A/N: I think this is my longest chapter yet....though I could be wrong. I usually am. It's a talent of mine. And to whoever said they thought Da was a Gallan thing (sry, cant member, too lazy to check), I dunno, maybe it is, but they never say what the Tortallans call their dad's, and Daine says Ma, so do Alanna's kids, sooooo....yeah, anyways.
Disclaimer: S'not mine. It's Tamora Pierce's.
After the children had exited, and the door been firmly shut behind them, Alanna sat, burying her face in her hands. For a moment, her father and husband were silent, regarding her. Then, she lifted her face and asked, "Do the Gods have a personal vendetta against me, or something?" George sat next to her, and took her hand. "Jonathan can't blame you: it's not your fault."
"Maybe not, but they can still say I put a charm on her to succeed."
Myles, his discomfort momentarily aside, focused on the problem at hand. "There's always Numair. I'm sure if things get out of hand, he'd test her to shut up the conservatives. Kel's gotten quite friendly with Daine -- if you didn't convince him, she could."
"It's not right, though. She shouldn't have to go through all that just to satisfy some inflated, egotistical, pompous -- "
Myles hushed her. "Knowing Neal, he's probably outside the door, listening." At her worried look, he assured her, "He wouldn't tell her : he wouldn't want to hurt her, but Gods all help you if he thinks you're saying anything bad about her."
"They're good friends?" Alanna asked, curiously, while flicking her fingers to send a bolt of magic to the corners to sound proof the room. She was eager for insight into this stranger, whom she felt to close to. Outside -- her spell blocked outsiders from hearing what went on within, but still allowed outside sound in -- they heard Neal's, "How am I supposed to listen in, then, if you sound proof the room?" If one strained, one might have heard Kel's much softer response: "You're not, dummy."
George laughed at their exchange. Myles nodded to Alanna. "You wouldn't always know it though, not they way they get sometimes." He grinned. "Though, they let each other get away with most everything, so I suppose that could be a clue."
Alanna seemed thoughtful for a moment, considering a way to get closer to Keladry, but George sent her a pointed glance. "Don't go there lass."
Myles agreed. "Kel . . . she's not as tough as she may seem sometimes. She's been pretty low." His gaze flicked to Alanna. "And I know it would hurt her if she thought there was a chance of -- " He stopped, not wanting to say it, knowing that it still hurt ever after four years. But the knight said it for him. "A chance of meeting me." Myles sighed. "Yes. It would hurt her if she got her hopes up and then you pulled back, as you know you would have to."
"But I wouldn't have to," Alanna whispered, eyes down. "I ought to just go right out there now and tell her how proud I am and how much I wanted to . . . wanted to be there. For her." Her throat was tight and her eyes burned with unshed tears. It must hurt Kel so much that she has never seen me, she thought. As much as it hurts me.
George wrapped her in his arms. "Shh, lass, shh. The day will come." His eyes locked with Myles' over his wife's head, buried in his chest. Myles looked at his hands. "She knows that the king ordered you away from her. That's why she was so upset about being here." He laughed, a strange laugh from emotions beyond his control. "She was more worried about you getting in trouble than her, though, I think."
Alanna's head had shot up when Myles said Keladry knew about Jonathan's order. She looked embarrassed, outraged, and teary all at once, a feat not too many could achieve, though the famed Lioness had no trouble. "How did she find out?"
She looked about to explode, like putting the least bit of pressure on her would send her flying. The two men also guessed that she suspected Jonathan was the culprit. Before she could begin shouting, Myles held up a hand. Carefully -- he didn't want her lashing out at him either -- he told her, "Neal told her."
That calmed her down a bit. At least it had been a friend, not the king who told her. Especially since it would have hurt, badly to be told by your king, that he was willing to be unfair to prevent people from being angry with him. He's so selfish . . . Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she asked, "Why?"
"I don't think he meant to. I think it just slipped out one time."
"Oh." Well this was food for thought. So she knows we can't talk . . . but Jonathan didn't say a thing about go-betweens. She thanked the Goddess she had a son Keladry's age.
George saw her eyes light up, and he said, "No. Whatever is going through your mind right now, you forget it quick."
Alanna glared at him darkly. "Don't tell me what to do, George."
His eyes met hers squarely. "Do you want to jeopardize what chance this girl's got of making it?"
