Sorry I didn't update this morning..i was at a high school honors testing. It was horrible cuz I was sick, like I almost threw up and I had a fever I think and yadda yadda! Lol. Anyways, I'm almost at the 200 review mark!! YAY!! Sry, I'm very happy about that. Not so happy about fall break being ova, but many of you didn't even have it, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining, or should i? lol. Just playing with you all.
Thanks to my wonderful reviewers!!
Tortalls Resident Wildchild – well, thx for reviewing even if you ARE confused. lol.
megster – messed up fluff? I quite agree. Lol. It was freakish, and thank you for telling me I was near the 200 mark!!
darkestflare – that wasn't Tillie in the woods, or was it? actually I'm kinda confused as to hoo you are talking about. Hehehe, anyways I look forward to a fic from you, especially a daine and Numair one!!
bkwormalwys – uuumm...well the part about "Nory" is supposed to be confusing. It'll probably be confusing in this chapter also..
Kevvy – I'm sorry, that is such a funny name KEVIN!! HAHAHAHAHA! I'm okay now tho. Hehehe but thanks for reviewing!!
Narm's Briton 44 – I can't wait til they find eachother also! Well....im sorry the update wasn't that "soon".
Equestrian-babe101 – I really really liked your review!! Hehehe. Sorry, I'm just being silly.
Wild Magelet – this chapter isn't quite as long as the other chapter was, but still pretty long!! Lol..but non dream fluff coming soon, hopefully that is!
Padfoot's Sidekick – I'm glad that you think itz really times wateva good, I really times a bazillion luv how you reviewed. Hehehehe..
wildmage-lisa – well...im not sure about becoming a writer. Lol....make me embarrassed with so many compliments. Hehehehe..and well, thanks again!
horsewhisperer – thanks for reviewing!! And well, yah. I'll keep it up, hopefully. ;)
Roherwen – glad you liked the chapter. I luv how your story is going, sorry, random. But, well...you don't have break do you? HAHA! Sorry. Okay. Bye. Lol.
um – I'm glad the dream freaked you out. Hehehee..mission successful! And the whole Elsinore part, you're not supposed to get. Just a hint.
angel gemman – thanks for reviewing and for what you said!!
heather-marie – hehehee. I'm glad I freaked you out also. You know how many people have said that? HEHEHEHE!! I luv being evil!
LexiLoLo200 – I think , umm, maybe around 3-4 more chapters and muchas gracias for reviewing!!
Insomniac-Reader – been awhile since I've gotten one from ya!! Lol. Meaning it's good to hear from you..lol. man, I had you worried also about the dream? Wow, another one to my already long list.. ;)
Well...I hope you enjoy the next chapter, just don't forget to review!! Luv ya all!!
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Daine's eyes slowly opened, reluctantly. She vaguely remembered her body crumbling to the ground after Aeejah had hit her and sat up, wincing. She felt the tender spot on her cheek and winced as she moved her jaw.
"Daine? Are you all right?" called Lord Henry.
When she didn't respond right away due to her aching mouth, Lord Henry asked again, but more urgently.
"Daine, answer me."
"I'm sorry, sir. My jaw, it hurts to talk," replied Daine as she grimaced in pain.
"Oh, of course. I'm sorry, my dear. Aeejah's daughter, Tillie, she came by earlier. She dropped off some food and water; eat it quickly in case that her father stops by again."
The wild mage located the food and quickly started to dip the still soft bread in the water and other tidbits of things that Tillie had managed to give her. She realized, halfway into the loaf of bread, that it was, indeed, an entire loaf of bread.
"Excuse me, milord; did Tillie give you some food also? I mean, this is a whole loaf of bread. Last time that she came by, Tillie did mention it was getting difficult to obtain food sometimes because of their new cook," Daine commented whilst chewing to the best of her ability.
"Don't worry, Daine. Tillie got hold of two loaves of bread, now eat up to keep up your strength. The girl hinted at help coming but couldn't talk long," he replied.
"Help," murmured Daine.
"Yes."
"But did she say by whom? I mean I'm sure by now, if Numair isn't too wrapped up in his experiment that it's weird that I haven't contacted him at all these few days. Unless, Kitten and Tkaa, which I'm positive of, have gotten a whiff of what is happening and roused the People. Horse Lords, if only this dratted collar wasn't on me," said Daine agitatedly as she massaged her bruised jaw.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you but no. She didn't say anything about whom she was talking about. I have told you all she told me, but Tillie was worried about you when she saw the state you were in. She wanted to get some medicine but couldn't do so for fear of getting caught. Tillie apologizes and hopes you won't think less of her for doing so," replied Henry.
"Oh, the sweet girl. I, well, she is doing the best she can do. And that's all I expect from her, she shouldn't be doing this kind of dangerous mission anyways," said Daine thoughtfully.
Lord Swobet was about to reply when they heard heavy footsteps echoing.
The two prisoners looked at each other, curious to see who was coming again.
What a surprise, it was Aeejah Merric again.
