Welcome everyone to chapter 32!
Sorry but this is gonna be another short one. Like really short, less than 1,500 words short.
I hope you enjoy and let's get right into this!
Leo wouldn't believe it.
He knew the truth but couldn't accept it; he kept telling himself that it was a joke, that she was just trying to trick Tartarus or she was just passed out or was faking it- something! Anything besides what he was seeing.
"Amira? Amira?!" His brown eyes were wide as he rejected the truth. "No, you can't- you can't leave me. Come back! No. no no NO! Amira come back! Please-"
"Leo stop! Stop it, she's gone!" Piper cried, falling beside him and grabbing his arms.
"She can't be!" Leo denied miserably.
"Leo look at me!" The daughter of Love demanded. Leo looked up to her changing eyes; tears were falling down her cheeks. "She's gone now! You can't do anything to change that."
"No! No, I- Nico, please tell me she's lying!" He pleaded. The son of Hades could only shake his head.
"I'm sorry but I can't. Piper's right… She's gone."
Leo bowed his head and cried, cradling Amira's lifeless body in his arms.
Two days later, Jason, Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Nico, and Murtagh sat together on the couches in the Big House.
After Amira died, all of her spells had been undone so the pavilion was brought back along with all the campers. The nine were bombarded with questions but Chiron had corralled them away, bringing them to the Big House where they explained everything that had happened. After being told, Chiron left to tell the Olympians that the threat of Tartarus was gone.
As much as they wanted to celebrate their victory, the eight half-bloods and Alagaesian found that they were unable. It was true that there were times where feelings and opinions of Amira had been mixed and misdirected but she had corrected the mistakes she made and brought them all back together. Now that she was gone…
Amira's death left a hole.
"So… Now what do we do?" Piper asked no one in particular.
"No idea." Annabeth sighed, leaning into Percy's embrace.
Several hours after Amira's sacrifice and Camp Half-Blood's return, Percy had appeared confused and surprised in the middle of Camp. He explained that he, Eragon, and Saphira had been talking when everything suddenly went black. No one was sure why or how he came back but he received no complaints.
After a tearful reunion, Annabeth had told him about everything that happened on Earth and Percy did the same for Alagaesia. He was surprised to see Murtagh again as the Rider had randomly disappeared from his world but they exchanged explanations.
"I mean, what is there to do?" Jason shrugged. "We won our battle and completed our prophecy."
"So, what? Do we just go back to our lives as if nothing happened?" Frank asked sarcastically, holding onto Hazel as though she were his lifeline. He and Nico had been inseparable from her since she returned.
"No, we don't do that," Percy argued half-heartedly. "Too much happened. We can't just brush this all off."
"Not to mention we still have to find a way to get Murtagh home," Annabeth added, gesturing limply to the Alagaesian.
Murtagh didn't respond, sitting with a blank face and emotionless eyes off to the side. He had been completely silent and practically unmoving since he had awoken and discovered what happened to Amira.
"I'm not sure how we're gonna do that, though," Percy admitted. "I mean, when I was brought to Alagaesia it was by a portal I accidentally fell through and I don't really know how I came back."
"We could try asking the gods?" Hazel suggested quietly, golden eyes still watery.
The daughter of Pluto hadn't stopped crying since Nico brought her back to Camp Half-Blood. Having been the closest to Amira, she was completely torn apart by her friend's death. Her tears had left marks on her cheeks, still visible as she just barely began calming down.
"It's worth a shot. It's not like we have any better ideas." Annabeth agreed with another sigh. The room lapsed into silence once more, no one in the mood to talk. They all looked up when Murtagh suddenly stood and left the room, the door closing loudly behind him.
The dark-haired Agalaesian wandered across Camp Half-Blood, knowing only that he wanted to be alone. Ever since he had awoken and heard that Amira had died, he had just one thought in his mind:
What was he going to tell Eragon?
He had promised Amira that he would be the one to tell his brother if something happened but what was he supposed to say?
"Hey! Long time no see bro! Oh by the way, you know Amira? Your apprentice I promised to bring home? Yeah well, I broke my promise because she died. You'll never ever see her again and for the rest of your life, you're going to regret that you couldn't have done a single thing to save her. Good to be home!"
No. He couldn't hurt Eragon like that. He knew his brother loved Amira like a little sister and was going to be absolutely devastated when he found out she was dead. For a second he considered just not telling him but he immediately shoved the thought away; he deserved to know and he deserved to know by the one who promised to tell him.
He sighed heavily and kicked at a stone. The Red Rider found himself at the beach of Long Island Sound, unknowingly standing in the same place Amira had two weeks before.
"Hey. You alright?"
Murtagh recognized the voice and didn't bother turning.
"No." He admitted honestly. Percy moved beside him, staring out at the water.
"You don't know what to tell him, do you?" He knew.
"What am I supposed to say? Just march up to him and announce that she's dead?" The Rider huffed sarcastically.
"Of course not." The son of Poseidon argued. "He's going to be hurt enough as it is. But as much as I hate to admit it… he does deserve to know. I mean, the guy only went like five minutes without worrying about her."
"Exactly." Murtagh sighed, crossing his arms. "I promised my brother I would bring her home. I promised her I would be the one to tell him if something happened. And I promised myself that I would keep those promises. I don't know what to do right now."
Percy nodded silently. The two stood in mutual silence for several long minutes as they thought. Then he looked over at the Alagaesian and nodded his head towards the camp.
"C'mon. Chiron said the gods want to see us and they asked for you to be there too."
So with one last look at the ocean, Murtagh turned and followed Percy back into camp.
And that concludes the thirty-second chapter of A Strange and Different Land!
Thank you all for reading and I hope you chose to continue the story. Please feel free to leave a review. Criticism, advice, compliments or corrections are welcome.
Have a good one and I'll see you later!