She stood up, glaring. "Any jeopardizing going on isn't going to be done by me." And, removing her spell, she stalked out, without a backwards glance, and slammed the door, making the three outside jump. She smiled shakily. "Thom, go in and talk to your father, will you? I need to find Coram."
"I think he's in his room -- I'm pretty sure he's not on guard right now," Thom told his mother, then, "Did you and Da have a fight?"
"No," she said stiffly and, seeing the question in his eyes, she stopped him before he asked anything else. "Just go talk to him." He looked at her uncertainly, and Alanna changed her mind. "Never mind -- you can help me find Coram."
"But -- " He looked over his shoulder at Kel and Neal. "Who's going to -- "
Alanna cut him off. "Alright, then . . . why don't you all come then? We can split up if we have to, then." She glanced back at the door she'd just slammed. "I think they may take a while anyhow."
"No!" They heard the shout from inside. Neal lit up and crept a bit closer, inclining his head. He grabbed Kel's hand and tried to tug her along with him, but she pulled back. "Someday the Stump will catch you eavesdropping and he'll have your hide," she warned. He stared at her, exasperated. "So?" And then he shook his head. "And you did it again. Slipping two times in one night -- are you sick?"
"No."
Neal looked at her uncertainly but didn't argue. "If you say so . . . "
Thom exchanged a glance with his mother, who looked every bit as lost as he was. Then he shrugged it off. Right now they just had to find Coram, though Thom wondered why.
Alanna led the way down the hall, while Thom walked a few steps behind. Neal and Kel stayed even farther back, whispering.
"So -- what do you think of her, Kel?" Neal asked, keeping an eye on the red-haired woman in front of them, being sure she couldn't hear.
Kel sighed. "She hasn't even given me a second glance." Then she smiled grimly. "But I suppose that was to be expected, huh?" It wasn't fair! She fought back tears. She couldn't help it -- it was that time of the month and her emotions were already playing enough tricks on her. She didn't need this too! It wasn't fair. Standing right in front of her was Alanna the Lioness, a hero -- her hero -- and she wasn't allowed to speak to her. It put quite a damper on her mood, and she began to fall further back into her old Yamani habits.
Neal poked her. "Hey -- are you listening to me?"
She brought herself back into the real world, where unfairness was commonplace and no one cared if you were just some crazy girl who's parents didn't care about enough to even teach you to be a proper lady, and instead sent you off to the palace to become a knight. "Sorry. What did you say?"
"I asked if you thought we were going to get to stay here a few days."
"I don't know . . . " I hope so, she thought, but didn't say out loud: she didn't want to jinx herself.
Neal looked uncertainly at the form ahead of them. "I really don't think Lady Alanna's going to want Sir Myles traveling right away. I could be wrong, but I'm almost positive she's angry with someone. Which means we should probably plan on being far, faaaaaar away when she sees whoever it is she's mad at."
Kel smiled slightly, and then they caught up with Thom and his mother. Curiously, Thom asked, "What were you talking about back there?"
"How much trouble we're going to be in," Neal stated glumly. Thom raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you ever do?"
"Yes."
"But he can't blame you, it's not your faults," Thom argued.
"Funny how everyone keeps mentioning that . . . " Kel muttered.
"Why?" Thom asked.
"Because Lord Wyldon will find some way to make it our fault."
"It's foolproof," Neal told him. "Never fails."
"Well that's not very fair," Thom said, wondering how the man got away with it. It just didn't seem right. It really wasn't their fault. It wasn't his mother's either, though, and she could just as easily be blamed.
Alanna glanced around one corner and decided to go around the other. The whole hall was dark that way. She doubted Coram was going to be wandering the Swoop in the middle of the night without a candle. But then again, what did she think they were doing, she realized wryly.
They were trying to save their skins, that's what they were doing. All of them, with the exception of Thom, feared they would be blamed for the strange goings-on, and Alanna needed to find out if Coram had seen anything strange this night. As if what she'd seen hadn't been enough. She shook her head. Why, why, why had she said the three of them should come with her? Was she insane? Well, she thought, there is insanity in my family, but that's a different story. Regardless, it was too big a temptation, even for her. Or was it? It was a chance to watch Keladry, and plan a way to somehow contact her. Somehow.
She shook her head. I really need to stop dwelling on this, she thought. Just come up with a plan and carry it out already! But it's not that easy . . .
~~~~~
"Gone?" Wyldon asked, horrified.
