I've decided to continue, more as a means of self-preservation than
anything else, as I've realised that I like my hair where it is and have no
desire to be murdered by implements such as mechanical pencils! Hope you're
happy. *tries to be grumpy*
I know how this story is going to end, but I don't quite know how to
develop it, except that someone is going to die, and this time don't mean
Daine. Nor Numair! *cringes when people jump to conclusions* Any
suggestions - I would really appreciate them.
Disclaimer: Own nothing.
Firstly, I want to thank everyone who reviewed my other fic because it's only courteous and there isn't going to be another chapter. So my thanks to: Veralidaine Weirynsra, Numie Fan, Martini, Faithful, Someone, Rhapsody07, Numair's Daine, Kylaia and Vanilla ice. I can't believe what I did either and I recommend that I see a psychologist soon.
Thank you to the following who convinced me to carry on with this story when I was considering dropping it: anonymous, Anastazia Silverwind, Wildmage101, bojanglesbiscuit, a_lady_who's_sure, someone, jazy716, Vulpes Lapis, A Girl called Candice, Raashna, lirealbean, aer, Martini, Numair's Daine, Me, Rhapsody07 and Kylaia.
And now the longer thank you's for the chapter before!
Jossie: Maybe everything will be alright, maybe not - you'll have to wait and see! I hope the work isn't going to keep you from updating soon. I really hope you update your other fic as well, because I like the beginning of that a lot. I now am dreading going to university!
Kylaia: I'm waiting for an update *grins in embarrassment as whole library turns to see who's hitting the computer* !!! Glad you like it so far, but in a few chapters time you're probably going to hate me, but we won't go into that now! Yeah, Word is weird. :)
Tequila: Thanks. And Plato?! Why the hell do you think I've been reading philosophy? *very confused author, not seeing it* :)
Wildmage101: I don't mind you reviewing twice! *secretly glad* Fluff rules the world, or will do sometime in the future. All this gossip about me going to kill off Daine . . . who started that now? Daine's blood. What's going on there? You'll have to wait and see!
Martini: *starts running away from the Chihuahua* Don't set your dog on me! This was kind of a quick-ish update! And thanks for the compliment! :P
A Girl called Candice: Yes, you're very bad! Reading without reviewing - you will be condemned for all eternity to live with trash writers!!! *X- files music, red, hellish flames shooting out of the ground* Not one of the best D/N - don't say that because it makes me blush and I look silly and splotchy when that happens! I'm sorry to have depressed you with t'other fic, but I'm glad that this made you feel better. I love Kitten! Have fun on your roadtrip, I'll try and finish this but I have exams for the next couple of months. :D
Bojanglesbiscuit: Thank you! I don't want Numair to be sad either, but what has to happen has to happen * strikes heroic yet tragic pose *
Rach: London. Nasty place - too many lights, too much traffic and too expensive for me! Greece = cold! - my luck, eh? How can you beat sense into your BLOOD!! *giggles a the lack of logic*
Numair's Daine: Thought I take a break from clichéd fluff scenes under starlight and the let's-kill-everyone-in sight mood. Interesting idea, but I'm not sure that I trust brain surgeons. *glances nervously for the NHS' Gestapo* want another update from you! By the way, I figured that Daine's birthday is sometime in September since she was conceived at Beltane - though it might be useful for her sixteenth, dunno, will shut up now. :P
Rhapsody07: Fluff! Fluff! Fluff! FLUFF! FLUFF! I like it, you might be able to tell!
Raashna: You know, you're beginning to scare me, what with you sounding like Lord Wyldon! Now, tell me, will this essay on the meaning of obedience be timed or not, cos I don't like working under pressure - usually have too much to say!!! Here's your update! Enjoy. :)
A Tale of Two Realms
Daine and Numair entered the Rider's mess to find most people already there. They collected their breakfasts and scanned the sea of bodies for somewhere to sit. A waving hand caught their attention and Miri beckoned them over to where she had kept two seats free. Walking over there Daine glanced at Numair's tray and smiled, shaking her head. Confused, Numair looked down at his tray as well then sent her a questioning look.
"That's why you're so tall," she explained. "You eat so much food but instead of putting on weight you just grow."
He laughed in good humour. It was true; his tray as laden with porridge, fruit, bread, meat, cheese and a cup of tea, and he intended to eat every bite, if only to fill the stomach that seemed to disappear every time she touched him. They reached the table and slid in beside Miri, greeting the others sat there as they did so.
