as the Riders were about to break through the trees and into the next clearing, Numair saw the bushed moving nearby, along with the noise of men talking that weren't of the Riders and knew that the bandits were upon them. "Fall back!" he yelled as a signal, one that he and Raoul had decided on before leaving to go looking for the bandits that morning. Raoul heard his signal loud and clear and ordered the Riders back. Thinking quickly, Numair began chanting in Old Thak and a thin, globe-like barrier formed around the group of Riders and himself. Though this meant that they could not be shot by enemy arrows, it also meant that they could not fire at the enemy with their own arrows.
Waiting for Raoul's voice to call to him to remove the barrier, Numair held it strong. Just as he was thinking, the bandits he had anticipated dashed out into the clearing, their eyes glowing with a malicious blood thirst. Men who became bandits were not normal men at all. They were monsters who lived for violence and killing, who thirsted for blood. Daine, his fiancee's own mother and grandfather had been brutally killed by such men. It was a story Numair would never forget hearing, for he knew how badly it had scarred his love. It had changed her life drastically. These men could not ever be allowed to live in freedom, for the killed for pleasure. That meant destruction to the kingdom and its people.
"Riders, draw your arms!" Numair heard Raoul's voice split the air, ordering the Riders to prepare themselves. Immediately following the old knight's voice was the sound of arrows being loaded into cross bows, and the strings clicking into place as the Riders aimed. Fearing he might lose concentration on his spell, Numair did not turn around, but instead trusted that Raoul would tell him when everything was ready and for him to let his barrier drop. It was no easy task to hold up a barrier this large for very long. It was especially hard in this case, for as he fought to hold it up, bandits fired at it from every direction, each shot hitting it with great accuracy.
Accuracy was another trait of bandits, though it was an unfortunate one. Such men got so much practice from their line of work that they rarely missed when they shot at any target they chose. This meant that going against them in a battle was highly dangerous. At times, especially when there were large numbers of them, they could be worse than a band of immortals.
Finally, after many arrows had crashed with deadly accuracy into the barrier, Numair heard Raoul's voice coming from the back of the line of Riders. "Drop the barrier, Numair!" the man let his voice roar over all the commotion.
As soon as it dropped, arrows went whizzing through the air in every direction. Numair quickly stole a glance around behind him, checking to see if any had been hit. It seemed everyone had been quick enough to dodge, for none had been struck down. After seeing this, Numair quickly turned forward and prepared himself for an attack from a bandit. It came fast, one of them riding towards him at full speed on a large mount. He carried not a cross bow, or any bow at all, but a battle hatchet. Letting out a battle cry, the man swung hard at Numair, only to make contact with a barrier Numair had quickly constructed to shield himself. The bandit held a look of pure horror as Numair shot a blast of his Gift at the man. Numair hated using raw Gift and not a direct spell, but in times like this, all that mattered was striking down your opponent. It mattered not how it was done, just so long as it was done.
Numair's blast of Gift hit the man head on, knocking the bandit off of the horse. Numair looked down and behind him as the bandit was trampled to death by the horses of the Riders the rode swiftly behind him. Numair quickly turned forward to face a new oncoming attack. One came right away, this time more fierce. The man had a cross bow aimed directly at Numair's head. It seemed that Numair was the choice target of many of the bandits, for they thought it smart to eliminate the mage. None of them seemed to comprehend though, just how hard such a task would end up being.
When the bandit fired his shot, Numair was ready with a Gifted shield. The arrow hit the shield with deadly accuracy, leaving Numair to wonder whether or not he would have lived had the arrow hit him and not the shield. As soon as the arrow had ricashaded and flew into another direction, Numair advanced towards the man, who was trying to steadily pull his mount back into the crowd of his accomplices. Numair would let him do no such thing. He felt all the anger that had boiled up in hi for the past week begin to flow out uncontrollably. He rode past the front line of Riders and after the man. Before long, Numair found himself sweeping through the lines of bandits until he was past them all together.
