Author's Note: I rewrote this chapter so it would fit better with the next chapters. And the last part is hard to understand, but it's supposed to be a mystery, sorta.
Author's Note: Okay, tell me if this story is too cheesy or something. I really gotta work on my descriptiveness... I know the chapters are too short, but that's the way it is.
Title: Daja and Kirel
Rating: G
Spoilers: Not really. Maybe.
Summary: Daja and Kirel start to figure out their feelings for each other.
Disclaimer: I don't own Daja, Kirel, or any of the other characters in Circle of Magic.
Setting: This story is set after Briar's Book.
*** = setting change
italics = thoughts
~Daydreaming~
Early next morning, Tris woke up and stumbled across the hall to find Daja's room empty. She went back into her room and got properly dressed. Then she set out to find her friend.
***
Daja was lying on the roof with her hands behind her head, looking up at the sky. I wonder what Kirel's doing, she thought. She smiled as she remembered the events of last night. He can be really sweet sometimes... What am I thinking? He's just a friend, isn't he? But if he only thinks of me as a friend, then why did he ask me to take a walk with him? And why do I feel so strange when I'm around him... Her thoughts were interrupted as a head with curly read hair appeared through the opening to the roof.
"Oh, Daja, there you are." Tris climbed all the way onto the roof. She sat down and smoothed out her skirts, trying to get into a comfortable position. She continued, "Why are you up here so early?" The Trader girl responded, "Just thinking."
"About what?"
"I'd rather not say right now."
"All right." Tris left Daja to her thoughts while she got involved in her own. I wonder what she's thinking about. She doesn't usually act like this.
This time, Tris's thoughts were interrupted as Briar's head popped up through the opening. "Hey, what are you two doing up here?"
"Nothing much," Tris replied. Briar looked at Daja, who had not noticed the young plant-mage's arrival. "What's with her?"
"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me."
"Let me try."
The boy edged closer to Daja. He snapped his fingers in front of her face in an attempt to get her to notice him. Daja started, then relaxed as she realized what had happened.
"Oh. Hello, Briar."
"What were you thinking about? Must've been pretty serious for you not to notice me."
"It's... It's not important."
Briar looked at her suspiciously, not believing her response to his question. "Okay." He turned back to Tris, who was watching the clouds.
***
Sandry got out of bed. She got dressed and clumsily walked out of her room, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Briar's door was open—she peeked into the room to discover his "rat's nest" empty and unmade.
She then climbed the stairs in search of her other housemates. She walked into Daja and Tris's rooms to find those empty as well. Where could they be? she wondered. Maybe... She rushed over to the opening that led to the roof.
***
"Hi!" Sandry clambered onto the roof. "I was wondering where you were!"
"Morning," Tris and Briar replied. Daja removed herself from her thoughts long enough to greet her friend, then became silent again as thoughts began running through her head.
Sandry stared at Daja. The smith-mage had never acted like this in all the time they had known each other. She whispered to the others, "What's wrong with her?" She nodded toward the dark-skinned girl.
Tris answered, "We don't know. She won't tell us."
"Yeah," Briar said.
"Oh," Sandry replied. "Have you ever seen her act this way?"
"No," said the weather-mage. "Never."
"I hafta agree with Coppercurls," Briar answered with a grin. Tris scowled at the nickname.
The three young mages discussed many possibilities for Daja's behavior while the subject of their conversation lay staring up at the sky, oblivious to her friends' conversation.
Lark soon called them to breakfast and the four went back into the house for their morning meal.
***
Daja finally regained her old personality as the residents of house Discipline sat down to breakfast.
"Good morning, Daja," Lark said as the girl sat down.
"Morning," Daja answered.
Lark greeted each of the children as they sat down. Rosethorn merely nodded at all of them. Sandry and Daja sat on one side of the table. Tris and Briar were on the other. The two dedicates wearing green habits sat at the ends of the long table.
As they ate, Sandry decided to bring up the subject she really wanted to know about. "Daja, why were you acting so strange before?"
Daja froze. Lark stopped eating and looked at the dark-skinned girl. Tris and Briar looked up with interest, still shoveling food into their mouths. Rosethorn didn't even bother to look up; it was as if she had not heard Sandry's inquiry. Daja whispered fiercely in Sandry's ear, "I'll tell you later, saati."
The young noble let the matter drop for the time being. Everyone turned their attention back to their food, with the exception of Rosethorn, who had not looked up from her meal in the first place.
***
"So what's this big secret you've been hiding?"
The four were gathered in Sandry's room. Sandry, Tris, and Briar had just finished their morning chores as quickly as possible in their eagerness to hear Daja's explanation for the way she had been acting. They were now waiting for Daja to speak.
"Well, I... I guess I can tell you. You are my friends, after all." Daja took a deep breath and said, "I was thinking about Kirel. Some things have been happening between us and I was trying to figure it out." Luckily, her skin was dark, otherwise the others would have been able to see her blushing.
The others were in shock. "That's why you were acting so strange?" Tris asked. Daja nodded, unable to face her friends. Briar's jaw was hanging open.
"Does this have anything to do with Kirel's visit last night?" Sandry asked. Daja nodded again, looking at her feet. "Well, why didn't you just tell us this before?" the noble asked, puzzled.
"I don't know," Daja replied. "I guess I was nervous."
Briar grinned and said, "Wow, Daj'. You'd be the last person I'd think would act like this. If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it."
***
Sandry thought about her friend's announcement all day. By the end of the day's lessons, she had an idea forming in her mind.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note: Interesting, eh? Hehe. I decided to take the focus off Kirel and show more about Discipline in this chapter. Hey! This chapter's actually longer than the others! Cool!
