Say something
I'm giving up on you
I'll be the one if you want me to
Deep within the northwestern corner of Du Weldenvarden—hidden amongst the thousands of trees—stood a small, stone castle. The meadow that it stood upon had once been cleared with magic, but that did not stop the vines from attaching themselves to the gray stones or the small patches of vegetation to grow. On any normal night the castle in question would have been blazing with life, but in the darkness of night, with the help of the sprinkling rain, the castle looked almost abandoned.
There was, however, one room which illuminated a small form of light.
It was within that room that a woman slouched against the windowsill. Her long, brown hair had been messily braided and draped over her left shoulder while her blue eyes continuously searched amongst the falling rain within the sky. The only movement the woman made was to clutch the shawl closer to her in an effort to ward herself against the cold air.
Her face was sad and when she spoke, her voice trembled.
"Where are you?"
Anywhere I would've followed you
Say something
I'm giving up on you
She spoke to no one and even though her heart desperately wished for an answer, she received none.
Finally, with one last glance out the window, she inhaled a deep breath and forced her body to turn away. It had been four years since Galbatorix's downfall and even though it had been against her wishes, her beloved had left to do the mission he had been assigned to by the queen. He had not told her much of his task—only that he promised he would return within the month.
A month had come and gone.
And still, she waited desperately for the man who had claimed her heart and her hand.
The woman let herself fall onto the couch and gazed idly into the flickering flame. What was causing her love to not return home? He had always been a man of his word—even to the point of extremes. They had met when he had been traversing the countryside with his ruby dragon and had quickly become enamored with each other. While he lived in her town, he taught her to survive out in the wild, and she taught him the importance of love.
When he and his dragon left, the woman accompanied them—not as a lover, but as a wife.
She played with the silver band on her left hand before a defeated sigh released her thin lips. She resumed her spot at the window and even though the chilly air made her shiver, she continued to watch. To wait.
She would always wait for her dark Rider.
And I am feeling so small
It was over my head
I know nothing at all
The sound of her name yanked her from her thoughts and the woman dashed to the vanity mirror within her chambers. Her heart clambered in her chest as she pushed open her bedroom door and there was a wide smile on her face. He had finally contacted her! She no longer had to wait to see his face or to hear his voice—he had finally found her.
Her steps slowed as she reached the mirror.
As the woman lowered herself onto the stool in front of the vanity, her smile faded as she stared into the dark brown eyes of the new Rider, Everett. His face was thin and pale and he licked his lips when she addressed him.
"My lady," he said as he bowed his head.
"What news?" she asked. Her voice was barely above a whisper and it amazed her that the young Rider had even heard her.
"My lady…" Everett started and then abruptly stopped. He frowned and then tried again, "Rose… I'm sorry to have to tell you like this, but I felt like you should know. I wanted to find the body first and then—"
"Find the body?" Rose repeated slowly. "What body?"
Everett seemed to take his time with his response. Rose felt like she imagined it, but there seemed to be unshed tears in the young boy's eyes. When he opened his mouth to speak again, his voice was wavering and full of sorrow. "Rose, the mission we were on went south. Murtagh and Thorn, they… They didn't make it out."
And I will stumble and fall
I'm still learning to love
Just starting to crawl
The next time Everett spoke, his words were lost on Rose.
This was not what she had been expecting. How could her Rider not come home? He had promised—and Murtagh always kept his promises. Always. After the numerous oaths he had broken during the war, he had made it a point to never do it again. He made promises he had planned to keep and Rose's heart clung to that knowledge. Of course he was coming back. He had promised he would.
But when her blue eyes lifted and met with Everett's, she felt like she had been doused with cold water.
Her husband, her lover, her friend was not coming home.
A solitary tear slipped from the confines of her eyes and she let out an aching gasp.
"He promised," she said unevenly. "He promised he would come home."
Everett opened his mouth to only close it. He had no words for her—no words of comfort because truly, the only thing that could comfort the breaking woman would be the return of her husband. So instead, the young Rider apologized once more and his image wavered out of the mirror.
"He promised," Rose once again whispered. In her mind's eye, she had not noticed the disappearance of the new Rider and for a while she simply just sat in the stool and stared blindly into the mirror. Silent tears slid down her face but she made no move to dry them.
