This chapter was very very hard to write, which is why it took so long. By the way..in my head the soundtrack to it is 'Set Free' by Katie Gray. Just a random fact for no reason.


Daine felt the wind sift through her hair in the predawn air as she road along the coast and thought of how nothing was ever to stay the same. The place and the time in which she lived would never allow it and she sometimes feared that she would never stop fighting. War can be a funny thing. It's harsh, it's unrelenting and it can destroy lives in moments. There is no true glory in war, no romance in death; war is a destroyer. It's all fire and cruelty and, yet, sometimes something so dark and so twisted can bring with it a small kindness. Daine remembered the news, war with Scanra was inevitable. They were to fight again, against new weapons and dangers that they had not the slightest clue as to how to defeat. This time, however, she would not be going with Numair. She was old enough now, independent enough, strong enough to go out on her own. They were needed in different places and so, by order of their monarch, they would go. He was to leave earlier than her, by at least a week, and Daine didn't know how to approach him, knowing it may be the last time she saw him. Before they had always been together, they travelled together, fought together and would have died together, that was the way of it.

There had been a flurry of secret meetings and war councils. Numair was to be sent to the City of the Gods to meet with the masters there, in hopes to develop ways in which to outsmart their opponents and wait at the border there until further instructions were given. Daine would be based in the Grimhold Mountains and would spend the duration of the war spying in Scanra. It would be months of living on her own, mostly in animal form, in enemy territory. From the looks she saw when she was given when she received her orders; it was likely she would not survive.

She had done her best to avoid Numair in those days. It was fairly easy, with all the preparations it was easy to find some excuse but she was afraid to be alone with him, afraid to see him knowing it may be the last time, knowing she would never hold him again. The day before he left he had approached her, wanting to talk to her, to say goodbye and she had just blown him off. She had said she had too many things to do and had walked away, trying not to let it show that she knew how much she had hut him. She had gone back to her room and sobbed; hating what she was doing and not knowing how to fix it. She couldn't look at him, not after everything that had happened and knowing there may never be a chance to fix it. For months there had been a distance between them that seemed to keep growing and she feared was becoming irrevocable. Despite everything she had gone through, everything she had done to herself, where is concerned Numair there was nothing that amounted to losing your best friend. He could be standing next to her and yet seem so far away she feared that if she reached out her hand would meet nothing. She had finally pulled herself from her room, deciding she looked presentable, and gone to dinner; secretly hoping to see Numair there. Despite how much it hurt her to see him it was worse knowing she had hurt him.

She had taken a longer way to the mess hall than usual, thinking things over. She would apologize and say goodbye, it was the least she owed him. Trembling at the thought she decided that when she said goodbye, when she said goodbye she would tell him she loved him. If it truly was goodbye she needed him to know. If she died, at least she would have no true regrets. If he rejected her, well, at least she would know. If he died, she had stopped her thinking there; that simply wasn't an option. May the black god take her but never him; he was the one thing in this life she would not let go. She breathed deep as thunder began to roll overhead. Her mind made up she had entered the dining hall, quickly noting that Numair was not there. She had gotten her food and sat next to Onua who was looking as worn out as everyone else.

"How're you holding up?" The K'mir asked the girl softly and Daine shrugged in response and Onua sighed, seeming concerned. "I hope Numair's alright; this storm came about without much warning." Daine's head shot up at this, confused at her words.

"But he isn't leaving until tomorrow morning" Onua looked at the girl, surprised.

"Oh, Daine, you didn't know?" The woman looked confused and sad "He left about an hour ago, wouldn't tell anyone why. He didn't tell you?" Daine jumped up as thunder crashed ahead and the wind began to pick up and sprinted from the hall.

Outside the wind nearly blew Daine off balance but thankfully there was no rain as of yet. Knowing that the wind was too strong to fly Daine extended her magical reach to find the fasted horse she could. Soon she was mounted and was galloping ahead, searching the minds of the people to see how far he had gotten. All she knew was that she had to reach him; she had to be with him at least one last time. It had taken about an hour of full out galloping before she felt Spots presence clearly over the next rise. Realizing the horse was close to collapsing she stopped him and dismounted, sprinting up the hill. Soon she saw Numair at the top, standing and looking into the distance. She shouted his name as loud as she could but the wind blew her voice away. She could feel Spots nervousness as the storm continued to churn and quickly reached out with her magic, calming the gelding. She continued up the hill, stopping about ten feet from the mage and shouted his name again, her clothes sticking to her body from exertion. Numair turned quickly and stared at her with an expression of shock.

"Numair I-" She was cut off however when he strode towards her and swept her up in his arms, his lips meeting hers harshly. Daine had thrown her hands around his neck and returned the kiss. Almost immediately however things had changed. His kisses had become soft and slow; his grip gentle. Daine knew then that all her fantasies of what it would be like to truly be his were true. He had laid her on the grass and placed a shield around them, protecting them from the maelstrom outside, before he slowly undressed her and made love to her until the storm passed.

Daine had lain in his arms, their breathing the only thing disturbing the now too still air. Was it possible for there to be calm after the storm? Numair held her close and she felt him tilt his head towards hers, his hand gently moving her face and forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"I love you" He said softly, too many emotions held in his eyes to count. Love, possession and joy were all present but so was sorrow and fear.

"I love you too" She bent forward and kissed him softly, her eyes over bright. Few other words had been exchanged that night, few others were needed. In the morning Numair had gone his way and Daine had gone back to the palace. He had promised to return to her but she knew that was something she couldn't count on.

She had left soon after that and spent more months than she cared to think about on her own. It had become clear very soon that the war was to last far longer than it should have. Years longer, she had spent these years rarely receiving news from Numair and seeing him even less. The few times they ended up in the same place they had stole away and spent every small portion of time available to them together. On those cold nights in Scanra she would curl up into herself and think of those nights when Numair would hold her close and the feel of his skin against her own. It was the only thing that got her through those months; it was what made her fight. She knew the terror she felt at the thought of his death and she vowed not to make him go through that kind of pain. She would return to him again and again as long as he wanted her. The way he held her and the way he looked at her gave her hope that there was more to this life than the endless fighting. Sometimes now she wondered why she had feared him knowing. On the first night they had been reunited they had lain together and stayed up late into the night talking about things that had happened. She knew she had hid things from him during that conversation and she knew he had as well but it was all in the past now and all that mattered was that they were together at last and nothing else could touch them.

The last time they had met had been at his tower. They had both ended up there in passing, completely by chance. They had spent the night together and Daine could still remember the way he had smelled and the look in his eyes that night. As she lay in the circle of his arms he had pulled her close and slipped his hand into hers.

"Daine" He whispered; his voice soft and almost pleading. No, not pleading but asking. Daine felt a small circle of metal in her hand as he pulled his hand away and looked down, her mouth open in shock as she saw the ring glinting in the candlelight as she turned it in her hand. There was a moment of silence before she slowly pushed it back into his hand, trying not to look at the pain in his eyes when she did so.

"Not now" She said softly, looking him in the eye and he nodded slowly. She hoped he understood her reasons.

She left before dawn and mounted Cloud. She rode a short ways from the tower before turning back to see Numair watching her from one of the windows.
"I'll be back" She whispered, wishing the wind to carry her words to him. She turned away from him and breathed in deep as the predawn wind played with her hair. She would return someday and be able to stay. When that happened, when she could truly be with him for more than a stolen night amidst an endless sea of death, then she would say yes but until then all she could do was keep moving, keep fighting for them.


Review please! Sorry to say only one mroe chapter after this....so get your reviews in why you can! ;)