Hello, everyone, how are you all?

Good, I hope, now, here is the fifth chapter in "New Beginnings" I hope you enjoy it, especially Purple Light, to whom this chapter is dedicated!

Now, enjoy, read and REVIEW!

Obsidian Crystal

Come Back Safe

Jarred woke up to find a horrifying image in front of him, an impossibly huge woman, with a very large bosom saying, "Oh, poor Poppet, you had a little cry did you, now we can't have that now, can we, here Poppet, and Nursie will give you a cuddle."

'Nursie' picked him up and (apparently) tried to suffocate him in her hugeness, Jarred, used to being held by Jasmine, who was possibly the smallest person in Deltora, started to scream. "Oh, Poppet, Poppet, what's wrong, now?" Nursie cried in distressed tones, "Are you hungry? Oh you little dear, I'll warrant you are, and all excited from yesterday too, hey? Now you wait right here, and I'll bring you back something nice and hot." With that, and to Jarred's great relief, she let go of him and scurried out of the room.

Jarred calmed down slightly grabbed Binky, and got up out of bed. He walked around the cabin a few times, stumbling slightly because of the motion of the boat, until Nursie came back, with a tray piled with steaming food. Three pancakes, a bowl of porridge and brown, pruney dates and a glass of orange juice. The toddler suddenly realised how hungry he was and scoffed and gulped and munched on the delicious meal. Nursie seemed incredibly pleased with his appetite, and smiling, asked in a singsong, baby-talking voice, "Now there, Poppet, that's lovely now ain't it?"

"Yeth, thank-you," food sprayed out of Jarred's mouth and rather foiled his attempt at politeness, Nursie only smiled wider.

"Now then, you finish up and then I'll take you up a little way to Marissa's room and you two can have a lovely little play, then, hey?"

Jarred stiffened, Marissa, Lord Gregory had said something about her... "Be nice to my little niece, your life is going to revolve around her from now on, her wish is your command…" Jarred already did not like her. In fact, he did not like anyone on this ship. He felt the knot in his stomach tighten again as Nursie took him by the hand and led him out of the room. They came out into a narrow hall, panelled in the same way as his room, with three doors about five metres apart, two on each side, including his.

Nursie stopped in front of a door that was slightly more decorative than the rest, with roses carved into it. Nursie put her hand on the doorknob and opened the door, the room it led to was very much like Jarred's; but held a lot more personal effects, toys, flowery bed sheets and a drawing desk covered with pencils and paper. "Hello, Dearie, I brung you a lovely little boy to play with for the day, see here, Dearie, now this is Jarred." Nursie introduced him to the rather small, redheaded girl in sitting at the drawing desk with her pencils, making what seemed to be a mess of scribbles and colour on the page.

"Hello, my name is Marissa Gerleesa Maria De Courtenay, I am very pleased to meet you," Marissa introduced herself with lordly precision.

"Ummm, er, well, my name ith Jarred," said Jarred.

Marissa, at the grand total age of three did not look impressed with his vocabulary or his name.

"Oh," she said, "That's a bit of a common name isn't it?"

Jarred looked furious.

"Now," said Nursie, "you two have met and I'm sure your going to be nice and cosy

in here, now I'll just go sit here in the corner and if everything isn't hunk-dory, you come and get me, okay my darlin's?"

"Oh, but upon my little word you both look so precious together," Nursie sniffed, looking down on the two toddlers who clearly hated each other and were taking great pains not to stand any closer than three feet away from each other. With that said, the old dear waddled towards an old, rickety rocking chair and sat down; pulling out some knitting from one of the many pockets in her bright white apron and immediately the frosty silence was replaced by the steady clicking of the two metal hooks clacking against each other.

Jarred slowly lowered himself to the floor and began to play make-believe with Binky, while Marissa went back to her drawing, it was going to be a long voyage to Camira.

Jasmine walked to her husband's office, her head held high, her hair clean, brushed and braided down her back, dressed in a pair of low-slung black leggings, and a green, wide necked blouse, with black boots, her teeth clean and her mouth set in a hard, straight line. Jasmine looked better than she had in days and she was serious; people were scurrying out of her wake in fright.

"She has that look on her face," said one of the older maids.

"What look?"

"The one that means that she is going to talk and Leif is going to listen, and do exactly what she tells him to."

"Oh," said the younger maid, she felt incredibly sorry for the King at the moment…

Jasmine opened the door and walked into Leif's office, for all her bravado, she was actually ready to collapse at any minute. She was going into that office with her last high hopes: for Leif to allow her to go after her son.

"Leif," she whispered softly, if her husband's nerves were tense before, they were positively high-strung now.

He still flinched slightly before he looked up, "Yes, Jasmine," he took one look at her face and knew what she was about to ask him.

Jasmine walked over to him and knelt by his chair, taking his hands in hers, "Leif, you know I have to go after him, you know it. I have to get him back, we have to get him back, or he will never, ever forgive us. I cannot lose him, Leif; I cannot lose another member of my family, especially when I just truly got one." Tears had started to fall from her bright, green eyes as they were from Leif's blue ones.

"Jasmine, please, I want him back too, but not at the expense of your life!"

"Leif, if I lose him, really and truly lose him, my life will not be worth living, Jarred will never forgive me, and neither will Endon. Our children will see us forever as two cowards who could not take a risk to save our son. I cannot let them see me like that," Jasmine was gripping his hand so tightly he was starting to lose all sensation of his fingers. He knew he could not say 'no' to her, he knew that he could not, would not let his children see him as a coward.

There was silence in the room; Lief was finding it hard to speak.

Silence

A breeze ruffled the leaves outside the window

A bright, red-feathered bird called to his mate

Then, "Yes, you may go," Leif bent forward and brought Jasmine's lips to his.

"But please," he said, "come back safe."

Outside the door to his father's office Endon closed his eyes and squeezed Kinky, It's going to be okay, Jarred, Mama's coming to get you.

Okay, and there you have it: the fifth instalment of "New Beginnings."

Now, please Review! Please, it would make me feel very happy, and the next chapter will come out ever so much sooner!

Bye, Bye!

Obsidian Crystal (In case you haven't noticed, I like "signing" my name! he he he

Bye! (for real this time)

(Or is it!)