Chapter Text
"I could at least dance with one of them," Lief said, frowned as he stared out at the ballroom, at the glittering nobles who all danced with one another. "One of my possible brides, at any rate."
"You should not have stolen those files in the first place," King Endon, Lief's father, scolded from his gilded throne. "And you know dancing with the noble girls is against the Rule."
"The Rule is poppycock," Lief scoffed, sinking deeper into his miniature throne.
Beside him, his mother, Queen Sharn, tittered.
"Oh, Lief. Don't let Prandine hear you say that!"
After which, she then gave him a conspiratorial wink. At which Lief smiled; his mother had always been on his side, regarding the Rule, even if his father wasn't always.
"Prandine is only a chief advisor," Lief pointed out. "Advisors are supposed to give advice, not boss you around like they own you."
Indeed, that seemed to be the entirety of Prandine's relationship with Father. Despite Father being the king of all Deltora, Prandine always seemed to be the one in charge, somehow, in regard to everything. Not only did he did barely let Father decide anything when it came to governing Deltora, he also didn't let Father decide anything about his own daily life.
The idea of which sickened Lief; he could not stand such a thing happening to him. And so, while he studied and practiced archery and the blacksmith's art, as the Rule insisted, Lief also made it very clear to Prandine that he would not be controlled like his father. His mother, thankfully, did her best to not let Prandine control her as well, although for some reason she liked to let the chief advisor think he controlled her.
"Besides," Lief added, "You had a friend when you were my age. A commoner friend. I'm not even asking for that."
His father's whole body tensed up, his hands tightening into fists on his armchair,
"When I was thirteen," Father told him, his voice tight with something Lief did not know what to name, "I also ascended the throne after losing my parents. You will not do either, if I can help it."
With that the king fell silent, refusing to elaborate. Just like he always did when it came to even slight rebellion against the Rule. Lief scowled as he turned back to watching the dancers. What was the point of learning to dance if he couldn't do it?
"It did not end well between your father and his friend," Mother whispered in Lief's ear by way of explanation. "The boy left the palace shortly after the coronation."
Lief gasped. Left the palace? That was...defiance on a whole other level. What could possibly have happened?
"Couldn't Father order him to come back?" Lief asked, his voice low. "You know, promise to make up?"
Mother shook her head, her diamond earrings waving slightly as she did.
"It's a bit more serious than that, darling," she told him.
No further explanation was offered; instead, his father rose, and stroking his neatly trimmed beard, conceded:
"I'll tell you what. You can watch your mother and I dance, how is that?"
It was not quite what Lief wanted, but he would have to make do. And so, his parents rose from their thrones, the music suddenly stopping as they did. A couple of trumpet blares then sounded as the king took his wife's hand on his and they descended from the dais to the dance floor, the crowd of nobles having parted and stepped off to two sides of the room to let them pass.
The nobles all curtsied and bowed to the royal couple, who nodded in return. And with that, Father put his hand around Mother's waist, and the music started again.
They were a beautiful, gleaming pair, Lief thought as he saw them dance. His father in that gleaming white silk jacket with gold epaulettes, as well as the gold crown that sat atop his head. His mother in a red silk ball gown which set off her milk-pale skin, the diamond-studded tiara glittering in her black hair, along with the diamonds at her ears and throat. Watching them both laugh and smile as they whirled about the ballroom, Lief's mood eased a little, especially after the nobles resumed dancing alongside the royal couple.
Then, all of a sudden, something caught his eye. Through the palace windows Lief saw something that looked like a hideous, enormous bird, with a hooked beak and mighty wings. His parents appeared to see it, too, for suddenly, they froze in the middle of the dance floor, the rest of the dancers stopping too.
His parents separated, and then, regally but clearly shaken, they re-ascended the dais, annoying fanfare blaring as they did so.
"Lief, we need to leave," his father whispered. "Now."
Lief did not question why, instead obediently rising from his little throne and following his father out of the ballroom. One last glance at which showed that his mother had sat back down on her own throne and was currently smiling as she encouraged the nobles to resume dancing. It couldn't be that bad, then.
Or so Lief thought. His father's anxious stride through the palace halls told a different story. So did the appearance of more birds like the one Lief had seen in the ballroom; all cawing and flying outside the palace, towards something.
