A/N: I'm so incredibly sorry that I've taken so long to update! I had A LOT of homework this past week, not to mention this odd idea for a new fic.....I recently posted it and its called 'When Things Aren't Always What They Seem.' I encourage you to read it, and do realize it ends not that bad...It has an odd twist to it...hehe....
Also, a quick note to those who decided to help me with Neal. Thankies a bunch to you all! It was a great help, cuz he is going to be in this fic for a few chapters...Also, I'm making him quite a bit younger than Daine, but still old enough to have an interest in her. And you won't find Kel in this fic at any time. I hate her. She should die. Moving on....
Oh and, yes, the plot will come up very soon! You'll be pretty mad, I'm sure, when it does, but it has to some time! I mean, that is the whole reason this lousy fic even exists....But never fear, the fluff will always be here!
Disclaimer: I still own nuthin but the plot.....don't sue me please cuz that's not nice...
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Much to Daine and Numair's dismay, Jon did keep each of them for a rather long time. He questioned them and quizzed them until they each thought their heads were spinning. They had already told their story twice to two other people, and now that they were past the third, having told it to Jon more than once, they were getting rather annoyed. It seemed the king would never stop questioning them, and perhaps he wouldn't have, had Thayet not intervened.
"Jon!" Thayet called to him, entering his study without knocking. She was the queen after all, and so no need to be formal with her own husband. "Leave Daine and Numair alone for a spell! You've kept them for over three hours!" Thayet scolded her husband, who merely scowled at her, knowing she was right.
"Thayet, they have important information for me, things I don't want to look over," Jon explained, ignoring his wife's protests and blocking out Numair obvious, loud, sigh of frustration.
"There can't be much they haven't told you in the time they've been here," Thayet said, putting a hand on her hip as she stood in the door way of Jon's study. After a brief moment, she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "You may have forgotten, seeing as you've gotten rather preoccupied lately, but the dinner bell just rang and you're expected to dine with the pages and squires in the mess hall."
Numair let out a hinting cough, letting his approval of Thayet's words show clear. Daine noticed this and merely rolled her eyes. She was getting fair tired of this little meeting with Jon, just as much as her lover was.
"Numair, you'd best go and see a Healer about that cough," Jon said with mock concern, showing the first sign of humor since the end of the war. "It sounds to me like you're coming down with a case of unemployment."
Numair snapped his head up at hearing Jonathan insult him directly. Jon had caught him off guard, and had gotten one past him. Everyone in the room besides Numair broke into laughter. Numair let this slide, knowing full well how few times Jon had even done such a simple thing as smile for several months. He turned to look at Thayet and saw a look of genuine happiness on her face. She must miss her husband when he went into one of his moods. When this happened, all he concerned himself with was matters of his kingdom. Nothing else mattered in these times, not even friends or family.
Sighing, Jon held up a hand, "Go on, you two and have your dinner,"Jon said, his annoyance with his wife's interruption distinct in his voice. "Though don't be surprised if I call you in at a later date to clear up any matters I don't fully comprehend." His eyes did not hold their usual twinkle, nor did his lips coil into their usual smile. For now, he was a normal monarch, one who wasn't so friendly as the Jon they all knew and loved (most of the time).
Grinning at his love, Numair motioned for her to follow him out of the king's study. She did so, and once in the hall, each burst out laughing. Neither seemed to know what the cause of this laughter was, but it was surely something, for each could not hold it in. Perhaps this was just ordinary behavior for new lovers. Neither Daine nor Numair would know, for neither had truly been in love before.
"It didn't strike me until just now how very much Jon needs a woman like Thayet for his queen,"Numair pointed out, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
"Behind every successful man stands an even better woman who got him there," Daine said matter of factly. She put a hand on her hip and held her head high in a mocking fashion.
"I beg to differ, Miss Sarrasri,"Numair said, following her game, "I courted no one when I received my black robe status at age seventeen."
"That may be so, but the gods destined for me to come along,"Daine retorted, sliding an arm around his waste. Both seemed to forget about their secrecy, let their feelings leak out unintentionally. Just as Numair's face was little more than an inch from Daine's, the sound of foot steps could be heard nearby, bringing the too star struck lovers back to reality. They suddenly remembered their agreement, and mentally scolded themselves for almost getting carried away. In an instant, Numair had darted back to a respectable distance from Daine, and when the young clerk rounded the corner, nothing about them was questionable.
"Good evening, Lady Daine," the clerk said as he walked by, stopping briefly to rest a hand on her shoulder. Daine recognized him immediately, but almost wished she hadn't. This young man was none other than Perin of Midwick, a palace clerk who had taken an interest in her. Before war had broke out and Daine still resided at the palace, she had spent weeks doing her best to avoid him, for he always seemed to be everywhere she went. To some, this may be flattering, but Daine had never had any interest in Perin, especially not when he tried to kiss her. He had even succeeded on more than on occasion.
"And to you, Perin," Daine replied politely. No matter how much she disliked the fellow, she wouldn't be rude to him. After all, she had never actually told him she didn't appreciate his affections, therefore it wasn't entirely his fault.
Daine felt Numair tense at her side, and she knew that he recognized Perin. "We should be heading off for dinner, Daine," Numair threw in before Perin had a chance to say anything. "Good day to you, Perin." With that, and a slight tug on Daine's arm, they were heading off down the palace halls in the direction of the Mess Hall.
As soon as Daine and Numair reached the Mess Hall, they entered and went to gather their food. There was a short line to wait through, but that was soon done and over. Before long, they were filling their trays with the best food they'd had for quite a while. There was roast chick, spare ribs, garlic bread, steaming vegetable soup, ale, and a pastry for desert. As soon as they had gathered their food, Numair scanned the room with his eyes for a place to sit. Just as Numair was about to point out an empty table in one of the far corners where they could talk more privately, a voice called out Daine's name from across the room. Numair felt flustered by this as he turned to see who had called to his love.
"Daine!" the page Nealan called out from across the Mess Hall. He pointed to a single seat next to his own, a place with no room for Numair. Daine turned to look at her love and saw the look of pure annoyance written on his face. She briefly put her hand on his harm and he looked down at her.
"Go ahead," Numair said, though he did not sound at all sincere. Daine looked at him one last time apologetically before heading across the room to sit with Neal and some of the other pages. Numair's eyes lingered on her retreating form for a few moments before he made his way to that empty table he'd seen only moments earlier.
As Numair sat alone, bored and jealous out of his mind, Daine went to sit with Neal. She knew very little about this page, but she thought he was a good sort. She wouldn't dare mention that to Numair though, who didn't seem to be to fond of Neal. She had a feeling it was slight jealousy, but there was nothing she could do about that. Numair would get over it, she knew.
"So, what did the king need to see you about?"Neal asked as he bit into a roast chicken leg. Daine thought that to be an awfully personal question to ask someone you've only known for less than a day, but she would answer it all the same. This Neal was definitely not the shy person she thought he was. When he was around other pages, he was actually very talkative.
"Oh, Jon just wanted reports on me and Numair's where abouts for the past two months," Daine said in response, her lack of grammar showing clearly.
"You mean he didn't know?" Neal asked, curious about the king's standards with mages. "I don't know about mages, but the king requires constant knowledge of the position every knight in the realm!"
"I'm sure he does," Daine replied, annoyed at Neal's jibe towards mages. "Normally he needs weekly reports from us, but the circumstances of these last few months were unavoidable."
"Ah," Neal considered what she had said. He really did like this Daine, his emerald eyes twinkling. She was very attractive in her own way. She wasn't at all like most of the young women at court. Daine seemed to have her own standards, and Neal liked that.
"How long have you been a page?"Daine asked Neal. It seemed all of Neal's page friends were busy with their own conversations, leaving only herself and Neal in her current one.
"Almost one year,"Neal said proudly. He wanted desperately to impress this young woman.
