Title: Deathbed Confession
Author: homesweethomicide13
Rating: T
Pairing: BardaLindal
Warning: Character death
Disclaimer: I do not own, unfortunately.
Summary: Through the blood and tears, he managed to tell her the one thing that was on his mind…
Deathbed Confession
It was the final battle of Deltora, the last fight that would reveal whether the land would live peacefully or be brutally destroyed. The grey tide had been stopped by the united flame of the dragons, the land was saved from the last Shadowlord plan, and Deltora could be freed at last from the evil grasp of the Shadowlands. But in a final attempt at taking something for itself, the Shadowlord had sent his faithful Ak-Baba into the battle to rid of the three heroes once and for all.
It had been Barda who saw them first. Astride the golden dragon's long neck, Lief and Jasmine had drawn their weapons, ready to attack. The other dragons roared into life, fighting against four of the wicked birds. Even the small baby diamond dragon was helping Veritas to fight. The remaining two Ak-Baba swooped towards the golden dragon and its passengers, intent on killing them. The three companions were jolted around as the golden dragon reared up, ready to fight the birds. It caught one in its jaws, tearing at the feathers on its back and slicing open its tender underside. The last of them, however, swerved around the deadly claws and flew straight for Lief, Jasmine and Barda.
Lief was determined to fight it off, but Barda refused to break his promise to both Endon and Sharn, and pushed the young king down out of harm's way. Jasmine was also forced out of the way, and Barda remained, sword drawn, anger flaring in his eyes. Too long had they fought off the Shadowlord. It was time to end it, once and for all. He prepared for the attack, with Lief and Jasmine watching in concern for him. And then… it happened. Another Ak-Baba had somehow broken free of the dragons and came speeding towards Barda, catching him sharply with its huge beak and knocking him off balance. In horror, Lief and Jasmine saw the blood seeping through Barda's shirt, saw him toppling sideways…
"Barda!" Their united cry alerted the other dragons, and all eyes were upon the figure of Barda, who had slipped completely off the golden dragon and was falling towards the earth. The first Ak-Baba swooped down and caught him in its talons, tearing his clothes and skin. Valiantly, Barda swung with his sword arm, catching the Ak-Baba by surprise. His sword embedded itself in the Ak-Baba's neck, blood spurting down over him. He shielded his eyes from the spray, one hand still clutching the hilt of his sword. He wrenched it free with a violent jerk, just as the Ak-Baba screeched in anger and jabbed down with its deadly beak.
Barda's sword arm went limp. With an angry roar, the ruby dragon flew towards the offending Ak-Baba and ripped open its stomach. The Ak-Baba's talons loosened their grip and it let go of Barda's still figure, flapping its wings in a state of panic as it died. Ignoring the dying Ak-Baba, the ruby dragon flew down and slipped beneath Barda as he fell, catching him on its back. Sensing their own demise, the remaining five Ak-Baba turned and fled back to the Shadowlands.
Now, with the land safe at last, the dragons set down to earth, where the ruby dragon waited. Once the topaz dragon was safely on the ground, Lief and Jasmine slipped off its neck and ran to the crowd of their friends, where Barda was being inspected. Lief pushed through them all to crouch beside Barda's still form, and was relieved to see that he was alive.
"Barda!" Jasmine cried as she joined him. "Are you alright?" She tried not to look at his blood-soaked shirt, nor the gaping wound in the side of his neck.
"We have to get him to the palace, we must-," Lief began.
"We cannot move him, Lief." His mother was there now, by his side. "If we do… it could cause more harm to befall him."
"Then… do something here! You have to!" The desperation was in his voice now. Barda lifted a hand – with some effort – and put it on Lief's shoulder.
"Lief…" His voice was weak, too weak. "There is nothing… that can be… done." As the words sunk in, Barda coughed violently, and blood seeped from the corners of his mouth. "I always said… I wanted to… die in… battle." His voice was becoming even weaker with each word. "And I will die happy… knowing I died… protecting my king." Lief was angry. Angry because of him. Barda wouldn't be in this position if he hadn't promised to watch over him.
