Secret Connection: Chapter 1 out of 2

Alanna twisted her drained body away from the source of annoyance. She didn't know where it was coming from but was irritating as hell and refused to lose anymore of the small amount of time she slept in her own bed to figure out who or what was causing the disturbance. She snuggled closer towards her peacefully sleeping husband and drifted of into another deep sleep. The tapping got louder and louder. The Lioness growled and forced the pillow, which was half underneath her husband's head, over her ears and head, eficiently blocking out any unwanted noise. She flung her arm out to rest on George's chest to find the bed empty.

"Dunno 'ow you can ignore tha' rappin' all night, some o' us actually want some rest." He said, reaching the door of the bedroom and swinging it open to reveal no one. "Goddess, I could ha' swore the noise were coming from there!"

Alanna removed the pillow from her head and rubbed her eyes gingerly. After blinking a few times she gave her husband a puzzled look before saying: "George, What is that bird doing in our chamber?"

George returned the puzzled look and faced to where his wife was nodding to. "'S got a message." He unwrapped the scroll from the birds small leg and watched it take off out of the manor with a chirp. "Guessin' the sender don' wan' a reply."

George held a candle to the message smirking at his own joke but stopped, turning the parchment over to see if there was any other words. "Holy Mirthros..."

Alanna sat up straight. Was it bad news from Tortall? Were there still Immortals running lose after the whole year still the Immortals War? Had something happened to Jon and Thayet? George returned to his side of the bed and laid down, not before handing Alannah the message and kissing her goodnight. Alanna felt the rough parchment between her fingers and brought it up to the freshly lit candle near her bedside. Her jaw hung wide open and her fingers stopped their patterns on the parchment. A flood of emotions took over her, making up her mind she dashed out of bed.

"George! Get up, we need to pack, I'll get the children up, you get the servants to mount the horses." She saw her husbands still unmoving body and whined "Geor-ge! Would you please get up? We need to get to Tortall as soon as possible."

Georged huffed and got out unwillingly of the bed. "Fine, but ya can't say ya didn' see this comin'."

At his wife's again shocked face, he grinned. While she raced out of the room to informed the children of the journey, he bent down to pick up the hastily discarded message, grinned and re-read it.

You are invited to witness the joining in matrimony
of

Numair Salmalín

and

Veralidaine Sarrasri

Place: The Royal Palace Orchard
Time: Noon on Midsummers Day

Goddess Bless.

That meant they had a little under a day to reach Tortall.

Neither of them are here, Onua noticed as she sat down at breakfast. She wondered if anyone else had received the strange message delivered to her late last night by a small sparrow, who was straining to carry such a heavyweight object. She very much doubted it, it was most likely a jest by some of the palace gossips who insisted there was a romantic relationship between the teacher and student. Of course Onua refused to believe that. Well at least unless she heard it from Daine and Numair's mouths. She looked up at the Ruling Pair who seemed calmer than usual, that was until the Kings Champion marched into the Hall with her family in tow. She watched as her friend made her way up the pathway and up the small steps that seperated Jon and Thayet from the Nobles, Pages, Students and everyone else staying in the palace. She bowed to her friends, for show more than anything else and started talking.

"King Jonathon, Queen Thayet, If I could have a moment with you after breakfast..." Thayet nodded before she could finish.

"Of Course, Would you like to request the presence of anyone else whilst you have the attention of the whole hall?" spetators all around either blushed or leaned their heads towards their breakfast, clearly still listening.

"If I may?" Thayet and Jon both nodded this time. "Could Buri, Gareth, Sarge, Onua, Miri, and Raoul, please report to the King's library after breakfast?"

Everyone who had been asked to attend the Lioness's meeting finished eating as soon as Alanna left the Hall. George commanded their children to stay put and not to even try eavesdropping. .

They were all assembled in the library less than fifteen minutes later.

"Is everything okay, Alanna, you seemed urgent?" Jon asked, removing himself mentally from his King behaviour. Alanna sighed.

