Disclaimer, yada yada yada. Please, please, please don't flame. I'm warning you ahead of time, this chapter is VERY mean to Daine. And Numair. Do you think I should up the rating to R? Take note: Rider's group consists of Miri (Leader) Evin (Second) Tyla (third) Tarlian (fourth) Sardol (fifth) and Arindtse (sixth), just to clarify things.
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Chapter 4: The King's Pet Mage
Daine was having fun. Or at least, her twisted notion of fun. She had established herself well in the lower city community, with some petty thievery and the like. But that wasn't her main source of income.
Prostitution. Hey- it paid the bills. She only accepted half of her customers- the ones she trusted. She was top-notch; she charged a lot for her services. In fact, some of the most prestigious people in Corus came to share her bed. One, in particular.
His name was Numair Salmalin. Probably the most powerful mage in the world, a black robe. Not the kind of person you'd think to frequent the whorehouse halls. But he was a loyal customer, and he had one important thing: money. He was rich, and horny. The best possible combination, in Daine's eyes. But he was getting rather attached to Daine; that would have to be changed.
"Veralidaine…" he murmured in her ear. Daine winced. Far too attached. Come on, she was just a common whore… not a classy like Numair. And she didn't want to be tied down to anyone- like being in a cage.
After they were done, Daine took on a businesslike aura. "That will be four gold nobles, please." Numiar cut her off with a kiss, and they started all over again. "Five." She added. By the time Numair was satisfied, he'd spent six gold nobles. Well. There was an up-side to this attachment.
~*~
Daine finally shook off Numair, and went downstairs to talk to her other prossie friends. They were in the middle of a lengthly conversion when she entered the room.
"…And then Staramia went and married the bastard- without her parents' consent! Of course chaos ensued." Daine plopped down next to the girl who was speaking.
"Oh hi, Dai!" Prishi said. "We were just talking about Fondroll- you remember him? The noble lad? Where have you been? With that horny mage of yours, no doubt. He wouldn't sleep with anyone else since you came."
Daine grinned. "Would you believe it? Six gold nobles! I swear he has the sex drive of a warren of rabbits!" The girls at the table giggled.
"You're gonna be one rich prossie, Dai." Folly giggled. "Just think of that! What endurance!" the rest of the girls laughed even louder. "He should be a marathoner!" all the girls broke into hysterical laughter.
~*~
Numair Salmalin, the Greatest Mage In The World, sighed dreamily into his pillow. Ah, that was the lass for him. But it was no good falling in love with a prossie…. They just wanted your money. Everybody knew that. But that Veralidaine Sarrasri was… unbelievably attractive. Her sensuous lips, her silky hair, her… well, let's not get into that.
And the girl had great magic. She had more Wild Magic than anybody he'd ever seen- it was just impossible. She could be a powerful mage if she wished. He would just have to tell her, she'd understand, he could cart her away to some romantic isle… yes, that would be the thing to do. She'd understand, he knew she would. Then they could be together always… (***A/N: SOP! SOP! SOP!***)
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Miri looked over her new sixth, a young girl named Arindtse. She was an amazing tracker, and even better at riding, but her swordsmanship was enough to make you cry. But she'd do, with some polishing. And her training was enough to keep Miri's mind of other things. Evin, for one. At his name, Miri put a wall between herself and that thought. She wasn't going to think about him, she didn't need him, she didn't want him. And that was that. But Miri knew she was living a lie. Evin was… not himself. Miri suspected some funny business, but he always seemed to be gone at 4:20. Every day, poof! At 4:20, he was gone. She just wished she could help him…
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If you don't get that, 4:20 is the national time to smoke pot. I just had to throw in a lame joke! This was getting too dark! *ficreaders look exasperated* okay, so it wasn't that funny. But dammit, I try! Oh- and please review.