Sprightly Mordred: Thank you. I'm trying to concerntrate on developing sustaining a plot through a number of chapters for practice for my own book. (Sighs dreamily!)

Numair's Lover: Thank you. More fluff to come! My trip was wonderful, thank you. We had a four poster bed and a spa bath in our room! (It was a gift from the in-laws!)

Imakeladrygirl: I've just got back and I'm updating! Enjoy!

Daine's daughter: Thank you!

Goldeneyedwildmage: The dream sequence will be like a semi-subplot. It's basically Daine's subconcious encouraging her to make her own decisions. I like writing dream-sequences so I popped one in for the fun of it! Thank you.

Lela-of-Bast: I hope you feel better. I really sympathise. Sinus problems are a pain in the head - literally. I'm on a waiting list for a nose op to help mine. They are soooo painful.

Sonnet Lacewing: She should have recognised herself, but she was dreaming so couldn't work it out. She will eventually. Thank you!

A/N: Disclaimer. It's TP's characters. I'm just playing with them.

Chapter 7 – Choices

Daine woke when a servant, who had been instructed to wake them before dawn, banged the door. She found herself lying next to Numair, in a similar state of undress to her and she recalled memories of a few hours before. Thayet's charm hadn't been required yet, but she was certainly learning lots of new things about the man beside her. He had slept through the wake up call, so she used her new knowledge of Numair to wake him.

They readied themselves quickly, saying very little as they dressed and packed any remaining belongings. Little looks and smiles were exchanged; the bond between them was growing with each new shared experience. They made their way to the stables where their travelling items had been left for them, organised by Thayet the day before. Daine smiled to herself when she saw that Thayet had only left one tent, with the note 'Sorry, we were short.' They split the baggage between the two mounts as their packhorse, Mangle, was back in Corus. About to set off, Numair spotted Jonathan and Thayet quickly walking towards them. They waited for him to reach them. Dawn was only just beginning to break; they would hopefully cover a lot of ground before sunset.

"We wanted to say goodbye before you left," Thayet said as she reached them, hugging Daine tightly. "Make sure you take care of each other."

"How come there's only one tent?" Jonathan puzzled, eyeing their luggage.

"That was all that was spare, dearest," Thayet smiled at her husband in such a way that Daine nearly burst out laughing. Numair blushed, which Thayet noticed, making her giggle. "Men!" she said to Daine under her breath.

Numair mounted Spots, shaking hands with Jonathan as he wished him a safe trip. Daine received a kiss off the king, something that would have once made giddy. She mounted Cloud and after a final few words and instructions from the king and queen they set off at a fast, steady pace that the horses would be able to maintain for sometime.

Daine enjoyed the freedom of riding after being in the fief for a few days. The devastation that had surrounded them on their journey into the fief had mainly been cleared. The bodies of the fallen had been buried; the discarded weapons and tents collected and disposed of. There were still signs of what had happened, no rain had yet arrived to wash away spent blood, and Daine noticed oddments of armour scattered around. Numair cloaked them as they went through the town, wishing then to remain unnoticed and not provoke talk. They said very little as they travelled, something that she had become used to in the previous months. She thought about the dream she had had two nights ago and wondered what it meant. She was starting to feel different in some ways. She felt as if she belonged in Tortall, that there was a place for her here that she had won on her own merit. She glanced at Numair, as usual looking at his most uncomfortable when riding a horse. She felt different this morning; the sharing of new experiences was tying her closer to the mage than she had been to anyone.

Numair halted them once the sun was at its highest point to let the horses drink and so that they could also eat and refresh themselves. They sat down under a large, shady oak, out of the glare of the sun. Numair took a flask out of their packs and filled it from the running stream where the horses were drinking thirstily. Daine wrapped some of the ham they had taken with them in bread for both her and Numair. She found that she was ravenous after the ride and ate hungrily. She noticed that Numair only picked at his food and raised her eyebrows at him in concern.

"Not hungry?" she asked, between mouthfuls.

He shook his head. "I've been trying to work out what type of magic could be used to contaminate the water supplies. The prospects of how powerful this mage could be are worrying me some. As is the fact that neither myself, Jon, Harailt or George can think of who it could be. I want to get to Corus as quickly as possible and try to resolve this matter before it gets out of hand."

