I've decided to update after only three days since I got so many reviews! Thanks for all your reviews! I really appreciate them *dances with joy* I got 18!!! I feel very loved…Thanks a lot…I am updating earlier then usual b/c I got so many people telling me too! So reviews really matter to me…please keep them up! This chapter is kinda depressing… as will be the next one, but then it should get better…I promise. I wonder how Thanksgiving was for everyone…mine was good…I guess if you live outside the US than you don't celebrate it…but now that it's over, Christmas is nearing…as well as my birthday! So…without further ado for I am sure I must be boring all of you who bother to read this A/N…to everyone who reviewed:

PrincessAlyssa16: Thanks for all of your reviews! Yes…it was upsetting to me at first what I had to do to poor Daine…but if you keep reading and trust me…you will see that I do put her in the story…if not with darling numy…I describe what Amanda looks like later…but if you really want to know, in this story (when she is 19) she has long, chestnut hair, green eyes, and is about…lets see…5"8"…Not everything that happens to Daine will happen to her…but some things will be similar…thanks for reviewing…and I hope you read and review more…I think you'll like it…until then…

Rhian Merenwen: Here the chapter is… sorry, I did not realize how many reviews I had until now…Thank you, I'm glad you think it's original…I try to keep my stories that way, but sometimes I get…carried away, Numy is dead…but weather or not I can bring him back is yet to be seen…review more and tell me what you think…

WitchBlood13: Thank you, I'm glad you like it…when you get a chance to read the rest…please review them…

Milko01: Thanks, I'm glad you liked them, my e-mail is broken, but I hope you get a chance to read the rest soon…Thanks for your reviews, and I'll see you then…

Aimee Damita: Thank you, I try to make it flow as much as I can…that repeating thing annoys me too…I will keep going as long as people like you keep reading it, thank you for reviewing, and I hope you like the rest.

Anastazia Silverwind: Wow…that was the closest thing I've ever got to a flame, but I always like to try new things so…I'm glad you think the writing is good, and I tried not to overdo the plot, but oh well…I realize that the boat part is slightly unrealistic…someone pointed that out to me earlier, but it's already done, and maybe Numair used magic or something like that…Numair had been to Tortall before, and he must have met the king there as a student or something like that…thanks for reviewing anyway, and I'm sorry you didn't like it, I do appreciate criticism…

Treanz-alyce: Thanks…he is dead it's very sad… and I'm glad you liked that part, I liked it too, here I am updating, and I hope you review more…

Poison of a Mind: Thanks, I try to give my stories more of a plot then the average story…oh well…I hope you write more fics like that one…I liked it a lot. Thank you for reviewing, and I hope you do so again…

Volley Ball Chicka: Glad you liked it…you did like it, didn't you? I hated it when he died too…and please do update soon. If you read this, then tell me what you think, and I'll review yours…thanks.

Wildmage101: I got 63 reviews, so I'm updating sooner then I would have, and you don't have to get any ideas…jk…I keep calling but you won't answer…you can hear my aggravation at the message machine that keeps cutting me off if you check it…Avesnir is good…eevesnir is bad…call you tonight…and check your e-mail…

Lady Rhian Knight: Thank you for that wonderful review…almost all romance can be cliché, I hope mine is not too bad…it should slow down some, but I like the fast paced tone, you'll have to wait and see about Numair… I am updating, and I hope you will R&R this chapter…tata 'til then…

                                                                                                                    Thanks again, and keep it up…please read the note at the end…and here is the chapter:

                   

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A Battle Lost, and Won

A dull roaring noise had filled Amanda's ears, and she watched herself step back as if in a horrible dream. It couldn't be so. He couldn't be dead. A numb disbelief had filled her mind. He was he teacher, her love, her friend. He had taught her how to play with lightning, and dance beneath the moonlight, and he had rescued her from the Carthakis. She would never see him again, and she hadn't even gotten to say good-bye.

Apparently oblivious to her antics, Ozorne had begun to pace the room. " He came yesterday," he said, his voice soft, and filled with cruel amusement. "Right after killing Inar. He was pale, and shaking with exhaustion. It was a stupid thing to do, being in no condition to fight. I met the traitor at the gates. We dueled, and I won. Although, I have to give it to Arram, he fought until the end, draining his very life force into the spell he was casting. His life was for you my dear, and for a poor price. Your former love will be burned on traitors hill, and you will be empress of Carthak."

Amanda's numb disbelief had turned to such a rage, as she had never felt before. This monster had killed the only person who had ever understood her. Before this moment, she had really disliked Ozorne, for what he had done to Tortall, but now she loathed him with every inch of her being. She wanted her magic, not to defend herself, but to kill this man. She wove a net of sheer power around them; anyone who tried to enter the catacombs would immediately remember something else they had to do.

"I have always liked you," continued Ozorne, unaware of what she had done. "I am prepared to overlook your involvement with this traitor. It was a child's love, not a true feeling. You will marry me, and there will no longer be need to go to war with Tortall.You will be the queen of all this land, and none will dare defy you." He reached out a bejeweled hand and cupped her chin in it.

Amanda shoved his hand away. " I would rather die than marry you." she said bitterly.

His face-hardened, and he walked to the door. " Than it shall be so," he snapped, his cool composure gone. "You will be burned alive alongside your love at sunrise, unless you decide otherwise." He turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

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Amanda sat there for hours, beside Numair, weeping with sorrow, for herself as well for as him. He had died at twenty-one, because of her, and now she would join him.  She sat there for hours, gazing at him and wishing for someone, anyone, to help her, but no vision came to her, no god, or even herself to comfort her crumpled, weeping figure. She could marry Ozorne, and live out her life with him. She would not die that way. Though that was not right, Numair had died rather than given up. She was completely, totally and utterly alone, both in this world and her own.

Amanda fell asleep after a while, to vicious nightmares of him. She was so preoccupied that she did not even notice that Ozorne had passed right through her spell.

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            Ooooooooooooooooh…the drama… what did I mean by that? How was it? That was a semi cliffy too…though not as much as last time…just for those of you who were wondering…he really is dead…I did not fake it like in Emperor Mage…and as my reviewers wonder why I have gone insane and killed my second main character, I will only say that it will get better…just review and review and review and tell me what you think…and I'll post the next chapter…this time lets aim for 72…not too far off is it? I won't give my plot away…but I will promise you that I'm not all that mean…and that it will get better. I will update by next Saturday…depending, of course, on how many reviews I get, and I'll see you then…

-Queen of Connaught