As you read this keep in mind that I am not much of a romance writer and this is my first fic. So read and give me your advice/opinions/criticisms because I personally did not like the way this turned out. Remember though, all reviews should be worded at least at little bit kindly because otherwise I will discredit them as the ravings of a lunatic. Well other than begging for your forgiveness, it took me WAY too long to update and that I am so so so sorry for the delay, I will let you read and (hopefully!) enjoy.
Disclaimer: If you are reading this, you should know by now what is mine and what is not. I will leave you to decide on your own. Thank you, I have always wanted to say that.
She smiled and let her hand drop into the water. It was a clear, sharp blue and she liked talking to the turtles and lizards that were basking on the rocks in the center of the little stream. The fish came and nibbled on her fingers making her giggle. Their colors were amazing; some were far greener than the finest emerald and others gleamed with the brilliant fire of polished gold. It was peaceful watching the animals laze about their paradise; the gods knew she needed all the peace she could find. Everything reminded her of Numair, the war, or her friends. Here, in this secluded corner of the University's gardens, she could push all her concerns to the side for a moment until she was prepared to face the world again – particularly Arram. Over the past few days, almost all her stray thoughts drifted to him. Not just stunned ones of the fact that he was Numair at nineteen, but the ones that made her flush and glance away from his smile. Almost as if her thoughts had summoned him, a dark shadow appeared at her back. Arram smiled one of his stunningly charming smiles at her and crouched beside her.
"I always liked to come here too. No one ever disturbs you, and the water and fish are so acceptingly beautiful." He slipped his fingers into the water beside hers, entreating the fish to come to him as well. He turned his head slightly to look at her.
Daine felt the hot flags rise on her cheekbones as she retorted, "No one ever disturbs you here, apparently except for you, Master Draper."
He threw his head back and laughed as she smiled slightly at her triumph. "Now, you most certainly have me there," he replied and paused for a moment to stare into the distance. "Tell me, Sarra, what will you do once we find the person who spirited you here? Will you demand they send you home, or will you possibly, well…stay?" he asked with a deep, thoughtful look creasing his dark brow and clouding his eyes.
She looked down at the swarming fish and all of their brilliance. She had to go home, but she knew he would not find anyone guilty of stealing her. Alas, she could not tell him that or he would want to know how she knew that, and it was only one of the many secrets she could not tell him. When she did not answer, he continued to fill the silence, "You have been here for almost a week now, and you seem to like it well enough. You could introduce yourself to people here and make friends. I would like to show you to my old professor, Lindhall Reed. He would love to meet you; he adores anyone who loves animals as much as himself. I'm sure you would like it here, Sarra."
"Arram, I would love to stay here, but my – my family needs me," she smiled sadly up at him, "I would really like to meet all of your friends; I would like to stay with you."
He smiled a smile that was more wistful than anything else. He coughed once and said with a slightly happier tone, "That is not the real reason I came out here, I just got a bit side-tracked."
"I figured," she sighed with a mock grimace.
He shot her a dark glare before continuing on, "A few days ago, I wrote a spell. It was a slight modification of the focus spell, but I think it has a chance of being productive. I was going to tell you earlier, but it is so powerful that I decided to let my reserves build up until I was prepared instead of getting your hopes up long before I could be of any more service to you."
Daine could almost feel her jaw drop open as he continued to explain the mechanics of the spell. With her small grasp of understanding the Gift, she could truly appreciate the complexity this spell proposed for anyone. Actually, as far as she could tell, the only ones capable of casting a spell like this would have to be the most powerful of the world's mages. She smiled slightly as she remembered Numair sighing in exasperation over his magic. He could not use it for practical things; there was too much in him that it was really only good for the complex spells that required great power and force. It just helped that he had always immediately thought of the hardest way to solve a problem, but at least he completed it with finesse and the utmost grace.
Arram caught sight of her smile and felt the corners of his own mouth tilt upward. He liked making her smile. He finished his long winded explanation, "Well that is about the sum of it. Tonight I think I will actually attempt to try my hand at performing spells that I myself have created." He added with a broader grin that made his whole face light up, "Besides, what use is the Gift if it cannot help those who need it?"
Slowly Arram stood up and dusted off his breeches. He held out a hand to Daine and looked off toward the city again. His brow was creased and his eyes were distant. He mumbled something under his breath that sounded to Daine remarkably like, "As long as no one interferes he should stay happy and sated for a while," but when Daine tugged on his robe he smiled down at her.
