Disclaimer: Nothing here belongs to me sadly.
Islanzadi, Eragon, and Arya spun around and sprinted to door. They peered hard through the rapidly thickening smog; trying to see what was that that landed on their front porch. Islanzadi muttered a word under her breathe, and the smog cleared.
"Wow, mum! Can I learn how to do this?" Eragon breathe.
"Not now, Eragon," she said softly, staring at the crumpled human form that lay on the floor and the parcel that lay beside him.
Speeding away in the distance was a red and black blur. Yet, the trio knew who it was. Galbatorix and his unwilling steed, Shruikan. Islanzadi bent over the crumpled human form, taking in his dirt flecked clothes and bloodstained face. He had obviously gotten himself into a fight. Lifting him with magic, Islanzadi transported him back to the house, where she placed him on the bed of the only remaining room. Turning to Eragon, who had followed her in with Arya, she asked, "Can you get me a bowl of warm water?"
Eragon nodded swiftly and ran to the kitchen to find a bowl. Meanwhile, Islanzadi gave Arya the task of preparing dinner, since it was already late into the evening.
Eragon found a bowl quickly and filled it with water. As an after thought, he took a dry cloth and ran back carefully to the room, where he passed Islanzadi the bowl and the flannel cloth. Islanzadi nodded her thanks and started sponging the strangers head. Eragon got bored of watching her after awhile, and decided to look at how was Arya was doing.
In the kitchens, Arya was stirring a large pot of vegetable stew, while keeping an eye out for the butterfly that was flitting in between the pots and pans.
"Arin?" Eragon asked softly, entering the kitchen.
Arya jumped and turned around, startled.
"Oh, its you," She visibly relaxed once she noticed that it was only Eragon.
"What's that?" Eragon asked, curious.
"Vegetable stew. Mother taught me how to cook it," Arya replied, wiping her forehead.
"Arin," Eragon began hesitantly, "are you alright in here?" he asked, noticing the thin sheen of sweat that covered her body.
"Yes… I mean no. It's so hot in here! I can't believe how mother can stand staying in here for hours." Arya complained, wiping off even more sweat.
Eragon nodded, before leaving, "I'm going to see what mother is doing. Bye" He gave a childish wave before disappearing.
Arya rolled her eyes and pouted. 'Men.' She thought.
Eragon ran through the halls of their house, searching for his mother.
"Mother?" he shouted.
"Right here, Eragon," a cool voice washed over him.
Eragon spun around in shock, only to come nose to nose with his mother. He rubbed his face slightly, looking at her face carefully.
"You are tired, Mother," He stated, pointing at her dark eye bags.
"Yes, Eragon. It has been a tough night. Where's Arya?" she asked, closing her eyes slightly, ready to collapse any moment.
Eragon pointed in the direction of the kitchen, replying "she's cooking dinner, mum."
Islanzadi nodded tiredly, striding off in the direction of the kitchen. Eragon looked after her, pondering over his choices. If he went back to bed, he would be bored; and there's nothing left to read. He finished all the scrolls already. On the other hand, Arya is currently cooking something interesting, and it would be fun to watch her! With a happy skip, Eragon rushed off to the kitchen, only to see that Arya had finished cooking and was spooning the green colored soup into the bowls.
With a heavy heart, Eragon trudged to the dining area, as Islanzadi carried the bowls in, followed by Arya.
Arya frowned as she saw Eragon's sad face. Why is he so sad that they were about to have dinner? Arya could not comprehend that. As Islanzadi went off to get that weird man down for dinner, Arya plunked herself down beside him.
"'ragon?" she asked, poking him, "why are you so glum?"
Truth to be told, Arya was rather pleased with herself that she managed to remember the usage of this certain word, 'glum'. After all, one could not expect a seven year old to know this word.
"You finished cooking," he relied, in an accusing tone.
"Well, why?" Arya was puzzled. Why is Eragon so sad because she finished cooking?
"I'm bored. You finished cooking so fast," Eragon complained.
Arya let out a childish giggle, ducking under the table to tickle him. Eragon laughed and squirmed, as Arya tickled his sides. Laughing heartily, the two fell into a giggling heap on the ground, busy tickling each other. They were so busy laughing that they did not notice a black shadow looming over them.
