Cardinal

Chapter 1:Entrance

This is my second fanfiction story. My other one is a Maximum Ride fanfic, but since I've read a wide variety of books in the fantasy category, I decided to do an Inkheart one.

This story is set in the book Inkdeath. I got the idea for it at 2 a.m. in the morning, so if it sucks, tell me.

Also, spread the word about this story. I want it to do good. Tell all the Inkheart lovers to read it!!!!

And I LOVE reviews! So, with that said, ENJOY!

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I stroked the hard-back cover of my new book. I had gotten it for Christmas, and had yet to start it. But I was about to.

The cover was beautiful, in my opinion. The skulls weren't creepy to me; it only accented the meaning of the title even more. The colors were matched together very well, and it was what I had been hoping for.

"Tiffany! I need you to come here!" my mother yelled at me from the kitchen. Sighing, I set the book back onto my dresser. It would be a long day, what with my mother being annoying, and my dad coming in to my room to bug me. All I wanted was to sit down on my bed, open Inkdeath, and dive into its pages like I always did with a new book. I stared at the shiny cover, running my hands over the front.

"Tiffany!" my mother yelled again. I rolled my eyes, and went to go see what she wanted.

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Later that night, I finally started Inkdeath. I laid on my bed and opened it up to the first few pages. It was amazing. The illustrations were excellent, flowing down the margins like liquid, even though they weren't moving. I wondered how much ink had taken to print it on the pages. Probably a lot. It was something that deserved to be around the summaries of Inkheart and Inkspell

I turned back to the table of contents. There were tons of chapters, all unique, all fitting. Another thing I noticed was the color of the paper. Cream, all most white, but not white. I closed my eyes and silently laughed. I was half crazy; thinking of a book in this kind of depth. It was only a book. I was over reacting. I turned back another page to read the poem, and thought it described the books well. I am the word that speaks the man.

Carefully, I turned the page to begin Chapter 1. Nothing But A Dog And A Sheet Of Paper. It was a chapter on Elinor. She was my second favorite character. I didn't know why but she just was. My first was the BlueJay. I dreamt of one day jumping into the book and fighting along side him and the Black Prince with his bear. But it would never happen. I knew it would never happen.

I eventually tore my mind away from the far away place it was in, and directed my attention to the words. The most important part of a story. I began to read.

Moonlight fell on Elinor's bathrobe, her nightdress, her bare feet, and the dog lying in front of them. Orpheus's dog. Oh, the way he looked at her with his eternally sad eyes! As if asking himself why, in the name of all the exciting smells in the world, she was sitting in her library in the middle of the night, surrounded by silent books, just staring into space.....

I read late into the night, long after my parents had went to bed, and my cat stopped running down the hall. I was caught and captivated by the story, stuck in its pages, with no hope of returning until I finished it. It was a strange feeling. Everything around me was blocked out. My room, my bed, even the book disappeared. All sounds except my own thoughts were extinguished. Everything left me, except for the story. I became the story; I was right in with the action and the fear. And I was lost. Lost until I was pulled to earth, to the unforgiving earth.

I have to say, I enjoyed the places in the books I read more than my own world. Because I knew things would turn out right. I always got books with happy endings, because that's what I wanted. A happy ending.

I reached Chapter 32 before I was pulled from the story by a scratching sound at my bedroom door. My cat's paw appeared under the door, slipping easily into the crack under it. I got up and let him in, all the while wondering what it would be like to be able to bring things out of a book. To be able to work some sort of magic and truly bring a story to life. Or maybe to just enter the story yourself.

My longing was so great that when I began Chapter 32, I began to read it aloud. I did not raise my tone above a whisper, for fear of waking my parents, but all the same, I read aloud. I tried so hard not to stumble over any words, tried so hard to form them just right. But what ever I did, my voice was not perfect. I would slip up on a word about every two pages, and couldn't get the words fully pronounced on the account of my southern accent. Cursing silently, I tried harder, and kept going.

I reached the end of the chapter, wishing I hadn't done it. All it brought was disappointment. It would never happen, so why bother?

Sighing, I closed the book. It was 2 in the morning. Way past my bed time. I placed Inkdeath on my dresser and turned to hop in bed. Only to find a women sitting on it, looking bewildered. She was staring at my room in horror, looking as though she had just gotten the worst disappointment in her life. Luckily, I didn't scream. The lady turned to stare at me. I stared back.

She looked as though she was in a poorly made theatrical costume, made for a medieval scene. She also looked like a character from Inkdeath. She looked like Elinor.

"I-Is your name...Elinor?" I asked shakily, almost hoping she was some crazy women who had stumbled into my house. It would be horrible if I had actually read her out of her story. I never really wanted to bring her out. She would be so lost in this world. And I didn't think I could send her back.

