A/N: I've got a feeling that this chappy is going to suck.....I mean at the moment I'm sick with the flu, and I'm baby-sitting Dean and Brandon. Now you want a bad job, babysit for those idiots! They are so evil, especially Dean! I often wonder if the little turkey even has a fraction of a heart....
Anywayz, I hope you like this chapter, though I doubt that you will.....
Disclaimer: I still don't own any of TP's characters and I probably (definitely) never will.....*sighs*
***SPECIAL NOTE***
I want to take a quick moment to thank my reviewers...I luv you guys! That is, I love you all except for simon. Simon, if you're reading this, you are a jerk to say the least and if you are reading this, it is like Tequila said, we are going to use your flame to have a BBQ!!!
Oh and I may have forgotten to say so b4, but this fic is dedicated to my newborn niece, Jocelyn born 9/23/03!!! ^_^
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" Alanna, how long have Daine and I been sleeping?" Numair asked the Lady knight curiously. He still felt rather weak, so he assumed it couldn't have been all that long.
" For a whole week, laddy buck," Alanna said, jokingly using one of her many nicknames for Numair. Numair was in shock. How could they have slept a full week? It was true, he'd been tired, one could even say exhausted, but how could he have slept for a week? This didn't make very much sense to Numair, but why should it when nothing else has lately?
" A whole week? Did I hear you right?" Daine asked in barely more than a whisper. Numair heard every word of it, for he sat with his body pressed closely to hers, perhaps a little to close for just a student and teacher. Close enough to arouse suspicion from a certain lady knight.
" You heard me right," Alanna said, her mind not with her as she spoke. She was busy studying the behavior of her friends. She hadn't missed how close they sat. Something was very different about the two of them, of that much she was certain, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Though the signs were clear, Alanna just didn't put two and two together in her mind as she should have. To her, it seemed impossible, even though she had had her suspicions of such a thing before now.
The trio sat in silence for several minutes, no one knowing what to say. All of them were feeling rather awkward just now, though none of them knew why, nor did they know that the other two were feeling much the same. Finally, Alanna spoke up, the silence was beginning to get to her. " The two of you must be starving," she said good naturedly, " Why don't we go find something for you to eat?"
Daine was relieved that the silence had been broken. She been too afraid to speak, too afraid that her secret would be revealed. She felt her stomach growl in hunger, and she knew her friend had made an accurate suggestion. " Come to think of it, Alanna, I'm fair hungry. What about you Numair?" Daine answered Alanna and then questioned Numair.
" Starved," he said, rising from the bench and breaking contact with Daine. Daine followed suit, and Alanna was soon to follow. She stretched out her arms and massaged her side, which was soar from too much riding.
" I'll show the two of you to the mess hall," Alanna said in an off hand sort of way. Since she had nothing else of importance to do today, she would dedicate her time to solving the mystery of her friends behavior. The new found idea that there was something new and peculiar about them would eat at her brain until she did something about it, so she had better do it sooner rather than later. If she was lucky, she'd solve the little mystery fast.
Alanna led Daine and Numair away from the bench outside the Healer's Wing and towards the other side of the vast amount of space the fort's walls surrounded. They were led past the live stock and past the piles of supplies, until they reached another canvas door that was held up by its wooden door frame. The lady knight pulled back the canvas flap and entered into a room much larger than the Healer's Wing. It was filled with long wooden tables with benches attached to sit on. The tables were made to hold a large amount of people which was perfect for a soldier's mess hall. Daine could smell the tasty aroma of the food cooking from within the kitchen. She smelled potatoes being fried along with sausage, bacon, eggs and hot cakes. It made Daine's mouth water with hunger. She hadn't eaten in a full week, making her more than just a little hungry. She felt as if she could eat enough food to feed every man on every ship of a full fleet of the King's navy. At the far end of the room, There was yet another canvas door that Daine assumed led to the kitchen. The room was not crowded with men and women, for most had already eaten at the correct meal time. Daine and Numair had slept until mid day, so they were only now eating.
" You have no idea how welcoming that smell is," Numair said, his voice filled with longing. He earned a laugh from Daine, causing Alanna to shoot them a side long glance of curiosity, for she hadn't heard the mage's remark.
" What? Do I have something in my teeth?" Alanna asked self-consciously for she assumed they were laughing at her. When they both refused to stop laughing, she took a step toward them and kicked Numair hard in the shins. He yelped in pain and lost his balance, falling backward and onto the floor. He hit the ground bottom first, causing a loud thump. Alanna held a satisfied look as she looked down on him. Daine too was laughing. Numair hung his head in shame and embarrassment, his face a deep shade of crimson under his tanned Tyran skin. " Finally, Numair! I can look down on you instead of up!" Alanna said mockingly, flashing him an innocent grin. Numair jerked his head up at hearing the woman's comment and grumbled angrily, his eyes blazing with anger.
"I'll get you for that, Alanna," he spat, causing Alanna to laugh all the harder, Daine as well.
