Sorry for the long update, again. It was a crappy week. I've just been really out of it. And, well… I'm going thru shit. That's all that needs to be said. Sorry, and I'm over it now. Well, not really. But I'm pretending to deal with it by not actually dealing with it. So we'll see what happens soon enough :D

Disclaimer: Okay, if you even think I might be Chris by this point, you have issues. No offense or anything.

Song: Storm, Lifehouse

Chapter 21: The Lantern

For a while, she cried without knowing where she was going. She had been ignoring Cain, so he had given up, but she could feel him in her head, keeping tabs on her.

But, at that moment, she really didn't care.

She just wanted to cry. It was more than just her sister: she was just so confused. There were so many questions running through her mind…

What happens next? Obviously, she was supposed to follow her beloved leader and fellow Rider. But, that would mean she would have to learn how to be a Rider, something she had never strove for. Sure, she and Cain had always planned on joining the Varden eventually, but, they had wanted to grow stronger first. Now, they didn't have that chance. How could they even train if they were fighting in a war?

What about my old family? Would she ever see them again? Surely, they all hated her. They had been scared of her before, and then she had killed their Chief, not to mention the fact that she was crazy, and she had abandoned them in their hour of need. Of course, she had done so with the best intentions, but they wouldn't understand. And, apparently, Nasuada was forming an allegiance with many of the desert tribes; apparently she came from one herself. But, why had no one heard of hers? And, how had Ayla been in a town in Alagaesia? It hadn't come up before, but the fact worried Adreana. Added to the fact that her sister could read…

What about Eragon? Yes, today, during the coronation, she had felt that he wasn't who he seemed to be. That maybe she misjudged him. That maybe that was the only reason he acted like he did. Inside, he wasn't much older than her. What was it that pushed him away from his feelings? And did she really want to try to find out? Maybe he really does want to try. He seemed eager this morning.

What about the longing for the lullaby? She had hated Lamia. When Cain came and brought his conscious into her head, he had driven away the voices. When he was there, it wasn't bad. Otherwise they were horrid; Lamia had been there rarely, only when they had something important to say, as with the Rains. She had been there after Cain left. Not directly, because Adreana had been tortured. As soon as the imminent danger of death had passed though, the voices had been back. And the lullaby that had always been in the back of her mind had come with them. Her mothers, but they had changed it, ever so slowly. And, it had become an addiction. Now, Adreana wanted it back. Badly.

Why?

She didn't notice anything besides her thoughts as she walked aimlessly down the dark hall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Eragon pov

He was on the verge of sobbing.

As it was, silent tears were running down his face and his breath was catching in his throat.

And it was going to stay that way. He refused to be weak.

He had been walking, struggling to think of nothing and stop crying for a long time.

Long enough that he was no longer affected in the least by the alcohol he had consumed.

He was almost succeeding in not thinking; he was still crying.

He couldn't think of why he was crying, how he could stop, because then he'd just cry more.

Thank goodness he'd be leaving this place soon.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Neither of them saw it coming.

They walked around a corner, and they ran into each other. Adreana ended up on the ground.

They were both trying, and failing, to hide the tears on their cheeks. Eragon had offered his hand and mumbled an apology, deciding to ignore her troubles if she ignored his.

She took his hand, whispered "thank you," and tried to step around him, same time he tried to step around her. They awkwardly moved across the hall, each trying to get out of the other one's way. Finally, Eragon stopped, and just watched the girl pass, trying to figure out why her eyes were a deep indigo, which he could barely discern in the near darkness.

As he turned to walk in the same direction he had, he saw something from the corner of his eye.

Something had crept off of the wall, about to tackle Adreana.

Eragon did the only thing he could do: he broached the barrier in his mind, muttering the words in the Ancient Language that would put a physical shield around Adreana.

Although it worked, he could feel the power leak out of him. Cursing because he didn't have a sword, and then because he didn't have a weapon at all, he pulled Adreana to where he was, and lowered the shield. He took one of the posts that the lamps were hanging on, preparing to use it as a club.

He disabled the dwarf running at Adreana, and she picked up the slight sword that the dwarf had worn. She looked down at it in confusion, then up to Eragon with panic in her eyes.

And he remembered that she didn't know how to use a sword.

She dropped it when the next dwarf ran to her, and he was soon similarly engaged. He worried about her slightly, but he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck raise each time she whispered a word in the Ancient Language, and more often than not it seemed as if her opponent hadn't been able to deflect her. So he focused on his own battle, trusting her to hers.

The dwarf was skilled in both arms and magic it appeared. They exchanged blows, and although Eragon's blood was pumping with adrenaline, the dwarf was gaining ground. It was a battle of the minds as well as of the weapons. And, as preoccupied as Eragon was, it was difficult to guard his thoughts.

But, he focused on how his thoughts had been revolving on being empty before Adreana had stumbled into him, and he focused on that feeling. The complete emptiness of the mind. And he attacked the dwarf twice as hard as he had before.

But, when he finally breached the dwarf's mind, he was surprised to find it completely empty. There were no thoughts, no concentration, only thoughtless violence.

This startled Eragon enough for the dwarf to advance and slice his arm. It wasn't a deep cut, but it wavered his concentration. Almost enough for the dwarf to gain entry to his mind.

But not quite.

He heard Adreana gasp behind him, and then shout, "Garjzla!" He turned just enough to see an emerald stream of light pour out of her hand, almost like liquid fire, and attack the dwarf. And, it incapacitated him for a brief moment, but she looked shocked that it had had that effect.

Eragon couldn't take it anymore; he took his dwarven sword and swung it into the lantern that marked the corner. Fearing the effect the phosphorous would have, he leapt to the side, tackling Adreana and trying to shield them from the explosion that was bound to occur.

It worked in part. Their faces were protected, hers in his chest and his in the wall; his whole front of his body was curled up to the wall, and her whole top half was covered by his body and crushed up to the cave. However, his back, which was still bare, and her legs were free to the fire. And then, coughing through the smoke, he started to get up, so when the debris fell, they were both fully exposed to the dust and wreckage falling on them.

Eragon collapsed to his knees. He felt Adreana coughing somewhere beside him. He couldn't see anything for the purple and brown dirt blowing up around him. He could hear someone in the distance yelling, "Rats! A lantern blew… Damn! Someone run and get the captain… there's people in here… and one of them's the Rider… Good gods, get--"

And everything was black.

Yes, I used the explosion. So sue me.

Actually, don't. I'm dead broke right now. But, as much as I am trying to not be like Brisingr, Chris did have some things in there that actually helped my plot out a lot. I pinkie promise: my plot is completely original. I just borrowed an idea. XD Also, I'm purty sure Orik or someone explained to Eragon in book one that the lanterns were magic, but I thought they needed an actual reason to explode. And, in Chemistry they told me that Phosphorus was highly reactive or whatever, which is code for it blows up :)

Review please!