Ai Heiro, Uto Hola

by princesircastic

Ten strange, foreign children. An unbelievable vision of the future. Both lead to the fall of peace in Deltora. But hope will always remain. -NaNoWriMo-

Title: Ai Heiro, Uto Hola
Author: homesweethomicide13
Rating: T
Pairing: BardaLindal, LiefJasmine
Warning: May be some violence, bad language, etc
Disclaimer: The ten children and any associated unfamiliar characters are mine. I have yet to claim Barda and co for myself.
Summary: Ten strange, foreign children. An unbelievable vision of the future. Both lead to the fall of peace in Deltora. But hope will always remain. -NaNoWriMo-

Day Started: 21/11/09
Day Finished: 27/11/09
Word Count: 50,667
Coca Cola Count: (in 2 litre bottles) 12
Energy Drink Count: (in 250ml cans) 13 and a half
Sleepless Night Count: 5

Author's Note: I wrote this for NaNoWriMo, but instead of starting on the 1st November, I started on the 21st. (Well, the 20th actually, but that was just the planning stage). So yes, I managed to write 50,667 words in six days. Take that, the rest of the participants! XD I'm really proud of this, so I hope you all enjoy it! I managed to drink 12 2 litre bottles of Coca Cola and 13 and a half cans of energy drink (half of one got spilt) whilst writing this, and I ended up staying up all night for five nights in a row, only managing to sleep for a couple of hours during the day. So after I post this, I shall be going to sleep for a week.

Ai Heiro, Uto Hola
My Saviour, Our Hope

It had been a long day for King Lief – he'd spent all morning talking to city officials, followed by a stressful lunch break involving some rowdy palace guards, and then his afternoon had been filled with paperwork. He'd barely had time to eat a quick evening meal before he was back in his office, sorting out complaints and reports from the city, and the rest of the country, too. Jasmine had kept out of his way, knowing how snappy he got when he was tired and overworked, and spent her day with the birds, or in the gardens. Doom had been working at the forge, mostly taking over as the blacksmith there – at least until Lief had sorted out the never-ending paperwork which seemed to increase every single day. Sharn spent most of her time in the kitchens these days, so he had barely seen her all day. Marilen and Ranesh were tucked away in the library all day, every day. He actually felt rather lonely at times.

There was a knock at his office door, and he called out wearily for whoever it was to enter. The door opened with a creak – he'd get someone to oil that hinge later – and in walked a very exhausted-looking Barda. Lief could tell that he'd come straight from his own office down in the Guard's Quarter – he was without his uniform jacket, his shirt was un-tucked and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, something he only ever did when he was working in his office. He always said that he liked to be comfortable if he had to sit in the same spot for hours on end. Lief smiled. Barda was the only person in the palace who understood what he was going through right now.

"You requested my audience, your highness?" Barda murmured, not bothering to hide the exhaustion in his voice. Lief would have laughed at their personal 'your highness' joke, had he not been extremely tired himself.

"I have the incident report from noon today." He told his old friend, opening a desk drawer and pulling out a file with Barda's name stamped onto the front. "Five guards in total. It was two at first, obviously upset one another, started fighting. Two more got involved, tried to break it up, ended up being caught in it instead, so a fifth stepped in and managed to calm them down until I got there." He explained as Barda took the file and opened it, reading through its contents. "Someone said that they sent for you, but you were elsewhere."

"I was tied up with a routine inspection of the Academy." Barda told him without looking up from the file. "It is compulsory for the Chief to examine every possible future soldier, of every age group. With six age groups to go through, and at least a hundred boys in each… well, it takes up a lot of time. I told Johan to log any communications, and to divert any emergencies to Doom." Now he raised his eyes to meet Lief's. "Not to you."

"Doom was unavailable." Lief stated bluntly. "So I was contacted instead. Cut my lunch rather short." Barda sent him an apologetic smile.

"Terribly sorry, Lief." He sighed. "But, boys will be boys, I suppose." He scanned the names of the guards involved and rolled his eyes. "And boys they are. First two are fresh from the Academy, only sixteen. Never liked each other, always arguing and causing each other trouble. Second two are a year or two older, but both prone to losing their tempers rather quickly. Fifth guard is matured, at least, and a good man. Quite skilled, too – not easy to hold off four very agitated palace guards at once." He shut the file and ran a hand through his hair – clearly he had been doing this a lot recently, as the state of it was a little on the untidy side. "I shall discipline them as I deem necessary, and you shall not be bothered by them again. Boys have to learn, after all, and I find that the hard way tends to get the message across a lot sharper." Lief smiled.

"You speak from experience, I presume?" Barda returned the smile.

"Oh yes." The smile widened into a grin. "I would love to stay and chat, Lief – believe me, a break is just what I desire at present – however there is a stack of reports on my desk that is not going to get any smaller with me standing here, and I fear if they are still there tomorrow morning, Johan will do something drastic." Lief laughed quietly. He would always find it amusing how Johan had some sort of control over Barda, despite being lower in rank. As Barda's deputy, Johan had to deal with every problem that came up when Barda was unavailable, as well as organize his meetings and schedules. Johan was even put down as his personal assistant, running errands for refreshments and chasing up reports that had not made it to Barda's desk on time. If it weren't for Johan, Barda would be drowning in his work – and Barda knew it. It was Johan who kept Barda on a tight schedule – unless something important came up unexpectedly, Barda was expected to be in his office by a certain time, and was not allowed to leave until he had finished a certain amount of paperwork.

With a quiet knock on the open door, a familiar face appeared in the doorway, eyes searching for – and quickly finding – Barda. Lief would recognize Johan's youthful, boyish looks anywhere. Johan was barely twenty, very young for a deputy, and he looked it. His hair was like brown silk, falling gracefully down to the nape of his neck, a delicate fringe sweeping down over his forehead, almost over his eyes, which were the softest grey Lief had ever seen. There was a faint splash of freckles over his nose and cheeks, slowly fading with age.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Barda muttered with a sigh, before turning to face his young deputy. "I was just collecting the incident report, Johan, so do not even think of lecturing me for leaving my desk." Despite the stern tone in his voice, Lief knew Barda was fond of the young man. It was hard not to be. Johan was a very likeable young man, and had no known enemies to speak off. He appeared to be friends with just about everyone.

"I had not planned to, sir." Johan smiled softly. "I was just coming to find you because McArthur is waiting for you in your office, and he appears to be in a hurry. I said I would come and check if now was a good time for him to talk to you."

"Ah, yes. I had quite forgotten that McArthur had requested my audience." Barda handed Johan the file. "See that this is filed away accordingly, Johan. Lief, if you will excuse me, I had better return to my office." Lief nodded.

"Certainly." Barda turned to leave the room. "Oh, and Barda?" He waited until Barda had turned to face him again, and he smiled. "Try to get some sleep tonight. You look awfully tired." Barda returned the smile.

"I cannot promise anything. This little devil has me working all hours of the night some times." He slung an arm around Johan's neck, and the young man grinned.

"I would not resort to such a thing if you would remain at your desk for more than an hour at a time, sir!" He laughed quietly, and Barda rolled his eyes.

"So bossy." He tapped two fingers to his head in a salute to Lief before leaving the room with Johan. Lief laughed to himself as he heard them argue playfully all the way down the hallway. It fell silent and he sighed, realizing that the distraction was over and he had to return to work.

*

Sleep was rare for a busy man like Lief, so he made the most of it when he got the chance. His bed was warm when he finally retired for the night, something he was grateful for – his office wasn't exactly the warmest of places during the later hours of the day, and certainly not during the early hours of the night. He wondered if Barda would get any rest that night. He knew it was unlikely. He knew that Barda would work all through the night even if Johan hadn't ordered him to do so. He worked far too hard, but no one could ever convince him to do otherwise. He settled into a comfortable position and closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would come quickly.

When he was jolted awake by the sound of alarm bells, he cursed out loud. He couldn't have been asleep long. His only chance of sleep in four days and he was deprived of it at the last moment! He threw back the covers and quickly slipped into a robe, glancing quickly at the sky through his window. It was actually beginning to get light outside, which meant he had slept longer than he had originally thought. Still, it wasn't nearly enough, and he was rather cranky.

He stormed out of his bedroom, to find six guards already in position outside of his door. This meant that the emergency was most likely suspicious and could be potentially harmful to him. That just increased his annoyance. He was not in the mood for another attempt on his life. Escorted by the royal guards, he was led to the entrance hall, where those who still lived in the palace had all gathered around the edges, eyes wide with alarm and fear. Marilen and Ranesh stood at the bottom of the stairs with their son, and his mother was with them. Jasmine and Doom waited halfway up the grand staircase, both of them clad in robes just as he was. Clearly everyone had been roused from their beds and did not have time to dress before emerging to see what the danger was.

"Typical, eh?" He jumped slightly at the sudden voice beside him, and he turned to see Barda standing at his side, clothes rumpled and askew, as if put on in a hurry. Despite everything going on around him, Lief smiled. Only Barda would refuse to come out in public in anything less than usual. A quick scan showed that as well as having put on his clothes in a hurry, Barda had also failed to tie the laces of his boots – they trailed on the floor behind him, a hazard he seemed to have ignored for the moment. "I finally drag myself to bed and the alarm sounds mere seconds after I begin to drift off." He stifled a yawn and shook his head to clear it. "Alright, then. I suppose we should find out what has everyone in a panic." Lief nodded and began to descend the stairs with Barda, the six guards falling into step behind them. With the chief at the king's side, there was no need to box him in, but they weren't going to take their eyes off him at any moment.

"The gate guards spotted them first." Doom murmured when they reached him. "Four adults, two of them soldiers, seemingly of both Jalis and Toran origin."

"What could they possibly want at this hour?" Barda growled, obviously in a similar mood to Lief, although slightly more dangerous. Being disturbed from his sleep only made Barda more irritable than ever. Doom put a hand on his shoulder.

"I do not think it is the adults we have to worry about, Barda. There are children with them, ten in total, apparently of foreign origin. They do not speak a word of Deltoran, but they seem to understand the basic commands." Barda was more alert, and Lief saw suspicion in his eyes.

"Are they at the palace gates, or do they remain in the city?" Doom sighed.

"They wanted to approach the palace, but the gate guards sent word ahead and the patrol guards are refusing to let them pass." Barda nodded.

"Very well. I will deal with the situation. Lief, I know better than to ask you to stay here, but I will ask you not to interfere. Do not draw any unnecessary attention to yourself, do you understand?" Lief smiled and saluted him.

"Yes, sir!" Barda smiled briefly, before he was back to being the cold, serious leader of the guards. Doom met Barda's eyes and the two appeared to have a silent conversation before Barda nodded once, and Doom took his place on Barda's right-hand side. Lief knew what this position was – to the opposite side, Doom would appear as Barda's right-hand man. Normally the deputy would take this position when approaching the opposite side, but it had long ago been established that Johan looked too young and too weak to be an intimidating support for the chief, and so he willingly stepped down and let a stronger man take his place temporarily. Most often, it was Doom who replaced him, although sometimes Barda would choose another palace guard.

Together, the three of them left the palace, with Jasmine in tow behind the royal guards, and descended to the city. The citizens of Del had been roused by the alarm, too, and some stood out in the open, observing the newcomers with curiosity. Others peered out of windows or doorways, wisely keeping their distance in case the newcomers were a threat. The guards surrounding the visitors parted to let them through, and Lief got his first glimpse of them.

The two men at the head of the group were clearly Jalis soldiers, though they had removed their helmets and metal gloves. He could see two Toran women at the rear of the group, their colourful robes flapping in the wind, unusually bright in the dim, early morning light. In between the four adults stood the children Doom had spoken of. They looked like ordinary children to Lief, but he saw the concern in the Jalis soldiers' eyes and knew something was amiss. No Jalis soldier would willingly show weak emotions unless they had reason to. They stopped just short of the two men, and Barda stepped forward, instantly taking control.

"You will state your identity, and your purpose here." He barked. There was a brief pause, and the Jalis men exchanged glances before nodding, obviously recognizing the firm authority in Barda's voice.

"I am Galack, of Jaliad." The first man said in a strong voice. "This is my brother, Jolah, also of Jaliad."

"We come here for your assistance, sir." Jolah's voice was oddly musical for a Jalis soldier, and rather soft. "Earlier this evening, Jalis patrol units discovered these ten children washed up on the border between Jalis and Toran territory. They were surrounded by the remnants of a boat, though the Torans insist that there have been no reports of a shipwreck at all. The children appear unharmed, if a little frightened, and after a quick council with the Toran and Jalis elders, it was decided that we bring them here, to Del, alongside two Toran officials." He fell silent, and watched Barda closely.

"I was told they are of foreign origin. Is this correct?"

"Aye, sir. They do not speak our language, but have shown some understanding of it." Galack replied.

"I would like to speak with the Toran officials who accompanied you." Galack nodded and turned, beckoning the two Toran women forward. "State your identity, if you will?" His tone was softer with the women, and Lief guessed it was because of their high status in the sister city.

"I am Reed, granddaughter of Zeean and daughter of Leeya." The first woman told him. She did indeed resemble their old Toran friend greatly, Lief realized as he took in her appearance.

"And I am Leeya, daughter of Zeean and mother to Reed." The second woman smiled, touching a hand to her daughter's shoulder. Barda nodded at them briefly, but remained silent. He had to choose his words carefully. Zeean would have his head if he upset her kin, and the old Toran was oddly frightening when she was not pleased.

"What do you know of these children, other than their foreign tongue?" He asked in a polite voice. It was Reed who answered him.

"A few of them appear to be related, and stick close together, but as we have no way of communicating properly, we cannot be sure of their origin. No adults were found close by when Jalis patrol units searched the area, and there were no signs of any battle or struggle. The seers did not predict their arrival, either. It appears as though they came out of nowhere, rather suddenly."

"Interesting." Barda murmured. "I will need to see these children for myself, to ensure that they are not a threat."

"Oh, but of course." Leeya smiled, extending a hand towards him. "Please let me take you to them, but move carefully. They are easily frightened." He nodded and took her hand, allowing her to lead him over to where the children were huddled together. They looked to be the same age, and had varying shades of hair colour. They were all pale-skinned and had the same soft features, which he guessed was a sign that they all came from the same place. A few of them were holding hands or clung to each other, and he assumed that these were the siblings. When Leeya approached them, they seemed to shrink into themselves, but when he stepped forward for a closer look, they visibly relaxed. "That is strange. They have been on edge around everyone so far, but you." Leeya whispered to him.

"Hmm. You say the Jalis found them first?" She nodded. "Then no wonder they are on edge. I would be, too, if that was the first face I saw on a strange land." He shot her a brief smile, and she held back a quiet laugh. He dropped her hand and crouched down in front of them. Five of them were boys, and five of them were girls, and he noted that down in the back of his mind. Equal amounts of each. "Hello there." His voice had now taken on a completely different tone – it was soft, friendly, and warm. He received no reply. "I know you must be frightened, but these men are all here to make sure everyone is safe, including you." He told them, gesturing at the palace guards all around them. "No one is going to hurt you, especially not me. I am here to help you. Do you understand?"

"Tah." They spoke as one, in perfect unison. Barda frowned slightly, and Leeya leaned towards him.

"We guessed that 'tah' means yes. When they first said it, it was accompanied by a nod. The opposite appears to be 'mah'." She explained.

"They? You mean to say that they always speak as one?" She nodded. He turned back to the children. "How strange. Do they have names?"

"Not that we know of. They have barely spoken a word since we found them. They mostly just say 'tah' and 'mah', but one time they said a full sentence. It was something like…" She trailed off as she tried to remember the exact words. "Yuh ulo el del." He frowned, and wished he knew what the words meant. The children were all staring at him now, and it was rather unnerving. It was like they didn't blink.

"Yuh ulo el del… can you tell me what that means?" He asked them. "I need to be able to understand what you want or need. There has to be some way you can explain it to me." One of the boys stepped forward. His hair was as black as night, and his brown eyes were so dark they were almost as black as his hair. A girl clutched his hand like a lifeline, and stepped up beside him. The boy held up one finger, and Barda smiled as he realized the boy was going to explain the first word.

"Yuh." He nodded to her and she picked up a stone from the ground and held it in her hand. The boy snatched the stone from the girl quickly, before placing it back in her hand and repeating the motion. Barda chewed on his bottom lip as he tried to think what the motion was supposed to mean.

Move… remove… disappear… vanish… steal… take…Take? He met the boy's eyes suddenly and smiled.

"Take?" The boy nodded frantically, and all ten children spoke.

"Tah!" He grinned at their enthusiasm. He was probably the first one to be able to communicate with them properly. The boy then held up two fingers, and Barda nodded, waiting to see what his next clue was. "Ulo." Boy and girl pointed to themselves several times, before motioning at the other children. He licked his lips in concentration, before coming to a conclusion.

"Us?" He was met with more nods and another outburst of 'tah'. Three fingers this time.

"El." With the ghost of a smile, the girl held up two fingers, and Barda grinned. This word was easy. "To." He didn't pose it as a question like before, as he was fairly confident that it was the correct answer. More nodding. Four fingers now, the last word.

"Yuh ulo el del." It was the boy's turn to smile, and he gestured around him with his arms spread wide. Confused, Barda ran the sentence through his mind and suddenly it clicked. Yuh ulo el del. Not 'del', but 'Del'. Take us to Del! "Take us to Del?"

"Tah! Tah!" He heard the murmur of surprise run through the watching crowd, and registered the look of shock on Leeya's face.

"Why Del?" He voiced his thoughts out loud, not really expecting an answer to his question. "Why here?" He straightened up and turned to Leeya. "I will need to take them in for examination. I know Tora normally deals with these things but clearly the children wanted to come here for something, and it is my duty to find out what. You may stay and rest at the palace if you so wish, but you will have to return without the children." Leeya nodded.

"That is okay." Barda turned to the children.

"You will need to follow me. Do you understand?" They nodded, but were silent. Nodding to himself, Barda turned and walked back over to Lief and Doom. He glanced over his shoulder and noted that the children were following him in a perfect single line formation, each step perfectly in time with his own. With every pair of eyes upon him, Barda led them up to the palace, Lief, Doom and Jasmine following behind, the palace guards bringing up the rear. No one spoke, but from the exchanged glances, Lief knew that everyone found the children strangely eerie. If he was honest, he wasn't exactly at ease with them himself.

Once the children were inside the palace, Doom ordered everyone to return to their beds, and told them that the emergency was a false alarm. Barda led the children down to the medical wing of the palace, and sent most of the guards back to their duties. He positioned two guards outside of an empty ward, and led the children into the room. Lief, Jasmine and Doom remained by the door.

"If you could line up in a row." Barda said to them, and they fell into line flawlessly. Barda raised his eyebrows and glanced over at his friends, who all seemed as surprised as he was. "Perhaps if you could line up in order of age, if that is possible?" Again, they fell into line quickly and efficiently. Barda turned to face his friends and smiled. "I wish my men were that efficient with orders." They shared a quiet laugh before Barda turned back to the children. "Do you have names?" They all cocked their heads to the same side in unison, as though confused. "Alright, slightly creepy." Barda muttered to himself. He smiled brightly and tapped his chest. "Barda." He told them. "My name is Barda. Do you have names?" The boy at the far end – this one had dark hair and what looked like silver eyes – stepped forward and tapped his chest.

"Daimon." Every child spoke his name at once. Barda frowned in confusion – the way they had pronounced it, Die-mon, was a common pronunciation of the name Damon right here in Del. He watched as the next child stepped forward, a boy with brown hair and green eyes. He tapped his chest as Daimon had, and each child spoke. "Erald." Another common Del name. The third child, a girl who resembled Erald, but with blue eyes, repeated the motion of stepping forward and tapping her chest. "Zulis." The fourth child was another boy, with red-brown hair and yellow eyes. "Taz." The next child in line was a boy with blonde hair, and eyes that appeared to change colour. "Paol." A second girl was next, with black hair and pink eyes. "Yurie." It was another girl after her, with brown hair and violet eyes. "Meytha." Next was the boy with dark hair and dark eyes. "Rak'd." Raak-ud, it sounded like, with a rolling 'R'. The girl was still holding his hand – and he noticed for the first time that she looked the complete opposite of him. She had white hair and soft yellow eyes, a contrast to his dark features. "Gilh." The last girl stepped forward – her hair was fire-orange, and her eyes were a deep, chocolate brown. "Cae." Barda wondered if the 'K' sound in her name was actually a 'C'. He had no doubt it was – so far every name they had spoken was a name he had seen, heard or spoken of himself. Each name was a well-known name of Del origin.

"Do you always speak as one?" He asked them.

"Tah."

"Why?" He was met with silence. Frowning, he observed each one in detail. How was it that they all looked so similar? Were they from the same family, distant or otherwise? It just wasn't possibly for this many unrelated children to look exactly the same. Growing up, there hadn't been a single child who even vaguely resembled him, except for family. Every child he'd grown up with had been unique – except, of course, most siblings. Even so, unless they were twins or triplets, the siblings had unique features from each other. But these ten children in front of him were like mirror images of each other, except for hair and eye colour. He walked over to his friends and lowered his voice to a murmur. "I will need to examine each one separately. This could take some time. Perhaps you should all return to bed, and get some sleep."

"I do not think you should be alone with these foreign children, even if they are children." Doom replied. "I will stay with you. You may need assistance, in any case."

"Very well. I think I shall try and get some well-earned rest." Lief sighed. "It has been a trying day." Jasmine nodded.

"I am wakeful, so I think I shall visit the birds." Barda noted the absence of Kree and Filli, and assumed Jasmine had not had the heart to wake them. She and Lief exited the room and disappeared in separate directions. Barda turned to Doom, and they shared a silent conversation, their eyes locked upon each others'. They always seemed to know what the other was thinking in situations such as these. It probably helped that they were both soldiers, even if Doom had not received any such training in his past. Nodding briefly at each other, they both turned to find every child staring at them. Exchanging an unnerved glance, they set to work.

*

It was noon when Barda and Doom called a meeting in Barda's office. The two men had examined every child in every possible way, trying to find something that could point them in the right direction of where they came from. They'd asked a female nurse to do the examinations on the female children, as was right to do, but asides from the nurse they'd requested no extra assistance.

When Lief stepped into the office, he felt a pang of guilt at seeing how exhausted Barda looked. Doom appeared to be alert and fresh, as though he had just woken up, and he stood beside Barda's chair behind the great wooden desk. The paperwork Lief had seen a couple of days earlier was nowhere to be seen, and if Johan's pleased grin had been any indication, then Barda had obviously completed it the night before. Barda was sat behind his desk, several papers stacked in front of him, a grim smile on his face.

"I called this meeting for a reason. An important reason." He began when everyone was present. "As you know, Doom and I examined the foreign children earlier this morning. The results of the examinations are… unusual. Not what we expected, even in the slightest. I think it is important that you understand just what we may be dealing with here." He picked up the papers, but his hands were shaking terribly, and Lief knew it wasn't any sign of fear or nervousness. Barda's body was beginning to malfunction due to lack of sleep. Doom put a hand on Barda's shoulder and took the papers from him without a word.

"We were assisted by a female nurse for a part of the examination – it would have been uncomfortable and impolite, and quite inappropriate, for either of us to examine the female children to an extent. We did several tests – weight, height, body type, body strength – you name it, we did it. It is important that we understand these children – what they are, where they come from, the works. It was Barda that noticed it first…" Doom trailed off, looking uncertain.

"I thought I had imagined it at first, that my mind was playing tricks on me. It was possible, of course. I have had little sleep for so long, it would be no surprise if I started seeing things that were not there… but then Doom noticed it too." He forced back a yawn, trying to keep everything strictly professional. "I noted down the colour of each child's hair, and the colour of their eyes. It was while gathering this information that I noticed the strangest thing." He looked at Doom, who nodded. "It was only a brief flash, but it occurred in each child. The right eye remained the colour I noted down on the chart, but the left eye appeared to change colour. The same colour, in every child's left eye – bright, glowing orange." A gasp spread around the room.

"That is not all." Doom cut in. "After examining their scalps for any sign of birthmark, or something similar, and taking samples of their hair, we noticed another strange thing. Only one of the children has blonde hair, yes?" They all nodded. "Wrong." He smiled slightly when he received glances of confusion. "Although the other nine children appear to have various shades of brown, orange-red and black, the roots of each child are all blonde." He held up a bag with several hair samples tucked inside it. "The tips of each of these are blonde." A low murmur picked up, and Barda cleared his throat.

"I checked for signs of trauma, both mental and physical, any sign of what might have happened to them. Their eyes are not haunted by death or destruction, but bright and fresh, like the newborn children of this world, who have never known the war and suffering we have faced. Their bodies are unmarked, completely – no scars, no birthmarks, no injuries, and no skin blemishes. They have perfect, porcelain skin of exactly the same shade." Doom's voice continued on where Barda's left off, flowing on with ease.

"They have the same voice, exactly the same. There is no variation in pitch, tune or volume. They all speak with a soft, gentle voice that does not betray their gender. The voice is neither male, nor female." Both men were caught up in their unusual discovery, and Barda took over when Doom paused for breath.

"Whilst examining their bodies we noticed another thing – they all have the exact same body shape, from their faces right the way down to their feet. Their hair is all the same length, their eyes the same shape, their noses, their mouths, their jaw line, shoulders, arms, hands, torso, hips, legs… everything is exactly the same." Barda drew in a deep breath. "Five of them appear to be girls. They are not. All ten of them are male."

"We discovered this when the female nurse called us in, her voice urgent. We chose well, it seems – she was not faint of heart nor of mind, and seemed to just accept that we made a mistake in instantly thinking they were girls." Doom carried on. "Their bodies are the same as the boys'. They are all boys."

"Not only that, but they are also all the same age. They all have the exact same teeth, they are all the same height and weight, and our assistant explained to us that her knowledge of children told her they were all the exact same age."

"But… when you asked them to line up in order of age…" Lief began, speaking to Barda only.

"It must have been an instant reaction to something they had no other answer for. Perhaps Daimon is seen as the eldest, and Cae as the youngest. Maybe they were born seconds apart, as twins are, and arranged themselves in the order of which they were born. We cannot know for certain what caused them to line up in such a manner." Barda explained. "I do not wish to alarm anyone when I say this, but I believe their whole appearance is an illusion, as is their language."

"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked, frowning.

"Lief, Jasmine, do you remember what happened to us on the road to Raladin, all those years ago?" Barda asked with a smile. "We met a friendly old couple called Nij and Doj." Lief's jaw dropped open slightly, and Jasmine stared at Barda in shock. "They did not speak a word of our language, but appeared to understand our basic communication. In the end, it turned out that their strange language was simply each word spoken backwards, and that they were really two of Thaegan's children, Jin and Jod."

"So you think that the children are doing something similar?" Lief questioned.

"Perhaps. Doom and I asked the children to write down basic responses in their language – we were pleasantly surprised to find that they all knew how to read and write – and from those words we tried to work out a similar pattern to Jin and Jod."

"There was nothing in the words, however, to indicate any pattern similar to our own language." Doom sighed. "If it is an illusion, then they have created a completely different language just to conceal themselves."

"I found it odd that they seemed to understand our language perfectly well, yet were unable to speak it themselves. If they had been adults, it may have been more believable. Adults are more likely to have tried to learn the language of a country they plan to visit, so as to communicate with the locals, but not children. That was my first clue. My second clue was their names." Barda smiled. "Daimon, Erald, Zulis, Taz, Paol, Yurie, Meytha, Rak'd, Gilh and Cae. Tell me, what do those names have in common?" There was silence as everyone tried to see the link. Finally, Marilen gasped.

"I have studied traditions and the like in my spare time in the library! Those names are all common names originating from Del!" She exclaimed. Barda pointed at her with a grin.