As he rode, mind flooded with thoughts of killing this particular bandit, Numair thought he could faintly hear Raoul calling to him to fall back. He would do no such thing. Falling back would let this bandit escape, and that was not an option to him. His anger was controlling him now. There was no stopping it. Right now, he felt rage running through him, though not necessarily rage towards this bandit.
He saw himself riding off to go on this mission to stop the bandits. He was looking back at the castle, up at the window of his room he shared with Daine. He saw her inside, laying on their bed reading a book. It hurt him deeply that she was too angry with him to even come out to see him off. She had refused to even say good bye. When he had tried to kiss her before leaving, she had pushed him away.
This was not all that Numair saw as he chased the bandit into the woods and away from the thick of the battle. He saw himself in Jon's study standing before the king himself. Jon had just ordered him to go on this mission to hunt down the bandits. Numair had already known from previous talks with Daine that she wouldn't be happy with him if he went. He saw himself telling Jon this, but Jon still sending him. This too hurt him deeply.
Many other scenes flashed through his mind, making him ride all that much harder to reach the bandit. He knew he was just trying to vent his anger, and that it was rather foolish, but at the moment he didn't care. As the memory of Daine not even saying good bye to him flashed through his mind once more, he felt a hot tear roll down his face. He urged Spots to go faster until he was a mere foot behind the bandit.
The bandit looked back to face Numair, but instead of the fear Numair was sure he'd find in the man's face, he saw a look of grim satisfaction. The bandit grinned evilly at Numair, causing Numair to look back, more puzzled than ever. It was then that he realized something was terribly wrong. He turned his head back to follow the bandit's gaze and saw that he hadn't been the only one to follow. About ten of the other bandits were coming upon him.
Suddenly, an arrow went whizzing by his head. He shouted in anger and frustration, wondering how her was going to manage pulling out of this one. This had obviously been why Raoul had called after him to turn back. Raoul had seen the bandits follow. If only Numair hadn't been so rash and foolish! He let his anger and injured heart take the best of him. He hadn't thought rationally. Now, he would be lucky if he made it out alive.
He roughly pulled on Spot's reigns, kicking him to turn right and thus into another direction. To his dismay, the bandits were one step ahead of him and turned precisely when he did. The odds were not for him just now. for he was outnumbered eleven to one. To add to that, Numair was up against men who were much better horsemen than he. Perhaps if he had paid more attention to Daine's lessons those years ago, he could out maneuver them now, but no such luck. He surely had gotten himself into a fix, perhaps one he wouldn't ever walk out of alive.
His world began to spin as he felt one of the bandit's arrows bury itself in his side. He heard himself cry out in pain, but couldn't recall doing so. Pain seared through every inch of his lanky form, not a single spot spared. An unwelcoming fire of fear, anger and paine raced through his veins, adrenaline pumping. His vision rapidly became blurry, as did his thoughts. Mind clouded, he let out a grunt and another cry of pain before falling off of Spots and to the ground with a sickening thud. What happened next was all a blur to him. Within seconds of hitting the ground, he felt his ribs and right arm crack. He had barely a second to breath before his head jerked to the side and he saw the hooves of his enemy's horses charging towards him. This was it. There was no way he could live through this. He closed his eyes quickly, not wanting to see his fate, thinking that perhaps he could will it away.
Memories flashed through his mind like wild fire. He was on another mission for the king. He was standing in a clearing which he had chosen to make camp in. Rain was pouring down, making it impossible to build a fire. It was a beautiful night, a full moon shining and the sky covered with a shimmering blanket of stars. The night's breeze blew uncomfortably against his exposed skin and making his shirt and breeches blow with it. He turned his head to look back at where he had laid out his bed roll. Daine, his traveling companion and lover was walking towards him, smiling coyly. Soon a smile lit up his face as she reached out to him. He took her in his arms, warmly planting a kiss on her forehead.
His mind flashed forward in that same memory. This time, he and Daine were in the middle of a passionate kiss. They were oblivious to their surroundings. All either of them could see, was the other, and that was all that mattered. He groaned in pleasure, pulling her tighter to his chest. Thinking he would die of regret when their lips parted, he went on without air no matter how much his body protested.
