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-sniff- I came to my attention –sob- that the line thingy –sniffle- didn't work! –bawls- Oh well. I'll do something else… -sigh-
Niiiice and long. Enjoy!
Chapter 8- Progress
"But Master, I know this already!" Star whined, stomping her foot on the ground like she was a youngster again. Oromis chuckled, and gestured for her to continue. Star heaved a great sigh, and started the pose for the Rimgar again. It was so easy! She was climbing to higher and higher levels in the Rimgar so quickly that she was beginning to get a bit sore from the constant contortions of her body. Her stomach rumbled audibly; she had a craving for bananas today. (A/N: Yes. That is influenced from my own cravings. No it was not part of the story until now. Stop laughing.)
Out of boredom, Star lit sparks of light in the air, making them dance around through her arms and legs. They chased each other around the arch her arm made since it was twisted around resting on her hip. She giggled, and let them fly around Oromis, and the trees surrounding the clearing by the brook by his house on the Crags of Tel'naeír. Say that three times fast.
Star relaxed the pose, and reluctantly started a new one. The lights extinguished themselves with a flourish, as Ice came swooping in with Glaedr.
Hello Ice, how was your lesson?
Very good, and yours? Ice cocked his head playfully.
Boring. I already know these things. Star huffed, and sat down to relax.
Patience hatchling. Glaedr's deep, gravelly voice resonated in Star's chest. Tomorrow Oromis plans on testing your abilities in magic.
Star perked up, and rubbed her scarred arms. Star remembered her father's warning to her. "Always be on your guard; never let it down for a second. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Learn what you can from it." It seemed like a century ago since Star had seen her parents. She shrank from the idea that they were dead, but it was the only logical reason. Idly, Star wondered if a trip to Carvahall would be worth the flight. Maybe she could show her thanks to him by doing something nice like that.
Oh… that's right. He still doesn't know about Ice. Star thought sheepishly.
Murtagh sat on the other side of the room, his head in his hands. Nyra was awake and frantically searching for a way out. As if. She kept muttering, "Oh dear spirits, please. Oh, no, please no. I must get to her I must!" She had tried to blow the wall away- unsuccessful. She had tried to dig her way out- unsuccessful. She had tried squeezing through the bars when she thought he wasn't looking- unsuccessful. She was past crying and yelling in elvish. Now she just paced along the wall, searching for an opening.
"Why are you looking? There. Is. No. Way. Out." Murtagh sighed for the billionth time. Nyra paused, as if seeing him for the first time. She walked up to him, and said something in elvish.
"I can't understand elvish. Barely even the Ancient Language. Speak human elf-girl." Murtagh said bitterly. Nyra cocked her head to the side, and laughed. If he wasn't so annoyed Murtagh would have stared in open shock at the lovely sound.
"You are a silly human." Was all she said, and went back to searching.
"Please stop," Murtagh implored, rubbing his temples. Nyra just shook her head, and sighed,
"You do not know the importance in that I must be set free. You will all die." Murtagh stared.
"I know Star will murder me when she finds out I took you." Nyra jumped as if something stung her when he said Star's name. She turned with a panicked look in her eyes.
"Star."
"Yes, your sister. She-will-be-very-mad-at-me." Goodness she was annoying.
"Star." Nyra repeated wringing her hands to keep them from shaking.
"Yes. We all know that she is your sister." Murtagh rolled his eyes
"Star!" Nyra urged, making no other gesture.
"My Lord, woman. Why the hell do you keep saying her name?! Please, shut up… damn elf." Murtagh followed that with a string of curses under his breath, and sat back in his chair.
"Star will find out the morrow if you do not set me free. Then you will all die. Even the King cannot escape. Him— she will not rest until he is dead." Nyra's voice was strained with anxiety. Murtagh's brows rose as he stared at her.
"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked rudely. His patience was thinning. Quickly.
"You stupid human," Nyra spat the word as if it were a curse. "It is a wonder that you still thrive in this world. You are like baby sheep in a wolf's den." Nyra informed him scathingly in a matter-of-fact tone. Murtagh snorted,
"You speak in riddles. Dumb riddles. Get to the point, whatever the hell that is."
"Humans are so gullible. They lie to themselves all the time. And I don't see how any of you have survived this long, you are so vulnerable. All it takes is one little snap and you're dead." She sniffed haughtily, and sat on the cot as if it were a regal throne. Her back was ramrod straight. Murtagh gritted his teeth.
"Gay elves…" He breathed so quietly he thought it was inaudible.
"What does 'gay' mean?" Nyra inquired any way. Murtagh kept his disbelief to himself.
"It means… oh never mind. You're an elf, the fair folk, the perfect people." Murtagh wasn't sure why he even kept talking to the stupid elf. It only frustrated him beyond belief. He continued hotly, "Humans have flaws. As does every race. Elves, you see, have a really, really big lying problem. Did you know that? Your sister lied to me all the time. It made the king, me, and the soldiers very angry. And now look where she's gotten herself." He waited with a smug grin. The soldiers had probably caught her ages ago. Stupid elf.
