Britta

"I must forget everything but that I am Britta, a poor orphan, Gripp's distant relation—and a finalist in the contest to become Apprentice to the Trader Rosalyn!"

- Britta's thoughts

Britta is a girl of the Del tribe. She is the daughter of Dare Larsett and Maarie, and the younger sister of Margareth. She is the current Trader Rosalyn Apprentice, destined to inherit the Rosalyn fleet.

Britta longed to be a trader like her father and joined the Rosalyn Trust competition after being signed up by Gripp. She eventually won the competition and became the Trader Rosalyn Apprentice. On the fateful testing trading voyage, Britta, unknowingly to begin with, retraced the steps of her father on his quest to find the Staff of Tier, eventually leading her to the Isle of Tier and the King of Tier, where she managed to take the magic Staff from him with the help of her goozli.

Early life
Britta was born in the land of Deltora, in the city Del, not long after the end of the invasion, and spent the early part of her childhood in Del harbour, with her mother, Maarie, her older sister, Margereth, and her father, Larsett. Her family was very well-known and rich, as Dare Larsett was the second most famous trader in Del. Since she was very small, Britta had longed to follow in her father's footsteps and become a trader, but this dream was made impossible after her father's quest to find the Staff of Tier ended in blood and horror. Afterward, to escape the shame and scandal of Dare's betrayal, Britta and her family were forced to flee the harbour and go into hiding. Britta was only seven years old when her father left on this fateful sea voyage. She had stood on the deck of the Star of Deltora, her father's personal ship, on the day he had departed on it. For a long time this would be the last time she stepped foot on a ship.

When she was seven, Britta also met Jantsy, who was nine at the time, on their first day at Dame Dalmar's school, and they quickly became close friends.

When Britta was ten years old, she traded her gloves for a copy of A Trader's Life, written by a trader called Sven. There had been a copy of the book in her father's library (and in better condition as well) but it had been sold along with the rest of the books after Dare's disappearance, before Britta was old enough to read it. A Trader's Life became Britta's most treasured possession, and for a long time was her only link to the harbour and the trading life. She smuggled it home and read it in secrecy, knowing that her mother would have destroyed the book if she had found it, for Maarie disapproved of Britta's love of trading and the harbour and feared its influence on her.

After her family went into hiding, for eight years they made their living in a small shop in the middle of Del. Britta was cut off from the harbour, and was unable to find her way back there again for a long time.

Shadows of the Master
Britta, now fifteen years of age, enters into the Rosalyn Trust competition, in the hopes of becoming Trader Mab's apprentice and eventually reclaiming the Star of Deltora.However, she is very nervous at the thought of discovery, for Mab knew her father and was badly hurt by his betrayal, and must surely recognise her as Dare Larsett's daughter. However, no person seems to recognise her for who she truly is during the competition, to her relief.



Much to her surprise and delight, Britta is first granted an interview after the initial examination, and later is asked to participate in an additional trader's test which takes place in the harbour. Each participant is given one gold coin, and is asked to make the best trade they can make before two hours have passed. Worried at being recognised as she walks around the harbour, Britta borrows some old sailor's clothes from the Trader's Hall and disguises herself as a poor person. Then she begins her search. Britta eventually finds a shop, where she sees a useful pottery lantern with a good patterning. She successfully bargains for it, and leaves the shop pleased with herself.



