I do not own the Inheritance Cycle.

Edited 1/30/22 - all chapters are getting a overhaul. Things might not match until this process is complete

Enjoy,


Journey
Part 5

As he slept the sun had fell low into the sky, and it was now already evening. It had been a warm spring's day. The woodland stretched on green and peaceful around them with a faint hint haze of heat, and everywhere was a warm hum of bees. There was no sign of the Ra'zac nor its beasts. Selena could feel the black shadows under her eyes, and felt ready to drop from weariness. Her head pounded and she found that she couldn't sleep even when she wanted to.

She lay down in the growing shadow of a tree, beside Brom who had yet to stir or even make a single sound. He would be upset with her when he woke, she knew, but it had been her mindset worth giving him valerian root. Selena lay in silence, watching the robin-egg blue sky slowly darken. From time to time her mind would drift off on one string of thought to another; how the leaves turned silver when the sunlight hit them at a certain angle; what might had happened to Cadoc and Starshine; the salty smell of the sea breeze; an orphaned kit her brother once brought home; the strange exhilaration which processed her whenever she used magic…

Selena could remember with an uneasy clarity the first time she had used the Ancient Language in a spell. In that moment she had felt invulnerable and immeasurably dangerous; the power the surged through her felt infinite, as if she merely had to crook her finger and entire cities would crumble on her whim. It was a heady feeling, but it also had frightened her. Morzan's words in their first conversation on the topic came back to her: Most human magicians use spirits when wielding magic but I believe there is another way. I suspect that magic exists already within us, it just needs to be awoken.

Pushing the thought aside, she thought that it was little wonder her daughter feared learning to use magic. It was frustrating perhaps at first whenever Selena had tried to teach Rose something of the subject, and the girl quickly changed the topic of discussion and kept it well away. Over time she began to understand her reasoning. And though it concerned her, that concern did last long. In all truth she did not wish to teach her daughter the subject. Magic had destroyed so much of Selena's life that she did not wish to extend that to her only daughter- nor did she wish that for her son, but that was already out of her control.

A little while later she shook Brom awake and made a meager meal repast of dried meat and cooked oats. She was too tired to chew, and set aside the food and instead watched Brom. After he had eaten, though very slowly, she set to work on wrapping the man's torso in bandages made from an old cloak before he set about examining his arm. It was not as deep as it seemed, he told Selena and after looking at it herself she agreed. He looked at the cut on her head then, taking much time than he had on himself, and muttered a spell under his breath to away the throbbing pain she felt. For this she was extremely thankful but her appreciations were left untold as she instead helped the man to his feet.

"I think it best if we travel only at night," Brom said, rubbing Snowfire's snout. "For tonight, anyhow, I would rather not be caught unaware again."

Selena agreed, and found that she had nothing else to say. She went around their makeshift camp collected and packed the few things that she had gotten out. After helping Broom mount the horse, they moved off.

The rode long into the night, moving quietly as shadows in the uncertain light of the moon. They both wanted to get as far away from the lonely woodlands as they could. As they traveled Selena thought of Garrow murdered by the Ra'zac, and her mind flinched. She could not get out of her mind's eye the imagined image of her slain brother left in the runes of his home like so much rubbish. She wished that she had killed the creature- its death had been too swift.

Seven nights of uneventful riding and they came again to a flooded path, which met the road in a mangle of mud and overgrowth before leaping down between a rocky back, breaking into sovereignty at the quickening creek that flowed unseen beside them. The path then continued vertiginously between trees, and the going was much slower. The forest seemed deserted and shabby, even a little forlorn; the trees were covered in curtains of moss that dangled hungrily from branches and obscuring the light. Even sound was muffled; their hoofbeats fell dully on beds of dead leaves and watery puddles, and their voices seemed to die in the air. If it had not been for her abiding anxiety, the ride would have had been peaceful.

The moon and stars sought shelter behind blankets of clouds, showing face for mere moments however they were cold and distant, caught in a faint haze. Selena frowned, disliking not being able to read them. They had ridden hard since the ambush. Selena was exhausted after the battle with the Ra'zac, but there was no time to rest, she gritted her teeth and ignored her complaining muscles. They spent one day under a stone ledge, where Selena spent a good part of the late morning bandaging Brom's wounds once more. Then early in the evening they set off on the punishing trek through the woodlands. They saw no signs of bird spiders or wild cats- known in this region- or the Ra'zac, and they heard nothing at night save frogs and crickets and rustles of small animals.