"Exactly! Now, how do you explain ten children who are apparently from a foreign country, yet have ten of the most common names from the capital city of Deltora?" He watched as it all began to sink in. "I also found it odd that they instantly asked to be brought here, despite not knowing which country they were in. A home calling, perhaps?" He smiled slyly at those gathered in his office.

"You think they originate from here?" Sharn asked, with raised eyebrows. Barda nodded slowly, still smiling. "But how? They must be about ten or twelve years old at least. If they had been born here, they would have seen the suffering of the Shadow Lord's reign!"

"Originating from somewhere does not necessarily mean you were born there." Barda cut in, the smile not even wavering in the slightest. "I originate from both Del and Tora, yet I was not born in Tora." He saw the confused expressions on his friends' faces and sighed. "My mother was of Toran blood, my father of Del. Do you understand where I am going with this?"

"You think that whoever birthed the children originally came from Del!" Marilen was practically bursting with excitement at this revelation. He smiled at her.

"Either of the parents could have originated here. Think about it, think hard. When the Shadow Lord invaded, half of the citizens of Del fled the city. Some of them may not have gone far, but who is to say that some did not leave Deltora altogether? It would not be hard to steal a boat when the whole land is in a blind panic, and where safer to run than a new land itself? Learning a native language is not difficult if you are determined enough. I myself learnt how to read Ralad writing in almost no time at all."

"But why send the children here? Alone?" Ranesh asked. Barda shrugged.

"There could be several explanations behind the reason. Perhaps their new home was being destroyed, or the parents died or were killed, and there was no place for the children any more. Sending them to the place of their origin is a perfectly normal thing to do." His smile widened. "I strongly believe that they are all related by blood. Their appearances could have been altered easily by the natural colourings of rocks and plants, and magic could have been used to change the colour of the eyes. Weak magic, however, if their natural eye colour often shows through the left eye. If their language is an illusion, they would not have had to learn the native language of the land, which is hard for a child. It is the perfect disguise."

"So what do we do with them?" Lief questioned. "What do we do with ten homeless, parentless children?"

"The empty ward we used to examine them has enough room to house them until we find a better solution." Doom told him. "There are enough beds, and they will be fed routinely. In the mean time, we have to find out as much about them as possible. They react well to Barda, so we should leave the communication to him." Barda nodded. "Marilen, Ranesh, it would be helpful if we could find any information on citizens who disappeared from the city and were not reported dead."

"That might be easier than you make it sound. Josef made it a personal project to note down the dead and the missing. He felt it was important." Ranesh smiled sadly at the memory of Josef.

"Sharn, you are good with children, so perhaps if you spent some time with them they could grow to trust you. Perhaps they may tell you, or show you, something about themselves." She nodded in agreement, and smiled at him.

"I shall do my best."

"Lief, Jasmine, you two need to continue on as normal. The people should not have any reason to think that something is wrong with the children. If they ask, you tell them that they are simply orphans who washed up on our shore by chance." They both nodded. "We need to send their escorts home. Gers seems a likely option for the Jalis soldiers. Barda, I think you should talk to Leeya, and send her and Reed home."

"Why me?" Barda asked, frowning slightly. Doom grinned at him.

"Because, Mister Oblivious, Leeya is rather fond of you. She will listen to whatever you say to her, and obey any command you send her way." The look on Barda's face was enough to start everyone off laughing. He looked short of horrified. "Although you may want to work on your appearance before going off to charm that poor, innocent woman." Doom added teasingly, reaching out and ruffling Barda's already unruly hair. Barda scowled and swatted at his hand, jerking away from him at the same time. "Now, get to it at once!" Everyone nodded and exited the office, leaving Barda and Doom alone. Barda sighed and stood up slowly, every movement an obvious strain on his body. Doom put a hand on his arm. "Perhaps you should rest first."

"No rest for the wicked." Barda replied with a smile. "I have to check on the children first." He made towards the door, but he only made it two steps before he suddenly fell against his desk. Doom was instantly beside him.

"I think you need to lie down." He sighed; slinging an arm around him and helping him stand up. "How long has it been since you last had more than an hour's sleep?"

"I… do not remember." His voice was getting weaker by the second. Doom knew he had to get some sleep soon, otherwise his body would start to shut down.

"Alright, the children are not going anywhere, and Sharn will look in on them later. You, my friend, are going up to your room, and you are going to get some sleep. I will make sure of it." He was helping Barda out of the door when Johan darted in front of them, out of breath and looking rather panicked.

"Sir, I bring news…" Johan trailed off as he noticed the state of his chief. "Sir? What is wrong? Oh… I knew I should not have made you work so hard yesterday!" He seemed genuinely guilty. "This is my fault, sir. I beg your forgiveness!" Barda smiled and shuffled away from Doom, reaching out to put a calming hand on Johan's shoulder.

"This is not of your doing, Johan. Do not blame yourself. It is my own fault." He held back a yawn. By Adin I am exhausted, he thought to himself. "Now, what was this news you spoke of?"

"News?" Johan was temporarily confused. "Oh! Yes, of course. It is the children, sir. The elder Toran lady who accompanied them here reported that they appear distressed." Barda sighed, but before he could respond, Doom cut in.

"Keep Leeya with the children for the moment. I will be down to deal with them once I have made sure that Barda is in bed." Doom shot Barda a glance that just dared him to say anything against that decision. Johan nodded and saluted quickly before darting out of sight. Doom turned to Barda. "I meant it, Barda. You are not going anywhere except to your room. You look terrible."

"Why, thank you." Barda growled, scowling slightly. "I can find my own way to my room, however."

"Oh no, I will not be fooled. I know you far too well, Barda, and I know that you will not go to your room, but down to the children instead." He smiled slightly. "Come on, the sooner you are in bed, the sooner you will be up and about again." Barda scowled and cursed under his breath, but allowed Doom to accompany him up to his bedchamber.

*

Doom made his way towards the medical bay with haste, trying not to appear in a hurry to the people around him. If he was seen to be this concerned, people would start to suspect that not everything was as it seems. When he at last turned into the hallway that the medical bay led off from, he noted that Lief had been called down to the area too.

"Alright, what seems to be the problem?" Doom asked Lief, who was standing by the door, staring into the room beyond.

"They refuse to let anyone near them, despite Leeya's attempts to calm them down." Lief told him, frowning slightly. "They retreat from all of us whenever we try to get close. Perhaps you would have a better chance, since they are already quite familiar with you." Doom nodded and opened the door, slipping into the room quietly. Leeya turned to face him, stepping back from the child she had been murmuring to.

"Ah, I was hoping for Barda." She said with a smile. "The children are very familiar with him, after all."

"I, too, have spent time with them. Barda is unavailable at the moment." He returned the smile, before turning to face the nearest child. He held out one hand and crouched down to their level. "You are Taz, correct?" The child nodded. "Hello Taz, you must remember me from before. Listen, we are only here to try and help you. Can you tell us what is wrong?" Taz was silent. "Surely there must be a way for you to communicate with us?" More silence. Doom reached out to touch his shoulder, and Taz quickly shrank back against the wall. Frowning, Doom straightened up. "Well, I doubt I will have any more luck than you, Leeya."

"Maybe they are just frightened. They are only children, after all." Doom nodded agreement. "I think this place is too unfriendly to them. Perhaps if we made it more suitable for children they would settle down?" Doom looked around at the blank, plain white walls and sighed.

"It is a medical ward, Leeya. Decoration is not needed in such a place." He told her, gesturing around at the plainness of the room.

"Surely you have a ward for children?" She sounded hopeful, and Doom realized that she had grown fond of these strange young children.

"Not one that is empty, unfortunately." Doom sighed again. "They will have to remain here." Lief opened the door and poked his head into the room.

"I cannot help overhearing." He smiled. "We may not have an empty children's ward, but I am sure we can bring some things into this ward to make it feel more like a children's ward. If they are to be kept here for a long time, they will surely become bored, so perhaps some toys and games would help?" Leeya grinned at him gratefully.

"That would be wonderful! You truly are a man of the people, your highness." She said softly. "So caring."

"It is my duty, Leeya. Oh, and none of that 'your highness' nonsense. Call me Lief." He grinned. "I shall see to it at once. I am sure a couple of the nurses would not mind lending a hand." He ducked out of the room and disappeared down the hall. Doom turned to Leeya.

"Perhaps we should leave them in peace. Our presence is only making them more uncomfortable." She nodded, and followed him out of the room. Doom stopped dead when he saw who was standing in the hallway outside. "I told you to get some rest!" Barda shrugged.

"I could not sleep." He pushed past Doom and stared through the window at the children. "Any luck?" Leeya stepped up beside him.

"No, unfortunately not. They shrink away from us whenever we get too close." Barda nodded and walked over to the door. "Wait! You cannot just walk in, they are nervous enough!" Barda ignored her and walked into the room. Doom watched with Leeya, waiting to see what the children would do. They were thoroughly shocked when each child crept out of the corners they had retreated to, and stood in a line in front of Barda. After a few seconds, smiles formed on each of their faces, and they darted forward, surrounding Barda and hugging him. The big man stared down at them in surprise. That certainly hadn't been the reaction he had anticipated. Despite his surprise, he found himself smiling, and he gently ruffled the hair of the nearest child.

"There now, take it easy. No one here is going to hurt you, I promise." He murmured in a soothing tone. As one, they all stepped back and stared at him with unblinking eyes. Then, in a rather robotic fashion, they all reached out and took his hands, placing their own on the exposed skin of his lower arms. He felt a strange tingling sensation in his fingertips, slowly making its way up his arm and through the rest of his body.

"Uto hola." They all murmured in their soft, gentle voices. Barda blinked, and suddenly found himself standing on a great plain, with soldiers all around him and facing a giant army. He looked down and saw all ten children holding onto him, their eyes and hair all the exact same colour, their bodies outlined by an odd glow. He lifted a hand and saw that his own body had the same glow. The children circled him, holding out their hands, palms facing him, and uttered one word: "Hope."

He closed his eyes and was jerked backwards sharply. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the medical bay, the children still holding onto him, strange smiles on their faces. Confused and rather dazzled, he took a couple of steps backwards, staring down at them.

"Uto hola." They repeated, pointing at him.

"I do not understand your language." He sighed. "What are you saying?" The 'youngest' child, Cae, stepped forward and took his hand. The smile on his face was dazzling, his big brown eyes soft and warm.

"Ai," he murmured softly, for once speaking alone. He put his free hand to his chest, not once breaking eye contact with Barda. "Ai juro hola. Ai heiro." Frowning, Barda crouched down so that they were face-to-face, and Cae's smile widened. He let go of Barda's hand and placed it softly against Barda's temple. He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them again. The smile never faltered once. His head tilted to one side. "Lonely." He whispered. Barda's eyes widened and he stood up abruptly, stepping back from the boy as he did so. Cae simply stared up at him and smiled. Barda felt his breathing quicken as he held the boy's gaze, and he turned sharply, leaving the room and collapsing back against the door.

"What happened?" Doom was instantly next to him, Leeya hovering at his shoulder. Barda tried to speak but he couldn't form the words. Taking a deep breath, he tried again.

"Nothing." He said quickly. "Nothing happened." He knew it was no use trying to lie. Doom was very good at spotting lies.

"What did Cae say to you?" Leeya asked softly. "He said something, I saw his lips move, but the other children said nothing." Barda met her eyes.

"He was speaking in their language. I could not understand him." He chose not to mention the last thing Cae had said to him. How had he known that word? How had he known that? "I think they have calmed down, now. They will be fine." Doom was watching him with narrowed eyes, and Barda knew he had to get away fast, before he cracked under that intense gaze and told them everything. "I am going to… get some rest. If you need me, do not hesitate to come and find me." He pushed past Doom and hurried away, his pulse racing and his heart thudding hard in his chest. What had that vision meant? It was obvious that the children had put the image into his head, but for what purpose? He needed to figure it all out for himself before he told anyone about it.

He was still shocked by Cae's actions. Lonely. Barda turned into an empty hallway and slumped against the wall, closing his eyes as he tried to calm his breathing down. How had the child known that he was so lonely? All around him, people were pairing up, settling down, and going on with their lives. Lief and Jasmine were bound to get married sometime soon, it was obvious how devoted they were to each other. One day, they would have their own family, and he would be left in the background, forgotten. Alone. It was how he was destined to live his life. The very thought of it was almost too much to bear.

And that little boy had known.

"Barda?" Leeya was suddenly at his side, concern in her eyes. "Are you alright?" He quickly straightened up.

"Yes, fine." He knew he'd spoken too quickly, but he didn't care. "Thank you." He added, remembering his manners. "I am just tired."

"Perhaps I should send for someone? You do not look well at all." She reached forward and touched his arm gently. "You also look rather shaken. Is something troubling you?" He was surprised at her concern. He remembered Doom's comments earlier that morning about Leeya's apparent fondness for him, and he almost smiled.

"No, do not worry. I am fine." She did not believe him, but she got the impression that Barda was a man who liked to hide his emotions behind a brave face, and so she nodded, smiling.

"Very well. I shall let you get on." She paused. "But I would like to thank you, Barda. You have been so good to those children, even though I am sure it is not in your job description." He smiled slightly at that. "They seem to enjoy your company, too. I know that you will look after them well."

"I will. If I cannot keep an eye on them for any reason, I will make sure someone trustworthy is present to fill in for me." He promised her.

"Might I ask, how is it that you are so good with children? From what I know of you, I know that you are neither married nor a father." He ignored the flash of pain at the reminder that he was, in fact, all alone, and forced the smile to remain on his face.

"It must be in the blood." He told her. "My mother was a carer. She was nursemaid to both young Endon and Jarred, and once Endon was old enough to have most of his time taken up with studies and kingly duties, she would watch over the young children of friends and neighbours. Sometimes, if I was not at work, I would help out. I must have picked up a few things from her." She noted the sadness in his eyes, and decided it was probably best to change the subject.

"Well, I think that, if the chance ever arises, you would make a wonderful father." Not waiting to see his response, she turned and returned back down the hallway to the children. Barda stared after her in slight surprise, before her words hit home and he sighed, finally allowing the smile to drop from his face. It was a nice thought, and when he was younger he'd always dreamt of settling down and starting a family, but…

"You can forget that dream, now." He murmured to himself. "You are on the wrong side of thirty-nine, Barda. May as well start looking for silver hairs." He sighed again. It was a rather depressing thought – as an only child, was he to be the last in the family line?

*

Barda never made it to his bedchamber. He'd never intended on going there in the first place, but even so, he was called to Lief's office five minutes after Leeya had left him in the empty hallway. Lief wasn't alone in the office – Doom, Jasmine and Marilen were also present. This implied that whatever Lief had called them here for was important.

"Marilen came to me as soon as she found it." Lief said the moment Barda had closed the door. He gestured for Marilen to take over, and she did so instantly. She set down a large book on Lief's desk, and motioned for them to gather around.

"I was looking for any reports from when the invasion began, in order to discover lists of people who were reported missing, when I stumbled upon this book. It was pushed right to the back of the history section, a sign that someone did not want it to be found easily. I thought that Josef had managed to sort out the library before he died, but judging from the poor state of that section, perhaps he never reached that far." She opened the book. "Like the Jalis, Del folk have tales that have been told through time, the classic stories. Some of them have not been told in many, many years, perhaps for a good reason, but most are still being told today." She pointed to the first page – it was a list of the contents. "First on the list is, of course, the story of Adin, but some of these stories are set a long time before that." Barda scanned the list, and smiled.

"I recognize a couple of those." He murmured. Marilen smiled.

"I asked Sharn if she knew anything about them, and she told me that a few of these were told all the time in the palace." She ran her fingertip down the list and stopped at a title in the middle. "This story was a common bedtime story about thirty years ago." Doom laughed quietly.

"Endon and I were not allowed to hear such fantasies. The stories we were told were only of Adin and the history of the royal bloodline. But, I expect, there is someone in this room who could tell that particular story without even needing the book." He lifted his eyes to Barda, and everyone followed his gaze. "I know it was one of Min's favourites. No doubt she told it to her beloved child." He grinned, and Barda nodded with a smile.

"Every night for the first six years of my life, apparently." He told them. "It never once became boring. I could hear it over and over again and still be as amazed as the first time I heard it. Or perhaps that was just the way she used to tell it." He fell silent, and turned to Marilen. "So, is this leading somewhere?" She nodded.

"I only opened it out of curiosity, and I was flicking through each story when I discovered this," she hefted the book over to the back, and opened it to the very last tale, "I think you will find it rather interesting." Lief shifted his position so he could read the words on the page.

"Well it mentions the Shadow Lord, so it cannot be a particularly happy story." He murmured. "Wait, hold on… the way this is written, it is almost as though it is not a tale, but…"

"Something that actually happened." Marilen finished for him. "I read the whole thing in one sitting. Turns out, before the Shadow Lord tried to invade with his shadow army, he had been experimenting with different types of power. He learnt that Deltora had an ancient power and he tried to harness it, to use it against Deltora, but he was stopped." She paused for dramatic effect. "By ten children." There were several gasps of surprise. "Each of them identical, and all boys. Sound familiar?"

"So, how did they stop the Shadow Lord?" Jasmine asked.

"It is not very clear, but it says they were not alone in their fight. Standing with them was a solitary man, a man with enough power to tear apart whole worlds if he so wished." Marilen sighed. "I have tried to make sense of it, but all I could figure out is that somehow the children were able to use the ancient power and channel it through this single man, and it stopped the Shadow Lord from using it to invade." She went on, but Barda was no longer listening. In his head, he was picturing an army of shadows in front of him, and ten children surrounding him, all identical, their bodies glowing, holding out their hands to him.

"…and you think these children have something to do with this story?" Jasmine was asking Marilen.

"It is too similar for my liking. I have tried to work out a way for it to be a simple coincidence." She replied. "As far as we know, there is no way for the Shadow Lord to invade – the Belt is whole, and worn by the heir of Adin, and the Four Sisters were destroyed, and the final threat of Hira stopped. There is no real reason for the children to return, that we know of."

"Perhaps it is just a coincidence." Lief suggested. "I mean, they may very well come from Del in the first place, and are just returning home." Doom shook his head.

"No. I do not think we can brush this off as a coincidence. It is too strange, too unusual." He said slowly. "What do you think, Barda?" They all turned to look at him, but Barda wasn't paying attention. That vision was firmly stuck in his mind, and he could not shake off the bad feeling that had settled in his heart. "Barda?" He snapped back to reality when Doom grasped his shoulder, frowning slightly.

"I… what?" He asked, suddenly aware that they were all staring at him strangely.

"Where did you go just now? You were miles away, and it did not look like a nice place, wherever it was." Jasmine said to him. He licked his lips – they were oddly dry – and realized he was shaking slightly.

"Do you think the children coming here is just a coincidence, or not?" Lief asked him, desperate to know the answer. He knew from experience that Barda's gut instinct was often right.

"No." He murmured in a quiet voice. Dread flooded over him as the vision's meaning suddenly jumped out at him. "The Shadow Lord is going to attempt an invasion. He will gather an army of shadows, and we will meet the army out on the Plains." The others swapped confused and nervous glances. What was Barda talking about? "The children will lead us into battle. No. They will lead me into battle, and I will lead you. All of you." Doom sighed.

"Barda, you cannot know this. The story has just got inside your head, and it is making you think too deeply into this. You are tired. You cannot be thinking straight." Barda did not like the patronizing tone Doom was using. Not one bit. He jerked out of Doom's grasp, suddenly angry.

"Oh, is that what you think? Really? Tell me, Doom, how can you be so sure that what I am saying is anything but the truth?" He demanded. "If you do not believe me, then so be it, but do not come crawling to me when you are up to your necks in Vraal." Ignoring the shocked expressions on his friends' faces, he left the office, slamming the door behind him. Doom sighed.

"Perhaps I handled that a little poorly." He murmured.

"What was he talking about?" Marilen asked the room. "The way he spoke… he truly believed the words he was saying." Lief shrugged.

"We cannot know for sure." He smiled weakly. "Perhaps someone should go after him?" He looked pointedly at Doom, who met his gaze for a moment, before his jaw set firmly and he turned and left the room. "Marilen, how is Ranesh doing with the searches?"

"When I left him, he was going through the list of citizens of Del from the time of the invasion, looking for any names that stand out from the others. When we find the list of the missing and the dead, we will cross-reference every name and note down which ones are no longer a resident here." She told him. Lief nodded.

"Good. It is important that we find out who these children really are." They all glanced down at the book on Lief's desk, an odd feeling settling in their hearts.

*

Doom found Barda outside the ward where the ten children were being held. Toys and games had been brought into the room, and most of the children were happily playing together, quietly. Three of them, however, were simply sat quietly on one bed, not talking, and not smiling. Cae was among them, sat between Rak'd and Gilh. The other seven boys paid no attention to the three of them, almost as if they did not exist. They made no attempt to interact with each other at all.

"They are strange children, indeed." Doom murmured. Barda was silent, his eyes fixed on Cae. "What are they doing, do you think? I have never known three children to simply sit in silence together." He glanced at Barda, who was frowning slightly. He looked back at the children, and noticed that Cae was looking directly at Barda, eyes unblinking.

"These are no ordinary children, as you pointed out." Barda said at last, his voice quiet. "Perhaps this is ordinary behaviour where they come from." Doom watched Barda closely, noting with a heavy sigh that the man still looked exhausted. Barda lifted a hand to touch the glass of the viewing window and sighed. "I just wish we could communicate with them properly, find out more about them." Doom nodded agreement and leant against the wall beside the window, his eyes returning to the children in the room beyond.

"Barda… about what happened in Lief's office. I never should have insinuated that–,"

"It is forgotten." Barda cut in quietly, not looking at Doom. "In any case, I should not have snapped at you in such a manner." Doom hated the formal tone of Barda's voice, and knew that, despite what he'd said, it was not forgotten. Also, the fact that Barda had still not even glanced at him once told Doom that something was amiss between them. He was about to force Barda to talk about what had happened, when he noticed that Barda's frown had deepened, and he was staring down through the window. Doom shifted his gaze and hitched a breath in surprise when he saw Cae standing on the opposite side of the window, still staring at Barda. With an odd smile on his face, the auburn-haired boy lifted one hand and placed it on the window, up against Barda's. Doom straightened up from the wall and stepped closer, staring down at Cae was Barda was.

"Ai heiro." Cae's voice was muffled by the window, but they could still make out his words.

"He said that before." Barda murmured, crouching down so that his face was level with Cae's on the other side of the glass, but leaving his hand in place. "What does it mean?" Cae's other hand came up and touched the glass beside Barda's head. Doom watched with fascination as Barda mirrored the action. "How can I understand you?" Doom realized that Barda had forgotten he was there, and was talking only to the boy.

"Barda, Doom – you need to come quickly!" Ranesh appeared at the end of the corridor, and his voice broke the spell of Cae's gaze – Barda's head snapped around to face Ranesh and he stood, letting his hands fall from the window. "I located a list of the dead and the missing." He explained. His hands were shaking slightly from the thrill of his discovery. "There was a name among the others – a name that Marilen recognized from the tale!" Barda nodded and jogged over to Ranesh. And so it was that only Doom saw Cae's auburn hair flash golden, and his left eye flicker orange as he watched Barda leave.

Ranesh led them to the library, where Lief, Jasmine and Marilen were sat around one of the large tables, several sheets of paper littered in front of them. Barda was surprised to see Johan also sat at the table, but did not question his presence there. They took their seats and turned to Marilen and Ranesh, waiting for them to speak.

"This is the list of the dead and missing," Ranesh said, pushing several sheets of paper towards his audience. All of them tried not to think about how many names were on those papers. "I noted down the names of the missing, and gave it to Marilen so that she could cross-reference them with the last known record of Del citizens."

"And that is when I found it." Marilen held up a sheet of paper, covered in names in Ranesh's spidery scrawl. One of them had been circled. "Thaed was reported missing by a neighbour when the shock of the invasion had died down." She touched a hand to the large book she had shown them earlier. It was opened to a particular page, and she pointed at a particular section. "It says here that the ten mysterious children were born to a dark man and a light woman called Thaed and Flie." Barda stared down at the words, scanning them quickly.

"That is too much of a coincidence." He muttered. "Is there a mention of Thaed having a wife?" To his surprise, Johan cleared his throat and stood up.

"Actually, sir, I believe he did." Barda frowned slightly, but said nothing. Johan continued slowly. "I lived in that same street, and I can vaguely remember seeing him with a woman. I was only young at the time, of course, so my memory is not perfect, but I can tell you that the neighbour who reported him missing is still alive and living in the same house. He might be able to tell you more about Thaed." Barda smiled at his Deputy.

"Well then, perhaps we should pay him a visit."

*

"His name is Tomas, and he used to live here with his wife and three sons, but his wife died of an illness not too long ago, and two of his sons are married and living elsewhere." Johan explained to Barda as they walked through the streets of Del. Lief had remained at the palace with Ranesh to see if they could find any other mention of Thaed in any records. Jasmine, Marilen and Doom strolled behind Barda and Johan.

"How long has he lived here, do you know?" Barda asked, keeping his gaze ahead of him, processing all the information Johan was providing.

"He was here before I was born, that much I know. Possibly five or so years before that, I am not sure." Barda nodded. "Why is it important?"

"If he has lived here a long time before the invasion, he might have information on where Thaed comes from." Barda explained. "The longer he has been here, the more likely he knows something important."

"It is this house, right here." Johan said quietly, pointing at a house on their right. It looked pretty worn down – but so did most of the houses these days. Repairs were still being made to the entire city. Barda led the way up to the front door, and he knocked loudly on the rotting wood. It was flung open and a teenage boy stared at them with a bored expression on his face.

"Yeah?" He took in the uniform and sighed. "Oh, great. Look, no matter what Roak says, I had nothing to do with that fire down on the heath. If you want to know, I reckon it was Michel who started it, but you probably won't find him in the city at the moment, he tends to go for wanders out into the country during the day, which I think is pretty weird but hey, he is a weird kid." He took a slight pause for breath. "But I swear to you, it was not me. Take me in for questioning if you like, but I did not do it. You can torture me all you like–,"

"If I were you, I would close your mouth and keep it closed until further notice." Barda cut in sharply. The boy, who had been about to continue with his sentence, suddenly snapped his jaw closed. "Now, I am assuming you are the son of Tomas?" He nodded. "Is your father in?" Another nod. He turned around to face a broken staircase.

"Father!" He yelled up. "The chief of the palace guards is here to see you!" There was a muffled shout from above and thundering footsteps. Dust rained down from the floorboards above the boy's head and he scowled up at the ceiling as he brushed it from his hair. "So, like, what has my father done? Cause he never does anything wrong."

"I thought I told you to be quiet." Barda growled, instantly shutting the boy up. A man appeared at the top of the stairs and he made his way down them carefully. Once he reached the bottom, he put a heavy hand on his son's shoulder.

"Alright, sir, what has my boy done now? I hope it is not serious." Barda held back a sigh of frustration and turned to the others behind him, sharing an exasperated glance with Doom before turning back to face Tomas.

"I can assure you, Tomas, that your son has done nothing." He paused. "Well, nothing I know of." He sent a suspicious glance at the boy, who smiled nervously. "We are here to speak to you about a missing persons report you submitted after the invasion – your neighbour, Thaed." Tomas's face suddenly lit up.

"Have you found him?" He looked so hopeful that Barda almost didn't want to tell him why they were there.

"Not… exactly." He said smoothly. "We need to talk to you about him, that is all."

"Oh, I see. Well, do come in." Tomas stood back to let them through into the house, smiling at Johan when he spotted him. "Sorry about the mess. I have been trying to fix this place up, but it is slow progress. Markus, show them into the den." The boy scowled, but gestured for them to follow him. They were led into a dark, dingy room with a few chairs scattered around, and Markus waved at them to sit down. Tomas came in after them and took a seat opposite Barda. "So, what do you want to know?"

