Jovan is pronounced [Joe - van] *thanks lexi*
Yasrin is [Yaz-rin]
and Kaif is [Kay-eef]
Read on and enjoy!
Chapter 8 - Betrayal
Lief glanced across at Barda as if to ask the man's opinion on how much they should reveal. Receiving a short nod Lief took a breath and began, "Less than two days ago," he began, being cautious not to reveal too much, "my mother fell ill to a poison not known in our lands. We have come north in search of the cure."
"North?" Jovan asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion," then you have come from the desert lands in the south?"
"Not the Shadowlands themselves," Barda said quickly, "but a land below them."
"There is a land beneath the desert?" Jovan raised his eyebrows in surprise, leaning forward eagerly.
Lief began to feel uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, wondering whether it was wise to reveal his kingdom to a stranger.
Jovan seemed to sense his discomfort and thankfully dropped the subject, though his eyes lingered for a moment on Lief.
Suddenly he stood, "You are tired and I will leave you now to take your rest. You need not fear within our camp, we have guards posted through the night. In the morning I will guide you to the base of the mountains... or back, if you wish it."
"We thank you," Lief said, breathing out in relief that the interrogation was over.
A man introduced as Yasrin brought them blankets, staring strangely at them before leaving.
Lief looked up at Barda, lifting a hand to the side of his head which was beginning to ache from the strain. They did not speak, for both knew that they might be overheard, but from the lines on Barda's forehead Lief saw that his friend had deemed no more than himself from the conversation with the young captain.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lief had meant to stay awake to keep watch. Hours later when he woke to the sound of voices he cursed himself for falling asleep.
He was pleased to see Jasmine was awake once more, seeming more refreshed than he himself.
"Are you well?" he asked, feeling some of the concern of yesterday coming back to him.
She smiled with amusement, "as well as can be expected, "though no one will tell me what is going on!"
Lief struggle out from beneath the thick, grey blanket, looking around for Barda. The man was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?" Lief groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Barda?" she shrugged, "I have not seen him. A man came in with this some minutes ago, though I could not stomach it." Jasmine gestured to a tray on the ground where lay the untouched bread and two cups."
"What is there to drink?" he asked, crawling over to the tray.
"I did not like the smell and have not touched it. You can tell me."
Lief sniffed at the mug, recognising the rich smell of the drink he had tasted the night before. Like Jasmine he felt unable to eat or drink, and wondered what hour it was.
As if sensing their thoughts the curtain that had been drawn over the entrance of the small cave was pushed aside. Barda entered, followed by Jovan and two of his men, Kaif and the man Yasmin who had brought them the blankets.
Barda nodded to Lief and Jasmine, moving purposely to his belongings and hefting them upon his shoulder. "Enjoy your rest?" he asked Lief, grinning at the way his face flushed red at the question.
Lief glared back, wishing fervently that he had not overslept himself.
"Come," Jovan said, breaking the tension, "we should reach the base of the mountains before the snow comes."
Jovan led the way through to the entrance of the larger cave, and Lief took the opportunity to ask Barda what he had been doing while had over-slept.
"I spoke to our host about our road ahead, and about this land and its people. It seems the name of this land is Bratok, and the people very similar to those of Deltora."
"Bratok," Lief repeated the strange word, wondering about its origin - as the word Deltora had been made from the first letters of the stones for the Belt. He reached unconsciously to where the belt usually rested, and remembered, when his fingers met air, that the belt was safe in Deltora, protected by Doom, Ranesh and Marilin.
"They have a king in the North in a city called Avion," Barda was saying. "Lief? Are you listening?"
"Y... Yes," I was just thinking..."
"Hurry, we are falling behind."
The freezing wind rushed at them as they stepped out of the warm cave, and Lief wished hopelessly that he had forced himself to swallow the drink that warmed him the night before. Drawing his new cloak, which was thicker and more substantial than his previous one, around his face, he tried to shelter his skin from the stinging cold.
Through half closed eyes he followed the tall figure of Barda around the twisting curves of the mountain track from what seemed like hours. When they stopped, it was only for mere minutes as the snow clouds above threatened to dump their load before the travellers were safely below the rise of the mountains.
