Chapter 2
"Who's there?" Jaden demanded menacingly with her sword in hand. Enya froze and looked at her. She slid off her seat and picked up a nearby pot.
~Change~
The boys stopped immediately. As the girl drew closer, Eragon hurriedly crept away. He froze when he felt the cold tip of a sword on his neck. He could have disarmed her with magic but decided against it. He did not want to attract any more attention to himself. The girl was just protecting herself and her sister, anyway. He slowly lifted his arms to surrender. Murtagh watched helpless as Eragon gave up.
~Change to Narrator's View~
Jaden watched him with an unrelenting and wary gaze. "Who are you?" she demanded fiercely, her blade still trained on his neck.
"I'm Eragon." he said quickly. "Me and-my brother are-"
"Traveling," said a voice from behind Enya. She whipped around with wide eyes. She lifted the pan menacingly and took several steps back.
"Easy," he told her as he slowly crossed the camp." I won't hurt you." He stood near Jaden and held his arms out. "I'm his… brother. We were traveling to visit our grandmother."
Jaden turned her head to face the black-haired boy but kept her sword on the brown-haired boy. She narrowed her eyes. "Brothers, huh? I do not see much resemblance. Do you, Enya?"
"Well," she said studying them both, "maybe." She continued to stare at the black-haired boy with an odd expression.
"That doesn't answer the question of why you are here in our camp." Jaden said lowering the sword to her side, keeping it ready but not at Eragon's throat.
"We weren't having the best luck hunting." Eragon explained. "The smell of the food drew us over this way."
"We didn't mean to scare you. Would you mind if we stayed for dinner? Then I promise we will leave you in peace." the black-haired boy asked.
"Of course." Enya said cordially. "There's plenty to go around." Jaden gave her an incredulous look. Enya looked back her innocently.
Jaden rolled her eyes. The black-haired boy looked at her.
"Is it really alright?" he asked, sensing that she was the one in charge.
"Yeah, sure… But only on the condition that you tell us who you really are and the truth about what you're doing here." Jaden stated while she slid her sword back into its sheath. "I know when I'm being lied to."
"We will, but only if you do the same," the black-haired boy replied.
Jaden narrowed her eyes and studied him warily. " Agreed. You first, since this is our camp and our food." she told him. She turned her head and glanced at Eragon. He looked so familiar but she could not place him.
"I'm Murtagh. Again, this is Eragon. We are traveling to the Varden. Our camp is a little ways downstream from here." Murtagh told them.
"Are you really brothers?" Enya asked curiously.
He turned her direction and hesitated. It was Eragon that answered. "We are just two friends traveling together." he told her.
"Alright. I am Jaden and this is Enya. We are also traveling to the Varden." The quiet was pierced by yipping. Finn had escaped from Layne's watch and made his way to Enya. He jumped onto her chest, nearly knocking her over.
"Whoa there Finn!" Enya exclaimed pushing him down.
'Come here Layne, I don't trust them. And I would rather intimidate them than fight them.' Jaden thought to the wolf.
Layne quietly limped out from behind Eragon and straight over to Jaden's side.
"Would you care to explain?" Murtagh asked Jaden and Enya.
"Oh, this is Finn, my puppy." Enya said sheepishly.
"Big puppy." he noted through narrowed eyes.
"What about the…..wolf?" Eragon asked hesitantly.
"His name is Layne" Jaden said defensively "And he is an Alpha."
The boys looked a little on edge upon hearing that. Enya quickly reassured them that he wouldn't do any harm, to which Jaden added, "So long as you behave yourselves."
Finally, after being assured that Aiden would not attack them, they sat down. Enya dipped up two bowls of soup and handed them to the boys.
As they ate, Jaden studied them thoroughly.
"Since we are also traveling to the Varden…" Enya said with a shy smile, "we could travel together, if you like."
"Enya…" Jaden shot her a warning look.
The boys exchanged glances and shrugged.
Later that evening (in the girls' tent)
"Why did you pick up a pan instead of your sword?" Jaden asked amused.
"Because, Jaden, my sword and bow were already packed." Enya replied defensively. "The only thing that was handy was the pan."
"I've got to say, you're more skilled with a pan then you are with a sword." Jaden teased.
"No one asked you." Enya said with mock snobbishness. "Go to sleep."
A few moments passed in silence.
"Jaden." Enya whispered. "I recognized that black-haired boy. Murtagh." She furrowed her brow. "I don't remember where, but I have seen him before."
"I know what you mean. I also remember Eragon. When father took me on one
of his business trips to Carvahall Eragon was there. His friend bought a necklace from my stall," she explained.
After a few more minutes of talking the girls fell asleep unaware that a similar conversation was occurring between the subjects of their talk.
The next morning after breakfast
*Swoosh* *Thud*
Again and again a knife whistled through the air and landed in the tree with a thud. Occasionally, a stray knife would land in the ground. When Jaden and Enya could, they would practice in order to enhance their speed, accuracy, and overall skill with knife throwing. They took deep breaths to slow their heart rate and pulse. The only break they would take was a sip of water and a swipe of a hand across the forehead, then they were back to throwing their knives.
"Hold the knife away from yourself! Aim towards the tree! Focus on the tree!" Jaden yelled at Enya for the hundredth time.
"I'm trying!" Enya insisted. "If you would let me concentrate, maybe I would do better."
"Can I show you how?" Eragon asked her politely.
"I can do it!" Enya told him crossly. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized immediately. "I didn't mean to yell at you."
"Yes, please help her!" Jaden insisted as she handed him the rest of Enya's knives. "I have gotten nowhere." She stalked off and started her own practice across camp. Murtagh joined her shortly after.
Jaden:
I was exasperated with helping Enya, so I was relieved that Eragon offered to help. Maybe he'd be able to get results. I went across camp and set up my own practice. I was readying the target when I saw Murtagh out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting on the stump and cleaning his sword.
"Are you any good?" he asked.
I shrugged. "You tell me." I threw my first knife and it hit the target neatly in the middle. I smirked. "Well?" I prompted. Murtagh shrugged.
"Not bad." he said nonchalantly.
"Not bad? That was perfect. Besides, it's not like you can do any better." I told him preparing to throw another knife.
"You seem pretty confident. Would you care to make a game out of this?" he challenged me.
"Sure. What type of game?" I asked.
"If I can throw more knives and hit the target more times than you can, you will tell us why you and Enya are going to the Varden. But if you win I will tell you why Eragon and I are going." Murtagh explained.
"Alright. We have a deal."
