Author's Note: So sorry everyone! I know I said I'd update by like, October or November or something. It was wrong of me to promise that and then go AWOL without an explanation. Life's been a little chaotic but I have no excuse. Luckily, I really think that there will be an update soon after this one. This chapter was originally going to be much longer, but then I split it into two parts. A good part of the next chapter has been written and I hope to get it out very soon!

Also, I know this fic is very samey to the original Inkheart. It's going to remain like that for a few more chapters, sorry to say. But starting at about, say, chapter 7 or so I really plan to change things up. That's mostly because characters such as the Piper and the Adderhead will be reintroduced around then.

So yeah, thanks for bearing with me and I hope you're not all too mad. Chapter 5 will be out really soon, I promise!

4. The Largest Library Ever

The drive to Elinor's ended up lasting the whole day.

It had been rather uneventful. The Black Prince fell asleep almost as soon as the Folcharts resumed their driving (Dante guessed he'd had a pretty busy night) and his parents lapsed into a private conversation of their own. This left Dante to entertain himself, but he didn't mind. His Gameboy made it very easy to for him to do just that.

So as the bright green fields gave way to purple mountains, Dante plugged away at his game, traversing through the worlds of The Mushroom Kingdom and Hyrule. He played hours of Pokemon and Tetris (Tetris could be a very addicting game).

Only once on the trip did he open his book box. They had been on the road for quite some time and Teresa had fallen asleep. Mortimer was still up though, (he sort of had to be, as he was the one driving the camper van) and he had tried to fill the silence with a short conversation with his son.

"Doing alright back there, Dante?" Mr. Folchart had asked.

"Mhm," Dante said with a nod.

"Are you hungry yet? Your mother packed some sandwiches. They're in the cooler."

"Mm, not yet."

"I see…" A pause. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, stuff…" Dante said, vaguely.

"Well, if you're bored you could always read one of the books in your book box."

"Yeah, yeah, I could."

Dante did open it up not long after his conversation with his father. He had taken out Huckleberry Finn, having picked one at random, but the words were so strange and old-timey that Dante had a hard time following.

So boring, he thought.

But Dante didn't want to disappoint his father. That's certainly what he'd do if he didn't at least spend a few hours reading.

Wait! That's it! Dante had thought up the most brilliant idea! He waited until his father had his eyes completely on the road. Then he picked up his Gameboy and positioned it so that it would be directly in front of him while still making it look as if he was reading Huckleberry Finn. Dante was so impressed with himself for coming up with such a clever plan. There was no way his father could catch him now!

The ruse worked for a surprisingly long time. As long as he turned the volume down on his videogame and remembered to flick the pages a little, so it sounded as if he was turning them, then Mortimer paid no mind. A little while later though, his little farce fell apart when the camper van hit a particularly nasty road and the bumping caused the Gameboy to slip from his hands and onto the floor. Dante yelped as he dived to retrieve it.

Dante's mother, who was back awake by this time had laughed a little at her son's shenanigans but had stopped abruptly when she saw her husband frowning. Ashamed, Dante packed the Gameboy away and tried to read Huckleberry Finn but instead of keeping him engaged the book lulled him to sleep.

The van had stopped by the time Dante woke up again.

Dante rubbed his eyes as he sat up in his seat. Sleeping with his head on the table had left a crick in his neck.

"Hello?" Dante called out but he received no response. No one else was in the camper van. Looking out the window he saw the Black Prince and his parents in a conversation. He went to join them.

Outside was warm and humid. Soft grass swayed and fireflies fluttered under a deep orange sky. Pink clouds hovered lazily above them, creating faint shadows on the ground below. The sound of crickets chirping caressed Dante's ears. In the distance a lake, large and tranquil reflected the sunset.

Going around the camper van, Dante spotted the three grown-ups. They were standing by a brick wall which included a large iron gate. Said gate was curved in an arch. The steel on it was rusting and it had long pointy spikes at the top. Dante didn't like the look of it. It reminded him of the castles of villains like Bowser and Dr. Wily. Dante had always hated those levels because they were the hardest and sometimes took days to beat.

