A further two days were spent travelling down the river on the wooden rafts, thankfully Eragon experienced little discomfort in the form of seizures or mental attacks which did much for his state of being, allowing him to join in happier conversation with the Dwarves while he experienced their haunting songs as they sailed down the Az Ragni and their respectful bow to the last truth mountain on their journey. However, one discovery during the raft trip fascinated Eragon, even more so than the Ascudgamln that he was privy to, it was the ornate bow that Orik had revealed to him and allowed to try for himself.
'A bow made from the horn of a creature' Eragon thought in amazement, compared to his bow that was carved from simple wood Orik's bow seemed fit for a king. Though one thing was bothering the rider, the looks Arya had been shooting him had increased in frequency and it confused him.
'She is most likely concerned with your wellbeing' Saphira told him as he lay pondering the Elf. Though Saphira's reasoning did not convince Eragon, there was something in the Elf's gaze that was more unsettling than worry. It didn't help that Saphira sounded as though she doubted herself as well.
Eventually the rafts were traded in for mounts for the Dwarves at the Dwarven outpost of Hedarth, fortunately for Eragon he was allowed to use the bathing quarters and rid his scar of more dried blood and rotting flakes of dead skin that had bit up over the previous days. While the action disgusted Eragon the slight relief he garnered from the action meant there was less friction rubbing actions his sensitive back.
After their brief stop at the Dwarven outpost the small group followed the river Edda, the body of water that had separated from the Az Ragni. Surprisingly Arya declined the donkey mount offered.
'I will not return to the lands of my ancestors on the back of a donkey' she told Thorv.
'Then how will you keep pace with us?' the Dwarf responded.
'I will run'.
And run she did, Arya quickly outpaced the Dwarves and Eragon and was found on the hills and plains leagues ahead of them. Despite the exertion she displayed Arya showed no signs of fatigue.
'Elves are truly different to humans and dwarves' Saphira noted as she flew above them all as they journeyed, though Eragon paid little heed to Saphira's musings, happier to be riding Stormfire and exercising the restless horse.
Eragon's joy was brought to a swift end on the second day of riding. As Eragon went to dismount from Stormfire and join the others as they rested for the day the normally obedient horse that had served Eragon and Brom with loyalty bucked, and threw Eragon off and onto the hard ground.
Landing on his back with a thud a thunder of pain shot through Eragon's spine turning his vision red and sending spasms of pain throughout his body. Eragon stifled several screams and moans as he fought in vain to control his ongoing seizure, ignoring Saphira's attempts to pull at his mind. Now on his hands and knees Eragon spotted out of his rose tinted eyes Arya running to his side, attempting to lift him.
'Get off me' he scolded, biting his tongue as another wave of agony rolled over him, pushing the elf away and landing back on the floor, his head smacking the ground, turning his vision black and losing all consciousness.
When Eragon awoke he found himself in tent, his covers wrapped firmly around his body. Eragon's attempts to rise were stopped by Arya's hand pushing him back down.
'Rest' she ordered.
'What good will that do? We know I am not getting any stronger' he responded bitterly, his body was quickly becoming his worst enemy.
'You demand too much from yourself' Arya said, her hand remaining on his shoulder.
Eragon stared daggers at the Elf, 'and how pray tell do I fight if I cannot trust my own body, how will I ever get stronger?'
'You can sit and watch, you can read, you can learn' Arya told him softly.
'What is happening to me?' Eragon muttered, something he was thinking more and more every day, though the answer still evaded him.
'I do not have all the answers Eragon, I am not the strongest or wisest of my kind, but you will find aid when we reach Ellesméra I know that' Arya pressed.
Arya's words did little to halt the growing fear that built in Eragon's mind, the fear of his own body and the pain that could be unleashed upon him if he strained his body too much, or he was hit hard enough in the right place.
'Sè mor'ranr ono fanna' Arya uttered softly to Eragon as she brought her other hand to rest on his brow, when she had finished speaking she swiftly left the tent. Saphira's head moved in after Arya, her eyes resting solely on her pained rider.
'Did I actually push Arya away?' Eragon asked the dragon as their consciousness spread over each other, his memoires of his seizure becoming increasingly foggy.
