A/N Hey! Here it is, the remastered v
(Hope you enjoy)
Chapter 7
"There's no honourable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy.
There is nothing good in war except its ending."
-Abraham Linkoln
I need to find them thought Eragon, he was a league north away from camp, where he had left his dragon, in fear of endangering it. He couldn't think of anything for a moment, finally the flower he was looking at gave him a hint. That was one of the first consciousnesses I had made contact with after Oromis taught me to sense other beings.
I'll locate them that way. He started expanding his mind, twenty feet, a yard, twenty yards, a league. Eragon started doubting he'd ever find them, his searching for other minds had a distance limit, then, a league and a half away, further to the north, That must have been Arya, I can't tell for sure, but I'm almost certain. At least they're not in danger. He calmed himself, there was something about the forest that made him feel safe, "Maybe It's those pine needles, they've nothing to worry about, just be. I wish I could be like that, always peaceful." He was talking to himself and kept pushing forward until he saw a little clearing, from which he heard "I don't know what or who could have done this, but either this someone or something had to be very skilled to kill each soldier by striking him in the heart with his weapon, which in my opinion is very improbable, or used magic." a voice similar to Evandar's, Eragon reckoned.
The statement left a grave silence, the wind was now heard, oddly peaceful. It was blowing towards Eragon. Thanks to it, he was able to confirm his companions presence. He decided it was time to show himself. He made it to the clearing, there was grass here, plain, good, old grass. Soft it was, as swan feathers. Eragon tried not to notice the dead bodies lying in it, but though he tried, he tripped on one of them. He forgot anyone was watching overwhelmed by the unpleasant sensation of dirt and blood on touching his face and before he could contain himself, anger took control of him, he started kicking the dead body and cursing at the sky. The elves noticed him now, a bit shocked they were, to see him raging over a dead body.
What's he doing? Thought Brom, the elves asked themselves similar questions.
The company slowly approached him, with questioning glances.
This does not look good, not good at all. I've got to say something... think
Eventually Eragon said "Oh, silly me, I got distracted with a bee buzzing around my head and didn't notice this ...body. So, what did I miss?" He knew too well, but had to pretend. He wanted to show his good side for now "I'll save the dark one for later, I need Arya to think of me as highly as she can" he thought. The elves believed him, Evandar repeated his speech, for he thought Eragon hadn't heard him before. "Oh my, that must have been a shade or Galbatorix" he suggested pretending to be surprised by the news. "He's right" said Brom.
"We should get back to camp" spoke Faolin, "finally someone's speaking some sense" replied Arya.
They looked at each other and laughed, It made Eragon jealous, terribly jealous, Why? Why do I have to endure this? It'll be worth it if I get her back though. When they reached camp, the rest of the elves had made mushroom soup. Odin handed him a bowl over, "What?! Is this some kind of jo..." he trailed off realizing that his companions were vegetarian, Why am I forgetting so much? I feel as if I had amnesia. Is there anything else I've forgotten?. The fire made a cracking noise that reminded Eragon of the sound when he crushed his enemies skulls in battle. I've got enough of fruits and vegetables he thought, then, he got an idea. I'm sure Brom eats meat. Besides, It'll be a perfect occasion to spend some bonding time with him Eragon left the campfire along with the elves sitting by it and walked towards Brom's tent. To his surprise, Brom had a real door made out of solid wood blocking the entrance. He was about to open them when it struck him I can create some closure between us, we'll need it, he remembered how Oromis had told him that Brom always knocked three times before entering, so he did the same. A few seconds later, the door flew open. Eragon could tell Brom was not expecting to see him, It's probably because of the "knocking" It's funny how my tent is between Brom's and Arya's. Oh! Gotta get back to Brom he thought.
"Eragon?" a questioning voice said.
"Hey!" he faked a smile, "Do you eat meat?" he was desperate If you are what you eat, then I don't want to be a vegetable he thought.
"Yeah, I do, but don't tell the others, alright?" asked Brom.
"Who do you think I am? Some backstabber? Of course I won't, just give me the food, I'm starving!" a rushed reply escaped Eragon's mouth.
"Come in then! Don't just stand there, I was eating some myself as you knocked on the door" spoke Brom, he was curious why Eragon had knocked three times, but decided to find out more about that later.
As Eragon entered the tent, he saw plenty of fairths, some showed the spine, some Illirea, but one struck him as particular, it displayed Brom and Morzan sitting together on a cliff laughing, they were both young. The rest of the tent was filled with a folded table and a mattress Eragon pointed at it Brom sighed, but nothing escaped his mouth. He was happy for a moment, then sorrow and a bit of anger showed on his face. He realized Eragon had been analysing him the whole time. Now Eragon felt stupid so he just said "Good times huh?"
