Hey! Long time no see. Or long time no write? I'm just going to stick with Hey :)
Announcements:
So where have I been? Well I was reading Rick Riordan's newest book The Mark of Athena. Any Percy Jackson fans out there? I've had a lot of homework and have been hanging with friends. But the thing that's been taking the most time is I'm in the drama play and we practice basically every night in the week. But that ends after the last show on November 3rd. After that I'll have nothing to do again which will lead to writing :D
It really means a lot to me that you guys have all been so patient with me. It's great to know I have such amazing readers.
Thanks for all the reviews :)
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Chris Paolini.
So this chapter goes out to all my Roran and Katrina fans, as I'm finally bringing them in. There's also a sneak peak of two characters that are going to be in more often later in the story. Here's chapter 7. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Eragon
"Hey Eragon?" Roran asked.
"Yeah?" I called from my room, looking out into the hallway at my cousin.
He was standing at the top of the stairs with a box in his hands, shifting it back and forth so he wouldn't drop it. "Who's is this?"
I frowned, not being able to tell because all the boxes looked the same. "Is there a name on it?"
"Nope."
"Sniff it."
He blinked slowly. "Excuse me?"
"Sniff it."
"What does sniffing it do?" he asked, sounding a little worried.
"If it smells like a normal box it's mine. If it smells like candles its mom's. If it smells terrible it's Murtagh's." I informed him.
"I heard that!" Tag called from the bottom of the stairs. I came the full way out of my room to stick my tongue out at him. He flipped me off.
"Murtagh!" Mom said. "Don't flip off your brother!"
I turned around to see Roran looking at me with an eyebrow raised. I shrug. "So?" I ask. He looks confused now so I add, "What does it smell like?"
"Oh. Um." He leans towards it, looking hesitant to sniff it. Probably because he's worried it'll smell like Murtagh, although I don't think it will because if it was Murtagh's he probably would have smelled it already since he's been holding it for so long. Or maybe normal families don't sniff their boxes. Oh well. I think we've proven before that we're not a normal family. We have Murtagh.
I glance down at him to see him glaring at me. "What?" I ask.
"I can practically hear you thinking bad things about me."
I just wink at him. "Um, Eragon?" I turn back around to face Roran. "It smells like a box."
"Alright. Then I'll take it." I say, taking it from his arms and bringing it into my room and setting it on the floor next to my other unopened boxes.
"Boys!" Mom called. "Dinner's ready!"
"On our way now." I say going down the steps with Roran right behind me. We headed into the chicken scented kitchen to find Murtagh and my uncle Garrow already sitting at the table. Murtagh's gaze was focused on the floor while Garrow was staring at Murtagh in a way that I wasn't quite sure what it meant but I know it's not a good look. With the way Murtagh was staring intently on the floor like he had a crush on it and fidgeting he knew it wasn't a good stare as well.
"Eragon!" I'd been so busy trying to figure out what that stare meant that I didn't even realize mom had been calling my name.
"Yeah?" I asked, turning around to face her. She was standing in the kitchen next to Katrina.
She gave me a weird look but didn't say anything about it. "Can you carry the chicken to the table? I have to finish the mash potatoes."
"Sure." I said, walking over to the chicken. I picked it up and on the way over to the table I accidentally bumped into Katrina.
"Oh! Sorry!" she said, making room for me to get by.
"It's fine. It was my fault anyway."
"No, it was mine. I knew you were trying to get the chicken to the table. I should have been paying more attention."
"I knew you were working on the rolls. I should have been paying more attention."
"You both should have been paying more attention." Roran said, coming over and wrapping his arms around his bride to be. That's Katrina by the way. Not me. "Now stop fighting over who's more of a klutz."
Katrina slapped his arm lightly. "We weren't fighting. We were having a discussion."
"It looked like a fight to me."
"Well then you need to go to the eye doctor. Working in the sun must be affecting your vision."
Roran rolled his eyes and kissed Katrina on the lips. I smiled at the couple. They looked really happy and they both worked well with each other. I left them to be lovey dovey with each other and headed over to the table, putting the chicken down in the middle, and sat next to Murtagh, who had switched from looking at the floor to playing with his thumbs. The three of us sat there in silence, waiting for the others. They eventually made their way over and sat down.
