Hello ladies and gentlemen of the Court of Tamora Pierce
Lovers! Welcome to my first-ever Tamora Pierce fanfiction, THIS IS FOREVER!
Despite its somewhat mushy title, I assure you that there will be almost equal
amounts of humor to go with every little bit of romance! It is, as you know if
you read the summary, set immediately after the events in the epilogue in the
final book of The Immortals series, The Realms of the Gods. It obviously
involves a LOT of Daine and Numair (personally, one of my favorite Tortallan
couples since Alanna and George.) So, before I give away the whole accursed
plot, please read on!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the people and events from
any of Tamora Pierce's works, which is why they are Tamora Pierce's works, and
this is simply an original (hopefully ^_^;) spin-off we all like to call
fanfiction!
This Is Forever
Rated PG because I feel like it, and because this certainly
isn't Cinderella, got me?
Prologue: The Tortallan Grapevine
Numair Salmalín,
greatest mage in all of Tortall, possibly the world, unmatched by any rival,
usually quite calm in the face of death (if it was his own), paced his
temporary room in the royal palace in Corus. His face was ash-gray, he was
sweating heavily, and was very, very nervous. He muttered to himself nervously,
practicing every move he would make, every gesture, every sound. One might
think, upon looking on him in such a fierce state of nerves, fear, and
concentration combined, that he was about to face certain death within moments.
But they would be
wrong. What he was about to do was worse than a thousand agonizing, bloody,
spine-chilling deaths.
He was about to
ask a god for his daughter's hand in marriage.
Of course, he had
already asked the girl herself, but she had said she needed time to consider
it. He knew that Daine was only toying with him, but it was all the same, for
he had realized upon his arrival in Corus that to marry the daughter of a god,
even a lesser god, without his consent would be quite disastrous.
So, Numair paced
silently, and with a gulp and a silent nod of determination, he kneeled on the
rich rugs by his window and bed, and called on Wieryn, the Hunt God.
"Wieryn, please, hear me. It's Numair. I have to ask you
something. You too, please, Sarra," he said with a note of barely audible
strain, the result of trying to control the shaking in his voice.
"We hear you, Master Numair," came Sarra's voice. "It is
good to talk you again!"
"How is my daughter?" inquired a deep voice that Numair knew
to be Weiryn's.
"She is doing as well as ever," said Numair, turning to
jelly inside when he thought of the happy and healthy Daine who had kissed him
good morning just today. Thought of her this afternoon at lunch with her arm
entwined about his waist. Just afterwards as they were sitting on a bench in
one of the palace gardens, with the warm weight of her blessed little head on
his shoulders…
He could hear
Sarra's faint giggling in the background of his daydreams, and a strained noise
that sounded like Weiryn holding back one of his deep chuckles, and snapped out
of the reverie.
"Um…I…I just…" he stammered, losing what seemed like his
entire vocabulary in an instant. So much for making a good impression on
Daine's parents. Then again, they already knew him, so perhaps they wouldn't
care so much for his frivolity.
"We know what you want, Master Numair," Weiryn said in a
grave tone, forgetting his near inability to keep from chuckling just moments
before.
"Not only have we watched Daine and you from the Divine
Realms, but your love for our daughter was quite obvious when you refused to
let any harm come to her. You have our approval to wed Daine." Numair fought
desperately to control the strong urge to jump into the air and whoop aloud
with pure joy.
"Though you seemed to have sought it a bit belatedly – "
Numair could almost see Weiryn's half-smile, half-frown from his tone of voice.
He heard a tiny grunt and a satisfied chortle, and guessed that Sarra had
nudged her lover in the ribs.
"Well, you see, I just…I couldn't…"
"I understand," said Sarra softly. "I feel the same way…" He
could almost see Sarra snuggling into Weiryn's arms with tears in her eyes.
"Thank you," Numair whispered, immense gratitude for the
understanding of Sarra and Weiryn flowing through his veins. He bowed to the
air, then turned to leave.
"Wait," came Sarra's voice, cheerful yet commanding. "You'll
speak to Daine about the things tonight, right?"
"Um…yes…"
"And there's a ball tonight in honor of Tortall's victory
over Ozorne, I believe."
"Yes."
"And what do you have to wear?"
"Well, I have my jewels and ear drops with me, but all my
fine robes are at my home, too far from here to retrieve, so I thought I'd just
borrow…" Numair started, wondering for all the world what he was going to wear
to tonight had to do with the price of peas in Persopolis.