"Long story" said Brom
"We've got plenty of time" he made a pleading look
"Ah, alright" answered Brom handing Eragon a piece of meat.
Eragon ate and Brom told him how he and Morzan had been like brothers, but later Morzan became evil and abused him and often had great pleasure out of it.
Hours passed by, none of them would have noticed it, if not for Arya who came to see if they were alright after they parted from the rest of the company. Soon she left when she found they were fine.
"That's it! enough of me talking about me, now tell me something about you" he said, with a face full of curiosity. "I don't think that's a good idea, you see, I'm... well I'm... I'm kind of from different times"
He replied.
"I'm not that old, I'm like 22 right now, what about you?" he asked
"I'd be 18 if everything was normal..." he said remembering how Galbatorix had stabbed him in the chest on his birthday!
What a nice present it had been! he though ironically.
"That's not what I mean though" added Eragon making Brom confused.
"It's complicated" He spit out.
"Alright, let's say you can't talk about your past, what about the present?"
Brom asked.
"Yes, about that, we can" replied Eragon
"Well it's too bad because I was gonna ask why you knocked on my door three times, but since we can't, I guess I'll ask you something else. You like Arya don't you?" a smile appeared on Brom's face when he saw Eragon blush. His face went red, he couldn't hide it now. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I think you'd be better for her than that Faolin anyway. He's such a braggart, "Guess what guys, I've been picked to hide the remaining eggs" quoted Brom with a mocking tone, Eragon laughed.
"You're absolutely right, I am better for her, the problem is, she fell for him and not me. I'm just hoping that will change" stated Eragon. I think I've accomplished what I wanted to and even more, It feels so good share my burden with someone he thought, he still had one question though "How did you know about my feelings for Arya anyway?" he asked.
"It was when I came to tell Evandar that Galbatorix had been spotted, there you were dumbstruck looking at Arya. It wasn't hard for me to guess what you felt" he said.
"Well, thanks for everything, I feel so much better I can share my thoughts with someone. I have to go now, I don't want to intrude any longer than I have to anyway, but thanks for the meat", Finally he parted with Brom. Eragon entered his tent, it was almost empty except for the mat he was lying on right now. He took his dragon into a warm embrace imagining it was Arya and lulled himself to sleep.
It had been midnight when a screeching woke him up, It was ES (for the future ES- Eragon's Saphira).
"What's the matter?" he mumbled. He understood, she was hungry. Eragon searched for any animals near and killed a large bird and a lizard. ES had enough for the next two days. Her rider tried to sleep, but he couldn't. I'm going for a walk he told himself. When he got to where their campfire had been set, he sat down and meditated. He didn't know what to think at first when somebody reached out for his mind, it was Arya I don't know whether I want to talk with her he thought. In the end he let her in his mind. "You've been quiet lately" she said.
Eragon was mad at her, he loved her more than anything, she tortured him by being with Faoiln, even though he probably, only wanted to use her. Now she wants to talk! he thought, not letting any of his emotions show neither in their linked connection nor (as he had just noticed) their visual one.
All she saw was a man trying to get some warmth from coals lacking heat, she sat next to him.
Eragon decided to talk to her, because he knew, that pushing her away would only mean her, getting closer to Faolin, so he spoke "Sometimes... people are not what they seem to be", he tried warning her about Faolin the elf way. Always in riddles. "As for why I've been quiet... I simply didn't have anything to say" he lied. I have so much to tell you he thought, I love you, I love you more than anything! More than that blasted Faolin, who only cares about being royalty! but he restrained himself from doing so, for he knew saying that would leave scars. If I'm to win this game I have to be patient he thought. "If there's something troubling you, we can always talk" she tried getting something out of him. "I wish it were that simple, but know this, true happiness comes, from where you least expect it" he dared not say "whom". Arya was a bit confused, Eragon obviously beat the elf at her own game. He was glad she didn't understand what he meant underneath the blank words.
"If you feel the need to share your problems, feel free to do so" with that Arya left Eragon sitting on the grass looking at her leave. How can one be so beautiful? I remember when we were coming back to the varden and Arya cast a spell so we could communicate with Nasuada, I asked for saphira, Nasuada left. Arya turned her neck a bit to the right, leaving her creamy skin uncovered...
Eragon hadn't slept for the rest of the night, he knew, he was forgetting something, something so important, he could kill Galbatorix then and there. I know I'm standing on it, I just can't... Argh! Eventually, the rest of the convoy had woken up. They packed up and left, Eragon calculated, they would reach their destination in two days if everything went in order.
Brom offered taking Eragon and ES dragonback, Eragon was glad, for he had no pleasure in looking at Faolin. When he loaded ES into the saddlebags and sat on Saphira behind Brom, he relaxed.
