Thanks: ladyknight (x2), veralidaine (x2), Kate, Kiyleine, Stacey, Lady of the Lilacs (x2), Lady Kewlness of Queenscove, Keita (x2), Lady Sandrilene, clarylissa, kali, Karana, Dragon Princess Yuki, Cool Like Ice, Alesia, Yamani Wild Mage (x2), demented-shoelace, Peachblossom, tigeress, Lady Dragon of Spirit's Fire
I forgot to say a special thanks to Kate last chapter for helping me with the idea. If she hadn't helped sow the seed, the last chapter would not exist. As well--25 reviews! Wow! Thank you all!
Also, I can't remember if Corus had any docks near it but I looked at one of the maps and it looks like Corus is pretty close to two rivers and the edge of the Emerald Ocean, so there ya go.
Chapter Five: Friends
Neal came to see Daine the morning after the rehearsal dinner to find that she had put on some of her nicer clothes. "Hello, Neal!" she greeted him, a smile on her face.
"You're chipper this morning," Neal sounded surprised. "What's the occasion?"
Rolling her eyes, Daine looked up at Neal. "Don't tell me you forgot already. Kaddar's coming today, remember? It's fair reason for me to get a little dressed up, don't you think?"
Neal nodded. "Of course. I wasn't begrudging you the chance to dress up. I just thought...well...you know, you never get dressed up for anything." It was a struggle to keep the frown off of his face.
For a moment, Daine studied his face. Then laughter bubbled up from her throat and spilled out over her lips. "I believe you're jealous, dear Neal!" the smile grew bigger. "There's nothing for you to be jealous of, honest. Kaddar and I never had anything going on when I visited Carthak when I was younger and there certainly isn't anything going on now." She hugged Neal. "Anyway, you and I are only pretend."
"Right," Neal agreed quickly, hugging her back. I can't help thinking about Roald said last night, though. Is he right? Am I really falling for Daine again? Well, she does look rather nice today. Perhaps I should stick close, just in case. "Will you go down to the docks and wait for him like the king and queen?"
Daine nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to see him. I haven't seen Kaddar for a long time, and it'll be nice to see a friendly face again. Though I don't agree with his...practices...I still like him."
"I can imagine." Though he really couldn't.
A thought occured to Daine. "Do you want to come down to the docks with us to welcome Kaddar?"
"If you want me to," Neal answered nonchallantly while his brain screamed, YES!
"Sounds good," she agreed. She looked at Neal critically and unconciously a blush creeped up onto his cheeks. "You'll need to wear something a little more suited to be a welcoming party for the emperor of Carthak."
Neal tugged at his tunic and frowned. "This is fine."
Daine sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Come with me. We'll go find Roald and he'll show you what you should wear." She took his hand, pulled him out into the hallway, and dashed off with the knight from Queenscove without locking her door. It only took them a few moments to find the prince they sought, quickly cornering him. "Sorry to bother you, Roald, but Neal's in a fair odd position. He needs to know what to wear to the greeting."
Yawning, Roald ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't waken but an hour ago and although he was used to keeping odd hours, he was still tired. The night before had been taxing. "All right. Come on, Neal."
Daine waited outside while Roald dressed Neal appropriately. She had imagined he would look good when he came out, but nothing prepared her for what she saw when Neal strutted out of the prince's quarters. What she did see took her breath away rather abruptly. "Wow," she murmured.
He wore deep emerald green pants made of light material with a white shirt embroidered in the same emerald green around the collar and sleeves. His tunic was made of a golden material with the Tortall coat-of-arms embroidered over his heart. "You like?" Neal asked softly.
"I like," nodded Daine, staring at him. She had never seen him look so good!
He smiled.
She had never noticed the way his eyes lit up when he smiled.
"Ahem," Roald coughed. "If you two are quite through, I think we should go join my father and the delegation outside?"
"Right," Neal nodded quickly and offered his arm to Daine, who accepted gracefully. What was that I saw just now? I could've sworn I saw something in her eyes when she looked at me...
