Disclaimer: Erm... I own a copy of Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath. But that doesn't count.
Spoilers: Inkspell
Summary: It can't be the end, and yet it seems that way for Meggie. How do you lose someone in a world made of ink? My interpretation of Meggie's thoughts in the moments when Farid is stabbed by Basta.

A/N: Just a drabble-y thing about that bit in Inkspell. I was in a strange mood. Excuse the rubbish title.

Flesh As Cold As Iron

She cradled him in her arms, sobbing into his already wet hair as he fell to the ground soundlessly. The tears had come before she'd noticed. She lifted his head, not wanting the confirmation of what she knew, but the cold, harsh night gave it her anyway.

His skin was already ice, as cold as the strongest iron, and she suddenly longed for his warm touch, to feel his hand in hers, to feel his lips on hers.

Everything was nothing; the rain, the sky, the ground beneath her knees. Even the battle seemed so insignificant, when Farid's life had been lost before her. She heard the screams, the cries of anguish, the striking of swords against each other, but nothing seemed to register.

She felt arms around her but didn't respond, wanting only for one thing to happen, though she knew it never would.

Her mind, usually flowing with words, was a blank canvas of red, repeating only one thought for all eternity.

He can't be gone.

She knew the truth; she was kneeling in its essence, a pool of red, sticky blood. But her mind wouldn't work. It denied the facts, not allowing Meggie to stop believing, to stop trusting.

He can't be gone.

If she could keep believing, he would come back. He had to, or what use were the fire-elves, and the glass-men, and the water nymphs? What use was a world with such magic, if they couldn't save those things which tore you apart?

He can't be gone.

If he was, she'd bring him back. There would be a way. This couldn't be the end, not here, not now.

He can't be gone.

Even as she thought all of this, she already knew the terrible answers. But she pushed them away, to the depths of her mind, in the hope that they were wrong.

He can't be gone.

How she wanted to awaken to Elinor's dusty library, and pull herself out of this wretched story! Mo would look round the door, and smile at her happily, as Farid slips his arms around her shoulders and wipes the tears from her eyes. They'd close the book and forget it, because that's the only way they could live.

He can't be gone.

But she knew they weren't Farid's warm arms snaking around her body. It was Resa holding her, her arms wet with rain, Meggie's soaked hair clinging to her skin and clothes.

Meggie didn't let go of Farid as the fighting stopped, telling herself he would come back if only she never let go. He would always be here with her; he'd never leave. She could sit here with him forever, with blood-stained skin and tear-stained cheeks. With the rain pounding down upon their bodies, keeping their skin cool and moist. She stroked his hair longingly, wishing it to come alive again, but knowing at last that it never would.

She didn't struggle as she was dragged away. She didn't scream, or shout, or cry. Her tears had long since been used up, her eyes were now hollow where the water should have been. She looked straight ahead of herself, not registering her father's arms around her, not realising she was walking.

He can't be gone.

And yet, he was.

A/N: Hope you liked! Review!
To be honest, I don't know whether I just invented the rain. It was raining in the scene, wasn't it?