A/N:Characters Claudette, Wekilt, Velaer, Raechel are my creations. No resemblance to any real life persons are intended. ©2007 StormAngel
A/N2: Admitedly, I am surprised by the reviews I got, you like this story! Weee! Thanks to those to reviewed. :)
Disclaimer: Arya, Eragon, Islanzadi and the whole of Algaesea is not mine. All CP's work.
"Arya?" Islanzadi shook her gently.
When she didn't reply, her mother started panicking.
"Eragon!" She called out mentally.
Eragon was having a nice time in the baths, playing with the many soap and shampoos that belonged to Arya. No, it is not that he likes the flowery, freshly crushed pine leaves smell they gave off; he just loves to see the little flower shaped bubbles floating around the bathroom.
He was just about to open Arya's new bottle of shampoo, when a mysterious person tried to 'invade' his mind. In a panic, Eragon started throwing up his mind defenses.
'Eragon.' Sounded a familiar voice in his mind.
Eragon stopped trying to defend his mind for a moment.
'Yes, mother?' he replied, surprised.
'Arya fainted just now. Do you know if she took anything?' she asked Arya's head on her lap.
'I don't know, mother. I'll check her drawers for any pills.' He replied, drying himself with a fluffy white towel.
Putting on his clothes, Eragon rushed out of the bathroom, to Arya's drawer. Pulling it open, he was surprised to see many things stuffed in there. The flower he had given her for her sixth birthday, even the little wooded sword he had tried to whittle for her through the past summer.
Rummaging through the drawer, he finally found what he was looking for. A small, transparent glass bottle with small, round pills filling it up to the brim. Eragon opened it and noted that there was a few missing.
Running out of the room, he sprinted hurriedly to the gardens, where Islanzadi was cradling Arya in her arms.
"Mother," he panted, "here it is."
Islanzadi looked up and took the bottle from Eragon. Opening it, she took a light sniff.
"Darn it. I should have known." She muttered to herself.
Beside her, Eragon had kneeled down beside Arya, stroking her hair gently.
"What is it, mother?" he asked, concerned.
Islanzadi glanced at him sharply, before asking, "How long did she take these pills for?"
Eragon shrugged, before replying, "I think she took one today. She was acting rather weirdly."
Islanzadi frowned, looking at Arya, contemplating. Finally, seeming to make up her mind, she murmured, "-insert awaken here-"
Arya trembled for a second, before opening her eyes.
"Mother…? 'Ragon…?" she whispered softly.
Both gazed down at her with worried eyes.
"Are you alright, Arin?" Eragon asked, in a similar whisper.
Not able to speak anymore; due to a strange constriction that had taken over her throat, Arya nodded.
Islanzadi absently smooth a stray strand of Arya's midnight hair. Reaching for the bottle filled with little brown, round pills; she picked it up from the grass where it had fallen.
"Do you know what this is, Arin?" She asked her daughter evenly.
Arya cast her eyes onto the floor, a red flush spreading up her neck.
"Belorath pills, mother." She replied, not meeting her mother's eyes.
"Where did you get them, Arya?" Islanzadi asked, her voice surprisingly gently.
Arya's pointed ears flushed a bright red, as she answered.
"A weird person gave them to me one day, mother. She said that it will help me ease my headaches. I took them and they worked. So I continued taking them."
Islanzadi was worried. If the pills worked, why did Arya faint? There was no reasonable reason for that. Unless…
Islanzadi gasped in shock before replying.
"How did the woman look like, Arya?"
"What do you mean, Mother?" Arya asked, confused.
"The color of her hair, what was she wearing." Islanzadi replied shortly, too full of worry for her only child to care.
"Oh…" Arya thought for a moment, sifting through her memories, "She has red hair, and she was wearing a black tunic with this weird dragon thingy over her heart. Does that help, Mother?" Arya asked.
Islanzadi did not reply, lost in her memories.
"Mother?" came Eragon's voice suddenly, breaking her out of her reverie, "are you alright?"
"I am alright, Eragon." She murmured, brushing off his concern, "I was just lost in the past."
"The past, mother?" Eragon asked, puzzled. He did not understand why his mother wanted to immerse the past. The past was already gone, right?
