Here it is, my first fic, dedicated to my friend Wildmage101, who showed me the world of writing, and many other worlds beyond. It's kind of strange at the beginning, but if you keep reading, it'll make more sense. I will try to update at least every week. I put the prologue and the first chapter in this chapter because the prologue was too short to deserve a chapter. Numair and Tortall belong to Tamora Pierce, the rest is all mine. The song lyrics at the beginning are by Enya, and are kind of the motivation for this story. I hope you'll like it. (Read the note at the end for more info)
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One day, one night, one moment
My dreams could be tomorrow
One step, one fall, one falter
East or west
Over earth or by ocean
One way to be my journey
This way could be my Book of Days
No day, no night, no moment
Can hold me back from trying
I'll flag, I'll fall, I'll falter
I'll find my day may be Far and Away
Far and Away
One day, one night, one moment
With a dream to be leaving
One step, one fall, one falter
And a new earth across a wide ocean
This way became my journey
This day ends together, Far and Away
This day ends together, Far and Away
Far and Away
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Prologue
Amanda sat in her chair, reading Wild Magic. She sighed sadly, thinking if only Numair were real, she wanted to live in Tortall. Not here, with an annoying brother, and insane friends. If only she had magic, and could travel between both worlds. If only there was an escape, a way out of this forsaken place. She closed her eyes and wished.
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A Long Way From Home
When Amanda opened her eyes, she found to her astonishment, that she was not in her room, but on the floor of a tropical forest, the air thick and humid. She thought she must finally be going insane, or perhaps it was that she had fallen asleep and was dreaming. She listened intently to the chirps of birds, until she heard raised voices. They sounded angry, and were answered by a light, pleasant male voice, which sounded quite afraid.
" We have found you at last, Master Draper. You gave the Emperor quite a scare, not knowing if he could have the pleasure of killing you. Sadly, I am afraid we must complete that task for him. He sends his regards."
Amanda had no idea what was going on, or even where she was. She knew that Draper had been Numair's last name when he was young, she had just reached that part in her book, and, from the sound of it, and these men were going to kill him. She peered cautiously out from the brush to find five men surrounding a tall man throwing black fire. She recognized the man to be how she had always imagined Numair to look, however he looked younger then she had imagined, and much less experienced. His face was a pale grey, and sweat had formed on his brows. One of the swordsmen had broken free of the magic, and was rapidly approaching Numair.
Amanda did not have to think; she threw herself out of the brush completely, and screamed, holding her head towards the heavens. Odd as it may seem, it simply felt right at the time. Suddenly, crack of thunder shattered the sky, and large balls of hail began to fall. The attackers halted, even Numair looked up, shocked at this odd occurrence. It was the moment he had needed, while they were turned to the clouds, Numair held out his hands and the men collapsed, unconscious.
It was only Numair that he noticed the young girl standing on the hillside hands stretched toward the sky. He looked startled, and began to climb up the hill. Amanda began to notice the dull roaring in her ears, and the weakness in her knees. Numair had reached the place where she stood, swaying, he seemed to be eying her oddly for a moment, but then said. " Thank you for helping me, back there. My name is Numair Salmalín, I am escaping Carthak, I was unaware that a weather mage lived here."
Amanda was still trying to figure out what was going on, her head was spinning, and this was just too much to handle.
" What… Numair!" she gasped, and collapsed. …………………………………………………………………………………….
When she awoke, she was in a small boat; wrapped in a worn, black cloak she supposed must be Numair's. They seemed to be in the middle of the sea and a slightly green Numair was rowing the boat.
Amanda sat up, and when he saw her, he smiled.
"Good, you are awake, you must be exhausted, you seemed quite...confused yesterday. I think we're about fifty miles off the shore of Carthak. I though you might want to come to Tortall with me, considering..." He stopped, searching for words, or perhaps something else. She watched him as he leaned down to his pack to and took out a jug of water and some bread, which he then handed to Amanda.
"Eat this, you must be starving." Numair said. "Mithros knows I wish I could." he smiled crookedly.
It was then that Amanda noticed the color of Numair's skin, and the rocking of the boat in the choppy sea. He's seasick, she realized, and immediately felt sorry for him. Amanda had personally never felt discomfort on a boat, no matter how rough the water. In fact, she had always loved water of any kind, be it the salty rugged ocean, or the soft, coolness of a summer shower.
With a sigh, she dipped her hand into the sea, and to her great surprise, the boat seemed to stop rocking as much. Numair straightened, an alarmed look on his face. She avoided his gaze as she hastily downed her break fast; he was staring at her strangely. Wrapping herself once again in the black cloak, she settled back into a corner of the boat.
" My name is Amanda," she said, after a long, awkward silence. "Thank you for taking me with you. I had rea-heard" she quickly corrected her self. "That Ozorne was plotting against the Tortallians, and I wished to leave at once."
Numair looked astounded at this remark.
" What you heard was true, I had thought that I would go to Corus and tell the King of Ozorne's plans. I am skilled in magic, as you may have guessed, and hope to make a living as a streetmage. I'll row for a while; you may be tired…" he trailed off nervously again.
Amanda realized he was right. She felt unavoidably fatigued, as if she had gone far beyond her physical limitations. She still could not figure out what had happened in the past day. She had wished for Numair, and had found herself in Carthak. Then she had somehow helped Numair escape from Ozone's men…but magic? Perhaps her magic in the alternate universe had somehow effected her transition between worlds; that is if she even had magic. It was all too much for Amanda to think about right now, and she had better not tell Numair. It would really unnerve him. Cuddling back into the warmth of Numair's robe, she closed her eyes and fell asleep to the lull of the rocking boat and the soft, rather off-tune humming of the man rowing next to her.
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I hope you liked it, and if anything was off, just tell me. (I'm just getting the hang of this Fanfiction stuff.) Man- if you read this, I hope you liked it. Please review and if I get enough reviews, I'll post the next chapter.
Thanks - Queen of Connaught