'Not quite' Saphira said showing her memory of the events. Eragon had in fact used Arya to push himself into the ground, Arya herself had not been shaken at all by his effort. 'I had tried to pull your consciousness into mine, I wanted to shield you from the pain' Saphira then explained after Eragon was caught up.
'I know'.
'If that is so why did you resist?' Saphira accused.
'I wanted to see if I could fight through the pain' Eragon said feebly, knowing it was a poor reason. Saphira snorted at his answer, black smoke floating over his head. 'So what happened after I passed out?' Eragon asked.
'Arya carried you into this tent and your Dwarven guards seemed to take turn swearing violently in their stony language'.
Eragon couldn't help but smile slightly at what the Dwarves had done, slowly he unwrapped himself from his covers, finding his shirt replaced by thick white bandages covering his chest.
'What?' he said aloud.
'I believe Arya gave your shirt to… Moria? Martha? Whatever your servant in called' Saphira responded, not caringly about the Dwarf.
'It's Maria' Eragon corrected as he pushed passed Saphira's head and into the camp ground. Before Eragon could grasp his surroundings Maria rushed to his side.
'Are you well my lord?' Maria asked worriedly, his shirt folded neatly in her arms.
'I am well Maria' Eragon encouraged, ignoring the Dwarf's mistake of calling him a lord again, 'is that my shirt by chance?'
Maria nodded, handing the grey tunic over to him, 'Lady Arya asked this it be cleaned, there was a lot of blood on its back'.
'Ah' Eragon said, no longer surprised by his back's bleeding, 'well thank you Maria'.
'I am only doing my duty my lord' Maria responded, her ginger curls falling from her shoulders at her words.
'If that is the case I may need you to continue such a practise' Eragon spoke, thinking of his increasing bag of soiled tunics and shirts. Maria seemed to be happy with what Eragon suggested and soon she was off to her own tent with a bag full of Eragon's bloodied shirts, leaving Eragon alone with Saphira.
'Do you think I will get better?' Eragon asked as he sat by Saphira's side, away from the camp.
Saphira hummed as her rider rubbed between her scales, 'I would hope so, but if you do not I don't think you should continue this campaign against Galbatorix'.
'Really?
'I would not have you suffer more pain, you have been through enough' Saphira explained as she wrapped her tail closely around her rider, trapping him with her for the rest of the evening.
For the next day of travel Eragon was 'convinced' by Saphira to ride with her for the day while Stormfire was relegated to being tied with Orik and his donkey as they rode on.
'You know it's not his fault' Eragon explained to Saphira as they glided over the puffy white clouds.
'It bucked you off, I don't see how it is anyone else fault but that dumb horse's' Saphira argued.
Eragon sighed, Saphira had always held a small grudge against Cormac and then Stormfire as she thought Eragon would be better off riding with her.
'Besides you prefer being in the sky with me than riding on those silly creatures' Saphira continued, her pride at being able to fly shining through.
'I'm not going to win this argument am I?' Noctis asked Saphira.
'No' the dragon responded with a laugh, the rare sound providing a small measure of peace to Eragon's tired soul.
The two remained silent, enjoying the comfort that only flying in the sky alone could bring, though eventually another question arose in Eragon's mind.
'What will we do when this war is over?' he asked.
'Live in peace' Saphira responded, her answer suspiciously vague.
Eragon frowned, 'Do you have no desires? No plan?'
'I only wish to be with you little one, I will go with you wherever you wish. Within reason' Saphira hummed.
'What if I wished to spend my time with another?
'Who would that be?' Saphira asked her full attention drawn to Eragon.
Eragon's mind floated to Angela and the comfort and warmth he felt when he was with her, and of the exchanges they had before he had left.
'Not with her' Saphira told Eragon bluntly, having seen his thoughts.
'Why not?' he responded, with perhaps a little too much anger in his words.
Saphira growled and her body shook slightly 'Nothing has changed Eragon! You are too trusting, you know little of the Witch and yet you would throw yourself at her. You still have not thought of the pain she could cause you, what if she doesn't want to be with you? What if she made demands of you that hurts you? I will not allow you to be with someone when I know you cannot handle rejection!'
