If Lief had thought that taking a meal in Jasmine's nest was strange, sleeping in it was quite stranger. They had returned to the nest in the middle of the night, and Jasmine had declared that they should sleep where they liked. She kept the one blanket for herself, and so Lief and Barda had wrapped themselves in their cloaks. The weaved branches were threaded with worn scraps of fabric, but still Lief tossed and turned. Jasmine slept soundly, of course, and even Barda was not troubled by the odd bedding, exhausted as he was from the days' events.
Lief woke often through the night, twisting his body against branches that dug painfully into his flesh. Once, he heard heavy, dragging footsteps from below, accompanied by something that sounded like a cross between a hiss and a growl. He closed his eyes and begged sleep to return. Mercifully, it finally did.
He woke again as the dawn began to turn the night sky from inky-black to lavender, and knew that he would sleep no longer. He watched the sun rise through the canopy of the trees; bathing the leaves in a wash of golden light. From the safety of the nest, he could admire the strange beauty the Forests offered.
Morning had not yet shed the threads of the dark night when Lief heard movement on his other side. He sat up, and saw Jasmine clamber to her feet. Her green eyes were bright and alert, although she had been asleep only moments before. Kree fluttered to her shoulder, and she held Filli— who was still dozing— in her hands.
"You ate all of our food yesterday," she said bluntly, and disappeared over the side of the nest.
Lief blinked and tried to see where she had gone, but it was useless. She was a creature of the Forests, as much as any of the other inhabitants. He still could not quite believe that she would be leaving with them.
His fingers crept down to the cool Belt at his waist. There lay the topaz, warm and bright. It fit in place as if the Belt had summoned it home. Although he had hardly slept, the promise of more success to come invigorated him.
The sound of rustling branches beside Lief made him turn. Barda was rising, bleary-eyed and still pale from his near death the day before.
"Where is Jasmine?" Barda's voice was rough with sleep.
"She has gone to forage for food, I think," Lief told him. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I am fine," Barda said stoutly. Lief was quite sure he would have said that regardless of the truth.
He crawled on his hands and knees across the nest toward where Barda sat. The wind seemed to sway the structure, and he tried not to think about how high up they were. Something pressed against the palm of his hand, and he stopped himself from crushing the wooden doll he had seen earlier. It had been carved crudely, with little indentations for a mouth and eyes. A scrap of fabric had been stitched over its body; not the terrible and too-familiar grey of Jasmine's clothing, but from a garment someone else had worn long ago.
"I wonder how her parents came to live here," Lief said softly. "I cannot think of why anyone would choose this place as their home."
"I doubt anyone would," Barda said grimly. He shifted away from the nest's short wall, clearly as uncomfortable as Lief. "They must have been criminals or fugitives, for why else would they pick such a place to live and raise a child? No one would ever think to search the Forests."
Lief frowned. The spirit of Jasmine's mother had been a young and pretty woman; her voice had been so soft and lovely. He had heard tales of the savage bandits that roamed Deltora, and he could not picture her in their numbers.
"It does not mean they were bad people," Barda said. "We do what we must in these times. Even the smallest of crimes, like stealing food or speaking out against the Shadow Lord, may have been their undoing. Think of your father."
Lief frowned, for he still could hardly imagine his gentle father doing all that he had in his youth. But Barda was right. Perhaps, like Lief's father, they had been accused of something terrible, and thought that hiding in this dangerous place would be their best hope of sanctuary. They had paid a most terrible price for their hopes.
Kree soared up over the nest, startling Lief from his thoughts, and Jasmine clambered up over the side of the nest. She dropped to her knees and unwrapped a pouch, doling out portions of berries, nuts, and a collection of twisted roots, without ceremony.
Lief picked up one of his roots. It still bore traces of the earth it had come from, which he wiped self-consciously against his shirt. He glanced at Barda who was eating only the nuts and berries, determinately avoiding the roots. Jasmine, Filli, and Kree were already half-finished with their meals. Lief's belly grumbled, and he thought longingly of the small but hot breakfast he could have been eating in the forge. He bit down tentatively on the root, and was surprised by its earthy-sweetness. Barda caught his eye and raised a questioning brow. Lief nodded slightly, and the big man grimaced, but began to eat the odd roots.
"The trees tell me that the vines that guarded the Lilies of Life are nearly cleared," Jasmine's words were garbled by the berries she still chewed. "I want to go and see."
"Then why did you come back first?" Barda asked.