It was brightening observation when Selena noticed that the woodland was ending, though messily. The trees gradually thinned out until vanishing altogether giving way to the level plains of Hiçlik. The flat land was punctuated by low shrubs and trees, and the starry sky stretched on infinitely high above her, filled only with large clusters of vapor. After the day spent in the shelter of woodlands, she felt totally exposed.

"This still herder country?" asked Brom quietly in her ear.

"No," she said. "The Xalq took their horses and cattle and left. No one had lived here for many years. There was a blight some time ago. Part of the people began to say that the water from the gorges were cursed, while others blamed the migrating wildlife for the sickness. If I remember correctly there was an argument which led to blood spill that lasted more than few months. I haven't traveled through here since hearing this. I do know how safe these lands are now."

Brom nodded, and they began to urge their horses to a walk, guided once more by the stars. The land around them seemed huge and silent, stretching away into haze further than eye could see. The horizons were marked by irregular clots of red fire; the campsites of the occasional merchant or slaver traveling through this empty land. Every now and then they disturbed some night animal that scuttled away into the grasses and made them tense in sudden alarm, reaching for their swords.

Towards dawn they passed what had once been a village, and here, for the first time, they saw the scars of plight that had passed through this region. They could smell the burn and rot from the distance, almost before they saw the edges of wrecked walls jutting out the plains. It had been a prosperous village, the Place of Wandering Herds, called Y'qolgan, and the low mud bricks houses' walls and floors had been lined with brightly dyed carpets made from the wool of goats its people herded. Many belongings of the people who had lived here were scattered outside their homes; cooking pots, broken instruments, splintered tools and weapons. The travelers passed by the houses warily, peeking into the shadows of a house only once when the scuffling sounds of life could be heard- and though it merely a fox, they rode by the homes faster after eager to leave the village behind.

They reached their destination in the brightening hours of dawn, peering down the sides of gorge. Arvid looked dubious, her tail jammed between her back legs, but followed her down a narrow path with reluctance. From behind her, she could hear Snowfire snorting violently each time his hooves slipped. Slowly and painfully they picked their way, foot by foot, down the steep slope until finally they reached a large yet simple cavern, hollowed into the rock face. Selena knew that this was one of the Varden's outpost, though she had never been here herself, a camp carved long before the time of humans wondered these lands- no one knew who or what made them. She had seen many of these throughout the lands, caverns with runes she could not dream of understanding etched into their entrances and floor surfaces. All she knew is that where they were, she was hidden of hostile eyes and that she could rest in full.

After they unpacked what was need, she fell asleep instantly, and dreamed of nothing.

That day Selena woke late, her limbs still heavy and aching with weariness. The pallet next to her was empty, and she sat up slowly and looked about the empty cavern. Etch marks and rune marks stood out starkly against the stone walls which were high enough for the horse could contentedly stand tall. At its edge, resting against its bowing wall, sat Brom. An earthen bowl sat on his knee while he stared into it- as she had seen him many times over the last days, looking, she knew, for the children.

They had not mentioned Eragon or Rose or the dragons since the day of that the Ra'zac attacked, but even so they often remained with her. She wondered how they were- how far they have traveled and whether there faring well. It seemed likely to her that they weren't talking at all or painfully little, and she hoped that Eragon would not take Rose's introspective nature to heart. She thought that they might practice swordsmanship in the evenings and perhaps archery but Selena knew Rose better than that. Her daughter's unwillingness to learn defending arts could land them in a heap of trouble, and if they could not find a way of it… Selena never allowed herself to get that far. Now wasn't the time to think of her daughter or her son, or any of the things that made her soul weary.

She glanced at Brom, studying the creases in his face. She could see how a worry lived inside him, as it lived unspoken in those who had sent their sons off to war not knowing they would ever return. With a sigh she stood up and seated herself beside him. "You're staring into it harder than usual," she observed after a time of silence. "It's not going to make you see them, you know."

"It may work yet. Where did you put that kasha? My innards are eating me alive."

Selena gave him a harsh look and made to swat her hand at him but thought better of it. "You should have said before I sat down," she said and grasped his shoulder and stood up.

"I didn't think of it until now," said Brom as she walked towards the pot they had boiled the grains in some days before. "You don't have to do everything for me."