Islanzadi stepped carefully into the room that the mysterious man slept in. She was not aware of the cold shadow that loomed ominously behind her. She looked around carefully.
'Weird. He's gone' she mused.
The man behind her grinned. She had no idea.
As Islanzadi turned to leave, a gloved hand clamped shut over her mouth, choking off her pleas for help, as the other pushed a handkerchief full of a strong sleeping drought under her nose.
The tall man who had just entered the dining area grinned. These two kids would never have a chance. Silently, he crept up to the unsuspecting pair. Taking out a huge sack, he made sure that they were preoccupied before grabbing Eragon and Arya; tossing them into the sack. He tied the sack, satisfied, as he waited for his companion to arrive from the rooms.
Eragon and Arya were so engrossed in their tickling game that they did not notice the man standing behind them. In one swift movement, the duo were 'captured' and tied up in the sack.
"Let us out!" Arya screamed, kicking hard at the sack.
Obviously, nothing much was done and they were still stuck in there. Suddenly, a low, raspy voice growled, "stop that. Or else…" the voice let the threat hang.
"Or else what?" came Eragon's voice cheekily from inside the sack.
The man raised his hand threateningly. Before he could hit the two children inside, the other man came out of the halls.
"Come on, we have to send them to the King," the other person said, striding fast out of the house, dragging the sack with an unconscious Islanzadi in it.
"If you say so, Durza," their captor grumbled under his breath and dragged the sack behind him. Arya yelped as they were bumped over small rocks that hurt her skin.
Eragon sighed and rolled his eyes. This 'trip' is going to be bad, he could just sense it.
After three days of continuous traveling, they reached Gilead, where they were thrown into a single cell and shackled to the wall. During that three days, Eragon and Arya figured out that the person who captured them went by the name 'Morzan', while the other person who captured their mother was called 'Durza'. What was the most worrying to them is that even after three days, Islanzadi has not awakened from her deep sleep.
"Mother?" Arya called softly across the not so big cell.
She wrinkled her nose at the smell of rotting food that seems to be emitting from the corners of the cell. Whatever it was, she don't want to know. Not at all, thank you very much.
"Mother, wake up!" Eragon yelled from his very uncomfortable position beside Arya. Not that he minded being with Arya, but this was uncomfortable. He was chained tightly beside Arya, with no space for movement of any sort.
Islanzadi came to, only to find herself in a dingy cell, with her two children sitting opposite her.
"Arya? Eragon? What are we doing in here?" Islanzadi rubbed her eyes and tried to peer into the darkness of the corridor.
She felt anger growing in her as he recognized the place they were held in. Gilead. This is bad, very bad.
"We have to get out of here." She hissed at Eragon and Arya.
"We can't," Arya replied, pointing to the shackles, "and we can't use magic."
"You can't?" Islanzadi asked, puzzled.
"Yes, we can't. We can't seem to use any of the spells you taught us, mother." Eragon replied.
Islanzadi was given no chance to reply as the cell door opened and an Urgal entered. He walked over and unlocked Islanzadi from the locks. For once, Islanzadi felt fear.
"What do you want?" she asked the Urgal.
"Morzan wants to see you, Islanzadi," the Urgal sneered.
With a shiver, she stood up and let the Urgal escort her down the corridor. Eragon glanced at Arya, "what was all that about?"
"I don't know," for once, Arya was worried.
They were very rudely (in their opinion) interrupted from their not so quiet musings as another Urgal entered the cell. They were silent as they were unlocked, and made to follow the Urgal.
Eragon and Arya walked through the labyrinth that was Gilead, finally coming to a stop outside a ornately carved wooden door. The Urgal knocked sharply, before turning on his heels and leaving. Arya opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced by Eragon's sharp nudge to her ribs.
The door swung open, as if by its own accord. A thin man sat on a chair, carefully polishing his long, black nails. He spun around to look at them as they entered.
"Ah, if this isn't Eragon and Arya Drottingnu." The man hissed, smirking widely.
"Please to make your acquaintance," Arya replied frostily, glaring at Durza.
"Where's our mother?" Eragon all but demanded, his seven-year-old face full of hate.