"Why do you want to think about the past, Mother?" Arya questioned, after a long stretch of silence. "Isn't the past already gone, Mother?" She asked, puzzled.
Islanzadi sighed, "Sometimes, the past comes back and haunt you, Arya. Now, enough of this dreary topic," Islanzadi said, standing up, "Where did you meet the woman, Arya?" She asked, brushing soil off her skirt.
Arya stood up cautiously, on wobbly feet; and lead the way to the place. Eragon hurriedly scrambled up and ran after them, till they reached a small clearing just a few miles north of their house.
"Here, mother." Arya said breathlessly, having ran the whole way.
Islanzadi and Eragon both skidded to a stop behind her, almost banging into each other.
The clearing was totally barren, even the grass at the bottom of their feet were withered, and of a blackish brown color. There were no signs of life anywhere save for the three elves in the clearing. Not a bird or insect was seen. Nothing. An aura of pure evil hung in the air, akin to a heavy black cloud.
"Mother?" Eragon shivered in fear. He could sense the malicious air around them.
Something evil, something dark, was coming their way.
A tall, ageless woman; clothe in a dark black robe that fell all the way to her ankles grinned maliciously in the dark. Her fingernails clicked ominously as she taped them against each other. She watches as the three elves stepped into the glade. It is time.
Ruby red eyes snapped open.
Islanzadi glanced around calmly, waiting. Beside her, Arya and Eragon shifted impatiently. A low hiss broke the heavy silence between them. Islanzadi stood up swiftly, drawing her sword. Eragon, sensing his mother's worry, dragged Arya to the back of some bushes, where they hid.
A tall woman stepped out from the shadows. Red eyes glared malevolently under thick black lashes. Her face was of a deathly white, her dark lashes and red eyes the only contrast. A thin blade was strapped to her waist, embalmed with miniature skulls.
Islanzadi stepped closer cautiously.
"Claudette," she hissed, eyes narrowing furiously.
"Who's Claudette, Arin?" Eragon whispered, gripping Arya's hand really really hard.
"She's the woman who gave me the pills, 'ragon. Mother knows her though." Arya whispered back, concentrating on the scene unfolding before them.
Eragon nodded his head in understanding, and went back to watching the 'horror movie'.
The two women stood across the barren field from each other. Islanzadi had a hand placed loosely on her sword hilt; while Claudette had half drawn her sword, looking decidedly calm.
"Islanzadi," she replied cooly.
Islanzadi grabbed her sword hilt even more tightly, until her knuckles were white.
"What did you do to Arya?" She demanded, drawing her sword.
"Nothing. She's the one who took the pills. I'm surprised, Sister, that your daughter can be so gullible, like yourself." Claudette stressed on the word sister, drawing her sword completely.
Islanzadi flushed in anger, before running in Claudette's direction, her sword tip trailing above the grass.
"Losing your touch, sister?" Claudette sneered, as she spun away from Islanzadi.
"I've been training, unlike you, sister. Where have you been all this years? Hiding in the woods?" Islanzadi replied, the two circling around each other cautiously.
Claudette growled ferally, baring her teeth as she lunged angrily at Islanzadi. The said woman nimbly sidestepped her, and attacked Claudette on her left flank. Claudette could barely block the blow, before attempting another hit at Islanzadi. The two danced a seemingly endless dance of death, neither pausing in their assault. Finally tiring in the endless fight, Claudette transformed herself into a crow, flying off into the sky, a gradually diminishing black dot against the darkening sky. Islanzadi, seeing Claudette flee, turned into a peregrine falcon and followed her.
Eragon and Arya glanced up once the two birds of prey flew off.
"What was that?" Eragon breathed, wonderment in his eyes.
"I have no idea." Arya replied, looking at the dwindling form of the falcon, "Come on, 'Ragon. Let's go home."
"But what about mother?" He sputtered, still looking at the flying form of his mother.
Arya was unsure for a moment, before replying, "she will be safe. Come on 'ragon; stop worrying."
Standing up, she dragged Eragon through the woods and back to their home, where they settled uneasily in their room. Eragon twitched nervously time to time as he sat on his bed, while Arya was just lying down, not moving an inch.
"Arya?" Eragon asked at last, turning his head to look at her still form.
