I am so sorry this chapter has taken so long to upload, please don't kill me Evie or anyone else reading this!!
If you have ever had a hangover maybe you can begin to understand what I felt like. All of my limbs had seized up and throbbed with a dull achy pain and my head, well frankly it felt like it had been run over by a bus. I groaned lightly and my eyes slowly flickered open to reveal blurry patches of colour. There were indistinguishable mutters floating all around me and I groaned at them to go away. I shifted in the bed I was lying in and felt a soft thin blanket draped over my body. Suddenly I felt the sensation of someone pulling back one of my eyelids. I tried to move to slap them away, to tell them to leave me alone but the slight movement sent a spasm of exhaustion throughout my body. I took in a sharp intake of breath at the severe aching pain and froze in my position not wanting to rouse it again.
"Someone's looking better" A familiar voice acknowledged up above me. I stared at the blurred patch of colour that I now realised was a face until it came into focus and I saw the cheery round face of Angela peering back at me. "Hello sweetheart!" She smiled "You've had a bit of a rough time haven't you?! We thought we were going to lose you at one point!"
"Howonaheenawa…" I had meant to say how long had I been unconscious for but it hadn't come out quite the way I had anticipated it all the same though Angela answered as if I had spoken perfectly.
"Oh about five days. The poison was a particularly potent one, you were very strong" I blinked at her words in surprise as I couldn't speak, my throat was so dry all that came out was air and whispers. "Here" Angela said and she retrieved a clay cup from her side and held it gently to my chapped lips. I drank long and deeply, the waters cool substance soothing my throats irritated tissue and when I had drained the cup of its contents Angela set it back down on the trestle table beside her. I had to admit I was very confused. How was I here? At the Varden? Had Eragon found me and dragged me back? Somehow I knew that wasn't what had happened. I was in a terrible state and I felt like I had this huge gap in my memory that I wanted but I also didn't want to remember. And most of all what had happened to Lana? Was she still in the clutches of Murtagh and Galbatorix?
Evie! Elzar's anxious words came as a sudden shock to my fatigued conscience.
Elzar?! I questioned weakly. His powerful emotions flooded into me I felt relief, happiness and an edge of fear and sadness. It was then I realised just how worried he had been about me.
I'm fine! I reassured him but that wasn't enough and within a couple of short seconds there was a loud ripping noise as he tore the tents cloth flap entrance hastily out of the way with his ivory teeth and poked his large head in.
"Dragons!" Angela complained rather loudly. "No respect whatsoever to the property of others, especially when it's in their way!"
Elzar growled and sidled over to me some more until the point where if I was strong enough I could reach out and touch his snout.
What happened?! I asked, I searched my memory but the last thing I could remember was meeting Becker, Abby and the Doctor again. If I strained to try and recall anything else it sent dull throbbing aches through my already pounding head.
Just rest… Elzar cooed. He evidently thought that I didn't need to know or that it would distress me and slow my recovery.
Tell me! I demanded and I thrust my consciousness into his then all of a sudden before he could do anything about it I was washed over by my own memories seen through his eyes and I gasped and my eyes snapped open. Rather than seeing the tent ceiling above I saw me and Becker flying over the land and then we were in the heart of the black castle, Lana was there and then she wasn't and then there was him; his intense black eyes staring, boring into the very heart of my consciousness and then, then there was the pain, the gripping flaming pain as Elzar shared it with me then I was flying again and I went crashing down into the heart of a forest near the city wall, almost crashing into Thorn then watching in despair as I saw myself lying lifeless with a pallid complexion and Murtagh leaning over me… Elzar growled and pulled his mind away from mine but I had already seen enough. Instinctively my hand shot up to my chest, ignoring my weakness and I gazed down at it under the blanket. The skin was near flawless with no hint what so ever to the mark of death that had obscured the skin.
He saved me… I whispered to Elzar. I felt my heart increase to a frantic uneven pace in my chest.
He did. Elzar asserted as if he was jealous of Murtagh's feat.
Where is he now? And Thorn, Lana, Becker and all the others?