"Oh,"Daine said, finding herself actually enjoying talking with this page. Though she would rather be sitting with Numair, she was actually having fun without him. Numair. She suddenly wondered where he was. She turned around, letting her eyes scan the room for her lanky lover. She was completely ignoring whatever it was Neal was saying.
"-and the reason I'm so much older than all the other pages is because I went into training to be a Healer for a while, but changed my mind," Neal continued rambling on, until he realized that Daine was paying no attention what so ever to him. He scowled at this, feeling slight defeat. She seemed to be looking for someone, but who? He wanted very much to find out. "Daine, are you looking for someone?" Neal asked. After his first try, Daine still did not hear him, so he repeated the question.
Finally, after three times of Neal asking, Daine snapped back into reality. It was then that she realized how rude she'd been, and she turned back to Neal, blushing. "I'm sorry, Neal, were you saying something?"she asked, thoroughly embarrassed.
Neal sighed, but was careful not to let Daine notice. "I asked if you were looking for someone," he repeated his question now for the fourth time, only to find that her attention had again gone back to scanning the room.
"Huh? Oh, yes!" Daine exclaimed, mentally scolding herself for continually being rude to her new friend. She couldn't imagine what he must be thinking of her behavior. "I was just looking to see where Numair has gotten to. There seems to be room here with us now, so I thought I'd invite him over."
"Master Salmalin?" Neal asked, shocked that that had been who she'd been looking for the entire time. He felt his heart burn with jealousy. He could deny it no longer. In just the short time, less than a day, that he'd know Daine, he was falling for her and falling fast. He knew he was at least attracted to her, and for him, that was enough. He now took Salmalin as a threat, for he remembered earlier how friendly Daine had been towards the man. When he had come along, she had completely forgotten Neal was even present!
"Yes, that's his name," Daine replied, her mind not really in this conversation with Neal. It didn't take Neal himself long to realize this, and he couldn't help but start keeping score of the times he'd out done Numair for Daine's attention and vise versa.
"So he's your teacher, is he?" Neal asked, trying to draw Daine's attention away from looking for Numair. He knew if the mage came over here, he would have to compete for Daine's attention and that was something he did not want to do. In just an evening's time, he had gone from being shy around this young woman, to admitting to himself that he fancied her and also being able to speak to her without a stutter. He though he was doing rather well so far, having carried out a full conversation with her through dinner. She had even laughed several times at something funny Neal said. This made his heart flutter with giddiness.
"Yes, he is," Daine replied, still looking for her lanky lover. She still could not find him, and she did her best to pay attention to her dinner partner while still scan the Mess Hall for him.
"For how long?" Neal was beginning to panic, for his questions were failing. It seemed with every second she was paying him less and less of her attentions.
"Just over six years," Daine said casually. A smile suddenly spread across her face, making Neal think he'd struck gold. It wasn't until moments later that he realized the reason for her smile.
"Numair, over here!" she called across the Mess Hall after noticing Numair sitting alone in one of the far corners. His head snapped up and he looked over in the direction of her voice. Smiling, he stood, tray in hand, and went to come sit with her. He made his way across the room, and over to the table where Daine and Neal sat alone. The young page's scowl in his direction did not go unnoticed by Numair. Still smiling, and taking a moment to glare in Neal's direction, Numair took the vacant seat next to Daine, briefly squeezing her hand under the table.
"Good evening, Daine," Numair said, acting as if he hadn't seen her in quite a while. He was beginning to wonder if it would seem odd to their friends if they were noticed spending much more time together than usual. With luck, they could pass it off as merely lessons, but he also knew that their friends were also meddlers. Knowing Alanna, she would soon begin to suspect something and try to track it down. Numair knew it was only a matter of time before he and Daine were found out, but he would savor that time of secrecy, and handle the revelation when it came. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name?" Numair directed his question towards Neal. This earned a scowl from the young page.
Neal smoothed back his locks of hair, his emerald eyes shining. "Nealan of Queenscove," He said, voice coming out sharp as a Shang blade. Daine noticed this immediately, but didn't let her knowledge show. She wondered if anything would come of this. If something did come, it was likely she wouldn't like it or welcome it. It was obvious Neal fancied her, and she couldn't help that. Knowing full well of Numair's over protectiveness and strong sense of jealousy, she could only wonder not of if something would come of this, but when it would come.
"Ah, so you're Baird's son," Numair said, trying to sound half way interested, even though he couldn't care less. This dinner was boring him. He longed to return to his rooms and spend some time alone with Daine. Perhaps they could walk in the garden in the more secluded sections where they wouldn't be seen.
Neal scowled, mentally pouting and burning with jealousy. It didn't pass by him, how close Daine sat to her teacher. He didn't miss the look in her eyes when she looked at that mage, or the returning look he would flash her. He wouldn't let this man get this one over on him. He would stop this conversation right now, before she could decide to go and do something with the mage.
"Would you like to walk with me over to the stables, Daine?" Neal asked as sweetly and charmingly as he could. He let his eyes shine radiantly, a trick he'd learned a while ago when he wanted to impress a lady. "I need to take grain to my mount."
Daine looked at Numair, biting her lip. She didn't want to go with Neal now, as the meal was coming to an end. She wanted to go off with Numair, where they could be in secret, but she knew it would be rude to turn him down. She stole a glance into her love's eyes, only to see that he was scowling. She tried to get his attention, so she could apologize without words, but found this to be impossible. She finally decided to play it into their conversation. "Numair, is it alright if we skip the lesson tonight?" she asked, letting her eyes tell him how she really felt. When his dark eyes made contact with her own, she knew that he understood what she meant and he nodded, his manner giving away his disappointment.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Daine," Numair said, voice full of resentment. "We can discuss it in the morning." Without bothering to say more, or even good bye for that matter, Numair rose from where he sat, dropping Daine's hand as he did. He immediately stalked away, once he had risen. He didn't look back even once, at least not that Daine could see. She felt hurt by this, and made a mental not to be certain to stop by his rooms before retiring later. It would do them no good to wait until morning to hash this out.
"Do you know the way to the page's stables?" Neal asked, rising from where he sat and removing his napkin from his lap and placing it on his tray. Daine looked at him crossly, though she didn't mean to. She swallowed her emotions and forced a smile.
"I visit them all the time, so its only natural that I do,"Again, Daine's voice was more harsh than she meant, and she hoped she wasn't hurting Neal's feelings, no matter how vexed with him she was. She knew she didn't have much of a right to be vexed with him, for it wasn't his fault Numair was jealous. To Neal and every other young man at the palace, Daine was fair game, since she and Numair were keeping their relationship a secret. She just hoped this wouldn't go farther than need be. She didn't want her relationship with Numair to be thrown into jeopardy by any means.
"Ah, well then lets go,"Neal said, leading the way to the Mess Hall exit. Daine followed him out of the Mess Hall and down the hallway. They passed many door ways and corridors until they reached a door that led to the palace grounds. Daine rarely went through these parts of the palace; she never had any business in them. She lived on the other side, as did Numair, and there were many other ways to reach the page's stables, so she never came this way.
Once out in the cool night breeze, Daine followed Neal across the palace grounds and to the stables. She'd been here many times, so she was familiar with several of the horses kept here. Many times the king had summoned her to heal one of the page's mounts and she had come every time.
(A/N: I have no clue what Neal's horse looks like or what its name is or even its gender, and I don't really care, so I'm inventing a horse for him....)
Daine followed Neal into the stables and down each row. They passed by many horses that Daine could remember healing at some time or another, before they stopped at the stall Neal had in mind. In it stood a tall mount, though not tall enough to be a war horse. It must be only for Neal's training, for it did not look fit to take into battle. Despite this minor detail, it was a fine mount, a beautiful one at that. It was a brilliant sorrel mare, most likely no more than ten years of age. It looked as if it had seen many pages, even in its middle age. Its coat was completely solid with the exception of a thin blaze running down its nose.