"No… you're not dying, Barda! You can't be!" Jasmine's voice was raised in pitch, hysteria taking control. He smiled weakly at her.
"Jasmine… make sure Lief… doesn't do anything… stupid." He told her. "Keep him… in his place… remind him he… is a man of the people." She nodded, tears streaming down her face as she realized that Barda was indeed dying. Lief, too, was crying. Suddenly Barda began to struggle upright, ignoring the searing pain that must have jolted through him. In a flash, Doom was crouched behind him, steadying him. Barda turned and smiled at the scarred man. "Doom… you and I… didn't always see… eye to eye… did we?"
"No, I guess not." Doom returned his smile, but it was a sad smile.
"But I always… saw you… as my friend… despite our… disagreements." His hand lifted towards Doom, and he took it in his own, clasping it in a sign of friendship.
"And I, Barda. You were perhaps one of my closest friends." Doom lowered his head, emotion taking over. Barda turned to Sharn next, and she knelt down beside him.
"Sharn… thank you… for everything you've… ever done… for me." Tears in her eyes, she nodded, and leant forward to kiss his forehead.
"I would do it again for you, Barda." She said quietly. "And thank you for protecting my precious son so well." Barda smiled, and his gaze wandered over the crowd of saddened faces.
"And I'd… like to thank… everyone here… I have made… so many friends… that I will not… forget." He coughed again, even more blood spilling down his chin. Everyone around him knew that he didn't have much time left. His eyes once again scanned the crowd, as though searching for someone. Doom cleared his throat.
"Where is Lindal?" The very name brought a smile to Barda's lips, which widened when she pushed through the crowd to crouch next to Jasmine, beside Barda.
"Lindal…" His free hand – he hadn't let go of Doom's – reached over and she instantly took it in her own. Tears had formed in his eyes now, as he stared into her face. "My dear Lindal…" She was crying now, unable to hold it back any longer.
"Barda, you can't do this…" She murmured. "You can't…" He brought her hand to his lips, and kissed it softly.
"I'm sorry… Lindal… I never planned… on leaving you… without telling you…" Another cough, this time more violent. "I… love you…" Fresh tears spilled from her eyes at hearing this. Without another word, she leant forward and kissed him, briefly. She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes.
"I… love you too." She whispered. A broad smile graced his face as death slowly crept over him. And then he slumped against Doom, all life gone from his body. Jasmine cried out in despair, and Lief reached for her hand, unable to speak. Sharn covered her mouth with her hand as she cried, and the crowd gathered around bowed their heads. Gers, who had picked up Barda's fallen sword and cleaned it, walked forward and placed it beside his still body.
"He died a warrior's death, the most honourable death of them all." He said quietly. All eyes turned to Lindal as she stood up and pushed her way out of the crowd. None of them missed the tears streaking down her face.
"It is terrible, to lose one you love before you get the chance to experience that love together." Zeean murmured. Slowly, Doom lifted Barda's body into his arms, and Lief picked up his sword. As Doom turned to carry him back to Del, everyone saw the tears in his eyes.
It was shocking, and saddening, to see the despair that ran through all the palace guards when they saw their chief's body being carried in the arms of Doom, lifeless and limp. Metal clanged as they all tossed down their swords and bent down on one knee in a sign of respect. Doom carried Barda into the chapel and set him down at the far end. Sharn and Jasmine lit candles and placed them around his body. Lief placed his sword at his side, point-down, propped against the back wall, the blade reflecting the glow of the candles. They left the chapel, intending to find Lindal before they started to mourn him, as was his honour.