On the side of the gate was a brass sign. PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY.

"Not very welcoming, is it?" Dante's mother said, having noticed her son had joined them.

"It looks like a bad guy's castle." Dante mused. He turned to his mother. "Does Aunty Elinor live in a lava castle?"

"Oh no," Teresa said with a giggle. "Elinor lives in a normal house."

"Well, maybe not a normal house," The Black Prince commented, gazing at the wall. "She's obviously spared no expense on the entrance. Her house must be quite large."

"Yes, Elinor has quite a bit of money," Mortimer offered. "But she spends almost all of it on books. I wouldn't be surprised if endless auctions, online orders, and high-end bookstores left her with a smaller residence."

Dante was astonished. How could someone spend so much money on something as boring as books?

"We shouldn't be speculating about Elinor's financial habits, anyway," Teresa said, taking her son's hand. "We better get inside. Before it gets dark, and the mosquitos come out."

So that's what they did. Mortimer led the way, carrying his and his wife's bags while the Black Prince took Dante's red suitcase. He hadn't brought much of his own luggage. Dante whimpered a little when Mortimer opened the gates, for they creaked ominously as they opened. Beyond them, the grassy plains gave way to tall trees and large bushes. They obscured the bright sunset so that the only light came from the fireflies. It looked as if night had fallen in Elinor's yard.

Eventually, the dirt path gave way to gravel, and a large house broke through the trees. It was a large and beautiful house, yellow with dark green shutters, all of which were closed. The only window Dante could see from where the tiny ones that adorned the dark wooden doors. There was no light coming from them.

By the doors was another sign. IF YOU INTEND TO WASTE MY TIME ON TRIVIA, YOU'D BETTER GO AWAY NOW!

"Dad," Dante whispered. He tugged on his father's shirt and pointed to the message, but Mortimer only laughed, ruffled his hair.

"It's alright, Dante," he murmured. "Elinor's family." Dante wasn't so sure about this. He didn't know Elinor very well and judging from the signs she seemed like a very angry person. Still, he trusted his parents, so he held his tongue as Mortimer rang the doorbell, as the light in the small door windows came on, as the doorknob creaked.

Mortimer! Resa! What a surprise to see you two! Where on Earth did you come from!?" The woman who had come to the door was short and old. The first word Dante would have used to describe her was tight. Everything from her gray bun to her pearl necklace to her sweater and skirt and fancy slippers implied a no-nonsense attitude. Even her face, which reminded Dante of a bulldog with its small gray eyes, large frown and sea of wrinkles gave Dante the feeling of being closely inspected, much like his teacher at school who was quite strict.

It instantly set Dante on edge.

Meanwhile, his parents didn't seem to have a problem with Elinor's attitude at all. Resa even laughed. "Nice to see you haven't changed one bit, Elinor," she said, teasing her great aunt.

"Yes, very funny Resa," Elinor said. "I see you haven't changed all that much either. You haven't gained an ounce of respect for elders, for one thing." Though she said it with a scowl and a sharp tone it was obvious she wasn't actually offended. Dante had a feeling, though, that if his mother9 hadn't been close family they'd be getting an earful right now. The old woman's eyes narrowed as they travelled to Dante. "This is your son, isn't it?"

Mortimer put his arms around the boy. "Yes, this is Dante. He's eight years old right now."

"Eight years old. That's quite young," mused Elinor.

"That may be so but he's quite well behaved," Dante's mother quickly assured her. "He won't be any problem at all, I promise."

"Well, as long as he doesn't mess with any of my precious books it's not a problem," Then she gestured to the Black Prince. "Now, who's this?"

Elinor's question was quite rude and demanding, but The Black Prince answered with an affable smile. "You may call me the Black Prince," he said, holding out his hand for the old woman to shake. Elinor didn't take it though. Instead, she looked the Black Prince up and down with disgust.

