I haven't read/watched Deltora Quest in a long time, but I still like the characters of Lief and Jasmine so I wrote this and decided it was adorable enough to post. :)

Lief sounds kind of stupid in this one, but he's just a teenager with a short attention span. Which is why we love him.

Please review! Reviews make me post faster :)

Jasmine had tried, but sometimes, trying wasn't good enough. Sometimes, to be good at something, only raw talent or years of experience could get you where you wanted to go. Her goal for the past year had been to adapt to palace life – mainly to please Lief – but in the end she couldn't take it anymore. It took many restless nights and anxiety attacks for Jasmine to come to the conclusion that she wasn't cut out for palace life, and she had to get out before it destroyed her.

She just wasn't built to live between walls and under ceilings. Scheduled meals, soft beds and servants made her feel sick and uncomfortable rather than pampered.

Jasmine glanced in the mirror as she finished packing her few items in her small bag. Her hair wasn't as shiny or voluminous as it used to be, and her cheeks appeared pale and sunken. Maybe the situation would be different if Lief wasn't always off doing all those boring royal things, like travelling to cities to meet officials or attending a ball or a meeting.

With a sigh, Jasmine stood, cast one last look around her room and left.

Kree gave an irritated squawk.
"Sorry, Kree," Jasmine huffed, hopping down the front steps of the palace, "but we can't stay here anymore."

"Jasmine!"

Jasmine spun around at the sound of Lief's voice and found him in all his blonde, seventeen-year-old glory, bounding towards her with a grin on his face.

She quickly hid her bag behind her back and forced a smile back at him. "Hi, Lief."

"Going for a walk?" Lief asked, bouncing from one foot to the other. He was always so full of energy and positivity these days. Good food seemed to do that to him. "I'll join you," he added before she could reply. "I have to tell you something."

"Oh, uh," Jasmine faltered for a moment and found herself mixing up all sorts of excuses in her head. But the spark in Lief's bright eyes weakened her before the excuses made their way out of her mouth, and she sighed. "Sure."

"Cool," Lief jumped skipped the last three steps and landed neatly beside her. She stared at him in envious awe. How was it he was looking so good? He was taller than ever, his skin was bright, and his body was toned. He was wearing a sleeveless top, and his perfect arms were making her incredibly uncomfortable.

"So where do you want to go?" Lief asked, putting his hands on his hips and staring around him at the kingdom. "You choose."

Jasmine sighed. "I don't know… The forest?"

Lief glanced at her and his grin faded. He might be a king, and a very energetic, excitable one at that, but even he could tell when his best friend was feeling off. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," Jasmine replied, staring at the ground. She knew he knew she wasn't fine, but she also knew that if she kept denying it long enough, he would lose interest. He always did – not because he didn't care, but because he always preferred to find something fun to do than sit around asking for answers when they both knew very well he wouldn't be getting any.

Lief studied Jasmine's face. She was beautiful – she had always been beautiful – but lately she was looking more and more depressed. He'd noticed the change first in her eyes, not long after she moved into the palace, but now her body was showing the signs too. She looked dull and lifeless. He'd tried countless times to cheer her up or find things for her to do, but she never seemed to get into them. And then his life got busier as he grew older, and now he barely saw her anymore.

"Jasmine?" Lief frowned into her eyes, but she looked away.

"I'm fine, let's go!" Jasmine hurried ahead.

Lief followed her, but his spark was replaced by concern now, and he continued to glance at her, as if the answer to her mood would appear in writing on her face.

"So," Jasmine said casually to change the topic, "what have you been up to today?"
"Well," Lief paused and thought it over, "I attended a meeting, answered some letters…" He would have continued, but the subject of 'letters' seemed to get him fired up, and he dove straight into his worries. "They're trying to set me up with a wife. A wife! Already!" He noticed the way his voice had risen, and gave a tired sigh, rubbing his temples.

Jasmine's insides were churning nervously. The idea of Lief with another girl made her feel sick, but she forced a smile. "Oh well, you'll find one someday. They can't force you to marry… Can they?"

Lief kicked a pebble, sending it bouncing in energetic leaps down the hill. "No… But they sure can try."

She didn't respond to this, just continued walking in thoughtful silence. She gazed around her, first at the crowded houses of the village, then at the tall forest to the left, where between the trees only empty darkness gazed back. The darkness was her favourite part of the forest – she never knew what was in the darkness, and every walk was a risk and a challenge.

As the pair walked, they gradually drew further and further from the village, until it was only a cluster of tiny specks in the distance.

Jasmine stopped. They had continued along the sloping hillside, and the gravel ground had changed to soft grass. Moss-covered rocks dotted the hillside, and at the top, some stooping old trees cast their shade in soft dapples along the ground.

Without discussing her plan, Jasmine plopped herself down in the shade of one of the trees cross-legged.

