Hello to one and all! I am sooooo sorry that this update was not the weekly one. We kind of broke the rule and made it bi-weekly. But I'm almost positive that'll be the last time because this story is almost over. Sadly, I know. I was crying, lol. JUST KIDDING! Well..anyways. the next chapter will probably be that last chapter, just for a heads up. So big thanks to those who reviewed, and yes, Alex and I did get our goal of 210 reviews so you guyz all rock!
-Insomniac-Reader- sheesh. U reviewed like a bazillion times. Hehehe. Well you did review a lot. Thanks a lot and yes, I'm FINALLY there. Kudos to you!
-Equestrian-babe101- well....glad that u can't wait cuz here it is. Hope you're still as enthusiastic as you were!
-heather-marie- awww..i feel special that you want more stuff...
-Roherwen- honestly, I don't remember Lady Knight. It's pathetic, I know. But really, I didn't even like the Kel series that much, so o well. And yes, the elsinore thing will be solved this time! Promise! Well, kind of. You'll c, so go read!
-um – u also made me feel special, it really rocks? I'm happy, I mean the story rocks. Yah, anyways...well. Their plans are all kind of connected, like, well, you'll see in this chapter!!
-megster- stupid tomorrow song. Hahaahaha...wait. From annie? Or am I being dumb. But anyways, yah. It'll brighten up here also...so be happy now!! Put a smile on, put a smile on, everybody c'mon, put a smile on!! MCDONALDS! Hehehe...
-Tortalls Resident Wildchild- I'm sure ur confused. just read it all already. Sheesh!! Just kidding!! Hehehehe...
-LexiLoLo200- I'm glad you like the way I respond to reviews. I seriously do take a lot of time on it, well not a lot. But like half an hour to respond. Lol. Glad you like our story and thanks for reviewing!!!
-horsewhisperer- luv your watchamacallit, the pen name. there we go! Lol. Well. I like getting bugged about a story, so your welcome to bug me, but there is only one more chapter...so bug me a lot!! Lol..
-Flyin Froggy- hey Kevin. Lol. Glad you like it. c ya lata and ur mean. :p
-Padfoot's Sidekick- omg..u figured it out..elsinore is tillie's mom. She resurrected, dur!! j/k!! u'll find out next chapter...
-GallopingGrl77- I luv you! U got my goal of 210 reviews dun!! YAY!! And action starting rite now..watch! Lights, camera, ACTION!!
Again, big thanks to those who review....and now, on wif the story!
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It was almost time.
Numair was restless. He wanted to save Daine now and not wait any longer. The mage paced up and down until Tillie and Lasku came through the trees to join him.
"Okay, time to get the details of our plan worked out," said Lasku.
"What is the plan?" asked Tillie.
"Well," began Numair, "We were going to have you give us a distraction far from the castle and then we were going to give you something to help Daine and Lord Henry to escape. And then, well, Lasku and I would go and attack,"
"You're going to storm a castle with just two people?" asked Tillie, "What kind of plan is that?"
Numair looked indignant, "A very good plan! Aeejah will be distracted and then the prisoners will escape. I mean it's only Aeejah and his wife. I think we can take them on!"
Lasku hid a smile and placed the "distraction" in Tillie's out stretched hand. The girl smiled and gave a salute before turning to run off into the trees.
Numair resumed his pacing.
He looked at Lasku and said, "You do realize how many things can go wrong?"
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Aeejah had returned Daine to her cell. Her souvenirs of her visit included a few new bruises, luckily, nothing serious.
Tillie entered the dungeon.
"It's time," she said.
Daine grinned, "Good!"
Tillie tossed her a match book along with something else. Lord Henry got closer to look at the object Daine held in hands.
"What is it?" he asked.
Daine told him and he grinned. "It's got Numair's magic all over it," the wildmage added, "When do we use it?"
"Not until a little bit after you hear the first explosion. Then light it and throw it over to the far wall. Luckily the dungeon is located so we won't have to blow up the whole castle." Tillie explained.
She noticed the look on the man's face, "And don't worry. Its power is contained so you won't get blown up with it."
"Thanks," Daine said to the younger girl.
Tillie just gave a salute and left.
Lord Henry began to pace, "You do realize how many things can go wrong?" he said.
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Tkaa's army was gathered. They discussed their last minute plans. The tall immortal surveyed his troops. Wolves and horses, squirrels and birds were staring solemnly in his eyes.
Kitten strutted about giving a few important chirps.
"My friends," began Tkaa.
Kitten became still. She knew how important this was.
"My friends, I thank you for coming here. Once again we unite, this time to save our friend. Without her this valley would be in ruins, bloodrain tainting the land,"
We know, yipped Short Snout.
