Chapter 55 – Golden Lily
Eragon walked in her room the next morning to see it almost as he remembered from his first visit to Ellesméra, so many years before.
"Arya?" He called knocking on the open door.
He saw that she was outside on the balcony, which left him space to explore the things he didn't know yet, things that were new to him.
The portraits she had of Evandar and Fäolin were still there. But alone on her desk, beside a vase with blue flowers, there was his image. A fairth showing his face, a younger face. He came closer to see it and something in there made it different from the other pictures.
"You're alive." Her voice made him start and turn to her. She said as she was listening to his thoughts. "They are not."
"So you made me young and shiny just because I'm alive?"
She laughed for the first time in a while, and it wasn't a nervous sound, but a clear, musical stream of the most beautiful laughter.
"The glow is how I remember you from that day. What can I say? Even Fírnen enjoys teasing me about it."
She came close to where he stood and opened the desk drawer. From there she retrieved another fairth. It was the one he made for her when the news of his departure from Alagaësia was revealed to her.
"You kept it," he said low taking it in his hands when she handed it to him.
"Of course. It was when I realized you really knew me."
His eyes traced the lines he had imprinted on the stone more than two decades before. Arya had put protective spells on it, so it would look new as in the day it was made.
"Why do you keep it in the drawer?"
She smiled with a certain embarrassment.
"I wouldn't have a picture of myself on display, would I?"
"Why not? I can't think of a more beautiful image to put on display."
Her humility was fun to him, but he let her be, tucking her hair behind her pointy ear. Arya lowered her head, making his hand drop.
"How are they?"
"Safe on the crags. Saphira and Fírnen are being good teachers as they always are."
"I'm pleased to hear it."
He smiled softly at her, who stared at his eyes lost in thought.
"What's next?" He asked.
Arya took a deep breath getting out of her haze.
"Rebuild. Gather a new council. Punish the rebels. Hunt the escapees. It's not over yet."
"A lot of work ahead then."
She nodded still staring at him. Her eyes shimmered beautifully.
"How about you?"
Eragon let out a sigh.
"Ceunon. That's the only place I should be now."
"Will you stay for a little longer?"
"Just for today."
She smiled and caressed his arm.
"We have today then." Arya grabbed the fairth from his hand and put it back in the drawer. "There is something else I would like to show you."
Eragon followed her to the balcony. There, she knelt before a little flowerbed that worked as a personal garden. In the middle of it, lay a golden lily.
"You got it!" He exclaimed and knelt by her side.
"There were dozens of them on my last visit. Well, my only visit, many years ago, I can only imagine how it looks like now. It was when I was coming back from Teirm once. A weird fellow told me about some miners who found golden flowers in the south, so I had to go and see if they had destroyed it all."
"Had they?"
She shook her head, appearing very pleased with herself.
"I told you it would be more difficult than it seemed to remove it from the ground."
"How did you do it?"
"I spoke to it. The lily recognized me, it is the original one, you see. It knew I wanted to preserve it away from those who wished to do it harm."
"It makes sense she wanted to come with you, it was made for you after all."
She smiled again. It was strange to speak of a flower as it had feelings and a mind of its own, but it did make sense. It was alive.
"Arya," he started still looking at the golden petals. "Where do we stand? After all that happened yesterday, what are we to each other?"
Her smile died on her lips and she too stared at the flower.
"I think we should leave things as they are for now."
"Arya…"
"Eragon." They looked into each other's eyes. "You can't deny that we hurt one another, unwillingly, but we did. So, I believe that a time to think about what we really want will be the best for both of us. We need time to heal."
"I know what I want, it hasn't changed. In fact, it has. I want you even more than before."
"Still, you left me."
"To protect you!"
Arya grabbed the bridge of her nose and inhaled deeply with her eyes closed.
"I need time, Eragon. Try to understand."
He didn't understand, it was true, but he would try. For her. He had to, it was their only chance to ever be together again, to give her the space she needed, the chance to forgive him. So, he got to his feet and walked to the balcony door.
"I will travel to Ceunon tomorrow morning. I don't know how long I will be in Alagaësia, but I hope you will have it all figured out by then."
Without turning back to see him, she said, "So do I."