They hurried out to the gate, the sun climbing higher in the sky. Most of the delegation meeting Kaddar at the water had gathered there, milling aimlessly about while Gary checked off on an attendance sheet. "I heard Raoul say that not even Stormwings could drag him out of bed today last night, so I assume Buri's with him. Other than that, we're all here, Jon."
Jonathan nodded. "Good. Everyone, mount up and move out."
Not in too much of a hurry, everybody obeyed the king's orders. Jon and Roald rode out in the front of the procession with Numair and Gary behind the prince's father and Neal and Daine behind Roald. Alanna rode in the gap between Numair and Neal, having the desire to do something more than ride. They traveled in a companionable silence for the most part with an unspoken truce between Numair and Daine.
They arrived at the docks and each dismounted, taking their places on the designated mooring place for the Carthaki ship. "Well, here we are," Roald said finally.
Alanna sank down on a post sticking up from the planks of wood that formed the dock. "This is boring."
Neal joined her, sitting on the edge of the dock with his feet dangling over the edge. A moment later, Daine sat next to him. "I'll have to agree, Alanna," Daine told her. "I wish we knew exactly when they were coming in. It would have made things fair easier."
"No kidding," Neal sighed. Numair sat on the opposite side of Alanna on one of the posts as Jon and Roald sat in chairs set up further down the dock. The sun beat down on them mercilessly like a smothering fog, humidity clinging to their clothes and making them wish they had worn shorter sleeves.
"At least the Carthakis will feel at home in this ungodly heat," Numair announced.
That elicited a few snickers from the delegation.
The hours passed by with the slow lapping of the sea against the dock and by the time the Carthaki delegation appeared on the horizon, most of the Tortallan delegation had rolled up their pant legs, removed their tunics, and rolled up their sleeves. As well, those with long hair had found something to tie it back with.
"There it is!" Daine cried. She had removed her tunic, rolled up her pants and sleeves, and had tied back her hair with one of Neal's hair ties. Groaning, the rest of them plucked at their sweat-soaked clothes and tried in vain to make their matted hair look more like hair and less like something died on their heads.
It took another forty-five minutes for the ship to anchor at the Tortallan dock, and instead of being greeted by happy Tortallan faces, they were greeted by several put-out expressions and slumped bodies.
Daine pushed her way to the front of the delegation and waited in almost breathless anticipation for the Carthaki emperor to step off of his vessel. Kaddar's slaves and nobility filed down the gangplank first and stood abreast along the edge of the dock, waiting for their leader to show himself. Almost painstakingly slow, Kaddar appeared in the door and trotted down the gangplank.
"Kaddar!" Daine cried, grinning.
"Daine!" Kaddar's face lit up as he smiled back. Quickly, he gathered the wild mage in his arms and squeezed--a friendly affection which she returned heartily. "I was hoping you'd be here!"
"Of course," Daine scoffed. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Kaddar laughed and gave her another hug. He gazed around the congregation and greeted Jonathan and Roald formally, followed by Gary, Numair, and Alanna. Finally, Kaddar's gaze landed on Neal. "Who's this?" he asked of Daine.
"Oh! This is Neal," she said. Grinning again, she took Neal's hand. "Emperor Kaddar, allow me to present Sir Nealan of Queenscove."
Neal bowed as learned during his page years and told Kaddar, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lord."
"Pleasure is all mine, Sir Nealan." Nodding, Kaddar turned to Jon, who had brought along some horses for the entire Carthaki party. The lords, however, requested that their slaves not ride horses.
The ride back to the palace was made in relative quiet, with close to the same formation as before. This time, however, Jon and Kaddar rode at the front with Roald and one of Kaddar's higher noblemen just behind, Neal and Daine paired, Numair and a nobleman, Gary and a nobleman, and Alanna and one of the noblemen. Those who didn't talk to one of the delegation talked amongst themselves while the rest of the Tortallans struggled to ignore the slaves on all sides of them.
