AN: Again, with the apologies...sorry it took soooooo long. I've had it saved on my computer for weeks now, but my internet was down. Boo. Anyhoo, I hope it wasn't too long and you can get back into the story, cause it was a bit of a challenge for me...cause I have the attention span of a newt...an old newt...who smoked a lot of drugs when he was younger...and banged his head a lot...so not good, as you can imagine. But I'm going to stop talking now because I just saw something shiny over there and got distracted. Ciaou!
The next two days passed without incident as Murtagh, Obsidian and I started our long journey south. With every step that we took, my nerves seemed to grow, as the probability that we were being hunted by a hundred armed soldiers began to become more of a reality in my mind. The only thing that comforted me and kept my fear from driving me to insanity was the constant vigil held by Obsidian as he soared above us. To avoid detection by Murtagh, he flew a mile south-west of us, but was still able to keep an eye on our location. This was the safest course of action we could think of, but it also meant that we were too far apart to hear each other's thoughts.
Every now and then, he would double-back and fly directly above us so that he and I could talk, but only when there was sufficient cloud cover. One such time, on the second day, he informed me that a large pool of water was visible only a few hours from where we were.
That must be the Eldor lake, it is the only large body of water in this direction on the map.
My thoughts exactly. There is not much cover there, the trees grow thin on the west bank and the forest disappears completely on the east. It is almost sundown, and it would be folly to carry on to the lake tonight. You should stop and make camp here, where there is most shelter. I acknowledged his concern and decided that this plan would be for the best...if only to please him.
Very well...you have found somewhere nearby to sleep?
Not yet, but you should not worry about me, little heart. He replied, proudly.
"Where do you go?" Murtagh's voice brought me back to earth and the mental connection between Obsidian and I was severed once more. I whipped my head round to look at him.
"Hmm?"
"Where do you go? It seems you disappear for a while every now and then." He said, quizzically, looking slightly amused, although there was no mockery in his eyes any more. It had only been two days and two nights, but it was two days and two nights that we had been in each other's constant company, and I felt that already we had both learned a lot about one another, and were somewhat on our way to becoming solid friends.
"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning slightly in confusion.
"I have been talking to you for almost five minutes now and I sincerely doubt that you heard a single word that I said."
"Oh! I am sorry, I was just thinking...according to the map, the Eldor lake is not far away." I answered, carefully. "There is not much shelter there as the forest thins out and disappears...perhaps it would be safest if we made our camp here for tonight."
"Is it wise to stop now? By my reckoning, we are less than a day from Ceris, and the sooner we get there, the better."
"Perhaps, but if we show up in Ceris like this, on foot, in the dead of night, we are bound to raise suspicions...no, I think it would be for the best if we slept here for tonight. We can set off early in the morning and be in the village by midday if we make good time."
He frowned to himself, and I could tell he was still not happy with the idea.
"What's the matter, Murtagh?" I asked, slinging my heavy pack from my shoulder and leaning it against a nearby tree with a rather unfeminine grunt of effort before turning back to look at him.
"Nothing." He sighed, also removing his pack, before straightening back up again and stretching, with a groan of exertion. He ran a hand through his dark hair irritatedly and, catching my questioning look, explained, "I just hoped we would be there by now."
"Oh." I turned away, dismayed by his words, and began to unpack my bedclothes.
"Oh?" He repeated, confusedly. "Is something wrong, Selena?"
I flinched the way I always did whenever he called me by my sister's name, but brushed it off quickly.
"Of course not." I replied, tersely. He started towards me, slowly, and I mentally kicked myself for my inability to conceal my emotions.
"Very well, let me rephrase that. Something is wrong, Selena." Although I had my back to him, I sensed him reaching out a hand to place on my shoulder, but something seemed to stop him at the very last moment and he let it drop back down by his side. "Have I upset you?"
"No, I am just tired." I insisted, wheeling around to face him. I only just managed to mute the exclamation of surprise which threatened to escape my lips when I realised just how close he was standing. I could see from the look in his eyes that my lie had not convinced him. Of course, his words had left me feeling slightly wounded, although the rational part of my brain, the one which spoke to me in Obsidian's voice, was assuring me that Murtagh's desire to reach Ceris was understandable. He wanted to find the people who had stolen from him. It was the sole reason for his journey. However, I have never paid heed to the rational part of my brain nearly as often as I should. and I could not help but feel personally slighted by his haste.
