Hey everyone!
Before anything else, I'm just going to apologize profoundly for leaving this story untouched. . . . T.T Really, I'm sorry; my muse decided to drift towards one-shot ideas that assaulted me in the middle of the night, stuck themselves in my face, and refused to leave until they were written. (They used up what little free time I had . . .)
So! To make that up, I will move this story to the top of my priority list (fanfic-writing-wise, anyway) and hopefully can get it updated again after this chapter within the month. :)
Oh, yeah: Regarding Jasmine's poor reading skills: I know in the books she was an awful/slow reader, but here . . . Well, seeing as I'm already breaking Mrs. Rodda's rules of no contractions, my approach (towards this entire story!) goes along quite well with the phrase Why the heck not?
Now, onto the chapter you've all been waiting for!
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(Okay, I'll stop now. It's fun torturing the readership though. XP Niggling little voice in the back of my head: You should probably stop doing that if you want people to keep reading . . .)
Deltora Quest Reads Deltora Quest: The Forests of Silence
Chapter Two
Once upon a time in the far-off city of Del . . .
The word was spreading.
The trader did have access to other sources, of course; multiple copies were exchanged, a few rare editions brought across the seas to the land it depicted. But at the heart of it was the story.
There wasn't a single resident, traveler, peddler, merchant, visitor, guest—not a single person who didn't want to hear the adventures and risks and journeys of the king and his companions. The rumors could finally be verified or trumped; the taller tales that had sprung from the well could finally be plugged—it was the truth the people of Deltora wanted to hear, and this was one way to get it.
The trader, of course, also faced persecution, accusation, death threats, cheaters, suspicion, disbelief, scorn, becoming the laughingstock of the era, and so on (No more than the usual! he cheerfully told himself). . . . But somehow, he was able to wave it away by playing on the persecutor's curiosity. No one was completely sure, of course, that these books were the fabled annals of truth that they could rely on.
Then a palace servant oh-so-very conveniently "overheard" the secret meetings held in the library—and soon enough, the entire city was buzzing.
The trader was having a good day. Over thirty copies sold, enough earnings to last him a year. And, above all . . . The best aspect of this entire scheme, the cherry on top of the cake . . . Or is is it "the icing on the cake"?
He smiled at the prospect.
They should have enough signatures soon. Then no one will be able to resist . . . Not even the king.
Meanwhile, in the "top-secret" library of the same city . . .
"So who'd like to step up and volunteer to mortally embarrass themselves next?"
". . . That's a little too much to fit into a sentence, Jasmine."
"Jasmine, why don't you surprise us with a kind, optimistic comment for once?"
"Ha. The day that happens will be the day we see a dragon without wings. Now that would annoy the stars right out of Fortuna's hide."
—"Wouldn't that be a sight to see?"
"Wait. Isn't that basically a Dragon Lizard?"—
"Stop with the dragon discussion right now, Fortuna doesn't like it when people talk about her stars! Anyway, Jasmine: No need to be so blunt. It's exactly what we're trying not to think about right now . . ."
"Thank you, Lief!"
There was an exasperated huff and a pair of arms folded in defiance. "The truth's the truth, and nothing can change how weird it is to be reading about ourselves. As fictional characters." Jasmine rolled her eyes almost audibly. "Honestly, and we thought it was bad when we came across that 'wanted' poster-thingamajig . . ."
Doom shot her a look. "Don't even bring that into this."
"Well, you have to admit, it was funny seeing your face completely messed up—some artist—and the description was completely—"
"Can we just get on with it?" Doom said, sounding slightly desperate to talk about anything except posters and descriptions.
"—messed up, and did I mention you looked cross-eyed?"
The others tried to hide their sniggering, and failed miserably. But Zeean, ever sensible, cleared her throat in a way that allowed for no more shenanigans, reminding everybody one time too many that she was the leader of Tora.
"All right, all right." Jasmine unfolded her arms and ambled over to the box, taking her time as she slid The Forests of Silence off the cardboard top—even as the rest of the room, suddenly united under one cause, glared at her. For a moment, she just stood there slowly flipping pages, in no rush to find the page from where they left off.
. . . And the others squirmed the entire time.
Doom, of course, was the first to explode. "I cannot believe I'm saying this, but— In the name of Adin, Jasmine, would you hurry up?!"
