Silvertongue

Chapter Five

I stare at the wooden box painted poppy red, just sitting there on my bed.

This can't be.

If it's gone, everything can and will go wrong in Inkheart.

Meggie or Mo might think it was stolen and Mo would panick. They wouldn't go to Elinor's house, they wouldn't let Dustfinger tag along, the entire story would turn upside down.

Maybe I'm overreacting. After all, I don't know for certain that the Book Box's absence will trigger a chain reaction of events leading farther and farther from the story's original plot.

Maybe it will continue with no difference, other than Meggie questioning the disappearance of her favorite books.

I hope that is the case, though I seriously doubt that. I really don't want to try to read Meggie's box back into the book for fear that whatever comes out to replace it is a horror of any form.

What if next time I end up with Meggie herself? That would really be something.

I realize I at least have an advantage over the time Mo read Dustfinger, Capricorn and Basta out of Fenoglio's Inkheart.

I have knowledge attained from the books I've read. I know a lot more about having a "silver tongue" than Silvertongue himself ever did.

And, unlike Meggie, I have moderate skill in writing. I really do enjoy it. I can write my own words to get things back to from where they came.

But I have no control over what comes out. That is a problem for all us "silvertongues," I suppose.

Except for Orpheus, that bastardly idiot. I hate his guts. Cheeseface. I mentally call him by the name Farid gave him. Strong feelings about fictional characters, that's me.

But wait...he hasn't appeared in the story yet. So far it's just Mo, Meggie, Dustfinger, and - I hope - Gwin.

Tentatively, I crawl over to my bed and look more closely at the book box.

I reach a hand out and touch the wood. Meggie's Treasure Chest, I read the words carefully painted on the lid.

Meggie keeps it locked, so I can't open it to look at the books.

Books bound by Mo, more often than not.

I wonder what I would see if I manage to open the box. The box itself looks exactly how I'd always imagined.

Will its contents be the same as they are in the book? Of course, right?

I have so many questions and no answers.

I'm desperate to get rid of the box.

But what will come out?

What will come out?

So many questions...

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NOTE FROM AUTHOR
My brain just flopped and is now completely dry for this story, so please excuse me if this chapter is a bit dry and/or boring.