His penetrating eyes seemed to see exactly what I was thinking, as though it was etched into my forehead, and he sighed, deeply. It was then that I noticed how tired he looked. He raised a weary hand and cupped my chin, gently. My breath caught in my throat at the unexpected contact, and once more he dropped his arm back down, seeing how uncomfortable this gesture made me feel, but as soon as he broke the contact I wished that he had not.
"Selena...I fear that you are confusing my desire to press on to Ceris with my desire to part ways with you. It is not so. I would walk all the way to Beor mountains if I thought it would please you. Know that." There was a note of such genuine sincerity in his voice that I had to turn away from him, lest he see the emotion brimming in my eyes.
I bit my lip. What was wrong with me? Why was it so difficult for me to pull myself together? I was unsure where all of these new emotions were coming from, and this added to my frustrations. What did I care if Murtagh and I parted ways in Ceris? He was little more than a stranger to me, still. I had only known him for two days...so why did I have to force back tears at the thought of never seeing him again? Why did I get this bitter taste in my mouth every time he mentioned Ceris? Did I want him to stay with me?
Of course not! We are lucky enough that he has not learned of my presence over the last two days, I highly doubt that we will be able to keep up this charade for much longer, Katharean.
Obsidian's words gave me pause, but a voice in the back of my head questioned whether I should keep my true identity a secret from Murtagh. He had already proved to be trustworthy...we had spent two nights together alone - as far as he knew - and he had not harmed me. I also realised that he was swiftly becoming one of the best friends I had ever had outside of my family, for my father had never been fond of allowing my sister and I to mingle with the common folk.
Would Murtagh betray me to the Empire if he knew that I was a Dragon Rider? I was certain that he would not. Obsidian heard my line of thought from his aerial position, and he was not pleased.
Do not be a fool, Katharean. You are thinking with your heart rather than your head...I know you want to trust this Murtagh, but we are safer on our own! He snapped, although there was no real venom in his voice and I knew that he was just alarmed by my sudden change of attitude.
Safer? Would you really sacrifice the chance of having a true friendship for temporary safety?
Ay...but I can see that it is not in your heart to do so. Perhaps the ways of humans are so different from the ways of dragons that the two can never truly understand one another.
I was taken aback by the blunt meaning in his words, and I frowned.
We understand each other. I insisted, and he chuckled.
No...I love you dearly, Katharean, but I do not understand a lot of the thoughts and feelings that pass through you.
But....how could you say that? You know me better than anybody ever has! Whatever happened to the whole 'we are one' angle you were selling to me just a few days ago?"
Katharean! Must you snatch an insult from the jaws of a truthful observation? I was not undermining our bond, it holds truer than anything I know, in this world or any...of course I know you and love you, I know what you're thinking and feeling at all times, even when we are not conversing directly...but knowing something does not constitute understanding it. I know what you are, what you think and what you feel...but I do not know why you are, or why you think and feel as you do. And I don't expect I ever will.
I said nothing back, but I allowed my understanding to flow into his consciousness so that he knew I had grasped his meaning and was no longer offended, and turned back to Murtagh. Whether my emotions had been forced so close to the surface over those past few days that I could not think rationally, or whether I was suffering from fresh-air-induced-madness, I will never know. What I do know is this.
What I said next would change the course of my life, and the lives of everyone I touched, forever.
"Murtagh, I would like you to come with me."
He closed his eyes and bowed his head, taking a sharp breath before looking me in the eye.
"You are sure?" He asked.
"No." I replied, truthfully. "But I would really like to trust you, Murtagh, and I hope that you can trust me."
He nodded, slowly, and muttered,
"Very well."
"So you will accompany me?" I asked, only barely hiding my elation at the prospect, and mentally blocking Obsidian's words of protest from above.
"Accompany you? Selena...we have known each other less than a week..." My smile vanished as I prepared for what would surely be words of sobriety. But instead, his face cracked into a warm smile, and he said, "But who knows what kind of trouble you will get yourself into if I am not there to look after you?"
