This takes place in Return to Del. Just before the part where we find out that Dain is evil.
The Heir
Chapter 1
Lief threw the Belt of Deltora to Dain and as he clasped it on a beacon of light shone from each gem. As the light spread out across the land all Shadow Lord creations vanished leaving the land free of Ols and Grey Guards.
Lief stood with the crowd transfixed at the sight of the belt, only when the light subsided, Lief realised his parents had not been freed as everyone else was, in fact, they were no where to be seen.
He turned to find Jasmine still gazing at the belt, he touched her arm and she jerked as if coming out of a daydream. Then she smiled "We did it, it is all over" she said turning to face him fully. He nodded half-heartedly it was true they had found the heir but there was still the problem of his parents, where were they or worse, had they lived to see their country liberated? He hadn't heard anything about them since his last visit using water from the Dreaming Spring.
Lief looked up to find Jasmine watching him in confusion "What is wrong? All is well is it not?"
Lief shook his head "I don't know were my parents are" he muttered turning away. Jasmine grabbed his arm "Ask Dain" she said, "surely he would know" Lief nodded then turned to find Dain talking to a kneeling Barda. As Lief got closer he heard Dain saying "Barda I need a Chief of the palace guards and as you are the closest thing we have left, I am asking you to fill this position" he paused then added "and I have seen what you can do" Barda grinned "It would please me to accept this position and I will protect you to the best of my ability" Dain smiled "I have no doubts" he looked up and saw Lief and Jasmine approaching "How would you like to become my Advisor, I know its had a bad name in the past but I'm sure you can change that"
Lief nodded "Sure" he said distractedly looking around in hopes that his parents will suddenly appear "Dain, do know what has happened to my parents? I thought they would be freed along with everyone else," his head jerked up "What if they have been taken to the Shadow Lands? We-"
"Lief" Dain cut in his face grim "Lief before you came here, I heard they had been executed"
"What!" Lief yelled, "How is it I have not heard about this!"
"It only just happened" Dain said sadly "Fallow got sick of waiting for you to turn up" he sighed "I'm sorry, I will arrange a funeral for them and the other heroes that have died because of this" he said as he left the trio standing shocked.
"I will help him," Barda muttered turning quickly. Showing emotions was not his strong point. "Barda-" Lief started, and then gave up as he had already reached Dain.
Jasmine was watching him sympathetically, and then she took his hand and led him towards the palace saying, "You need to rest, there will be a lot to do tomorrow"
As they walked towards the palace doors a thought struck Lief, where was Doom? Now he thought about it, he had not seen Doom since Dain was recognised as the heir.
"Jasmine," Lief began "Have you seen Doom since before the flash of light?" she stopped looking surprised
"No, come to think of it I have not seen him for a long time" she looked confused "he couldn't have disappeared in the flash unless he was a Shadow Lord creation"
Lief frowned "No, that cant be right, he helped us" he looked confused " But then a again how could he have known so much about Ols and the Shadow Lord's plans" He shook his head and continued walking "We will have to find him soon in any case" When Jasmine did not follow him he turned and demanded "You will help us look for him wont you?" and when she did not reply he continued "Why is it you hate him so much? "
"I do not hate him," she said slowly, not turning around "I will come to find him but"
"But what?" Lief said suddenly apprehensive, he had just lost his parents, he could not lose anyone else.
"I do not belong here," Jasmine said still not facing him "I grew up in a forest, I can not live the rest of my days trapped in a castle. I could not do it. You heard Dain, everyone has a purpose except me,"
"He did not say that," Lief said softly "He did not have time to, I asked about my parents first"
She sighed " I know and I do not blame you for asking, I just can not stay." With that she walked off before Lief could say any thing.
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The next morning Lief found Dain speaking to Jasmine over the morning meal. He was also trying to persuade her to stay. Lief, as he sat down on the other side of Jasmine felt a twinge of jealousy when he heard Dain doing a far better job than he had last night.
"There will be a job for you, I promise" Dain said taking her hand "not just yet, but soon enough you will have the most important position of all"
She smiled slightly "Are you sure I will be needed that much, that I will have a reason to be here" He smiled then nodded "You will be one of the most important people here" he said, then got up and left.
