A/N: This is in response to a reviewer saying that they were confused and wondering if Lise is Daine's sister. Lise is not Daine's sister. She is the great-granddaughter of Shakith, goddess of seers; her father and grandfather were of the Mortal Realms. Daine is the daughter of Weiryn and Sarra. I suppose, if Weiryn and Shakith were really distantly related, that Lise and Daine would also be really distantly related, but they're not. Well, I assume they're not. Correct me if I'm wrong.
A/N #2: Sarra maintains that Daine was conceived at Beltane, a festival that is either in late April or early May. Would anyone have any qualms if I set her birthday around late January or early February? Or does anyone else have any opinion as to when her birthday is? Somebody get back to me please (:
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"Numair Salmalín," a crisp voice said from beyond the doorway. "Open up this instant."
The mage refused to heed the summons. He sat in his armchair with Kitten on his lap, the mirror with which he'd used to speak with Tkaa thrown off to one side. Man and dragon alike felt equally guilty on having put Daine's life in further peril, the former from not having researched Kitten's capabilities before sanctioning her activity, and the latter from sheer ignorance of the extents of her ability.
"Numair," the voice came again, more ominous this time. "If you don't get up and unlock this door like a civilized person, I will open it of my own accord, and when I finish with it, there won't be a door to lock."
He barely heard the speaker, but the explosion of wood and splinters erupting behind him definitely received his attention. However, Numair didn't even have the time to turn around and chastise who he knew would be there.
"Just what do you think you're doing, holing up in here?" Alanna demanded, her stout red-haired form standing in front of Numair's armchair, violet eyes blazing.
"Thinking," Numair replied shortly.
"Oh, thinking?" Alanna said mockingly. "Is that the new avant-garde word for "moping"? And of all people or animals to be accompanying you, it would have to be Kitten. Surely dragons should know better?"
Kitten raised her head and blew a half-hearted whistle at the knight.
"That's pathetic," Alanna spat. "You two are pathetic. What good do you think you're doing for Daine, sitting here and isolating yourselves from a group of people who are really trying to help her? Get up and get out of this room. I want to see both of you in the common room in ten minutes, and you had better be eating something and listening to our discussions or something more permanent will be happening to the both of you. Do you hear?"
Numair stared dully past her out the window, barely registering her words, saying nothing.
"I said," Alanna repeated slowly, "do you hear?"
Finally, Numair nodded.
"I'm glad to see you still function, even if it is in a senile kind of way," she said brusquely, and swept out of the room, stepping through the charred doorway.
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Alanna regretted being so harsh on her long-time friend, especially since he was in such pain. She mentally justified her actions as she returned to the common room, where the king and queen were sitting. Numair wasn't doing anyone any good by fazing out like he was, and the group was really in need of his magical expertise. When Tkaa had called on her mirror that morning, Alanna had been startled by the information, but she'd come back to herself quickly as she realized that Numair would be in recession. The only thing she could come up with to startle him enough for a return back to his senses was to be callous. She hoped she'd done the right thing as she flopped back down onto her chair.
"Well?" Jonathan asked morosely. "Is he coming out?"
"I certainly hope so," Alanna replied, "though I had to blast through his door to even get his attention."
"We heard," Thayet said dryly.
"He's completely undone," Alanna said worriedly. "He's just sitting in a chair, with Daine's dragon on his lap, staring out the window. I've never seen him in such a state."
Jonathan sighed. "Love does funny things to people. He just needs some time."
"We haven't got that," Alanna protested. "Tkaa said they were in Scanra, for crying out loud. Who knows what could happen to them? If they're killed, there will almost certainly be a feud over it, the Whitecross girl being Kaddar's relation. And if we lose Daine, Numair will be completely incapacitated. We need to speak with Kaddar. Maybe he can help us."
A knock sounded at the door to the large suite of rooms designated for the use of the Tortallan delegation.
"Who is it?" Thayet called.
"It is the emperor," an even voice replied politely.
The queen's left eyebrow rose. "How curious," she remarked as she rose to open the door. "Your Imperial Majesty," she addressed the emperor, curtsying elegantly.
"Your Majesties, Lady Knight," Kaddar said courteously, nodding at the persons present. "If I may come in," he continued without break for response, "I think we have things to discuss."
Jonathan recognized the strain in Kaddar's voice that he was diplomatically trying to conceal, and realized that something was disturbing him. "By all means, Your Imperial Majesty," he said, wearing a gracious, equally diplomatic smile, "do come in. We desire to hear your words."
Thayet stepped aside gracefully to let the emperor enter, and closed the door behind him. "Please, sit," she told him, waving her hand at any number of chairs.