"We had better head back before the professors start to wonder where I have disappeared to yet again."
"You disappear often then?" she asked teasing, "Maybe behind the bushes with pretty blondes?"
"Sarra, you wound me! I have been cut to the quick with your razor tongue!" he exclaimed dramatically as he clutched at his heart with his right hand and staggered exaggeratedly before her with his eyes rolling comically. Daine had to bite down on her fist to keep from laughing too loudly. Playfully, she reached out and shoved him in the shoulder; she wasn't expecting him to be so unbalanced that he actually started to fall. Surprise flitted across his face and he reached out automatically for support to catch himself. Unfortunately, Daine was still standing within reaching distance and barely had time to comprehend that he was truly falling before she felt him pull her down with him. With a shocked squeak, she landed on top of Arram's outstretched figure. As she landed he had exhaled with a somewhat painful sound as her elbows connected quite solidly with his ribs. She smiled guiltily into his face with the humor of the whole situation barely concealed behind her eyes.
Daine looked into his eyes. They were so close now, close enough to feel each others' breaths against their cheeks. Gently, she reached out and brushed a loose strand of hair from his face. She was almost painfully aware of his hands resting on her waist and his body pinned beneath hers. She watched as his thick, dark lashes closed over his eyes for a moment as he blinked. Time was stopping; everything was held in his eyes. Slowly she leaned closer and pressed her lips against his. He slipped his hand into her mane of curls and held her there. It was like the earth moved beneath them; fire trailed from their fingers and lips to torment the other. Gently Arram pulled away and kissed her forehead. He ran his fingertips over her lips and cheek as he sighed and relaxed on the ground, "Well, I was not expecting that, Sarra." He smiled at her again.
Daine looked at him concerned. Now what was going to happen? How could she just desert Numair like that, and wasn't Arram still with Varice? What would that make her? She just rested on his chest, waiting for what felt like long moments stretching on like years as she anticipated what he would say next.
"Sarra, what are we going to do now? I must admit, I have wanted to do that for a while now, but what about the rest of the world? You know I am still with Varice; what am I to do? I think, and for once I actually mean it, I will do whatever you ask." His dark eyes were serious and waiting tensed for whatever she demanded from him.
Daine glanced away and began to pluck at the blades of grass by his shoulder. She absolutely refused to meet his gaze as she began, "Arram, I-I-I want to be with you but I can't, I –" Here she tried to leap up and flee from him. She felt split in two between Numair, the one person in the world she loved more than anything and Arram, the younger, but still similar version of him. As she tried to escape the decision suddenly resting on her shoulders, Arram grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him. Now he was sitting up and staring down at her with confusion and slight anger and hurt in his eyes.
"Do not leave me. Explain everything to me," he growled as he held her firmly in place against him. After that he did not pressure her again. He simply waited. That left enough time for Daine to think quickly and somewhat recklessly. She had never been anywhere or done anything without Numair since she was thirteen. Now she was lost in another time and place and she was completely alone. Did it not make sense then that she should reach for him? So what if he was still Arram, he was still himself. Why could she not be with him?
That decided, she lifted her head from his shoulder and met his gaze again. Dark eyes met blue grey ones shining with decisiveness. She said levelly without looking away, "I still have to leave when the time comes; you know that Arram. But I need you anyway. You don't have to change your life for me, but please, just let me stay with you." On the last word she could not stop her voice from wavering, but she raised her head higher and refused to be embarrassed as her eyes flashed, daring him to question her.
"So you want me to continue with my life as I have been for the past few years and not change anything for you? Forgive me, I am confused. What if I want to alter everything I know to make you happy?"
"Then you will have to do what I told you; you said you would," she smiled wickedly at him. He looked so confused it was so sweet.
He sighed again and rose to his feet releasing her, "Very well, Sarra, if that is how you want it." He turned for a moment and looked behind where his shoulder had been. His eyes narrowed and his brow creased in consternation. "Something's wrong," he whispered more to himself than anything else.