"Yes, gone. Vanished. Into thin air," Duke Baird said. "They left the banquet and never came back. They didn't go to their rooms either: their friends checked." He smiled slightly then, attempting to lighten the mood. "And Master Oakbridge was having a fit. He had to send two first year pages in to replace them."
Lord Wyldon didn't laugh. He rubbed his temples. "Alright then. I'll go get Master Numair."
Duke Baird agreed and headed to get the king: people vanishing into thin air was certainly something the king would like to know about.
The training master walked to the mage's rooms, lost in thought. He hardly noticed that he'd reached the door, except for the fact that, somehow -- instinct probably, he figured -- he stopped at the door. Raising a fist, he knocked. When the door opened to reveal a sleepy looking Daine, clad in a sleeping gown, Wyldon gulped. "Is Master Numair here, Lady Daine? I need to speak with him."
Daine was too tired to tell him that he needn't call her Lady Daine; Daine would do just fine. But she didn't even bother to ask if it could wait until tomorrow; she knew by his expression that it couldn't, and she was a good judge, having had the experience of being woken up in the middle of the night many times for emergencies. But that's what you get for falling in love with the head mage at the palace, she told herself as she went to wake Numair from his slumber. Wyldon waited in the living room, right inside the door, pacing.
Daine reached down and shook her lover's shoulder slightly. "Numair," she whispered. "Numair, wake up. Someone needs you."
With a groan, the dark-haired man sat up. "At this time of night?" She didn't bother answering, knowing he wasn't actually looking for one. She just gave him a quick kiss, and drew back the blankets that he'd have kept around himself otherwise. "Come on."
Quietly, she followed him out, wondering what was going on. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd spoken to this man. In fact, she was surprised he'd even come to Numair. From what she knew of this man, he wasn't exactly happy with change, and most likely did not approve of her and Numair's relationship.
Wyldon glanced up as they entered. His eyes were imploring as he ran a hand over his bald crown. "Please -- I'm so sorry to wake you, really I am, but . . . " He drew a shaky breath. "Two of our squires seem to have gone missing, along with Sir Myles."
Daine's eyes widened. "Missing?"
The man nodded. "They just . . . disappeared."
Numair frowned. "Which squires, if I may ask?"
"Keladry of Mindelan and Nealan of Queenscove."
Numair's eyes darkened. Neal and Myles were friends. Daine didn't look much happier. At Numair's quick glance, she hurriedly said, "I'll go ask the animals." And scurried out of the room. Peachblossom, she called. Have you seen Kel?
At his negative answer, Daine told him not to worry about it, fearing what he would do if he knew his rider was missing. Then she continued to ask various animals to keep a lookout, stopping only once when Numair stuck his head out the door and whispered at her to meet them in the training master's chambers once she'd finished.
Numair turned back to the training master, and asked, "Did they disappear after they left the banquet?" Wyldon nodded, and Numair muttered a curse. "Alright, give me a moment to get some things."
The mage gathered his scrying supplies, and a few other random things he thought might be useful. Then he dashed back into the room where Lord Wyldon stood waiting. "Okay, let's go." The man just stared at him. "What?" asked Numair.
"Aren't you going to change?"
Numair looked down. "Oh." He returned to his and Daine's room and quickly put on black breeches and a gray shirt. Then, he pulled a comb through his hair and tied it back. Finally he returned to the living room. "Okay, now we can go."
They left and raced -- or rather, Wyldon raced, Numair stumbled along behind, still attempting to wake up -- to Wyldon's office. Duke Baird, Jonathan, and Daine were already there, eyes worried. The two newly-arrived men didn't have to ask if the animals had seen what happened to them. Her face said it all.
Jonathan rubbed his eyes. "Numair, can you scry for them?"
He nodded. Reciting the spell, he held his mirror, and concentrated. He peered at his mirror and saw Pirate's Swoop. Numair paled. "Jonathan.... They're... They're..."
"Spit it out, Numair!" Jonathan snapped, impatiently. This was serious, didn't he understand that? People couldn't just go around vanishing.
Numair sighed, not wanting to betray his friend, but knowing he had to obey his king. "Well . . . Jon . . . they're at Pirate's Swoop . . . and the Lioness' is in the cage."
~~~~~
A/N: heehee, sorry bout that ending....but don't worry, chapter 6 is coming soon, wanna know why? Cuz Jae's drawing me a pic of Thom and she says she won't lemme see it till chapter 6 is out! *glares at Jae* But at least we made a deal: Chapter 6 has to be at least 3.5 pages and I get to see the pictures right away--she's making two. *drools*
Please review! Email me at faerie-dragon@home.com or IM me at LadySquireKel
Love and Hugs,
Dani
Disclaimer: S'not mine. It's Tamora Pierce's.
