Description: Things finally come to a boil between Daine and Numair as their desires and fears come between them.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Everything belongs to Tamora Pierce.
Author's Note: Okay, so I got a little bit carried away and instead of just mentioning that Numair had ongoing experiments, I channelled the mage and got in a scholarly mindset and came up with a load of workings that could divert a curious mind. This is just one of them.
I wanted to bring up the subject of Perrin again, but without making him anything more than just a young man who's attracted to a beautiful young woman. He's probably not much different to how Numair was in his boyhood. This is probably as close to a 'fight' as I'm going to get between the mages as they don't strike me as the types to really have them. For me it's just their stubbornness butting heads until one of them decides to compromise.
Chapter 5
The days rolled by lazily and soon the mage's brain grew bored of writing up notes on the Immortals. Even his thesis didn't inspire him enough to sit down and put it to paper. He needed a challenge for his mind, something that would provide him with a different challenge to the one his Wildmage was setting for him.
His idea of taking things slowly and hers were radically different. While she hadn't tried to undress him again, her hands were constantly exploring and touching whenever they were in his rooms. Daine had already uncovered several of his weak spots and she was enjoying his reactions, especially when they kissed. He, on the other hand, was struggling to remain polite and not reciprocate. It was an endless exquisite torment, both frustrating and thrilling in equal proportions.
Numair had wanted to finish all his paperwork before he agreed to the king's request that he help with the college experiments, but he couldn't deny his own curiosity any longer. The mage had to admit to himself that he would be far more productive if he had several projects to work on at once.
As he exited the palace and headed towards the mage's college, Numair spotted Daine in the gardens. Smiling broadly, the mage headed in her direction until he saw who she was with. He had completely forgotten about the clerk he'd seen her kissing on several occasions over winter. The young woman was smiling shyly as the clerk, Perrin had been his name, was slowly manoeuvring her towards an alcove.
Months of not interfering in Daine's affairs had the mage turn away from the scene in front of him and head towards the college. It could all just be innocent talk but that didn't stop it feeling like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. The clerk was young, closer to Daine in age, with good looks and quite smart from the accounts he'd heard from others. Could he really believe she wouldn't be attracted to someone more like the clerk than a mage almost twice her age.
Numair felt like he'd aged a decade when he entered the college and uncovered Harailt from his study. The Dean was more than happy to show him around and explain the various projects they were working on. It was a welcome distraction from his fears about his friend as he let himself become immersed in magic and experiments. It was late afternoon when the mage left the college with a collection of Stormwing parts he wanted to experiment with. Numair had always been fascinated by the creatures who were a combination of steel and flesh and were unlike any of the other Immortals. The mage wanted to understand how the pieces interacted with each other on a cellular level. It was a project more suited to the medical mages, but they'd all rolled their eyes at him wondering how anyone could be interested in knowing that. Numair honestly couldn't understand how anyone wouldn't be interested in knowing how steel grew out of flesh, but it gave him something concentrate on.
The mage entered his workroom and cleared a space on his table. Before beginning any new working, he refreshed the wards around the room and put a preservation spell over the samples. As he was dealing with Stormwing parts, Numair added a further layer of protection spells to prevent the smell from leaking into his rooms. Placing one of the pieces in his optical-instrument the mage began to examine them under the magnifying lens.
After several hours lost in his examinations an inquisitive chirp interrupted him from his work. Numair looked up to see Kitten stood in the doorway standing on her haunches trying to see what he was working on.
"Hello, sweetheart," he smiled at the dragonet.
"So, this is where you've been hiding."
"Daine," Numair smiled hesitantly as the young woman appeared.
The mage carefully stored his samples and exited his workroom. No one could enter or get through his wards without his permission, except for one certain dragonet. Nothing, not even his strongest wards, could keep Kitten out of a room she wished to get into. However, since Numair had lost his temper a couple of years back, having found her in his workroom drinking quicksilver, she had never entered without his permission ever again. He'd terrified the young dragon, which was mutual as he'd feared she'd poisoned herself, but apparently a dragon could eat anything without getting sick.
Closing the workroom door, the mage turned to regard the young woman and his dragon-daughter. "What can I do for you both?"
"Can you take Kit to dinner?" Daine asked going onto her tiptoes and brushing a kiss against his lips.
"You aren't joining us?" he asked worriedly.
"I will in a bit," she rested her hands on his chest looking up at him. "I've got to speak to someone first."
Numair carefully blanked his face. "Would that person be a certain clerk?"
"Yes. How did you know?" the young woman frowned.
"I saw you with him today in the gardens when I was headed towards the college," the mage stated.
