Inkpoison

DISCLAIMER- I own only my insanity… And my evil twin;-;

Hello! This is a story about a little girl who gets drawn into the pages of Inkheart… Enjoy! XD

Oh, and the prologue is super long, so that is why it is in two parts P

Prologue, Part One

A lone teenager about 18 years of age walked down the road, glaring around the street suspiciously. A cold wind sprung up, and he pulled the collar of his coat up.

Glancing up, a library loomed ahead of him. Might as well take refuge inside it, he thought. Maybe he could read Inkheart. It was the best book in the world, at least in his opinion. There was one problem with it: his favourite character, Dustfinger died!

He remembered that one day, when he was younger, when he had written a letter to the author about Dustfinger's death. That accursed author, Fenogliohadn't even responded. What a retched man, the teenage boy thought, as he entered the warm library. Though, he did write a very good book, despite the death.

As the young boy headed towards the fantasy section, he passed a group of children gathering around a middle-aged lady trying to read them a story. He smirked, as one of the children grabbed the book out of the lady's hand, and threw it against the floor.

Cries floated past him as he roughly grabbed Inkheart off the shelf. He headed back the way he came, when he got a fantastic idea. He'd read to the children!

He wasn't doing very well in school, apart from Drama and English class. Those were his best subjects. The rest were rubbish. His Math teacher hated him - numbers just floated in through one ear and out the other - while his Spanish teacher tried to be nice; but he had never quite gotten the hang of Spanish.

Words, though, were another subject. Words were music to his ears, and when he read them, they were music! The harshest words would transform into a lovely melody when he read them aloud.

And that's what he would do; he would read in place of that dumb lady, who was trying to control the children. He slowly walked over to the lady, and bent down to whisper something in her ear. She nodded, and gazed at him, her eyes shining with gratitude. She quickly got up from the leather chair and rushed away.

A smile touched the corners of his lips as he sat down, arranging his body so he looking like a wealthy king on his throne.

"Kids! I'm going to read to you a wonderful book, Inkheart," he called out.

At once, the children settled down, and gazed at him. A few boys were talking to each other in hushed tones, no doubt thinking new ways to make a fool of the strange teenager.

But when the 'strange teenager' coughed sharply, and stared at them coldly, they quieted. He eyed the rest of the children, and his eyes rested on a small girl of about ten in ragged clothing. Her long red hair looked unwashed, but her jade-green eyes glimmering happily.

He scoffed silently. Why such a piece of scum was let in to touch valuable books, he didn't know.

But he swept that thought away with a gesture of his hand, as if shooing away fly. "Has anyone ever read Inkheart?" he asked, his piercing eyes glaring at all the kids. Most of them shook there head, but one - that poor girl from before - nodded excitedly.

He sighed, ignoring the young girl. Nobody had any taste anymore!

But, he started reading. "In a wonderful land, far from this one, lay a castle with a kind prince, the Laughing Prince. His land was bountiful with food and many lived in the city Ombra, at the land's northern-most tip…"

He read for hours, his melodic voice filling the library, entrancing anyone who came within earshot. At Dustfinger's death, he didn't stop to mourn for his favourite character - no, he read right through.

"As the knife plunged through his back, Dustfinger felt the world let go of its grasp on him, and he floated through time and space . . . Until he landed on the front door of the White Women's Castle." The boy glanced up at the children, pausing for a moment. Most of them were wide-eyed and shocked.

He was searching for a particular face, the little girl's . . . But he didn't see her. Surely she hadn't left! She had been the most keen to hear the rest of the story or so it seemed.

He had spotted a fairy, glittering with golden fairy dust, in the dark corner where the little girl had been. He blinked rapidly, not believing it was real. But each time he reopened his eyes to gawk at the creature, it never disappeared.

It must have come from the story . . . In exchange for another, from this world? The girl.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. He had always imagined reading things from inside the pages of books. Could it actually happen? Could he really read things out of a book? Yes, it must be - that fairy wasn't his imagination.

Lucky kid! he thought. She got to meet Cosmino, The Laughing Prince and the others . . . How he wished that could've been him!

At that moment, he made it his goal to find a way inside the story, like that girl.

XoXo

Jade covered her mouth to keep from screaming. She had arrived – in the story - at the scene of Dustfinger's murder. The man who had killed Dustfinger withdrew his knife, which was covered in shiny blood. Dustfinger's blood. He kicked the fallen body, and then muttered, "Let's go." He seemed to be in charge of the others.

All the unidentified characters left. As soon as the crunching of their boots on the forest floor faded into the distance, Jade ran forward. "Dustfinger!" she whispered, stroking his tousled red hair. She turned him over to see his face. Jade was surprised to see him, exactly like she had imagined him!

The three long scars ran down his cheek, souvenirs of Basta's knife. His eyes were closed, and for a moment Jade thought he was just sleeping. But then she remembered the horrific scene as the unknown man thrust the knife threw his back. Dustfinger was dead.

Jade didn't know what she would do.

She knelt by his collapsed corpse, and let the tears flow freely. How long she stood there, crying, she did not know.

Finally, when all the tears had left her, she slowly stood up. With shaking knees, she dragged Dustfinger over to some bushes. She glanced around, thinking. Where was she?

