In light of all the activity this story has been getting I have been inspired to add another chapter, let me know what you think of it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fakir or Ahiru (wish I did though)

I rode hard all through the day chasing the slowly setting sun. Other than spotting a few black feathers along the trail around noon there were no signs of the dark figure and the birds that had been with him. But to me it didn't matter, I knew I was on the right path all I had to do was keep going. I forced myself to not stop the first night hoping that I was catching up to Ahuiru's captors though as the second night bared down on my horse and me I realized that I would have to slow down to keep both of us from collapsing in exhaustion.

On the third day of my travels the path started becoming very narrow and rocky; knowing that it was no longer safe for my horse I regretfully sent him home and continued on by foot. When the sun started going down I found that there was no safe place for me to set up camp so I had to keep going. The waning moon cast little light but I knew it was too dangerous for me to light a lantern or candle so I had to dramatically slow my pace just to keep from falling on my face – again. The fourth night went on much like the third though I could feel exhaustion dragging at my limbs and making them heavy and awkward to use. I found myself stumbling more and more the later it got.

Just before dawn I came to a small stream that flowed over the rocks. I took the time to get a drink and splash my face to wake myself up but as I stepped over the small steam I slipped on the wet moss and went down. In the darkness my mind played tricks on me.

"You are no knight," the large raven mocked. "First you summon us and get your parents killed then you let the prince fall into our hands with hardly a fight and now you give us your lover too? What kind of fool are you?" The raven cackled and I reached for my sword only to find it gone, "what kind of knight doesn't have a sword? Oh right the one that believes 'that the pen is mightier than the sword.'"

"As it is," I snapped in defense, "I wrote you out of the story and you can bet that I will write you back into it."

"I'm waiting…." The raven said as it watched me with those soulless black eye, "you can't do it can you? You have to write about the girl. That makes you selfish."

"I am not selfish; writing for another does not make me selfish."

"Ah but it does if you are writing to keep that person with you. Is this what she wants? Have you ever asked her? Truthfully she would have been perfectly happy to have died in that lake, she had already come to grips with what she had to do and was at peace – then you showed up and disrupted that. And what about in the battle, she was just happy that she was able to help the others and yet you had to write about her and get yourself hurt. Do you know how much she worried about you, how hard she had fought just to keep you safe?" The raven asked as he eyes seemed to look into my soul, "so now I ask you knight, why are you really saving her?"

I woke with a start only to find myself being held down and a cloth over my eyes robbing me of my ability to see, "Who are you? What do you want with her?"

"Hush child, you need to relax. You hit your head pretty hard when you slipped," a kind and motherly voice said softly and I slowly relaxed back down, I didn't really have much choice but to trust her now that the throbbing had become very prevalent in my head.

"Where am I?" I asked after a long moment, I knew I was in some sort of house but I don't remember ever coming across a house on my travels. It was actually something I had found rather odd; I would have guessed that there would at least be one trading post or something along the trail.

"The middle of nowhere dear, it's not often we see people. Had you been awake it would have been a much more pleasant surprise," the lady said with a little laugh.

"Have you seen anyone else come through here?"

"No dear just you, are you looking for someone in particular? You had mentioned a girl earlier."

"Yes, I am searching for a friend but I don't know where she has gone. All I know is she has gone to a land before the beginning and after the end."

"Those are some vague directions, do you have anything else?"

"She went west, that's why I ended up here."

"I see…" The lady let the room drift into silence, "how is your head feeling now?"

"It still hurts but the throbbing has gone down."

"Then why don't you try sitting up? It would be nice to get some food into you. I'm going to take the blindfold off; it's going to be pretty bright."

I barely had time to nod before she removed the cloth and I was forced to blink against the harsh light. As I eased myself up I took that time to look around the room and at the lady who is helping me. It was clear that we in a two room shack, it wasn't in bad condition but it was still shabby and slightly run down. The lady sitting next to the bed had wavy brown hair that fell around her shoulders and her hazel eyes were filled with concern as she watched me. I was in one of the two small cots in the room and was positioned close to the fire, when I spotted the fire I immediately felt guilty. I felt like I was taking one of their valuable resources.

As the kind lady pressed a cup to my lips I could hear someone coughing in the other room, out of the corner of my eye I caught her casting a very worried look in that direction. "Who is that?" I asked carefully once I had drunk just a little bit of the stew.

