Hello again! Did you miss me? (don't answer that) Well, I'm not going to
waste your time with an author's note, just with the answers to the reviews
of the last chapter (I heard that sigh of relief!):
Joeuk1: Thank you! I'm going all red, no, really!
Simi: Wow, thanks. That's an awful lot of pleases!
Queen's Own: Cheers : )
Ashley B: Course I am, I'm not quitter. Later!
Sir Lady Alanna Cooper: Sarra is not doing anything exactly, per se, but I can't promise you that Daine will be entirely, well, let's just say alive for the rest of the story. Don't let that put you off though!
Dead Life: So did I!
Socal-schitzophrenic: Really sorry about the name. Wouldn't have figured it out by myself I'm afraid - I know zip about America! (No offence, I'm just lacking in common sense). No worries, Daine isn't pregnant - Numair is being especially cautious about that at the moment since this is the beginning of their *ahem* intimate relationship.
Moonmage: I hope that they will be together at the end as well, but you never know what happens when the plot bunnies catch ya!
Shieldmaiden: A few more chapters yet, no need to panic about the end already! Yes, of course Kitten will come to the ball - even if she wasn't allowed to I'd wager she would anyway! And as for Daine lying and dying (wow, that rhymes! I need a life) well it's not that important . . . . is it?
Snakefeather: Thank you and I will look into Cloud's nonsense speech : P
Miya-chan3: That wasn't too much of a cliffy was it?
CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88: Ahh, you're to perceptive for your own good, or maybe I can't do subtle!!! Anyhoo, yes much sadness and grief and death and OOPS! Did I say that out loud? Evil evil evil evil . . .
ArizonaBay: It's gonna get sadder before it gets happier, which it will . . . .eventually . . .I think . . .maybe
Ball
"This is ridiculous!" Daine twisted in an exasperated manner, shifting restlessly on the small stool upon which she was currently standing. This comment earned her a sharp glare from the tiny albeit fierce seamsmistress who was kneeling at the foot of the stool, one hand clutching the heavy fabric of the dress and with pins sticking out of her mouth. An amused chuckle drew Daine's frustrated gaze to where her friend was leaning casually against the wall. Onua shot her a grin.
"Well, it really doesn't help anyone if you keep squirming like you are."
"I can't help it," the girl cried. "You wouldn't be too happy if someone was pricking you with pins either, I'll wager."
The seamsmistress dropped the dress and pins in annoyance. "I wouldn't be pricking you if you weren't moving quite so much," she snapped. "Stay still and this will be finished a lot quicker and with a lot less blood on the dress." Irritated, she returned back to the work at hand and Daine, sighing in resignation fought to keep herself from fidgeting. She looked down at the garment that was the cause of all this. She had to admit that it was a beautiful piece of cloth, artfully designed with its square cut neck and its rustling skirts which flared out from her hips, emphasising the tight bodice which tapered down to a point at the front of her torso. The main skirts were a deep twilight blue covered by a layer of silver net; delicate silver and gold embroidery adorned the bodice and black string twined its way up the front. Just more knots to add to the confusion of this thing, Daine thought glumly. If I can do it up at the front, then others can surely undo it. Nevertheless, the dress was fairly modest, covering all of her back and her shoulders. Daine winced slightly as another needle found its way into the skin of her shin.
This could take long time, she mused, grimacing at the thought. Glancing across the room in hope of seeking some support from Onua, she found that her friend had disappeared and had been replaced by Kitten, who was chortling obviously at the girl's discomfort.
A very long time, she amended.
*****
Daine swooped into her room through the open window, sunlight glinting off her golden wings. Ruffling her feathers she shifted back into her human form and fell backwards onto her rump. Groaning and trying to catch her breath, she made as if to get up but froze when she heard a tell-tale whisper of cloth from behind her. Someone was in her room and she was most definitely not prepared to meet them since she was wearing not a stitch but the silver necklace which hung across her throat. Undecided as to what to do, she paused for what seemed like hours and was shocked when heavy material slid around her shoulders. She was lifted effortlessly and dumped unceremoniously onto her bed. Daine looked up and met the soft gaze of her lover. A silent sigh of relief blew past her lips and she cocked an eyebrow at him. Numair chuckled lightly.
"You ought to be more careful about checking your room before you shape- shift, Magelet. You never know who might be in here."
