The Final Chapter

They camped miles away from Carvahall in the woods. Saphira was off hunting and Eragon and Nadlyn were busy watching Brom. He made a fire from the driest sticks and branches he could find to reduce the amount of smoke. Once the fire was lit, he took out a small pot, filled it with water from a nearby stream, added a few chunks of meat, and placed it over the fire. He then took out his pipe and sat back against a tree. "So, you have been harboring Nadlyn the whole time? That was very dangerous, and you even made up such an unpleasant story too."

"It wasn't a story; it was the truth at that point in time." Nadlyn said, speaking for Eragon. "I did try to kill myself, but later that day, he found me washed up on shore. He took me to his farm and took care of me until I was better. The other day, I left the farm, but I came back, though not in time to save Garrow. You see, when I was in the woods, I saw the Ra'zac heading towards the farm, but I could not get there before them." She hung her head low.

Brom stared gently at the girl, "If you had gotten there before the Ra'zac, they would have killed you too. The Ra'zac are fast creatures, even if you were able to outrun them, they would have still gotten there before you could escape with Garrow."

Whether Brom was right or not, it did not matter. Eragon's uncle was dead, and nothing can ever change that. Garrow will only live in their memories and in their heart. "So, we will pursue the Ra'zac to avenge my uncle's death." Eragon said, poking the fire with a stick.

"If that is what you want to do, then that is what we will do." A puff of smoke swirled above the old man's head.

"Brom, when I said we, I meant Nadlyn and I. What are you doing here anyways?"

Brom took the pipe out of his mouth and said, "You would be wise to take me with you. There is much that I can teach you, if you permit me. I have been around a lot longer than you, and I really am a lot more than you think I am as well."Eragon did not want to argue with the man, so he sighed and said that he could travel with them.

Nadlyn traveled with Eragon, Saphira, and Brom across Alagaesia. What started out as a pursuit to hunt down the Ra'zac ended up becoming the flight for their very lives. For the longest time, they were tracking down the creatures, but, eventually, they were the ones who became the hunted. When word began to spread about Eragon and Saphira, the King sent his minions to capture them.

Her relationship with Eragon was kept casual. She loved to be with him, but she still had trouble becoming too intimate with him. She was still in the process of recovering from her past abuse, and could not allow herself to fully open up and succumb to Eragon. Life on the road made it easier for them to refrain from becoming very intimate anyways. They traveled during the day, and in the evenings Eragon sparred or practiced magic, ate dinner, and went to sleep.

During their travels, Nadlyn was able to meet some very interesting people such as Joed and Angela the Herbalist. She also met a man named Murtagh who rescued them from some Urgals. Eragon allowed Murtagh to travel with them, and in time, they became friends. As for Nadlyn, she did not fully trust Murtagh. On the surface, he seemed a decent man, but something in her gut still flagged him as dangerous. She mentioned this to Eragon, who did agree with her, but at the same time, he trusted Murtagh with his life.

The unfortunate part is that they day they met Murtagh was also the day that Brom was struck with a fatal blow. No matter how Eragon tried, he could not save the old man. The next day, they made a tomb for him out of sandstone, but Saphira somehow turned the stone into diamond. It was truly a very magical moment. Eragon was able to leave Brom knowing that time would not ravage him.

Nadlyn was sitting in the dark, smelly, cold cell. She had been captured along with Eragon by Urgals and taken to Gil'ead as Durza's prisoner. She did not know how long she had been there, but it was long enough to begin to feel discouraged. Durza had discovered who she was, and used her past as a means to possibly dispose of her. He had left her with a dagger, the very dagger that she had used on her uncle. Durza had hoped that she would fall into her old mindset, and take her life.

Hours elapsed, but in a prison cell, hours can feel like days. She heard the door rattle and open, revealing Durza once more. He informed her that Eragon was dead, killed after he tried to escape. He said that Eragon was told that she was dead, and he had gone made with rage. "There is nothing for you on this earth, girl, so you might as well end your pain. You will be given no food, nor water, so you can either die of starvation, or from your own hand." Durza laughed and left her.