"Father," Lief swallowed, not sure he quite believed what he saw. "Are those..."
"Ak-Baba, yes," Father replied stiffly, "Like your tutors told you about. Fleshing-eating birds, seven of which serve the Shadow Lord."
The Shadow Lord. That ancient enemy that had tried to invade Deltora, a thousand years ago. That had failed, because of Adin, the founder of the royal family, had united Deltora's seven tribes and beat him back to the Shadowlands.
"But the Shadow Lord is dead!" Lief protested. "Has been for a thousand years!"
"I know," Father agreed, his mouth pressed in a tight line.
At last, they reached a destination that utterly surprised Lief. The tower in which the Belt of Deltora was kept. More specifically, the room in which in that mystical, ancient object was kept.
Lief let out a breath. The Belt had kept Deltora safe from invasion by the Shadowlands for a thousand years. First created and worn by Adin, each monarch after him put on the Belt at their coronation to signify the beginning of their reign. After which it was put back in its glass box and taken back here, to this room locked by three gold locks, with three guards in gold uniforms to guard it.
At a word from Lief's father, the guards unlocked the door, and Lief followed his father into the small, round room, where the glass case sat on a pedestal. And in it, lay the Belt of Deltora, which Lief had only seen once before, a couple of years ago.
The Belt itself, despite being made of the strongest steel, looked as delicate as lace. And hanging from it were seven medallions along its length, each of which contained their own beautiful gem. The topaz, gold as the sun, which stood for faithfulness. The amethyst, symbol of truth, purple as river violets. For purity and strength, the diamond, clear and sparkling like ice. The lush grass-green emerald, for honor. The midnight blue lapis lazuli, the heavenly stone. The blood-red ruby, for happiness. And the opal, which sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow, for hope.
Father opened the glass case and took the Belt from it. No sooner did he do so, however, then one of those hideous Ak-Baba crashed through the window, and dove straight for the both of them. Its talons latched onto the Belt, attempting to drag it away from Lief's father. Lief's father resisted, tugging the Belt back towards him, thus starting a horrid back and forth between king and bird.
Instantly there was the sound of swords being drawn and pistols cocked as the three guards rushed into the room. They each fired furiously at the Ak-Baba, wounding it but in no way stopping it.
In the chaos the Belt broke, and two of the gems fell out of their medallions: the Ruby and the Amethyst. Lief hastily picked them up and put them in his pocket, not wanting the bird to have them. Lef then grabbed at the broken part of the Belt, and with that, that they managed to free the Belt from the Ak-Baba's clutches.
Father stared at the broken mess he had in his hands, horrified. In that instant, the Ak-Baba dove again, only to be stopped by a guard diving in front of it.
"Run, Your Majesties," the brave guard cried. "We'll fight it off."
Father instantly obeyed, shoving the belt into his pocket unceremoniously as he grabbed Lief's hand and bolted out of the room. Lief fought desperately to keep up, the cawing sound of the Ak-Baba at the windows hastening his steps. They eventually reached a secret little nook, whereupon Father grabbed a bow and arrow, and a drawing Lief recognized from his childhood.
It was a child's drawing, one which depicted the palace, as well as a rock on a hill nearby. It said, in what appeared to be a small child's print:
Wake the bear, Do not fear
Scurry, mouse, Into your house,
Lift the lid, be glad you did.
It was the chant for the secret passage to and from the palace that Lief had taught when he was little. Why it was relevant, Lief did not know. But his father rolled up the drawing, tied it to the arrow, then led Lief through the palace halls once again until they reached a window, out of which Lief could see the palace gates.
Father knocked the bow, aimed at an old, hollow tree near the palace gates, and fired. The arrow hit the topmost fork of the tree, at the sight of which Lief's father sighed in relief.
"Help will be coming, Lief," he said. "Now come. Let us get your mother."
But she did not need fetching. Instead, Queen Sharn came running towards them, along with a few other nobles who had been in the ballroom previously.
"The Ak-Baba," she explained, stopping to catch her breath. "They attacked. We must get to the chapel immediately."
The chapel. That was where the entrance to the secret tunnel was, the one only to be used in times of danger. Things were bad.