The palace thrummed with anticipation when Kaddar and Jon first breached the gates. Fortunately, a mob hadn't formed at the gates thanks to Raoul's squads and Thayet's Riders, and the entire group stabled their horses in peace. The foreign diplomats were shown to their rooms by the servants of the palace and Jonathan and Roald led the emperor to his quarters.
"And them?" Kaddar questioned, waving a hand in the general vicinity of the well-dressed slaves that had followed them, carrying their owner's things.
"I'll take care of them," Roald assured the emperor.
Kaddar accepted that, thanked Jon and Roald for Tortall's hospitality, and went into his quarters.
***
"Jon."
Thayet caught Jonathan as he separated from their son. Startled, Jon looked up at his black-haired queen. "Yes?"
"Did you have tournament registration yet?" Thayet demanded.
The color draining from Jon's face was answer enough for her.
"Jon!" she sounded exasperated. Cringing, the king looked sheepishly at his wife. "Jon..."
"I know," he said tiredly. "I'll send the invitations to the knights right now. I'll get Kally and have her talk with the Carthakis about who wants to participate."
Thayet sighed, her shoulders sagging just a little. She knew these past couple of weeks had been taxing on everyone, especially the royal couple. Gently, she took her husband in her arms and rested her head on his shoulder. Jon returned the embrace, dropping a kiss on her forehead then her lips as she looked up at him expectantly. "I love you, you know," she whispered.
Jon smiled. "I love you too."
When Jon released her, Thayet walked the same direction she had come from to go attend to some other business, and Jon went to see about the invitations.
***
A sudden, sharp rapping at her door drew Kel's attention away from a letter she had just begun to address to her mother and father back in Mindelan. Puzzled, the lady knight rose from her seat and opened the door. "Yes?" she asked of the messenger who stood in front of her.
"M'lady." The messenger bowed. "A message from His Majesty, King Jonathan of Conte." A stiff envelope passed hands.
"Thank you," Kel replied. She turned and almost shut the door before she realized the messenger still stood at the edge of her quarters. "Oh...does he want an immediate reply?"
Nodding, the messenger straightened his posture. "Yes, m'lady."
Quickly, Kel opened the opened the envelope:
Lady Keladry of Mindelan:
You are cordially invited to participate in a tournament of skills with your peers and the Carthaki delegates. Your involvement would be much appreciated so please do not dismiss this invitation hastily. If you should decide to participate, and your decision is required by the end of the day, please check which event you would like to compete in. The tournament will take place in three days. Keep in mind that space is limited and therefore each contestant may only choose one event.
King Jonathan and Queen Thayet of Conte
Just as Numair had told her, Kel found that tilting, sword fighting, archery, and an event for the Gifted were listed below the royal seal. Kel quickly marked the space indicated next to tilting, placed the invitation back in the envelope, and handed it back to the messenger. "Thank you again!" she called after the messenger.
***
When the invitation arrived for Neal, he opened the envelope, read "you are cordially invited to participate in a tournament of skills", folded the invitation back up, stuffed it back in the envelope, looked at the messenger, and said, "Are you kidding me? I'll be on healing duty."
***
When Daine received her invitation, it read slightly different than the others addressed to the knights.
Wild Mage Veralidaine Sarrasri:
Although somewhat unorthodox, Thayet and I have decided to invite you to compete in the tournament arranged for the knights of the realm and the Carthaki delegates. You are quite known around the palace for your skill with the bow, so please indicate below whether or not you shall participate. Keep in mind that space is limited, so your reply is required within the hour. I look forward to seeing you at the tournament three days from now.
Jon
Daine smiled, checked the box that said "yes," and handed the invitation back the messenger.
***
The formal dinner that night started according to plan but the order of the dinner practiced the night before seemed to fail in the face of the adversary it stood against. Kaddar, rather than sit with Jon and Thayet at the head of the table, decided he would rather sit with Daine, explaining that he had much to tell her and much to hear. Thayet's plan began to crumble there and gradually got worse as the night wore on.
