(This page has been updated, as pointed out by 'Katie' there was a few errors, so thank you!)

Numair

The light seemed to glint of the lake at which they had set up camp next too. The moon, high in the night's sky, cast a silver glimmer on the water, so each swimming fish seemed to look godlike. Numair watched the fish, remembering daines escapades as a fish, and the joy he felt coming of her as she recalled her tales of the world underwater. The smooth surface of the glassy lake was shattered at alanna skimmed a stone, breaking its trace on him.

'You better get some sleep Numair' alanna whispered no to break the nights hush, ' we have to be up and ready to ride out at dawn.'

Numair didn't move from his spot on the side of the lake, just continued to stare at his surroundings. Nature never creases to amaze him at its beauty.

'Numair are you listening to me?' she said abruptly not like being ignored. She gently shook his shoulder.

'What?' he said, shocked to find alanna beside him

Alanna throw her arms up in anger

'For blesses sake, stop daydreaming!' her anger had taken hold of her very quickly.

Suddenly Numair spun around, his hand grasping the badges claw.

'Alanna, I am paying attention. I was just thinking about what motives the Hurroks have for kidnapping Jon.' He calmly said,

'Why would they want to kidnap the king?' he said muttering to himself.

Alanna had thought about this, it had worried her that they had not been given a random note or any information about Jon's welfare. It made her think that there wasn't a motive, that they wanted to just kill him.

Interrupting her train of thought, Numair spoke out loud what he was thinking ' they must be working for someone else who had the authority and brains to conjure such a terrible act.' Dismay tinged in this sentence; brains and authority in an enemy wasn't rare.

Alanna strutted closer to the lake, her hand reaching down to trace circles in the still water. A mantra had formed in her head, tumbled out of her mouth ' who could do this? …. Who could do this?'

The mantra echoed in both their heads and they said goodbye to each other and settled down in their own tents. 'Who could do this? Who could do this?' was a phrase that dominated their dreams and waking thoughts.

Without a name of who to search for, the riders and its mages had no clear heading. They couldn't search for someone without knowing where to search. As the sun rose, the group hurried of into the directions of which the hurroks had fled into, hoping that the gods would offer them some guidance.

Jon

Pain was what woke him; the searing burning in his side brought him back from the unconscious blackness.

His long brown eyelashes stroked his cheeks as he pried his eyes open to a disheartening scene. His arms were stretched around his back and tightly tied with what felt like metal bracelets. His feet seemed to be tied in the same fashion. His torso was bare; the cold grey stone offered no warmth. Looking up he noticed that the light was filtering from the roof or lack of roof, for the stone building just seemed to go on and on only to meet grey sky. On closer inspection Jon noticed that the building wasn't tall, it was more that the building was built below ground, and the only way to get out was to climb up to the top.

Jon struggled to sit upright, his body protested at the exertion in its weak state. Sitting up he could feel the blood Oozing out of the wound in his side in a steady stream. Jon tried to conjure his gift to no avail. There just seemed to be a void where this gift usually sat full to the brim. This worried him intently, gift never deserted the mage till they were dead or drained. Panic started to climb up his throat. The idea that the had no weapon to beat his kidnapped alarmed him, making his breaths come out in quick pants as his mind raced…. 'Without his gift how would he escape…how would be notify his kingdom that he was still alive…. Was his magic gone for good? …' The trickle of blood from the wound in his side, started to flow more rapidly with blood as his heart beat faster until the blackness returned.

Daine

The fresh air tickled her face, making her heart beat faster with joy. The strong oak of the ships railing was firmly grasped by daines petite hands. Her face glimmered in the last of the day's sun before the ball of fire dipped beneath the swell of the ocean. A small smile played upon daines delicate features as she remembered departure from the brothel. The scene replayed, as it often had in the two weeks since she had been freed, she remembered the cold nights air hitting her face as the winters gust blew. The freedom in the days that followed had also been an experience. She was beginning to relearn that she could take her time to choose her own clothes, that she didn't have to do everything she was told, but most of all that she didn't get hit when she made a mistake.

The oceans hues entranced Daine as she looked to the east, and the distant lands that she was setting sail too. She had made the decision not to go back to Tortall. Well not just yet. It wasn't that she was missing Numair and her friends any less, even though the pain had dulled to a faint ace, it was more that's she wanted some time to herself to think, and wonder how much of her old self was their left. She wanted to rebuild her self, to learn to love herself and see her self as something other then a slut. Maybe it would be a while till she went back to Tortall but she would go home. Her love was there and the thread that clung to her heart, connecting it to his; anchoring her and always trying to draw her back to him. Her love was there and the thread that clung from her heart to his was always anchoring her and trying to draw her back to him.

A warm hand landed on her shoulders spinning her around.

'Madam, dinner is served below deck tonight.' Said Thomas, a young crewmember. His hair was blowing in the night's air; his smile came easy and hardly ever faded. Daine believe that Thomas could smile through anything, the largest of storms and the fiercest of arguments.

'Thank you Thomas I will down in a minute' she replied smiling too. With one last glance back as the sea, she noticed that the sun had gone and the light cascading was from the ivory moon. Reaching out her magic, all she could feel was the rats in the base of the ship. Sighing she walked to ward the stairs.