The halls of the palace were more crowded now. Nobles and servants alike were panicking, racing towards the nearest exit, while the guards rushed to fight the Ak-Baba. It was a futile effort on their part, however; no number of bullets seemed to stop those horrid birds from slaughtering the guards, and everyone else for that matter too.
"We should find Prandine," Lief insisted as he and his parents had almost reached the chapel. "And my tutors. They might be trapped-"
"I do not think Prandine is loyal to us, darling," Mother said sadly, shaking her head. "And I'm not sure about your tutors, either."
Not loyal...but how? Why?
They then reached the chapel, whereupon Father barricaded the doors and went to the tile that marked the palace end of the secret passage. Rather than cast it aside or lift it, however, he instead stood by it, as if waiting for something.
"What are you doing?" Lief cried, utterly confused. "Why aren't we-"
"Hush," Father ordered, holding up a hand to stop Lief. "We must wait."
After about an hour, at last the stone tile slid aside, and from the tunnel emerged what appeared to be a city mason, or some sort of workman. His beard and hair were untidy, quite unlike his father's, his boots were thick and unwieldy, and the apron over his clothes was stained with soot. He did not have a gun, but he did have a sword at his hip.
"Who are you?" Lief demanded, "Are you with the Ak-Baba?"
It felt like a foolish question, but with the emergence of Ak-Baba, Lief wasn't sure he could be certain of anything anymore.
"I am Jarred," the man announced, squinting as if unable to adjust to the light. "Who- stay back!"
Lief's father sighed in relief.
"Oh, Jarred," Father cried, crashing onto his knees. "I am so sorry. Forgive me-I did not know-forgive the past, please, for the sake of our old friendship. You are the only one I can trust. Please, help my family!"
Jarred blinked and went to help Father off of his knees.
"Oh, Endon! I didn't recognize you either! I-"
The two men stared at each other, as if they couldn't believe their eyes. Clearly, Father knew-or had known-this man once before.
Jarred then looked around him, taking in the surroundings with a surprised familiarity.
"The tunnel is a secret known to the royal family," Mother explained to the man hastily. "King Brandon ordered it made when the palace was built. It is used only in times of danger-like now."
Jarred turned towards Mother, a look of surprise on his face.
"Oh!" he gasped. "This is your-"
"My wife, yes," Father interrupted. "This is Sharn. And the boy is my son, Lief."
"Pleased to meet you, Jarred," Sharn said with a little smile.
"Uh...same," Lief stammered, not at all sure if he was actually pleased to meet Jarred.
Endon chuckled.
"He's a little bit like you, Jarred-asking questions, with a slight tendency towards disobedience."
Jarred smiled.
"I have a wife, too-she is the dearest thing to me. And a daughter-who is very disobedient. She always wants to know what's inside the palace walls."
"Why?" Lief asked, immediately thinking very little of this girl. "It's not a very interesting place."
Both Jarred and Sharn laughed, and then there was a moment's silence before Endon threw back his head and sighed.
"Oh, I have been cruelly punished for thinking you could hurt me, Jarred. I have missed you sorely."
Hurt Father? Was that why this man had left the palace? Because he was banished? But...
"I am glad for your reunion, truly," Mother interrupted, any irritation masked by a warm smile. "But we must do something. We must escape, before the Ak-Baba-"
"No, we must reclaim the Belt," Jarred insisted. "It is Deltora's only protection. It-"
Wordlessly, Father took the Belt of Deltora out of his pocket. Both Mother and Jarred gasped.
"The Belt! Why didn't you put it on?" Jarred demanded.
Father shook his head, and showed Mother and Jarred the broken medallions on the end.
"The Ak-Baba were already circling the palace when we took it. It attacked us, and-"
The guards, Lief thought, suddenly thinking of the three men who had boldly went to defend him and his father back in the tower. Who had likely died just as the ones back in the palace halls had.
Oh, shit, the guards.
Jarred hung his head in defeat.
"Then there is nothing we can do," he moaned. "If the Ak-Baba have stolen two of the gems..."
"No! I have them," Lief insisted, taking the ruby and the amethyst out of his pocket. "We can-"
"We can repair the Belt at a later date," Father declared, seeming to fiddle with the remaining medallions. "You keep the Ruby and the Amethyst close by, Lief."
