Deltora's Protector

Chapter 2 – The Peddler

It was dark for the longest time. Cold darkness seeping into every part of his body, the weight of water pushing down on him, and the pull of the current plunging him down into the rocks below. The arms of his would-be savior holding him, even limp in death, had disappeared completely. His body would wash up on the shore, but the body of Harry Potter, well the boy doubted that that would ever be seen again.

He wasn't breathing, but his mind was wide open and aware of what was happening. His heart was beating, albeit slowly, and his body was being flung from place to place with the motion of the ocean.

Eventually, his head broke the surface. The sound of the waves and the birds assaulted his ears before he was pulled under again into the silence of the underwater world. At one stage he found himself airborne from the rolling of the waves and his abused body ached even more as it was plunged back down again.

When he finally felt that his body could no longer accept what was being done to him, something warm wrapped around his body and kept him still from the current. To Harry, it was the first warm thing he had touched since before the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament. It felt like a soft and gentle hug, protecting him from the horrors of the underwater world. Whatever was wrapping around his body had done it several times over, and Harry figured that it was a giant sea snake, an octopus, a squid, or some other animal that was probably looking for a meal. He no longer cared for his fate. He just wanted the nightmare to end.

Sound assaulted his ears again as his head was lifted above the surface. Harry almost cried at the thought that he was still alive. He longed for the comforting darkness that had been his friend for several months to take him away and let him rest. But it never came.

His eyes remained closed and the need to breath was very slight, but there was no end to the torment he was under. When he felt the animal holding him release its grip, and the warmth leaving him as it did, Harry hoped that his time had come.

But it hadn't.

His body, limp and lifeless as it was, drifted towards the land with the waves before finally coming to a stop on the rocks. The water, much warmer than it had been previously, covered his lower body like a blanket while his upper body rested out of the water. His eyes were still closed, he was still in pain, and he doubted that he would be able to go anywhere even if he tried.

He finally drifted off…into the blackness he had been looking for.

Harry awoke some time around midday, judging from the way light fell on him. He was disappointed to note that he was still alive, and that no one had found him.

With a great deal of effort, Harry struggled to open his eyes, rubbing dirt, blood and salt from them as he did so with his good arm. Eventually he got his eyes opened, but was unable to open them far on account of the sheer amount of light around him. It almost blinded him and caused tears to spring up and protect them.

Opening them until they were mere slits, Harry used his good arm to drag himself across the rocks to where he could make out the outline of a building of some description. The going was slow and painful but Harry didn't stop. At the very least he figured he'd die on the way, or there would be someone there that could help him.

Painful drag after painful drag eventually led Harry to the door of the building. Closer to he could recognise it as a lighthouse, and his hope grew as even he knew that a lighthouse needed to be looked after at all times by the lighthouse keeper. Yet no one came for him. He pulled himself up to the door and awkwardly maneuvered himself so that he was sitting, for the first time in a long time, and leant against the door. He was panting from the effort he had exerted getting from the rocky beach.

"Hello."

Harry jumped violently at the sound of a young girl's voice. His eyes snapped open, the light injuring them further, and he made out the image of a young girl in a yellow sundress with vibrant red hair. He continued to stare up at her before closing his eyes and slumping back against the door.

"Do you want to come inside?" the girl asked. "Father's not here at the moment but he won't mind if I help you inside."

The door swung open behind him and with the support gone Harry crashed to the ground. He groaned silently but did his best to try and get up. The girl appeared at his side and slipped his arm over her shoulder. Harry felt cold and warm at the same time. He knew, without even looking at the girl again, that she was the spirit of this lighthouse.

"My name's Verity," she said happily as she helped him to stagger to the nearby couch. "And this is my home. Bone Point Lighthouse. There's a sign out front that lets travelers know which lighthouse this one is. It says The Bone Point Light, and has a nice poem beneath it.

I was born in the mind of Adin.

I was made by the builders of Raladin.

The magic of Tora protects me.

Sailors in peril will bless me.

