Orders from a Leader
Chapter 8
Arya was sitting alone in her room doing something she had never thought she would do outside of her times of torture in Gilead; she was crying. Her thoughts that she had so often kept from drifting off their normal track had slipped during her trancelike state of resting and had brought to the forefront of her mind, the rape. The terror and the memories had resurged into her mind so clearly. She had no one to speak to because of her shame. She could not contact Saphira because the dragon's mind was closed to her.
Arya's thoughts drifted to Murtagh and she was filled with a powerful hatred and a longing to sink her sword into the flesh of that man so she new for certain he was dead. It was her right to kill him yet Eragon and her had shared the burden at Helgrind. Eragon… She could not tell Eragon. If she couldn't tell him the slightest secret than she definitely couldn't trust him with this.
Eragon… Arya looked down at what she held in her hands and gasped. The air rushed out of her lungs as quickly as quickly as if some one had kicked her in the ribs. In her lap she held the fairth, on which she had tried to develop an accurate depiction of dragons. Unfortunately her attempt had failed. However, on the piece of charmed slate rested an image, and image that betrayed everything to her. Eragon starred back at her through true to life, deep brown eyes slightly masked by a lock of slightly curly brown hair. He looked like he did now. Fear and courage and confidence shown through every line of his face, but there were also other more sensitive emotions there as well. Compassion and sadness and understanding also resided in the shadowed areas under his eyes.
The door to the room opened and in step the very figure on the slate. Eragon looked very formal and distant. Arya was shocked by his sudden change in attitude toward her. Arya's eyes caught on her slate and she had to work fiercely to keep herself from reacting. She set the slate down on the bed as unobtrusively as possible and stood.
"Atra esterni ono thelduin, Arya Svit-Kona," Eragon spoke putting two fingers to his lip.
Arya gave the due reply and approached him.
"Why have you come to me Er… Shadeslayer?" She asked.
"Oh, well, Nasuada sent me to ask you to come out of the seclusion you've been in all day. She told me to bring you with me to some, I think she described it as 'festivities', tonight. It was an order and I swore to serve her so…" Eragon looked into Arya's face, "You've been crying!"
Arya looked at him for a moment considering this and nodded, "Yes, I have. Well since Nasuada ordered you to bring me to the 'festivities' tonight, we may as well go."
They stood like that in silence for a few moments. Arya watched as Eragon's eyes roved her rather undecorated room. She moved slightly hoping to hide the fairth from view, but she was a little too slow.
"Arya, were you working on a fairth when I came in? You certainly seemed to be studying one intently when I entered," Eragon was obviously trying to make conversation but he was also openly curious.
"As a matter of fact I was but what I have created is none of your business. Seeing as we are no longer friends I believe such talk is rather useless. Let us finish Nasuada's orders and return to our solitude," Arya was in no mood to talk to Eragon. Her newfound feelings for him made it hard to push him away or discourage him from talking to her. Arya suddenly wished he would stop looking at her directly in the eyes.
Arya slowly made her way across the room when she reached the door their eyes met again. The doorway was much too tight for her comfort. Her face must have been inches from his and her heart began to race. Eragon was about to press his lips against her's. Arya looked at the ground quickly, and chose to act a bit put off and startled.
"We should go," She stated and looked up to see the he was blushing slightly.
Arya slipped into the openness of the corridor and felt increasingly better and less nervous. She and Eragon walked side by side but subconsciously kept a foot or so of space between them. As they walked Arya's mind drifted until it finally latched onto the doorway again. She thought of what she had almost allowed him to do and the consequences would have been astronomical had she not thought before acting. Oh why couldn't he restrain himself; it would make her decisions so much easier.
"Arya, Shadeslayer, good to see you! It's been to long." An old but steady voice floated through the crowd of people milling about the palace square.
"Evening Joed," Eragon greeted.
"Well, isn't this a strange sight? Dragon rider accompanied not by their dragon but by an elf, alone. Amazing the things that can happen," Joed was poking at soft spots.
"We're not actually together. This," Arya gestured between Eragon and herself, "Was Nasuada's idea, though what she was thinking I have no idea."
"Ah, somehow I thought you were above such orders Arya though apparently I was wrong," Joed glanced between the pair again.
"I don't appreciate your implications, Joed. It would be best if you just left it where it is now," Arya's tone changed slightly, and she made a mental note to become very tired early and get away from this large crowd.
Eragon looked a Joed with an almost apologetic face at which point Arya felt compelled to haul him away from the man in annoyance.
"I don't need you to apologize for my actions. If I do something it is because I mean to. When I wish to apologize, I will apologize," Arya snapped at him.