Their kiss grew more passionate as time passed. They came up for air as few times as possible, both too caught up in the other to care. Suddenly, without breaking the kiss, Numair reached down and lifted her into his arms. He laughed into her mouth as he felt her lips twist into a smile. He carried her back to their bed rolls, dumping her down onto his. He barely gave her time to look up at him before he too was down on the ground with her. Within seconds he had pulled her to his chest, holding her tight. He began raining tiny kisses down her neck, causing her to sigh in pleasure. He could feel her tremble within the circle of his arms, the passion becoming intense. He too trembled, but that didn't worry him in the slightest bit.He felt a new sense of fire and passion when he felt her reach down and begin undoing his belt. He repaid the favor by unbuttoning her shirt, passion mounting to ubearable levels.
Numair's memory stopped there, his mind returning to reality. All he could think of was what he was about to leave behind. Daine, his Daine, would be left alone. She hadn't wanted him to go, and now that he had, he would die and never see her again. He felt horrible for leaving her like this, never to return. She'd lost so many before, why did the gods want to add him to her list? By the gods how he wanted to hold her one last time, kiss her just once more and tell her good bye. The last they had heard of each other had been no proper good bye, for it had been in anger. Gods how he regretted leaving her when they were fighting!
The worst of this all though, was that he would never marry her. He had worked hard in persuading her for three long years before she had finally said yes. Now, here he was not carrying out his promise. He had promised her marriage, something he could never give her now. He closed his eyes tight, scared to death about what was about to meet him. When it hit him, he hardly felt any pain as the horses of the bandits trampled over him. He blacked out as soon as the first hoof came down upon him.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As soon as he blacked out, his mind took him to Corus, to the palace. It traveled through the palace halls until he reached the different rooms in the mages wing. He stopped outside a room door with a brass name plate that clearly said 'Numair Salmalin and Veralidaine Sarrasri.' He had already known that was what it said. He had stood outside this door many times.
His mind took him inside that room. He recognized very well the room he shared with Daine. It was very well kept up. It looked as though during his absence, Daine had decided to do some cleaning. It made him long to actually be home, rather than just dream about it.
After briefly looking around, his mind took him into the next room, his and Daine's bed chamber. Inside was the bed he shared with Daine. In fact, she lay on it just now, resting her head on her pillow. On her chest sat a sparrow, which seemed to be conversing with Daine through mind speech. Though Numair never had been able to understand what went on during these silent exchanges between Daine and the animals, he wished now more than ever that he could. He wanted to know how his love had been fairing with him gone for a week. Hopefully, he would be home to her soon.
"I feel so guilty," Numair felt his heart race as Daine suddenly began talking out loud to her animal friend. "I didn't even say good bye to him before he left. Now, he's been gone for a week. It was fair mean of me not to even kiss him good bye. I was wrong."
-No, you were right...I was wrong,- Numair thought it his mind, -Don't worry, I'll be home soon.-
In his mind, he heard a frantic knock at the door. Numair watched as she rose from the bed, sending the sparrow on its way. She exited the bed chamber, Numair's mind vision not far behind her. She went to answer the door, to find a young page standing on the other side. His face was filled with grief, making Numair wonder why. What news had his love received in his absence?
Numair watched as the page handed Daine the scroll he clutched in his hand. Puzzled by the boy's expression, Daine took it in her hand and dismissed the page with a thank you. She then stepped back inside the room, closing the door behind her. Without bothering to sit down, Daine broke the seal on the scroll and scanned its contents with her eyes. Numair watched in confusion as her eyes grew wide in shock by whatever it was she read. She began clutching the letter tighter in her hands, wrinkling it in her grasp. Without warning, she let out a horrible, grief stricken gasp. Tears began rolling down her face.
