Disclaiming ownership rights!
Chapter 15; Who will it be?
The first sight Numair saw when he entered the clearing was a limp figure on a pole. He could easily guess who it was; long brown curls were vaguely visible over the smoke. Smoke? That meant...fire. His thoughts were interrupted (rather rudely, he thought) by five hungry looking males.
"Get out of my way," he growled.
The bandits laughed, surprisingly condescending for their station. "And who's gonna make us?"
He rolled his shadowy eyes. This movement of positions happened every time he went out alone. "Me."
The men looked at each other, to make sure they'd heard the quiet man correctly, and then began to laugh uproariously. "You?" The brown-haired man who had spoken, walked forward. "What are ye gonna do bout it?"
"Kill you. Well, weather permitting, anyway."
"Sorry?" Menal glanced backwards at the other men. Evidently this man was insane. It should be funny, watching him. Menal needed a good laugh, like a duck needed water.
"Go ahead. Laugh yourself to death. I won't stop you." Suddenly unsure, Menal looked away. His gaze turned to the sky. Rain was falling. Falling from a clear, completely blue sky. But...how?
"Let her go." Numair grinned to himself. This wasn't necessary, but he couldn't help himself. He stopped the rain; the fire had already gone out. A quick spell slowed everything down. The bandits couldn't have moved a foot. Now the situation was under control, he ran to the unconscious Daine. She looked so lovely. Peaceful, almost as if she was sleeping... Goddess!
She wasn't...no, she wasn't dead. Vaguely he noticed that Cloud had struggled through his magic. He used a lifting spell to place the young woman on her horse, then mounted Spots. Remembering something, he waved his hands around. The spell finished, and the bandits collapsed on the floor. It would be a while before they gained any sort of sense they had previously claimed to own.
--
At last things could get back to normal. Well, as normal as Tortall ever was. Did Daine still feel the same, or had recent events been allowed to change her mind?
"She just needs some rest. She'll be fine. You will take care of her, won't you?"
If it had been anyone but Alanna asking that, Numair would have completely lost it. Actually, forget the 'if it had been anyone but Alanna'. Just controlling his temper (Daine was sleeping), Numair smiled tightly at the lady knight. "Yes I will. Goodbye."
The red-haired woman nodded, accepting his smile, and left the room.
"Hear that Daine? You're going to be fine. Then we can get married. It'll be a lovely day. The summer solstice? No; that's too far away. It'll be just like we planned." Numair continued, not knowing what he was talking about. He was oblivious to anything and everything but the form on the the bed. He hoped she would love him.
Thinking, the mage fell into a deep sleep.
Daine's eyelids flickered.
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Done and dusted. I shouldn't have written this tpday. Wednesday would've been perfect; I got a level 8 in my French! Yay! I was so happy. But I just had to pick a day when I'd be completely exhausted. Please review. Oh, thanks if you've reviewed before. The whole near death experience running away thing was Giovanna's, my internet penpal, idea. So, praise her. I'm off to finish my "Return of Love" and to continue working my way through the alphabet. I've done R,S,T,U V. I've started W, have a good idea 4 X, so we'll see how that checks out.
Bye!