Daine followed his gaze, but could find nothing abnormal. Cautiously she asked her People friends to look ahead to find out what could possibly be wrong that it would bother Arram. She waited quietly as their replies trickled back. They all reported an eerie silence about the University. Two-leggers walked about their daily business in the usual manner, but the building itself seemed to glare down at everything around it. Daine stopped listen to the People after a while when she noticed Arram moving slightly in the direction of the University. She watched him and then he suddenly spun around and grabbed her hand. He mumbled, "Come on," as he dragged her behind him away from their secluded corner of the garden courtyards.
Daine clung to his hand as she asked one of the birds flying overhead if she could ride along for a moment. She wanted to see the direction that they were running and what to expect for herself. As she looked thorough the bird's eyes, she felt Arram literally dragging her along. All that kept her from falling was the fact that Arram was moving in a straight line quickly enough so that she could keep her balance. The bird dipped lower to see the horizon. Tall grey towers of the University stretched to the skies and ended in a sharp point. Arched windows stared solemnly down upon its courtyards. Gargoyles and immortals decorated its hide in stone sending ripples of apprehension down her spine. However, the people from this time probably thought of the immortals as nothing more than legend, old history.
Still, it did not help after she returned to herself and strode with Arram beneath the empty eyes of a hurrok lunging from the smooth stone surface of the wall. She tore her eyes away, refusing to be intimidated by stone. Arram slowed marginally once the University was in sight. Whatever was disturbing him, he noted, was obviously not bothering anyone else. They all went about their business as usual and he shrugged unconcerned. He knew his was the most powerful Gift here, maybe the lack of any skill allowed him to feel what the others could not. Maybe it was just that he was more paranoid than anyone else. Whatever the case, he stopped in the entrance hall and looked around him. He had no idea what to do now. Hesitantly he glanced at Sarra and smiled slightly at her expression. She looked expectant, but not like she was expecting anything other than his asking for her assistance. She gently suggested, more like told, him to go up the stairs on the right. Their marble banisters were gleaming white in the mage lights hanging from the ceiling over it.
"And why should we go up those particular stairs when you have never even been here before?" he asked slightly puzzled, but mostly curious.
"The mice told me," she responded as if this was the most obvious conclusion in the world. She was forgetting for a moment that she had not told him about her magic. She had hinted, but never really said.
"Of course," he sighed as she took the lead now. Impishly she would glance behind to look at him bounding easily up the steps two or three at a time. She kept up a running conversation with the University mice: What has happened in that room?
Man came with gold and black lights. No more man. Left us crumbs. None now. We won't go in there.
Its all right, friends, we are coming to fix it, I hope.
They left her there. After all, they were standing outside the door that the mice had directed her to. They would not enter it. From what she could understand, a mage came in and now someone is missing or…or…
"Dead!" Arram choked as he saw the man lying face down on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Black stains flecked the room and stuck to his robes. His eyes were wide and staring transfixed by some unknown horror. Blood stained his teeth a rosy pink and his lips shone with an unnatural paleness beneath fiery red blood too fresh for anything but a recent death. He seemed crumpled in upon himself as though some magical hand had clasped him and crushed him until he lay broken and bleeding, dead.
Daine took it all in. She had expected something, just not as horrific as this. A fresh death filled with terror stank horribly and the thick, sickeningly sweet stench clung to every breeze, every fiber of the room. His skin, milky grey and claylike in death, looked tormented and bruised. He had struggled for a few moments before the crushing began. His eyes shone dark brown and dry after his tears had evaporated. It felt like her heart was being torn apart as she looked down at his prostrate body. He looked like he had been in his forties with his masses of black hair gilded elegantly with silver. No man, in her opinion, deserved assassination. None at all.
Arram stood in the doorway quaking with horror. He had not even contemplated this. The murder of a professor seemed ludicrous to him even now as he looked upon it. Professor Abeljiah was dead, swallowed up by his own life blood. He was gone; true Arram had not known him very well, but he had been a close friend of Lindhall's, his old master. The two had been almost inseparable. They had come from Tortall together years ago to teach and learn in the largest and most powerful school of magic in the world. It felt like he could not breathe. Every breath was caught in his throat and he every beat of his heart pounded in his ears. It drowned out thought and feeling. A strange numbness encroached upon him and left him to find reason on his own.
Daine took a step toward the dead professor. She shivered at the callousness of the death. The murderer did not even have the courtesy to close his eyes for the Black God. She reached out and closed them with gentle fingers. She closed his wide jaw and brushed his hair back from his face. She sighed and crouched lower. Around his neck rested a black opal pendant. She slipped it from underneath his body and held it in the palm of her hand. A hairline fracture spilt it to the core and broke the smooth fires that reflected in a red glow from the pooled blood. She clutched it in her hand before placing it beside him again. She had not even realized that she had placed her hand in stagnant blood.
