~DARK WATERS~
by IceAngel
For summary, disclaimer and other random things see chapter 1
A/N: Another chapter up earlier than expected! PLEASE REVIEW! enjoy!
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Chapter 5 - The Three Knights
The kitchen had grown stuffy and uncomfortable in the silence. But Lief stood to his pledge that he would search for his mother's cure, and the solution to the poisoning of Deltora's rivers.
"I have been thinking of the rhyme," Doom said suddenly. "the line, ~Over the hills and far away~ especially. Might this be more than just a simple introduction?"
"What do you mean?" Lief leaned forwards, interested.
"It speaks of mountains," Doom went on, his dark eyes travelling around the room to the faces of each of his companions.
"And you believe we should take this instruction literally?" Barda asked, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
"I think Doom may be right!" Lief said boldly, avoiding Barda's eyes. "Because the geography of Deltora is such that if this were a clue it could only mean one place. . ."
"The mountains of the Shadowland border." Jasmine finished dismally. "But Lief, if that is where our quest is to lead, our enemy has been simply playing with us. There is no way we could find any such thing in the Shadowlands!"
"I spoke not of the Shadowlands," Doom said sternly. "They are now no more than a barren wasteland, filled with death and the carnage of the Shadowlord's creations."
Lief thought he could detect something sinister under Doom's bold words, something akin to fear. It was no wonder, thought Lief, that Doom should be afraid of the land where he had been changed from Jarrad, the simple blacksmith, to the dark and sinister man he now was. What must have he endured to keep the secret of Lief's whereabouts? Lief owed him more than he could ever repay. But there was something else Lief would be forever grateful for; Doom had brought him Jasmine.
"If you do not mean the Shadowlands, then where?" Barda asked, interrupting Lief's thoughts.
"No one from Deltora in the last hundred years has crossed the Shadowlands and returned to tell the tale. What if there were another such place as Deltora, on the other side of the Shadowlands?"
"But surely," Jasmine began in shock, "someone would know. There would be maps, books . . " she trailed off in thought.
"Doran, our most famous explorer, only ever travelled as far as the Shadowland border," Barda put in.
"Then we must call for Jarrad at once!" Lief said, hope filling his heart for the first time in two days. "He will be able to tell us if our theory might be true!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Josef handed Lief a single volume of the Deltora annuls, his eyes shining with an excitement that belied his age. "I have often thought," he began, "that this particular story might refer to Deltora and surrounding lands."
"Thank you, Josef," Lief said soberly. One glance at the book in his hands had destroyed any hope he might have held. Never the less, he opened the old pages and began flicking through to the tale Josef had recommended.
"You see Volume 1 of the annuals is often dismissed as only myths and legends, but I believe there is truth hidden in its pages," Josef told him eagerly.
" ~The Tale of the Three Knights~," Lief read allowed, feeling his heart sink. Surely he would find nothing here!
~Once there came to these shores three knights intent on discovering new land.
On the eastern side they moored their boat and went ashore to discover what they could. The white Knight, who was a lover of music and poetry, heard a strange tune upon the breeze, and decided he would journey inland to find its source.
The black and red Knights would hear none of it, and they let their companion leave without even a farewell.
The red Knight, who believed strongly in law and honour wanted to travel south and announce their arrival to whoever dwelt in the strange land.
The black Knight, whose interests remained unknown, thought to travel north into the exotic rainforest that stretched all the way to the shore.
There was a battle over who would gain possession of the boat, and blood was spilt upon the shore. The Knights went their separate ways, into three different lands. One to the south, a civilised land of wisdom and law, one to the west, a land of music, and the other to a mysterious northern land from whence he never returned. ~
Lief took a shuddering breath to calm his nerves. He could barely contain his excitement. It was all true! There *was* a land above the Shadowlands, where the black knight had travelled long ago. The land of music spoken of was Pirra, and the land in the south was Deltora itself! Doom had been right! And now they knew the direction the quest would take, they must leave at once.
Lief jumped to his feet, feeling fresh and renewed through his discovery. He moved so quickly that he almost crashed straight into Ranesh who had been standing silently at the door of the library.