Lief was second. "Spare us! Stop dragging this out . . . It's bad enough as it is!"
The culprit rolled her eyes and turned one last page. "Oh be quiet, you two— Ah, here it is! See, I'm not dragging it out in any way, O wondrous King." She grinned evilly, her eyes taking on a malicious expression. "But in no way am I going to spare any . . . of . . . you."
Sharn rubbed her forehead. "Please, no more with the dramatic effects. I'm afraid my old ears can't take any more of it . . ."
Barda sighed. "Tell us something we don't know." When Sharn turned to give him an incredulous look, he added hastily, "I was talking to Jasmine—Your Highness."
Which earned him a few daggers from Sharn's eyes.
Jasmine let out a huge, histrionically exaggerated yawn, all the while somehow maintaining her evil-eye face. "Well, I'll just start now, if you'll all excuse me. . . .
2 — The Belt of Deltora
"Geez, is it just me or is this book straightforward?"
"Jasmine. Get. On. With. It."
"All right, all right! You seem awfully eager for someone who's about to become the object of this series's worship—"
"JASMINE!"
"Fine."
After hours of searching, Jarred finally found a book that he thought might help him. It was covered in faded pale blue cloth and the gold lettering on the outside had been worn away.
But the title inside was still very clear.
"What, there weren't any doodles from previous disciples who were forced to bury their noses in the thing for four hours straight?" Jasmine exclaimed. Doom and Lief sighed at the same time, causing Jasmine to shoot them a dangerous look before continuing.
THE BELT OF DELTORA
Its history, its power, and its magic
This book was nothing like the splendid hand-painted volumes that he and Endon read in the schoolroom. And nothing like the many other weighty books on the library shelves.
"And with good reason!" Ranesh muttered. "None of the important books had distractions, did they? Look at the Annals."
"Well, the main thing was that if it hadn't looked so old and plain and that close to ugly, then I wouldn't have found it and Deltora would still be under the rule of the Shadow Lord," Doom pointed out. Lief raised his eyebrows incredulously. "Am I hearing correctly? Did Doom just give credit to something else for helping him?"
Following his lead, everyone else in the room gasped.
Doom scowled. "If I hadn't found it, none of you would be standing here."
Jasmine snickered. "Then should we all bow down and thank you for our existence?"
"That isn't necessary. The lot of you"—Sharn and Zeean both threw a glare (both of which hissed, You dare put us under that generalization?!) in Doom's direction, and he faltered—"ahhh— Never mind."
"Going on, now!" Jasmine cleared her throat loudly.
It was small, thin, and very dusty. It had been tucked away in the library's darkest corner among piles of papers, as though someone had wanted it forgotten.
"Understatement of the era," Jasmine muttered.
"Is it just me, or are you always the one making the side comments?"
"Be quiet, Barda, or you're reading next."
Jarred carried the old book carefully to a table. He planned to read it from beginning to end.
Jasmine paused again to snort. "Uh-huh. Right. Him, read something all the way through . . ."
Doom offered a dagger glare in response.
His task might take him all night, but he did not expect to be disturbed. No one would be looking for him. Endon would go straight from the great hall to the chapel, where his father's body lay surrounded by candles. He would keep watch there alone till dawn, following the Rule.
Multiple sounds of disdain were made at yet another mention of the Rule's oppression.
Poor Endon, thought Jarred. It has only been a few days since he did the same for his mother. Now he is alone in the world, as I am. But at least we have each other. We are friends to the death. And I will protect him as best I can.
Jasmine decided she'd rather not risk making fun of that just yet.
Protect him from what?
"Well, y'know, it's probably not going to be the most powerful sorcerer the land's ever seen who's trying to take over said land. Who's also trying to kill you and your best friend. Just saying!"
"Jasmine, the side comments—"
"Sorry, Your Majesty. Couldn't resist." She sniggered at the furious look that stampeded over Lief's face.
The question pierced his mind like a sharp knife. Why had he suddenly begun to fear for Endon? Who or what could threaten the all-powerful king of Deltora?
"If you don't mind, Jasmine, I'm going to fill for you here."
She huffed. "Feel free. I'll amuse myself by listening."
Lief took on a high falsetto imitation of her voice and said, "Well, you know, maybe there's an all-powerful ruler that can't ever be killed trying to kill YOU!"
