True Love Knows No Boundaries

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^hello, hello, mes amis! There is a lot more this time, and another part will soon be on the way! I hope ^^; I've been rereading the Protector of the Small series today, with a notebook and writing down every time they mention Daine or Numair so I can get as much information as possible! It's tiring work, let me tell you! Well, I hope you enjoy, and please continue to review!*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"God pound you!" grunts Daine, heaving under the weight of her trunk. "Get over here and help me lift this thing!" Numair looks up from his perch on Daine's bed, where he had been lazily twirling some of her earrings around in mid air. "What, sweet?" She curses again and he laughs.

"You're the one with the bright idea to move, so help me!" Numair waves his hand in the air, shaking from suppressed laughter as the black light surrounds the trunk and lifts it weightlessly into the air. Grumbling something about mages and their arrogance, Daine follows Numair out the door and down the hall. She pauses for a moment outside his- excuse me, their, door and fingers the lettering of Numair's name. Whipping out a quill, she scribbles her own name underneath. "Verilidaine Sarrasri" with a flourish she finishes and nods. Now it truly is home.

Numair steps noiselessly behind her, scoops her up into his arms. Daine shrieks for a moment, about to grab the knife on her hilt when she realizes it's him. She cuffs him on the chest with both fists. "You frightened me ha' to death!"

He grins, and she thinks his chin is about to split. "Isn't this what you're supposed to do, when you bring your girl home?" As proudly as she can while being held four feet in the air and her feet dangling, Daine sticks her chin into the air. "Pray tell, whoever said I'm yours, Master Mage?" The grin drops from his face; he becomes mock-serious. "Whoever wishes to challenge my claim can come straight-away!" Both laughing, they enter their newly shared dwelling. Numair handles her as if she were made of jewels, and Daine throws her arms around his neck, fingers tangled in his hair. He kisses her, once, gently, and then the door shuts. And the author considers this a good time to leave our friends, lest this story become less than appropriate.

~some time later.~

She lies gently on top of him, molded into his every crevice and curve. When he inhales, she rises. When he exhales, she falls. He's so much bigger than her, her head is tucked neatly under his chin and her feet rest neatly on his shins. As much as she'd love to stay here forever, away from the world where she was markedly different, stay tangled in the long limbs of her teacher-friend-love; she does have one question that needs asking.

"Numair?" she whispers, almost timidly. He doesn't open his eyes, but his eyebrows knit together and he murmurs "Hmm?" "Do you think we ought to tell someone? I mean, about my being here and all." Numair opens one dark eye into a slit. "I suppose so." he sighs and tries to roll over, crushing Daine in the process. She gives a little yelp of protest and tries to shove him away before being flattened by the great mass that is Numair.

Laughing he rolls back over and sits up. "Sorry, m'dear, I'm not used to having company in bed." Daine crosses her arms, indignant. "That's a downright lie and you know it!" His dark eyes twinkle mischievously. "Jealous, are we?" She rolls her eyes and stands up, beginning to dress. "Numair, do you think we should tell people? About us?"

He stands as well, and washes his face. "Now that we're living together, it'll be hard to miss." he winces, making a face. "Ugh, there will be such a scandal!" Daine shrugs herself into a shirt. "Why? Teenagers sometimes marry forty-year-olds! Why would this-" she indicates the room, trying to encompass their relationship with a gesture. "Get so much attention?"

"Because we're not married," he says shortly, lacing up his boots. "And we're both, let's say, well known. And then, of course, there's the fact that some think you're a-" he pauses, about to say bastard but letting the word go. "too young" he finishes weakly. Daine shrugs and crosses the room to join him. He tenderly pushes a curl back, away from her face. He bends down and kisses her cheek. "It won't matter. Let them say what they will." She smiles into his face, and reaching up a hand, tweaks his long nose. He groans as if exasperated and opens the door, ushering her out.

"I'm off to tell Onua, I suppose. She's the one who brought me here" Numair makes a face. "I hope she doesn't hurt me.I'll tell Lindhall, if I can find him."

"Good luck, magelet!" he mock salutes and begin sstiffly down the hall, running his fingers through his hair. Sighing, she goes to find Onua. Hopefully, the older woman will understand.