Eragon was already half-way to the crags when he remembered the reason that brought him to the Tialdarí Hall.
"Damn it!"
He stopped walking and put his hands on his hips, looking at the sky, cursing himself for being so forgetful. I should go back, I promised Glaedr I would talk to Arya.
Making his way back, he thought of what could Glaedr want from them that he needed both Eragon and Arya, along with Saphira and Fírnen there in the crags. He wondered if there was a new type of magic he wished to teach them or a secret place with a powerful weapon they could use to defeat Bachel.
His thoughts made the way back much slower because he got lost two or three times, so distracted he was. By the time he got there, Arya wasn't in her room anymore, so he looked for her in her study. No signs of her or her queen's guard.
Considering that she would be probably resuming her work as regent, he went to the throne room, where she would be in audience with her subjects. He expected a line of commoners outside the chamber, entering for their turn to speak to the queen, but the doors closed and the people outside waited impatiently.
"That's odd."
Eragon passed by the windows to see it covered with heavy curtains, not sign of Arya anywhere.
"Excuse me!" He exclaimed to an elven guard that passed through the patio.
The elf bent his head to the sight of Eragon and stood in front of him, pressing his fingers on his lips.
"Do you know where I can find the queen?"
The elf's eyes flickered to the closed doors of the throne room and his brows creased.
"It's time for her audience with her subjects. I believe she is late."
An elf being late? It shouldn't be a problem, that was why nobody was looking for her, but Eragon had just seen her, so her disappearance didn't make a lot of sense.
An idea occurred to him.
"Would you point me in the direction of Niduen's chambers, please?"
With another nod, the elf led the way. Eragon followed with a strange sensation in his stomach.
Niduen's chambers were at the end of a long hallway, almost disconnected from the rest of the building. The strange sensation only grew, and it was validated as an omen for tragedy as he saw the queen's guard fallen to the ground by the door. Eragon was about to run inside when he heard the rushed rustling of wings coming in their direction. He looked up and saw Fírnen flying at full speed. Then his wings faltered and his eyes seemed empty. The descent to the patio was chaotic and dangerous.
"Fírnen!" Eragon called and rushed to meet him after the big thud that was his fall. "Fírnen, are you hurt?"
Eragon searched for injuries, but Fírnen was curled up in a ball, with glazed eyes.
"Talk to me, Fírnen, what happened?"
Still no reaction, so Eragon turned to the guard and asked him to go fetch Arya, probably in Niduen's chambers. With a second thought, he considered it was irresponsible for him to send the guard alone inside the room where many had died. When he turned to call him back, the elf had already vanished inside.
Alone with the dragon, Eragon tried to access his consciousness. He opened his mind and reached out to Fírnen's. It wasn't hard to enter, but seeing what he saw was.
"No…" he murmured.
Eragon turned on his heels and ran toward Niduen's chambers as fast as he could, the image of Arya still vivid in his mind.
The door was half-open, but what made him halt was the dead body of the guard lying on the floor.
"Barzûl," he cursed under his breath and entered the room kicking the door open.
What he saw made his stomach churn and his palms sweat. Arya was on her knees in front of Niduen, her face pale as a foggy sky. Around her neck was a ring made of energy, bright and alive.
"Niduen!" He called.
The elf turned her head to him just enough for him to see the wicked smile she bore. Eragon knew then that the smile wasn't hers. The hands manipulating the ring weren't hers.
"Bachel," he whispered.
Her smile grew larger and with a whimper, Arya accused that Bachel had closed the ring even harder around her neck.
In a surge of anger, Eragon unsheathed Moonlight and struck Niduen's head, trying to make Bachel stop the attack. With the same force he applied to the attack, his sword was repelled, making him stumble back. The energy ran throughout his body and he figured that the rebound of their attacks was what killed the guards. He felt almost lifeless lying on the ground. Thanks to his wards, he was still alive.
The memories of him and Arya fighting a shade so many years before returned to him in a second, and remembering how much effort he had put to save her, he drew energy from Aren and stood up.
With repeated blows to Niduen's body and head, he hoped to exhaust her wards just like she was exhausting his.