Save for Jasmine, the entire room broke into helpless laughter. The victim of the imitation fixed the attacker with her best—or worst—I am going to kill you in your sleep glare.
Amid the leftover chortling and eye-wiping, she put on her loudest voice and continued:
I am tired, thought Jarred. I am imagining things.
"Ha, ha."
He shook his head impatiently and lit a fresh candle to brighten the darkness. But the memory of Prandine's thin smile as he locked the magic Belt away kept drifting into his mind like the shadow of a remembered nightmare.
Sharn forced out a breath. "And rightfully so!"
He frowned, lowered his head to the book, turned to the first page, and began to read.
+ In the ancient days, Deltora was divided into seven tribes. The tribes fought on their borders but otherwise stayed in their own place. Each had a gem from deep within the earth, a talisman with special powers.
"Ooooh boy."
+ There came a time when the Enemy from the Shadowlands cast greedy eyes on Deltora.
"He cast much more than that!" Zeean muttered.
The tribes were divided, and singly none of them could repel the invader, who began to triumph.
+ A hero called Adin rose from the ranks of the people. He was an ordinary man, a blacksmith who made swords and armor and shoes for horses. But he had been blessed with strength, courage, and cleverness.
"So typical," Marilen sighed. "It seems even books can't escape the stereotypes."
+ One night, Adin dreamed of a special and splendid belt—seven steel medallions beaten to the thinness of silk and connected together with fine chain. To each medallion was fixed one of the tribal gems.
"Accurate so far . . ."
+ Realizing that the dream had been sent to him for a purpose, Adin worked in secret over many months to create a likeness of the belt he had been shown. Then he traveled around the kingdom to persuade each tribe to allow its talisman to be added to it.
+ The tribes were at first suspicious and wary, but, one by one, desperate to save their land, they agreed. As each gem became part of the belt, its tribe grew stronger. But the people kept the strength secret, and bided their time.
Sharn blinked. "'Bided'?" She glanced at the palace librarian; Ranesh shrugged.
+ And when at last the belt was complete, Adin fastened it around his waist, and it flashed like the sun. Then all the tribes united behind him to form a great army, and together they drove the Enemy from their land.
+ And so Adin became the first king of the united tribes of Deltora, and he ruled the land long and wisely. But he never forgot that he was a man of the people, and that their trust in him was the source of his power. Neither did he forget that the Enemy, though defeated, was not destroyed. He knew that the Enemy is clever and sly, and that to its anger and envy a thousand years is like the blink of an eye. So he wore the belt always, and never let it out of his sight . . .
Jasmine heaved a sigh. "And that marks the fifty-hundredth time I've heard that!"
Jarred read on and on, and the more he read, the more troubled he became. He had a pencil and some paper in his pocket, but he did not need to take notes. The words of the book seemed to be burning themselves into his brain.
Barda grinned. "Wouldn't that be something?"
Doom put his face in his hands and muttered something about the author and targeting characters.
He was learning more than he expected. Not just about the Belt of Deltora, but about the Rule.
"Wait. There was nothing in any of that that even mentioned a whiff of the Rule!"
"Just keep reading, Jasmine."
+ The first to leave the belt aside was Adin's grandson, King Elstred, who in his middle years grew fat with good living and found the steel cut sadly into his belly.
"See?" Sharn said triumphantly.
"I get it, Mother."
Elstred's chief advisor soothed his fears, saying that the belt need only be worn on great occasions. Elstred's daughter, Queen Adina, followed her father's ways, wearing the belt only five times in her reign. Her son, King Brandon, wore it only three times. And at last it became the custom for the belt to be worn only on the day the heir took the throne . . .
+ At the urging of his chief advisor, King Brandon caused the Ralad builders to raise a great palace on the hill at the center of the city of Del.
"That's the one thing those evil little advisors got right," Zeean said.
The royal family moved from the old blacksmith's forge to the palace, and over time it became the custom for them to remain within its walls, where no harm could come to them . . .
"Ha ha ha, funny."
When Jarred closed the book at last, his heart was heavy. His candle had burned low and the first dawn light was showing at the window. He sat for a moment, thinking. Then he slipped the book into his shirt and ran to seek Endon.
(+)
The chapel was below ground level, in a quiet corner of the palace. It was still and cold.