Daine is pack. We would help her whether she helped us or not agreed Russet.
Tkaa smiled and nodded.
Enough! snapped Cloud, While we sit here getting fat, talking of things we already know Daine might be hurt!
All of the animals voiced their agreement.
"Very well. Let us go and save the wild mage!"
All of the animals rushed off, voicing battle cries, Cloud and Brokefang at their head.
Tkaa picked up Kitten and raced after. "Do they realize how many things could go wrong?" he asked the dragon.
Kitten shrugged her shoulders, a determined look on her face.
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"I wonder what could be going on," said Alanna with a worried look on her face.
"I don't know. That's what we're going to find out," answered Onua, an equally worried look on her face.
The K'mir looked around, "So, what's our plan?"
Alanna looked around too, "Well, we don't know what's going on. We'll go and check it out. If it's nothing then, oh well and if there's trouble then we fix it," Alanna turned back to her friend, "Of course that's just a rough outline,"
"Naturally. Do you realize how many things could go wrong?"
"I'm trying not to think about that."
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Aeejah was very cross at the behavior of his wild mage. (a/n: The creep! his wildmage? That makes me mad!)
The door opened and Eurianne entered the room.
"Well?" she prompted. Her husband sighed and shook his head.
"Nothing yet. Don't worry, she'll crack, they always do," he answered.
Eurianne nodded. The woman went behind her husband and began to massage his temples.
Aeejah sighed again.
"You seem preoccupied dear,"
"It's nothing, just thinking."
"There's nothing to worry about, sweet. After all, what could possibly go wrong?" And that was when the first explosion sounded.
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"That's the signal!" cried Numair, "Lasku we have to go!"
The two rescuers ran off, Lasku armed with a sword and a dagger Numair with his magic (a/n:duh!).
They burst onto the grounds and stopped dead.
There facing them was a crowd of men in Tusaine's colors with drawn swords.
"Lasku! Why didn't you tell me that Aeejah had an army?!" yelled Numair.
Lasku's mouth was open,
"God's damn it Numair! If I'd known I would of told you!" and with that he drew his sword.
The enemy rushed forward. Two were immediately consumed by black fire and a few others found their end in Lasku's sword.
The pair fought, giving no quarter.
Numair feared it would be a lost cause, "What if I never hold my magelet again?" he thought with a frown, "No, don't think like that."
The mage backed up and collided with another figure. Numair whirled around ready for anything, or so he thought.
"What are you doing here?!" he and Alanna said in unison.
"Rescuing someone," again at the same time. The mage looked around and saw the King's Own join the battle.
He grinned and turned back to Alanna, "You seem to question my ability to save my student."
"Numair!" yelled Alanna, "Don't tell me you tried to storm a castle by yourself!"
Numair's grin vanished, "For your information, I'm not by my self!" he snapped. The two had stopped fighting to argue, seemingly unaware that they were in the midst of a battle.
Lasku raced up and ran a man through with his sword, stopping him from decapitating Numair.
"Sorry to interrupt but in case you've forgotten, we're being attacked!" the spy yelled,
"Numair what's going on? Who are these people? Who's that?" he pointed at Alanna.
"Relax! Alanna the Lioness brought the King's Own to help, and yes, I'm just as surprised to see her as you are."
Alanna whirled around and fended off another attacker. When she turned back she said, "Who's your friend?"
"He's helping me rescue Daine,"
"Oh so you decided to storm a castle with two people! Real smart!"
Lasku lost his temper, "If we had known Aeejah had an army, we obviously wouldn't have tried to 'storm the castle!'" he roared.
Black fire enveloped another man, cutting off his death scream.
Onua joined them, cutting down another soldier, "There you are! What are you doing?"
"Numair was just explaining his grand plan of attack," the knight replied sarcastically.
Onua rounded on the mage, "You tried to storm a castle with just two people? Come on Numair! That's dumb even for you!"
"It was Lasku's idea too!" said Numair as a last resort.
"Oh no mage! You're not dragging me down with you! I just obey your orders. You know how I live out of fear that you'll try to kill me again,"
"You tried to kill you friend?" yelled Alanna, "Should I still trust you?"
"Will you stop complicating things?!" screamed Numair. The group had no time to say more as a fresh wave of attackers swamped them.
"There's too many!" shouted Lasku. Just at that moment the man he had locked swords with was taken down by a wolf.
The spy yelped in surprise and alarm.
"Don't worry. They're on our side," said a voice. Lasku turned to face Tkaa.
"What are you doing here?" asked Numair, Alanna, and Onua in unison.