" And just what are you going to do about it, mage?" she asked, voicing her challenge. He flashed her a knowing smile, causing her to frown in confusement.
The ceiling of the ground level rooms of the fort was considerably low. Anyone over six feet in height could easily reach up and touch the ceiling. Numair noticed this and used it to his advantage as he rose slowly to his feet. He gave Alanna the most innocent look he could muster as he reached up to touch the ceiling. The Lioness looked at him in confusement, not understanding what his purpose was for touching the ceiling. She watched as he ran his fingers along the oak wood beam that wasn't far above his head. The whole time his face held a knowing look, frustrating Alanna.
Daine watched the two with some amusement. She had seen them at war many times before and she always found it to be an excellent source of entertainment. Daine kept her distance from them as she watched. She had learned from personal experience that it was always best to keep her distance and let them fight alone. She wondered what Numair was up to, but from the look on his face she knew it was some sort of clever revenge he'd conjured in his head.
Numair didn't keep the two women waiting long to find out what he had planned, for he was soon ready to pull it off. Within the blink of an eye, Numair had brought his hand down from the beam, his fist clenched around something. His face bore a look of triumph as he flung his closed fist towards Alanna, looking at first as if he was trying to punch the lady knight. It wasn't until Daine saw the look of horror on the Lioness's face that Daine knew what Numair's intentions were. Inside the mage's clenched fist was a large spider that he'd found in a cob web up on the beam. Daine smiled knowingly as she watched her love fling the spider onto Alanna's chest. It was a well known fact that Alanna had a great fear of spiders and many people, namely Numair, chose to take advantage of this fact.
A loud scream split the air as Alanna began dashing in circles, panicking. Numair took a step back and moved to Daine's side at a fair and safe distance away. Together, mage and magelet watched their friend screaming and squirming frantically. The knight pawed at her chest in rapid motions to flick the spider off, but to no avail. Daine turned her head to steal a glance at her love only to see he held a look of utmost satisfaction. He refused to break his eyes away from the dancing lady knight, not even for a moment, for this was the plunder of his daring act.
" Numair Salmalin!" Alanna shrieked in both panic and in utmost anger. "Rest assured that you shall pay dearly for this!"
By now, Alanna was getting desperate. She'd found that she couldn't easily flick off the spider without touching it, what with her panicked state. No, the knight was now ready to take more desperate measures. She reached up to the strap at her upper arm that held on her breast plate. She fumbled with it frantically, trying desperately to get it unbuckled. She took one look down at the tiny, black, eight legged creature crawling over her front and she began to feel faint. The buckle on the strap that held on her breast plate would not budge, making things very difficult for Alanna.
Daine saw her friend continue to struggle, and began to pity the knight. She felt her friend had suffered enough, though she had to admit that it had been an excellent source of entertainment. Taking a quick glance around the room, she saw that everyone who had been busily eating when they had entered were now watching the Lioness's behavior with some interest and much amusement. It wasn't everyday that they got the privilege of seeing the King's Champion scared to death over a tiny little spider. Daine could hear several chuckles coming from the others in the room. She'd had enough of it though. She took a step forward to help Alanna, but stopped when she felt a large hand on her shoulder. Numair eyed her, giving her a look that disapproved. She simply shook her head and shrugged his hand off, again walking towards Alanna, this time ignoring all of Numair's protests.
Alanna was still squirming madly, making it difficult for Daine to get her to hold still long enough to get the spider off. She reached out both hands and gripped the Lioness's shoulders firmly, forcing her friend to stop her panicked movements and hold still. Once she's gotten Alanna to stay put, she took one hand away and reached down and pulled the spider effortlessly off of the lady knight. Alanna's eyes were still wide from what had just taken place, and Daine couldn't help but laugh. Alanna frowned at her, a look of complete annoyance on her face. She jerked her head away from Daine and her eyes met that of Numair's. "You have yet to pay your debt," Daine faintly heard the Lioness growl under her breath. Though Daine had never experienced the Lioness's wrath, she'd witnessed it many times and wouldn't bet a single copper on the well being of the person who'd crossed her.
In a heart beat, Alanna had thrown her body towards Numair, throwing him to the floor. They both landed with a thud, causing the onlookers to get out of their seats to watch. Daine could hear them betting as to what the outcome would be. It looked as if the fall hadn't hurt Alanna in the slightest, for she had landed on top. Numair on the other hand, was beneath her, groaning in pain as she kneed him hard in the stomach. "That's what you get for the spider!" she shrieked as she continued to slap his face over and over. Each time he'd try to get out of her grasp, but found it to be a harder task than he'd originally thought. She held him down hot only with her own strength, but also with her Gift.
Just as Numair was about to pull his own magic into his war with Alanna, he felt the weight on his chest lessen as Alanna was forced off of him. Daine had intervened in the battle, stopping them from their fighting. She'd come to Numair's aid and pulled Alanna off of him before the knight had done too much damage. " Daine, let me go! He deserves this!" Alanna yelled as she tried to fight off Daine's arms which were currently pulling her off of Numair.