Moonlight was a mighty sword but in no way capable of piercing through all the layers of wards put around Niduen. Arya was closing her eyes, completely out of breath, but in the last effort to communicate, her right hand pointed at Támerlein, tossed to the ground a few feet away.
Eragon rushed to pick up the sword and prepared to attack. He gathered all the force he had and sprinted toward Niduen. The blow he directed to Niduen's back made her energy levels decrease and the ring shine less. He continued the onslaught with repeated strikes, and each time the elf lost little more energy instead of draining his own until the ring around Arya's neck was weak enough for Arya to just drop on the ground, barely conscious.
When Niduen was almost letting go of her attack on Arya, her eyes snapped back at her normal dark green, and she retreated in time for Támerlein to miss her.
Niduen stumbled back and fell on the ground, panting, saying unintelligible things to herself.
"Arya!" Eragon screamed and went to grab her from the floor.
He held her in his arms and shook her a little, trying to make her come back.
Seeing that she was still alive but very weak, he did what he had done in Carvahall when he thought he was going to lose her. With his hand on her chest, he flowed energy to her body. As he felt it flowing, her cheeks regained color, and soon her eyes opened and focused on his face.
It was just for a second because the noise of the windows exploding made them flinch.
Recovered from the paralyzing spell that Bachel had put in him, Fírnen made his way through the windows and the wall facing the patio. He crouched into the chamber with his teeth showing, the smell of smoke burning Eragon's nostrils.
Fírnen glanced at Arya, but his focus was on Niduen, who intensified her nonsensical whispering.
"Fírnen, don't…"
"No," Arya grabbed Eragon's arm that was still around her waist. "Let him."
"We could help her, Arya."
Arya shook her head, tears fell down her eyes.
"Niduen is long gone. This person," she pointed at an incoherent Niduen, "is not my aunt. She is beyond help."
Arya was allowing Fírnen to end Niduen's life. And that was exactly what he did. With one bite he threw her head to the side. With another one, he tore her body into pieces, shaking his head from side to side, splattering blood all around.
The dragon could barely fit into the room, and every time he moved, pieces of the ceiling would fall. So he checked on Arya once more and left.
Eragon helped Arya stand up but never let go of her.
"Are you all right?"
She massaged her neck and nodded.
"It makes you remember things, don't you?"
"Aye." He then smiled and added, "Shadeslayer."
She smiled back at him for an instant then ridded herself from his grip. Arya walked to the corner where Niduen's head lay.
"She's got to me so easily."
Eragon understood what Arya was saying. It was daunting to face an enemy so unpredictable as Bachel. It was terrifying even. She used whatever and whoever to hurt and kill.
"That's why we cannot fight alone." He came close to her. "Come with me to Ceunon. Together we can fight her, as we did already, and defeat her for good."
"I just regained my throne and you expect me to leave?"
"Your people will understand. Soon, they will also have to fight to protect the forest if we don't stop it now."
Arya shook her head.
"That's only one more reason for me to stay. If Bachel is attempting against my life, it only means she wishes to conquer my realm. I must stay to protect it."
Eragon could see reason in her words. Arya would fulfill the oath by protecting the elves from the invasion of the magicians. It made sense, although it brought him pain to say goodbye.
He nodded and turned away from the horrific scene that was Niduen's severed head.
"Why did you come back?" Arya asked.
He furrowed his brow.
"What?"
"Here. Why did you come back to the palace?"
"Oh, I was already forgetting to tell you a second time." He turned to look at her, who walked to the door where the fallen guards were. Gladly, some of them were still alive and ready to stand up. "Glaedr wishes to see us at sunset."
"Why?"
Eragon shrugged.
"It seemed serious. I guess it has something to do with the favor he asked of me when we arrived here."
"What favor?"
"He didn't say."
Arya nodded didn't say anything. She bent on her knees to touch one of the guards on the face. He looked fair and young, but all the elves looked like that, so Eragon didn't know how young he was in fact. He decided to leave her deal with the aftermath of the confrontation. With a last look, he made sure she was fine and left.
Xxx
"You what?" Eragon exclaimed.
"Master, you can't be thinking straight!" Arya sounded horrified.
I am, Dröttning. I have no interest in prolonging a well-lived life that became painful any further.