For example, once Kaddar moved down the table to sit across from the abnormally animated Daine, the emperor invited Numair and Keita down as well. Numair wound up next to Daine, causing more tension at the already stressful table. Every time Daine would allow her hand to rest on her leg or on the arm of her chair, Neal would try to hold it to keep up appearances, but every time he thought to take her hand she would be moving it around again as she explained something from the Scanran War or something after the immortals and Carthaki's known dealing with it. Accidentally, Daine had even knocked over a chalice of wine.
Kaddar had laughed.
Something about this Emperor Kaddar struck Neal the wrong way, which didn't happen very often. Generally, he thought of himself as an easy-going kind of guy unless his sense of justice was threatened. But something about this Kaddar man made him cringe inwardly.
The servants that brought in the food almost tripped over one another as they did in an attempt to look professional in the eyes of a powerful nation that, if Kaddar ever found himself overthrown, would most likely try to invade Tortall. Thayet also found that if she ever had her legs paralyzed from the thigh down she could most likely walk with her buttocks.
"...So I said, 'What are you talking about, a bird? That was clearly a dragon!'" Kaddar laughed, delivering the punchline of a half-heard joke.
Neal rolled his eyes and went over any and all torture methods he knew of. Who does this man think he is, Daine's husband? Why does he keep looking at her like that? Hello, did you not hear Daine when she told you that she and I were courting?
"Neal?" Daine asked quietly, touching his hand.
Her touch brought him out of his brooding thoughts. "Yes?"
"You're gripping that napkin fair tightly. Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
Neal looked at his opposite hand, which had gripped the linen so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Sheepishly, the healer released it and instead took Daine's hand, which had remained near his for more than three seconds. Daine gave him a smile and turned back to Kaddar, once more talking animatedly but hampered with one arm pinioned.
The dinner trailed on, Numair trying to break into the conversation every now and then but Daine and Kaddar occupying most of it. Jon tried once to gather everyone's attention but that had been when Daine had knocked over her glass and from there he figured it best to just let everything go. Typically Kaddar wouldn't be offended if Jon didn't make a speech honoring him for the long trip made from Carthak and the emperor seemed to be enjoying himself just talking to his old friend.
"It's a disaster," Thayet muttered in her husband's ear.
"Not really," he replied, squeezing her knee. "Kaddar's having a good time and so is everyone else. Except maybe Neal and Keita since they have to listen Daine and Kaddar."
Thayet mustered something of a chuckle and picked at her food. The dinner reached dessert and everyone began to settle down, stopping conversations because of the length of the meal. Kaddar and Daine still went at it though, and everyone could hear their conversation.
Finally, Neal got tired of being ignored and shoved back from the table, his chair legs scraping on the floor. He flushed, excused himself, and walked off, all eyes on him.
***
Daine hurried after Neal and found him in the infirmary. He was sitting on a chair, balancing his chin on arms that rested along the back of said chair. He looked as if he had fallen asleep.
"Neal?" she asked quietly, touching his shoulder.
Lazily, he opened one eye and looked at her. "Oh. It's you."
Taken aback, Daine jerked back like he had slapped her. "Yeah...it's me."
"Forgive this lowly servant for tearing you away from your ever-so-important conversation with the Emperor," he answered bitterly.
Daine frowned. "You're acting fair stupid. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Go back to the dinner. Leave me to wallow," he told her as he attempted to wave her off.
"Neal..."
"No. Go, Daine. We're friends, remember? This was all just to make Yuki and Numair notice us again." If that's true, why didn't I notice Yuki the entire time?
Daine placed her fingers under his chin and lifted it so he met her eyes. She seemed to look for something in the depths of his emerald green orbs and apparently found it because she nodded. Carefully, she dropped a kiss on his lips. "Friends," she whispered, and left.
"Friends..." Neal echoed.
*********************************************
Okay. Now that chapter five is over with, I wanted to bring something up. Instead of deciding on a definite pairing, I'm going to take a survey, and fan response will decide the pairing. Please vote, because your pairing just might win!
