Twin2: Yep, you're still stuck with me. This chapter is a half-interlude thing, but DON'T SKIP IT. I AM SERIOUS. There are some major developments in here that you don't want to miss, and it pretty much brings you up to speed.
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Chapter Ten: Two Months' End
Two months passed quickly, with so much to be done for survival. The horses were kept fit and exercised, and the dragons trained and fed. In hunting, Tria and Kiera were a formidable pair, with prey rarely escaping them. They became learned in the forest lore, in hiding their tracks and slipping away from foolishly wandering travellers.
Tria grew almost a full inch, gaining a slight edge over her sister in height that made her smile with barely withheld glee every time she went anywhere near her twin. Kiera grew a little, but not as much as the thoroughly amused Tria.
The dragons grew sporadically, so that at the end of their two months, at the shoulder, stood higher than the two girls. They could fly and catch their own food, but weren't strong enough to hold the twins yet. They thought. They didn't want to risk injuring their green dragons.
In this time, the Ra'zac attacked Carvahall and razed it to the ground, but most of the town escaped south, including Roran. From Teirm they sailed south to Surda, the last refuge for enemies of the Empire.
Also in this time, Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Brightscales trained with the elves in Du Weldenvarden. They flew to Surda just in time to assist the Varden and the people of Surda to face a marching army of the Empire, and discover the existence of another dragon under Galbatorix: the red dragon Thorn.
Near the end of the battle, Roran's ship sailed up with all of Carvahall in it and turned the tide of the fight, which was very nearly lost. Eragon agreed to help him rescue his love Katrina, captured by the Ra'zac. Roran has only begun telling his cousin of the Carvahall people…
"The Empire is power gone mad! They razed the town!"
"I know," said Eragon heavily. "I scryed it and saw. Did you get everyone out?"
Roran sighed and listed all of the people who had been killed to his cousin, then, as an afterthought, added, "And the twins, Trianise and Kiera, they aren't with us."
Eragon frowned. He remembered the two cheeky, light-hearted and in one case tomboyish girls quite well. "What happened to them? Did the Ra'zac –"
"No, no. Their mother tried to marry them off to a pair of nobles and –"
Eragon nodded. "Tried. So Tria ran off."
Roran looked at him. "No. They both did. The day before the Ra'zac came, they just… vanished."
"Whoa, Kiera ran off too? The nobles must have been pretty horrible." There was a short pause. "So, where are they now?"
Roran slowly shook his head. "Eragon, no one knows. They left two months ago, straight into the path of the soldiers. Most people think they're dead."
Eragon nodded. "Who were the nobles?"
"Couple of barons from Galbatorix's court. Kyris and Lasol, their names were. Pair of idiots, in my opinion."
"Not that Sisarra would care, I suppose."
-Those two girls?- Saphira asked. -I remember seeing them through your eyes. Strange creatures, even by human standards.-
Eragon resisted a smile. "That's just them," he told her.
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Tria's gaze flickered. She was tracking a deer, but flashes of red at the edge of her vision were distracting her. Silently, she asked Daine, -Can you see that? It's driving me crazy.-
-I see nothing, Tria. Why does it worry you?-
-It reminds me of that weird baron who tried to marry me. But I'm probably just being paranoid.-
-You are never paranoid without reason,- Daine reminded her. -It would not go astray to warn your sister.-
-I suppose. Kiera! Kiera, do you hear me?- she called with her mind.
The reply was dim, but still Kiera. -What? Is there a problem?-
-Daine thinks there might be. Can you hear horses where you are? I keep seeing a flash of red at the corner of my eye.-
There was a pause as Kiera spread her mind to look. -Nothing here. Your end?-
Tria searched with her consciousness, silently cursing for not thinking to do it before. -No… Wait! There!- There was a horse's fuzzy contact, the animal feeling bored as it ambled along, and its master…
Tria took a deep breath and recited every swearword she knew in her head. Kiera listened for a minute, then butted in, -Not good, huh?-
-Not good. Not bad, either. Worse! It's Baron Lasol!-
Kiera swore, but her vocabulary had nothing on Tria's. -Not him! How'd he track us?!-
-I don't know. Call Razi. I'll meet you two and Daine back at the clearing. Start packing up. We'll have to make a run for it.-
Tria ran quickly down the low animal trails, listening for pursuit, both with her ears and mind. Lasol and his horse seemed to be going a different way, but the tracks in these forests led all over the place. She burst into the clearing as Kiera began to strap packs to the horses. She glanced up sharply. "Were you followed?"
Tria shook her head and carried her packs to Tempest. The horse snickered and shoved her. "Quit it, you," she told her. "Did Razi and Daine make it back?"
-Tria, you should listen more with your mind,- Razi chided her as he and his sister glided in. -We are both fine. Daine has filled me in on the situation. Where do you plan to go?-
"South's our only option," said Kiera grimly. "And I wouldn't advise going to Gilead, or Uru'baen for that matter."
"Our last opportunity before we hit Surda is the area around Dras-Leona. We'll stick to the Spine to get south. Once we get past the Toark River, we'll be moderately safe." Tria spoke grimly. "I think there's a lake to the east of Dras-Leona. Perhaps we can find somewhere to hide there."
The pair mounted up. "Be careful, Razi," said Kiera.
"You too, Daine," Tria cautioned. "Don't get seen. Stay high."
The dragons dipped their heads, chorusing, -We'll see you later. And you had better be careful. We can fly out of danger. You can't.-
"Yeah, thanks for the reminder."
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The girls bolted out of the forest at the south edge, sensing Lasol meandering around the north. "I wonder how he tracked us," said Kiera dreamily as they slowed to a mile-eating trot. "Doesn't really matter, I suppose. We were due to find a new course of action, anyway."
Tria nodded. "Guess so. It was odd, not seeing other people for so long, but… I liked it, in a way. Nobody telling me not to wear breeches, and no Mother yelling at me for cutting my hair," she said, running her fingers through her shortened hair. She'd kept it cropped with her knife, so that she was, by all appearances, a boy of about fifteen.
"Hope we remember how to talk to other people," said Kiera, only half teasing.
"We can practice on the way," said Tria. "It's a long way to the Toark river, let alone Dras-Leona."
"About how far?" asked Kiera anxiously. "I haven't looked at the map recently."
"A little less than a week's ride, if we go strong and don't run into any trouble." Tria chewed her lip. "I think. It might be a bit more than a week."
"Eh. One or two days either way won't matter. It's not like we're in a hurry to get anywhere, is it?" Tria chuckled at her sister's dry humour, then called to the dragons.
-Are you guys alright? No trouble or anything?-
-We have met no one but clouds up here,- said Razi waspishly. -And those in scant supply.-
-Alright, alright, no need to bite my head off,- said Tria impatiently.
Kiera stifled a giggle. "Sorry about Razi. He's just upset because Lasol followed us so far. -Is he still following us?-" she called up, with her mind as well as her voice.
-No. He still bumbles around in the forest like a hatchling for its first steps,- said Daine joyfully. -He cannot catch us! If we must, we shall fly you out of danger.-
-As much as we appreciate the offer, Daine, I don't think you're quite strong enough to carry us yet,- Tria said cautiously. Daine merely laughed.
-We shall see, Tria. We shall see.-
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Twin2: And now the game… begins.