Chapter 5

Dusk descended on Capricorn's village and once again Dafne found herself heading back to the church to serve dinner. Inside the church, the men were just as rowdy as before and the air was filled with their noise. They sounded like a pack of crows and in their black uniforms they looked the part. As she worked her way down her table, Dafne caught sight of Basta sitting sullenly across from her. When he saw her, he shot her a dark look. She ignored him. Silvio was seated nearby, their eyes made contact and he flashed her a grin. She smiled back.

Suddenly the doors of the church burst open and Cockerell stood in the doorway like a conquering hero. There was a woman with him and he had his arms looped around her waist,

"Look who I found!" He bellowed to the crowd.

The appearance of the woman was greeted with a round of cheers from the men. She waved cheekily to her audience,

"Hello boys, I'm back!"

The woman had a lion's head of hair and wore a flimsy orange dress that slipped off her shoulders. She was about Dafne's age, possibly slightly older. The men all pressed around her as she laughed.

"Who's that?" Dafne asked the closest maidservant. Her name was Perla.

"That's Fiammetta," she told her and eyed the display wearily, "She's a… prostitute. She shows up every so often. If Mortola catches her, she'll have her thrown out. But the men love her."

That certainly seemed the case. The so-called Fiammetta had been hoisted up onto one of the tables and was performing an impromptu dance to the men's applause. She twirled madly about with little regard to the food and crockery being trampled under her boots.

Dafne glanced over at Orlanda, standing at her usual spot with the same fearsome expression on her face. Why hadn't she run off to Mortola? Perla must have read her mind,

"If you're wondering, they pay off Orlanda so she doesn't tell her."

Dafne saw that there was one man who was not enthralled by Fiammetta's performance. It was Basta. Instead of watching her, he was staring glumly down at his plate. He looked more mournful than vengeful but Dafne knew better than to pity him. She carried on dishing out the dinner, although by now the men didn't seem particularly interested in it.

The women were livelier on the way back to Capricorn's village. They chatted amongst themselves with Fiammetta as their primary topic of conversation. The woman was an obvious source of gossip.

"When she left here she was pregnant you know," said one.

"Well, she doesn't look pregnant anymore," said another.

Resa was waiting for Dafne in the kitchen with a smile.

"I was just introduced to Fiammetta," Dafne told her. To her amusement, Resa rolled her eyes. Then she handed her a note folded in half.

Dafne opened it and read:

You probably have a lot of questions you want to ask me, just as I have many things to ask you. Mine is a long story so I have already written it down for you. I will give it to you when the others are in bed. You can read it and I will answer any questions you like.

Dafne looked up at Resa and nodded.

The maidservant quarters consisted of five to six women squeezed into each bedroom. There was a spare place in the room where Resa slept and this led Dafne to believe that Mortola had made her sleep on the kitchen floor out of spite. The previous occupant of Dafne's new bed had moved into the house of one of Capricorn's men. Her other roommates were Marianna, Agnese and Giovannetta. All of them seemed to be on friendly terms with Resa. The youngest was Giovannetta at the tender age of fifteen. She was as meek as a little lamb and just as shy.

Orlanda came in and did a head count as if to make sure all the hens were roosted in the henhouse. Then she went on her way, locking the door behind her. Marianna and Agnese held a whispered conversation from their beds while Giovannetta buried herself under her covers and remained as quiet as a mouse. The room was dark with no lamps to brighten it. Dafne sat crossed legged on her end of her bed, listening to the women's hushed voices as they gradually dwindled into silence. She waited. Outside the sound of yowling of cats was followed by gunshots accompanied by men's laughter. Dafne hugged her knees.

She heard the strike of a match and Resa's face appeared, bathed in the glow from a candle's flame. She sat down beside her and handed her a page covered in script. By the candlelight, Dafne began to read:

My name is Teresa Folchart. I have a husband and a daughter, Mo and Meggie. My daughter would be ten years old by now. I haven't seen my family for seven years. The last time I saw them, Mo was reading me a story. Inkheart. Mo has a special ability. He can read aloud from books and make things come out of them. The night he read Inkheart, three people came out. Capricorn, Basta and Dustfinger, all characters from the book.

Dafne looked from page in disbelief.

Capricorn, Basta and Dustfinger, all characters from the book.

How could this possibly be true? Characters came from the imaginations of writers, crafted by words and set down in ink. They couldn't step off the pages and come to life. It was fantasy. Inkheart. That had been the book taken from Signor Orazio's house. Basta. The man who had threatened her that day was very real. And Capricorn. The man she was now enslaved to was very real. To learn that two had supposedly originated from a book, that they had once been print instead of flesh, was mind-boggling.

Then Dafne saw the urgency on Resa's face. She telling the truth, she thought, her mind racing with wild realisation. She's not joking. In the circumstances, why would she?

She continued reading, her brain trying to wrap around the words:

Capricorn, Basta and Dustfinger, all characters from the book. Please believe me, I know it sounds ridiculous. I didn't know what happened myself at the time. I suddenly found myself in another world. I was in Inkheart. Mortola is from the book too and I ended up as her servant. I was there for four years until Capricorn had us both read out by another reader named Darius. But when Darius read me out, his voice stumbled and that's how I lost my voice. I have been here ever since. I know this will be hard for you to understand and it may seem like magic but it's the truth.