At last the snow beneath their feet became wetter, and some of the chill that had hung in the air was defeated by the sunshine. Ahead in the valley below them they could see the shadow of a great forest. As they drew nearer Lief saw it was a more lush forest than he had ever seen. Thin brown trunks entwined with vines wrapped around each other, making a canopy that cast green shadows upon the forest floor below. Remarkably different to the Forests of Silence or the trees in the Valley of the Lost, Lief felt himself intrigued by such new scenery.
They entered the trees cautiously, Lief following the mens' example and drawing his sword. He did not know what to expect, and a strange sense of foreboding had come over him when they stepped through the forest border.
Everything was very quiet, and Lief realised that there seemed to be no life at all the trees. He could hear neither bird nor animal, and felt himself growing more uneasy by the minute.
The three men held their crossbows high, though Kaif seemed nervous and Yasrin looked constantly to the trees for any sign of danger.
"Lieutenant," Jovan said softly to Kaif, "Lead the way for a moment."
The two men switched places and Jovan dropped back beside the three companions. "This is a dangerous time to be walking the forests," he told Lief gravely, "there are many tales of a beast who can kill men simply through fear. We have found bodies..." he trailed off and from the look in the man's eyes Lief thought he did not wish to hear the rest.
"We would travel at night were it not for the urgency of your quest."
Lief felt a stab of guilt for putting these men into such danger, "Captain, you and your men... You should go back to your cave. We have faced many dangers together - and this is not your fight."
Jovan looked at him strangely for a moment, a far away look in his eyes. "My father is an ill man," he said at last, "therefore I know how you feel and what you would risk to save your mother."
"Still, Lief did not risk telling the young man that it was not only his mother who was in danger, but his whole kingdom! He felt as though he could trust the captain, yet knew that they had been deceived by appearances before.
Lief took a breath to calm himself, and suddenly the air felt thick and humid. Is it the trees? he wondered, or perhaps he was simply imagining it.
"Captain!" The shout came from behind, and Lief turned to Yasrin. The young man was pointing ahead, to where Kaif was leading the group. Before Lief could turn and look, he heard a loud rush of air past his face, and a grunt of pain beside him.
He reached out, but was not strong enough to support Jovan's weight as the young man dropped to his knees. He was clutching the back of his neck, and when he pulled his hand away Lief saw a feathered dart lying on his palm.
Lief moved to pick up Jovan's crossbow which had fallen to the ground, but the young man pushed him away, "Run!" he shouted, "Run! They are coming!"
Lief's stared at him, his heart thundering so hard that he could hardly hear. But Yasrin's cry pierced Lief's mind and he started into motion. He ran to the other young man, realising that he too must have been shot. Jasmine was there before him, holding Yasrin's head up off the ground. In the man's hand Lief saw a similar dart, though he did not know where he had been hit.
"Here," Yasrin groaned, reaching out for Lief's hand and pressing something into it. Lief opened his fingers and found a small glass vial.
"For your mother..." Lief swallowed tears as Yasrin closed his eyes and was still.
"Dead?" he asked Jasmine who had her fingers to his neck.
"No," she replied with a sigh, "he is still breathing.
Lief turned, still crouching. Barda was by Jovan's body and as Lief met his gaze his friend shook is head.
"Where is Kaif?" Jasmine whispered, and looking up Lief saw that the Lieutenant had indeed vanished.
"Behind you, King of Del," the voice was low and tinged with malice, and as Lief turned he felt a sharp sting in his shoulder where the dart had struck him from close range. His vision blurred instantly, and he just had time to look up into the Lieutenant's face before everything went black.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews - more and more people seem to be reading this every chapter - and it's great to get so much feedback. I sat down the other day to plan the rest of the story. So from now on I actually know what is going to happen! But I luv suggestions from you guys and hope you will tell me what you want more of or which characters to write on.
REVIEWER QUESTION: I'm wondering whether people want to hear about what's going on back at the palace with Doom - or whether I should just tell Lief/Jasmine/Barda's story?
You decide! I'll take a vote... please tell me what you think!
E-MAIL: I send an e-mail to everyone who has reviewed this fic for each chapter - but if...