"No! " she sobbed, her voice carrying. "Oh, Gods no!" Her knees buckled beneath her, pain shining clearly in her blue gray eyes. She let the letter fall out of her hands and to the ground beside her. There, she lay on the floor sobbing. Numair longed to go to her, but this was merely a dream, so he could not. Instead, he watched her, thinking of all the ways he could comfort her upon his return. He may not know what the cause of this grief was, he would soon know. Though he didn't want the vision to stop, it became blurry and her sobs faint. Soon, he was back in the darkness he had entered before.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A/N: Don't panic, for I know what I'm doing!!! I think.......ah what the heck, just read it and have faith in my ability to throw you guys for a loop...It is, after all, my only talent...and I'm sure any of you who've read my other fics know that very well....*cough* Anyway, just read it and I promise not to do anything *too* bad....You know me, there is a line for how far one can torture D/N and I have NEVER crossed it....right? ^_^
One last thing is this. No matter how shaky this fic gets, I mean now matter how much I put D/N through, please keep reading and please don't give up on me....This is a short fic, so you won't have to put up with it for long....
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Tamora Pierce's characters, and I don't claim to....Also, I don't own part of the plot, but I won't tell you who does just yet cuz if I did, it would give away the ending....just don't sue me....all you would get is some lent from my pockets and perhaps a rubber band...no wait, scratch the rubber band cuz I lost it yesterday!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PROLOGUE
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Numair Salmalin, the black robed mage of Tortall rode at an intense pace on his patient gelding, Spots. He raced through the woods, not paying careful attention to his surroundings. He was in a hurry and he was fair vexed. There was no stopping him when he was in one of his moods. There had been a serious problem with a large group of bandits not far from the fief of Dunlath. Being that he was Tortall's best mage, he had been sent along with several groups of Riders to put a stop to it. At the time, he had been certain it would be a minor battle and he would be home soon. This hadn't proved to be the case however, for he and his comrades had been pursuing the bandits through the woods of Long Lake for the past week without rest.
At the moment, Numair was extremely exhausted and didn't feel that he could go on like this for much longer. He knew sooner or later the bandits would run out of strength and the chase would end, but it wouldn't be soon enough for Numair. No, Numair was in a hurry to return to Corus, for he was engaged to be married in exactly one week and he didn't wish to miss his own wedding on account of bandits. He dearly missed his wife to be, Veralidaine Sarrasri, and wanted very much to get back to her. She hadn't wanted him to go on missions for the crown this close to their wedding date, but there had been no avoiding it. When he was given orders from the king, he had to follow them, no matter how soon his wedding was.
Daine had been fair vexed with him upon his leaving, he remembered. She had been so upset, that she hadn't even bothered going outside of the room they shared together to see him off or even to say good bye. He had felt horrible in leaving even after all of this, but what choice did he have? It was considered high treason to refuse a direct order from the king, no matter how much he wanted to.
"Gods, Daine, I hope you can forgive me," He muttered under his breath so quietly that none aside from himself could hear. From behind him, he could hear Sir Raoul of Goldenlake calling out orders to the Riders. Since Numair was the only mage that had accompanied the Own, he rode up in the very front. The mage was always expected to ride in front when pursuing the enemy, for they had all sorts of spells that could protect themselves and their company in an instant if their was a surprise attack. This made it necessary for a mage to be up front at all times so that they could be the first to notice the signs of sabotage.
Just as the Riders were about to break through the trees and into the next clearing, Numair saw the bushed moving nearby, along with the noise of men talking that weren't of the Riders and knew that the bandits were upon them. "Fall back!" he yelled as a signal, one that he and Raoul had decided on before leaving to go looking for the bandits that morning. Raoul heard his signal loud and clear and ordered the Riders back. Thinking quickly, Numair began chanting in Old Thak and a thin, globe-like barrier formed around the group of Riders and himself. Though this meant that they could not be shot by enemy arrows, it also meant that they could not fire at the enemy with their own arrows.
