I Do . . . Or I Don't?
Dedicated to Chance, my dog
by Lady of the Wolves
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Veralidaine Sarrasri, known as the Wildmage, sighed happily. She felt like the luckiest girl in all of Tortall. In four weeks she was going to marry her love, Numair Salmalin, the greatest mage in the realm. She whistled to herself as she continued to groom Cloud, her pony.
You missed a spot, Cloud informed her grumpily as Daine ran the comb over the mare's back. The pony shifted angrily as Daine picked up the comb.
"Sorry, Cloud. My mind's just on other things," Daine apologized, too happy to be very remorseful (or remorseful at all). Cloud stamped her hoof down inches from Daine's, causing the young woman to jump backwards and fall into the bale of hay where her young dragon, Skysong, was playing with a barn kitten.
Mrrooow, the kitten's mother exclaimed, leaping down from a rafter to make sure her baby was all right. Watch where you fall! Daine apologized again, but still didn't feel sorry for what she had done.
Skysong, known as Kitten, pranced over to Daine, her foster mother, and leaped into her lap. The Wildmage stroked her soft hide until it began to grow dark outside the royal stables.
You'd best get in to the stork-man, Cloud advised. He'll probably get worried.
Daine smiled. Her pony was right. Numair, her "stork-man", was slightly overprotective of her at times. She led the non-protesting pony out to the palace pasture, where she'd asked to be leased for the night, since it was hot for mid-May.
As she trudged wearily to the room she shared with her fiancee, she smiled as she thought about their upcoming wedding. It had taken nearly a year and a half of his convincing for her to accept his proposal of marriage, and she couldn't be happier that she had finally agreed. When she opened the door, Kitten raced forward into the dark room. For a moment she panicked. Where was Numair?
The answer came to her as she lit a lamp, still gazing around the room. He had gone to escort the delegation from Tusaine, a neighboring country that Tortall had had several problems with recently, and, as her friend Alanna the Lioness had told her, also in the past. A party was coming from Tusaine to work out a new peace treaty with the country. It was like the time she had gone to Carthak. Numair had gone to protect the Tortallans in case of danger
Kitten climbed into bed that night with Daine, even though she hadn't slept in the same bed as the young woman for quite a while. "Do you miss him too?" Daine asked. The immortal gave a soft cheep and fell asleep. Daine gazed around her and her lover's room and smiled. "I love you, Numair," she whispered as she fell asleep.
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters (so far) and I don't own Tortall. They belong to the great and powerful Tamora Pierce.
Author's Note: I'm sorry!!! I messed up, but this is my first fanfic! So this is really the first chapter.
~Lady of the Wolves