I sometimes wonder how flying creatures lift themselves into the air. I also wonder why the world is a cruel place, and wish I could fly. I run home to the sound of my older sister, Sarah's, voice.
"Elaina! Father is waiting for you!" I rush into the house to hear the crash of a bottle on the wood floor. The harsh thunk and glass shattering reverberates in my ears. I begin to tremble in fear of the memories, and what I am sure will come if I haven't made enough today.
"This is what you get, you rotten bitch! Making such messes in my home. Clean it before you get more lashings than I have planned!" My father yells angrily at me as I continue gagging, having already lost all of the food and bile in my body.
Sarah walks into the room, after hearing our argument. Her eight year old self is small, but her height dwarfs my six year old height in comparison.
"Daddy, she can't help being sick. Please, let me-" She is cut off by father grabbing her throat and slamming her into the wall. I yelp at the loud crash, but silence myself when he drops her and stalks towards me. She tries to get up to place herself in front of me, but is still struggling to regain her breath.
He pulls his foot back to deliver a harsh kick, right to my face when-
His yelling voice breaks me out of my thoughts.
"Elaina Marie Isealsdaughter, get in here now! I need to be in town soon so hurry up!" I rush into the room and kneel after handing him the bag filled with ten gold crowns.
"Good. I expect more from you though, you dirty slut. No whips today, but I swear more tomorrow child or you shall be punished."
I sigh as soon as he runs out the door and look up to see a familiar face in the distance in the woods behind our home. I run out after father and Nelson, his grey horse disappear. I walk to the stalls and tack up my stallion Tarpin.
"Nina why were you in such a hurry to go?" I jump and scream lightly but sigh and catch my breath realizing it was just the familiar blonde I saw from the window jogging towards me.
"Hey you okay? You seem anxious." Eragon takes a step towards me and tries to see past my knee length curtain of thick brown hair.
"I'm fine," I whisper then get on my horse and take off. We meet up in our usual hunting spot up in the Spine before he hands me a spare bow of his.
"Tell your uncle I said thanks for the extra cash today it really helped." He nods as he points out a fresh set of deer tracks to me. We make eye contact and I leave Tarpin tied to the branch of a tree. I see the little x's we put in the trees to find our way back on previous trips. We make it to a clearing and split up to flank the herd of twelve or so deer. I nod across the clearing, pull my string back and aim while Eragon does the same. We release right as a resounding boom fills the clearing. I jump and rush into the clearing a few seconds later when I see Eragon kneeling in the middle. I see, when I approach, that a small blue stone is sitting in the center of a patch of burned grass. The deer forgotten, we look at each other in shock.
"What is it?"
"More importantly, how did it get here? It just... appeared," Eragon says, pointing out the obvious. I sit and think for a few minutes ,and realize what might have happened.
"Do you remember the stories you told me when we were kids about magicians?" He nods. "What if it was teleported here to us? It has to have come from somewhere."
"Well I'm not going to just leave it here. It has to be here for a reason. Do you want to take it home?"
"No take it for all the extra pay your uncle has given me over the years." He remains persistent, trying to convince me to take it home, but I stand firm in my answer. Finally, he concedes and pockets the forearm sized, azure stone.
We move back through the trees, our hunt unsuccessful. We chat along the way. At some point conversation stops and my back aches from the whips I received yesterday.
Suddenly, I trip, foot caught under a root and hit my back and head. The pain causes me to pass out, and I can hear as I slip into darkness Eragon calling my name in worry.