"Ranesh!" Lief exclaimed, "quickly! I need to speak to Marilin in the kitchen right away!"
The dark haired man smiled. "It seems my duty has become that of a messenger, running every second minute around the palace." Lief stopped, calming his nerves.
"I apologise, Ranesh. But please, just one last favour, bring Marilen to meet with us."
"Luckily for you this favour will be my pleasure. It has been hours since I have seen Marilin." Lief shook his head as Ranesh moved away. He could never quite understand that man.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lief was trembling all over as he handed the belt to Marilen. It was as though he was consciously taking a step closer to his grave. He felt empty and vulnerable without it, though there had been no use for it in Del recently.
He had already said farewell to his mother, and promised, though she could not hear him, that he would return with the cure that would save her. He bid Ranesh and Marilin farewell, and now was the greatest problem.
He stood amongst his four friends, each of them knowing all too well that one of them would have to be left behind. Each was determined it should not be themselves. Lief took a deep breath, "Perhaps it is no longer my place to decide which of us would be of greater use on this quest, but my mind is made up. I will be going, and it seems Jasmine will not be left behind."
Jasmine gave him a slight smile, her face very pale against the morning light. It seemed she too had realised who would be accompanying them. Lief could not meet the eyes of Barda and Doom, they had both given their lives to him and his family, how could he decide? Yet somehow he knew . . .
"Barda, I believe it is your place to come, and Doom's place to stay with my mother." Lief looked up, wetting his lips as he saw how they would both take it. It was as though both of them had taken a physical blow. Lief could see why. Doom thought Lief did not trust him enough to remain strong in the crossing of the Shadowlands, and worse, Barda thought Lief was declaring his opinion on which one of them meant more to Sharn. He wanted to reassure them, but there was no time.
"If you both agree . . ," he trailed off, not knowing what he could say. Doom bowed stiffly, and Barda nodded. "Doom, I am entrusting you with the care of Marilen, my mother and the whole of Deltora while we are gone. If something should happen to us, you shall know because the belt will glow." Lief was barely holding back his emotion, and speaking in a monotone to disguise his feelings.
Lief shook Doom's hand unsteadily, avoiding the dark eyes that were staring fixidatly at him. "Return soon," Doom said, "we will await your coming."
Lief could not hide a blurry eyed smile as Doom bent forwards to hug his daughter goodbye. Lief remembered how fervently Jasmine had hated Doom the first time they met. Then Lief turned away, and made his way down to the lawn where the three kin where waiting for their coming.
"Our travellers have returned!" Merin smiled. "And it seems we are to journey together once more!"
"I trust you will take care of Prin until our return," Ailsa said to Doom.
The man nodded, "she will enjoy playing hide and seek in the gardens of the palace."
"And I wish I would be here to see the gardener's face when she tramples on the flower beds!" Barda laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Lief tried to smile at the joke, but his heart felt heavy. He tucked the paper with the rhyme into his pocket as Ailsa invited him into her pouch. Then he was waving goodbye to Doom, Ranesh, Marilin and Prin. They were off!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A/N: Well they're off! And I for one am very glad! The intro's over and now we can get into the action!
Please review, people! As you can probably see, the reviews feed me inspiration and the need to write faster! I'd really love to hear your ideas and/or comments - thanks for reading :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Aduial Elenath* - Happy B-day! (for like a week ago!) 12 is a fun age and I'm glad I posted on the day without knowing it! That makes me about 6 years older than you. thanks so much for bothering to review, it's great to hear what you think. :D
*Oblivion* - Yes, I have been planning, but like the great Emily Rodda I do have some twists waiting around the bend. Thanks SO much for reviewing, it means heaps to me! hope you liked this one too :D
*Pen2* - I'm sure you will achieve the writing style your working towards, after all, I am almost 6 years older than you. I'm sure by the time you're my age you'll be a famous author ^.^ I hope you post soon cause I'm dying for the next chap. Glad you're still liking my fic, and thanks for being the only person to review all the chaps :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by IceAngel
For summary, disclaimer and other random things see chapter 1
A/N: Another chapter up earlier than expected! PLEASE REVIEW! enjoy!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 5 - The Three Knights
The kitchen had grown stuffy and uncomfortable in the silence. But Lief stood to his pledge that he would search for his mother's cure, and the solution to the poisoning of Deltora's rivers.