Neal/...
- Daine
- Yuki
- other (specify)
****
Daine/...
- Neal
- Numair
- other (specify)
Remember to say which character you want Neal to fall in love with and what character you want Daine to fall in love with if you choose "other." Happy voting!
I forgot to say a special thanks to Kate last chapter for helping me with the idea. If she hadn't helped sow the seed, the last chapter would not exist. As well--25 reviews! Wow! Thank you all!
Also, I can't remember if Corus had any docks near it but I looked at one of the maps and it looks like Corus is pretty close to two rivers and the edge of the Emerald Ocean, so there ya go.
Neal came to see Daine the morning after the rehearsal dinner to find that she had put on some of her nicer clothes. "Hello, Neal!" she greeted him, a smile on her face.
"You're chipper this morning," Neal sounded surprised. "What's the occasion?"
Rolling her eyes, Daine looked up at Neal. "Don't tell me you forgot already. Kaddar's coming today, remember? It's fair reason for me to get a little dressed up, don't you think?"
Neal nodded. "Of course. I wasn't begrudging you the chance to dress up. I just thought...well...you know, you never get dressed up for anything." It was a struggle to keep the frown off of his face.
For a moment, Daine studied his face. Then laughter bubbled up from her throat and spilled out over her lips. "I believe you're jealous, dear Neal!" the smile grew bigger. "There's nothing for you to be jealous of, honest. Kaddar and I never had anything going on when I visited Carthak when I was younger and there certainly isn't anything going on now." She hugged Neal. "Anyway, you and I are only pretend."
"Right," Neal agreed quickly, hugging her back. I can't help thinking about Roald said last night, though. Is he right? Am I really falling for Daine again? Well, she does look rather nice today. Perhaps I should stick close, just in case. "Will you go down to the docks and wait for him like the king and queen?"
Daine nodded enthusiastically. "I can't wait to see him. I haven't seen Kaddar for a long time, and it'll be nice to see a friendly face again. Though I don't agree with his...practices...I still like him."
"I can imagine." Though he really couldn't.
A thought occured to Daine. "Do you want to come down to the docks with us to welcome Kaddar?"
"If you want me to," Neal answered nonchallantly while his brain screamed, YES!
"Sounds good," she agreed. She looked at Neal critically and unconciously a blush creeped up onto his cheeks. "You'll need to wear something a little more suited to be a welcoming party for the emperor of Carthak."
Neal tugged at his tunic and frowned. "This is fine."
Daine sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Come with me. We'll go find Roald and he'll show you what you should wear." She took his hand, pulled him out into the hallway, and dashed off with the knight from Queenscove without locking her door. It only took them a few moments to find the prince they sought, quickly cornering him. "Sorry to bother you, Roald, but Neal's in a fair odd position. He needs to know what to wear to the greeting."
Yawning, Roald ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't waken but an hour ago and although he was used to keeping odd hours, he was still tired. The night before had been taxing. "All right. Come on, Neal."
Daine waited outside while Roald dressed Neal appropriately. She had imagined he would look good when he came out, but nothing prepared her for what she saw when Neal strutted out of the prince's quarters. What she did see took her breath away rather abruptly. "Wow," she murmured.
He wore deep emerald green pants made of light material with a white shirt embroidered in the same emerald green around the collar and sleeves. His tunic was made of a golden material with the Tortall coat-of-arms embroidered over his heart. "You like?" Neal asked softly.
"I like," nodded Daine, staring at him. She had never seen him look so good!
He smiled.
She had never noticed the way his eyes lit up when he smiled.
"Ahem," Roald coughed. "If you two are quite through, I think we should go join my father and the delegation outside?"
"Right," Neal nodded quickly and offered his arm to Daine, who accepted gracefully. What was that I saw just now? I could've sworn I saw something in her eyes when she looked at me...
They hurried out to the gate, the sun climbing higher in the sky. Most of the delegation meeting Kaddar at the water had gathered there, milling aimlessly about while Gary checked off on an attendance sheet. "I heard Raoul say that not even Stormwings could drag him out of bed today last night, so I assume Buri's with him. Other than that, we're all here, Jon."