Lana and your friends have been pining to see you for days and enquiring every five minutes about your health. Murtagh and Thorn… They fled pretty much as soon as they had made sure you were delivered safely to the healers. They knew they would not be welcomed here even though their oaths to Galbatorix have broken and they no longer serve him. They still can't undo the wrongs they have done. The dwarves and the people of the Varden will never forgive them for murdering Hrothgar or slaying countless battalions of their men.
I sighed and dragged my eyes away from Elzar to inspect the tent roof again feeling mixed emotions bubbling inside of me. Anger, pity, fear, confusement, happiness on their behalf and something else that I couldn't quite identify. I couldn't be bothered to dwell on it and I felt tiredness washing over me once more and I jadedly closed my eyes.
Sleep little one… Elzar cooed in my thoughts and I could feel his ticklish breath as he ever so gently nuzzled my hair. As I lulled myself into a deep dreamless sleep he backed out of the tent and disappeared outside.
***
When I woke I was moving. A steady smooth rocking motion was jolting my body and I felt as if I was lying in a hammock. I groggily opened my eyes to make sense of the strange situation and saw that I was underneath Elzar's large green belly, hung there by a big thick white blanket. It was very warm due to the heat radiating from inside him and rather claustrophobic, also not good for anyone with motion sickness as I couldn't see a darn thing.
What's happening? I enquired, reaching for Elzar's mind.
You're awake! He exclaimed in a pleased tone.
Yea, I noticed. I replied sarcastically. Where are we going?
We are flying on ahead of the Varden a day's worth of travel. We have been doing it each day to keep up with them as they advance for their assault on Urû'baen. We are going to land and make camp in about half an hour and wait there for the rest of the Varden to catch up. Angela is flying with Eragon on Saphira behind, we have been doing the same each day and she has been treating you.
I nodded acknowledging his words. At least let me be unstrapped from your belly, not being able to see where I am going is churning my stomach. I am strong enough to ride on your back in the saddle. I replied, not that I would actually have anything to chuck up if I was sick. I was still weak but now it felt as if it was from lack of food rather than from the poison.
Fine, Elzar replied and I felt him begin to drift downwards. But we will have to wait for Eragon to assist me in untying you from me.
Just the flight back to the ground almost made me hurl, the cloying whiteness of the blanket and the vibrant green of Elzar's scales seemed to press in on me, squeezing the breath from my lungs. When I felt him touch down once more onto solid earth I had to stop myself from clawing my way out but it was only about a minute before Eragon arrived with Saphira and Angela to free me. Eragon hurriedly untied the lashings of ropes which held me there and finally peeled away a corner of the blanket and I was met with a view of the outskirts of a great golden deciduous forest, hundreds of magnificent oaks and maples with wilting red and orange leaves adorned the landscape in front of me. I blinked at the beautiful view with the crisp cerulean autumn sky lining the horizon above the restless auburn canopy. To the west there were familiar great grass planes stretching as far as the eyes could see with the faintest dark smudge on the horizon. Saphira saw me looking and answered my unspoken queries.
The Varden. They are a days march away and shall be joining us by sundown. Her great sapphire blue eyes blinked as she scrutinized the scene behind us. I had no doubt she could see them ten times better than I could.
Eragon held the blanket off the ground so I could easily get to my feet. I swung one shaky leg over the edge and tried to rise to my feet, I wasn't expecting to walk perfectly but neither was I expecting for my legs to be so weak that I collapsed. Elzar let out a snort of alarm as Eragon caught me just before I hit the ground.
Maybe this was not such a good idea… Saphira mused from where she stood next to Elzar, towering over him by a good fifteen feet. You are still very weak.
I could not stand one more second like that, I protested. Not only does it con-fuddle my thoughts but also my breakfast. I will be perfectly fine if I strap myself into Elzar's saddle. Eragon didn't protest, only put me down on the soft turf then going to untie some of the various knots around Elzar's chest.
Fine but be careful. She said
Yes… Elzar spoke, agreeing with her words. Eragon removed the blanket from him and went and stowed it in one of Saphira's saddle bags.
"Looking better I see!" Angela called down from where she sat on Saphira's back. "I would come down and check that you were ok but… I don't want to cause any hassle!" She said, eyeing the descent to the ground down Saphira's large shimmering blue flank. I smiled at her from where I sat on the ground then quickly looked away again. Squinting through the bright sunlight to see her face made my head spin.