"How long had you known Thaed before his disappearance?"

"Only a few years or so. He moved in next door with his wife about nine years before the invasion happened."

"So, he had a wife?" Barda glanced over at Marilen, who was writing in a notebook.

"Oh yes, beautiful she was." Tomas smiled. "She was very friendly, always chatting away with Sara – my late wife – and she was always so kind to the boys. You remember her, Markus?" Markus nodded. Jasmine smiled and leant forward to ask a question.

"What were they like?" Tomas's smile widened.

"A nice couple, really. Nobody really knew who they were or where they had come from originally. By my reckoning, they were newlyweds when they moved in. Looked young, you know?" Barda nodded, once again glancing at Marilen, who was still writing. "I used to go down the tavern with Thaed now and then – he was a good man. Always good-natured and cheerful. Had the darkest eyes though, near-black they were. He said they were just really dark brown, but looking at them, you could barely see his pupils. His wife was the polar opposite of him – the whitest hair I have ever come across, and her eyes were just as light. Said she was blind, poor thing. You could not tell to look at her though, she was never troubled by it."

"Did they ever tell you about themselves? Any family?"

"No, and I never asked. Not my business, really. I mean, if it comes up in a conversation then that is fair game, but I never ask personal questions, even if I have known someone a while before that." He shrugged. "It would be nice if they made it out of here alive. Be a shame if they were killed, you know?" Barda nodded, smiling faintly.

"Thank you, Tomas. That will be all." He stood up. Tomas looked up at him in surprise.

"Really? That was all you wanted to know?" He asked.

"We are just doing some background checks on Thaed." Doom answered. "We just needed to know a couple of things about him, and you answered our questions sufficiently. We will be on our way now." They made to leave, but Tomas leapt to his feet and caught Barda's arm.

"Wait! You are the chief of the palace guards." He stated bluntly. "Surely you are a busy man. You would not go out of your way for a simple background check, unless it held some great importance. You would simply have sent out one of your soldiers." Barda groaned inwardly. He hated people who thought too much. "Tell me, please. Is Thaed in trouble?" Barda was silent. Tomas frowned. "I have a right to know! He was a friend of mine. I deserve to know the truth." Johan stepped forward and gently removed Tomas's hand from Barda's arm. He knew his chief was a few seconds away from getting angry.

"Please, Tomas, calm down." Johan murmured softly. "We may have found a relative of Thaed's, and we just want to make sure everything is as it should be." Tomas relaxed.

"Oh. He never mentioned any family, but as I said, I never asked." He muttered. Johan nodded.

"I am sure if Thaed felt it was important, he would have said something in a conversation." He reassured the man, trying to ignore the burning feeling of someone staring hard at his back. "Now, we really must be on our way. As you said, the chief is a busy man, he has a lot of work to do."

"Ah, yes. Well, I hope I was of use." Tomas smiled weakly. "Markus, show them out, would you?" Markus nodded and went to lead them out, but Barda held up a hand to stop him.

"One more thing, Tomas. Thaed's wife – was her name Flie, by any chance?" Tomas nodded with a smile.

"That is correct."

"Thank you for your time." Without waiting for a response, Barda gestured for Markus to lead them out. The boy paused in the doorway as they began to walk down the path back to the street.

"Listen," he called out, and they all turned to look at him, "forget what I said, about the fire and everything. I was just–,"

"Save it." Barda told him. "It is not my problem. Unless you want to make it my problem?" Markus shook his head vigorously. "Well then, nothing to worry about, is there?" He walked off down the street, and Markus shut the door, letting out the breath he had been holding. Christ, that man was scary.

Johan knew that Barda was going to turn on him soon. He could feel the raw anger pulsating in his chief's aura, and he had noticed the firm set of his jaw and the sharpness in his eyes. Any minute now, he would turn around and–

"Why did you tell him that, Johan?" Barda growled darkly. Johan shrunk back slightly and averted his eyes. "He did not need to know the details of our visit."

"Sir, in all due respect, I felt that he deserved to know a little of the truth, even if it was spread as thinly as it was." Johan tried to force courage into his voice. If he was honest, his chief frightened him – really frightened him – when he was angry. He usually did everything to avoid getting that anger directed at him, but sometimes he couldn't avoid it. "He was a good friend of Thaed's, after all. Leaving him hanging would have only caused him more grief." Barda turned to fix cold eyes on Johan, but after a long, tense silence, he turned away.

"When I want you to think for yourself, Johan, I will tell you." He muttered, and continued walking. Johan let out a shuddering breath of relief and smiled faintly at Jasmine, Marilen and Doom. He knew that he had only gotten away with his actions because they were also present.

*

Upon their return to the palace, they were met with suspicious glances and whispers. The people shrank away from them as they passed, as though they were tainted by something foul. Barda sent John away with instructions to find out what had happened in their absence, and Marilen excused herself, returning to the palace library to check on Ranesh.

"They look at us as though they fear us." Jasmine murmured to Doom and Barda, glancing around at the people in the great hall. Doom sighed.

"Not fear." He said slowly. "They appear to no longer trust us. For what reason, I have no clue." Barda noticed Lief heading for them from the other end of the hall, and noted the firm set of his jaw and the grim smile on his face.

"I believe we are about to find out." He said to the others, and they turned and spotted Lief. They met him halfway. "What is going on, Lief?"

"It is the children." Lief said, his voice tinted with annoyance. "Somehow, a rumour has been spread that they are dangerous. I am not sure how it happened, but the whispers say that they are tools of the Shadow Lord, and they have come to help evil regain power over the land. The people wish to have them removed from Deltora. There has even been talk of execution." Jasmine stared at him in shock, and even Doom could not contain his emotions.

"What?" He hissed. "They are merely children!"

"I have tried to calm the people down, even tried to explain that the rumours are nowhere near the truth, but they do not listen." Lief sighed. "Mother has also tried talking to them, but she has not had any luck so far."

"Why do the people look at us with such distrust?" Barda questioned, catching the eye of a man in a stiff-collared jacket, who abruptly turned away with a snort of disgust. Lief was silent for a long moment, and he avoided their gazes. Barda turned back to the young king and frowned. "Lief?"

"Whoever started the rumour about the children also… hinted… that you were a part of it, Barda. They speak of how the children will only allow you close to them, and that it is a sign of your involvement with the Shadow Lord's plans." Lief finally met his eyes. "I cannot convince any of them otherwise."

"I do not believe this." Barda growled. "This must be set right at once."

"There is one more thing." Lief said with another sigh. "Leeya refuses to let anyone near the children. She does not trust us now that the people are trying to have the children removed. She has sworn to protect them." Barda nodded slowly.

"I will deal with her." He walked off in the direction of the medical wing, with Doom, Lief and Jasmine following shortly after. They turned down the hallway towards the ward where the children currently kept residence, and stopped short when they spotted Leeya. She was instantly on her feet, colourful robes sweeping around her body as she took a defensive pose.

"Stay away! I have already warned King Lief that I will not allow a single one of you to come near these children." She hissed, a scowl etched onto her face. Barda stepped forward, holding out his hands towards her.

"Leeya, come now. There is no need for such hostility."

"I said, stay away." She repeated, but her voice was not as strong as it had been before. Barda smiled warmly at her.

"I am not going to harm them, Leeya." He repeated her name in an attempt to make a connection with her. "You know that, do you not? I said I would keep an eye on them and make sure no harm came to them, and I plan to keep my word."

"Do not come any closer." She commanded, but Barda kept walking.

"Easy, Leeya. You can trust me, no?" He grinned at her now – a warm, dazzling grin. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trousers and shrugged casually. "I know you only have the children's best interests at heart, as do I. Believe me, if I catch the person responsible for these rumours, I will see to it that they are punished appropriately for their actions. I need to keep in close contact with the children, because they trust me – for what reason I am not sure." He had reached her by now, and he touched a hand to her shoulder. "I have always admired a woman with courage such as yours. It very much appeals to me." He saw the anger in her eyes slowly fade away, and her tense, defensive stance disappeared.

"I apologise, Barda. I was out of line, and I should not have spoken to you in such a way. It was wrong of me." He smiled again, softly, and lifted the hand on her shoulder to her face in a gentle touch of comfort.

"Think no more of it. You were defending those poor, innocent children. You were doing the right thing." He glanced past her at the window, spotting the children inside the ward. They seemed to be unfazed, and were happily playing together. "I need you to allow me into the ward, Leeya. Will that be okay?" He made firm eye contact with her, and after a moment, she sighed.

"Only you." With a nod and a grin, he stepped around her and walked towards the door to the ward. At the end of the hallway, Doom and Lief exchanged a smirk. If either of them had tried to charm Leeya into allowing them access, it would not have worked.

Barda closed the door quietly behind him, and watched as all ten children glanced up at him briefly before returning to their activities. He observed each one, before locating Cae. For some reason, he felt a strong connection for that particular boy. The amber-haired boy was sat on one of the beds, and appeared to be lost in thought. Barda sat down beside him, and instantly Cae turned his soft brown eyes on him.

"Do you know what has been happening out there?" Barda asked him softly, gesturing to the hallway outside. Cae shook his head slowly. "Do not pay any mind to anything you might hear. Lies have been spread, but I will do my best to make sure that any wrongs are righted, do you understand?" He nodded, just as slowly. "I promise to keep you safe. No harm shall befall you." Cae smiled and put a hand on Barda's arm.

"Ai heiro." He whispered. Barda frowned.

"What does that mean? You have said that a couple of times before." He searched the boy's face for any clues as the meaning behind the words. "Help me understand you. Please." Cae laughed quietly – a musical sound that Barda decided he would love to hear more often – and hopped down from the bed, running over to his siblings. Barda sighed and stood up, aiming to leave the room. He noticed that Leeya had allowed the others to stand outside the ward, but he knew she would not let them enter. He opened the door and she swept past him into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I get the feeling she will only open that door for you." Jasmine remarked, a sly smile on her face. Barda shrugged.

"I have been allowed access to the ward purely because of the children's trust." He told them.

"Oh, I am sure." Lief laughed slightly. "Did they say anything of use?" Barda shook his head.

"No. I am still trying to find a way for them to communicate with us." He gazed back into the ward, finding Cae in amongst the other boys. "Cae seems separate to the others." He murmured. "Unlike the other children, he speaks alone, and seems to have a better understanding of us."

"He is closer to you than the others, too." Doom noted. "He trusts you more than they do. Why is that?" He was remembering the moment earlier that day, when Barda and Cae had stood on either side of the window. He had seen a connection between them then, and he'd seen it again when Barda had sat beside Cae on the bed.

"I do not know." Barda sighed. "They are still a mystery. If only we could translate that language of theirs!"

"Ranesh has been doing research all day." Lief explained. "He has been trying to find a culture that uses a similar language, if not the same, but so far he has come up with nothing."

"If we could understand them, we could learn where they came from and why they are here." Jasmine sighed in frustration. "Until then, it is like conversing with a brick wall." Barda laughed and turned away from the window.

"Not quite. We do at least get a response from them, even if we cannot understand it." His smile faded when he saw the worried expression on his friends' faces. "What is it?" Doom nodded over Barda's shoulder at the ward, and he turned around. The children had all risen to their feet and were standing in a circle, facing each other. They appeared to be talking as one again. Leeya opened the door and fixed her eyes on Barda.

"I think you had better come in." She said quietly. "I do not understand their words, but they may require your presence."

"What?" Barda asked with a frown. She beckoned them all forwards and they stood in the doorway. They could hear the children more clearly now.

"Barda il uto juro hola." They spoke in perfect unison, repeating the same sentence over and over. All eyes fixed on Barda, who was staring at them in surprise.

"They… they are speaking my name." He murmured, walking forward into the room. Leeya allowed the others to stand in the doorway, but she would not permit them to enter. "I am here." He said to the children. In one movement, they turned to face him.

"Okay, that is freaky." Lief whispered.

"Their minds must be linked. How else would they know exactly when to move, or when to speak?" Jasmine shook her head in wonder. "They are truly unusual."

"Uto juro hola. Uto juro hola. Uto juro hola." They chanted. Barda crouched down in front of them.

"What are you saying?" He asked, frustrated that he couldn't understand them. They had clearly wanted him to come back into the room – why else had they stopped using his name at the start of each sentence? Cae stepped forward, a big smile on his face. Barda sighed. "Can you help me understand? Sign language? Anything!" To his surprise, Cae reached out and took his hand. The other children stopped chanting and fell eerily silent. Cae turned his head and spoke so quietly that Barda could not hear the words he used. Zulis, who had been standing beside Cae, turned and fetched something from the floor behind them. As he brought the item forward, Barda noticed it was a notebook. In Zulis' other hand was a pencil. "You are going to write?" Cae shook his head. Zulis set the notebook on the floor in front of Cae, and the boy sat down, keeping his hand in Barda's.

As Barda watched, he took the pencil from Zulis and used his free hand to scribble something on a page of the notebook. Barda called to Leeya and she ran forward to crouch beside him. Lief, Jasmine and Doom took a chance and followed her example. She made no move to send them back out again. Cae set the pencil down on the floor and held up the notebook with a smile, turning it so they could see what he had scribbled. Barda gasped. Leeya and Jasmine frowned. Lief and Doom exchanged a glance.

"That is… Ralad writing!" Barda murmured in surprise. Cae nodded, his smile widening into a broad grin, obviously pleased with himself.

"Barda, what does it say?" Lief asked, remembering that Barda had an almost complete knowledge of Ralad writing. Barda frowned over it for a moment, and then turned to them.

"The first word is, as you can see, my name. The rest of the sentence reads, 'is our only hope'."

"Barda is our only hope." Leeya gasped softly. "They are saying that you are their only hope? But… what does that mean?"

"More importantly, how does he know Ralad writing?" Doom muttered with a slight frown. "And if he knew it before, why did he not use it to communicate?" Cae bent to scribble on the notebook again. When he held it up, they all looked to Barda for a translation.

"He says the knowledge is new to him." Barda translated. "How did you come across this knowledge?" He asked Cae. The boy scribbled again on the page. When Barda did not translate instantly, they examined his face. He looked rather shocked, and perhaps a little afraid.

"What does it say?" Doom urged. Barda did not break his gaze away from Cae.

"Through you. Through your mind."

"He gained the knowledge from… your mind?" Leeya asked in surprise. Barda nodded.

"Apparently so." He could not believe what he was seeing. "But how?" Cae scribbled again, and Barda translated. "I see what you know, all that you have learnt. I know what you know." He paused, and looked up at Cae's face. He was staring at the young boy as if he suddenly feared him. "Your mother taught you."

"How does he know that?" Doom asked in wonder. "This is incredible. It is like he is seeing into your mind!" Cae ripped the page from the notebook and started on a fresh sheet. Barda turned his body so that he could see what Cae was writing, and gasped sharply.

"He is writing in our language!" He announced. They all peered at the page and noticed that, indeed, the words on the page were in their language. Barda read them aloud. "Your mother was called Min. You had a father. His name was David." Barda's eyes darkened. Lief and Jasmine exchanged a worried glance. They had never heard of Barda's father, nor had they ever asked. Sharn had told them that Barda had been raised solely by his mother from a very young age. Cae suddenly turned to look at Barda's face and frowned slightly. Without taking his eyes off Barda's face, he wrote again. Lief tilted his head to read the words.

"You hate him." Silence descended on the room. All eyes were on Barda, who was staring intently into Cae's eyes. The young boy was still writing, the frown slowly becoming more pronounced with each sentence. Lief read them out loud. "You hate him because he thinks you are worthless and pathetic. He does not see you for who you are. You mean nothing to him."

"Barda, is this true?" Jasmine asked the palace guard chief. Barda said nothing. Cae tilted his head to one side and wrote again. This time, it was Doom that read the words aloud.

"And you believe him." Barda suddenly pulled away from Cae's grasp, staring at him in confusion mixed with fear.

"Stop it." He whispered. Doom noticed that Barda's hands were shaking. Cae looked hurt, and bent to write again on the paper. Lief, Jasmine, Leeya and Doom stared down at the words. 'He is coming back.' Barda leant forward to read what Cae had written and then returned his gaze to Cae's face. "How? How do you know?" He hissed sharply. Cae wrote again. 'I saw him.' Barda stood up and backed away. "No. It is not true. It cannot be! That man is dead!"

"Barda, calm down. Maybe it is a mistake." Doom said slowly, also standing up. Leeya put a hand on Cae's shoulder and glanced between boy and man, trying to understand what had just happened. Lief and Jasmine exchanged a worried glance before rising from their crouched position. Barda looked extremely shaken.

"He cannot come back." The big man murmured. "I refuse to believe it." Before any of them could attempt to console him, he bolted for the door. Doom followed him without a word. Lief turned to Leeya.

"Keep an eye on the children, and make sure to call for one of us if there is a problem." She nodded. "Is your daughter still about?"

"No. I sent her home so that she could report back on the situation here." Leeya told them with a smile. "The Jalis soldiers escorted her home." Lief nodded.

"Very well. We shall return." He left the ward with Jasmine, both of them intending to find Barda and Doom. As they walked, Lief sighed. "I am concerned about Barda."

"As am I, Lief." Jasmine agreed. "He seemed so shaken when Cae mentioned his father."

"I only wish we knew more, so that we could better understand his reaction. He seemed almost terrified at the thought of his return." Lief frowned. "Perhaps there is a good reason for this?" Jasmine turned to him in surprise.

"You think that, perhaps, Barda fears his father?" She exclaimed. "But whatever for?" Lief shrugged.

"A number of reasons. Again, it would be clearer if we knew more about him and the relationship between them. I am assuming that it was not, perhaps, a good one, if Barda's reaction is to be taken into consideration." He fell silent for a moment. "I wonder if there is anyone we could ask? Just for basic details, nothing too prying."

"What about your mother? Would she know anything?" Lief shook his head.

"I have already asked questions about what she knows of Barda, since he is not one to talk about himself. She has only told me what he has told her, and what she learnt from his mother during the few times they conversed back in the old days." Lief told her. "Barda does not speak of his father, it would seem."

"Then perhaps we should ask Barda himself? Get him to open up." Jasmine suggested. Lief nodded.

"That certainly sounds like a plan." He glanced around, trying to guess which way Barda might have gone. He walked over to a nearby palace guard. "Did Barda pass by this way?" The guard saluted quickly.

"Certainly, Your Highness." He said with a smile. "He looked to be in a hurry, though. He went on down towards his office, I believe. Is there something wrong? Only… Sir Doom also asked that same question not two minutes ago." Lief smiled.

"Nothing wrong, not at all. We just need to see him to discuss a few important matters." He nodded once at the guard and then departed towards the section of the palace fondly named 'Guard's Corner'. Barda's office was located in the heart of this wing. Jasmine walked silently at his side, deep in thought. After a moment, she made a small noise of irritation in the back of her throat. "What is wrong?"

"I was running through the things Barda said after Cae announced that his father was returning. He said that his father was dead. Perhaps that is why he was so unnerved?" Lief thought about it for a moment. It would certainly make sense – who would not be unnerved at the idea of a man returning from the dead? But something didn't quite add up for him. If Barda's father was dead, then how could Cae have seen his return?

"I do not think that is the case, Jasmine." He murmured, still mulling it over in his head. "It may be that Barda did not mean dead in the context of him no longer being alive, but in the context of being dead to him."

"Like, being disowned? Pretending he does not exist?" Jasmine questioned. Lief nodded.

"It is quite possible that Barda chose to believe his father was dead to avoid the subject of his return. Maybe he even hoped and prayed that he was dead, and so hearing that not only was he still alive, but he was coming back to Del, was probably not the best news for him."

"What could he have possibly done to Barda to merit such hostility?"

"That is what we are going to find out." Lief smiled grimly. They had made it to Guard's Corner, and were negotiating their way through the maze of corridors towards Barda's office. They were silent for the rest of the walk, and when they finally approached the office, they noticed that the door had been flung wide open. There were voices coming from inside – Barda's, and Doom's.

"Why are you hiding away like this? Will you not let us help you?" Doom growled. Lief and Jasmine stopped in the doorway and stared at the scene in front of them. Barda was sat behind his large oak desk, leaning back in his chair, arms folded over his chest. He was staring blankly at the top of the desk, pointedly avoiding Doom, who was standing on the other side of the desk, palms flat on its top, leaning over to stare into the chief's face. Lief knocked on the open door, and both men turned their eyes in their direction.

"I see you had the same idea as we, Doom." Lief murmured as he stepped into the room. He met Barda's eyes and smiled. "Perhaps you could explain to us why you fear your father's return?" Barda instantly averted his eyes.

"I have already told Doom. I will say nothing in regards to that man." He growled angrily.

"But if he is coming back to Del, then would it not be best if we–," Jasmine began.

"He is not coming back!" Barda snapped, standing up sharply. He grabbed the jacket of his guard uniform from the back of the chair and pulled it on, walking around the desk as he did so. "Now if you will excuse me, I have things to attend to." He exited the office, not looking back once. Doom sighed in frustration.

"Now that," he growled, "was like talking to a brick wall." He said to Jasmine, who smiled slightly.

"It is clearly a touchy subject." She agreed. "Is there no one who would be able to tell us something of use?" The question went unanswered for a long time.

"I could not help but overhear…" They turned to look at the doorway, where Johan stood timidly, smiling softly. "You want information about the chief, and he will not indulge you. I may be able to help you." He rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. "There is a man in the Tavern who used to work with Barda before the invasion. A friend of his, actually. He might be able to give you the information you need."

The Tavern was also located in Guard's Corner – a place where the men could relax and have a drink with friends and colleagues after their shift had ended. Only palace guards and those with special clearance were allowed in.

"Will he be there now?" Doom questioned. Johan nodded.

"Oh, yes. He sits there most days for long periods of time." The young deputy smiled again. "I have often sat with him. He is a wonderful storyteller. He usually sits towards the back, where it is quieter. Just ask at the bar for Rockford, and the barmaid will point you in the right direction."

"Thank you, Johan." Lief grinned at the young man, who was barely older than himself, and stepped past him out of the office. Jasmine and Doom tagged along behind him, eager as he was at the possibility of learning something about Barda's past. They walked to the Tavern in comfortable silence, not quite knowing what to say. The Tavern wasn't very full when they got there – which wasn't surprising given the time of day – but there were a few tables occupied by men in pale blue uniforms. The three of them headed straight for the bar and waited patiently for one of the barmaids to finish serving a customer. The young woman who swept towards them was about Marilen's age, with long blonde hair tied back out of her face. She smiled warmly at them.

"How can I help you?" She asked politely. Lief returned her smile.

"We are looking for Rockford. Can you point us in the right direction?" He asked her.

"Well, sure." She turned and pointed towards the back of the room, where they could just about make out the shape of a man sat alone at a table. "That right there is Rockford."

"Thank you." Lief led the way to the back of the room, and finally he could make out the finer details of the man they were heading towards. He looked tall, even though he was sitting down, and he had obvious muscle in his arms and upper body. His hair was dark brown and rather shaggy, hanging down to his shoulders. There was a scar on his left cheek, very thin and very long, as though made by a sharp blade. He looked up at them with hard grey eyes when they stopped in front of his table. "Rockford?" Lief asked. He felt slightly intimidated by this man, but he tried not to show it. To his surprise, the man's face broke out into a grin.

"That would be me. Have a seat, and tell me what I can do for you." They sat down around the table, Doom observing the man closely. "So, to what do I owe this pleasure, your majesty?"

"Please, call me Lief." Rockford nodded.

"Only if you will call me Rocky. Rockford is the name my dear old mother used to call me when I had done something wrong." He laughed, and Lief laughed with him, feeling rather relaxed. He found that he no longer felt so intimidated by the man. Jasmine, however, was tense in the chair beside him.

"We heard that you were a friend of Barda's, back before the invasion." Doom said to him with a slightly forced smile. Rocky laughed again.

"Aye, that I was. We were in the same platoon. Trained together for years before we became palace guards, so we were pretty good friends by then. Never seen a more determined man in my life." Rocky had a fond smile on his face as he spoke of Barda, and Lief could tell that their friendship was still going strong. "So, what is it that you want to know? Folks only ever come to talk to me about Barda when he is being his usual stubborn self and keeping hush." Doom nodded at Lief, and Lief wet his lips before answering.

"We need to know about his father." The smile on Rocky's face instantly faded.

"Oh, well. I see why you came here. Ain't ever gonna get Barda to talk about that man, no way. His disappearance was downright good for Barda. That kid had it rough for years, always being put down and told he would never be a good palace guard. Look at him now, though, aye?" Rocky smiled grimly. "So tell me, what do you know of David? Just so I know how much I have to explain."

"We know nothing." Jasmine said, speaking for the first time. "Except that Barda does not like to talk about him."

"Aye, he does not indeed." Rocky sighed. "He never has. Got tired of hearing about him growing up, I suppose. Cause that was the problem – David was one of the best palace guards in history, and everyone would always talk about his success. He was Deputy, you know. Never quite made it to Chief, but he did not need to. He was a brilliant deputy, and you probably will not find a finer fighter. Too bad he was not exactly a fine father."

"What do you mean?" Lief asked.

"I only knew Barda from when we started training as boys, so I do not know exactly what went on before that. When I met Barda, David had already disappeared without a trace, so I never got to see them together and experience it for myself, but I was told things by one of Barda's closest friends, who had seen the relationship between father and son." Rocky took a swig from the glass of water in front of him. "I got told that when Barda was really young, he and his father were the best of friends. David was dead proud of his son, apparently, kept telling his co-workers and his friends that his little boy was going to be the best guard in the palace.

"Something changed, though. The moment Barda was big enough to hold a sword, David was no longer the loving, doting father he had been. Instead he became a gruelling teacher, putting Barda through extreme tests to train him up. I cannot believe his mother allowed David to treat him like that. Min was such a wonderful woman, and I cannot imagine her putting up with that sort of behaviour. If Barda did not do something to David's standards, there would be all sorts of problems. I was told – and I do not know if this is true or not, please note – that if Barda messed up, or fought back, or argued, then David would strike him to teach him a lesson."

"He abused him?" Doom hissed. Rocky nodded sadly.

"That is what I was told. I do not know whether to believe it, because again I cannot imagine Min allowing him to hurt her little boy. That woman used to get angry if someone injured Barda at work, even though at that point Barda could very well look after himself." Rocky shrugged. "That is not the end of it, though. See, David never believed Barda could be a good palace guard. Used to put him down a lot, call him worthless and pathetic. Usually that would put a kid off, but Barda was determined. He made it his goal to prove his father wrong. I only wish David had stuck around long enough for that to happen, because he would have been eating his words almost instantly. Barda was a genius. You will never hear him admit it, because he never believed it himself, but Barda was the best palace guard this place has ever seen. Even if there was a guard stronger than him, or faster, there was not a single man here that was braver, more loyal, more devoted or more determined." Lief smiled as Rocky spoke. He glanced at Doom and Jasmine and noticed that they were also smiling.

"So they had quite an unstable relationship?" Jasmine asked him. Rocky nodded.

"One way of putting it, certainly." He agreed. "I never met David myself. Not even sure I wanted to. He sounded like a cruel, hard man."

"What happened to him?" Doom questioned. Lief had been wondering the same thing.

"As I said, he disappeared. Just vanished into thin air. Happened when Barda was about seven. He told me himself that he left his home one morning after a particularly nasty fight with his father, and when he returned that afternoon he was gone. They searched for weeks, but found absolutely nothing – no clues as to where he might have gone, or what might have happened to him. Poor Min was devastated. I do not think she ever got over it. Well, I suppose you would not be able to, really. Not if it was the man you had loved for so long." Rocky paused, and he smiled grimly. "I asked Barda how he had felt when he found out. I had not been expecting an answer, to be completely honest, because I already knew then that Barda did not like to talk about his father, but to my surprise he did answer. He told me that he had to hide away in his room for hours pretending to be grieving because he could not bear to show his mother that he was glad his father was gone."

