"Monster! I didn't steal it I swear!" I scream in pure terror as he steps closer, the whiskey on his breath all too familiar. I look to my sister for help but she cowers in the corner and gives me a sad smile.
"Then how will you explain the fact that it was hidden in the tool shed. you are the only one who works in the fields. Wretched whore, why can't you just keep your grubby hands on your own property? I thought I had taught you well enough. Guess the lesson must be rein stilled."
I realized he meant the chocolate I had bought and stored for Ery's birthday. He was turning fifteen and I thought that was a big deal. I had the feeling something would prevent me from being there for the next one.
He slowly placed an iron rod in the fire to heat it and slowly removed his belt from the loops.
I am screaming again and he makes his way over and throws me, the pain is excruciating as he grabs me again-
I am jerked from my frightening dreams, screaming and fighting against the arms that hold me.
"Nina, hey you're safe." I can feel someone else's tears mixing with the ones that fell from my own eyes. The pain from the dream is fleeting, but the memories remain so I stay settled and continue to cry.
I realize it is Eragon's cousin, who is leaving for Therinsford soon, holding me like the good big brother I saw him as. I can tell through the way he breathes, through the hushes he whispers to me in his calm voice, that he has done this for Eragon as a child.
I finally curl up and twist my head to the window, finding the sun has yet to rise. In the room was Roran, Eragon and myself. It was much too early for anyone to be up because indeed there was now a soft blanket of snow outdoors, just enough to hinder peoples work.
"Would you like to speak about it, dear Elaina? You know you can trust us." Eragon shifts closer to me on my bed as I lean against the wall and fall from Roran's arms. I shook my head knowing my voice wouldn't stay for me to explain my real past in detail to them. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
We sit in a dreary silence, all brooding over the past few days events. Eragon was of course, with his infinite questions, the first to speak.
"Do you think the traders are coming this year? They're awfully late."
"I think they've probably just run into some troubles along the way. It has been a rough year..." I whisper trailing off thinking of the horrors I'd seen. My thoughts drifted to my dream and that strange feeling I had about what would happen in the future.
"Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching you? Like something is going to happen that you can't stop, but will change you forever?" They nod. "Something's coming, I just wish I knew what," I whisper the last part, almost to myself.
"Alright Mrs. Fortune teller. Get dressed, I'm going to cook some breakfast."
"You cook?" He shook his head.
"I'll be down to cook in a minute," I chuckled.
I pulled out one of my tunics I had here and slashed open the back with a knife. It was a simple farming tunic, so I could easily replace it. I pulled it over the bandages around my back carefully. For some reason I didn't feel the need to.
I finished getting dressed in trousers and leather boots, then rushed downstairs the evidence of a fire melting into my senses.
I pull out the materials for muffins and suddenly am hit with a handful of flour. I turn to glare at my attacker, knowing it was one of the boys.
"Now, I don't want you boys wasting any of their flour. I feel bad enough having to beg off of them for food and shelter, without you using all of their cooking supplies to amuse me."
"I just thought you deserved some fun after all that you've been through, I'm sorry Nina..."
"It's alright Ery, just let me finish cooking."
"God, you guys sound like a married couple. How long have you been together?" I blushed as Eragon roughed Roran up for the snide remark. I looked out the window and smiled seeing the bright colored caravans of the trades and gypsies.
"Hey you two better hurry traders are here. I am sure you both have items to trade." I winked at Eragon, remembering the stone we had found. They ran up to Eragon's room to gather their supplies for trading. I notice then that my back has stopped aching as much as I am sweeping, bending over to pan the flour from the floor.
A few minutes later the boys rush down the stairs as I slip the bacon from the pan and pull the cool eggs down from the window sill. The fresh bread sits on the counter from the other night when they visited Garrow.
"You should tell your uncle the traders are here. Eat then we'll go."
We all ate, the boys ate quite ravenously, then we saddle and tack our horses. I nuzzle Tarpin's neck while I wait for the others to finish, and then decide to bring some of my belongings because I will probably be living with them. I am sure they won't let me go home, and I am grateful.
We ride out talking and laughing ignored by most, and soon fall into a content silence. Eragon suddenly looks quite puzzled.
"Hey, Elaina can I ask you something personal?" he asks slowly and full of an underlying meaning. I am suddenly cautious, but I nod anyways.
"Did your father ever, you know..." Roran looks at me worriedly wanting, no, needing an answer to a such an important question, as much as Eragon seemed to.
