Deltora Quest Fanfic~ The Arrival * Book 1*

Chapter 11: Jin and Jod's trap_Part 2

Inside, the companions found themselves in the couple's kitchen and as they walked in, the air was warm and very welcoming. They looked in awe, while the two urged inside to the other side of the door that lead to the living room, where there was a lovely fireplace waiting for them. It wasn't long before they'd changed their attire for it to dry, soon wrapped in blankets that covered their shivering bodies.
" It feels so nice to be warm again," sighed Lief in relief.
" No kidding," agreed Barda. May didn't reply, as she looked around with displeasure. Jasmine looked around the room, trying to find any bad intentions.
" Don't you think it's weird that there's no windows?" They all looked around for windows.
" What are you meaning? There's one up there" pointed Lief. They looked at the window that was high above their reach.
" There's something about this place that's creeping me out," murmured Jasmine." I really think that we should leave this place after our clothes are dry."
" But what if they don't let us?" They all turned to May, who was looking at the fire in a dazed state.
" W-What do you mean?" asked Lief, unbelievingly.
" It's just like Jasmine said. This place gives me the creeps," she replied, snuggling into her blanket." Just look at the place, how would you escape?"
" What about the window?" asked Barda, unsurely.
" For a former palace guard, you should know better than that. " They sat in silence, fazed by the new revelation." Ask yourself how are you going to get to it in the first place without getting noticed? The quicksand makes it seem they don't want people to leave."
" We could sneak to the back of the house," suggested Lief, desperately.
" That's wouldn't work either," replied May, harshly.
" She's right," said Jasmine, head down." The only way out would be to go through the kitchen and by doing that, we would have to come across them, without getting noticed... In which is impossible."
" My point exactly." May then returned to looking back at the fire. Barda's eyes widen.
" Wait! How did you know I was a former guard? And a palace one at that?" They turned to her with new curiosity. May glanced at them for a moment, then returned back to the fire.
" Let me tell you a story." The three was surprised by her answer.
" It goes something like this. There was once two kids- a boy and a girl- that lived with their parents in a little cottage. They were very poor and often had trouble with food supplies. One night, the mother complained about the food shortage and told her husband that they didn't have enough for the kids and it was time to abandon them."
" That's horrible..." murmured Jasmine. May nodded.
" The oldest of the children overheard them talking and the plan they had to abandon them. So he secretly collected pebbles and placed them in his pocket. They next day their mother brought them far into the forest and told them to wait there. So they did, but they grew very hungry and started looking for a way home."
" Are you saying that their mother left them there to die?" asked Barda, curiously. May smiled.
" Perhaps. But the eldest dropped pebbles, he collected recently, as they walked. Their mother, famished to see them home and safe, asked how they did it. They showed her the pebble trail and they asked when she had gone. She told them she forgot them there on accident."
" What a liar," remarked Jasmine, furiously.
" What happened next?" asked Lief.
" They went back to normal daily lives, until one day the mother tried another attempt... and succeed."
" Oh no!" gasped Jasmine." That can't be!"
" Is that the end of the story?" asked Barda. May shook her head, smiling.
" It's barely the beginning."
" Then by all means continue," said Lief, interested where this was going.
" The children were unprepared this time their mother attempted another try. All they had was a loaf of bread from their breakfast, so the boy scattered his bread along the way as their mother lead them deeper into the forest before she disappeared. The children tried to find their way back, but their crumb trail had disappeared. Their crumb trail, that was eaten by birds, had now disappeared and they were lost in the deep, dark forest. The two children -lost and hungry- travelled further into the forest. There the discovered the oddest thing. A gingerbread house."
" Gingerbread house?" Said Lief and Jasmine together.
" I've never heard of a gingerbread house," mumbled Barda. May laughed, shyly.
" Well then, imagine some sweet, tasty bread covered with all the sweets you can think of. The house looked very tasty and the two children began chewing away. But unknown to the children, there lived a witch." An eerie sound, that came from their silence, was deafening.
