Unbelievable
When Meggie woke up the next morning, she was confused. She remembered crying a lot, and wishing for Farid. Then she remembered the reason for the crying and the longing. That nearly made her start to cry again. But Meggie was strong. She conquered the tears before they could spill over.
Setting her face into a hard mask, Meggie dressed and prepared to head downstairs. Reaching the kitchen, she halted in the doorway.
Resa was cooking at the stove, same as always. Jay was in his chair, playing with a spoon, same as always. Mo was sitting at the table, hunched over a book, same as always. But he was not alone. A familiar red-haired man was sitting next to him, in Meggie's chair.
Dustfinger.
Still in a bad mood, Meggie growled, "What's he doing here?"
Dustfinger looked up and grinned. "Hello there, Meggie! Good to see you, too!"
Meggie put her hands on her hips. "That's my seat."
Dustfinger bent his head close to Mo's and whispered, "What's with the attitude?"
Mo just shook his head.
Feeling very immature, Meggie stuck her tongue out and made a face at Dustfinger, who raised an eyebrow. She then proceeded to turn her back on him and leave the room.
Once she was out of sight, Meggie felt bad. She was sorry she had taken her anger out on Dustfinger. But she was not about to go back and apologize.
So Meggie avoided him for most of the day. Of course, once lunch came around, she was forced to be near him again. Still, she tried to ignore him, in order to avoid an awkward or hurtful conversation.
But there was nothing Meggie could do when Dustfinger addressed her directly.
"So, Meggie," he began. "There was something I was going to tell you earlier — something I think you'll want to hear — before you… well, you know."
Meggie nodded, her cheeks reddening.
"Do you want to hear it or not?" Dustfinger asked.
"Yes," she muttered, her head down.
Dustfinger nodded to himself. "Well, it's about Farid—"
Meggie's head shot up, her eyes lighting up. "Farid? You've seen him? But he wasn't in the market yesterday! Where is he? Is he—"
"Stop!" Dustfinger shouted, holding up his hands. "Goodness, Meggie! Slow down!"
Meggie looked down sheepishly. "Oops."
Mo and Resa exchanged a glance. Mo asked, "Meggie?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, I don't really know how to put this, but… you know… Farid… you…" Mo trailed off, looking awkward.
Resa rolled her eyes at Mo's evasiveness. She exclaimed, "What about Doria!?"
Meggie looked confused. "What about him?"
"Weren't you two together?"
Meggie looked down again. "We were."
Mo raised his eyebrows at the past tense. "Were?"
Meggie took a deep breath. "Something happened yesterday. I don't want to talk about it."
It was silent for a minute.
The Dustfinger continued, "Well, like I said, it's about Farid. But it's not exactly good news…"
Meggie's eyes widened. "Did something happen to him?"
"Yeah… He was, er, injured… by wolves… in the Wayless Wood…" Dustfinger trailed off at the horror on Meggie's face. Then he exclaimed, "He's at Roxane's farm! I came here to get you so you could see him!"
Meggie jumped to her feet. "Then let's go!" Her gaze flashed to Mo. "Can I go? Please Mo, I have to!"
Mo nodded.
Dustfinger stood, too. "I'll keep her safe."
Meggie ran around the table to Dustfinger and started pushing him toward the door. "Come on, Dustfinger, hurry!"
Dustfinger quickened his pace. Soon, they were out the door and saddling horses for the journey.
After jumping on her horse, Meggie shouted back toward the house, "Bye Mo! Bye Resa! I'll see you soon!" Then she spurred her horse, and she was on her way.
On her way to Farid.
