A/N: Finally, something from Daine's POV! This is a two-part story, so I will update another chapter later. I wrote it as a single oneshot, but since it was pushing 3,500 words, I decided to split it. This means that the chapters are a bit short. But hopefully you will all still enjoy this. NOTE: The first scene takes place when Daine is 13 and Numair is 28, so basically - Wild Magic. The next is a year later, and the next a year after that, etc. Each scene is one year apart. You'll be able to tell by the setting; I keep it canon. The very last scene I picture as also year apart, but it can be directly following the one before it, it doesn't really matter.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and PLEASE leave a review, I love them so much! The next chapter is written, so it will be up soon.
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Tamora Pierce, not me.
The night was quiet and calm; it was cool for so deep into the summer. The soft breeze swishing through the grass sounded like a conspiratorial group of maids whispering in the hallway, or a choir singing far off in the distance. Daine opened her ears to the noises of the night; crickets and fireflies sang to her. An owl called out in its mournful tune, like the chiming of nature's clock, marking the hour as the property of the night-wakers. All the other animals were sleeping. With her well of copper fire, Daine could feel them, safe and warm in their tiny burrows or nests. When a chill swept over her, she remembered them, and was warmed by the fur of many tiny bodies surrounding her wherever she placed her mind. But more than the sounds of the night, Daine dreamed herself into the sights.There was not much to see unless she gave herself the eyes of a cat or a hawk. Even then, she was limited. But what she could see on her own was plenty intruiging enough. Daine threw her mind into the distant, shimmering stars, wishing that she could fly closer, closer, and closer to them. If only they were tiny, sparkly animals, and then she could touch them and hold them through her wild magic. The beauty was magnificent, splendid; it was unparalleled by anything Daine had ever seen in little Snowsdale. She was so captivated that she didn't even notice when a man walked up behind her. His graceful movements were masked by the whisperers. Daine jumped when a hand touched her lightly on the shoulder. "It's only me," came a soft, familiar voice. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
It was her new teacher. The black-robe mage, Numair, who acted as sweet and charming as a teenager sometimes. He had a long nose and thick black hair pulled back in a ponytail, though much of it still fell loosely beside his face. He was tall and lanky, but moved as if he were always at complete ease, never stressed, never worried. Daine looked up at him, his handsome face illuminated by her bright stars. "I wasn't scared," she said firmly. "Just a little surprised, is all."
Numair only shrugged. "I couldn't sleep."
"Me either."
"Neither," corrected Numair. A silence fell between them. The only sounds remaining were the soft ones of the night. Daine stared skyward again, losing herself in the sea of glittering spots. She was grateful that the moon was only a slender, elegant crescent, its light diffuse enough to allow the stars to command the evening.
"Numair, what are they?" she asked plaintively. "Stars, I mean. What are they, way up there and so far away?"
"No one really knows," said Numair. He, too, looked up at the wide sky. "There are theories. Gods, gods' jewelry, gods' tears. Some believe they have nothing to do with gods at all, rather, that they are like tiny, never-ending fires sustained by the great, endless fabric that is the sky."
"What happens to them when the sun comes up?"
"The sun, some say, is nothing more than a very large star. It is often called Mithros's star, after all. It is so bright that is overpowers the shines of the rest and lightens the whole world."
"Oh." For a long time, the two of them stood there, taking in the beauty of the mystery. If they are gods, they are beautiful gods, thought Daine. And if they're fires, they're beautiful fires, too. Lost in her mind, which was somewhere high above her, Daine almost didn't hear Numair's next comment.
"You seem enthralled by them," he said conversationally. At Daine's furrowed brow, he added, "Fascinated, I mean." His hand was warm and steady on her shoulder.
"We didn't ever get to see them so much back in Snowsdale. It was cloudy all the time." Daine dropped her eyes to the dull, un-shimmering grass at her toes. If it had been light outside, she would have been ashamed of the uncomfortable flush on her cheeks. "When I was little, I used to think that if I stretched enough, I'd reach the stars, somehow, and I'd be able to pull one down. I tried to do that a fair few times before I grew up."
To her relief, Numair didn't laugh, but rather smiled kindly at her. "You wanted to own a star?"
Daine nodded fervently. "I always wanted to just hold one. I'd put it back later. But – just for a little bit, owning a star."
"Magelet, I promise that someday, I will find you a star," said Numair cheerily. "Someday, I will give you a star to hold for just a little bit. Or perhaps, you can keep it as long as you like."
Glancing up at him, Daine shook her head out of instinct. "But, Numair, they're stars. They're too far away."
"I will find you one. You must hold me to that promise, Daine."
They stood outside together for a while longer. Eventually, Daine's eyelids began to droop. When she let them fall, she still saw tiny, dancing lights, just like the stars. She felt Numair's hand leave her shoulder. Suddenly feeling very alone, Daine reached down and found his hand again, gripping it tightly in hers. It felt strange, to be holding someone's hand again. Someone who cared about her. She realized that they were walking; Daine couldn't see where they were going, but rather she felt the way with her feet and her trust in her teacher. Numair led her to her room under the Riders' cabin. He squeezed her hand and whispered goodnight. "Sleep well, Daine," he said. "Someday, I will have that star for you."