"Yes, she is in Du Weldenvarden, learning the ways of the Riders, honing her skills to perfection, and making plans of revenge. Looks like you're at the point of her arrow this time around." Nyra laughed and shot a disdainful look at Murtagh's shock.
"Wh…What happened to the ten legions we sent after her?!" There was no way…
"Dead. Every single last one of them." Nyra annunciated every syllable as if he was two. "Quite a gruesome way to die if you ask me. Burning to death. She has quite the imagination, hasn't she?" Nyra grinned in triumph as she watched his eyes bulge. Then she giggled, cocking her head as if someone were whispering in her ear.
"What now?" Murtagh snapped angrily.
"Thump, thump, thump, thhhp. Thump, thump, thump, thump. It begins."
Thump, thump, thump, thhhp. Thump, thump, thump, thhhp.
Eragon blinked as awareness flooded through him. Some distance off, someone was pacing worriedly, their feet making soft whispering sounds only his new hearing could detect. Undisturbed, constant. Thump, thump, thump, thhhp. Thump, thump, thump, thhhp.
Eragon groggily got dressed, and thumped his own beat down the steps of his house. The person's pacing continued as he walked down the barely visible trail towards the sound. Thump, thump, thump, thhhp. Eragon followed his ears, the whisper of the pacing getting more audible by the second.
He finally came across Star, pacing in the leaves. She had cleared a straight path between two great sycamore trees, the ground smooth from her footsteps. She had been pacing all night. Thump, thump, thump, thhhp. Went her foot steps. Every time she turned back, her foot made a longer rubbing sound. Eragon tried to catch her gaze, but she didn't acknowledge him.
"Star? Um…what are you doing?" Star didn't answer, didn't even show him any sign that she had heard. He began to doubt if he had said it aloud. Arya trotted up, and laid an arm on his.
"Do not worry Eragon, she is just fretting over her sister's departure. I believe she thinks Nyra should be back by now." Eragon kept looking at Star, his eyes following her pacing.
"She has a sister? No wonder she wanted to go see her the other day so badly." He was only half paying attention, because Solumbum's words kept repeating themselves over and over in his head, as they had all night. When the time comes and you need a weapon, look under the roots of the Menoa tree. Then, when all seems lost and your power is insufficient, go to the rock of Kuthain and speak your name to open the Vault of Souls. He wasn't sure about the power insufficiency, but the weapon part almost screamed at him. Arya was still hanging on his arm, steering him away from his observation of Star.
"Do you wish to go to the Menoa tree to set up the decorations for the Agaeti Blödhren?" Eragon stared violently when Arya uttered "Menoa tree", and quickly shook his head.
"I uh, must look over my drawing that I did for the festival. Make the last few touches, and shading." He was extremely proud of his drawing of his travels in sequence; it was a huge collage of pictures, one fading into the next. The only painful parts of it were his home, some of the battles, Brom's resting place, and when he was going to the Varden with Murtagh. Arya shrugged, and dragged him off anyway.
Eragon was acutely aware that the thump, thump, thump, thhhp had halted, and in its place was quick, fading footsteps running hurriedly away.
Nyra isn't back. Why isn't she back? She should be back? It's been days. Where is she? The tumult of thoughts rushing like a torrent of water through Star's head refused to stop. Ice met her half a league away from Ellesméra and without breaking a stride, Star leaped onto his back and they took off in the sky. She was used to flying now.
Where to Star?
Carvahall.
It is destroyed. Ice protested solemnly. Star mentally hit herself.
Sorry, I meant Gil'ead. I can't remember the different cities and towns apart from each other very well.
GIL'EAD? That's in the middle of the Empire! Ice almost yelled. His voice was definitely raised.
I have a hunch that's where Nyra went to. Oh please let it not be so. Star bit her lip so hard that a trickle of blood flowed down her chin. Stupid fangs. Using her tongue, she licked it up off her chin, savoring the icy clarity the pain filled her mind with. She knew exactly what to do now. Her thoughts were all in such order she could plan every second of what would happen.
--
"Oh, please no, please. That isn't true!" Star implored the guard. He nodded, grinning with way too much confidence, and asked,
"Now, what's a purdy girl like you wantin' ta know 'bout the king's prison'rs?" He was about twenty years of age, boyishly handsome, and arrogant. Star flushed at his comment, buttoning the top of her cloak self consciously at where his eyes were. She could swear she remembered him from somewhere. That fact was not good for his health. At all.
"I… it was just a rumor. I… I just wanted to know if it was true." She turned, trying to hide the fact that she was coming apart at the seams. Oh, no… Nyra… But before she could wallow completely in depression, the guard called her back. Another grin came to his face. He looked so familiar…
"Rumor, was it that she's an elf? Last elf I got ta guard was lurvely on the eyes. I feel bad I can't have another to m'self again."
Oh. That's where he's from.
Rage.
Star winked, hiding the vicious loathing with all her will power, and drew closer to the guard.
"Are you sure she was that lovely? No one else could match her?" She batted her eye lids to make the point obvious. By the way his eyes raked over her body, she could tell that he definitely got it. He motioned for the other guards to take his post, and grinned.