"You don't have be such a suborn old goat and yet you are," she said quietly. She handed him the bowl she had prepared and sat beside him and stared out over the cliff edge, studying the lined layers in the ruddy stone. "We haven't much further to go," she continued when the silence became too much and her worried thoughts began to dance at the edge of her mind. "Once we reach the Gate of Austi it's a day's ride to The Pocket, and another two to the Gateway itself. By the end of the week we shall be eat something other than kasha and rusk."

"Won't be soon enough." Brom shifted on the ground and glanced thoughtfully at her. "You never told me how you managed to get the dragon eggs," he said as he set the bowl aside.

"Brom…" Selena drawled slowly, startled from the sudden change of subject. The dragon eggs were another matter they had silently agreed not bring up but now that he had she did not quite know where to start or even if she wanted to tell him. To buy a moment of thought, she ran her shaking finger over her plait and began to unwind it.

"I have lived the past thirteen years watching our son from the distance as he grew from a babe to a man without approaching him- just as you asked. And, trust me when I say I wanted to but did not. Nor I did not inquire your motives or decisions and I haven't tried to contact you or find you as you did, only gods know what, but this-" Brom waved his hand at the bag which the emerald egg sat safely within- "I need to know. It been bothering me since you said you took from beneath Galbatorix's nose."

Selena merely stared blankly at him. She was glad he had not mentioned the night when the world had gone into the abyss and the many terrible things she had said to him afterwards. She was surprised also, that he had not questioned before this moment. Had he been afraid that she would another go at him, as she had done that night, afraid that she would give him another scar to live with?

"It was not my idea," she said softly after he had nudged her knee.

Brom pulled out his pipe and lit with a sharp word. "I had figured that," he said drawing in a deep breath. He closed his eyes. "Why go then?"

"I was the only one imprudent enough to volunteer, and I knew the capital and the castle. I was the only person who could gain something valuable from the trek. I could no longer allow that man to keep my daughter within his grasp," she said, pulling at a tangle in her hair. "Ajihad knew this and he used it against me to talking me into going. I let him because I planned on freeing her anyhow. Freeing the eggs was only a side mission…"

"Getting an answer out of you is like pulling teeth," Brom growled after she fell silent.

Selena looked at him and shook her head. "I can't think of how to word it without making it longwinded," she said and then paused as she gathered her thoughts. "One of the elves, the ones that ferried Saphira's egg, had the idea to mimic the dragon eggs. The dwarves have a stone they mine deep in the mountains that's similar in property to the eggs. He thought that if the elves crafted it cleverly enough, it could pass for the real thing. And with a spell to mirror and twist any person curious enough to mindtouch with a false egg- would give it the illusion of life. The dwarves were against it and refused to provide the stone but in the end agreed so long as they could craft the eggs themselves."

"And the elves let them?"

"The elves were willing to compromise on this. They sung in the spellwork," she said and they continued knowing that if she did not he would pester her further. "It was crafted so that the spell would feed off the person looking and confuse them a bit so that they would not look too hard. It took years for them to do, would have took less if they hadn't taken their own sweet time." She looked up at the ceiling and frowned at it. "The fake eggs were wonderful, almost like the real thing. I wish you had seen them."

"As do I," he said.

They were silent for a long time, listening to the occasional birdsong or squabble. And then when that silence became too much, Brom asked, "What was your role in all this? Was it just the exchange or did you do more?"

"I was the one risking my neck so it was just the exchange," said Selena. "I had to figure out how to get into the castle and then the treasury. That took enough of my time and I had a great deal of help. Do you remember me telling you about Tornac? He was a very useful ally, but I- I could not have succeeded without him. He was the reason I got both my daughter and the eggs." She glanced at Brom and pulled the hand-carved pipe from his hands. She examined it in her hands and frowned. In her mind's eye she saw another carving, one done by another man as they sat in the flicking firelight, so many years ago. Quickly, she shoved the pipe back into Brom's hand, eager to get it out of sight. "That's a repulsive habit, when did you pick it up?"

Brom huffed at her. "Sometime after Eragon's tenth summer when he decided he was old enough to go hunting into the Spine on his own," he said simply. "When did you decide that you weren't going to finish that sentence?"

Selena looked at him innocently, hoping she was hiding the shock from her face. "Sometime after I noticed that it was nearly dark. We're close enough now that I think we start traveling in the daylight. I would like to rest tonight"

Brom nodded. "Tell me another time, then," he said.

"I will," she said. "Its only… I'm not certain if I'm willing to say it yet. It seems a bit like a taboo out here."