"I have been thinking of the rhyme," Doom said suddenly. "the line, ~Over the hills and far away~ especially. Might this be more than just a simple introduction?"
"What do you mean?" Lief leaned forwards, interested.
"It speaks of mountains," Doom went on, his dark eyes travelling around the room to the faces of each of his companions.
"And you believe we should take this instruction literally?" Barda asked, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
"I think Doom may be right!" Lief said boldly, avoiding Barda's eyes. "Because the geography of Deltora is such that if this were a clue it could only mean one place. . ."
"The mountains of the Shadowland border." Jasmine finished dismally. "But Lief, if that is where our quest is to lead, our enemy has been simply playing with us. There is no way we could find any such thing in the Shadowlands!"
"I spoke not of the Shadowlands," Doom said sternly. "They are now no more than a barren wasteland, filled with death and the carnage of the Shadowlord's creations."
Lief thought he could detect something sinister under Doom's bold words, something akin to fear. It was no wonder, thought Lief, that Doom should be afraid of the land where he had been changed from Jarrad, the simple blacksmith, to the dark and sinister man he now was. What must have he endured to keep the secret of Lief's whereabouts? Lief owed him more than he could ever repay. But there was something else Lief would be forever grateful for; Doom had brought him Jasmine.
"If you do not mean the Shadowlands, then where?" Barda asked, interrupting Lief's thoughts.
"No one from Deltora in the last hundred years has crossed the Shadowlands and returned to tell the tale. What if there were another such place as Deltora, on the other side of the Shadowlands?"
"But surely," Jasmine began in shock, "someone would know. There would be maps, books . . " she trailed off in thought.
"Doran, our most famous explorer, only ever travelled as far as the Shadowland border," Barda put in.
"Then we must call for Jarrad at once!" Lief said, hope filling his heart for the first time in two days. "He will be able to tell us if our theory might be true!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Josef handed Lief a single volume of the Deltora annuls, his eyes shining with an excitement that belied his age. "I have often thought," he began, "that this particular story might refer to Deltora and surrounding lands."
"Thank you, Josef," Lief said soberly. One glance at the book in his hands had destroyed any hope he might have held. Never the less, he opened the old pages and began flicking through to the tale Josef had recommended.
"You see Volume 1 of the annuals is often dismissed as only myths and legends, but I believe there is truth hidden in its pages," Josef told him eagerly.
" ~The Tale of the Three Knights~," Lief read allowed, feeling his heart sink. Surely he would find nothing here!
~Once there came to these shores three knights intent on discovering new land.
On the eastern side they moored their boat and went ashore to discover what they could. The white Knight, who was a lover of music and poetry, heard a strange tune upon the breeze, and decided he would journey inland to find its source.
The black and red Knights would hear none of it, and they let their companion leave without even a farewell.
The red Knight, who believed strongly in law and honour wanted to travel south and announce their arrival to whoever dwelt in the strange land.
The black Knight, whose interests remained unknown, thought to travel north into the exotic rainforest that stretched all the way to the shore.
There was a battle over who would gain possession of the boat, and blood was spilt upon the shore. The Knights went their separate ways, into three different lands. One to the south, a civilised land of wisdom and law, one to the west, a land of music, and the other to a mysterious northern land from whence he never returned. ~
Lief took a shuddering breath to calm his nerves. He could barely contain his excitement. It was all true! There *was* a land above the Shadowlands, where the black knight had travelled long ago. The land of music spoken of was Pirra, and the land in the south was Deltora itself! Doom had been right! And now they knew the direction the quest would take, they must leave at once.
Lief jumped to his feet, feeling fresh and renewed through his discovery. He moved so quickly that he almost crashed straight into Ranesh who had been standing silently at the door of the library.