It was the first thing I was able to read. Doesn't it sound nice?"

Harry nodded his head in agreement but kept his aching eyes closed. He could feel Verity moving around the room before she started to clean his wounds. She continued to talk about her home and Harry learnt a lot.

He had washed ashore to a place named Deltora, and once it had been a peaceful land. There were seven tribes and each had a talisman that they drew their powers from. Long ago, a great evil had threatened the land of Deltora, though it was not known as that back then, and each of the seven tribes fought for survival against the evil. But they fought alone. In the old days, the tribes had never spoken with each other, all thinking evil things about the other tribes and believing that their own tribe was by far the strongest. In the divided state, the seven tribes were almost driven to extinction.

One day, a young blacksmith from the east, from the Del Tribe, dreamt of a belt with seven large gems adorned on it. He recognised one as the Del Talisman, which was a topaz, and reasoned that the other six were the talismans of the other tribes. He made the belt in secret and when the winter came and the evil armies had to stop, the blacksmith Adin travelled to each of the tribes and retrieved their gem.

He didn't, however, travel alone. By his side was a young man no one knows anything about, not even his name. He hid in the shadows and in secret protected Adin as the tribes weren't always welcoming. He became known as the Protector of Deltora, because through his and Adin's efforts, Deltora became a peaceful land that didn't have to fear the dangers of the north.

Once the belt was complete Adin and his companion led the seven tribes as one against the evil invading from the north and defeated them. From that time on the seven tribes co-existed peacefully. Adin became the first King of Deltora. Deltora's Protector was never seen after that, though rumours of his existence kept popping up in various places.

Harry thought that Verity was an excellent storyteller, and he hadn't even realised as she spoke that she had cleaned up the more painful of his wounds. He thought that she had reached the end of the story when she went silent, but peering through the small slit in his eyelids, he noticed that she seemed sad.

"Deltora is lost," she finally said. "The Shadow Lord has returned from his home beyond the mountains to the north and enslaved everyone. The Kings and Queens of Deltora have failed us in the worst way possible."

Harry wanted to ask how, but knew he couldn't. He also wanted to reach out to Verity, but she was too far away for him to do so.

"The Belt of Deltora shattered some fifteen years ago. Ever since then Deltora has not been a safe place. There are only small pockets in the land where there is any resistance."

Verity seemed to shake herself out of her melancholy. The very air around her seemed to warm up as she danced around the room.

"I'll get you a blanket and you can sleep right where you are, I doubt that you could get up the stairs."

With that she left. Harry let himself fall sideways so that he was lying horizontal on the couch with his legs hanging where he left them. When Verity returned she lifted them off the ground and trapped him inside a warm blanket.

"When you're well enough to go, you should head east along the Bone Point Road," Verity explained before he was asleep. "All will be well again, you'll see."

Harry felt her leave. He knew that she was still around, but not in the physical sense anymore. She had probably returned to doing whatever spirits do with their time.

He fell asleep.

It took many days for Harry to gain enough strength to so much as walk to the door never mind walking down Bone Point Road. There was always food on the table for him, soft foods like bread and hot soup, which he was able to eat without too much protest. He never saw Verity again, though he could feel her dancing around the lighthouse inside and outside, the same way he could feel the ghosts at Hogwarts.

One week after he had collapsed at Verity's feet Harry found himself strong enough to leave. He thanked the silent lighthouse and started to walk slowly down the road.

It was windy and there were several hills that caused Harry's healing injuries to protest, but he continued on. He had no idea what he was looking for, and it was only Verity's word that had him moving. His thoughts were filled with Neville and the "Order" Snape had mentioned. He hoped that they had gotten away safely, and were having better luck than he was. He also hoped that Voldemort believed him to be dead. He didn't want the killer chasing after him anymore.

Ron and Hermione filled his thoughts, his best friends he believed he would never see again in the realm of the living. Cedric, the Hogwarts Champion and winner of the stupid tournament. Sirius, his godfather and the man who risked capture just to see him. There were tears in his eyes as he thought of them. He would never see any of them again.

