The sun, filtering through the fabric of the tent, woke him. He sat up with a jolt, brown eyes snapping open and immediately regretting his hasty actions. His head was pounding and everything around him was spinning. He closed his eyes, willing for whatever ailed him to make an exit. He took deep breaths, grateful for the way the air seemed to clear his head and settle his churning stomach.
He sat up again, slower, cautious. Where was he? Fear shot through him, setting his veins on fire. Was he back in Uru'baen? That didn't seem very likely. If he was in Uru'baen, there would not be any sunlight and he most certainly would feel worse then this. So where was he?
Yes! He could remember. He could-
"How are you feeling?"
He almost jumped at the unexpected voice. Immediately chastising himself for his carelessness, he turned to the person that spoke only to find himself thoroughly shocked in the audience that seemed to have gathered in an area as small as the tent he was currently lying in.
"Eragon?" His gaze, which had slipped to the floor, snapped up and he immediately stiffened. The woman who has spoken seemed faintly familiar, but then again, the idea that something was so familiar was beginning to become a common occurrence. It was admittedly ironic. The fact that he could not remember the things he needed to, yet the things he most wanted to forget stayed as a tortuous image, always tormenting him in the back of his mind.
"Yes, I am fine…" He spoke with hesitance, though this woman had made no actions to harm him thus far, a persons true intentions were never fully revealed. When you think you know someone, chances are, they have already taken actions to betray. He never fully recognized the full magnitude at which his thought process had shifted. His mind, once filled with determination, fire, was now a rather frozen puddle of morbid thoughts, and shattered dreams.
"Well that's good," another woman spoke, rather obnoxiously, "If he stayed unconscious any long I might have given him a real reason to be unconscious." Eragon glanced over at her. She too seemed familiar. Perhaps they had met before his capture?
Then with a rush, a great amount of memories came rushing back through his mind, causing his splitting headache to return with an even greater force then before. He swayed slightly, his eyelids drooping, before falling back on the bed with a quiet thump.
"Eragon!" Another voice shouted out, sounding rather concerned.
"I-I'm fine." He managed to breathe out before sitting himself up. Looking towards the first speaker, he nodded, " Milady," before he turned and nodded to the other to, "Angela, Arya Svit-Kona."
Each person took a moment to collect their thoughts. The silence was shockingly peaceful and the area in which this particular tent must have been secluded, for there were no outside noises other then the calling of birds and the whisper of the wind. Though he swore he could hear an even swishing sound. Like something forcefully moving the air.
It was only then that Eragon realized why he felt so empty. "Saphira!" The moment he spoke it, a loud roar bellowed across the land for what had to be miles. He bolted off the bed, sprinting as fast as he could to get out of the tent, only to have the three woman jump in front of him and push him back.
They didn't matter to him, nothing mattered but his dragon, his sapphire, his Saphira. He had almost gotten free of the woman desperately trying to fend him off when four more arms reached out and restrained him from behind. "Stop it now, cousin. I understand your hastiness, but you are injured."
It took a moment for his mind to register both the words, and the voice who had spoken to him. "Roran…" He went limp, allowing his cousin to drag him back to the cot.
"Saphira… I need to see her." His voice, saturated with such longing that it could drive a lesser man insane, trembled slightly, with the magnitude of his desire. Though his voice was shaky, and cracked due to the lack of use, there was something about it that spoke… nothing. It spoke of death. While his voice held desire, his eyes were empty. Though they knew he desperately needed to see Saphira, something about him didn't seem to be alive anymore. The flame they usually seemed to have was extinguished, leaving ice in it's wake.
"If you move too much now, Blockhead, you'll only injure yourself further." The herbalist spoke lightly, trying subtly, to lighten the mood, though she failed in the end.
"Saphira." One word and the meaning could be no more clear. This was no request to see the great dragoness, this was a demand. One that left no room for argument, one the would make grown men quiver in their boots. His monotone voice only made the situation seem that much more deadly. It sounded almost like a threat. As in if they didn't yield to what he so blatantly wanted, there would be hell to pay, and in all honesty, there probably would.
It was the Elven Princess who tried next. "Saphira would not want you to overex-"
He was gone before she could even finish her sentence.
She had waited four months for this and now, her suffering was prolonged even further. How was it possible for him to be so close, yet so far? The thought alone was nearly incomprehensible to a being as great as she. She couldn't wait to see him. She had caught a glimpse of his dark wavy hair as he was carried through the Varden and to Angela's tent. Other than that, she hadn't seen her Rider and it was driving her mad.
She rarely ate anymore so it was no surprise she was skinny, but she didn't even look like a dragon at this point. She was thin to the point in which her ribs showed through her scales. Her scales had lost their shine and were now covered in dirt and mud due to her lack of care. Her claws were long and uneven because she never used them anymore. She was literal proof of what would happen to a dragon without their Rider.