"Took your time, Daine. Did you enjoy yourself?" Miri teased, loud enough only for Daine to hear. Daine blushed furiously and jammed her elbow into her friend's ribs, rewarded by the sound of Miri choking on the piece of bread she had been eating at the time.
"Problem there, Miri?" she asked sweetly.
Miri swallowed the offending morsel, glaring at her companion in mock anger. Thinking about how foolish she must have looked, she laughed suddenly. "I guess I deserved that," she admitted.
Daine shook her head in amusement and turned her attention back to her breakfast, lost in her thoughts; she wondered at how everything between her and Numair had changed, but somehow it seemed the same. She concluded that as well as being her love, he was still her best friend and confidante. Her confidante, yet she couldn't talk to him about the one thing that always beset her but she refused to think about. Mystified by her own silence, she puzzled over this. Who was she trying to protect - herself or Numair? Maybe there really was no point in telling him - as powerful as he was, he was only a mortal after all . . .
"Daine?" Someone was shaking her, disturbing her from the place in her mind to where she had retreated. She looked up, straight into a pair of ebony eyes that harboured both concern and carefully concealed love. " Are you alright, magelet? You weren't answering anyone."
She smiled at him reassuringly, longing to nestle into his warm chest but knowing that she was prohibited to do so by their secret. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking, that's all."
Numair didn't believe that that really was all, interpreting her expression in a different way, but he refrained from pursuing it any further. He hid his worry behind a composed mask, nodding in reply.
"Well, now that your attention has returned to the present, I ought to inform you that the king has requested that we meet him in his study at nine o'clock, which gives us some time."
Daine's brow creased in confusion, more interested in being with Numair than talking to the king. "What for? I've not done nothing wrong have I?"
"Anything, I've not done anything wrong," corrected Numair before he could help himself. He grinned in submission at the withering glare Daine sent his way. She rolled her eyes, as if praying to the Gods for some strength.
"Ever the typical teacher. Three years of grammar lessons I've suffered and you're still finding faults."
"But in his eyes you have no faults," murmured Miri wickedly. Not even deigning to look at her Daine gave hr a none-too-subtle kick under the table. Numair smirked, but tried to hide it behind his hand.
"What did this dolt say to make you do that, Daine?" Evin asked from beside Miri, curiosity glinting in his blue eyes.
Daine smiled vaguely. "Nothing worth listening to." Her tone warned Miri not to utter another word if she valued her life in any way.
Evin watched Daine turn back to Numair and his eyes filled with secret longing. 'Mithros, she's pretty,' he thought, enraptured by the pensive tilt of her head and marvelling at how the light of the morning flowed like a golden river down the delicate curve of her cheek.
"You can look but you can't touch," warned a voice in his ear. Beside him Miri was rising to leave. He blushed, knowing that she understood how he felt about Daine. But what did she mean, he couldn't touch? He would have to ask her later he decided, using all of his players' skills to try and regain his composure.
"So you told the king nothing about what happened to us after we met the Skinners?" Daine frowned, not understanding why Numair had not yet made a report to the king.
"No, nothing. I thought that you might prefer it if I waited until you had regained consciousness."
A flash of comprehension struck Daine. Her parents. "Yes, I'm glad you waited," she conceded, fear weighing down her limbs as she thought about how she was going to explain this latest development in her parentage. If the court at large knew, would they fear her? Would they accept her, knowing that she was half-god? Don't cast me out, don't push me aside, she prayed. I don't want to be alone again.
A large hand squeezed hers reassuringly. She looked up, seeking comfort in the familiar face of her teacher. He wouldn't reject her. Numair saw in her eyes the frightened, half-wild gleam that he had not encountered since they had first met. Driven from his own homeland by false allegations, he understood Daine's fear of being cast aside a second time, and sought to comfort her with the warmth in his features.
"It will be fine," he assured her, confidence heightening each word. Holding hr hand for just a second longer, he let it go, rising to take his dirty breakfast plates to the hatch and motioning for Daine to follow.
Evin watched them go, oblivious to what had just passed between them. He had seen the panicked look of fear inhabit Daine's sweet features and longed to know what had caused it, so that he might hold her close and chase away any dark thoughts that threatened. His gaze traced her slender form and he felt a soft desire flicker into life within his chest.
*****
The king held up his hand, halting the flow of words that were spilling out a story that seemed to pass right over his head. His dark brows knitted together in confusion.
"Let me run through this one more time. Upon encountering these Skinners, during your battle with them, the two of you were pulled through a portal of silver fire. When you awoke you found yourself to be in the Divine Realms, more specifically the house of Weiryn and the Green Lady."
