A/N: This was my assignment for the Dancing Dove's Spring Fanfiction exchange. It's a little late being put up here (I did get it in on time, though!), but I thought I might as well.
Disclaimer: The world and characters used here are all the property of Tamora Pierce.
Gossip
By Seereth
Daine shut the door behind her, letting loose the giggles she had been – barely – holding back. Giddiness that could be charming (or at least concealed as youthful exuberance) in a girl with strange magic, would not be tolerated in a girl who had been highly influential in winning the Immortals War. There were times when Daine did not appreciate being a national hero.
Numair looked up at her from the books and papers spread over his table, one eyebrow raised and one corner of his mouth lifted in anticipation of being let in on the joke. "Daine?" he said, when several minutes seemed to have gone by and her giggles remained uncontained.
"Sorry!" she managed eventually. "It's the…it's the Queensc- "
Hopeless, apparently, thought Numair. Not that she need to finish. He knew what it was about, there were only so many fiefs starting with "Queens", after all. The other corner of his mouth turned up – Nealan of Queenscove's infatuation was rather amusing. "Shall I speak to his father?" he asked with no trace of menace in his mild, perfectly reasonable tone.
It was, as it happened, the wrong thing to say. Daine gave him a look filled with more than her usual ration of feminine irony. "I can just imagine what you'd write, too," she said. "'Duke Baird – Please speak to your son about his behavior towards Daine, unless you would like the Queenscove name to be inherited by a tree. Yours etc, Numair Salmalin.'" She gave him a duplicate of the previous look directed his way. "I'm sure it would be very effective, darling. But perhaps somewhat…obvious?"
"You liked the results of my last experiments with turning people into trees," he said, still mildly. "You said he was absolutely the sweetest person you had ever met, and promptly tried to fix him up with Abigail of Cavall…" He looked thoughtfully. "She very thoughtfully didn't mention that she had only been watching him to make certain he wasn't offering her competition for that pretty, dark-haired girl."
"Uline?" said Daine. "Uline of, um, something…?"
"That's the one," Numair said. "She's soon to be engaged anyway, but that's never stopped anyone before."
Daine grinned at him, twirling a strand of hair around one finger. "You're one to talk about morals," she said cheerfully. Numair gave her something that was an odd mix of a laugh and a shrug. "Mostly your fault, magelet," he pointed out. "I did offer to marry you."
She waved that away; for someone with her upbringing, Daine was really very unconventional. "I invited Lindhall to lunch," she said. "And Tkaa. It's awfully short notice, but was there anyone you wanted to see?"
His lips twitched. "Duke Baird." They twitched again, but he kept the rest of his face straight – despite the temptation.
Daine's giggles returned in full force.