"How very descriptive."
The old king's body was lying on a raised marble platform in the center, surrounded by candles. Endon was kneeling beside it, with his head bowed.
He looked up as Jarred burst in. His eyes were red from weeping. "You should not be here, Jarred," he whispered. "It is against the Rule."
A brief silence ensued as everyone sighed to themselves.
"It is dawn," Jarred panted. "And I had to see you."
Endon stood up stiffly and came over to him. "What is it?" he asked in a low voice.
Jarred's head was full of everything he had read.
"Wow," Jasmine said, sounding surprised. "Take off the 'of everything he had read' part and there sums up our wonderful Doom."
Everyone suppressed a laugh.
The words came tumbling out of him. "Endon, you should wear the Belt of Deltora always, as the ancient kings and queens did."
"Such smooth words . . ."
Endon stared at him in puzzlement.
"Come!" Jarred urged, taking his arm. "Let us go and get it now."
But Endon held back, shaking his head. "You know I cannot do that, Jarred. The Rule—"
"Oh not again!"
Jarred stamped his foot with impatience. "Forget the Rule! It is just a collection of traditions that have grown up over the years and been made law by the chief advisors. It is dangerous, Endon! Because of it, every new ruler of Deltora has been more powerless than the one before. This must stop—with you! You must get the Belt and put it on. Then you must come with me outside the palace gates."
"Finally, someone's sensible!"
Doom raised his eyebrows at the hint of praise and pride, and Jasmine quickly added, "'Course, you probably scared King Endon half to death with that speech."
He was speaking too fast and too wildly. By now Endon was frowning, backing away from him.
"What'd I tell you?"
"You are ill, my friend," he was whispering nervously. "Or you have been dreaming."
"We wish."
"No!" Jarred insisted, following him. "It is you who are living in a dream. You must see how things are outside the palace—in the city and beyond."
"I see the city, Jarred," argued Endon. "I look out at it from my window every day. It is beautiful."
"But you do not talk to the people. You do not walk among them!"
"Of course I do not! That is forbidden by the Rule!" Endon gasped.
Jasmine took a moment to recover from the urge to bang her head against the table.
"But I know that all is well."
"You know nothing, except what you are told by Prandine!" shouted Jarred.
"About time!"
"And is that not enough?" The cold voice cut through the air like sharp steel."
Jasmine stopped, slightly bemused, realizing she'd just reached the end of the chapter.
"Well, as enlightening as that was, I think I'll step away from the Life Story of My Father and the King for now," she declared. "Barda, you're up next."
"What?!" Jasmine had to admit that the sight of the captain of the guards sputtering was completely worth the long read. "But I did keep quiet after—"
"Doesn't matter. I'm done, and you're next. Or is anyone else willing to volunteer?" She grinned wickedly at the stone silence that dropped. "See, Barda? Now get up there while I go get myself some water. My throat hurts."
Doom rolled his eyes. "You brought that onto yourself, with all your snarky comments every few sentences."
Jasmine shot her father a huff and an eyeroll of her own before flouncing to her original seat and gulping down the remains of her water.
Barda sighed and hauled himself out of his seat and towards the book of doom.
Heheh. I like that. "Book of doom." (Get it? Get it? Get it get it get it—)
Well, I'm actually really, really sorry this took so ridiculously long to get done. {sigh} Well, here it is, in all its glory! (And if there are any mistakes or whatnot, feel free to tell me as bluntly as you'd like. I wrote this in a bit of a rush.)
Again, my gratitude and thanks (wait, that's the same thing . . .) towards all my reviewers, favoriters, followers, and readers alike! :D You guys make my day.
Here are my review responses! (Oh Powers, I'm going to be here all day answering reviews! XD)
Oh, and, if I end up saying "Thanks! :)" to every single one of 'em, well, it's true.
Library 2.0: Well, here it is! (After almost a year . . .)
Echobaby123: Yes, indeed I did. {grin} Thanks! Wait, you check this every day?! Oh my Powers I apologize to you! Anyway. Teasing Lief—well, it's always so much fun to write about other characters intentionally tormenting the main character, because he/she always seems to be the only one getting due credit. But Lief with a beard . . . I am praying that Emily Rodda will never, ever even spare that thought a glance. XD
PJoHoOFan: Thank you! :D Chappie one has a buddy now . . . (Technically this is chappie two, if we're going by the book chapters. XD) As for monthly meetings . . . Well, I'm going to throw in a little twist on that in upcoming chapters. Stay tuned—you won't be disappointed! ;D
Zerocchi: Here it is! :) Glad you liked it—I was actually starting to doubt myself when I got around to editing the dialogue, but thanks!
