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Chapter9…A Rider's Duty

Sala woke with a start; another one of those horrible nightmares had covered her entire body with shivers and a cold sweat. Sala sat up breathing in shaky breathes; this dream particularly had shaken her to the core, even though they were just blurs and shadows.

'Sala…Sala…Have you awoken?' Valinor questioned gently

Sala felt gentle waves of concern roll over her; she sighed, but stopped instantly when it didn't hurt. She took a few deep breathes to test herself; it was easy and pain free.

'Valinor…Was I healed?' Sala questioned curiously as she lifted her ragged tunic up and started to press down on her formerly broken ribs.

'Yes…An elf healed your wounds when you fell off my back, I am ever regretful I didn't catch you myself.' Valinor echoed sadly.

Sala felt Valinor's mirth deep within herself; she smiled softly letting her emotions wash over Valinor easing some of his sadness. Sala let her tunic fall; she heard the flap of her tent opening and stiffened as she looked over her shoulder, she saw a small party of strangers the only she recognized was Eragon.

"What's going on?" Sala asked tiredly, she still felt slightly exhausted from being captive so long without food or drink. She turned to face them, they stared silently at her. She fidgeted under their gauging stares.

"Who are you?" Finally an elf woman said stepping forward, her straight black hair catching the dim lit giving it a beautiful shine. Her sharp green eyes giving Sala the feeling they were looking straight through her.

"I am Sala…" Sala said nervously, as she tried to shrink away from the penetrating stare. Her fingers hooked into to claws under the soft blanket.

"Where have you come from?" Eragon asked softly, trying to ease some of Sala's tension that had infected the entire confined space, a large dark shadow outside the tent moved and before Sala could ask, a large silver cat-like eye was peering into the tent. Valinor had sensed her unease.

"I'm from…Therinsford…" Sala said quietly, bowing her head feeling miniscule around what appeared to be a group of warriors judging by the way they looked.

"And what exactly was your occupation in Therinsford?" A firm, dark skinned woman asked stepping forward, making Sala tense further and trying to make herself small.

"…I was a servant…" Sala whispered quietly, that they had to strain to hear her.

A short man standing next to Eragon caught said person's attention and jerked his head slightly towards the entrance of the tent. They left side by side leaving Sala with the elf woman and the dark skinned woman.

"Sala of Therinsford, do you know what you are now?" The Elfen woman said as she walked over, kneeled down, and taking up Sala's right wrist and turning her hand so the palm was exposed the small glowing center, "Argetlam… You are a Rider." She said gently releasing Sala's wrist.

Sala stared at the woman; she was beautiful with her sharp angular features and pointed ears. "Pardon me…I was pondering, who are you?" Sala asked in a slightly dazed manner, both women stiffened slightly.

"My apologies, I am Nasuada, leader of the Varden." Nasuada said in a business like tone that quite didn't suit her. Her almond shaped eyes showing that she was very excited about something that unnerved Sala.

"I am Arya." The elf woman said curtly as if you would not get any more out of her.

Sala started to pull away the soft blanket to stand and show that she was dignified, but Nasuada stopped her laughing slightly. Sala was confused, her gaze roamed from one woman to the other asking with her eyes.

"Sala…You might not want to stay under the cover," Nasuada said, "At least for a little longer, even though you had a saddle on your dragon…Your legs were still hurt Angela has healed them, but it is best you stay down for a bit." Nasuada said gently, as she pushed Sala back down to the cushioned area where she had been laying before. "That and you are severely fatigued, and mal nourished, rest for a while longer and then we will see what we can do about some nourishment."

Sala wanted to protest, and looked towards Valinor's eye for help, but stopped when she saw a cat staring at her. She blinked at the cat as it slithered into the tent, padding its way over to her It shaggy mane reminded her of a lion, it jumped onto her legs and continued to stare unblinkingly into her confused sapphire eyes.

" Solembum…" Ayra said softly from her standing position behind Nasuada.

Sala stared back, she reached up with her left hand to pet the cat, and it turned its head towards her hand:

'I do not need to be petted.'

The words startled her, she recoiled her hand glancing at Valinor, who was radiating weariness. "All right then…" Sala said softly letting her hand fall. The cats gaze turned on Eragon when he and the stout man reentered the tent. The cat stood up and walked away its tail twitching as it slipped through the tent.

