Chapter 28
In a sharp intake of air, Alex woke up. He blinked rapidly, trying to dissipate any trace of sleep and fatigue in his eyes but he was still dead tired. A quick observation of the environment around him told him everything he needed to know. It was still daytime but the sun was slowly touching the horizon, casting an orange/rose glow in the room and the young adult was shirtless, tucked under the covers of the bed, in the suite he was staying at Tildari Hall. When he tried to stand up, his arms refused to move, forcing him to use his abdominals to rise from his previous position. Looking at his limbs, he forced himself to move them and slowly, the man with almond eyes succeeded in closing his fingers to form a fist before opening them again. Each part of his whole arm felt heavy, as if there was something weighing them down… flashbacks of the duel came back to his mind.
"Ah, that explain everything… and to say I doubted myself until the second I pushed him back. What an unexpected turn of event." A grin appeared on his lips. "Too bad I didn't have the time to catch his expression when I kicked his ass, the humiliation will have to do."
Someone mumbling attracted his attention. Orik was sleeping peacefully on the sofa, his back turned to him.
"Pssssst, Orik! Wake up!" he whispered.
The dwarf grumbled, changing position and slowly opened his eyes. He let out a loud yawn, stretched his arms and sat up before looking around him, wondering who could have called his name. His head stopped moving when he spotted the young adult.
"Alex?" His eyes widened in realization. "Alex! My friend! Glad to see you woke up."
Orik walked to him, smiling and visibly relieved to see the boy in an 'almost' good shape. When he arrived at the bed, he patted him in the back.
"So, how are you feeling? It doesn't hurt too much?"
"I have the sensation that my arms weigh a ton, I struggle to close my hands and move everything but I don't feel any pain."
"After your stunt this morning, I wouldn't be surprised." He exclaimed, laughing loudly before calming down. "You shocked everyone, the news of your victory over that elf spread like wildfire."
"Yeah, I would have guessed as much. I'm certain it's something that never happened until now." Alex exhaled, feeling the fatigue still present despite his day long nap. He knew it would take at least another day to disappear completely. He opened his mouth to explain how it happened when Orik raised a finger to interrupt him.
"Wait a moment, Queen Islanzadi asked me to fetch her and Arya the moment you woke up. I'll be back."
The swordsman had barely the time to blink that his friend was already opening the door, leaving him with his thoughts for the time being. He used the moment to experiment with his arms, slowly regaining feeling and movement from the tip of his fingers, going through his hands, his forearms to his shoulders. When his short friend came back with the queen and the princess, Alex was flexing his muscles, analyzing how it felt and the visible contraction when he tightened them. He immediately stopped when he saw them enter the room and put, difficultly, two fingers to his lips. Islanzadi smiled slightly at the gesture, pleased to see him already able to go through the motions Arya taught him, despite his weakened state and answered back.
"I am relieved to see you're regaining some of your force. Doubt spread among us, thinking it would take far more time for your body to recover from something like this. You can thank our healers who managed to repair the internal damages, the muscles in your arms were almost torn apart because of the physical effort." She paused to take a breath and walked to the nearest window, her eyes contemplating the activities outside. "However, I am curious as to how you managed to best Vanir. Such a feat should be impossible and it caused quite an uproar among my subjects. While you were sleeping, we took the liberty to examine your body to understand what happened exactly. I do hope you don't hold it against us." Her impassible look was now fixed on him, making it impossible for the swordsman to guess what she felt about the current situation. "You're shrouded with mystery young Alex. Maybe next, you'll reveal you could use magic all along."
He couldn't help but laugh.
"No, nothing like that, I assure you and I don't hold you any grudge for the palpations. If an elf had appeared on Earth, we would have done the same, at least. What I did, every human can do the same. For centuries, scientists and doctors spent a lot of time trying to understand how the human brain works and why it acts in some ways depending on the moment. My 'prowess' is just an automated mechanism used by my head to what it considered a life-or-death situation at the moment and gave me an enormous boost of power, we call this effect: hysterical strength. It is something totally unconscious, I don't have any control over it and don't know how to activate it."
"However, the backlash can put a heavy toll on the body: extreme exhaustion, torn limbs or even crushed bones in the worst cases. It's fortunate, in a way, because I would have spent far more time bedridden if I had a controlled access to all the inner workings of my brain… or dead, probably. I think my heart wouldn't have endured such an extended effort, too much blood and oxygen to bring where my body needed it the most."