"You have no idea..." I laughed, before looking at him with all the sincerity I could muster. "Thank you. I do not think any other person, other than my sister, perhaps, would care enough to do this for me. Why do you?"
For a moment he looked uncomfortable, but I did not drop my scrutinizing gaze, and he shrugged, with an easy smile.
"I do not know, Selena. Maybe...you have cast some sort of spell on me."
"Even if I knew magic, do you think I would be so desperate for your company?" I teased, grinning.
"Well, I have to be honest, I think you're warming to me, you know." He smiled back, and I rolled my eyes.
"One word, Tag. Ego."
He chuckled, turning away to gather loose branches from the edge of the brush before throwing them in a bundle in the centre of the clearing. I followed suit and before long we were cooking strips of raw venison on a crackling camp-fire. After we had eaten, we laid our beds out on the forest floor and I lay on my back, gazing at the stars.
That was reckless, Katharean. Obsidian growled mentally, and I resisted the urge to block him out. The prospect of Murtagh's company for the rest of the trip had put me in an agreeable mood, and I was reluctant to listen to Obsidian's words of negativity, but I knew that he would not be easily quieted.
I know...but I think it will work out for the best, do you not?
You know how I feel...besides the fact that this is a needless endangerment of our secret, I do not know how much longer I can go on flying for. You seem to forget how young I am still, and I have been airborne now for almost three days! When he said this, I felt an agonising twinge of pain in my shoulder blades, and I knew on instinct that it was Obsidian's pain that I was feeling.
Very well...tomorrow, we shall tell Murtagh our secret...and then you will not have to fly.
No? So when you are in Ceris, what then? I cannot very well just stroll into town with you!
That was not what I was going to suggest, but you could find somewhere safe and secluded outside of the village and lie in wait for us...I doubt that we will be staying there for long...if I have anything to do with it, anyway...
He snorted in reply, but it was in resignation, and I sighed, inwardly. I hated arguing with him, it was the closest thing to arguing with myself as I could come without being insane, and it was an awful feeling.
I know it does not please you as it does me, Sid, but I really think we can trust him.
Sid? I smiled at the amusement in his voice, mainly because it signalled the end of the discussion, and I replied,
I don't know, it just came to me...I'm too lazy to say Obsidian every time we speak, Sid is just so much easier.
Well, I cannot say I like it, but if it pleases you, then I suppose I can accept it...Kath.
I smiled to myself at this, and Murtagh's words cut across my thoughts.
"I could teach you, you know."
"What? Teach me what?"
"Magic."
At first I thought he must be talking in his sleep, but then I remembered that he had joked earlier that I had cast a spell on him. I had been so wrapped up in my conversation with Obsidian that I had forgotten that that was the last thing we had spoken of.
"Yes, of course, you could teach me magic." I chuckled, unable to take him seriously. He shrugged nonchalantly and replied,
"First thing in the morning...if you like."
I laughed again, but he said nothing. I turned my head to look at him, and although the embers in the fire were in their last minutes, they threw enough light onto his face to illuminate his serious expression.
"You are not jesting?" It was a question that I did not have to ask, for the answer shone quite clearly from his dark eyes. Still, there was a part of me, the rational part, that did not quite believe him, but I decided that there was no harm in playing along. If he was saying this in jest, then so be it. But if he was not...
"You could teach me magic?"
"If you show any aptitude for it, then yes, I believe I can."
Well, if ever there was any chance that you would sleep tonight, it is gone now. Obsidian drawled, trying his very best to sound annoyed, but he could not mask the emotions in his internal voice, and I knew that he was just as excited at the prospect as I.
AN: Rubbish? Perhaps. But I'm easing myself back in, you see, and...gah, I have no excuses. Please review!
Also...I haven't proof-read it, cause I'm lazy and the screen's hurting my eyes. I'm basically just a failure. So if there are any horrendous mistakes on top of the plain awfulness of the plot, shout at me like I'm a terrible person who's done something really heinous. Like Chris Brown. Ouch! Laters, minions :-) love you all, really!