" You two stop it! " Daine scolded her friends, " You're both even."
Numair pulled himself up from the floor, keeping his distance from the lady knight. The trio proceeded to go and sit at one of the long tables as the soldiers who'd stopped eating to watch the fight, again returned their attention to their food. Numair walked on one side of Daine while Alanna on the other. Neither would look at each other, which Daine found to be rather amusing. It was hard to believe that they were like this most of the time.
They made their way over to the counter where the food was being kept hot.They each grabbed a tray and began filling it with whatever they liked. Once they had gotten their food, they went back to find a table. They each took a seat without a word and began eating. It was an extremely silent meal, not one of them speaking unless it was through Daine.
" It seems that Daine and sleeping beauty are finally awake," came a familiar voice from behind. Daine looked up from her meal of hot cakes and potatoes and turned to see who had spoken to her. It had, of course, been Onua as she had suspected. She looked up at the horse mistress, and her face spread into a grin. Though she'd seen the woman just before she went to sleep, it hadn't been much of a time to catch up on missed time, for Daine had been exhausted.
" I resent you calling me that, Onua," Numair said, his voice bland. Daine, Alanna, and Onua laughed at this, but Alanna and Numair still didn't break away their cold looks at one another.
" What's with Alanna and Numair?" Onua asked curiously, taking a seat across from Daine, her old assistant.
" They had a bit of a spat," Daine explained, rolling her eyes, " Alanna kicked Numair and then he threw a spider on her and it went from there."
" Ah, well I see not much has changed between them," Onua said with a laugh. Daine soon joined in, leaving Numair and Alanna to stare at the two women in bewilderment. Both knight and mage stared at the other, confused. Finally, Alanna spoke up.
" What do you say we call it even, mage?" Alanna said, sighing in exasperation. Both Daine and Onua rolled their eyes as they waited for Numair's response.
"Fine," he said simply, reaching out to take Alanna's outstretched hand. She gripped his briefly, shaking it and then let it drop. Daine and Onua giggled profusely as Alanna reached down under the table and wiped her hand on her pant leg, making a sour face. Numair glared menacingly at her, but did nothing more for they now had a truce.
Suddenly, a look of realization dawned upon Alanna's face as she remembered something she was expected to do. " By the Mother Goddess!" Alanna exclaimed as soon as she realized what she'd forgotten. " I've got to go, and fast! I was supposed to check in at the Healer's Tents set up in the village! If Jon hears about this, I'll never hear the end of it!" Alanna rose immediately from where she sat and quickly made her way out of the room. Jon had assigned Alanna very few duties for the war clean up and would be very disappointed to find that she had been slacking off at the few that she did have. She always hated it when Jon, or anyone else for that matter, had anything to hold over her.
" Well that was unexpected," Numair said as he watched the flash of long, flaming red hair sweep past him faster than lightning. Daine nodded in agreement and Onua was soon to follow.
" Since she's the King's Champion, I expect we'll be seeing less and less of her now that the war clean up needs to be started," Onua said thoughtfully.
" Thats very true," Numair added, noticing that it may not be just Alanna he would be seeing less of if he were expected to use his magic to help out with the clean up. "I suppose Jon is going to expect me to help lead the clean up effort as well." he said meekly. Joining the clean up squads for duty was the last thing he wanted to spend the next couple of months doing. It would be pure torture, even if he wasn't madly in love with someone and wanted to be with them for every waking moment.
" I hope he doesn't," Daine said showing much more emotion than intended. Numair failed to notice this for he was deep in thought, but Onua didn't. She caught the slight change of tone Daine had used, one that wasn't normal for the young woman. Onua let it pass however, thinking that it was just her ears deceiving her and that it had been nothing at all.
" I doubt if either of you will be called off any time soon," Onua said off handedly. "After the ordeal you've both just been through, I'm sure he'll grant you a leave."
Daine hadn't considered this as an option, though it did sound very appealing. It had been a long time since she could relax and be carefree. It would do her some good to rest and get all of her thoughts together. Numair had proposed to her and keeping him waiting didn't seem the right thing to do, no matter how unsure Daine was. She wanted more than anything to marry him, but she still had her fears and was afraid she always would. There was always going to be a chance that one day he'd feel trapped and he'd turn his back on her. If he didn't turn his back on her, he'd just be living in misery and that was the last thing Daine wanted. Answering Numair's marriage proposal would be very difficult indeed.
There was a long pause in the conversation before anyone spoke. Finally, Onua broke the silence. " You know, neither of you told me exactly what ordeal you went through," Onua said, hinting them to tell her their story. Daine turned her head to look at Numair and saw him wink. She smiled at this and he mirrored her.