Again Brom nodded and then stood up, grasping ahold of the cave wall to keep balance. His side was still paining him, it would be for quite some time unless he healed it himself or saw a healer. Selena was never very useful when it came to healing. She could kill someone in a thousand different ways- destroy them even- but she was never the healer.

It took just a little less than a week for Selena and Brom to reach Tronjheim. They traveled over the rough, miserable plains then down into a rock covered mountain pass where they practically had to pull the horses through the dim caves and into a lush valley through forest and fields. The air grew heavy with the sounds of rushing water and the smells of spices.

The temper grew warmer the farther south they traveled, but the breezed were far and few in-between kept away from the lofty peaks of the Beor Mountains. After a while they found the streaming river and began to travel alongside it- that evening the both of them bathed in the cool stream- late that next evening, when the night creatures had long ago begun to prowl, they crested a rocky hill and the waterfall gate spread before them. Neither of them had wanted to stop now they were so close.

Selena called out to the gatekeeper, in the loudest voice she processed and after a long delay the rockwall opened and she and Brom hurried inside. A circling of dwarves and human, all armed, circled them. Ajihad in the midst of the crowd.

Selena recognized the tall, very dark skinned man, arrayed in gold and blue, almost instantly, but Brom was looking at the man as if he were struggling to recognize him. It did not surprise her too much, it has been many years since Brom has last seen the leader of the Varden. Ajihad walked toward in long strides, his eyes widening in amazement as he took in the sight of them.

Selena looked behind Ajihad for the two men that often followed him around. She hoped that for once they had not, but saw with a ping of disappoint that they had. Pursing her lips, she turned to Ajihad, deciding it was best to ignore those men completely.

"Welcome back, my old friends," he said, grasping Brom by the arm. "I did not except you to be here so soon."

"Well met, Ajihad," said Brom, as the Varden leader released him. "I wasn't going to come for some time, but matters have changed and I've found there to be little other choice."

Ajihad frowned, his lips thinning as he looked between them. "I can see that." He then to Selena and said, "I will be honest, Ailis, I did not expect to see you inside these walls again but I'm glad you're here. You two must have quite a tale to tell but not here. Come. Follow me and we will talk."

They followed Ajihad as he led them down the tunnel and through a doorway in silence, the two men following close behind. With each step Selena's bags felt heavier than before, and she would often have to force herself to keep from looking back. Now that they were inside the mountain it felt so much more real that her children were not with her.

Selena didn't know how long she walked for, she hardly noticed that Arvid was knickering beside her, until they came to another larger gate which lead to yet another tunnel. This one was shorter than the last, and soon they found themselves on a cobblestone path that led up to the crater wall. A pair of young, heavy-eyed boys came up to them and yawning. They took the horses without a word.

Selena had walked this path many times before but the sight of Tronjheim never failed to fill her with dislike. Tronjheim was beautiful in the way that an uncut gem was beautiful to look at but once you touched it you realized that it was a cold, lifeless thing.

The first time she had stepped into the mountain city she had been too nervous to notice much, and had stared straight ahead. Though over the years that she had stayed here, she slowly began to hate it. It was a grand place, Tronjheim, but it lacked the simple comforts of living life. Never was there a breeze, nor the tiniest bit of open air, nor the wide map of stars in the night, and never had she seen the rising or falling of the sun.

It was here in Tronjheim she felt trapped and subdued, as if all her energy were slowly being taken from her but she always felt that way when she could not be outside; she had discovered long ago that preferred the freedom the wilds gave her far too much.

That night the streets were empty and very dark- not that it was ever very bright- and she could not see every cleverly carved stone and shine of hanging silk and wares. Ajihad held up a lantern, allowing them to see the cobbled road in front of them. Selena, herself, was quite glad it was so late at night, she didn't think she could handle the milling of people right now, all she wanted was rest. To rest in the quiet of her small home- it was a hole in the wall of the mountain, really, but it was one that she had fooled herself into believing was her home.

They passed the grand décor of Tronjheim without really seeing the red pillars, the stone carvings, or the great Dawn Star from high above, and walked straight to a massive cedar door, blackened and softened with its age. Ajihad pushed open the door and waved them inside.

Once inside Selena didn't wait to be invited to one of the chairs, she just picked one and sat into it. Her whole body was aching and she didn't know how much longer she could handle standing, certainly not long enough for Ajihad to invite her to rest. The sharp look Brom shot her would have told her of her rudeness but she missed it, she was too busy setting a bag on her lap.

