Author's Note: Hello again. I really didn't think I would be updating this soon. I thought I would wait at least a day but I guess I either didn't want or was bored. Two reviews for In the Belly of the Beast and here are my responses.

PJ Blindclown: Thanks for the review. Now, I didn't put Jasmine and Lief in the forge for two reasons. My plot wouldn't work as well and well I didn't think they could live in the forge which only had two bedrooms with three children. So I decided to leave them in the Castle. I would of did it if at the end of SOTS it said that they did live there from then on but it didn't.

Anyways, I also had a reason to put Jasmine in the dressing gown. I made her wear it because since she loves Lief she wouldn't want him to worry about anything. I really should of put in what Jasmine was wearing in Chapter One or at least show her changing in Chapter Two but I didn't think it was nessecary.. I might do it after I finish the story and revise it.

LiefxJasmine: Thanks a bunch for the review. Really made my day. I'll try my hardest to update at least the next 15 or so chapters by the end of the month. Not promising anything though :P

DragonMaster: Thanks for the review. About me plotting to kill Lief… I'm not sure… but when the time comes you'll be staring in disbelief and the shock that shall come…

Purplelight: Thanks for the review. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Doubt I'm going to get many good reviews on this.

Now some comments on the chapter. Argh. This chapter was the hardest ever to write. It was so forced. I don't think it's as good as the other chapters. I do put forward one of Jasmine and Lief's children in this chapter and that was Anna, I gave her a real teenagers attitude… I'm not sure if that was a good idea but I thought I should be a bit realistic… There's much more talking going on in this chapter. Everything shall be revealed in the next chapter which will be REALLY good. Oh and I do hope you like the cliffhanger. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not Emily Rodda. I do not profit from this story. This story is in no way associated with Scholastic publishing. I do not own any of the characters or Deltora, I merely own the plot of this story.

Catherine Attard.

Chapter Three – Mysteries

Lief threw off the white sheets he was under and ran to Barda's side, the Belt of Deltora hanging heavily at his waist. He quickly unfastened the Belt and put it on Barda's slowly rising chest. His shirt was stained, not by blood but by what looked like water… The poison.

Pain immediately seared through Lief's body. The Belt, he needed the Belt. No, he had to be strong. Barda was dying. Lief's face began to pale. His blood began to stop flowing. He was dying… The Belt…

"Lief!" Jasmine screamed. Lief heard something sounded like a muffled whisper when someone else would of heard an earsplitting scream.

The swelling on Barda's face began to fade. Lief did not know if it was because he was healing or if he was dying. Lief could no longer kneel so he collapsed to the tiled floor. He kept his eyes open and watched as Barda's chest began to rise and collapse more quickly.

Lief held out his hand for the Belt but could not reach. Jasmine saw what Lief was trying to do. She quickly removed the Belt from Barda's chest, put it on her shoulder and hauled Lief to his bed. She removed the Belt from her shoulder and fastened it around Lief's waist.

Some colour began to return to Lief's face. His heart was pumping vigorously. The pain that throbbed throughout his body began to die away.

"Barda."

Jasmine then remembered that Barda was lying on the floor. She quickly walked towards Barda, held him by the shoulders and dragged onto a bed. His face was still coloured a feverish red but the swelling had faded and his breathing was constant.

Jasmine went over to a table where a jug of water resided. She poured some of the water onto a cloth that lay beside the jug and walked back towards Barda. She put the cloth on Barda's forehead then turned towards a drawer beside him, opened it and removed something that looked similar to a tube of cream. She removed it's purple cap and squirted some of the cream onto her hand. Jasmine put the tube back down and smoothed the cream on her hand onto Barda's face.

"He should be alright… for now," Jasmine said as she walked towards Lief.

Jasmine screamed loudly.

"What's wrong?" Lief asked.

"Everything. I did not think that we would face this again. Especially now, he have children Lief," she worried.

"I know but whatever this is, we must overcome it. For our children. For Deltora."

Minutes past. They waited for Barda to wake, they needed to know what he meant. What he was saying.

"We need to know what he was going to tell us. It must be important. It has to be important, if someone went to the lengths of poisoning him to keep it a secret," Lief said.

"Important to me… Not that important to you…" Jasmine croaked, tears swelling in her eyes.

"What… What do you mean?"

"I think… that what Barda was trying to say was Filli. I think that the dragon has slaughtered Filli," Jasmine murmured, just loud enough for Lief to hear.

"Jasmine, I don't think that Barda would of reacted how he did to Filli being slaughtered. I don't think anyone would of poisoned him for that."

"Let us look for him, at least. For Filli's sake," Jasmine demanded.

"Okay, we shall look."

Jasmine left the room immediately, leaving Lief to follow, as Lief reached the door to follow Jasmine. His daughter, Anna who was fourteen was standing in his way.

"Anna, I have to go, please."

"Dad, yes you do have to go somewhere. Marilen needs you," Anna whined. Anna was really nothing like her Grandmother (who she was named after), who was a calm and patient woman. Anna, unlike her Grandmother was spoilt and somewhat very emotional. She did not even look like her Grandmother… or her mother. She looked like Marilen and for this reason she was very attached to her.

"Honey, I can't come," Lief protested.

"You have to come, Dad, please?" Anna begged.

"Okay, okay," Lief gave in.

Anna led to Lief to the Library, as Lief reached the entrance, he saw Marilen in her ivory Toran dress crying and cursing herself as she sat a table. Lief walked over to her. His feet sounded heavy as they pounded on the marble floor.

"Marilen? Cousin? Are you all right?" Lief questioned facing her tear stricken face.

"I am, Lief… but… you are not," she sobbed, "Lief, there's something you need to know. Something… that will change everything."

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