Reaching out a gentle hand, Daine softly scratched the horse's nose. The horse snorted in reply, breathing softly against Daine's outstretched hand. Daine stole a side long glance to find that Neal was watching her with interest. She wished he would just get on with what he came here to do, so she could be on her way. "Her name's Dreamcatcher," Neal said, reaching up and stroking the mare's ears. Daine watched as the horse stretched its head out farther to bump Neal's chest affectionately.
-Hello, Dreamcatcher- Daine said through mind speech to the mare. Daine heard her stomping her foot against the stall door.
- And to you, two legger who is People- Dreamcatcher replied neighing in greeting. Daine couldn't remember ever seeing this horse, which was surprising because she'd lived at the palace for quite a while, just as the mare most likely had. She must have just over looked her.
-I don't think I've ever seen you before, but you sure are a beauty- Daine complimented Dreamcatcher. The mare puffed her chest out proudly, making Daine laugh.
-Nor have I seen you, two legger, but its common knowledge among the People that you're the Wild Mage- was Dreamcatcher's hearty reply.
"Daine, are you talking to her?" Neal asked curiously. Daine broke her mind away from her conversation with Dreamcatcher, and turned to face Neal. He looked directly into her face, which had suddenly gotten so close to his just now, and blushed. Daine felt a pang of guilt that she was leading Neal on, but she let it pass. There was nothing she could do about it. He would know someday, likely in the near future, that her heart already belonged to someone. Besides, it wasn't as if she herself had made any advances to Neal.
"Yes," Daine replied, wishing the awkwardness would pass.
"Do you think you could ask her something for me?" Neal asked, eyes thoughtful. He loved Dreamcatcher, but the mare had been giving him trouble for quite some time now. Perhaps Daine could help solve the problem.
"Sure," Daine replied, happy to help her new friend and his mount. "What did you need me to ask?"
"Well, I love Dreamcatcher, and I'd love for her to be my mount for the time being, but I have the hardest time simply mounting her. She's fine when I'm saddling her, and when I lead her out of the stable, but its when I get her into the yard that she starts misbehaving. Every time I try to mount, she moves out of the way and i fall. It normally took two of the other pages holding her down for me to even get on her at all," Neal said, all the while Daine listening intently. She was no longer feeling awkward, for now she was doing what she did best. It was business now, between herself and Neal.
"Hm, I'll see what I can do," Daine said, letting her mind enter that of Dreamcatcher's. In doing this, she would be able to find any sort of unhappiness the horse might feel, and that could be the explanation for her behavior. It could also be a result of some form of mishandling in her past.
-Dreamcatcher, Neal tells me you don't like for him to try and mount you. Why is this?- Daine asked the mare through mind speech after finding no sense of unhappiness in the horse's mind and thoughts.
-This is true- the mare replied tartly, purposefully dodging having to answer Daine's question. Daine immediately recognized Dreamcatcher's game, and decided to play along.
-Has Neal mishandled you before?- Daine asked, hoping her new friend hadn't ever done such a thing.
-The two legger is just fine. He's always given me fair treatment- Again, Dreamcatcher did not completely answer Daine's question. At least now Daine could eliminate Neal from her suspicions.
-If not that, then why?- Daine asked, now extremely curious.
-Can't a horse have a sense of humor? You've no idea how entertaining it is to see that two legger fall onto his rump. The other two leggers laugh at him, making it even better- Dreamcatcher replied, her feelings of fun and excitement flooding Daine's mind. A small smile played at Daine's lips. This mare was truly one of a kind. Daine couldn't recall having ever met a horse with a personality to match this one. She was pert, but not so bad as Cloud. She was also gentle, but not so gentle as Numair's gelding, Spots.
"What did she say?" Neal asked curiously when he say Daine smiling. Daine turned to look at him, and her grin broadened.
"Well, she says she does it because she thinks its funny," Daine said, trying her very best not to burst into fits of laughter. The look on Neal's face was worth ever silver noble in the king's treasury. It was indescribable at first, but it soon turned into a grin to match Daine's. Suddenly, Neal burst out laughing.
"As funny as that struck me, could you please tell Dreamcatcher not to do that anymore? Its gotten me extra duties several times already," Neal said, still trying to control his laughter at his horse's reasoning.
"She says she'll stop, but only because you asked nicely," Daine said with a grin. She knew from instinct that it was getting late. If she wanted to catch Numair before he was already asleep, she'd better get going. "Now that we've done what we came for, I'd best be going."
Neal's look of disappointment was immediate after she voiced these words. "Shall I walk you back to your rooms?" Neal offered, hoping to get in a little more time with her. Daine, knowing she wasn't going back to her rooms right away, decided to decline his offer, despite the fact that that would be rude.
"That's all right, I think I can make it by myself," Daine said, feeling a tad bit guilty when she saw Neal's disappointment filled eyes. There was an awkward silence in which neither spoke. Both were deep in thought, very deep. Daine's mind was on Numair and wondering if he was upset with her. She was thinking of how she could make this up to him. Neal on the other hand's thoughts circled around Daine at the present. He thought of her beauty, of her natural curves, smoky brown curls and stunning blue gray eyes. "Well, I'll just be going then." Daine said finally. She had no interest in staying any longer. It wasn't as if she had wanted to come with Neal in the first place.
"All right then, good night, Daine," Neal said, eyes intent on staring at the floor. He didn't move at all except to stroke Dreamcatcher as Daine walked away and left for Numair's rooms.
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(A/N: I was gonna stop right here, but I guess I owe you guys some fluffies since I took so long to post....)
Before long, Daine found herself standing in a familiar place, right outside the door to Numair's private rooms. Being his student, she'd been here before, waiting for her next lesson. This time she was not here for a lesson. She was here to make sure he wasn't upset with her, and if he was, she'd make it right. Things were just so different now. It seemed that nothing, even the most familiar and simple thing like standing outside her teacher's door was different. Love changes everything, she decided.
Reaching out a hand, she lightly tapped on his door. She mad sure she was quiet, for she had no wish to disturb anyone in the nearby rooms that was sleeping. It would be more than a little awkward to be found outside Numair's rooms at such an hour. Just as it had before, gossip would fly. Daine knew what gossip could do to a relationship, and she didn't find the results to her liking.
There was a scuffling of foot steps from inside, followed by a faint cry of pain as Numair tripped on his way to answer the door. Daine couldn't help but smile at this, picturing her lanky friend falling to the floor from clumsiness as she had seen him do many times. He normally had a cat like grace considering his awkward size, but many times his size was a hindrance and he would lose balance and fall.
Daine snapped her attention to the door as it opened a crack. Numair poked his head out, and in seeing her, opened it all the way. "I didn't expect you to be through with that page so soon," Numair said coldly, but his tone was not directed at her, Daine knew.
She sighed, knowing that Numair had wanted to spend time with her his evening, but hadn't gotten to. "Can I come in?" Daine asked, voice soft.
"Of course," His tone was completely different now, void of any cold nature. He moved out of the door way to hold the door open as she stepped inside. There was a fire blazing in the fire place, heating the room generously. Daine had expected to see the room to his study open from him having been busy in it upon her knocking, but it wasn't. It was shut tight, probably locked. It looked as though he hadn't been in it at all that night. This made Daine feel even more guilty, for she knew it took a great deal of emotion scrambling on his part for him to ignore his experiments.
Numair reached out a hand and motioned for her to have a seat on the couch. She took his signal, and did so. He sat next to her, closer than he ever had when she'd come to his rooms all those times for lessons. Her eyes held a look of guilt, and Numair knew he'd caused it. He sighed, frustrated with himself for making her feel bad. He hadn't been upset with her at all, just jealous. Jealousy was one of his major faults, something he couldn't control.