"Why don't you sit down, Brom," Ajihad said as he moved to a high-backed chair behind a polished desk. "You must be tired after such a journey. I will not keep either of you for long. It is late and your stories can wait for the morn when you have gotten some rest. There are, however, a few things I wish to know first."

Brom nodded and sat beside Selena, bumping her chair as he went. She looked up at him and frowned. "It would be best if we had complete privacy, Ajihad," he said, not looking at her. He was nodding to the bald men who had followed them into the room. "I don't want anyone to overhear us."

Ajihad frowned, his face hardening, and asked those men to leave, which was perhaps a good thing, they didn't know where she had been and why, and in all honesty, she didn't want them to. Selena herself did not care for the two bald men leaving the room. She hardly paid them any mind, ever since they cornered her many years and all but threatened her. Ever since she has had little to do with them, and always insisted that they leave Ajihad's office before talking with him.

"I had to see for myself if my men were telling the truth," Ajihad said after a short silence, "that you had returned, Ailis, with a man. I thought at first that the man was that one you had contacted from Urû'baen, the one who swore to help your campaign. I'm sorry to say I have forgotten his name." He looked at her questioningly.

"Tornac," she said. "His name was Tornac. He's dead."

"That is sad news," Ajihad said, folding his hands on top of his desk. "He sounded like a knowledgeable and skilled man."

"He was." Selena looked down at her hands and then quickly back up. "I'll admit that our travels have been harder since his passing, he helped me greatly, and I will never be to repay him for the kindness. I would have not have succeeded without him, either."

Ajihad's eyes widened and nodded thoughtfully, looking from Brom to her. His focus landed again on Selena. "You have succeeded in getting the eggs? Both of them?"

Selena nodded, tiredly fighting back a yawn. "I did," she said.

"May I see them?"

Undoing the latches on the bag, she slowly stood up and set it on the desk. The last remaining egg thumped lightly from within its padding and he peered inside it. Slowly he took out the egg, his eyes gleaming but his eyebrows were pressed firmly together.

"There's only one of them in there," she said easily. "The other was lost in a storm, some time ago-"

"Did you not go searching for it?" Ajihad looked at her with wide, dark eyes. She had caught him off guard. "After all your efforts you left it for someone to find? I had thought…-" he shook his head "-but I trusted that you at least tried."

Selena blinked slowly and blew a slow breath out of her nose. "I did try," she said. "For many days I searched through every mound of snow I saw but I did not find it. My daughter, however, did. Rose-" She stopped at looked at Ajihad's blank expression and explained, "Muirgheal prefers not to go by her given name but by 'Rose.' She found the egg while I was searching for it."

"Does she have it now?"

Brom coughed beside her, and looked sturdily at the tall bookshelves behind Ajihad.

"In a way, yes, I suppose, she does," Selena said as he gave her a long, rather dark look. "It had hatched for her some time ago."

Ajihad stood up, setting the green egg on top of bag, and turned his back to her. "Where are they now?" he asked after a moment. His voice was colder than before.

"I'm afraid I can't say," Selena admitted. "They ran off some time ago and we haven't talked to them since. I know they're alive and well but very little else." This was a lie, she knew nothing of their state nor where they might be.

"They should be here before too long," Brom added after a short silence took over. "Rose and Thorn are both clever enough to get here without much problem, but they're not the ones I'm worried about."

"You're speaking of the matter you wrote me about?" Ajihad asked, turning around. "The dragon that hatched in Carvahall and her Rider are with them?"

"Yes."

"You do not know where they are, do you?"

Brom shook his head with a yawn. "They're on their way here."

Ajihad nodded, looked at them curiously for some time. "You should get some rest," he decided at last. "We will talk further once you have done so. Do you need any assistance getting to your home, Ailis?"

"We'll manage," she said, "but thank you for the offer. Have a good night, Ajihad."

Ajihad frowned at them. "You as well."

Brom stood slowly, his back crackling from the movements, and made his way to the door. He looked back, waiting for Selena to follow, which she did however much more slowly than he had. They walked to a nearby passage, one of the many which led them up and toggled up the stairway. They walked up the endless staircase and past the carved arched ways which led the unlived in quarter's balconies- all of them abandoned for quite some time. She didn't think, finally making to the Varden had left her so strongly void of energy. When Selena finally walked through the familiar archway that lead to her home her feet were dragging. They could see the city far below them was beginning to awaken, the air was still silent with only the distant call from the people milling about below. It was just as Selena liked it here, peaceful and without the hindrance of pesky neighbors.

