Perhaps a Family
Five gems down, two to go, Barda thought to himself as he sat leaning against the trunk of a sturdy tree, watching over his sleeping companions. Strips of dim moonlight shone through gaps in the trees that sheltered them, allowing him to see very faintly and keep on the watch for danger. Through the trees, he noticed the sky slowly beginning to pale and brighten. Sunrise was approaching.
He glanced over at Lief and Jasmine, who both lay curled up in their blankets, sleeping peacefully. It was much easier to watch over when they were asleep, as opposed to running into danger.
Suddenly, Jasmine began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and she scanned her surroundings with a confused expression set on her face. She crawled over to where Barda sat, her blanket still draped over her shoulders.
"You did not wake me for my turn to watch," she remarked quietly.
"I figured you deserved a break after almost dying," Barda replied with a kind smile.
Jasmine smiled back. "It is going to take more than a poisoned arrow to keep me down," she said in a falsely confident tone.
Barda nodded. "Thankfully," he said in a gruff whisper. "We need you." He thought back to Dread Mountain. He thought of Jasmine, pale and weakened, gasping in agony as the poison surged through her body, insisting that her life was not of most importance in situation they were faced with. It angered him that she could even think that for a second.
Barda and Jasmine sat in silence for a moment, watching as the sky, peering between the cluster of trunks, branches and leaves, became splashed with red and orange hues. Jasmine sat hugging her legs to her chest, her chin resting on her knees. She seemed disheartened.
Barda suddenly remembered something he had meant to say to her earlier. "I am sorry you were unable of dream of your father with the water from the Dreaming Spring," he said, turning his head to look at her.
Jasmine shrugged. "It is probably for the best I did not dream of him," she mumbled. "As I said before, he has been a prisoner for so long. I would rather believe he is dead, like my mother. Perhaps he is. Though, I keep thinking..."
"Thinking of what?" Barda asked.
Jasmine paused for a moment, hesitating, but then allowed her thoughts to burst out. "If he were dead, surely the topaz would have shown him to me as well as my mother," she explained, emotion building up in her voice. "So, I cannot convince myself that he is dead and at peace. He is still suffering. He is out there and I will probably never see him again."
Barda's heart sunk with empathy for Jasmine. He could relate to her pain of losing a parent, having lost his own mother several years ago. However, the thought of knowing a loved one was alive and suffering at the hands of an inescapable evil seemed much more torturous. It made him want nothing more than to comfort Jasmine.
"I am not sure what will happen when the Belt of Deltora is fully restored," he said to her at last, "but perhaps there is a chance you will see your father again."
Jasmine's green eyes lit up with hope momentarily, but Barda watched as the flicker of light quickly faded. "I would prefer not to get my hopes up," she told him plainly, as if his comment had not sparked hope in her mind and heart at all. "Besides, I am fine taking care of myself now."
"You are more than capable. I have seen much proof of that throughout our time together," Barda replied, then paused, stroking his beard. "But maybe you do not have to do things on your own anymore."
Jasmine looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"
"I do not what your plans are once this quest is completed," Barda began. "Perhaps you will consider returning to Del with Lief and I. The three of us, we make a good team. It would be a shame for us to part. I do not think we will ever find a companion quite like you."
"There is only one Jasmine," Jasmine proclaimed proudly, repeating the words she had heard Barda utter when she was ill from the poison. "I will admit, I was hesitant to join the quest at first. I was not used to having human friends, and..." She stopped for a moment, as if the words were caught in her throat. Finally, she murmured, "I had been without my family for so long." Jasmine pulled her blanket tighter around her small frame. A single tear trickled from her eye and rolled down her cheek. Quickly, she brushed it away with her hand.
Silence returned to them for a moment, and they both watched as beams of sunlight began blinking through the trees. Patches of blue bled onto the red and orange canvas of the sky. Both Barda and Jasmine glanced over at Lief, who was still sprawled out asleep on the ground.
Barda thought of how much their friendship had developed since the beginning of their quest. Although he had spent many years watching over Lief in Del, the quest had changed the way he viewed the boy. He viewed him as friend, rather than simply a responsibility. He cared for Lief, and for Jasmine, the wild girl from the forests they had met by pure chance. He trusted them with his life and would risk his life to protect them. Each trial and challenge they faced and overcame seemed to bring them closer together and strengthen the bonds between them. With each passing day, their companionship seemed to feel more... family-like. They supported each other like a family, looked out for each other like a family and, of course, disputed like a family. Would this be a comfort for Jasmine, as it was for him? He did not know. He knew he could not replace her lost parents. But perhaps Lief and I fill an empty place in her heart, thought Barda, the way she and Lief fill a place in mine.
"I suppose I too had grown used to keeping to myself, as I have no family either," Barda uttered at last. He rested his hand comfortingly on Jasmine's shoulder. "Perhaps we have found more than just the gems on this quest, Jasmine. Perhaps we have both found ourselves a sort of family."
Jasmine looked at Barda, her green eyes sparkling once more. "Yes, perhaps we have."
Author's Note: I have decided to start writing some Deltora Quest fanfics again. My writing skills have improved over the years, so hopefully these new stories will be much better than my previous poor attempts. Enjoy!