Hello Hello! Here is my new little fic...shouldn't end up being too long..think along the lines of 'Love and Other Disasters'...anyway thanks to my wonderful wonderful beta Micah Rapp Cullen!!! 3

Numair was sitting up in bed, and although his head was killing him, and he could barely stand the sunlight streaming through his windows, the only sensation he was aware of was the overwhelming numbness that had rapidly spread throughout his body.

The previous night he had attended the midsummer's ball at the royal court. He remembered dancing some, and drinking a little more than some as the festivities took him over. Upon waking up with a severe hangover he had simply assumed that he had drank too much, stumbled back to his rooms and passed out. However when he
proceeded to move around a little, he found out that that was not exactly how
things had turned out. No, Numair Salmalin was currently sitting naked in bed; naked in bed next to his slumbering, and equally naked, former student.

Numair realized that he had been holding his breath, and exhaled hard. He hadn't dared
move since seeing her. Sure he had woken up next to his fair share of women
before, but it had never been like this. Even if she was no longer his student,
it was still Daine. He had known that he harbored feelings for the young girl
for months now, or more, and he shuddered when he began to imagine what kind of
drunken tricks he had used to get her into his bed.

Suddenly he felt the bed shift and heard a groan from her direction. He tried to stay outwardly calm as he internally panicked. Daring to glance over, the mage saw Daine raise her head slowly; obviously she had a hangover of her own, and look around in confusion.

After a couple seconds her eyes fell upon him and flew open so wide that they seemed to be in danger of falling out.

For a few seconds her gaze switched between him, her own unclothed state, and the clothing that littered the floor. There was a breath of silence before he heard her swallow loudly.

"Um, I- did we?" She stammered, turning a severe shade of red.

"I think so." He said, his voice cracking before he cleared his throat. "You, uh, don't remember anything?"

She shook her head, staring straight ahead. "Do you?"

He glanced at her quickly and as he did, he noticed two things. One was that there were some very pronounced love bites marking her collarbone and neck, ones he hoped a shirt would hide. The second was that she was trembling; the latter made desperately made him want to reach out and comfort her, but the circumstances told him it might not be the best time. He settled for clearing his throat once more.

"No, I don't…" He tapered off, desperately searching for something to say. Had he tricked her? Had she wanted to? Should he tell her how he felt? Before he could form one of his questions into words, she was sliding out of bed and hastily grabbing her clothes.

As she buttoned up her shirt she glanced at him quickly before speaking.

"I told Onua that I would help her out this morning so I should get going."

"Oh, right, of course." He said dumbly, switching between looking at her and the floor.

After dressing she paused and looked at him. Several silent moments passed and she opened her mouth to say something before closing it quickly and leaving.

Numair exhaled, realizing that he had been holding his breath again, and flopped back onto the bed in an entirely graceless manner. This was some mess that he had gotten himself into.

Numair stared blearily at the food in front of him, wondering if he even had the ability to keep it down. He was seriously reconsidering his decision to come and eat at the mess hall at all. Thankfully it was far quieter than usual with many people in a state not much better than his own. He winced as a tray landed on the table next to him and Alanna sat next to him, looking irritable.

"Have a good night?" He asked, picking up a roll slowly.

"Well better than yours from the look of it." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Or worse." She finished, shrugging. Despite her casual tone he noticed that she looked rather tired herself and was surprised that she wasn't as irritable as she looked.

"You're cheery for this time of the morning." He said suspiciously and his suspicion only increased when she actually giggled.

"George is here." She smiled widely and Numair put his roll down quickly.

"Enough, I need not hear any more."

Alanna laughed at his expression. "Fair enough." They sat in silence for a few moments before Alanna spoke again. "Have you seen Daine around?"

Numair tensed and glanced at the knight, wondering what she knew. Swallowing quickly he spoke as casually as he could. "No, I haven't. I, uh, think she said she was helping Onua this morning."

"Oh, I see. I hadn't really realized how much she's grown up until last night. She had quite a crowd if suitors following her around there for a while." Alanna chuckled slightly as Numair simply stared straight ahead trying to think of the best way to escape. Alanna glanced at him and laughed again. "Oh calm down, don't get so protective. It just surprised me is all and I was pointing it out. You know very well she's capable of taking care of herself. Despite the number of boys she has after her, I'm fairly sure she
hasn't even taken a lover yet, she's got a good head on her shoulders. Anyway, I have to go."

Alanna said goodbye quickly and left leaving Numair to his thoughts. As the last thing Alanna had said sunk in only one thought went through his head: oh shit.

:)