"Numair-" Daine spoke up finally, knowing what she had to tell him.
"No, Daine, you don't have to say it-" Numair interrupted suddenly, much to Daine's surprise. "I was being a jealous fool, and I'm sorry."
"Are you upset with me for not spending time with you tonight?" Daine asked, taking her turn to interrupt Numair as he had done to her. She ignored his jibe at himself, even though she knew it was partially true. He smiled on the inside when he noticed this was what she had done.
"Of course not, sweet," Numair said quickly, hoping to douse any worries that she might have. He reached across the small space that separated them and drew her into his arms. She accepted his antics willingly, sighing in what he assumed to be relief. He found it a bit humorous that she had thought he was angry with her. His guilt seemed to have been washed away. "I had just wanted to spend time with you, that's all."
"Well, that's good to hear, but still, I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together since we arrived home," Daine said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Numair saw this and smiled slyly, wrapping his arms tightly around her torso.
"Ah, well, we've still time before the day is out, do we not?" His voice was as mischievous as that of his lover's. It sent chills down her spine and made her oddly excited.
"We've not much of it left," Daine said teasing him, pretending not to know what he meant.
Ignoring her mock ignorance, Numair said, "Well then we'd best not waste any time, sweetling." His voice was teasing her, daring her to continue with her game.
Daine forced a yawn, looking at him with squinted eyes as she did so. "I'm fair certain I'm getting too tired to stay awake, master mage. I believe I shall go skip off to my rooms and sleep."
"Oh no you don't! I shant let you get off so easily!" Numair said suddenly, gripping her arms with his own to prevent her from rising. She had barely enough time to flash a quick smile before he'd captured her lips with his own, fast as lightning. She fell backwards and flat onto her back at the sudden impact. Resting her head on the are of the couch, She closed her eyes and leaned back to better accommodate him. In the brief moments that she bothered to open them, she would catch a mischievous glint in his eyes that made her feel as giddy as ever. Now, as she took everything in, he lay on top of her, kissing her for all he was worth. She moaned into his mouth, kissing him back. This was what she'd longed for all day.
Daine managed, with some difficulty to pull her arms out from under Numair's body, and snake them up and around his neck. She managed this without breaking their kiss, much to her own amazement. Numair was intent on keep contact with her, and didn't act as if he planned to let up any time soon. Daine had no objections to this, in fact, she quite enjoyed it. She playfully ran her fingers through his bone straight black hair that was currently tied back in a horse tail. He moaned into their kiss when he felt her begin to run her fingers down his back. They broke the kiss briefly for air, and then came back with just as much passion and desire as before. It was as if neither could get enough of the other. It was a feeling that Daine only got from Numair, and Numair alone. She shifted beneath him, letting herself get more comfortable.
He pulled away again to draw in air. Daine too fought to breathe. She looked into his eyes and smiled. He returned the favor with a grin to match hers. For the umpteenth time that day, she gazed merrily at the site of him. She'd always thought him handsome, but it was times like these in which her feelings of his appearance multiplied.
Again he leaned down to kiss her, but this time his lips landed on the side of her neck. He repeatedly let his lips caress the soft skin of her neck, raining tiny kisses all over. As she moved closer, her face buried in his hair, he could feel her thick lashes blink against the side of his head. He let his trembling hands slide up the back of her shirt, untucking it in the back. He let his fingers run up and down the bare skin of her back.
Numair felt his desire begin to rise up to terribly high levels within him. His body began trembling uncontrollably, until he finally broke the kiss. He closed his eyes, taking in air and trying to calm himself. He tried to wash away the wild thoughts that were floating through his mind, but he found this to be extremely hard. He felt Daine's hand move from his back to his arm, and come to rest on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, afraid of the longing he knew he would find in hers.
As soon as his eyes were opened, they locked with her own. Her blue gray eyes were dark now, filled with a burning passion and an intense longing. As much as Numair wanted to, he couldn't tear his eyes away from hers. He wanted very badly to turn away, for her look of pure longing for him to fall into the passion made it even harder for him not to. He couldn't do that to her, not yet. He loved her to much to do such a thing. No matter how much he knew what was right, he couldn't stop natural feelings from coming.
"Is-is something wrong?" Daine's voice was shaky with an odd emotion. Her eyes told all, however. They told Numair that she knew very well what had stopped him. He knew now more than ever that he should not have let things go so far. The passion had swamped them both, making it difficult to think rationally.
Refusing to look her in the eye, Numair said, "Daine, I-" he began, fighting for just the right words. They had had this same thing happen before, and little more than a day ago at that. This time was much worse though, for he had been less able to stop. "I can't."
"Numair, I know you want this," Daine said in response, her voice shaking every bit as much as before. The longing in her eyes did not fade at all. When she had came to his rooms this night, she'd had no idea that it would result in this. "I can see it in your eyes."
"I do, I do want this, but I can't. It wouldn't be right," Numair choked out these words. Now, he had turned to face her, for he could look away no longer.
"Then why?" Daine's question was simple, and he knew the answer, but putting it into words would be difficult, especially when he could see such emotion in her eyes. "I want it too, you know." Did she really? She thought she did, now as she was being consumed by her passionate thoughts, but was it really what she wanted? Perhaps she needed time to think, to think rationally. She didn't even consider this just now though, for she was much to caught up in the moment.
Numair thought for a moment, eyes never breaking away from Daine's, no matter how much it pained him. "I love you," He said simply. It was so simple. That was the answer, and it was the best he could give her. "Its because I love you."
Daine looked at him for a moment, letting his words sink in. She thought about it for a moment, thinking hard on his words. 'Because I love you', what kind of answer was that? Did it make sense? Nothing made sense to Daine when she was in this state of mind. She had to come back to her right train of thoughts. It was then that she fully understood. It all made sense, brilliant sense. If he hadn't loved her, he wouldn't have stopped. He cared enough about her, to let them wait. "I love you too, and I understand now," It was almost as if she hadn't fully understood love until just this very moment. No matter how many times he had ever expressed his love to her, it had never been so meaningful as it was now. "Thank you, Numair." She knew it was just as much, of not more of a struggle for him to hold back as it was for her.
Numair was stunned to say the least. He hadn't expected this at all. Before, when they had been in this same situation, she had gotten fair vexed with him. It looked as if only now did she truly understand his antics. He thanked the gods. Now she knew. She knew how much he loved her, and she understood. There was still the same longing as before. If anything it was stronger, but this time, they both had a greater understanding.
"Daine, as much as I want you to stay with me, you should go," Numair said, his voice raspy and filled with disappointment. Daine knew that his tone was a result of the passion they had shared moments ago. It made her feel a strong sense of giddiness. A small smile played at his lips, she saw, and she knew it was a true one. She smiled back at him, letting him know that everything was okay. They wouldn't have this misunderstanding again. "If I'm not mistaken, the last time you were in my rooms this late, we faced some nasty gossip in the morning."
"Yes, you're right," Daine said distantly. She was still deep in thought, wondering what had possessed her to let herself fall as far into passion as she had. It was love, plain and simple. That was all it could be. "And Numair, I'm sorry. I let us both get carried away, and I know it affects you as much as it does me."
"Don't worry, sweet," was his simple, yet relieving response. "I'll see you in the morning." Numair leaned closer to her, and swiftly, yet gently kissed her lips. He let his lips linger for a moment. He suddenly removed his mouth, almost as quickly as he had brought it, leaving them both in longing for more. Daine knew she'd best leave now.
"Good night, love," she said before rising and going to the door. She opened it and left the room, closing the door behind her. She didn't question why Numair hadn't come to see her to the door. Without looking, she knew he still sat where she had left him, and he might stay that way for the rest of the night.
Silently, she made her way back to her rooms. Earlier in the day, she'd received word from Tkaa that Kit would be waiting for her back at her rooms. She felt guilty for not coming to see her charge sooner. Kitten would trill and whistle and scold Daine for leaving her alone for so long. It had been a full three months at least since Daine had laid eyes on the dragonet.
