A/N: Thankies for all the compliments on last chapter! I am so incredibly in shock over the wonderful things you guys said to me! *does dance* I love getting nice reviews....hehe...anyway, I saw your suggestions and I plan to take them into account, don't worry!

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Daine awoke from her night's rest to find that Numair was already awake. It was still rather early, for the sun was barely beginning to show over the horizon. The area really was beautiful, Daine thought. Since she and Numair had traveled down this trail after dark, she hadn't been able to see the wondrous trees that lined the path and the green patches of grass scattered across the forest floor. The grass was now wet with dew, making the leaves that had fallen from the trees stick to it.

Numair sat on the log by the fire. His hands were busy making breakfast, which put Daine in a cross mood. It was her turn to do the work, and she thought he was being unfair to himself for not waking her to do it. However, at the site of the guilty look in his eyes, Daine forgot to be cross to him. She had a feeling she knew what had put that look in his eyes. "Morning, Numair," Daine said, trying to lighten the mood. She yawned quickly, trying to cover up the fact that she had secretly been watching him while he thought her to be sleeping.

"Good morning, sweet," he replied half heartedly. Something seemed to be bothering him deeply. She sensed a sort of longing in his voice, and also a sense of restraint and she had a feeling she knew why. He wanted very much to take that next step with her, as she did with him, but they both knew it was too soon. It wouldn't be right.

"Why didn't you wake me, Numair? You know its my job to cook breakfast," she said, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"I'm sorry, sweet. I just didn't think to wake you. You looked so peaceful,"Numair said, his voice just as distant as before.

"Yes, well, I feel bad having you cook two meals in a row," Daine said, getting up from her bed roll and going to join him on the log by the fire. She could have sworn than as soon as she moved to sit next to him, he flinched.

"That's quite all right, Daine,"Numair said, his mind coming no closer to her than before. He seemed so distant. It was beginning to bother Daine. It seemed that every time she glanced at him he would wince and attempt to scoot away from her. She felt hurt by his odd behavior. Not willing to take any more of this behavior from him, she rose and went ti her pack. She grabbed a set of clean clothes and then went to stand in front of him.

"I'm going to go down to the stream again to change," Daine said, letting her irritation with him show clearly. From the look in his face, she knew that he had caught this show of emotion and also that he wished to make it right. He stopped himself once again though, eyes filled with restraint. Gods how she wanted to beat him over the head! Perhaps it would knock some sense into him.

"All right, Daine," was all Numair managed to say. He turned away quickly and let his full attention move back to the fire. He busied his hands with readying the food, completely ignoring the fact that Daine hadn't moved an inch from where she stood.

Sighing in frustration, Daine stormed away, walking fast to clear her mind. Perhaps if she went down to the river for a while, she would forget her irritation with him and would cool down enough to be rational in speaking to him. She wondered if he knew what he was doing. He probably did, and knowing him, he probably also had his reasons. Hopefully, he wouldn't hole those back from her either. She had a feeling that all of this strange behavior revolved around what had happened the previous night, and that irked her even more.

Stomping all the way, Daine made her way down the path she had taken the night before that had led her to the small stream. It took only a short time to reach it, much shorter than the night before, for this time she had a the light of day to guide her. It was very pretty now that she actually got a chance to look at it. The sun's rays bounced merrily off of the tree's leaves and off of the rocks. It reflected beautifully against the current of the stream. Birds were singing happily near by, telling Daine that they too were enjoying the area's beauty.

Smiling at the calming music the birds made, Daine stepped behind a nearby bush and begin to change. Once she had gotten herself fully clothed with the change of clean clothes she had brought along, she contemplated going back to camp. It didn't take her long to decide against it. From the rapid beat of her heart, she knew she was still rather vexed with him, and decided it was best to calm down before facing him to talk things out. Yes, she wanted to know what was on his mind, but she didn't want to get into a spat with him while trying to persuade him into telling her. If she went back now, she might saw something the both of them would regret. Yes, it was better to wait here for a while.