Numair and Daine nodded mutely, on edge to hear what Jon thought of what he was about to say next.
"Now, this goddess, who used to be a mortal, is your mother and your father is the god Weiryn. Is that right, Daine?"
Daine nodded again, biting her lip in anxiety. The king laughed seeing this. Instantly Numair and Daine were more at ease.
"Don't look so worried, Daine. Your divine lineage will only make you more respected. There may be some who fear you for it, but no-one will cast you aside as a result."
The tension in Daine relaxed into a smile of relief and she noticed the feeling start to creep back into her numb body. The king knew everything about her family and still he had accepted her.
"Carrying on," Jon continued, "After some rest and discussion, you took the advice of a darking and decided to cross the Divine Realms towards the Dragonlands with the hope that a couple of dragons would consent to take you home."
"Yes, that's basically it." With the king's encouragement, Numair took up the story again, recounting their passage, though he omitted certain parts in order to avoid complication. Jon listened in interest, his curiosity pricked when he noticed a faint tinge of colour pass over the faces of both of his friends when they told of the stonemaze. Upon hearing of Daine's fall from the cliff and her immediate meeting with spidrens thereafter, he remarked that frankly he was amazed that she was still alive. Strangely enough this comment caused his companions colour to heighten even further.
Coughing nervously and averting his gaze, Numair proceeded to relate the rest of their adventure up until the point where he and Daine had found Thayet and her people.
"The rest is as you know. I stayed behind to confront Inar Hadensra and Diamondflame brought Daine to you."
The king sat in silence for a long moment, shaking his head in amazement. "Fascinating," he murmured in awe. "Truly astounding." He smiled at the two mages seated before him, his sapphire eyes glinting with satisfaction. "I must say though, Daine, you have a knack for creating disorder wherever you go. It certainly makes life more entertaining."
"I thin that was a backhanded compliment, magelet." Numair smiled at his student, relieved on her behalf, though he never thought that Jon would push Daine away because she was half god. She grinned back, blue eyes flashing in good humour as she settled herself more comfortably in the wooden chair. She thanked he Gods silently for her good fortune. 'This truly is my home,' she realised, a feeling of belonging descending lightly on her.
Jon watched his two friends closely, never underestimating for one moment the courage and determination they possessed for undertaking such a venture as they did. And loyalty, he noted. Loyalty to each other and to Tortall, a country which was the homeland of neither of them. Thinking of their unfaltering joint service to the crown over the last three years, he was very grateful to call them his subjects and even prouder to be able to call them his friends. He turned at last to the final matte that lay at hand.
"I'm curious to know something. Tell me, how long were you in the Divine Realms for?"
They looked at him strangely, bewildered as to why he would ask such an odd question when surely he already knew the answer. "About a week, give or take a day or so."
Jon raised his eyebrows, his surprise clearly evident. "Most peculiar," he pondered, "though I suppose it's only to be expected, it being a separate Realm . . ."
Someone cleared their throat, rousing him from his brown study. He looked up, expecting to see acceptance, if not keen excitement at this discovery, but instead was met only by the blankness of the perplexity that so often dominates the faces of the ignorant. Their eyes held a question, urging him to expand on his theory.
"Would it shock you to know that you were gone from here for three weeks?" he queried. "What?" Daine was stunned. "But I'm sure it wasn't that long - it doesn't make sense!"
"Actually, magelet, it does," interrupted Numair, a half smile playing over his lips. "The lost books of Ekallatum suggest that since it is a different Realm, time might pass differently. Hebris confirms this in the Throcian Chronicles, having been to the Divine Realms himself. I believe that Dol - "
He was cut off suddenly by a hand that had been clapped over his mouth. "That's enough, Master Salmalin," Daine tried to reprimand him severely but failed when Numair's tongue touched her palm. She removed her hand, stifling a laugh. "One piece of evidence is all we needed."
The bell that signalled the tenth hour tolled from the palace and Daine jumped when she heard it.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I ought to go. Onua is expecting me down at the stables. May I leave, please?"
The king nodded his dark head. "Of course," he replied with a smile.
"I must go also," remarked Numair. "I have to help Harailt of Aili down in the University." Dismissing himself he departed, leaving the king to fathom out exactly how his friends had changed. They were different he could tell, but he was at a loss as to how or why.
*****
Numair caught up with Daine and pulled her into a dark niche in the stone wall. Drawing her tight against her, he kissed her softly then let her go.