"Well everything is fine yet it's not... not that it's bad or anything, unless you think it's bad, which I doubt you will but what if you do?" Everyone glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

"You're not making much sense old girl." Sarge cut in. George steppeed up from his place by the door and walked into the centre of the circle of seats.

"What I think she means t' ask is, did any o' you get any interestin' letters las' night?" It was silent at this before:

"You got one too? I thought-" Gareth started.

"-it was just a jest, nothing important, I mean-" Buri butted in.

"They'd tell us if they were seeing each other right?" Said Thayet, Onua and Miri in unison. Jon coughed, gaining everyone's attention.

"My Black-robe Mage and my WildMage." Jon stated, more to himself than to any of the others. "Instead of focusing on why they didn't tell us anything, what I think you should be asking each other is what on earth are we going to get them for gifts?"

The two lovers were sat on the Mage's balcony in his private tower, which was half a days ride away from the main palace. Starring out into the star-lit night sky, Daine's thoughts turned to that of her lover, soon-to-be husband and the amazing last year they had experienced together, keeping it a big secret from their most beloved family: their friends. Not for the sake of a secret, it was more about keeping something between them at was special and deserved to be preserved just between the two, like the connection which had wrapped itself around both of them drawing them more to each other everyday.

"What are you thinking of, Sweet?" Numair said holding on to the young woman in his lap even tighter. "Nothing too stressful I hope?"

Daine shook her head and smiled lovingly into his darkened orbs. "You, actually."

Numair turned his love around to fully face him, with her legs going on either side of his waist and around the back of his chair. "Good things I hope?"

She shrugged. "So-so, not the greatest thoughts." She said, inwardly laughing. She giggled when Numair began to pout.

"Is there anything I could possibly do to intensify the positive side of thinking about me?" He asked huskily in her ear, biting the lobe as he did so. Daine shivered, feeling desire engulf her system for the third time that night.

"Well there is just one thing..." Daine said, pressing her nose into the thin line of hair on his chest.

"Wha-What would that b-be?" Numair said shakily, finding it hard not to lose total self control and take her there on the balcony where any of the People could see them.

"I want you..."

"Yes?" He invited.

"I want you to," Daine said leaning into him and giving him a brief yet passionate kiss. "untie your horse-tail."

Numair's eyes snapped open, when he heard her request. "Is that really it?"

Daine nodded. He sighed and lifted his hands from her hips and was about to untie his hair when she stopped him. "No."

"No?" he questioned.

"I want to do it." Daine placed both her palms on his neatly shaven cheeks and kissed him deeply, urging him further back into his chair. His hands once again made their way to her hips. She started kissing his jawline as her hands slipped round to the tie which kept his hair neatly in place and peppered his chin and neck with light kisses and licks. She kissed down towards the 'V' of his robe and finally undid the tie. She placed her hands at the base of his neck and continued to gazed the skin on his chest with her teeth, while licking, sucking and kissing.

"Daine..." Numair sighed, he was losing the control he tried ever so hard to keep. His hands gripped her hips tightly pushing her flush against him.

"Do you know what I really wish?" His mouth refused to work in any other way than kissing his love so he shook his head, his hair flying from side to side. "I wish this," pointing to the material cover his torso. "Would vanish."

Within a few seconds, Numair granted his fianceé's wish. She continued to pay attention to every part of skin she could reach, sending her lover's eyes rolling back in bliss. Her hands snaked back up to his head, massagin his scalp through his hair, she moved her lips firmly against his, still playing with his hair. She drove her hips into his, feeling that bliss her lover was experiencing.

"Mirthros... Daine, please... I-I thought we were going t-to wait until tomorrow night?" She nodded moving her hips ino his in a steady rhythm, leaving both of them breathless.

"We are, just be free, Numair." With her massaging his scalp intensely and their hips meeting together urgently and then his name on her lips, it was enough to send him over the edge.

"Daine..." He said a few minutes after both recovered. "That was amazing, you dont understand how much..." She silenced him with a finger to his lips

"Shh... I know. Just wait until tomorrow night."

Next & Last Chapter: The Wedding.

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Over and Out

Cocoa x