"Once there was an Ol-io,

Jolly-wolly Ol-io,

Once there was an Ol-io,

Fearsome as could be!"

Harry froze as the sound of singing interrupted his thoughts. He staggered to the side of the road and crept along until he spotted a wagon sitting near what looked like a river, a horse eating the grass along the bank, and a man tending to a fire while singing his song.

"I said to that Ol-io,

Jolly-wolly Ol-io,

I said to that Ol-io,

You don't bother me!"

Harry stood behind the nearest tree and watched the man for a while. He was tall, not quite as tall as Hagrid, but still a giant of a man. His hair was golden and his skin dark and he sung that song at the top of his voice. His eyes were like golden honey, warm and inviting, and even with no one watching him, aside from Harry, there was a welcoming smile on his face which seemed to stretch from ear to ear.

"Colly-wobble Ol-io,

Jolly-wobble Ol-io,

Colly-wobble Ol-io,

You don't bother me!"

Harry rocked back on his feet slightly to dispel the slight pain he was in, and froze when the branches he was standing on cracked loudly in the sudden silence. The man was obviously not singing any longer, and when Harry looked, he noticed that he was staring right at him.

"If you are an Ol, I want no business with you," he said coldly. "A thief I will not tolerate; pirate, Grey Guard or mercenary, I suggest you run, but if you are lost or a customer, then I bid you join me by my fire."

The last thing he said, he said with a warm tone, not coldly as he had the warnings. But Harry hesitated. The clothes he was wearing were the ones he had been washed ashore in and they were rags. There were no shoes on his feet as there had been nothing his size in the lighthouse. He had seen himself in a mirror and knew that he looked a mess, especially with the bright red scar across his neck when the slicing curse had just missed decapitating him.

Nevertheless, Harry stepped away from the tree and walked into the circle of light provided by the fire. He hadn't even realised it, but his walk had taken him till sunset, and the shadows were growing longer and the darkness that little more complete.

"Who has harmed you young one?" the man asked, this time in concern and alarm. "Was it the Grey Guards? Where are your parents? When was the last time you ate?"

Harry was bewildered at the sudden change in the man. There was no jolly look in his eyes, nor was there even a hint of a smile on his face. The coldness from earlier was also gone, and there was no hint of danger from him. Yet when he stood up to walk closer, Harry unconsciously darted back behind the safety of the tree. The man raised his arms to show that he meant no harm.

"Young one, I did not mean to alarm you," he said but remained where he was. "My name is Steven, I am a peddler and this is one of the roads I rest on during my rounds. My horse here is Mellow and she has been with me for many years. My brother Nevets is also with me, though I think I shall introduce you to him another time. Do you have a name young one?"

During his introduction Harry had crept back around the tree so that he could be seen. At the last question Harry had pointed to the scar on his neck and pressed his lips together.

"You cannot speak?" Steven asked in horror. "What monsters have you been with? Child, come sit by the fire with me and have something to eat, you look like you haven't eaten anything in weeks."

Harry did as he was bid but kept the fire between him and Steven. As the warmth soaked into his cold bones Steven handed over a mug of warm liquid. Harry took, careful to keep his fingers from touching the man's, and stared into the contents.

"It's Queen Bee Honey," Steven said proudly. "Will warm you up quickly, that will. My mother makes it. There is high demand for it in Deltora."

Harry took a sip of the honey and felt it slide down his throat easily. It burned slightly but warmth followed its path. Harry sipped some more with slight wonder on his face and huddled ever closer to the fire.

"Be careful there child, the fire will burn you if you get any closer," Steven warned. "I believe I have a blanket you can use, and maybe some clothes that I can alter to fit you."

With that being said Steven walked to his caravan and started to rummage around until he gave a cry of triumph and pulled out several bits of cloth. He handed one to Harry when he came back over, and Harry wrapped it around himself gratefully. Steven sat back down where he had been before and started to pull at the hemlines of the clothing he had also brought out. Harry watched him silently, feeling sleepy and warm for the first time in ages. The lighthouse had been nice, but it wasn't naturally warm, there was magic involved. This, this was like being in the Gryffindor Common Room in front of the fire with all his friends around him.