Now, she almost regretted allowing herself to fall into this condition. What would Eragon think when he saw he as she was? Would he even recognize her? The very idea was preposterous. How could he not recognize her? It's not like there is any other blue dragon in all of Alagaësia. No, Eragon would recognize her, he would just be disgusted by her. How it hurts to disappoint the ones you love.
She let out a disgusted roar, one similar to the wail she let out the day of her Rider's capture. She couldn't believe herself. How weak she was, the simple flight to her Rider's tent just outside of the city had already exhausted her. Was it even possible to hate herself more than she already did? She had failed her Rider, she had failed her race, and she had failed herself. Would Eragon forgive her for being so weak? Would he forgive her for letting him be captured and then allowing herself to become the shell of a dragon that she was now? She doubted it, though those doubts were erased when she him come sprinting out of his tent at full speed.
No feeling could ever compare to being reunited with your partner-of-heart. Nothing. The moment his dragon touched the ground, he was there, arms wrapped around her neck, burying his face into her color bone. Saphira…
Eragon…
The emotions they were both feeling were impossible. As their minds melded and their memories mixed, the combined sorrow of the past months and the joy at once more being reunited was almost too much. He felt intoxicated but the sheer amount of emotions that flitted through his mind. A great multitude of those emotions were sorrow, longing, pain and the desperate pangs of separation he had never taken the time to notice until now.
No words were spoke. What words could even begin to express what they felt? No, they swam through each and emotion where they once would have drowned. They couldn't drown anymore, not with each other. When one was about to drown, the other would become a root to hang onto. A hand or in this case, claw reaching out and pulling him close, allowing him to feel the cool trickle of his emotions, but never allowing him to drown. From that moment on, he made a vow, one he would do everything in his power to keep. Never, under any circumstance, would they be left without each other again. They were stronger together, so why not stay together?
They could have spent hours sharing each others experience, time had no constraints on what they felt, but then again, it could have been seconds. All they knew was each other and that was enough to last them the rest of eternity. Like all good things, it came to an end, far sooner than they would have liked it to.
"I thought I said you were too injured to move around like that. You could have reopened your wounds. What then O' Great Dragon Rider?" A menacing growl from Saphira did nothing in silencing the herbalist. "Did you want you Rider to be permanently injured Saphira? It could have happened."
My Rider is fine, Angela. If he was injured, I of all people would know. Her mental voice was laced with a threat. Eragon could feel her annoyance at the interruption.
"Angela, I thank you for all you have done for me, however, nothing will keep me from Saphira. I am not injured physically. The only thing that bothers me right now is a dull ache that will fade in a day or two." Saphira, who was still meshed completely within the confines of his mind was somewhat concerned over the monotone voice he seemed to use when speaking to anyone other than her.
"And what of your mental health, Shadeslayer?" Her knowing voice reverberated throughout his mind.
If his voice was cold before, now it was frozen. "I am both physically and mentally fine. You would do well to remember that." Each syllable came out hard, threatening and practically begged for someone to defy his will so that he could punish them accordingly. It ended the argument with no resistance at all.
"If you would excuse us, we have some very important things to discuss." With that, he gently leaped up onto Saphira's back, cautious of hurting her diminished body. "Fly." It wasn't an order, not even a request, it was an instinct, an escape from the horrors he had been subject to on land. It was freedom. That was the most basic thing he could think of as the wind blew in his hair.
Freedom… I'm finally free.
What happened to Murtagh and Thorn? Her Rider questioned rather abruptly? She couldn't help the snarl the escaped her lips and the plume of smoke that rose from her snout.
They were currently sitting on a sandy beach on the shores of Leona Lake. Saphira, after hunting enough to feed at least three dragon's, bathed herself the refreshing waters of the lake, elated to see her scales shining again. They had both eaten a decent meal and were now watching the sunset and it's reflection over the clear waters of Leona Lake. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold.
They had both relaxed into the sensation of being one with other and sharing everything. Thoughts, feelings, everything was talked about regardless of how important.
Why would you want information on the traitors? The very monsters that made your torture possible? She knew that he could sense her rage at his brother. Anyone who saw the seething blue dragoness would have ran because she looked absolutely menacing.
Saphira… He is my brother. Not to mention that Thorn is the only other free dragon in the world. Perhaps they are not so bad. His voice sounded sympathetic and it confounded her. How could he be sympathetic to his brother's plight when it was his brother who captured him and subjected him to a torture so horrific that even Arya would have broken under the weight of the agony.
They are the reason you feel pain. The reason why you can't speak without using an empty voice. They are the reason you were tortured and you mean to tell me that you can so readily forgive them?
Forgive them? No. But I can understand them. You don't understand what it's like to have him right there Saphira. How even his presence can make you quiver in fear. Murtagh did not have a choice, and I was lucky that I did. What he did for me was the most incredible thing I have ever witnessed even if it did hurt me. How could I forgive him if I never actually blamed him; if it was never actually his fault? His voice sounded older to Saphira. As if he had aged a million years where it had been only four months.