However, as she walks back to the meeting place in the harbour, Britta is attacked and knocked unconscious, and finds herself awakening in a small cellar. In an attempt to escape her predicament, she crawls through a narrow tunnel, which leads to a much larger space, in which there is an old, badly disfigured man. The man is startled to see her as Britta is to see him. Afraid, Britta begs him not to attack her, and explains what she is doing there. The man, who is the master potter, Sheevers – but who calls himself Master Shivers – calms down once he realises that she has not come to return him to the palace, where the king has offered him sanctuary because of his scars. Britta realises that the man is a Shadowlands survivor. Master Shivers begins to speak of a task he is attempting to do—he wishes to collect and repair as many of the former Resistance pottery lantern as he can, for he had been tasked long ago with creating lamps for the ill-fated Del Resistance group many years ago, before the Pottery was raided. Very moved by his words, and seeing that it means so much to him, Britta willingly trades the pottery lantern she bought in the shop for a way out, and promises on her honour not to reveal the man's hiding place to anyone. To her surprise, Master Shivers insists that she take a beautifully crafted blue, glazed candlestick as part of the trade, and also gives her a receipt so that she has proof to show that their trade was genuine.

Britta returns to the meeting place just within the time limit, and reveals her trade. Though Zoolah is displeased at it, it is clear that Britta has made the most valuable trade out of the four finalists. There is an argument as to who should sail aboard the ship at dawn, as Jewel and Sky are tied for the third place, but this is solved by Sorrel, who recalls that the exact wording of the Rosalyn Trust states that at least three candidates may come aboard the ship. Britta goes to tell her mother and sister her news. As she expects, her mother is furious, and says words that cannot be taken back. Britta leaves the house deeply hurt and angry at her mother for this. Her sister follows her and wishes her luck, giving her a purse she sewed for her as a belated birthday gift.

On her way back to the harbour, Britta is stopped by Lean Alice, who warns her that she is being followed by shadows, but before Britta can ask her what she means Zoolah appears, furious and triumphant at having caught Britta out at her lie. She accuses Britta of lying, thieving and threatens her and her family. Just in time, as Britta thinks she will be publicly disgraced, Master Sheevers appears, and supports her claim that the trade she made was an honest one. However, he also unwittingly reveals to Zoolah Britta's true identity. Hearing this, Zoolah attempts to do harm to Britta, wanting revenge for her brother's death, but is stopped by shadows which suddenly appear in the harbour. The shadows cause a freak wave to erupt over the sea wall, engulfing Zoolah and killing her.

Britta is saddened and feels slightly guilty at Zoolah's death, realising that if Zoolah had never crossed paths with her the older woman would still be alive. Healer Kay tells her that she thinks it is 'worse for the living to feel guilty' for no reason, to no avail. She goes aboard the Star of Deltora at dawn with a heavy heart. The only thing that truly cheers her is the sight of Captain Gripp and Jansty waving her farewell and wishing her luck on her journey.

Two Moons
As the Star of Deltora sails out of Del harbour, Britta is elated at her new freedom but at the same time wary of the other candidates, one of which she is sure tried to stop her from winning the challenge and becoming a finalist the night before. When she, Sky and Vashti draw straws to decide who will share with Jewel, Britta is sure that it is a trick on Sky's part and is unsurprised when she ends up with the short straw. The four candidates follow Bosun Crow to the cabins, and Britta manages to secure the largest one for herself and Jewel due to her familiarity with the ship's model which she played with in Gripp's home. She readily agrees to Jewel taking the bottom bunk. Britta, Jewel, Sky and Vashti return to the deck to discover the names of the islands they will be trading on—Maris, Two Moons and Illica. They are advised by Mab to avail themselves of the books in the ship's reading room to prepare themselves for the trials. Together with Jewel, Britta begins to read up on the islands they will be visiting. She decides to plan her trading expeditions to spend her ten gold coins in Maris to buy goods which would be prized in Two Moons, and trade her Maris purchases in Two Moons for something that would be almost priceless in Del. Later Britta reads A Trader's Life for information relating to Maris.

The evening before the Star 's projected arrival in Maris, Britta finds a small, thick book hidden at the back of the top shelf in the reading room, titled Cladda's Mysteries of the Silver Sea. In the book is a receipt from a shop in Two Moons, Two Moons Treasure House, stating the payment of ten gold coins by Dare Larsett in exchange for Cladda's Mysteries of the Silver Sea. After being disturbed by Jewel, Britta hides the receipt in her pocket and returns the book to its hiding place, intending on returning for it later. However, when she does, she finds that the book has disappeared.