"No! Of course not. He thought I was a disgusting little pig, with no future. He wouldn't want to mess with someone so worthless." I laugh at the irony of his thought pattern, He who relies on his daughters for a livelihood.
The boys both look relieved, and we ride on now in a more uncomfortable silence then finally catch sight of the farm behind the hill and I push Tarpin into a trot. Garrow, having seen us, awaited our arrival on a chair he had set on a patch of soggy grass.
"Hello Garrow," I say timidly knowing the boys must have told him.
Silently he stands as I dismount and wait for a response. To my surprise, he walks over and, still silent, hugs me. He holds on and then releases me, but keeps me at arms length.
"No man should do that a person, especially a woman. Come inside and have a mug of tea." He leads the way inside after the boys tie the horses to the post.
"We came to tell you the traders are here. We want to help pack the wagon."
"She is not going to help. I saw her back. It's not happening."
I groaned in protest but knew it couldn't be helped. I sat down and watched as the guys did all the lifting I usually did. I let out a soft laugh at that thought. I had been in worse condition tending the fields before.
I come home after an especially long day in the fields. I had on the earned enough to feed my family for a few days and knew what would happen as a result. I open the creaky door that my sister had yet to fix, and my father was too drunk to fix it himself. I walked into the house quietly hoping my drunk father would have been past out.
Of course that was not my luck.
"Where have you been girl? I expected you home hours ago." He snatches the pouch of money from my side. "This is all Garrow gave you? That slimy pig. You must have been so lazy and sloppy he just couldn't bring himself to tell you to go." He knocks me up against the wall and I notice something in his hand I had never been beaten with before.
The knife he holds in his hand is jagged, used for carving wood and sawing tough meat. I watch in horror as he come closer, and hits me in the face with a fist, which drops me to the ground. He kneels on my arms so I can't move and suddenly see the knife come towards my face. He drags it slowly across my cheek just under my eye. I force myself to remain calm, but his weight is crushing the breath from me and I gasp for air.
He must be on a worse mood than usual.
"You are not worth my time. Where is your sister?" I nod towards the kitchen, hating to lead him to her, but not caring at the same time, because she hates me anyways. He relieves me of his weight then as a second thought turns and plunges the knife deep into my side with such ease, but I know he has done such a thing before. I think of my mother.
I stay on the ground trying to sense every part of my body, pretending I am not in pain. This is how I cope. I slowly pull the knife out, trying not to cause anymore damage. I then take slow, steady breaths and pressure the wound.
I hear screams from the back of the house belonging to my sister. I hate knowing what he does to her, but am grateful it is not me. When he finally passes out, my sister comes out and sees me on the floor. She sobs and runs to the kitchen for bandages, having patched me up before.
As she cleans the wound, I fade in and out of consciousness, but cry continuously. I fade into darkness as she begins bandaging.
The last thought I have before sleeping was that I have to go to work tomorrow, or the boys will worry, or worse come and check on me.
Of course that didn't happen though. The next day I had to lie to Eragon when he came to see why I wasn't there, saying a hunter from a nearby village had mistaken me for prey and shot me. He sat with me all day, and was very patient and helpful. A few days later I lied and said I was better and was out working in the fields again, for our father had drank away all of the money.
I suddenly think of the sister I left at home. I know that now that I am gone she will be undoubtedly doing my work as well as her own. I feel a pang of doubt, knowing that was too much for her to finish in one day; and I knew the consequences for not finishing all too well. Then I remember all of the times she looked at me without emotion or pity, only anger and sadness of something I didn't recognize. A deep, unimaginable pain and fury.
"Eragon!" He jumped around and glanced over protectively.
"Are you okay? What is it?"
"My sister. She still with that bastard. We have to help her." It was Garrow who answered.
"I will go get her while the traders are setting up camp. Your father will be trying to smuggle some of their good liquor away. You three will ride off into the town and wait for us there."
The men finished loading the cart and forced me to just wait up on the cart with the reins of the horses. I busied myself counting all of the trees that stood on the edge of the farm. I had just finished counting as they tied the last bit of cargo down.
"Did you guys know that you have 292 full grown trees surrounding the farm? It always looked like more than that." My voice was cunningly innocent as I looked into the boys' eyes.
"Guys, let's get a move on. Maybe the traders will have something to cure her insanity," Roran said glancing worriedly at me.
"There's nothing to cure, I am perfectly fine," I said seriously now. "This is just my way of coping with all the shit that has happened in the past few weeks." Garrow looked at me in sorrow as the boys climbed onto the wagon. He then mounted his steed.