Also, a quick note to those who decided to help me with Neal. Thankies a bunch to you all! It was a great help, cuz he is going to be in this fic for a few chapters...Also, I'm making him quite a bit younger than Daine, but still old enough to have an interest in her. And you won't find Kel in this fic at any time. I hate her. She should die. Moving on....
Oh and, yes, the plot will come up very soon! You'll be pretty mad, I'm sure, when it does, but it has to some time! I mean, that is the whole reason this lousy fic even exists....But never fear, the fluff will always be here!
Disclaimer: I still own nuthin but the plot.....don't sue me please cuz that's not nice...
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Much to Daine and Numair's dismay, Jon did keep each of them for a rather long time. He questioned them and quizzed them until they each thought their heads were spinning. They had already told their story twice to two other people, and now that they were past the third, having told it to Jon more than once, they were getting rather annoyed. It seemed the king would never stop questioning them, and perhaps he wouldn't have, had Thayet not intervened.
"Jon!" Thayet called to him, entering his study without knocking. She was the queen after all, and so no need to be formal with her own husband. "Leave Daine and Numair alone for a spell! You've kept them for over three hours!" Thayet scolded her husband, who merely scowled at her, knowing she was right.
"Thayet, they have important information for me, things I don't want to look over," Jon explained, ignoring his wife's protests and blocking out Numair obvious, loud, sigh of frustration.
"There can't be much they haven't told you in the time they've been here," Thayet said, putting a hand on her hip as she stood in the door way of Jon's study. After a brief moment, she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "You may have forgotten, seeing as you've gotten rather preoccupied lately, but the dinner bell just rang and you're expected to dine with the pages and squires in the mess hall."
Numair let out a hinting cough, letting his approval of Thayet's words show clear. Daine noticed this and merely rolled her eyes. She was getting fair tired of this little meeting with Jon, just as much as her lover was.
"Numair, you'd best go and see a Healer about that cough," Jon said with mock concern, showing the first sign of humor since the end of the war. "It sounds to me like you're coming down with a case of unemployment."
Numair snapped his head up at hearing Jonathan insult him directly. Jon had caught him off guard, and had gotten one past him. Everyone in the room besides Numair broke into laughter. Numair let this slide, knowing full well how few times Jon had even done such a simple thing as smile for several months. He turned to look at Thayet and saw a look of genuine happiness on her face. She must miss her husband when he went into one of his moods. When this happened, all he concerned himself with was matters of his kingdom. Nothing else mattered in these times, not even friends or family.
Sighing, Jon held up a hand, "Go on, you two and have your dinner,"Jon said, his annoyance with his wife's interruption distinct in his voice. "Though don't be surprised if I call you in at a later date to clear up any matters I don't fully comprehend." His eyes did not hold their usual twinkle, nor did his lips coil into their usual smile. For now, he was a normal monarch, one who wasn't so friendly as the Jon they all knew and loved (most of the time).
Grinning at his love, Numair motioned for her to follow him out of the king's study. She did so, and once in the hall, each burst out laughing. Neither seemed to know what the cause of this laughter was, but it was surely something, for each could not hold it in. Perhaps this was just ordinary behavior for new lovers. Neither Daine nor Numair would know, for neither had truly been in love before.
"It didn't strike me until just now how very much Jon needs a woman like Thayet for his queen,"Numair pointed out, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
"Behind every successful man stands an even better woman who got him there," Daine said matter of factly. She put a hand on her hip and held her head high in a mocking fashion.
"I beg to differ, Miss Sarrasri,"Numair said, following her game, "I courted no one when I received my black robe status at age seventeen."
"That may be so, but the gods destined for me to come along,"Daine retorted, sliding an arm around his waste. Both seemed to forget about their secrecy, let their feelings leak out unintentionally. Just as Numair's face was little more than an inch from Daine's, the sound of foot steps could be heard nearby, bringing the too star struck lovers back to reality. They suddenly remembered their agreement, and mentally scolded themselves for almost getting carried away. In an instant, Numair had darted back to a respectable distance from Daine, and when the young clerk rounded the corner, nothing about them was questionable.
"Good evening, Lady Daine," the clerk said as he walked by, stopping briefly to rest a hand on her shoulder. Daine recognized him immediately, but almost wished she hadn't. This young man was none other than Perin of Midwick, a palace clerk who had taken an interest in her. Before war had broke out and Daine still resided at the palace, she had spent weeks doing her best to avoid him, for he always seemed to be everywhere she went. To some, this may be flattering, but Daine had never had any interest in Perin, especially not when he tried to kiss her. He had even succeeded on more than on occasion.
"And to you, Perin," Daine replied politely. No matter how much she disliked the fellow, she wouldn't be rude to him. After all, she had never actually told him she didn't appreciate his affections, therefore it wasn't entirely his fault.
Daine felt Numair tense at her side, and she knew that he recognized Perin. "We should be heading off for dinner, Daine," Numair threw in before Perin had a chance to say anything. "Good day to you, Perin." With that, and a slight tug on Daine's arm, they were heading off down the palace halls in the direction of the Mess Hall.
As soon as Daine and Numair reached the Mess Hall, they entered and went to gather their food. There was a short line to wait through, but that was soon done and over. Before long, they were filling their trays with the best food they'd had for quite a while. There was roast chick, spare ribs, garlic bread, steaming vegetable soup, ale, and a pastry for desert. As soon as they had gathered their food, Numair scanned the room with his eyes for a place to sit. Just as Numair was about to point out an empty table in one of the far corners where they could talk more privately, a voice called out Daine's name from across the room. Numair felt flustered by this as he turned to see who had called to his love.
"Daine!" the page Nealan called out from across the Mess Hall. He pointed to a single seat next to his own, a place with no room for Numair. Daine turned to look at her love and saw the look of pure annoyance written on his face. She briefly put her hand on his harm and he looked down at her.
"Go ahead," Numair said, though he did not sound at all sincere. Daine looked at him one last time apologetically before heading across the room to sit with Neal and some of the other pages. Numair's eyes lingered on her retreating form for a few moments before he made his way to that empty table he'd seen only moments earlier.
As Numair sat alone, bored and jealous out of his mind, Daine went to sit with Neal. She knew very little about this page, but she thought he was a good sort. She wouldn't dare mention that to Numair though, who didn't seem to be to fond of Neal. She had a feeling it was slight jealousy, but there was nothing she could do about that. Numair would get over it, she knew.
"So, what did the king need to see you about?"Neal asked as he bit into a roast chicken leg. Daine thought that to be an awfully personal question to ask someone you've only known for less than a day, but she would answer it all the same. This Neal was definitely not the shy person she thought he was. When he was around other pages, he was actually very talkative.
"Oh, Jon just wanted reports on me and Numair's where abouts for the past two months," Daine said in response, her lack of grammar showing clearly.
"You mean he didn't know?" Neal asked, curious about the king's standards with mages. "I don't know about mages, but the king requires constant knowledge of the position every knight in the realm!"
"I'm sure he does," Daine replied, annoyed at Neal's jibe towards mages. "Normally he needs weekly reports from us, but the circumstances of these last few months were unavoidable."
"Ah," Neal considered what she had said. He really did like this Daine, his emerald eyes twinkling. She was very attractive in her own way. She wasn't at all like most of the young women at court. Daine seemed to have her own standards, and Neal liked that.
"How long have you been a page?"Daine asked Neal. It seemed all of Neal's page friends were busy with their own conversations, leaving only herself and Neal in her current one.
"Almost one year,"Neal said proudly. He wanted desperately to impress this young woman.
"Oh,"Daine said, finding herself actually enjoying talking with this page. Though she would rather be sitting with Numair, she was actually having fun without him. Numair. She suddenly wondered where he was. She turned around, letting her eyes scan the room for her lanky lover. She was completely ignoring whatever it was Neal was saying.