Can you get up by yourself or do you need assistance? Elzar said, turning his head around to face me and looking at me with one beady emerald eye.
"I will be fine!" I said out loud for all to hear. I steadily rolled onto my feet, carefully maintaining my balance and rose up. My legs were a bit shaky as I tottered over to Elzar's side and he crouched down until he had his belly pressed flat against the earth to aid my ascent onto his back. As soon as I reached him I gripped the girth of his saddle for support then placed one foot on his foreleg and heaved myself up into the saddle. I only just made it and when I looked back with an expression of achievement on my face Eragon was eyeing me cautiously as if he expected me to faint at any minute.
"We will fly onwards for fifteen more minutes then we will stop at our destination and you can have something to eat to build your strength up." I nodded, liking the sound of it as I just realised at the mention of food I was ravenously hungry. I pushed the craving from my mind and weakly pulled the straps tight over my thinning legs.
"Saphira will call to you when it is time to land" Eragon said then he went over to mount her behind Angela. It only took two flaps of Elzar's powerful wings to propel us back into the sky and then we were flying again and I watched blissfully as the wind caught in the great jade sails of Elzar's wings and held us in the air. The wind played in my hair, making it even more of a tangled mess as I inhaled a long deep breath of the cool dry air which hung over the forest as we swept along over it. It seemed like barely any time at all before we had to land again. It was in a vast open patch in between the trees which skirted the edge of the forest, a large stream wound its way in between the trees and I guessed this was where we would wait for the army to arrive for the rest of the day. I could certainly think of better things to do with my time but I was too tired to complain. I practically fell from Elzar's back, my legs buckling as soon as they touched the ground and I lay there for a couple of seconds just happy to rest until Angela came and pulled me to my feet.
"What you need is a good hot bowl of soup to get your energy levels up" She said and dragged me over to a nearby fallen tree and I perched myself on the trunk. "Saphira, be a dear and light us a fire will you?" Angela asked sweetly smiling over at the large dragon. She growled with distaste at being used for a beast of burden but granted Angela's wishes none the less but not quite the way she had anticipated. She reached out with one powerful forelimb and grasped the trunk of a three year old sapling before wrenching it clean out of the earth, roots and all then lay it down in front of us and set it alight with one huge breath of flickering blue flame that reached searing temperatures.
"I suppose that's one way of doing it…" Angela squeaked at the roaring fire before us as Saphira stalked away to go hunting. I watched Elzar as he loped to her side and they held their own conversation before flexing their mighty wings in preparation for flight.
I am going to hunt with Saphira. I haven't eaten in days. Elzar asserted for my own knowledge. We will be back before the Varden arrive. Be careful.
I mumbled at his protectiveness but was too weak to protest and I wearily let my eyelids droop as they both disappeared back into the sky feeling the pleasant heat of the large fire on my face. I sat there with my eyes closed but my other senses were alert. I heard Eragon rise from where he sat on the ground and walk off into the trees to look for more firewood as Angela retrieved her cooking implements from Saphira's large saddlebags that Eragon had removed from her back as they landed. I sighed and pulled my legs up onto the fallen log in a cross legged position and let my mind drift out around me, tenderly visiting the consciousnesses of all the living beings that were abundant around me as Eragon had taught me several weeks ago. It was something I could keep at for hours and never get bored, the details and complexity of such minute animals was astounding. Field mice slept soundly in their burrow no more than a few feet away from me underneath the dirt and a robin sung its heat out on a branch in the tree whose low boughs swept right over my head and protected me from the prevailing sunlight of midday. Suddenly I heard a shift in the leaves and an obscure breeze alighted my surroundings. I only had time to brace myself before he hit me, sending us both toppling over the log backwards.
"BECKER YOU REALLY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR BRAKES!" I screamed as he lay on top of me. I opened my eyes to see his face a couple of inches from mine.
"Sorry!" He apologized with an abashed look upon his features. "Its just I hadn't seen you since you had woken up and…" He was smiling at me.