'Damn it Saphira, would you confine me to loneliness, deprive me of what I desire?'
'If you care so highly about your urges you would have taken Trianna up on her advances' Saphira said sharply, 'instead you froze, because you are not ready for a relationship neither physically or emotionally'.
'But I'm OK with Angela' Eragon pressed, 'you can't expect me to deny what I feel for other people just because you don't agree with my choice'.
'What if Angela wants to go further Eragon? What if she pressures you into having sex, are you going to feel comfortable with that? Saphira said coldly, 'until I know you are prepared and can handle the pains and pressures of a relationship I cannot allow you in good faith to pursue her Eragon, or anyone else. Nor will I allow Arya to continue her meddling'.
'Arya?' Eragon asked, forgetting the rest of what Saphira had just said.
'Do you not see what she is doing Eragon? She touches you whenever she can justify it with a half decent excuse, and those looks she keeps giving you are not ones of concern' Saphira stressed.
Eragon pondered what his partner was saying, trying to recall of his interactions with the Elf. 'Saphira are you not being a bit paranoid? I doubt Arya has any personal interest in me' Eragon questioned, remembering Arya's dedication to her people through her Yawë tattoo, and it being the only reason why she was even helping Eragon in his capacity as a dragon rider.
Saphira sighed as though she was disappointed 'Little one for all of the factors that make me love you, I cannot understand how you can be so oblivious to these things'.
Eragon sulked slightly at Saphira's comment and instead of responding choose to simple hold himself to the blue dragon as they flew through the sky, wishing there were easier subjects to discuss that did not involve such weight.
'So what will you do to Arya if she continues her apparent advances?' Eragon asked after being prodded by Saphira, 'and your solution had best not include killing her' he warned.
'How rude, I was simply going to talk to her' Saphira said stiffly.
Eragon's eyes widened at her answer, 'You would actually talk to another person?' genuine surprise colouring his words.
'Yes' she responded shortly.
'Saphira you aren't hiding something are you? Eragon asked, his words causing Saphira to close part of their bond as a result. 'You are hiding something!' He exclaimed as he realised what she was doing.
'It is of little importance' Saphira replied.
'I won't judge you if you tried talking with someone else' Eragon laughed, knowing that Saphira cared more about his opinion than was perhaps healthy.
'Eragon you don't need to know' her tone suggesting she wanted the conversation to change, but Eragon wasn't going to.
'Saphira we don't hide things from each other' Eragon told the dragon.
'I know' Saphira said with a hint of regret, 'fine'.
Eragon waited eagerly as Saphira seemed to pause, preparing for whatever she was hiding.
'I have talked to Arya' she revealed.
'Well that wasn't going to be my first choice' Eragon responded, teasing the dragon slightly, 'what did you talk about?'
'You'.
'What about me?'
'I asked her to help you while you were being tested by the twins' Saphira explained, 'she had noticed you weren't acting normally, you had a nightmare about the butcher the night before if I recall'.
'Help me with what?' Eragon said cautiously.
'She had suspected something was wrong with you, I merely confirmed it'.
Anger raged through Eragon 'You told her!' he yelled.
'Eragon no!' the dragon exclaimed, 'I told her nothing about your abuse, I didn't break our promise, she only found out when she entered your mind'.
'But you pointed her towards it!' Eragon accused, his mind racing at what Saphira had said, 'You revealed it indirectly!'
'Do not shout at me! I cannot help it if you wear your heart on your sleeve!' Saphira yelled back 'Would you have preferred the twins or the council learning about your past? At least with Arya I knew she had a debt to pay to us, I used that so you could talk freely with someone, God knows you weren't going to talk to me!'
Curling his fingers into a ball Eragon tried to control his anger at what he had been told. 'Saphira land please' he asked politely, in stark contrast with the fury going on in his mind.
Saphira began to descend towards the ground 'Eragon I only did it to help you' she pleaded, though her words fell on deaf ears.