" Well, seeing as Daine got to tell the whole story to Alanna, I see it only fitting that I get to tell you," Numair said, carefully running over the facts in his mind. He would have to be careful not to say anything he and Daine planned to keep concealed. Daine and Numair both took turns telling Onua different parts of their trip to the Divine Realms for the next hour or so. It was getting late in the day and none of them had done anything much but lay around and talk with one another.
" Wow," Onua said, her tone breathless, not finding any word more fitting to what she had just heard. "If it wasn't coming from you two, I wouldn't believe it to be true if I was offered all of the gold in Carthak!"
Daine grinned at her former employer's choice of words. She was right though. Their story was hard to believe, and that was putting it mildly. No mortals had entered the Divine Realms for centuries, even in dreams. That was why there were no fully reliable sources in the libraries containing information about that particular Realm. Up until now, no mortal had truly known what it looked like or how it worked, unless he or she hadn't recorded such findings, but that was unlikely. 'Numair will probably want to write a book' Daine thought with some amusement. His experiments and arcane discoveries would never be the same since his trip to the Divine Realms. He would have so much more material to work with. Even Daine knew this when she knew little to nothing about his works.
" I'm not so sure I'd believe it myself had I not lived it," Numair said, grinning proudly. He'd never dreamed he'd be one of the first mortals to set foot in the Divine Realms in centuries.
" I'm fair sure I'd laugh if anyone tried to tell me what we've just told you," Daine added with a laugh. It was indeed strange enough to enter the Divine Realms if you were a mortal, but stranger yet to meet your parents who died years ago there as well. Their little trip had definitely been a turn of events on their part.
" I hate to do this, seeing as I've only just seen you for the first time in months, but I really have to be going," said, her voice revealing her disappointment. " I've a duty to tend to the Rider's and Knight's mounts at this fort and once I've done that, I must move on to the next."
" We completely understand, " Numair said sympathetically, speaking for himself and Daine.
" Go on ahead and do what you came here for Onua, " Daine piped in, looking over her shoulder to see that Numair's eyes were fixed on her. He seemed not to notice where his gaze had fallen, or the fact that it had been this way for far too long.
Onua too noticed this, and it caused her to wonder even more about her two friends.
" Daine and I will be fine by ourselves," Numair said calmly, not breaking his eyes away from his student. Daine blushed when Onua raised an eyebrow briefly before rising from her seat.
" Well, if you two are sure, then I'll just be going," Onua said, swinging her leg over the bench and taking a step back. " Hopefully I'll get to see you before I move on to the next fort, but if I don't, its likely we'll meet at the palace in a week or so. Who knows, Jonathan might summon the two of you to the palace sooner. Until he does, he sent orders for you to remain here."
" Yes, Alanna already informed us of that," Numair said, his voice hurried. Daine failed to notice this, but Onua didn't. He seemed to be rushing her. She would indeed have to speak to Alanna about all of this. Perhaps the lady knight will have noticed some of the same behavior and would know what it meant. " Have a nice day."
" You too, Numair, Daine," Onua said as she walked away. She made her way acorss the room and out of the canvas flap of a door. When she was out of site, Numair turned to Daine to find that she was already looking at him. He grinnned, causing her to mirror him. He reached under the tabel, grabbing the hand that lay in her lap. She giggled at his antics, but couldn't help but take a quick glance around the room to make sure no one had noticed. Shivers went rapidly up her spine as he ran his finger up her leg and into her lap. She playfully stepped on his foot, causing him to glare at her mockingly.
" Care to go for a walk?" Numair asked, his eyes darkening from their normal deep brown to a coal black. Daine felt breathless as she looked at the emotion in his eyes. She nodded, not daring herself to speak. She'd caught on to his hint, knowing that his intention was to be alone with her. She felt giddy at the mere thought, her breath catching in her throat. " Then lets go." Numair said, removing his hand form Daine's and rising from where he sat next to her. She too rose, standing extremely close to him as she did. She took a step back until she was a respectable distance from him. -its going to be harder than I thought to keep from arousing suspicion- Daine thought with some amusement. It seemed everything they did could easily give away their secret.
Daine followed her love across the room and through the canvas door that led out of the mess hall and out into the open space of the fort. They made their way through the crowd of scurrying soldiers, knights, pages and squires and to the opposite wall. Here, there was a door built into the sturdy wall that led to the outside. It was a seperate door from the large fort gates, and it enabled single people to exit the fort without having to open the main gates. In front of the door stood an armed guard. He saw who stood before him and smiled. He would recognize the famous Numair Salmalin and Veralidaine Sarrasri any day. He moved out of the way of the door with a smile, saluting the two war heroes as he did. Daine and Numair did not hesitate to make their way through the door and out into the open space outside of the fort walls.
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A/N: Well? What did you think? I know it wasn't a very fluffy chapter, but I suppose we don't ALWAYS need fluff....Don't worry though, cuz I'll have lots of it in most chapters. Next chapter should have a lot. I mean how could it not? I just led them out into a secluded location ALONE...hmmmm...I wonder what they plan t spend their time doing? Anyway, don't forget to review or heads shall roll! Well...not really, but don't count on a new chappy anytime soon if you don't! ^_^
Anywayz, I hope you like this chapter, though I doubt that you will.....