"I am delighted at your pleasure to see me but…!" and I gestured awkwardly at the fact that he was lying on me.
"Oh yea sorry… Seem to be doing that a lot!" He said with an embarrassed look and he rose from on top of me and helped me up.
"Don't make a habit of it!" I grumbled "I am still recovering! I have to be treated with care and delicacy!" I exclaimed
"Sorry!" He apologized yet again and he helped me to hobble weakly back over to my seat on the log. Thankfully Angela hadn't noticed as she was tending to the soup on the fire and I gave a puzzled look at the tent which had suddenly been erected while I wasn't looking in practically no time at all. As I watched her Becker sat down next to me.
"Sorry" He said, running his fingers through his hair and staring ahead.
I sighed "You know what Becker? If you really want to make it up to me stop saying sorry!"
"Fine" I could sense him smiling.
"Where are the others? Ah. No actually let's guess you left them behind?"
"Yep"
"I'm glad you place me so high in your priorities!" I smiled up at him but the look he returned to me was serious.
"Well I hadn't spoken to you since… and… we were all so worried… I wanted to see if you were ok"
I smiled shyly at him and dropped my gaze back to Angela who was now ladling the soup into bowls.
"I thought you were going to die, we all did, you were so pale and your pulse was so weak when we bought your back, when he bought you back" I noticed the way that he didn't say Murtagh's name. "We didn't know you were strong enough to pull through. You should have seen Elzar. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep and he never strayed from your side"
My stomach twisted, I hadn't realised just how serious it had been, what Galbatorix had done to me and how worried everyone was. The memory of that single droplet of black poison that hung from his nail, quivering, quivering as it was about to drop… The very memory made me go weak at the knees and I shook, I had been so deluded with pain then that I didn't feel fear but I could now and an exceedingly delayed shock of it ran through my body and I felt tears spring to my eyes.
"Hey…" Becker said "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said…" He trailed off as he pulled me into a strong hug and I let my scared tears seep into his shirt.
"What's happening now?!" Angela demanded as she strolled up with steaming bowls in her hands. "Leave her alone! That's the least the girl needs, getting worried and upset! She needs to recover" At her stern words Becker pulled away and she shoved one of the bowls into my hands along with a hunk of fresh bread. The earthenware was warm and I let the pleasant heat of it seep all the way up my arms and relax my aching muscles and I let the tantalising smell drift up my nostrils. As soon as the first drop touched my lips I devoured it until I was so full there was a danger of me being sick. I placed the bowl back down on the ground then desperately tried to keep myself awake but it didn't really work.
"You should go to bed" Becker said to me shaking my shoulder as my eyes drooped for the ninth time.
"It's the middle of the day!" I protested
"Yes but you are weak and you need to get your strength back as soon as possible" He said. I mumbled something unintelligible as he picked me up and carried me over to the tent. I was too weak to fight him and he placed me down on the makeshift bed. I barely felt my head hit the pillow.
***
When I woke inside the tent it was darker and outside was a hive of activity. Swords clashed, voices shouted and torchlight flickered through the thin material which made up the tent walls. I felt considerably better and I guessed the energy from the food had gotten into my system. I slowly sat up, waiting for the unpleasant light-headedness to overcome me but it didn't. I hesitantly rose from the bed and got to my feet feeling completely fine. I noticed a large bowl of water that sat on a trestle table by my bed, obviously for my use. I dipped my fingers into the clear water, wondering how long it had been there and I was pleased to find that it was still luke-warm. There was also a comb beside it and what looked like a bar of soap with a pile of fresh clothes on the floor. I reached up and ran my finger through my tangled dirty hair and groaned. It was obvious it hadn't been washed since before my escapade to the castle. I grabbed the comb and quite literally yanked it through the knotted mess gritting my teeth as I did so then I dunked my head into the bowl making a lot of the water slop onto the ground. I washed my hair as thoroughly as I could without shampoo or conditioner then gasped as I remerged, my sodden hair was leaking water onto my clothes so I pulled of my dirty shirt and wrapped it around my head to absorb some of the moisture. I cleaned the rest of my body before pulling on the clothes that lay on the ground, enjoying the fresh softness of the material. There were tight black breeches similar