Daine just rolled her eyes and scuttled to the darkest corner of the cell.
"Veralidaine, I know you are in there, so you might as well come out. I have important matters to talk to you about," said the evil mage.
"Say whatever you want, I prefer to stay right in my spot," she replied impudently.
"It concerns your future, and stop gawking at me, my Lord Swobet," said Aeejah mockingly, "or else, you'll feel more than just the back of my hand."
"You leave him out of this, Aeejah," spat Daine. "This is only between you and me. There is no need to drag him into this."
"I'd hoped you felt that way also. Come to my quarters where we will discuss some matters at hand, unless you wish to view our lovely Lord----
Stealing a quick glance at the bent figure of her fellow prisoner and shuddering to think what Aeejah might do to him next, she hastily replied, "As you wish, master mage," with a surly smile.
"Wipe that smile off your face, actually, let me help you," he said when she got out of her cell for the first time for days, and slapped her across her already hurting jawbone, again.
But Daine did not flinch and just bore her eyes into the ones of Aeejah's.
The man broke the staring contest first and dragged her by what was remaining of her shirt into his room.
"Now, let us talk sensibly and calmly."
"As if," retorted Daine.
The imposter quickly grabbed her face and held it close to his.
"Believe me, you don't want to blow this so just listen to me," he whispered to her.
Daine just replied by spitting in his face.
Now a sneer broke out onto his features as he wiped the spittle off. Aeejah closed off the rest of the distance between them and kissed her.
Disgusted, Daine pushed him away as hard as she could and cleaned her mouth with the hem of her sleeve.
Aeejah just smirked and said, "Okay, if that won't move you, well at least I can make you behave." He held Daine in place by his Gift and proceeded to talk to her while remaining in close contact.
"You must wonder by now why I abducted you, for really there is no reason apparent to you, is there," asked Aeejah.
"You want your revenge on Numair, that's all isn't it?"
"Actually, that isn't the only reason. But don't be disheartened, that is a key part of this whole plan. I am currently working for the king of Tusaine, Damien, who sent me here so that he could conquer Tortall. But we also have our own purposes also, but anyways," he said, suddenly changing the subject.
"But what part do I play in this? I absolutely don't see any place for me or Numair. Anyone for that matter," she answered.
"But you do, Veralidaine. A huge part. You and your lover, Numair, will come to Tusaine and you will aid in conquering the world for Tusaine and I."
"And if we refuse?"
"I don't think you will want to when you hear the consequences," said Aeejah.
"Do your worst."
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Tillie was walking back from where Numair and Lasku were, back to the castle when a middle-aged woman stopped her in her tracks.
The woman was looking at Tillie as if Tillie was a ghost.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Are you lost?" asked Tillie.
The girl received no answer so she stepped closer to the stranger and put a hand on her shoulder.
The woman stepped back as if she had been burned.
Tillie apologized quickly and said, "This is Dunlath, if you didn't know. And the castle is, well, the castle of Dunlath."
Tillie's companion just continued to look at her with blank eyes.
Aeejah's daughter stole a quick glance at her but continued talking.
"Um, well," she stammered, "it's currently ruled by Lady Maura who is, I think, a third cousin of King Jonathan who is king of Tortall which is the country you are in. and my father is the guardian of Ma-, I mean Lady Maura because she is too young to rule on her own."
"Tortall," whispered the woman.
Tillie barely caught her words and said, "Yes, Tortall. It is neighbored by other countries such as Galla, Tusaine-"
"Tusaine? I know that place, I come from there," said the woman much louder.
"Really, I come from th-, I mean, I have friends that live in Tusaine," said Tillie with a smile.
The young girl stuck out her hand to shake, "My name is Tillie, and yours?"
"Elsinore," the woman quietly replied and shook the hand of Tillie with a smile also.
Tillie took a closer look at Elsinore and decided in her mind that something about her was definitely familiar but couldn't quite grasp it.
In the mean time, Elsinore was thinking the exact same thing. Once again, as she studied the features of this person in front of her, she thought, could it actually be?
Elsinore shook her head and also erased the dark thoughts that began to cloud her mind from recent events and focused on Tillie.
Tillie also studied Elsinore and took it all in. Elsinore was garbed in a dress that once must have been fine and luxurious but now, it was so shabby, ripped, etc. that it was hard to imagine what the dress and owner had gone through.
"Would you like to come and visit the castle? I'm sure Lady Maura wouldn't mind," Tillie hurriedly said to fill the gap of silence.
Elsinore was silent again and did not respond. (A/N: Well dur... lol. ;) )
Thoughts were racing in her mind and she debated inside herself. She finally came up with the solution after discovering that Tillie had lost her mother and lived only with her father; Elsinore would have to risk it.
"Tillie."
"Yes, Elsinore?"
"I have something to tell you. It's quite a long tale, so let's make ourselves comfortable. If at anytime you think that this doesn't apply to you, please, stop me," pleaded the older woman.
As Elsinore told Tillie about her life, the story of love and betrayal, she wept when the realization of who Tillie was swept over her.