"We've made good progress so far this morning, Numair. If we keep that up this afternoon and tomorrow then we'll be there in good time. But you need to eat, if you don't eat then you'll end up with no strength," she reasoned with him, knowing that if Numair had his mind on something then he would forget the practicalities of everyday life.

He took a long drink of the water and stood up. "Let's press on. We'll aim to camp just before sundown, and then we'll eat as properly as we can." He looked at Daine's worried face, and, putting the water bottle down, swept her towards him and immersed her in a hard, deep kiss.

Moving away to look at him Daine took in his now smiling mouth and enjoyed the light that shined in his eyes. She laughed softly. "Has that taken your mind off things?" she asked, teasingly.

"A little. Maybe I need some more of those," he responded, kissing her again. Numair's idea of a short rest turned into a lengthier period. Daine felt her body heat rising, beginning to lose herself in the feeling. A sharp chirp from Kitten brought her back in to reality.

"We should go, Numair," she sighed, stretching an arm and pulling the dragonet towards them. "I think she's getting a bit jealous!" Daine sighed, standing up and putting Kitten into the pouch that she used for travelling, soothing her charge with gentle strokes.

Numair rose up himself. "We should go," he agreed, beginning to pack away the items they had used and trying to pet Kitten at the same time.

They rode until dusk was beginning to settle, spotting an indent in the mountains they were passing that would provide shelter from any wind that might begin to blow. They had taken a path that brought them next to the coastal hill, keeping them away from the sea and avoiding any towns, well away from the Black City so they were clear of the southern desert also. Numair knew that they had made excellent progress today; even with having an extended break a noon. He was confident that if that they began riding at first light and rode at a consistent speed through part of the following night then they would be in Corus ahead of schedule. He began to pitch the tent that he and Daine would share, debating whether to lay out one bedroll or two. He knew that he needed time to process what had happened between them and consider how their relationship would progress. He didn't want to make her feel as if she was being forced into more than she could handle, but she was the one who suggested that they shared his bed the previous night and he had lost his inner battle and agreed; it was Daine who had used her initiative to get a pregnancy charm when he hadn't even begun to consider that. He needed to think. He decided to ask her what she thought about the bedrolls; it was about time that they started to discuss and be more open about such topics.

"Daine," he called to her as she was taking the tack of the horses. "How many bedrolls shall I make up?"

She looked towards him, her arms dropping back down to her sides. "I'd like to share one, Numair," she told him softly, beginning to cease being embarrassed by such questions.

Numair nodded, unpacking what they would need.

That night, as he lay next to a sleeping Daine and Kitten, Numair perused his thoughts about Daine. They had been friends for three and a half years and he had known that he was in love with her for more than six months, and probably had been in love with her for longer than that. She was in love with him, although he sometimes found that difficult to believe. She was only sixteen; he didn't want to rush her into anything she was not ready for. But, for all that she was sixteen in years, she had been grown up and independent since he had known her. He knew that she wasn't too young for the relationship than they were seemingly about to embark on, so why was he having these doubts? He gave it a little more thought as the sleeping woman next to him moved closer. Maybe it was because of who her father was and his apparent opinion of Numair that made him worry so. There was also the age difference; she was fourteen years younger, when he was fifty she would only be thirty-six, would she want an old man? He knew that they had already discussed this and she had turned the age difference around to apply to her. He looked at her, turning his head gently, her face highlighted by the moonlight. For months he had itched to hold her like this, he had dreamt of having her close to him. And now he was questioning whether it was right. Ultimately, he realised, he was asking whether he was worthy of her, whether she would have the best possible life if she was to be with him.

With his questions unanswered, Numair began to sleep, tiredness overcoming him after the long day of travelling. He slipped into the realm of Gainel, his subconscious using his dreams to tidy his thoughts. For a while his brain skipped through the images he had seen during the day, having short dreamlets about the various things that had occurred. He drifted in and out of consciousness briefly, as Daine moved closer to him, her legs swinging across his.