"I will see you kids soon. I will get her for you," He said to me. I nod.
We arrive in town a little after lunch time, and sit at the community bonfire waiting for Garrow. We had eaten a meager lunch of an apple and some dried corn. The gypsies were dancing and their colorful scarves and dangling outfits were marvelous. One of the gypsy children came over and grabbed me by the hand.
"Please miss, would you like to dance?" The little boy had bright green eyes that contrasted beautifully with his tan skin that were wide, and puffy little cheeks. He couldn't have been more than six or seven, and was tall for his age but fairly thin. A woman a year or two older than me offered me a few scarves to wear in the dance. I glanced at Eragon and Roran who smiled encouragingly at me.
After I adjusted the scarves the boy walked with me to the edge of the fire and began dancing wildly to the energetic song. The beat was strong in the tambourine, and the singers voice was beautiful and clear as a melody of another language filled my ears.
Soon though the song changed to one I knew, and the hand of the child was replaced and filled with a different rougher one. I opened my eyes, and smiled at the sight of Eragon dressed in the same makeshift scarves I was. I laughed, then sang along with the song as we moved through an intricate dance made up on the spot.
Take off all of your skin
And brave when you are free
Shake off all of your sins
And give them to me
Close up, let me back yea
I wanna be yours, wanna be your hero
And my heart beats
Like the empires of the world unite
We are alive
And the stars make love to the universe
You're my wildfire every single night
We are alive
And the stars make love to the universe
And you touch me
And I'm like and I'm like and I'm like
Wooo wooo
And I'm like woo woo
And I'm like woo woo
And I'm like woo
I will follow you down wherever you go
I, I'm, baby, I'm bound to you and do you know?
Closer, pull me in tight
I wanna be yours, wanna be your hero
And my heart beats
Like the empires of the world unite
We are alive
And the stars make love to the universe
You're my wildfire every single night
We are alive
And the stars make love to the universe
And you touch me
And I'm like and I'm like and I'm like
Woo woo
We are alive
Woo woo
And I'm like woo woo
We are alive
Woo
I'm just gonna raise my head
Welcome to the final edge
And I'm gonna fall
I'm just gonna raise my head
And hold you close
Like the empires of the world unite
We are alive
And the stars make love to the universe
You're my wildfire every single night
We are alive
And the stars make love to the universe
And you touch me
And I'm like and I'm like and I'm like
Woo woo
And I'm like woo woo
And I'm like woo woo
And I'm like woo
(Shakira - Empire Lyrics)
I smiled shyly at the end, not sure why. Everyone started clapping, and I realized the singers had stopped and were smiling at me with mischievous glints in their eyes. Everyone claps and Eragon whispers in my ear,
"They stopped and let you sing for everyone, and you were incredible. You are incredible." I blush even redder as the clapping dies down. I notice Garrow in the crow, smiling like a good father would in this moment. I release one of his hands but hold the other tightly. We walk over he grasps my forearm and says:
"I think you just showed all of those gypsies what real passion and singing is. Come on let's go start trading Roran and leave these lovebirds alone." I blush a deep red. I give the scarves back to the gypsies and thank them, then, walking away ask Eragon,
"Do you have the stone?"
"Of course! Want to go trade it?" I nod. He pulls me gently along by my hand. We reach the trader who handles precious stones and metals. He steps out of the tent as we stop, and smiles.
"What can I do for you? Buying or selling?" The man asks, deliberately avoiding my eyes.
"Selling," I say, noticing he was acting as if I wasn't there. He glances at me then addresses Ery.
"I refuse to business around a woman. Please come inside." I huff in frustration as they go into the tent. I lean on the corner of a tent on the outskirts of town next to the forest. It is so sad to see such a group of people once bright and happy, inverted and carrying weapons and burdens of such sorrow. Even the children seemed somewhat hollow.
I was thinking of what could have happened to make them like this, when a hand covered my mouth and an arm over my chest, effectively keeping me from struggling or yelling. My attacker managed to get me into the forest before anyone could see, and walls from the past soon went up. They threw me to the ground as I began to shut down all of my senses letting the only thing I noticed be the sounds of the festival. I closed my eyes and blocked out the pain. I was kicked in the stomach a couple times before the person took a break. I yelled then, hurting my lungs, but knowing worse pain would come if I didn't.
"Help! Ery, Roran, someone please!" I blacked out after watching my attackers feet disappear into the forest.
