Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are the creative property of Emily Rodda.
By now, the once-blue sky had slowly melted into a beautiful blend of pink and orange. The early stages of twilight had settled, and dusk was now beginning to set in. Lief and Jasmine wandered slowly back home in companionable silence, with Kree taking his usual position above them and Filli perched on the girl's shoulder. Their feet trod silently on the cobblestone road leading to the Palace Hill, which snaked through the inner city. Passing by several wooden houses and shops, the couple could see the people of Del giving their farewells of the day as they retired home for supper and a good night's rest.
As she walked, Jasmine held the small pale fruit she carried out in front of her and studied it, her elfin face scrunching up slightly in deep thought. Even after she had found room in her stomach to eat the fruit, she quickly found she was much too repulsed by its offensive odor to even attempt a bite. Jasmine had offered it to Lief instead, asking him to tell her how it tasted, but he had quickly shook his head, claiming he did not want to offend the Dorne people's tradition of not allowing males to consume it. Even Filli and Kree refused to taste the fruit, put off by its strong stench.
What was this Chial fruit exactly? The old man, Attor, had been quite anxious for Jasmine to taste the strange gift. Was he trying to help her with her own insecurities? Thus far, her inability to conceive with Lief had weighed heavily on her mind for several months. And although they did not fight as much as they had when they were first married, Jasmine was aware the ever-increasing pressure for Lief to produce an heir to the Belt continued to take a strenuous toll on the boy.
It seemed the people of Deltora, or more specifically, the noble families of Del did not particularly like the idea that a Palace Librarian and her husband, who was a former thief, were becoming ever more likely their next rulers. The fact that Lief's heir presumptive, Marilen, had already given birth to little Josef further concerned the nobles. Adin help them should a full-blooded Toran ever take the throne.
Jasmine knew, despite his best attempts, that Lief always tried to hide this political turmoil from her, worried she would be upset. And while she thought this sentiment touching, Jasmine could not help but feel somewhat relieved she was not yet expecting. Lief believed her nulliparity hurt her because she wanted a child with him. In truth, Jasmine believed it was more because she felt she had failed in her duties as queen, though she would never tell this to Lief... at least not yet.
She was well aware he had been quite excited at the prospect of becoming a father, and the disappointment that flickered across his face each time cut her to the core. But Jasmine was not yet ready to become a mother; how could she bring a child into this world of polite mannerisms and frivolous dress when she was only beginning to understand it herself?
Everyone seems to be having children these days, Jasmine mused to herself. Even Barda and Lindal have started a family. Indeed, the former Captain of the Palace Guards known as Barda had recently celebrated the arrival of his firstborn son with his wife. Both Jasmine and Lief missed their close friend dearly, but knew Barda was needed elsewhere in Broome with Lindal.
Lief had noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jasmine was engrossed in her own thoughts, and he wisely kept silent. He knew better than to interrupt her concentration, although he could guess what she was thinking about. The boy gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze and she smiled faintly in return.
As the last drops of sunset faded from the horizon, the air took on a chilling temperature. Dark clouds soon began rolling into the sky, blocking the moon and the stars from view. They quickened their pace, anxious to return home before the impending storm began, and had been traveling for quite some time before they noticed a huddled shape sitting on the edge of the empty worn stone street.
"Jasmine, look," Lief called to his wife, who snapped quickly out of her own thoughts.
As they neared, the shape took form and Lief recognized it as a person. It was a light-skinned man, who was thin beyond words and seemed to be middle-aged. His clothes were tattered, with stretches and holes peppered around the fabric, and a dark shawl was tightly wrapped around his slim shoulders. Greying patches of short black hair caked with mud appeared sporadically as an untrimmed beard on his face.
Lief realized with a small pang in his chest that the man was homeless. Despite the young king's best efforts, poverty remained an ever present thorn in Deltora's side. Many were still struggling to recover from the effects of the Shadow Lord's long rule, and had little to nothing to their name. Lief allowed a moment's thought to recall how he had once looked down on beggars, namely Barda in his disguise. The boy quickly shook his head, disgusted with his past self; he was a much different person now.
He glanced at the now thundering clouds overhead before turning to his wife. "We must get him inside before it begins to rain."
Jasmine nodded in silent agreement, a determined expression on her face, and called Kree down from the dark sky. Like Lief, she too was a much different person than when he had first met her in the Forests of Silence. While she would not have given this homeless man a second glance then, Jasmine's position as queen consort had taught her compassion and understanding for her subjects.
They took off, racing towards the shivering man, their boots clomping loudly on the cobble path. As they approached him, Jasmine noticed his eyes were closed as his body shook from the cold, bitter wind. It seemed the man did not notice their arrival.
The girl stopped and kneeled in front of him, "Hello? Are you alright?" The homeless man showed no signs of having heard her, but several moments later opened his eyes to the sight of the king and queen in front of him. The man's eyes shone with confusion before widening slightly as he began to recognize them. Jasmine meanwhile swiveled her head around to glance at their surroundings. "Lief, there are no buildings nearby. It may just be simpler to take him with us for now."
