AN: Hey guys. I'm sorry that it's taken soooooooooooo long for me to update. I just kinda lost interest for a while. Here's more. I'll try to update more often. Oh and by the way, some of this isn't new, butI added a ton to this chapter.
A week later, Atalaya knocked on the door marked "Numair Salmalin." Under it, in a newer metal, it said "Veralidaine Sarrasri." The door opened.
Please be Daine, please be Daine. But it wasn't. Numair's tall form filled the door frame.
For the millionth time Atalaya wondered why Numair, who was thirty-seven, was Daine's lover when she was only twenty-three.
"Hi Numair," she said quietly. Numair was so powerful it scared her, no matter how friendly he was now. "Is Daine around? I need to talk to her."
"She's not here right now, but she should be back in half an hour. Come on in." Unlike Atalaya, he was completely comfortable with her.
The two sat in comfortable chairs as Atalaya looked around at their surprisingly well decorated suit. Judging from the rich, colorful fabrics of the rugs and curtains, and the gold frames on beautiful portraits, Numair and Daine had more money than she had thought.
"What did you need to talk about?" Numair asked.
"Well…I heard that…that Daine was—" She stopped. Why was she even trying to tell him this? "I heard that Daine can talk to animals." How had she let that slip out?
"Yes," Numair replied, looking at her strangely. "She's a Wildmage. Why?"
Her treacherous mouth let the words flow without her permission. "Well—it's just—I can sort of—I can do it, too."
Numair stared at her. "Do what…exactly?" He didn't believe her.
"I can—" she was sweating. She had never told anyone this, thinking herself a freak. "I can talk to animals, too." The words tumbled out of her mouth as fast as the curses she'd been hearing out of Alanna lately.
Numair stared at her, his mouth open like a cow's. "Daine!" he called.
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That night, Daine, Atalaya, and Numair were standing out by the stable.
Daine said to Atalaya, "Do you see that pony over there? The dapple gray one? Call her, but use your mind. Not your mouth."
Atalaya was nervous and confused. "How can I call her without using my mouth?"
"Atalaya," Numair said, "this is magic. Most of it is done with the mind. In your case all of it is done with the mind. You don't need to use your mouth to call that pony. You've never needed it."
"But if I already know how to call her using sound, why do I need to use my mind?" Atalaya asked. This seemed useless to her.
"Because you may need to talk silently to animals at some point," Numair said confidently. "And you need to learn concentration."
"Just wait till he starts meditation," Daine muttered to Atalaya.
They worked hard until Numair noticed that Atalaya was getting tired. They ended the night with meditation. George and Alanna had come to watch at this point.
They found out that Alanna and George were headed back to Pirate's Swoop in the morning, and they said their goodbyes before going inside to wash.
When Atalaya and Daine were redressing, a question came to Daine. "Atalaya, where are you staying?"
"I've been staying with the Queen's Riders."
"Do you plan to be a Rider?"
"Not really," she replied.
"You could stay with Numair and me," Daine said.
Atalaya gaped. How could Daine, who was good friends with important people like the King and the Lioness, want an orphan like her to stay with her?
"You're my student now. It's important that you stay near me in case I need you," Daine said, as though it was no big deal.
I don't understand, but it would definitely be helpful, Atalaya thought. "Okay," she squeaked.
Daine helped her move her stuff from the barracks to Daine's rooms in the palace. Then, they set up a cot in the living room. Atalaya had thought that Numair wouldn't agree, but he thought it was a good idea.
They had dinner of rice and fish, and then banked the fire in the fire place. Atalaya had noticed that Daine and Numair both had been tense during dinner and she wondered if they were already regretting their idea. As Atalaya got ready for bed she could here them talking in their kitchen. She strained her ears, but couldn't hear what they were saying. When they walked into the living room, Numair said, his voice dry, "Get your sleep. We're leaving at dawn."
Trying to hide her frustration as Numair walked into her bedroom, Atalaya asked Daine where they were going. She replied, "Home. To our tower west of Pirate's Swoop." Then she followed Numair into the room.
Atalaya's hopes lifted. Maybe she would get to see the Lioness's home.
…But dawn?
Actually, they woke her up two hours before dawn. After getting dressed, they all packed.
"We're going to get you a horse," Numair said. "You're going to need one of your own sooner or later."
"My own horse?" Atalaya's voice cracked.
"Yes. I'm surprised you didn't have one before now, with your magic and all," Daine said.
"We didn't know I had magic. And we didn't have much money," she mumbled.
Daine shut up, seeing she had struck a sensitive matter to the younger girl.
An hour later they were at the stables. Atalaya was surprised to find it full of people. She had stayed with the Rider's and they had always been gone by the time she got up, but she couldn't imagine getting up that early every day.
"Thayet," Numair grabbed a passing woman's arm. "This is Atalaya, our new Wildmage-to-be."
When the woman turned, Atalaya gaped. The Queen was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She had an arched nose and a full red mouth. Her hazel eyes looked very green against her ivory skin, and her long, black hair was in a braid, wrapped in a beautiful, but simple, hair style.
"Atalaya, this is Queen Thayet," Numair introduced.
Remembering her manners, she clamped her mouth shut, and shook the hand offered to her. It was callused.
"It's nice to meet you, Atalaya. Are you going to teach this lanky guy to ride properly?"
"Actually," Numair said, "we're here to get her a horse."
"I think Sarge just broke a horse in, but talk to Buri." To Atalaya, she said, "Buri's my commander, guard, and friend, but she's a warrior at heart. Kmiri warriors practically live on horseback. She can find you a good mount."
After meeting with Buri, they went to see Sarge. The big, black man showed them the horse he had broken in, but said that he was too young to ride as hard as they would need on the road.
"This is my horse, General," Sarge said, his thunderous voice gentle as they stopped in front of a stall.
"I couldn't take your horse!" Atalaya gasped, surprised by this sacrifice by someone she had just met.
"Nonsense," was the reply. "You need a horse and I still have Ox, and General'll do right by you."
She entered the stall to pet the coppery colored horse. He was plump and had big, brown eyes. She blew into his muzzle, a trick she had seen Daine do, and he nuzzled her. Atalaya checked him from ear to hoof, muzzle to tail. Then she fed him a sugar lump out of her pocket. He licked her hand, tickling it, and then breathed in her face, making her giggle. "He seems great to me," she said.
Sarge hooked her up with tack and said goodbye to his old friend.
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The next days were filled with mixtures of riding and laughing and lessons. Numair was very funny, and whenever he wasn't making jokes, he and Daine were telling Atalaya about their beautiful tower.
Atalaya could feel herself getting to really like them. Don't, she thought. Don't get attached to them. You're only here to learn all you can. Then you'll leave. They'll hate you when they find out. Everyone will.
They were out of the hilly country with never ending valleys and were getting into farm land. Daine said that after today they would be in forests, and then they would reach the sea.
"Will we stay at the sea for a few days?" she had asked. There was no ocean in Dairtsneg and she was very. interested in seeing one.
Daine laughed. "I loved the sea the first time I saw it too. I was so excited. We'll stay a few days if everything goes well."
Atalaya could hardly wait. That night, they stopped near a stream, so they had fish instead of game or birds. Atalaya was glad for the change. She loved fish. They were getting mud out of the horses' coats when they heard approaching hoof beats.
George jumped off of Prince, a cut from his shoulder to his knee. "Centaurs…and a dragon—they're trying to get to Pirates Swoop. King's Own coming—mud slowing them down…don't know how they are controlling—the dragon…they…" George dropped in a faint.