Daine moved back from behind the bush and went to sit on a nearby rock. It was a large one, perhaps a boulder that had fallen down the nearby mountains long ago. Numair had told her of such things a while back. He had said that any large boulders found in the forests had had to come from the closest mountains to the forest, for rocks did not just appear out of no where. He had said that harsh conditions and bad weather throughout the years would cause the rocks to shift and gradually roll down the mountain. Daine had found the whole subject rather boring at the time, and she still did, but had to admit that it was useful to know.

-Drat it!- Daine cursed herself. -I can't even sit on a rock in the woods without thinking about him!- Grumbling, Daine crossed her arms firmly over her chest in a pout. She knew that she was being stubborn in not just going back to camp and talking things out with Numair, but just now, she didn't want to be anything but stubborn.

As she continued to brood over the morning spat, Daine heard a rustling in the bushes and soon after the sound of boots padding against the dirt nearby. She jerked her head up in alarm, only to find that a familiar lanky form was making its way through the brush to get to her. Numair made his way across the bank of the stream and trodded over to the rock on which she sat. He bore a sheepish look on his face as he took a seat next to her. She refused to acknowledge him, coming to the decision that it was best that she not hold in her feelings of annoyance with him. If neither of them told the other when they felt things weren't right, then this relationship would go no where either of them wanted it to.

"Breakfast is ready," Numair said quietly, breaking the awkward silence. Daine turned her head to look at him. Though he had a rather dark complexion, she could still see light tinges of scarlet as he blushed.

"All right," Daine replied, showing no emotion and fighting to do so. Just as she got up and turned to go, she felt a large hand on her shoulder. Numair had reached out a hand to stop her.

"Daine wait-" he said quickly, letting his sentence hang, though his voice had been urgent. He turned her to face him, letting their eyes meet. At first glance, his eyes immediately darted to the ground, but Daine reached out a hand to lift his face to meet hers. He looked her directly in the eyes once more, not letting go of her shoulder. "I haven't said all I came to say," he paused briefly to gauge her reaction before continuing. He saw annoyance clearly in her features, but deep beneath that, as if hiding, he saw longing. He sought after that longing. "I know I haven't been the best person to you this morning, and I'm sorry. Please don't stay angry with me, I don't think I could take it."

Daine felt her eyes well up with tears, for she knew that he could never know how much his words had meant to her. This had been such a small, silly spat, yet he had still found it in his heart to treat it as if it had been far larger. It made Daine's heart melt to know that he loved her that much. "I couldn't be mad at you now," she said, throwing her arms around his neck to emphasize her point. She could feel his mouth against her neck. He was grinning from ear to ear.

Numair pulled her down into his arms before rising. She giggled as he began heading back for camp, carrying her all the way. Normally she would refuse such things, but just now she found it enjoyable. He too laughed, holding her tight against his chest to prevent her from escaping.

Once back at camp, he sat her down carefully on the log by the campfire. Waiting beside the fire was their breakfast of hot porridge. Daine was thankful for this, for all she had had for breakfast for the past few weeks was hot cakes, eggs, rolls, and gravy on occasion. In the Divine Realms every meal had consisted of soup for it was easy to keep while traveling long distances on rough terrain.

"How much farther till we reach Corus?" Daine asked curiously and to spark conversation.



"We should reach it around noon today, give or take a few hours," Numair said, taking a spoonful of porridge. Daine blew on her spoon, thinking on his words. She would be glad to be back at the palace.

"It'll be fair nice, being back at the palace," Daine said, eating the spoonful of porridge she had been blowing on to cool.

"I should think so, though I doubt the relaxation will set in before tomorrow. Knowing Jon, he'll have us summoned into his study the second we arrive," Numair said, his tone annoyed. If it wasn't the king of Tortall he was dealing with, he would tell the man a thing or two about courtesy.

"I'm getting fair sick of telling our little tale," Daine said with a sigh. Numair's mood was lightened by this, for he chuckled at her comment.

"I'll do most of the telling if you'd prefer it, magelet," He said, still chuckling.

"That would be nice, but I'll still have to be there," Daine said in response. There was a slight wind picking up, blowing her mass of smoky brown curls every which way.