Father then handed the diamond and the lapis lazuli to Sharn.
"Are you mad?" Jarred cried, looking utterly aghast. "The Belt is our-"
"The Belt is broken," Mother pointed out. "He cannot put it on."
Father nodded.
"Yes, and this way, if I am killed, there is still hope. Speaking of which..."
He took the opal off of the Belt and handed it to Lief.
"As you are the hope of our nation, it is only appropriate you should take this," Father explained. "Keep it safe, my son."
Lief nodded solemnly, stuffing it back in his pocket along with the ruby and amethyst. If he could do anything, he would safeguard the gems he'd been given.
Father then handed the Belt, which now only contained the topaz and emerald, to Jarred, who put it in his own pocket.
"And now we must-"
Just then the doors to the chapel burst open, and in walked Prandine. Lief would sighed in relief, only, it did not seem this was the Prandine he knew. Oh, the man was still tall and bony, to be sure, and he wore his usual crisp black suit. But where normally his face was serious and often disapproving, this Prandine was smiling evilly, with a delighted look on his face Lief could not comprehend. Worse, Prandine held a pistol in his hand, and he was aiming it at...Father.
"So, Jarred, you are back from the dead," Prandine said, letting out a sharp laugh. "Back to interfere, once more. But you are too late."
Lief could hardly believe what he was seeing. As chief advisor, the man had been an overbearing annoyance, overly obsessed with convention and the Rule. But this? Threatening Father-threatening his king-at gunpoint? It was...it was beyond the pale.
Father looked just as surprised as Lief felt. But Mother had a placid smile on her face, the fake one she always wore when speaking to Prandine. As if pointing a gun was no more surprising than Prandine rattling off Father's daily schedule.
As for Jarred, he merely gritted his teeth.
"I always thought you were a snake, Prandine. And now it seems you've shown your true colors. You are the very traitor you accused me of being, all those years ago. "
Prandine let out an ear-splitting cackle.
"I am no traitor," he countered. "My loyalty, like that of my predecessors, has always been to a far greater master."
Prandine gestured out towards the windows, and Lief saw that the previously clear night was now filling up with ugly red clouds.
"You saw his creatures outside the palace, did you not?" he cried, his voice filled with an evil sort of triumph. "Those magnificent birds. At last, that foul blacksmith Adin's work is undone."
His creatures...Adin's work...
"The Shadow Lord," Father gasped, "All this time, you've been serving the Shadow Lord."
"Yes," Prandine snarled, cocking the pistol. "I have. You are the last in a long line of idiots, Endon. Idiots whose power we stole until we left you with nothing. And now it is time for you and your family to die."
Father shook his head.
"No," he declared, advancing upon Prandine. "It's three of us against one. And by the time you're finished with me, they'll have escaped."
Father then jerked his heads towards the still-open tunnel, apparently indicating he wanted them to use it. But in front of Prandine-?
But Mother had already grabbed him from behind, and was shoving him into the tunnel, down a set of steep stone stairs, and into an inky darkness below the chapel.
"And now it is time to end your stupid little line," Lief heard Prandine announce above him.
There was the sound of a gunshot, and a startled cry from Jarred.
"Move," Mother insisted, pushing Lief down on his stomach. Lief soon found out why; the tunnel was narrow, and there was no space to do anything except crawl. And so Lief crawled, through the center of the hill, up the slope, through the tunnel as it narrowed, until at last he found the metal plate and lifted it up. With that, Lief wriggled out of the hole...
And found himself face to face with a giant, bear-shaped rock.
He sighed in relief as Mother and Jarred soon emerged after.
"We must go to my house," Jarred insisted. "You will need to change your clothes. It would not do for you to be recognized."
Neither Lief nor his mother objected; they had no other choice but to trust Jarred. And so they followed Jarred down the hill, across the dirty road, until at last they reached what appeared to be a blacksmith's forge, a pleasant but humble looking home.
Jarred led them through the forge gate, across the courtyard, and into the house proper, where, in a very humble living room, a sweet-faced woman sat mending clothes. Next to her was a girl about thirteen, with dark hair and vivid green eyes. She was currently reading a thin blue book with great interest.