"Have a good day at work, sweetling."
She smiled and touched his face lightly in reply before walking off to the stables. He watched her go, sighing in contentment, then he himself headed off to the university.
*****
Well, there it is. Want more?
Disclaimer: Own nothing.
Firstly, I want to thank everyone who reviewed my other fic because it's only courteous and there isn't going to be another chapter. So my thanks to: Veralidaine Weirynsra, Numie Fan, Martini, Faithful, Someone, Rhapsody07, Numair's Daine, Kylaia and Vanilla ice. I can't believe what I did either and I recommend that I see a psychologist soon.
Thank you to the following who convinced me to carry on with this story when I was considering dropping it: anonymous, Anastazia Silverwind, Wildmage101, bojanglesbiscuit, a_lady_who's_sure, someone, jazy716, Vulpes Lapis, A Girl called Candice, Raashna, lirealbean, aer, Martini, Numair's Daine, Me, Rhapsody07 and Kylaia.
And now the longer thank you's for the chapter before!
Jossie: Maybe everything will be alright, maybe not - you'll have to wait and see! I hope the work isn't going to keep you from updating soon. I really hope you update your other fic as well, because I like the beginning of that a lot. I now am dreading going to university!
Kylaia: I'm waiting for an update *grins in embarrassment as whole library turns to see who's hitting the computer* !!! Glad you like it so far, but in a few chapters time you're probably going to hate me, but we won't go into that now! Yeah, Word is weird. :)
Tequila: Thanks. And Plato?! Why the hell do you think I've been reading philosophy? *very confused author, not seeing it* :)
Wildmage101: I don't mind you reviewing twice! *secretly glad* Fluff rules the world, or will do sometime in the future. All this gossip about me going to kill off Daine . . . who started that now? Daine's blood. What's going on there? You'll have to wait and see!
Martini: *starts running away from the Chihuahua* Don't set your dog on me! This was kind of a quick-ish update! And thanks for the compliment! :P
A Girl called Candice: Yes, you're very bad! Reading without reviewing - you will be condemned for all eternity to live with trash writers!!! *X- files music, red, hellish flames shooting out of the ground* Not one of the best D/N - don't say that because it makes me blush and I look silly and splotchy when that happens! I'm sorry to have depressed you with t'other fic, but I'm glad that this made you feel better. I love Kitten! Have fun on your roadtrip, I'll try and finish this but I have exams for the next couple of months. :D
Bojanglesbiscuit: Thank you! I don't want Numair to be sad either, but what has to happen has to happen * strikes heroic yet tragic pose *
Rach: London. Nasty place - too many lights, too much traffic and too expensive for me! Greece = cold! - my luck, eh? How can you beat sense into your BLOOD!! *giggles a the lack of logic*
Numair's Daine: Thought I take a break from clichéd fluff scenes under starlight and the let's-kill-everyone-in sight mood. Interesting idea, but I'm not sure that I trust brain surgeons. *glances nervously for the NHS' Gestapo* want another update from you! By the way, I figured that Daine's birthday is sometime in September since she was conceived at Beltane - though it might be useful for her sixteenth, dunno, will shut up now. :P
Rhapsody07: Fluff! Fluff! Fluff! FLUFF! FLUFF! I like it, you might be able to tell!
Raashna: You know, you're beginning to scare me, what with you sounding like Lord Wyldon! Now, tell me, will this essay on the meaning of obedience be timed or not, cos I don't like working under pressure - usually have too much to say!!! Here's your update! Enjoy. :)
A Tale of Two Realms
Daine and Numair entered the Rider's mess to find most people already there. They collected their breakfasts and scanned the sea of bodies for somewhere to sit. A waving hand caught their attention and Miri beckoned them over to where she had kept two seats free. Walking over there Daine glanced at Numair's tray and smiled, shaking her head. Confused, Numair looked down at his tray as well then sent her a questioning look.
"That's why you're so tall," she explained. "You eat so much food but instead of putting on weight you just grow."
He laughed in good humour. It was true; his tray as laden with porridge, fruit, bread, meat, cheese and a cup of tea, and he intended to eat every bite, if only to fill the stomach that seemed to disappear every time she touched him. They reached the table and slid in beside Miri, greeting the others sat there as they did so.
"Took your time, Daine. Did you enjoy yourself?" Miri teased, loud enough only for Daine to hear. Daine blushed furiously and jammed her elbow into her friend's ribs, rewarded by the sound of Miri choking on the piece of bread she had been eating at the time.
