Popularity War
Chapter 8
Left with Nothing
Instinctively, Eragon ran over to Eva and held her in his arms. Instead of whispering useless phrases about how everything will be alright, he allowed her to grieve in silence. Watching Eva cry was painful for him, but he managed to keep his composure for her sake. If he remained strong, he knew he could help her much better. When she began to cease, he lifted up her chin to look into her tear stained eyes. When their eyes locked he whispered, "We should tell Gertrude."
Gertrude was Carvahall's healer and would know exactly how to handle a body in death. She would also provide moral support and could keep situations confidential.
Wiping her eyes, Eva took a deep breath and nodded. "I just wish I could have said goodbye."
"I know," Eragon responded, his voice soft and sympathetic. "He was a good man and he should not have gone like this—all alone."
Oddly enough, Eva disagreed. "I almost think he planned it this way." Eragon gave her a quizzical look but did not press the issue when she stood up and walked out of the room. "Come, let us talk to Gertrude. I cannot bear to stay here much longer anyways."
The afternoon progressed slowly, though by early evening, it still felt like a blur to Eva. Gertrude determined that her father died from a heart attack, which explained the symptoms he was having the day before. Eva chastised herself for dismissing his condition so easily, but her father had made it sound like he was fine. Now that he was gone, all she could do was reminisce about the good times they shared.
The memories made her cry, and soon she was in another fit of tears. When she broke down, Eragon would immediately hold her so that she would not be alone. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one—he did lose his aunt—and he had the support from his cousin and uncle, so he understood how important it was to be there for her. He never said much; he just held her close and let her cry until her tears could fall no more.
With Eragon's help, Gertrude had placed Lord Whikim's body upon his bed, as if he were only asleep. Eva sat on a chair that was placed next to the bed and for most of the day she did not leave the bedside. While she sat there, Gertrude was busy preparing a solution meant to preserve the body until it could be buried. Out of courtesy, neither Gertrude nor Eragon discussed funeral plans with Eva; they agreed to wait until the next day to allow his death to sink in and to give her the day to grieve without the burden of funeral arrangements. If she brought up the topic, they would discuss the issue, else they remained silent.
"We should make something to eat," Eragon said when Gertrude finished administering the body preserving solution to Lord Whikim.
With a quick nod of approval, Gertrude said, "We should make soup. I brought a few herbs that we can use—they will help soothe Eva."
"Good. Want me to start boiling some water?"
"Sure, go ahead. I am almost done here and will join you soon enough." Gertrude placed a stopper on an empty glass vial and placed it on the bedside table.
"What about Eva?" Eragon whispered as he looked at the distraught woman sitting on the other side of the bed.
"We have been in here with her all day. Let us give her some time alone with her father." As always, Gertrude knew the right words to say in such a delicate situation. Exiting the room, Gertrude said, "We are going to prepare some dinner. I will close the door so you can have some privacy, but please let us know if you need anything at all and we will be here to assist you."
Eva only sat there in a daze. She heard the old woman, but had no strength to respond back. Taking that as he official cue, Gertrude closed the door and walked downstairs to join Eragon in the kitchen.
When she was positive that she was completely alone, Eva took the time to finally address her deceased father. With one of her hands upon his cold skin, she asked, "Why did you have to leave me at a time like this?" She felt moisture swell behind her eyes again, but held them back as she continued talking. "You promised to be there for me. You promised."
She let her tears roll down her cheeks where they later splattered the side of the bed, soaking the sheets they touched. Her body was a tornado of various emotions from grief to fear. Her future had become dull and almost nonexistent as she gazed at her father's lifeless body through her tears. Eventually, she began to speak once more.
"I am so scared, father. What am I to do without you? Your business has failed and we are about to lose this house. Where am I to live? You left me with nothing." Her sobbing intensified as her fears began to consume her. She made herself take deep breaths and after several minutes, she was calmer.
After, she decided to change the topic of her conversation. Dreading the future was doing her no good, so she tried to keep the conversation positive, starting by talking about her successful audit. "You would be proud of me. Garrow sure was; he told me I had a knack for business." Eva chuckled lightly at the thought of becoming a successful business woman, however, she could not image that to be a real possibility.
"I am not sure what I am going to do, father. It seems I will have to ask the villagers for work, and hopefully, someone would be willing to give me a job. At this point I cannot be picky—I'll take any work I can get. As for a place to live I'm not sure. Perhaps I can rent a room until I have enough money saved to get my own place." She paused to think of that possibility, and then sighed. Paying rent was not cheap after a long period of time. All of her options were slim and her only hope of survival depended on the villagers; villagers who have grown to dislike her.
Though, at that moment, another thought crossed her mind. Growing up in Carvahall, it took her a while to even consider her distant family members as an option for survival. Her father's family was still well off, despite Lord Whikim's failed business. She knew that her father's older brother, Lord Richard, lived in Teirm and may want to have his niece live with him and his family. He was a decent man like her father, but Eva cringed at the thought of moving away from Carvahall.
The village was small and far from boisterous and exciting, but it had become her home and the thought of leaving scared her. The villagers had been unkind to her, but she knew it was her fault why they gave her such treatment. Showing them how much she had changed sounded like a better route than moving away and living in glamor once more. That life was behind her; now she wanted to make her own way. However, she had hoped to tackle that journey with her father by her side and now she would be solo.