Finally, I've wanted to fly for so long... But before they were able to take off, Evandar stopped them. "I just wanted you to know..." he wanted to say something, but in the end he decided to save it for later "Fly safe" spoke Evandar. Eragon was wondering whether it had something to do with Arya, he hoped not. They were flying god knows how many leagues per hour, when Brom spotted a good place for camp, it had been near a river and well hidden when looking from the ground. All in all the day went by pretty quickly and by the time everyone had been done eating supper, It was near midnight. Eragon had eaten supper with Brom making it a routine, they secretly ate meat. Brom's Saphira went hunting, ES just went to sleep in Eragon's tent, she was still too little to talk. King Evandar visited Eragon, he had been surprised by his visit at that time of night.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" asked Eragon, the king switched to the ancient language as if wanting to extract something from Eragon and asked "How old are you?"
Why does everyone always ask me that? Just because we're speaking the ancient language, doesn't mean I have to refer directly to his question. Or I could speak part of the truth. I wonder if the ancient language will let me say this...
After all, it's not a lie if you calculate it... "I'm almost six times older than Arya if you must know" It worked! He thought. In his previous life, he had been 18 when Arya was 100, so 18 + 100 was 118 and 118 / 20 was about 6.
Evandar was shocked, though he did not show it. He never expected Eragon to be that old, sure, he himself had been a couple times older than Eragon, but still.
"I was asking because Arya and Faolin are foolish and young. I was wondering whether you could watch them?" Evandar asked.
"With all do respect, king, I do not think It wise to interfere with someone's life if the need is not necessary" What have I said, I may have offended him, It may be more than necessary to him.
"I believe it to be of critical importance, for if Arya were to bare Faolin's child, it would inherit the throne after Arya" stated Evandar, he had been very arrogant not to notice Arya's tent was right next to Eragon's.
"King, why me?" asked Eragon.
"Because she trust's you and because you're older than any of them. Most of all, because I trust you" stated Evandar.
If Arya finds out, she'll kill me... Besides I don't feel like watching them any more than a bird wants it's wings clipped off. I have enough of torture already and he wants me to take it to another level? He's crazy if he thinks I'll say yes.
"King, I cannot do what you ask of me for reasons of my own. I will say this though, If you don't let your daughter make her own choices, she's bound to make a big mistake sooner or later. I understand your concern, but I'd recommend assigning Brom for this task. I've barely gotten to know your daughter" he lied the elf way. He knew her better than anyone else back in the future, but here he really didn't have that much time to get to know her, especially when most of her time, was spent around Faolin. Oh yes he was an Eragon repellant. "I see" stated Evandar, he was not happy. "I shall go and ask Brom then." He was leaving... Eragon felt multiple presences near his tent, he meditated to find Brom on one side of his tent, he laughed to himself and warned him that Evandar was going to see him, then he also sensed Arya, this scared him. As soon as Evandar was out of eye sight, Arya entered his temporary home. "Thanks for declining" she said.
"Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul." he said. "You don't look older than me by the way" she stated.
Eragon was surprised by how long she had been listening, but nevertheless he said "If there's one thing life taught me, it's not to judge yourself by what others did to you"
"I have enough of your riddles, can't you talk normally or are you too coward to say something straight to my face?" she demanded.
"People really need help but may attack you if you do help them ...straight forward. Sometimes if you want the true meaning, you must read under the lines. Goodnight to you Arya, it is late and you should get some rest, also, your father might be looking for you" he replied.
He achieved what he wanted, Take that Arya! Maybe it'll help you use your brain clearly again! She was visibly confused, but she knew it was time to leave, she did just that not saying a word.
Finally a bit of peace, I'm not gonna waste it on sleeping. He thought.
That's unwise, without sleep you'll be tired tomorrow. Eragon couldn't believe it, his dragon's first words. That's true, but sometimes it's worth the sacrifice, especially since I've got a lot on my mind. He stated full of care, as if he were talking to something really fragile, that might break if taken care of too roughly. He left the tent, It was something about the night that made him wanna live. He didn't care Faolin had the upper hand with Arya, nor that Galbatorix was getting stronger and that the elves were arrogant. His dragon hatched! He loved the stars, they were the only things that haven't changed. He was so happy, he started dancing with an imagined Arya. The stars were shining so brightly, the moon illuminated the whole world or so he thought. He started humming a song that had bee sung on Roran and Katrina's wedding day. Soon everybody was staring at him with wonder, he didn't seem to notice them. All that mattered at the time was Arya and him. The rest of the company started to dance as well. When Eragon was done he crashed onto his mat in the tent and fell asleep. That night he dreamed of defeating Galbatorix, and of remembering what he had forgotten.
The key to happiness, which he had forgotten the day Galbatorix stabbed him.
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