Disclaimer: I am not Cornelia Funke!
Alright, here is the first chapter of the sequal to I Will Always Find A Way Back To You. When the first book ended, we had Farid gone, Meggie with Alahn, 10, and a baby girl Keara. Now, I am warning you that I have no clue how graphic that this will get. I am saying, however, that I will warn you when it is graphic.
On with the chapter...
Meggie stood there, talking to Dustfinger, trying to get him to tell her where Farid went. She had lived with the tear-filled nights for the first month, but now they were wearing her down. She needed to see her husband again, if only it be for a moment. She wanted him to stay with her, so he could know his children, but she knew that he loved traveling to the distant countries. She was perplexed as to why he hadn't returned in the months after their daughter was born. She had sent him letters, and a travelling message. They all came back, unanswered.
Finally Dustfinger told her where he was. He was gone, without any trace. He said that Mo had sent him back to his own story. But how? She wondered. He had no clue, just knew what the faeries had told him.
She fell to the ground, too stressed to actually process the pain. She could hear what was going on, and could feel Dustfinger and Alahn helping her up. She reached for Keara, but found herself clutching air. "Alahn, where's your sister?" she asked, leaning on Dustfinger.
"I...I...I..." he looked up at his mother, tears in his eyes. "S-someone took her! I couldn't stop him!!"
For the second time that day, Meggie fell to the ground. "Alahn, go get Roxanne. She's over selling her herbs." Dustfinger bent down and tried to wake his daughter-in-law. Alahn ran over to his grandmother and drug her over to his mom and grandfather.
Roxanne bent over Meggie, "Meggie, wake up. Come on Meggie," she took her smelling salts and waved them under Meggie's nose. The younger woman started stirring. "Take your time." Once Meggie was fully awake, Roxanne helped her sit, then stand, up.
"I have to find her." she said, trying to walk. "It's my fault."
"What exactly happened?" Dustfinger asked Alahn.
"Well, I saw mum fall and I brought Keara over here, and...and I let go of her hand...and then I saw someone ride off with her. I don't know who it was."
"Was it a guy, or a girl?" Dustfinger asked. He picked the boy up and sat him on the vendor's cart. "I know you don't want to get in trouble, but we have to find this person to get your sister back."
"It was a guy. He had a black horse and a silver coat on." Alahn looked at his mum, over his grandfather's shoulder.
"Alright. Take your mother home, and I'll talk with the Black Prince about it." Alahn nodded and lead his mom, and Roxanne to the farm.
That night, Dustfinger walked to the Black Prince's tent in the Wood. He greeted his old friend, and the bear. "I hear you have to talk to me?" the Prince asked Dustfinger.
"My granddaughter was taken today while Alahn and I were helping Meggie. As you know, the Blue Jay, sent Farid away. Meggie has told me that she cries for him at night, so Alahn wouldn't hear her. He misses his dad, too. Now someone takes Keara away from them, and I need helping find this man."
"Not little Keara!" the Prince yelled to the Motley Folk, in the other tents. The men gathered in the small tents. "Someone has taken Keara."
"Not that little angel!" yelled one of the minstrals.
"Yes, somebody took her from her mother. We need to find out who did this. Meggie and Alahn, also, need help, because Farid's disapperance has hurt Meggie more than we've thought." The Prince stood, "Now, send your women to help her out, and get ready for a search part. We won't stop until we find that innocent girl and bring whoever did this to justice."
"Mum, please?" Alahn begged, as Meggie helped her son into his bed. They had been visited by the Motley Women, and had been told what the men were going to do.
"No! I'll not have you out there...gallavanting around like some crazed lunatic. Let the grown men take care of it."
"Maybe they'll find dad, like they will Keara."
"Remember how I told you that I could read book characters out of books?" Alahn nodded, "and remember how we found out that you could too?" he nodded again. "Well my father, he can do it too, and he read your father back into his story." Alahn looked around.
"But...but...why would he hate dad? He's family...but..."
"My dad hates me. He never wanted me to be happy. He did this so that I would have nobody to love, but he didn't count on you, or Keara."
"Do you think he's the one who took her?"
"No, he's not skilled at riding a horse. Now, go to sleep, then in the morning I'll make you a surprise breakfast." Alahn nodded, closing his eyes.
Meggie stood there, looking at her son, waiting for him to fall asleep. As soon as he did, she walked back to her room. She had stopped calling it their room since Farid hadn't been home for months.
She grabbed her nightgown and pulled it on, after she'd undressed and washed herself. She pulled her sheet up to her chin and wished that Farid would comfort her. She needed him, and soon she couldn't keep the tears from flowing freely. She kept the screams, and the noises, from coming out, but she could never stop the tears.
She thought that if she only cried while the kids were sleeping, she could keep them from feeling her pain. Even though she tried, Alahn could still hear her crying. He had woken up on many occasions and seen her crying in her bed. She had never seen him, he had made sure of that, but he knew that she was in pain.
Somewhere, on the other side of the forest, a baby was crying. "Shut her up!" yelled the man, to his wife.
The woman walked to the crib, that held the baby girl. "Shh, it's okay sweetie..Shh. Jesse, where'd you find our baby girl?" she asked her husband.
"She was in Ombra. Keep her from crying." Jesse took his belt off and locked the latch on the door.
"You're acting really strange. Why were you in Ombra today? What did Lord William want you to do today? Nothing illegal, I hope."
"Shut up, woman! You're like a harpy when you get talking. No, it wasn't illegal. No it wasn't him that I was working for. Now, are you happy?" he yelled causing the baby to start crying again. "Damn it! Is there no peace with that creatan?" The woman put the baby in the crib as Jesse walked over to her. She blocked the girl from getting hurt as Jesse took his frustrations out on her. He threw her against the walls of their house and as she slumped against the wall he started kicking at her. She shielded her face from the brunt of the blows.
He stopped kicking her, noticing that the baby had stopped crying. Instead, she was looking through the bars on the crib, at him. "You'll love it here, Jessica. I could never hurt my baby girl." he said, picking her up. He walked into the second room in the house, and noticed his son sleeping in the bed. "Son, look who I have." he said, shaking the boy awake. "You're sister's back."
I know what you're thinking, 'she's crazy' right. No, i'm not that crazy. Jessica is really Keara, if you actually thought that she wasn't. Jesse is dillusional in thinking that Keara is his daughter. Ask any questions you have just ask me in a review.
-points to the button- there it is. LOOK!! Okay, now, this chapter was 1,419 words long.