And then the dreams took him over. He saw his friends stood around him on a summer's day, looks over concern on their faces. He looked around for Daine, but she wasn't there. Then his friends were gone and he was in Corus, in the inn where Alanna used to go to see George. Everyone had the same face, everyone was a mage, chanting the same few words, and ones he didn't know and couldn't understand. Then he saw George, sat at the table with the badger.

"Make use of what you know," the badger said to him. "I can tell you no more."

"Are you real?" Numair asked the immortal.

The badger didn't acknowledge his words, he continued to talk with George and Numair couldn't hear what they were saying.

He walked out of the inn. Instead of it being Corus with its busy streets full of people milling around he faced an expanse of sandy beach and looked towards the horizon where the deep blue sea met the sky. High cliffs surrounded him, making him feel ridiculously small in comparison. He looked behind him to see if the inn was still there. Instead he saw fields, the crops in them swaying with the gentle breeze. He sat down on the sand, looking out to the sea, trying to listen for the sounds of other people or even other animals, but heard none. Maybe I don't listen hard enough, he thought to himself. He looked to his right hand side and saw a little girl sat there, writing in the sand with a stick. She had brown curly hair and a cheeky smile. He looked at what she was inscribing in the sand and recognised the words as being written in Old Thak.

"How do you know this?" he asked her, not particularly considering where she had come from and why a parent wasn't with her.

"You teach me," she replied. "You teach me a lot of things."

"Are you meant to be Daine?" He asked her, worried.

The little girl laughed and shook her head. "You have never seen her as a child. Other people did at first, but that has changed now, after what she has done and what she has been and what she will become."

"What will she become?" Numair felt slightly startled.

"She will be what she becomes, and she will chose that," the little girl smiled, continuing to write.

"Why are you here alone?" he asked her, trying to assess the practicality of the situation, rather than analysing riddles.

"I'm not alone. I'm with you," she looked up at him with big, brown eyes.

He read what she had written in the sand. She chooses well. Over and over again.

"When are you going to take me home?" she asked him in a sweet, childish voice.

"Not yet," he said to her, not understanding where the words had come from.

"When she chooses?" The little girl asked, carrying on writing the same sentence, not looking at him.

"Do I not decide?" he said with a laugh, moving a curl out of the little girl's face, recognising her but not sure why.

"You already did!" she replied, and then he found himself in Sarra's sitting room, being given a cup of some strange substance to drink. Weiryn had sat down in front of him, Sarra next to him, their hands entwined.

Sarra seemed to laugh at him, but he wasn't sure why.

"I was with a little girl on a beach," he said, needing something to break the silence. "She could write in Old Thak."

"Didn't you teach her that?" Weiryn grumbled. "I'm not sure how you had the patience."

"How do you know?" Numair wondered how much stranger this dream would become.

Sarra laughed again. "Really, Numair. Haven't you understood that yet? Daine chose. You have nothing to hide. Daine chose."

He felt hands on his shoulder, shaking him gently. "Numair! Its dawn, we should probably get started." For a vague moment he wondered if Weiryn had tried to attack him and he realised that the voice was Daine's and it was Daine's hands.

"I'm awake," he told her, looking up into the blue-grey eyes.

"You were talking in your sleep, saying that I chose something," she said. "It sounded like one of my dreams, they asking me what I'll chose to be. At this moment I choose to be in bed asleep, but I don't think that's going to happen."

Numair chuckled, pulling her down so she lay on his chest. She made a noise that told him she liked where she was, and began to gently kiss his bare chest. He smiled, aware that they should be getting prepared to leave but not wanting to move or stop Daine's actions.

"This is what you want, isn't it?" he asked her.

"I wouldn't be here, in this tent with you, sharing the same bedroll if it wasn't, would I?" she told him lazily, now kissing his neck.

"Does the fact I'm older bother you?" He inquired.

She laughed, very softly nuzzling his sore jaw. "Only because it bothers you. I like you being older, if you weren't then you wouldn't be you."

He moved her up so her he could kiss her, her body pressing down on his.

From outside he heard Spots whinny. Daine automatically sat up, her expression strained.

"Hurroks," she said softly, "I can sense them, they're close."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I do like writing dream sequences! Maybe two in two chapters was too much, but it was fun to write. Please review!