Chapter 4

The old man grudgingly opened the door and stared down at Eragon. "What do you want boy?"Brom growled. He was tired and just wanted to relax in peace before heading to bed.

"I am sorry to bother you, but I want to talk to you about something." Despite everything, Brom rolled his eyes and let the young boy enter his home.

"I will make some tea." Said Brom as Eragon took a seat near the fireplace. "Now, what is on your mind? I can see that something is troubling you. I hope this isn't about the story I told earlier." Brom took a sip of his tea, and after, took out his pipe and lit it.

Eragon shook his head and said, "No, it's not about that." He took a moment to organize his thoughts. "Brom, what is your opinion of Nadlyn?"

The boys question caught him a little off guard. "Nadlyn?"

"Please, be honest." Eragon grabbed his cup of tea to keep his nervous hands occupied.

"Let's see. She is a very peculiar girl, indeed, but that is only coming from a few short observations."

Eragon was satisfied with the man's answer. "Do you think she really hates everyone in Carvahall?"

"Where are you trying to get at, Eragon?"

"Just answer the question."

"Very well. No, I don't think she hates everyone; I actually think that a lot of her anger towards the villagers is concealing her true feelings."

"So you agree that she is hiding something?"

"Aye." Brom took another drink. "I think she envies us. Living with Zador must be unpleasant, and I have a feeling that she just wants to be free to live her own life. She never seems very happy, does she?"

"No, she doesn't, which confuses me. I mean I understand if she doesn't like all of the villagers, some of the people living here are not very nice, but what about those who are nice to her? I noticed that she seemed to hate them more than the ones who are cruel to her."

Brom suddenly began to laugh, startling and even upsetting Eragon. "This is about Nadlyn yelling at you at the bonfire, isn't it?" When Eragon remained silent, fuming, Brom started talking again. "Calm down Eragon, I mean no offense." Eragon rolled his eyes. "She's just scared. You really can't blame her for that. I mean here is a girl living in luxury with an Uncle who has a fearsome reputation. They are constantly moving from town to town as the King sees fit allowing her little time to make any friends, or more," Brom paused for a moment and looked at Eragon with a sly look in his eye.

"I know what you saying, and in part, I think it might be true, but I feel like there is more to it than just that. Earlier today I accidentally ran into her, knocking her to ground. She looked irritated with me, so how come when I stood up to her Uncle, who accused me of trying to flirt with her and raised his arm to hit me, she stayed his hand? Then, I saw her in Morns Tavern. She was trying to leave unnoticed, but a man called out her name and humiliated her in front of everyone. I felt bad for her Brom, she never did anything wrong, so I told them to knock it off. Roran was there and even he thought I was crazy. At the bonfire I only thanked her for stopping her Uncle and I apologized for what happened in the bar, and all she did was yell at me." Reciting the tale made him depressed. He finally took a drink of the warm tea which helped him calm down. "I don't think that she is really scared of forming friendships, I think that her Uncle is preventing her from having friends."

"Eragon what are you saying?"

Eragon took a deep breath. "I am saying that she is afraid of her Uncle. If he almost struck me in public because of an accident, I have to wonder how he acts in the privacy of his home with Nadlyn."

"You think she is abused?"

"At this point I don't think, I am almost certain of it. There was another incident that supports my inclination. The day Zador cataloged Carvahall I saw Nadlyn. She was heading out, but before her Uncle let her leave, he grabbed her arm and whispered something to her. I didn't really pay much attention to it then, but looking back, I believe it to be evidence that he abuses her."

"Look Eragon, she is a beautiful young woman and it only sounds as if her Uncle is very protective of her…"

"No!" Eragon stoop up, frustrated. "You don't get it." He wanted to tell Brom something else, but held his tongue to say, "Just forget it. You don't understand either." He slammed the cup down on the table and began to walk away.

"Eragon, stop!" Brom was still sitting in his chair. "It's clear that you feel very strongly about this."

"I do." Eragon said without facing Brom. "I thought you were different than the others, but your not." He suppressed a tear, and left the small house, Brom still yelling after him to stay. The cold night air felt good on his hot skin as he walked towards Horsts. Avoiding everyone, he went into his room and shut the door. Within an hour he fell into a fitful sleep where he dreamed about Zador beating Nadlyn.