"-and the reason I'm so much older than all the other pages is because I went into training to be a Healer for a while, but changed my mind," Neal continued rambling on, until he realized that Daine was paying no attention what so ever to him. He scowled at this, feeling slight defeat. She seemed to be looking for someone, but who? He wanted very much to find out. "Daine, are you looking for someone?" Neal asked. After his first try, Daine still did not hear him, so he repeated the question.
Finally, after three times of Neal asking, Daine snapped back into reality. It was then that she realized how rude she'd been, and she turned back to Neal, blushing. "I'm sorry, Neal, were you saying something?"she asked, thoroughly embarrassed.
Neal sighed, but was careful not to let Daine notice. "I asked if you were looking for someone," he repeated his question now for the fourth time, only to find that her attention had again gone back to scanning the room.
"Huh? Oh, yes!" Daine exclaimed, mentally scolding herself for continually being rude to her new friend. She couldn't imagine what he must be thinking of her behavior. "I was just looking to see where Numair has gotten to. There seems to be room here with us now, so I thought I'd invite him over."
"Master Salmalin?" Neal asked, shocked that that had been who she'd been looking for the entire time. He felt his heart burn with jealousy. He could deny it no longer. In just the short time, less than a day, that he'd know Daine, he was falling for her and falling fast. He knew he was at least attracted to her, and for him, that was enough. He now took Salmalin as a threat, for he remembered earlier how friendly Daine had been towards the man. When he had come along, she had completely forgotten Neal was even present!
"Yes, that's his name," Daine replied, her mind not really in this conversation with Neal. It didn't take Neal himself long to realize this, and he couldn't help but start keeping score of the times he'd out done Numair for Daine's attention and vise versa.
"So he's your teacher, is he?" Neal asked, trying to draw Daine's attention away from looking for Numair. He knew if the mage came over here, he would have to compete for Daine's attention and that was something he did not want to do. In just an evening's time, he had gone from being shy around this young woman, to admitting to himself that he fancied her and also being able to speak to her without a stutter. He though he was doing rather well so far, having carried out a full conversation with her through dinner. She had even laughed several times at something funny Neal said. This made his heart flutter with giddiness.
"Yes, he is," Daine replied, still looking for her lanky lover. She still could not find him, and she did her best to pay attention to her dinner partner while still scan the Mess Hall for him.
"For how long?" Neal was beginning to panic, for his questions were failing. It seemed with every second she was paying him less and less of her attentions.
"Just over six years," Daine said casually. A smile suddenly spread across her face, making Neal think he'd struck gold. It wasn't until moments later that he realized the reason for her smile.
"Numair, over here!" she called across the Mess Hall after noticing Numair sitting alone in one of the far corners. His head snapped up and he looked over in the direction of her voice. Smiling, he stood, tray in hand, and went to come sit with her. He made his way across the room, and over to the table where Daine and Neal sat alone. The young page's scowl in his direction did not go unnoticed by Numair. Still smiling, and taking a moment to glare in Neal's direction, Numair took the vacant seat next to Daine, briefly squeezing her hand under the table.
"Good evening, Daine," Numair said, acting as if he hadn't seen her in quite a while. He was beginning to wonder if it would seem odd to their friends if they were noticed spending much more time together than usual. With luck, they could pass it off as merely lessons, but he also knew that their friends were also meddlers. Knowing Alanna, she would soon begin to suspect something and try to track it down. Numair knew it was only a matter of time before he and Daine were found out, but he would savor that time of secrecy, and handle the revelation when it came. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name?" Numair directed his question towards Neal. This earned a scowl from the young page.
Neal smoothed back his locks of hair, his emerald eyes shining. "Nealan of Queenscove," He said, voice coming out sharp as a Shang blade. Daine noticed this immediately, but didn't let her knowledge show. She wondered if anything would come of this. If something did come, it was likely she wouldn't like it or welcome it. It was obvious Neal fancied her, and she couldn't help that. Knowing full well of Numair's over protectiveness and strong sense of jealousy, she could only wonder not of if something would come of this, but when it would come.
"Ah, so you're Baird's son," Numair said, trying to sound half way interested, even though he couldn't care less. This dinner was boring him. He longed to return to his rooms and spend some time alone with Daine. Perhaps they could walk in the garden in the more secluded sections where they wouldn't be seen.
Neal scowled, mentally pouting and burning with jealousy. It didn't pass by him, how close Daine sat to her teacher. He didn't miss the look in her eyes when she looked at that mage, or the returning look he would flash her. He wouldn't let this man get this one over on him. He would stop this conversation right now, before she could decide to go and do something with the mage.
"Would you like to walk with me over to the stables, Daine?" Neal asked as sweetly and charmingly as he could. He let his eyes shine radiantly, a trick he'd learned a while ago when he wanted to impress a lady. "I need to take grain to my mount."
Daine looked at Numair, biting her lip. She didn't want to go with Neal now, as the meal was coming to an end. She wanted to go off with Numair, where they could be in secret, but she knew it would be rude to turn him down. She stole a glance into her love's eyes, only to see that he was scowling. She tried to get his attention, so she could apologize without words, but found this to be impossible. She finally decided to play it into their conversation. "Numair, is it alright if we skip the lesson tonight?" she asked, letting her eyes tell him how she really felt. When his dark eyes made contact with her own, she knew that he understood what she meant and he nodded, his manner giving away his disappointment.
"Oh, don't worry about that, Daine," Numair said, voice full of resentment. "We can discuss it in the morning." Without bothering to say more, or even good bye for that matter, Numair rose from where he sat, dropping Daine's hand as he did. He immediately stalked away, once he had risen. He didn't look back even once, at least not that Daine could see. She felt hurt by this, and made a mental not to be certain to stop by his rooms before retiring later. It would do them no good to wait until morning to hash this out.
"Do you know the way to the page's stables?" Neal asked, rising from where he sat and removing his napkin from his lap and placing it on his tray. Daine looked at him crossly, though she didn't mean to. She swallowed her emotions and forced a smile.
"I visit them all the time, so its only natural that I do,"Again, Daine's voice was more harsh than she meant, and she hoped she wasn't hurting Neal's feelings, no matter how vexed with him she was. She knew she didn't have much of a right to be vexed with him, for it wasn't his fault Numair was jealous. To Neal and every other young man at the palace, Daine was fair game, since she and Numair were keeping their relationship a secret. She just hoped this wouldn't go farther than need be. She didn't want her relationship with Numair to be thrown into jeopardy by any means.
"Ah, well then lets go,"Neal said, leading the way to the Mess Hall exit. Daine followed him out of the Mess Hall and down the hallway. They passed many door ways and corridors until they reached a door that led to the palace grounds. Daine rarely went through these parts of the palace; she never had any business in them. She lived on the other side, as did Numair, and there were many other ways to reach the page's stables, so she never came this way.
Once out in the cool night breeze, Daine followed Neal across the palace grounds and to the stables. She'd been here many times, so she was familiar with several of the horses kept here. Many times the king had summoned her to heal one of the page's mounts and she had come every time.
(A/N: I have no clue what Neal's horse looks like or what its name is or even its gender, and I don't really care, so I'm inventing a horse for him....)
Daine followed Neal into the stables and down each row. They passed by many horses that Daine could remember healing at some time or another, before they stopped at the stall Neal had in mind. In it stood a tall mount, though not tall enough to be a war horse. It must be only for Neal's training, for it did not look fit to take into battle. Despite this minor detail, it was a fine mount, a beautiful one at that. It was a brilliant sorrel mare, most likely no more than ten years of age. It looked as if it had seen many pages, even in its middle age. Its coat was completely solid with the exception of a thin blaze running down its nose.