Had it mentioned in the story where Dustfinger was killed? She couldn't quite recall. It was on the tip of her tongue, but her mind didn't seem to want to share it's secret, however much her heart called out . . .

That was it! The Secret Camp. Jade looked around, hoping to see a sign . . . Dustfinger had been going to visit Roxanna, coming home from the Secret Camp. So, it should be somewhere south.

Jade got to her feet, and went over to the edge of the clearing. Glancing back, she saw Dustfinger's dead body hidden among some fern bushes. That should keep him from wolves and coyotes, and other animals . . . Jade gulped, remembering that there were deadly animals in this story, more than her home story.

As Jade went deeper into the Forest, her red mane swinging side-to-side, she thought about her family. What would her mother think? Won't care, Jade thought.

What about your siblings? Again, won't care. Mother didn't have enough time for us all, anyway.

The only creature back in the other story that might miss her would be her pet cat, Gwin. She had named him after Dustfinger's marten. Jade stopped suddenly, thinking about Gwin. Where was the marten anyway?

Jade snorted. Who needed him? He was the cause of Dustfinger's death, anyway. She continued along her way. After a while, she heard faint laughter, and music. Jade hurried, going faster, hoping against hope it would be the Secret Camp. She rounded a corner, and saw men around a fire, and a minstrel dancing around them.

Jade's face lit up. She hesitantly stepped forward, trying to be silent. Unfortunately, she stepped on a twig, causing it to break with a loud SNAP! At once, everybody around the fire jumped to their feet, and glared at her. Even the minstrel woman stopped, her arms lowered to her side.

Jade ducked her head as the men stepped forward. "What are you doing here?" one man snarled. His beady black eyes gleaming in the firelight, as he stared at her.

Jade was about to respond when another lady stepped forward. "Urther! Can't you see that's a child? What are you doing, interrogating her like that?" Jade lifted her head to gaze at the lady.

She was wearing a moth-eaten dress. The skirt flowed outwards, and made her look like a gypsy, at least in Jade's opinion. The lady smiled at her. "Don't listen to him. He thinks he's in charge just because the Black Prince isn't here. Hmph!" The lady shooed the men away with a wave of her hand. Then she bent down, and gazed at Jade kindly.

"Come, we have food," she said, taking Jade by the hand and leading her towards the fire. Jade smiled, as the lady handed her a bowl of hot soup and a wooden spoon. She sat down opposite Jade. "I'm Kina." She introduced herself while Jade began to eat.

The soup didn't taste very good, but it was just what she needed to take her mind off Dustfinger.

"I'm Jade. Thank you for the soup," she whispered. She placed the half-empty soup bowl beside her, and gazed around. "The Secret Camp's nice," she murmured, smiling.

Kina looked surprised. "Who sent you?" she asked, rearranging her skirts anxiously. "Or did you stumble upon the Secret Camp yourself?" Kina's eyes were wide, as if fearing the worst.

Jade shook her head, not knowing what to say. Lie, whispered a voice inside. Jade began to tell Kina what had happened - or some of what had happened.

"I was lost in the woods, when I ran across the group of men. Most of them wore silver cloaks, though one was dressed in black and red." Jade said, blinking sadly. "I was going to ask them for directions-" Jade heard Kina gasp, and she paused.

"Never approach anyone dressed in silver," Kina told Jade.

Jade nodded, already knowing why. They were the Adderhead's men. "But before I could, one of them took out a knife," she continued quietly. "I hid behind some bushes. I heard the man with the knife say 'Say goodbye, Dustfinger!' But the man in red and black shook his head, smiling. He backed away, waved, and was about to run away into the forest, when . . . The man threw the knife. It hit the man, Dustfinger, in the back. One of the others said, 'Let the strolling players find him.' Then, they left. And Dustfinger was dead."

Jade ducked her head sadly as she finished. It wasn't the best lie, but it was believable. She peeked at Kina, who was crying silently.

"Dustfinger? Dead . . . But that can't be. Oh my!" Kina shook her head sadly, and then glanced at Jade. "You poor child . . . Do you know who Dustfinger was?"

Jade nodded slowly. "He was a fire-eater. One of the best," Jade murmured.

Kina nodded. "Yes, yes he was . . . Oh, Roxanne will be so sad." Kina then got up slowly, and held out her hand. Jade involuntarily yawned; she was tired.

"Come on, Jade. Time for bed," Kina said, as Jade took her hand. "We'll send out some men to get Dustfinger."

Jade merely nodded, blinking slowly. "Where am I going to sleep?" she asked quietly, as Kina led her towards a large cave.

"Don't worry, we have space," Kina whispered, as she quickly made up a bed for Jade. "There you go." She handed the young girl a thin blanket. "Just go to sleep, we'll handle everything." Kina tucked Jade in, then left the cave.

Jade stared up at the cave ceiling for a while, thinking over the day's happenings. Was this all just a dream? She surely couldn't be in the Inkheartworld; it was just made of words . . . Just words.

Jade's eyes fluttered close, and she fell into a deep sleep.

XoXo

So, how was it? Did you enjoy? XD Hehe, most of you can guess who that teenage boy was, but if you can't . . . Does the name Orpheus ring a bell? -coughcheesefacecough-Lol…. Don't forget to review!!

-Mysticstar