A knock at the door disrupted her thoughts. "Come in," Eva replied. She had no idea how long she had been alone, but that did not matter. She had enough time alone with her father to satisfy her.
Eragon popped his head in to see Eva still sitting on the chair. "Dinner is ready," he said softly.
"I will be out in just a minute."
Eragon nodded. "Alright. I will wait by the stairs for you." He closed the door to give her some privacy again.
Eva stood up from the chair and stretched her muscles before saying goodbye to her father. "I love you," she whispered. She then crossed the room towards the door and exited the bleak bedroom.
She found Eragon by the stairs as promised and allowed him to envelop her in a hug. With her in his arms, Eragon kissed her on the cheek. The gesture was so sweet and comforting that it made Eva realize that she was not completely alone—she had Eragon.
Slowly pulling away, Eva looked into his eyes to see his love and sympathy reflecting back. Their proximity heightened a sudden sensation that swept through Eva like fire consuming a dry wood. In that moment she had an urge to lift herself up and press her lips against Eragon's, but before she could do anything, Eragon had already taken her arm in his and began to lead her down the stairs. With the moment ruined, Eva asked Eragon what was made for dinner. Glad that she was talking Eragon said, "Vegetable soup. We found some bread and cheese as well."
"Sounds delicious," she said as her stomach growled, recognizing how hungry she was.
"I hope so." Eragon replied as they entered the dining room. The table was already set with food on the plates, so all they had to do was sit down and eat.
Eva was not very talkative during the dinner but she did thank Eragon and Gertrude for their help. After, she mentioned how she needed to do things on her own once her father was buried. "I don't want to become a burden upon either of you."
"Don't say that, Eva. Of course you will not be a burden. You know how I feel about you and I will help you however I can," Eragon retorted.
"I know, but that doesn't make it right. I have to do something for myself, else I will feel useless and in debt to you."
Eragon was about to reply, but Gertrude cut him off. "It's clear that you have strong feelings for Eva and you want to help her, but she is right. It will be good for her to make her own way in life. Plus, you may want to help her, but what about your family? Keep in mind that it is your uncle who decides the affairs of your family."
"My uncle does not mind Eva," Eragon rebuked.
"Only when I am there for a day or so, but nothing long term as you suggest, Eragon." Eva had to be practical even when he was not.
"Allow me to talk to him to see how we can help and then we can go from there, can we agree to that?"
Eva looked at Gertrude and then back to Eragon to say, "Agreed. Now, let us clean up and get some rest. I don't know about you, but I am exhausted."
"It has been a long day," Gertrude replied.
Eva made her way back to her father's room after dinner to say goodnight, however, she ended up sitting down in the chair only to fall asleep with her head rested upon the side of the bed. Gertrude noticed Lord Whikim's bedroom light still on and found Eva asleep in the awkward position. Unable to move the girl herself, she called for Eragon who managed to lift Eva carefully and carry her to her room.
Eva awoke from the movement and smiled faintly when she saw Eragon. Only when he laid her down did Eragon notice that she had woken up, making him smile back at her. That urge to kiss him had come back, but Eva was too tired to act upon her feelings. Then there was the fact that she was nervous to take that step, especially after enduring a tragedy. Her swirling emotions left her vulnerable and she needed to be sober from them before she did anything romantic with Eragon. She had to be sure that her feeling were genuine.
"Will you be alright by yourself?" Eragon asked, concerned.
"I think so. I am really tired, so I will fall asleep quickly."
"Alright. Gertrude will be asleep in the room across from here and I will be next door on your left. If you can't sleep or need us for any reason, you know where to find us. I will be awake for a while longer, but I am getting pretty tired as well," Eragon said as he covered Eva with blankets. After, blew out the candle on her bedside table and walked towards the door.
"Good night, Eragon," Eva said with a yawn.
"Good night." Eragon closed the door and sauntered down the hall towards his room.
In the morning, Eragon made his way over to Horst's. He needed to have one of his son's deliver a message to his uncle as he forgot to relay a message the day before. He realized that his uncle must be wondering what happened to him. He has duties to the farm and he needed to tell his uncle that he was not neglecting them for a petty reason—Eva needed him.
Horst was shaken by the ill news, saying how Carvahall will now be run by Hamish. "It will be unpleasant," he sighed. "Though, we will manage well enough, hopefully."
"I hope so too. Anyways, I must be off. Eva may be awake by now and I don't want her to think I have left her." Eragon muttered with slight humor.
Horst cracked a smile. "That would not bode well for you. Take care, Eragon, I will send Albriech to your farm once he is finished with his breakfast."
"Thank you."
The walk back to Eva's house was difficult. He knew that they would have to face another long and stressful day and he wished for her sake that she did not have to go through such a difficult time. The fact that she was left with nothing made the situation even worse. In the end, she had become the poorest person in Carvahall.
As he neared the house, he saw Eva running towards him. "There you are! Come quick, Gertrude found something!"
Before he could respond, she had become close enough to grab his arm and begin pulling him towards the house. Inside, she led him up the stairs and into her father's study where Gertrude was holding a document. "What's that?" Eragon asked.
"My father's final will and testament!"