Reaching out a gentle hand, Daine softly scratched the horse's nose. The horse snorted in reply, breathing softly against Daine's outstretched hand. Daine stole a side long glance to find that Neal was watching her with interest. She wished he would just get on with what he came here to do, so she could be on her way. "Her name's Dreamcatcher," Neal said, reaching up and stroking the mare's ears. Daine watched as the horse stretched its head out farther to bump Neal's chest affectionately.
-Hello, Dreamcatcher- Daine said through mind speech to the mare. Daine heard her stomping her foot against the stall door.
- And to you, two legger who is People- Dreamcatcher replied neighing in greeting. Daine couldn't remember ever seeing this horse, which was surprising because she'd lived at the palace for quite a while, just as the mare most likely had. She must have just over looked her.
-I don't think I've ever seen you before, but you sure are a beauty- Daine complimented Dreamcatcher. The mare puffed her chest out proudly, making Daine laugh.
-Nor have I seen you, two legger, but its common knowledge among the People that you're the Wild Mage- was Dreamcatcher's hearty reply.
"Daine, are you talking to her?" Neal asked curiously. Daine broke her mind away from her conversation with Dreamcatcher, and turned to face Neal. He looked directly into her face, which had suddenly gotten so close to his just now, and blushed. Daine felt a pang of guilt that she was leading Neal on, but she let it pass. There was nothing she could do about it. He would know someday, likely in the near future, that her heart already belonged to someone. Besides, it wasn't as if she herself had made any advances to Neal.
"Yes," Daine replied, wishing the awkwardness would pass.
"Do you think you could ask her something for me?" Neal asked, eyes thoughtful. He loved Dreamcatcher, but the mare had been giving him trouble for quite some time now. Perhaps Daine could help solve the problem.
"Sure," Daine replied, happy to help her new friend and his mount. "What did you need me to ask?"
"Well, I love Dreamcatcher, and I'd love for her to be my mount for the time being, but I have the hardest time simply mounting her. She's fine when I'm saddling her, and when I lead her out of the stable, but its when I get her into the yard that she starts misbehaving. Every time I try to mount, she moves out of the way and i fall. It normally took two of the other pages holding her down for me to even get on her at all," Neal said, all the while Daine listening intently. She was no longer feeling awkward, for now she was doing what she did best. It was business now, between herself and Neal.
"Hm, I'll see what I can do," Daine said, letting her mind enter that of Dreamcatcher's. In doing this, she would be able to find any sort of unhappiness the horse might feel, and that could be the explanation for her behavior. It could also be a result of some form of mishandling in her past.
-Dreamcatcher, Neal tells me you don't like for him to try and mount you. Why is this?- Daine asked the mare through mind speech after finding no sense of unhappiness in the horse's mind and thoughts.
-This is true- the mare replied tartly, purposefully dodging having to answer Daine's question. Daine immediately recognized Dreamcatcher's game, and decided to play along.
-Has Neal mishandled you before?- Daine asked, hoping her new friend hadn't ever done such a thing.
-The two legger is just fine. He's always given me fair treatment- Again, Dreamcatcher did not completely answer Daine's question. At least now Daine could eliminate Neal from her suspicions.
-If not that, then why?- Daine asked, now extremely curious.
-Can't a horse have a sense of humor? You've no idea how entertaining it is to see that two legger fall onto his rump. The other two leggers laugh at him, making it even better- Dreamcatcher replied, her feelings of fun and excitement flooding Daine's mind. A small smile played at Daine's lips. This mare was truly one of a kind. Daine couldn't recall having ever met a horse with a personality to match this one. She was pert, but not so bad as Cloud. She was also gentle, but not so gentle as Numair's gelding, Spots.
"What did she say?" Neal asked curiously when he say Daine smiling. Daine turned to look at him, and her grin broadened.
"Well, she says she does it because she thinks its funny," Daine said, trying her very best not to burst into fits of laughter. The look on Neal's face was worth ever silver noble in the king's treasury. It was indescribable at first, but it soon turned into a grin to match Daine's. Suddenly, Neal burst out laughing.
"As funny as that struck me, could you please tell Dreamcatcher not to do that anymore? Its gotten me extra duties several times already," Neal said, still trying to control his laughter at his horse's reasoning.
"She says she'll stop, but only because you asked nicely," Daine said with a grin. She knew from instinct that it was getting late. If she wanted to catch Numair before he was already asleep, she'd better get going. "Now that we've done what we came for, I'd best be going."
Neal's look of disappointment was immediate after she voiced these words. "Shall I walk you back to your rooms?" Neal offered, hoping to get in a little more time with her. Daine, knowing she wasn't going back to her rooms right away, decided to decline his offer, despite the fact that that would be rude.
"That's all right, I think I can make it by myself," Daine said, feeling a tad bit guilty when she saw Neal's disappointment filled eyes. There was an awkward silence in which neither spoke. Both were deep in thought, very deep. Daine's mind was on Numair and wondering if he was upset with her. She was thinking of how she could make this up to him. Neal on the other hand's thoughts circled around Daine at the present. He thought of her beauty, of her natural curves, smoky brown curls and stunning blue gray eyes. "Well, I'll just be going then." Daine said finally. She had no interest in staying any longer. It wasn't as if she had wanted to come with Neal in the first place.
"All right then, good night, Daine," Neal said, eyes intent on staring at the floor. He didn't move at all except to stroke Dreamcatcher as Daine walked away and left for Numair's rooms.
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(A/N: I was gonna stop right here, but I guess I owe you guys some fluffies since I took so long to post....)
Before long, Daine found herself standing in a familiar place, right outside the door to Numair's private rooms. Being his student, she'd been here before, waiting for her next lesson. This time she was not here for a lesson. She was here to make sure he wasn't upset with her, and if he was, she'd make it right. Things were just so different now. It seemed that nothing, even the most familiar and simple thing like standing outside her teacher's door was different. Love changes everything, she decided.
Reaching out a hand, she lightly tapped on his door. She mad sure she was quiet, for she had no wish to disturb anyone in the nearby rooms that was sleeping. It would be more than a little awkward to be found outside Numair's rooms at such an hour. Just as it had before, gossip would fly. Daine knew what gossip could do to a relationship, and she didn't find the results to her liking.
There was a scuffling of foot steps from inside, followed by a faint cry of pain as Numair tripped on his way to answer the door. Daine couldn't help but smile at this, picturing her lanky friend falling to the floor from clumsiness as she had seen him do many times. He normally had a cat like grace considering his awkward size, but many times his size was a hindrance and he would lose balance and fall.
Daine snapped her attention to the door as it opened a crack. Numair poked his head out, and in seeing her, opened it all the way. "I didn't expect you to be through with that page so soon," Numair said coldly, but his tone was not directed at her, Daine knew.
She sighed, knowing that Numair had wanted to spend time with her his evening, but hadn't gotten to. "Can I come in?" Daine asked, voice soft.
"Of course," His tone was completely different now, void of any cold nature. He moved out of the door way to hold the door open as she stepped inside. There was a fire blazing in the fire place, heating the room generously. Daine had expected to see the room to his study open from him having been busy in it upon her knocking, but it wasn't. It was shut tight, probably locked. It looked as though he hadn't been in it at all that night. This made Daine feel even more guilty, for she knew it took a great deal of emotion scrambling on his part for him to ignore his experiments.
Numair reached out a hand and motioned for her to have a seat on the couch. She took his signal, and did so. He sat next to her, closer than he ever had when she'd come to his rooms all those times for lessons. Her eyes held a look of guilt, and Numair knew he'd caused it. He sighed, frustrated with himself for making her feel bad. He hadn't been upset with her at all, just jealous. Jealousy was one of his major faults, something he couldn't control.
"Numair-" Daine spoke up finally, knowing what she had to tell him.
"No, Daine, you don't have to say it-" Numair interrupted suddenly, much to Daine's surprise. "I was being a jealous fool, and I'm sorry."