The ships arrives in Maris, but is refused the right to dock there, as the Maris Keeper claims to have sensed a great evil on board which they do not want coming ashore. Mab accepts the Maris' polite request for them to leave without coming ashore and tells the finalists that they must plan for a first trade in Two Moons. Britta is disappointed at this new turn of events, as she had been counting on trading in Maris for her plan to work. After the news of a presence with death in its heart on the ship, Britta is uneasy and afraid, like everyone on board, and finds it harder to sleep. On one such night, she sneaks into the reading room and, hiding, hears someone light-footed return Cladda's Mysteries to its original hiding place. Britta notes that the person, whoever it was, was breaking the rules by returning the book outside of the allotted time Mab had given them. Britta does not hesitate in reading from the book herself. The pages fall open to a section on sunrise pearls, which looks as if it had been read and studied many times before, likely by the person who had read the book before Britta. As she reads, she realises that her father had been following in Bar Enoch's footsteps in his attempts to gain the Staff of Tier.

The Towers of Illica
After seeing the reactions of the crew to the mark on her forehead, Britta cuts part of her hair into a fringe to cover most of her forehead.

One day, when Britta goes to the cargo-hold for privacy and to get out of the sun, she discovers an iron box which once held the Staff of Tier. After leaving, she runs into Bosun Crow, who suspiciously questions her reason for entering the cargo hold. Britta vehemently tells him that she only went to get out of the sun, but he does not believe her.

When coming back to her cabin, Britta encounters Sky, who tells her about a book called A Trader's Guide to Illica, wanting to repay her for her saving his life on Two Moons. After she recounts her encounter with Crow, Sky warns her to be wary of him, saying that he does not like her and would willingly do her harm. After Sky leaves Britta goes to the reading room and begins to study from the book Sky told her of. Hours later she stops, but Jewel sees her with the book and appears hurt, thinking that Britta hid the book herself. Jewel reveals to Britta that she has moved out of her and Britta's shared cabin.

After Jewel leaves the room, Britta finds a list of clues written on the back of the receipt tucked into Cladda's Mysteries of the Silver Sea, and it soon becomes apparent that these are related to the Isle of Tier and Dare Larsett's final journey. Terrified and sick of being in the shadow of her father, Britta runs onto the deck of the ship with the receipt in her hand and tears it into pieces, throwing it out into the sea. However, just after she does so, she finds herself pushed overboard by an unknown assailant. Grabbing hold of a roped net just in time, Britta is rescued by Jewel and Sky, who reassure her that they did not harm her now or back in Del. Sky deduces that it was Bosun Crow who threw Britta overboard, and advises Britta be more careful and not let herself be alone while outside her cabin. Though Jewel disagrees, Britta decides not to tell Mab of Crow's attack on her and chooses to keep it to herself.

After the attack, Jewel moves back into her and Britta's cabin and takes to guarding Britta during the day to give her better protection from Crow. Britta and Jewel study from A Trader's Guide to Illica together. After seeing that Britta has no suitable clothes to wear to meet the Collectors, Mab gives her a piece of colourful fabric to make a shirt out of, and so Britta uses her goozli doll to sew a beautiful silk shirt. However, it is soon plain that the shirt looks ridiculous with her drab skirt, and Britta gains Mab's permission to wear her old clothes instead. When the ship is approaching Illica Sky gives Britta all of his shore money for her to spend on the island.

When meeting the Collectors, as Britta expects she is passed over by two of them because of her appearance. However, the third Collector, Olla-Scollbow, invites her to stay in his tower, though Britta realises that it is only so that he can have a reason to brag to his peers about a wedding which is to take place between his son and a young lady from another island. After recalling Sky's teasing comments and how Vashti and Jewel were quickly invited into a tower after the Collectors saw that they were rich, Britta realises that the Collectors were not inviting them to trade, but to betroth them to their sons.