It was a fairly normal dinner, besides the fact that Roran and Katina kept making lovey dovey faces at each other and Mom was glaring at Garrow, who would still glance at Murtagh with that look from earlier. Murtagh would develop an interest in his potatoes every time Garrow's gaze went across his face and that's what I was worried about. This is Murtagh we're talking about. He never backs down from a fight. The Murtagh I know would be staring right back into Garrow's eyes with that death look he's perfected throughout the years. So why was he backing down? I hadn't seen Roran and Garrow in ten years. I can't remember why they stopped visiting but it had something to do with Murtagh. That could be why he was giving Murtagh that look, but like I said that was 10 years ago. Murtagh would have been seven or eight. You think Garrow would have gotten over it by now.
My thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. We all glanced at the door before Murtagh stood up quickly, saying "I'll get it."
We all watched him walk down the hallway to the door and open it. Then we heard "Hello!" in an excited voice.
"Hi." Murtagh said in a voice a lot less enthusiastic then the stranger's at the door. I was moving around, trying to get a good view of the person but I couldn't see anyone.
Mom sighed, muttering something about Murtagh's social skills, and walked over to the door. I followed. I peeked around Murtagh to see a dwarf holding a giant basket of fruit out to Murtagh.
"Hello!" he said again. "I'm Orik! I'm your new neighbor and brought you this fruit basket as a welcome to the neighborhood gift."
"Oh!" Mom said. "How thoughtful of you! Thank you so much." She accepted the basket from Orik and handed it to Murtagh. "I'm Silena and these are my sons Murtagh and Eragon."
"Nice to meet you all. I'm sorry my wife couldn't come over, but she's working late tonight."
"It's fine. I'm sure we'll get to meet sometime soon."
"Yes! Well I'm sorry to interrupt your dinner. I best be heading back."
"Oh yes of course. Thank you for the fruit. It means very much to us."
"It's no problem at all. Come over if you ever need anything." Orik told us, then started to cut across our grass to get to his house.
"Thank you!" Mom called after him. Then she closed the door. "Murtagh, can you go put those on the counter? Thanks sweetie." Murtagh headed back into the kitchen. Mom sighed, staring after him with a worried look.
"Mom?" I asked.
"Yes Era?"
"What's up with the look Garrow keeps giving Murtagh?"
She hesitated, and then said, "I didn't notice a look. Now let's go finish dinner." She followed Murtagh into the kitchen.
I would have believed her if I wasn't good at telling when she's lying.
Murtagh
Sitting here playing my guitar next to Thorn, Nasuada, Saphira, and Eragon was much more relaxing then sitting at a dinner table with an engaged couple, a uncle that hates me because of who my father is and how he treated mom, a mother who's glaring at my uncle because it pisses her off that he blames me for everything my dad did, and a little brother who's eyes keep darting around the table trying to figure out what's happening. Sitting here, with my fingers dancing across the guitar I got for my fourteenth birthday and playing with people I just met today, makes me feel so much more at home than sitting with my family at our kitchen table. That's kind of sad.
"So like this?" Eragon asked Thorn, trying and failing to play the chord Thorn had just showed him. I winced at the sound that came out. Eragon's a great artist. Musician? Not so much.
"No, not like that. Like this." Thorn said, playing the chord correctly.
Eragon frowned at Thorn's fingers on the guitar. "Isn't that what I just did?"
I sighed. "Give it up Thorn. I've been trying to teach Eragon the guitar since I started playing back when I was eleven. He just doesn't seem to get it."
Thorn shrugged, showing Eragon the chord again. "Saphira sucks too but I haven't given up on her yet."
"I don't suck!" Saphira said
"I didn't say you suck at everything. Just guitar." Thorn reassured his girlfriend, before leaning towards her and kissing her.
"You want to know who sucks?" Nasuada asked, closing her text book loudly. "Thorn and Murtagh because we have this homework assignment due tomorrow and they're not helping me at all!"
Thorn frowned. "I thought you wanted to do it yourself."
Nasuada glared at him. "Yes Thorn, I want to do this whole packet by myself because you know I just love doing big homework packets by myself."
Thorn turned back to Eragon, smiling. "Alright. Then problem solved." But before he could show Eragon the chord again, Nasuada grabbed his ear and yanked him backwards. "Ow!" he complained. "I was just messing with you Nas! No need to rip my ear off."
Then her glare whipped around to me. I held my hands up. "I'll help. Just spare my ears." Then the doorbell rang.
Nasuada sighed. "Murtagh can you get that?"
"Why me? It's not my place."
"I know. But Thorn needs to help me as he's been teasing me."
"Fine." I grumbled, walking over to the door while running my hand through my hair.
