Long Forgotten – Chapter 1

Jasmine was worried. Lief was worried. Barda was worried.

Jasmine was worried about Kree. Would he get better? What could she do to help him?

Lief was worried about Jasmine and her problems. What did the people of the kingdom say about her? Would she recover from her psychosomatic injuries?

Barda was worried about the two of them. Would they be all right? Would their marriage work out? Would Lief help solve Jasmine's problems?

Jasmine trudged across the hallway, thinking of what she would say to Lief. What could she say? 'Sorry Your Majesty, I was a little volatile in the doctor's practice. I didn't mean to tell you until you had sorted out your problems first.' Or, 'Your Majesty, I am very sorry about what happened earlier. None of it was true. I was making it all up.'

Her head swirled with dilemmas.

"Lief?" called a tentative voice from the entrance of the Library. The king turned to see who it was.

"Jasmine?" he asked. "What's the problem?"

"I need to talk to you, and privately," said Jasmine, coming towards him. All he could see of her face was an emotionless mask.

"Of course." He rose, and they walked back, past the doctor's practice, to a secluded place in the royal woods, where they often sat, enjoying each other's presence. But this was not the case this time.

"So, what is bothering you, Jasmine?" Lief asked, once they were in the safety of the trees. They would tell Jasmine if anyone was coming.

"Deltora is so beautiful... I am so glad we are here, taking a break from all those adventures, don't you think?" Jasmine asked, trying to turn the conversation from herself, to the country. "I love Del, with all her wonderful flora and fauna. It's a good thing we're living in Del."

"Don't try talking about other things, Jasmine. It won't work. You've tried it too many times before." Lief snapped.

Jasmine looked momentarily taken aback, and hung her head. "I am sorry, Lief. I'll get to the point. It... was the things I said to you earlier. None of it was true. I can prove it. Don't believe what I said then, please." Jasmine lied, unconvincingly. The trees waved their branches with sympathy.

"I do believe what you said in the surgery. It's not just your problem; it's mine, too. I'm the one that... asked for you to marry me. It's all rot. All we have to know about each other is that we do love each other. At least accept that, Jasmine, for me. Why do you think you are without problems? I have them, everyone has them from time to time, believe me."

"I don't, it's just that... you just said you have them too, from time to time, and I don't want to burden you with mine, too. It would be so stressful."

"But that's why I'm here for you. To help sort your problems, am I correct?" He asked, and before she could answer, hugged her gently. Jasmine's uptight body relaxed, and sank gratefully into his arms.

They sat like this for a time, just enjoying each other's presence, when the trees whispered alarmingly. 'Barda's coming... Barda's coming...'

They hurriedly drew apart, but Barda had already seen them.

"I don't mind, watching you two lovebirds in each other's arms," he said, with a slight smile tugging at his lips. "All I wanted to tell Jasmine was that the doctors attending to Kree could use a magic box on him. You will probably know about this, Lief – the Lifespan box?"

Lief nodded. "That's right, I remember. It increases the lifespan by... seven days, was it?"

Barda nodded. "Anyway, the doctors can put him in a Lifespan box for seven days. During this period of time, they asked me to tell you that if you want Kree to live, you need to find two twigs of a herb called atracaccia, from the lair of the Spirit of Life, Reality Valley."

Jasmine had heard all that was said. "So... all we need to do is to find two sticks of atracaccia, is that correct?"

Barda nodded. Lief spoke up. "I've heard about Reality Valley. It is two days and a half's walk North-East from here, am I correct?"

Barda nodded again. "So let's get going!" Jasmine said sharply. She turned and started walking towards the direction of the palace. The two left behind looked at each other with knowing expressions, then walked towards the palace, too.

They found her packing the few close things she had, including her jar of fire beads, water crystals and her home made charms against bad luck.

"We have to leave now," she said, making her way past them to the door leading out to the hallway from the bedroom.

Lief smiled, and turned to Barda. "Pack your things, change out of your noble clothes and let us go to find the atracaccia for Kree."

"Just like old times, eh?" asked Barda. Lief nodded with a smile on his face.

Barda left to pack.

"Lief, are you ready?" called Jasmine impatiently. "Kree only has seven days to live, you know."

"I'm coming," called Lief. He hurried out Deltora Palace, leaving only a note of his, Jasmine's and Barda's absence.

"Lief, I was just wondering... do you not think this is all a little suspicious?" Jasmine asked, around twenty minutes into the journey.

"Why?" Lief asked back.

Jasmine shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It's just that a hurrok had to slash Kree, and the only herb able to heal him is in Reality Valley..."

"Now that you mention it, yes," Barda said. "I thought it seemed a little suspicious too."

Lief nodded in silence.

Barda walked ahead of the two, making sure he didn't hear anything they were saying to each other.

"Are you sure this rumour is true?" Lief asked Jasmine.

She nodded. "One boy your age said it in front of me. I still cannot believe he said that. I didn't do anything to him, did I? I told him that, and he answered, 'It's simply because you're living, swine.' Maybe I shouldn't have found you and Barda in the Forests of Silence." She said bitterly.

"Then the two of us wouldn't know each other even existed," Lief said, stopping so he could get a look at her properly. After studying her face, he kissed her brown cheek, and walked on.

Jasmine stared after him, then put a hand to the place he had kissed. A small smile made its way onto her features, and she ran to catch up with him.

Awww... yep, random. But fluffy, no?

And why is this sounding so suspicious?

Is someone trying to wreak havoc?

You find out.