Okay, so I have been trying to get into the mood for writing this sequel for a while now but didnt really know how to carry it on without it sounding like i was just dragging my original story out. I still dont really know where im goint to go with this story but i have decided just to make a start to see if there is anybody still interested in it. Please let me know what you think, i know the chapter is short but if you review i will make them longer!

!!!!!!I dont own any of the characters, just the plot!!!!!!

Dustfinger sat in the small room alone, thinking. How had he let this happen? Why had he found himself all alone again? Why was everyone slipping out of his grasp for the second time in his life?

He could not bear to think about Resa locked away in a cold, dark dungeon somewhere in the depths of the Castle of Night. She did not deserve it and he did not think that she would be able to cope for very long not after all those years spent with Capricorn in the other world. And he had promised to help her after all; he owed her and her daughter that much.

On the other hand, what about his daughter? He knew it was selfish but he had only just got her back, how was he supposed to just let Roxanne take her away again? There was a good possibility that Basta was still out there somewhere, bitter and angrier than ever before and he couldn't allow him to get hold of his daughter again. He wouldn't. In truth, he still wasn't entirely sure if Brianna actually wanted to stay with him; all he knew was that that was what he wanted. And here at the infirmary had to be safer than back at Roxanne's farm, hadn't it? But what if Roxanne was right and it would be better for Brianna if she left? What could he do then?

Dustfinger's head fell into his hands. Meggie would be back soon with Farid. What was he going to say to her? That he couldn't help her save her mother or father because he needed to go after a daughter that possibly didn't even like him, a daughter that appeared to be perfectly safe on her way home accompanied by her own mother. Even his head that sounded ridiculous.

So many questions that he couldn't even begin to find an answer to. He had absolutely no idea what he was going to do and he could hear footsteps coming down the hall. It was bound to be Meggie. Meggie who would want to know when they would be leaving for the Castle of Night. Meggie who would look at him with those eyes that were not unlike her mother's.

He couldn't think straight and he needed to make a decision. What was he going to do?

Then the sound of the footsteps finally caught his attention. They were not the sure, determined footsteps of Meggie ready to demand that they go. They were quieter, much more hesitant. Dustfinger knew that this could mean nothing good. Great, he thought, what was she going to tell him, that Farid had left too? Or maybe the Barn Owl had sent her to tell him that the injury to his leg was actually a lot worse than he first thought and he would not be able to walk properly on it ever again. Yes that sounded about right.

The footsteps stopped just outside the door and the silence seemed to fill the room, heavy and unsettling. It pressed against him and only after what felt like hours, it was broken by a very small knock.

Dustfinger cautiously got up from the bed he had been sitting on and went over to the door, mentally preparing himself for whatever she was about to say but still not quite having an answer to any of the questions she was sure to ask him. He took a deep breath and opened the door slowly as though trying his best to postpone the moment for a few more seconds at least.

However, it was not Meggie on the other side of the door. Standing there, leaning against the doorway slightly, looking much the worse for wear was his daughter: Brianna.

Remember to review!