Lief processed this information with surprise. He had sort of been expecting it, but even so, hearing it was still a shock. Barda must have really disliked his father.

"He was glad?" Jasmine murmured in surprise. Rocky nodded.

"Told me he was positively thrilled. I did think that was a little harsh at first, but then I learnt just how much the two hated each other. They did not just fight verbally, they fought physically. All the time. Barda would finally snap and lash out, and his father would smack him back into his place. He used to tell his mother that he was fighting with other boys because his father had made him swear to never reveal the truth to her." They all fell silent as they let the information sink in. No wonder Barda did not relish the thought of David returning to Del.

"That explains a lot, then." Doom muttered quietly.

"I never thought someone could hate another person so much. I did not think it was even possible. But then I met Barda, and I realized that it was possible. The first thing Barda ever said to me when I asked about his father was that, where David was concerned, he had no father. There was such coldness to those words." Rocky shook his head slowly. "Still, that man made Barda what he is today, whether he likes it or not. Without that hatred fuelling him along, he might not have tried so hard to be the best. He was always being compared to David, you know. Whenever he did something well, people would say it was because of his blood. Because of David. That made him so angry sometimes. He hated living in his father's shadow." Rocky took another swig of water. "So, have I told you all you need to know?"

"I think we have heard enough, yes." Doom told him.

"No wonder he does not want to talk about him." Jasmine murmured softly. Rocky observed them all for a moment.

"What brought this up then? Usually people just want to hear stories about the amazingly talented things Barda did in the past, or hilarious tales of drunken antics that they could use to embarrass him." The three exchanged glances. Doom nodded sharply. Jasmine tilted her head slightly. Lief sighed.

"Am I right in assuming you know how to deal with Barda whenever his father is brought up?" Rocky nodded. "We may need you sometime soon, then. We received a message that hints of a possible return. We do not know the accuracy of this message, but apparently David is coming back to Del."

"Oh." Rocky was suddenly alert. "Oh, that is not good at all. I am afraid you may need me more than you think you do. Barda has always said that if David ever walked back into the palace, he would get his revenge. Barda has planned to repay David for all the bad things he did to him in the past ever since the man disappeared. You may need me to help hold him back when he goes in for the kill."

"You really think he will try that?" Lief asked, staring at Rocky in shock. Rocky met his eyes, and smiled grimly.

"No. I know he will."

*

Barda pulled back on the taut bowstring, keeping his hands steady as he lined up the arrowhead with the red dot at the center of the target quite some paces away. Making sure to hold the bow level, he released the bowstring and the arrow sliced through the air towards the target. With a satisfying thunk-twang it landed in the dead center of the target, quivering slightly. With a long, drawn-out sigh, he lowered the bow and rolled his shoulders to ease the tension that had formed there. He'd always loved the firing range, ever since he'd first discovered he was actually rather talented with a longbow at the age of nine. He'd picked one up out of boredom and fired off an arrow, not really thinking about what he was doing or where he was aiming, and had been pleasantly surprised to find it actually managed to hit the target in quite a good spot. He'd then decided to learn the true art of archery, and it had become a relaxing hobby of his. It still relaxed him now.

He pulled another arrow from the quiver at his side and fitted it with practiced ease to the longbow. He lifted the bow again, pulled back on the bowstring, and aimed the arrowhead at the bulls-eye mark on the target. If he could get the right angle, he might be able to fire the arrow right into the tail of the previous one. He took slow, measured breaths as he shifted position, tilted the bow slightly to compensate for wind pressure, and kept his eye along the shaft of the arrow towards the target. He took a deep breath in, and let it out just as he released the bowstring. He couldn't help but grin when the arrowhead tore through the tail of the previous arrow, splitting the shaft in half, and embedding itself into the target with a soft thunk.

"Still a show-off, I see." He whirled around on the spot at the sudden voice, and came face-to-face with Rocky, Lief, Doom and Jasmine. Rocky was grinning from ear to ear, and he glanced over Barda's shoulder at the arrow quivering in the target. "I think the last time I saw you pull that one off was back when you were, what, nineteen?" Rocky turned to fix his grin on Lief and Jasmine. "Showing off for a pretty young lady, he was. Poor lass had no clue what she was getting herself in for." Barda rolled his eyes and turned away from his old friend.

"Keep it closed, Rocky." He growled playfully, fitting a third arrow to his bow. "Or you may find this arrow lodged somewhere unpleasant." Rocky laughed loudly, clapping a hand on Barda's shoulder. Lief and Jasmine swapped grins, and behind them, Doom smiled with amusement.

"Just you try it, Polar Bear." Rocky smirked, shoving at Barda's shoulder in a playful manner. Lief could barely contain his laughter. Barda turned and scowled at Rocky.

"How many times must I tell you? Never call me that. Ever."

"Why not?" Rocky grinned. "You never used to mind, you know. Is it because of your new friends? Afraid I will ruin your image with my fond nicknames?" His voice was teasing, but his grin was full of friendliness. Nevertheless, Barda had the arrow in his free hand and was pointing it dangerously at Rocky's throat.

"Keep. It. Hush." Rocky held up his hands in surrender, and Barda returned to the task he had started. "I am starting to regret allowing you to work here again. You are nothing but trouble, Rockford."

"Hey, what have I told you about calling me Rockford?"

"You tore up all agreements when you called me Polar Bear." Barda replied without turning around. He sent the arrow flying, shrugging one shoulder when it went slightly off course and landed just outside the bulls-eye. "So. You found me." He said, turning to face his friends.

"So, was this what you had to attend to?" Doom drawled, raising an eyebrow. Barda also lifted one eyebrow.

"Among other things. Archery is my stress-reliever." He glanced sideways at Rocky and smirked. "Kicking rocks around is another good stress-reliever."

"My favourite way to relieve stress is to tame a wild bear." Rocky shot back with a grin. "Maybe bash it on the head and knock some sense into it."

"Love to see you try." Barda rolled his eyes again and turned away from Rocky to retrieve another arrow. Lief, Jasmine and Doom glanced at Rocky as he lifted a finger to his lips, telling them to be quiet, and they watched him slowly creep up behind Barda until he was about two feet away. Then he lunged forward, intending to tackle him to the ground.

Unfortunately that wasn't how things worked out.

Just as he lunged forward, Barda turned, grabbed Rocky's outstretched forearm and flipped him over his shoulder, and Rocky landed hard on his back on the ground in front of Barda. Lief and Jasmine burst out laughing, and Doom grinned. As Rocky lay on the ground, scowling up at Barda, the palace guard chief brushed his hands together as though wiping off dirt and turned back to his longbow, whistling cheerfully.

"One of these days, I will catch you by surprise, Polar Bear." Rocky warned him, clambering to his feet. Barda paused with the bow raised and string pulled back, and turned his head to meet Rocky's gaze. The cheerful whistling came to a sudden halt. Rocky grinned. "Alright, I will try to refrain from calling you that. In public." As if satisfied with that answer, Barda turned back to face the targets and let the arrow fly. He bent to retrieve another arrow, and Rocky leant in towards Lief, Jasmine and Doom, putting a hand up beside his mouth as though he was about to tell them a secret. He didn't bother to lower his voice, however. "He only lets the ladies call him that in public." Doom tried to warn Rocky of what was heading his way, but he was too late. In a blur of blue and gold, Barda and Rocky tumbled to the ground.

Turning around to get a better look, Lief abruptly started laughing. Jasmine hid a grin behind her hand, and Doom chuckled quietly. Rocky was lying face-down on the ground, arms pinned behind his back. Barda was perched on his lower back, one hand holding Rocky's wrists, the other curled around the back of his neck, holding his head in place.

"You never learn, Rocky." Barda laughed. Rocky grinned as best he could, given the situation.

"By Adin, Barda, you have gotten heavier." He groaned. "How much do you weigh?" Barda rolled his eyes and stood up, holding out a hand to help Rocky to his feet.

"I am a healthy weight, thank you very much. And so help me Rocky if you even attempt to pull me down when you take my hand…" Rocky sighed and allowed Barda to help him up.

"Like I would try such an obvious trick."

"Well, you have done in the past."

"And learnt from my mistakes."

"Hardly."

"I think I resent that!" Lief watched the two men bicker like children. He enjoyed seeing Barda among old friends, because he allowed his defensive barrier to drop a little.

"You have the brain capacity to think? I am amazed." Barda teased playfully. Jasmine laughed quietly. She, too, was enjoying the childish bickering.

"You are a cruel, cruel man. Go back to showing off." Rocky grinned. Barda turned away with a laugh and reached down into the quiver. His hand retracted in record speed, and he uttered a string of curses as he inspected the long, thin wound on his arm. Rocky stared at him in shock. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You kiss a woman with that mouth?" Doom smirked as Barda glared at Rocky.

"Do you have a one-track mind?"

"I always thought you did." Rocky shrugged. "You could never have a conversation with Barda in a public place. Every time a pretty girl walked past his attention would be elsewhere." Jasmine and Lief looked surprised at this new bit of information. The Barda they knew never showed any romantic interest in anyone, nor seemed to care about that sort of thing. The closest they'd ever seen him get to showing any sort of affection for someone was with Lindal, back in Broome.

"I was young. All boys were the same." Barda shrugged, still inspecting the wound on his arm. It was already healing, so the damage wasn't too bad. "You were just as bad, Rocky. Worse, even. At least I did not chase them around the palace begging for a kiss." Rocky did his best to hide his embarrassment.

"Well, maybe because you did not need to." He huffed. "Some of us were not lucky enough to be graced with looks as dazzling as yours."

"What do you mean?" Jasmine questioned Rocky, who laughed.

"Oh, well. The ladies were rather fond of your friend here when he was younger. Bit of a looker, he was. If they did not fall for his facial structure or that darn smile of his, they soon fell for his charm." Barda was slowly shaking his head, as though denying any of it happened. "In fact, it was most likely the other way around for him. He was being chased around the palace by all the girls desperate for his attention."

"Well, it would seem he still has that charm you mentioned. He has been using it to get his way with a certain Toran lady staying at the palace for a short period of time." Doom commented quietly. Barda glared at him, but Rocky seemed very interested.

"Oh really? Some things never change, aye?" He laughed. "Still, I would very much like to meet the woman who has captured the bear's heart." Three pairs of eyes turned to Rocky in confusion. The fourth pair of eyes was staring at him with such intensity he almost shrank into himself.

"What do you mean?" Lief asked Rocky with a grin.

"I have known Barda long enough to recognise the signs early on. Someone has caught his eye and he very much likes what he sees." Rocky told Lief, trying to ignore the glare being sent his way. "I can only imagine she is a feisty woman. You always did like them feisty." He directed the last statement at Barda, who was – to Lief's amazement – blushing ever so slightly. Jasmine winked slyly at Lief.

"Oh, you must be talking about Lindal. Right, Lief?" Barda tensed up at the name of the feisty woman from Broome.

"Of course! How could I forget?" Lief grinned, enjoying how uncomfortable Barda was beginning to look. Rocky also appeared to be enjoying it. "You refused to fight her because you thought she might win."

"Oho, that is brilliant! I always knew you would pick a woman who could put you in your place." Rocky laughed. "I shall have to meet this woman and congratulate her. You have no idea how long we were all trying to get the Bear to settle down. Even his own mother gave up looking for his bride eventually." Doom glanced over at Barda and felt sorry for him. He looked as though he wished the ground would open up and swallow him any second.

"I do not know what you are talking about." He said quickly, turning and busying himself with the quiver of arrows. Rocky laughed again.

"That confirms it! The only time Barda gets this embarrassed is when the subject of conversation is a certain lady friend he has a fondness for." Rocky walked over to him and clapped a hand on his back. "Has it finally happened, my friend?" He turned to wink at the others, and continued on with a teasing voice, "Are you in love?" He had to duck sharply as Barda swatted at him.

"Stop it." Barda barked, but the grin on Rocky's face didn't even falter for a second.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about, Barda. I was not afraid to admit when I fell in love. You remember Maria, do you not?" Barda said nothing, but Rocky continued on anyway. "I married her, you know. Always said I would. Bless her. Sweet little thing, she was. She told me she had a bit of a thing for you when she was younger. I said to her, what girl did not?" His grin widened, if that were even possible. "My point is, it does not make you any less of a man to admit to being in love. Are you going to marry her?"

"Drop it." Barda growled.

"Maybe the two of you will have children."

"I said, drop it."

"I bet she loves you in uniform."

"Rockford."

"Maybe you will even let her call you Polar Bear."

"Rockford." Rocky laughed at the intense glare on Barda's face. "I stand by my threat of lodging an arrow someplace unpleasant. Only this time, it will be several arrows."

"I am merely winding you up, Barda, and as well you know it." Rocky said with a smile. "I am sure she is a wonderful woman, no matter how many times you will deny that you care for her."

"That does give me an idea, though." Lief said suddenly. "Maybe we should call Lindal in, see if she knows anything about our… guests."

"It sounds like a good plan." Doom agreed. "She has extensive knowledge of other cultures. She may be able to help us determine where our guests are from." Barda sighed. There was no way of getting out of it. He knew that. And, perhaps, a small part of him did want Rocky to meet her. Just a small part.

"I will send her a letter." He said with a sigh. "And no," he added quickly when Rocky opened his mouth to say something, "you cannot read it."

"He will not even let me read his love letters. How much you have changed, Polar Bear." There was a loud crack as Barda clenched his fist around an arrow, snapping it in two. Rocky made a wise decision and started running. Doom laughed quietly as Barda took off after him, wielding the broken arrow and calling out threats in Rocky's direction.

*

Evening fell, and the companions were sitting down together at a table in the dining room of the palace. Lief sat at the head of the table, Jasmine at a right angle to his left. The space opposite her was empty – that was Barda's place. Sharn and Doom were next along the line, and then Marilen and Ranesh. The other places were used for any guests they had. Barda wasn't at the table, although he had been sent for. He appeared in the doorway just as the food was being served, Leeya following closely behind.

"Apologies for my lateness. I was convincing Leeya that no one would go near the children while she dined with us." He said with a pleasant smile. "I hope you do not mind Rocky joining us, also?" Lief smiled as Rocky poked his head through the door and grinned.

"Not at all! Come in, and sit down!" He said with a grin. The three of them took their places and began to eat. They chatted casually about trivial matters for a while, just enjoying the peace and each other's company. They were about halfway through the meal when the door at the far end opened and a familiar orange-haired boy stepped into the room. There was almost instant silence.

"Cae?" Barda murmured, breaking the silence. "What are you doing here?" The young boy ran towards him and Barda pushed back his chair, moving to stand up. Before he could, however, Cae had reached him and was clutching at him. "Is something wrong?" Cae shook his head sharply, and looked up at him with wide eyes. He held out a piece of paper, and Barda took it, reading the words scrawled upon it. He smiled. "You just want to be in my company?" Cae nodded enthusiastically. "You were not supposed to leave the ward, Cae. Not on your own."

"He should be taken back there at once." Leeya cut in. Cae suddenly looked fearful, and he clutched at Barda again, refusing to let go. Barda laughed almost nervously and put a reassuring hand on Cae's shoulder.

"Ah, I do not think that is necessary. He is safer here, no?" He bent and lifted the boy onto his lap, holding him there. Cae seemed delighted. "I will take him back to the ward after we have finished here." Leeya seemed unsure.

"What if the other children have also left the ward?" Cae shook his head.

"I think Cae was the only one to leave. I am sure the others are safe, Leeya." Barda smiled reassuringly. "How did you know where to find us, Cae?" The only places the children had been in the palace were the great hall and the medical bay, and there were no signposts to tell him which way to go. He had no way of knowing where they would be. Cae scribbled something on the paper. "You just… knew?" Cae nodded.

"That is a little odd." Doom muttered. He was sat beside Barda, eyeing the auburn-haired boy with interest. "But I suppose we should expect strange things from these children now." Barda grinned.

"I am already getting used to it." He lifted a forkful of food to his mouth whilst Cae was happily drawing on the paper. Sharn smiled at the sight. If a stranger walked into the room, they might easily assume that Cae was Barda's son. Her smile widened when Barda offered some of the food to the boy, who grinned and accepted without hesitation.

"Ara to." The boy said with a grin. He touched a hand to Barda's face as he spoke, and the big man blinked in surprise as he realized he knew what the boy had said. He returned the grin, aware that all eyes were upon him.

"You are welcome."

"Can you understand their language?" Lief asked Barda. The chief sighed softly.

"No. At least, I do not think so." He told him. "I think I can only understand the words if Cae has skin-to-skin contact with me." At their confused glances, he sighed again. He was going to have to tell them. "Something like this has happened before. After Cae touched his hand to my skin, he was able to say a word of our language. It is the only time he has spoken our language. I think he learns through touch – after all, he was able to learn my knowledge of Ralad writing after prolonged contact, and then he was even able to learn how to translate his words into our writing."

"So, if he spent more time around you, he might be able to communicate more easily?" Marilen wondered aloud.

"That cannot be allowed." Leeya said sharply. "The children are to stay in the ward, where they are safe and where I can keep an eye on them." Doom rolled his eyes before turning to face the Toran woman.

"I think Cae will be safe with Barda. You allowed him to enter the ward with the other children, so why should you not trust him with Cae's protection outside of the ward?" He questioned her. "I think you are going too far with this maternal protection. You have grown fond of the boys. They are not yours to protect, Leeya. Remember that." Barda laid a hand on Doom's arm, a silent warning for him to be quiet. He flashed his dazzling grin at the Toran lady.

"Cae will not leave my side, Leeya. He will be safe." But this time Leeya was not going to be charmed out of her anger.

"If you will all excuse me." She hissed, pushing back her chair and standing up. "I am going to see to the other children." With a sweep of her robes, she was gone. Cae gazed around the table, looking a little confused. After a moment, he shrugged slightly and went back to drawing on the paper. Barda smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Looks like Cae is a permanent companion of mine, at least for a few days." He said to the others. Marilen smiled.

"I could, perhaps, find him some clean clothes to wear? Those garments look a little worse for wear." Indeed, the plain trousers and shirt that Cae was dressed in were scruffy and a bit tattered. "And some shoes, too. We cannot have him walking around barefoot. He could step on something sharp, for starters." Sharn dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin.

"I will see to the clothes. I know where to find some his size." She told them. Cae yawned and dropped his pencil onto the table, turning his body so that he was almost curled against Barda's chest.

"He must be tired." Ranesh commented. "Have the children even slept since they arrived here?"

"Unlikely." Doom fixed his eyes on Barda, noticed the deep shadows under his eyes. "I know of someone else who has not slept since they arrived, too." Barda shrugged as best he could without disturbing Cae, who appeared to have fallen asleep against him.

"I am not tired. Besides, I have work to do. I can get someone to set up a makeshift bunk for him in my office, then I can keep an eye on him as I finish up some important reports."

"Or you could get someone to set up the bunk in your bedchamber, so that you may also get some sleep." Doom argued. Barda shook his head and carefully lifted Cae into his arms, standing up as he did so.

"I have work to do." He repeated. "I shall see you all tomorrow, no doubt." Rocky also stood.

"I will dig out a bunk for the little one. I could give you a hand with the reports, too, if you like? Then it will not take you as long to finish them, and you can get some rest." He grinned at Barda and held open the door for him.

"Maybe." Barda replied with a smile as he carried Cae out of the room.

*

Barda turned away from the reports on his desk to gaze over at the sleeping boy in the makeshift bunk against the wall beside him. Cae was sleeping soundly, and apparently undisturbed by the loud arrival of the night-shift guards, who were just about to start work. He had sent Rocky off to bed around two hours earlier, after promising his old friend that he would get some sleep the moment he was finished with the reports.

"If I had known just how much paperwork I would have to deal with, I would not have accepted the title." He murmured to himself as he picked up a quill and dipped it in the inkpot beside the reports. There was a knock at the office door and he sighed, setting the quill down once more and standing up to go and see who was disturbing him. Normally he would have simply called out for the other person to enter, but he wanted as few people as possible to come into contact with Cae. He opened the door only slightly, and made sure his body blocked the view of the room inside. Standing in the hallway outside was a young-looking guard with shoulder-length blonde hair. Barda recognized him immediately. "What is it, Scout?" The blonde was Barda's most trusted scout-guard. The other men often joked that the young man was 'Scout by name, Scout by nature', because of his extreme talents in the scouting area.

"Hanson told me to report back to you, sir. There have been whispered rumours of a troop of soldiers heading down from the north. The accuracy of these rumours is not known, sir, so I cannot be certain whether or not we need to alert the other men."

"How large is this troop said to be?"

"I do not know, sir." Scout ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Do you think the rumours are true?"

"Perhaps they are. Perhaps they are not." Barda shrugged. "Where were they said to have been?"

"North of the Plains, and moving slowly."

"Well, we cannot know for sure if there is such a thing until they are sighted closer to home. Thank you for the information, Scout. You can be on your way." Barda dismissed the young man, and was about to retreat back into his office when Scout's arm flung out and stopped the door from closing.

"One more thing, sir, and forgive me if I am speaking out of turn, but… the other rumours, the ones about strange children arriving in the night… are they true, sir?"

"I dare not believe that you, of all people, would listen to rumours, Scout. On your way now, lad." Knowing when he had stepped over the line, Scout bowed his head.

"Yes, sir." He saluted quickly, and hurried off, no doubt to return to his post at the city gates. Barda closed the office door and leant back against it, sighing softly. His eyes slipped closed for a moment. He felt drained, and knew he should get some sleep, but he had to finish up the reports before he could allow himself to rest. When he opened his eyes again, Cae was sitting up in the bunk, eyes blinking in the dim light.

"Everything alright, Cae?" He asked quietly. The boy nodded. Barda crossed the room and knelt down in front of him. "Did I wake you?" He shook his head. "Well, I think it would be best if you went back to sleep. I will be here for quite a while longer." He eased the boy back into the bed and pulled the blankets up over him, laying a hand on the top of his head for a moment before standing up. He tried not to think about how natural it had felt. Something ached inside his chest, and he forced himself to ignore it. He knew he had left it too late to have children of his own. Men his age already had children only slightly older than Cae, perhaps some even older.

He glanced back over at the orange-haired boy and smiled. Maybe he didn't need to have his own children. If everything worked out fine, and no army came to restore the Shadow Lord's reign, then perhaps Cae could stay with him forever – and the other boys too, if that was their wish. Cae was already rather attached to him, and he had grown fond of the boy in the short time he had known him. He would, of course, have to try and teach Cae the language of Deltora, but if he was correct in thinking that Cae learnt through touch, it might not be as great a task as it sounded. Once they could speak to one another, it would make everything else a lot easier.

He turned back to the reports, a grin on his face. The future was starting to look brighter for him.

*

Lief entered the forge kitchen, rubbing sleep from his eyes and yawning. His mother was already awake and preparing breakfast. It was a morning ritual of theirs – they would eat in the forge kitchen and then make their way up to the palace. To his surprise, he saw Jasmine sat at the table already, Kree and Filli perched on either shoulder.

"Good morning, Lief." She smiled. "I rose early and thought I would come and visit you before you began your daily duties." He sat down opposite her and returned her smile. Sharn placed his breakfast in front of him and he tucked into it with enthusiasm. Jasmine was silent as he ate, but she would occasionally feed Filli a piece of fruit from the bowl in front of her.

Once breakfast was done, Lief prepared himself for the day ahead. Sharn had with her the clothes she had picked out for Cae, and together they set off for the palace. They made their way to the dining room, where they knew they would find the others breakfasting. Indeed, when they walked into the room, Marilen and Ranesh were seated at the table, conversing with Doom and Rocky. Barda was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Barda?" Lief asked, alerting their friends to their presence. Rocky smiled.

"I think the Polar Bear is still hibernating." He told them. "And I dare not disturb him. He looked positively exhausted when I bid him goodnight." Doom sighed.

"If he is resting, then he has fallen asleep at his desk – again." He told them. "I checked his bedchamber on my way down here, and it was empty. The bed looked untouched."

"Checking up on me, were you?" They all turned to face the doorway, where Barda stood. Cae stepped out from behind his legs and grinned up at them. "If you must know, I did sleep at my desk last night." Doom knew he was lying. If he had been telling the truth, then he would not look as worn out as he did. The shadows under his eyes were darker than they were the previous day. "You may all be pleased to know, however, that there is progress with Cae." He looked down at the boy and waved a hand in a gesture that said 'go ahead'. Cae stepped forward, grinning at the people around him, and waved.

"Hello." They were all equally shocked to hear the word from the boy's mouth. Barda grinned down at Cae.

"He is learning, slowly. He will not be having any full conversations with us for a while, but it is a start." He ruffled Cae's hair fondly, and the young boy looked up at him with a huge smile almost splitting his face in half. Sharn handed over the pile of clothes she had picked out.

"Here, get him into some of these." She said to Barda, who nodded.

"Come on then, trouble." He said to Cae. "If you are going to be tagging along with me, you are going to need to look more presentable." Cae slipped his hand into Barda's and the chief led him back out of the room. The others exchanged glances. They had all seen the obvious affection Barda had shown the boy – a rather fatherly affection.

"Last night I said Leeya had grown fond of the boys." Doom murmured. "But I think Barda may have also grown rather attached to Cae."

"I think it is good for him." Sharn smiled. "In the early years of Lief's life, I would often ask Barda to watch him for me when I had to run some important errands, and he was always delighted to help. He gets lonely, sometimes. Cae's presence is helping him." Their conversation was cut short by the return of Barda and Cae – who was now dressed in a pale blue short-sleeved shirt, dark blue trousers and black boots. "Well now, that looks much better!" Sharn leant down so her face was level with Cae's. "You look like a palace guard in training." Barda laughed and put a hand on the top of Cae's head, ruffling his hair softly.

"Speaking of, I have to get to work. Those men will not command themselves." He grinned. "In fact, without me, they may very well fall apart." Cae tugged on the sleeve of Barda's jacket and looked up at him. He met the boy's eyes and there was a moment of silence, before Cae touched his hand against Barda's. The chief grinned and bent to pick Cae up and lifted him into his arms. Cae hooked his arms around Barda's neck and rested his head against his shoulder. "I will see you all later."

*

Barda sat behind his desk, leaning back in his chair, feet up on the desk. He was relaxing, enjoying the peace of the morning shift. Not much went on before noon, so he didn't have much that needed to be done. Cae was sat on the other side of the desk, a pad of paper in front of him and a small pot of crayons. He'd been happily drawing pictures all morning. Johan had wandered in and out of the office several times already, but the young deputy hadn't questioned why Cae was there. That was one of the reasons Barda had selected Johan to be his deputy, despite how young he was. Johan didn't ask questions. He did as he was ordered, offered input when required to, provided information where necessary, but never stepped out of line.

Cae looked up from his current drawing and beamed at him. The boy was perfectly happy to sit there quietly all day, as long as Barda was close by. Every so often, he would reach across to touch Barda's hand, or arm, anything to make contact. He didn't know whether it was for comfort or just to establish the connection that enabled him to learn.

He hadn't spoken any more words, but he seemed to have a stronger understanding of what was happening around him. Whenever Johan entered the office, Cae would observe the interaction with interest, often with his hand on Barda's skin. Then, when Johan left, he would go back to drawing.

There was a knock at the door, and Barda called out to whoever it was to come in, shifting his position and removing his feet from his desk in an attempt to look more professional. The door opened and McAlester stepped into the room.