"Get rest, Argetlam and recover hastily…" Ayra said flatly as she turned slowly away to leave, her sharp emerald eyes finally leaving Sala's wavering demeanor.

Eragon stiffened slightly as Ayra walked past him and out the tent, hurt passed briefly through his eyes. Sala recognized the look he gave Ayra, she recognized it, it's the look that Hengrayd had given her when she left him and Katrina in the darkness of the passage way. Eragon quickly made that emotion vanish as he turned his brown gaze on her. Sala smiled softly at him then down at the stout man, who smiled slightly back. Nasuada nodded as she pushed Sala down and stood silently and walked away, as she passed the stout man and Eragon she beckoned them to follow her as she exited the tent, Sala lay there confused.

'Valinor…Everything's changing isn't it?' Sala asked softly

'I believe events have been set in motion, and there isn't anything we can do to stop them…Do not burden yourself with these matters now recuperate your strength, something tells me that we are going to need it all of mine and yours for what we are about to venture out on…' Valinor echoed solemnly.

'Valinor…' Sala said softly

Sala pulled the soft fabric up, as she slid under as she started to lie down. Her thighs tingled and burned as she moved her legs, she could feel the sterile linens wrapped tightly around her thighs stretch and adjust. Sala lay on her back staring up at the dark gold canvas above her; she did feel tired, but not a lot. She still felt uncomfortable, out of place in the presence of such war fared warriors. Sala raised her right hand and looked at the glowing mass on her palm. It looked brighter and wider, she frowned up at her glowing palm that cast gentle silver light over her face, and she lowered her hand placing it behind her head. She continued to let her mind wander she could hear Valinor circle the tent protectively before he laid himself down, his head near the tent entrance. There was a hum in the air, an air of excitement and confidence, it was dizzying, Sala closed her eyes and tried to tune it out, she could hear murmurs. Slowly Sala fell into a restless sleep, whispers passing through her ears, to garbled to make sense, a rough voice grunted something, but continued to whisper.

"Where is she!?" A cold voice yelled.

She could see a bleary image of a dark room, with even darker tapestries covering the walls a large unkempt bed was draped in shadows in the far corner of the room, Sala was looking through someone else's eyes, as they turned she saw a face, pale and cold, with hollow blue eyes and lank brown hair, Sala didn't recognize the face that was staring back at her. The image blurred before another bleared image came to life, it was dark.

"Halt!" a cold female voice demanded.

In the shadow of a wall, a frightened figure of a man was trembling against the damp wall his eyes were wide and sunken, there were dark rings under them, he was wearing simple clothes of a peasant. Sala stood facing him, and out of the corner of her eye she could see an arrow poised at the man.

"Please don't kill me! I beg of you Lady Seliana!" The man cried out desperately falling to his knees, his body shaking with dry sobs.

"Do it…He hasss betrayed your trust…" A voice hissed behind her.

Sala could feel it, she with out hesitation released the arrow, the man screamed as the arrow hit directly in his heart, he fell to the ground slumped against the wall lifeless eyes staring up at her dead sadness, rough cackles from behind her sounded as two dark cloaked figures stepped into view. They grabbed the mans arms, one ripped the arrow from his chest and threw it at her feet. Through the murk of the night, an ominous black beak glinted in the pale moonlight, the person's eyes she was looking through just stood there as the beak parted an-…

"NO!" Sala cried out as she shot up into a sitting position, eyes wide her breathe coming in strained gasps.

Sala could feel the skin of her scar burn and prickle, as her body shuddered involuntarily, as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to compose herself into a calm state. Valinor's eye was looking at her from the tent entrance along with Nasuada. Nasuada's eyes were wide with concern and confusion, she walked over slowly.

"Sala…What happened?" She asked softly, as Valinor's growl resounded behind her, Sala was sure he had just gone through her memories.

Sala was silent; head bowed still gasping for air. Nasuada could feel Sala's continuous trembling. A few moments passed before Eragon appeared walking into the tent stiffly kneeling down next to Sala. His dark brown eyes cold and piercing, Sala shrunk back her body still trembling, he reached out a gloved hand and touched her cheek gently, and Sala relaxed and started to breathe normally. With his free hand he reached over and pulled the tunic off over her left shoulder, her scar was a violent, red, crescent slash. Eragon winced, it looked even worse than the scar her had once had, how she hid the pain he would never know.

