Voila! Chapter 4 right on schedule :) There's an author's note at the bottom I'd appreciate it if you all read too!

Numair sat in his study staring at the now cold plate of food sitting in front of him. Part of him was relieved to have talked to Daine, but part of him also felt as though they hadn't really accomplished anything.

He sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes. He was being silly of course, he couldn't expect all of the tension to disappear after just one discussion. The mage sighed again and leaned back in his chair. It hadn't helped matters that he had come very close to kissing her; too close. He had been wrestling with his feelings for so long that he felt as though this would push him over the edge. He had been imagining what it would be like to hold her, to kiss her for months and now he had, but he couldn't remember any of it. He couldn't even begin to describe how cruel that was.

There had been a moment there in the library when for a split second Numair could have sworn he had seen his own desire mirrored in her eyes, if only he had leaned forward a little more. He sighed yet again and stood up angrily. He couldn't let himself think this way. Any signs he thought he saw must have been imagined, that's all it could be. He walked over to his cabinet and unlocked it, pulling out a bottle of brandy. Pouring himself a glass he gulped it down quickly, feeling it burn on it's way down and pouring another glass. He couldn't let himself imagine that she was sending signs and risk ruining things between them forever.

Daine moved the food around on her tray with her fork, running over the conversation she had had with Numair in her head. She was at a complete loss with what to do with the situation. How was she supposed to act normally around him when she felt the way she did? She doubted that he would ever willingly take her to bed sober.

On the other hand he did say that if they were ever to do something like that then he wouldn't have wanted it to happen the way it did. That could mean that he had thought of the possibility. She shook her head; she couldn't let herself imagine such possibilities when they clearly couldn't be a reality. All you had to do was look at the women he was connected with. They were all mature, elegant, well-bred, blonde, buxom and everything else that she was not.

She surprised herself at the overwhelming sensation of jealousy that overcame her. She tried to shake it off but couldn't and became increasingly confused; why would she be so jealous? It wasn't as though she... Daine nearly dropped her fork as an altogether new thought came to her. One that she was amazed hadn't even crossed her mind through all of this. What if this wasn't just about lust? The minute she thought it she knew it was true; what she felt couldn't be just lust and she felt it become harder to breathe. Gods above. She loved him. This new reality was sinking in when she was startled as a tray was placed on the table next to her.

"What's got you looking so frightened? You look like Ozorne just rose from the dead." Onua said, giving her an appraising look.

"Nothing, just thinking." Daine said, shaking her head.

"Well you've had a lot to think about to be sure." Onua said coyly and Daine glared slightly as another tray was placed across from her.

"What's all this you've had to think about?" Alanna asked as she sat down. Daine blushed scarlet and looked down at her tray as Onua grinned wickedly.

"Nothing." Daine mumbled, but Alanna regarded her with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't suppose it would have anything to do with those lovely things, now would it?" Alanna asked, smirking, as she pointed at Daines neck. Daine blushed furiously and pulled her collar up; she really had to do something about that.

"So who's the lucky young buck?" The knight asked and Daine groaned.

"Three guesses and I'll be disappointed if you don't get it on the first one." said Onua, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Numair? Really?" Alanna asked immediately and Daine looked up at her, mouth open.

"How did you know?" She hissed and the two older women laughed.

"We've all been waiting for you two to get together for months now." Alanna said as though it were nothing and took a bit out of her apple as Daine turned to Onua.

"But you were surprised." The girl exclaimed and the K'mir shook her head.

"Only by the way it happened."

"Why? How'd it happen?" Alanna asked, suddenly paying attention again. The knight looked at Daine expectantly for a moment before the wildmage waved a hand at Onua, giving her permission to tell the story.

"Apparently they got a little too festive the other night and were a little intoxicated."

"Oh, that is surprising. So are you together then?"

"No, we're not. It was just something that happened." Daine stuttered, unsure of what to say.

"They don't even remember anything." Onua filled in and Daine felt herself blushing furiously.

"Really? Because by our girl-child's, well I guess she's a woman now, complexion I could swear she did." Alanna raised an infuriating eyebrow and Daine wished she could sink into the ground. As mortified as she was she could admit to herself that she did need people to talk to on the matter.

"I may have remembered some parts." She said softly, thinking that if she blushed anymore she might just spontaneously combust.

"How much?" Onua asked and Daine sighed.

"All of it."

"And?" She asked, motioning with her hand for more information. Daine wondered if she was actually on fire now. Seeing the reaction, the older women laughed.

"Well then, you did have some fun now didn't you?" Onua said, laughing.

"It's not funny." Daine groaned miserably and the other women stopped immediately.

"I'm sorry Daine, you're right. Have you two talked?" Alanna asked.

Daine gave them a brief overview of the conversation earlier that day, not that the actual conversation hadn't been brief. The two women looked thoughtful and Daine continued. "I just don't know what to do now; I mean I have all these feelings and I just-" She gave up trying to explain what she felt and sighed.

"Well, is it just lust, or do you love him?" Onua asked after a moment, her tone serious.

Daine took a deep breath. "I think I may love him, but the thought just hit me. I haven't even had time to process it and-" She broke off again feeling her eyes sting. She would not get overly emotional. She felt Onua put an arm over her shoulders.

"Don't fret, you're not expected to handle this all at once." She said and Daine smiled at her. "I just wanted to know because if you don't love him then you shouldn't pursue him; he wouldn't be able to take it." Alanna nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean?" Daine asked, thoroughly confused.

"Don't be thick, why do you think we weren't surprised?" Alanna asked, eyebrow raised again. "You should see the way he looks at you. He's been in love with you for months."

"Of course he hasn't." Daine said shaking her head. "I would have noticed something surely, or he would have said something."

"Would you have said something if you didn't know he felt the same?" Onua asked and Daine knew she wouldn't. She started to think back, looking for signs, but it was too much for her just now. "I know it's a lot to deal with right now but trust us, everybody's been able to see it for a long time; maybe even before he knew it."

"You should go talk to him, tell him how you feel." Alanna said encouragingly. Before Daine could reply, say that she couldn't possibly do that Onua did it for her.

"No, not now." The K'mir said, and Alanna looked at her sharply.

"Why ever not?"

"You know Numair. If she goes to him right now after what's just happened he'll think he tricked her into it somehow. He'll never believe she really loves him; he'll just withdraw and it will be more of a mess."

"That's a good point, he does have a habit of playing the martyr." Alanna said, leaning back in her chair.

Daine groaned. "Then what do I do?" she asked, tired and frustrated. There was a moment of silence before Alanna grinned wickedly.

"You'll just have to show him you mean it." The Lioness said and Daine looked at her skeptically. She was going to ask what she meant but decided against it, she was tired and her head hurt.

"I need to go to bed." She said, standing up and the other women nodded.

"Good idea, you've had a long day. You should get some rest and think about things." Onua said nodding and Alanna smiled again.

"We'll talk tomorrow." She said and Daine walked away warily. She wasn't at all sure she was going to like what she was getting into.

Anyway, As some of you may know I have a forum called The D/N Writer's forum. Right not we're starting up a writing competition that will take place over the next month or so. Basically everyone who wants to participate signs up on the forum and after sign-ups a prompt is released. Everyone writes a story from that prompt and after they are all submitted they are voted on and one fic wins. If anyone is interested they should head over to the forum via my user profile page and check it out. There's a competition sign-up thread that has more information about the competition. Hope to see some of you compete and maybe see you around the forum! :)