Hehehe, so...double dose. Enjoy!

Numair breathed deep, pulling his cloak closer around him to guard against the biting midwinter air

Numair breathed deep, pulling his cloak closer around him to guard against the biting midwinter air. The palace was in high spirits as they prepared for the midwinter festivities that night and Numair couldn't help but feel a bit optimistic himself. Daine was crouched, in front of a small pond, no doubt conversing with some animal or another, across the garden from him and he had a feeling the time was now. If only it weren't so gods cursed cold. He rubbed his hands together and made his way across the garden, nearly being run over by a couple of the palace servant's boys who were playing there in the process. Upon finally reaching her unscathed he took a deep breath and made to clear his throat so as to get her attention. He, unfortunately, never got that far however. Apparently his luck had run out and at that moment the two boys who had been playing in the garden ran past him violently, the second of the two knocking into Numair and causing him to stumble forward. Causing him to stumble forward and fall right into the icy half frozen over pond. He pushed himself out of the water violently, shivering and spewing a string of curses that would impress any riders.

"Odds bobs Numair, what on earth happened?" Daine reached her hand out, bewildered and rather wet herself now, and Numair just took it and mumbled something about going to get lunch. He was feeling decidedly less optimistic now.

--

A few hours later Numair, now dried and warm again, felt his hope returning. Perhaps what he needed was a gesture, something to show her his feelings before he actually told her and after all, it was midwinter, he had the perfect tools at his disposal already. As a young boy ran by Numair grabbed his arm, gently, and turned him around. He stopped briefly, realizing it was one of the boys from before but bit his tongue, deciding to pass it off as an accident.

"Can you do something for me?" He asked the boy, showing him a gold crown. The boy nodded and Numair handed him the coin.

"I need you to go to the royal greenhouses and get me a sprig of mistletoe. You know where that is, yes?" The boy nodded and ran off. Numair smiled, this had to work.

--

Numair stood outside his open door nervously, the boy hadn't returned yet and the ball was about to begin meaning Daine would be by any minute. He had asked her to stop by on her way and he planned to hang the mistletoe on his doorframe so that when she knocked, well, it was pretty self explanatory. Numair signed in relief when he saw the boy running towards him and quickly took the sprig from him without so much as glancing at it, thanking the child, and turned to quickly hang the sprig as the boy ran off. In his haste to hang it before Daine arrived he found himself having some difficulty getting it to stay and cursed, absentmindedly scratching an itch that had formed on the back of his hand, as he nearly dropped it. He was just starting to gain some ground when he heard Daine's voice from behind him, she sounded very confused.

"Numair?"

"Uh, yes?" He asked, sheepishly, turning his head to look at her, his hands twitching as they had become increasingly itchy.

"Uh, why are you hanging poison oak on your door?" She inquired, giving him a very bewildered look. Numair looked at the sprig quickly and realized that she was, in fact, correct. He dropped the plant on the ground as fast as he could, and for the second time that day let out a string of curses. Upon hearing a giggle from around the corner Numair looked up to see the servant boy watching from behind a corner before he ran off. Daine turned back to him, taking his hands in hers to inspect them.

"Wasn't that the quartermasters' boy? Did he ever get over his grudge for you form when you always raided his supplies?"

"It would seem, he's merely passed it on." Numair just sighed and leaned his head against the doorframe. Absolutely perfect.

rEvIeW! pretty please?:D