Say something
I'm giving up on you
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
After an unmeasured amount of time, Rose slowly stood from the stool and the shawl that had been wrapped around her shoulders slowly slid to the ground. While she had been cold before, the burning pain of her beating heart had warmed her. Or rather, had numbed her and she welcomed something that made her feel.
"No," she murmured and once again was taken aback by the wave of pain that ripped through her body. She clutched at her heart to try and ease the onslaught, but it was to no avail. It continued to pulsate inside of her until her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground. Only then did she allow the heart-wrenching sobs to make their way from her mouth and she gave her body to the pain.
Why shouldn't she?
She would never see his flawless face anymore, never hear his deep rumble of a laugh, or never hear the whispered words of endearment. The man she had followed away from her hometown—the man who had promised to be by her side no matter what—had left her.
Anywhere I would have followed you
Say something
I'm giving up on you
It was then Rose grew angry.
How dare he leave her. How dare he abandon their home—his wife. Didn't he love her? Didn't he see that she needed him in her life? Didn't he know of the gaping hole that would be left in Rose's heart when she heard the news? Didn't he care? No, she decided. He did not care. It was his fault he was dead; he could have prevented it just like he always prevented anything bad. He had saved Rose countless of times but when it came time to save himself, he didn't.
Without realizing it, her small hands had clenched into fists. She rose from the floor on shaking legs and her breath came out in pants as she allowed her anger to slowly consume her. It gave her a sense of strength from the numbing pain.
It was his fault.
He had abandoned her.
The anger helped still her thundering heart, but it did not help for long because as quickly as her rage had come, it vanished. With a cry, Rose sank to her knees and held her head in her hands as she chided herself on her thoughts. How could she think poorly of her husband?
Death was not something he would have gone to willingly.
And I will swallow my pride
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye
With the remaining energy she had, Rose hoisted herself up and forced herself to collapse on her bed. Their bed. The pelts of fur that had kept them warm during the winter now seemed to mock her and she sobbed into the pillow. Her entire body ached and with each thundering beat of her heart, she felt the deepening twist of a knife in her gut.
How could he have left her?
"You promised," she murmured again unsteadily. "You promised."
There was a booming crackle outside her window and she turned her body so she could stare blindly outside the open window. Her mind's focus on the rain seemed to help control the pain within her body, but it did nothing to diminish its intensity. Was this what it felt like to die of a broken heart?
There was another booming crackle and the cold gust of wind that blew in through the window made her shiver. To Rose's ears, the deep rumbling outside sounded much like Thorn's roar and just for a moment, she let herself believe that it was. She closed her glassy eyes and conjured the image of her husband's return.
Say something
I'm giving up on you
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you
He would enter the castle and stomp his muddy boots on the floors she had just cleaned before running up those seemingly-endless stairs to find her waiting for him on their bed. His dark hair would be drenched—as would the rest of him—and within moments of his arrival in their chambers, a roaring fire would appear in the fireplace to ward away the cold night's air.
So caught up within her own daydream, she even felt the warmth of that fire.
He would then walk agonizingly slow over to their bed before climbing onto it—wet clothes and all—and he would pepper her with kisses. His breath would be warm but the droplets that would fall from his wet hair would be cold against her skin.
"My beautiful Rose," he would say in that deep voice of his.
Her eyes popped open when the velvety sound of his voice met her ears. Had she gone insane now? She felt a warm, yet cold, hand on her shoulder and it slowly turned her to face a smooth face and a large smile. A sob escaped her and she rolled herself back over. Her dream had overtaken her reality.
Anywhere I would have followed you
Say something
I'm giving up on you
She then heard a deep chuckle and that hand rolled her so she was lying on her back. "Rose, it's me."
"You're dead," she cried in a breathless whisper.
Her illusion Murtagh frowned and then gently swept a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I almost was, yes. Thorn and I had to hide for a while to recover, but I promise you that I am alive and well." He lifted her hand and placed it on his warm cheek. "See? This isn't an illusion, Rose. I'm really home."
The truth of his words seemed to make her heart sputter in her chest. "I thought you left me."
"I promised I would come back," he whispered gently to her as he placed a kiss on her palm. A smile stretched across his face and he leaned down until there was only an inch between their lips. "I do not break my promises."
Say something
I'm giving up on you
Say something
A/N:Thank you guys so much for reading! Please let me know what you think:)