Waiting for Raoul's voice to call to him to remove the barrier, Numair held it strong. Just as he was thinking, the bandits he had anticipated dashed out into the clearing, their eyes glowing with a malicious blood thirst. Men who became bandits were not normal men at all. They were monsters who lived for violence and killing, who thirsted for blood. Daine, his fiancee's own mother and grandfather had been brutally killed by such men. It was a story Numair would never forget hearing, for he knew how badly it had scarred his love. It had changed her life drastically. These men could not ever be allowed to live in freedom, for the killed for pleasure. That meant destruction to the kingdom and its people.
"Riders, draw your arms!" Numair heard Raoul's voice split the air, ordering the Riders to prepare themselves. Immediately following the old knight's voice was the sound of arrows being loaded into cross bows, and the strings clicking into place as the Riders aimed. Fearing he might lose concentration on his spell, Numair did not turn around, but instead trusted that Raoul would tell him when everything was ready and for him to let his barrier drop. It was no easy task to hold up a barrier this large for very long. It was especially hard in this case, for as he fought to hold it up, bandits fired at it from every direction, each shot hitting it with great accuracy.
Accuracy was another trait of bandits, though it was an unfortunate one. Such men got so much practice from their line of work that they rarely missed when they shot at any target they chose. This meant that going against them in a battle was highly dangerous. At times, especially when there were large numbers of them, they could be worse than a band of immortals.
Finally, after many arrows had crashed with deadly accuracy into the barrier, Numair heard Raoul's voice coming from the back of the line of Riders. "Drop the barrier, Numair!" the man let his voice roar over all the commotion.
As soon as it dropped, arrows went whizzing through the air in every direction. Numair quickly stole a glance around behind him, checking to see if any had been hit. It seemed everyone had been quick enough to dodge, for none had been struck down. After seeing this, Numair quickly turned forward and prepared himself for an attack from a bandit. It came fast, one of them riding towards him at full speed on a large mount. He carried not a cross bow, or any bow at all, but a battle hatchet. Letting out a battle cry, the man swung hard at Numair, only to make contact with a barrier Numair had quickly constructed to shield himself. The bandit held a look of pure horror as Numair shot a blast of his Gift at the man. Numair hated using raw Gift and not a direct spell, but in times like this, all that mattered was striking down your opponent. It mattered not how it was done, just so long as it was done.
Numair's blast of Gift hit the man head on, knocking the bandit off of the horse. Numair looked down and behind him as the bandit was trampled to death by the horses of the Riders the rode swiftly behind him. Numair quickly turned forward to face a new oncoming attack. One came right away, this time more fierce. The man had a cross bow aimed directly at Numair's head. It seemed that Numair was the choice target of many of the bandits, for they thought it smart to eliminate the mage. None of them seemed to comprehend though, just how hard such a task would end up being.
When the bandit fired his shot, Numair was ready with a Gifted shield. The arrow hit the shield with deadly accuracy, leaving Numair to wonder whether or not he would have lived had the arrow hit him and not the shield. As soon as the arrow had ricashaded and flew into another direction, Numair advanced towards the man, who was trying to steadily pull his mount back into the crowd of his accomplices. Numair would let him do no such thing. He felt all the anger that had boiled up in hi for the past week begin to flow out uncontrollably. He rode past the front line of Riders and after the man. Before long, Numair found himself sweeping through the lines of bandits until he was past them all together.
As he rode, mind flooded with thoughts of killing this particular bandit, Numair thought he could faintly hear Raoul calling to him to fall back. He would do no such thing. Falling back would let this bandit escape, and that was not an option to him. His anger was controlling him now. There was no stopping it. Right now, he felt rage running through him, though not necessarily rage towards this bandit.
He saw himself riding off to go on this mission to stop the bandits. He was looking back at the castle, up at the window of his room he shared with Daine. He saw her inside, laying on their bed reading a book. It hurt him deeply that she was too angry with him to even come out to see him off. She had refused to even say good bye. When he had tried to kiss her before leaving, she had pushed him away.