"So that's where you've been today," the Wildmage shook her head causing her curls to dance about her face. "Perrin interrupted me while I was trying to heal one of the palace dogs. He'd made himself fair sick eating things that ought not to be eaten," the mage assumed she meant the dog and not the clerk. "I told Perrin I'd speak to him later. Why do you smell so bad?"
Numair blushed. "I was examining Storming feathers and skin samples."
Daine wrinkled her nose. "You should probably wash and change before you eat anything then. I'll see you later."
The mage couldn't help the trepidation he felt as he watched the young woman leave his rooms. It could very well be nothing or perhaps she was interested in renewing her relations with the young clerk. Kitten chirped from the floor and approached him cautiously to sniff his breeches. She squawked and backed away her scales tinged with green.
"Alright, I get the hint. I'll wash up and change and take you to dinner," Numair chuckled.
The dragonet nodded and headed to investigate her 'toybox'. The mage had gathered a collection of items over the years, both magical and mundane, in a box that Kitten could play with whenever she visited his rooms. He smiled at her fondly wondering if he should also get her a basket for his rooms in case she wanted to nap here or spend the night.
Once he had washed and dressed in a fresh set of clothes, the man and dragon headed to the dining hall. They were halfway through their meal when Daine finally joined them. Numair tried not to stare as he attempted to decipher if her cheeks were flushed from kissing or from running. Her lips didn't look bruised, but his stomach tied itself into knots as he began to fret.
After dinner, Daine and Kitten returned to the mage's rooms as Numair retreated to his study. The Wildmage settled the sleepy dragonet onto a comfy chair before coming to find him.
"You aren't reading to Kit tonight?"
The mage shuffled some papers on his desk as an excuse to do something with his hands. "Daine – would you rather be with the clerk?"
"Perrin?" she blinked in confusion.
Numair looked away unable to conceal the agony in his heart. "I would ask that you not give me false hope if you prefer that young man over me."
"You dolt!" Daine stormed around the table and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling him into a very forceful kiss. "I met with Perrin tonight to tell him not to expect anything more to happen between us. That I wasn't interested anymore," she told him once she'd broken the kiss.
He searched her stormy eyes wondering if that could be true. "I saw you with him on several occasions over winter. Are you certain –"
The young woman pulled him into another very passionate kiss effectively silencing him. Numair wrapped his arms around her enjoying this way of shutting him up.
The kiss continued for several minutes before Daine pulled back meeting his gaze determinedly. "Now you listen to me you daft man. I do not prefer any other man over you, d'you hear me?"
The mage blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Yes, ma'am."
She rolled her eyes at him and pulled him in for another kiss. Numair lifted Daine off her feet as the young woman's hands delved into his hair. The kiss quickly became heated, as her hands began to roam to his neck and back. They separated, breathing hard, as the mage set the young woman back on her feet. Daine smiled and buried her face into his chest, nuzzling him happily, causing Numair to shiver.
She grinned up at him mischievously. "You really like that, don't you?"
"Daine, you are bordering on dangerous territory again," he warned feeling himself tremble.
"What would happen if I kissed you there?" she asked impishly.
Numair swallowed, closing his eyes and began counting backwards in Old Thak until he felt her lips press against his chest. His eyes flew open in shock as he stared down at her boldness. Daine grinned and began to rain little kisses over the available skin.
Something snapped inside the mage as he swept her up in his arms and carried the young woman into his bedchamber. He dumped her unceremoniously onto the bed and climbed on top of her. Daine's eyes were wide and dark as he seized her wrists, capturing her mouth in a fierce kiss. Sliding his knee between her thighs, he began to lavish attention on her neck and jaw. The young woman whimpered and writhed beneath him, rubbing against his leg as he kissed, nibbled and sucked on every sensitive spot he could identify.
"That is what would happen," he growled as the mage released her and rolled off.
Numair flopped onto his back and flung an arm over his eyes as he tried to calm his pounding heart. He was painfully aroused and trembling all over. It was difficult to dredge up even a whisper of self-restraint. The mage felt the young woman shift beside him as she reached out a hand to touch his arm.
"Numair?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes," he replied roughly.
"When will you go further than just kisses with me?"
"Probably a lot sooner than I would like if you keep this up." The mage removed his arm from his face and shot her a heated look.
Daine bit her lip and frowned. "You do want me, don't you?"
"Darling, in what way can you possibly misconstrue my reaction to you just now?" he asked in disbelief. "Of course I want you!"
"You keep stopping," she mumbled.
Numair scrubbed a hand through his hair praying to any god for patience. "Sweetling, I want you to understand that I desire more than just sex with you. I don't want you to mistake this for an affair or purely a physical attraction."
"I'm fair certain you love me and want more than just canoodling. How long do I have to wait before you realise I love you, and I don't want anybody else?" Daine stated frankly.