McAlester was the head of the Training Academy. It was his job to oversee all the training that went on, and to make sure each boy was doing their best. Once the oldest boys were reaching sixteen, McAlester would bring forward the list of names of the trainees he thought would make good palace guards, and the ones that needed more training or weren't cut out for the job. Then the chief would sit down with him and they would arrange the boys into platoons and get their details logged into the system. Once the paperwork was complete, a ceremony would be held and the boys who had been selected to become palace guards would be awarded their uniform in front of the people of Del.

Barda still remembered the day he became a palace guard. Hearing his name being read out from the list was one of the greatest moments of his life. Accepting the smart blue uniform from the chief had been an honour. His mother had been so very proud of him. She hadn't stopped talking about his success for weeks. He had always thought that would have been the greatest feeling in the world – but he had been wrong. The greatest feeling in the world was standing in front of all those people and handing over the uniforms to the next generation of palace guards, and seeing the look of awe and happiness in their eyes. He felt privileged to be a part of that.

"Hello there, McAlester." He called out with a smile. Cae's fingers touched his hand, but he didn't look up from his drawing. Barda noticed McAlester's eyes flicker to the boy, but the man quickly returned his gaze to his chief. "Is that a list of names for me?"

"It certainly is, sir. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the talent of these boys, Chief. They are getting better with each generation." McAlester crossed the room with a few long strides and held out a few sheets of paper. Barda took them, and quickly scanned the lists. He recognized a couple of names. As the chief, he had to inspect the Academy at least once a week to make sure the boys were being well treated, and to observe the standard of skill. During his inspections, he had noticed a couple of boys that stood out from the others, and he was pleased to see their names on the lists.

"An impressive collection, McAlester. I am sure these boys will make fine guards." He didn't need to look up to know that the other man was staring at Cae. "If you have questions, McAlester, then ask them."

"My apologies, sir. I was just wondering about this young lad here. I have not seen him before, so I know he is not a trainee, yet why else would he be in your office?"

"He is not a trainee, no." Barda replied, lifting his head to meet McAlester's gaze. The other man looked confused, and rightly so. "I am simply watching over him for a while, therefore he needs to be where I can see him."

"Ah, I understand now." McAlester smiled. "So, should we arrange these hopefuls into platoons?" Barda grinned and waved him to the spare chair opposite him. McAlester sank into it, and Cae smiled at him before going back to his drawing.

*

Sometime around noon, Barda was called out to the firing range to oversee the archery training. Fletcher – the guard in charge of the session – was surprised to see the young orange-haired boy tagging along beside his chief, but said nothing about it. It was not his place to question the chief. He did not have the right status to do so. As a Captain, he was to follow orders and keep his mouth shut unless spoken to. Only the Sergeants could speak first. That was a rule, and he dare not break it.

It was the first time the chief had observed his training session, and so he was feeling slightly nervous. If he made a mistake, or if the chief felt that he wasn't doing his job properly, he could be removed from his position. Teaching the young boys to become palace guards was a wonderful job, and he did not want to lose it. As he gave instructions to his class, he tried to keep his voice under control, but he couldn't keep it steady. Once the boys began to practice their archery skills, he felt a hand descend on his shoulder.

"Easy." Barda smiled at him. "It is Fletcher, yes?" He nodded, surprised that the chief knew his name. "There is no need to be nervous. I am not here to decide if you are up to this job or not. I am merely here to check out the standard of skill. You do not need to worry; you are doing a fine job with these boys."

"Oh, thank you, sir." Fletcher said quickly, with a smile. He glanced down at the boy holding onto the chief's sleeve. He was staring at the other boys as they practiced, and seemed interested. He wanted to ask the chief if the boy would like to join in, but he felt that it would be stepping out of line to do so. However, Barda appeared to have also noticed where the boy's interest lay.

"Have you ever done archery, Cae?" The boy shook his head. "Perhaps I will teach you, one day. Not now, though." Fletcher watched Barda ruffle the boy's hair fondly, and then ease him closer in a protective movement, and briefly wondered if this boy was the chief's son. He hadn't heard of the chief having a family, but it was a well-known fact that their chief was a rather secretive man. They certainly acted like father and son, even if they did not look alike.

Fletcher was about to go and offer advice to each of the boys when he noticed the scarred man Doom walking towards them. Fletcher had always been intimidated by Doom. However, when Barda turned and saw him, there was nothing but friendliness in his grin.

"Ah, Doom! To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked. Cae smiled up at Doom, recognition in his eyes.

"You are needed, down in the medical bay." Doom told him. "Leeya wishes to check on Cae." He rolled his eyes, but Barda's grin did not fade.

"Very well. Come on, trouble." Fletcher watched as Barda lifted Cae into his arms, and tried to stop the smile from spreading over his face. "Apologies, Fletcher. I will have to observe your session another time."

"It is no problem, sir." Fletcher saluted, and only allowed himself to smile when Barda turned his back and walked off with Doom. He raised his eyebrows when the boy – Cae – waved at him over Barda's shoulder. He lifted a hand and gave a small wave in return.

*

Leeya was waiting for them by the ward. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of Cae draped over Barda's chest, one hand toying with the palace guard's hair. How could she have ever doubted that he would not be safe with this man? She waited for them to reach her, instead of rushing to meet them, like she had originally intended to do.

"Here we are, Leeya." Barda said with a smile, stopping in front of her. She returned the smile and turned to Cae.

"Well, you certainly look comfortable there." She said to him. "There has been no trouble, I hope?"

"None at all. He has been quite content to just follow me around and keep to himself." Barda told her. "And one of the good things about my being the chief is the other men do not dare ask questions. Those that do get the same answer – I am merely watching over him for someone else." He grinned. "Which is, you could say, the complete truth."

"That is good. He seems happy enough, too."

"How are the other children?"

"As quiet as always. They have not spoken again since yesterday, except when I speak to them. They have no problems with the food and drink we provide, and are quite content to play amongst themselves." Barda walked over to the window and watched the other nine boys playing together in the room beyond. Cae put his palm against the window, and in one movement, the boys all turned to face them.

"It is like he is communicating with them." Doom murmured, watching with interest as the nine boys all moved to the window. "They sense that he is there without him speaking."

"They are probably linked by minds, like Torans." Leeya said with a smile. "Or something similar."

"Certainly they are in tune with each other." Barda agreed. "I have some spare time, so I will try and communicate with Cae and perhaps learn some more about them." Leeya nodded. Doom suddenly had a thought.

"Maybe the best way to connect with Cae would be to take him out into the city, show him our culture and way of life."

"I do not think that would be safe." Leeya shook her head, but Barda raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly.

"That could work, yes." He turned to Leeya. "He will be safe. If you are that worried, I can set up two trusted guards outside the ward, and you can come with me."

"I will not leave the others." She sighed. "But perhaps if someone went with you…" She trailed off and looked directly at Doom.

"You want me to tag along? Why?" He questioned.

"I trust the two of you to look after him." Doom glanced at Barda, met the other man's eyes. He expected the chief to refuse his company, especially after their disagreement the day before, but to his surprise Barda smiled warmly.

"I am okay with it. Doom?" The scarred man returned the smile.

"Okay."

*

Cae was quite happily sat on Barda's shoulders, staring around him at the sights of Del. Doom strolled beside Barda, glancing up at the boy every so often. He looked amazed at everything around him, and Doom briefly wondered what the boy's hometown was like. He did not seem used to the bright colours and the level of noise.

"He seems to be enjoying himself." Doom commented quietly. Barda shot him a grin.

"I have no doubt he is." He agreed. "I was thinking of taking him down to the docks, maybe onto the beach. Show him what other children are like." He met Doom's eyes. "What do you think?"

"Sounds like a good plan." He looked up at Cae. "Does that sound okay to you?" Cae grinned and nodded. "Right. The coast it is." He and Barda shared a grin before they quickened their pace, heading towards the Del docks. They passed by familiar faces in the town and they smiled and greeted everyone who spoke to them. No one questioned the presence of the young boy on Barda's shoulders. He put Cae down onto the floor when they reached the docks, and allowed him to walk a little way ahead. Whenever he got too far ahead, one of them would call his name and he would stop and wait for them to catch up.

He seemed amazed at the fishing boats lined up in the docks. He stared up at them in wonder, watching the men working on them. Barda smiled and took his hand, leading him along the docks towards the beach. To his surprise, Doom took the boy's other hand, and Cae allowed him to. It was a beautiful day – the sun was high and there was a gentle breeze that kept them cool as they walked.

"Barda? Doom?" They both turned in surprise and came face to face with Spencer, the local tailor's wife. She had become quite a good friend of theirs over the years. "What are you two doing down here in the middle of the day? I thought the chief did not get time off." She grinned at them. She was a rather unusual woman – for a start, her name was typically male. Her hair was chin-length and pale salmon in colour, though no one knew why. Her eyes were startlingly green.

"Just taking this little guy out for a walk." Barda replied with a smile, nodding down at Cae. She crouched down in front of him.

"Oh, he is adorable!" She exclaimed with another grin. She looked up at the two men and her smile became teasing. "I did not know you two were…" She let the end of the sentence trail off, and she raised her eyebrows suggestively. She laughed at the instant shock and confusion on their faces.

"Oh, no, we… we are not…" Barda stammered out.

"Not at all. No." Doom added quickly. She laughed and stood up.

"Shame. You two would make a lovely couple." She smirked, and watched the two men quickly glance at each other, before returning their gazes to her. "So, who is this wonderful little man, if not your adopted son?"

"Just someone we are watching over for a while." Barda told her.

"You seem fond of him. And he seems to enjoy being in the company of both of you. Anyway, I have to be on my way. But you know..." She smiled. "Maybe you two should think about it some time." She winked playfully and walked away from them, leaving the two men staring after her in surprise. There was a long silence, and then slowly Barda and Doom turned to look at each other.

"No." They both said at once. "No."

*

They returned to the palace a couple of hours later, Cae balanced on Barda's hip. Lief was sat on a bench close to the entrance doors, watching Jasmine climb through the tree beside him. Next to him on the bench was Rocky, and next to him was a very familiar woman.

"Ahh, there he is!" Rocky called out when he saw Barda. They quickened their pace, stopping in front of the bench. Doom nodded in greeting at the woman on the bench. Barda grinned at her.

"You got here a little earlier than I expected." He said to her. Lindal smiled back at him.

"I may have acquired a horse." She told him. "Is this the kid?" She asked, nodding at the boy in his arms.

"Yes." He set Cae down on the floor. "One of ten." He smiled down at the boy. "Say hello, Cae." The boy grinned at her.

"Hello."

"That is all he can say in our language at the moment, but we are hoping to broaden his knowledge by allowing him to spend time around us." He told her. Doom put a hand on Cae's head and smiled.

"We took him out into the city so he could experience our way of life, in the hopes that it would help him connect with us."

"Us?" Lindal smirked. "I did not know you two were something of an item."

"Why does everyone instantly assume that?" Barda asked Doom with a frustrated sigh.

"Are they trying to tell us something, do you think?" Doom raised an eyebrow before smirking. "Perhaps we should start listening." Barda stared at him in shock, and then caught the sly wink Doom sent his way.

"Perhaps we should." He reached out with one hand and slowly brushed the backs of his fingers along Doom's cheek, trying not to laugh at the shocked expressions of their friends. The two of them lasted a moment before breaking out in laughter. "Doom and I were the first two people to try and communicate with the children once they arrived here. We spent the most time with them; therefore they trust us more than anyone else. That is why we tried to get Cae to connect with both of us."

"So, why do you need me here?" Lindal enquired.

"You know a lot about other cultures. It may be possible that you recognize the language." Doom told her. He crouched down and turned to Cae. "Can you say something to this lady in your native tongue?" Cae tilted his head slightly, looking rather confused. Doom sighed. "I do not think he understands." He said to Barda, who smiled. He also crouched down, and turned Cae to face him. He lifted Cae's hands to his own face, and held them there. Their eyes locked and there was a moment of silence before Barda spoke.

"Alla ko tor yuna kai." He murmured to the boy. Lief gasped in surprise, and Doom stared at Barda in shock. Cae nodded, and turned to Lindal.

"Eli, ai yu il Cae." He said with a grin. Barda looked at her.

"Sound familiar?"

"Not really. Some words sound a little familiar, but nothing I can recognize." She told him. "But more importantly, how did you know what to say to him if you do not know the language?"

"Cae learns by touch. That is how he was able to learn how to write in our language, and communicate with us. I had a theory that it might work both ways. I could only just translate those words, so it is not practical to try and learn about them."

"What did you say?" Doom asked.

"The same thing you said to him. I asked him to speak in his native tongue." Barda told him with a smile.

"Where do you think they might come from?" Lief asked Lindal.

"I cannot be completely sure, but there is a land off to the west that has a similar native tongue." She told him. "It is not the same language, but it is possible that they come from an island off the coast of that land. The language could also vary in different parts of the land, but no one really knows much about it. We have not made any contact with the inhabitants yet, so we cannot know exactly who they are."

Cae, bored of the conversation, was playing with a loose thread on Barda's sleeve. Lindal observed the boy for a moment. Barda noticed what Cae was doing and smiled, putting a hand on Cae's shoulder. Doom straightened up.

"Maybe you should see the other children, it might trigger something." He said to Lindal, who nodded. "Barda, you probably have work to do, right?" Barda nodded. "Then I will take Lindal to the ward." Barda stood up and pulled Cae up with him. The boy instantly wrapped his arms around Barda's neck and got comfortable.

"Come on then, trouble. Work to do."

He never made it back to his office. Doom and Lindal towards the medical bay, and he turned towards Guard's Corner. None of them got too far before a palace guard came running up to them.

"Sir Doom, Chief – I was sent by Leeya. She says she needs you both, immediately."

*

When they reached the ward, Leeya was pacing outside. She stopped the moment she saw them approaching at a run. Lief and Jasmine were also outside the ward, staring in through the window. They came to a halt beside them and looked inside. The children were all lined up and appeared to be chanting, but they weren't saying the same thing.

"They started about five minutes ago. They are all saying different things. It sounds like they are chanting their names." Leeya told them. There were footsteps in the hall, and Marilen and Ranesh came to join them. Barda looked at Cae.

"Cae is not chanting." He noted. He put the boy on the ground and crouched down in front of him. "Do you know what is happening?" Cae nodded, and touched his hand to Barda's face.

"They are trying to tell you the truth." Cae said. Everyone turned to him in surprise.

"Did he just… talk in our language?" Lief asked. Cae smiled.

"I have learnt from Barda's mind. He helped me to understand your words, and now I can repay the favour by helping you to understand us." Cae turned back to Barda. "Please take me into the ward. I must keep contact with you, to keep the connection strong. I will spread my new knowledge to my brothers, and we can talk with you." Barda nodded and took Cae's hand, leading him into the ward, the others following. The nine other boys stopped chanting when Cae entered. "Before I spread my knowledge, I will tell you about us. Please sit." They did as he asked, sitting on the beds around the room. Cae perched on Barda's lap, keeping his hand in Barda's.

"Where have you come from?" Lief asked. Cae smiled again.

"A land off to the west of here. We were born on an island off the coast. Our parents were originally from this land, and that is why we returned here when they were taken from us."

"Your parents were Thaed and Flie, were they not?" Barda asked him. Cae nodded.

"That is correct. They fled the city when the Lord of Shadows invaded, hoping to protect their secret."

"What secret is that?" Doom asked, frowning slightly. Cae grinned.

"All in good time, Doom." He looked at his brothers. "We were born together, as representatives of this land." He noticed their confused expressions. "This is where I begin to explain the meanings behind our names. Could somebody pass me some paper and a pencil, please?" Marilen jumped up and fetched him paper and a pencil. "Thank you." He then wrote down the names of his brothers, and finally his. "You may have noticed that our names are all traditional Del names. Our parents chose them specifically. They had to think hard to find Del names that also tie in with our inner identity." He wrote another word down next to each name and then showed it to Barda. "Please tell the others what I have written." Barda took the paper and read through the words, and gazed at the others in shock when it sank in.

"Next to Daimon he has written Diamond. Next to Erald, he has written Emerald. Next to Zulis, he has written Lapis Lazuli. Next to Taz, he has written–," he began.

"Topaz." Doom murmured. He thought for a moment. "Let me guess, Paol is Opal." Barda nodded.

"Yurie has Ruby beside it, Amethyst is next to Meytha." He looked at the remaining three. "Rak'd is Dark, and Gilh is Light." He met Cae's eyes. "And Peace is next to Cae."

"We represent the seven gems of Deltora, and the three factors that keep the world in balance – dark, light and peace." He smiled. "Our parents represented the beginning and the end." Barda frowned for a moment, and then it sunk in.

"Flie and Thaed. Life and Death." He muttered.

"That is right. They have always been in existence, for many years. They moved around every so often to avoid people noticing that they never aged, and finally they ended up in Del. Whilst living in Del, they felt the presence of evil in the future and feared that the Lord of Shadows would discover them. If that happened, the Lord of Shadows would try to harness their power and use it against the people of this land. They fled, found the small island to the west, and started planning. They knew what they had to do to help save the world they had come to love, and so myself and my brothers came into existence. They spent ten years making sure we knew who we are and what our purpose in life is. We were always destined to return here, to find someone to help save the world from destruction."

"I do not understand." Jasmine sighed. "What are you trying to say?"

"I know you have already found the tale that told of ten children who channelled their powers through one man, to help stop the Lord of Shadows. The ten children were born to a dark man and light woman, born from Life and Death. That was many years ago, right at the beginning of time, when the Lord of Shadows was still a man and not a powerful, dark, vengeful force. After those ten children saved the world, they disappeared from any records. This is because Life and Death perished when the children went to fight, and to restore the balance, the ten children split into two, and merged together to become the next Life and Death."

"Is there danger coming to Deltora?" Ranesh asked him. Cae nodded.

"Yes. That is why we are here. We came early, so that we could establish a connection between the people who might stand a chance of winning the battle that is to come. That is why we requested to be brought to Del when our boat crashed on the western shores. Of course, we had grown up speaking a foreign language, and so our requests were not understood. Luckily, the people who found us knew to bring us to the people running the land, and that is where we needed to be."

"Did you know your language was foreign to us?" Leeya questioned.

"No. The children in the tale were born on this land, but we were not. When we arrived here we tried to find a way of communicating before I could learn the language. As the representative for Peace, I have the power to establish such connections with others. Until I could communicate, we had to wait and keep a low profile. If anyone from the dark army knew we were here, there would be trouble. I also had another task to complete."

"Which was?" Cae fixed his eyes on Lindal.

"I had to find the man who would save the land. The man we would channel our power through. I would then help him to understand what he needed to do to save the world."

"Have you found this man?" Doom had a faint idea of who it was, but he wanted to make sure before he said anything.

"Yes, I have. It was the first thing I did. Once I found him, I tried to connect with him, and then I learnt from him." All eyes turned to look at Barda. "We were always destined to connect, Barda. I was created for this purpose."

"I am the man you were looking for? But… what can I do?" Barda wondered aloud in surprise. Cae beamed at him.

"You have the heart and the soul to succeed. We need a man who truly cares about the land and the people, a man who would do anything to protect it. A man who would fight to the death for the ones he loved. A man who would use our power only for defence."

"How do you know that it is me?"

"Because of how you instantly bonded with me." Cae explained. "You grew fond of me, as I of you, and that was the first clue that you are the man we need." His smile faded slightly. "You do not think you are good enough. That is another reason why you are the man we need." He turned to his brothers. "It is time to spread the knowledge." The other nine boys stood up and walked over to Cae. They instantly joined hands and Daimon, in the lead, held out his hand to Cae. They joined hands and Cae closed his eyes. He opened them a moment later. "Now we can all speak to one another."

"What do you know of the army?" Doom asked them. "There are rumours of an army heading towards Del." All of the boys turned to Rak'd.

"It is the Shadow Army. They are coming to Del to bring the Lord of Shadows back into power." He told them.

"Then we have to begin the training immediately." Gilh cut in. "Barda must learn to harness our power so that he can stop the army." Cae nodded. He opened his mouth to reply when he suddenly gasped.

"What is wrong?" Barda asked him. Rak'd suddenly whirled around to face the door to the ward.

"I sense something dark in the palace." He murmured. Cae turned to Barda.

"He is here." He whispered. "He has returned." Doom, Lief and Jasmine instantly tried to meet Barda's eyes, but he was staring at Cae in shock.

"No…" He murmured. Before any more could be said, Rocky opened the door to the ward.

"Barda." He looked angry. "There is a man in the Entrance Hall requesting to see you and the king. I moved him to a private room." Doom noted the firm set of Rocky's jaw. "I moved him, because he looks like you." All eyes returned to Barda's face. Lief felt a chill when he saw the sudden flare of anger in his eyes.

Cae jumped off his lap and let go of his hand. Barda stood up and slowly walked towards Rocky. He pushed past him, and Rocky quickly motioned for the others to follow. Doom nodded. He knew Rocky was making sure the two of them were at the ready in case Barda got out of control.

Rocky led the way to the private room where the man was waiting. As they entered, they spotted him standing with his back to them. He was wearing a hooded cloak. Rocky cleared his throat once they were all in the room. It was a spacious hall, probably one of the ones used for private functions such as weddings and dances. The children had also followed them, Cae refusing to leave Barda's side.

"The king and chief of the palace guards." Rocky announced. The man turned around, and pulled back the hood. He lifted his face so that the light illuminated every inch, and Lief gasped. It was like looking at a slightly older Barda. Dark blue eyes scanned over every face, finally settling on Lief's.

"You are wearing the Belt. You are the king." The voice was deep and threatening, and contained a scarily familiar growl. Then the dark eyes focused on the man in the chief's uniform stood at Lief's side. Travelled up to his face. And narrowed. "Well, well. There is a familiar face." Doom watched Barda's fists clench at his sides. "I must say, standards must have dropped if you are the chief." Jasmine glanced at Lief. If this really was Barda's father, then everything Rocky had told them was true.

"Why are you here?" Barda growled, trying to keep his anger in check. Doom could tell that it was taking a lot of willpower to keep his voice calm.

"What? No hello, no touching reunion?" The man smirked. "Boy, did I raise you the wrong way."

"It really is his father." Jasmine whispered to Lief.

"Why are you here?" Barda repeated.

"It does not matter. I am obviously wasting my time if the palace guards are being ruled by such a weak idiot."

"David." It was Rocky who spoke. "You are David, yes?"

"You have heard of me." It was posed as a statement, not a question. "I am not surprised. Has my pathetic son been whining to you about me?" Doom put a hand on Barda's shoulder. He was shaking with anger.

"What is going on?" Marilen asked Lief. "Who is he?"

"I am Barda's father." David called out to her. She turned to him, surprised that he had heard her. "Surprising, I know, since he is clearly nothing like me. We share a similar facial structure, but that is all. I am far stronger than he will ever be. He does not deserve the title of chief." Barda shook Doom's hand off his shoulder and walked forward. David also moved forward. They stopped with about two feet between each other and stared each other down for a moment. "You have gotten taller." The tension was so thick you could slice it with a knife. There was a long moment of silence.

And then Barda's fist swung around and collided with David's jaw.

The force of the strike knocked him back a few steps, but he kept his balance. Snarling, he wiped blood from his split lip and glared at his son. In a movement that was unbelievably quick, his leg shot out and he planted his boot in the center of Barda's chest. Barda was thrown backwards and he crashed to the floor in front of his friends. Marilen gasped, and Lief stared at David in shock. Doom felt anger rising in his chest. Lindal looked furious. Jasmine could not believe her eyes. Rocky's fists were clenched, and his jaw was set firmly in anger.

"Do not start a fight you cannot win, Barda. Do you wish for me to humiliate you in front of your little friends?" David hissed. Jasmine crouched down beside Barda, but he pushed away her hands when she tried to help him up. He got to his feet, eyes burning with anger.

"Do not underestimate me." He snapped at David, who laughed.

"I will never acknowledge your strength." He jeered. "So you might as well give up now."

"Never." Barda growled, bolting forward, aiming to tackle the man to the floor. David stepped to one side with incredible speed and extended one arm, and flipped Barda onto his back with quite some force. Without any hesitation, he turned and stamped on his chest. Lief winced as he heard a loud crack when David's boot collided with Barda's ribs.

"Hey, you cannot treat him like that!" Ranesh barked out in horror. David turned to look at him.

"Do not tell me how to treat my own son, boy." He jerked his arm backwards, his elbow smacking hard into Barda's abdomen. The chief had tried to use Ranesh's distraction to take David by surprise, but unfortunately it had failed. He dropped to his knees, clutching at his stomach and gasping for breath. David rolled his eyes and kicked Barda in the jaw, knocking him onto his back again. With an angry snarl, he brought his boot down onto Barda's lower arm. Barda cried out in agony. "You know how easily I break bones, Barda. Remember when I snapped your arm when you were six? One twist was all it took."

"Leave him alone." Rocky growled dangerously. David turned to glare at him.

"How sweet. You think you can stand up for him? I will crush you as easily as I crush him." Barda had crawled to his knees and was attempting to stand up. David sighed in annoyance and back-handed him across the face, knocking him back down. "Give it up, Barda. You will never win this fight. And do you know why, Barda? Because you are nothing."

"How can you treat your own son like that?" Jasmine asked him. "You are a terrible father."

"No." David told her. "He is a terrible son. He is a failure." He glared down at Barda, who had given up trying to stand up. "Nothing but a worthless, pathetic palace brat. I am wasting my time here." He started to walk away from where Barda was curled on the floor. Doom stepped up beside Rocky, and Lindal followed his example.

"We are not going to allow you to treat our friend this way." Doom told him in a dark voice. David must have recognized the dark anger in his eyes, because he stopped walking. Lief looked past David and saw Barda starting to rise. He was about to say something, but then he realized there was something different about the chief. There was something in his eyes that he didn't quite like the look of.

"Never underestimate me." Barda hissed as he launched himself forward. David whirled around in surprise, but couldn't get out of the way in time. David slammed into the floor, Barda pinning him down, hands wrapped around his throat.

"Get him off, quick!" Rocky suddenly yelled.

"Why?" Doom growled. "The man deserves a little violence."

"Barda is trying to kill him." Rocky hissed. "Do you really want him to succeed?" Doom's eyes widened and he glanced back at Barda quickly. He bolted forward and took ahold of one of his arms as he realized that Barda was trying to kill his father. Rocky grabbed his other arm and together they pulled him off David, who started gasping for breath. Barda was trying to shake off the hands holding him, and so Lindal rushed over to help them. David pushed himself into a sitting position and stared at Barda for a moment, before laughing cruelly.

"There it is. The anger. The brutal wrath of your bloodline." He murmured in a low voice. "Go on, let it take over. Let it control you. Let it feed."

"Shut up." Rocky barked at him. He could feel Barda shaking beneath his hands. He had seen this happen before. "Keep your mouth shut."

"You feel it, inside you. It is a part of you." David went on. "We all share it. The savage anger."

"Quiet!" Doom snapped. "Barda, you have to calm down." Cae ran forward and touched a hand to Barda's face. He closed his eyes and focused some of his power into his hands. After a moment, Barda's shaking subsided and he seemed to calm down. Cae nodded to Rocky, Doom and Lindal, and they let go of him. Barda dropped forward onto his hands and knees and took several deep breaths, before glancing up and meeting the eyes of his father.

"You have three seconds to tell me why you came back, before I decide I want to kill you again."

"I came to warn you about the Shadow Army that is crossing the Plains as we speak." David told him. "It is heading for Del. It will be here by tomorrow morning, a little after dawn."

"Then we must begin the training at once." Cae said softly. David raised an eyebrow.

"What training?"

"Your son is going to save the world, all by himself." Doom growled. "Not so pathetic now, hmm?" Barda stood up and put a hand on Doom's shoulder.