She scowled at him. "There is nothing of any interest in here for anyone but you. Besides, I locked the door." Still smiling, he tugged her into his arms and she nestled into his chest, immediately forgetting that she was annoyed with him just a second before. She toyed with the soft cotton of his shirt under her hand, content to do nothing for now. Everything was just so tiring at the moment; even a short time in eagle shape had left her body exhausted and trembling. It was as she had been soaring gently on the thermals above the forest that she had started to feel an ache building up in her wing joints. She had intended to fly over the whole city but the tension continued increasing in her whole body and she had decided to return before she had even covered less than half of the city. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was more like a constant pressure on the all of the vulnerable parts of her body robbing her of the ability to breathe properly.
She found herself a couple of hours later tucked into her bed, with a nightdress on and the covers drawn up high. Numair lay spooned up behind her, his arm draped lazily over her waist. She grinned and turned over to look at her lover as he slept. His face was so relaxed when he didn't have anything to worry over or think about and his mouth was curved in a sleepy smile. His long eyelashes cast shadows across his dark cheek and his raven hair had worked itself loose from its leather thong. Mine, she thought smugly. All mine.
"Are you going to lie there all day watching me, or are you going to get up?" Daine's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"I thought you were asleep," she commented.
"I was." She waited, expecting him to explain further but all Numair did was hug her tighter against his chest and let his lips graze her forehead. Daine shifted her gaze to the window and saw that it was almost dark outside. She imagined that the bell for supper had already rung and that most people had stopped working back now.
"Given that it's dark out need we really get up? Can't we just here?" she pleaded, all the time tucking the covers higher up around his shoulders. He grinned in agreement, but propped himself up on his arm, gazing down at her. Locks of his soft hair fell forward and swung lazily in his face. Daine reached up a small hand and brushed them behind his ear. "So how come you were waiting for me when I got back earlier? I gather you wanted to discuss something, no?"
"Yes, I did actually. It was about the Ball that's . . ." Numair was startled by the long-suffering groan from his young lover that interrupted him and lifted an eyebrow questioningly. He watched a shudder traverse through her body as she recalled the horrors from that morning.
"It was too much," she sulked. "Having to stand on a stool for absolutely hours and then all the time being treated like a pincushion. Believe me, I have the scratches to prove it!" His laugh filled the whole room and Daine glowered at him silently. She liked it when he laughed, it was a wonderful rich sound but she hated it when it was her he was laughing at.
"Magelet, I'm sorry, but you reminded me so much of Alanna. I do believe you share her dislike of balls and all the fuss that accompanies them." A sudden smile brightened Daine's face.
"How is Alanna? I haven't seen her for so long."
Numair recalled that the last time he had seen the Champion he and Daine were not exactly happy with each other. The knight had promised to look into some possibilities for curing Daine, but he had not yet informed her of Daine's supposed recovery. "She is fine, Daine. Anyway," he glared at her mockingly for being sidetracked, "just so that you don't forget, the Ball is in three days time. I will come and pick you up from your room just in case you decide to accidentally forget about it."
Daine slapped his arm playfully. "Numair, as much as I dislike the fact that I have to go to this silly ball, I wouldn't deliberately miss it. That would be fair rude."
"I'm teasing you, Daine. I know you wouldn't do that. However, I will pick you up all the same. I want to see the look on everyone's faces when I'm lucky enough to enter with such a beautiful girl on my arm."
Daine laughed gently at his foolishness, and then suddenly grew serious. "Does that mean you are willing to acknowledge our relationship publicly?" she queried, half afraid of the answer.
"I have been for a long time," he replied softly. "I just wanted to give you time to adjust to it. But yes, I want there to be no doubt in anyone's mind that you are mine and that I am yours."
Daine smiled and embraced him fiercely.
"Thank you."
*****
Daine slid the heavy dress over her head, wriggling in order to try and get the material to fall past her hips. Growling in irritation, she pulled the skirts down, but had to repeat this many times to get all the skirts hanging down nicely. She smoothed a wrinkle that had appeared in one side of the fabric and started to rearrange the top half of the dress properly. To her credit, only when the strings of the bodice were hopelessly entangled did she lose her patience.
"Odd's bobs!" she yelled. "How on earth do you tie this blasted thing on?"