"hmmm?" she replied, not looking up.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Arya chose not to reply, instead turning to her side, letting tears fall. Her thoughts were in turmoil. What if her mother died because of her? What if Claudette survived and hunted down her and Eragon? What if her mother is injured? Arya could not bear to think about it. She kept feeling guilty about the fact that she took the pills, despite the fact that Eragon and Islanzadi had told her repeatedly that it was not her fault. She really did meant no harm to her family.
"You must stop blaming yourself, Arya." Came a soft voice from the door way.
Both heads turned instantaneously. Standing at the doorway, was no other than their mother, Islanzadi.
"Mother?" They both said simultaneously, standing up.
Islanzadi smiled softly at them. A few cuts were bleeding on her face, and her clothes were torn here and there. Scratches 'adorn' her left arm, making it pretty obvious that she had just been in a scuffle or two in the past half an hour.
"Mother!" Eragon cried, hurling himself at Islanzadi, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
"What happened, Mother?" Arya asked shyly, fiddling with her fingers.
"Come here, Arya." Islanzadi said, ignoring her question.
With questions burning in her eyes, Arya walked towards her mother slowly. Islanzadi reached over, wrapping her arm around her shoulder, in the same way she did with Eragon.
"Don't blame yourself, Arya," Islanzadi started softly, "it is not your fault. You had no idea who that woman was."
"Who is Claudette, Mother?" Arya asked, cuddling closer to Islanzadi.
"Why don't we sit on the beds and then we can get all this sorted out?" Islanzadi asked, moving to the beds.
The two children eagerly bounced onto the bed; eager to hear the 'story' their mother was going to tell them.
"Claudette and I grew up together, in Tialdari halls. She was my best friend, my only friend in fact. I didn't really like socializing that much and there was not much children those days to talk to. We became friends soon enough." Islanzadi's eyes misted over, lost in memories.
"So what happened after that, mother?" Eragon asked curiously, unusually still.
Islanzadi sighed deeply as she continued, "by some trickery or something that I have no control over, Claudette started learning dark magic from a shade in the woods of Du Weldenvarden. No one knew how did a shade get there and how did she managed to remain undetected. Either way, she learned the dark arts of the shade and became evil. From then on, some animals disappear from the forest weekly. The elves thought nothing about it at first. Even I did not suspect a thing. It was until the day when Velaer, an elf that trained regularly with Claudette, met her while traveling in Du Weldenvarden. She had blood dripping down her chin, and blood all over her hands." At that, Islanzadi and the two kids shivered.
Eragon and Arya were taught since young that the attacking and consumption of meat was forbidden, as animals were considered as live beings with minds capable of thought and emotion.
"What happened to Claudette and the shade, mother?" Arya asked quietly, her small voice resounding in the heavy stillness of the air.
"We found out who the shade was a few weeks later, it was a young girl with red eyes, who goes by the name of Raechel. It is a pity she was possessed by the sprits and we had to kill her. She was just so young when she died." Islanzadi sighed.
"How did she die, mother?" Eragon asked quietly, sitting very still.
"Who?" Islanzadi asked, brows furrowed in confusion.
"Both of them mother," Arya replied seriously.
Islanzadi glanced between the two curious yet anxious faces, before sighing and continuing her narration.
"Raechel died…" Islanzadi hesitated, before continuing; "she died by Wekilt's hand. He was hunting one day when he met her. Raechel tried to suck his blood for some reason. In self defense, Wekilt stabbed her through the heart."
Islanzadi paused for a moment, waiting to see Arya's and Eragon's reaction before continuing.
"I killed Claudette, just now." Islanzadi murmured, glancing at Arya, who had her head in her hands, and leaning on Eragon's shoulder, shaking slightly, "Are you alright, Arya?" she asked, concerned.
"I am alright, mother." Arya replied, composing herself, "please continue."
"Are you sure you want to know?" Islanzadi questioned, worry evident in her eyes.
Arya and Eragon gave a firm nod in reply. Seeing their resolve, Islanzadi sighed and continued, "I ripped her apart with my talons. She was screaming as she died. Somehow, I didn't feel any remorse about it."
"How can you turn into an animal, mother? I thought no elf can do it." Arya asked, curiosity burning in her eyes.
"I…" At that moment, a large crash sounded from the front door.
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