Arya hummed, lost in thoughts for a moment, her eyes sparkling with genuine curiosity when she found what she wanted to ask. "Is there a way to limit this capacity if it were to happen again? In a way to not harm your body as badly as it happened today?"
"Unfortunately, no." The young man shook his head. "The hysterical strength in itself remove the natural limiter implemented in our brain, it let its user exploit one hundred percent of the body and mind for the necessary time. To use it whenever we want, without its setbacks would be incredible but also dangerous because we don't know the effects on the body in the long run. Nature created us as endurance predators, capable to follow a prey for a long, long time but to this extend? I can't answer."
The queen looked satisfied with his reply, an extremely tiny smile on her lips. She then turned to Orik. "Dwarf, could we extend our request from earlier and ask you to take care of Ambassador Alex until he's fine again?"
"Aye, I can do that and it'll be a pleasure. We haven't seen each other since we arrived here, it's a good opportunity to catch up."
"In that case, I think we're done here. You gave us enough information to satisfy any questions my subjects would have." Both of the elves turned to leave, Arya opened the door, walking out first and her mother followed. Yet, she stopped at the doorframe, turning around to look at the human one last time.
"Eragon told us everything that happened this morning. While I'm glad you stopped things from going south, I can't help but wonder why you intervened."
"When I was younger, from twelve to fifteen years old, I was bullied. As the kind boy I was back then, I never fought back. Violence wasn't my forte so I let them hit me and nobody ever came to my help. My parents wanted to warn the authorities but I stopped them, saying those guys weren't worth it. I accepted things as they were and I regret it now." Alex looked at the window, admiring the scenery before moving his head back to Queen Islanzadi. "When I saw the commotion this morning, it reminded me of my own youth and I decided to put a stop to it. Honestly, I never thought I would win."
"A commendable gesture. I understand Eragon is your friend, you went through a lot together… but if he has a problem, he need to tell me or Oromis. You know he can't rely on you all the time and your intervention could be considered as a diplomatic incident. However, I think I can overlook it this time."
He looked down, a little downcast by the idea but her words rang true. They had each other's back for so long that it felt natural for him to go rescue his best friend. Alex knew he wouldn't be here all the time to help the Rider overcome an obstacle. One day they would go on separate ways. As much as he dreaded that day, the brown-haired boy was aware it would inevitably happen. It was on those words the two elves left, closing the door behind them and leaving the swordsman and Orik on their own.
The dwarf sighed, before sitting on the nearest chair. "Whew, what a story! Heh, think the humans here could replicate your little trick?"
"I don't know. I'll have to dissect one and study the resemblance with those of Earth to know." He chuckled. "Anyway, you have my thanks for taking care of me during my sleep."
"That's better than doing nothing during all day. Those elves… you can't get a word out of them more than the bare minimum! They're taciturn, yes sir; no sir… and nothing more. I feel like I'm useless while Eragon and Saphira are following their formation. I thought you would be here at least but you were never present in your suite each time I knocked on your door."
The swordsman didn't even try to hide the culpability from showing on his face. Just like his friend, he had totally forgotten about the dwarf. "I have no excuse for my behavior. I spent a lot of time in the library since we're here, the history of this world and its species is so interesting. However, I need to learn the Liduen Kvaedhi in order to read a lot of those books and it's consuming the majority of my free time."
"I never took you for the scholar type." Orik smiled, letting out a small laugh. "Every day, I discover something new about you."
"I tend to consider myself more like a jack of all trades, meaning I can do a lot of different things but I don't master any of them."
"Yeah, that description fit you well."
"However, I'm not a big talker too. I wouldn't be surprised if I was born as an elf, I'm not fond of speaking to say nothing but if we find a topic that piques my interest, I could talk for hours!"
They both chuckled at this.
"So, what's your opinion on this place and our hosts?"
A calm look appeared in Alex's eyes and he visibly relaxed. "It remind me of the days I spent with my grandparents, on my mother's side, in their house far from civilization. Calm, refreshing, peaceful… I love everything about here and don't even begin with the architecture, the landscape and the smells. Some architects from my planet would kill to be able to see some of the houses here. It's just unparalleled, never will we be able to reproduce something like this. As for its inhabitants, I didn't socialize much during the last five days. I just talked with the librarian who is kind and gave me some suggestions for what was interesting to read and on the other side of the spectrum, we have Vanir. I think they're just like the humans but far more collected and keep their emotions on check all the time. It's near impossible to read them and methinks they have a broom stuck deep in their asses to be that rigid and upright."
