A/N: Okay, I'm an awful horrible person for not having written my chapter in 7 months, and I'm really sorry. But it's here now. And if Modern Guru will write the next chapter really quickly, maybe we can start a trend! Enjoy!

She turned around slowly, afraid of what expression could possibly be on Numair's face. She dimly heard the sounds of Neal making his escape. She looked up at her tall lover and saw that he wore a look of dejection. Damn.

"Numair-"

The mage held up a hand, and avoided making eye contact with her. "No, Magelet, there's no need to explain. I knew it would come to this someday. After all, I'm fourteen years your senior. You need someone your age."

Daine couldn't believe what she was hearing. Torn between anxiety and frustration, she cried, "Numair, listen to yourself! I don't care about your age!"

"So where were you last night?" he asked softly.

Daine slumped back against the wall. "I was drunk. I don't have a better explanation."

"Daine, you don't even know who you were with," Numair said, gently. The soft tone of his voice perplexed Daine. Why wasn't he angry with her? "Look, you need some time to think. Please forget I proposed to you, and just mull over what and who you want." Numair opened the door of their room. "I'll stay with Lindhall. Take as long as you want, Magelet." He walked out of the room. Daine sunk down to the floor in defeat.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alanna strode quickly down the stone hallway. She had just spoken with a very teary Daine, and if she knew her friend Numair, he would be close to tears also. She stopped in front of the mage's new residence with Lindhall, and knocked on the door.

"Hello, Alanna."

Alanna smiled. "Hello, Lindhall. How are you?"

"I'm doing quite well, actually. But I suspect it's not me you meant to ask that question to."

Alanna grinned. "Mages are smarter than they look."

Lindhall returned her smile. "Numair is in the back room."

"Thanks." The Lioness walked in the direction Lindhall indicated and knocked on the door. "It's me, Numair."

"Come in," she heard him flatly reply. She opened the door and walked in. She found her old friend lying glumly on his bed.

She sat in a wooden chair next to him. "How are you?" she asked gently.

Numair conjured up a small ball of light and started tossing it. "Wonderful. The woman I love doesn't love me anymore, but other than that, life couldn't be any better."

Alanna had to bite her cheek from responding snappily. "Misery doesn't suit you, Numair. And as for Daine not loving you, that's ridiculous. She was inconsolable. She wanted to be with you, she missed you."

"Who did she spend last night with?"

"You don't know?" Numair shook his head, focusing on his ball, and Alanna sighed. Her job many times required her to be the bearer of bad news. It never became easier for her. " Sir Nealan of Queenscove."

Numair, dropping the ball, looked puzzled. "No, it wasn't him."

"What?"

"He came in right after I had proposed to Daine, and said it wasn't him, Daine must've gone back to someone else's rooms."

"But both he and Daine were convinced it was him." She straightened up. "I think we need to have one final talk with my former squire."

"What good will it do? The bottom line is Daine slept with someone. And that someone wasn't me."

"Numair, I'm not excusing her. But she was drunk, and it was a mistake, a mistake she truly regrets. But something seems very wrong about this whole thing, and I think we should go talk to Neal and see what's going on. Are you coming or not?"

Numair sighed. "I supposed I have nothing left to lose." He got up off his bed and followed the Lioness back out into the hallway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Neal pounded on Yuki's door for the fifth time. "Yuki, please open the door!" There was no answer. Desperate, Neal shouted, "Look, you don't have to forgive me, but I think I got someone else in trouble and I really need your help to sort it out! Please, Yuki!"

The door opened a crack. "What did you and your idiocy do this time?" For all her Yamani control, Yuki's voice was so icy that Neal cringed.

"I think I made things worse for Daine."

"You expect me to help you help the woman you slept with?" Yuki asked incredulously.

"I didn't sleep with her! Kel can vouch for that. It's true that I was with her at the Dancing Dove, but we must've left separately. Kel and Dom saw me walking back alone."

The door opened a little more. "You were really with Kel?"

Neal thanked the Goddess that Yuki and Kel were such good friends. "Yes, I was."

Some of Yuki's anger seemed to disappear, but then came back full force. "The point is, Neal, you keep drinking. You're going to drink yourself into ruin! Maybe you didn't do anything bad this time. But what about the next?"

"Yuki, I promise I will try my hardest to ensure that there won't be a next time. But I need your help for that," he pleaded. Yuki seemed to take that into consideration, but still didn't Neal into her room.

"So then who was Daine with?"

"I don't know, that's the problem!"

"Did you tell her she wasn't with you?"

"Maybe you two would be better off having this conversation inside Yuki's room instead of announcing it to all of Corus?" a voice interjected. Neal turned around to see the Lioness and the person he least expected to be with her."May we come in?" Numair politely asked Yuki.