Lief leaned over and touched her arm "What was he asking" he said casually
"He says he has a position for me, a reason I can stay" she said slowly still not believing it. "Only, he did not say exactly what it is."
Lief forced a smile at least she would be staying for more than a day, even if it was for Dain.
After the meal their new king had requested an audience with Lief, Barda, Jasmine, Steven and Zeean to begin getting the kingdom back in order."
Lief sat between Barda and Jasmine as Dain spoke to the gathering. Lief, as Dain's advisor had the duty to help him as much as possible, but Dain did not seem to need help from him. Lief would not have minded so much except much of what Dain said, Lief found himself disagreeing completely with.
"I will over the next week, be declaring rules. These rules are not to be broken for any reason unless they have permission to do so." said Dain "These rules are put in for my peoples own safety and so we can have greater protection against the Shadow Lord" As Dain spoke Lief looked around the room at the other people sitting there. Zeean was looking thoughtful, Jasmine had no expression and Barda, to Lief's surprise, was hanging on to Dain's every word.
"I have one more announcement to make" Dain continued "to night I will hold a memorial celebration to commemorate all those heroes who died because of the Shadow Lord" Dain look over at Lief and said "Unless anyone has something they wish to add we can leave it at that"
Lief stood "Doom is missing, I suggest we start searching or-" Dain held up his hand "Lief, I guess you had not been told, Doom," Dain sighed, "Doom betrayed us. If it was intentionally or not, I do not know, but it seems he has lost his mind, we have kept him in the dungeons just to be safe, and he seems to be convinced that the war is not over yet. I suggest you forget about him."
As they all left, Lief was still sitting in his chair, too numb to move.
Lief watched as the flames leapt from the funeral pyre, the bodies being burnt were not that of his parents because no bodies were to be found once the Enemy had disappeared from the land. Instead the fire was just a wooden fire into which a surviving family member dropped a piece of paper with the deceased persons name written on it. With his eyes burning with tears Lief moved forward to drop his parents' names into the roaring fire, after a muttered goodbye he turned and walked back to his place beside Jasmine. Once he got there she leant over with one hand on his arm, her eyes dark with sympathy. "I did not know your parents, but I know if they were any thing like you I would have liked them an awful lot." Lief's heart warmed at this as he smiled down at her.
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Chapter 2The next day Lief watched as the people of Del finally celebrated their freedom. Dain had organised a feast to officially celebrate their release from the Shadow Lord's wrath and everyone was in high spirits.
As Lief moved around the people, he over heard different parts of conversations. As he walked past he over heard a young girl complaining to he father about the tight restrictions regarding ordinary people visiting the palace library. Lief stopped in his tracks, neither he nor Jasmine had had any permission to visit the library, only Dain was allowed in there.
Confused, he continued walking only see Dain had had posters put up including a list of his New Rules
D
Lief stared, wondering what on earth could make Dain declare such restraining rules. Troubled he walked back over to his table with the intention of talking to him or at least to Jasmine or Barda. Then he remembered Dain was due to make his speech as part of the celebrations. Lief took his place next to Dain as he began his address.
"People of Del, I Dain, King of Deltora officially welcome you to celebrate together the liberation of our country from the Shadow Lord. Although he his not defeated he has been banished to his domain in the Shadowlands. And now we as the people of Del can take back the life we had before the Enemy started poisoning the minds of our leaders before us." He paused as the people clapped their support and then continued "It is my duty as King to ensure the future of my kingdom, as you all will have noticed there is a list posted explaining the New Rules. You must understand, the Rules have been put in place for your own safety." He paused "another thing I must officially inform you are the positions these people around me have taken on" he nodded to Barda, and he stood, in his new Place guard uniform.
"Barda has accepted the position of Chief of the Palace Guards, and will be recruiting any able-bodied person to begin reforming the Palace Guards." Dain nodded to Lief, and he stood up.
"Lief will be filling the position of Chief Advisor, and I know he can redeem that title, as I trust him with my life" Lief smiled and sat back down.