"That's quite the eccentric outfit," she said, commenting on the Black Prince's military wear. "You aren't going to be digging any trenches near my books, are you?"

The Black Prince laughed. "No, not at all, mam. If I do any sort of military drills, I'll stay outside."

Dante was pretty sure he had been joking but Elinor said, "Well, you better not trample all over my flower beds. It cost a lot of money to have those planted." Either she hadn't gotten the joke, or she didn't entirely trust the Black Prince.

"Please let him in, Elinor," Teresa said, putting her hand on the Black Prince's shoulder. "He's only a friend of ours. And he won't make any trouble at all."

"Alright," Elinor said begrudgingly. "But if he does anything to my precious books, he'll have to find somewhere else to stay," and with that, Elinor opened her door and stepped back to let her new guests in.

Dante's jaw dropped as soon as he entered.

Everything was books!

Or more like all the walls were books. Every inch of the grand entrance that wasn't the staircase, ceiling or windows was a bookshelf and every single one of them was filled to the brim with books. Thick books and thin books all stood shoulder to shoulder. Not a single one was backwards or leaning over or on its face. Dante could see the title on every one of them, glittering in the electric light.

And he thought his parents had owned a lot of books!

"Only a person who really loved books would make the entrance their library," Dante commented. Elinor scoffed.

"This isn't my library! That's down the hall! All of the really important books are down there." Elinor walked off, heading towards one of the halls. Dante's father smiled down at him.

"Told you she had a lot of books," he said.

Just as Elinor had said, the entrance hall was only the tip of the iceberg. The halls were also lined with book shelfs which were packed all neat and tight.

"All of these books," Elinor said as the group walked through her home, "were gathered over decades of collecting. The ones out here are nothing special. In fact, many of them are dated textbooks and mediocre romance novels. The real treasures are in here."

Elinor stopped at a door that was marked with a small sculpture of an anchor with a dolphin coiled around it. Dante pointed to it. "Is that a sailor's sculpture?" he asked excitedly. He had been rather interested in sailors since he had played Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker at a friend's house.

Elinor sniffed. "A sailor!? What business would a sailor's artifacts have in my home! Water ruins a book more than anything! No, this is the sign of Aldus Manutius, a famous book printer who lived in Venice! I happen to own one of the books he printed all the way back in 1503! Although, I don't think you'd be able to appreciate the importance of that."

Elinor was right. Although Dante was sure his father had told him who he was at some point, The name Aldus Manutius meant nothing to him. Still, he would've liked to tell her at least one fact about him, just so she wouldn't be so condescending.

"Here are the rules to my library," Elinor lectured. "Normally, I don't allow kids in here, but because he's your son Resa and Mortimer I'll let him stay if he stays at least three paces from my books! Got it!"

Dante nodded solemnly. Oh, he got it alright. Besides, he couldn't think of a single reason he'd want to get near Elinor's books anyway. He already didn't like books and he couldn't see how any books belonging to such a nasty old woman could be any better than the ones his far kinder parents chose to read.

But he almost swallowed his words when he entered Elinor's library. It truly was a beautiful place. The ceiling was covered with small windows that cast narrow beams of light into the room. The shelves went as tall as three stories and smelled of fresh wood. Ladders of every size leaned against them, nice and orderly. There were books in cases and shelves and on neat stacks on desks. There were plush couches and chairs and little rugs and tables. Everything was in its place.

"Wow, Elinor," Mrs. Folchart was saying. "You've renovated this place since I've been here."

"That's right!" Elinor said with a smug expression. "I redid everything! The floor, the shelves, the ceiling. I even got new cases installed. But I had to make sure none of the cases were in a place where the sunlight would reach them. Sun is bad for books you see."

Dante yawned. The library was as boring as it was beautiful. Already he couldn't wait to leave.