"Problem there, Miri?" she asked sweetly.
Miri swallowed the offending morsel, glaring at her companion in mock anger. Thinking about how foolish she must have looked, she laughed suddenly. "I guess I deserved that," she admitted.
Daine shook her head in amusement and turned her attention back to her breakfast, lost in her thoughts; she wondered at how everything between her and Numair had changed, but somehow it seemed the same. She concluded that as well as being her love, he was still her best friend and confidante. Her confidante, yet she couldn't talk to him about the one thing that always beset her but she refused to think about. Mystified by her own silence, she puzzled over this. Who was she trying to protect - herself or Numair? Maybe there really was no point in telling him - as powerful as he was, he was only a mortal after all . . .
"Daine?" Someone was shaking her, disturbing her from the place in her mind to where she had retreated. She looked up, straight into a pair of ebony eyes that harboured both concern and carefully concealed love. " Are you alright, magelet? You weren't answering anyone."
She smiled at him reassuringly, longing to nestle into his warm chest but knowing that she was prohibited to do so by their secret. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking, that's all."
Numair didn't believe that that really was all, interpreting her expression in a different way, but he refrained from pursuing it any further. He hid his worry behind a composed mask, nodding in reply.
"Well, now that your attention has returned to the present, I ought to inform you that the king has requested that we meet him in his study at nine o'clock, which gives us some time."
Daine's brow creased in confusion, more interested in being with Numair than talking to the king. "What for? I've not done nothing wrong have I?"
"Anything, I've not done anything wrong," corrected Numair before he could help himself. He grinned in submission at the withering glare Daine sent his way. She rolled her eyes, as if praying to the Gods for some strength.
"Ever the typical teacher. Three years of grammar lessons I've suffered and you're still finding faults."
"But in his eyes you have no faults," murmured Miri wickedly. Not even deigning to look at her Daine gave hr a none-too-subtle kick under the table. Numair smirked, but tried to hide it behind his hand.
"What did this dolt say to make you do that, Daine?" Evin asked from beside Miri, curiosity glinting in his blue eyes.
Daine smiled vaguely. "Nothing worth listening to." Her tone warned Miri not to utter another word if she valued her life in any way.
Evin watched Daine turn back to Numair and his eyes filled with secret longing. 'Mithros, she's pretty,' he thought, enraptured by the pensive tilt of her head and marvelling at how the light of the morning flowed like a golden river down the delicate curve of her cheek.
"You can look but you can't touch," warned a voice in his ear. Beside him Miri was rising to leave. He blushed, knowing that she understood how he felt about Daine. But what did she mean, he couldn't touch? He would have to ask her later he decided, using all of his players' skills to try and regain his composure.
"So you told the king nothing about what happened to us after we met the Skinners?" Daine frowned, not understanding why Numair had not yet made a report to the king.
"No, nothing. I thought that you might prefer it if I waited until you had regained consciousness."
A flash of comprehension struck Daine. Her parents. "Yes, I'm glad you waited," she conceded, fear weighing down her limbs as she thought about how she was going to explain this latest development in her parentage. If the court at large knew, would they fear her? Would they accept her, knowing that she was half-god? Don't cast me out, don't push me aside, she prayed. I don't want to be alone again.
A large hand squeezed hers reassuringly. She looked up, seeking comfort in the familiar face of her teacher. He wouldn't reject her. Numair saw in her eyes the frightened, half-wild gleam that he had not encountered since they had first met. Driven from his own homeland by false allegations, he understood Daine's fear of being cast aside a second time, and sought to comfort her with the warmth in his features.
"It will be fine," he assured her, confidence heightening each word. Holding hr hand for just a second longer, he let it go, rising to take his dirty breakfast plates to the hatch and motioning for Daine to follow.
Evin watched them go, oblivious to what had just passed between them. He had seen the panicked look of fear inhabit Daine's sweet features and longed to know what had caused it, so that he might hold her close and chase away any dark thoughts that threatened. His gaze traced her slender form and he felt a soft desire flicker into life within his chest.
*****
The king held up his hand, halting the flow of words that were spilling out a story that seemed to pass right over his head. His dark brows knitted together in confusion.
"Let me run through this one more time. Upon encountering these Skinners, during your battle with them, the two of you were pulled through a portal of silver fire. When you awoke you found yourself to be in the Divine Realms, more specifically the house of Weiryn and the Green Lady."
Numair and Daine nodded mutely, on edge to hear what Jon thought of what he was about to say next.