Disclaimer: I still don't own any of TP's characters and I probably (definitely) never will.....*sighs*
***SPECIAL NOTE***
I want to take a quick moment to thank my reviewers...I luv you guys! That is, I love you all except for simon. Simon, if you're reading this, you are a jerk to say the least and if you are reading this, it is like Tequila said, we are going to use your flame to have a BBQ!!!
Oh and I may have forgotten to say so b4, but this fic is dedicated to my newborn niece, Jocelyn born 9/23/03!!! ^_^
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" Alanna, how long have Daine and I been sleeping?" Numair asked the Lady knight curiously. He still felt rather weak, so he assumed it couldn't have been all that long.
" For a whole week, laddy buck," Alanna said, jokingly using one of her many nicknames for Numair. Numair was in shock. How could they have slept a full week? It was true, he'd been tired, one could even say exhausted, but how could he have slept for a week? This didn't make very much sense to Numair, but why should it when nothing else has lately?
" A whole week? Did I hear you right?" Daine asked in barely more than a whisper. Numair heard every word of it, for he sat with his body pressed closely to hers, perhaps a little to close for just a student and teacher. Close enough to arouse suspicion from a certain lady knight.
" You heard me right," Alanna said, her mind not with her as she spoke. She was busy studying the behavior of her friends. She hadn't missed how close they sat. Something was very different about the two of them, of that much she was certain, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Though the signs were clear, Alanna just didn't put two and two together in her mind as she should have. To her, it seemed impossible, even though she had had her suspicions of such a thing before now.
The trio sat in silence for several minutes, no one knowing what to say. All of them were feeling rather awkward just now, though none of them knew why, nor did they know that the other two were feeling much the same. Finally, Alanna spoke up, the silence was beginning to get to her. " The two of you must be starving," she said good naturedly, " Why don't we go find something for you to eat?"
Daine was relieved that the silence had been broken. She been too afraid to speak, too afraid that her secret would be revealed. She felt her stomach growl in hunger, and she knew her friend had made an accurate suggestion. " Come to think of it, Alanna, I'm fair hungry. What about you Numair?" Daine answered Alanna and then questioned Numair.
" Starved," he said, rising from the bench and breaking contact with Daine. Daine followed suit, and Alanna was soon to follow. She stretched out her arms and massaged her side, which was soar from too much riding.
" I'll show the two of you to the mess hall," Alanna said in an off hand sort of way. Since she had nothing else of importance to do today, she would dedicate her time to solving the mystery of her friends behavior. The new found idea that there was something new and peculiar about them would eat at her brain until she did something about it, so she had better do it sooner rather than later. If she was lucky, she'd solve the little mystery fast.
Alanna led Daine and Numair away from the bench outside the Healer's Wing and towards the other side of the vast amount of space the fort's walls surrounded. They were led past the live stock and past the piles of supplies, until they reached another canvas door that was held up by its wooden door frame. The lady knight pulled back the canvas flap and entered into a room much larger than the Healer's Wing. It was filled with long wooden tables with benches attached to sit on. The tables were made to hold a large amount of people which was perfect for a soldier's mess hall. Daine could smell the tasty aroma of the food cooking from within the kitchen. She smelled potatoes being fried along with sausage, bacon, eggs and hot cakes. It made Daine's mouth water with hunger. She hadn't eaten in a full week, making her more than just a little hungry. She felt as if she could eat enough food to feed every man on every ship of a full fleet of the King's navy. At the far end of the room, There was yet another canvas door that Daine assumed led to the kitchen. The room was not crowded with men and women, for most had already eaten at the correct meal time. Daine and Numair had slept until mid day, so they were only now eating.
" You have no idea how welcoming that smell is," Numair said, his voice filled with longing. He earned a laugh from Daine, causing Alanna to shoot them a side long glance of curiosity, for she hadn't heard the mage's remark.
" What? Do I have something in my teeth?" Alanna asked self-consciously for she assumed they were laughing at her. When they both refused to stop laughing, she took a step toward them and kicked Numair hard in the shins. He yelped in pain and lost his balance, falling backward and onto the floor. He hit the ground bottom first, causing a loud thump. Alanna held a satisfied look as she looked down on him. Daine too was laughing. Numair hung his head in shame and embarrassment, his face a deep shade of crimson under his tanned Tyran skin. " Finally, Numair! I can look down on you instead of up!" Alanna said mockingly, flashing him an innocent grin. Numair jerked his head up at hearing the woman's comment and grumbled angrily, his eyes blazing with anger.
"I'll get you for that, Alanna," he spat, causing Alanna to laugh all the harder, Daine as well.
" And just what are you going to do about it, mage?" she asked, voicing her challenge. He flashed her a knowing smile, causing her to frown in confusement.