to my other pair but the top was finer in quality then my last one. It was like a white blouse stitched into a tight fitting embroidered navy bodice. I didn't like it too much, it showed off my cleavage too much but I preferred it over wearing my old ragged one and all the women wore things like it anyway so it wasn't as if I would stand out. I pulled on a pair of soft sock before fitting my boots back on over the top. I partially dried my hair with the shirt until it was no longer wet, just damp before straightening up to leave. A smile danced on my lips and I set out to use some of my re-acquired energy, pulling my long blue cloak from my pack by the entrance to the tent as I went. I pushed aside the tent flap and nearly tripped over Elzar's tail as it coiled around the tent. I smirked as I saw him wrapped around the tent, his snout touching the tip of his tail where they met a meter or two to my left. Not wanting to wake him, I stepped over his thick muscular tail that lay at my feet and looked up to survey my surroundings. I guessed it was around seven, the Varden had arrived and the sun was just about to sink below the horizon. People were bustling all around busy erecting tents, the women were cooking over campfires and the men sparring or sharpening their weapons. Horses were picketed about the place, grazing on the grass which had not yet been trampled by the hundreds of pairs of feet. We were at the edge of the campsite with the camp boundary only a couple of meters to my left which I swiftly headed towards, not wasting any time for Angela to return from wherever she was and commanding me to go back to bed and get more rest. I fastened the broach of my cloak around my neck then set off at a quick walk into the trees trying not to attract any unwanted attention. As soon as I passed underneath their twisted canopy I broke into a run, smiling at the elven strength and speed which thrummed in my body. I sprinted away through the oaks and maples, dodging obscure tree roots and branches. I ran faster and faster, easily dodging the trees that flashed past in my peripheral vision. I jumped over, rocks, boulders, drifts of undisturbed fallen leaves, logs and streams, no obstacle phasing my constant sprint. I only stopped when I felt the mental link between ne and Elzar becoming strained by distance and I decided to stop before it woke him and he came to find me. I gazed around through the darkening trees where I had come to a stop, panting slightly at the exertion of running several miles. The forest floor was littered with drifts of golden leaves and the space in between the large oaks was far apart but the canopy was dense, letting in little light from above but golden light shone from the side through the gnarled trunks where the trees cleared several hundred meters in front of me. A slight breeze swept though the wood making my now dry erratically curled hair flick and dance around my shoulders and the leaves tumble and fly above the ground and around me. I let out a faint laugh, smiling at the leaves which danced and fluttered in abundance. Then the breeze was gone and all was still and the forest fell into silence. I was about to start walking again when a faint crack resounded through the trees; the sound of a twig snapping. It had been so faint but definitely there, any pair of normal ears wouldn't have been able to detect the faint noise. I span round in the direction I thought I had heard it, my lightning instincts kicking in and I reached out with my mind, feeling for any intruders hiding out of sight, ready to pull back at the faintest touch but I was only met with insects, two sleeping songbirds, an owl just stirring from its roost and a lone squirrel. I remained motionless for several seconds, ears listening for any slight disturbance but there was none. I dismissed it; it had probably been the squirrel. I turned, taking one last inquisitive gaze backwards as I headed towards where the trees cleared. As the trees became sparser the ground underneath became more and more rocky until there was nothing but the expanse of rock which jutted out until it came to an abrupt end. My boots padded along the hard granite as I paced over to the edge. Once I was no more than two meters away I hesitantly inched forward until I was close enough to peer over the edge. The rock dropped at least fifty meters to the forest so far down below which stretched all the way out to the horizon where the golden trees met the sun and caught alight until they were aflame, burning at the horizon in the deepest reds, oranges and gold's. It was beautiful. My breath seemed to stick in my throat as I watched the sun sink its stunning radiance illuminating my surroundings. A slights wind swept across the landscape, causing my hair to whip out behind me, it made me feel alive, invigorated. I breathed deeply when all of a sudden a strong gust of wind came from the other direction and my footing shifted on the cliff edge.
