Emily Rodda - Sister Of The South

‘Thank you,’ Lindal said humbly. ‘I can ask no more. And I will tell them. I will tell them all.’

One bright morning the following spring, when Deltora was filled with blossom, when bees were drunk with nectar and birds filled the air with song, Jasmine put on a green silk dress, threaded flowers in her hair, and went out to meet Lief on the palace hill.

Hand in hand they were married there, before a crowd the like of which Del had never seen. Barda stood beside Lief. Marilen stood beside Jasmine. Sharn and Doom looked on, and remembered.

Lindal was watching, with a laughing, dancing crowd from Broome. Gla-Thon was there from Dread Mountain, with old Fa-Glin, Pi-Ban who had shared the companions’ adventure in the Shadowlands, and the gentle Kin, Ailsa, Bruna, Merin and Prin.

There were Torans in their hundreds, Zeean at their head, silken robes fluttering like butterflies.

Manus and the people of Raladin were present, their flutes filling the air with gladness. Fardeep the hermit, now once again master of the Games Inn of Rithmere, clapped his hands and sang with Orwen and Joanna, games champions of the Mere. Gers and a troop of Jalis stood proudly with Hellena, Claw and Brianne, Resistance fighters of the Shadowlands.

All the men and women of the old Resistance were present. All the freed prisoners from the Shadowlands were there. And Zerry, magician’s apprentice of the Masked Ones, now chief assistant to the new palace stable master, and wearing his first new suit of clothes for the celebration, made sure that Honey, Bella and Swift saw everything that passed.

Every friend the companions had made on their travels was present to wish them well, from Tira of Noradz to Steven and Queen Bee of the Plains, from Bede and Mariette of Shadowgate to Nanion and Ethena of D’Or.

Even Tom the shopkeeper had taken a holiday in honour of the great event, and appeared in dusty finery with his sister Ava on his arm.

And the dragons Veritas, Forta, Hopian, Honora, Fortuna, Fidelis and Joyeu circled in the sky above.

But for Lief and Jasmine it was as if they were quite alone, for both of them were gaining the dearest wish of their hearts.

In days to come, while the infant Josef slept in a basket beside her, Marilen would write the story of their marriage in the Deltora Annals, for she was the palace librarian now. Ranesh had more than enough to do, for Doom had left for parts unknown. Doom wanted to stretch his legs and his mind, he said, and to find out if it was true that a dragon can lay eggs without a mate, if the need arises. He would meet them in Broome in the summer, when Barda and Lindal wed. He knew the celebrations of Broome, he said, and would not miss this one for the world.

And so life went on in Deltora, and life was good.

Barda and Lindal had six children, all of them taller than their parents, and as alike as peas in a pod.

Lief and Jasmine had a daughter, Anna, and twin boys, Jarred and Endon.

And sometimes Doom, home from one of his many journeys and silently watching the twins at play, would remember two other boys running through the palace gardens, long ago. And he would smile.

With Jasmine by his side, Lief 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 was clever and sly, and that to its anger and envy a thousand years was like the blink of an eye. So he wore the Belt of Deltora always, and never let it out of his sight.

Copyright

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First published in 2004.

This edition published in 2011.

Text and graphics copyright © Emily Rodda, 2004.

Graphics by Kate Rowe.

Cover illustrations copyright © Scholastic Australia, 2004.

Cover illustrations by Marc McBride.

Collectors’ Edition cover design by Nicole Leary.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, unless specifically permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 as amended.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Rodda, Emily, 1948-.

Sister of the south.

For children aged 9 years and older.

ISBN 978-1-74169-960-9.

Title. (Series : Rodda, Emily, 1948– Deltora quest 3 ;4).

A823.3

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eISBN: 978-1-921-98970-4