Chapter One

An Impossible Miracle

"From now on, wherever you walk, I will walk with you."

~Moonrise; Erin Hunter

Dustfinger took a deep breath, glancing up at the blazing sun with a slightly annoyed expression. It was much too hot to be out in these fields all day; he still didn't understand how Roxane and Jehan did it without an ounce of complaining even after two years of working side by side with them. But he bent back over the rows of herbs without a word. He would work in the heat for days on end with no break if he had to as long as Roxane was beside him.

Hardly any time had passed before the muted sound of horses' hooves drew the attention of the small family. As Dustfinger straightened up, he could see two horses, each with a rider on its back. They were still too far off to see very clearly, but the glinting silver armor worn by one rider, along with the smaller form wearing a dress, was still visible even from this distance.

Before Dustfinger could say anything, Roxane tucked her basket under her arm and looked back at him and Jehan with a small smile.

"Come on Jehan," she said, knowing Dustfinger would follow without request. "Let's go see your sister."

As Jehan ran off after his mother, a smile growing on his face, Dustfinger followed close behind, dusting his hands off while he walked. He lengthened his stride to match Roxane's, his muscles tensing as differences between this female rider and their daughter became apparent. This young woman had brown hair worn tight on her head, unlike Brianna, whose fiery locks were still worn loose even though she'd worked for Violante for seven years now.

Roxane quickly grabbed Jehan's hand, pulling the boy between herself and Dustfinger as they reached the gate separating themselves from the newcomers, noticing the differences in the riders as well. The goose sounded its loud alarm as the two riders rode to a stop on the opposite side of the gate.

"What is your business here?" she asked, looking at the visitors cautiously as she pushed Jehan behind her and Dustfinger.

Dustfinger stood beside his wife silently as the woman took a deep breath as if bracing herself for something before slowly sliding off the back of her horse.

In her hands, she clutched a small envelope, holding on to it as if it was the one thing keeping her between life and death.

"Are… you Dustfinger?" She asked softly, looking him over hesitantly as if she really didn't want to speak to him.

Dustfinger saw Roxane turn to look at him out of the corner of his eye, a confused look on her face. He frowned at the young woman's words, looking from her face to the envelope in her hands and back again. He had never seen this woman in his life, he was quite sure if that; at least, not enough to recognize her. Still, he nodded in response, shooting a cautious look towards the guard.

The woman hesitated once more, glancing down at the envelope in her hands before looking back up, her gaze stopping before it met his.

"I'm a handmaiden to the Queen of Argenta," she said quietly. "She has sent me here under orders to deliver this to you."

Dustfinger hesitated to take the envelope that she now held out to him, almost impatiently now as if she wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Finally, he took the envelope from her, slowly turning it over and opening it.

His eyebrows lifted in surprise at the object that his fingers touched though his expression quickly turned to one of confusion as he pulled it out and allowed it to rest in his palm. A single lock of black hair; what was this supposed to mean to him? He looked questioningly at the handmaiden as Roxane stepped closer to examine the contents of the envelope, neither understanding what message the Queen was trying to send.

"Her - her majesty said to tell you that they have your daughter," the handmaiden explained, a guilty expression on her face. "And that if you wish to have her returned to you, you'll come back to the castle with us."

He glanced down at the lock of hair in his palm, his frown deepening. It was black; the only daughter with black hair that he had ever had was one that had been gone from his life for years and from this world for almost as many. His lips parted to reply that there was no way; that she and her escort could just head back to where they had come from, bearing disappointing news for their queen, but the woman interrupted before he could get a word out

"I've seen her," she said softly. She must have been able to see the disbelief on his face. She nodded towards Roxane as she continued, "she looks quite a bit like this woman here."

She paused for a moment, meeting Dustfinger's gaze for the first time. "I know what you're thinking, but she is there. When I left, she was quite frightened by the strange people and surroundings. I'm sure she would be happy to see her father right now."

For a long moment, Dustfinger said nothing. He looked down at the small lock of hair, rubbing his thumb over it as he tried to wrap his mind around her words. There was only one person who could have done this - no, would have done this for the Queen of Argenta.

"Did that Orpheus take up residence in your Queen's castle?" he asked quietly, not looking up at her.

"Yes, he did," the handmaiden replied, nodding. "I'm not sure how he did it, but suddenly the little girl was there without a single argument from Death."

He said nothing in reply as he took a deep breath before looking over at Roxane. He was nearly positive that this was just a trap with a very well-constructed lie in order to lure him to the castle, but he couldn't risk even the smallest possibility of missing the chance to have his youngest child back in his arms.

"Alright," he agreed, looking back at the handmaiden. "I'll come."

A long moment of silence passed before Roxane moved to stand in front of him, blocking his way through the gate.

