GUESS WHAT!?! I'm officially on holidays!! YAY! Haha. So lots of writing to do I think! Well, this chapter is still in Arya's point of view, because she is a very interesting character at the moment. And also you'll probably kill me if I skip to Eragon after what happened in the last chapter. ENJOY!
Chapter 6: Shock
Everything was silent. Arya's mind was blank, and Angela was sitting stock still, staring at Arya. Surely I didn't hear what I think I just heard. That's just absurd! For the first time in a long time, Arya's usual unreadable mask was gone and replaced by blank shock.
She blinked hard a couple of times, shook her head slightly, and then looked up at Angela again as through expecting to have been awoken from a dream. "But that's not possible…" said Arya quietly, breaking the silent tension within the room. Solembum was still sitting on the table, his lamp like eyes were wide and piercing.
Angela was looking just as shocked at her own theory as Arya was when she said, "Arya, there really is no other way to ask this, but have you… been with anyone recently?" Arya looked affronted at the question, why was it any of her business! She gave Angela an angry glare before actually putting any thought into the question. NO! She hadn't! So why had Angela come to an impossible conclusion?
Arya was staring into space, lost in thought, when sudden realization hit her like a punch to the gut. In that moment all of her surroundings seemed to be pressing in on her, her stomach seemed to drop out of her and onto the ground, because the only explanation for Angela's theory was almost too terrible for Arya to comprehend.
The memory of that night, just over three weeks ago, was suddenly fresh in her mind. She could remember every detail, every feeling, but she wished she couldn't, because now she had a reason to remember that night…
Angela was still staring at her, something close to curiosity on her face now, but Arya barely noticed. She was completely caught up in her own terrible thoughts, trying to convince herself that it wasn't true, but no matter how she worded her excuses, she could not deny how perfectly the theory fitted into everything else. The sickness, the tiredness, getting upset far too easily.
She felt like she was going to be sick. Not morning sickness sick, but sick at the thought of what those men did to her, sick at the thought that she let it happen! The room was spinning now and she barely heard Angela's worried voice asking, "Arya. Are you well?" NO OFCOURSE I'm NOT WELL!!! How could she be well?!? She'd just received the worst news that she was ever likely to get!
Arya blinked hard again, attempting to stop her head from spinning and trying, in vain, to straighten out the great tangle of thoughts that seemed to be bursting to escape her mind.
Arya finally forced herself to stare into the herbalists face, with a look of complete pain in her eyes. Angela looked shocked yet again, at Arya's obvious distress, but also a knowing look, like she knew exactly what was wrong.
That look made Arya want to reach across the table and throttle her. How could she be so calm when the situation was far from normal? Arya's breath was coming in short gasps now as she started to panic. Angela reached a hand out across the table and placed it on Arya's, afraid that she would start to hyperventilate. Angela thought that she had a good idea why Arya was acting so terribly to the news and though she was almost dying of curiosity, she forced herself to remain quiet.
Arya was staring down at the table top now, her eyes wide, and breathing hard. She had never lost her composure this drastically before now. It took her a few minutes of staring at the table before she calmed down slightly and managed to look up at Angela.
In no more than a whisper Angela said, "Arya, you'll need to tell him." Arya's head jerked up to stare at her, "What?" she said in complete disbelief, as though she wasn't sure if she had heard her correctly. "You need to tell him." Said Angela again, more loudly this time.
"Tell who?" asked Arya, her confusion overcoming her shock. "Eragon." said Angela in an understanding voice, as though she was talking to a five year old. "Why would I tell Eragon?" asked Arya completely bewildered as to why Angela would suggest such a thing.
"He has a right to know, Arya" she said, still in that annoyingly understanding voice. "No he doesn't." said Arya. Eragon was the last person that she was thinking about at that moment, she had no idea why he should have any right what so ever to know.
"You can't just keep this from him, he needs to know." said Angela, more urgently now. Arya gaped at her; there was no way that she was telling Eragon. He had next to no right to know at all! Why would he need to know? They something seemed to click in Arya's mind and she realized what Angela was getting at.
"Angela NO!" said Arya, aghast. How could she even think that? The very idea of her thinking that it was Eragon's, ERAGON'S of all people, made her feel even worse. It was Angela's turn to be confused now. "Angela! Why would you even assume that? Eragon and I have no relationship other than being friends! We are completely different!"
Angela now looked slightly sheepish, ashamed of herself. "My apologies Arya, I am sorry, I should not have jumped to such a hasty decision. I was out of line." Arya was taken aback by the apology, but accepted it all the same.
"It's just," Angela continued, "he's the only person that I would believe you to be close to, especially since you have not returned to Ellesmerea is such a while."
Arya felt a flush creeping up her cheeks at discussing her supposed sex life with Angela of all people, but she couldn't stop tears welling up in her eyes as she talked about a person who she had wished to be with, because she now wished more than anything that that was the reason behind what had happened. Not because of some strange human whom she doesn't have a name for.
Angela didn't seem to notice that Arya was upset when she asked, "If you don't mind me asking Arya… umm… who, I mean… which… umm… who is the father?" At these words, Arya couldn't stop a solitary tear from escaping down her cheek. The word father had sent a shiver up and down her spine, she did not want to be a mother, she had never even thought about being one in the future, let alone now.
Angela was still looking at her expectantly. With a great effort Arya looked down at her hands in her lap and whispered, "I don't know."
There you guys. Sorry it's a bit short, but I need to go to Eragon's POV now. At least that's given you a fix for a while. Please review and tell me what you think. Also if you have any suggestions I'd be happy to consider them. Thanks guys! See you later!