Both of them stood when they saw Lief and his mother. The sweet-faced woman curtsied, the girl merely stood looking at them with curiosity.
"Dear heart," the woman asked Jarred, "Who are your illustrious guests?"
"This is Queen Sharn," Jarred explained, gesturing to Mother. "And Prince Lief. Lief, Sharn, this woman is my wife, Anna. And my daughter, Jasmine."
Anna immediately started to curtsy again.
"I am honored, Your-"
Mother held up a hand to stop her.
"Don't," she insisted. "We cannot be Prince and Queen if we are to survive."
The tip of Anna's mouth curled into a smile.
"No, I suppose you cannot."
Anna picked up what appeared to be a rough homespun dress and gently gave it to Mother.
"You can change in Jasmine's room," she said, glancing towards the girl. "She will show the way, Your Majesty."
Jasmine stood, eyeing Mother, and then gestured to follow her. Mother did, and when she left Anna took Lief's arm and said:
"As for you, we still have some clothes from when my parents still lived. They might fit you."
With that, Lief was led into a humble bedroom which had a bed, a chest of drawers, a fireplace, and not much else. From the chest she took a rough linen shirt and trousers, and handed them to Lief.
"I'll leave you to be change, Your Highness," she said. And with that she was gone.
Lief hastily changed into the significantly simpler clothes, leaving his white silk ones on the floor. He then hastily shoved the gems he'd been given back into the pocket of his new trousers, and went back to the living room, where Anna was packing food into a knapsack while Jarred watched.
"It'll be a long journey to Tora," she told her husband. "You'll need plenty of food."
Mother now wearing the plain dress she'd been given, looked at them both, baffled.
"Couldn't we just take the train?" she asked.
Both Anna and Jarred burst out laughing.
"Poor folk like us could not possibly afford a train," Jarred told Mother. "And besides, the Shadow Lord is likely watching every train out of the city."
Mother nodded solemnly.
"I see."
***
Within a few hours Jarred, Lief, and his mother had left the house and were on their way to Tora. As they skirted around the city of Del-not through it, Prandine likely had eyes looking for them-Lief saw that it was a sad, impoverished place. One filled with dead trees, crumbling buildings, grain fields choked with weeds. All of it a far cry from the vision of prosperity Lief was used to seeing from the palace windows.
A vision which was likely an evil magic, set up to obscure the truth from Deltora's kings and queens.
But Lief would not have time to ponder this, for their little party did not travel long on that dirty road before, much to their collective shock, they found themselves face to face with none other than Prandine. Who, even worse, was now flanked by two of what had to be the strangest looking soldiers Lief had ever seen in his life.
They looked like men-roughly speaking. The soldiers' skin was gray, and hairless, and their eyes were flat and dull. Their uniforms were gray, except for a red emblem in the shape of a right hand encased by a circle. In their hands they carried clubs, and at their belts rested daggers.
"I followed you through that little tunnel," Prandine said smugly. "A nasty little place, to be sure. You thought you were so clever, didn't you, escaping the death that is rightfully yours?"
Jarred immediately drew his sword.
"The only person who deserves to die here is you," he growled.
And with that, the fight broke out. The strange soldiers all leapt onto Jarred, who, to his credit, skillfully held them off.
"Fools!" Prandine screeched. "Attack the woman and boy!"
But it was too late. And even stranger, Mother eyed the gun Prandine had holstered at his hip. She then leapt at him, apparently seeing an opportunity.
"You killed my husband," Mother said through gritted teeth. "You will not take my son."
Thus began a struggle for Prandine's gun between queen and traitorous chief advisor, adding to the chaos. At some point, the pistol ended up firing into the leg of one of the soldiers attacking Jarred. The soldier howled, clutching it in his arms as he sank onto the ground. Jarred immediately took the opportunity to skewer the wounded soldier in the heart, killing him. One of the other soldiers attacking Jarred then moved away, raising his club to attack Lief.
As the soldier did so, Lief's mother turned and flashed him a pleading glance which said: Run!"
Lief obeyed, reluctantly turning and starting to run away from the fight. He ran for quite a while, almost seeming to reach the gates of the city. But the pursuing soldier caught up to him, and hit Lief on the head with one of those clubs.
And then all was darkness.