This was not all that Numair saw as he chased the bandit into the woods and away from the thick of the battle. He saw himself in Jon's study standing before the king himself. Jon had just ordered him to go on this mission to hunt down the bandits. Numair had already known from previous talks with Daine that she wouldn't be happy with him if he went. He saw himself telling Jon this, but Jon still sending him. This too hurt him deeply.
Many other scenes flashed through his mind, making him ride all that much harder to reach the bandit. He knew he was just trying to vent his anger, and that it was rather foolish, but at the moment he didn't care. As the memory of Daine not even saying good bye to him flashed through his mind once more, he felt a hot tear roll down his face. He urged Spots to go faster until he was a mere foot behind the bandit.
The bandit looked back to face Numair, but instead of the fear Numair was sure he'd find in the man's face, he saw a look of grim satisfaction. The bandit grinned evilly at Numair, causing Numair to look back, more puzzled than ever. It was then that he realized something was terribly wrong. He turned his head back to follow the bandit's gaze and saw that he hadn't been the only one to follow. About ten of the other bandits were coming upon him.
Suddenly, an arrow went whizzing by his head. He shouted in anger and frustration, wondering how her was going to manage pulling out of this one. This had obviously been why Raoul had called after him to turn back. Raoul had seen the bandits follow. If only Numair hadn't been so rash and foolish! He let his anger and injured heart take the best of him. He hadn't thought rationally. Now, he would be lucky if he made it out alive.
He roughly pulled on Spot's reigns, kicking him to turn right and thus into another direction. To his dismay, the bandits were one step ahead of him and turned precisely when he did. The odds were not for him just now. for he was outnumbered eleven to one. To add to that, Numair was up against men who were much better horsemen than he. Perhaps if he had paid more attention to Daine's lessons those years ago, he could out maneuver them now, but no such luck. He surely had gotten himself into a fix, perhaps one he wouldn't ever walk out of alive.
His world began to spin as he felt one of the bandit's arrows bury itself in his side. He heard himself cry out in pain, but couldn't recall doing so. Pain seared through every inch of his lanky form, not a single spot spared. An unwelcoming fire of fear, anger and paine raced through his veins, adrenaline pumping. His vision rapidly became blurry, as did his thoughts. Mind clouded, he let out a grunt and another cry of pain before falling off of Spots and to the ground with a sickening thud. What happened next was all a blur to him. Within seconds of hitting the ground, he felt his ribs and right arm crack. He had barely a second to breath before his head jerked to the side and he saw the hooves of his enemy's horses charging towards him. This was it. There was no way he could live through this. He closed his eyes quickly, not wanting to see his fate, thinking that perhaps he could will it away.
Memories flashed through his mind like wild fire. He was on another mission for the king. He was standing in a clearing which he had chosen to make camp in. Rain was pouring down, making it impossible to build a fire. It was a beautiful night, a full moon shining and the sky covered with a shimmering blanket of stars. The night's breeze blew uncomfortably against his exposed skin and making his shirt and breeches blow with it. He turned his head to look back at where he had laid out his bed roll. Daine, his traveling companion and lover was walking towards him, smiling coyly. Soon a smile lit up his face as she reached out to him. He took her in his arms, warmly planting a kiss on her forehead.
His mind flashed forward in that same memory. This time, he and Daine were in the middle of a passionate kiss. They were oblivious to their surroundings. All either of them could see, was the other, and that was all that mattered. He groaned in pleasure, pulling her tighter to his chest. Thinking he would die of regret when their lips parted, he went on without air no matter how much his body protested.
Their kiss grew more passionate as time passed. They came up for air as few times as possible, both too caught up in the other to care. Suddenly, without breaking the kiss, Numair reached down and lifted her into his arms. He laughed into her mouth as he felt her lips twist into a smile. He carried her back to their bed rolls, dumping her down onto his. He barely gave her time to look up at him before he too was down on the ground with her. Within seconds he had pulled her to his chest, holding her tight. He began raining tiny kisses down her neck, causing her to sigh in pleasure. He could feel her tremble within the circle of his arms, the passion becoming intense. He too trembled, but that didn't worry him in the slightest bit.He felt a new sense of fire and passion when he felt her reach down and begin undoing his belt. He repaid the favor by unbuttoning her shirt, passion mounting to ubearable levels.
