Always and Forever
By: Midnight Maiden
(Disclaimer: T.P. owns all characters)
Daine sat wet and miserable in a complete downpour. The rain was destroying her entire camp, but she couldn't do anything about it. All she could do was huddle under the base of a tree, disguised as a mouse. She'd been hiding in the woods in Scanra for over a week and all of her work was being ruined. Even if she could clean it up, she would have nowhere for the papers to go out of the wet.
She'd been granted permission to leave, as she knew she would and had set out immediately. The weather in this foreign land had been perfect until now, and it had been a blessing for her research. But once the rain stopped she would have to go to her secret supply stash and rewrite all of her reports. She'd found the creatures here to be quite agreeable and was using them to her full advantage. Birds and mice were easily used for work inside the palace and she'd discovered it to be a place she would rather not reside. The entire place was a complete political scandal completely operated on fear.
If anyone in that castle were truly anyone's loyal friend she would leave Numair and go back to Galla. It seemed as though everybody's goal was outdoing somebody else and making themselves look better. She could find no mutual unity in the country at all. Everything was based on personal benefit and nothing else. Nobles were constantly trying to take favor with the king, and the royal family was obviously in an underlying battle for the throne. But the more scandals that went on within the palace, the more she had to her benefit. Disunity was so easily used against countries and this one was deep in it.
Another good point that she could save for later use was life in the capital's surrounding towns. They didn't like the monarchy any more than she did. The townspeople had been struggling since the beginning of the war and it seemed as though no one was bothering to help them. The focus of the entire country was on the army and the nobles. Not a single thought was being given to the people that were trying to feed the soldiers and themselves. When the war was over this would have to be taken into account.
Tired of worrying about the progress of war and hair splitting politics she shifted her mind homeward. The first thought that entered her mind was Numair. She missed him terribly and she knew he felt the same. He'd written her a letter, but it was currently outside being drenched. Fortunately she'd gotten to read most of it. She sighed and immersed herself in its contents.
My Dearest Daine,
Day by day I find my mind wandering always back to you. I'm reminded of the way your face looks right before you wake up in the morning and your nose crinkles when you laugh. All of these things I took advantage of until you left, and I now miss them even more than I ever could have imagined. Now I am always concerned for your safety and worry that you will not come back to and I will loose all these amazing things. I desperately need you by my side and am not used to letting you go anywhere without me. How can I assure your safety if I am not there? I am fully aware of your capabilities and know that you can take care of yourself, but it has still made me a nervous wreck.
I hope for the war's end every moment of every day. Once this horrendous era is over you can return to the home that needs you. I am not the only one who misses you. Kitten has returned from her excursion in the dragon lands and was quite upset to find you gone for her homecoming. It took me hours to assure her that you would, in fact, be returning. I would not be surprised if she shows up in Scanra, she will not allow me to keep her from you long. I love you with all my heart.
Return to me soon,
Numair
Daine smiled inwardly and would be blushing slightly if a mouse could accomplish that. Numair had always been quite poetic but she had never received anything quite like this. This letter was jammed with feelings and she was glad to have it. It warmed her to her very core, reassuring her that she was going about this for all of the right reasons. She needed to do her duty to the country that had so willingly adopted her and keep them safe. If being in Scanra alone for weeks outside accomplished this, then she would do it gladly.
This brought her thoughts back to the war. Obviously Tortall was faring well or Numair would have told her otherwise. She tried hard not to send her messenger animals back and forth from the capital as it was a long journey, but she was desperate to know how things were going. She'd only received orders from the king and letters from Numair over her entire stay. She hadn't sent anything there and she wasn't about to now. To make sure that Numair knew that she received his letter she had sent a hawk to Corus with a blue ribbon.
Resigning to the fact that her stay under the tree would be a long one, she shifted her mind towards sleep. Because of the animals she did not have a regular sleeping schedule and took any opportunity that she could to get some rest. It could be a few days before she had another chance to sleep deeply without the threat of dirty Scanrans looming in the backdrop of her mind.
