FINALLY! I never thought anyone would review! It's about time! Sorry it has taken awhile to update, the stupid floppy disk needed to be formatted…what the hell does 'formatted' supposed to mean? Anyways, I work upstairs in my Tower where I don't have Internet. Since the floppy disk is acting like a jerk, I have to copy everything down on paper, and then type up the entire thing on the downstairs computer (which does have internet) Now that I have told you my life story…on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Deltora…oh, crud monkeys! I forgot what I was going to type next. Anyways, Azure, Anwar, Balder, Han-Thorne, Lilex, Malz, Gorton, and the plot are mine. All mine! Stay away!

Chapter Two

The Representatives

"I can't possibly rule over Deltora!" Azure exclaimed.

"Anna, there is no one else who can." Jasmine tried to reason with her.

"The first born male is supposed to; not me!" Azure said, purposefully putting too much exaggeration on the words. "I don't even know anything about Deltora!"

"You can learn. We will teach you." Jasmine said, stubborn as usual.

"I don't think it would be possible." Azure snapped; equally stubborn.

Azure and Jasmine were sitting in a large room, mostly used for the kingdom's debates and such things. The mother and daughter were not alone. One representative from each of Deltora's seven tribes were there to discuss Deltora's future.

Anwar was a young girl of only twenty-three, and she was the niece of Zeean. She was Tora's representative. Her grandfather, Balder, was with her; Anwar tended to be a wanderer. Although Anwar was young, her magical powers were very intense. She had long black hair and light blue eyes with flecks of yellow.

Han-Thorne was one of the Dread Gnomes. He had dark red hair and green eyes. Like all Dread Gnomes, he was an amazing archer.

The Jalis tribe's representative was Lilex. She was very strong and could pick up a grown man. She had such a sweet face and slim figure that no one would ever expect her to attack with such ferocity. She had short, straight, brown hair that she usually tied back with a dark green ribbon.

Malz was the representative of Ralad. He looked like a Raladin…what else?

Steven (and Nevets) was there representing the Plains people. Although he had grown in age, he was still the same Ols fighting Steven.

Gorton was Mere's representative. He had dark, curly, brown hair and deep brown eyes. He was usually a calm person who spent his time reading, writing, and mapping.

"I think she can do it!" Anwar said enthusiastically.

"But the difficulty of the task is very high, I cannot see it being done by some one like her." Balder argued.

Azure's anger flared, but she was silenced by Jasmine. "That is what he said about your father, Barda and I recovering the seven gems that were stolen from the Belt." Jasmine said under her breath.

"This still doesn't explain why the Belt did not accept the first born male." Han-Thorne remarked.

"We may never know why." Malz said quietly.

The discussion lasted for what seemed like to Azure for hours. (S-M: ahh! Too much twitch American Studies class! It burns!) There was talk of Deltora's economy, crops, the trade routes from across the Silver Sea, Deltora's safety from the Shadow Lord, and Deltora's overall well being.

The meeting finally came to an end when Lilex stood up and shouted, "Regardless of what we say, Azure will rule unless the people don't come to trust her. With every second that passes, the Shadow Lord has a chance to invade Deltora. If we don't hurry and give Azure the Belt, the Shadow Lord will attack!"

Azure cringed. Every time anyone mentioned the Shadow Lord, she was reminded of the evil place and things she had witnessed. The Shadow Lord had given her the ability to cross through the shield – in and out of Deltora – at free will. (If one could call it that. She did whatever the Shadow Lord told her to. She had no say in the matter.)

She had been given orders to murder her brothers, Jarred and Endon, which would buy the Shadow Lord's army time to get into Deltora while the kingdom summoned the next heir in line.

Azure's thoughts were broken off abruptly when Jasmine turned to her and said, "Are you ready to accept the Belt and rule Deltora?"

Everything was happening so fast. Azure had hoped she would have time to learn more about Deltora; that would make it easier to gain the trust of the people. She had only ever heard the Shadow Lord's side of the stories, and that was not in the kingdom's favor.

"I cannot do it alone." Azure said, her gaze sweeping over all the people in the room.

"I'll be there for you…friend." Anwar came to stand next to Azure.

"You have my trust." Lilex added.

Malz stood up, "I believe you will make a good queen." The small Raladin only came up to her hip.

Han-Thorne sighed and rose to his feet. "You have my support."

"And mine." Gorton added quietly.

Steven towered over all of them – even Lilex who was a Jalis. "Your father had been a very close friend of mine for years. You have that same friendship from me as well."

Azure had never felt so much joy and despair at the same time. She felt the joy because she knew she now had friends she could count on; friends that counted on her. She felt the despair because she knew that the friendship and trust would be short lived.

There you go! Sorry if it was too short for you, but if you don't like it go tell it to the judge! Flames are accepted, however they will be used to warm my Tower of High Sorcery (IN PALANTHAS!!!!)