"Do not bother trying to change his mind about me." He muttered. "It is a waste of time. He is set in his ways." He turned to Cae. "Tell me what I need to do, and we will make a start." Cae nodded, and then Barda returned his gaze to David. "I want you gone. I would not try to start anything, if I were you. With a wave of my hand, I can have you locked away in the dungeons. I have hundreds of men at my command, so it would be in your best interest to do as I say. Is that understood?" Lief couldn't help but smile. David stared up at Barda for a moment, before nodding ever so slightly. Barda strolled past him a second later, turning his attention elsewhere. Doom and Rocky followed him, towards the others and the children. Lindal was last to walk past David.

So she was the only one who saw the very faint smile on the man's face.

*

Cae sat down with them and explained exactly how their power worked, and how they were going to channel it through Barda's body. After they all established a connection with him, they would join hands to keep the power flowing. If the link was broken, the power would spiral out of control. It needed all ten of them to focus their minds to keep it level enough to be used.

"So, how does he use the power?" Doom asked Cae. To his surprise, it was Meytha that answered. The girlish-looking boy turned to Barda.

"Focus your mind on the palm of your hand." He said in a soft-sounding voice. Barda lifted a hand and stared down at his palm for a moment. "We shall establish first connection." Cae took Barda's hand, and the ten boys all linked fingers. Their eyes were closed and there was a look of concentration on each of their faces. Barda looked around at his friends, and ignored the eyes of his father burning into his back.

He could feel a strange tingling sensation in his palm, and he quickly glanced back at his hand. There was a faint aura around his body, slightly golden in colour. The tingling sensation got stronger and he could feel something surging through him. He focused harder, not quite knowing what he was supposed to be doing. He assumed he would know what needed to be done when it happened. The tingling became worse, and he could feel heat radiating from his skin.

"You are wasting your time." David growled from somewhere behind him. "He will never be able to harness your power." Barda felt anger rising in his chest again. In his mind, he was remembering all the times in his past when David had put him down. He could never do anything to please him. Nothing was ever good enough. "You should probably try to find someone who has a better chance of actually succeeding. Put the fate of the land into Barda's hands, and we will all be destined for a life under the Shadow–," Barda whirled around, his arm extended. David was cut off as a bright ball of light whizzed past his head and slammed into the wall behind him. He met Barda's eyes, saw the fire burning within them, and inwardly smiled.

"What did I say about underestimating me?" Barda growled. Doom stared at the hole in the wall, which was smoking slightly. "Next time, I will not miss." He warned. David lifted a hand to his cheek, where he could feel a thin scratch. It was minute, but he knew it was there. Even though the attack had missed him, the force of it had caused injury as it passed by.

"You are already learning." Cae said with a smile. "Your anger forced the power to the surface and you were able to use it without us telling you how. If you can remember the feeling you got before the power surged out of your palm, then you will be able to use it without any hesitation."

"It felt warm, like my skin was on fire." He told Cae, turning away from David. He looked down at his hand. There was no sign of the power he had used on his skin, nothing to suggest that he had just blown a hole in a solid wall.

"That is normal. You must be careful not to force too much power out of your body, as it could burn you." Rak'd told him.

"How is this going to stop an army?" Barda asked with a raised eyebrow. "Against Shadow Lord sorcery, this will be nothing."

"That is where we come in." Taz smiled, waving a hand at the six boys standing behind him. "We represent the seven gems in the Belt of Deltora. Our power will help stop the Lord of Shadows' sorcery. For example." they all held out their hands, and a faint glow surrounded Barda's body once more. Taz turned to Lief. "Try to touch him." Lief nodded and walked forward until he was in front of Barda. He reached and tried to put a hand on his arm, but before he could get close, his hand slammed against something hard. Shimmering ripples spread out from where Lief had tried to touch him.

"A force field?" He asked Taz in surprise.

"Of course!" Jasmine grinned. "The Belt of Deltora defends against the Shadow Lord, keeps it back. They work in the same way!" Zulis smiled.

"That is correct, Jasmine. As well as defending Barda against attack, we fill him and the people around him with courage and strength, happiness, faithfulness, and hope." He explained. "Once Barda is able to fully control our power, he will be able to use the force field to protect your army."

"An army will fall against the Shadow Lord." Ranesh commented. Paol turned to him.

"The army is only for image and support. They will not be needed." He told Ranesh. "Barda will need their thoughts and hopes to keep him strong. Their belief in him will help him succeed."

"There is something else that will help him succeed." They all turned to stare at David. He ignored Barda's warning glare. "His anger." Erald rolled his eyes.

"Anger is dangerous. If he loses focus then–,"

"For anyone else, yes." David cut in. "But Barda's anger will help him." He smirked slightly at their confused expressions. "It is a tradition in our family that every son born will become a palace guard. That is not so unusual, especially back in the time before the invasion. Every palace guard wanted any sons he might have to follow in his footsteps. Some went to great extremes to make that happen." Barda averted his eyes. "Some of you may think that was wrong, but you do not know the whole story."

"Then enlighten us." Rocky growled.

"Our tradition was not unlike any other family tradition. But unlike other families, we succeeded every time. Every son born to the family name became a palace guard without fail. Perhaps that does not sound so unusual, not until you know that more than half of the children born to the family name were male. Now it starts to look a little odd. Hundreds of boys train to become palace guards, and only a small handful of them succeed each year. Some of the failures go on to try again in a couple of years, certainly, but in this family, the boys passed first time."

"So, you have a skilled family." Jasmine shrugged. "How does that fit in with this?"

"Some people suspected there was foul play going on, and that is why we all succeeded first time. Of course, that died out when it became clear why we were able to succeed with such ease." He smirked. "Our anger. It fuels us. Something in our bloodline makes us thrive on anger. You saw it yourself earlier. Most people would not be able to pick themselves up after being beaten down like that. Even if they had not suffered major injuries, the humiliation alone would be enough to keep them down." David met Barda's eyes. "But his anger forced him to get back up. Forced him to attack me. You all saw that fiery anger in his eyes. I think one of you has seen it before today, too." Now his eyes landed on Rocky. "Am I right in thinking you have had to hold him back in the past, to stop him from tearing someone apart?"

"So what if I have? Who is to say the other guy did not deserve it?" Rocky shrugged. "I merely held him back to stop him from making a mistake and possibly ruining his career. If I had thought it would help, I would have let him rip that man's throat out in a second."

"That is the savage fury that dwells within him. Yes, it can be a dangerous thing, but that anger is what pushes us to do better. It pushes us to fight for what we love." He sighed, and the fierce mask faded away for a moment. "I fought to protect my family, and suffered for it." Doom glanced quickly at Barda, who had looked up with surprise. David met Barda's eyes. "I am sure you never wondered what had happened to me. I will explain everything to you in time, but you need to know now that I did not run away."

"I do not care why you left." Barda murmured. "Now, if you are done talking, I have some training to do."

"Think what you want, Barda. If you knew the truth, you would understand everything."

"Keep quiet, or I will have you locked away." He turned back to Cae. "Shall we continue?"

*

Over the next two hours, the children trained with Barda, helping him to learn how to harness the different types of power. The others helped him – Lief would engage him in swordplay, Rocky would fight with him in hand-to-hand combat, and Marilen and Leeya would use minor Toran magic. Ranesh made notes on the progress and offered advice, whilst Lindal and Doom kept a close eye on David.

After a while, Cae suggested that Barda then try to spread his defensive powers to the people around him. During the battle, he would have to protect the supporting army against the attacks of the Shadow Army whilst fighting back, and so he needed to be able to distribute the power evenly to make sure everyone was safe. Ranesh, Doom, Lindal, Lief and Jasmine stood behind Barda whilst Marilen and Leeya used harmless Toran magic against him. He put up a force field around them all, and tried to stop the magic from affecting them.

Eventually he began to get the hang of keeping the force field up whilst at the same time concentrating on fighting back. He was getting better at controlling the strength and force of the power he shot from his hands. He could feel the fiery tingling sensation before it reached his palms and knew how to distribute the power between both hands. He was making quick progress with the training, but something wasn't quite right. Eventually, David picked up on it.

"You need to attack him with the intent to kill." He said sharply. "Otherwise he will not be strong enough to fight against the Shadow Army. Harmless Toran magic is not as powerful as Shadow Lord sorcery." He turned to Rak'd. "You are the Dark representative. Feed me some of your power and I will attack him. It is the only way to make sure he is ready." Rak'd turned to look at Cae. The orange-haired boy glanced at Barda. They met each others eyes and understanding passed through them. Then Cae turned back to Rak'd.

"If it gets out of hand, I can control it. I will be able to take the power from him." Rak'd nodded and put a hand on David's arm. Cae looked back at Barda. He was surprised that the chief had allowed this, but then he guessed that he knew David was right.

"I will not hold back on you, Barda." David told him. Barda nodded.

"I know." He shrugged. "I do not care. Try your best, old man." The smirk on his face was teasing. Doom hid a smile behind his hand, and avoided meeting Lindal's eyes. He knew if he did, he would not be able to contain his laughter. The fierce woman had turned away because she could not stop the grin from crossing her face. With a scowl, David forced some of Rak'd's power through his hands, aiming it directly at Barda. A black ball of light whizzed towards him, and Barda's hands flew up, palms facing out. The ball of light smacked into the force field and almost fizzled out, but a small part of it passed through and hit Barda square in the chest. He staggered backwards and the force field disappeared.

"It is a good thing I thought of this test." David growled. "If that had been Shadow Lord sorcery, he would be dead now."

"Alright, you proved your point." Barda rolled his eyes. "Now, shall we try again? I need to strengthen my defensive power before this army reaches Del."

The training continued. Eventually Barda began to get the hang of fully blocking the attacks David sent his way, and even managed to spread the force field to shield the others. Every so often, Cae would ask them to stop so that Rak'd could manage the power he was channelling through David, to make sure that he wasn't going to lose control.

Barda then went on the offensive, trying to alter the size and power of each attack. He would only collect the power in his palms, to measure his control. He didn't want to blow any more holes in the wall.

"I think I am getting the hang of this." He smirked. "I wonder… is there a limit…"

"I would not encourage trying to force any more power through your hands." David said with a roll of his eyes. "You will injure yourself if your body cannot cope with the strain."

"I will be fine." Barda growled. "Time to test it out." He held out both hands and concentrated harder on bringing the power into his palms. All eyes were upon him as the power began to swirl in his hands.

"Barda, I do not think you should do this." Lief said quickly. He had an unusual feeling that something was going to go wrong. Barda ignored him and forced more power through his body. He could feel the fire in his veins; the tingling sensation was so strong it felt like the circulation was being cut off. The ball of power in each palm was swirling with great speed. He stared at it, and smiled. Just a little more…

His hands were suddenly on fire. The power fizzled out and he dropped to his knees as pain ripped through his entire body. He was aware that his friends had rushed to his side, and someone was inspecting his hands. When he was able to focus properly again, he noticed that smoke was rising from his palms. Doom was holding his wrists, staring at the angry red burns that covered his hands.

"Idiot." David growled. "That was stupid."

"We need to get those covered up." Marilen told him. "The raw skin is open to infection, and they will heal quicker if they are treated and bandaged immediately. I shall fetch–,"

"No, it is okay. I will do it." Doom smiled at her. He helped Barda to his feet. "I have treated burns before."

"Do not go anywhere." Barda said to the others. "I will resume the training once I return."

"That is not going to happen." David cut in. "Trying to force power through burned hands is only going to make it worse." Barda glared at him.

"We shall see." Doom tugged at his arm, determined to get Barda away from David as quickly as possible. He didn't want them to get into another fight.

*

"They are not so bad, really." Doom murmured as he gently cleaned the raw skin of Barda's palms. The chief hissed and winced in pain. "Sorry." Doom smiled apologetically. "How are you?"

"Asides from the burnt hands?" Barda drawled with a raised eyebrow.

"I was referring to your confrontation with your father." Doom told him, meeting his eyes. Barda sighed.

"I never wanted to see that man ever again." He admitted. "I have spent so many years of my life hoping he was dead so that I would not have to face him again." He touched his other hand to his ribs. "I think he cracked something." Doom frowned.

"Open up your jacket and shirt." He ordered. Barda raised his eyebrows. "Let me look. If you have cracked ribs, there will be bruising." Barda shrugged and moved to unbutton his jacket. He winced in pain.

"Might be an issue. My hands…" Doom chewed on his lower lip for a moment.

"If Spencer were here to see this, she would have a field day. Just… bear with me." He shuffled forward and began unbuttoning the jacket. Barda smiled slightly. He tried not to think about how close Doom was. He could feel warm breath on his jaw, and the occasional contact as Doom slowly unbuttoned his jacket. It was worse when Doom started on the shirt. His hands were warm as he pushed apart the material to get a look at his ribs. He traced his fingertips along each bone, feeling for any cracks. There was a lot of bruising over his entire chest from where David had attacked him.

"Usually the other person buys me a drink before molesting me." Barda murmured. Doom laughed quietly.

"I have bought you several drinks already." He replied in a low voice. Barda grinned.

"So you have." He paused, trying to decide whether or not to continue his line of thought. "I think we should be past the molesting stage by now, then." He thought he had taken it too far when Doom's head instantly jerked up and met his eyes. He kept the grin on his face, and was pleased to see the smile on the other man's.

"I shall remember you said that." He sat back and reached for the bandages. "We need to get those hands covered up. Give me your hand." Barda held out one hand and Doom pressed the end of one bandage to his palm. "Hold that in place." He did so, and waited patiently as Doom carefully unravelled the bandage around his injured hand. His touch was soft and gentle, as though he were frightened of inflicting pain. Barda kept his eyes on Doom's face as the man worked. "I am concerned for you, Barda. You seem very attached to that little boy."

"We have a connection, apparently." Doom shook his head.

"No. It is more than that." He tied the bandage and reached for a second one. He placed the end on Barda's palm, and the chief held it in place while Doom began to wrap up his burnt hand. He was silent for a long moment. "I know you are lonely, Barda." He tied the bandage, but kept Barda's hand in between his own. He met the chief's eyes. "So very lonely." His voice had dropped to almost a whisper. He ran his fingertips over the back of Barda's bandaged hand gently, and was surprised when Barda's fingertips ran along the inside of his other wrist. "I could help with that."

Before he was quite sure what he was doing, Doom had leant forward and slowly brushed his lips over Barda's. Once he realized what was happening, he knew it was too late to back out, and so he put more effort into it. He expected Barda to push him away any moment, but he was pleasantly surprised when Barda responded. The kiss was slow and soft, almost shy. They parted, and Doom smiled nervously. Barda returned his smile and leant in again to place a quick kiss on Doom's lips. Doom smiled into it, and lifted one hand to Barda's face, gently tracing his jaw with his fingertips.

"For how long?" Barda asked him in a soft voice. Doom smiled and pressed their foreheads together.

"Not long. I do not think I even knew it myself before today. I was thinking about what Spencer said about us being a good couple…" Barda grinned.

"I suppose we do." Doom tilted his head ever so slightly and captured the chief's lips with his own. This time the kiss was more confident, with the underlying hints of passion creeping in. When they parted this time, both were grinning. "We should probably get back to the others. They might wonder where we are, and I do not want to leave David unattended for too long. I want that man where I can see him." Doom nodded and stood up, holding out his hand. Barda took it, and Doom gently pulled him to his feet. They shared a smile before heading back to their friends.

*

When they returned, everyone was gathered around Lief, looking uneasy. The young king looked pale and shaken. Doom and Barda rushed over, their little moment together forgotten as worry took over.

"What happened?" Barda asked, pushing through them to get to Lief.

"I wanted to check something." Lief told him, his voice shaking. "I touched the Opal."

"What did you see?" Doom questioned.

"Bodies. Hundreds of black, twisted shapes on the ground." Lief took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm himself. "There was this dark figure standing among them. The body was completely black except for the hands, which were white. It had its back to us, but then it turned around, and its eyes were red…" He was shaking now. "I did not just see it. I felt this… chill. The sight of this figure sent fear right through me."

"We think the figure will be leading the Shadow Army." Jasmine told them.

"I will be able to help with your uneasiness." Paol smiled, and touched Lief's face. He instantly began to calm down.

"I do not normally feel things when I touch the Opal." He murmured.

"That may be my fault." Paol shrugged. "As the representative for the Opal, its power might be increased around me." Jasmine suddenly frowned.

"Can you see the future, Paol?" He smiled again, but said nothing.

"That does not matter now. Clearly the Shadow Army is definitely coming to Del, so we have to gather our own army." Barda turned to Rocky.

"I will round up the men, and tell them what is going on. They trust me to tell them the truth." He smiled at Barda.

"Good. Get as many of them as you can. Ranesh, any chance you know people from the city who would be willing to help?"

"A long list springs to mind." Ranesh grinned. "I shall get to it straight away." Marilen stepped forward.

"I can ask some Torans to come and help. Our magic may not be able to do anything to stop the Shadow Army, but we can spread hope and courage through our own army." Barda nodded.

"Excellent. Leeya, I trust you will keep an eye on the boys?"

"Of course."

"Lindal, is there any way for people from Broome to get here before tomorrow morning?"

"Maybe. I shall send a message to them."

"Thank you." Barda turned to Lief. "You need to tell the people that there is nothing to worry about, and that the army is only a precaution. Let them know they are going to be safe." Lief nodded. "We have to be prepared for tomorrow morning. No. We have to be prepared for tonight, just in case the army arrives early. I will send Scout out later, see if he can pinpoint the army's position."

"We should get to our tasks immediately." Lief announced. They all agreed, and went off in different directions. Leeya took the boys back to the ward, including Cae. Barda turned to David once everyone had left.

"I do not know what I am going to do with you." Barda told him.

"I could help."

"No. I want you out of this city as soon as possible. I do not wish to see you here again." David frowned.

"I have every right to be here. I am going to help, whether you like it or not. I will be in the training rooms if you need me." He strolled out of the room, the tails of his cloak swirling around his legs as he did so. Barda turned to Doom, and the scarred man smiled.

"Perhaps you should let him help, at least for now." He murmured, reaching out and putting a hand on Barda's shoulder. "Once you save the land, you can do what you like with him." His smile widened and he stepped closer to him. "And… you can do what you like with me." It had the desired effect. Barda grinned and leant in, brushing their lips together softly.

"I shall remember that." He murmured against his lips. He grinned again, and then laughed. Doom raised an eyebrow.

"What is so funny?"

"Nothing. I was just remembering a conversation with Rocky, down by the firing range." Doom smiled as he, too, remembered. "I think he would be rather shocked to find out the truth." Doom's smile faded slightly.

"I know you are also fond of Lindal, Barda." He told him. Barda's grin disappeared. "No, it is okay. I do not mind." He leant in to kiss him. "Just as long as I still have a place in your heart." Barda smiled softly.

"Of course."

"Now, what can I do to help?" Doom grinned. "I am sure you can think of a task for me." Barda sighed and pulled Doom forward into an embrace. Doom was surprised for a moment, but then wrapped his arms around the other man. He could tell when someone needed the comfort from a close embrace. He knew Barda needed it now.

"Why did he have to come back?" Barda murmured into Doom's neck. Doom leant his head against Barda's and closed his eyes.

"Try not to let him get to you." He said softly. "Come on, how about we go back to your office where you can relax in private?" Barda nodded and stepped back.

"Okay." He met Doom's eyes. "Thank you. For understanding what I need." Doom smiled.

"You need to rest, too." Barda shook his head.

"No. I cannot sleep now. Too much to do." He smiled faintly. "I need to talk to my deputy. Are you coming?" Doom nodded, and followed Barda out of the room.

*

Evening fell. The companions ate their evening meal in almost silence, all of them fearing for the next morning. Scout had returned with news that the army had been sighted coming towards Del. It was official. The battle was going to happen. The ten boys sat with them for the meal, and the conversation was mostly directed towards the next day. Rocky had managed to round up around two hundred men willing to face the Shadow Army, and Ranesh had found another fifty to help. A handful of warriors from Broome would be arriving later that evening, and Torans had already arrived.

Everyone was ready for the battle. Barda tried not to show it, but he was worried. He didn't think he was ready to face the Shadow Army and succeed. He couldn't train any further because of his hands, and that frustrated him. How was he going to be able to fight if his hands weren't healed by the next morning? Sharn had put a special healing cream on the burns earlier, and Doom had changed the bandages.

He hadn't seen his father since their confrontation, and he was glad of that. He hoped that David had taken the hint and left the city, but he had a feeling that he was still somewhere in the palace.

After the meal, Barda returned to his office to finish up some paperwork. Doom originally planned to follow him and try to get him to sleep, but decided to give him some space for a while. He went out into the gardens for a walk, and eventually he ended up by the memorial garden in the northwest corner. This had been created after the Shadow Lord's defeat, to remember those who had lost their lives in the struggle to overthrow evil. Markers were spread throughout the garden, engraved with names. He knew that in the heart of the garden there was a bed of roses, with three special markers in the center of it. One of them had Anna's name engraved into it, another had Endon's. Doom stopped short before he reached the roses, and saw a familiar man staring down at the third marker.

"I should have been here to save her." David murmured. "I know you are there, so do not bother trying to sneak away." Doom stepped out from the shadows and walked over, standing next to the man and staring down at the marker. Engraved into the stone was one word: Min. Barda's mother.

"She was a wonderful woman." He murmured.

"You knew her?" David asked with slight surprise. Doom smiled.

"I knew her. I was younger back then, and under a different name." He turned to glance at David. "I was Jarred, when she knew me." To his surprise, David smiled.

"The boyhood friend of Prince Endon, of course. I thought you looked familiar." At Doom's confused frown, he shrugged. "Min always talked about what she did. You even met me once."

"I did?"

"Right at the beginning, when Min was first hired as your nursemaid." He explained with a faint smile. "You might not remember the moment, as you were young. I was on my way to work that day, but our babysitter was sick so we could not leave Barda alone. After Min cleared it with Endon's parents, she told me to bring him by and she would watch him whilst looking after you and Endon. The two of you were playing a board game when I walked in with him." Doom raised his eyebrows. He couldn't quite remember it, but it sounded vaguely familiar. He was also surprised to learn that he had actually met Barda before, sort of. "Min was allowed to go home halfway through the day. Barda must have only been about a year old, so he demanded a lot of her attention."

"Why do you treat him badly?" Doom asked suddenly. "He is your son. You are supposed to love him unconditionally. Even if you think he is a failure, you should not tell him so." David said nothing for a long time.

"It is necessary." Doom frowned angrily.

"Necessary?" He hissed. "How is abusing your own child necessary?"

"All will be explained in good time." David growled. "Do not be so quick to judge me when you know nothing."

"Then help me understand." David met Doom's eyes.

"You care for my son." He murmured. "If you care about him so much, look after him." David pushed past him and disappeared into the gardens. Doom sighed and stared down at the marker. He knelt down and touched his fingers to the engraved letters. He made a silent promise to the deceased woman that he would make sure her little boy was safe.

*

Barda looked up as the door to his office opened, and smiled when Doom stepped into the room. He crossed the room and sat down on the other side of the desk. Barda noted the slightly flushed cheeks and the fact that he appeared to be shivering.

"Cold outside?" Doom smiled.

"A little." He reached over the desk and placed one hand over one of Barda's. "You need to sleep, Barda. You look awful."

"Why, thank you." Barda drawled. Doom rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean. Come on. You are going to bed." He stood up and walked around to Barda's side of the desk, pulling him onto his feet. "No arguments. If you are exhausted when the battle commences, you will make a mistake and it could cost you your life." He expected Barda to argue with him, but to his surprise he simply nodded slowly. Doom smiled and led him to the door. "I am going to make sure you get some sleep."

He let go of Barda's hand before they left his office, but he stayed close by as they walked through the palace up to his bedchamber. He averted his eyes as Barda stripped off his jacket and shirt – not because he was embarrassed, but because he did not want to look at the awful bruising that covered his skin.

"Doom." He turned to meet Barda's eyes. "I need a hand." Doom tried not to smile when he saw the faint blush on Barda's face. "Chest hurts if I try to bend, and my hands are still sore, and cannot move well." Heat rushed to Doom's face as he realized what Barda was asking him to do.

"Ah… Right…"

"I could just… sleep in them, I suppose." Barda murmured, staring down at his uniform trousers. "I am sure Sharn could get the creases out easily." Doom sighed.

"No, you might ruin them." He stepped forward and unbuttoned them quickly. Barda smiled and slipped them off. Doom spotted a pair of pyjama pants on the end of Barda's bed and fetched them, trying not to look at the half naked man in front of him. "Here." Barda pulled them on as best he could, and then took Doom's hand.

"No need to be so embarrassed, Doom. We are both men. It is nothing you have not seen before." Doom pulled Barda into him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"I was being polite." He murmured. "Now, into bed with you." He ran a hand over the bruised ribs and sighed. "That looks painful."

"I have had worse." Barda shrugged and turned to his bed. Doom watched him climb beneath the sheets and smiled, and then he turned to leave him in peace. Barda cleared his throat and Doom looked back at him, raising his eyebrows in a silent question. "I thought you were going to make sure I slept? You know better than to leave me alone. I will be up and out of bed the moment you leave the room."

"So what are you proposing I do?" Barda grinned and patted the space beside him in the double bed. "You… want me to…" He stared at Barda closely and saw past the grin. "No. You need me to." Barda's grin faltered slightly, and Doom sighed. He walked back over to the bed and tugged off his shirt and kicked off his boots before climbing in beside him. Barda instantly curled into him, and Doom put an arm around him. "You know, if you need comfort you can just ask. I am not going to make fun of you."

"I know." Doom pressed his lips to Barda's forehead and closed his eyes with a smile.

"I will always be here if you want to talk." He murmured. "I promise. I will always be here to look after you when you need it, because… I care about you." Barda was silent. Doom opened his eyes and glanced down at him, and smiled when he saw that Barda had fallen asleep. "Sleep well."

*

Doom woke with a start about an hour later, and realized at once that three things were wrong. One, he could hear shouts from elsewhere in the palace. Two, there appeared to be a freak storm going on outside. And three – Barda was not beside him. He jumped out of the bed and yanked on his shirt and boots, heading for the door. He ran through the palace towards the sounds of shouts, and almost ran head-first into Lindal.

"What is going on?" He asked her.

"I was just coming to fetch you. The army has arrived early." She told him. "Have you seen Barda?"

"No. I do not know where he is." Doom felt panic rising. "Come on, we have to gather everyone together."

"They are all in the room Barda used for training. Rocky is gathering the men he rounded up for our army, and Ranesh has sent for the people he rounded up." She told him as they made their way down to the ground floor. "The Torans are trying to calm the people down, but there is panic in the city."

"We need to find Barda and the children." Lief was pacing the room when they entered. He looked up, hope in his eyes, but it died away quickly.

"No Barda?" Lindal shook her head. "The children are missing, too."

"Do you think the Shadow Lord knew about them, and had them… dealt with?" Jasmine asked, fear in her voice. Doom tried to keep the panic away, but he was afraid for Barda. Where was he?

"We cannot go to battle without him." Leeya whispered. "Without the children. Where could they be?"

"They have gone to face the Shadow Army." They all spun around to face the door. David was stood there, dripping water onto the floor. His dark hair was plastered to his face. "Alone. I saw them leave."

"Then we must go to them!" Lief announced. "Gather the army. David, did you see the direction in which they went?"

"I followed them part of the way. I can lead you there."

"Then lead the way." Doom growled. "Quickly." I am coming, Barda. He thought to himself. They hurried out of the palace to see Rocky, Ranesh and the Torans waiting with the army the two men had formed. David put a hand on Lief's shoulder.

"Allow me. I have some experience in commanding an army this size." He stepped forward where all the men and women could see him. "The Shadow Lord has sent an army to destroy us. At this very moment, the palace guard chief is waiting to face them just outside of Del. We will go to him, and give him our support. We must not let the Shadow Lord regain control of this land!" Cheers and shouts followed his words. "I will lead the way, with your king at my side."