1) You don't want me to e-mail you or
2) You would like to get an e-mail to tell you when I've updated but I don't have your e-mail adress.. then..
just tell me in a review and I'll take you off my list / or tell me your email and I'll put you on it so you recieve a note for each new chapter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Eldainwe Aduial Elenath* - Glad you're enjoying it! And finally some action! luv to hear from you!
*Tomfeltonsgirl* - thankyou for reviewing- you're right there's finally some action!
*Jasmine101* - of course I don't mind long reviews! I hope you got my review for your fic! and if you ever need help or ideas you can ask me! I'd luv to know somthing about your fic - I'll try to remember to e-mail you and ask about it! Thankyou :D
*lexi* - eee! a fun review - I'm glad my new characters have intregued you - and I hadn't even thought about pronounciation! After a lot of thinking I decided on the 'g' sound - thanks for asking ^.^ and reminding me! I've put in a character dedicated to you for that - 'Yasrin' (because of the 'y' sound) - but all is not what it seems there [can't say more] thanks so much!
*Fuu-chan* - Hope you got my review for chapter 5 - do you think you could poke me again when you've written the next? So what's your puppy's name? ohh a picture of Lief - how do you imagine him? I always thought brown hair and brown eyes but..? thankyou:D
*Suzie* - ~new reviewer!~ thankyou for such a nice review! Sorry this chap took so long! yeah - I'm very much not a romance person but with Lief and Jasmine around I thought I should probably include some.. It probably seems more for older people because I'm much older than any other DQ writers on this site - I turn 18 in four months! but I'm imature and proud of it! So glad you're liking my story! :D
*Pen2* - hello again my friend - wow I thought you weren't going to make it before I posted the next chapter! where have you been? you said u didn't even have a pen! on holidays I write stuff on anything - tickets, brochures.. but I always have a pen and little notepad in my bag for ideas! I'm not sure if I reviewed the last two chapters of AoA - you'll have to tell me off if I didn't! but I read them! um.. you shuldn't post 2 chaps at once - you get less reviews because some people will only review one! u should wait a day inbetween. Good writing! hope u enjoyed the first bit of action!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yasrin is [Yaz-rin]
and Kaif is [Kay-eef]
Read on and enjoy!
Chapter 8 - Betrayal
Lief glanced across at Barda as if to ask the man's opinion on how much they should reveal. Receiving a short nod Lief took a breath and began, "Less than two days ago," he began, being cautious not to reveal too much, "my mother fell ill to a poison not known in our lands. We have come north in search of the cure."
"North?" Jovan asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion," then you have come from the desert lands in the south?"
"Not the Shadowlands themselves," Barda said quickly, "but a land below them."
"There is a land beneath the desert?" Jovan raised his eyebrows in surprise, leaning forward eagerly.
Lief began to feel uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, wondering whether it was wise to reveal his kingdom to a stranger.
Jovan seemed to sense his discomfort and thankfully dropped the subject, though his eyes lingered for a moment on Lief.
Suddenly he stood, "You are tired and I will leave you now to take your rest. You need not fear within our camp, we have guards posted through the night. In the morning I will guide you to the base of the mountains... or back, if you wish it."
"We thank you," Lief said, breathing out in relief that the interrogation was over.
A man introduced as Yasrin brought them blankets, staring strangely at them before leaving.
Lief looked up at Barda, lifting a hand to the side of his head which was beginning to ache from the strain. They did not speak, for both knew that they might be overheard, but from the lines on Barda's forehead Lief saw that his friend had deemed no more than himself from the conversation with the young captain.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Lief had meant to stay awake to keep watch. Hours later when he woke to the sound of voices he cursed himself for falling asleep.
He was pleased to see Jasmine was awake once more, seeming more refreshed than he himself.
"Are you well?" he asked, feeling some of the concern of yesterday coming back to him.
She smiled with amusement, "as well as can be expected, "though no one will tell me what is going on!"
Lief struggle out from beneath the thick, grey blanket, looking around for Barda. The man was nowhere to be seen. "Where is he?" Lief groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Barda?" she shrugged, "I have not seen him. A man came in with this some minutes ago, though I could not stomach it." Jasmine gestured to a tray on the ground where lay the untouched bread and two cups."