I doubt I can ever forgive them for what they have done to you… but perhaps in time, I will forget. Perhaps in time, I can look down upon them and not feel disgust. She made no move to conceal the contempt that was laced in her voice.
What happened to them?
The great blue dragoness gave the mental equivalent of a sigh before sharing her memories of the arrival with her Rider.
She had been gazing mournfully into space when the Varden's war horns had sounded. Though she wanted nothing to with anything, much less the Varden, since her Rider had been captured, she felt obligated to help the rebellion as it was something her Rider had so vehemently supported.
She doubted she would be much help due to the fact that she only flew when it was absolutely necessary to hunt and even for that it was no extended flight. Why should she feel the freedom that the air offered when her Rider may never again feel such a pleasure?
Even so, her cooperation was necessary if she wanted the band of patriots to succeed. With a leap that she would have scoffed at only months before, she was in the air and flying towards the Varden's encampment.
It was only then that she noticed that there was no army. No, what had come to threaten the Varden was none other then the traitors, the very man who had captured her Rider and the dragon whom belonged to him. Rage that she had never felt the full extent of released. She would kill them, failure was not an option. They would die, even if she too would perish in the process.
Volley's of arrow came shooting at the larger red dragon, though all were blocked by powerful wards. She herself was about to unleash her wrath onto the younger dragon when Murtagh held up a hand and spoke in the ancient language. "I am free and I have your Rider. Allow me to land so that you may see him."
She hesitated, if only for a moment. Half of her wanted to kill the Rider and dragon before because of the suffering she was put through in missing her Rider, but Eragon had to have faced so much more. He had to live with miles separating them whilst being tortured daily for the loyalty the King desired. Then again, they had her Rider. If this was a plan to lure her back to Uru'Baen, then she would kill them quicker then they could blink.
She growled her acknowledgement and tilted her wings with minor difficulty to the ground. She sent a quick mental message to Blhödhgarm to relay back to Nasuada before reaching the ground.
Where is he? Her mental voice was soaked in venom.
Murtagh, quickly dismounting, grabbed her Rider before jumping off his dragon. He was quickly followed by Arya which was indeed a bit of a shock for her. Arya walked up to the red Rider, grasping Eragon before lifting him and running through the crowd to find the herbalist.
Saphira sat there, torn. She felt a need beyond compare to go after her Rider and to ensure that he was safe, however she could not simply leave with the red Rider in the area. Even if he did claim to be free and said it in the Ancient Language, he could not be trusted until his mind was searched. She watched him with suspicious eyes as he spoke slowly and calmly to Nasuada.
"I was with the army that is marching here as we speak when I discovered Eragon and Arya in The Spine. There, Eragon helped me change my true name and fend the King off long enough for me to become a free Rider. You may ask Arya or Eragon when he awakes but now I swear to you, fricai onr eka eddy." (I am your friend)
The Varden leader looked over to a member of her Rider's elven guard and soon looked back as the elf nodded there approval of his promise. "Even so," the wise woman spoke, "I cannot simply excuse you from all your past actions. If you wish to prove your loyalty to us, then allow us to capture you. You will be treated fairly until we can prove your words correct."
Saphira watched, in mild interest as the blue eyed Rider clenched his jaw. He was obviously displeased at the fact that someone believed they had jurisdiction over their actions after they were freed such a short time ago. "I am not so eager to put myself in such a position," he seemed guarded as they all tensed. "But I will for my brother and for my dragon." With that, he dropped his sword to the ground and stood there both stiffly and submissively.
"Very well. Guards!" A group of men came out, binding him with chains before they began to drag him back to a place he could only assume would be the dungeons.
He seemed to catch Nasuada's eye before he walked out and spoke quickly before he lost her attention. "If anything dismal happens to Thorn, you will regret it." The moment her finished his sentence he was pulled, rather roughly by the guards down the street while Thorn watched sorrowfully.
It was only then that she was free to go see her Rider. For the first time in what felt like eternity, Saphira felt alive.
And there you have it. First chapter of the three I'm uploading today. I really hope the whole reunion wasn't underplayed. I wanted to make it big and important and I did try, but I honestly don't know if I succeeded. By the time most of you read this, the other chapters will already be up so let me know what you think of both chapter and the other ones. I tried really hard to get into the mindset of the characters I write and while I don't always succeed. I feel like I'm getting better at it. As for all of you people who have waited so diligently for these updates, I want to thank you again. You guys are amazing. Thanks for understanding the incredibly hectic schedule I have and not attempting to murder me in my sleep for the late update. On to the next chapter!
Just a heads up, none of these chapter have been proof read, sooo if there are some really bad mistakes, sorry:(