Daine nodded sleepily. Once in her makeshift bed, she asked all the mice and foxes if they were busy. All the ones that were free came to her and pressed their warm, furry bodies against her soft, pink one, keeping her more comfortable that she had ever been as she drifted off to sleep at last.
In the depths of Dunlath's forest, Daine searched and searched until she found a clearing in the trees where she could stare up at the sky. The hawks and squirrels helped her find the perfect place. Since Numair was following her, they didn't want to stay long, but she coaxed them and pleaded with them, swearing that Numair was a very kind two-legger. Finally they agreed to say hello, and Daine laughed at the awed expression on Numair's face as three hawks, nine mice, and eleven squirrels gathered around him and poked or pecked at his hair and clothes.
"We should set up camp here," Daine decided, dropping her bag.
"Yes, indeed," said Numair. He was still staring into the striking amber eyes of a female hawk, who told Daine that her name was Sharpwing. Numair lifted a finger and gently stroked her head. Sharpwing cooed at him and fluttered her long, powerful wings.
"She said that you're nice, for a two-legger," Daine explained. "Her name's Sharpwing."
"Well, I am honored, then, Lady Sharpwing."
Eventually, all the animals had to return to their various nests and burrows. Daine said goodbye to each one before helping Numair set up camp. By the time they had finished, night had fallen like a thick woolen blanket over the trees. Their two sleeping rolls looked like little patches of moss by the firepit. Numair had used his magic to light softly glowing coals so that they would be warm all night long - he'd had to start a huge fire first and then suffocate it with another magic shield; he said that if he had tried to directly warm up the coals, they would have merely exploded. But before either of them fell asleep, Daine tugged on Numair's arm and pointed to the sky, where the tiny, stunning sparkles were finally starting to appear over the blanket.
"They're beautiful out here," said Numair kindly. "Is that why you picked this spot?"
"Just making sure you don't forget your promise," said Daine, smiling.
It wasn't supposed to rain in a desert. It was supposed to be dry and clear, all the time. It could get cold, at night only, but would have sworn that it was never supposed to be cloudy. Clouds threatened rain. Carthak didn't get much rain, Daine knew, and though the country desperately needed it, she couldn't help but wish that the clouds would melt away. The biggest shock came when night fell. All day, the clouds had been dark, lumpy, and patchy, like angry pillows floating erratically above her head. But at night, something happened in the air that Daine didn't see. Unbeknownst to her, the clouds smoothed and stretched out over the entire sky, an impenetrable wall of cloud that looked just like the starless bits of the night sky. It wasn't until Daine ran into Numair on her way back to her room that she noticed it. They were both walking back into the main corridors very late, Daine because she had been visiting with the Emperor's birds, and Numair because – he was with Varice, interjected a much more scathing, contemptuous part of Daine's mind. She didn't even know why that thought vexed her so much. He was a grown man; he saw women. It was as simple as that. Perhaps it was only because Varice was such a stupid woman. Regardless, Daine was glad to see her teacher. When their eyes met, they both smiled and, out of a long-developed habit, glanced up at the sky. Daine let out a hasty gasp. "Where did the stars go?"
"They are behind the clouds, magelet. They'll be back tomorrow eve."
"Oh. Right. Of course." Daine realized belatedly that the clouds had turned into a silky, shielding sheet over the typically starry sky. Numair laughed a little and clapped her on the shoulder as they began to walk back into the castle.
"I think someone is in desperate need of sleep," he said kindly.
"You or me?" asked Daine shrewdly.
Unfazed, Numair answered, "You, my dear. Rest is what you need. Perhaps then, you'll remember that clouds can be present at night as well as in the daytime."
"Oh, be quiet," grumbled Daine, miffed. "I was only thinking aloud."
"That is what worries me."
Daine's mouth fell open, but as she looked at his face in the dim, lantern-lit corridor, she saw that he was only teasing. At her door, where the walls were gilded and painted with a vast assortment of shiny, fancy palace colors, Numair looked both ways along the hallway before opening her door and bowing her regally into the room. He stayed outside when she crossed the threshold. "Good night, Daine," he said. "The stars will come back. I promise."
"Very funny." Daine paused for a second, scratched her nose, rested her head on the golden doorframe, and yawned. "Are you… still looking?"
"Still looking."
There was time for a nod and chaste kiss on the cheek before Numair departed. Daine stuck her head out of the doorway to watch him go. He was definitely heading in the direction of his own rooms, not Varice's. Feeling slightly mollified, Daine readied herself for bed and slept very soundly in the high-class comforts, though she did miss the breezes and animals of a simple forest. She didn't notice when a patch of clouds cleared, like claws slicing through the sky, and allowed tiny pinpricks of starlight to shimmer in through her window, casting what looked like white, speckled shadows on her floor. But they soon vanished, consumed again by the effervescent clouds. The clouds didn't clear completely until late the next morning. But sure enough, the next evening, the stars were back. Just as Numair had said.