When at last they found her, she was sitting alone in the gardens, the streaks on her face clear from a distance. She refused to move for a long time, but was at last convinced by none other than Doom. He led her, an arm around her shoulders, towards the chapel. When they opened the door, however, Barda's body was nowhere to be seen. Zeean smiled and walked to the front of the crowd, stepping in front of Doom and Lindal.
"Barda is not here." She said with a smile. She pulled open her cloak and they all took in her blood-stained robe underneath. "Using Toran magic, I healed his wounds. It was difficult, and took up much of my power…"
"But he died in my arms." Doom growled. "I felt the life slip out of him!"
"If he had truly died, Doom, then his eyes would have remained open. He merely slipped into unconsciousness before death took over." Slowly, the crowd realized she was right. She turned to Lindal. "He is waiting for you, Lindal. He told me you would know where to look." It was as if new life had sprung into action. She nodded once and turned, running towards the doors. Shocked and surprised, the others followed her. She led them into the gardens again, towards the fountain situated around the back of the palace. And there she stopped dead.
Sat on a bench in front of the fountain, looking tired and incredibly unsteady, was Barda. A smile crossed his face as Lindal ran to him and he stood up shakily before she threw her arms around him.
"You're alive… you're alive…" She whispered, holding him tight. He grinned and returned the embrace without hesitation. Then she pulled back sharply as the others walked over. "Don't EVER do that to me again!" Still grinning, Barda held up his hands in defence, and they saw that one of them was heavily bandaged. The wound in his neck was also bandaged, but there were no spots of blood decorating it, which told them that Zeean truly had healed his wounds.
"It wasn't intentional, I promise." He told her. It was good to hear his voice back to its normal strength again. "I thought my time had truly come…" He trailed off and a sadness crept into his eyes. "I was drifting, somewhere… I think I was almost dead… and I saw… I saw my mother…" A strange silence had fallen upon them. "She told me it wasn't my time, that too many people depended on me and that I had to be there for them… and then I'm waking up with Zeean bent over me, smiling in wonder."
"I didn't think it was going to work." Zeean said, stepping forward. "After seeing how devastated everyone was, especially Lindal, I knew that I had to try and do something. Your heartbeat was incredibly faint, but it was there, and that's all I needed to go on with." Lindal turned to her and smiled.
"Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you for giving him back to me." Smiling, Barda took her hand.
One bright morning the following spring, when Deltora was filled with blossom, when bees were drunk with nectar and birds filled the air with song, Jasmine put on a green silk dress, threaded flowers in her hair, and went out to meet Lief on the palace hill.
Hand in hand they were married there, before a crowd the like of which Del had never seen. Barda stood beside Lief. Marilen stood beside Jasmine. Sharn and Doom looked on, and remembered.
And after the ceremony, when a great party was in full swing, Barda announced that he was leaving Del, and was going with Lindal to Broome. And after seeing the glances they sent each other when they thought no one was looking, none of them questioned why.
They would meet again in Broome in the summer, when Barda and Lindal wed. It was a beautiful ceremony, made even more special due to knowledge that it had almost never happened.
And so life went on in Deltora, and life was good. Barda and Lindal had six children, all of them taller than their parents, and as alike as peas in a pod. Lief and Jasmine had a daughter, Anna, and twin boys, Jarred and Endon.
In the years to come, all of the children, including Josef, the son of Marilen and Ranesh, would be told of Dragon Night, and the eldest son of Barda and Lindal would swell with pride whenever the tale of his father's courage was told. When he grew older, he would aspire to be just like Barda, and become a hero too.
Author's Note: Okay, just to clear a few things up... yes, parts of the ending are taken from The Sister of the South. I will state that I do not own the writing taken from the book, but it was necessary for the story. Also, about the whole Zeean healing Barda thing... I just couldn't kill him. I tried, but I couldn't. I always find it hard to kill off my favourites, actually. Besides... I didn't want to alter the end of the DQ series. So yeah... Barda lives! Yay. Please tell me what you think! This is my first proper angsty story... until the end, of course...