Here's my next chapter! I had it written awhile ago but I went on vacation (to Italy!!) and when I got back my computer crashed and fanfic was down so everything went wrong pretty much. ^(^, Okay, for those of you who haven't read Tamora Pierce's books (yes these are her characters, for the most part) then here are some things you need to know:

- Sir Alanna – the first woman knight, married to the Lord of Pirate Swoop. She is the King's Champion, and one of Numair's close friends.

- Numair Salmalín – the greatest mage, Daine's love

- Daine – the main character of this story! She has wild magic (she can talk to and change into animals).

- Immortal's War – the famous war in which an evil emperor released the immortals (dragons and other strange creatures) into the world so he could gain the territory of Tortall.

That's all for now! Hope you enjoy my story (and other chapters to come!)

Desperate Times

It was a cool, calm morning, broken only by the sound of footsteps, coming from a small room's open window. If you looked inside, you would see a tall man pacing, back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth. Numair Salmalín was worried and distressed as he thought about where Daine, his friend and his love, might be.

"Where is she?!" Numair exclaimed as he finished walking the length of the room for the hundredth time.

"Daine is a big girl now… she can take care of herself. You know that's what she would say," Replied a short, stocky woman who sat by the hearth of a fire. She stared at the flames, almost as if she was reading something from the hot embers. Her purple eyes flashed.

"Don't even think that she ran off on you Numair. She loves you every bit as much as you love her. But, if you act like THIS every time she is a little late for something, then I wouldn't blame her if she DID up and leave you." The fire cast shadows on her red hair. The shadows reminded her of the small shadow-people that had been lost in Tortall's latest wars. She sighed as the memories of those close that had died flashed through her head. She frowned slightly as she watched Numair prepare for yet another lap around the room.

"Like I'm not important too?? No note, no nothing. Doesn't she care at all how I feel?? She would at least send an animal messenger if she really cared! Alanna, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. SHE IS NOT HEALING!!!"

"Men," Alanna said as she rolled those sparkling, purple eyes. "Always so protective. Like women are their properties. Humph."

"I do not think she's my property and I have NO notions that she would have ran off on me!! I am defiantly not THAT silly," Numair retorted after he heard Alanna's muttering. The hurt expression on his face projected his true feelings just as clearly as if he had proclaimed it. He was worried, not only about Daine's safety, but also about their relationship. This was no surprise to Alanna considering Numair was in his mid thirties and Daine was only nearing her seventeenth year. No matter how much they claimed to love each other, Alanna couldn't understand how the two could make it work.

"I'm not jealous either!!! I'm not over protective!!! I can't help that I, I, WORRY!"

His companion just shook her head and murmured, "And my name isn't Sir Alanna." Numair glared at her for about a second before he resumed his pacing. Thoughts rushed through his head as he raked his mind for the few reasons that Diane possibly would have been held up so late. After about 5 minutes, he stopped stock-still.

"Alanna! She could be in trouble! Hurt, lost, you name it! She could be anywhere locked up in some small dungeon being starved! I must find her!" Numair had no idea how close his small speech was to the truth. It was better that he didn't. He wouldn't have liked the truth. Neither would anyone in their right minds. But not everyone is sound 24/7. Some can act insane, well, always.

* * * * *

Alanna looked up quickly after she heard those few words that came from Numair's lips. She saw the pain and anxiety in the lines of his face, and she noticed that he now looked much older than his real age. She finally turned away from his hard eyes.

"Numair, it is true she could be in trouble. Lost is impossible. Remember when the owls and bats drew maps a couple of years ago?" Numair nodded as he remembered Daine's bat friends working during the well-known Immortal's War. They had helped to beat all those immortal creatures and those evil men that had snuck up upon them.

"If she is hurt, it is true she could be helpless, but it is not likely. But, I know how much you care about her, and I love her too, so I can give you this small offer. I can send out a search party-" She was suddenly cut of by a sigh from Numair.

"I'm not a miracle worker and that is all that I can possibly grant you Numair!! It is the best I can do!"

Numair nodded, glance to the floor, and looked back towards Alanna. His eyes lit up as he felt the small chair around his wrist twist and as he heard it's quiet jingle. One look at his small smile and Alanna frowned.

"You better not do anything you will soon regret." She warned as Numair walked away from her and started to mutter quietly. She saw a small gleam of gold as he held the chain that he had taken from his wrist. Alanna leaned over to get a closer look at what he was holding. She gasped as he gently opened the delicate locket that the bracelet supported. In it was a picture, so like Daine and so beautifully crafted, that it amazed Alanna almost to speechlessness. Her voice returned when she saw the small lock of hair pinned beside it.

"You have a focus???" Alanna exclaimed as she tore her eyes from the piece of jewelry. "But, but, but… you don't possibly mean to use it do??" she asked, although she already knew what his answer would be.

"That would drain you! You'd be totally and completely helpless if Daine was in some real emergency! If there is a sorcerer or an immortal involved, well, I don't want to think of what the outcome would be!" Numair's face told the whole tale. His mind was set and there was not turning back now.

"I am only doing something that I should have done a long time ago. Desperate times call for desperate measures. This is one of those times." His usually bright eyes had a dull look to them, and a tired glaze replaced the black sparkle. There was grim determination in his chin, and his mouth was hard and firm. There would be no changing his mind.

Alanna glanced at the fire that was warming the room, but when she turned back to talk more to Numair, it was too late. There was an empty space where he had been, and a light space where his shadow had once been found. These were truly desperate times.