Disclaimer: As I'm sure you've already figured out, we own nothing.
A/N: We're rather new to this so constructive criticism would be fantastic!
Bright sun poured through the window, shedding light and the promise of a newfound peace over Daine and Numair. Their room was alive with light. The curtains caught the wind, turning into sun-covered wings. Parchment fluttered under its paperweight, trying to break free. A pile of clothes in the corner held a small pale blue dragon, sleeping as her snores whistled, making every jewel in the room sparkle. On the bed, two figures slept silently, tangled in the sheets.
The light fell on Daine's eyes, causing them to flutter open. She lay there, watching Numair sleep, her breath mingling with his. Then, carefully she wriggled out from under Numair's arm, concentrating immensely on not waking him. Strong hands snaked around her waist, pulling her back into a long embrace.
"Hey!" She shrieked, before erupting in laughter. His calm eyes blinked open, taking in the beautiful scene surrounding him. Closing his eyes again, he entangled his callused hand in Daine's smoky brown curls, sighing happily. She placed a small kiss on each of his pale cheeks, and slipped out from his grasp.
"I'll be right back," her soothing voice called from the hallway of the palace quarters. Her hair flung around the corner, and was gone, leaving Numair with only the faint sound of birds chirping in the courtyard and Kit. He lay still for long moments, seeing no reason to do anything else.
Whispers from outside the door broke his trance. He leaned forward in an attempt to hear them. "Wasn't that Daine?" Indecipherable whispers filled the hallway, followed by uncontrollable giggles that could only come from one source: the palace maids. Unable to figure out why Daine could be of so much interest to them, Numair kept straining to hear more of their gossiping conversation.
"Isn't he a little… you know, old for her?" One particularly loud maid whispered. Even louder giggles filled the hallway, surely disturbing many of the residents. Exasperated, Numair continued to listen to the foolish chatter.
"Maybe he used the Gift on her, forcing her to fall in love." One suggested boldly.
Numair had had about enough of this outrageous talk. Forcing himself to stand shakily, he stumbled towards the door that his beautiful Daine had left cracked open.
"Excuse me ladies… Is it possible for you to keep it down? I'm sure that many of the palace residents are trying to rest." At the sight of the well-known mage in just his sleep clothing, the giggles turned into steady laughter. The group of seven young maids scattered in every direction, leaving only one standing in front of Numair.
"Master Numair, so good to see you out and about! You're looking…" she hesitated for just a moment, torn between telling the truth to the washed-out looking man, or lying for both of their benefits. "Rested. I will be your maid for your stay at the palace. Anything you need done, just talk to me!" Her over eagerness brought the tiniest of smiles to play at the great mage's mouth.
"Alright then, but please do try to keep quiet. I am in need of more rest." And, at that, he stumbled to his bed, barely managing to pull the blankets back up. As he watched the maid clean his room, he contemplated his situation. Psh. Too young? Clearly she is with me because she likes my company, not because of my GIFT. Don't they know that an experienced mage like me wouldn't waste magic on such things? No, I suppose not. I wonder… how many people hold this despicable opinion? His mind filled with these unanswerable questions. They continued to torment him as the maid cleaned, and left. He fell into another trance, but this one wasn't as cheerful.
"Hello Numair, feeling well?" familiar voices chorused. Alanna, George and Jonathon filed into the room, greeting Numair with enthusiastic hugs. This shook his grim mood, and he laughed happily, glad to see them again.
"We heard you were up. My maid was raving. Talking about 'That Master Numair and how Daine and him…" Alanna trailed off, her voice faltering at the end. "Well, its not like any of the maid's talk is important anyways."
"Sure it is! They hear all kinds of things! Many times what they speak of is correct… Their information proves useful in many cases." George looked satisfied at his knowledge of good places to insert spies into the palace. Alanna stuck her elbow straight into his stomach, making him cringe from the hard blow. George whimpered "Ouch! Alanna what was that…"
Then he realized what he had hinted at. The maids had been talking about how much older Numair was than Diane, and how it was wrong that they were together. As a matter of fact, he had been hearing similar murmurs from everyone since the end of the immortals war.
"What do you mean, Alanna? Tell me. I… I want to hear the truth. You've never lied to me. Don't start now." A long sigh escaped his tight mouth. "I'm too tired to mess around." Numair's face twisted into an uncomfortable grimace when Alanna hesitated to tell him immediately. "That bad, huh?" His tired face had looked pale for a week, ever since he was drained at the war. At this moment he seemed even older than normal. His hair was out of place, his clothing hanging loose, and frustrated wrinkles outlined his features.
"I've been hearing thing about Daine… Numair it's really not that important. The maids say things that shouldn't be spoken. They gossip about the worst kinds of things. It's because they really don't have anything better to do… They purposely meddle in other peoples' lives. It gives them a sick pleasure." Alanna's face construed into a grimace not unlike the one Numair wore. The silence in the room was not a comfortable one, like those that he expected to have with such close friends.
"I see. They have been saying it's wrong, her and I?" It was more of a statement then a question. He knew that secrets had been traveling around the palace.
At that moment, the door swung open to admit a muddled but contented Daine. They could tell she had been outside with her friends, the animals. Her cloak was covered in dirt, horsehair, and hay. Her smoky brown hair smelled of horses, one of her personal favorite smells. She pulled a half-full bag of carrots from her pocket, swept clothes off of the table, and set the carrots there to be ready for her next visit to the stables.
"That mare is so close to foaling, we should probably keep the stable hands on night watch till it happens." She stated while removing her cloak, her back to the room. "I bet it'll be beautiful, with its parents being so well bred." She turned and opened her mouth to say more, and saw Alanna, George, and Jonathon.
"Oh, hi. Am I interrupting?" She said, a little cautious, and headed for the door.
"No Daine, stay, I'm curious to hear about this foal. People think the king isn't interested in his stables these days" Jon encouraged. The look on his face seemed overeager, but Daine would never turn down a chance to discuss her wonderful world of animals. Numair stared at him with resentment, wondering what he was doing.
"Sure, I'd love to!" she said earnestly as she sat on the edge of the bed, farthest from Numair, the other three notice instantly. As she told them about the mare, the tension melted away, they laughed and talked normally again. All except for Numair, who was buried in his own thoughts. Diane, noticing this, frequently glanced toward him, full of worry. Alanna was the only one who noticed. Daine finished her story, and contented herself listening to the others. When the other three finally left, she crawled next to him and got under the covers of the bed Numair had been glued to for a week.
"What's wrong? Why weren't you talking?" She asks quietly, reaching for his hand. He winced at her touch, and quickly pulled his hand free of the tender grasp, pretending to smooth out his black mane. Her blue eyes glistened with hurt.
"I... I'm just tired." He lied, longing to make that look go away. She seemed to believe him, and the hurt left her eyes.
"Ok, I'll leave." She kissed his cheek. "I love you," she whispered almost silently and left the room.