His eyes started to droop as he slowly leant to the side. His head was cradled on his good arm, empty mug of honey in his healing hand, and blanket covering him from neck to toe. He fell asleep completely comfortable.

He didn't see Steven look at him in concern, nor did he feel the man lift him from the ground and put him in the caravan on a soft mattress. In fact, Harry was so deeply asleep that even when the sun rose and the caravan started to move, he remained fast asleep.

It was two days later that Harry finally opened his eyes. There were bandages wrapped around his deeper injuries, in particular his neck, arm, chest, legs and feet. His rags were missing, and the only thing covering him was the blanket he had fallen asleep under. He pulled his knees to his chest and made sure that the blanket was securely wrapped around him.

The first thing he noticed was that the area he was in was very small, more than likely Steven's caravan. He took a calming breath and closed his eyes. It was one thing that not even his friends knew about. Due to his childhood locked in the cupboard under the stairs Harry found it difficult to be in an enclosed area for a long period of time. The cupboards he went into at Hogwarts were fine as long as the door was kept open, but extended periods of time inside small areas where he could touch all corners of the room without moving had him in a panic and short of breath.

With his eyes closed he could make out the fact that the caravan was moving as it jolted sideways occasionally from various holes in the road. There was the sound of life outside, birds making a noise, trees creaking, bells jingling and even Steven singing. Harry focused on the man's voice and made himself as small as possible. He could pretend, like he had at home, that he wasn't where he was and that the area he was in was wide open.

When the caravan stopped and Steven stopped singing, Harry automatically opened his eyes and his location once again became obvious. He struggled to take a calming breath but already his heart rate had increased and his face had lost all of its colour. The door opened and without even thinking about what he was doing Harry found himself outside and attached to Steven's front.

The man's worry was almost tangible as his arms came around the boy to keep him off the ground. Harry took several calming breaths with wide open eyes so that he could see what his mind was telling him…there was no danger.

"Easy there child," Steven said softly. "You're safe. What has frightened you so?"

Harry looked him in the eye and then back at the innocently parked caravan. Steven set him on the ground gently before looking back in the caravan. He saw nothing in there but when he looked back at Harry he knew that there was something about the caravan that had terrified him.

"Is it the space in there?" Steven asked curiously. Harry nodded, ashamed. He wrapped the blanket tighter around him, aware that he was almost naked underneath it. Steven crouched down in front of him and smiled sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You've been asleep for the past two days and I didn't want to leave you alone back at Bone Point Road."

Harry nodded his understanding. He was embarrassed at how he had behaved and unsure of how to act now. He wished that he could speak, but despite the honey that had sustained him and soothed his throat, his voice was just no longer there.

"I finished making some clothes for you to wear," Steven continued after a slight pause. "I would say change in the caravan, but it won't be dangerous to change in the bushes, and I shall warn you if anyone is approaching. What would you prefer?"

Harry looked from the caravan to the bushes alongside the road and pointed to the bushes. There was little privacy, but it appeared that the bushes were thick enough to change behind without anyone peeping. Besides, the fact that his rags were gone signified that Steven had already seen him without anything on. Steven reached into the caravan and pulled out a bundle of clothes and passed them over. Harry took them and walked behind the bushes, changing as quickly as he could.

The pants were too big on him and he had to hold them up over his hips while the shirt was far too long. He could see where Steven had ripped and re-sewn the hem, and it looked like he had ripped his shirt in half lengthwise, removed one side and sewn up the other, making sure that the sleeves were still attached. The sleeves fell down past his hands, making it difficult to hold onto the pants, but he was grateful to the effort Steven went to.

When he appeared again Steven took one look at his appearance and pulled out a short dagger and motioned him over. Harry didn't move, looking at the dagger in fear. Steven saw his expression and put the dagger down apologetically.