A chuckle sounded from the doorway. Daine spun around and saw Valene standing there with Kitten perched on her haunches at the girl's feet. Valene was chewing a piece of straw idly and was gazing at Daine's situation in ill-concealed amusement.
"Don't you ever knock?" Daine growled irritably.
"No," replied her friend before straightening her body languidly and walking towards Daine. She took the mess from the wildmage's hands and skilfully disentangled it all. That done, she laced the bodice properly, ignoring Daine's sound of protest as half the air in her lugs was squashed out. Finishing the small bow off with a flourish she smirked. "I may have no clue as to how to do your hair for such occasions as these, but even I know how to tie up a bodice." Daine's glare was likewise ignored. "However, I don't like this attempt of yours to leave all of us behind and join polite society. It's very saddening to know that we ain't fancy enough for you. Hey, I'm just teasing you!" she hurried to add when she saw the look on her friend's face.
Suddenly Daine smiled. "I don't exactly want to go to it, but Numair insists. Something about wanting to avoid unwanted attention from the court ladies fawning all over them. I'll kill them if they do that," she added as an afterthought, only half-joking. She picked up her brush and dragged it through her curls, teasing the knots out. Daine pinned a small section to the back of her head, intent on keeping it out of her eyes and out of her food but left the rest to tumble gracefully over her shoulders. Valene stepped forward and pinched her cheeks. A little yelp escaped Daine and she jumped backwards rubbing her face.
"What did you go and do that for?"
"Fool," commented her friend wryly. "It brings colour to your cheeks without suggesting a loose nature like rouge would."
Daine's curiosity was aroused as to where Valene's new fountain of knowledge came from. "How do you know that?" she queried.
"Eavesdropping on . . ." her explanation was interrupted by a knock on the door. The girls shot each other a glance. 'Numair' Valene mouthed. Daine rushed to slip on her silk slippers and check her appearance before Valene opened the door. After all, she didn't want her appearance to let him down. The door swung open revealing Evin, lounging against the doorframe. He looked up and grinned.
"Evin!" cried Daine in frustration.
"What? All I wanted to do was to see how you looked, compliment you, thus getting jilted by my beloved other half," he nodded towards Valene, "and get and get turned into a tree by a jealous mage. Is that too much to ask?"
Daine couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous he sounded. "No, we just thought it was Numair." She still blushed when Evin raised his eyebrow, even though he was fully aware of the extent of Daine's relationship with the mage. Evin inspected his fingers careful and in a nonchalant voice said "Speaking of him, I do believe that I wasn't the only one who noticed him sneaking out of your room this morning." At her sudden look of fear, he hastened to reassure her. "Don't worry, the other person was Onua, our esteemed Horsemistress. All she did was murmur something like "well, this is an interesting development" and carried on working." I reckon she'll corner you at some point tomorrow."
For some reason, at the word "tomorrow" Daine's stomach took a terrific lurch and she paled visibly. She felt almost like tomorrow wouldn't come, at least not for her. Fortunately, her two friends just took this as a sign of fear of discovery. She ventured a glance t them and was surprised but happy to see the way that Evin's arm was wrapped tightly around Valene's waist and that Valene was resting her head against his shoulder. Just then another knock sounded an without waiting for an answer, Numair strode in, but stopped dead when he caught sight of Daine.
"Gods, Magelet. You look beautiful," he whispered in pride. "I'm going to have to kill all the young men who look your way more than once tonight." He stepped forward and enfolding her gently within his embrace he dropped a soft kiss on her lips. Daine stepped back and surveyed him, happily taking in his gleaming raven hair caught in a short horsetail, the white silken shirt, and the lightly embroidered black tunic and breeches. On his feet were an enormous pair of polished black boots and in his ear and amber drop shone brightly.
"You don't look too bad yourself," she managed to say, her obvious pleasure at his appearance evident on her face. There was a polite cough to their right and they both saw the two Riders looking at them shamelessly and grinning for all they were worth. Numair cocked an eyebrow and dropping his head kissed Daine again, longer and deeper this time. Glancing once more at the nearby couple, he found that they were studying the ceiling, their cheeks now tinged with colour. Gallantly, he offered Daine his arm.
"Shall we, my Magelet?"
*****
Aw, in't cute?! Well, lots to happen in the next chapter; we have a ball, we have a d . . . .wait!!! I don't want to give that away! If you want to know what happens next, review me. If you don't want to know, review me anyway. God, I am so desperate. This is tragic. Someone rescue me.