"Of course you will!" Numair replied quickly, "I'm not going to talk to Jon without you around, for I seem to naturally take better care of my temper when you are in my presence."

"I'll agree with you on that, Master Salmalin,"Daine replied with a grin. After that, the two sat in silence, simply eating their breakfast. Finally, Numair stood up, and brushed the dirt off of his clothing before stretching.

"Well, Daine, I suppose we should be going. We are after all expected at the palace," Numair said, not hiding the harshness his voice took on when he spoke of following Jon's unfair orders.

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It was exactly one hour past noon that Daine and Numair arrived in Corus. As usual, the streets of the capital were streaming with people, merchants mostly and anyone else traveling on business matters. Being that Corus was the capital, it was always packed to the brim with people from just about everywhere. From what Daine had heard from Alanna's stories, it had been the streets of Corus in which she had found a certain black robed mage who was passing for a street magician, doing tricks for his measly one meal a day. Now, that very mage rode beside her, top mage in the country, and perhaps the world. It was fickle the way this single city, no matter how wonderful, could turn a person's life around. She too had been affected by Corus. It had been to this very city which she had followed Onua and fallen into the king's favor. Not to mention falling into the arms of the mage beside her. Perhaps these things and more were what made Corus so great. People just knew what sort of place could turn their lives around.

The sound horses hooves clopping against the cobblestone streets filled the air. The cries of persistent merchants trying to sell their goods was also in the midst. Daine felt a sense of home creeping up on her, and she realized how much Corus meant to her. It was her home, where she belonged. It was hard to believe that she, Veralidaine Sarrasri, a commoner, could somehow have gained the favor of the king enough to call the palace in Corus home, yet alone alongside the country's most powerful and respected mage.

Daine pulled Cloud up to walk neck and neck with Numair's mount, Spots. He turned to face her and smiled. His face too held the look one only after returning home from a long journey. "How does it feel, you know, getting back home?" Numair asked as they rode, his voice loud so as to carry over the noise of the streets.

"Feels like home to me," Daine called back, fighting to be heard over the surrounding noises.

"Well, that's good," Numair said back loudly, but them quieted his tone to that that only he could hear, "Because I wouldn't want home for you to be anywhere else." -I need her here with me.....forever- Numair thought to himself. He'd never meant the word forever more than he meant it just now.

It didn't take long for Daine and Numair to ride through the streets of Corus, and all the way up to the palace gates. Numair gave their names to the guard, though it was highly unnecessary, for the guard new full well who they were. Lately, it was hard for Daine and Numair to go anywhere that no one knew them. Their deeds for Tortall were widely known, especially in foreign lands.

Since Daine's room was in a completely different wing of the palace than Numair's, the two split up to go and get things settled in their rooms. Daine headed to her room's near the Riders barracks and Numair to the Mages wing where his rooms were.



As soon as Daine opened up the door to her rooms, it hit her. She was home. The war was finally over, and she was home. A feeling of relief coursed through her veins, such that she'd never felt before. It seemed as though her life had ended and had started again from this moment forward. She knew now that for many reasons, life wouldn't be as it was before. For the most part, it would likely be better.

Daine sat her bag on the floor of her bed chamber and threw herself onto her bed. She let out a sigh of relief, a smile playing on her face. Closing her eyes, she decided to take time to relax before unpacking. Just as she let her mind drift, she remembered something important that she hadn't thought of since before her and Numair's trip to the Divine Realms. Kitten. Before she had left, Kit had been in the charge of her immortal friend, Tkaa the basilisk. Daine could slap herself for not remembering the dragonet before now!

Curling up to take a quick nap before unpacking and seeing that everything was in place, Daine decided she would go see to Kit's whereabouts later. After all, the dragonet was in good hands. Tkaa would never let anything happen to her. He had been just as much of a guardian to Kit as Daine. In fact, most of the time he was better for her because he was very knowledgeable about immortals, for he was one himself. He also knew a great deal about dragons, which made it easy for him to teach Kit new tricks and spells using her dragon magic. Tkaa had also promised that when the time came, he would teach the dragonet mind speech so that she could communicate with Daine and Numair. That would be a very long time away though, for Kit would be an infant for at least thirty years.

