AN: In case you haven't guessed it yet, I love writing these kinds of stories. Torturing my favorite characters is one of my favorite pastimes. I hope you all like this! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Deltora Quest. Emily Rodda does.
Once, in an attempt to protect her, Lief had tried to force himself to stop loving Jasmine.
When he had first though about it, had first realized exactly how much danger his unknown feelings were putting the one they were directed towards in, he had been determined that no one, not even himself, would one day be able to use those affections against him. With a mind that had been desperate to return Jasmine to a 'friend' position, a title that their adventures had proven to be perilous enough, he had quickly but carefully crafted a plan that he was sure would work.
Beautifully, no one other then himself would know what was going on, for Jasmine and the others were to be the main players in it.
It had been easy, almost too easy, in fact, for Lief to convince his companions that the Shadow Lord's evil still lurked amongst them, pretending to be a friendly face while at the same time plotting their dooms. For that he was grateful, for what others would have seen as paranoia and a need for sleep, Jasmine, Barda, Doom, and Sharn had quickly accepted as an all too real possibility, for memories of just how crafty the enemy could been were far too clear within their minds. Even with the evil sisters dead and the dragons once again patrolling the skies above, danger was still a daily part of life in Deltora, even at the palace, and so it payed to be more then well prepared.
What they hadn't been expecting, however, was for Lief to propose a plan that might help to at least drive some of that evil from their lands.
"Let them know that I am vulnerable," Lief had said quickly, his eyes shining with excitement even as he refused to meet Jasmine's gaze. "Let the Shadow Lord believe that I am weak and ready to be twisted into a piece for his plans, a pawn like my ancestors were, to keep his seat warm until he can return. Let him think me friend and powerless, and when he decides to spring his trap, let him find that his rat cage had just one too many holes in it. Let us make the first move, and let us make the last."
In all honesty, the plan that Lief had then proceeded to lay out before his chosen counsel was the simplest and yet most complex idea the King had ever come up, and it was for that very reason that they were all almost absolutely sure it might just work.
The first part, the one Lief was the most anxious to hurry along, was to get rid of Jasmine.
For their plans, this first drastic action served a triple purpose, though only two of the reasons were told to the others. The first, the most obvious, was to deprive Lief of one of his most loyal companions, leaving him mentally weakened and confused by her absence, deprived completely of her so needed company. To any that would be watching from the outside, it would seem as if he had lost some of his rebellious spark, had become part of a shell of who he had once been. For most, this would cause pity and wonderment about just how close the two had been, that was true, but for the few, the few who truly mattered, it would seem as an opportunity to begin laying the foundations of their next invasion.
The second reason, one he had just thought of moments before he had called the meeting but had caused quite a stir amongst those that knew, was so as to compile a complete map, the only one of its kind, of the Forests of Silence.
It was a reasonable desire, Lief had realized after a while, to want an accurate map of the dangers so close to his home. According to reports, now that the Grey Guards had vanished, leaving nothing for the Wennbar to take to their god, some of the paths had cleared themselves of taint, becoming wholesome and clean now that the Shadow Lord was not there to encourage their deaths. However, many of the threats Jasmine had once described to him, including the Wenn, still haunted those woods, endangering those he was sworn to protect. And at the moment, with no knowledge to help him plan, there was nothing he could do, just like there was nothing he could yet do about the last few hundred rats that haunted the burned ruins of the City of Rats or the Glus that continued to make the Maze its home. Without enough information, trying to rid his kingdom of the last smears of evil was all but impossible. However, if he was to have a map, one that marked all the places of interest to him that were nearest to his capitol...
