Broken Engagements (An Eragon Love Story Part 37)

Recap:

Eragon, this is going to sound harsh and stereotypical, but it needs to be addressed."

End Recap:

"And that is…"

"It was never Kiara I was concerned about. On her own, she is just fine. It was you that I had to keep a sharp eye on. I needed to make sure that your intentions were good before you went gallivanting off with Kiara."

"My intentions…You are right, that is harsh." Eragon understood that Brom was referring to taking advantage of a woman. Growing up with his Uncle Garrow he was taught to respect a woman as well as any man. He knew that taking advantage of an innocent woman was an evil, sick deed and vowed to never do it himself. Yet, he regretfully remembered back a few days ago when the thought entered his mind. Scaring himself, he shuddered knowing that saying that you will never do something is a lot easier than keeping away what you said you wouldn't do. Thankful that he didn't fall into that temptation, he said, "So what of Kiara?"

"Her whole life revolved around cruelty and fear; what little comfort she had as a child she cherishes forever. One would be the memory of her mother, and another Murtagh. He, Murtagh, helped her escape from her father because he intended to have her commit to something she could not. Her father knew perfectly well how terrible the deed was, but of course, he didn't care." Brom stated.

"What was the deed?"

Brom fumbled a bit as he looked at Kiara. She gave him a look of approval and he continued on. "Her father had an arranged marriage for her. She was promised to…to…Kiara are you sure you want me to tell him?"

Kiara nodded.

"Alright. She was promised to Murtagh."

"What!" exclaimed Eragon as shock overtook him. He stared down at Kiara searching her face hoping that it wasn't true. Seeing that it was, he went on to say, "Is that why he had to leave right away?"

She nodded as she entered his mind. "I was only 6 when I was promised to him. My mother protested against it which led to her violent death. Time passed. At 14, the age at which I was to be married, I decided to run. Murtagh helped me, himself against the arranged marriage, even though he was 18"

"Really, he is that much older than you?"

"Yeah. Look, he was my best friend, there was no way I could see him as a husband. Plus, even if we could have worked things out, there was no way I was going to become a tool for my father's sake. He wanted to use me towards his advantage, not mine. After we escaped, we parted ways. I traveled around for a while before I settled in Yazuac. It was a quaint little village where I was able to hide out in secret. That was until you came along." She smiled up at him.

"What am I supposed to say to that. Jeez, Kiara I am so sorry, I…I didn't know."

"I didn't want you to know. As a woman, it doesn't look good to say that I was formerly engaged all the while falling in love with…" She suddenly stopped. Her heart was beating violently inside her chest. She did all she could to muster up her courage to finish. "…you."

Eragon chocked back tears. Her words touched him deep down in his soul and he found himself even more in love with her than before. "I am glad that you told me, at least I can understand you a lot better."

Kiara withdrew herself from his mind about the time Brom finished eating his soup. The entire time she had been talking with Eragon, he was busy chomping away while Angela sat in a rocking chair near the fire writing something. Solembaum made his way down the mantle onto the floor. He curled up beside the rocking chair and fell back asleep.