"Not having much fun, are you?" It was the Black Prince. He wore a quirky smile as he gazed down at Dante.

"It's not my fault," Dante said. "Books are so boring. And even if they weren't I'm not allowed to touch any of them."

"Doesn't mean you can't admire any of them," The Black Prince steered Dante to one of the fancy cases. "Look here. Aren't those pictures absolutely marvelous?" He was referring to one of the open books in the case. On the left side of the page was a picture of three nights battling a ferocious looking gryphon. A dark castle stood high on a hill in the distance, shrouding the sky in darkness. Dante couldn't help but admire the way the fine paint shined in the light or how minute the details were. Dante didn't know anything about book illustration, but he figured whoever had drawn that painting had probably used a brush smaller than the ones he'd ever held in his art classes.

When he looked away, he caught the Black Prince's eyes. He was staring at him intently. "What do you think?" he murmured, still smiling.

Dante didn't know if the Black Prince had caught the gleam in his eyes, but he still crossed his arms and said, "Eh, it's fine," just in case he hadn't.

"Is that what you call three paces!?" Dante and the Black Prince turned to see Elinor stomping towards them looking positively miffed. She pointed to Dante's fingers which were rested on the glass. "Now look what you've done! Your fingerprints will get all on the glass!"

"Sorry," Dante said, his voice taking on an injured tone. "I was only appreciating your books."

Elinor seemed to relent a little upon hearing this. "Yes, the pictures from books back then were something special. Made by illuminators who had specially made tools to paint with. Paintings like these were usually painted in bibles to be displayed in churches. That way the messages of the story could be understood by the poor who couldn't read."

"Well, this doesn't look like a scene from the Bible to me," The Black Prince mused.

"No. This book is an anomaly in that it's a secular book that contains pictures. It was almost certainly commissioned by someone wealthy who could read a book for entertainment."

"Elinor," Mo called from across the room. The library was quiet, so he didn't need to speak loud for his voice to be heard. He was holding an old book in his hand so delicately as if it may fall to dust at any moment. Dante noticed the spine was only held together by three threads.

"Oh, yes!" Elinor said rushing over. "Yes, that's the book! It really does look terrible, doesn't it? I know it looks like a long shot Mortimer but-"

"Don't worry, Elinor," Mortimer assured the old woman. "I'm confident I can fix all your books."

"Oh good!" Elinor put a heart to her hand. Oh, how concerned for her books she must have been!

"The only thing is, there are so many books it will take me quite a while to get to them all. If it's not too much trouble, may my family and I stay for two weeks so I can fix all of them?"

"Oh, of course! Of course, Mortimer! As long as you're fixing my books, I don't have a problem at all." Elinor cast a glance to the purple light filtering through her library.

"Speaking of fixing, it's getting late. How about I make you all dinner."

Dinner was tomato soup straight out of the can.

Turned out, Elinor's definition of making dinner was less cooking food and more throwing things in the toaster, oven, or microwave for a quick heating up.

Dante stirred the soup in his bowl unenthusiastically. He had never really liked soup and this soup was cool due to its haphazard preparation. Still, his parents had raised him to be polite when visiting someone else's home, so he resolved to eat as much as possible. Even if he ended up doing so at a snail's pace.

Elinor was the last to sit down at the table. She walked up with her bowl, sat down at the head of the table, and cleared her throat. "Alright," she barked. "Since you all are going to be staying here for the next two weeks, I thought I should familiarize you with the rules of my house."

Elinor held up a bony finger. "One! No candles! I refuse to have any fire in this house. It's far too hungry for books. If I see any candles anywhere, I'm throwing them away."

"Two! If you take a book from the shelf, I expect that you put it, exactly where you found it. I have a particular way I like to arrange my books. If I find a book where it's not supposed to be and you're responsible then I won't be letting you touch any of my books, again!" Elinor looked right at Dante as she said this. Dante didn't say anything, (he was being polite) but he was getting quite miffed with this woman. Why would anyone want to touch her boring books, anyway?