Joeuk1: Thank you! I'm going all red, no, really!
Simi: Wow, thanks. That's an awful lot of pleases!
Queen's Own: Cheers : )
Ashley B: Course I am, I'm not quitter. Later!
Sir Lady Alanna Cooper: Sarra is not doing anything exactly, per se, but I can't promise you that Daine will be entirely, well, let's just say alive for the rest of the story. Don't let that put you off though!
Dead Life: So did I!
Socal-schitzophrenic: Really sorry about the name. Wouldn't have figured it out by myself I'm afraid - I know zip about America! (No offence, I'm just lacking in common sense). No worries, Daine isn't pregnant - Numair is being especially cautious about that at the moment since this is the beginning of their *ahem* intimate relationship.
Moonmage: I hope that they will be together at the end as well, but you never know what happens when the plot bunnies catch ya!
Shieldmaiden: A few more chapters yet, no need to panic about the end already! Yes, of course Kitten will come to the ball - even if she wasn't allowed to I'd wager she would anyway! And as for Daine lying and dying (wow, that rhymes! I need a life) well it's not that important . . . . is it?
Snakefeather: Thank you and I will look into Cloud's nonsense speech : P
Miya-chan3: That wasn't too much of a cliffy was it?
CrAzYhOrSeGiRl88: Ahh, you're to perceptive for your own good, or maybe I can't do subtle!!! Anyhoo, yes much sadness and grief and death and OOPS! Did I say that out loud? Evil evil evil evil . . .
ArizonaBay: It's gonna get sadder before it gets happier, which it will . . . .eventually . . .I think . . .maybe
Ball
"This is ridiculous!" Daine twisted in an exasperated manner, shifting restlessly on the small stool upon which she was currently standing. This comment earned her a sharp glare from the tiny albeit fierce seamsmistress who was kneeling at the foot of the stool, one hand clutching the heavy fabric of the dress and with pins sticking out of her mouth. An amused chuckle drew Daine's frustrated gaze to where her friend was leaning casually against the wall. Onua shot her a grin.
"Well, it really doesn't help anyone if you keep squirming like you are."
"I can't help it," the girl cried. "You wouldn't be too happy if someone was pricking you with pins either, I'll wager."
The seamsmistress dropped the dress and pins in annoyance. "I wouldn't be pricking you if you weren't moving quite so much," she snapped. "Stay still and this will be finished a lot quicker and with a lot less blood on the dress." Irritated, she returned back to the work at hand and Daine, sighing in resignation fought to keep herself from fidgeting. She looked down at the garment that was the cause of all this. She had to admit that it was a beautiful piece of cloth, artfully designed with its square cut neck and its rustling skirts which flared out from her hips, emphasising the tight bodice which tapered down to a point at the front of her torso. The main skirts were a deep twilight blue covered by a layer of silver net; delicate silver and gold embroidery adorned the bodice and black string twined its way up the front. Just more knots to add to the confusion of this thing, Daine thought glumly. If I can do it up at the front, then others can surely undo it. Nevertheless, the dress was fairly modest, covering all of her back and her shoulders. Daine winced slightly as another needle found its way into the skin of her shin.
This could take long time, she mused, grimacing at the thought. Glancing across the room in hope of seeking some support from Onua, she found that her friend had disappeared and had been replaced by Kitten, who was chortling obviously at the girl's discomfort.
A very long time, she amended.
*****
Daine swooped into her room through the open window, sunlight glinting off her golden wings. Ruffling her feathers she shifted back into her human form and fell backwards onto her rump. Groaning and trying to catch her breath, she made as if to get up but froze when she heard a tell-tale whisper of cloth from behind her. Someone was in her room and she was most definitely not prepared to meet them since she was wearing not a stitch but the silver necklace which hung across her throat. Undecided as to what to do, she paused for what seemed like hours and was shocked when heavy material slid around her shoulders. She was lifted effortlessly and dumped unceremoniously onto her bed. Daine looked up and met the soft gaze of her lover. A silent sigh of relief blew past her lips and she cocked an eyebrow at him. Numair chuckled lightly.
"You ought to be more careful about checking your room before you shape- shift, Magelet. You never know who might be in here."
