Daine lay musing in bed that night. She wasn't usually one to deliberate on a dilemma for so long and in normal circumstances when given a problem, she much preferred to shake a stick at it rather than lie awake thinking the same old thoughts, over and over again. Eventually, she sighed and turned over. She didn't understand what was happening to her and she supposed she wasn't likely to understand it any time soon either. Time to sleep, she told her mind, crossly.
She awoke with a start to the sound of knocking at the door. It was still well before dawn but the mysterious caller didn't seem to have any problem with that. Wearily, Daine slid out of bed and slowly opened the door.
"Daine!"
Through her half-closed eyes she could still make out the identity of her caller; Evin Larse was evidently at court. Smiling slowly and sleepily, she stood back to admit him into her quarters.
"I'm so sorry to call so late, but I just heard you were back! I couldn't wait to see you!"
Evin threw his hands around Daine's startled neck, embracing her enthusiastically.
"It's really good to see you too, Evin" said Daine, once she'd recovered, "what've you been doing all this time?"
Immediately, the regretted her question and sighed inwardly. She resigned herself to a severe lack of sleep this night as Evin begun to regale her with stories of the Riders and the odd bit of gossip, too. Daine nodded in the right places and smiled at Evin. In an odd way, she was grateful for the distraction.
--
The next day, Daine made her way to the stables. Cloud was always a comfort in times like this, her horse sense was invariably both simplistic and incredibly logical.
She relished these conversations with Cloud and after a while, she felt more clarity than she had in weeks.
"I should get back to the castle," she murmured "they'll be getting worried."
"Go then, get back to your Storkman"
"He's not my Storkman!" was her retort.
The door creaked and a rustle across the stable made her turn her head. Evin was walking confidently towards her.
"There you are Daine!"
His hand slipped around her, slowly caressing her side. She turned towards him but before she could react, he called out.
"Here you are Numair! I found our Daine!"
There, in the entrance of the stables, was Numair Salmalin, looking more lost than he had in years.