Disclaimer: Sorry it took me forever to update. I've been extremely busy with school and looking for a job cause now I'm sixteen. Yay!
Arya work early the next morning. Her every muscle hurt to move. She laid in bed, not wanting to wake Nasuada whom she could hear twest in her blankets. She closed her eyes. For a minute or hour, she could not tell, but when she heard Nasuada sit up, she said loud enough for her friend to hear, "So, you're awake."
"Arya!" cried Nasuada, surprised. Arya had alsways seemed to wake sooner than everyone else. 'Who can blame her though?' she thought. 'After all that she's been through. It's a mirricle that she's still alive.' "How long have you been awake?" she asked, casting the though aside.
"A while," answered Arya.
"It's hard to get a good night's sleep, isn't it?" said Nasuada softly.
"My father has nothing to do with it," said Arya coolly. "I usually get up early, that's all." She knew it was a lie, but could not let Nasuada know Galbatorix had regularly beaten her in the early morning, telling her that she had caused her mother's death. 'Father, I hope that you burn in Hell for it.'
"Are you in any pain?" asked Nasuada.
"I'm a bit better," answered Arya.
"Stay there. I'll go and get you some asprin," said Nasuada softly. She turned on the light.
Arya opened her eyes and allowed them to adjust to the brightness of the room before looking over at Nasuada. She sighed as she watched her best friend leave her. Her head sunk into the pillows. Minutes past. She began to grow worried for it shouldn't take Nasuada so long to just go down the hall to get the asprin and a glass of water. Her heard a bang at the front door and Nasuada's scream. She sat upright, ignoring the pain in her ribs and ran to the bedroom door. She heard a set of light footsteps running down the hall and a heavier set following close behind. She opened the door. Nasuada slipped inside. She looked at her friend, fright in her green eyes. Arya got one look at Galbatorix's face before closing the door and locking it.
"I'm sorry Arya," whispered Nasuada quickly. "He was there when I went to grab the asprin."
"It's not your fault, Nasuada," replied Arya softly. Her face kept tight and blank, but deep in her eyes her fear hid. "How many ways can we get out from here?"
"Only the window," answered Nasuada. She jumped as the door knob began to rattle.
"We'll have to use it then," said Arya in a whisper. "This door won't be able to hold him off for long so we'll have to hurry. We'll have to gorget about school for today."
Nasuada ran to the window and opened it. "You go first. Your injuries will slow you down and I can catch up to you."
"It's my he wants; not you," stated Arya blankly.
"Quit being so stubborn, Arya!" cried Nasuada. She looked at Arya anxiously.
Arya ran to Nasuada. She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Thank you, Nasuada . . .for everything . . .."
"Go!" cried Nasuada. Arya nodded and climbed through the window and ran without looking back. Nasuada paused and looked back at the door. The wood split and plinters flew in every direction through the room. Galbatoris stood in the doorway with a twisted smile on his face. "Galbatorix!" Nasuada cried out, horrified of the man standing in front of her.
He looked at her with his mad, red eyes. "Nasuada," he chuckled. "How very nice to see you. I came to take Arya home."
"She's already gone, "replied Nasuada coolly.
"Liar!" hissed Galbatorix. He threw himself at her. Nasuada wasted no time climbing through the window and sprinted after Arya. She barely heard Galbatorix's agonizing growl when he his the wall. He ran after her. She sped up and didn't look back.
'I have to do what I can to keep this pervert away from Arya," Nasuada thought. 'After that I just have to her him wore out without getting killed myself. Damn my father for leaving at such a time.' She pushed all thought to the back of her mind and focused on running.
She slipped into an alley and climbed up the fence at the end. She landed lightly on the other side and continued running. After looking back and unable to see Galbatorix, she decided that it would be safe to stop. Nasuada bent over and panted hard. She could feel her heartbeat slowly slow down. "Arya!" she cried out into the dawn air. No answer. She walked around the block. "Arya!" she called out again. "Arya!!!"
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Arya ran as fast as she could. Her ribs sent out waves of pain throughout her body, but she forced herself to ignore it. She had to get away from Galbatorix or he would punish her. She tripped over her feet in a field just outside of the main town. She landed with a soft thud. Her mind went blank for a moment as she just lay there, dumbfounded. Then she thought of Eragon and how he would react if Nasuada couldn't find her; he would assume the worse and go after her father and then do everything he could to find her. She couldn't allow him to do that. Galbatorix would murder Eragon before he got within ten feet of him. "Nasuada?" she called out timidly. She slowly got to her feet and walked back into town.