The ceiling of the ground level rooms of the fort was considerably low. Anyone over six feet in height could easily reach up and touch the ceiling. Numair noticed this and used it to his advantage as he rose slowly to his feet. He gave Alanna the most innocent look he could muster as he reached up to touch the ceiling. The Lioness looked at him in confusement, not understanding what his purpose was for touching the ceiling. She watched as he ran his fingers along the oak wood beam that wasn't far above his head. The whole time his face held a knowing look, frustrating Alanna.
Daine watched the two with some amusement. She had seen them at war many times before and she always found it to be an excellent source of entertainment. Daine kept her distance from them as she watched. She had learned from personal experience that it was always best to keep her distance and let them fight alone. She wondered what Numair was up to, but from the look on his face she knew it was some sort of clever revenge he'd conjured in his head.
Numair didn't keep the two women waiting long to find out what he had planned, for he was soon ready to pull it off. Within the blink of an eye, Numair had brought his hand down from the beam, his fist clenched around something. His face bore a look of triumph as he flung his closed fist towards Alanna, looking at first as if he was trying to punch the lady knight. It wasn't until Daine saw the look of horror on the Lioness's face that Daine knew what Numair's intentions were. Inside the mage's clenched fist was a large spider that he'd found in a cob web up on the beam. Daine smiled knowingly as she watched her love fling the spider onto Alanna's chest. It was a well known fact that Alanna had a great fear of spiders and many people, namely Numair, chose to take advantage of this fact.
A loud scream split the air as Alanna began dashing in circles, panicking. Numair took a step back and moved to Daine's side at a fair and safe distance away. Together, mage and magelet watched their friend screaming and squirming frantically. The knight pawed at her chest in rapid motions to flick the spider off, but to no avail. Daine turned her head to steal a glance at her love only to see he held a look of utmost satisfaction. He refused to break his eyes away from the dancing lady knight, not even for a moment, for this was the plunder of his daring act.
" Numair Salmalin!" Alanna shrieked in both panic and in utmost anger. "Rest assured that you shall pay dearly for this!"
By now, Alanna was getting desperate. She'd found that she couldn't easily flick off the spider without touching it, what with her panicked state. No, the knight was now ready to take more desperate measures. She reached up to the strap at her upper arm that held on her breast plate. She fumbled with it frantically, trying desperately to get it unbuckled. She took one look down at the tiny, black, eight legged creature crawling over her front and she began to feel faint. The buckle on the strap that held on her breast plate would not budge, making things very difficult for Alanna.
Daine saw her friend continue to struggle, and began to pity the knight. She felt her friend had suffered enough, though she had to admit that it had been an excellent source of entertainment. Taking a quick glance around the room, she saw that everyone who had been busily eating when they had entered were now watching the Lioness's behavior with some interest and much amusement. It wasn't everyday that they got the privilege of seeing the King's Champion scared to death over a tiny little spider. Daine could hear several chuckles coming from the others in the room. She'd had enough of it though. She took a step forward to help Alanna, but stopped when she felt a large hand on her shoulder. Numair eyed her, giving her a look that disapproved. She simply shook her head and shrugged his hand off, again walking towards Alanna, this time ignoring all of Numair's protests.
Alanna was still squirming madly, making it difficult for Daine to get her to hold still long enough to get the spider off. She reached out both hands and gripped the Lioness's shoulders firmly, forcing her friend to stop her panicked movements and hold still. Once she's gotten Alanna to stay put, she took one hand away and reached down and pulled the spider effortlessly off of the lady knight. Alanna's eyes were still wide from what had just taken place, and Daine couldn't help but laugh. Alanna frowned at her, a look of complete annoyance on her face. She jerked her head away from Daine and her eyes met that of Numair's. "You have yet to pay your debt," Daine faintly heard the Lioness growl under her breath. Though Daine had never experienced the Lioness's wrath, she'd witnessed it many times and wouldn't bet a single copper on the well being of the person who'd crossed her.
In a heart beat, Alanna had thrown her body towards Numair, throwing him to the floor. They both landed with a thud, causing the onlookers to get out of their seats to watch. Daine could hear them betting as to what the outcome would be. It looked as if the fall hadn't hurt Alanna in the slightest, for she had landed on top. Numair on the other hand, was beneath her, groaning in pain as she kneed him hard in the stomach. "That's what you get for the spider!" she shrieked as she continued to slap his face over and over. Each time he'd try to get out of her grasp, but found it to be a harder task than he'd originally thought. She held him down hot only with her own strength, but also with her Gift.
Just as Numair was about to pull his own magic into his war with Alanna, he felt the weight on his chest lessen as Alanna was forced off of him. Daine had intervened in the battle, stopping them from their fighting. She'd come to Numair's aid and pulled Alanna off of him before the knight had done too much damage. " Daine, let me go! He deserves this!" Alanna yelled as she tried to fight off Daine's arms which were currently pulling her off of Numair.
