I think I've lost my way
But that's just not news today
Because the story's old
The black and white
Have gone to grey
The story's old
Lost my way-Finger Eleven
Basta wakes Julianne and Dustfinger the next morning by banging loudly on the bedroom door. Dustfinger frowns, wondering if Basta has a key to the front door or if he broke the damn lock. He already knows Basta will be in a poor mood this morning simply because it wasn't him that got to have Julianne.
Dustfinger shifts the woman in question off his chest, pulls on some pants, and opens the door with his ginger hair hanging in his eyes no matter how often he brushes it aside. Basta sneers at him, trying to look into the room, but unable to due to Dustfinger's position.
"Capricorn wants you both in the church," he says. "Silvertongue's gonna read today."
"Alright, I'll wake Juli and then we'll meet you there." Basta looks ready to protest but Dustfinger shuts the door in his face to spare himself that annoyance.
Quietly, he moves about the room, finding a clean shirt and his coat. He smiles at Gwin, sleeping soundly in a corner. His eyes move from the marten to the woman sleeping in his bed, a blush forming on his cheeks. He feels guilty about last night, both for betraying Roxane and how good it felt to be with Julianne. He hasn't so much as touched himself since coming to this world nine years ago and last night gave him a craving.
Shaking away the provocative images from last night, he moves over to the bed and gently shakes Julianne's shoulder to wake her. Basta is impatient and will look for any excuse to barge into the room and see her naked, so Dustfinger is trying to be quick about things. Basta may not be attracted to the minstrel, but he's cruel and knows how to shame people.
"Mm," she moans, shifting slightly as the covers leave her shoulder bare," I'm never drinking again." That's what she's complaining about, a hangover? "You're an ass, Dusty." Gingerly, she sits up in bed, her long hair covering her breasts from his view as she stretches. He hands the woman her clothing, turning his back to her as she dresses. It will do no good to get aroused again because he's certain that what happened last night only went so well because they were both drunk. "Okay, you can turn around now."
She's wearing the same clothes as last night, the dress wrinkled but otherwise unharmed. The same can't be said of his favorite sweater, it had been ripped in their haste to undress. Basta opens the door seconds later, disappointment clear on his face as he looks at Julianne. No matter how strong she is, Dustfinger can still see the fear in her eyes as Basta forcibly shoves her ahead of him. Her hips sway as she walks, an unconscious movement that draws Dustfinger's eye until he mentally slaps himself and focuses his gaze just over her head.
The village is quiet as it usually is this early, a few maids rushing to get their chores done and a few men walking around on guard duty with their rifles in hand. The village is actually full of people, but they take shifts on guarding the village, or they're in the church with Capricorn. That is especially true for today, Dustfinger notes as they're herded into the crowded room. The crows are gathering to watch Silvertongue give a demonstration of his talent, drawn to shiny things like magic.
Silvertongue and the rest of his family aren't here yet, the excitement of the crowd nearly palpable. Dustfinger cuts his gaze back to Julianne, taking in the slight tremble running through her hands and the way her eyes dart back and forth like she's expecting an attack. Against his better judgment, he takes one of her hands in his own and gives it a reassuring squeeze.
"Easy, little bird," he whispers as they take their place among the sea of faces. "It will be fine." She nods, the shaking no longer so noticeable. It feels nice to be next to her even she isn't as beautiful as Roxane; her voice is soothing like Silvertongue's without the repercussions. Her mouth is still swollen from last night, a dark pink with one tiny freckle in the middle of her bottom lip. She's chubby and sharp-tongued and everything that he likes in women. She's like a bird in some ways, never able to stay still for too long. She's my little bird. Dear God, he's beginning to feel something other than fondness for the girl.
Gwin serves as a good distraction as he crawls out of the pack and sits on Dustfinger's shoulder, fuzzy tail draping around his neck like a scarf. The extra warmth is welcome as the air inside the church grows chilly. He pulls Julianne closer in an attempt to warm her since she has to be freezing in that scrap of material. She looks thankful, but she's careful not to say anything. Any and all words they exchange will be reported back to Capricorn.