Kaddar sat facing the king in a chair adjacent to Alanna's at the round conference table. "We do know each other, don't we, Jonathan?" he said casually, using the king's name. "Please, let us drop the formalities. It is said that people come closer together through hardship, and I have a feeling that we are going to go through much of that before the year closes."
The king nodded. Being the monarch of his own country, he saw through Kaddar's words. In times of trouble, a wifeless emperor would be alone in ruling as he saw fit, often in need of companionship. Jonathan sometimes felt the same way when Thayet was away from Corus. "Yes. Kaddar, why don't you tell us what we need to know?"
Kaddar sighed. "The disappearance of my cousin and Daine has caused endless numbers of protests and letters to be sent to the imperial court. Various factions are speaking out against her disappearance. They say she won my favour, spending time in the palace so as to gain knowledge about the procedures and workings of Carthak. She's run away now, to join the rebel groups in the south, and provide them with her information. Lisette of Whitecross is a spy, and she's gone to enrich the rebellions with her knowledge.
"To put it succinctly, there's going to be civil strife in Carthak before long. My people are unhappy with the way I've been ruling. They say I'm weak because I refuse to do nothing about Lisette. They want me to hunt down the rebel groups and find her to bring her to justice. All of those groups and errant nobles I'd made peace with after their disagreements with my uncle Ozorne are turning against me once again. I don't know what to do," he finished, his composure coming apart.
"We're allies," Thayet declared, answering the question that all had in their minds – whether or not Tortall and Carthak would work together in this. Each wanted to collaborate with the other, but neither would say so. Thayet gave Alanna a look – men were stubborn, and needed to be prodded into making the first step.
Alanna smiled at the queen. "Yes," she said, addressing everyone, "we'll work together to solve this. Lisette is as important to us as Daine, and we'll do everything we can to hold your empire together. Won't we, Jonathan?" she asked the king pointedly.
"Of course," Jonathan affirmed. He held his hand out to Kaddar over the conference table.
Kaddar took his hand, and they exchanged a firm handshake. "Carthak is forever in debt to Tortall."
"Nonsense," Thayet said, smiling charmingly. "We will help each other."
"Well, if it isn't Master Salmalín," Alanna said suddenly.
The mage stood some distance away from the table, his hair pulled back severely and slightly mussed. He held Kitten in his arms, and Alanna noted with some satisfaction that a fervent light was in his eyes. Numair had obviously realized there must be something better for him to do than mope in his room.
"What's going on?" Numair asked abruptly. He grabbed a slice of bread and a plate of fruit from the buffet table, letting the dragonet leap from his arms to gorge herself, and took a seat beside Alanna.
"His Majesty and I have decided that we'll work together on this," Kaddar answered, a bit taken aback at the way Numair was stuffing himself ravenously. "Civil war is threatening my empire, and if it gets any worse here, smaller groups will probably cement together to attack Tortall."
Numair didn't heed a word of what the emperor told him. "I want to speak with all the mages in Carthak," he stated. "There must be something that all of us together can do to find them."
Kaddar exchanged an anxious look with Alanna – Numair was falling apart. When the knight nodded, Kaddar answered, "Very well. I'll send out a decree. They'll be at the palace in –"
"Thanks," Numair interrupted. "I'm going down to the university."
He stood up and left the room, leaving his friends in deep concern.
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gossiptalk: Important again! LoL I'm pretty sure you could top me, my friend =P
nikki: Aw thanks! Haha yeah I'm pretty scared of heights too :Z but I hate bugs more =P
CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88: Thank you :D And I hope I have lots of surprises ;)
Erynwen: Well then I'll just break the law as often as I like (: Cliffhangers: The author's best friends and the reader's worst enemies, LoL
tamoraworshipper: I'm sure I'm not Tamora Pierce! Else I'd be filthy rich! =P
Daine: Thank you! Keep reading :D
Rena-Child: Well they won't be back together too soon, but hey, they're trying really hard =P
Fire Mage: I hope the A/N at the top of the story answered your question! Thank you (:
Coley: Thanks! Bless your friend who told you about my story, haha. You're a flatterer =P Keep reading (:
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Hey, sorry for not updating for a while, and nothing really happens in this chapter, except that you figure out that someone's mentality is wearing out at the seams. Something really scary happens to Daine next chapter . . . (:
Anyway, I haven't done anything with this story for a while because I've been working on my original fiction. It's about two gods (they're brothers) at war with each other, and they can't fight each other directly because they're so evenly matched that they'd just rip the universe apart. So, they separated themselves and each created a Destiny that would carry out their war. Each Destiny infuses a select group of people, and after millennia of waiting and preparation, the final lead-up to the ultimate confrontation between the forces of Order and Chaos begins.
If anyone wants to read my story, could you either email me at vanilla_ice@telus.net or just review and tell me? I'm going to publish it somewhere eventually if you guys would like to read it. Thanks!