" You two stop it! " Daine scolded her friends, " You're both even."
Numair pulled himself up from the floor, keeping his distance from the lady knight. The trio proceeded to go and sit at one of the long tables as the soldiers who'd stopped eating to watch the fight, again returned their attention to their food. Numair walked on one side of Daine while Alanna on the other. Neither would look at each other, which Daine found to be rather amusing. It was hard to believe that they were like this most of the time.
They made their way over to the counter where the food was being kept hot.They each grabbed a tray and began filling it with whatever they liked. Once they had gotten their food, they went back to find a table. They each took a seat without a word and began eating. It was an extremely silent meal, not one of them speaking unless it was through Daine.
" It seems that Daine and sleeping beauty are finally awake," came a familiar voice from behind. Daine looked up from her meal of hot cakes and potatoes and turned to see who had spoken to her. It had, of course, been Onua as she had suspected. She looked up at the horse mistress, and her face spread into a grin. Though she'd seen the woman just before she went to sleep, it hadn't been much of a time to catch up on missed time, for Daine had been exhausted.
" I resent you calling me that, Onua," Numair said, his voice bland. Daine, Alanna, and Onua laughed at this, but Alanna and Numair still didn't break away their cold looks at one another.
" What's with Alanna and Numair?" Onua asked curiously, taking a seat across from Daine, her old assistant.
" They had a bit of a spat," Daine explained, rolling her eyes, " Alanna kicked Numair and then he threw a spider on her and it went from there."
" Ah, well I see not much has changed between them," Onua said with a laugh. Daine soon joined in, leaving Numair and Alanna to stare at the two women in bewilderment. Both knight and mage stared at the other, confused. Finally, Alanna spoke up.
" What do you say we call it even, mage?" Alanna said, sighing in exasperation. Both Daine and Onua rolled their eyes as they waited for Numair's response.
"Fine," he said simply, reaching out to take Alanna's outstretched hand. She gripped his briefly, shaking it and then let it drop. Daine and Onua giggled profusely as Alanna reached down under the table and wiped her hand on her pant leg, making a sour face. Numair glared menacingly at her, but did nothing more for they now had a truce.
Suddenly, a look of realization dawned upon Alanna's face as she remembered something she was expected to do. " By the Mother Goddess!" Alanna exclaimed as soon as she realized what she'd forgotten. " I've got to go, and fast! I was supposed to check in at the Healer's Tents set up in the village! If Jon hears about this, I'll never hear the end of it!" Alanna rose immediately from where she sat and quickly made her way out of the room. Jon had assigned Alanna very few duties for the war clean up and would be very disappointed to find that she had been slacking off at the few that she did have. She always hated it when Jon, or anyone else for that matter, had anything to hold over her.
" Well that was unexpected," Numair said as he watched the flash of long, flaming red hair sweep past him faster than lightning. Daine nodded in agreement and Onua was soon to follow.
" Since she's the King's Champion, I expect we'll be seeing less and less of her now that the war clean up needs to be started," Onua said thoughtfully.
" Thats very true," Numair added, noticing that it may not be just Alanna he would be seeing less of if he were expected to use his magic to help out with the clean up. "I suppose Jon is going to expect me to help lead the clean up effort as well." he said meekly. Joining the clean up squads for duty was the last thing he wanted to spend the next couple of months doing. It would be pure torture, even if he wasn't madly in love with someone and wanted to be with them for every waking moment.
" I hope he doesn't," Daine said showing much more emotion than intended. Numair failed to notice this for he was deep in thought, but Onua didn't. She caught the slight change of tone Daine had used, one that wasn't normal for the young woman. Onua let it pass however, thinking that it was just her ears deceiving her and that it had been nothing at all.
" I doubt if either of you will be called off any time soon," Onua said off handedly. "After the ordeal you've both just been through, I'm sure he'll grant you a leave."
Daine hadn't considered this as an option, though it did sound very appealing. It had been a long time since she could relax and be carefree. It would do her some good to rest and get all of her thoughts together. Numair had proposed to her and keeping him waiting didn't seem the right thing to do, no matter how unsure Daine was. She wanted more than anything to marry him, but she still had her fears and was afraid she always would. There was always going to be a chance that one day he'd feel trapped and he'd turn his back on her. If he didn't turn his back on her, he'd just be living in misery and that was the last thing Daine wanted. Answering Numair's marriage proposal would be very difficult indeed.
There was a long pause in the conversation before anyone spoke. Finally, Onua broke the silence. " You know, neither of you told me exactly what ordeal you went through," Onua said, hinting them to tell her their story. Daine turned her head to look at Numair and saw him wink. She smiled at this and he mirrored her.
" Well, seeing as Daine got to tell the whole story to Alanna, I see it only fitting that I get to tell you," Numair said, carefully running over the facts in his mind. He would have to be careful not to say anything he and Daine planned to keep concealed. Daine and Numair both took turns telling Onua different parts of their trip to the Divine Realms for the next hour or so. It was getting late in the day and none of them had done anything much but lay around and talk with one another.
