A/N: Hey! It's happened – two updates in two days – whoop whoop! I am actually quite proud of myself. Anyway, thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, they made me very happy, and please review again today – or review both chapters, if you didn't get the chance to review the first one due to my awesome speediness xxx

"So he's still acting normally with you, even though you made a total idiot of yourself? He definitely loves you back"

Sabina and Melody were haunting the Novice's Library, as usual, and pretending to be concentrating on the illusions they were making. As always they had both grasped the technique straightaway, and Sabina sat twirling a flower of her own creation, while Melody had a pile of rustling, crisp autumn leaves bundled into her lap.

"But how can you be so sure?" Melody asked desperately, "He's my best friend, that's what makes it so hard to tell"

"Hey!" Sabina sat up a little straighter, "I'm your best friend too, right?"

"Of course" Melody smiled, "But you're female, it's different. He's male, he's my best friend and we practically grew up together. Of course he loves me. But does he love me in that way?"

"Yes" replied Sabina firmly, letting the flower skid across the table towards her friend, "You don't see the way he looks at you. But I do"

"How does he look at me?" Melody asked, eagerly leaning forward. Sabina cackled, but not nastily.

"Try to look a little less excited, won't you? It's not attractive. Anyway. He looks at you like he wants to eat you up, like he wants to take off all your clothes with his eyes. But it isn't just that, honest, Mellie, it's not just desire, he looks at everyone with desire. But with you, it's...different. He looks at you as if he doesn't know what he'd do without you, as if he couldn't not have you in his life. He adores you, Mellie, and you'd be a fool not to see it"

Melody's face was bright, "Really? Because Mum says that too"

"Well then you should listen!" Sabina cried, exasperated, "He loves you, Mellie. Now what are you going to do about it?"

Melody looked at Sabina for a very long time, thinking. She squared her narrow shoulders and sat up a little straighter. There was a glimmer of hope and excitement in her dark, molten eyes.

"I'm going to kiss him" she decided firmly, "I'm going to kiss him and see if he kisses me back"

Dannyl kept a ridiculously close eye on Tayend for a week after the party. They had made up easily, as always, and everything was as it always was between them. Except...except Dannyl couldn't get out of his head how handsome that acrobat had been. And how fond Tayend was of men in tight-fitting costumes. And how much Tayend had smiled and laughed and looked deeply interested when the acrobat spoke to him. He knew he was being stupid, Aurelia had said as much when they spoke properly the day after the party, but he just couldn't get the image of the two of them out of his head. He knew that Tayend wouldn't have an affair, knew that he wasn't having one – they only ever left the house in the company of each other, unless Tayend was meeting up with those gossipy women he seemed so fond of...unless he wasn't meeting those gossip women after all...

Dannyl shook his head, trying to clear it of such stupid thoughts. He couldn't concentrate on anything; he only had one chapter of his book left and he hadn't even picked up a pen to finish it, when ordinarily he wouldn't have slept until it was complete. He'd only spoken to Mellie three times that week too, when usually he spoke to her every day. He felt so guilty. How could he be so neglectful towards his own daughter, when he adored her so much? He'd try and speak to her now.

Melody?

Hi, Daddy. Dannyl smiled. He loved the way that Mellie still called him that when they spoke, so sweetly. She still sounded like his little girl. It always gave him such a shock when he actually went to see her and saw that she was a young woman now, and a beautiful one at that. He worried about her.

You've been quiet this week; Melody continued reproachfully, Have I done something wrong?

No, no, of course not, sweetheart! I've...I've been trying to finish my book, you see.

Ooh, good! Melody was the only person Dannyl could think of who had always been interested in his book, asking how it was progressing every day and reading each finished chapter whenever he went to see her. She was a bright young thing. Is it nearly done?

Very nearly. One chapter left.

Oh, that's brilliant, you've been writing that since I was born! Congratulations, Daddy!

Thanks, sweetheart. How have you been?

Melody, usually so good at blocking out her emotions when speaking to him (because God knows he'd tried to check how she was really feeling for years) , suddenly gave off a wave of anxiety. Dannyl frowned, immediately concerned.