"Be careful!" His voice was marred by concern and fear and I watched unsettlingly as the small pebbles which had shifted underneath my weight rolled off of the edge of the precipice and vanished as they fell down and down. Murtagh's sudden words made me jump and I slipped, my feet fell away from underneath me and suddenly I was gripping at sheer rock, desperately searching for any handhold that would stop me from falling to my death. I fell for a meter over the edge before my hands came into contact with a thick plant root that jutted out of a crack in the rock. My fingers clenched tight to the sinewy wood and my whole body jarred as its rapid descent was suddenly brought to a halt. A scream of terror tore from my lips and through my mental link I felt Elzar jerk awake.
What's happening?! He demanded. Evie?! Where are you!?! For a split second I saw the world through his eyes as he launched himself into the sky to come and rescue me but I knew it would never be quick enough. I screamed again as I heard the root groan and all of a sudden it became looser. Then he was there. I looked up and saw his face just over a meter above mine as he lay at the top, one arm desperately fumbling towards me. I looked into his eyes, they were dark and consumed by a bitter determination and terror on my behalf.
"Grab my hand!" He yelled, his hand urgently stretching towards me. I looked at it fumbling in my direction, I wanted to take it but something held me back and I gripped onto the root tighter.
"Take it!" Murtagh shouted. I looked up into his eyes again then saw the pain there when he realised that I didn't trust him.
"I'm trying to help you!" All of a sudden the root snapped and only my elven reflexes saved me. My hand snapped up into his a fraction of a second before it was too late. I felt his strong grip tighten around my wrist and he pulled me up as the warped piece of tree root tumbled into oblivion. His strong muscles flexed as he heaved me up with no effort whatsoever but as soon as I was clear of the cliff edge I wrenched my hand from his grip and backed away across the rock, never turning my back to him and often stumbling on loose bits of stone.
"Wait!" Murtagh called, rolling swiftly to his feet and coming after me. "Please. Let me talk!"
"Why!?" I cried, backing away faster a terrified look dominating my expressions.
"Why? I just saved you life!" He exclaimed as he perused me.
"No you didn't you just nearly killed me!" I shrieked, fumbling my way backwards over chunks of granite that rolled about my feet.
"What?!" He shouted frowning.
"If you hadn't scared me by telling me to be careful I would have never fallen off in the first place!"
"Well that's just nonsense!"
"No its not it's…" I paused "Why are you even here?!" I demanded.
"I-I followed you" He admitted.
"You followed me!" I screamed. Murtagh winced at my loud high pitched voice but didn't answer. "Oh my god that's just great!" I screeched sarcastically. "I have my own personal stalker!"
"I'm not your stalker!" Murtagh protested.
"That's not what it looks like!" I cried.
"Oh for goodness sake I just had to know if you were alright!" He yelled. As he said this my back thumped into a tree trunk at the edge of the rock plateau and I was forced to a stop.
"Please just listen to me" He said approaching until he was no more than a meter away. I felt awkward with the close proximity.
"I really have to go…" I stammered, turning to make my way back to the Varden.
"Evie…" I came to a sudden halt as his arm appeared in front of me, pressed up against the tree trunk blocking my route. Suddenly there was a thunderous roar which nearly deafened the both of us followed by a bone shuddering thump as Elzar slammed down onto the rock beside us.
GET AWAY FROM HER! He roared. The mental shout was so loud it hurt and the birds roosting in the nearby trees scattered in fright. I looked over at him, there was no fire being breathed from his snarling mouth but there was a ferocious amount of it burning in his eyes. Murtagh backed away from me in shock and I took the opportunity to flee to Elzar's side and he protectively hid me beneath the sails of his right wing.
HOW DARE YOU…! Elzar snarled. I pressed my hand to his side and felt that every inch of him was tense, as if he was ready to pounce on Murtagh.
"Please I only want to talk to her! Eka weohnata neiat haina alfrinn!" His sudden promise in the ancient language took Elzar by surprise and I felt him stiffen. He had sworn not to harm me.
"Please!" He repeated.
Where is Thorn? Elzar asked suspiciously.
"Waiting for me to return in the forest about a mile due west of here"
How do I know you are not lying?! Elzar growled.