"Yes, I am! Who are you? Where am I? WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" she shrieked. I froze, waiting for the thump of footsteps to start. It never came.

"Please keep quiet! My parents are asleep, and I don't want them to know what I've done! My name's Tiffany. Your in a place called America. I....I accidently read you out of your....your story," I whispered, suddenly realizing what I had done. I had made a character come to life. I had brought someone out of a book. I was like Mo....and Meggie! Joy flooded me, and I suddenly grinned. It was a dream come true!

"But....But I was just in Ombra! I was....wait, did you just say you read me out of my story?" She whispered fiercely. I handed her Inkdeath, my joy quickly leaving me. Guilt replaced it. Elinor stared at the book, and flipped through it until she reached the part where she landed in Ombra. Then she looked up at me, her eye's full of despair...and anger.

"Why did you do this? Why? I can't believe it!" She said, the anger coming out in her voice.

"I never meant to, I swear! I didn't even know I could do it! Maybe...well, if I can write the correct words, maybe I can send you back," I mumbled. Perhaps if I tried, it would work. After all, I was a great writer. Everyone told me so. I could spin tales you would never imagine, they said.

Elinor thought for a moment, then agreed.

"You had better start on it now. Heaven's above! When will I ever get to them!" she said, now talking to herself. I assumed she was speaking of Mo and Meggie.

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Two hours later, I had a rough draft of what I hoped would take Elinor home. I loved that she was there, but I knew she didn't belong here. She belonged in her story. In Inkdeath.

"Elinor, it's finished. I just hope it works," I said. She was still sitting on my bed, as if she had never moved from the spot.

"Go ahead. Start reading it."

I licked my lips, and began to read.

"As if by mistake, Elinor appeared in Tiffany's room. They both were upset, though for different reasons. Elinor, who had taken such pains to arrive in Ombra, was now farther away from it than she'd ever been. Tiffany felt guilty for pulling Elinor into a place she didn't belong. Into a place she would never belong at. So Tiffany decided to right her wrong. All through the night, she worked on the words that she prayed would send Elinor home. All night, she toiled among the paper and ink, until she had something suitable to send Elinor home with.

Finally finished, she read the words aloud. She read of all that had happened and of her guilt. She reached the part where she read of Ombra, the city where Elinor was trying to get to. About the streets and the fairies, and Orpheus, and many other people. Inside, she wished she could follow Elinor, but her place was here, in her world. And as she got to the part where Elinor would return to her story, the words echoed around her.

The air began to grow heavy, and smelled of frost and trees. The scenery around Elinor changed. No longer was she in a teenagers room, but in Ombra, outside the border of the city, under the tree's. She hardly knew what had happened, but the girl had sent her back. She was like Mortimer. But to be honest, she didn't miss her. The girl had been a nuisance, pulling her from the story like that. Hopefully, she would never try it again.

As Tiffany finished sounding the last word on the page, she knew immediately that Elinor was gone. She just felt it. Lowering the page, she sighed, and tried to forget of what had happened. She moved on," I finished reading the sloppy writing on the page.

When I looked up, Elinor was gone. I had no idea how I did it. It was so very strange, reading about myself. About me writing and reading the paper, even as I actually did it. But the story just guided me. And I went where it told me to go.

I set down the paper, and began pacing my room. I suddenly stopped and picked up Inkdeath. I don't know why, but I had a feeling that I needed to.

Then, I was in the Inkworld. Some how, the book had transported me into the Wayless Wood. What had I done? What cursed words had I written that would do this? I didn't belong here!

A sharp tugging on my hair brought me out of my panicked moment. I swatted at the fairy, but to no avail. Remembering what it said in the book, I plucked the fairy from the air. It was one of the rainbow ones. It bit my hand, but I blew in its face and let it go. It flew away unsteadily.

I did a 360 turn, looking at my surroundings. Trees. All I saw were trees. The trees of the Wayless Wood. Just as the book described them. Bigger than any of the tree's found in the other world. It was wonderful.

But I needed to move. I still had Inkdeath in my hand, but it was no use here. The Wayless Wood was south of Ombra, so if I traveled north, I was bound to find it. From there, I would try and find Farid or Fenoglio. I looked up through the tree branches, searching for the position of the sun. It was morning; the sun could hardly be seen past the tree's. I started off towards the direction I guessed was north.

I had made my entrance in this book. My dream had come alive. But now, what was I supposed to do with myself? Only Fenoglio could tell me that. I just hoped I could find him.

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Sorry if it was a bit choppy. This story is the most complicated thing I've written so far. Tell what you think of it please! REVIEW!!!!!!! REVIEW, PLEASE!!!!!! I love reviews. They make my happy.

Anyway, I forgot to mention this at the top. I own the plot and the new character named Tiffany. The rest belongs to CF. No one steal it. Grrr...

I will try and post the next chapter soon. Bye!