"Are you upset with me for not spending time with you tonight?" Daine asked, taking her turn to interrupt Numair as he had done to her. She ignored his jibe at himself, even though she knew it was partially true. He smiled on the inside when he noticed this was what she had done.
"Of course not, sweet," Numair said quickly, hoping to douse any worries that she might have. He reached across the small space that separated them and drew her into his arms. She accepted his antics willingly, sighing in what he assumed to be relief. He found it a bit humorous that she had thought he was angry with her. His guilt seemed to have been washed away. "I had just wanted to spend time with you, that's all."
"Well, that's good to hear, but still, I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time together since we arrived home," Daine said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Numair saw this and smiled slyly, wrapping his arms tightly around her torso.
"Ah, well, we've still time before the day is out, do we not?" His voice was as mischievous as that of his lover's. It sent chills down her spine and made her oddly excited.
"We've not much of it left," Daine said teasing him, pretending not to know what he meant.
Ignoring her mock ignorance, Numair said, "Well then we'd best not waste any time, sweetling." His voice was teasing her, daring her to continue with her game.
Daine forced a yawn, looking at him with squinted eyes as she did so. "I'm fair certain I'm getting too tired to stay awake, master mage. I believe I shall go skip off to my rooms and sleep."
"Oh no you don't! I shant let you get off so easily!" Numair said suddenly, gripping her arms with his own to prevent her from rising. She had barely enough time to flash a quick smile before he'd captured her lips with his own, fast as lightning. She fell backwards and flat onto her back at the sudden impact. Resting her head on the are of the couch, She closed her eyes and leaned back to better accommodate him. In the brief moments that she bothered to open them, she would catch a mischievous glint in his eyes that made her feel as giddy as ever. Now, as she took everything in, he lay on top of her, kissing her for all he was worth. She moaned into his mouth, kissing him back. This was what she'd longed for all day.
Daine managed, with some difficulty to pull her arms out from under Numair's body, and snake them up and around his neck. She managed this without breaking their kiss, much to her own amazement. Numair was intent on keep contact with her, and didn't act as if he planned to let up any time soon. Daine had no objections to this, in fact, she quite enjoyed it. She playfully ran her fingers through his bone straight black hair that was currently tied back in a horse tail. He moaned into their kiss when he felt her begin to run her fingers down his back. They broke the kiss briefly for air, and then came back with just as much passion and desire as before. It was as if neither could get enough of the other. It was a feeling that Daine only got from Numair, and Numair alone. She shifted beneath him, letting herself get more comfortable.
He pulled away again to draw in air. Daine too fought to breathe. She looked into his eyes and smiled. He returned the favor with a grin to match hers. For the umpteenth time that day, she gazed merrily at the site of him. She'd always thought him handsome, but it was times like these in which her feelings of his appearance multiplied.
Again he leaned down to kiss her, but this time his lips landed on the side of her neck. He repeatedly let his lips caress the soft skin of her neck, raining tiny kisses all over. As she moved closer, her face buried in his hair, he could feel her thick lashes blink against the side of his head. He let his trembling hands slide up the back of her shirt, untucking it in the back. He let his fingers run up and down the bare skin of her back.
Numair felt his desire begin to rise up to terribly high levels within him. His body began trembling uncontrollably, until he finally broke the kiss. He closed his eyes, taking in air and trying to calm himself. He tried to wash away the wild thoughts that were floating through his mind, but he found this to be extremely hard. He felt Daine's hand move from his back to his arm, and come to rest on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, afraid of the longing he knew he would find in hers.
As soon as his eyes were opened, they locked with her own. Her blue gray eyes were dark now, filled with a burning passion and an intense longing. As much as Numair wanted to, he couldn't tear his eyes away from hers. He wanted very badly to turn away, for her look of pure longing for him to fall into the passion made it even harder for him not to. He couldn't do that to her, not yet. He loved her to much to do such a thing. No matter how much he knew what was right, he couldn't stop natural feelings from coming.
"Is-is something wrong?" Daine's voice was shaky with an odd emotion. Her eyes told all, however. They told Numair that she knew very well what had stopped him. He knew now more than ever that he should not have let things go so far. The passion had swamped them both, making it difficult to think rationally.
Refusing to look her in the eye, Numair said, "Daine, I-" he began, fighting for just the right words. They had had this same thing happen before, and little more than a day ago at that. This time was much worse though, for he had been less able to stop. "I can't."
"Numair, I know you want this," Daine said in response, her voice shaking every bit as much as before. The longing in her eyes did not fade at all. When she had came to his rooms this night, she'd had no idea that it would result in this. "I can see it in your eyes."
"I do, I do want this, but I can't. It wouldn't be right," Numair choked out these words. Now, he had turned to face her, for he could look away no longer.
"Then why?" Daine's question was simple, and he knew the answer, but putting it into words would be difficult, especially when he could see such emotion in her eyes. "I want it too, you know." Did she really? She thought she did, now as she was being consumed by her passionate thoughts, but was it really what she wanted? Perhaps she needed time to think, to think rationally. She didn't even consider this just now though, for she was much to caught up in the moment.
Numair thought for a moment, eyes never breaking away from Daine's, no matter how much it pained him. "I love you," He said simply. It was so simple. That was the answer, and it was the best he could give her. "Its because I love you."
Daine looked at him for a moment, letting his words sink in. She thought about it for a moment, thinking hard on his words. 'Because I love you', what kind of answer was that? Did it make sense? Nothing made sense to Daine when she was in this state of mind. She had to come back to her right train of thoughts. It was then that she fully understood. It all made sense, brilliant sense. If he hadn't loved her, he wouldn't have stopped. He cared enough about her, to let them wait. "I love you too, and I understand now," It was almost as if she hadn't fully understood love until just this very moment. No matter how many times he had ever expressed his love to her, it had never been so meaningful as it was now. "Thank you, Numair." She knew it was just as much, of not more of a struggle for him to hold back as it was for her.
Numair was stunned to say the least. He hadn't expected this at all. Before, when they had been in this same situation, she had gotten fair vexed with him. It looked as if only now did she truly understand his antics. He thanked the gods. Now she knew. She knew how much he loved her, and she understood. There was still the same longing as before. If anything it was stronger, but this time, they both had a greater understanding.
"Daine, as much as I want you to stay with me, you should go," Numair said, his voice raspy and filled with disappointment. Daine knew that his tone was a result of the passion they had shared moments ago. It made her feel a strong sense of giddiness. A small smile played at his lips, she saw, and she knew it was a true one. She smiled back at him, letting him know that everything was okay. They wouldn't have this misunderstanding again. "If I'm not mistaken, the last time you were in my rooms this late, we faced some nasty gossip in the morning."
"Yes, you're right," Daine said distantly. She was still deep in thought, wondering what had possessed her to let herself fall as far into passion as she had. It was love, plain and simple. That was all it could be. "And Numair, I'm sorry. I let us both get carried away, and I know it affects you as much as it does me."
"Don't worry, sweet," was his simple, yet relieving response. "I'll see you in the morning." Numair leaned closer to her, and swiftly, yet gently kissed her lips. He let his lips linger for a moment. He suddenly removed his mouth, almost as quickly as he had brought it, leaving them both in longing for more. Daine knew she'd best leave now.
"Good night, love," she said before rising and going to the door. She opened it and left the room, closing the door behind her. She didn't question why Numair hadn't come to see her to the door. Without looking, she knew he still sat where she had left him, and he might stay that way for the rest of the night.
Silently, she made her way back to her rooms. Earlier in the day, she'd received word from Tkaa that Kit would be waiting for her back at her rooms. She felt guilty for not coming to see her charge sooner. Kitten would trill and whistle and scold Daine for leaving her alone for so long. It had been a full three months at least since Daine had laid eyes on the dragonet.