Later, Britta and Jewel wander through the main town on Illica. After she finally puts on the ridiculous-looking shirt, Britta draws stares, and is eventually sought out by a woman working for the tailor Suli the Needle. After being convinced to enter the tailor's shop, Suli sees Britta's drab skirt and insists on selling her a less-drab, ruby red skirt which will perfectly match one of the colours in the shirt Britta is wearing.

As they walk along the coast, Britta and Jewel see Sky in the distance, going somewhere. Britta insists on following him, as she realises that he is going to the Blind Tower. Once in the tower, Britta and Jewel spy on a pair of lovebirds, who are scared away when Britta accidentally reveals herself, and they find Sky hidden there as well. After Britta admits to a 'feeling' somewhere on the staircase, Sky and Britta both decide to investigate, and uncover Bar-Enoch's resting place and the former hiding place of the Staff of Tier. Britta also finds treasure there using her goozli doll, but refuses to keep any of it, instead giving it all to Sky.

In Scollbow Tower, Britta is introduced to Olla-Scollbow's family, the bride and the bride's family, and is horrified to find one of the lovebirds present. The young man is equally horrified to see her, and sends her a discreet note telling her that he must speak with her and will meet her in her room at midnight. During the dinner, Britta remains hungry as hardly any food is put on her plate (most of it being given to the guests of honour) and sees also that the Scollbow family also is eating hardly anything. She quickly deduces that Olla-Scollbow's family is much poorer than anyone outside Illica knows, and that they want to keep up an illusion of wealth so that the bride will marry Collin.

Britta meets with Collin outside her room at midnight. The young man reveals the truth about his betrothal to Misvanthweet and his affair with Vorn of the Ship, who he is deeply in love with. Feeling sorry for Collin and his plight, Britta tries to reassure him by telling him that 'there is more to the world than the towers of Illica' and that the world is full of wonders. To Britta's shock, Collin reveals that a man who looked similar to her said those very words to him years ago, and from Collin's following recounting Britta deduces that Larsett had just discovered the Staff of Tier when he talked with Collin in the Blind Tower. Britta is surprised to learn that Larsett first visited Illica and found the Staff two years before the Star 's maiden voyage, but chose to leave the Staff where it lay and return for it later, when he was better prepared.

The next morning, Britta and Olla-Scollbow prepare to do trade with one another. Olla-Scollbow shows Britta an assortment of goods, hoping to daze her into making a foolish decision, but Britta sees through his ploy. These include a magical singing bell tree model of gold, however Olla-Scollbow assures her that the value of it is too great for her to trade for. Britta also sees a jewelled water jug with a stopper shaped like a flying fish. As she is looking, she discovers a group of sunrise pearls among the items, and is horrified by it, as she had hoped to trade her own sunrise pearl for something valuable from the Collection. However, Olla-Scollbow says that he does not care for the pearls before she has a chance of showing it to him. Humiliated, Britta backs away from the trade, saying that she must think about it first. She is doubly horrified when Lady Poltice, Olla-Scollbow's wife, barges into the room with a letter from Collin which reveals that he has eloped with Vorn the Ship because of a stranger's words. Lady Poltice immediately blames Britta for what happened, believing her to be "the stranger", although Britta knows that Collin was speaking of Larsett. A horrified Britta then flees the tower.