After the children had exited, and the door been firmly shut behind them, Alanna sat, burying her face in her hands. For a moment, her father and husband were silent, regarding her. Then, she lifted her face and asked, "Do the Gods have a personal vendetta against me, or something?" George sat next to her, and took her hand. "Jonathan can't blame you: it's not your fault."
"Maybe not, but they can still say I put a charm on her to succeed."
Myles, his discomfort momentarily aside, focused on the problem at hand. "There's always Numair. I'm sure if things get out of hand, he'd test her to shut up the conservatives. Kel's gotten quite friendly with Daine -- if you didn't convince him, she could."
"It's not right, though. She shouldn't have to go through all that just to satisfy some inflated, egotistical, pompous -- "
Myles hushed her. "Knowing Neal, he's probably outside the door, listening." At her worried look, he assured her, "He wouldn't tell her : he wouldn't want to hurt her, but Gods all help you if he thinks you're saying anything bad about her."
"They're good friends?" Alanna asked, curiously, while flicking her fingers to send a bolt of magic to the corners to sound proof the room. She was eager for insight into this stranger, whom she felt to close to. Outside -- her spell blocked outsiders from hearing what went on within, but still allowed outside sound in -- they heard Neal's, "How am I supposed to listen in, then, if you sound proof the room?" If one strained, one might have heard Kel's much softer response: "You're not, dummy."
George laughed at their exchange. Myles nodded to Alanna. "You wouldn't always know it though, not they way they get sometimes." He grinned. "Though, they let each other get away with most everything, so I suppose that could be a clue."
Alanna seemed thoughtful for a moment, considering a way to get closer to Keladry, but George sent her a pointed glance. "Don't go there lass."
Myles agreed. "Kel . . . she's not as tough as she may seem sometimes. She's been pretty low." His gaze flicked to Alanna. "And I know it would hurt her if she thought there was a chance of -- " He stopped, not wanting to say it, knowing that it still hurt ever after four years. But the knight said it for him. "A chance of meeting me." Myles sighed. "Yes. It would hurt her if she got her hopes up and then you pulled back, as you know you would have to."
"But I wouldn't have to," Alanna whispered, eyes down. "I ought to just go right out there now and tell her how proud I am and how much I wanted to . . . wanted to be there. For her." Her throat was tight and her eyes burned with unshed tears. It must hurt Kel so much that she has never seen me, she thought. As much as it hurts me.
George wrapped her in his arms. "Shh, lass, shh. The day will come." His eyes locked with Myles' over his wife's head, buried in his chest. Myles looked at his hands. "She knows that the king ordered you away from her. That's why she was so upset about being here." He laughed, a strange laugh from emotions beyond his control. "She was more worried about you getting in trouble than her, though, I think."
Alanna's head had shot up when Myles said Keladry knew about Jonathan's order. She looked embarrassed, outraged, and teary all at once, a feat not too many could achieve, though the famed Lioness had no trouble. "How did she find out?"
She looked about to explode, like putting the least bit of pressure on her would send her flying. The two men also guessed that she suspected Jonathan was the culprit. Before she could begin shouting, Myles held up a hand. Carefully -- he didn't want her lashing out at him either -- he told her, "Neal told her."
That calmed her down a bit. At least it had been a friend, not the king who told her. Especially since it would have hurt, badly to be told by your king, that he was willing to be unfair to prevent people from being angry with him. He's so selfish . . . Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she asked, "Why?"
"I don't think he meant to. I think it just slipped out one time."
"Oh." Well this was food for thought. So she knows we can't talk . . . but Jonathan didn't say a thing about go-betweens. She thanked the Goddess she had a son Keladry's age.
George saw her eyes light up, and he said, "No. Whatever is going through your mind right now, you forget it quick."
Alanna glared at him darkly. "Don't tell me what to do, George."
His eyes met hers squarely. "Do you want to jeopardize what chance this girl's got of making it?"
She stood up, glaring. "Any jeopardizing going on isn't going to be done by me." And, removing her spell, she stalked out, without a backwards glance, and slammed the door, making the three outside jump. She smiled shakily. "Thom, go in and talk to your father, will you? I need to find Coram."