Jonathan nodded. "Good. Everyone, mount up and move out."
Not in too much of a hurry, everybody obeyed the king's orders. Jon and Roald rode out in the front of the procession with Numair and Gary behind the prince's father and Neal and Daine behind Roald. Alanna rode in the gap between Numair and Neal, having the desire to do something more than ride. They traveled in a companionable silence for the most part with an unspoken truce between Numair and Daine.
They arrived at the docks and each dismounted, taking their places on the designated mooring place for the Carthaki ship. "Well, here we are," Roald said finally.
Alanna sank down on a post sticking up from the planks of wood that formed the dock. "This is boring."
Neal joined her, sitting on the edge of the dock with his feet dangling over the edge. A moment later, Daine sat next to him. "I'll have to agree, Alanna," Daine told her. "I wish we knew exactly when they were coming in. It would have made things fair easier."
"No kidding," Neal sighed. Numair sat on the opposite side of Alanna on one of the posts as Jon and Roald sat in chairs set up further down the dock. The sun beat down on them mercilessly like a smothering fog, humidity clinging to their clothes and making them wish they had worn shorter sleeves.
"At least the Carthakis will feel at home in this ungodly heat," Numair announced.
That elicited a few snickers from the delegation.
The hours passed by with the slow lapping of the sea against the dock and by the time the Carthaki delegation appeared on the horizon, most of the Tortallan delegation had rolled up their pant legs, removed their tunics, and rolled up their sleeves. As well, those with long hair had found something to tie it back with.
"There it is!" Daine cried. She had removed her tunic, rolled up her pants and sleeves, and had tied back her hair with one of Neal's hair ties. Groaning, the rest of them plucked at their sweat-soaked clothes and tried in vain to make their matted hair look more like hair and less like something died on their heads.
It took another forty-five minutes for the ship to anchor at the Tortallan dock, and instead of being greeted by happy Tortallan faces, they were greeted by several put-out expressions and slumped bodies.
Daine pushed her way to the front of the delegation and waited in almost breathless anticipation for the Carthaki emperor to step off of his vessel. Kaddar's slaves and nobility filed down the gangplank first and stood abreast along the edge of the dock, waiting for their leader to show himself. Almost painstakingly slow, Kaddar appeared in the door and trotted down the gangplank.
"Kaddar!" Daine cried, grinning.
"Daine!" Kaddar's face lit up as he smiled back. Quickly, he gathered the wild mage in his arms and squeezed--a friendly affection which she returned heartily. "I was hoping you'd be here!"
"Of course," Daine scoffed. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Kaddar laughed and gave her another hug. He gazed around the congregation and greeted Jonathan and Roald formally, followed by Gary, Numair, and Alanna. Finally, Kaddar's gaze landed on Neal. "Who's this?" he asked of Daine.
"Oh! This is Neal," she said. Grinning again, she took Neal's hand. "Emperor Kaddar, allow me to present Sir Nealan of Queenscove."
Neal bowed as learned during his page years and told Kaddar, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lord."
"Pleasure is all mine, Sir Nealan." Nodding, Kaddar turned to Jon, who had brought along some horses for the entire Carthaki party. The lords, however, requested that their slaves not ride horses.
The ride back to the palace was made in relative quiet, with close to the same formation as before. This time, however, Jon and Kaddar rode at the front with Roald and one of Kaddar's higher noblemen just behind, Neal and Daine paired, Numair and a nobleman, Gary and a nobleman, and Alanna and one of the noblemen. Those who didn't talk to one of the delegation talked amongst themselves while the rest of the Tortallans struggled to ignore the slaves on all sides of them.
The palace thrummed with anticipation when Kaddar and Jon first breached the gates. Fortunately, a mob hadn't formed at the gates thanks to Raoul's squads and Thayet's Riders, and the entire group stabled their horses in peace. The foreign diplomats were shown to their rooms by the servants of the palace and Jonathan and Roald led the emperor to his quarters.