She scowled at him. "There is nothing of any interest in here for anyone but you. Besides, I locked the door." Still smiling, he tugged her into his arms and she nestled into his chest, immediately forgetting that she was annoyed with him just a second before. She toyed with the soft cotton of his shirt under her hand, content to do nothing for now. Everything was just so tiring at the moment; even a short time in eagle shape had left her body exhausted and trembling. It was as she had been soaring gently on the thermals above the forest that she had started to feel an ache building up in her wing joints. She had intended to fly over the whole city but the tension continued increasing in her whole body and she had decided to return before she had even covered less than half of the city. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was more like a constant pressure on the all of the vulnerable parts of her body robbing her of the ability to breathe properly.
She found herself a couple of hours later tucked into her bed, with a nightdress on and the covers drawn up high. Numair lay spooned up behind her, his arm draped lazily over her waist. She grinned and turned over to look at her lover as he slept. His face was so relaxed when he didn't have anything to worry over or think about and his mouth was curved in a sleepy smile. His long eyelashes cast shadows across his dark cheek and his raven hair had worked itself loose from its leather thong. Mine, she thought smugly. All mine.
"Are you going to lie there all day watching me, or are you going to get up?" Daine's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"I thought you were asleep," she commented.
"I was." She waited, expecting him to explain further but all Numair did was hug her tighter against his chest and let his lips graze her forehead. Daine shifted her gaze to the window and saw that it was almost dark outside. She imagined that the bell for supper had already rung and that most people had stopped working back now.
"Given that it's dark out need we really get up? Can't we just here?" she pleaded, all the time tucking the covers higher up around his shoulders. He grinned in agreement, but propped himself up on his arm, gazing down at her. Locks of his soft hair fell forward and swung lazily in his face. Daine reached up a small hand and brushed them behind his ear. "So how come you were waiting for me when I got back earlier? I gather you wanted to discuss something, no?"
"Yes, I did actually. It was about the Ball that's . . ." Numair was startled by the long-suffering groan from his young lover that interrupted him and lifted an eyebrow questioningly. He watched a shudder traverse through her body as she recalled the horrors from that morning.
"It was too much," she sulked. "Having to stand on a stool for absolutely hours and then all the time being treated like a pincushion. Believe me, I have the scratches to prove it!" His laugh filled the whole room and Daine glowered at him silently. She liked it when he laughed, it was a wonderful rich sound but she hated it when it was her he was laughing at.
"Magelet, I'm sorry, but you reminded me so much of Alanna. I do believe you share her dislike of balls and all the fuss that accompanies them." A sudden smile brightened Daine's face.
"How is Alanna? I haven't seen her for so long."
Numair recalled that the last time he had seen the Champion he and Daine were not exactly happy with each other. The knight had promised to look into some possibilities for curing Daine, but he had not yet informed her of Daine's supposed recovery. "She is fine, Daine. Anyway," he glared at her mockingly for being sidetracked, "just so that you don't forget, the Ball is in three days time. I will come and pick you up from your room just in case you decide to accidentally forget about it."
Daine slapped his arm playfully. "Numair, as much as I dislike the fact that I have to go to this silly ball, I wouldn't deliberately miss it. That would be fair rude."
"I'm teasing you, Daine. I know you wouldn't do that. However, I will pick you up all the same. I want to see the look on everyone's faces when I'm lucky enough to enter with such a beautiful girl on my arm."
Daine laughed gently at his foolishness, and then suddenly grew serious. "Does that mean you are willing to acknowledge our relationship publicly?" she queried, half afraid of the answer.
"I have been for a long time," he replied softly. "I just wanted to give you time to adjust to it. But yes, I want there to be no doubt in anyone's mind that you are mine and that I am yours."
Daine smiled and embraced him fiercely.
"Thank you."
*****
Daine slid the heavy dress over her head, wriggling in order to try and get the material to fall past her hips. Growling in irritation, she pulled the skirts down, but had to repeat this many times to get all the skirts hanging down nicely. She smoothed a wrinkle that had appeared in one side of the fabric and started to rearrange the top half of the dress properly. To her credit, only when the strings of the bodice were hopelessly entangled did she lose her patience.
"Odd's bobs!" she yelled. "How on earth do you tie this blasted thing on?"
A chuckle sounded from the doorway. Daine spun around and saw Valene standing there with Kitten perched on her haunches at the girl's feet. Valene was chewing a piece of straw idly and was gazing at Daine's situation in ill-concealed amusement.