She shrugged, and a trail of purples berry juice spiralled down her finger. "I thought you might like to see, too," and she licked her finger clean.
Lief could not help but grin. He had not imagined that Jasmine would capable of such thoughtfulness. Perhaps she would not be as difficult a companion as he had supposed.
—
The place that had once been The Dark was well on its way to reclaiming its lost beauty. Jasmine led Lief and Barda through the trees and to the clearing. Amber sunlight dappled the trees that stretched their limbs to the sky, rejoicing in their freedom. Although the birds did not need much help, the companions helped clear away what they could. They worked until they were exhausted and soaked with sweat, but all three were very content with the joy the trees and forest creatures felt. Even Lief and Barda could feel their happiness, although they did not know the languages. They had done all they could, all three decided, and they would leave the Forests of Silence the next morning. Jasmine led them back to the nest well before dark, and they all retired early to prepare for the next step of their quest.
Barda and Jasmine fell asleep before the sun had fully set, but again Lief managed to only grasp whispers of rest. Every time he fell asleep, he seemed to be startled awake by a branch digging into his side, or by an eerie sound from below. Finally, after hours of this, he gave up and opened his eyes.
To his surprise, Jasmine was also awake. She sat with her arms hugging her knees, staring up at the pale moon. Her face, he realized by the watery moonlight, was streaked with tears. He tried to turn away quickly, for he knew he would rather die than be caught crying, but Jasmine turned her sharp gaze to him. Her face darkened and she rubbed angrily at her swollen eyes.
"Sorry," Lief muttered, offering her a weak smile. The rage faded quickly from her face, and she looked back at the moon.
Lief remembered being very young and wondering if perhaps he would be able to touch the moon, if only he reached far enough, for it always looked so very large and close from the forge's small yard. In the Forests it was distant and hazy, staining the dark sky around it with a wash of pale yellow.
"I am sorry about your mother," he said awkwardly. The thought of his own mother dying was an unimaginable horror that he could not dwell upon. No one was kinder or more loving than his mother. People often died before their time in Del— this he knew well. But the thought of death touching his family was too terrible to bear. He did not know how Jasmine and Barda lived with that anguish.
"I had so hoped…" The girl's face was vulnerable in the moonlight, the way it had been when she held the topaz. "Leaving here… it seems as if I am leaving them behind."
Lief knew there was nothing he could say. Still, his heart ached for the girl, a near stranger though she was. Lit by the moon, her body looked very small, her face very young. After a long silence she shook her head as if to clear it, and when she turned back to Lief her face was impassive once more.
"Sleep," she said, sharp enough to be an order but soft enough to not wake Barda. She lay down and pulled her tattered blanket far over her head.
Lief lay down, but sleep did not claim him. He knew, by her breathing, that it had not come for Jasmine, either.
—
Lief could see cheerful sunlight at the edge of the trees, free to shine at will on the other side of the Forests. They had left the nest as soon as the sun rose, ready to start their journey. He picked up his pace, eager to leave the dreadful place behind. Barda, too, seemed to quicken his stride. It was only after a few moments of this, as the end of the Forests were so achingly close, that Lief realized Jasmine was not with them. He stopped and turned. She had her back to them, so that she faced the heart of First Wood. He could hear her murmuring something, interrupted only by the occasional high chitter and harsh caw.
Lief felt Barda move closer behind him. "Let her say goodbye," the big man said, and Lief turned back, ashamed to have been invading a private moment. He had been so happy to leave the Forests, but of course to Jasmine it would be as hard as it had been for him to say goodbye to Del.
It seems as if I am leaving them behind.
Jasmine turned then, and Lief could see the pain in her green eyes, even as she tried so valiantly to hide it."I do not know what I will find out there," she said it as heavily as if she were admitting her greatest secret.
Lief thought about all the stories he had from travellers who had visited the forge in Del. He thought of all the stories and rumours he had heard from his friends. All of these tales were strange and even frightening, but he was beginning to wonder if they were nothing in comparison to all that he would see. Still, the sun and his company of his new companions filled him with a sanguine hope.
He looked at Barda, so strong and brave. He turned back to Jasmine, so resilient and resourceful. The steel Belt at his waist felt heavy and sturdy, as if reminding him that it was with them too.
"Whatever is out there," he said finally, "we will face together."
He turned back to the light and walked confidently towards it. Barda followed right away, and after a moment he heard Jasmine's light footsteps trailing behind. He knew their road would be one of danger, but just for that single moment, he had no fears.