Unfortunately, when she arrives at the ship Mab is waiting for her and already knows what has passed in Scollbow Tower. Mab is furious with Britta for not heeding her warning of being mindful of the Illicans' love of tradition, but can't berate her for long, because the Scollbows are running toward them, shouting for the Jaws to be raised. Mab, though advised to go below and remove herself from the stress, chooses to stand her ground and settle the quarrel between the Star and the Illicans. Along with Britta, she faces the Olla-Scollbows, who accuse Britta of encouraging their son to elope and also of stealing a sunrise pearl from their Collection. Furious and upset at the accusation, Britta bluntly tells them that she did not steal anything from them, and that if anyone did it was Collin. She vehemently states that she found her pearl on Two Moons and was planning on trading it on Illica for a valuable item. However, she is not believed, and Mab orders her to hand over the pearl to Olla-Scollbow and his family. Britta does so, feeling bitter and humiliated. Britta is ordered by Mab to go to her cabin and stay there. Jewel joins her eventually, and after hearing Britta out tells her that they all know she is not thief, but that Mab had to act quickly to get the Star safely away from Illica. She also reveals that she is out of the running to be Apprentice, having disgraced herself in Mab's eyes by fleeing from her host's tower in the dead of the night, making Britta and Vashti the only two candidates left. Sky enters, with orders from Hara for Britta to not venture out of her cabin at all because there is unrest and hostility directed at Britta among the crew on deck, led by Bosun Crow. Claiming to want to further repay her for her rescuing him on Two Moons, Sky 'trades' with her an odi-hairclip (which is arranged into a pattern meaning forever) so that Britta has something to win the Rosalyn contest with. Britta is grateful, and gives thanks to the stars for true friends.

Physical appearance
Britta has long, rippling, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes, inherited from her father. After her last voyage Britta has a fringe over her forehead to hide the mark of Tier left by the goozli doll.

While in Del, Britta wore a tightly buttoned demure prim white shirt and a decent but drab blue skirt. While working in her mother's shop, she wore a starched apron over the garments. She also wore a flannel petticoat. She kept her rippling dark hair properly bound in a knot at the nape of her neck using hairpins.

During the test in Del harbour, she wore old, tattered borrowed sailor's clothes from a box of used clothes for "sailors in need" located in the Traders' Hall.

Since after leaving Two Moons, Britta wears a rainbow-coloured silk shirt, and since leaving Illica, wears a ruby red silk skirt sown by Suli the Needle.

Personality
Britta is a kind and generous person at heart, and has a lot of empathy for others. This is seen when she agrees to trade with Master Sheevers after she sees that he longs for the lamp she has in her keeping and later when she sees Zoolah kick Lean Alice.

Britta can be very impulsive and hot-headed at times.

Britta can be quick to judge others for their appearance and not because of their personality, due to her upbringing in Del. When she first meets Jewel, she meanly thinks that as her teacher Dame Dalmar said, she would not want to know a person with 'no proper manners' to speak of. Because of Jewel's appearance, she unthinkingly assumes that she is not a candidate in the Rosalyn Trust competition, and is later surprised and guilty at acting like a 'thoughtless snob' toward Jewel.

Abilities
Britta is good at bargaining and trading.

Dare Larsett
Britta had a very close relationship with her father, and always longs to follow in his footsteps as a trader. Years after Dare claims the Staff of Tier, Britta continues to feel bitter and betrayed by her father, resenting the shame he brings on his family.

Maarie
Britta is less close to her mother than her father. She often resists her mother's attempts to disconnect her from their past life at the harbour, and is uninterested in the skills her mother attempts to teach her, such as sewing. Britta hides her passion for trading from her mother. Britta and Maarie both consider Britta's voyage a "betrayal" of Maarie's values, leading to their parting on bitter terms on their final night together in Del.

Captain Gripp
Gripp and Britta have known each other since Britta was born. They are very close.

Jantsy
Jantsy is Britta's oldest and closest friend, aside from Gripp. Britta trusts him completely, and has told him the secret of her family's shame years ago. Despite knowing who Britta truly is, Jantsy remains a loyal friend to Britta. Unknown to her, Jantsy feels more than friendship for Britta.

Star of Deltora

 * Shadows of the Master
 * Two Moons
 * The Towers of Illica 
 * The Hungry Isle

Trivia

 * Britta is the main character of the Star of Deltora series.