"Lief!" The voice shouted again. "Take off his head! That is the only way to kill him!" A figure Lief knew very well was running towards him.
The Shadow Lord, quickly recovering from the interruption, again swiftly lowered his blade, preparing to lay it to rest in Lief's chest. Lief saw the barest glimmer of an opening, and vaulted himself forward, to close to the Shadow Lord for his sword to deliver the blow.
As the Shadow Lord attempted to recover from this odd move, Lief swung his legs around to collide with the Shadow Lord's. As if time had slowed, Lief watched the Shadow Lord begin to fall as he scrabbled to his own feet. His sword, now dripping with blood from his wounded arm, was poised at the Shadow Lord's neck.
"Now, you will finally die!" Lief said slowly and menacingly, allowing his blade to swing freely through the air, completing the arc on the other side of the Shadow Lord's severed neck. He watched disinterestedly as the body of the creature that had plagued Deltora for generations crumbled to ashes.
"You did it Lief! Great job!" Barda cheered the young King. But Lief ignored his praise. He had eyes for one thing only.
"Jasmine," he whispered, and ran towards the woman who now stood watching her husband with pride.
"What happened? We thought you were dead," Barda asked.
"What made you think that?" Jasmine questioned. Lief did not really care how Jasmine was alive, only that she was.
"When we first entered the Shadowlands, there was a rock that showed what looked to be the cause of your death. We had thought the Shadow Lord had placed it there to mock our journey," Barda explained.
"Now we know he placed it there to make us give up. What I do not understand is how he could also have given me a dream about the event," Lief murmured.
"What?" Jasmine and Barda asked in unison. Lief explained about the dream he had had while on their way through the Secret Sea.
Jasmine's head lowered, and Lief thought he saw some rare tears well up in her eyes. "That was not a dream," Jasmine murmured. Lief looked at her worriedly, wondering what was making her so unsteady.
"Jasmine?" Lief asked softly.
"That… that Ol, the one that looked like Dain? He actually brought those creatures into my cell. He treated them as though they were pets, and I was so scared that he actually would try to… to take away the baby," Jasmine murmured. Lief pulled her towards him more tightly, trying to calm her down.
"It's okay. Everything is all right now. You are safe," Lief whispered into her ear.
"I think it's time we got home now. There's nothing left here," Barda stated. The couple nodded, and they made their way back to the Secret Sea.
Jasmine was exhausted. Every muscle in her body ached, and she was just ready to be finished.
"All right Jasmine, just one more good push, and we should have this baby out," Janye urged the young woman. Jasmine wanted to yell at her, to tell her that she had said the same thing hours ago, and the baby still was not born, but she didn't have strength enough for that. Jasmine felt ashamed that she could endure hard battles and months without proper rest, but that something as simple as childbirth was so difficult.
Jasmine screamed as she pushed once more, hoping with all her might that this would indeed be the last one. As Sharn squeezed her hand and kept motivating her, Jasmine felt she could not endure one more second. Just as she was about to give up, something changed, and an immense pressure was released. At the same moment, Jasmine heard something that made her heart soar. The shrill cry of a newborn baby.
"Congratulations! It is a girl!" Janye announced, handing the infant to Jasmine.
As Jasmine cuddled the tiny baby close to her, she felt the last several hours were finally worth it.
"May I come in now?" Lief asked from behind the doorway. Jasmine smiled as she ushered her husband into the room he had been banned from since early that morning.
"Come in Lief. There is someone here who wants to meet you." As Lief hesitantly opened the door, not wanting to anger his mother or Janye, his eyes fell on Jasmine and the tiny bundle she held in her arms.
"Come meet your daughter Lief," Jasmine beckoned. Without another word, Lief sank down to sit on the bed next to Jasmine. They stared into the face of the newborn, neither able to put into words the experience they were having.
"What do you think about the name Anna?" Lief asked. He had been thinking about that name for several months now.
Jasmine looked up at Lief. "I think it is perfect. Anna it is." Both returned to gazing at their daughter, mesmerized by her angelic face.
While all of Deltora celebrated the arrival of an heir that would be prepared to take the Belt when that time came, Lief and Jasmine just enjoyed holding their child for the first time.
THE END
I finally decided that I didn't really care about reviews, I just wanted to finish the story. Thank you to those who did review, and I hope you enjoyed it.