"I think he's in his room -- I'm pretty sure he's not on guard right now," Thom told his mother, then, "Did you and Da have a fight?"
"No," she said stiffly and, seeing the question in his eyes, she stopped him before he asked anything else. "Just go talk to him." He looked at her uncertainly, and Alanna changed her mind. "Never mind -- you can help me find Coram."
"But -- " He looked over his shoulder at Kel and Neal. "Who's going to -- "
Alanna cut him off. "Alright, then . . . why don't you all come then? We can split up if we have to, then." She glanced back at the door she'd just slammed. "I think they may take a while anyhow."
"No!" They heard the shout from inside. Neal lit up and crept a bit closer, inclining his head. He grabbed Kel's hand and tried to tug her along with him, but she pulled back. "Someday the Stump will catch you eavesdropping and he'll have your hide," she warned. He stared at her, exasperated. "So?" And then he shook his head. "And you did it again. Slipping two times in one night -- are you sick?"
"No."
Neal looked at her uncertainly but didn't argue. "If you say so . . . "
Thom exchanged a glance with his mother, who looked every bit as lost as he was. Then he shrugged it off. Right now they just had to find Coram, though Thom wondered why.
Alanna led the way down the hall, while Thom walked a few steps behind. Neal and Kel stayed even farther back, whispering.
"So -- what do you think of her, Kel?" Neal asked, keeping an eye on the red-haired woman in front of them, being sure she couldn't hear.
Kel sighed. "She hasn't even given me a second glance." Then she smiled grimly. "But I suppose that was to be expected, huh?" It wasn't fair! She fought back tears. She couldn't help it -- it was that time of the month and her emotions were already playing enough tricks on her. She didn't need this too! It wasn't fair. Standing right in front of her was Alanna the Lioness, a hero -- her hero -- and she wasn't allowed to speak to her. It put quite a damper on her mood, and she began to fall further back into her old Yamani habits.
Neal poked her. "Hey -- are you listening to me?"
She brought herself back into the real world, where unfairness was commonplace and no one cared if you were just some crazy girl who's parents didn't care about enough to even teach you to be a proper lady, and instead sent you off to the palace to become a knight. "Sorry. What did you say?"
"I asked if you thought we were going to get to stay here a few days."
"I don't know . . . " I hope so, she thought, but didn't say out loud: she didn't want to jinx herself.
Neal looked uncertainly at the form ahead of them. "I really don't think Lady Alanna's going to want Sir Myles traveling right away. I could be wrong, but I'm almost positive she's angry with someone. Which means we should probably plan on being far, faaaaaar away when she sees whoever it is she's mad at."
Kel smiled slightly, and then they caught up with Thom and his mother. Curiously, Thom asked, "What were you talking about back there?"
"How much trouble we're going to be in," Neal stated glumly. Thom raised an eyebrow. "Is that all you ever do?"
"Yes."
"But he can't blame you, it's not your faults," Thom argued.
"Funny how everyone keeps mentioning that . . . " Kel muttered.
"Why?" Thom asked.
"Because Lord Wyldon will find some way to make it our fault."
"It's foolproof," Neal told him. "Never fails."
"Well that's not very fair," Thom said, wondering how the man got away with it. It just didn't seem right. It really wasn't their fault. It wasn't his mother's either, though, and she could just as easily be blamed.
Alanna glanced around one corner and decided to go around the other. The whole hall was dark that way. She doubted Coram was going to be wandering the Swoop in the middle of the night without a candle. But then again, what did she think they were doing, she realized wryly.
They were trying to save their skins, that's what they were doing. All of them, with the exception of Thom, feared they would be blamed for the strange goings-on, and Alanna needed to find out if Coram had seen anything strange this night. As if what she'd seen hadn't been enough. She shook her head. Why, why, why had she said the three of them should come with her? Was she insane? Well, she thought, there is insanity in my family, but that's a different story. Regardless, it was too big a temptation, even for her. Or was it? It was a chance to watch Keladry, and plan a way to somehow contact her. Somehow.
She shook her head. I really need to stop dwelling on this, she thought. Just come up with a plan and carry it out already! But it's not that easy . . .
~~~~~
"Gone?" Wyldon asked, horrified.
"Yes, gone. Vanished. Into thin air," Duke Baird said. "They left the banquet and never came back. They didn't go to their rooms either: their friends checked." He smiled slightly then, attempting to lighten the mood. "And Master Oakbridge was having a fit. He had to send two first year pages in to replace them."