"You can't do this," she said with a shake of her head. "What she says… it can't be true. I tried, Dustfinger. I tried everything. If Death wished her released, she'd be back by now. This is a trap, Dustfinger; a cruel trap by the Queen. You can't go."

Dustfinger took a deep breath as he rested his hands on her shoulders, his eyes meeting hers.

"I came back though, didn't I?" he said quietly. "I know how Orpheus works, Roxane; there's a good chance that they truly are telling the truth, even if it is just a trap to lure me in - which I'm sure it is. But if they do have Rosanna…" he paused as her name, one he hadn't spoken in years, passed his lips before continuing on, "then I wouldn't dare to even think of not getting her back to us."

"Then I'll come with you," Roxane replied immediately, bringing her hand up to his face. "Wherever we go, we can go together."

He put his hand over hers, holding it against his cheek for a moment before gently pulling it away with a slow shake of his head. "No," he said softly. "Stay here and look over Jehan and the farm. I can't look after all of you at once, and it won't help anyone if we all get arrested if this truly is a trap."

"I don't want to lose you again, Dustfinger," she argued as she gazed up at him, fear and desperation in her face.

"And if I have anything to say about it, you won't," he answered, squeezing her hand tightly. "I've always come back, haven't I?"

Roxane lowered her gaze, seemingly giving in to his request. "Yes; yes, you have."

"And I'll come back again." He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes for a moment before he pulled away. He tucked a stray curl behind her ear, brushing his thumb across her cheek before he turned to Jehan. He gave the boy a small smile as he ruffled his hair. "I'm giving you the task of taking care of your mother and the farm while I'm gone. I'll be back soon."

As Jehan gave him a serious nod in response, Dustfinger turned to follow the handmaiden to the horses. He cast the soldier a wary glance as he watched the handmaiden climb up behind him, leaving her own horse for their new acquaintance's use. He prayed that even if this was a trap, Rosanna would still be there. Anything would be worth facing to hold his baby in his arms again for the first time in twelve years.

Four days passed in nearly unending silence as the small group made their way through Lombrica and Argenta. Dustfinger took a deep, steadying breath as the Castle of Night came into view, growing larger as the distance shortened. Even with all of his assurances to Roxane before he'd left, he had no idea what awaited him behind the menacing gates. Just because the Adderhead had been killed didn't mean the cruelty and danger had been erased from the country. It especially worried him that Orpheus was involved in this. The reader hadn't left on very friendly terms with anyone, and he would certainly want revenge for what had happened in the Castle on the Lake.

Their entrance into the castle's courtyard seemed strangely quiet as if each of the castle's inhabitants were holding their breaths in apprehension of the events soon to pass. Once they had all dismounted, the handmaiden turned to face Dustfinger; she still had a hard time looking at him, as if guilty of her part in this even though she'd had no say in the matter.

"If you will follow me, I can take you to Her Majesty and Orpheus," she said softly, tilting her head slightly towards the castle entrance.

When Dustfinger nodded silently, she turned to walk towards the castle, slowly at first as if to make sure he was following before continuing at a normal pace. They only came to a stop when they reached the throne room, passing the guards that stood on either side of the entrance. He barely even noticed Katerina curtsy to her queen before hurrying away as soon as she was released, all of his focus landing on the man standing beside the queen, a proud smile on his too large face as their gazes met.

"You see, your highness?" Orpheus said, looking Dustfinger up and down with such a smug expression on his face that the fire eater would have been happy to erase it for him if he was given the chance. "I told you it would work. Family is Dustfinger's weakness; and what better temptation than a dead daughter, brought back to this world alive and well?"

Hatred rose in Dustfinger as the Queen examined him as if wondering how he could have possibly had a part to play in the death of her husband.

"It did indeed work," she said thoughtfully. "I must say, I wasn't expecting you to be this easy to catch, Fire-Dancer."

Dustfinger had to force himself to keep his expression as neutral as possible, only allowing his mouth to become a thin line, though hatred still shone brightly in his eyes.

"Where is my daughter?" he asked finally.

He had to force himself to stay calm as the reader's proud smile grew at the mention of Rosanna. He looked so satisfied with himself, it could mean nothing other than what the handmaiden had claimed was true; his youngest daughter truly was back from the dead. Suddenly, so many thoughts raced through his mind. Would she remember him? If so, would she still love him, or had her time with Roxane's second husband replaced the ten months he'd been able to hold her in his arms? He hoped she would at least be able to forgive him for being away for so long, even though her memories of him must have faded over the two years she'd still been in the world of the living.