"I'm sorry child, I forgot, I want to use the knife to cut the sleeves to a more suitable length and the pants so that you aren't stepping on them every time you walk," Steven explained. "Everyone carries a weapon around here without a thought, and I forgot about what you had been through. I apologise again."

Harry watched as the man rambled, clearly sorry about the carefree use of his dagger. He walked over slowly, making sure to lift his feet so that he didn't trip over the clothes, until he was standing exactly in front of the peddler. Steven stopped talking as he realised how close the boy had gotten and waited until Harry held one arm to cut the sleeve. When he picked up the dagger again Harry closed his eyes and tilted his head away so that he wouldn't have to see what was happening.

Steven spoke softly when it was time to swap arms, and then again when he was ready to cut at the pants. Harry kept his eyes closed the whole time and only when the dagger was away again did he open them. Steven then held out a belt to keep his pants up, which Harry used gratefully before standing back and looking down at his outfit. It wasn't a good fit, but Harry loved it. He had always preferred the looser clothing to the tight, form fitting clothes that some of his friends wore. The tighter clothing made him feel trapped, while the baggy clothes gave him more freedom of movement.

"I can't make shoes I'm afraid, we'll have to get my mother to sew something up for us," Steven stated. "Are you fine in bare feet for now?"

Harry nodded before looking around curiously. He looked back to Steven with his head on his side, trying to ask where they were.

"We are currently traveling along the road Deltora Way. Another week or so and we will be at my home," Steven replied with a grin. "It has been a while since Nevets and I have seen mother, and I'm sure that she will love you. Be prepared to be fed, stuffed and clothed for that is what my mother loves to do with small children, grown ups she is distrustful of…especially in times like these."

Harry crinkled his nose distastefully at the thought of being coddled, though he wouldn't mind eating whatever food his mother would prepare for him. Steven pulled out a bucket from the caravan and filled it with water for Mellow to drink. While she did that Steven pulled out some food and offered some to Harry, who took it gratefully. They rested like that for several minutes, before Steven started to pack everything away and lock the caravan. Swinging up to the top where he could manipulate the reins, Steven reached down to pull Harry up beside him. Harry was airborne for little more than two seconds before he was settled nicely and watching as the scenery drifted past them at a leisurely rate. He watched Steven sing and found himself smiling as he deciphered what was actually being sung.

A few days later, in the late afternoon they came across a fork in the road that pointed to Adin's Ride and Deltora Way. Adin's Ride looked particularly unsafe and its sign was hanging loosely. Steven mentioned that the road had been constructed in the time of Adin to make traveling easier between Jaliad and Rithmere. It was now seldom used as the vegetation had grown across the road and it was close to impossible to navigate through with a horse and cart. At the end of Adin's Ride was the Broad River, and the only way to cross it was via a ferry service that stopped running close to a century ago.

Steven naturally noted that there were no people to sell his wares to along that road, and was quite happy selling what he had to passing travelers. Harry was able to witness one such transaction later in the day when a group five men passed them by and bought some honey, blankets and rope. Shorty after that they stopped for the night with Steven promising that in the next few days they would reach the orchard where he had grown up.

Close to midday three days saw the small caravan and horse with a man and a boy atop it arrive at the largest orchard that Harry had ever seen. Trees bursting with apples covered what appeared to be a forest and the scent in the air made Harry's nose tingle pleasantly. Steven swung down from the caravan but motioned for Harry to remain where he was. The man led Mellow on foot to a gate with a large sign on it. Squinting his eyes Harry was able to read it. 'Queen Bee Cider, The Champion's Choice, Made from genuine tree-aged cider apples. NO ENTRY WITHOUT PERMISSION.'

"Mother doesn't like visitors," Steven explained as they passed by the sign. Harry nodded having noticed the capital letters to warn people away. Already he was feeling unsure about meeting someone who seemed to disagree with visitors. Steven said nothing more than that and focused on leading the horse, cart and boy down the well trodden path up to a house in the midst of the trees.