I opened the door to find a short kid with dark hair and bright green eyes standing in the doorway holding a sack of flower. We stared at each other before I sighed and said, "Great. Another dwarf with something edible."
"I'm not a dwarf! I'm just a kid!"
"Oh really? How old are you?"
"Eleven!"
"I was definitely taller than you when I was eleven."
"So?"
"So you're short."
"That doesn't mean I'm a dwarf!"
"True, but you're definitely short for your age."
"Whoa you two!" Thorn said, walking over to us. "What's up?"
"He's calling me short!"
Thorn blinked slowly. "You are short."
"So?" the kid asked.
"So you're sho-"
"It doesn't matter!" Saphira said, coming over as well. "Obviously Firnen's here about something else so let's get off the subject."
"Good plan." Thorn said, but the kid was still glaring at me. "So what did you come her for Firnen?"
"Here," Firnen said, holding out the flower bag to Thorn. "Arya said she borrowed some from you and wanted to give you some back." At the name Arya, Saphira glanced back into the room and smirked. I glanced back to see what she was looking at and saw Eragon blushing. I made a mental note to remember that for later.
"Oh yeah. I had forgotten about that. You can tell Arya that she doesn't have to give me anything back. Mom and dad don't mind."
He nodded. "Okay. I should get going. Bye"
"Bye" Thorn and Saphira said. I just stared at him while he glared at me.
Then he kicked me in the knee. "Ow! That hurt you little brat!"
"That's what short people can do jerk!" he shouted as he ran down the street.
"That's it!" I said, about to run after him when Nasuada came up behind me and pulled me back by the collar of my shirt. Thorn shut the door.
"Come on." She said. "We don't need you in jail for beating up little kids. What we do need you for is the homework."
"Great." I grumbled, rubbing my knee.
Eragon
I was lying in bed listening to the murmurs of Mom and Garrow's voices downstairs when I heard Murtagh's door open and close really quietly next door. Then I heard them softly descend the stairs. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I figured Tag couldn't either. That's probably why he went downstairs. I decided to follow him. I got up and made it to the door without too much creaking. I walked into the hallway and looked down the stairs. Murtagh was sitting at the bottom of them. I slowly walked down them and sat next to him. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. I could clearly hear mom and Garrow's voices now.
"I don't get it Silena. I just don't get it." Garrow told her. I could hear him pacing.
"Get what Garrow?" Mom asked quietly.
"How can you keep that kid? Why didn't you get rid of him when you had the chance? You could have aborted or put him up for adoption!"
"Garrow! I will not abort or put my own son up for adoption because his father's a horrible person. That doesn't make him a horrible person!"
"It could! He has the same genes doesn't he? Then what's going to stop him from beating his girlfriend or wife? What's going to stop him from beating you or Eragon?" I winced at the sound of my name being brought into the argument that I want no part of unless it's to help Murtagh.
"Don't bring Eragon into this! Besides, despite what you believe Murtagh cares for Eragon very much. Even if he isn't very good at showing it. He does. Morzan never cared for me or Murtagh the way I wanted him to. That's what led to the beatings. Or did you forget about that? That Morzan hit Murtagh just as much if not more than he hit me? Now we've had this fight too many times Garrow. I'm done having it."
"I just want what's best for you and Eragon Silena."
"You have a really horrible way of showing it."
"But I do mean it."
"I know. But you either have the best in mind for all of us or none of us. It hasn't ever been just Eragon and I and it never will be. Now good night Garrow."
"Silena you-"
"There's the front door. Good night Garrow."
I heard a sigh and the clicking of car keys hitting against each other. "My cars out back. Good night Silena." Then I heard the back door open and close silently.
"We'd better get up stairs before Mom finds us." Murtagh whispered to me then slowly went up the stairs. I followed.
When we got to the top I said, "Murtagh I-"
"I don't want to talk about it Era."
"But-"
"Night Eragon." Murtagh said, closing the door to his bedroom. I heard it lock with a soft click. I sighed, running my hand through my hair in a gesture that's very Murtagh and went into my room to go to bed.
PLEASE READ: So I personally think that if Garrow had met Murtagh in the books he wouldn't have been like I'm making him. The reason I decided to do it this way is because I wanted to show Murtagh's struggle to not be his father and not let other people believe he's becoming his father. I didn't know who else to do it with. Garrow was the best option. I'm sorry if you didn't like the way I played Garrow out. He gets better later. Promise. On a happier note this is my longest chapter for this story yet! Woo! I hope thatit was worth the 20 day wait. Please review :)
IamJamieDaughterofHypnos