"Don't you ever knock?" Daine growled irritably.
"No," replied her friend before straightening her body languidly and walking towards Daine. She took the mess from the wildmage's hands and skilfully disentangled it all. That done, she laced the bodice properly, ignoring Daine's sound of protest as half the air in her lugs was squashed out. Finishing the small bow off with a flourish she smirked. "I may have no clue as to how to do your hair for such occasions as these, but even I know how to tie up a bodice." Daine's glare was likewise ignored. "However, I don't like this attempt of yours to leave all of us behind and join polite society. It's very saddening to know that we ain't fancy enough for you. Hey, I'm just teasing you!" she hurried to add when she saw the look on her friend's face.
Suddenly Daine smiled. "I don't exactly want to go to it, but Numair insists. Something about wanting to avoid unwanted attention from the court ladies fawning all over them. I'll kill them if they do that," she added as an afterthought, only half-joking. She picked up her brush and dragged it through her curls, teasing the knots out. Daine pinned a small section to the back of her head, intent on keeping it out of her eyes and out of her food but left the rest to tumble gracefully over her shoulders. Valene stepped forward and pinched her cheeks. A little yelp escaped Daine and she jumped backwards rubbing her face.
"What did you go and do that for?"
"Fool," commented her friend wryly. "It brings colour to your cheeks without suggesting a loose nature like rouge would."
Daine's curiosity was aroused as to where Valene's new fountain of knowledge came from. "How do you know that?" she queried.
"Eavesdropping on . . ." her explanation was interrupted by a knock on the door. The girls shot each other a glance. 'Numair' Valene mouthed. Daine rushed to slip on her silk slippers and check her appearance before Valene opened the door. After all, she didn't want her appearance to let him down. The door swung open revealing Evin, lounging against the doorframe. He looked up and grinned.
"Evin!" cried Daine in frustration.
"What? All I wanted to do was to see how you looked, compliment you, thus getting jilted by my beloved other half," he nodded towards Valene, "and get and get turned into a tree by a jealous mage. Is that too much to ask?"
Daine couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous he sounded. "No, we just thought it was Numair." She still blushed when Evin raised his eyebrow, even though he was fully aware of the extent of Daine's relationship with the mage. Evin inspected his fingers careful and in a nonchalant voice said "Speaking of him, I do believe that I wasn't the only one who noticed him sneaking out of your room this morning." At her sudden look of fear, he hastened to reassure her. "Don't worry, the other person was Onua, our esteemed Horsemistress. All she did was murmur something like "well, this is an interesting development" and carried on working." I reckon she'll corner you at some point tomorrow."
For some reason, at the word "tomorrow" Daine's stomach took a terrific lurch and she paled visibly. She felt almost like tomorrow wouldn't come, at least not for her. Fortunately, her two friends just took this as a sign of fear of discovery. She ventured a glance t them and was surprised but happy to see the way that Evin's arm was wrapped tightly around Valene's waist and that Valene was resting her head against his shoulder. Just then another knock sounded an without waiting for an answer, Numair strode in, but stopped dead when he caught sight of Daine.
"Gods, Magelet. You look beautiful," he whispered in pride. "I'm going to have to kill all the young men who look your way more than once tonight." He stepped forward and enfolding her gently within his embrace he dropped a soft kiss on her lips. Daine stepped back and surveyed him, happily taking in his gleaming raven hair caught in a short horsetail, the white silken shirt, and the lightly embroidered black tunic and breeches. On his feet were an enormous pair of polished black boots and in his ear and amber drop shone brightly.
"You don't look too bad yourself," she managed to say, her obvious pleasure at his appearance evident on her face. There was a polite cough to their right and they both saw the two Riders looking at them shamelessly and grinning for all they were worth. Numair cocked an eyebrow and dropping his head kissed Daine again, longer and deeper this time. Glancing once more at the nearby couple, he found that they were studying the ceiling, their cheeks now tinged with colour. Gallantly, he offered Daine his arm.
"Shall we, my Magelet?"
*****
Aw, in't cute?! Well, lots to happen in the next chapter; we have a ball, we have a d . . . .wait!!! I don't want to give that away! If you want to know what happens next, review me. If you don't want to know, review me anyway. God, I am so desperate. This is tragic. Someone rescue me.