Camp was a quiet affair that night for the most part, it seemed that Eragon's angered state was easily noticeable by all. Sitting by himself by the campfire Eragon toyed with his soup, his appetite was non-existent as he silently fumed over Saphira's betrayal. The logical part of him knew that his anger for his partner couldn't last, but the other part of him wanted Saphira to be punished and that part was winning. He was punishing her by blocking their bond as well as he could, only the smallest of feelings could be felt by either person. On the other side of the camp Saphira was curled up in a subdued form, her eyes fixed on her rider, keening at him in hopes he would respond to her.
'Is she well Rider?' Shrrignien asked as Eragon handed him his still full bowl of soup, the sound of wailing dragon was impossible to ignore.
Eragon shrugged, 'I would not know, Saphira hides much from me'. In response Saphira's moans, if possible, increased in volume.
'Surely there is something you can do Rider? I doubt any of us will sleep through her wails' Thorv pleaded.
'Saphira had brought this upon herself. I will not talk to her' Eragon responded coldly. The Dwarves sighed and groaned at Eragon's refusal, while Arya remained quiet as her gaze swapped between Eragon and the emotional dragon.
When Eragon went to retire for the evening a hand grasped his shoulder, Eragon didn't even try to resist jumping at the surprise touch. 'What is it Arya?' he growled at the appearance of the quiet elf after he had recovered slightly.
'Come with me' she ordered, walking off away from the camp.
Eragon followed reluctantly, holding onto Zar'roc's handle as his means to vent his irritation. Soon he was in a clearing where Arya was sitting on top of a stone eyeing him as he closed in.
'What is this about?' Eragon asked calmly, his anger at the Elf having evaporated during the walk.
'There are many things that you need to know before we arrive at Ceris and Ellesméra so that you don't bring shame to yourself and me' Arya explained.
'Such as?' he asked, standing opposite her.
'During my time as ambassador I have come to learn many things about Humans and Dwarves, how they interact, their customs and how they react with each other. One of the things I have learnt is that Humans and Dwarfs are able to co-habit well, you are both share emotions, you love, lust, hate equally. Your friendship with Orik and Maria proves this in a way'.
'Are you trying to say Elves share no similarities with Humans and Dwarves?' Eragon asked.
'No but an Elf is more reclusive than the others' Arya explained, 'but that is not what is important. What you need to know is that because we live long lives we consider courtesy in the highest of social regard, holding a grudge with an Elf can last decades, even centuries. Courtesy is our way of avoiding such petty squabbles, though it may not work all the time it has been the most successful way for our society to function, as such we adhere to it highly. It does not help that Elves are not as fecund as Dwarves and Humans, if Elves had the same rate of crime we would be dead as a species. There will be a specific way for you to greet the sentinels at Ceris and the other Elves in Ellesméra, not to mention the hundreds of manners and forms when you are in the presences of Queen Islanzadi. Failure to do so will create many an enemy for you, if naught else just remain quiet if you are unsure of what to do'.
'Are these rules in place to trip people up, or are your people all perfectionists?' Eragon quipped dryly, noting the small smile that emerged on Arya's face.
'Perhaps, I have never asked. Though you should know that you will be held to the highest regard, it will only harm you if you are ignorant of my people's customs. If you are incapable you will be used in the game of politics that has plagued my people since we gained our immortality, a game that takes millennia to see the results, and they can be devastating when revealed'.
Arya sighed, showing the first signs of weariness that Eragon had seen 'Do you see now why I say there is a difference between Elves and the rest. Dwarves may have some longevity but they are open with their feelings and frown at restraint, while humans are…'
'Humans are insects to Elves' Eragon interrupted, 'they live fleeting lives that Elves can no longer comprehend using for anything worthwhile'.
Arya eyed him cautiously as he spoke 'you would be best not to continue that train of thinking lest you fall into the habit of some of the more arrogant Elves'.
'Why have you not taught Orik or Maria these customs, they will be staying like me'. Eragon questioned, driving the discussion away from his own lowly view of his race.
'Orik already has some knowledge of my people's custom and Maria is your responsibility' Arya rebuked.
'Well I had best get to understanding these customs' Eragon responded.