Numair's memory stopped there, his mind returning to reality. All he could think of was what he was about to leave behind. Daine, his Daine, would be left alone. She hadn't wanted him to go, and now that he had, he would die and never see her again. He felt horrible for leaving her like this, never to return. She'd lost so many before, why did the gods want to add him to her list? By the gods how he wanted to hold her one last time, kiss her just once more and tell her good bye. The last they had heard of each other had been no proper good bye, for it had been in anger. Gods how he regretted leaving her when they were fighting!
The worst of this all though, was that he would never marry her. He had worked hard in persuading her for three long years before she had finally said yes. Now, here he was not carrying out his promise. He had promised her marriage, something he could never give her now. He closed his eyes tight, scared to death about what was about to meet him. When it hit him, he hardly felt any pain as the horses of the bandits trampled over him. He blacked out as soon as the first hoof came down upon him.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As soon as he blacked out, his mind took him to Corus, to the palace. It traveled through the palace halls until he reached the different rooms in the mages wing. He stopped outside a room door with a brass name plate that clearly said 'Numair Salmalin and Veralidaine Sarrasri.' He had already known that was what it said. He had stood outside this door many times.
His mind took him inside that room. He recognized very well the room he shared with Daine. It was very well kept up. It looked as though during his absence, Daine had decided to do some cleaning. It made him long to actually be home, rather than just dream about it.
After briefly looking around, his mind took him into the next room, his and Daine's bed chamber. Inside was the bed he shared with Daine. In fact, she lay on it just now, resting her head on her pillow. On her chest sat a sparrow, which seemed to be conversing with Daine through mind speech. Though Numair never had been able to understand what went on during these silent exchanges between Daine and the animals, he wished now more than ever that he could. He wanted to know how his love had been fairing with him gone for a week. Hopefully, he would be home to her soon.
"I feel so guilty," Numair felt his heart race as Daine suddenly began talking out loud to her animal friend. "I didn't even say good bye to him before he left. Now, he's been gone for a week. It was fair mean of me not to even kiss him good bye. I was wrong."
-No, you were right...I was wrong,- Numair thought it his mind, -Don't worry, I'll be home soon.-
In his mind, he heard a frantic knock at the door. Numair watched as she rose from the bed, sending the sparrow on its way. She exited the bed chamber, Numair's mind vision not far behind her. She went to answer the door, to find a young page standing on the other side. His face was filled with grief, making Numair wonder why. What news had his love received in his absence?
Numair watched as the page handed Daine the scroll he clutched in his hand. Puzzled by the boy's expression, Daine took it in her hand and dismissed the page with a thank you. She then stepped back inside the room, closing the door behind her. Without bothering to sit down, Daine broke the seal on the scroll and scanned its contents with her eyes. Numair watched in confusion as her eyes grew wide in shock by whatever it was she read. She began clutching the letter tighter in her hands, wrinkling it in her grasp. Without warning, she let out a horrible, grief stricken gasp. Tears began rolling down her face.
"No! " she sobbed, her voice carrying. "Oh, Gods no!" Her knees buckled beneath her, pain shining clearly in her blue gray eyes. She let the letter fall out of her hands and to the ground beside her. There, she lay on the floor sobbing. Numair longed to go to her, but this was merely a dream, so he could not. Instead, he watched her, thinking of all the ways he could comfort her upon his return. He may not know what the cause of this grief was, he would soon know. Though he didn't want the vision to stop, it became blurry and her sobs faint. Soon, he was back in the darkness he had entered before.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A/N: Don't panic, for I know what I'm doing!!! I think.......ah what the heck, just read it and have faith in my ability to throw you guys for a loop...It is, after all, my only talent...and I'm sure any of you who've read my other fics know that very well....*cough* Anyway, just read it and I promise not to do anything *too* bad....You know me, there is a line for how far one can torture D/N and I have NEVER crossed it....right? ^_^