"And them?" Kaddar questioned, waving a hand in the general vicinity of the well-dressed slaves that had followed them, carrying their owner's things.
"I'll take care of them," Roald assured the emperor.
Kaddar accepted that, thanked Jon and Roald for Tortall's hospitality, and went into his quarters.
"Jon."
Thayet caught Jonathan as he separated from their son. Startled, Jon looked up at his black-haired queen. "Yes?"
"Did you have tournament registration yet?" Thayet demanded.
The color draining from Jon's face was answer enough for her.
"Jon!" she sounded exasperated. Cringing, the king looked sheepishly at his wife. "Jon..."
"I know," he said tiredly. "I'll send the invitations to the knights right now. I'll get Kally and have her talk with the Carthakis about who wants to participate."
Thayet sighed, her shoulders sagging just a little. She knew these past couple of weeks had been taxing on everyone, especially the royal couple. Gently, she took her husband in her arms and rested her head on his shoulder. Jon returned the embrace, dropping a kiss on her forehead then her lips as she looked up at him expectantly. "I love you, you know," she whispered.
Jon smiled. "I love you too."
When Jon released her, Thayet walked the same direction she had come from to go attend to some other business, and Jon went to see about the invitations.
A sudden, sharp rapping at her door drew Kel's attention away from a letter she had just begun to address to her mother and father back in Mindelan. Puzzled, the lady knight rose from her seat and opened the door. "Yes?" she asked of the messenger who stood in front of her.
"M'lady." The messenger bowed. "A message from His Majesty, King Jonathan of Conte." A stiff envelope passed hands.
"Thank you," Kel replied. She turned and almost shut the door before she realized the messenger still stood at the edge of her quarters. "Oh...does he want an immediate reply?"
Nodding, the messenger straightened his posture. "Yes, m'lady."
Quickly, Kel opened the opened the envelope:
Lady Keladry of Mindelan:
You are cordially invited to participate in a tournament of skills with your peers and the Carthaki delegates. Your involvement would be much appreciated so please do not dismiss this invitation hastily. If you should decide to participate, and your decision is required by the end of the day, please check which event you would like to compete in. The tournament will take place in three days. Keep in mind that space is limited and therefore each contestant may only choose one event.
King Jonathan and Queen Thayet of Conte
Just as Numair had told her, Kel found that tilting, sword fighting, archery, and an event for the Gifted were listed below the royal seal. Kel quickly marked the space indicated next to tilting, placed the invitation back in the envelope, and handed it back to the messenger. "Thank you again!" she called after the messenger.
When the invitation arrived for Neal, he opened the envelope, read "you are cordially invited to participate in a tournament of skills", folded the invitation back up, stuffed it back in the envelope, looked at the messenger, and said, "Are you kidding me? I'll be on healing duty."
When Daine received her invitation, it read slightly different than the others addressed to the knights.
Wild Mage Veralidaine Sarrasri:
Although somewhat unorthodox, Thayet and I have decided to invite you to compete in the tournament arranged for the knights of the realm and the Carthaki delegates. You are quite known around the palace for your skill with the bow, so please indicate below whether or not you shall participate. Keep in mind that space is limited, so your reply is required within the hour. I look forward to seeing you at the tournament three days from now.
Jon
Daine smiled, checked the box that said "yes," and handed the invitation back the messenger.
The formal dinner that night started according to plan but the order of the dinner practiced the night before seemed to fail in the face of the adversary it stood against. Kaddar, rather than sit with Jon and Thayet at the head of the table, decided he would rather sit with Daine, explaining that he had much to tell her and much to hear. Thayet's plan began to crumble there and gradually got worse as the night wore on.
For example, once Kaddar moved down the table to sit across from the abnormally animated Daine, the emperor invited Numair and Keita down as well. Numair wound up next to Daine, causing more tension at the already stressful table. Every time Daine would allow her hand to rest on her leg or on the arm of her chair, Neal would try to hold it to keep up appearances, but every time he thought to take her hand she would be moving it around again as she explained something from the Scanran War or something after the immortals and Carthaki's known dealing with it. Accidentally, Daine had even knocked over a chalice of wine.