" The witch caught the two kids eating her house and was not happy. But she approached the children kindly and invited them inside her house. Then the witch feed the hungry children generously and as the kids grew fatter everyday, which made the witch very pleased. When the witch felt that it was enough, she caged the boy in a cage to eat the next day."
" Is this... going to have a bad ending?" asked Jasmine, solemnly. May looked into the fire with a distant smile on her face.
" From what I remember these types of stories don't have a bad ending. They aren't meant too."
" What do you mean?"
"...Now the witch came to check the little boy time and time again. Asking him to give her his finger. The witch's eyes weren't all that good, so when the boy stuck out his finger- which we later find out is a bone instead- it would feel so bony. When the witch disappeared, the boy used the bone to get out. The witch was met with a surprise and the boy stuffed the witch in her own cage and ran away with his sister."
" What happens next?" Said Barda, confused.
" The children stole the gold that the witch left from her former prey and used it to make a fortune. They find their parents and live happily. Or say it goes."
" Then what does it mean?" asked Jasmine.
" Who knows," she replied, looking at the kitchen door suspiciously." I made up a different ending tho. They used the money they have and travelled around the world. Searching for new place high and low, meeting new people and a lot of friends. It seemed more exciting that way, don't you think?" The three sat in deep thought and May watched their happy faces. The kitchen door creaked open.
" They're back," whispered May, frowning. They turned towards the couple who brought some food onto the table.
" Laem tsal ruoy yojne".
" Rehtom llet ew litnu tiaw." The lady tried to touched Filli and he squeaked in fright.
" Stop it," growled Jasmine. The woman stopped and stood back.
" They've been nothing, but good for us," smiled Lief.
" The quicksand had me worried but it for people like them who would save Deltora," agreed Barda. May sighed. They didn't get the message did they?
" Hey Lief," whispered May." Check if the belt's safe."
" Wait, what?" May frustrated, pulled Lief's hands onto the topaz and Lief widened his eyes.
" Now you see what I see." Lief backed away from the table. Through Lief's eyes, his surroundings changed and the couple in front of him shifted into their true form. Taking his hand off the topaz, everything stayed the way it was. Revealing it to be its true form. The room had blood stained on the wall so much that the paint had disappeared. Shelves had many broken vessels and pottery. The floor was covered with a rough rug that seemed to have dried blood. He held the topaz firmly again and the room grew more clearer to him. May, who stood besides him just looked around in disgust. By looking at Lief's face she knew actually what he was thinking and faced away smirking.
" Soon you could sleep forever," hissed the monster.
" We have fresh meat, these fools have no idea," laughed the other, who gave Jasmine a drink. The two of them back away and walked back into kitchen, assuringly preparing their demise. Lief looked at May and she nodded. She too did see the trap that was laid right before them. Barda, unfazed, looked at the drink as he picked it up and put it in his mouth. May nudged Lief, who immediately slapped the cup right out of his hands.
" Don't drink that!"
Barda looked at Lief, ridiculously." What was that for? Have you lost your mind or something?" Barda stopped as he felt an overwhelming feeling taking over his body. He yawned and his body collapsed before he knew what had taken him.
" H-Hey. Stay awake, Barda," said Lief, as he stumbled under Barda's weight.
" B-Barda?" Jasmine kneeled before him, worried.
" Come on Barda," said Lief, shaking violently." Get up!"
" I knew there was poison in that tea... Show them," said May, sitting down. Lief nodded.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Exclaimed Jasmine. He grabbed both Jasmine and Barda's hand and placed both their hands on the topaz.
The topaz glowed under their touch and they both looked at the place with opened eyes.
"This room..."
"Everything's changed." In the distance, they could hear the sound of screeching knifes being sharpened.
" Fresh meat, fresh meat! It's been so long since we've had fresh meat!" From the living room, they could hear their conversation loud and clear. " Should we give some to mother?"
" Yes! She'd love our stew."
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