Thanks guys for the positive reviews, and I think this is my fastest update in history! Not that my history is very long – I've only posted thirty or so chapters so far, in both my fics. :) Thanks again to PJBlindclown for ideas and inspiration! Chapter 11: Hiding The Facts, Revealing The Secrets
Jasmine stirred in bed. "What time is it?" she asked groggily, wriggling out of Lief's hold.
"I have no idea," was the gentle reply.
"Hey –" Jasmine began, but was silenced by a finger at her lips. "What –"
"Shh…" Lief murmured, pointing towards the doorway. "Somebody's eavesdropping."
"But –"
In the end Lief kissed her. When he broke away, Jasmine had a happy smile on her face, and had temporarily forgotten her sorrows of the night. Last night. The Fourth dragon night had come and gone, and the events that had happened afterwards… they would be remembered, but not spoken of. They knew Kree was with them always.
Jasmine went back to sleep, and Lief went back to searching. Searching for any clues as to the crystal's locations. Who were their guardians? What did they mean? What was its name? Who was its owner? Surely such a powerful crystal would have a name and an owner... or guardian...
In the end, he padded down to the library. Marilen was there, inspecting an old volume with the title, 'Famous Beasts Of Burden From The Four Corners Of Deltora'.
The sun shone through the stained glass windows, bathing the sleeping figure in a medley of different colours. Jasmine sat up, rubbing her eyes. She hurriedly took a cold bath, pouring the chilly water over herself. Lief was nowhere to be seen – perhaps he had gone down to the library?
When the queen burst in, hair still wet from her bath, Lief looked up and smiled tiredly. "You were up all night?" she asked worriedly.
Lief nodded. "It was all I could do to help."
A shadow passed over Jasmine's face. "It will help the kingdom, yes," she muttered distractedly. "Yes."
"What is on your mind?"
Jasmine paused. "Nothing."
"But there is a sign on your face –"
"I think Aradia was trying to –"
"Lief! Jasmine! I have bad news and good news," Barda announced as he strode over to them. The couple had recounted their adventures last night under the light of the calming full moon, just after the main festival. Lief had told him of Peace, Aradia, Tamm, Jasmine's near deaths, the crystal... everything they knew about the crystal.
"Time will tell," Jasmine murmured to her lover, then turned to face her old comrade. "Yes?"
"The good thing is that Ranesh is now awake and will willingly help us with the crystal."
"And the bad news?" The voice was Lief's.
Barda paused. "There is a plot to kill Twig of Del."
Lief froze. "No."
"Yes." His voice was resigned, a signal of contempt. "They will steal the belt and sell the jewels."
"No, that can't be!" Jasmine cried. "We will stop them. We've faced many, many other dangers before, yes? This is not a danger. It is simply a hindrance, Lief, Barda. We will be able to stop them."
"That may not be so, Jasmine. Lief knows also that there are many conspirators in the city, and half of them see him every day. They will calculate his every move. You must not go, Jasmine." Barda placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We're – the palace guards and I – are doing everything we can to keep Lief alive and well."
"But what if the guards are corrupt?" Jasmine objected, slamming a clenched fist down on the table, making both of them jump. "What if –"
"They swore allegiance to me, and there's also the added security of the spells in the protection-charms."
"Relax, Jasmine," Lief soothed, placing a hand on her fist. It slowly opened, revealing a nail-marked palm. "They won't be getting us anytime soon. We're going exploring, remember? Just like old times!"
Jasmine closed her eyes, silently counting to ten inside herself. "Do you know where this place is?"
Lief nodded. "Marilen helped me in the night. We found a short entry in the Deltora Annals. I wrote it out, and here it is" – he produced a scrap of paper from his pocket.
"The Legend Of The Starseeker: An Enigma Within An Enigma"For many years, Tamm tried to stop Thaegan from breaking through her bonds on the cottage they lived in. When it became too much for her to keep up, she created a crystal ball of all the elements – wind, fire, water and earth – and placed it within her daughter to keep her imprisoned inside her own mind. In that period of the sorceress's life, many thought she had gone crazy – Tamm had not told anyone of the crystal.
"But as the story unfolds, Thaegan slowly gained control over the crystal, spreading cracks about its surface. Her mother realized this and got rid of the ball, transforming it into a seer's crystal. This became known as the lover's crystal: Starseeker, the villagers called it. Thaegan called the powerful forces of the Shadow Lord and proceeded to break out of her so-called prison, escaping into the wild. Thus the Starseeker crystal was born.