All of his thoughts vanished however when he followed Orpheus' gaze into the shadows against the wall where an all too familiar face glared at him with barely contained rage. So he was back again. He'd hoped he'd seen the last of him back at the Castle in the Lake, but that obviously wasn't the case.

"Basta," Orpheus commanded as if he was lord of the castle, "bring the girl to us."

The previous fire raiser shot one last hateful glare at Dustfinger before moving out of the shadows to walk out of the room. The thought of Basta even in the same building as Rosanna made Dustfinger sick, and now he was the one retrieving her from wherever they were keeping the child. Dustfinger wanted to go after him, stop him before he could reach his daughter, but he couldn't. Not with so many soldiers around, and certainly not without putting his daughter in danger.

Instead, he resigned himself to staring blankly at Orpheus as he rambled on and on about how he'd raised the fire raisers that had met their ends in this world at the Queen's orders - he was particularly proud of Basta, the Piper, and Firefox. He made sure to point out how easy it was to bring people back from Death's realm as long as you knew the right price to pay.

Before he could say more, the doors opened once again to reveal Basta pushing a small girl with dark curly hair in front of him, his knife drawn in one hand. The girl couldn't have been more than two or three years old at the most, her small, round face filled with fear as she looked around the room. When they reached Orpheus and the Queen, Basta shoved the child towards them so hard that she stumbled and fell at their feet, tears filling her eyes as she scrambled to stand.

"Now you see, Dustfinger! Look at what my words have done," Orpheus boasted with a large grin at the fire eater's obvious shock. "She's perfect, not a flaw to be had; and Death gave her up so willingly."

Dustfinger barely even heard his words however as he stared at the little girl in front of him. Even though he had expected Orpheus' words to be true considering what his skills were known to be, he hadn't truly believed until this moment that she really would be alive and breathing. But there was no doubt in his mind that this was his Rosanna, his baby; same hair, same eyes, mouth, and nose. All so much like her mother, and yet so much smaller.

Without really noticing what he was doing, he took a step forward, wanting to hold her in his arms, feel the weight of his baby leaning against him for the first time in twelve long years. He wanted to be certain that this wasn't a trick, though how could it be when his heart and mind agreed so completely as to leave no room for doubt. But he was soon snapped back to his full surroundings as one of the soldiers stepped in front of him, blocking his way to his daughter, though Dustfinger could still see her over the guard's shoulder.

"Uh-uh-uh," Orpheus shook his head as he placed a hand on Rosanna's head, a simple gesture saying that the deal hadn't yet been met while striking just enough intimidation into the child that she wouldn't move either. "You can look, but you can't have her just yet. Not until we're sure that we agree with the same terms."

Dustfinger pursed his lips as he watched Rosanna, her dark eyes looking him over as if trying to remember where she might have seen him. Of course she wouldn't know who he was immediately, if at all. She hadn't even made it through her first year before he'd been snatched away from this world. After another moment, he forced his gaze away from his daughter, difficult as it was, and aimed a quick glare at the guard in his way before looking at Orpheus with barely concealed anger.

"What do you want from me?" he said quietly, forcing himself to keep his tone as level as possible, though it grew harder at Orpheus' laughter in response to his words.

"Oh, I won't be telling you my plans," he said, his expression still beaming with pride and arrogance. "No, that's how the villains are always bested in stories. For now, let's just suffice it to say that you'll be staying here for awhile, my old friend."

As he finished speaking, he gestured Basta back over to him before nodding to the child in front of him. "Take the girl back to the dungeons," he ordered before turning to the soldier in front of Dustfinger with an order to escort him after his daughter. "I'm sure the Fire-Dancer will be pining for his daughter by now."

Dustfinger shot one more glare in Orpheus' direction, fighting the urge to ask fire for its assistance in the matter as he silently allowed the guard to lead him away. If he had been the only one in this situation, he might have actually risked it, but not with his daughter at risk. He would never put her in such danger if he didn't have to, and right now another way out wasn't completely out of the question, though he doubted Orpheus' plans included anything about him leaving this wretched place alive.

After walking through numerous passageways, most likely more than necessary so they wouldn't think of trying to memorize their way back out if they somehow escaped, they finally reached the dungeons. They were just the same as Dustfinger remembered them from when he'd come to check in on Resa and the other strolling players that had been imprisoned along with Silvertongue back when the Adderhead still lived. Basta pushed Rosanna none too gently into one of the cells, turning away carelessly as the child ran to the farthest corner of the room, as far from the fire raiser as possible. Luckily for them, they'd had the good sense to put Dustfinger and his daughter in the same cell.

Once he was in the cell, he immediately turned to put himself between Basta and Rosanna, silently watching Capricorn's former second in command as the guard locked the cell, though all the fire raiser did was cast one more threatening glance in Dustfinger's direction before walking away without saying a word.