The dagger was lying at her feet, within reach. Internally, she was battling with herself. She wanted to believe that the Shade was lying to her and that Eragon was still alive. With no way to confirm the truth from the lies, she had to make her decision purely based on what she believed in. If this had happened to her months ago, she would have found it easy just to take her life, but after being with Eragon, her view of life had changed. Everyone had a purpose in life, whether that purpose is used for good or bad. Nadlyn was never able to appreciate her life when she lived with her uncle because she was always put down and abused. As soon as she was freed from such conditions, she was finally able to discover her purpose in life.

Nadlyn took the blade, and looked at it. This was her final test. If she truly understood her purpose in life, she would put the dagger down, but, if she misunderstood her purpose, or began to doubt what her purpose really is, she would plunge the dagger through her heart.

She placed the tip if the blade on her chest. The temptation to push the dagger into her flesh began to consume her. Her final thought was Eragon, and as she reminisced about her time with him, she found the strength pull the dagger away from her. What am I doing? She dropped the dagger onto the stone floor and pushed it away from her with her foot. The door to her cell creaked open. Nadlyn rolled her eyes expecting to see Durza, but it was Eragon instead.

"Praise the gods, you are alive! Durza said that you were dead. He said that you took your own life. I didn't know what to believe, so I had to find out for myself." He ran towards her, and using magic, released her iron bonds. As the chain hit the ground with a clang, Nadlyn threw herself into Eragon's arms.

"Well, this is sweet. The rider and his lover reunited, but I am afraid, not for very long." Eragon and Nadlyn stood up to face the Shade. "I have underestimated you both, but I will make sure that I will not make that same mistake again."

Nadlyn scoffed. "By stating that you will not underestimate us again, is in fact underestimating us because you are forgetting one of the greatest powers of all."

Durza laughed, "Your love life is of little concern to me. One cannot live off love alone, and love in itself cannot really save you."

"True, but I was not talking about the power of love, I was referring to the power of life. The will to live is more powerful that you will ever understand."

Durza took a step forward. "Interesting, but you are wasting my time. I am going to kill you now, and then I have to report to the King."

"Rephrase, you will try to kill us, but we will retaliate. Even if you physically kill us, you cannot take away the fact that we had lived, and what we stood for while we were alive. We will become martyrs."

Durza was becoming angry, "Shut your mouth girl!" Before he could strike her down, the ceiling above them began to crack. Within moments, Saphira broke through, Murtagh on her back. The dragon dodged a blow from Durza as Eragon and Nadlyn climbed aboard. A lone arrow plunged itself into Durza's forehead causing the Shade to disappear.

That evening, while they made camp, Nadlyn led Eragon away to talk to him. When they were far enough away, she confronted Eragon. "I want to thank you for everything that you have done for me. I know that I gave you a very hard time in the past, and I'm sorry. Sitting in that cell in Gil'ead made me appreciate all that you have done for me.

"You showed me how wonderful life can be, and no matter what ordeal I am going through, as long as I have the will to live, nothing can ever bring me down. I thought death was my escape, but that is not really true. To be free does not come from taking your life, it comes from overcoming your obstacles and moving on. I will never forget what happened to me, but, I can take what happened to me and not let it bother me anymore. You have shown me that, Eragon." She smiled, relieved that she was finally able to tell Eragon how she really felt.

"It comforts me to hear you say those words. I will never forget as well. The moment that I saw you washed up on shore, and alive, I knew that there had been a reason why your life was spared. It is as if the waves had been merciful to you." Eragon said, think back to that day.

"Possibly, but the one who truly saved me, was you. You interrupted the flow of my life like a wave, and I have been changed forever." Nadlyn finished by kissing Eragon for the first time, allowing herself to experience the power of love.

The End.