"But the years went by, and the cracks in its smooth surface spread, soon covering the whole ball with its whisperings of power. Thaegan had cursed it, with a powerful spell she had learnt from the very heart of the mountain.
"One fateful night, the sorceress stole into her mother's house, now very powerful and strong. She stole the crystal, shattering it with a mere touch of her spelled finger. It broke apart – into four quarters – and flew across the kingdom of Deltora, burying themselves in the wildest of places.
"The four quarters were named by the twelve children of Thaegan, and now bear cursed names: Krashun, Strath, Lepse and Normed – Plague, Disease, Malady, Pestilence. These cursed shards brought about an age of illnesses, starting from the common cold to Tuberculosis and Smallpox – the Carken Ages, the people of the kingdom called it. Carken meant 'The Flight Of Evil' in the Old Language, and is now rarely used. This topic is rarely known or discussed: The very mention of the names brings destruction to the speaker.
"The Carken Ages are rarely remembered; the crystal Starseeker forgotten. But the legend lives on – Krashun, Strath, Lepse, Normed. Those who seek shall find, those who find shall die and those who die shall forever be cursed, to burn in the depths of the Underworlds."
Jasmine looked up. "You found all this, and still you did not sleep?" she asked in credulity. "Surely you must have searched in the Annals first!"
Lief nodded. "I did, but I was reading on some other things as well: the location of these pieces, for example. I did find something else…" he pushed a thick, dust-covered book over to her side. "Read this."
"The Forbidden"The legend of the Starseeker has been long forgotten – I am not sure if it exists in the Deltoran Annals or not – but the memory of that fateful night still lives on. The shattered remnants of the crystal flew across the kingdom of their own accord, two to the Northeast and two to the Southwest. They disappeared across the horizon, the first rays of the dawning sun tinting them various shades of pink, red and orange. None have returned alive after seeking them: I suspect Thaegan and her beastly children have a thing or two to do with this event. I can still clearly remember which two flew northeast and which two flew southwest. Although I am forbidden to mention their true names, I shall write them here. This will signal the end of this book and the end of my existence. Strath and Lepse flew Northwest, and Krashun and Normed –"
Jasmine looked up. "A line of ink flew over the page, destroying its neatness. Sorcery," she noted with grimness.
"Too true," her lover replied. "At least we know more of these shards."
"You must remember never to mention their names," Barda warned.
"We are not younglings anymore," Lief stated with a trace of a smile on his tired face. "You will come with us?"
"Doom will look after my Hand-Chosen; I will."
"Let us leave now, then," Lief muttered, then stood up, holding onto the table for support.
"Wait! Even if there is a plot to kill you, you must rest. I shall instruct some of my men to guard you as you sleep, and Jasmine will be there too, will you not?"
"Of course I will. If he dies…"
"If I die, Jasmine. If."
"Yes. If. I will stay by your bed."
"We leave tomorrow. I will be back shortly. On the other hand, Jasmine? Please escort Lief to his chambers. He needs to get a lot of overdue rest." Barda left to call his guards. Top-notch guards.
Jasmine pecked her love on the cheek and stared at him, blushing. "Time for bed," she stated, a smile brightening her features. The guards had not arrived yet, and there was still time for a little playing around.
"What about you? What will you do?"
"Something."
"As in…"
"I don't know. I'll probably speak with the guards or polish my weapons, of course."
Lief smiled. "Always the wild life."
Jasmine smiled back. "Always the safety of my loved ones, rather."
As Lief slipped into the realms of sleep, he heard Jasmine call his name, and pried his eyes open. "Yes?"
"I think Aradia's following us."
"In which way?"
"To give the kingdom success. If the hurrok hadn't slashed Kree in two, we would have never met the Spirit, nor find out about the crystal, no?"
"You do have a point there."
Jasmine smiled. "And a strong one at that."
"Yes, I believe you: Aradia does seem to be following us."
From the shadows of the vast chamber, a wisp of mist fluttered gently, seeming to be giggling.
END
All right, I think that's it, for now… I'll be back with the next ficcy in the DQ4 series!
I can't believe I've gotten this far, and with 52 reviews or so, it's more than a thirteen-year-old girl can ask for. :) Thanks so much to all my reviewers, especially the ones who reviewed every chapter and all! Ahem –BabylonianPrincess and PJBlindclown- ahem and you other people I can't remember the names of at the moment. Sorry, but you all still have a special place in my heart! Winks