For what seemed like the next hour or so Arya taught the various phases of the Elven greeting, along with the honorifics that were fitted onto each other's names. Eragon has some trouble with the pronunciations that went with the formal greeting but eventually he grasped it to an acceptable degree.
'As long as you do not forget I believe you will do well' Arya said as she stood.
Eragon nodded as he turned to leave.
'One moment Eragon'.
'Yes Arya?' Eragon asked, unable to remove the tiredness from his voice.
Looking back at the Elf Eragon noted her clenched hands and her tense face, which piqued his interest slightly.
'I would not ask this of you as it is deeply personal, but is there something wrong with you and Saphira?' Arya said.
Eragon's brow raised at her question, causing her to go further 'I do not recall ever learning of a dragon that has cried in such agony, and I would have thought you would be by her side trying to comfort her. Yet you seem benign in your concern'.
'Saphira has… broken a promise to me. Though it may not have been in the ancient language I have held her word as such, meaning I have had to separate myself from her. I do not do it easily, but she should not have betrayed my trust' Eragon responded stiffly.
'Is that a wise course of action?' Arya questioned, 'I do not doubt she has broken this promise, but your reaction seems too far gone'.
'She could have avoided it easily if she had not talked to you' Eragon bit back.
A small amount of colour faded from Arya's face as she realised what the rider was referencing. 'Eragon I did not think that was a concern anymore, I know of your past and it has not changed my standing of you, nor as it harmed you in anyway' she spoke softly.
Eragon faltered slightly, 'I… I know, but it still hurts that she lied to me. She is the one person I can trust unconditionally and now doubt will be ingrained in my mind when I confide in her'.
'Does she know that?'
Eragon grimaced at the Elf's words, perhaps it was wrong to punish Saphira as harshly. 'I think I shall go tell her' he muttered, before another thought raced into his mind.
'What of you Arya, are you well?' he asked, hoping that he was not overstepping the line. The apprehension that had built in the Elf over the passed couple of days had not gone completely unnoticed by the rider
Arya looked closely at the now nervous rider, her eyes piercing his with the same glare she had given him after their second duel. 'I am scared Eragon, but what of I cannot tell you' she responded in such a soft tone that Eragon had barely caught. Arya then fled back to the camp, leaving Eragon alone in the clearing.
Eragon shook his head, Arya's cryptic words meant little to him and he knew he could do little for the mysterious Elf. Instead Eragon returned to the camp. Breaking out of the underbrush Eragon looked for Saphira who still remained a small distance away from the camp, still crying in her distressed tone. Eragon strode over, making sure he didn't seem desperate to be by her side even though he knew he was.
Saphira's eyes followed as he approached, slowly he removed the walls he had placed on their bond which Saphira slowly tested and probed, making sure they would not flare back into place. Wordlessly Eragon walked over to her side and sat with Saphira, her tail already coiling around him and her head looking down at his face, her cries having already been silenced.
'I do not forgive you'.
'I know'
'But I was wrong to block you out'.
'I know'.
'Do you forgive me?'
'There is nothing to forgive'.
A/N:
Two chapters a week, man I spoil you guys/gals.
Hopefully you can forgive me for being mean to Saphira, can't all be sunshine and happiness with her and Eragon.
Finally, Mad Hatter gave me an interesting proposal that I thought I would answer it for everyone to see as it is a pretty good ask:
"It might be interesting to get Arya's perspective for a chapter or two to see if she's really starting to develop feelings for Eragon".
Now while I can completely understand wanting this, its just not something I can fit in well without ruining the story. Also I am not a fan of shifting point of view in the middle of a story, I don't like it in Eldest or the rest of the books, it breaks the immersion for me. but if you like it that's cool, I'm not going to rain on your parade. (Yes I know I shifted it from Arya to Eragon, but I am keeping it on Eragon for the foreseeable future).
BUT!
I might do something later on, the reason I'm not going to do it now is that it would be spoilers for later chapters and that would kind of ruin the story.
Well that's all from me, my only request... pls stop asking for Arya and Eragon. I'm working on something that will (hopefully) make you happy in the next couple of chapters. Or you could hate me, anything is possible.