What's the matter? You felt really worried then.

Oh, nothing! Don't worry about that Melody replied airily, her emotions once again in check I've been alright. We learnt to do illusions today. I'm thinking I might make an illusion of a corpse and send it chasing after Arbella. She's been stealing my things again, and she's driving poor Eden crazy. It's amazing how different those two are.

Dannyl let it drop, enjoying the distraction, That's because Arbella's more like your mother when she was a bit younger. She got better when she had you, but she could be pretty selfish and vain when she wanted to be, you know.

Oh yes, she's told me many times how glad she is that I'm not like that. I suppose you're right. Eden does remind me of Dorrien sometimes, and so does Liliana. Arius is like Mum again.

He's a lovely little boy. I don't know where he got that from. He must have had a really amazing big sister to set the example.

He felt Melody laugh, Thanks Daddy. There it was, the flash of anxiety again! I have to go now.

Why?

He could tell that his daughter was taken aback by the question; I just have to, Daddy. I'm meeting Sabina.

Alright then he agreed reluctantly, I'll speak with you tomorrow. Send your mother my best wishes. And Dorrien. Give Rothen my love.

As always. Goodbye, Daddy.

Bye, darling.

Dannyl opened his eyes again, drawing away from Melody's mind, and found Tayend looking over at him. He was writing, holding the pen aloft and smiling at Dannyl.

"How's Mellie?" he asked. Despite his reservations, he'd always had a great fondness for Melody. Dannyl smiled back. How had he ever doubted Tayend? Talking to Mellie always calmed him, even if he hadn't said a word to her about his fears.

"She's well. At least, she says she is. I felt that she was a bit worried about something"

"It's probably something wonderfully trivial, like all the things I worry about" said Tayend airily, "I'm still a teenager at heart, you know"

Dannyl laughed, "Yes, I know" he picked up his pen, about to start writing at last, then turned to Tayend, "What are you writing?"

"A letter" Tayend replied absentmindedly. Dannyl smiled wider.

"For Mayrie?"

"No-one you know" Tayend contradicted, still absorbed in the letter.

Dannyl put down his pen again.

"Mellie, what's up with you today? You look kind of ill" Lorkin asked anxiously. Mellie was in his room, lounging on the cushions that they had flung on the floor as they always did when they were studying together. It was an extremely comfortable arrangement that had come about as soon as Melody became a novice. As they had always done since that day, Melody's eyes kept darting towards the bed. She reddened.

"I'm fine" she replied, trying to sound mildly surprised, "I feel fine"

She knew that she looked peaky, and she knew why too. The decision to kiss Lorkin had seemed perfectly reasonable, discussed in the sunlight with Sabina, but now it seemed like the most awkward and stupid idea she'd ever had. She's managed to put her father off the scent, but that was different; he hadn't been sitting there looking right at her, like Lorkin was, his gorgeous face puckered with concern.

"You're sure? We could go and get Mum to check you over"

"My mum and Dorrien are Healers too, remember? And honestly, Lorkin, I'm fine" she wasn't sure why the idea of just leaning over and kissing him was making her heart flutter and her palms sweat and her head spin, but she didn't much like it.

"Lorkin..."

"Hmn?" Lorkin looked up from the book he had ducked into and smiled absently, beautifully at her, "What is it, Mellie?"

His lips were only inches away...he was so handsome...if she could just do it...grab the back of his head and force him to meet her lips, force him to respond...but if he didn't want her back, it would be so awkward! He was her best friend. It would be like her blurting out that he was trying to make her jealous all over again, and look how embarrassing that had been!

She was leaning very close to him, quite prepared. Lorkin thought that she might be about to kiss him. She looked nervous. Maybe he should take the initiative and just kiss her. But what if she wasn't actually planning on kissing him at all and it scared her? It might be really awkward. But some of the stuff she'd said at Sabina's party had suggested that she liked him too...but she'd been drunk. She mightn't have meant any of that stuff she'd said at all. But God, she looked so gorgeous, with her hair all messy from laying on those pillows and her eyes wide and bright and those lovely red lips...

"Nothing" mumbled Melody, ducking her head and looking away, "It doesn't matter"