"Ranesh!" Lief exclaimed, "quickly! I need to speak to Marilin in the kitchen right away!"
The dark haired man smiled. "It seems my duty has become that of a messenger, running every second minute around the palace." Lief stopped, calming his nerves.
"I apologise, Ranesh. But please, just one last favour, bring Marilen to meet with us."
"Luckily for you this favour will be my pleasure. It has been hours since I have seen Marilin." Lief shook his head as Ranesh moved away. He could never quite understand that man.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lief was trembling all over as he handed the belt to Marilen. It was as though he was consciously taking a step closer to his grave. He felt empty and vulnerable without it, though there had been no use for it in Del recently.
He had already said farewell to his mother, and promised, though she could not hear him, that he would return with the cure that would save her. He bid Ranesh and Marilin farewell, and now was the greatest problem.
He stood amongst his four friends, each of them knowing all too well that one of them would have to be left behind. Each was determined it should not be themselves. Lief took a deep breath, "Perhaps it is no longer my place to decide which of us would be of greater use on this quest, but my mind is made up. I will be going, and it seems Jasmine will not be left behind."
Jasmine gave him a slight smile, her face very pale against the morning light. It seemed she too had realised who would be accompanying them. Lief could not meet the eyes of Barda and Doom, they had both given their lives to him and his family, how could he decide? Yet somehow he knew . . .
"Barda, I believe it is your place to come, and Doom's place to stay with my mother." Lief looked up, wetting his lips as he saw how they would both take it. It was as though both of them had taken a physical blow. Lief could see why. Doom thought Lief did not trust him enough to remain strong in the crossing of the Shadowlands, and worse, Barda thought Lief was declaring his opinion on which one of them meant more to Sharn. He wanted to reassure them, but there was no time.
"If you both agree . . ," he trailed off, not knowing what he could say. Doom bowed stiffly, and Barda nodded. "Doom, I am entrusting you with the care of Marilen, my mother and the whole of Deltora while we are gone. If something should happen to us, you shall know because the belt will glow." Lief was barely holding back his emotion, and speaking in a monotone to disguise his feelings.
Lief shook Doom's hand unsteadily, avoiding the dark eyes that were staring fixidatly at him. "Return soon," Doom said, "we will await your coming."
Lief could not hide a blurry eyed smile as Doom bent forwards to hug his daughter goodbye. Lief remembered how fervently Jasmine had hated Doom the first time they met. Then Lief turned away, and made his way down to the lawn where the three kin where waiting for their coming.
"Our travellers have returned!" Merin smiled. "And it seems we are to journey together once more!"
"I trust you will take care of Prin until our return," Ailsa said to Doom.
The man nodded, "she will enjoy playing hide and seek in the gardens of the palace."
"And I wish I would be here to see the gardener's face when she tramples on the flower beds!" Barda laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Lief tried to smile at the joke, but his heart felt heavy. He tucked the paper with the rhyme into his pocket as Ailsa invited him into her pouch. Then he was waving goodbye to Doom, Ranesh, Marilin and Prin. They were off!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A/N: Well they're off! And I for one am very glad! The intro's over and now we can get into the action!
Please review, people! As you can probably see, the reviews feed me inspiration and the need to write faster! I'd really love to hear your ideas and/or comments - thanks for reading :D
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Aduial Elenath* - Happy B-day! (for like a week ago!) 12 is a fun age and I'm glad I posted on the day without knowing it! That makes me about 6 years older than you. thanks so much for bothering to review, it's great to hear what you think. :D
*Oblivion* - Yes, I have been planning, but like the great Emily Rodda I do have some twists waiting around the bend. Thanks SO much for reviewing, it means heaps to me! hope you liked this one too :D
*Pen2* - I'm sure you will achieve the writing style your working towards, after all, I am almost 6 years older than you. I'm sure by the time you're my age you'll be a famous author ^.^ I hope you post soon cause I'm dying for the next chap. Glad you're still liking my fic, and thanks for being the only person to review all the chaps :D
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