All right, so... I wrote this in about ten minutes, right after finishing Inkdeath. I was angry at Doria at the time, very angry... and I was angry with Meggie, aswell. ~Capitaine Jaf
Written in Ink
Nothing lit up the night as well as flames.
The Phoenix sat on one of the logs surrounding the flickering fire. The two people who had come to talk to him were talking, but he wasn't paying attention. The fire had his attention. The flames slowly burned the couple of pieces of wood that had been placed in it. He longed to call to it and feel its warmth against his skin. But no, he was supposed to be paying attention. He blinked and looked away from the fire, to the two who had been talking.
"So, what do you think, Phoenix?"
"I… yes, we'll go ahead with the plans. Tomorrow we'll go to Ombra. Her Kindliness will welcome us."
"But tomorrow the ambassadors from the Castle of Night will be there," one of the other two men pointed out, glancing at his companion in confusion. They had already told the Phoenix that. "We'll offend them."
"Right…" The Phoenix murmured. "Ombra will have to wait, then. Spread the news to the others. We will not go to Ombra tomorrow."
"Yes Phoenix."
The meeting was over.
The Phoenix walked through the trees back towards his farmhouse. A little flame that sprouted from the end of his finger lit his way. He had walked the path many times, from the farmhouse to the meeting fire. The meeting fire was the closest anyone who wasn't a good friend would get to his house. Suddenly he heard a noise in front of him. He recognized it the moment before its creator leapt onto his shoulder. He smiled and stroked the creature's fur.
"You shouldn't do that to me, Jink. I have enough problems without having to worry about being ambushed." The Phoenix said quietly to the marten. "The Prince could've warned me about having to make stupid decisions like that."
The rest of the walk back to his house went by quickly, now that he was talking to Jink. He always talked to the marten, and wondered what he would reply. Probably something like, 'Stop complaining, you stupid human'.
Soon the small farmhouse was looming out of the darkness. The Phoenix opened the door as silently as he could – he had had a lot of practice with being silent in the past. Jink leapt off his shoulder and disappeared through a doorway. The Phoenix turned around after closing the door and snuck quietly into his bedroom. It was a good thing he never wore shoes, bare feet were so much more silent.
"Nix?"
The voice startled him. "Avia, you should be asleep."
In the darkness a candle lit, and then another. Avia was standing in front of him holding one of them. She was beautiful. What had he ever done to deserve her? He had first seen her when he was performing. She had been following a rich merchant and was being led by a chain. She had grabbed his attention because of her skin. It was dark, like his. He had never seen another person with skin like his since coming to this land. He had freed her, and she had come to live with him in his farmhouse. He gently drew her into a hug.
"Another meeting?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Jink is gone…"
"He found me," The Phoenix explained. "Come, let's get some sleep." He pulled her over to the bed and whispered a few words to put out the candles.
***
There it was again, a knock on the door. The Phoenix groaned and rolled over. Would he never be left alone? He got up carefully, as to not disturb Avia, and went to the door. Jink was sitting in front of it. "Move, Jink," he murmured. He gently pushed the marten aside with his foot and opened the door.
"Farid?"
Meggie.
"Farid… its really you!" She flung her arms around him. "I didn't think I'd be able to find you. The Phoenix! The one they sing songs about, the new King of the Motley Folk."
The Phoenix gently removed her arms. It had been almost ten years since he had last seen her. She was even more beautiful then she had been back then. "What are you doing here?"
"Farid. I came to see you." She ran her hand through her blond hair. The Phoenix noticed the golden wedding ring glint in the moonlight.
"Won't your husband be upset?"
She instantly hid her hand behind her back. "Doria's inventing… he won't notice that I'm gone."
"What about everyone else?"
"Mo and Resa are busy with Regan. He's just turning ten… and Elinor and Darius are too busy trying to collect books again, like they did back in the real-" she cut herself off. "The other world." She looked up hopefully. "Can I come in?"
The Phoenix shook his head. "No. Avia's sleeping."
"But…" Meggie trailed off, looking hurt. "But Farid… I love you."
"I'm sorry, Meggie. Somewhere, someone wrote in ink that we would not be together. I loved you."
Then quietly, as not to wake Avia, the Phoenix closed the door.