DoomedToBeACrazyFangirlForever: Awesomeness is why this story is here. :D Embarrassing Lief/Jasmine moments was kind of the primary reason I even started writing this thing (and believe me, the amount of time it takes to copy every single line from the book can be agonizing), and will be so worth it. 8D I think I'll sneak in the anime towards the end, or some other very inconvenient time for my poor characters. And they will most certainly writhe in utmost pain at the sheer awful-ness of the anime. :D Thanks!
Luke Ignis: You've joined the masses of people begging me to continue . . . So hereth it be-eth! :)
Miriam Garcia: Well, I do hope you've come back after such a long wait . . . Here's your chapter! And believe me, DQ was my obsession for many, many years. (In other words, five and going strong. XD)
The Imaginatrix: There's always a risk, but that's not stopping me . . . {evil grin} Aw, this is a good one? Thanks. :D As for Lief keeping himself clear from the dangers of getting his beard plaited . . . Well . . . I don't think his mother will spare him from that fate. XD I always thought Sharn was a bit quiet in the books, so I decided to give her a chance to shoot some venom at the guy/Ol that helped cause her country's downfall/oppression. Jasmine . . . Well, I didn't even need to work at putting snarkiness in her voice. She's already got so much of it. :D
GryffindorByHeart7: Thanks! :D Here's the update!
Guest: Thanks! That's high praise, to me. And since I'm kind of creating a spinoff here, Jasmine's poor reading skills shall be very conveniently eradicated for the sake of readership enjoyment. :)
JasmineHoran: I like to call my stories genius too, but then people start accusing me of being self-obsessed and narcissistic. XD Thanks! I got this idea from the fanfic Fablehaven reads Fablehaven.
Fantasyfan100: Thanks! I think so too. It's always amusing to mess with canon. :D
Abigale: Hahaha, thanks! WAIT, YOU GOT AHOLD OF THE QUIZ BOOK?! /)(\ Ever since I found out that the thing's only available in certain areas (said areas don't include mine -.-), I've been yearning for a chance to test my DQ knowledge. Congrats! Come join the DQ Obsessors Forever club! XD Dying? Oh dear! Here's the next chappie, don't die on me!
unomunise: Here it is! :)
josie: Aw, thanks! I was kind of surprised that no one came up with the idea before me, but frankly I think I'm the only one who's continuing with this. :)
1 2Anti-c-h-l-o-r-o-benzene1 2: Thanks! :)
Jasmine Lita Everdeen: Thanks! (And by the way, your username is great. :D) Here it is!
invader sugar: Thanks! :) Wait, carrier worm? What carrier worm? Oh my Powers it's a DQ canon fact I don't know about the worlds are about to collapse—! {scrambles for books} . . . I . . . I, uh, can't remember. Either that or I had no idea. Clarify for me? :3
Afienasm: Thanks! :)
random: Oh don't worry, I shall never discontinue this. This is for whenever I hit writer's block / need cheering up, and right now I'm in a piff of a mood. (To be explained at the bottom . . .)
mysticaljayne: Thanks! It's always great to hear that I "made" someone do something. (Unless, that is, I "made" them— Gah, never mind. I don't want to give myself ideas. XD) Anyway, glad you liked it!
carol: Here it is! :) Doom and Jasmine moments simply cannot be found in the canon, so I'm writing my own. Glad you're liking them!
Okay, and there's the end of review responses. Let me know if I missed anyone!
Now for a little author's complaint: I am currently sick and harboring a sore throat (which my sister [Sea of Emerald] rightfully described as "It's like someone set your throat on fire and left it to scorch"), a runny nose, and previously a stomachache and a headache. Fortunately some food and some writing (and reading reviews!) helped dispel [some of] these bothers! Thanks, guys—you've made being sick bearable. That's something to be proud of. XD
Drop your twopence in the box below! :) The author is in need of "donations," to continue the "twopence" metaphor . . .