Lord Wyldon didn't laugh. He rubbed his temples. "Alright then. I'll go get Master Numair."
Duke Baird agreed and headed to get the king: people vanishing into thin air was certainly something the king would like to know about.
The training master walked to the mage's rooms, lost in thought. He hardly noticed that he'd reached the door, except for the fact that, somehow -- instinct probably, he figured -- he stopped at the door. Raising a fist, he knocked. When the door opened to reveal a sleepy looking Daine, clad in a sleeping gown, Wyldon gulped. "Is Master Numair here, Lady Daine? I need to speak with him."
Daine was too tired to tell him that he needn't call her Lady Daine; Daine would do just fine. But she didn't even bother to ask if it could wait until tomorrow; she knew by his expression that it couldn't, and she was a good judge, having had the experience of being woken up in the middle of the night many times for emergencies. But that's what you get for falling in love with the head mage at the palace, she told herself as she went to wake Numair from his slumber. Wyldon waited in the living room, right inside the door, pacing.
Daine reached down and shook her lover's shoulder slightly. "Numair," she whispered. "Numair, wake up. Someone needs you."
With a groan, the dark-haired man sat up. "At this time of night?" She didn't bother answering, knowing he wasn't actually looking for one. She just gave him a quick kiss, and drew back the blankets that he'd have kept around himself otherwise. "Come on."
Quietly, she followed him out, wondering what was going on. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd spoken to this man. In fact, she was surprised he'd even come to Numair. From what she knew of this man, he wasn't exactly happy with change, and most likely did not approve of her and Numair's relationship.
Wyldon glanced up as they entered. His eyes were imploring as he ran a hand over his bald crown. "Please -- I'm so sorry to wake you, really I am, but . . . " He drew a shaky breath. "Two of our squires seem to have gone missing, along with Sir Myles."
Daine's eyes widened. "Missing?"
The man nodded. "They just . . . disappeared."
Numair frowned. "Which squires, if I may ask?"
"Keladry of Mindelan and Nealan of Queenscove."
Numair's eyes darkened. Neal and Myles were friends. Daine didn't look much happier. At Numair's quick glance, she hurriedly said, "I'll go ask the animals." And scurried out of the room. Peachblossom, she called. Have you seen Kel?
At his negative answer, Daine told him not to worry about it, fearing what he would do if he knew his rider was missing. Then she continued to ask various animals to keep a lookout, stopping only once when Numair stuck his head out the door and whispered at her to meet them in the training master's chambers once she'd finished.
Numair turned back to the training master, and asked, "Did they disappear after they left the banquet?" Wyldon nodded, and Numair muttered a curse. "Alright, give me a moment to get some things."
The mage gathered his scrying supplies, and a few other random things he thought might be useful. Then he dashed back into the room where Lord Wyldon stood waiting. "Okay, let's go." The man just stared at him. "What?" asked Numair.
"Aren't you going to change?"
Numair looked down. "Oh." He returned to his and Daine's room and quickly put on black breeches and a gray shirt. Then, he pulled a comb through his hair and tied it back. Finally he returned to the living room. "Okay, now we can go."
They left and raced -- or rather, Wyldon raced, Numair stumbled along behind, still attempting to wake up -- to Wyldon's office. Duke Baird, Jonathan, and Daine were already there, eyes worried. The two newly-arrived men didn't have to ask if the animals had seen what happened to them. Her face said it all.
Jonathan rubbed his eyes. "Numair, can you scry for them?"
He nodded. Reciting the spell, he held his mirror, and concentrated. He peered at his mirror and saw Pirate's Swoop. Numair paled. "Jonathan.... They're... They're..."
"Spit it out, Numair!" Jonathan snapped, impatiently. This was serious, didn't he understand that? People couldn't just go around vanishing.
Numair sighed, not wanting to betray his friend, but knowing he had to obey his king. "Well . . . Jon . . . they're at Pirate's Swoop . . . and the Lioness' is in the cage."
~~~~~
A/N: heehee, sorry bout that ending....but don't worry, chapter 6 is coming soon, wanna know why? Cuz Jae's drawing me a pic of Thom and she says she won't lemme see it till chapter 6 is out! *glares at Jae* But at least we made a deal: Chapter 6 has to be at least 3.5 pages and I get to see the pictures right away--she's making two. *drools*
Please review! Email me at faerie-dragon@home.com or IM me at LadySquireKel
Love and Hugs,
Dani