"What is there to drink?" he asked, crawling over to the tray.
"I did not like the smell and have not touched it. You can tell me."
Lief sniffed at the mug, recognising the rich smell of the drink he had tasted the night before. Like Jasmine he felt unable to eat or drink, and wondered what hour it was.
As if sensing their thoughts the curtain that had been drawn over the entrance of the small cave was pushed aside. Barda entered, followed by Jovan and two of his men, Kaif and the man Yasmin who had brought them the blankets.
Barda nodded to Lief and Jasmine, moving purposely to his belongings and hefting them upon his shoulder. "Enjoy your rest?" he asked Lief, grinning at the way his face flushed red at the question.
Lief glared back, wishing fervently that he had not overslept himself.
"Come," Jovan said, breaking the tension, "we should reach the base of the mountains before the snow comes."
Jovan led the way through to the entrance of the larger cave, and Lief took the opportunity to ask Barda what he had been doing while had over-slept.
"I spoke to our host about our road ahead, and about this land and its people. It seems the name of this land is Bratok, and the people very similar to those of Deltora."
"Bratok," Lief repeated the strange word, wondering about its origin - as the word Deltora had been made from the first letters of the stones for the Belt. He reached unconsciously to where the belt usually rested, and remembered, when his fingers met air, that the belt was safe in Deltora, protected by Doom, Ranesh and Marilin.
"They have a king in the North in a city called Avion," Barda was saying. "Lief? Are you listening?"
"Y... Yes," I was just thinking..."
"Hurry, we are falling behind."
The freezing wind rushed at them as they stepped out of the warm cave, and Lief wished hopelessly that he had forced himself to swallow the drink that warmed him the night before. Drawing his new cloak, which was thicker and more substantial than his previous one, around his face, he tried to shelter his skin from the stinging cold.
Through half closed eyes he followed the tall figure of Barda around the twisting curves of the mountain track from what seemed like hours. When they stopped, it was only for mere minutes as the snow clouds above threatened to dump their load before the travellers were safely below the rise of the mountains.
At last the snow beneath their feet became wetter, and some of the chill that had hung in the air was defeated by the sunshine. Ahead in the valley below them they could see the shadow of a great forest. As they drew nearer Lief saw it was a more lush forest than he had ever seen. Thin brown trunks entwined with vines wrapped around each other, making a canopy that cast green shadows upon the forest floor below. Remarkably different to the Forests of Silence or the trees in the Valley of the Lost, Lief felt himself intrigued by such new scenery.
They entered the trees cautiously, Lief following the mens' example and drawing his sword. He did not know what to expect, and a strange sense of foreboding had come over him when they stepped through the forest border.
Everything was very quiet, and Lief realised that there seemed to be no life at all the trees. He could hear neither bird nor animal, and felt himself growing more uneasy by the minute.
The three men held their crossbows high, though Kaif seemed nervous and Yasrin looked constantly to the trees for any sign of danger.
"Lieutenant," Jovan said softly to Kaif, "Lead the way for a moment."
The two men switched places and Jovan dropped back beside the three companions. "This is a dangerous time to be walking the forests," he told Lief gravely, "there are many tales of a beast who can kill men simply through fear. We have found bodies..." he trailed off and from the look in the man's eyes Lief thought he did not wish to hear the rest.
"We would travel at night were it not for the urgency of your quest."
Lief felt a stab of guilt for putting these men into such danger, "Captain, you and your men... You should go back to your cave. We have faced many dangers together - and this is not your fight."
Jovan looked at him strangely for a moment, a far away look in his eyes. "My father is an ill man," he said at last, "therefore I know how you feel and what you would risk to save your mother."
"Still, Lief did not risk telling the young man that it was not only his mother who was in danger, but his whole kingdom! He felt as though he could trust the captain, yet knew that they had been deceived by appearances before.
Lief took a breath to calm himself, and suddenly the air felt thick and humid. Is it the trees? he wondered, or perhaps he was simply imagining it.
"Captain!" The shout came from behind, and Lief turned to Yasrin. The young man was pointing ahead, to where Kaif was leading the group. Before Lief could turn and look, he heard a loud rush of air past his face, and a grunt of pain beside him.
