Inked

10

"I just don't know what got in to me!" Meggie confided to Elinor in the safety of her tent. The old woman and the old man had decided to stay a few days in the robbers' camp, quite bored now that each day held no more treacherous battles or complicated decisions. Meggie's great-aunt just shrugged in a noncommittal way at Meggie's comment but Meggie couldn't help but notice the sly smile tugging at the woman's lips.

Meggie shifted her gaze to Fenoglio, who was hunched over his copy of Inkheart, as captivated as if he were reading it for the first time. She glared at him until he uneasily lifted his head. "What?"

"Oh, don't be silly, Meggie. Even that lazy oaf has better things to do than choreograph your love life," Elinor reassured her.

"Thank you, Elinor. You always know how to make me feel better," Meggie muttered. She finished helping the woman fold the clean, dry clothes the other women had washed in the tiny stream earlier and went in search of Mo.

"Guess who?" Hands appeared from behind and covered her eyes. She recognized the voice. Doria.

"Hmm, Lazaro?" she asked, teasing him.

"Nope."

"No? Wait -- no, it can't be. Doria?" He ignored her false disbelief and removed his hands. She spun around to see a beautiful flower less than an inch from her nose. She took the vivid beauty from his fingertips and flashed him a radiant smile. He smiled back. How she loved that smile, that face. She was sure she could look at it forever.

But the flower was in the way. The bright gold, orange, and red. It reminded her of Farid. Had Doria given it to her on purpose? Was he asking her to choose? Oh, Meggie, and you thought choosing between saving the children and saving Mo was tough...

"Doria! Could you help me with this?" This time it actually was Lazaro's voice, calling to his little brother. Doria reluctantly tore his eyes away from Meggie's to where the Strong Man was carrying crates of vegetables into the camp. Robbers were gathering outside, excited at the prospect of fresh, colorful produce to accompany their meat of dubious origin.

"Oh! How wonderful!" Meggie heard Roxane cry like a child at Christmas -- although she probably had no idea what Christmas was -- when the Strong Man handed her a crate full of exotic herbs and flowers and roots. Doria, holding a crate full of tomatoes, tossed a few of the bright red fruits to waiting children, whose faces lit up when they bit into the juicy flesh.

"What's all the ruckus about?" a deep voice asked, and hands settled on her shoulders. What was with people approaching her from behind today? Was that a new thing in Ombra? Had Meggie missed something?

"Someone has found us vegetables," she told Mo, for that was who was standing over her. She used the word "found" lightly -- after all, this was a camp of robbers.

"It's best not to ask too many questions," Mo responded as if reading her thoughts. It had been just the two of them for so much of Meggie's life that Mo was able to understand her easily, quite like his connection with Dustfinger, but thankfully she had not needed to have a close encounter with Death for it to forge.

"Where's your mother?" His voice sounded strange, afraid. Meggie pointed across the camp at where Resa was trying to balance a crate of vegetables on one hip without disturbing Valor, who was sleeping peacefully on her front in the special garment Battista had designed for her. Mo's mind must have been very far away because Resa was literally straight in front of him, only a few yards away.

"Resa!" he called, and she lost her grip on the crate, the brightly colored food tumbling onto the soft green grass. Meggie saw her lips form a quick curse, and Doria, sweet Doria, hurried to pick up the fallen vegetables and place them back in the wooden box. Once everything was where it needed to be, Resa carefully made her way to where Mo and Meggie stood.

"Yes?" she asked calmly. Meggie could tell how exhausted she was, but also how glad she really was, underneath it all. Meggie's baby brother was as perfect as she had imagined him, with dark hair and light eyes and a laugh that made everyone happy, a cry that made everyone sad -- or annoyed, in Elinor's case. Meggie knew Resa still worried for him though. She still hadn't found a way to rid herself of the swift that had taken over a part of her. She feared the day when her son would suddenly sprout feathers and soar away, unaware of what he was doing.

"We need to have a family meeting. Now." Mo's voice was urgent, but he sounded as he had in the other world. Gentle, vulnerable, but strong and determined at the same time. Meggie was grateful the day he had finally let go of the Bluejay and had gone back to being himself. Simply Mo. Dustfinger still called him Silvertongue, but that was a name she could handle just fine.

Resa removed Valor from his comfortable sling and handed him to Elinor to watch for a few minutes. Resa had been reluctant the first time to leave her baby with her loud-mouthed, opinionated aunt, thinking there was a reason she didn't have cousins, but throughout the year, Elinor had proved a very capable babysitter, and Resa trusted her to watch over Valor, at least for a little while.

Mo, not wanting to be overheard, brought Meggie and Resa to the washing river. They sat on the bank, Meggie and Resa lifting up their dresses to let their feet swish around in the cool water. Forcing himself to speak, Mo asked, "What's better, war or peace?"

Immediately, Meggie and Resa answered, "Peace." How sure they sounded! Hopefully they would keep that answer in mind when Mo told them more.

"I'm glad you see it that way, because I may have to take part in preventing a war and keeping that peace."

"What?" Meggie breathed, and Mo's heart broke at the despair in her voice. Resa said nothing, but she held a hand to her belly, as if remembering all those nights she had waited, praying their unborn son would have a father to care for him.

"It's just a simple mission. All I have to do is find someone, maybe receive a little bit of precautionary training. Violante's men, and quite possibly some of our own, will take care of the rest," he rushed to add, doing anything he could to reassure his family that they wouldn't come so close to losing him again.

"Whatever you wish." Resa's voice was almost inaudible, but the softness of her voice betrayed her fear, her anger. She stood up and walked away, back to her child, apparently the only thing that would care enough not to leave her.

Meggie scooted to where Resa had been sitting and wrapped her arms around her father. She couldn't stop the tears that rolled down her cheeks. It wasn't so much out of fear that her father would die -- he had said his job was just to look for someone, and Meggie made an effort to believe him -- as it was a sadness that she would be separated from her father once more. Even if his body remained in the city, it would not be him inside. Meggie was terrified that the Bluejay would return and this time, like the bird in Resa, it would refuse to leave.