"Want me to show you some prisoner accommodations? Then I could compare you better." Ugh. That disgusting…
"Sure. Lock me up!" Star said with emphasized enthusiasm. Somewhere in her subconscious she noticed the cell smelled very faintly of Eragon.
Are all humans this gullible? Star shoved the guard down on the cot, and drew a little power. Tongues of fire caressed one of her hands, and she posed to strike, but first, she drew back her hair, exposing her pointed ears. The guards eyes widened in recognition, and then deathly fear.
"That easy elf happens to be me, and the only reason you, and the other filthy dogs of humans could have their way with me, was because I was beaten nearly to death twice a day. Understand, mortal?" She snarled, baring her teeth. She drew her knife. Fire killed too quickly. Pressing the blade to his throat, she hissed,
"Where is she being held? Here? In another cell? If you value these last precious few minutes of your life to not be in searing pain, you will tell me." No tears… not now… oh, Nyra… no. No, no, no, no…
"Urû'baen! In the same cell you was, but she's not b'ing subject'd to tort… questionin'. Y'know I felt bad an' all about doin' that to ya…"
"Silence." Star spat, glaring scathingly at him. "You filthy dog, you enjoyed it." The smell of his blood wafted seductively up to her. Oh, to be an untainted elf…
"How could I not? You're an elf. Anythin' else ya want to know?" He smiled sympathetically, hoping for his life. Ha.
"Why was she taken? Just because she is an elf?" Her stomach tightened in a knot when the guard got an uncomfortable look, and he winced in sympathy.
"Well… there's a ransom for her." A small spark of hope lit in Star's belly. Maybe she could pay it. She had a lot of crowns...
"The ransom… is you."
The spark extinguished quite violently. Star's vision unfocused, and she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. No, no, no, no, no, no…
"Ice." She choked out. Her heart shattering into a million tiny facets. Why, why, why?
"Huh? What do you need? Can I tell you anything else?" Star acted on impulsive, fiery hot rage then.
"Yes. How would you like to die? Slowly, or painfully?" Star didn't let him answer. With a short jerk of her arm, she plunged the knife violently through his throat. A gurgling sound came from his mouth, but there was too much blood. His eyes finally glazed over. From her midsection down, she was drenched in his blood. Smiling her sweet satisfaction, Star hopped nonchalantly off of the cot, and strode out of the cell, closing the door with a bang. The other guards glanced down the hall, but for some reason, a sudden, conspicuous blast of air left their necks bent at very unnatural angles. Pity…
Star sprinted out of the city, her vision blurred by the torrent of tears that streamed down her cheeks. They were tinged with silver. After she had flown a little distance south, she projected with her mind and voice amplified with magic,
"GALBATORIX! YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED!"
Murtagh shook as the lingering echo of Star's screams faded from his mind and the air. Nyra was laughing.
"Go Evarínya! That's my sister! Oh, you wait until you see the real violent side of her nature. Her ways of revenge will make every cell in your skin crawl, and every waking moment will seem a nightmare. Just you wait." Nyra's voice turned ominously malicious at the end, her eyes sparking. Murtagh shuddered again, wishing the Varden had killed him long ago.
The night air was filled with sweet cricket song, and the soft scent of moon lilies. A soft croak of a frog barely broke the silence. The stars twinkled forlornly on the surface of the lake, undisturbed by even the softest breeze. It was quiet. It was home.
The grass was cool, a caressing blanket on the ground. The cliffs were distant, yet close. In the distance, the whisper of a waterfall could scarcely be heard. The darkness was rapturous. Only she knew of this place.
She lay on the grass dusted with dew, curled up. The willow trees with their graceful branches reached down, protecting her. It was a dome of beauty inside. So safe. It was perfect. The leaves obscured her from view, but she could see out into the night. She could still see the moon. She could still be washed in its light. There was no more pain here. Just the quiet. Time didn't exist. No more rush of colors. No more grief, no more anger, no more anyone. She could hide from the rest of the world here. No one else.
She sighed softly, and closed her eyes again, picturing the scene before her. Slowly opening her eyes, she thirstily took in more details. The ferns on the bank bowing their heads, the forested mainland a score of yards away from the island she was on. It was nice to have bliss for once. No torment. No agony.
Alone. Truly, and completely, alone.
Then he ripped through the silence and peace like a razor through her soul. He came to the water's edge, ripples shattering the beautiful night sky reflected there into a million shards of glass. He was calling her name. A stab of pain filled her heart. He was making her remember agony. With only her name. She wished she could forget. He was telling her to come to shore. She ignored him, blocking out his voice. She heard water splash, the sound jolting her like lightning. Too much…
"Leave me." she breathed, shaken by the intrusion. That hated emotion anger filled her when he spoke loudly,
"Why do you want me to go?"
"Alone… please…" she begged in the softest whisper of breath. He settled roughly on the ground, and laid his head against hers. He sighed and settled closer. Why couldn't he leave? Contact was torturing her to the core. Her heart hurt… she needed the night to mend her.
As sheer waves of despair crashed over her heart, a tear rolled down her cheek.
Thank you to my lurvely Beta who without, this chapter wouldn't have been so professional looking and nice and so revised that it's shiny! YAY!!