Lief agreed, and turned his attention to the thin man. "It is not safe for you to stay out here in the storm," Lief began, offering his hand. "Come with us to the Palace; we were just on our way there."
Wordlessly, the beggar nodded to show he understood and weakly grabbed Lief's outstretched hand. The young king gently pulled the man up and placed the beggar's thin arm around his neck while Jasmine tucked the Chial fruit under one arm and supported him with the other. Together, the two quickly aided the impoverished man and began making their way steadily to the Palace Hill.
Mother Nature, however, was without remorse. Barely half an hour into walking, the trio found the beginning downpour of rain to be impassable. Not wanting to become ill, Jasmine hurriedly pointed to a nearby oak tree to use as a shelter and they gently laid the man on the grass. They could do nothing now but wait for the storm to pass.
Despite her protests, Lief had wrapped his cloak around Jasmine to keep her from becoming cold; Kree and Filli joined her and they huddled together to keep warm. As the group sat in silence, waiting for the rain to stop, the homeless beggar opened his mouth weakly several times, attempting to speak, but finding he could not.
Jasmine, having noticed this, took the fruit from under her arm and held it out to the man. "Here," she said softly, turning to him, "this will help you regain the strength you need." The vagabond tentatively accepted the fruit from her and took a sniff at the object, recoiling slightly in response to its putrid odor. Nevertheless, he proceeded to take a small bite out of its pale green flesh, juice dribbling down his ragged chin.
Remembering the other two people that were with him, he offered the fruit back to Jasmine, who shook her head. "You need it more," she explained with a slight smile. The man smiled in return and continued ravenously eating the Chial fruit until nothing was left except a small brown seed. Lief looked on with a smile of his own, proud that Jasmine was being so thoughtful.
Finally, after a long silence save the relentless patter of rain, the storm began to dissipate. With the last drops of water having ceased to fall completely, the Lief and Jasmine began making ready to head out and helped the man up on his feet once more. Suddenly, however, the beggar collapsed back on the ground, clutching at his heart with both his hands. His face twisted into an expression of agony, gasping in pain several times, but no sound escaped his mouth.
Jasmine gave a shout of shock and quickly dropped down to help him. The man looked at the seed still in his hand with widened eyes before staring at her for a split second. Almost immediately after, he clutched his chest once more and struggled against Jasmine's touch.
Lief turned upon hearing the commotion and quickly kneeled down next to them. "What happened!?"
"I do not know, but he is not breathing!" Jasmine cried. "Lief! The Belt, make haste!"
The young king cursed at himself for being slow-witted before hurrying to unclasp the Belt of Deltora from around his waist. The man, however, had already stilled by then, his eyes glazed over in lifelessness with his hand still clasped over his chest. Lief took one look at the body and felt sick, he had not been quick enough. Kree fluttered around helplessly as Filli buried himself in Jasmine's hair.
"How did this happen?" the green-eyed girl murmured after several minutes of stunned silence. The beggar had been fine moments before! Did he have some seizure from the shock of the thunder? Jasmine's mouth set in a thin hard line as she examined the man's now motionless face which stared emptily in return.
Lief glanced at the Belt which he still held and his eyes narrowed; the Emerald was pale. How had he not noticed it before? "Poison," he whispered softly. "That fruit you gave him, Jasmine, it must have killed him."
"That snake," Jasmine growled, referring to the merchant, Attor. "He was trying to poison me." The old trader had insisted she eat the fruit several times over, and now she understood why. Attor had wanted her dead.
The boy slipped his wife's small hand in his and squeezed it gently, as if it were a lifeline. "It certainly seems that way, but we must go back and find him; he will have the answers we seek."
Jasmine looked up at him and nodded in determination. They deftly created a makeshift shallow hole and buried the beggar in it, a wave of grief and sadness washing over both of them; they had not even gotten the opportunity to learn his name. The man did nothing to deserve this fate, but had unknowingly saved the queen's life in the process. Lief wrote a short, coded message to Doom detailing briefly what had occurred and sent Kree to deliver it.
Moments later, they were on their way once more, racing across the now wet stone street back to the marketplace in pursuit of the man called Attor. Their boots squished through the muddy path as they ran back to where the fruit stand had been set up, determined not to let the beggar's sacrifice be wasted in vain. If there was an assassin in Deltora, it would be impertinent that they catch him with all haste.
The sky overhead had cleared considerably with the storm's end, and the moon now shone in all its glory alongside the stars. Lief and Jasmine had returned to a market center which was now unsurprisingly void of all life. Most of the crowd had dissipated when the first droplets of rain had begun falling; opting to take cover inside their homes. The two companions moved hurriedly, weaving through the dark roads and passing the now empty, unmanned market stalls.
Lief turned the next corner quickly with Jasmine close behind, expecting to find the aged wooden stall they had stood at merely hours before. However, the young king froze at the sight that greeted him and hearing the sharp intake of breath from the girl beside him confirmed that he was not imagining what he saw: Attor and his market stand were gone.