Disclaimer: The characters are from the Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce. She's the genius. I'm the wanna-be.
Chapter 7 – Lightning
When the gong rang indicating that it was time for talks to resume, the delegates filed back into the room. Alanna's disposition was warmer. Numair thought that talks might get back on track if he could only soften Ozorne's temper as easily. Everyone sat in the same seats they were in before. But there was already an air of distrust in the room. Twenty minutes into the meeting it became clear that Ozorne wanted the talks to fail.
They had started to make some headway on fishing rights when suddenly Ozorne cut in, "We think that there are many reasons to mistrust this situation and that we need something more effective to solidify our treaty."
"Such as?" Lord Martin of Meron asked hesitantly.
"Often peace is best achieved by way of a union between two sides. Prince Kaddar is heir to Carthak's empire. A marriage has not yet been arranged for him."
Duke Gareth whispered to Numair, "I don't like where this is going." His lips barely moved, but Numair heard him clearly.
"It is our understanding that King Jonathan has daughter – Kalasin?" The emperor continued malevolently. "It is our desire to have Kalasin betrothed to Kaddar. She could be brought in the spring to marry and live in Carthak."
"The princess is ten years old," Gareth the younger burst. "That's hardly appropriate…"
There was a buzzing of voices as the whole room erupted in discourse. Numair looked at the smug expression on Ozorne's face and turned to Alanna, who had remained unusually silent. "That son-of-a-bitch," she whispered icily. "He has to know that this will keep us from any sort of agreement."
"Oh, he knows. He wants a war. I have known Ozorne long enough to recognize his style of check-mate."
"He's lucky Thayet was not present. She would have castrated him."
"I was thinking that you were showing amazing restraint in that regard," Numair whispered, eyes twinkling.
"You know me well. If I hadn't sworn to keep my cool, I might have made him eat a few of those jewels by now."
In the midst of the flurry of activity and storm of chatter, Ozorne rose. "We think it is best to leave it here for today. It will give you time to contact your king regarding his daughter. We will resume three hours after midday tomorrow." The man rose regally and left without so much as looking backward.
The Tortallan delegation spent the next two hours locked in Duke Gareth's room. They had protected the room magically against eavesdropping and proceeded to heatedly argue the day's events. Alanna and Numair decided not to explain Ozorne's animosity toward Numair that day but it was clear that Lord Martin knew something had happened and felt that whatever it was had put them in this position. The one thing the group was certain of was that Kalasin was not going to be betrothed at the tender age of ten. With little hope for the future of the peace accord, the group broke and Alanna and Numair headed out for some air.
Outside the guest quarters, a small garden faced the river. Alanna and Numair sat on a bench there, not speaking. It had been a lovely day, though they had missed most of it. There were no clouds in the sky. The scorching heat of the afternoon was slowly giving way to the cooler temperatures of the evening. After a long silence Numair finally said, "Are you missing George and the children?"
A smile spread from her lips to her eyes. Alanna said, "Yes, always. I never feel I have enough time with my little ones. And that scoundrel, George, ran off and stole my heart. All this time I still can't get it back."
For the first time in what felt like ages, Numair really laughed. "You two are cute, you know. Now don't kill me for saying so."
A warm laughter erupted from Alanna. "You sound like you might be a little afraid." She made a mock sneer. "But what precisely did you mean by cute?"
Numair chuckled. "You are a frightening lady when you want to be. You are the finest knight in the Realm. And it all goes to pieces when you greet your husband. You look like a pair of teenagers infatuated with one another. That's what I meant." He stood up and stretched a bit. He walked to the edge of the garden where there was a tree growing he had never seen before. His intellectual curiosity got the better of him, and he began to examine the leaves, wondering if he had read about this species. He would have to ask Lindhall what it was.
"That's love, Numair," Alanna said from behind him. "Haven't you ever been in love?" Numair looked at her when she said it. She had a strange smile. It was almost challenging him, somehow.
"No, I don't think I have. Though I did think so on a couple of occasions. But time and distance have taught me that it wasn't real."
"Varice?" she asked slyly.
"Yes, I certainly thought I loved Varice once. But when I ran, I didn't ask her to go. I'm not sure why. I like to think it was because I cared about her safety and I didn't know what would happen to me. But I'm not sure that's the truth. However, she was special to me. In another situation maybe it would have turned into love."
"I doubt it. She's not the right woman for you."
"You always call it like you see it, don't you? So, Madam Omniscient, who is the one for me?" If Alanna answered his jest, he never heard it. For at that moment Daine came into view. She was walking with Kaddar and cradling Zek in her arms like a baby. Kaddar had Kitten on one hip and they were talking and smiling to someone further up the steps. The whole world melted away for Numair. The scene was so much like watching a man and wife with their two small children. Numair felt an ache like he had never known before. And out of nowhere, lightning split the sky, charring two statues on either side of Daine and Kaddar with a deafening roar.
Numair had no time to react or do anything. He cried, "Daine!" and started to climb the garden wall but a strong hand held him back. Alanna had grabbed his arm.
"She's perfectly fine. It looks to me as if the Gods were sending a message to Ozorne." She had a point. The two large statues of Ozorne that guarded the entrance had been reduced to globules of molten gold and charred, shattered marble. "Haven't you made enough foolish gestures for one day?"