" Wow," Onua said, her tone breathless, not finding any word more fitting to what she had just heard. "If it wasn't coming from you two, I wouldn't believe it to be true if I was offered all of the gold in Carthak!"
Daine grinned at her former employer's choice of words. She was right though. Their story was hard to believe, and that was putting it mildly. No mortals had entered the Divine Realms for centuries, even in dreams. That was why there were no fully reliable sources in the libraries containing information about that particular Realm. Up until now, no mortal had truly known what it looked like or how it worked, unless he or she hadn't recorded such findings, but that was unlikely. 'Numair will probably want to write a book' Daine thought with some amusement. His experiments and arcane discoveries would never be the same since his trip to the Divine Realms. He would have so much more material to work with. Even Daine knew this when she knew little to nothing about his works.
" I'm not so sure I'd believe it myself had I not lived it," Numair said, grinning proudly. He'd never dreamed he'd be one of the first mortals to set foot in the Divine Realms in centuries.
" I'm fair sure I'd laugh if anyone tried to tell me what we've just told you," Daine added with a laugh. It was indeed strange enough to enter the Divine Realms if you were a mortal, but stranger yet to meet your parents who died years ago there as well. Their little trip had definitely been a turn of events on their part.
" I hate to do this, seeing as I've only just seen you for the first time in months, but I really have to be going," said, her voice revealing her disappointment. " I've a duty to tend to the Rider's and Knight's mounts at this fort and once I've done that, I must move on to the next."
" We completely understand, " Numair said sympathetically, speaking for himself and Daine.
" Go on ahead and do what you came here for Onua, " Daine piped in, looking over her shoulder to see that Numair's eyes were fixed on her. He seemed not to notice where his gaze had fallen, or the fact that it had been this way for far too long.
Onua too noticed this, and it caused her to wonder even more about her two friends.
" Daine and I will be fine by ourselves," Numair said calmly, not breaking his eyes away from his student. Daine blushed when Onua raised an eyebrow briefly before rising from her seat.
" Well, if you two are sure, then I'll just be going," Onua said, swinging her leg over the bench and taking a step back. " Hopefully I'll get to see you before I move on to the next fort, but if I don't, its likely we'll meet at the palace in a week or so. Who knows, Jonathan might summon the two of you to the palace sooner. Until he does, he sent orders for you to remain here."
" Yes, Alanna already informed us of that," Numair said, his voice hurried. Daine failed to notice this, but Onua didn't. He seemed to be rushing her. She would indeed have to speak to Alanna about all of this. Perhaps the lady knight will have noticed some of the same behavior and would know what it meant. " Have a nice day."
" You too, Numair, Daine," Onua said as she walked away. She made her way acorss the room and out of the canvas flap of a door. When she was out of site, Numair turned to Daine to find that she was already looking at him. He grinnned, causing her to mirror him. He reached under the tabel, grabbing the hand that lay in her lap. She giggled at his antics, but couldn't help but take a quick glance around the room to make sure no one had noticed. Shivers went rapidly up her spine as he ran his finger up her leg and into her lap. She playfully stepped on his foot, causing him to glare at her mockingly.
" Care to go for a walk?" Numair asked, his eyes darkening from their normal deep brown to a coal black. Daine felt breathless as she looked at the emotion in his eyes. She nodded, not daring herself to speak. She'd caught on to his hint, knowing that his intention was to be alone with her. She felt giddy at the mere thought, her breath catching in her throat. " Then lets go." Numair said, removing his hand form Daine's and rising from where he sat next to her. She too rose, standing extremely close to him as she did. She took a step back until she was a respectable distance from him. -its going to be harder than I thought to keep from arousing suspicion- Daine thought with some amusement. It seemed everything they did could easily give away their secret.
Daine followed her love across the room and through the canvas door that led out of the mess hall and out into the open space of the fort. They made their way through the crowd of scurrying soldiers, knights, pages and squires and to the opposite wall. Here, there was a door built into the sturdy wall that led to the outside. It was a seperate door from the large fort gates, and it enabled single people to exit the fort without having to open the main gates. In front of the door stood an armed guard. He saw who stood before him and smiled. He would recognize the famous Numair Salmalin and Veralidaine Sarrasri any day. He moved out of the way of the door with a smile, saluting the two war heroes as he did. Daine and Numair did not hesitate to make their way through the door and out into the open space outside of the fort walls.
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A/N: Well? What did you think? I know it wasn't a very fluffy chapter, but I suppose we don't ALWAYS need fluff....Don't worry though, cuz I'll have lots of it in most chapters. Next chapter should have a lot. I mean how could it not? I just led them out into a secluded location ALONE...hmmmm...I wonder what they plan t spend their time doing? Anyway, don't forget to review or heads shall roll! Well...not really, but don't count on a new chappy anytime soon if you don't! ^_^