"You are asking us to break your Eldunarí? This is completely against our oath," Arya argued.
Glaedr silenced for a few seconds, while Eragon and Arya looked almost disgusted by the idea of ending Glaedr's non-corporeal life.
Arya stood with her arms crossed as Eragon paced around. Saphira and Fírnen sat by the edge where the Eldunarí was placed on a patch of grass. They were on a cliff, watching the waterfall.
I understand the seriousness of your oath, that you swore to protect the elder dragons. I understand that killing one is against everything you believe in, but I ask you to reconsider.
"Can we physically do that? I mean," Eragon stopped his pacing and faced Glaedr. "What will happen to us if we do it? Will we receive the penalty for breaking the Oath?"
Glaedr silenced. A silence that could only mean he didn't know the answer to that question.
We will do it. Saphira said solemnly. Fírnen and I, we will do it, master.
Eragon could almost feel Glaedr's relief, but Arya was furious, and so was he.
"You can't!" He marched toward Saphira and Fírnen. "Saphira, you can't do this. It's Glaedr!"
It's not up to us to decide the course of his life, little one.
"It's not up to us to end it either!"
We will do it, Eragon. It is decided, Fírnen said, then added, But not now. We still need you, master.
I knew you would ask me to fight another war, and although I can refuse, I know I would be ungrateful if I did. When it's all over, then?
When the dark magicians are defeated, we will come back here and give you a proper goodbye. It's a promise.
Thank you, Saphira and Fírnen.
Eragon felt like the world had opened under his feet. He closed his hands into fists and clenched his jaw. He was breathing heavily, looking away to the water that fell from the cliff when he felt a hand envelop his and pull him. Eragon let himself be led to the woods, as Arya guided their way back to Oromis' old hut.
There, she made him sit down on the kitchen chair and took the seat in front of him.
"It was bound to happen, don't you think?"
He raised his eyes to look at hers. Then he saw the image of her become blurry and unfocused. It was the tears clouding his vision. Cleaning his eyes with the back of his hand, he sat up straight.
"We need to put more wards on ourselves and our swords, especially Moonlight."
Arya squinted her eyes a little bit but didn't reply.
He stayed there, with his heart pounding in his chest, his mind racing with wild and twisted thoughts, waiting for her to say something.
"Arya!" He called. "I need your help to put wordless wards on ourselves and the swords. I know that magic can't hold well on the blade after it was forged, but it might give us a little security."
"Eragon…"
"No!" He slammed his hand on the table and got up. "You don't understand! We almost died today, Arya. Just because we think we can handle ourselves against wordless magic, but in the end, Bachel has a lifetime of experience on something we are only beginning to understand. We got lucky today! You got lucky!"
The frown on her face vanished as Arya relaxed. She pointed at the chair where he was sitting before and said with tenderness. "All right, we will work on better wards. We will do it now."
Her image was blurred again, so he remembered to clean his eyes.
"All right." He said and unsheathed Moonlight to place it on the table, then he sat back down.
Arya took the blade and closed her eyes. A soft green light started to wrap the sword, and when she opened her eyes again, the light seemed to have entered alloy to be part of it.
She placed it on the table and unsheathed Támerlein, offering it to him.
"Your turn."
He took the blade that had saved them not once, but twice in the last couple of days, and closed his eyes, mimicking her actions. He thought of all the dangers he wished the sword to protect Arya from. He pictured Bachel and the Ra'zac. Däthedr. The magicians and their foul magic. He put rage in the spell, but also love. For the love he had for her, that sword would cut through metal, bones, magical shields, malicious intentions. Anything that would keep her to take her next breath.
When he opened his eyes, the blue magic that surrounded the blade impregnated the alloy. Although he knew it was flawed, it was the best spell he had could ever cast.
They exchanged swords. Then she said goodbye and left.
They almost died that day. They got lucky.
A/N: Hello, hello!
I know I'm terribly behind the schedule, and I'm sorry. Really. I had a lot of work to do, I just couldn't find the time to finish this. But now, I'm off work for a month, so my plan is to post every week and be done with this story in this period. Prepare for the final battle!
Thank you all for the kind messages! See you on Thursday.
