A/N Hey! Thanks for the all the feedback I received on the last chapter. I'm glad people are enjoying it! Here's chapter 2. Enjoy!
The cover art was made by my great friend on Twitter clowndotjpg Check her out because she's super talented! (She doesn't usually draw Eragon stuff)
Chapter 2
Pain. It consumed her body. It filled everything. It was everything. Nothing but pain. The pain was all that mattered. All that existed.
Arya's eyes snapped open, instincts kicking in. Twilight hurled into her eyes, startling her. Her body ached, she'd probably got hit a lot. She was tied up tight, the bonds constricting every movement. Great, at least they realised she was proficient in combat. Every weapon on her had been taken, save from the foldable knife in her… well, somewhere they wouldn't dare go. What hurt? Ribs, right leg, head. Any blood? Probably not, at least not externally. Mental checkup complete, she analysed her surrounds.
It seemed like they had kept her in the same forest she'd sprinted into. The unfamiliar oak trees surrounded her on all sides, their green leaves looking over her. They sensed every detail of her, knew everything about her. Their brown trunks softly swayed to a beat they could only hear. The gnarled branches curled around each other, forming thick conjunctions of wood. The soft scent of dry dirt blew towards her, confirming she was in the same place. But why keep her here? Looking up, she knew less than an hour had passed, so where was everyone? It was dead silent around her and she couldn't hear anything suspicious. She tensed but suddenly winced as the ropes rubbed on her sore spots. She let out a quick gasp of pain as it rocketed through her before leaving just as fast.
"So, you're awake?"
Eragon slowed to a jog, he knew these trees and how loud they could be. As quietly as possible, he started climbing one of the trees as he had for years. He quickly reached halfway up before stopping. Oh shit. What was he doing here? He couldn't fight. These men had guns. He shoved down the panic within him and breathed. Those men had to pay. He may not know a technique, but he could hit hard. He went from tree to tree, using the trampled leaves underneath him as a path. A scream ripped through the silence, a scream so dreadful that it shook him to his core. His mind flashed and he remembered what he had sworn to forget.
"I HATE YOU!" she screamed. Tears rolled down his face. No… she was leaving… no… please no…
He snapped back to reality as he nearly fell from the tree he was in. He shook his head, shaking off the past. That wasn't what defined him.
He continued quietly across the trees towards the voice until he came to a small clearing; what he saw disturbed him. The girl from earlier was tied to a tree, her face caked in purple bruises. Anger raged through him, why were these men chasing and hurting a woman? He stared at her, noting her black hair and lithe form. The black jacket she was wearing was tight fitting and clung to her shoulders. For agility, Eragon thought. He studied her for a few more seconds before looking around. He had to be in a safe in his position. He scaled up the branches higher, making sure to not make a sound. Suddenly, he heard a loud crack of branches.
A man to his left jumped down high up from a tree and did a superhero landing in front of the girl. Showoff, Eragon thought before he stumbled in surprise. The man was deathly white and had long red coloured hair. Tattoos were abundant on his face and were stark against his pale skin. His body was entombed with black, plain clothing save for a red and black crest with a flame in its centre. His eyes were like his hair, yet something that unsettled Eragon rested in their essence. He shifted uncomfortably, you got this Eragon! He thought. He had to help this poor girl.
"So, you're awake?" the man said. His voice was rich yet cold. It projected power that had been won through gruelling tasks and hate. The girl looked up with a cold look
"Durza, you scum. What do you want from me?" The red-haired man started picking at his nails subconsciously before replying:
"Locations. Information. A girl," he raised his hand as the bonded girl started to talk, "You know who I mean. She holds great power and has been a thorn in Galbatorix's side. It's simple. Hand her over or suffer,"
The girl spat at the man
"I will never help you," Eragon's gut dropped in fear, what had she done? A look of ferocity engulfed Durza's face before he slapped her clean across the face. He then elbowed her in the stomach and grabbed her neck forcefully.
"You will learn to respect me," he said, spitting the words out. He let go of her neck and the girl doubled over in pain. Eragon could hear her loud, shallow breathing from here. What was that man doing? The girl looked so weak and helpless. He has to help. He had to act now. Despite having no formal training, Eragon got ready to jump on the man. He had to assist this girl and punish the man who had taken away his home. Rage boiled over in him.
"I will never respect a lab experiment," the girl screamed before bursting out of her bonds. Eragon looked in shock at the knife in her hand that had sawed through the rope. She swiped at the man who ducked under it before he called out an order that drew 5 men from the trees behind him.
In retrospect, Eragon realised it had been beautiful. It had been a dance of death as she had evaded her opponents. His only thought had been: How the fuck? The first one had been cut down within seconds, the second had started to draw his gun before his throat was slit too. The third one, however, drew his gun and shot. The girl somehow dodged it and dispatched of him. The other two didn't have guns but long katanas. With practised ease, the girl disarmed the first man and then used his own sword to kill him. She did the same to the other man even faster. Eragon stared on in awe. How was she this good? She then twirled around in order to attack Durza but she was too late. The man slammed a fist into her face, causing her to fall and blood to spill. Eragon sprung to action. He climbed down the tree, not caring how much sound it made; he had to help the girl. He sprinted towards Durza as he beat the shit out of the woman. Eragon threw his body at the man, causing him to fall over. Eragon scrambled up and hit Durza as he rose. He straddled the man's body and beat him to a pulp until he lost consciousness.
Panic filled his body as he realised what he had done. He got up nursing his sore, bloodied knuckles. He quickly walked over to the women and offered a hand up. The girl took it before pulling Eragon's arm behind his back and holding the knife to his neck.
"Who are you?" she asked very quietly. Eragon's eyes widened in confusion before replying
"The guy you told to hide at the farm," the girl kept her bloodstained knife there for a few seconds before stepping back and collapsing on the ground. Eragon let out the breath he had been holding before looking at the girl.
Blood was everywhere, her face and body were covered in the crimson liquid. She was on all fours, coughing up the stuff. "We need to get you out of here," Eragon said "There's a hospital close by which we can take you to," the girl waved her hand in a sign of dismissal but Eragon ignored it. "You're hurt! Look, I can carry you, let's go," Eragon swept her up in his arms bridal style and started walking towards the clearing. Scepticism filled her eyes before she gave up and relaxed in his arms. "Oh, I never asked," Eragon said, trying to make conversation, "What's your name?" The girl looked up at him before replying quietly and in clear pain
"Arya,"
A/N Hope you enjoyed and I'll try not to kep you waiting! Reviews need replies so here we go
Guest: I'll do my best!
Mad hatter: Thanks for the feedback! You're right in saying that it's a quick start with a lot going on, I'll do my best to slow down a bit. My reason for being so fast in the start is I wanted to skim over the Eragon/Garrow relationship. Lots of this story is memory based and I want to show their relationship through that forum. That's not to say we won't meet Garrow again, but their relationship has been done a lot and I feel like I couldn't add more to it. For description, you're completely right. I tried to spend more time on it but let me know if you think I should spend more/less time on it. There's going to be lots of spectacular locations in this story so I want to make sure I get it right.
Scarlett Barnes: Thanks! But you'd already read the chapter before it came out ;)
Lmere969: There's a lot yeah. I wanted to keep the story open for creative purposes since I can branch out to anything now. Glad you enjoyed it though! And oh boy do I have an origin story to tell