"I could ask you the same question," replied the basilisk, "But I believe I already know the answer."
Suddenly the immortal gave a high pitched shriek. Immediately two of the advancing enemy turned to stone.
"You seem to be in a bit of a mess," continued Tkaa.
"Yes, we're glad you came!" exclaimed Alanna, "Numair's plan had gone awry. We already had to save him when his little castle storming scheme didn't work,"
Tkaa looked from Alanna to Numair, "You tried to storm a castle by your self?" he asked.
"I wasn't alone!" shouted Numair indicating Lasku.
"Two people? You have to admit, that's not much better."
"We weren't storming the castle! We were taken by surprise!"
Another man went down, a dagger through his throat. The companions looked down at the dead man.
Who could have thrown the dagger?
"I'll say you were surprised," came the voice of a woman that none of them had ever heard before. They turned to find Tillie, hand in hand with the woman who had just spoken.
"I don't mean to eavesdrop seeing that I don't know any of you but, who storms a castle with just two people?"
Everyone except Numair burst out laughing. The mage's fists clenched. He took his anger out on new attackers.
"That's what I told him," said Tillie.
"Welcome to the club," muttered Onua. After the companions had fended off more swordsmen Lasku said, "Um Tillie, who's your friend?"
The woman gave Tillie a hug and the girl beamed.
"This is Elsinore. She's my mother."
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Daine and Lord Henry were restless. They paced the dungeon going as far out as their chains would allow. The first explosion had just sounded.
"Should we light it now?" asked Lord Henry.
"Not yet. We have to give Aeejah enough time to get to the distraction. They paced some more.
"This is driving me up the wall!" cried the noble.
"Well, you better come back down because I think now would be a good time." The wild mage struck a match, engulfed the black glob in her hand with flame, and lobbed it to the far wall. The two prisoners retreated as far back as their chains would allow and waited.
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When the first explosion occurred, Aeejah fell out of his chair in surprise.
"What in Mithros' name was that?!" he yelled to his wife as he jumped up and ran for the window.
"Darling, I'm just as baffled as you are!" she answered, racing after him.
What they saw was not a good sign. (a/n: Not good for them, good for us.)
Painted in the sky in big black letters was "Hello Aeejah."
The mage paled. It had to be Numair. He grabbed his wife and raced out of the room dragging her behind him. They went toward the message.
A few strides into the forest Aeejah collided with the second to the last man he wanted to see right then. (a/n:1st being Numair,)
"Aeejah! What is the meaning of this!" roared King Damien of Tusaine. The couple bobbed a quick bow.
"Hurry, Majesty! We need to check something out."
The king turned to the army he had brought with him, "Stay here and take care of any trouble." The trio disappeared into the trees leaving the army to wait. They didn't have long though before two figures burst from the trees.
"Lasku! Why didn't you tell me Aeejah had an army?!" yelled one. He was tall with black hair.
The other seemed just as surprised, "God's damn it Numair! If I'd known I would have told you." The soldiers drew there swords, time to do their job.
The three crashed through the trees.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked the indignant king.
Aeejah groaned. Why did Damien have to show up now of all times? It always complicated matters when the man you were trying to take a throne from shows up., although the army was a nice touch.
"If I may be so bold as to ask, Majesty," began Aeejah. It was hard being so humble when you know you are going to rule the world, "why are you here?"
"Your reports stopped coming," he replied.
"You may want to draw your swords," suggested Eurianne. The mage did. He also summoned a ball of fire in his other hand.
The king didn't.
"Why?"
"Because," snapped Aeejah, "Numair Salmalin is probably waiting for us." That was a good enough reason for Damien to draw his sword.
They burst into a clearing, but no one was there. Aeejah bounded to a piece of paper that was on the ground.
He opened it and read "I'm waiting for you," the mage paled and then the second explosion sounded.
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"Your mother?" asked Numair and Lasku in bewilderment.
"What's so surprising about the girl having a mother?" asked Alanna.
"Maybe it's the fact that her mother is dead," answered Numair.
"It's a really long story," said Elsinore, "and I suggest that we talk about it later, before we're all dead." It was then that the second explosion sounded.
A grin lit up Numair's face. "They'll be here any minute!"
"Numair!" screamed a voice, a voice that both delighted and haunted his dreams for the past few weeks.
"Daine!" He ran to meet her.
Daine ran as fast as her weak legs could carry her.
She faltered but didn't fall. How could she when he held her?
Numair swept his love up in his arms. For a moment they looked deep in each others eyes and then his lips were on hers, but gently for he noticed the bruises.