"Rule three! Food is to remain in the kitchen! As you can see, books are everywhere in this house and they're not moving so that you can eat your bag of popcorn in front of the television. And if you're thinking about why on Earth I have this rule, I once saw a piece of salami used as a bookmark in a rare and ancient text!"

Dante couldn't help but laugh at that one. This earned him a scowl from Elinor. "It's not funny young man. That salami ruined that book! It's serious!"

Dante didn't think so, though. The mental image of a piece of salami ripping out pages of a book or laying it face down with all the pages open (as his parents had often advised him not to do) had entered his mind and he had to cover his mouth with his hand so Elinor wouldn't see his smile. Fortunately, she was distracted by Mortimer at this point. He was whispering in her ear about something. Probably a book judging from the way her small gray eyes had widened, and her mouth had dropped open. Elinor ran off while Mortimer politely excused himself from the table, leaving just Dante, Teresa, and the Black Prince.

Dante would have thought nothing of this (after all, books didn't normally spark his curiosity) if it wasn't for the look the Black Prince gave him. His eyebrows were raised, and his brown eyes portrayed a curious expression as he looked down at Dante. It was obvious he was trying to convey some kind of message. Did he want him to follow his father?

Well, he supposed he could. Even if he wasn't super curious about books it was better than eating Elinor's cold soup.

Unfortunately, before he could leave, his mother spoke up.

"Well, what do you think, Dante?" She asked.

"Think of what?" Dante asked. This was fine, Dante told himself. He supposed if he was going to follow his father, he'd look a lot less suspicious if he waited a little while before leaving the table. That way it wouldn't be obvious that he was spying.

"Of the house. Of Elinor," Teresa said. "I visited this place all the time when I was younger, and Elinor was just as grumpy then as she is now."

"Elinor's not just grumpy," Dante said. "She's mean."

"Dante!" Teresa scolded.

"But she is! She doesn't like me because she thinks I'll ruin all her books! Like I'd ever touch any of them!"

"Yes, Elinor is protective of her books," Teresa said. "But it was always because she never quite got on with people. Maybe you and Elinor just need some time to warm up to each other."

Like that will ever happen, Dante thought but he knew it wasn't the sort of thing you said to adults so instead he said, "I suppose so. May I use the bathroom?"

"Oh!" Teresa had obviously been caught off guard. "Yes, I suppose you can."

"Thank you!" Dante said. He hastily got up from the table.

"Wait, Dante!" his mother asked him as he left the kitchen. "Do you even know where the bathroom is!?"

"I'll ask Elinor!" Dante called over his shoulder. Walking through the book lined halls, Dante tried his best to remember which way the library was. Fortunately, he only got turned around once before he discovered Elinor and his father speaking in hushed voices. When he reached the grand doors to the library, he peeked through the keyhole to find them both leaning over a table, a thin green volume open before them. Dante noticed the empty paper bag his father clutched tightly in his pale hands.

"Wow. I can't believe you even have this, Mortimer," Elinor was saying in hushed tones. "Much less that you're willing to give it to me. I haven't heard from this book in years."

"Trust me, I have no problem with you having it at all," Mortimer whispered. "Just as long as you don't tell a soul about it."

"My lips are sealed, Mortimer!" Elinor said. "In fact, it may allow me to avoid whatever's been causing this book to disappear."

Suddenly, Dante felt a presence behind him. Turning around, he saw the Black Prince behind him. He looked just like a kid, ears pressed to the library doors as he tried to listen on Elinor and Mortimer's conversation. The sight was so goofy that Dante laughed despite himself.

"Shhh." The Black Prince hushed gently.

"What are you doing here?" Dante whispered. There was a slight giggle in his voice.

"Aren't you curious about what that book is all about?"

"Aren't you?" Dante countered.