He doesn't get the chance to contemplate spies for too much longer when the door of the church opens again to admit the Folcharts and Elinor. If looks could kill, Dustfinger would be dead after the glare Meggie sends his way. Gwin hisses at the blonde, his tail twitching back and forth like a cat's. Meggie's eyes don't linger on him long as they move to take in the church. He follows her gaze to the botched statue of Capricorn and then to the angel statue in the corner, a black jacket placed on its wings and a pair of horns on its head.
Cockerell pushes them down the center aisle at gunpoint, forcing them to bow to his master. Meggie's eyes meet his again, burning with hatred. Dustfinger flinches from the heat of that glare but he's careful not to show any real emotion on his face. Emotion could get you killed in this cursed world just as easy as in the other world.
Dustfinger pulls out a box of matches, lighting one and staring into the flame for the comfort. His thoughts turn to his own world again, Roxane's smile filling his head. He takes a deep breath expecting to smell his wife, but instead of oranges he smells rose and vanilla. The disappointment he usually feels in himself is replaced with a sense of home and he's not entirely sure if it's because of how familiar the church has become or because of his little bird.
"I see Dirtyfingers is playing with his best friend again." Dustfinger looks up at Basta's voice as the other man climbs the four steps needed to be beside Capricorn's throne. "Well, here's another toy for you." A gas can is set down by Dustfinger's feet and he has a sense of bad things to come. "Set a fire for us. It's the only thing you're good at." Out of the corner of his eye he sees Julianne wince at Basta's close proximity and Dustfinger's mild temper flares at that simple movement. How can any man get pleasure by making women fear him?
"I suppose you're too scared of fire to do it." He lights another match only to have Basta knock it out of his hand a moment later. "Careful, it's bad luck to do that. You know how prickly fire can be." Basta's face darkens, but Dustfinger can see the fear in his dark eyes all the same. Yes, he still fears the fire and I can use that to my advantage.
Basta's knife hand twitches at the same moment Julianne puts a hand on Dustfinger's shoulder in a gesture that makes the younger man's eye twitch slightly. That struck a nerve, Dustfinger knows, another woman choosing the fire-dancer over the fire-raiser.
"You're lucky I've just cleaned my knife," Basta spits. "One more word I don't like, and I'll carve a new pattern in that ugly face of yours." Calmly, Dustfinger picks up the spent matches and stuffs them in his pocket as he stands up, a little taller than Basta and barely larger than the man's boyish frame. He may be small, but he's still dangerous, especially with that knife of his. Dustfinger chances a glance in Julianne's direction and it's easy to see she's trying to be brave but failing miserably.
"Why would I light a fire now?"
"The only thing you need to worry about is making the blaze hungry and big, not one of those puny flames that you play with. The rest of us will maintain it." As Dustfinger picks up the can and carries it over to the rusted braziers, the door opens for the third time. All eyes are drawn to Capricorn as he walks towards his throne, pausing to observe his statue. Its eyes hold no malice like the real man's do, and it's painted comically. The man commissioned to make it was killed for it, but Capricorn kept the statue all the same.
Capricorn's suit is as perfect as ever, dark red with a black undershirt and a black feather in its buttonhole. Behind him trails a dozen or so of his men like crows following a breadcrumb trail.
"Good, our guests are already here." His voice echoes slightly in the silent room, bouncing off the walls. He stops in front of Silvertongue and his family. "I trust you all slept well?" Dustfinger bows his head as Capricorn continues talking about how kind he is for reuniting Silvertongue with his daughter. Julianne lets out a whimper, almost inaudible as Capricorn reveals to Silvertongue the real reason he's keeping Meggie here, an incentive for Silvertongue to do as he's commanded.
"Bastard," Julianne whispers, heard only by Dustfinger.