"Let the war begin." Doom murmured, standing on David's other side. Quickly, they all walked past the men and lead the way through the city. People stood in doorways and gardens, watching them and calling out their support. David had pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head, his face in shadow. Beside him, Doom kept his eyes focused on the path ahead. Lief and Jasmine walked on David's other side, both determined and fearful at the same time. Lindal, Rocky, Ranesh and Marilen followed behind them. The army they had gathered walked in silence, all of them hoping they were not too late to help. The storm was raging, rain slashing down around them. Thunder roared over their heads and lightning flashed white against the dark sky.

Eventually a new sound met their ears. The sound of another army approaching. Through the darkness, they saw an unusual glow ahead of them. Without quite realizing it, Doom quickened his pace. It had to be Barda. He recognized the glow from when Barda had been training. Finally the visibility became better, and they could all see Barda standing ahead of them, with the ten children around him. All of them had a golden glow around their bodies.

Doom noticed then that every child had golden hair. They had the same style hair as before, so it was easy to tell them apart, but they all had hair as blonde as Paol's had been. He knew that if he could see their faces, the left eye of each boy would be fiery orange. Cae was stood on Barda's right, his hand clutching the chief's. On Barda's left was Daimon. Cae was holding Rak'd's hand, and Rak'd was holding Gilh's hand. On the other side, Daimon was holding Erald's hand, with Zulis linking hands with him and Taz. Paol was next in line, with Yurie clutching his hand. Last of all was Meytha.

And then Doom realized.

"They are standing in the order of the gems in the Belt." He murmured. "So that the enemy can see he is protected." Barda turned around when they approached, and smiled at them.

"I knew you would come once the storm hit." He told them. David turned and barked orders at the army. They instantly formed a semi-circle around the area, prepared for the battle ahead. "They are almost here." Doom stepped forward and put a hand on Barda's shoulder.

"Are you sure you are ready for this?" Cae looked up at him and grinned.

"He is ready." He told Doom. "Now take your place among the supporting army. The Shadow Army is about to descend." As he finished speaking, the storm suddenly stopped. It was still dark, but the rain and the thunder had ceased. Doom hesitated. Barda met his eyes.

"Please, Doom. Stand back. If you got hurt… I would not forgive myself." He spoke in a low voice so the others would not hear him. Doom nodded.

"Okay." He took his place in the army, trying not to worry too much. A dark shadow appeared on the horizon, moving fast towards them. They were stood on the edge of a large plain, with a small forest at their backs. There was flat ground for miles. Nowhere for the enemy to hide.

"Here they come." Barda murmured. "Let us begin." The children nodded and formed a circle around him, holding out their hands. He extended his arms so that they could touch him, and he felt all their power beginning to surge through his body. He remembered the vision they had given him. It felt so long ago now, although it had only been about two days, if that. He knew exactly what they would say. He knew what the words meant. Uto hola. Our hope. He looked down at them. "Tor hola." He told them. Your hope.

"Hope." They all murmured in response. Barda smiled, and nodded once, briefly. They let go of his arms and stood beside him again. "Now." They spoke as one, and Barda instantly lifted his hands and built up the force field. A flash of violet light slammed against the force field and fizzled out. There was another flash of light and the field was instantly illuminated. Shadowed figures were lined up across the other side of the plain. Monsters of various shapes and sizes were among them, including several Vraal.

"Here we go. Everyone, give him your hope, your courage and your strength." Leeya called out. The Torans linked hands and spread their magic over the army, boosting their hope. Barda walked forward onto the plain, leaving the children behind. Cae and Daimon reached out to link hands to fill the space, and the glow around Barda's body brightened. He had all their power now.

On the other side of the plain, a tall man stepped forward. He looked like Fallow, like Prandine. He was tall, thin and looked dangerous. He lifted his hands and that same violet came hurtling towards Barda.

"Nice try." Barda held out his hand and drew the violet light into his palm, before he tossed it aside. It slammed into the ground a few feet away, leaving a smoking crater.

"So, you are the all-powerful man that thinks he can stop my master from taking over." The man sneered.

"That is correct." Barda growled. "Do you have a name?"

"No name. I am known only as X."

"It would be in your best interest to return to the Shadowlands, X." Barda called to him. "Because I will not allow you to come any further."

"Fool. You think you can stop me? I would like to see you try!" X laughed, gathering more of the violet power in his hands. Barda stood his ground, and forced power through his hands. He winced at the fiery sensation, and hoped that his hands would be able to cope with the force. Just as X threw his ball of violet power, Barda threw his ball of golden power. The two smacked together and exploded, causing fire to rain down onto the plain between them.

Behind Barda, the army was watching in fear and hope. Doom was shifting nervously. Lief and Jasmine were holding hands, using each other for comfort. Lindal glanced at David, and noticed the faint look of concern in the dark eyes. It was clear that David was worried for Barda's safety.

"So you have some power after all. It will be nothing against my sorcery." X laughed bitterly. "Once I have destroyed you, my army will descend upon your pitiful forces and slaughter them all. Then we shall take your land for ourselves!"

"Over my dead body." Barda hissed, holding out both hands and forcing the power out through them. Twin beams of light shot out towards X, but the sorcerer waved his hand and they disappeared. In a split second, he copied the movement with his own power. Barda's hands came up to reinforce the force field, but the power was a little stronger than he expected. He staggered backwards under the pressure, and dropped to one knee. Doom made to move forward, but Lindal put a hand on his arm.

"He will be fine, Doom." He turned to her and saw that she was just as worried as he was, and sighed. She cared about Barda as much as he did. "Let him do his job."

Barda jumped to his feet and looked up just as X was lifting a spinning blade-like mass of violet fire over his head. He felt a different surge of power, and felt his mind clearing. Taz was feeding in some of the power of the Topaz. An idea jumped into his mind and he smirked, preparing for the attack. X threw the spinning fire, and Barda extended the force field out on the plain. It wrapped around the spinning fire and drew it in towards Barda's palm.

"Hah. You may have stopped that, but you will never–," X stopped short when he saw Barda lifting the spinning fire up over his own head. "He is going to throw it back!" He hissed at the shadowed figures behind him. "Be prepared to duck. I do not think I can block it!"

"I wonder if he can stand being hit with his own power." Barda growled to himself with a grin.

"You think you can win by throwing my own power back at me?" X called out with a laugh. "Pathetic!" The word stung Barda. Reminded him of every time David had called him pathetic and worthless. And then he had another idea. With a grin, he pulled his arm back, as if he were about to throw the spinning fire back across the plain. With a quick twist, he turned his body and slammed the fire into the ground. A great crack split the plain apart and rushed towards the opposing army. "Get out of the way, quick!" X screeched, and the shadowed figures jumped aside as a chasm opened in the ground. However, the monsters did not have the brain capacity to understand what was happening, and almost all of them disappeared into the chasm with howls and screams. The army behind Barda cheered as they witnessed half of the enemy vanish into the ground. X was furious. He turned and started throwing balls of power left and right in a fit of rage. All of them fizzled out the moment they struck the force field, and Barda smirked.

"Not working out the way you thought it would, X?" He began to gather every ball of energy into a large mass of power, and threw it back towards the Shadow Army. It struck a band of shadowed figures and they fell back with an awful screech.

"I will destroy you!" X roared. Barda laughed.

"I am sure you will." He was about to fight back with his own power, but stopped short when he felt something alter in his system. There was a surge of fire in his veins, and the tingling sensation returned, but this time it was in his whole body and not just his hands. He glanced back at the children and noticed that Rak'd's glow seemed to have changed colour. Instead of the same golden colour as the others, it was darker.

And it was getting darker.

As he watched, the other boys suddenly broke the link as if they had been shocked, and Rak'd's glow changed to black. Barda felt his entire body flare up with power, and darkness crept into his mind. He stared down at his body and saw that everything was turning black. He lifted his hands in front of his face and suddenly he realized the truth behind Lief's vision. The shadowed figure that had instilled so much fear in Lief wasn't part of the Shadow Lord army.

It was him.

The white hands were his bandages. His whole body, clothes and all, was black. He knew if he looked in a mirror, his eyes would be red. He felt the darkness pulling at his mind and knew that in a moment it would take control.

"What is happening to him?" Doom asked Cae. The boy looked terrified.

"Rak'd is forcing too much of his power into Barda's body. He is being controlled by darkness!" Gilh was clutching at Rak'd now, attempting to dampen the dark power with his own light power, but it wasn't working.

"I cannot stop him!" Gilh exclaimed.

"What will happen to Barda?" Lief questioned. He was remembering his vision of the future. The bodies. The twisted, broken shadows. The red eyed figure turning to face them.

"We have to try and extract the dark power from him." Cae said, his eyes on Barda. "Otherwise he will not be able to distinguish who is on his side." He met Lief's eyes and the king panicked slightly when he saw the fear within them. "He will turn on us."

They all glanced back at Barda. The chief was hunched over, his entire body just a black shadow. He slowly straightened up and faced X and the remaining Shadow Army. X was already preparing for the next attack. A long staff had materialised in his hand and he was holding it up high. The tip was glowing green, and strings of light were swirling around it. X swung the staff around in an arc and a curve of green energy flew towards Barda. He threw his hands up and the green energy exploded instantly. With a dark laugh, he collected a swirling mass of black power in one palm and swung his arm in an arc. The power spread across the plain and X quickly held out his staff. The rest of the Shadow Army was vaporised instantly, but X remained. The staff had blocked the energy.

"It is over, X." Barda's voice was dark, deep and threatening. It did not sound like his voice at all. "Now, die." He slammed both hands into the ground and a line of black fire sliced across the plain. X tried to block it with his staff, but the fire consumed it and turned it to ash. Then the fire reached X, and he collapsed to the ground, the black fire covering his body. When it burnt out, there was nothing left of him.

The army didn't know whether to cheer or not. Red and grey clouds boiled over Dread Mountain, and began to sweep across the sky. Lief grasped the Belt of Deltora in panic.

"It is Barda! He is drawing in the dark power of the Shadow Lord!" Gilh cried out. "If we do not stop him, then all of this has been for nothing!" As he spoke, Barda began to turn around. Time seemed to slow down for Lief. It was exactly as he had pictured it in his mind. The red eyes narrowed and a manic grin crossed Barda's face. He lifted his hands, black energy collecting in his palms.

"There is one way to stop him." Cae murmured.

"No!" The other nine boys cried out at once, but Cae ignored them. He ran forward towards Barda before anyone could stop him. Doom darted forward, but was thrown back when he hit the force field.

"What the? Why can I not get past?" He asked Gilh.

"Because Cae does not want us to be harmed. It is his own special force field." Gilh murmured sadly. "The barrier between war and peace." Gilh turned to Rak'd, who was shuddering as the power left him and surged through Barda. "He is going to stop Barda."

"How?"

"He will remove the power. Like he would have done for David if it had gotten out of control during training." Daimon sighed. "But that was only a small amount. This is almost all of Rak'd's power."

"What will happen?" Jasmine asked, fear in her voice.

"Cae will be ripped apart." Meytha whispered. They all turned to watch the golden-haired boy rushing towards Barda. As one they attempted to push through the barrier Cae had erected. "It is no use. We cannot help him now."

Barda faltered at the sight of the boy running in his direction. There was something familiar about him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he recognized the face. He knew this child. Cae reached him and took his hands.

"Let go of the power. Let go." He murmured. Barda cried out and dropped to his knees as the power was suddenly forced out through his hands. His body was burning. There was fire in his veins. His mind went blank.

A blinding white light surrounded Cae and Barda, blocking them from sight. The Del army watched on as the light increased in brightness, illuminating the plains around them. Eventually it got so bright they had to shield their eyes to avoid being blinded.

Inside the light, Barda opened his eyes. Cae was stood over him, his hair amber in colour once again. His eyes were the same soft brown he remembered, and he was smiling. His skin was slightly transparent.

"It is okay now, Barda. I removed Rak'd's power from your body. You saved the land, and so I saved you. Please keep safe." And then light exploded from Cae's body. Barda shielded his eyes quickly. The light dimmed and faded away. He uncovered his eyes and gazed around. Rain began to fall, not as heavy as it was before, but light and almost gentle. His eyes fell on the body lying beside him on the ground. Soft, golden hair, with a hint of amber. It was Cae.

"Cae?" He put his ear against the boy's chest. He slowly lifted his head and stared down at the unmoving boy. "No heartbeat." Tears sprang to his eyes as it sunk in. Cae was dead. With shaking hands, he lifted the boy into his arms and stood up. The army was waiting for his return. He slowly began to walk towards them, but it felt like his legs were made of lead. He could barely lift them off the ground. His entire body ached, and his hands were on fire. Pain surged through his chest with every step and every breath, but he kept on going.

Doom staggered forward when he saw Barda carrying Cae back towards them. As he passed through the spot where the force field had been, he realized it was gone.

"The force field… has gone." He murmured.

"It was destroyed when Cae…" Gilh sighed softly. Barda was still staggering towards them. He had almost reached them when he lost his balance and fell to one knee. Doom, Lief, Jasmine and Lindal all ran forward. Lief eased Cae's body to the ground as Doom steadied Barda.

"He is… dead…" Barda croaked out before he slipped into unconsciousness. Lief checked Cae for a heartbeat and sighed. He met Jasmine's eyes and shook his head slowly.

"Come on. We need to get Barda into the palace." Lindal said quietly. Doom nodded. He moved to lift Barda into his arms.

"I will take him." They all looked up at David. He ignored them and bent down, lifting Barda up into his arms. Without another word, he turned and began walking back the way they had come to get here. Doom sighed and picked up Cae's broken body.

"This is a terrible thing." He said, staring down at the peaceful face. "But at least the threat has passed." They followed David back to the army, but before they could get past, the remaining nine children stepped in front of them.

"Peace has been destroyed in Deltora." They said in unison. "But hope will still remain." With one movement, they turned around and began to lead the way through the army. The men and women were silent as David carried Barda through, and a few of them averted their eyes when they saw Doom carrying Cae.

The walk back to the palace was silent and solemn. No one spoke. The shock of what had just happened was sinking in. Cae was dead. Barda was out cold. And the words the other nine boys had spoken filled them all with a dread they couldn't explain.

*

They put Cae's body in the chapel. They lit candles and placed them around the young boy, and then left to see to Barda. David had taken him to the medical bay. No one knew what was wrong with him. There were no injuries other than the ones David had inflicted upon him before. He did not appear ill.

Doom sat by his side all morning. Lindal would visit occasionally to see if there was any improvement, but there was nothing. Eventually, around noon, the companions gathered around Barda's bed to discuss what they should do next.

"What did the children mean when they spoke?" Lief asked with a frustrated sigh.

"I do not know." Jasmine shrugged. "I assume they were referring to Cae's death. He was the representative for peace, after all."

"That would explain the first part." Lindal agreed. "But what of the second part?"

"Hope will still remain." Marilen murmured. "It has to have more significance than it would first seem." They all glanced at Doom. The scarred man was staring at Barda's face, almost as if he was trying to will the man back into consciousness. Lief glanced around at his friends.

"Doom." The man looked up. "Unless we find out what is wrong, it would be best for us to focus on what happens next." Doom said nothing, and went back to watching Barda. Lief smiled grimly at Jasmine, who nodded. She put a hand on her father's shoulder.

"Come on, I am sure he is fine. He might just be resting." She smiled at him. Doom stared at her in surprise, and then he jumped up.

"Of course!" He exclaimed. "I cannot believe I did not think of this sooner!" He bent over the bed and listened closely to the sound of Barda's breathing. Then he looked around the room with a grin. "He is asleep." He laughed. "I forgot until now. Barda has not slept for more than an hour at most in about three days. Couple that with the fight with X and the Shadow Army, and it makes perfect sense for him to pass out. He was exhausted. His body finally took control of the situation and forced him to rest."

"How long will he be out for?" Lief asked him. Doom shrugged.

"It is impossible to say. He will wake only when he is rested enough."

"So, shall we turn our minds to working out if we are really safe from attack or not?" Lindal cut in.

"Leeya, is it possible for you to talk to the other boys? See if you can learn something?" Jasmine asked her. Leeya nodded.

"I can try." She turned and left Barda's private room, aiming for the ward where they had returned the children to.

"I do not think we can do anything else. Just… go on like we normally would." Lief told them all. Doom nodded.

"A good plan. Try not to let anyone see your worry. We need them to think that everything is perfectly normal, and safe." He shrugged. "If something happens, we can just say we did not expect it."

"Well, I should get back to the library." Marilen smiled. She linked arms with Ranesh and the two of them left the room.

"I have to see to the birds." Jasmine announced. Lief nodded.

"I should see how mother is doing. She was convincing the people of the palace that the children helped to save us and so they should not be feared." As they left, Lindal moved to the other side of Barda's bed.

"He is definitely okay?" She asked Doom. He looked up and saw the concern in her eyes. He smiled.

"I believe so, yes." She looked tired. She'd barely had any sleep since arriving here, and he knew how exhausting travelling was. "You should go and get some sleep. I will stay here, in case he wakes." She nodded.

"Okay. Let me know if he wakes up." She watched Doom get comfortable in the chair beside the bed, saw the caring gaze, and grinned. "I know he will be in good hands." Doom turned around with a start, but she had already left the room. He sighed and turned back to look at Barda. He reached out and gently stroked his cheek.

"I hope I am right and you are simply exhausted." He murmured. "I hope you wake up soon." He checked that there was no one outside in the hall and leant forward to kiss his forehead. "Until then, I will watch over you."

*

Barda was still out cold two days later. Doom and Lindal took turns at his bedside, and occasionally gave up their seat to Lief, Jasmine or Sharn. Marilen would visit and tend to his burnt hands, and even Leeya came to visit to check on his progress. David had not been seen since the day of the battle. The children had not spoken a word, despite all of Leeya's efforts. Eventually she voiced her opinion that the children would only talk for Barda, and that it was pointless to keep bothering them. They were grieving over the death of Cae.

A week later and reports from around Deltora were flooding in. All of them said the same thing – territorial battles were being fought all over the land, and bandits were running wild. Dangerous activity had risen.

Peace had been destroyed.

Lief was having trouble keeping up with the replies to each letter and report sent in. Jasmine and Sharn helped as much as possible, but they were slowly being swamped. Marilen and Leeya asked the Torans to help send out notices to every village, town and city to make sure the people knew that they were doing everything they could to sort out the problems. Barda was still out cold, although Doom was sure that it could not be much longer before he woke.

They discussed their problems around his bed whenever possible. Mostly because Doom would not leave him on his own for any period of time, and partly because they felt that hearing their voices might rouse him.

*

It had been a week and a half since the battle. Doom was sat beside Barda, a book in his hand. His other hand was resting on top of one of Barda's. The burns had healed now, as had the other injuries he had suffered. He quickly withdrew his hand as he heard the door open, and looked up. He raised his eyebrows at the man that stepped into the room.

"We all thought you had run off somewhere." He said quietly. David smirked.

"I have been keeping low." He walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down. "Still no sign?" Doom glanced at Barda's sleeping face.

"None." David leant forward and inspected his face.

"Are you sure this is simply exhaustion?"

"He had not slept for three days, and then he forced himself not only to train for a whole day, but to also fight to save Deltora. He absorbed too much of Rak'd's power, and that also wore him out." Doom sighed. "I do not see what else it could be." David nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer. There was a long silence. "Why did you come here, David?"

"To see how my son was faring." He shrugged.

"That is not what I meant." Doom met David's eyes firmly. He noticed for the first time that David had a scar beneath his left eye – very faint, but definitely there. David smirked.

"I came here to warn officials of the army." Doom raised an eyebrow. "And because I was able to, for the first time in thirty-three years."

"I do not understand." David lifted his hand and touched the scar beneath his eye.

"I assume you know that I disappeared from the palace when Barda was seven years old." Doom nodded. "I did not run away. I would never have left my family like that. I loved my wife more than anything."

"What about your son?" The bitter response was out before he could stop it, but David did not seem to mind.

"Believe it or not, I care about him. I always have." David looked back at him and smiled faintly. "The morning I disappeared, we had a fight. Do you know why?" Doom shook his head. Rocky had not told them any details. "I gave him his sword. The one he carries now. It used to be mine. We have many traditions in our family, and that sword is one of them. It has been passed down for several generations. He did not understand why I was giving him the sword. I took it as ungratefulness. I thought he cared nothing for the traditions of the family. I was wrong, of course. I see that now." David smiled properly now. "Why else would he still carry the sword?" Doom stared down at Barda and felt a smile tugging at his lips. "He left our family home in anger. I let him go, even though Min told me to go after him. I wish now that I had gone after him."

"Why?"

"Min left for work shortly after. I was still angry myself, so I took a walk through the gardens. The chief of the guards came looking for me, told me there was a disturbance in the southwest corner. I went to check it out for him." David sighed. "And I never reported back. I had found Shadow Lord spies. They attacked me, and managed to knock me out. And then they took me away."

"To the Shadowlands?"

"No. I thought it was possible, at first, but I quickly realized that they had taken me out of Deltora. They could not risk me escaping, it would seem." He once again touched the scar under his eye. "It took me ten years to work out how to escape. Another five to wait for the perfect time. Another seven to get off the land they took me to. A year to travel across the ocean. Five years to find Deltora." He smiled. "Three years to track down my son, and two years to get here." Doom stared at him in shock.

"You spent thirty-three years returning to your home?"

"Not such a cold man anymore, hmm?" His smile widened. "I never stopped thinking about my family."

"How did you get that scar?" Doom questioned, his curiosity finally getting the better of it.

"Escaping. I was nearly blinded." David told him. "What about you?" Doom lifted a hand and traced his own scar.

"In the Shadowlands. I fought a Vraal, and escaped." David looked surprised for a moment.

"So we are both marked by shadows." He murmured. "When I first landed on Deltora, the Shadow Lord was in power. I could not risk asking questions. I heard stories about the three heroes." Doom smiled. "After the Shadow Lord was defeated, I started to ask my questions. I learnt that one of the three heroes was a former palace guard called Barda. I thought passing it off as coincidence was idiotic."

"So why did you not come to Del straight away?"

"I was tracking down others first. I had brothers and sisters that I needed to check up on. I also knew that Barda would not want to see me, and would not believe me if I said the only reason I was there was to see him. I wanted to wait until I had another reason to be there." He shrugged. "When I turned up here and saw the memorial garden, I knew the things I had been told were true." He sighed. "My captors taunted me. They told me my wife and son were dead. I did not believe them, but when I saw Min's name in the memorial garden…" His voice failed him for a second, but he quickly recovered. "I blame myself. If I had not allowed myself to be captured and taken away, I would have been here when it happened. I would have ensured that both of them made it out alive."

"Thinking about what could have been will not change what happened, and it will certainly not make you feel better." David met his eyes.

"Who did you lose?"

"My wife, same as you." Doom told him. "Anna. Though I remember nothing of her death. We were taken to the Shadowlands. She died there, and I lost my memory after the fight with the Vraal. I gained most of my memory back, but there are still parts missing." He looked down at Barda. "Why did you treat him badly if you cared so much about him?"

"So that he would be the man he is today." David said after a moment. "My father was worse. He treated all of us badly, and because of that I tried to prove him wrong. I did the same with Barda." He shrugged. "There was a slight difference, however. My mother let my father do as he wished with me. Min would argue. She hated it when Barda and I argued and fought. Her love for him made sure that he turned into a better man than I did. I did it for him." Doom said nothing. "You can choose whether or not to believe me."

"You humiliated him. You inflicted injuries upon him without hesitation."

"I did nothing more than what his friends would do whilst training." David shrugged. "I know I am his father, but it made him into the man he is now. Do you think he would be the same man if I had been as doting as his mother?" He stood up. "If he wakes, let me know. But do not tell him what I have told you. I will tell him myself, when the time is right, and if he wants to know." Doom nodded. David stopped at the door and looked back at him. "He cared about that boy like he would his own son. He has no wife, no children of his own. Is it going to stay that way?" Before Doom could answer, David left the room. Doom turned to look back at Barda.

He knew Barda wanted children. He saw it when Barda observed other parents. Sharn had mentioned that Barda was always willing to watch over a child if he had the time. The time Barda had had with Cae was also an obvious sign that he yearned for fatherhood. He took Barda's hand and sighed.

"I think when you wake up, we need to talk." He told the unconscious Barda. "I do not think it is going to be a conversation either of us will enjoy."

*

Another three days passed. Doom had fallen asleep at Barda's bedside, his head resting on Barda's hand. He woke up slowly when he felt Barda's fingers twitch beneath him. He lifted his head and quickly jerked backwards. Barda's whole body was glowing faintly.

And then he realized.

"Hope still remains." He whispered. "Of course!" The glow faded away, and Doom grinned when he saw Barda's eyelids flutter and slowly open. He took the other man's hand and leant in. "Hey, about time you woke up." Barda's eyes flickered over his face, and he slowly grinned.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost two weeks." Barda's eyebrows shot up. "You were obviously exhausted."

"The battle?"

"Won. But there is trouble." Doom sighed. "Peace has been destroyed, Barda. There are territorial fights, and bandits. Pirates are swarming on the coasts." Barda suddenly sat bolt upright.

"Cae." He whispered. Doom squeezed his hand. "He died, and it was my fault."

"No. It was not your fault, Barda."

"If I had not turned into that monster, he would not have needed to take the power from me. He would not have died." Doom stood up and perched on the edge of the bed. He pulled Barda into a hug. "I killed him, Doom."

"You did not kill him." Doom murmured. "Do not blame yourself." Barda clutched at him and Doom sighed as he felt his whole body shaking. He knew that the tears would follow very soon. "You thought about keeping him here."

"I thought that if they had nowhere else to go, then maybe…"

"You want children." Barda pulled back, and Doom tried to ignore the tears in the other man's eyes. He had to do this. "I know you do."

"I have thought about it." He ran the back of his hand over his eyes to wipe away the tears. "But I have left it too late. And besides…" He linked his and Doom's fingers together. "I am pretty sure you need a woman to have children." Doom sighed.

"And that is why you have to marry Lindal." Barda stared at him in shock.

"What?"

"You care about her. She cares about you. She can give you what I cannot." Doom smiled sadly at him.

"Did you change your mind about me?"

"No. I just think you would be better off with her." Barda shook his head and leant forward, bringing their lips together. Doom kissed back for a moment before pulling away. "She can give you what you want, Barda. You want a family." Barda bowed his head. "I am sorry, Barda. I know you are hurting because of Cae, but I want you to be happy."

"I understand." He murmured. He lifted his head. "So, you still…?" Doom nodded with a smile. "And Lindal definitely…?" Another nod. "I see."

"Are you going to be okay?" Doom asked. Barda smiled.

"Yeah. I suppose I am." He leant forwards, and this time Doom was the one to start the kiss. Barda pulled back and noticed that Doom looked tired. "You have not left my side for two weeks, have you?"

"I could not. I was worried."

"So you have been catching an hour or two of sleep, in an uncomfortable chair, for the past two weeks?" Barda raised an eyebrow. "And to think you complained about me not getting three nights' worth of sleep." Doom grinned.

"Who said I slept in the chair?" Barda returned the grin.

"Now… what is this about territorial fighting?" Doom sighed, and explained what had happened in the two weeks he had missed.

*

"So, you think Barda still has power within him?"

Barda was up and out of bed, and they were gathered in Lief's office. Doom had explained about the glow he had seen before Barda woke up, and his theory that the boys had been referring to Barda when they said that hope would still remain.

"Cae took everything out of me. There is nothing left." Barda muttered. Speaking of the boy was still painful.

"I saw the glow, Barda. It is possible that Cae left something in your system so that you could fix the problem that his death caused." Doom said, pacing the room. "It makes sense. Judging from the reactions of the other boys, Cae knew that he would die. If he knew that this would happen then it is very likely he would install a way to stop it."