He rolled over to face her, reaching out to caress her cheek tenderly. "I don't know. I'm afraid, Daine. I'm finding it hard to believe you could possibly love me as much as I love you. You're so young… You could easily grow tired of me and want a younger man."
She placed her hand over his pressing her cheek against it. "I really do love you."
Numair smiled and leaned in to brush his lips against hers. "Just keep reminding me of that. One day it might sink in."
"You're fair frustrating, you know?" the young woman chided shifting uncomfortably.
"I know. I'm sorry." He had a very good idea how 'frustrated' she might be and shared in that frustration.
"You're not planning on making me wait until we're married, are you?" the young woman glared at him.
"No –" he'd given up on that idea when Daine had actively started trying to seduce him. There was only so long a man could resist when a young, beautiful woman as incredible as her kept throwing herself at him. "Not unless you have reconsidered my marriage proposal?"
Daine rolled her eyes at him. "There are girls younger'n me who've already been canoodled with and aren't married."
"I want something better than that life for you," he said earnestly.
"That's fair sweet of you. But I'm a woman grown, and I know what I want." Daine ran her fingers through his hair which now hung loose around his shoulders.
"Do you?" he asked seriously. "Do you want me in your bed for the rest of your life?"
"Why do we keep coming back to this?" she huffed in exasperation.
"Because I don't want an affair, Daine," he said firmly. "I love you. I can't bear the thought of finally having you, to then wake up one day and for you to see me as nothing but an old man."
"It's more likely you'll tire of me and go looking for some court beauty." The young woman got off the bed and marched out the door.
Numair sighed and followed her into the central room. "I told you in the Divine Realms that I needed some form of commitment before I could go through with this."
"And I told you I'm not ready for any of that," Daine retorted.
"Then we're at an impasse," he said as they stared at each other stubbornly. "Why don't you take some time to think about it? Try to decide if you want more than sex with me because I make you feel good, or if you could spend the rest of your life with me."
"I'm not going to be able to decide that in a few days," she snapped.
"Then take all the time you need," the mage responded gently.
Daine's eyes filled with pain as she whirled and headed towards the sleeping dragonet.
"Let her sleep," Numair said more sharply than he'd intended. "Don't disturb her now she's settled."
The young woman looked at him with unshed tears in her eyes as her chin raised defiantly. "Goodnight then."
"Goodnight," he replied softly as Daine fled his rooms. "I love you, my darling."
For two days the Wildmage didn't visit him in the afternoons, although Kitten came to join Numair for a few hours every day. The mage had continued to place a flower on her door every morning although he wasn't sure if she was wearing them. Numair found the separation almost unbearable but forced himself to give the young woman some space. He knew with absolute certainty that she was the only woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but he'd been with other women and knew from all his previous affairs that it was different with Daine. She was the only one who made him feel complete. It was probably too much to expect of a woman of sixteen to know if she could spend the rest of her life with him. When Numair had been sixteen, he'd had no desire to settle down or think about marriage. Thankfully, neither had Varice which was why things had worked so well between the two of them. But the mage had matured over the years and now, in his thirties, he wasn't interested in having affairs anymore. He wanted to wake up beside the woman he loved with all his heart every morning.
On the third day a knock sounded at his door, but instead of Daine it was Onua who stood on the other side.
"What brings you up here?" he asked smiling broadly.
The K'miri often teased him about locking himself away in his rooms, but it was rare to see her away from the stables or the training fields.
"I wanted to talk to you – about Daine," Onua looked up at him, concern in her grey-green eyes.
Numair's heart sank as he offered his friend a seat. "What about her?"
"She's in a foul mood and I know it has something to do with you," she shot him a sharp look. "What happened?"
The mage sighed as he took a seat. "We had a – difference of opinion."
"About Daine's new swain?" Onua asked and he nodded. The K'miri sighed and leaned back in the chair. "Who is he?"
"I will not break her confidence and reveal his name," Numair said sternly. "That is Daine's choice to make."
The woman grimaced and sighed. "Is the boy good enough for her?"
The mage winced and decided it was easier to skirt the truth than to lie outright. "I can honestly tell you that he isn't."
"Is that you being overprotective, because no one is good enough for her? Or because the boy really is bad news?" Onua probed.
"He's had numerous affairs and has a rather damning reputation," Numair answered flatly.
The K'miri scowled. "He seems quite serious about her."
"I believe he is."
Onua sighed and stood, "I'll have another talk with her. See if we can't sort this out. See you at dinner?"
He smiled as he let her out of his rooms. Describing himself in such coarse terms, he had no doubt the K'miri would try to convince Daine she could do better. With a bitter laugh the mage decided to make a start on his thesis. This was possibly as close as he might get to the young woman in a long time.