"They'd never reveal their secrets to me," The Black Prince reasoned. "I'm not part of the family. You on the other hand…"

"But I'm just a kid," said Dante. He doubted that his parents would be willing to reveal something so secret to him. He thought the Black Prince was severely overestimating the power of familial ties.

"Children are a lot better at getting secrets then grown-ups are," The Black Prince insisted. "Not many people believe one little kid will be able to make much of a difference no matter what they know."

"Hmm…" Dante hummed. He studied the Black Prince's face and then the door, considering it. It was only a book, and he didn't want to get in trouble. All the same he was still curious, and he certainly didn't appreciate all the secret keeping that had already been going on today.

Dante had a feeling that if he didn't get the answer sooner rather than later, the mysterious brown bag would nag at the corner of his mind for a long time.

Hesitantly, Dante pressed one eye against the keyhole. Elinor and Mortimer were still there, hovering over the mysterious book, talking about it in hushed tones. Dante took a deep breath.

Then he opened the door.

"Oh my, thank you so much, Mortimer," Elinor was saying. "I'll be sure to put this in a place of honor."

"Elinor!" Mortimer said sharply.

"A private place of honor," Elinor amended.

"What are you talking about?" Dante's voice seemed to fill the room. It echoed off the bookshelves and glass cases and high ceiling. It caused both adults in the room to turn around. Elinor wore a curious expression, while Mortimer looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"What are you doing here, Dante?" Mortimer asked, perhaps a little too sharply. "Go back to the table. These are grown up matters."

"What's so grown up about an old book?" Dante asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh, there's a whole history behind that," Elinor began, almost before she could stop herself. "Mortimer, surely you must have heard of Aristotle's Se-"

"Enough Elinor. This book isn't nearly as grown up as that."

"Then why can't I see it?" Dante asked.

"Yeah, why can't he see it?" To Dante's surprise, it was Elinor who said this. She was looking at Mortimer with her arms crossed. "Surely it wouldn't hurt for the boy to have one quick glance."

This made Mortimer pause. Now he was caught between Dante's reproachful glare and Elinor's intent gaze. He shot a quick glance at the thin green volume behind him.

"Well…" he began. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't be too bad for him to see. But it really isn't interesting Dante. It's just like any other book."

Yeah, right it is, Dante thought, but he kept silent. He was finally getting a peak at the story that had been troubling his family all day. Cautiously, he crept up to the desk that Mortimer and Elinor had been standing by moments earlier. The mysterious book lay open in front of him, on page 40. Page 39, right beside it bore a picture of a dark forest. Dark red eyes glared at him between the deep green trees and sent shivers down his spine. Whoever had drawn these pictures was certainly talented. Even more than the illuminator from Elinor's older book.

The chapter started with a giant T that was painted silver and had dark vines wrapped around it. The shadow crept quietly through the forest-

That wasn't even where the sentence ended but someone slammed the book shut before Dante could finish.

"Well, that's enough, I think," called out Elinor's gruff voice. "Don't want him to get invested in the story."

"I know you don't like books, Dante," Mortimer muttered. "But please don't make an exception for this one. There are a million more books in the world for you to read. Including the ones in your box."

Dante groaned inwardly. He should have predicted his father would get at him for that. Dante departed the library without another word. When he did, he found the Black Prince there, waiting for him.

"What did you find out?" he asked.

"Not much," Dante said. "Other than that the book is full of dark creatures. And that it's rare, and my father really doesn't like it."

"Not much, that," The Black Prince muttered.

"Sorry," Dante said, feeling oddly disappointed. He didn't like seeing the Black Prince upset although he couldn't tell why he felt this way. After all, the two had only just met.

"There's no need to apologize," The Black Prince said, ruffling his hair. "I'm sure we'll find out more soon. Right now, you need to go back and finish your dinner. That soup isn't going to eat itself."

Oh right. The soup, Dante thought. But oddly enough, he found he wasn't that upset about his dinner anymore. Elinor had told him not to become invested in the story, but he had. Even if it wasn't the one in the book.