Ya….ouch. I'll admit that I haven't updated forever and I'm sorry to any of you out there who have read this and were waiting for the next chapter. Hmm…well I suffered from some writers block, but this is what finally came out of it!

Daine came to in a room that looked like a suite. The walls were a pale yellow, and she was on a huge bed with yellow satin sheets. There was a couch in the corner, along with many other chairs that were placed around her bed. She was enshrined in pillows, and sank back into them, thinking out the few times that she had come out of her unconsciousness. Once she had heard Alanna, who told her to go back to sleep. Another time she had heard Kitten, her dragon, making soothing chirps, and the last, most recent time, Daine could have sworn she heard someone who sounded like Numair. Must have been Kaddar, It couldn't have been Numair…Trying not to brood on the fact of the mage's death, she sat up.

Feeling kind of dizzy, Daine put her head in her hands and sat like that for a moment before she attempted to do anything else. The wildmage looked down at her abdomen and noticed something bulky under her shirt. Daine lifted the hem and saw that white gauze was wrapped tightly around her. It was then that Daine recalled the events of what had led her to be this way; the stormwings. Sighing, Daine went back to her former position, and rubbed her face. She sat straight up when suddenly the door opened, and a blue streak flew towards her.

"Kit!" she cried. The dragon, who seemed almost as happy to see Daine, as the wildmage did to her friend, jumped on the girl's lap. Daine wrapped he arms around Kitten, and hugged her tightly. "You heard about Numair?" she asked, feeling her eyes start to fill.

The dragon trilled, and looked up at her keeper and nodded vigorously. Daine looked puzzled, why would Kitten be happy that Numair was dead! She was just about to ask her charge, when Kit cocked her head as if listening to something, jumped of the bed and ran out of the room. "Kit! Where are you going?"

She was about to get up, but almost fell flat on the bed when an anxious looking Numair Salmalin appeared in the doorway. Teacher and student stared at each other, but didn't say a word. Numair took a step into the room, and Daine scuttled back a little on her bed. She couldn't get close to him, touching his ghost would only make her grieve more.

Numair very slowly, step by step, made his way over to her bed. Daine couldn't back up anymore, as a side of her bed was against the wall, and she was flat against it. The mage sat on the bed, and Daine broke out of her trance, when she registered the movement in the mattress below her from Numair's weight. How can this be possible? Ghosts aren't supposed to weigh anything!

She wouldn't look at Numair. She couldn't. The pain was too horrible. But when his soft, melodic voice said, "Magelet…" Daine's heart instantly turned to butter and she turned to face him. Neither of them noticed Kitten come back and shut the door.

"Numair…you're…dead," she sputtered out the words, "how can this be happening?"

"Magelet," he said with a sad smile, "I'm me. I'm real. I'm alive." He proceeded to tell her the story of how he had escaped the emperor and execution, and the girl broke down in tears of relief. Numair slowly moved forward and cupped her cheek in his large hand. The two once again stared at each other, and Daine shivered a little when he rubbed his thumb across her face, wiping at the tears, but at the same time, caressing it gently. Slowly, Numair drew her into his arms, and held her. Not too tightly, he reminded himself, when he thought about her bandages and cuts. Feeling completely at peace, Daine rested her head on Numair's chest and listened to his heartbeat, rapid at first, but it slowed to a deep, rhythmical beat.

"Magelet?"

"Hmm?"

"Maybe we should get up. I know Alanna will be down here soon to check on you and find out just what I am doing." Numair didn't really want to let go of his Daine so soon, but he knew it would look suspicious to see a teacher holding his student so closely. During his ponderings, Daine had spoken again. "What was that?"

"Just what are you doing?" she said huskily.

Numair opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't think of what to say. Part of this was because he was he didn't want to tell Daine his feelings for her. She had just woken up, Mithros' sake, and he didn't want to trouble her with that.

"The great mage of Tortall is at loss to words from his cunning student. I wish this could happen more often."

"Which part?" Secretly hoping that she would say being wrapped in his arms was better then making him too stunned to say something."

"All of it," she murmured, rubbing her nose into his chest. Daine smiled when she heard his breath hitch, "but I guess you're right." Daine crawled out of Numair's lap, and smiled into his face that only seemed inches away from hers. This close, Daine noticed the darker flecks on brown in his already seeming endless brown eyes, and a tiny dimple on his left cheek.

Without noticing it, both of their breaths came quicker at such close proximity. Neither knew who should move first. Doubtless Alanna would be around soon, but the two didn't want to pull away from each other.

Numair broke the moment and tweaked her nose, making both of them smile, and the mage silently sigh in relief. I'll have to keep better tabs on myself, now that she's awake. While his had magelet slept, Numair had the freedom to study Daine's face so that he could memorize each and every detail. The beautiful picture never seemed to leave his mind.

The two had just moved apart, when the door creaked open. "Well, well, well," Alanna's voice rang through the room, "Numair get out, Daine we need to do a check up."

Both sighed but before Numair left, he gave Daine a kiss on the top of her head, and said, "Welcome back, Magelet."

Yeehaw! I did another one! Tips off cowboy hat! Thanks for reading my story, hopefully you'll be so kind as to continue on and review...hehehe have a good one!