Once the caravan stopped, Harry slid down to the ground and used Mellow as a support so that he could move up to where Steven was unhooking the harness attached to the horse. Once she was free Mellow strolled away from the two humans towards a small field complete with fence, water and available food.

"Is that my baby boys?"

Harry jumped at the unexpected voice bellowing across the road from the house and hid behind the large man so that he was out of sight. Steven chuckled and quietly warned Harry that he was about to yell. Harry covered his ears in time for Steven's answer to the woman standing at the door.

"Yes mother! Come down here! There's someone I want you to meet!"

Harry stared at Steven in horror. When he imagined meeting his mother, it wasn't anything like that. And the fact that the woman didn't seem to welcome anyone other than family, Harry almost felt like bolting.

The only reason he didn't was that he wasn't wearing shoes and could barely see more than a few feet in front of him.

The woman came down from her house to stand before Steven. Harry peeked out from his hiding place to watch her appear, and at first thought she was rolling towards them. The next second, as she got closer, he realised that she was a little plump woman wrapped and bundled in shawls. She had thin brown hair that was screwed up into a little topknot on her head. Her face showed that she had seen many good years, and much more sun as it was creased and crinkled all over, looking like a wizened old apple. Yet despite all that, she had warm, honey coloured eyes, much like Steven's, and she looked at him with such love and adoration that Harry felt safe to come a little ways out of hiding.

At the sight of him the woman stopped and stared first at him then at Steven. She looked him up and down, noticing the hastily made clothes and bare feet, the bandages around his neck and feet and the few traces of blood that still lingered on his skin.

"Mother, I found this young child on my route and brought him with me to be looked after. As you can see he is injured, and due to his injuries he has lost his voice, so I don't know his name."

The woman smiled invitingly at him, and her whole face transformed. For a moment Harry thought he was staring at Mrs. Weasley and tears sprung to his eyes. Hastily brushing them away, Harry missed when Steven stepped completely to the side, leaving open to the woman's greeting.

"Welcome to my orchard," she said with a hug. Harry stiffened in her embrace and waited until she had released him before stepping back and attempting to smile at her. She returned his smile and gestured to her home.

"Come inside with me and I'll get you some proper food and clothes," she said. "My sons never learnt to mend clothes properly, and I shudder to think that he's fed you what he calls food."

Harry followed her, looking back over his shoulder to see Steven pulling some bags from the caravan before following them. Harry looked back to the little old woman and followed her as she led him into the house and to the living room. To his embarrassment he walked into a small table that he couldn't see and for the rest of his journey he felt his way along the walls.

"Can't you see child?" the woman asked.

Harry raised his hand and made a 'sort of' motion. His could feel his face burning in embarrassment and looked down at his knee. He jumped slightly when he felt a small hand lift his chin up so that he was looking into the warm and concerned eyes of the woman, so similar to Steven's own.

"There is no need to be ashamed," she said softly. "I have something that may help with your eyesight, but it isn't a sure thing. Now, can you write? I have some charcoal and paper to write with and it can help us to communicate."

Harry nodded and watched as she left the room briefly, only to return with some paper and writing materials. He lifted the charcoal and squinted at it before posing it over the paper to write down the answer to whatever question she had for him.

"Do you have a name?" she asked.

They called me Freak he wrote after a pause of consideration. If I had one other than that I can't remember.

There was no way that he wanted to be called by his birth name any more. There was a chance that Voldemort might come looking for him and he didn't want the search to be too easy for him. If no one knows a Harry Potter then they would be safer.

"What monsters would call a child that?" the woman asked in horror as she read his answer. "We will definitely have to give you a new name. I'll think of something."

What's your name?

"My name? How rude of me," the woman replied, this time in shock. "You may call me Bee, everyone knows me as Queen Bee as my honey and apple cider is famous around Deltora. Now, how old are you?"

This gave Harry pause. A quick thought in his head of how long he had been prisoner and then from when he was captured gave him his age.