Arram watched as she rose from her position on the ground. He saw her as she turned slowly to look at him with her hand loose at her side. He focused as her eyes shut slowly with her black lashes framing her eyes in a gentle arch. Her fingers hung relaxed against her thigh and Abeljiah's blood blazed on her fingertips. Her eyes were soft and sad, anger burned in their dark center. He realized as he watched her that she was not what she appeared. Yes, she was kind and wise with a certain kind of practicality, but she was no where near as innocent as he presumed. She was wild, untamable. He had never seen a woman with as kind and trustworthy a personality, but her eyes and the way she stood beside the fallen Abeljiah showed her other side. There was more to her than he could ever imagine knowing. Even in all this horror, she was calm. He was afraid of her, worried for her, and curious about her. He wanted to know what it was that let her stand without terror swamping her. He wanted to know why she was unafraid.
"He was a friend of my master's. He and Lindhall were the best of friends. Who could do such a thing? Damn it WHY?" he slammed his fist against the door frame as he spun and looked out into the hall. He glared at nothing and turned back to her with raw anger consuming his face. All his previous fear and shock was dimmed and forgotten in the heat of his anger. Even Daine trembled slightly before it. She could see the reason why he was feared when he was crossed.
"I don't know," she whispered. She picked up a cloth, probably used to clean the glasses he had folded on his desk. Pensively she wiped the blood from her hand and looked back to him. Arram was trembling with anger and took a sharp step toward her. He grabbed her wrists and pressed his lips against the palm of her hand. He held her there for a moment and his eyes burned into hers. He growled with his lips still against her skin, "I don't know who you are. I thought I did, but you are something that I cannot even understand. For some reason, I don't think I ever will." He released her and moved toward the door muttering something about finding Ozorne and telling him about what happened.
Daine watched him. She did not really understand what had inspired him to say what he did, but she knew she would never forget the way he looked and sounded. She picked her way over to him and rested her hand on his arm. He looked over at her and tried to smile for a moment before saying, "I don't know what to do, Sarra. I feel like I am caught in some empty void and no one has ever made it out alive. It is like there is more beneath the surface of all this; like this is only the beginning. There is no where safe when the professor of magical wards can be slain in his own workshop!"
"Then maybe, Arram, everyone needs someone stronger than anything that they have known. Maybe finding my way home is not important as finding you in yourself." She looked tired, expectant; she looked like she was looking at someone else far greater than him. He blinked in confusion for a few moments. Respect shown in her eyes. He did not know what she was, but he knew she knew who he was. He trusted her absolutely.
"Maybe, you are right."
Together they stepped from the occluded workshop. Death was forced to linger there, but life could slip away to dance in the final flames of sun before shadows gripped them. Life could dance and cry before the stone doors of responsibility where iron cold strength was all that was needed. Life had the feather thin chance of freedom and escape before all the shadows came out to play in the cold and frosty gusts of fear leading into the dim twilight of consequence. Freedom and dread hovered in the air tempting them as they walked to take their place beside the Emperor Mage and impart their news that would change their destines for the better or worse. But maybe there was no choice. Maybe responsibility was a curse meant to drag them down into the sea of whirling people with nothing left of honor.
The golden doors of the Throne Room swung open with the ponderous ease of practiced slaves. He watched as the marble floors sparked a blinding white and echoed eerily as the soft soled sandals of the tall man padded toward him. The man stopped and bowed at a respectable distance from the dais and swept his sharp green eyes around the room. Ever cautious the man raised his head slowly to inspect every inch of the room; his black wiry hair fell into his eyes and down his back. After being satisfied that there was no secreted shadowmen in the corners, he smiled slyly at the gold gilded figure on the throne. "Your Highness, the job has been completed to your satisfaction. There is nothing left to incriminate the crown and nothing to stop you from completing your wishes."
"Very good, Marlon. You have pleased me, but tell me, have you heard anything of Draper?"
"No, Your Majesty. He appears to be slipping even further into a brown fog. Not even Reed has had word of him since yesterday. They say though, in the dark corners of the halls that he is working on something; spell of some kind. Some believe he is working for his robe, but no one knows which. Maybe, Your Highness, we should think of eliminating him before he becomes a threat to us."
