Disclaimer: All these characters obviously aren't mine

Veralidaine Sarrassi watched as the sun slowly went down behind the horizon. She wiped her tears away from her cheeks and got up from the chair at her desk. She headed towards the meadow to visit Cloud and the other horses.

She thought about her mother and her father, how much she wished she had said she'd stay with them in the Realm of the Gods instead of with Numair in the Mortal Realm. But she didn't really. She loved the Mortal Realm with all her friends there even if Numair was acting so strange…

Daine stopped and decided against visiting the herd and took the path down to the pond in the forest. She wasn't ready to face Cloud with the mood she was in at that particular moment. Cloud would probably just tell her that she was just imagining things. She did not need that.

Finally she reached the pond and took a seat on the rock near the edge. There was a flash in her memory as she remembered a few years back she had sat on this exact same rock and Numair behind her helping her control her Wild Magic.

Daine brought her knees up to her chest and buried her brown curled hair into her knees and cried her heart out. Those times were so happy and perfect but now everything had changed. Everything was different. Somehow unknowingly to Daine everything had changed for the worse it seemed. Numair was aloof and reserved, which was definitely not the way he usually was. Now he had just left for Maren without informing her at all. Then she had begun thinking she had done something and all this was somehow her fault. She hated this feeling of total helplessness. What had she done? The more Daine thought about it the more she wished she had never met him. He was making her miserable yet he wasn't even in the country.

I guess it really isn't him who's making me miserable, Daine thought to herself, it's me not knowing and I guess missing him like crazy and wishing I were there with him.

At that moment Skysong, the blue tinted baby dragon came into the clearing, whistling notes of concern. She walked over to her human friend and reached out a paw placing it upon the young woman's hand. Daine looked at the dragon and slid off the rock and onto the ground hugging the dragon.

"Oh, Kit!" Daine said using the dragon's nickname. "Why'd he just up and leave? I'm so miserable. I can't… I don't understand why he would..." she sobbed.

Suddenly there was a bright light. Alanna, the Lioness, emerged from the trees with a ball of light in her outstretched arm. "Don't worry about him, Daine," she said as she walked towards her.

Daine made not move from where she was so Alanna sat on the rock the young woman had just occupied.

"He'll be back," the older woman said softly.

"When?" Daine asked lifting her head. "I know he won't be back for a long time. The King said so."

"Jon doesn't really know for sure. He tried to contact Numair but couldn't. It's really silly – he just told the King he was leaving and the very next day he's disappeared with just a note left behind. He must have shape-shifted into a hawk and flew there. He has some friends there you know?"

"No, I didn't know actually or that he was planning to go anywhere. He didn't even leave me a note. He hasn't been talking to me for over a week. He avoided me all the time. I must've done something to make him avoid me so."

Alanna crouched down beside the dragon and the younger woman. She took Daine by her shoulders. "Don't you dare believe that for a minute, Daine." The Lioness' violet eyes were almost angry but also concerned. "Numair's just in one of his moods. I admit a long one but he'll get over it. You did nothing wrong."

The grey-blue eyes filled with tears again. The lady knight held her, as she sobbed, "I can't help but think that. Maybe it's not something I did then. Maybe he's realized he can't love a child. He wants a sophisticated noble woman not some common wild child."

"Stop it, Daine. You're definitely not a child! You're a beautiful young woman. Tell me this: why would he say he loved you if he wanted something else? Why is he so attentive to you?"

"He doesn't love me, Alanna. He's just working up to telling me and that's why he's so distant. Oh, what can I do? I love him so much. If he left me I don't think I could go on…" Daine sobbed harder, crying more. The pain in the possibility of never seeing Numair again was unbearable.

After a while Daine ceased her crying. She was very embarrassed at her display of emotion. She hastily wiped the tears off her cheeks and tried unsuccessfully to compose herself.

"I'm sorry," Daine said ashamed.

"For what? There's no need to be sorry. It's good to have a cry and talk about things once in a while. The one who should be sorry is that dolt, Numair. When I get my hands on him I'll… grrrrr," Alanna stood, her hands were up as though Numair's neck was there and she was squeezing. "He told no one, Jon informs me. Not even him. The King. They just found a note saying where he'd be."

The bell for dinner rang loudly.

Alanna sighed. "Come on, let's go eat. We'll do this later."

"You go on first. I want to fix myself up."

"All right." Alanna walked over to Daine gave her a quick hug and said, "It'll be all right, trust me." And left with Kit in tow.

Daine looked up at the now dark blue sky filled with bright sparkling stars and sighed.