"Daine?" Numair said stupidly. "Daine?"
Daine's POV-
Daine looked up in fright. She had no idea why this man, this Nobility, was addressing her with her old name, her real name. It had been beaten into her not to respond to the name she was called by in Tortall. She was now Mara, of Carthak, a slave. She suddenly recognized the man. It was Numair, the one who had trained her in her wild magic, but she had none now. She had refused to use it, to let the emperor know she had it, so she stuffed it away, into the corner of her soul. She hadn't used it since, and she could no longer heal, shape shift, or even talk to animals. Fearing his disappointment, she fled, and ignored his attempts to call her back.
She rode on Cloud, with the wolves streaming past her on either side. Cloud suddenly paused. This reeks of a trap, Cloud said. They are waiting for us. Daine responded quickly, trying to battle her own feelings of doubt. They can't be, Cloud. The only ones who knew about our plan were you, me, and the wolves. None of them would rat us out, they can't. Still unhappy, Cloud walked on. Suddenly, they were surrounded. A man spoke, from the cover of the trees. If you shoot, or call the animals, we have a dozen crossbows pointed at your pony and the wolves. Surrender. Unable to willingly let the animals be shot, even at the cost of her own life, Daine dropped her bow and told the animals to run. The wolves obeyed, sleek muscles working rapidly under coarse fur, but Cloud stayed. I won't leave, she said when Daine told her to run again. She stayed to the end. The men came out, tying her wrists and ankles together, and threatening her with Cloud's death if she misbehaved. Cloud was threatened with Daine's death.
Alanna's POV—
She feared the worst when Numair came charging into her room, and instantly sent up a listening shield.
"She's here!", he exclaimed instantly, before she could ask what was the matter. "Daine is a slave, she's here, all this time we were looking for her she has been here! Oh gods, how could this happen, how could she be a slave, we have to get her out, before she is hurt worse."
"What!" Alanna yelled. "Here? Daine? A slave!" Numair nodded. "We have to get her to tell us what happened!"
"I already tried. She was in my room, cleaning, when I ran into her and knocked her down accidently. She was terrified, and started apologizing to the 'Nobility'. I have no idea what happened to her, but she has been… mistreated. Alanna, I saw whip marks on her. Some of them were fresh, too."
"Oh, no."
"What I don't know, though, is how she was kept quiet, and how they stopped the animals from revolting…"
The next morning—
As Daine was coming in to clean the visiting Nobility's rooms, she heard a sound, and then she was unable to move. Numair and the other Nobility, the one whose rooms she was cleaning, came into the room, and the Nobility stared at her. Then, with a rush of movement, both flung themselves at her, but stopped the second they realized she had fallen to the floor on her knees and was begging them not to hurt her.
"Daine, what's wrong?" asked Alanna. "We would never hurt you, you know that…" She trailed off as Daine began to speak, rather timidly. "My lady, I don't know what I have done to offend you, just please don't, I'm begging you, please, no, no, no, not that."
"Daine, don't you remember me?" she asked, stunned. Daine trembled. "I don't know what you mean, I'm just a slave, please don't, please, please…" Puzzled, Numair asked her what she didn't want, and her answer rang through him.
"Please don't remind me of what I have lost."
**Sorry, people, about the second cliffy ending in a row, and the shortness of the chapters, but part three should be up in the next couple days, and I may have another story in the works...**