His friend let out a snort. "Yeah, I think it fit them perfectly." But his joyful expression quickly disappeared, replaced by a somber look. "Alex, after hearing your explanation, I'd like to know: do you think you would have died if the duel has not reversed in your favor and had lasted longer?"
"Knowing myself and how I tend to be in situations like these, it's possible. The chance for it to happen is extremely low but it's still there."
Explaining he could have died from over-exhaustion struck a chord inside Alex's mind. What if it had actually happened? Nobody here knew what CPR was or even worse, how to administer him an adrenaline shot directly in the heart as a last resort. How would have Eragon reacted? And Saphira? God, he could barely imagine how she would act if he drew his last breath because of something like this. If the roles were reversed, he knew he would be utterly destroyed by the loss. Even if they didn't end together, she still deserved to know what he was feeling for her. At least, before his return to Earth.
«We have to talk about this. I stayed inactive for too long, pushed her gestures of affection aside… I can't keep the status quo, crossing the line is the best thing to do. It'll strain our relationship more and in the long run if we stay like this, in the grey area. It's not just an infatuation, I love her and I'm pretty sure she loves me back. »
Reflecting on his actual line of thought, he was surprised with himself on how much he had changed in an extremely short time. A few weeks ago, he was thinking the total opposite. Saying Alex was someone almost bipolar wouldn't be surprising, acting friendly for a moment and distancing himself a few days later.
«It's because I've been hurt a lot in the past, I've known love and what it feels like to lose the one you thought you would stay with forever. I've been hurt and I also hurt people because of the way I reacted to my heartbreaks. It's like a defence mechanism, I don't want to be too attached to prevent myself to be emotionally wounded. Or at least, limit the damages. »
Orik waved a hand in front of him, to get him out of his train of thoughts.
"Hey, you're alright? You space out for a moment here."
The young adult nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Something important crossed my mind."
"Is it about a girl? Do you have your eyes on someone? I do hope for you it's not Arya, our dear Rider is already trying his chance."
There was a long moment of silence, Alex processed what his friend had just said. A chortle escaped him and he closed his mouth, restraining himself from letting out a laugh with so much force that tears were appearing at the corner of his eyes.
"Me? Interested in Arya? Come on Orik, you can do better than that! If I was into someone that could be my grand-grandmother, I would have made my move far earlier."
"Nasuada then?"
"No thanks, she has far more important things to manage than to be in a relationship with someone. And from what I heard during our short stay at Farthen Dur, she spent quite some time visiting Murtagh." There was a smirk on his lips. "If you catch my drift."
"But to answer your question, I was asking myself how I was going to bath with two useless arms, well almost useless since I can move them a little." Fortunately, this little lie was enough to distract Orik from the subject, one the boy with almond eyes wasn't ready to talk just yet.
"Ah, that. I think I'll have to help you in that case."
Alex deadpanned. "No thanks, bro. I was embarrassed enough when Saphira gave me a tongue bath on my injuries after our evasion from Gil'ead, I don't want to go through something like this again."
"Oh really?" There was a strange glint in the dwarf's eyes. Curiosity mixed with surprise. "What was her explanation to justify this?"
"She said her saliva had some properties to help disinfect wounds or something like that. I'll have to see if she's bullshiting me or not."
"Yeah but before that, to the bath! You stink of sweat, dirt and blood."
The young adult jumped out of the bed, looking seriously at his short friend. "Orik, I'm warning you… let me do it myself, I'm not crippled enough to not eat or clean on my own."
"Islanzadi asked me to nurse you back until you're fine enough. It's just for a day, or two at most… and what are you going to do if I refuse to comply to your request?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe when I'll have the idea to raid the nearest kitchen for a barrel of faelnivr, I'll refuse to tell you and share it together."
This time, it was Orik's turn to look impassive.
"You wouldn't do that."
"Try me." Alex had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, sure it would be enough to repel the dwarf.
"I'm willing to take the risk."
"Oh come on!"