"Now, this goddess, who used to be a mortal, is your mother and your father is the god Weiryn. Is that right, Daine?"
Daine nodded again, biting her lip in anxiety. The king laughed seeing this. Instantly Numair and Daine were more at ease.
"Don't look so worried, Daine. Your divine lineage will only make you more respected. There may be some who fear you for it, but no-one will cast you aside as a result."
The tension in Daine relaxed into a smile of relief and she noticed the feeling start to creep back into her numb body. The king knew everything about her family and still he had accepted her.
"Carrying on," Jon continued, "After some rest and discussion, you took the advice of a darking and decided to cross the Divine Realms towards the Dragonlands with the hope that a couple of dragons would consent to take you home."
"Yes, that's basically it." With the king's encouragement, Numair took up the story again, recounting their passage, though he omitted certain parts in order to avoid complication. Jon listened in interest, his curiosity pricked when he noticed a faint tinge of colour pass over the faces of both of his friends when they told of the stonemaze. Upon hearing of Daine's fall from the cliff and her immediate meeting with spidrens thereafter, he remarked that frankly he was amazed that she was still alive. Strangely enough this comment caused his companions colour to heighten even further.
Coughing nervously and averting his gaze, Numair proceeded to relate the rest of their adventure up until the point where he and Daine had found Thayet and her people.
"The rest is as you know. I stayed behind to confront Inar Hadensra and Diamondflame brought Daine to you."
The king sat in silence for a long moment, shaking his head in amazement. "Fascinating," he murmured in awe. "Truly astounding." He smiled at the two mages seated before him, his sapphire eyes glinting with satisfaction. "I must say though, Daine, you have a knack for creating disorder wherever you go. It certainly makes life more entertaining."
"I thin that was a backhanded compliment, magelet." Numair smiled at his student, relieved on her behalf, though he never thought that Jon would push Daine away because she was half god. She grinned back, blue eyes flashing in good humour as she settled herself more comfortably in the wooden chair. She thanked he Gods silently for her good fortune. 'This truly is my home,' she realised, a feeling of belonging descending lightly on her.
Jon watched his two friends closely, never underestimating for one moment the courage and determination they possessed for undertaking such a venture as they did. And loyalty, he noted. Loyalty to each other and to Tortall, a country which was the homeland of neither of them. Thinking of their unfaltering joint service to the crown over the last three years, he was very grateful to call them his subjects and even prouder to be able to call them his friends. He turned at last to the final matte that lay at hand.
"I'm curious to know something. Tell me, how long were you in the Divine Realms for?"
They looked at him strangely, bewildered as to why he would ask such an odd question when surely he already knew the answer. "About a week, give or take a day or so."
Jon raised his eyebrows, his surprise clearly evident. "Most peculiar," he pondered, "though I suppose it's only to be expected, it being a separate Realm . . ."
Someone cleared their throat, rousing him from his brown study. He looked up, expecting to see acceptance, if not keen excitement at this discovery, but instead was met only by the blankness of the perplexity that so often dominates the faces of the ignorant. Their eyes held a question, urging him to expand on his theory.
"Would it shock you to know that you were gone from here for three weeks?" he queried. "What?" Daine was stunned. "But I'm sure it wasn't that long - it doesn't make sense!"
"Actually, magelet, it does," interrupted Numair, a half smile playing over his lips. "The lost books of Ekallatum suggest that since it is a different Realm, time might pass differently. Hebris confirms this in the Throcian Chronicles, having been to the Divine Realms himself. I believe that Dol - "
He was cut off suddenly by a hand that had been clapped over his mouth. "That's enough, Master Salmalin," Daine tried to reprimand him severely but failed when Numair's tongue touched her palm. She removed her hand, stifling a laugh. "One piece of evidence is all we needed."
The bell that signalled the tenth hour tolled from the palace and Daine jumped when she heard it.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I ought to go. Onua is expecting me down at the stables. May I leave, please?"
The king nodded his dark head. "Of course," he replied with a smile.
"I must go also," remarked Numair. "I have to help Harailt of Aili down in the University." Dismissing himself he departed, leaving the king to fathom out exactly how his friends had changed. They were different he could tell, but he was at a loss as to how or why.
*****
Numair caught up with Daine and pulled her into a dark niche in the stone wall. Drawing her tight against her, he kissed her softly then let her go.
"Have a good day at work, sweetling."
She smiled and touched his face lightly in reply before walking off to the stables. He watched her go, sighing in contentment, then he himself headed off to the university.
*****
Well, there it is. Want more?