15

"You look so much younger," Bee exclaimed. "It must be from what those monsters did to you. How long were you with them?"

He said 4 months

"Four months? Oh, you poor dear. Oh that monster better hope he never meets me or mine, he'll be begging for death by the end. Did he take your voice from you?"

1 of his minions thought it would be funny

"They thought it would be funny to deprive someone of the right to speak? Why, I'm going to hunt them down and rip their tongues from their mouths and feed them to the gripper fields!"

Bee continued ranting about how she would teach the "monsters" to never harm children again. Harry merely watched in amazement and slight fear. What she was coming up with was fairly creative, even if he didn't know what gripper fields were and he doubted that the human body could do what she was suggesting she do to them…even with magic!

By the time she calmed down Steven was sitting next to Harry and watching his mother in shock. He leant down to whisper to Harry, and not attract the attention of the ranting woman.

"I've only seen her like this once before, and that was when the Grey Guards decided to steal some of her apples. They've never done so again, for good reason."

"Enough cheek from you Steven," Bee ordered. "Whatever I do would be nothing compared to what your brother would do as you well know!"

"Nevets is very protective of me and mother," Steven explained at Harry's enquiring look. "And I suspect that he shall become quite protective of you as well. Already he is wanting to hunt down the people that did this to you."

I wasn't attacked here

"Where then?" Steven asked curiously after reading the paper.

I called it the Island. There is no escape from it and I don't know how I got away alive. I fell from the window and was carried here by a sea creature. It left me at the Bone Point Lighthouse where I recovered some of my strength and learnt of this land.

"How?" Bee asked. "Bone Point Lighthouse hasn't shone for fifteen years. The Lighthouse Keeper disappeared and hasn't been seen since."

A spirit girl named Verity looked after me. She haunts the lighthouse and offered me shelter.

"Little Verity?" Steven asked. "I've heard little about what happened, but travelers' tales tell of a curse upon the Silver Sea. Fifteen years ago, around the time the Shadow Lord took complete control over Deltora, the sea rebelled against the land and the light went out. Many say that the Keeper was killed which was why the light faded to nothing, others say that his daughter, Verity, in her grief threw herself into the sea and it welcomed her with loving arms while attacking the land from where she came from. No one really knows what happened."

"I want to know about this Island," Bee stated. "You say you were rescued by a sea creature? All sea creatures upon Deltora's boarders are monsters that pray on ships and eat stranded sailors."

It was warm, was all Harry wrote.

Bee stood up and left the room, her round face red. Harry could recognise the anger on it and didn't know whether or not it was directed at him, but he still shrunk in on himself on the couch and put the charcoal down. Steven looked down at him in concern before slinging his arm across his shoulders, ignoring the tensing. When Bee returned she had a warm blanket in her arms and with the skill of a mother she wrapped it around the small boy.

"I'm going to make something to eat," she said kindly. "You stay here and get warm. Steven, go and get me some of the large opals in my store room, and Nevets, I want you to fix that hole in the roof. If it rains it's your bedroom that gets wet."

Steven grinned sheepishly before his form seemed to shimmer and standing in front of him was a giant of a man, even taller than Steven, with a wild gold mane of hair all over his body. He reminded Harry of a lion standing on its back legs but he knew that this was Nevets. Nevets had claws in the place of hands and he wasn't wearing any shoes.

"Child, this is my brother Nevets," Steven introduced. "We are always together, and what one of us does, so does the other. We need each other to survive."

Harry attempted to smile but imagined that it came out as a grimace. Nevets and Steven left the room together, while Bee went into where he suspected the kitchen was to start cooking. Left alone, Harry decided that he would close his eyes for a moment to rest them. He had given himself a headache trying to see without his glasses and hoped that whatever Bee had for him would work.

Before he knew it he was fast asleep.

I've decided to skip the whole AN part of the start and finish starting from this chapter. From the next chapter on all I will write is what is coming up in the next chapter.

Next up in Deltora's Protector:

Chapter 3 - Aiden and the Shadow Lord