"Eka ilerneo du ilumeo!" Murtagh swore in the ancient language again. He swore he spoke the truth. Elzar tensed again beside me, I could feel his mixed emotions swimming through me, he didn't trust Murtagh but he also wanted to believe him. I was prevented from seeing the expressions on Murtagh's face by Elzar's wing which shielded me from him.
Do you want to speak with him? He asked me. I paused for a couple of seconds, waiting before I gave him the answer.
Admittedly, there are a few things I would like to know… I said, replying to him with use of my mind.
Speak then, I believe you are safe. He replied and he furled his wing from in front of me. I stayed where I was and shyly looked back over at Murtagh.
Come on! Elzar urged. We need to be back at the Varden before dark! And with his snout he nudged me forwards but a bit too forcefully, I stumbled and almost went tumbling into Murtagh but I managed to collect myself just in time.
"Are you…" He trailed off as I looked up at him. He was smiling. "Doesn't matter…" He said looking away.
"Why did you want to talk?" I asked.
"Oh umm… I just…" He began but Elzar cut in.
I will be back in half an hour. Evie be ready to leave. He said and he began to flap his wings. I hastily backed out of the way of his powerful wing beats which buffeted air all around us at an immense force. I winced as my eyes open against the wind and peered at him as he disappeared into the sky. I glanced over at Murtagh. I felt exceptionally awkward and vulnerable now I was alone with him. I turned and began to slowly pace away in between the trees and Murtagh followed.
"So…" I began "Your oaths have broken?!"
Murtagh nodded. "I am a free man now"
"I have been told the story of what happened by others as I do not remember most of it but no one knows, how did you true name change?!" At that he stopped and I stopped too. He shrugged simply. I knew he was hiding something and he stalked past me.
"You don't give up much information about yourself do you?" I said walking after him. "You're very mysterious" As I said that he scoffed.
"Me mysterious, compared to you I am the most well known celebrity of Alagaesia!"
"Uh…!" I stuttered and he turned to me again.
"At least I come from this world!"
"If what Galbatorix said about me is true then I do come from this world" I said solemnly as he reminded me of my heritage.
"I'm sorry" Murtagh apologized knowing he had touched a wound. "That's not what I meant"
"I know" I said dismissing it. "You meant where I grew up. Yea what do you know of that world?"
"Only what I have seen of it" He replied as we walked aimlessly through the forest, wading through drifts of fallen leaves.
"What happened before then? How did you come to know of me?" I asked him.
"One day Galbatorix called on me and Thorn. We thought he was going to command us to raise another innocent village to the ground but when we came to his presence he handed me a picture of you" At that I stopped and I looked up at him in shock.
"H-How did he know what I looked like?" I stammered.
"I don't know" Murtagh shrugged "A dark magic of some sort. I know that he is accustomed to using it" He turned a bit red in the cheeks and hesitated before reaching underneath the brace on his forearm and extracting a worn piece of parchment which looked like it had been folded and unfolded several hundred times. I took it from his hand as he held it out to me and opened it. It was a picture of me. An accurate line drawing of my face and neck before my transformation, similar to my wanted poster that I guessed was pinned on every notice board throughout the empire. The pencil was smudged and faded ad the drawing was obscured by the large crease that ran through the centre of it.
"Did Galbatorix draw this?" I asked.
"I presume so. It is what he gave me along with instructions to fly north into the deepest untamed section of Du Weldenvarden until I found the weak spot where I could open a portal to your world. He made me memorize a very long and complex sentence in the ancient language that I can now not recall to open the portal and he promised that when I stepped through you would be there and all I had to do was bring you back safely. Which I almost failed in doing thanks to your friend"
"You mean Becker" I smiled. "Yea he can tend to be a bit… inconvenient! He's a good friend though…" At that Murtagh fell silent again and I guessed it wasn't the best subject for him. "From what you saw of my world what do you think of it?" I asked him
"To be honest as soon as I stepped there I thought it looked like hell."
"I did hate it. There was no sense of mystery and magic, like it had all been stamped out of the world in fear and all there was, was people sitting, staring mindlessly deemed to follow one endless path for the rest of their lives with no escape, no freedom, always bound by society. Never to be free. You couldn't escape because there was nowhere to escape to, all the wild places had been crushed and killed in our hostile attempt to enslave them, to make them function for our own purposes." I spat out all the pent up anger that had been lying in me for so long wanting to be released. Murtagh stared at me wide eyed.