The lady hesitated, "my son, I'm sorry if he is bothering you." She apologized softly.

"It's not a bother at all, is he okay? If he is cold he can come in here, I don't mind really." I insisted; I couldn't just let her son suffer like that.

"Ryan, you can come in." The lady called softly after a long moment. At her call a boy no older than eight came into the room, he had short dark brown hair and his mother's eyes. He walked carefully up to the side of my cot eyeing me with curious eyes.

"Are you really a knight?" He asked after apparently deeming me to not be a threat.

I found myself hesitating at the question as my mind zipped back to my nightmare, was I really a knight? "Yes, I am really a knight." I said finally, after all I had once fought for my princess and now I was determined to fight for her again.

"Are you trying to save a princess?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"Is she really pretty and nice?"

"She is absolutely stunning and she is the nicest person I have ever met, she would do anything to make people feel loved. And she is an amazing ballerina, when she dances the world stops to watch her." I explained as I thought back to that brief moment I got to see her all grown up and even more amazing than I ever could have dreamed.

"She sounds amazing, just like Mommy. Will you tell me more about her?" Ryan asked and when I nodded he crawled up onto the cot next to me and watched me with big expectant eyes. After a moment of thinking I told him about when she danced with the chef of the little cottage in the woods to show her that she wasn't alone, while I was telling the story he had a horrible coughing fit. His mother just told me to continue my story.

Later that night after Ryan had fallen asleep I turned to his mother, "What's wrong with Ryan, if you don't mind me asking?"

"He has had a cough since he was very little and it has been getting worse over the years, the local healer doesn't think that he has much longer to live but he has the soul of a knight. I know he will fight to the bitter end."

I frowned, that didn't sound overly pleasant. "Is there anything that helps?"

"Nothing that I have found yet, everything I have tried so far has yet to have any effect. His father left years ago to find a solution but it has been so long that I know he will not return; that is where his fascination with knights comes from. Whenever he asks about his father I tell him that his father is a knight out on a quest, I just don't know how to tell him the truth."

I nodded thoughtfully, "do you happen to have any paper and a quill?" I asked carefully, I needed to help these people.

Ryan's mother eyed me for a long moment before nodding and getting the requested items, it was clear that she was curious as to what I was doing but she didn't want to pry. I stared at the black raven's feather for a long time before finally settling down to write; just like it had with Ahiru their story just seemed to flow over the page. I must have been writing for a long time because when I was finished Ryan's mother had gone over and fallen asleep next to her son on the small cot. I smiled softly at the pair before tending to the fire and falling asleep, I knew in the morning everything would be better.

Earlier the next morning there was a knock on the door that woke all the occupants of the house. Ryan's mother looked startled as she quickly straightened out her dress and hair before going to open the door. I smiled as I heard a delighted gasp. Slowly I stood and made my way into the other room just in time to see her hugging a man tightly. I could hear her saying that she thought he would never come back. He just chuckled and told her that he had promised to never leave her and he had fought every day to get back to her and his son. I was nearly knocked over as an excited Ryan ran past me and into his father's arms.

Feeling like I was interfering with this reunion I turned and started gathering up my stuff to go, I had already lost too much time. As I was packing I heard Ryan's joyful talking get cut off by a harsh coughing fit and his father exclaim that he had found the cure and I smiled to myself, maybe I don't always have to write tragedies. Once I had finished packing I left the story on the cot and went to leave, just then Ryan's mother stepped back into the room.

"I'm sorry for forgetting you like that. I just had not expected him to come home just like that."

"Don't worry about it, I understand."

"Oh my," she suddenly gasped as she looked past me. When I followed her gaze I caught the very end of the raven feather changing into a silver swan feather. After a moment a carefully picked it up and went to hand it to her but her attention was drawn to the papers still sitting on the cot. "Did you write this?" she asked carefully after scanning the story.

"I did."

"You wrote this for us?" She asked again as she looked up at me, I nodded. "You keep that quill; you have already done so much for us. You deserve it. I pray it will help you find your princess."

"I don't need it really," I protested as I tried to hand the quill back but she refused and clutched the papers close to her chest.

"You have brought back my husband and his father. You deserve the quill to help you find your happiness." She said defiantly, "I wish you the best of luck." With that she led me to the door and pushed me out not even giving me a chance to argue.