Numair
"Numair pull yourself together; we got an important meeting with the ambassador of Scanra. We need to show a united front. So stop thinking about her for a day; she won't hate you for carrying on living without her. Ok? You got to be at the castle by sunset." said Alanna, quickly turning off the speaker spell.
Numair sighed. She had asked him to pull himself together, but even if he did so what was the point?
Sitting down on the bed, replaying the last conversations he and Daine had shared, he regretted every word of it now. Why couldn't she realise that, Numair didn't believe all the painful things he had said, he just said them because he was hurting from the rejection of marriage.
As Numair was getting a new black cloak on, the air in the room seem to hum. Numair looked up sharply. In the centre of the room, seemed to glow, so bright until Numair couldn't look.
"YOU PROMISED TO LOOK AFTER MY KIT!" Roared the badger God in a temper. Numair was totally taken aback; could he have really stopped her from leaving if her really wanted to?
The badger god ranted and paced the room, as Numair thought. A shining object caught Numair eyes as the badger flung his arms round in expression. Only after a minute did Numair realise what it was; it was Daine's claw.
Numair breath caught in his throat, thoughts in a standstill, but one thought broke away; how had to claw gotten off Daines neck considering that she never took it of, not when she bathed, or shape shifted?
Numair hesitantly asked the badger God "Is she dead?"
Afraid of the answer, Numair couldn't look the badger god in the eyes, instead he kept staring at the claw, as if it held all the answers.
" I don't know", answered the badger sharply. " She wasn't suppose to take the claw off, she has it so I would be able to find her and now I can find her anywhere!"
The badger stared out of the window and nodding to himself, turned to look at Numair, " I'm going to have another look for her. Her parents are worried. Here look after this" and shoving something into Numair hand, the badger disappeared in silver light.
Wiping a tear from his eye. Numair place the claw around his neck hoping he could keep it safer then he has kept Daine safe, and walked out of the room, black cloak bellowing behind him.
Daine
Daine paused before stepping in the brightly coloured room full to the brim with female slaves.
The room was lit with glowing orbs of light, the walls were pained a deep red. The curtains were a contrast, gold with delicate flower patterns. The carpet a soft looking blood red.
"Do as I say!" shouted the slave owner, a tall board shouldered man, with plump weathered face; her new master. He was in the middle of the room clutching a small blonde slave, hands painfully gripping her slender shoulders. Then abruptly he slapped her around the face leaving angry, red marks on her face.
Daine so shocked at seeing how slaves were treated, that she tripped over her own feet, and fell onto her face. Feeling fresh air swirl around her face Daine craned her neck to look up at her master, whom's black hair mimicking his black soul, who stood over to her. Daine lay there on the floor waiting for her blood to mingle with the red carpet.
"REPEAT after me 'I won't be clumsy in front of paying customers again, master'" but Daine's lips were frozen from fear so she was unable to say anything.
The master was shocked that anyone would be so disobedient, slammed his foot into her head, making her eat the bright red carpet.
"Master…Master...please" Daine managed to sob out, into the carpet which was pressed to her face. She realised to late, that along with the words that she sobbed out, her pride had also disappeared.
The master let her up lifting his foot form her head, and grabbed her with his large brown hands, lifting her into a standing position.
With eyes glinting with madness, black pools whirling, he spoke in a low voice so only Daine could hear "I am your master, do as I say the first time because their wont be a second time." Jerking back from her and rudely spat into her face. Daine stood there and trembled, as her master walked away, too afraid to even wipe the spit away, so it slowly slid down her face.
Later all the girls were led away, downstairs after instructed of their duties. They were taken to a large room in the cellar, hidden away from the light. The room was bare, with grey walls and dirty blankets lay scattered around the room, in a small attempt at carpeting. Daine separated herself from the group of 20 girls, and grabbed a blanket and went to curl up onto a corner, slowly sinking to the floor. She tried to block out the light, which was given out by a small lamp in a corner of the room. She tried to block out any sounds in the room, but try as she might she just couldn't block out her own thoughts.
The last thought that swept through her mind before she fell into an uneasy sleep, was of the horror of knowing where she had ended up. Due to her mother being a midwife, she knew where she was. She was in a place where anyone with even a little bit of respect, shouldn't be. She was in a brothel. Just being here, she felt dirty; she felt that being here was eroding everything that she thought she was, taking away all her reparation, her hopes of being home with Numair making up for her mistake of even thinking of leaving him.
That night dressed in a pale strapless pink dress, she was told to mingle with the crowd. Blushing uncontrollably, she just walked around the red room, self-consciously, fearing being picked up by the many men in the room.
In the room she watching was the blond slave Lyra from earlier, was getting kissed on the cheek, eyes turned away. As Daine stared at the Lyra, their eyes caught, Daine saw intelligence and sadness lurking the depth of the girls pale brown eyes. The girl was no more the twelve years old, five years younger then herself. Daine felt helpless to help the Lyra, as she stood and watched as the man holding Lyra whisked her away to the many rooms upstairs.
Daine felt strong arms wrap her waist, and fanaticised that the arms keeping her warm were Numair'. Shielding herself with that fantasy, she let the night give way to the dawn, in the arms on a lean red haired gentleman. In the dawn sun, Daine crept out of the room and hurried down into the cellar. Collapsing onto a thin blanket, she tried to sleep but couldn't. Every time she tired, she felt the betrayal sink deeper into the soul. She had never bedded another man, other then Numair; she felt that she had cheated on him, even though there was little option in the matter. As she thought this, her hand crept up to the slave collar that kept her a captive, a prisoner in her own skin. Her hands feeling around her neck for her claw, knowing it wasn't there, all she found was her gold chain where her pregnancy charm lay.
She lay for hours listening the cries of many girls in the room. She felt the different ages, races, and languages come together in a factor that they all shared; the knowledge that they had all lost something that they wouldn't ever get back.
The days slipped into weeks, and those in turn, rolled into months. Slowly Daine realised, that no one would save her, that no one was going to be her prince; not even Numair. With that last hope fading, she began to live again.
"D, come on, dance!" yelled Lyra laughing. Lyra, who had come out of her shell a little, was Daine's new friend in the hellhole. Even though there was no music, Daine got up, with the other girls and danced. Even doing something ever to simple and daft, let the girls grasp something that they all thought they had lost; their ability to have fun and be happy.
Numair
"Care to dance?" Numair asked a pretty woman sitting near him at the banquet. The banquet was to celebrate 4th anniversary of the immortal's war.
'Sounds like a wonderful ideal, master Numair!' the woman giggled was she placed her hand in his.
They swirled around the dance floor alongside the king and queen, and Alanna and George. All were smiling, at the fact that he looked as if he was moving on after Daine, finally.
But Numair knew the truth, he couldn't move on without knowing what happened. He couldn't move on with his life while there were so many questions bubbling away in his head, questions without any answers.
He jumped at every mention of her, trying desperate to keep the image of her alive but as the months past, he found it harder to remember how her hair fell or her laugh. These memories were, locked away inside his frozen heart, waiting for her to return with the key.
Until then he would just exist.