Lief tilted his head and smiled. Still, this seemed as good a place as any to sit down randomly, so he seated himself beside her without questioning it.

"You know," he said lazily, leaning back on his hands, "this is the first time I've been able to really relax in a few years."

Jasmine glanced at him and thought that through. It was true – for quite a while they were busy, running all over the country for the belt… And now he was tied up with the duties of being a king.

"Well," she whispered almost inaudibly, "me too."

She didn't consider the fact that he might hear her, but he did, and turned to face her. "What do you mean?"

Jasmine picked at the grass and said nothing.

"I mean," Lief said, his brow furrowing in concentration, "You haven't done much these past couple of years. Not to be rude, or anything. It's just that I haven't seen you out much at all."

"Exactly," Jasmine sighed and stared off into the depth of the forest and pulled at a strand of limp black hair. "That's why I haven't been able to relax."

Lief pondered that for a full two minutes. When had he last seen her at her happiest? Easy. When she was in her forest, surrounded by nature, walking amongst those ancient tree trunks, treading along the leaf-softened ground. Finally it hit him, and he kicked himself for his stupidity. Of course Jasmine wasn't happy. She was practically suffocating in the kingdom.

He looked at her again, with a desperate concern in his eyes that made her recoil in shock. Without saying a word, Lief grabbed Jasmine and dragged her into his arms, squeezing her with such a frantic tightness her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry," he choked into her hair. In his mind he beat himself up repeatedly. What sort of a best friend was he? He always used to know what was wrong; he always knew what to do… Well, most of the time. But he'd gone full months without saying a word. Poor Jasmine would be going through emotional turmoil and he never batted an eyelid!

"It's okay," Jasmine whispered. When Lief didn't let go, she tried to pull away, but couldn't move an inch. "Lief, it's okay. Lief! I'm fine!" She gave a hard jerk, finally breaking from his embrace, and turned away quickly, her cheeks burning. If only he knew the feelings that went through her when he touched her. That hug had felt like someone had filled her insides with boiling oil.

"I'm sorry," he continued to say, over and over. "I didn't know."

"It's fine," Jasmine repeated, letting out a forceful breath.

When Lief calmed down a bit, he lay back, his brow knitted in concern and self-loathing. "I'm not going to let this go," he grumbled to himself. "I'm going to do anything I can to make you happy. Do you like art? Who cares. I'll organise activities for you to keep you busy. And we can go for walks like this every day. Or every second – no, third day, since I have meetings on… that's not important."

As Lief babbled, Jasmine gave a pained smiled and lay back too. His plans were sweet, but they would never work, and she wished he knew that. She wished she could tell him straight out, but just picturing the pain on his face was enough to shut her up.

Eventually she zoned out and let his voice become a sweet, endless murmur in the background as she watched the sway of branches above and the sweep of feathery clouds in the sky.

Her eyes closed slowly, and in moments she was asleep.

Lief picked up on this and stopped talking, a little embarrassed. When had she fallen asleep? How long had he been talking to himself like an idiot?

He glanced over at her and his eyes rested on her face. Her eyelids were twitching with the beginnings of a dream, and her soft black hair gathered in curls and waves that framed her face.

Lief shifted his gaze to the clouds. It was a breezy day, and the clouds were mere streamers in the sky, drifting past in wisps thin enough to show the blueness of the sky through them.

About half an hour passed, in which time Lief managed to think over quite a bit, including Jasmine. He came to the conclusion that she was a very important part of his life, and although he had thought extensively about it (or as extensively as he could in half an hour) there was no way he could possibly live without her.

The boy felt a bit more at ease when he had reached that decision. He didn't know how it would work, but he knew it was possible.

Jasmine shifted in her sleep beside him, and he glanced over at her again. This time his eyes refused to leave her face. He could easily picture her like that beside him for years to come, waking up with him in the mornings and sleeping by his side at night, whether it be in a large palace or a humble bed of leaves.

And then it hit him.

It was simple, really, the stupid boy. He was very much in love with her, and he knew right then and there that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, not just as best friends, but as husband and wife.

The boy began to fidget in excitement at his new-found feelings. He couldn't wait to share this piece of news with Jasmine, but he couldn't bear to wake her.

Lief grinned stupidly to himself. Of course – he'd always loved her, with a desperate, aching love that made his heart go crazy every time she walked near him. He would willingly give up his life for her, which he had very nearly done on multiple occasions. How had he not realised this before?

He was resting on his elbow now, still staring at Jasmine's perfect face and fidgeting impatiently, waiting for her to wake up.

She eventually did, but not quite the way he had imagined her to.

Jasmine shot awake, screaming violently and startling Lief to his feet.

"What's wrong?" he cried, his heart hammering in his chest from shock.

Jasmine pressed her hands to her heart and gasped in breath after breath, unable to respond. Eventually she caught her breath, lay back down and let out an enormous sigh.

