Rays of sunshine were streaming into the room as Daine awoke.

"Well it's about time," commented a familiar voice.

"Alanna?" Daine asked groggily. She sat up, blinking and rubbing her eyes.

The knight grinned. "I brought you some breakfast." Casting her legendary violet eyes to the window, she added "Well, I guess it's more like lunch now, but I knew you'd be tired after the healing."

The memories of the night before suddenly came flooding back to her. "Where's Longleap? Is she alright?"

Alanna chuckled. "I knew you'd ask, and she's doing fine. I saw her in the kitchens not even half an hour ago as I was getting you this."

"Thanks," replied Daine as she took the tray.

"There's something else for you there too," added Alanna, taking a seat on the edge of Daine's bed. Looking down at the tray, Daine saw a silver chain with a pretty polished stone on it. Picking it up for a closer inspection, she realised that the stone had the rune for guarding against pregnancy carved into it.

"What?!" she cried, looking up. She could feel her face flushing bright red. "I-I don't need a pregnancy charm!" The Lioness raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

"I-I…" Surely she can't? Does she-

"Yes." Alanna interrupted her thoughts. "I know." Daine felt her face burn even more.

"How?" she whispered, unable to look her friend in the face.

"Well…." began the knight - she was enjoying this. "I heard Numair was back, so I thought I'd surprise him by bringing him a book he's been wanting to read for months – 'War mages of the Imperial University of Carthak'. So I brought it up to his rooms yesterday afternoon, and let's just say that it wasn't exactly him who got the surprise! Although I must say that I've suspected something for quite some time."

"You-you're not angry at me. Why-" Daine gasped and looked up, eyes wide and full of pain. "Please don't blame Numair, it wasn't- he didn't-"

"Daine!Look at me." Alanna waited until Daine lifted her head and met her gaze. "What makes you think I'd be angry? Numair's a good man, I've known him a long time. He has a strong sense of honour, he won't take advantage of you. "

"But-"

"And I don't see why anyone should care about an age gap," Alanna barged on. "Did you know that George is eight years older than me?"

"Eight isn't as much as fourteen."

"Well there's only six years difference between the two, and that's not as much as eight." Daine couldn't help but crack a smile at the stubborn knight's bizarre logic. "Daine, my point is that age doesn't matter, not if it feels right to you."

"I really don't need the charm though, we aren't - I'm not-"

"And I don't care that you're not married," Alanna continued. Daine gaped at her – can she read my mind? "I wasn't married either when I first…you know. I wasn't much older than you, it was my seventeenth birthday."

"Seventeen? But I thought - weren't you still a squire? I thought nobody knew until…except.." Realisation dawned on Daine's face. "You-you…the King?!" she spluttered, her mouth dropping open. It was the older woman's turn to blush scarlet. Sighing, she unbuckled her sword and dropped it on the floor before she settled back on the pillows next to Daine.

"I suppose you want to know how I first got that pregnancy charm then."

Before they knew it, a full hour of stories and giggling had passed by.

"Don't you want the pregnancy charm for yourself though?" asked Daine.

"I don't need it now that I'm old and married. It's been sitting in a drawer for nearly a decade," Alanna answered. "You on the other hand, might get…carried away."

Daine's cheeks coloured again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It's just that Numair…"

"You should know that I, of all people, should understand the importance of needing to keep some things secret. Don't worry Daine; your secret is safe with me." Getting off the bed, the Lioness attempted, without success, to smooth the wrinkles out of her tunic and headed for the door.

"Alanna?" The woman turned to face her. "Thanks." Daine paused, biting her lip. "You don't know how much it means to hear you say that. You're like a sister to me." Alanna's eyes suddenly looked suspiciously watery. Before Daine even had time to register her shock at this, she was swept up into a tight hug.

They straightened, Daine wiping her own eyes as she discovered they had misted over.

She smiled. "You know, you're really not all that old."

The Lioness snorted. "I should pay you to tell me that on a daily basis, I could do with the ego boost. And as for you, youngster, I should make you blush more often. You're the only person I've ever met who can blush bright red and then keep on going until you turn dark purple." She chuckled and leaned against the doorframe, violet eyes glittering mischievously. "And you'd best get up. Loverboy wanted to see you when you woke."

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, I really appreciate your time and your comments. In particular I want to thank Adi Sagestar for pointing out my mistake. I will update the first two chapters and fix this mistake tomorrow. Also thanks to those of you who added Healing Wounds to your Favourite Story or Story Alert, it made my day!

Daughter of Nature )