Kaddar had laughed.
Something about this Emperor Kaddar struck Neal the wrong way, which didn't happen very often. Generally, he thought of himself as an easy-going kind of guy unless his sense of justice was threatened. But something about this Kaddar man made him cringe inwardly.
The servants that brought in the food almost tripped over one another as they did in an attempt to look professional in the eyes of a powerful nation that, if Kaddar ever found himself overthrown, would most likely try to invade Tortall. Thayet also found that if she ever had her legs paralyzed from the thigh down she could most likely walk with her buttocks.
"...So I said, 'What are you talking about, a bird? That was clearly a dragon!'" Kaddar laughed, delivering the punchline of a half-heard joke.
Neal rolled his eyes and went over any and all torture methods he knew of. Who does this man think he is, Daine's husband? Why does he keep looking at her like that? Hello, did you not hear Daine when she told you that she and I were courting?
"Neal?" Daine asked quietly, touching his hand.
Her touch brought him out of his brooding thoughts. "Yes?"
"You're gripping that napkin fair tightly. Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.
Neal looked at his opposite hand, which had gripped the linen so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Sheepishly, the healer released it and instead took Daine's hand, which had remained near his for more than three seconds. Daine gave him a smile and turned back to Kaddar, once more talking animatedly but hampered with one arm pinioned.
The dinner trailed on, Numair trying to break into the conversation every now and then but Daine and Kaddar occupying most of it. Jon tried once to gather everyone's attention but that had been when Daine had knocked over her glass and from there he figured it best to just let everything go. Typically Kaddar wouldn't be offended if Jon didn't make a speech honoring him for the long trip made from Carthak and the emperor seemed to be enjoying himself just talking to his old friend.
"It's a disaster," Thayet muttered in her husband's ear.
"Not really," he replied, squeezing her knee. "Kaddar's having a good time and so is everyone else. Except maybe Neal and Keita since they have to listen Daine and Kaddar."
Thayet mustered something of a chuckle and picked at her food. The dinner reached dessert and everyone began to settle down, stopping conversations because of the length of the meal. Kaddar and Daine still went at it though, and everyone could hear their conversation.
Finally, Neal got tired of being ignored and shoved back from the table, his chair legs scraping on the floor. He flushed, excused himself, and walked off, all eyes on him.
Daine hurried after Neal and found him in the infirmary. He was sitting on a chair, balancing his chin on arms that rested along the back of said chair. He looked as if he had fallen asleep.
"Neal?" she asked quietly, touching his shoulder.
Lazily, he opened one eye and looked at her. "Oh. It's you."
Taken aback, Daine jerked back like he had slapped her. "Yeah...it's me."
"Forgive this lowly servant for tearing you away from your ever-so-important conversation with the Emperor," he answered bitterly.
Daine frowned. "You're acting fair stupid. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Go back to the dinner. Leave me to wallow," he told her as he attempted to wave her off.
"Neal..."
"No. Go, Daine. We're friends, remember? This was all just to make Yuki and Numair notice us again." If that's true, why didn't I notice Yuki the entire time?
Daine placed her fingers under his chin and lifted it so he met her eyes. She seemed to look for something in the depths of his emerald green orbs and apparently found it because she nodded. Carefully, she dropped a kiss on his lips. "Friends," she whispered, and left.
"Friends..." Neal echoed.
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Okay. Now that chapter five is over with, I wanted to bring something up. Instead of deciding on a definite pairing, I'm going to take a survey, and fan response will decide the pairing. Please vote, because your pairing just might win!
Neal/...
- Daine
- Yuki
- other (specify)
****
Daine/...
- Neal
- Numair
- other (specify)
Remember to say which character you want Neal to fall in love with and what character you want Daine to fall in love with if you choose "other." Happy voting!