For those two, the perfect couple, all time stopped and it was only them. Separated for what seemed like an eternity to be joined for another. There was no sound other then their moans of contentment and pleasure.
To touch each other again was what they had dreamed of. Numair stroked his magelet's face and then her hair. What did it matter that it was matted and tangled? It was softer that velvet and always would be.
Daine rested her hand on his cheek. What did it matter that Numair's face was rough with the beginnings of a beard? There was nothing she wanted to do more then to touch him.
Their eternity was cut short, however, when Lasku shook Numair's shoulder.
"What?" asked Numair. He was upset by the interruption.
"Umm, sorry to interrupt. But don't you think Aeejah would be arriving soon?" Numair grinned. He looked back at Daine,
"You wouldn't mind if I went and hurt our mage friend would you sweet?"
"Not at all. Make sure you give him a big hug for me" she answered.
"Will do. Lasku please hold her for me." and with that he dumped Daine in Lasku's arms.
Lasku looked surprised, "Uh, hi. I'm Lasku,"
"Oh, I remember you," said Daine sweetly. And with that she slapped him. "That was for kidnapping me and for working for Aeejah in the first place!"
Then she kissed him on the cheek she had just slapped. "That was for when you stopped being a dumb idiot and decided to help."
Everyone burst out laughing, except for Lasku who looked stunned and Numair who held out his arms, "Actually, I'll take her back,"
"Oh no master mage! You've got a job to do," said Alanna as she pushed Numair.
Daine reached out and grabbed her Numair's shirt and pulled him back. She gave him one last kiss. "I'll give you more if you come back in one piece." "I'd come back for you whether you had more for me or not."
The two lovers looked up and saw a crowd of people watching them.
"So much for a secret relationship," muttered Numair.
"Uh, everyone, we were going to tell you later but since we blew it... Numair and I are in love and have been so since the Divine Realms." said Daine with a blush.
Onua and Alanna shrugged, "We've known since forever," Alanna told them.
"Yeah, you did a rotten job keeping it a secret. All the times you disappeared together, all the times you-" added Onua until she was cut off.
"What! Who else knows?" cried Numair.
"Hmmm... Jon, Thayet, George, Gary, Raoul," ticked off Alanna.
"Don't forget Evin and Miri, Sarge, and oh every one knows."
Goddess, even Roald, Kalasin, and my children know! Thom walked in on you when you were being... a little friendly once."
Both lovers groaned.
The rest of the companions watched the lovers. "Those two were meant for each other," said Lord Henry.
Elsinore turned to him and her mouth opened. "Oh is that what you think? If I remember correctly you were a pretty bad judgment of relationships!" the woman slapped him.
The noble gave a small cry of pain and surprise, "I'm sorry milady, but I don't recall ever seeing you before."
"Don't recall? You don't recall?! Here! Maybe this will jog your memory!" and she slapped him again.
"Ma! stop! That's not Da! That's Lord Henry! I told you about him remember?" cried Tillie, running up to her mother.
Elsinore blushed, "I'm sorry sir, I mistook you for a cowardly, murderous, good for nothing..." she trailed off.
"It's no problem milady. Meeting you has been the highpoint of my life," he said staring at the woman before him in awe. That got a grin and a blush from Elsinore.
Raoul came over. "Why hello everyone, thank you ever so much for helping us," he said sarcastically.
Everyone else looked around. The remaining soldiers were being guarded by some of the King's Own.
"Sorry, we got sort of preoccupied," replied Alanna, "Numair tried to s-" Numair clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Don't say it," he warned. Alanna's purple eyes flashed. They all burst out laughing again.
All except Raoul and Daine who had no idea what was going on.
"Don't worry Numair, Alanna won't tell him. You know why?" asked Onua. Numair looked suspicious, "No, why?"
"Because," answered the K'miri, "I'm going to tell him first!"
"No!" yelled Numair. He leapt for his friend, dragging Alanna with him. All three fell to the ground in a crumpled heap to the great amusement of the others.
That was when a third explosion shook the ground, creating a crater where Numair had stood only a moment before.
Tillie and Elsinore were knocked unconscious; only one person would have made the explosion.
"Aeejah," murmured Numair.
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So was it worth the wait? I sincerely hope it was.....but will I never know if you never tell me? ((gasp))..of course not!!! Ssooo you know what you have to do rite? If you don't, let me help you a little. All you have to do is press that button that says go. Fill the new window out wif a little comment or so..and then press submit!! How much harder could it get? Not much!! Sooooo...plz do soo!!!
Thanks to all my faithful reviewers!! you all rock!! And....well, look for the next chapter around next weekend..c ya all!