Just as she began drifting off, Daine envisioned her new life now that the war was over. For some reason which she was too tired to question, Daine saw herself kissing Numair in front of a large crowd of people. She wore a wedding dress and people cheered as the two were made one by marriage. Little did Daine know, a smile played at her lips as the dream went on. It led her into a peaceful sleep.

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Daine awoke to rapid knocking on her door. Groaning, and definitely not wanting to get up, for she hadn't slept in a proper bed for a very long time, she rose from her bed and made her way through her bed chamber and into the main chamber. Sighing, she opened the door. It was a young page, one she did not recognize. He looked to be several years younger than she. His eyes were shimmering emerald green which Daine found to be rather handsome. His hair was much like her own, except for the fact that it was a great deal lighter. His fair skin made these features stand out. He seemed to tremble before her, which bothered her a bit, so she smiled to make him feel more confident. His eyes brightened a great deal at this friendly gesture from Daine.

"Lady Sarrasri?" the page asked nervously. "The king wishes to see you in his study right away."

"All right," Daine said, smiling at the boy, though she wasn't at all happy about the news he had brought her. She had hoped it would be something quick so that she could get back to resting, but of course it wasn't. She should have known Jonathan would have summoned her and Numair so soon. It was just as Numair had said.

Just as the page turned to go, Daine stopped him, deciding she might as well meet him. "What's your name?" she said quickly putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him from retreating again into the halls.

"I-Its Nealan," the page said shakily, clearly nervous."Nealan of Queenscove."

Daine immediately recognized the name. This was clearly the son of Duke Baird, the head of the palace Healers and a man Daine knew rather well. She had no idea that Baird's son had planned to be a page. Last she had heard, his son was in training to be a Healer. "Oh, then you must be Duke Baird's son!" Daine said, trying to be polite. She wanted to help calm the page's nerves. He wasn't all that much younger than her from what she knew from Baird. He wasn't all that bad looking either. "I suppose you already knew this, but my name's Veralidaine Sarrasri. I'd prefer it if you'd just call me Daine, most folk do."

The page Nealan blushed at this informal comment. He wouldn't deny the fact that he was very much attracted to this young woman. She didn't look to be much older than he. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he would get to know her better. "All right then L- I mean Daine," Nealan searched his mind for something else to say to this beautiful young woman. "You can just call me Neal if you'd like."

Just as Daine was about to answer, another, more familiar voice split the air near by. "Daine, did you get them summon from Jonathan?" Numair said coming to stand outside the door next to Neal. Looking down, he noticed Neal and then nodded in recognition "Oh, well I see you did then. We'd best be going. I shant like to keep Jonathan waiting. According to Alanna, he's been a tad bit more temperamental lately."

Daine laughed at her love's comment. She stepped out the door, closing it behind her and also completely forgetting about Neal. Numair offered her his arm, which she took gladly, holding onto him a but tighter than was proper for teacher and student. It wasn't until she heard a small sigh from behind her that she remembered the page, Neal. "Oh, Neal!" she exclaimed, thoroughly embarrassed for having forgotten him. "I'm sorry, but I must be going with Numair here to go see the king."

"Its not a problem, Daine," Neal said, blushing profusely and hoping that his light skin didn't make it show too much. "I'll see some other time?"

"That'd be fair nice," Daine said, not wanting to be rude. This Nealan was actually rather nice. She turned back to Numair, who she could have sworn was scowling at the page. She felt amused by this, but decided not to mention it to the mage. Without a word to Numair, who also chose to remain silent, the two set off for the king's study. Both sincerely hoped that Jonathan wouldn't keep them too long.

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A/N: I need some help from you guys....See I don't know much about Neal, so you're gonna hafta let me know if I make him mucho outta character....I don't like Kel, so she won't be in my fic. I just threw in Neal for the fun of it. I think Perin will show his slimy little face in the next chappy...hehehe...review, and perhaps I'll have the next chapter up before christmas. If you don't, then don't expect me to update anytime before Easter!