Tillie also followed in the same when the same knowledge was presented to her.
"Follow me. I will introduce you to some of my friends tomorrow, but for now, no matter what, follow me, promise me?"
"I promise, Tillie."
Together, the two walked back to the castle of Dunlath.
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Meanwhile, while all this was happening, the king of Tusaine sat surrounded by wealth.
For some strange reason, according to the king, he had lost contact with his pet spy, Lasku. Now that Damien thought about it, Aeejah Merric, his best mage, hadn't written a report to him for awhile either.
King Damien pondered on this. For the first few weeks, both people that he had sent out to Dunlath had been diligent in this subject but over the last few days, there had been no reports, whatsoever.
Damien wondered how things were going in Dunlath. In the last message that he had gotten from Aeejah, the mage had written that Numair had left and that he was about to capture the wild mage of Tortall.Then, Lasku had written in his last report some complaints but overall, a good report of how things were moving along.
Damien thought awhile on what he would gain when he conquered Tortall and where he would go next.
Perhaps Galla, thought the king of Tusaine.
Then another thought struck Damien. Perhaps, he himself could go to Tortall soon, if another report didn't come to him by the next few days or so.
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Numair sat against a tree, resting in the shade of it.
His thoughts raced back to another time when Daine and him were sitting together in Corus.
FLASHBACK!!!
".....if you died, I would avenge your death until mine. If you were taken from me unwillingly, I would hunt you down to the ends of the earth."
END FLASHBACK!!!
How naïve that had been. He never expected for and abduction of his magelet to actually happen.
Numair sighed.
Tillie had said that Daine had met the real guardian of Maura, the person that Aeejah had stolen the identity of.
She had also told him about the conditions of Daine as of what she had seen this morning, and he was very upset, which is a huge understatement, about how she was being treated.
How much did Numair want to be able to hold Daine in his arms and be able to kiss her lips again.
When Tillie, Lasku, and he conferred about when to be able to rescue Daine, they had decided on tomorrow. The reason for acting so soon was because they felt a sense of urgency they could not describe and Tillie had agreed to work out a diversion so that Lasku and Numair would be able to sneak in the castle and go from there.
Their plan so far was to let Numair use his Gift to disguise himself as a servant, and together the two would go as a hostler and servant on their way to work.
When Tillie explained that Numair's disguise would most likely come off, Numair thought it was all for the better, except for the part of getting out of the prison.
Tillie had also asked how he planned to free Daine when she was chained and the collar around her neck which was made of solid metal but was not magically bound.
Numair had just decided to carry her out of the prison and take off the collar once he was outside. The black robed mage thought it was a pity that Daine couldn't summon the animals to help her, but decided that after he rescued his love, they would return to Corus quickly and retrieve the army of Tortall to chase down Aeejah.
Numair sighed, exasperated and tired, which drew the attention of Lasku.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, Lasku. Just thinking," said Numair as he brushed a fly away.
"Well, Master Numair, if you don't mind me saying so, you should go to sleep. Everyone's going to be quite busy, what with the whole rescuing and all."
Numair just responded by nodding and going to sleep promptly.
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The group of animals held another meeting in the stables.
Gathered around Cloud, Kitten, and Tkaa were the wolves of Long Lake Pack and several other wild animals including the squirrel, Flicker and some of his family.
They discussed the situation of Daine and of how she was separated from all help.
Kitten had mentioned to Tkaa about Tillie or Maura but the basilisk didn't want to endanger any of them, and so the group of the People decided they were in this alone.
After Brokefang suggested to act tomorrow, the group all agreed; the sooner the better.
Talking about it for awhile, they finally reached the decision of letting the wolves go into the castle and make a diversion.
While that was happening, Kitten and Tkaa would go down to the dungeons, for they had retrieved information that she was down there from some of the castle mice.
Cloud would wait all saddled up and ready to take Daine quickly out of Dunlath and deliver her to Corus to Numair while the squirrels chewed up the ropes to the other horses.
After these plans had all been confirmed, Cloud dismissed them and they went to rest, anticipating tomorrow's action.
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Alanna rode on her horse grimly as they neared Dunlath, a place that was seemingly receiving much attention nowadays.
She was also joined by some soldiers and the King's Own and they had decided to make camp soon. Alanna and Raoul could make out the castle of Dunlath and agreed to arrive there by tomorrow to rescue Daine and Numair though she didn't know what kind of trouble they were in.
Alanna, Raoul, and a few others sat in a makeshift tent and held a conference about when to go to Dunlath. They finally reached the decision of going to Dunlath tomorrow, locating Numair or Daine and go from there. Alanna thought that all they had to do was ask Maura or her guardians for permission to take Daine and Numair from there a bit early.
All in all, it was quite a simple plan.
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Okay, now soon the action will start. Well....let's see. Care to give me, uumm..so many reviews? Like, um, so I can get to 210? Think you can do it? you guyz all know that you luv to review and give 'em to me. Right? Good, I'm glad you agree with me, so get clickin and typin!!!