"I have saved the most important for last" Dain continued "Jasmine will you please stand…"
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Chapter 3Lief felt the now familiar uncomfortable sensation as Jasmine stood, Dain took her hand and continued "Jasmine, behind every great King is a just as great a Queen," he turned, and smiled at the gathered crowd "I think you know what I want to ask," he turned back to Jasmine and said "Jasmine you are great enough to be Queen, will you marry me?"
Lief watched Jasmine intently his face impassive, Jasmine's face flushed red as the crowd watched, waiting for her answer. After a quick look at Lief she turned to face Dain, he was watching her closely as well, keeping a firm grip on her hand.
She forced her face into a smile and said slowly, "I am honoured to be asked such a thing, I am not sure I would be fitting." She looked away from Dain "but I accept."
As the crowd cheered, Lief felt his impassive mask fall, with jealousy building up inside him he thought to himself, how could she accept? Only yesterday she was talking about going back to the forests, not only that, but had she not just said she liked him? He felt some one watching him and he looked up to find her watching him sadly. Lief forced his face back into a smile and moved forward to congratulate Dain. With a muttered congratulation he turned and walked out onto the balcony next to the Hall. He could not face her, not just yet. He felt betrayed not only because Jasmine had accepted Dain but also because Dain had asked her in the first place. It did not matter that Dain had no knowledge of his feelings for Jasmine, well actually it did but Lief was in no mood to be reasonable.
He heard a noise behind him and turned to find Jasmine walking towards him. He sighed, this was not inevitable, he had to face her. "Congratulations" he said weakly trying to smile but failing. She shook her head as she took his arm to lead him off to another part of the palace grounds.
After some time walking she spoke "Lief, you are not happy with this, what's wrong?" he turned away and continued walking, not wanting to admit to anything and hoping she would think he did not want to talk to her, but she was not fooled. She stopped and after a few steps so did he.
"I saw the look on your face when I agreed to marry Dain," she said tentatively moving closer to him as she continued, "You looked as if," she stopped, unsure how to continue "I do not know, but you looked really hurt"
Lief sighed and sat down on the bench near them with his head in his hands "Why did you say yes?" he said in a low voice. She sat down next to him and said "I felt I had to, I did not think he would let me refuse." She turned to face him "Dain has changed" she mused.
Lief nodded "Yes, but not just in the way he proposed to you, you have seen the list of New Rules. I do not know what has changed him, I have heard people change with power, but Dain never seemed that type."
"I do not want to be Queen" Jasmine said sadly "but I do not know how to refuse him with out having Deltora's faith in him shaken. You saw how happy they are with Dain now he is confirming their safety." She glanced at him and was surprised to see him smiling slightly "Why are you so happy that I do not wish to marry Dain," she said beginning to smile as well.
"I should think it is obvious," he said grinning now and reaching for her hand "why would I feel hurt to think of you marrying someone else willingly, yet feel happy to know you have no wish to marry him" her face flushed red again at this as she to, grinned.
Her expression sobered "I still have to marry him" she said sadly standing up "one of the most important things I can remember my parents telling me is to marry for love, they said it was the most important thing in your life" she stopped and turned back to face Lief.
He stood up and put his arms around her and asked softly "Do you love Dain?"
She shook her head "No, but I do not see how I can refuse" she looked up at him "he has changed too much, I do not think he would take kindly to being refused in front of his people." she paused "He would not take kindly to you being the reason either, and" she broke off looking down.
"You fear for our lives?" he asked uncertainly, and when she did not say anything he continued "Dain would not put us to death," he reasoned, "The worst would be the dungeons" He broke off thinking hard "Dain imprisoned Doom, Dain looked up to him, why would he do such a thing unless Doom knew something Dain wanted to keep quiet."
"Like what?" Jasmine asked looking doubtful "Dain said Doom lost his mind, and I can believe that after all Doom has been through"
"Exactly," Lief said nodding "but Doom did not loose his mind, what if he remembers things Dain wants forgotten."
"Dain has sealed off the library to all but himself," Jasmine said reluctantly "that would hold information,"
He nodded "We should speak to Doom, just to see if he has lost his mind or not."