When he entered the dining hall that evening, Onua hauled him out into a corridor almost red with fury. "You forgot to mention this swain was insisting on marriage!" Numair cringed wondering how much Daine had revealed. "And you think she should marry him! I don't see you proposing to any of the women you've taken to your bed! How can you insist she marry someone you say isn't good enough for her? You know what happened to me. I can't believe you would condemn Daine to a loveless marriage."
"Does she love him?" he asked more to find out how much his friend knew.
"She wouldn't say but I doubt it," the K'miri growled. "He's only been courting her for a month. That's not love! Even you have to admit that."
"A life filled with affairs isn't a very fulfilling one," Numair said bitterly.
"Spoken from experience!" Onua snarled at him. "I've told her not to listen to you. If she wants to take a tumble with the boy, then that's up to her, but under no circumstances is she to agree to marriage."
Even while trying to keep their friends out of their relationship, he and Daine couldn't seem to avoid getting their opinions anyway. The mage sighed as the K'miri turned on her heel and stalked back into the dining hall.
Numair took a tray to his rooms in the end not wanting to suffer under the wrathful gaze of either of his friends. If even one of them told Alanna, he would be in more trouble than he'd know how to handle. The Lioness would likely truss him up and use him for tilting practice.
After dinner the mage decided he'd had enough of being couped up in his rooms and went for a walk. It was a warm, clear summer night as he headed towards the royal forest. It felt good to stretch his legs as the mage snapped his fingers to create a light for him to see by. The forest was filled with sounds of nocturnal animals and Numair felt a twinge knowing that if Daine were here, she'd be conversing with all of them as they came to visit. He missed sharing that with her. This last month of quiet had been wonderful and exactly what he needed, but it had just been him, Daine and Kitten. Numair loved sharing in the Wildmage's magic, and he felt like that had been taken away from him recently.
Finding the open clearing the mage had been aiming for, he lay on the grass and stared at the night sky. It had been a long time since he'd done any stargazing and it was a shame there were no meteor showers tonight. A rustle of leaves behind him had the mage readying his Gift.
"Hello," the Wildmage said uncertainly as she approached.
"Daine, what are you doing here?" Numair extinguished his magic frowning at the young woman.
"I came to find you," she scuffed the dirt with a boot. "The tawney owl said you'd come this way. Can I join you?"
"Of course."
The mage settled back on the grass and returned his attention to the stars as Daine lay down beside him. Neither spoke for quite some time and Numair wondered if she was expecting him to say something.
"Why'd you tell Onua you aren't good enough for me?" she asked softly.
"I was being honest," he replied. "I'm hardly the sort of man to be considered an appropriate match for you. My reputation in court alone condemns me."
"So, you don't want to be with me?" Daine frowned in confusion.
The mage sighed running a hand over his face. "Of course, I do. I love you, Daine. I love you with everything I am, and I would gladly spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of you. That doesn't change the fact that I am almost twice your age."
The young woman rolled onto her elbow and scowled at him. "I don't care about that."
"You might one day," Numair whispered feeling anguish tear at his insides.
Daine grimaced and lay down again staring at the night sky. It hurt to have her so close and not touch her in some way. He wanted to hold her hand or wrap his arms around her, kissing away the pain he was causing.
"I don't like fighting with you about this." Her voice was so quiet he almost didn't hear. "I miss you."
The mage turned his head to look at her bathed in starlight. "I miss you too, sweetling."
Daine looked at him, her eyes filled with sorrow and his defences broke. Sliding his arm under her shoulders he pulled her against his side, kissing her forehead tenderly. The young woman sighed happily and snuggled into him resting her head on his shoulder.
"We still haven't solved anything," she said once she was settled.
"I know," Numair sighed. "Can we take things slowly for a while? Please?" he asked needing her to understand this. Keeping his distance from her was proving to be impossible, but he wanted so much more with her. "I know you are eager to go to bed with me and I am flattered – more than flattered – but I really would prefer to court you properly. To give you the opportunity to consider me. I won't insist on matrimony if you aren't ready."
"You're acting like we don't know each other." Daine looked up at him. "We've been friends for more'n four years and lived with each other across a campfire for a lot of that time. I don't think most women who take a man to their bed know them half as well as we know each other."
The mage really hated her reasonable arguments sometimes. They were very hard to disagree with. "You make a good point."
"And?" she demanded.
Numair took her hand bringing it to his lips. "I mean it, Daine. I want to do things properly with you. Can you accept that?"
The young woman huffed but didn't take back her hand. "Stubborn man! I'll have to, won't I? Elsewise you'll never kiss me again. Unless you're telling me, you won't do that either?" she glared at him.
The mage rolled onto his side wrapping his arms around her as he eased his lips over hers. "I wouldn't dream of denying you kisses, my love."
The couple lay on the grass for several hours, the night sky completely forgotten, while they kissed and held each other.
