He steeled himself. It was now or never; if only his head wasn't buzzing so much. He raised his hand up to the heavy wooden door in front of him and knocked. "Come in," a cheerful voice said. He opened the door and walked in. The owner of the voice smiled up at him until she noticed the look on his face. "What's wrong?"
1. He sat down hard in the chair opposite her. He was almost glad his head hurt so much because it was forcing him to get this over with so he could just fall into a worry-less sleep afterward.
"Yuki, I've done a horrible thing."
"What? What is it, Neal?" The stricken look on his face was starting to worry her.
"Promise not to interrupt until I'm done?" She nodded, a grim look taking over her pretty features. Neal took a deep breath and began.
Sitting up in bed, Daine felt better physically than she had all day. Alanna's cure had finally worked and she was thinking clearly again. But internally, Daine felt horrible. How could lying have come so easily to her? And how could she have lied to Numair? Now she had two wrongs to deal with instead of one. Suddenly she had the feeling of someone watching her. She looked up sharply only to relax once she saw familiar violet eyes. "Hello, Alanna. How long have you been waiting for me to get up?"
"About ten minutes actually," Alanna answered briskly.
Daine yawned and rubbed her arms. "Was there a reason you wanted to see me?"
As usual, the Lioness did not beat around the bush. "You need to tell Numair."
Daine felt her face fall. "Neal told you," she said blankly.
"Yes, he did. And it was a good thing he did too. Daine, I've known Numair for a long time. And I've learned one thing. He is extremely loyal to those who have earned his love. You are one of them. He will be angry, yes. He might avoid you for a few days. But he will realize that his need for you is more important in the grand scheme of things than this mistake of yours." Alanna stopped, realizing that she had made a long speech.
"Do you really think so?" Daine asked. She knew she sounded petulant, and she was reminded of herself at age five, asking Sarra for confirmation on everything.
"Yes."
"But Numair, was, well, you know, supposed to be my-"
"I know, your first."
"Neal told you that too!" Daine asked indignantly.
"Shh, I have more to say. I hate to be rude about this, but you wouldn't have been Numair's first. And I wasn't George's first. Thayet wasn't Jon's first."
"But all of their first people were someone special!"
"Neal's not special?" Alanna asked, feeling a little loyal toward her former squire.
"Well, I didn't mean it like that! Alanna, you know exactly what I mean!"
Alanna sighed and blew her hair out of her face. "Look, nowhere did I say what you did was right. You made a mistake and now you have to suffer the consequences. At least you didn't end up killing someone." Alanna's eyes clouded over as she said this, and Daine immediately felt stupid.
"Alanna, I can deal with this now. Really. I think you should go get some sleep. You've been helping me out all day."
Alanna nodded. "All right, I'll leave." She stood up, running a hand through her hair. "Just tell him." With that, she left. Daine sat on her bed, pondering what to do next.
"I can't believe you did that," Yuki said sadly.
"Neither can I," Neal mumbled. He was expecting her to get angry, not be so disappointed. It made him feel guiltier.
"Do you realize that none of this would've happened if you hadn't started drinking?" she asked. "I told you that it would be the ruin of you, and now you've hurt me, Numair, Daine, and yourself. When is it going to stop, Neal?"
Neal bowed his head, feeling truly admonished. But he didn't have an answer.
"I forgive you for what you did. But until you stop drinking, I really don't want to be with you," Yuki said suddenly. Neal snapped his head up.
"But that's not fair!"
"Yes it is. This one mistake is bad enough, but what about the next one? You've tried so many ways to nip the drinking habit in the bud, but none of them worked." She stopped and drew a breath. "Maybe I will."
The talk with the king had gone well. Numair had long gotten over any nervousness he had when speaking to Jon. But the thought of the conversation he was about to have was making his palms sweat. He paused outside his rooms, gathering his thoughts. It had been a long time since he had first attempted this topic of conversation with her. But he was so ready to try it again, no matter what the consequences. Goddess help me. He shook his head to clear it and opened the door, only to find Daine about to open it herself. He grinned at her, and she smiled uncertainly back at him.
"I have to tell-" they both began. That was quite cliché, Numair thought to himself.
"You go first," Daine said.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, please go ahead." There was a pleading look in her eyes, so he gave in. He ushered her inside the room. Then he grasped both of her hands in her own. He kneeled down and cleared his throat.
"Daine, I love you. You know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have children with you and grow old together." He paused. "Though I'll probably grow old first. But I digress. Veralidaine Sarrasri, will you marry me?"