Hazel eyes flashed in the direction of the brown man before him. Anger apparent at the suggestion that he was not acting in the best suited manner rippled from his eyes and posture. Cold anger dripped in his voice as the emperor responded, "Do not seek to order me, Marlon. Before me, you are nothing. You simply obey my orders because I know what is the best. I have pulled this country to me and I am bringing it to its knees. I alone can read my intentions; therefore you will respect my judgment. You may leave me now."
Carefully Marlon backed away from the enraged emperor. He bowed and acquiescenced, "Very well, my lord." He kept his face blank; not daring to show his anger, frustration, and fear. He was terrified of leaving the temperamental emperor enraged at him. It could very well mean death for him.
As Marlon reached the doors once more, he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps ringing closer and closer to the Throne Room. He carefully fled through the doors before the sound was obvious to everyone including the emperor. He did not wish to wait and listen as the emperor steadily became more and more irritated with the obnoxious courtiers.
Arram pounded through the elaborate halls decorated and inlaid with golden suns. He did not look to the left or right; he knew that no one would be with the emperor now. Ozorne liked to hold court in the early mornings when the sun was rising on his glory. He glanced at Sarra and flashed a soft smile not really meant to reassure. Then he walked into the gallery of gold, marble, and ivory without even pausing to consider his friend's response.
Ozorne smiled slightly at his friend's angry posture. It was not a smile of amusement, but one of calculating cunning. He heard the outrageous exclamation of Abeljiah's echoing through his memory, 'There is no way that they shall come to you! Time is sacred! It is not meant to be a toy in the hands of any man; not even those of an emperor! All mages of any worth know this. They shall not come to you if I must educate them myself, Your Highness.' He remembered the defiance and determination in the man's eyes as he looked at him. It was a futile anger; no one defied him.
Arram stopped and bowed slightly and stiffly before Ozorne. Anger and something Ozorne was not sure of radiated from Arram in black waves that caught his attention. Concealing his interest in this new behavior, he asked, "What is the matter, Arram? You know that I am preoccupied now."
"Ozorne, listen to me. Something has happened at the University that I thought was impossible. Someone slaughtered Professor Abeljiah. I do not know who, but it is only a matter of time. Please, my friend, allow me to help in the search for the monster that did this. I cannot stay idle while I know that the one place in the world meant to be sacred to learning has been violated!"
"Calm yourself, Draper. There are many men and mages far more trained and capable of finding a murderer than your untrained self. I have already sent them to the site, and by the end of the week I should know exactly what has happened inside those walls. Calm down, Arram, I will not permit anything like this to happen again. Trust me, my friend."
Daine watched the entire exchange silently. She did not like the way the emperor's eyes burned when he looked at Arram or the way that he spoke the word friend. It was as though he was burning with an unnatural hatred for him. She did not trust him. If he had nothing to hide, why would he not permit Arram to help? He certainly had enough power to be of use; therefore, that was not the reason for his refusal.
Arram bowed his head for a moment and ran his fingers through his untamable hair. He sighed and closed his eyes trying to control himself. This was not the reaction he had expected from Ozorne. Surely he was as distressed as himself! Ozorne had been pulling away from him for some time now, but he had been sure that it was the crown that caused him to. He never thought that it was because Ozorne wanted nothing to do with him. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Very well. I shall retire then. Thank you for patience, Your Highness."
He turned and beckoned Daine to follow him, but Ozorne was faster. "Ah, Sarra, is it? Please, would you remain? I feel as though I have been unkind toward you in that I have not taken the time to speak with you. If I am to help you in your search for home, I must understand you and your life more. I will take care of her Arram."
It was a clear dismissal for Arram, but he did not want to leave her there alone. She could see it in his eyes as he looked at her. She did not want to stay here. Ozorne was a monster and she hated his eyes. The way they lingered on her was discomforting and disgusting. She begged Arram with her eyes not to let him keep her, but there was nothing he could do. She knew it before she even tried. Well, she would just have to continue with her story of her kidnap then. She would have to be more careful than ever if she was to keep her Wild Magic a secret from Ozorne. She could not imagine what he would do if he knew. She barely suppressed a shudder as he slowly looked over her body and Arram hesitatingly left the room.