"As for this book." That catches Dustfinger's attention, his eyes drawn to Inkheart. Capricorn looks at the book in disgust while Dustfinger looks at it with longing. He wants to go home so badly and now that they have the book and a competent reader the best chance he'll ever have is right here. "This tedious, idiotic, and amazingly long-winded book, I assure you that I'll never allow myself to be spellbound by its tale. I am so tired of all those creatures that I have it in mind never to suffer them again."
He signals and one of his crows move forwards, holding a box that Dustfinger knows is filled with Inkheart copies from across the world. Capricorn smiles at Dustfinger, picking up a book from the box and walking over to the braziers, dropping both copies he held inside on the fresh, dry wood. Dustfinger lunges forward to retrieve them, but Basta holds him back.
"They stay where they are, Dirtyfingers," he snarls. Dustfinger takes a step back with the gas can held behind his back, feeling sick to his stomach. I'll never get home if Capricorn does this! Basta yanks the can away with a chuckle. "I never thought I'd see the day when Dustfinger would rather have someone else light the fire." Julianne moves as more of the books are thrown into the braziers, her eyes are fearful, but there's a hard resolve there also. He knows she's about to do something stupid, but he isn't fast enough to stop her. Her fist hits hard against Basta's midsection, all of it faster than Dustfinger could have predicted. Basta doubles over and falls to his knees, obviously trying to get air back into his lungs.
She doesn't get another chance to strike him or anyone else as Capricorn slaps her soundly across the face, knocking her to the floor. The sound is strangely loud and sends Silvertongue into a fury. The reader doesn't get far before two crows hold him back.
"You need to be taught manners," Capricorn frowns. "Maybe I made a mistake when I sent you with Dustfinger last night, he's much too soft. Basta, you can have her tonight." Basta glares at her as he picks himself up, no doubt planning how much hell to put her through tonight. Julianne fights back tears as she stands, holding the sore side of her face. Dustfinger pulls her back to him, watching as the crows pour gas over the books and wood, the smell making his head whirl.
"Where did all those copies come from," he asks. "You told me Silvertongue had the only copy left."
"I told you a lot of things, Dustfinger, and you believed what I said because you wanted to. I would expect a skilled liar to know another, but you keep doing as I ask without much thought." Capricorn smiles at him, the smile of a vile man that's never known love and never will. "I would have promised you the moon if it got you to do what I needed. As it is, most of my promises are empty."
Dustfinger looks at the books again, his hands shaking in longing to pull at least one of them out and run and never look back. He can't though, Capricorn will make sure that he doesn't get far. His punishment would be to watch Julianne receive hers. They might do that anyway because of Julianne's foolish behavior a few minutes ago.
The pale man brings a lighter out of his pocket, flicking it open and lighting it before throwing it on the pile of books. Dustfinger lunges again, but Flatnose grabs him this time, holding him like a misbehaving little boy while Gwin runs off to safety. The gas-soaked books catch fire instantly, burning brightly in the church and filling the room with bitter smoke. Other men in the room laugh at Dustfinger's expense, Basta barring Silvertongue's path as he tries to save a book from the fire.
"Let me just have one," Silvertongue begs desperately. "Please, I promise never to read aloud!"
"You," Capricorn asks scornfully. "You're the last person I'd give that wretched book to." In a last desperate act, Dustfinger kicks out at Flatnose, nailing him in the knee and shooting forward. He sticks one hand in the fire, ignoring the burning, blistering heat as he pulls one book out. It's on fire already so he tosses it to the ground and reaches in again with his other hand, but Flatnose grabs him by his collar before he can, shaking him hard enough for his teeth to clack together painfully.
Basta remarks with something, but Dustfinger isn't listening, his thoughts are on the world he's locked out of forever. Not even the pain in his hands can break him out of the pain in his heart. Stupid, fragile, little thing.
"Dustfinger." Capricorn's voice is tired, as though he's worked up a sweat burning the books. "Go to the kitchens and have someone see to your burns. You're no use to anyone without your hands." For long time he just stares at Silvertongue in a shared grief, wondering if now is the time to obey, but, as always, he gets up and does as he's bid.
He's too much of a coward to stand up for himself or anyone else, not even his little bird.