With a sigh of relief she saw Nasuada walking along a back street. "Nasuada!" she called in a loud whisper.
Nasuada turned to her name being called. She ran over to Arya and hugged her friend, relieved that Galbatorix hadn't found her. "Are you alright?" she asked, looking her friend over.
"I'll be fine, but we need to find a place to hide," answered Arya, pulling herself away. She looked around at the worn down buildings. "Now that you're involved, my father will probably be looking for you too and will stop at nothing until you're taken care of. Do you know of anywhere?"
"We could stay with old Brom," offered Nasuada. "He lives outside of town next to where Garrow, Roran, and Eragon live. And he's a friend of my father. He won't mind considering the circumstances."
Arya nodded her approval. She would at least be able to spend more time around Eragon and get to know him a bit more.
Together, they walked through the town to the countryside. They met no one along the way, which Arya was thankful for because techniquely they were skipping school and that is against the law, but they weren't going for a good reason. By the time they left the town, Arya was breathing hard and gasping for breath. "We should get your ribs and lungs checked out," said Nasuada, noting her friend's weakness.
"No--I'll be fine," replied Arya, softer than normal. She caughed a few times before doubling over and landing on her back. Nasuada caught her head before it could land. She looked up at Nasuada, her vision beggining to blur.
"Arya?" cried Nasuada, worry in her voice and eyes. "Arya! Arya!!! ARYA!!!!!"
Arya closed her eyes and knew no more of the world around her. She went into an unconcious state that she only got into when she was in deep pain and wanted to leave it. 'Nasuada,' was her last thought.
"What's wrong?" asked a middle-aged man running up to them. He looked at Nasuada and then to Arya and back at Nasuada. "Nasuada!" he cried out.
Nasuada looked at him. "Brom!" she cried, relieved. "Please, you must help me!"
Brom knelt down beside her. He looked at her seriously. "Calm down," he said sternly. "Let us get her to my house and then you can tell me what happed after I make sure that she's stable." Nasuada nodded and lifted Arya's limp form off of the ground. She walked alongside Brom. "Tell me though, what is her name?"
"Arya Dröttningu," answered Nasuada.
"Islanzadi's daughter?" questioned Brom.
"I don't think so," answered Nasuada. "Why?" she asked.
"Just an old friend of mine," answered Brom. He picked up his pace. "Who is her father?"
"His name is Galbatorix," hissed Nasuada.
Brom stopped. He looked at Nasuada, horrified. "Impossible," he whispered. He shook away his fear.
"Is something wrong, Brom?" asked Nasuada.
He shook his head and continued walking in silence three paces ahead of Nasuada. Nasuada remained silent, thinking over Brom's reaction to Arya's father. She looked down at Arya. Her friend looked nothing like the mad and twisted Galbatorix.
Brom led Nasuada into his extra room and checked over Arya. "What happened to her?" he asked gruffly. "There's bruises all over her and her breathing is almost too shallow to see."
"Last night her father did some unspeakable things to her," said Nasuada softly. She shuddered, remembering how Arya kept her head held high over these past few months even after all that has happened to her, and now Arya lay close to death, but Nasuada knew that Arya wouldn't allow death to take her. "When I got a call from her to come, I did not question her. I brought a ladder so that she could climb out of her window without too much trouble. Then we got into my truck and I drove home. When I woke up this morning to grab some asprin to help suppress the pain I knew Arya was going through, Galbatorix surprised me and we ran for it. I ended up loosing Galbatorix before finding Arya. We ended up walking toward your house because I figured that Galbatorix wouldn't find us here and Arya doesn't want Eragon involved."
"And it's very wise for her to keep Eragon out of this matter," said Brom loudly, causing Nasuada to jump. "However, I think that because she's in serious condition you should go and find Eragon and bring him here. You three have the right to know."
"Know what?" asked Nasuada.
"Nevermind that," said Brom. "Go and bring Eragon to me."
Nasuada nodded and ran out of the house.
Disclaimer: Again, I am sorry for the long update time. I've been really busy and I had a writer's block which is why the chapter is so short.