Jeez, guys (not you, readers), let Arya and Eragon have some rest, will you?
Chapter 9
Arya stirred. She was pressed up against the person she loved most, and couldn't be happier. She fell back asleep. A few hours later, she awoke to yells and shouts, clangs and slashes. She covered her modesty with a bed sheet, and got up to look at the mess before her. An assassin had come in the night, a descendant of the remainder of Galbatorix's forces. Eragon had killed him quickly, but not before slashing Eragon a few times. As he was healing himself, she contemplated how the assassin had possibly gotten past Ellesmera's defenses. A traitor? Unlikely. A magician's wards?They wouldn't have been powerful enough unless the enemy spellcaster was a Rider or a Shade. She immediately discounted the idea of a Rider, so that left the Shade. She shivered. She had had enough of Shades from her experiences with Durza and Varaug. She observed that the assassin was probably intending to capture her, as he was only armed with a katar slathered in anesthetic. The only reason she wasn't in the hands of the rebellion right now was for Eragon. Anotherreasontokeephimaround.She thought smugly.He could be my body guard until the rebellion is put down. The elves would protest, of course. They would want her surrounded by 10 elves and dragons. Eragon was as good as 20 Riders and their dragons, easily.
She stopped her brainstorming and realized that Eragon was succumbing to the effects of the anesthetic. She caught him as he fell over, carrying him (which, even for an elf, was no easy task) back to bed. I suppose I have one thing to thank the assassin for, She thought to herself. He actually got Eragon to fall asleep. She healed the wounds that he hadn't finished healing yet, kissed him on the cheek, and set up wards around the room, preventing anyone with hostile intent towards them to vaporize within 20 feet of the room, drawing upon the energy from the assassin's corpse before turning it to dust. She wasn't going to take any chances with her mate.
She removed all evidence of the attack with a spell. No need for Ellesmera to fret over this. I will tell them when the time is right. She decided. After casting all those spells, she was tired again. She crawled back into bed, protectively squeezing Eragon all the while, until she drifted off to sleep. Hopefully nothing else would interrupt their sleep further, for the cause of any further interruption would face her unbridled wrath.
Arya is ticked, and with good reasons. One, because people keep trying to kill her, and two, because Eragon keeps saving her from said people. She wants to be of some use, not the damsel in distress.