"Nonsense! I won't have the one just as well as promised to
my daughter dressed in the stinky, not large enough clothes of some squire on
such an important night!" exclaimed Sarra. "I will give you something to wear.
Think of it as a gift to you for being such a worthy man for my dearest Daine!"
she added with a giggle. "Broad Foot, can you take this to Master Numair?" she
said to the duckmole god, no doubt staying with her for the season.
Within moments,
the strange creature appeared, with the finest ensemble of clothing he had ever
seen, something that could only be made by the hands of a god. He grasped it,
bowing to Broad Foot after giving him a brief scratch, and said his thanks to
Sarra and Weiryn.
"You're welcome Numair," replied Sarra jovially.
"Good luck – my son," Weiryn's voice came gravely, before
disappearing altogether, along with the duckmole god.
"Thank you," Numair whispered one final time, then hurried
through his rooms to prepare for this night that would prove to be eventful.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Daine Sarrasri
hovered about nervously in Queen Thayet's rooms, along with the 11-year-old Kalasin,
or Kally, Thayet's daughter and the young princess, one of Daine's dearest, if
also one of the youngest, friends. Kally was struggling hard to keep still in
her lovely navy blue gown as her mother instructed, but it was hard for her to
fight down so much excitement. This was the first real ball that she had been
allowed to go to.
Daine's inability
to keep still however, wasn't due to excitement. She was torn between gratitude
for Thayet for offering, (or rather, commanding, as she did not take no for an
answer,) to give her a gift from the royal wardrobe and to prepare the teenage
girl herself as one of her own, and simple instinct that gifts from the Queen
shouldn't be given lightly, especially to a girl with no real nobility. Not to
mention that this was the first time Daine would be in the spotlight at such an
occasion; she had been told that she, along with some others, would be honored
at tonight's ball.
She stood still as
Thayet affectionately prepared Daine's hair, clothes, and even her toe and
fingernails, and told Thayet of her feelings about the generous gift and her
reluctance to accept an honor such as had been given to her.
"Oh, don't be silly," said the Queen, toying with Daine's
curls, striving for perfection. "You've saved all of us countless times, you've
been the best of friends to my children, and you've been a wonderful friend and
companion in between. I feel as though you're one of my own, or at least one of
my dearest friends. And I would do the same for any of them as I'm doing for
you now. Except Alanna though. I daresay she'd come after me with sword in hand
if I tried to persuade her to wear a gown," she added with a grin. Daine
laughed and relaxed, feeling much better after hearing the truth in Thayet's
soothing words.
After a few moments, Thayet proclaimed
"There!" and led Daine to a full-length mirror in her bathing room.
Even Daine had to
admit to herself that she looked very stunning. Her blue-gray gown matched the
color of her eyes exactly. It was just slightly low cut, and the straps that
held the dress to her bared her shoulders and arms. It clung to all the right
places, accenting her modest curves, and flowed down the toes of her silver
slippers. Just below the bust was silver embroidery of beads and thread,
forming something like a braid that circled the entire dress like a band. At
the band, right in the middle of her front, the dress seemed to split at an
angle like a triangle, so that the blue material of the gown flowed to the
sides, revealing a triangular part of the pure silver silk dress under the
gown. Her hair had been pulled back out of her face with a thin silver ribbon,
though a soft brown curls hung to frame her face, which was ever so sparingly
painted with paints; just enough to bring out the natural pink in her cheeks
and red on her soft, full lips. To top it all off, the badge's claw hung on a
fine silver chain, making it look like a silver necklace that rested just below
where the fabric of the gown started to cover her chest. Daine's eyes brimmed
with tears of joy, but Thayet frowned slightly, though the younger girl saw a
mischievous gleam in the queen's eyes.
"It's missing something," she murmured softly. "Ah! I know!"
She pulled a little plain box out of somewhere, and opened it to reveal
ice-blue ear drops shaped like tears. Daine could tell they were made of the
finest sapphire and gasped as Thayet placed them gently through the little
holes in Daine's ear. She had had her ears pierced the day before at Thayet's
persuasion, and now she knew why. Daine could only stammer her thanks as she
admired them. Thayet smiled and led her back into the main chamber, where
Kalasin squealed her delight, and Kitten, who had found her way into the
queen's rooms, chirped her approval.