Dafne set the page down to meet Resa's anxious face.

"It sounds crazy," she said in a dazed voice, "But I believe you."

Resa sighed and nodded, looking relieved.

"Your husband must be some kind of wizard."

Resa smiled but Dafne could see the deep sadness in it. Poor Resa. This was Dafne's second night in the village while Resa had been away from her family for years. She couldn't imagine how much pain she had gone through. She thought about Signor Orazio and his departed wife and took out the necklace from her pocket.

The ruby pulsed in the candlelight.

"I think it's time I told you about this," she said to Resa, "Before then men brought me here, I worked for a man called Signor Orazio. He was an elderly gentleman and he was very kind to me. He taught me how to read better even though I was only his maid. This necklace belonged to his wife. He loved her very much and when she died, he couldn't bear to part with it. Cockerell was the one who stole it from his house but Basta took it off him afterwards and tried to give it to you."

Resa frowned at the mention of Basta.

"Now that I have it, I swear that I'm going to find some way to return it to Signor Orazio. He deserves to have it brought back to him."

Resa, who had been repulsed by the object when Basta had offered it to her, now looked at it tenderly. She had Dafne hold the candle while she produced a strip of paper and wrote something down.

I have a plan to escape. I want you to come with me. I have a friend who can help us.

"Who?" Dafne asked after she had read it. The thought of escape made her heart beat faster in excitement.

Resa jotted down a single word. A name.

Dustfinger.

"Dustfinger? The one who was read out of Inkheart with Basta and Capricorn?"

Resa nodded.

If Resa trusts him, Dafne reasoned, this Dustfinger mustn't be as villainous as those other two. She remembered how Mortola had earlier warned Resa not to associate with a certain individual. Had that been Dustfinger she had been referring to?

"Was he that one Mortola was talking about, the… fire-eater?"

Another nod. Resa scribbled.

DF is a good man. He will help us if he can. We just have to get past the guards.

"How will we do that?"

Resa slid off the bed and mimed creeping steps with a finger pressed to lips. Her actions seemed comical even though the situation was serious. Dafne felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"When?" She asked her.

Resa held up two fingers. Two days. Dafne looked at necklace. Two days.

"There's something else I need to get back," she said, "Basta stole a copy of Inkheart from Signor Orazio's library. He gave it to Capricorn. Do you know why he would want it?"

Resa shook her head slowly, her face contemplative.

"Do you know where he might be keeping it?"

Resa scribbled a quick response.

Maybe treasury.

Dafne sighed, "I'm guessing that's not an easy place to get into."

Resa answered with a sympathetic nod. Dafne considered her options.

"I suppose if I can get to Signor Orazio, he can come here with police," she said hopefully.

Resa nodded again but her expression was not encouraging. She elaborated in a note.

Local police are afraid of Cap. He has Basta threaten their families.

"Oh, but I'm sure that Signor Orazio would be able to arrange something. Go to the news or…" Dafne trailed off, her confidence faltering. Signor Orazio probably still thought that she had been the one to steal his possessions and set fire to his library.

Resa gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Dafne felt a surge of anger,

"Capricorn can't just do this people and get away with it."

And Basta. If anything she wanted to put an end to him brandishing his knife.

Resa understood. She wrote a last message.

I know how you feel. That's why we have to escape. I have to find my Mo and Meggie.

"You'll find them," Dafne whispered back determinedly, "I'm sure you will."

By now the candle was collapsing into a molten puddle and with its flame was exerting the last of its life, Resa mimed sleep. Dafne agreed. Although her mind was reeling with questions, her body had grown tired.

"Goodnight Resa."

Resa made a gesture with her hands in what Dafne considered to be the silent equivalent. Taking the candle, she crossed the room as Dafne settled under her covers. She watched Resa pause when she reached Giovannetta's bed and lay a hand on the girl's mousy head. As she did, her face was full of haunting sadness and Dafne knew that she was thinking of her own daughter. It was the last thing Dafne saw before the candle was blown out and her vision was swallowed by darkness.

Dafne clutched the necklace like a talisman as she starred into the void above her head. Resa. Basta. Capricorn. Signor Orazio. Mortola. Silvio. All of them were in her thoughts. Even Dustfinger, though she couldn't give him a face, and Resa's daughter, who she pictured as looking exactly like her mother were there as scenarios played out in her mind.

There was Resa, Dafne and the unformed figure of Dustfinger stealing away from the village in the dead of night. Sometimes Silvio came with them. Sometimes Basta caught them and brought them before Capricorn. Mortola was always at his side and their deaths were always horrible. But more often, they escaped and Resa's family would be waiting for her just over the mountains. Resa would hold her daughter in arms and kiss her husband. Signor Orazio would also be there and he would listen to Dafne's story. He would always understand and afterwards she would give him the necklace. Sometimes the police would be there, ready to storm the village and arrest Capricorn along with all of his men…

Dafne drifted off to sleep.

To Be Continued…