Work Text:
1: One moment, Resa is sitting on the couch, listening to her husband’s wonderful voice. The next, she is lying in the middle of a forest like none she’d ever seen before. She instantly knows that nothing will ever be the same again.
2: Give up, a tiny part of him says. She’s gone. But he can’t bear to. There must be some way his accursed voice can bring her back, and by god he will find it, even if it takes him the rest of his sorry life. In the end, what stops him is Meggie. One evening after a day of fruitless effort, he hears her crying, and it breaks through the grief and numb determination he has been feeling. His daughter needs him. He goes to her and as he takes her into his arms it strikes him that he is the only thing she has left now. She needs him more than Resa does. It hurts to think that, but it’s the truth. With that realisation, he stops trying to rescue Resa and devotes his time to looking after his daughter. But he never gives up the hope that one day he will find Resa and they will be a family again.
3: The house feels painfully empty without her. The first few nights alone, he climbs into the bed they had shared and holds her favourite scarf close to him, as if it could somehow bring her back. He closes his eyes and tries not to let the guilt and grief consume him.
4: On one of the nights when Dustfinger comes to visit Mo, the fire-eater notices and asks about the framed photo of Resa that Mo always keeps with him.
‘Resa,’ he tells the scarred fire-eater. ‘My wife.’ The pain wells up again, as it always does when he thinks of Resa and looks at her photograph. ‘She disappeared into Inkheart.’
‘Ah.’ The fire-eater’s face remains enigmatic. What was he thinking? Most likely satisfaction, that Mo deserved the loss for ripping him from his own beloved world. And maybe he was right, Mo thinks. He still feels guilty about what his voice had done, even though it was an accident. ‘And you miss her.’ It was a statement, not a question.
‘Yes, of course. I always do.’ He tries to hide the grief, but the fire-eater sees it anyway. Resa always said that his face was like an open book.
‘Good.’ This time he can see the pain and bitterness in Dustfinger’s eyes, as well as the blame. He can’t even fault him for that, for it was his fault. The worst thing is that he can do nothing about it. He doesn’t dare try to read him back into the book, lest someone or something disappear along with him. Dustfinger hasn’t forgiven him for that, and probably never will.
‘I’m sorry,’ he says to him, as he has countless times before. I can’t help you, just as I couldn’t help my wife.
‘I don’t need your apologies,’ Dustfinger says coldly. ‘If you won’t help me, I’ll find another way home.’
And with that, he disappears into the night, and Mo is left staring at the picture of Resa wondering if he had done the right thing.
5: Not one day goes by where she doesn’t think of him and their daughter.
6: Like a bird seeking freedom, Resa runs. The thought of her family spurs her on. It’s been years, but surely if she escapes she can find them again. After all, she’s back in the same world as them now. It might be foolhardy and dangerous, but she has to try.
She makes two such attempts, both unsuccessful. The first time, Capricorn’s men find her and bring her back. When thrown at Capricorn’s feet, she lies and claims that she’d always wanted to see what the outside world looked like. Capricorn believes her. He doesn’t want to think that his favourite maid is traitorous, and besides, she’s always been a very convincing actress.
The second and final time, she would have succeeded if it weren’t for the snake that bit her. She would’ve died, had Dustfinger not appeared and sucked the venom out of her. After that, Capricorn’s men had found them both, and she had been taken straight to Capricorn again. This time his fury knew no bounds, and he punished her severely.
After he was done, he had her thrown into one of his dingy cells. She could barely stand, the pain was so great. She bit her lip to stop the tears from falling. Mo, oh Mo, where are you? I wish you were here. I want so badly to go back to you and Meggie, but I can’t. I’m so sorry.
7: Mo, she thinks. Hope blossoms in her, as well as pain. This Silvertongue she has heard about must be Mo. Oh god… to be so close, and yet unable to reach him! If only she could escape, but that was futile. Capricorn had taught her that the last time she had tried to run. Still, the news filled her with so much more hope and love and joy than she had ever felt for the past four years in Capricorn’s service.
8: At first she thinks is must be a dream, and that she will wake up back in the maid’s quarters, or even the Inkworld, at the mercy of Mortola. Mo… it’s Mo! She drinks in his face, his dear beloved familiar face that she hadn’t expected to ever see again. She can see him doing the same, staring at her in quiet wonder. Hours later she still fears that this is a dream, but the feel of Mo’s hand in her own grounds her and helps her realise that this is real and that she is finally home.