"Now we look the same!" exclaimed Kally excitedly, pointing
at her own ears, which had sapphires just like Daine's. Daine smiled and hugged
her young friend carefully, so as not to wrinkle either of their gowns. Kally,
however, pointed the badger claw that hung about Daine's neck.
"But I don't have anything like that!" she whispered
in awe. Thayet smiled at her daughter's wide-eyed expression.
"Well that's very different, Kally," Daine explained. "It
was a gift to me from a very special friend, and there's nothing else like it."
"Oh." Kalasin smiled, but Daine couldn't help but notice
that she looked just a little bit crestfallen.
"But here, I'll give you a gift that's almost the same
thing," Daine offered, smiling.
"Really?" Kalasin asked, all hope and innocence.
"Of course, really!" Daine walked over to Kitten, and said
something to her. Kitten trilled and answer, and one of her little claws
dropped into Daine's hand, to be replaced instantly by another one. Daine
strolled back to Kalasin and revealed the treasure in her hand.
"Oh, wow! Thank you Kit, thank you Daine!" she said, taking
it carefully into her small hands. "I'll keep it forever!" Daine smiled.
"I hope so. Now be careful not to touch the tip, because
it's sharp, all right? And don't let anyone else touch it, or before you know
it, it'll be gone."
"Ok!" Kally nodded vigorously to show her agreement, and
stood up at her mother's beckoning. "It's time for us to go, dear," she said,
taking Kalasin's hand. Daine followed the two royals who had become her
friends, and left them at the doors to the ballroom.
"Goodbye, Highness, Kally. I'll see you soon!" Daine waved
cheerfully and walked graciously to where the Lioness, Alanna, and her husband
George, Baron of Pirate's Swoop, were waiting, grinning hugely. Alanna, to no
surprise of Daine's, wore breeches, but those that were very loose and swishy,
almost giving off the illusion of a skirt, and a large tunic that covered her
arms and went down almost to her knees. Both were navy blue with gold
embroidery, and a thin leather strap served as both a belt for the tunic and a
place for Alanna's sheathed sword. George wore a simple shirt and breeches, but
both were made of a fine green material that brought out the same color in his
green hazel eyes.
"Why, Daine, you look wonderful!" commented Alanna with a
grin, looking her over. "Wouldn't wear the thing myself, but it suits you. And
I'm sure Numair will think the same," she added with a twinkle in her eye. "I
know he's got some important…ah…matters to discuss with you." Daine,
knowing that Alanna was talking about his marriage proposal a few days earlier,
blushed scarlet.
"Who told you?" she asked.
"Oh, no one." Daine snorted. After all these years living
with so many nobles, she knew from experience the no one was usually a
very important someone.
"Yes, well, we still have to talk about it…" George, thank
the gods, had interrupted though, taking a few moments to compliment Daine.
"You have to give me the second dance, after m' Lady here,"
smiled George. "It would be such an honor to dance with such a young and pretty
lady."
"Oh, stop your flirting, George! I swear that one of these
days some courtier will fall for your act and try to run off with you, and a
certain someone I know will have to be introduced to another certain someone,"
she teased, patting her sword affectionately.
"Not to worry, lady me love, who could compare to your
charms?" Alanna made a face, and allowed herself to be pulled into George's
kiss. When they had finished, Daine was blushing slightly, thinking of Numair.
Alanna, guessing her thoughts, grinned and said,
"I'm going soft, I guess. Married life will do that to you.
I'm sure you'll understand soon enough." The Lioness winked one of her violet
eyes, making the young woman blush even more.
A horn sounded,
and Alanna winked again. "That's my cue. Jonathan just loves to parade
his champion around. I still think he does it to vex me. " And Alanna
disappeared through the doors as they announced her name. Daine stood around
waiting as she saw nobles pass through the doors, bedecked in their most
pricey, stunning attire. She straightened, however, when she heard her name
called to enter.
"…Veralidaine Sarrasri, Honored Guest of Their Royal
Majesties, King Jonathan III and Queen Thayet, for her courage and service at
the Battle of Legann."
Daine forced her
heart to be still as she strode through the grand doors and down the marble
staircase. It was unnerving to see so many eyes on her, and hear so many people
whispering. Subtly, so that no one would see, she changed the shape of her
ears, hearing every word that was spoken.