"Now now, manners, children. Or your precious mother shall have to suffer for it," Durza replied silkily.
"What have you done to her!" Arya yelled, struggling to get at Durza, the only thing stopping her is Eragon's grip on her hand.
Durza sighed as he thought , 'why can't all these brats be quiet?' he waved his hand at Eragon and Arya, ropes springing out of thin air to tie them together. He waved another hand at the wall behind him, and it became transparent, allowing the two kids to see what was going on.
Islanzadi was screaming as Morzan pressed a red-hot metal piece on her arm. She was tied down to the tale, leaving her with no chance to escape.
"Tell me," he roared, "where are the Varden?!"
Islanzadi closed her eyes in pain, as she replied, "I have no idea."
Eragon tried to stop the tears from falling as he saw his mother being tortured like that. Arya, on the other hand, was letting the tears flow freely, not caring if Durza was smirking widely.
"Don't you lie! The empire have been watching your house for years now," Morzan replied cooly, as he backhanded Islanzadi.
Islanzadi gasped briefly as the shock of the slap hit her. In the other room, Eragon and Arya grew angrier. No one is allowed to hit their mother like that. No one.
Islanzadi cowered as Morzan loomed over her.
"Be careful, Islanzadi. I've done it once, and I will do it again, if that is what is needed to get the information out of you," Morzan threatened.
Seeing the fear in their mother's eyes was more than they could bear. With a cry, the ropes binding Eragon and Arya together burst into flame. Durza watched in astonishment as everything around them either was turned into ice or smashed by plants miraculously growing.
Islanzadi's head jerked up as she heard a loud, piercing cry. 'Who is it?' she wondered. Standing beside her, Morzan also wondered the same thing. Their questions were answered as the wall in front of Islanzadi shattered in fragments of stone. Puzzled, Islanzadi glanced through the hole. What she saw made her heart stop.
Their powers were emerging.
Eragon and Arya picked their way slowly towards Islanzadi, freezing the shackles then breaking them that held her in place. She got up gingerly and nodded her thanks at her children. Before they could move a single step, a crowd of Urgals entered through the empty space.
Islanzadi, Eragon and Arya glanced around the Urgals surrounding them dismally. They could never fight their way out of this.
"We surrender," Islanzadi called out cooly to Morzan, who was standing there with an extremely smug look on his face.
Morzan nodded and barked an order at the Urgals to retreat. The Urgals lowered their weapons hesitantly. Morzan then walked over, causing shackles to appear out of the thin air, chaining them together. With a prod of his feet, he caused Islanzadi to stumble forward. In that fashion, they were brought back to their cells, frustrated, and angry.
Eragon slumped back on the hard floor of the cell, not believing his luck. They were back, again.
"What happened, mother?" Arya asked, breaking the heavy silence that had descended on them since their entrance.
"Some things, Arya, Eragon," she looked at both of them, before continuing, "are worse than death. At times when people like Morzan does things like," Islanzadi gestured with her hands.
Eragon and Arya nodded understandingly, waiting patiently for her to continue, "you would feel something snap here," she gestured again at her heart.
"Did that bad person break your heart, mother?" Eragon asked softly, griping Arya's hand.
"No, Eragon. That bad person didn't break my heart. He made it hurt more." Islanzadi replied simply. Perhaps this is for the best, she thought, to tell them everything and not keep secrets from them. They have shown to be extremely understanding for their age, maybe even more than people who are older than them.
"Do we make you feel better, mother?" Arya asked innocently, drawing circles on her mother's palm.
Islanzadi nodded, not able to express hat she was feeling into words. There was another silence, yet this one did not feel as ominous as the one preceding it.
"Is your back alright, mother?" Eragon asked softly, looking hard at Islanzadi's back, as though as by doing this, her wounds will heal.
"My back is alright, Eragon," she replied.
"What did that bad person meant when he said that 'Be careful, Islanzadi. I've done it once, and I will do it again, if that is what is needed to get the information out of you' just now, Mother?" Arya asked, questions burning in her soft green eyes.
Islanzadi sighed, she knew this question will come up some how. But how was she going to reply to this?
A/N: R/R please. Should Islanzadi tell them??