She felt herself sloop onto the balcony, and her hands shook as she opened the door. When Brom did not follow her through the doorway into her bedsits she thought he was merely looking at the sight around them, and looked at him questioningly until she realized what he was studying. The strange carving in the stone archways had been seen so many times now that she had forgotten about them.

Too tired to say anything, she left the door open and walked into the room, illuminating it as she went. The walls were covered by murals that must have once been bright but now they were so faint she could not make out what had been painted. They had been this way since before she moved in.

The room was a small, filled up with a long chest, an old dusty divan, some chairs, a broken table, and a small hearth in the corner. The whole room smelled faintly of mildew. She was thankful she had left the door open; perhaps she could expel some of the musty scent. At its end was a short passage which lead to a small sleeping quarters, which too likely smelled of strongly mildew, but she wasn't going to worry about that now.

Far too tired to look around, she simply dropped the bags onto the floor by the doorway and walked over a cushioned chair, which she promptly slumped into. Leaning back, she closed her eyes. She felt heavy, as if she were melting, that if ever she rose from that chair again it would far too soon.

Brom, however, did not make himself at home so quickly but stood in the doorway glancing around. "Did you paint these?" he asked, startling her.

Selena looked to see what he was talking about started once more. On the wall she was facing was an arched mural of a small pond with a glistening white stork standing in a turf of tall grasses and irises. Slowly, she shook her head. "I have no talent for paints," she said. "Even if I did, I would not have the time to paint something this lovely."

"Do you know who painted it?" He asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I do," Selena said, not looking away from the painting. Slowly she glanced around and noticed that the exposed wood of her furniture was also painted; small, bright vined flowers weaved their way up the chairs and support beams around her. She stood up and walked to where her wobbly table sat, and saw that this too was painted with irises and sunflowers.

"I don't believe it," she muttered, with a frown. "Why would she?" But her mind was too tired to process any more. She shook her head, trying to clear it.

Turning to Brom, she saw that he was looking at an earthen bowl filled with seashells and strange banded pebbles. He didn't ask about it, she felt that he already knew she collected some of these things over the years, but many it had been gifts from the children of the very few friends she made- the children she watched grow into adulthood. The paintings were also the doing of one of her friend's children but that girl had been threatening to do it for years. She finally seemed had taken the chance to do it due to Selena's absence. It shouldn't have surprised her but it did.

With a small smile, she shook her head as Brom leaned down and lit a blazier filled with wood she was certain she had not left there. Selena was quite certain that half of the things in the room were not there before she had left.

"She went through quite an effort," he said not looking in her direction.

"Lorna is a sweet child," Selena said, running her hand over the raising ribs of violet paint. "If not a little too overenthusiastic. You would like her, I think, once you got past the urge to straggle her." She looked up at Brom and frowned. He was clenching his side again and his color was quickly falling from his cheeks. "Are you still hurting? If you would like I could go get a healer for you, they might be able to heal what I was not able to."

Brom snorted and shook his head. "I'm fine," he said.

"If you're going to refuse my help than at least sit down," she said, placing her hands on her hips. She felt like she slowly beginning to wake up at the sight of his discomfort, though the wariness in her body felt heavier than before. "I'll make us tea and then we'll rest. How does that sound?"

Brom made a gruff sound but sat down and began to take off his boots. Taking it as a good sign, she went through their bags until she came across the cooking pot and walked out onto the balcony to the bubbling fountain at its center. Selena dipped her hands into the cool water, and suddenly feeling very dirty, splashed the water onto her face and scrubbed it with her bare hands. She would wash better later, after she ensured that Brom was resting.

When she came back into the room, with a pot of sloughing water resting against her hip, she saw that Brom had fallen asleep. His head was resting off to the side, and his boots were only halfway off, she could smell the stink from them. Rubbing her nose, she set the pot down and took off of his boots completely, shoving them outside the door. She locked the door, and instead of making tea, she grabbed a rag and set about cleaning herself.

Soon after she was certain she was clean enough, she set the dirty water on the table and walked into her bed chamber where she changed into a set of clean clothes from a small chest at the end of her bed. She also took out a long blanket which she covered Brom with before crawling into bed.

She was asleep within moments.