Her heart hammered in her chest as she stood outside of his door. Her heart said to knock and her mind said flee. She could hear him moving around inside and part of her wondered what he was doing. She took a deep breath and reached up to knock on the door. Before she could bring herself to do it the door opened and murtagh stared at her in shock from the other side. She smiled slightly.
"May I come in?" She asked.
"Sure." He said stepping aside and staring at the ground. She sighed and slowly walked in.
He closed the door behind her as she turned and faced him. Their eyes met for a brief moment until they both looked in opposite directions in a hurry. The tension grew between them as Murtagh spoke.
"Is everything okay?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yes it's fine, I just wanted to see how you were." She said lying through her teeth. He nodded slowly
"I'm fine." "What about you?" He asked. She smiled slightly. "I'm okay." They were silent again. Neither one of them knew what to say.
"I'm sorry." He finally whispered. She jumped a little at his words as she looked over at him.
"For what?" She asked confused by his sudden choice of words. He looked up at her and their eyes met causing the tension in the room to soar to an all time high.
"For not protecting you." He said firmly. She shook her head.
"Murtagh none of this is your fault." She said calmly as she walked towards him. He sighed.
"Marina I should have gone with you." He said. She shook her head.
"You and I both know that I wouldn't have let you." She whispered. He shook his head
"I should have followed you but I was too damn stubborn." He said angrily. She stared at him as he closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair.
"You couldn't have known that Silas would find me." She said. "I don't blame you." She whispered. He sighed and stared up at her.
"Because I wasn't protecting you like I should have been you almost died." He said firmly. She shook her head. "But I didn't." She countered angrily.
"It doesn't matter anymore." He said walking past her. She froze and spun around to see him pick up a sack off of his bed.
"What are you doing?" She asked in horror.
"I'm leaving in the morning." "The Varden only needs one rider right now and that's Eragon." "You don't want my protection so I no longer have a reason for staying." He said as he threw the sack over his shoulder.
She felt her body go numb as she lost feeling in her legs. "You can't go." She said shaking her head. He sighed
"Marina my minds made up." He said. She froze where she was and felt herself stop breathing as his words cut her to the core. She looked up at him and their eyes locked.
"You and I both know that isn't true." She said. He sighed and through his bag down.
"What do you want from me?" He said raising his voice. She jumped as he moved towards her and she backed away. He stopped suddenly.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. She shook her head it's alright. She said.
"Why are you pushing me away?" She asked finally. He sighed. "Its better this way." He whispered. She shook her head. "For who?" She asked. He looked over at her and was quiet for a moment.
"Your pushing me away as well." He said turning away. "Only to protect you." She whispered lowly. "From what." He asked throwing up his arms and facing her.
"What is it your trying to protect me from?" He asked.
She was silent and stared down at the floor. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her arms. She kept her gaze away and tried to pull away as he spoke. "What are you trying to protect me from?" He asked. She shook her head.
"Nothing. "She responded and pulled away.
"Damn it Marina tell me." He yelled. "From me okay!" She snapped as she turned and faced him.
"What?" He asked completely confused.
"If you stay around me you'll die." She whispered. He shook his head.
"What makes you think that if I'm around you I'll die?" He asked completely confused now.
"Silas." She whispered. He froze realizing now what was going on. He stared at where she was standing with her arms wrapped around herself staring at the floor. He could tell how afraid she was now. He walked over to her and put his arms around her.
"Is that what this has all been about?" He asked holding her to him. She didn't respond.
"Silas said that if I didn't stay away from you he would kill you and if he does that then thorn will die too and I don't want that." She choked as she finished her statement. He felt her starting to shake and he knew she was trying her best to keep it together but it killed him to see her like this.
"Marina, Silas will never get the chance to hurt you again as long as I'm still breathing." He whispered hugging her tightly. She felt the tears start to fall and couldn't hold them back anymore. She hugged him back as she started to cry even more. He sighed in relief and rubbed her back as she cried.
"Is that what all of this has been about, these past few days of you avoiding me?" He asked pulling away. She shook her head.
"Not entirely." She said. He froze. "What do you mean? He asked.
"You scare me." She whispered.
"What, Why do I scare you?" He asked. She stared at her feet as she wiped her face.
"Marina." He said softly as he touched her face with his hand. She looked up at him and he shook his head. "Why do I scare you?" He asked. They stared at each other for a second until she smiled a little smile and spoke.
"Because I think I'm falling in love with you.' She said hearing Flame's voice from earlier scolding her. Murtagh froze in shock at her words. It was the last thing he thought she would say at this point but he felt relieved as well.
"Marina, I don't have to think." He whispered. "I know that I love you." He said softly as he kissed her forehead. She felt the tears start to fall down her face again but this time it wasn't because of hurt or sadness. It was tears of joy for te first time in a long time.