"It doesn't matter" I smiled shaking my head. "All I know is that I never want to go back there. Never."
"Didn't you have friends there? Family?"
"All of my good friends are here in Alagaesia with me and as for family… Everyone leaves home at some point just not often quite the way I did. I won't tell you about them because their names will mean nothing to you but I grew up on a farm. I suppose it's not all that different from growing up on one here"
"My parents…" Murtagh began guessing it was his turn. He hesitated. "Its all a bit complicated and rather a long tale…"
"It's alright. You don't have to explain" I said, of course, I already knew his past.
"Let's guess, Eragon told you?!"
"Yea something like that" I replied not wanting to explain the whole 'book' thing.
"So you know that me and him are brothers?!"
"Yea" Although I knew more than that. I knew they were half brothers rather than full as Eragon had found out several months ago on his trip to Elesmera. Brom was Eragon's real father not Morzan. Now Murtagh no longer served Galbatorix I didn't know whether to tell him the truth or not but then I thought again. It wasn't exactly my information to tell. I looked down at the picture of me again that was in my hands.
"If you don't need this anymore then why didn't you get rid of it?!" I asked him. At that he turned red and with a shock I realised why.
"I don't really know" He lied "I guess I forgot" and he snatched it back from me and screwed it up in his fist. I realised we had both fallen silent and I felt awkward so I stirred the conversation up again. We talked for a while, time passing quicker than we realised as we walked through the forest. My half an hour was almost up by the time we paced back up onto the rock plateau having walked full circle for about a mile.
"When Galbatorix sent you to kidnap me did he tell you why or not? Or did you find out pretty much when I did?"
"I found out when you did. I was wondering what he wanted with a sixteen year-old girl"
"Why did he wait though? Until I was sixteen, or why not just let me grow up in Alagaesia full-stop?!"
"I don't know" Murtagh replied and he looked down at me. I mean really looked at me as if he was trying to figure something out.
"Maybe he was lying…" I muttered and turned away as I began to feel self conscious. I said that to reassure myself more than anyone else though but the facts were staring me in the face and deep down I knew he hadn't been. My head span with questions all of them though only Galbatorix himself could answer. I looked over at Murtagh again and saw he was staring at me but as soon as I made eye contact he looked away as if he was someone with a guilty conscience. I shook my head and walked towards the cliff again trying to keep back the thought that he was keeping something from me this time though keeping several feet back from where the rock suddenly dropped hundreds of meters to the forest below. The sun had now sunk from sight and in the dying light some faint twinkling stars were visible and the moon was a perfect half floating dreamily in the deep violet sky.
"Are you going to fight in the battle?" He asked me as he gazed upwards with me.
"Of course I am and don't think you of all people can change my mind. It is my duty and maybe we can rid this land of the famine that is Galbatorix once and for all." I looked over at him and read his expression. "You don't want me to fight do you?"
"No" He admitted "I worry about you too much but I know you have a stubborn mind and I could never change your intentions if I tried" His words made my stomach flip. In the far distance I heard the sound of approaching wing beats and I sensed Elzar as he returned for me. Murtagh heard him too.
"Need to go" I smiled at him and he gave a faint one in return. He looked as if he was stuck in the middle of a dilemma. He clenched his fists at his sides and screwed his face up in concentration.
"Evie I…" He suddenly began and he took a step towards me, eyes gazing at me longingly but then he seemed stuck for words, as if he couldn't find the right ones.
"I…" He began again. He seemed uncomfortable with me looking at him. "Doesn't matter" He said and then he was gone as quickly as he had come. I stood there bewildered as Elzar swept over the brow of the trees and landed gracefully beside be, folding his wings.
So… Did you get the information you wanted? He asked.
"Yea…" I replied in a whisper. "Apart from one"
What's that?
"Why is he keeping back information about my birth?"
Once again I am soooooo sorry it has taken so long to get this chapter up, and if there are any mistakes please tell me as I will change them. Also please review because I now have to write the next chapter and I'm not sure I can if I don't have your support!