"…summoned dragons and spoke to animals…"
"…not bad looking, better than I thought for a warrior…"
"…killed Ozorne with bare hands…"
"…can't believe she loves me…"
Daine looked
sharply across the room, where her escort was to take her to the presence of
the King and Queen, and where she had heard that last voice. Fighting down a
blush, she recognized Numair, with sweet shock evident on his face. He looked
dashing in an otherworldly combination of black shirt, which bared part of his
chest, and the same color breeches, both of which shined magnificently in the
light. His jewels glimmered on his wrists, fingers and ears, and his hair was
drawn back into a horsetail. How did I gain the care of such a man? And how
can he think that he isn't worthy of me, of all people! I thought
it would be the other way around…
Ignoring the long
list of formalities that the man at the doors addressed Numair with, who was
also being honored tonight, Daine took his arm, looking deep into his dark,
shadowy eyes. She saw that his face was slightly flushed under his tan, and he
said to her,
"You look beautiful, my magelet."
"And you look just as handsome yourself, Sir Mage," she
replied in a formal tone, made teasing by her giggle. Numair smiled, and led
her to the King and Queen, where they bowed (or curtsied, in Daine's case,)
respectively.
"I thought you two would prefer to enter together," Jonathan
said with a small wink. Both Numair and Daine blushed, and Kally, at her
father's side, giggled behind a hand. Did everyone know of Numair and Daine's
affairs? Together, the pair kneeled in front of the royals, who began the quick
ceremony before the now hushed ballroom.
"Master Numair Salmalín, tonight you are honored for your
service to Tortall, and to all kingdoms under our reign, for defeating one of
our greatest enemies at the Battle of Legann, Inar Hadensra," Jonathan said in
a grave voice. Numair bowed and nodded, speaking the formal, traditional
answer.
"'Twas an honor to
serve my lord."
"Veralidaine Sarrasri, you tonight are especially
honored for your assistance in summoning allies from the Dragonlands, and for
slaying our greatest enemy at the Battle of Legann, the former emperor of
Carthak, the Stormwing Ozorne."
"'Twas an honor to serve my lord."
"May all remember forever the brave deeds of our Honored
Guests," King Jonathan finished. "So mote it be!"
"So mote it be!" thundered the occupants of the ballroom
amid equally loud applause. Numair and Daine left the dais, the music began to
play, and the festivities officially began.
"May I have this dance?" Numair immediately asked, offering
his arm once more.
"Of course."
Daine allowed
Numair to pull her into the throng of nobles twirling in time to the music. She
closed her eyes and rested her head on her "stork-man's" shoulder, letting him
lead hear in the swirling paces, breathing in his scent and rejoicing at their
closeness. Daine felt like she was floating above the ground as she danced in
Numair's arms.
All too soon,
however, the music stopped and Numair loosed his grip around her, though he
kept her hand in his. He led her a spot in the garden just outside the
ballroom; a bench where they had a perfect view of the stars and the full moon
that shone brightly overhead. They sat down together, and Daine simply gazed at
the heavens with her head on Numair's shoulder, happy simply to be at such
peace with everything.
Numair broke the
silence with a soft whisper.
"Daine?"
"Hmm?"
"Daine, you know I love you." Daine now opened her eyes, and
stared into his.
"As I love you."
"And you know that I want you to marry me." Daine blushed,
and broke her gaze with Numair.
"I know." She shifted uncomfortably, and shivered.
"What's the matter? Are you afraid of me?" he asked, unable
to keep the pain from his voice.
"Not of you, Numair, never! I just…I'm afraid that one day,
you'll bore of me, being so young, and that this is just something that happened,
and that it'll pass, and you won't want me, the commoner daughter of a…"
"Listen Daine." Numair pulled her face so that she could see
his. Tears glistened in her eyes, but she didn't bother to wipe them away.
"I love you, and I don't want anyone else but you. If I
can't have you, then I will die before I have anyone else, I swear it in the
name of the Goddess. I love everything about you, and I want to keep loving
you, and protecting you, and I never, ever, want to be apart from you."
"Oh, Numair. I love you too, and I want to marry you. I will,
I will!"
Daine threw her
arms about his neck, allowing herself to be cradled in his arms as she sobbed
with joy. They sat there, together, content to be so, for quite a long time.
Finally, Daine looked up and searched Numair's eyes, seeing love and passion. She
pressed her lips to his, and they kissed for what seemed like an eternity, yet altogether
too short in Daine's opinion. When they finally broke apart, Daine smiled, and
said,
"By tomorrow, everyone will have heard this through the
grapevine, you know."
"I know. But I don't care." Hand in hand, they walked back
to the palace, prepared to become the gossip of all Corus.