"I don't understand why Nasuada did this. We aren't even friends anymore," The words seemed to come as though forced out of his mouth.
"Eragon, let's just do are best to get through tonight and go from there. I think that you and I can handle a few people and questions," Arya privately thought that questions were exactly the opposite of what she needed. She felt she needed some time to pull together her thoughts so she could ensure she wasn't lying every time someone asked her about their relationship.
As they walked through the crowd, a group of young men gathered about Eragon. She recognized some of hem as those who had come with the refugees from Carvahall, though Eragon had never introduced them to her. Now that prospect had seemed to become unavoidable.
"Hey, Eragon! Who's with ya'?" two other boys joined the group.
Do you mind meeting them? If I don't introduce you now I'll hear about it later.
No as a mater of fact I don't mind. All I know of your friends is that, save for Joed, their all from Carvahall.
Joed's more an acquaintance really; you know him better than I do.
This is very true.
"To answer your question Baldor, this is Arya. She's the Elven Embassador."
Arya nodded her head to them.
"Arya, this is Baldor, Albreich, Cael, Sryn, Talf, Ceph, Markom, Hirn, and Bain. We grew up together."
Arya glanced at each of the boys' faces reading their expressions easily. Not one of them contained the slightest bit of innocence. They continued to walk and Arya listened to their rather boring talk of their trades, and the rather ludicrous and rude jokes, and suddenly felt herself wishing they would go away so she could have Eragon to herself again.
By the time they did leave it was far past dark and Arya was beginning to find that she minded the crowd less now that most of them were drunk. Being two of the only sober people in the area, she and Eragon wandered through the streets listening to the occasional drunken chorus of a gratuitously inappropriate song. The sounds of young children had subsided now as their mother had sent them off to bed. They passed a pub where most of the young people had chosen to go about their drinking and through the window several young couples could be seen flirting with each other and becoming more and more uncontrolled as they drank more and more of the alcohol.
Arya chose to switch her attention to herself. Her eyes flick to Eragon for a second only to notice he wasn't there. She turned to look for him. Walking back along the street she found him sitting on a barrel, his head in his hands. Tentatively, she knelt before him to look into his face. When he would not meet her gaze she grasped his wrist and pulled it away. What was their over whelmed her with sadness. Tears glistened on his cheeks.
"Eragon?" she asked aloud though she knew it would do no good.
He tipped his face down toward the ground away from her.
Eragon?
No response
Eragon, answer me.
Why?
I want to help you.
You're the last person I want to help me right now.
Eragon I… She was surprised by how much the comment stung.
The first place I went to like this was when the traders arrived in Carvahall. I was seven and Garrow was sick so Roran and I snuck out of the house and tagged along with Baldor and Albreich. Now I won't ever get to see the trader come into Carvahall with him again because there's no Carvahall and no Roran. And in many ways, it's all linked to you. You sent the egg and the Razac came and burnt down Carvahall. I chose you over Roran and now he's dead! So no, I don't want your help right now.
Arya stood in shock and returned to her rooms, angrier than she could remember feeling in a long time.
Eragon sat quietly, on his barrel in the middle of the street tears silently running down his face. He ached. It was both a mental and physical ache, the pain from his grief still making it difficult to cope with all the situations around him. He was just beginning to have fun for once since Roran had died but now he remembered some of his sweat childhood memories and he fell to pieces. Guilt also brewed in his chest for be so mean to Arya but he blamed her for most of his pain. She had hurt him in so many ways yet he still loved her. But all that had changed, it could never be, because Roran was dead and she was to blame.
"It's all her fault!" he yelled not caring who heard.
Eragon stood and made his way into one of the pubs where he sat at the bar, determined to get so drunk he couldn't feel his limbs.
Saphira reached her tail forward and tapped the egg in the center of the grass. It was as if it had been dropped by someone. It was a polished emerald green with gold and silver veins cutting through the solid hard surface. Saphira raised her head and starred around the grassy swath of land; no movement reached her eyes. This egg had obviously been sitting here for some time. Surely Galbatorix wouldn't be so careless! Would he?!
Saphira immediately decided against that. Galbatorix would never be that ignorant. Someone had either stolen the egg or it was another egg no one had found.
Regardless it should still be taken back to where it could be cared for and maybe even hatch. Saphira scooped the egg up into her mouth.
A/N- Okay let me know how you like this chapter. It's certainly filled with fluff but I promise the next ones will focus on the actual story and less on Eragon and Arya's relationship though it will be there. I just wanted Arya to know what Eragon was thinking and that he would be pushing her away for quite a while.
Gath un reisa du rakr,
Tabitha of MoonAurora
