Numair leaned against the wall and sighed. He was standing across the hallway from a wooden door, bound with steel and furnished with an unlocked deadbolt. It was an unassuming and ordinary door, but he looked at it as if to touch it would be the death of him.

It was what was behind the door that made his heart pound with nervousness and made his large hands tremble. He wasn't sure he could do what he knew he had to, which was open it and face the small, angry, and injured girl on the other side. He could barely stand the thought of her face upon his walking in, so how was he supposed to actually go in and confront it?

Footsteps sounded down the hallway, coming in his direction. Numair ignored the sound, trying to work up the courage to just open the door…

"Are you still here?" A dark skinned woman had just come around the corner, holding a tray of food for Daine. "Honestly, Numair, you've been here for hours! It doesn't take that much to go in there and face Daine, does it? You've known her for how long now? Two years?"

"One and a half," mumbled the mage, crossing his arms. Buri didn't understand! He had probably made the worst mistake of his life! She probably hated him now. If only he had shown some self control and said no to that, that…

"Numair. Stop... Being... Such... An... Idiot. Just go in there! Besides, I'll bet she knows you're out here, staring at her door. And you've also probably over thought going in there, turning it into some kind of nightmare." She looked at him, and he hung his head, knowing she was right.

"Good. Now, you are going to take Daine her lunch, and you are going to take it to her right now. Do you hear me? You wouldn't want your student to starve, would you?" He shook his head guiltily; he had been sent up here with Daine's breakfast, but hadn't been able to go in the room. " I didn't think so." She shoved the tray into his hands and turned him around, giving him a small push toward the door.

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Daine was hungry. She had somehow never gotten breakfast and was now hoping that someone would take pity on her and bring some lunch. She sunk further into the pillows, trying to silence the rumbles in her stomach.

A knock sounded at the door, before the knob turned and the door opened. The smell of stew and freshly baked bread reached her nose, and her stomach growled again. Then Numair walked into the room, carrying the tray that the delicious smells were coming from.

He stopped when he saw her looking at him. She met his eyes. Then her stomach growled again, and his face broke into a smile.

"Magelet, you seem hungry." He came over to the bed and sat the tray on her lap. She wasted no time in starting to eat the food, and Numair felt a pang of guilt for letting her get so hungry because of his fears.

Once Daine had gotten some food in her empty stomach, she glanced shyly up at her teacher. He was still sitting beside her on the bed, carefully looking anywhere but her face. She reached out and touched his hand, and his eyes went to hers.

"I'm sorry I got so mad at you, Numair," she said, looking down. "I was more surprised than anything else."

He gently picked up the hand that was still resting on his, and said, "You shouldn't be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have brought her in here. I just wanted you to meet her, she seemed so nice…"

"Well, we've all misjudged other people before. She most likely just wanted to impress you; most of the ladies don't like me, running about in breeches and talking with the animals as I do. They all think I'm not respectable."

"Don't listen to people you've never met, magelet. How can they make a sound judgment if they barely even know what you look like?" he said, squeezing her hand. He knew almost as well as she did the horrible rumors directed at his magelet. He tried to shield her from the worst of them, but he had found out the hard way that being too protective of his student only made things worse.

"Yes, but sometimes it's hard to ignore if your best friend is kissing one of the ladies who make fun of you five feet away from where you are."

"She was one of the people who spread rumors about you?" he asked, suddenly urgent.

"Well, yes," she replied, surprised that he hadn't known. "When I came up to you at dinner after healing that fox in the forest all afternoon, and I had blood on my shirt? "

"You were telling me that you were going to change and come back, for dinner, but that you were too tired for lessons," he said, remembering.

Daine nodded. "When I was going to my rooms through that shortcut in the gardens, I caught them talking about me. I didn't want them to see me so I turned around and went the long way."

"Is that why you took so long?" he asked. "You know you had me worried."

" Yes"

"Oh, magelet, I'm sorry! If I had known-" She cut him off with a gesture.

"But you didn't. Even if she was talking about me, she might have been nice. Besides, you're a big man, you can make your own choices. Sometimes I wish you would get to know them first, though."

"I'll try magelet," he whispered, pulling the hand he still held to bring her into a tight embrace. "I've been living like a university student too long. It's time I grew up a little, don't you think?"

"Not too much, Numair, I like your boyish charm," she teased.

He rested his chin on her head, glad to have his student back.

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Onua shut the door. She, Buri, and the queen had seen the whole scene play out.

"I told him it wouldn't be the end of the world," said Buri.

"Look at them," whispered Thayet. "They could be lovers."

"They do seem suited for each other, but I don't think it'll ever happen." Onua remarked.

"You're right, it'll probably never happen."

Alright, you guys that's the last of Hunted. If you want more from me you can check out my other stories. thanks for all your support and I hope you'll stay with me!

Starling