A/N: Thank you guys for your lovely comments! *huggles* I feel so special! I didn't like it much, but, then again, an author is the harshest critic! ^.~

Sorry it took me FOREVER to get this up…I have had quite a lack of sleep and time…lol

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Danric had only been home for a day and a half.  It was more like three, but to poor Meliara, it seemed like it was less…

"No. I refuse to let you go out again Vidanric Renselaeus." Mel said, her blue-gray eyes scowling at her husband who stood across the room.

"But Mel, I have too!" Danric said, shaking his head and packing. He ran a hand through his cool pale locks as he glanced at Mel over his shoulder before continuing to grab his belongings he needed for his trip. "It will only be for a week…a week and a half at most."

"You just got home though!" She complained.  She hated it when he left, and he knew it.  She glared at him with cold eyes, her heart breaking. It had been such a hard year…and a long year.

"I need to show the country I can be a strong, but just leader, unlike Galdran was." He sighed. "Can you imagine the people rising up like you did?" He asked. "I can. I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire!" he added in a low voice, his provocative gray eyes looking at her, boring into her soul.

"But—"

"No buts. Life! You saved this country, can't you just watch over it for me while I am away?" He asked.

"You are always away, damn it!" She said in a huff.

"I am not, and you know it. I don't need and of Galdran's old supporters causing trouble out in the valley…" He replied, stepping closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Look Mel, I'll be fine. Just let me take care of this and I will be home as soon as I can be."

"Why can't you just…send someone else?" She asked, pleading now.

He chuckled softly, running a hand through her long red locks, "Like 'greedy Galdran' did? You saw how well Baron Degebri did…" He said with a chuckle.

"AND how well you did…betting on me like I was a horse race." She said scowling.

"I believe this country needs a personal touch…" He said softly, "Like my wife needs my touch…"

"Danric…stop it…you're making me feel better." She said, scowling as she refused to look up at him.

He tucked a finger beneath her chin, raising it so she was forced to look in his gray eyes. "I know…" He said, pulling her in close and kissing her passionately, pulling away only when someone rapped on the door to call Danric to duty. "Goodbye Mel…" He said and with a swish of his cape, he was gone.

--Damn him!-- she thought to herself.  He always made her feel better before she left. She moved towards the window, looking out over the courtyard. She saw him mount his dappled gray, his water-resistant black cloak blowing slightly in the wind, his hat pulled low over his eyes. He looked up for only a second, blowing Mel a kiss, then leading the group out of the courtyard. --Come home safely and soon Danric--She thought, turning to head down to the library for a good book, but running right into a slender woman she had never seen before. "Hello…um…who are you?"

"Oh…no one especially…My name is Skye." The woman replied, her violet eyes glinting in the light of the glow globes.

"Right…Skye…nice to meet you. Can I get by then?" She asked, trying to go around her, but the woman moved to block her way.

"No." She said with a smile.

"What do you want?" Mel asked tersely, her temper running short, her hand on her slender hips. She surveyed the woman named Skye more closely. She had an athletic build, yet very feminine and sleek.  Her hair was cropped short between her chin and shoulders and spun into curls a red that rivaled that of fresh summer strawberries.  Her complexion was paler and she had a light dusting of freckles across her nose. Unlike most women, Skye was in a pair of black worn breeches and a black peasant like shirt, very loose in form. But the woman's eyes, her shocking violet eyes, were her most prominent feature.  They were large and…well hard to explain, shaded by dark lashes and perfectly shaped eyebrows. There seemed to be no end to the depth behind them. Mel could tell that every emotion the woman felt would be exposed in her soulful eyes.

"Because you have an old friend who wants to see you."

"Really. Isn't that nice. Now will you PLEASE let me pass? You can tell me all about it on my way to the library." Mel said moving around the woman who let her pass this time.

"He would like to see you in person." Skye replied demurely, fiddling with a curl of her strawberry colored hair.

Mel felt a pinprick at the back of her neck and she swatted back at it, hitting her skin beneath her hair. "He?" She asked, her vision clouding slightly.

"Yes. The good Baron wishes to be reunited with his former foe."

"Baron? Baron who?" Mel asked, taking another step, stumbling almost drunkenly.

"Oh…you will find out." Skye said with a maniacal laugh as the limp form of Meliara slumped to the floor. --Galdran's old supporters my foot. But it worked. Degebri will be very pleased.--

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*dramatic reverb* what will happen next?! Lol

That's all…R&R!!