(A/N: Once again, I'm sorry that this took me so long to get posted. My life has been immensely stressful and I haven't had a whole lot of time to myself. Please leave me a review on this chapter as it took me a while to get it here and I want to know if my readers think that it is just as good as the others. Thanks ^Peach^)
By: Midnight Maiden
(Disclaimer: T.P. owns all characters)
Daine sat wet and miserable in a complete downpour. The rain was destroying her entire camp, but she couldn't do anything about it. All she could do was huddle under the base of a tree, disguised as a mouse. She'd been hiding in the woods in Scanra for over a week and all of her work was being ruined. Even if she could clean it up, she would have nowhere for the papers to go out of the wet.
She'd been granted permission to leave, as she knew she would and had set out immediately. The weather in this foreign land had been perfect until now, and it had been a blessing for her research. But once the rain stopped she would have to go to her secret supply stash and rewrite all of her reports. She'd found the creatures here to be quite agreeable and was using them to her full advantage. Birds and mice were easily used for work inside the palace and she'd discovered it to be a place she would rather not reside. The entire place was a complete political scandal completely operated on fear.
If anyone in that castle were truly anyone's loyal friend she would leave Numair and go back to Galla. It seemed as though everybody's goal was outdoing somebody else and making themselves look better. She could find no mutual unity in the country at all. Everything was based on personal benefit and nothing else. Nobles were constantly trying to take favor with the king, and the royal family was obviously in an underlying battle for the throne. But the more scandals that went on within the palace, the more she had to her benefit. Disunity was so easily used against countries and this one was deep in it.
Another good point that she could save for later use was life in the capital's surrounding towns. They didn't like the monarchy any more than she did. The townspeople had been struggling since the beginning of the war and it seemed as though no one was bothering to help them. The focus of the entire country was on the army and the nobles. Not a single thought was being given to the people that were trying to feed the soldiers and themselves. When the war was over this would have to be taken into account.
Tired of worrying about the progress of war and hair splitting politics she shifted her mind homeward. The first thought that entered her mind was Numair. She missed him terribly and she knew he felt the same. He'd written her a letter, but it was currently outside being drenched. Fortunately she'd gotten to read most of it. She sighed and immersed herself in its contents.
My Dearest Daine,
Day by day I find my mind wandering always back to you. I'm reminded of the way your face looks right before you wake up in the morning and your nose crinkles when you laugh. All of these things I took advantage of until you left, and I now miss them even more than I ever could have imagined. Now I am always concerned for your safety and worry that you will not come back to and I will loose all these amazing things. I desperately need you by my side and am not used to letting you go anywhere without me. How can I assure your safety if I am not there? I am fully aware of your capabilities and know that you can take care of yourself, but it has still made me a nervous wreck.
I hope for the war's end every moment of every day. Once this horrendous era is over you can return to the home that needs you. I am not the only one who misses you. Kitten has returned from her excursion in the dragon lands and was quite upset to find you gone for her homecoming. It took me hours to assure her that you would, in fact, be returning. I would not be surprised if she shows up in Scanra, she will not allow me to keep her from you long. I love you with all my heart.
Return to me soon,
Numair
Daine smiled inwardly and would be blushing slightly if a mouse could accomplish that. Numair had always been quite poetic but she had never received anything quite like this. This letter was jammed with feelings and she was glad to have it. It warmed her to her very core, reassuring her that she was going about this for all of the right reasons. She needed to do her duty to the country that had so willingly adopted her and keep them safe. If being in Scanra alone for weeks outside accomplished this, then she would do it gladly.
This brought her thoughts back to the war. Obviously Tortall was faring well or Numair would have told her otherwise. She tried hard not to send her messenger animals back and forth from the capital as it was a long journey, but she was desperate to know how things were going. She'd only received orders from the king and letters from Numair over her entire stay. She hadn't sent anything there and she wasn't about to now. To make sure that Numair knew that she received his letter she had sent a hawk to Corus with a blue ribbon.
Resigning to the fact that her stay under the tree would be a long one, she shifted her mind towards sleep. Because of the animals she did not have a regular sleeping schedule and took any opportunity that she could to get some rest. It could be a few days before she had another chance to sleep deeply without the threat of dirty Scanrans looming in the backdrop of her mind.
(A/N: Once again, I'm sorry that this took me so long to get posted. My life has been immensely stressful and I haven't had a whole lot of time to myself. Please leave me a review on this chapter as it took me a while to get it here and I want to know if my readers think that it is just as good as the others. Thanks ^Peach^)