"It does make sense, Barda." Jasmine agreed. "Cae would think of things like that."

"When I was harnessing their power, I could feel it. Fire and tingling. I feel nothing now." He shook his head. "Maybe the glow was just an after effect. Maybe it meant nothing."

"Wait." Lief suddenly grinned. "The fire and tingling happened when all ten of them were channelling their power through you. What if you only have power from Cae?" Barda frowned.

"When Rak'd was the only one feeding me power, I felt the fire and the tingling, and it was worse." He told them. "I do not see why it would not be the same for Cae."

"Cae was all about peace. Do you feel anything at all?" Marilen questioned. Barda shook his head.

"I feel normal. Your theory is wrong, Doom. There is nothing I can do to help." He turned away from them in frustration.

"Tell us something we do not already know." David growled from the doorway. "You are as useless as ever." Doom frowned and was about to warn David to keep quiet when he saw the smirk on David's face. The man lifted a finger to his lips, and Doom nodded. "You did not save Deltora. The children did, and if it were not for Cae giving his life then you would have made things worse instead of making them better. That boy died because you were a pathetic wreck, just like you always have been."

David could not help but grin when a spinning ball of power slammed into the wall beside his head. Barda stared at his hand in amazement. Everyone else exchanged surprised smiles.

"Well, well. Look at that." David murmured. "You do still have power, after all." Barda stared at him for a long time. David kept the grin on his face, and slowly Barda realized that David had wound him up on purpose.

"My anger helps me." He muttered with a slight smile. "You made me angry so that I would lash out at you, and uncover the power that Cae gave me." David nodded once. Doom put a hand on Barda's shoulder.

"I knew you still had it in you. I felt it." When Barda frowned in confusion, he smiled. "I spent the last two weeks at your side almost permanently. During those two weeks I have never felt angry, or stressed. I have been calm, relaxed, and at ease."

"The fire and tingling sensation came from the other boys. Cae never fed you his power for the battle, because it was not needed." David told Barda. "Cae would never have given you his power if everything had worked out fine. I spoke to the other boys. They told me that the power of Peace had never been needed. Cae's purpose was to find you, and establish the bond. He was never a part of the battle plan. That is why you cannot feel his power like you felt the power of the others."

"But… what do I do now? How is his power going to help us solve the issues at hand?"

"Spread it through the land." David smiled. "They told me what you need to do. Go to the place where peace was destroyed, and spread hope throughout the land."

*

He stared at the plain ahead of him. A burnt path led the way to the center, where X had once stood. There was a great chasm in the middle of the plain, half-filled with loose dirt where local villagers had tried to fill it in. Barda strolled out to the spot where he remembered standing and stared down at his hand. His palm was glowing slightly. He knelt down and placed his hand against the ground. He saw the power rather than felt it, and smiled sadly at the thought of the young boy who had given him this power. Cae.

He saw trails of white light leaking out all over the plain, fading away into the distance. If what David had said was true, then the hope and peace in the power would spread through the land. It would not stop the fighting, but it would give people the hope to believe that the problems would be solved and peace might one day be restored.

He heard footsteps behind him and he stood up and turned around to see Taz standing on the edge of the plain. Barda frowned slightly, and waited for Taz to come forward, but he remained in his place. A hand touched Barda's shoulder and he turned his head to look at whoever was there. His breath caught in his throat at the face of the woman standing at his right. He glanced back at Taz quickly, and saw that the boy was smiling. Barda felt his mind clear, and then he remembered.

The Topaz has the power to open doors into the spirit world.

He met the eyes of the ghostly woman next to him and she smiled. She lifted her hand from his shoulder and placed it gently on his cheek. Her touch was surprisingly warm.

"You have become a wonderful man, my son." She murmured softly. "I have already visited your father. Do not resent him, Barda. He cares about you. Like you, he does not like to show it, but that does not mean it is not there."

"Mother…"

"And you must not blame yourself for the child who lost his life here. He does not blame you, so why should you?" She smiled at his confused expression and stepped to one side. Behind her, Cae smiled up at Barda.

"You must forgive yourself, Barda. I knew that I would die, and yet I did not mind. It was my purpose, like it was the others purpose to protect you, and help you."

"I was going to look after you." Barda whispered. Cae's smile widened.

"I would have liked that, but now you can give your devotion to someone else." He tilted his head to one side. "I have to go now, but I will visit again, when the time is right." He began to fade. Barda turned to his mother and saw that she, too, was beginning to fade.

"Keep safe, sweetheart." She smiled, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "And look after your father for me." He nodded slowly, and she took Cae's hand. They turned and walked across the plain, disappearing into nothingness after a moment. Barda spun around to face Taz, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. With a sigh, Barda started walking back towards Del.

*

He stopped in the memorial garden on the way back to the palace, and located the rose bush with his mother's marker. He was surprised to see another marker placed beside it, and smiled. He recognized Doom's writing. The scarred man had put Cae's marker here. He heard footsteps and turned to see Lindal walking towards him. He was reminded of his conversation with Doom, and sighed.

"It was Doom's idea to put Cae's marker next to your mother's." Lindal told him, standing a couple of feet away. Barda turned to her and smiled. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. I am." She returned his smile. "I just need to forgive myself for what happened." He dropped his gaze back to Cae's name. Lindal walked over and put a hand on his arm, and he felt a smile pulling at his lips. It was now or never. "Although… I might need some help to achieve that." He looked up and met her eyes. She stared at him in confusion for a moment, and then understanding flooded through her.

"You mean…?" He smiled and leant in, kissing her quickly. She was grinning when he pulled away. "And what has brought this on?"

"Hmm. I suppose you could say I had my eyes opened." He told her. "I can now see things I was blind to before." She grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged him forward for a kiss.

"Good. I thought I was going to have to beat some sense into you." He laughed.

"That is not necessary." Hiding amongst the trees and bushes, Doom watched them with a smile. He would miss Barda, but he knew it would be better for him to be with someone who could give him the one thing he wanted more than anything.

A family.

*

Barda leant back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk. It had been a slow day and nothing much had happened in the palace. There was a knock at the door and Rocky stepped into the room with a big grin on his face.

"Rocky, to what do I owe this displeasure?" Barda grinned. Rocky rolled his eyes and walked over to sit in the chair on the opposite side of Barda's desk.

"I was just down in the mess hall and I overheard one of the men talking about something he had seen in the memorial garden." Barda raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Rocky smirked. "Something involving a certain palace guard chief and a woman."

"What of it?"

"He said the two of them looked rather… intimate." Barda smirked and raised one eyebrow. Rocky laughed. "So, are the two of you…?"

"Perhaps." Barda shrugged with a smile. "I am taking it one step at a time."

"Wow." Rocky whistled. "Either you have finally grown up, or you really love this woman. You used to rush straight into the good stuff when you were younger." Barda laughed.

"I think it might be a bit of both." There was a long silence, and Rocky sighed.

"What about Doom?" At Barda's startled expression, he grinned. "How long have I known you, Barda? I can spot the signs." Barda relaxed.

"He told me to choose Lindal over him. Because she can give me a family, and he cannot." He sighed. Rocky reached over and touched his hand for a moment. "I know he still cares for me. He is just thinking of my happiness." Rocky was about to say something in response, when there was another knock at the door. "It is open." The door swung open and Lindal stepped into the room.

"Ah, there she is. The woman who has tamed the bear!" Rocky laughed. Barda kicked him under the table. "Ow!"

"What can I do for you, Lindal?" Barda grinned at her.

"Doom sent me." She told him. "Apparently you are known to pass up sleep to work, and so I am here to make sure you finish your work in time for you to go to bed." She grinned as Barda rolled his eyes.

"That will not be necessary." She crossed the room quickly and cuffed the back of his head sharply. "Ow! Hey, that hurt." He scowled.

"Get your work done. Now." Rocky stifled his laughter. "Stop slacking off."

"Yes ma'am." Barda muttered sarcastically. His comment earned him another smack, to Rocky's amusement. "No need for abuse, Lindal."

"With you, there is always need for abuse." She laughed, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Right, well I better head off so I am not distracting you." Rocky laughed, standing up. "Catch you later, Polar Bear." He ducked as a paperweight sailed over his head. He glanced back as he opened the door and smiled at the sight. Lindal smacked Barda's arm hard, and the chief jumped up out of his seat to avoid another attack. As he left the office, Rocky grinned. There was probably no one more perfect for his old friend than a woman who could quite easily beat the hell out of him.

*

Throughout the next few months, the territorial battles lessened and bandits and pirates began to look elsewhere. Lief and Jasmine married in the spring, and Doom announced he was leaving to start travelling Deltora. Barda also announced he was leaving – he was moving to Broome with Lindal. He handed over the position of palace guard chief to Rocky. Barda married Lindal in the summer not long after. The nine boys left Del to find a place to hide away until they were needed again. David remained at the palace. Rocky offered him a job as a palace guard again, but to everyone's surprise, David declined.

A year passed. Lief and Jasmine had their first child – a daughter called Anna – shortly after Barda and Lindal had their first child – a son called Liam. Their second child, a daughter called Mariah, followed a year after that. David would visit their family home now and then. His relationship with Barda wasn't repaired, and they still argued now and then, but they made an effort to spend more time together to try and re-establish the bond they had once shared.

Travellers from Deltora began to cross the seas to discover new lands, and in return, Deltora received travellers from all over. They brought food, materials and plenty of interesting tales. Some of them stayed and settled down, had families. Others merely passed through. There were still fights and battles, but Lief and Jasmine tried their best to keep the peace.

The old gang would come together every year for the annual Dragon Night event. It was always a warm moment for them all. With Doom travelling the land, Barda and Lindal in a different city, and everyone so busy with sorting out the troubles of the land, they rarely got to spend time as a group, and so they made the most of the times they could.

*

The fourth annual Dragon Night festival was in a couple of days. Barda and Lindal were due to arrive at the palace sometime that day, and Lief was excited about seeing them again. He also knew that his daughter was excited for their arrival. Anna was very good friends with both Liam and Mariah.

Jasmine walked into his office, and he beamed at the sight of her. He stood up to kiss her, and then he bent down to place a kiss on the bump she was currently sporting. Their second child.

"Doom has arrived." Jasmine told him with a grin. Lief mirrored her grin and took her hand.

"Excellent." He led her out of his office towards the great hall, where he knew Doom would be waiting. It was the same routine every year – their scattered friends would all arrive in Del on the same day and go straight to the great hall where they would share stories about what they had been through since they had last seen each other, have a few drinks and enjoy each others company.

Marilen, Ranesh and Sharn were already in the great hall with Doom. The scarred man rose to his feet and pulled Jasmine into a gentle hug, before holding her at arms length and taking a look at her.

"I cannot believe my daughter is having another child." He said with a warm smile. "Where is the little one?"

"Right here." David walked into the great hall, a little girl held in one arm. He set her down and she ran forwards into Doom's awaiting arms. David often watched over Anna for Lief and Jasmine, when Sharn or Marilen couldn't. Josef, Marilen and Ranesh's son, trailed into the room behind David. "No Barda yet?"

"Not yet. Should not be too long, though." Sharn told him with a smile. David nodded. He was about to turn and leave the great hall when Rocky stepped into the room. He was dressed in the smart blue uniform of the chief. He had been thrilled when Barda had asked him to take over the position.

"He is here." He told them with a huge grin. He flung the door open and Barda strolled into the room, a little boy balanced on his shoulders and a little girl perched on one hip. Behind him, Lindal was pushing a stroller in which, Lief knew, their new twin boys would be sleeping. Lief watched with a smile as Mariah held out her arms to David. Barda nodded once at his father and the man took Mariah from him.

Marilen and Sharn instantly walked over to the stroller to take a look at the boys. They were only a month old, and the two women had not managed to get the chance to visit and see them until now. Barda lifted Liam down from his shoulders and let him run off to greet Anna. The two four year olds were very fond friends.

"Good to see you again, Barda." Lief grinned, sharing a quick embrace with his old friend.

"You too." He turned to Jasmine and embraced her. "You look good, Jasmine."

"Oh quiet." She laughed. Barda grinned.

"Now, where is my little princess?" Anna giggled and ran towards him, and he dropped to one knee to give her a hug. Lief grinned again. Anna also adored her 'Uncle' Barda. When he straightened up and let Anna run off to play with Liam, Mariah and Josef, he met the eyes of Doom. There was a moment of tense silence, before Doom rolled his eyes with a grin, and pulled Barda into him for a hug.

"I am so glad to see you." He murmured into his ear. "I have missed you." Barda smiled.

"Ditto." He pulled back. "How have you been?"

"Good." Doom smiled. "I have seen some interesting things on my travels. Made some interesting friends, too." He ran a hand through his hair. "You?"

"Tired." He admitted. "Four children is a bit of a hassle, especially at night. If it is not Jay or Joeley waking up in the middle of the night, it is Liam or Mariah having a nightmare." Doom laughed quietly.

"Ah, the trouble of raising small children. I do not miss that." Barda grinned. "You look happy, though." Doom glanced around quickly to check that no one was watching them, and he reached out to trace Barda's jaw. "I knew I made the right decision to let you go." Barda sighed.

"I guess you did."

"Walk with me?" Barda nodded and they left the great hall, making for the gardens. It was peaceful outside. The palace walls were decorated with banners ready for the festival. Multi-coloured lanterns hung from the trees that lined the path down to the gates. Children darted around the gardens, playing games and generally having fun. They walked around to the quieter part of the gardens, saying nothing for a long time. Their pace was relaxed and slow. Finally, Barda spoke.

"Lindal knows." Doom glanced at him, startled. "I told her, just after I moved to Broome. Rocky knows, too, although he worked it out for himself."

"What did Lindal say?"

"She did not seem to mind. She knows I care for you, but she said that as long as I still care for her just as much then she sees no problem with it." Barda smiled. "Have you never wondered why she does not question the time we spend alone together whenever we see each other?"

"I had wondered, yes." Doom laughed. "She is a very understanding wife."

"She is. I am a lucky man." He glanced sideways at Doom. "I have been wondering something myself."

"Oh?"

"If I had not wanted a family, would you have still let me go?" Doom was silent for a long time, and then he sighed.

"I do not know." He stopped walking and turned to face him. "Perhaps not." He reached out, placed his hand on Barda's cheek. "I do miss you." He leant forward, tilted his head, and pressed his lips against Barda's. He kissed back, and broke the kiss a moment later.

"Doom, I am married." He murmured against his lips. Doom grinned.

"I know." They shared another quick kiss before Barda stepped back.

"Not what I expected to see when I decided to come and find my husband." They both whirled around to see Lindal standing not far from them. "Hands to yourself Doom, this one is mine." She laughed, walking over and slipping her hand into Barda's. Doom stared at her for a moment and then smiled.

"Could not help myself." Barda grinned at him. Lindal turned to Barda.

"Come on Polar Bear, your offspring are asking for you." She told him. Barda sighed.

"I am going to hurt Rocky for putting that nickname into your head."

*

Dragon Night festival was full of bright colours, noise, and laughter. Children dressed as the three heroes ran around together, fighting off dragons and monsters. Couples danced together in the palace ballroom. Games and activities were available for all ages, and there was a great bonfire at the end of the night. The companions were sat around the bonfire, sipping beverages and talking about some of the highlights of their adventures together. Sharn was sat with Barda and Lindal's twin boys, who were snugly wrapped up in blankets, fast asleep. Anna was sat on Lief's lap, happily eating an ice cream that Marilen had given her. Josef was sat beside her, devouring his own ice cream. Mariah was curled up against Barda, wrapped in his jacket. Liam was sat on David's lap.

Eventually it became too cold and the fire began to die out, and they all moved inside. Lindal took the twins up to their room to put them to bed, and an hour or so later, the other children were put to bed too. Barda stood in the doorway to the entrance hall, staring out at the night sky. The cool air lifted the hair from around his face and he closed his eyes with a smile. It was good to be back here, with his friends and family, enjoying themselves for once instead of worrying about the issues of Deltora.

He opened his eyes again and stared out into the garden. With a content sigh, he turned to go back inside. Something pale darted past in the corner of his eye and he spun around to try and spot what it had been and just caught a flash of amber disappearing into the memorial garden. Frowning slightly, he jogged towards it, the guard in him instantly taking over. He saw the pale object moving through the trees and bushes and followed it right the way to the heart of the garden. And there he stopped dead.

Standing beside his marker was Cae. His hair was amber again, his eyes brown. He turned to smile at Barda as he walked forward.

"What are you doing here?" Barda murmured.

"I told you I would visit again, when the time is right." He said, still smiling.

"So, the time is right?" Cae nodded. "I do not understand."

"It is time for peace to be restored, Barda. But first there is something you must do." Barda frowned, but Cae held up a hand before he could say anything. "You have to return my power."

"How do I do that?"

"Give me your hands." Barda held out his hands and Cae took them in his own. His touch was icy cold, but at the same time it was soothing. "Close your eyes." He did so. He felt an unusual sensation, as though he had water running through his veins. As soon as it happened, it vanished. "You can open your eyes again." When he opened his eyes, he noticed at once that something was different. It took him a moment to realize that Cae's hands were now warm, and he didn't look as pale and ghostly as before.

"Are you…?"

"Alive? Sort of. Having my power restored to my body has replenished my life to a certain extent. Once I restore the peace to Deltora, I will die again."

"Then do not restore the peace!" Barda said quickly. "We are coping without it just fine. Stay alive, and stay here with us." Cae smiled and shook his head.

"It does not work like that. If I do not restore the peace then the balance will remain disturbed, and you will be under threat from attack from the Shadowlands. I have to do this, Barda. I am sorry." Cae hugged him then, and Barda felt peace flow through him. The boy stepped back and grinned. "Thank you, for all you did for us. Now, I have a job to do."

"You will not return again, will you?"

"I am afraid not." Cae sighed. "Goodbye, Barda."

"Goodbye Cae." He murmured. The boy turned and walked off into the garden, and vanished from sight. "Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you for opening my eyes."

When Cae had hugged him, Barda had realized that he had to forgive his father. He had to connect with him again. If not, the balance of his family would remain disturbed. Cae had spoken the words about Deltora, but he had heard the real meaning underneath. Cae did not want him to fight with his father. He wanted him to mend the wounds of their bond.

He turned around and left the gardens, walking back up to the entrance doors. Warmth hit him full on as he stepped into the entrance hall, and he realized for the first time that he was shivering. How long had he been outside for? He made his way into the private room behind the ballroom, where he knew his friends and family would be. They all turned to look at him as he walked inside, and he smiled when he saw that several of them had glasses of wine in their hands.

"Started without me?" He asked with a grin.

"Are you okay? You look freezing." Lindal observed.

"I was outside for a while." He shrugged. She beckoned him over and he sat down beside her on the comfortable sofa. He smiled when she curled into him, and Jasmine passed him a glass of wine. "I think our troubles will soon be over, Lief."

"What do you mean?"

"Peace will be restored to Deltora." He told him. "Very soon."

*

Jasmine had retired to bed, and Marilen and Ranesh had followed soon after. Sharn returned to the forge for the rest of the evening, and Lief disappeared to his office to finish up some paperwork and write letters to the various villages and towns to inform them that things might be looking up from now on. Rocky and Lindal both eventually said goodnight, leaving Barda, Doom and David sat around the fire that had been lit.

"David." Barda murmured. "I have something I would like to say." Doom made to stand up. "No, it is okay. You can stay, Doom. I do not mind saying this in front of you."

"What is it?" David enquired. Barda cleared his throat and paused for a moment, trying to think of how to word what he wanted to say. After a few seconds' thought, he decided that he was just going to come out with it.

"I forgive you." He said in a strong voice. David stared at him in surprise, and Doom almost grinned. "I know you have your reasons for the way you treated me before, and I know you want to tell me those reasons one day. I will listen then, and I will understand. I want to tear down this wall between us, and welcome you back into my family with open arms."

"Why? I mean, why are you saying this now?"

"I had my eyes opened." Barda smiled. "So, what do you say? Want to come and live with us in Broome, father?" Doom grinned now. Ever since their tense reunion, Barda had only ever referred to David by his name. He had asked about it, and Barda had explained that the man didn't deserve to be recognized as his father. Calling him by his name was his way of denying his bond with him. He glanced at David, and was pleased to see the warm smile on his face.

"I would love to."

"Mariah will be happy." Barda laughed. "She is rather fond of her grandfather." David cringed.

"Please, do not use that word when talking about me. It makes me feel old." All three men laughed.

"I know how you feel, David." Doom grinned. "I, too, am a grandfather." Barda smirked.

"I am rather enjoying the fact that I am the youngest in this room."

"Only by a few years." Doom muttered. "You are not that much younger than me." David finished off his wine and stood up.

"I think it is time we all went to bed. Barda? I would like a word with you in private." Doom also stood up.

"I shall head up to my bedchamber. Goodnight." They bid him goodnight, and David turned to Barda.

"Walk with me, Barda." The ex-chief nodded and got to his feet, following his father out of the room. They walked through the hallways of the palace in silence, until David stopped beside a large window, and stared out into the night. Barda stopped beside him, and waited for him to speak. "I want to say thank you, Barda. For letting me back in. You have a wonderful family, and I am grateful to be a part of it. Your lovely wife… she reminds me of Min in a way. She is certainly a woman who will not be dominated by her husband." Barda grinned.

"I dare not try."

"Seeing the two of you together is like looking at myself and your mother, back in our early years of marriage. Then when I see the two of you with your children, Liam especially, it is almost as though I have gone back in time. I used to be like that with you, do you remember?"

"I remember." Barda murmured. "That is what made the change even worse. You went from adoring me to suddenly despising me. I did not understand what I had done wrong."

"You did nothing wrong. As you said, I have my reasons and I plan to tell you them eventually, but I need to wait for the right time. I never despised you, Barda. Every time you did something right, I was so proud of you. I wanted to tell you that but… well, you will understand why I could not when you learn my reasoning."

"What happened to you? That day you disappeared."

"I was taken. I did not run away." He met Barda's eyes, and the ex-chief knew that his father was telling the truth. "I spent many long years trying to return, believe me. You and your mother were the only things keeping me going." He sighed and returned his gaze to the world outside the window. "So, peace will be restored, hmm?"

"Apparently so." Barda smiled, also staring out of the window.

"Are you sure?" Barda glanced at him and frowned slightly. David did not turn to look at him. "Because there is something in the air. I felt it earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"Over the years I was away, I picked up some unusual attributes. My senses are stronger than average, and I am more in tune with the land. I can feel when bad things are going to happen. That is how I knew to follow you when you left with the children to face the army of shadows."

"Are you getting this feeling now?"

"No. Not now. But it was there, in the air, earlier this evening. You may be safe now, Barda, but I would keep an eye on the horizon. The Shadowlands are not your only threat now. You have been receiving travellers from other lands, and so far you have only been getting innocent men and women looking to discover new things. It is only a matter of time before someone who is not so innocent washes up on your shores, and causes havoc for you."

"We monitor the coastline. We check everyone who arrives from across the ocean."

"And do you really think that you will be able to single out a foreigner of evil will that way? You know the Shadow Lord can create beings that appear safe. Who knows what can come from these strange, new places? There could be something worse than the Shadow Lord out there. I have been out there, Barda. I have seen things you cannot imagine. I know that you feel safe here, with the Belt of Deltora keeping evil at bay, but just as you can defeat the Shadow Lord, something else could quite easily destroy you."

"That is not a comforting thought." Barda murmured. David smirked slightly.

"It was not meant to be."

"You said you could feel something in the air. Does that mean it will happen soon?"

"Maybe. I cannot predict when things happen. I only know that when it draws closer to the time, the uneasy feeling I get intensifies, so you will at least get a warning."

"And you have no idea what it could be?" David shook his head.

"There is… something." He murmured. He stared out at the blackness beyond the lights of Del, and his voice dropped to almost a whisper. "Beware…" He turned to meet Barda's eyes, "of the big bad wolf." He blinked, and pushed away from the window. "Goodnight Barda." Barda could not move. He felt a chill run through him as he processed David's words. He shook himself slightly and shrugged. They were just words. They didn't mean anything.

He watched David disappear around a corner and smiled to himself. He had repaired his bond with his father, if only a little. Over time, they would go back to the way they used to be, and everything would be fine. His mother had asked him to look after his father, and he planned to do just that. Perhaps David would even help him train up his own sons, when they were older, of course. He was not going to put his boys through the same thing he went through. Whatever David's reasons were, he was not going to treat them badly. He would even train his daughter, if she so wished. Smiling still, he turned to make his way to his own bedchamber, where his wife and twin boys were resting. Things were going to be okay. He just knew it. He had a wonderful family now. He had a nice home, and loyal friends. He was in charge of the guard force in Broome – fondly nicknamed the 'Black Shirts' due to their uniform – and everyone respected him. The town elders had welcomed him into the community without any hesitation. Lindal's friends had accepted him in a second. He had good friends in Broome as well as Del, and he was happy.

He knew Doom had been right to make him choose Lindal. If he hadn't, then his life now would have been very different. Yes, he had given up his dream job and left behind the only home he had ever known, but it had all been worth it. He loved Lindal. He loved his four wonderful children. He loved his new home, his new town. He felt comfortable with his new friends, and his new neighbours.

He would find David a house close to theirs. Perhaps even find him a job in the Black Shirts, even if it was just a position helping to train the young hopefuls. Barda smirked when he realized that he was, in fact, simply creating Broome's version of the palace guard Academy. Well, why not? He had plenty of experience in that area, and why shouldn't Broome be as protected as Del? It was something familiar that kept him at ease. He missed wearing the blue uniform of the palace guards, and he knew Lindal had been particularly fond of it, but now he had a smart black uniform to wear.

And Lindal definitely loved seeing him in that.

He grinned as he thought of his wife. How his mother would laugh if she knew the kind of woman that had stolen his heart and tied him down. She had always imagined he would marry a fragile woman who would need him to take care of her, despite having met every single one of his past girlfriends – all of which had been feisty, cheeky, and in some cases even boyish. Rocky had been right when he'd said he liked them feisty. They were more fun that way.

He realized with amusement that he had fallen into the same trap his father had. At first, Min would seem like a gentle, polite woman that didn't know how to raise her voice and who did everything her husband wanted. However, those who knew her well knew that although she was gentle and polite, she certainly did not do everything her husband wanted. If anything, it was the other way around. David was completely under her control.

It was the same for him and Lindal – although Lindal did not give off the impression that she was gentle and polite. Everyone in Broome knew that she was the head of the household. He would do anything if she asked him to, and she knew it. She would sometimes take advantage of that, but never in a controlling way. She loved him as much as he loved her.

And now it was time for him to go and join her.

He turned to look out of the window once more before heading off, and his blood ran cold.

Staring up at him from the gardens was a large, black wolf. Its golden eyes twinkled in the deep night. He blinked, and it was gone. He turned around and sank against the window. His entire body was shaking. In his mind, he heard David's voice, just as a blood-curdling howl pierced the silence of the night.

Beware.

Of the big.

Bad.

Wolf.

---

Author's Note: So, there it is. Epic, no? Well first of all I would like to thank you for reading this. It must have taken you a while. Now, in case you did not pick up on the language of the children, here are the translations:

Yes - Tah
No - Mah
Okay - Yutah (can't remember if this was used or not)
Thank you - Ara to
Please - Geh

Yuh ulo el del - Take us to Del
Barda il uto juro hola - Barda is our only hope
Uto hola/Uto juro hola - Our hope/Our only hope
Ai heiro - My saviour
Alla ko tor yuna kai - Speak in your native tongue
Eli ai yu il Cae - Hello my name is Cae

I think that is all of them. Now - the ending. Leaves an idea for a sequel? Maybe I'll write that next year for NaNoWriMo. Please review! - homesweethomicide13