Lief studied her warily, as if she were a dangerous animal, and hesitantly reassumed his position beside her. "What happened?" he eventually asked.

"Oh," Jasmine huffed, "I had a really bad dream."

Lief sighed out a breath he had been holding since Jasmine had woken. "What was it about?"

"Well," Jasmine said, "in my dream, you were standing beside the castle wall, and I was leaving the castle to live in the woods, and you started to call to me, and I turned around and all of a sudden this huge stone from the wall fell and dropped onto your head."

Lief stared at her in alarm. "Oh."

"Yes, it was unpleasant," Jasmine said. "But you're still alive, so it's all fine."

"Wait…" Lief had noticed an aspect of Jasmine's dream (other than the stone falling on his head) that made him uneasy. He thought back over the dream and analysed it painstakingly in his mind until it came to him.

"You were leaving the castle?"

Jasmine's face paled, and she stared at her feet blankly for a very long time. Lief waited for her to meet his eyes, but she didn't, so he took her chin in his hand and turned her head to face him.

"Why were you leaving the castle?" he asked with a serious, nervous edge to his voice. "Was that just part of the dream, or did it have any significance?"

There was a long silence, in which Jasmine managed to stare at every part of Lief's face other than his eyes.

"Jasmine?" Lief pressed.

"Fine," Jasmine gave a tired sigh. "Earlier, when you met up with me outside the castle? You thought I was going for a walk, but I was planning to leave."

"No," he whispered. As she had feared, the pain in his eyes was literally unbearable to look at, and she had to switch her gaze back to the ground.

"And I'm sorry," Jasmine continued, "because I really love… spending time with you and all that, but I know that if I continue living in the castle I won't be able to survive. I'm not made to live under roofs, Lief. I can't. I've tried so hard, for so long, for you. But I can't anymore."

"But I love you," he said, softly, but with so much desperate sadness it was almost as if his soul were crying.

Jasmine spun around to look at him. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he replied fiercely. He stared her directly in the eye. "But if you want me to repeat it, I will. I love you."

Hot prickles raced across Jasmine's cheeks and tears burned at the back of her eyelids. "Wha – since when?"

"Since a long time ago," Lief said, switching his gaze to the grass as he spoke his thoughts. "During the Quest... I just never realised."

Jasmine blinked a little too forcefully, and covered her eyes with her hand. "You stupid boy," she sniffed quietly.

Lief's blood ran cold. "Wait – so you don't feel the same way? Even remotely?"

"Lief!" she cried angrily, staring at him. "Are you kidding me? You're so… so stupid!"

He turned bright red. So she didn't even like him. And he'd just ruined their friendship forever.

"I have loved you for such a long time, you stupid boy," she finally sighed. "Why do you think I stayed in the castle for so long? I would have left long ago if I didn't love you. Damn you, Lief, why did you have to say this now?"

Lief stared at her for a moment, as hundreds of thoughts and emotions flew through his mind and over his face. Finally, he shuffled closer to Jasmine and took her face in his hands. He leaned closer so their lips almost touched. Jasmine's eyes turned dark with want before they closed and allowed a tear to drip down her cheek.

Lief stared at her face, at her dark-lashed eyes, red cheeks and kissable lips. Her nose was slightly red from crying. To him, she was adorable and beautiful all in one.

A moment passed before he allowed his own eyes to close, leaned even closer and gently brushed his lips against hers, skimming them experimentally along, barely there.

Jasmine leaned into his kiss with a soft whimper, and Lief ran his hand from her waist to the back of her neck to pull her closer until their lips crushed together.

She kissed him back with her whole heart, tears brimming at the edges of her eyes. She had wished for so long that he didn't have feelings for her, because knowing he did would make leaving impossible. But now she knew he did for sure, leaving didn't seem to be a possibility. At that moment, he was the only other person in the world, and he was hers.

Suddenly, the whole thing seemed hilarious to her. She grinned into the kiss and allowed a small giggle to escape her throat.

Lief pulled away for a second and Jasmine opened her eyes again. She took in his red cheeks and those soft, hungry eyes of his.

"What's funny?" he whispered, not letting go of her.

Jasmine giggled again and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. "The fact that we wasted so much time ignoring our feelings. We were so stupid - we could have had so many more days like this."

"We will," he murmured back with a voice heavy with emotion. He brushed his thumbs over her ears and kissed her. "A lot more."

Lief held her face in his hands and smiled in adoration at her, before skimming his lips lightly once more along hers.

"There's one problem," Jasmine said, trying to ignore the goosebumps breaking out along her arms. "The problem of me not being able to stay in the palace."

"I've already thought of that," Lief replied. He smiled, proud of himself. "We'll build an extension of the castle into the forest. Rooms made of trees, roofs of leaves… Neither of us will have to move."

Jasmine grinned at his childishly cute and caring idea. She liked it – it was strange and impulsive.

"Then let's get to work!"