He reached out, but was not strong enough to support Jovan's weight as the young man dropped to his knees. He was clutching the back of his neck, and when he pulled his hand away Lief saw a feathered dart lying on his palm.
Lief moved to pick up Jovan's crossbow which had fallen to the ground, but the young man pushed him away, "Run!" he shouted, "Run! They are coming!"
Lief's stared at him, his heart thundering so hard that he could hardly hear. But Yasrin's cry pierced Lief's mind and he started into motion. He ran to the other young man, realising that he too must have been shot. Jasmine was there before him, holding Yasrin's head up off the ground. In the man's hand Lief saw a similar dart, though he did not know where he had been hit.
"Here," Yasrin groaned, reaching out for Lief's hand and pressing something into it. Lief opened his fingers and found a small glass vial.
"For your mother..." Lief swallowed tears as Yasrin closed his eyes and was still.
"Dead?" he asked Jasmine who had her fingers to his neck.
"No," she replied with a sigh, "he is still breathing.
Lief turned, still crouching. Barda was by Jovan's body and as Lief met his gaze his friend shook is head.
"Where is Kaif?" Jasmine whispered, and looking up Lief saw that the Lieutenant had indeed vanished.
"Behind you, King of Del," the voice was low and tinged with malice, and as Lief turned he felt a sharp sting in his shoulder where the dart had struck him from close range. His vision blurred instantly, and he just had time to look up into the Lieutenant's face before everything went black.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews - more and more people seem to be reading this every chapter - and it's great to get so much feedback. I sat down the other day to plan the rest of the story. So from now on I actually know what is going to happen! But I luv suggestions from you guys and hope you will tell me what you want more of or which characters to write on.
REVIEWER QUESTION: I'm wondering whether people want to hear about what's going on back at the palace with Doom - or whether I should just tell Lief/Jasmine/Barda's story?
You decide! I'll take a vote... please tell me what you think!
E-MAIL: I send an e-mail to everyone who has reviewed this fic for each chapter - but if...
1) You don't want me to e-mail you or
2) You would like to get an e-mail to tell you when I've updated but I don't have your e-mail adress.. then..
just tell me in a review and I'll take you off my list / or tell me your email and I'll put you on it so you recieve a note for each new chapter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Eldainwe Aduial Elenath* - Glad you're enjoying it! And finally some action! luv to hear from you!
*Tomfeltonsgirl* - thankyou for reviewing- you're right there's finally some action!
*Jasmine101* - of course I don't mind long reviews! I hope you got my review for your fic! and if you ever need help or ideas you can ask me! I'd luv to know somthing about your fic - I'll try to remember to e-mail you and ask about it! Thankyou :D
*lexi* - eee! a fun review - I'm glad my new characters have intregued you - and I hadn't even thought about pronounciation! After a lot of thinking I decided on the 'g' sound - thanks for asking ^.^ and reminding me! I've put in a character dedicated to you for that - 'Yasrin' (because of the 'y' sound) - but all is not what it seems there [can't say more] thanks so much!
*Fuu-chan* - Hope you got my review for chapter 5 - do you think you could poke me again when you've written the next? So what's your puppy's name? ohh a picture of Lief - how do you imagine him? I always thought brown hair and brown eyes but..? thankyou:D
*Suzie* - ~new reviewer!~ thankyou for such a nice review! Sorry this chap took so long! yeah - I'm very much not a romance person but with Lief and Jasmine around I thought I should probably include some.. It probably seems more for older people because I'm much older than any other DQ writers on this site - I turn 18 in four months! but I'm imature and proud of it! So glad you're liking my story! :D
*Pen2* - hello again my friend - wow I thought you weren't going to make it before I posted the next chapter! where have you been? you said u didn't even have a pen! on holidays I write stuff on anything - tickets, brochures.. but I always have a pen and little notepad in my bag for ideas! I'm not sure if I reviewed the last two chapters of AoA - you'll have to tell me off if I didn't! but I read them! um.. you shuldn't post 2 chaps at once - you get less reviews because some people will only review one! u should wait a day inbetween. Good writing! hope u enjoyed the first bit of action!
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