Okay thanks for the review sirius-black-4eva YaY a review! LoL and uh I decided to change the names of Jasmine and Liefs kids… twiddles thumbs I don't really like the fact that they were named after their grand parents.. soo I changed it .. sorry! and I find Barda and Lief to be weird names so I thought of one myself n Tada Perin came out of thin air! Please don't hate me for people who like how Emily Rodda set her one out.. but yea…. Don't judge the story by it! Well enjoy Chapter 2!

Together they wisped through the looming hollows, quietly and unseen. They had been traveling for quite some time already through the winter Berlain forests. But even though the scrub was good cover there were threats all around them. Neither of them stopped until they saw the forest thinning ahead. This meant that the city and enemy strong hold was close, very close. Simultaneously they both sprang behind a bush together, checked for any existing dangers, tensed then relaxed and looked at one another. "Well the city is just ahead, so what's the strategy of how we are going to get to the heart of the city?" Joseph asked quietly. "Oh yeah, strategy…. Well, uh we go and walk through the city gates and keep walking until we get to the h-." Perin started to say before he got cut off by Joseph "I can't believe you didn't even have a strategy!" he started to say louder. "Joseph calm down don't talk so loud…" "Calm down! Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down? You convinced me to come all this way and-." Joseph had begun to yell too loud so Perin covered his mouth.

Josephs amber eyes were fierce and full of fury at his foolishness and of his friends. He looked into Perins deep, scrawny hazel eyes and saw the smiling and noticed Perins face full of mischievousness and alacrity. "Hush Joseph…Do you hear what's heading towards us?"

Of course Joseph could not hear it at that time because of Perins great sense of hearing but, surely enough a minute later Joseph saw a garbage truck rolling and bumping toward them. It was not until then did Joseph realize the scheme the glint in Perins eyes resembled. "You couldn't surely be thinking….Perin it's GARBAGE!" Joseph scowled. The grin on Perins face grew wider. It was either the thought of his good friend burying himself in a pile of scraps that caused this or that he had a great scheme in mind of how to get through the guard patrolled entrance of a large city. Joseph soon found it to be both. The truck slowly galloped past the two young figures and both ran to the truck the split second that it was nearly past them. They dived into the pile of litter and then started digging through it all so they could cover themselves in the garbage. Perin glanced over at his friends face as he picked through garbage to cover himself with. He couldn't suppress a snort of laughter as he began to dig deep into the garbage himself.

The stench of garbage was all around them and complete darkness had now fallen. The truck was slowing down and Perin realized they were now stopping at the gates of the city. Grumbles could be heard coming from the guards as they checked the garbage drivers permit for the truck. Perin's gut clenched tight, this was the moment that would decide whether their quest would succeed or not. At last he heard the grunt of approval from the guards and the gates shattering open. The overloaded garbage truck waddled through the gate entrance and drove down the city roads. The pair waited for a few minutes before jumping out of the back of the truck and made sure they were well clear of the guards. Once they were sure they uncovered themselves from the rubbish and jumped out. Perin ran for the corner that was closest to him so that the driver wouldn't see him in the mirror Joseph being close behind him. As soon as they heard the truck rumble away, Perin let out a small laugh whilst panting. "See I told you that I had a plan" Joseph just gave him a look of disregard. "That was the most stupidest idea that you have had yet! But I must say it did get the job done." Joseph smiled at his younger best friend. "Thanks a lot Joseph that means a lot to me." Perin replied but then laughed "You have a banana skin on your shoulder Joseph!" "Ha ha, very funny." Joseph said sarcastically while taking it off and throwing it into an over flowing garbage can near him. Perin then looked all around him at the city and his surroundings. The alley that they were in was a disgusting pigsty and there was carnage everywhere on the streets and houses. Most of the lamp lights that were around them were not working, vandalized, or torn apart. Many of the buildings around them had been vandalized and graphitized as well. Most of the damage done here on the outskirts of the inner city would have been done by war guerillas and adolescents. They both looked out toward the road and made sure no cars or soldiers were heading towards them, and then they started walking down the road. The sights they saw were saddening and excruciating. All Perin could think was that maybe just maybe this was what Deltora was like when his father was growing up. As Perin walked on his heart became more and more distressed. He wanted nothing more than to help these people like how his father helped Deltora. He wished that he could right everything that had happened here but knew that it was close to impossible. They both were slowly ascending a small hill now and were struggling to fight the anger that the city had created for them. As they reached the top they looked straight ahead. Many lights were gathered at one place the heart of the city. The Presidential palace was in the midst of it all.

Well that's Chap 2! Hope you enjoyed! Please R&R! sorry if its short but everything seems to seem longer on word!

Luvable-Cutie