On Daine and Numair... well, I think that Numair only realised that he might
feel more for Daine than the usual when he thought Daine might have died
in Emperor's Mage. He later realised he loved herin the ROTG prologue. Daine realised she loved Numair only when he told her he loved her in the ROTG chapter “Falling”.
Contrary to what some might say that Numair unconsciously loved Daine from the start, I think Numair did not unconsciously loved Daine in WM. Hello, he just met her, unless you believed in love at first sight.... I like to think that Numair is less superficial than that. Later, in the book, when he hugs Daine for being so silly with the dragon, it was more of friendship thingy. I mean, I would personally hug you, if you were almost killed by a giant flapping thingy.
Hmmm.... however, well, I agree that they both unconsciously loved each other in Emperor's Mage... but not before... which could explain why Daine got "irked" by Numair’s noctural activities and her slight jealousy with Varice. As well as Numair’s warning off Kaddar and him staying back to rescue Daine even though his life was at a great risk. I think Daine had an inkling of what she felt for Numair, but she dismissed it.
Now let's examine the evidence to the way I think....
Firstly, it was quoted, "At the dawn of the Winter Solstice", now let's us
assume that Tortall is like a country in the northern hemisphere of our
world and that everything is the same in counting the days. That means, the
barrier went down on 21 or 22 dec.
Okay, the second thing. Numair made the locket as a lover's momento of
Daine, correct? That means, he only made it after he realised he loved Daine, correct? Or he wouldn't have made it.
May I quote him saying, "The hair I got when you were delirious with UNicorn
fever six months ago." Well, when Daine went to ROTG with Numair, it was
Midsummer.(with the king going, look in the pond see your true love, blah ,
blah, blah) Midsummer is abt 24th June. Now, I am not too sure how long they
spent in ROTG, but we can safely assume it is a couple of days if not more.
So, when Numair told her abt the locket, it was 24th June plus a couple of
days.
So, if you calculate, the time the barrier went down dec, and the time Numair told her, June. It was 6 months!!! My theory is that Daine got sick with Unicorn fever AFTER the barrier went down, so Numair had loose ends as
I don't think he would leave Daine like that as he needs her and plus, who
knows, winter could be tough that year and immortals don’t go out yet. (a
proof of immortals staying indoors because of heavy weather would be this
quote "the two of them had been in motion since spring thaw" ----> implies
not BEFORE!!) So, when Daine was sick, Numair knew that things would get
tough and they might get separated, blah,blah, or foreseen a war is coming
and trouble was coming, and the usual blah blah blah. (reasons for him to make a momento) So he made the locket then and got Voleny to draw for him and got the hair from Daine.
Ta da! So that is why I think Numair realised he loved Daine in the prologue
and Daine loved Numair in Falling. And that Numair and Daine unconsciously
loved each other before that...
~ Sparrow ~
Tortallan Debates