She nodded "yes we should tomorrow, are you going to ask permission from Dain or not?" she asked.
Lief shook his head "I do not think it would be a good idea to ask him" he paused "Well not me at least, surely he would grant permission for his queen to be" he said bitterly "you ask."
"Ok, but only because you asked so nicely" she said dryly raising her eyebrows
"I am sorry" Lief said unhappily "I just do not like the idea of you with another person."
"I know" she hugged him "lets go back, we have been gone for ages"
"Ok" he said. As she started to move off he quickly grabbed hand and pulled her back to him, then softly he kissed her.
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Chapter 4Lief spent the next morning in high anticipation, he was waiting to see if Jasmine got permission to visit Doom and he was just waiting to see her. He did not see her at the morning meal with everyone else. It was nearly time for the midday meal when she found him. He was sealing letters ready to be sent to the leaders of each tribe of Deltora inviting them to the wedding.
He looked up as she entered, "Did you get permission?" he asked quickly standing and moving towards her.
"No" she said looking puzzled, "He even said, 'of all people I should not be allowed' he seems to think its dangerous for me especially."
Lief sat back down "I will go" he said looking up at Jasmine "alone if its that dangerous for you."
She tossed her head "No, I will go as well, since when has something been more dangerous for than you. Besides it is only Doom, even if he has lost his mind"
Lief smiled and shook his head " Let us go then" he said and he followed her from the room still grinning.
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They reached the dungeons to find one guard keeping watch. As they came nearer the guard stepped respectfully aside, much to Lief and Jasmine's surprise. Dain mustn't have told anyone not to let us in, Lief thought to himself, obviously people still believed they have the King's total confidence.
They entered to find Doom sprawled out against a wall in the biggest cell. He certainly looked like he had lost his mind, either that or been kept in a cell for weeks Lief reminded himself, certainly his face had lost a lot of colour and his hair hung limp around his now thinner face. The guard watching the cell stood and walked a few paces away, but not before saying, "Careful with that one, he doesn't know what he's talking about, seems to think the fight's not over yet."
With a glance at Lief, Jasmine moved closer to the bars of the cell and said loudly "Doom, come here, we wish to speak to you" Doom looked straight up in to Lief's eyes, those are not the eyes of a mad man thought Lief, confused he took a step forward closer to the bars.
Doom's eyes flicked over to Jasmine, then suddenly widened. He got up and moved shakily towards her. He stretched out his hand towards her and when he spoke it was in a shallow croak "Jasmine," he said continuing to move towards her "my daughter"
When she heard that she started moving backwards very quickly, her eyes wide.
"He is mad," she muttered when she reached Lief, "He is not in his right mind. We should go."
She started moving out but Lief grabbed her arm, "Wait" he said pointing back towards Doom's cell. He had seen what she had missed, Doom was pulling out what looked like a necklace threaded with black bird's feathers. Lief had know idea what it was but its seemed like proof. Shocked Jasmine started forward again, reaching out her own hand to take to necklace.
"Mother" she said tears starting to become visible "How-"
"I am your father" Doom croaked, "Your mother, Anna, was my wife" She shook her head unsure wether to believe him or not. "You believe me don't you?" he continued, "You have to believe me, when the shadow lord took over your mother and I hid in the forests, you were only young at the time but still so brave…" his voice trailed off in a coughing fit.
Tears falling freely now she said slowly "I believe you, it could take getting used to, and I really do not know why Dain would hide something like that."
"You stay here with Doom" Lief said with a smile "I think you have catching up to do"
He left not wanting to intrude long on this family reunion. He did not want to go far so he walked around outside and found himself nearing the old Place of Punishment. Gripped by a sudden feeling of rebelliousness he walked around to the other side of the platform.
He sat thinking for a while, wondering why Dain would keep such a life changing secret from Jasmine. Also he was wondering what drove Dain to suddenly become so protective of his power, it was almost as if he thought someone else – Lief's head jerked up, his train of thought broken by a sudden noise near the Place of Punishment. It was nearly dark so it was hard to see who it was but Lief could see a figure running towards him from a hole under the platform.
As the figure drew nearer Lief felt his heart stop, it was his mother…