"How long have you had this scar?" Eragon asked quietly as he fixed her tunic.

Sala gained her bearing, she furrowed her brow in concentration, " I…I can't remember exactly how long I've had it, just…Just that I've had it ever since I stumbled into Therinsford."

"How long ago was that, try and remember this is very important." Eragon said encouragingly.

"…About…No…Almost three years ago…" Sala said distantly.

"Has it always hurt like this?"

"No, this has just started recently…After Valinor hatched from his egg…" Sala trailed off distantly.

Eragon was silent for a long time just staring at the tunic's sleeve that hid the scar; Sala stared down at her lap. Suddenly she looked up at both Nasuada and Eragon, her eyes flashing with curiosity.

"What were those creatures we fought back in the dark cavern?" Sala said suddenly.

Eragon jumped slightly, He looked at Nasuada and asked with his eyes for her to leave. She nodded shortly and quickly vacated the tent.

"Those creatures were," Eragon said as he turned to face her again, "the Ra'zac…" Eragon said in a low seething voice.

"Ra'…zac?" Sala said slowly, Valinor growled inwardly.

Sala tilted her head expectantly towards Valinor's massive eye that stared unblinkingly at her, the cat-like slit growing small with anger. Sala wanted to press the subject further, but Valinor was barring her entrance to his thoughts. Hastily his eye vanished and the ground shook as he lumbered away leaving Sala alone with Eragon.

"Er…Eragon?" Sala said softly as she reached out to touch his shoulder.

Eragon turned his head from glaring a hole in the tent's side to Sala's questioning sapphire gaze, "Yes?" His voice sounding rougher than intended.

"What are they? Do you think…" Sala's question died as Eragon's glare returned, and it seemed that he was glaring at her.

"All will be explained…Get rest now we leave at dawn…If we linger here any longer…I fear the worst may be upon us." Eragon said standing. He stared down at her.

Sala stared right back at him, understanding fully if any more people were hurt because of her, she knew for sure the weight of guilt would surely crush her. Still, she felt vulnerable without Valinor near, and then her stomach twisted with a horrible cowardice. She knew it was going to hurt Hengrayd just as much as it was going to hurt her leaving her very first friend behind.

"Eragon…Before I rest, Could I trouble you for some parchment and something to write with?" Sala asked gently.

Eragon's eye flickered with shock and astonishment, "You know how to read and write?" He asked softly.

"Those were only two of the things I remembered when I awoke in Therinsford." Sala said softly bowing her head under his shocked gaze.

Eragon only stayed for a few more moments before he departed as well, and for the first time in days she was all alone. Sala laid back down, but didn't close her eyes she stared silently up at the tents canvas, her thoughts wondering the exact words to put down, all of them sounded so blunt not even opened to remorse. Eragon returned bringing her the supplies she had asked for, she sat up and took the parchment, and placed the small pot of ink next to her. Eragon sat down next to her as she started to write in curling print across the stiff surface. The tent was filled with the sound of the quill moving across the parchment, and occasionally the sound of her scratching something out. After a few minutes, she reread her writings and nodded, she rolled up the parchment, and she looked at Eragon.

"I'm sorry to burden you, but at the moment I am pant less, and I was wondering if you could some how ask Madam Nasuada to get this to my friend Hengrayd." Sala asked gently.

Eragon blinked and his eyes darted down towards her covered legs. He nodded knowingly and gently took the scroll from her hands and placed it under his arm.

"Now, please…Get some rest." Eragon said, and with that he left.

Sala stared after him before she slid underneath the blanket and with that closed her eyes trying to force sleep to over come her, but to her surprise as soon as her head touched the bundle beneath her head she was out like a candle.

Sala was roused fully alert in the tawny sunlight that was filtering through the smoggy clouds of the putrid plains. Sala moved her head left and right and noticed the familiar shadow of Valinor wrapped protectively around the tent, his snout resting on the ground inside the tent, each warm exhale of air ruffling her blanket and letting lazy tendrils of smoke swirl into the air. Sala smiled gently and wrapped the cover around her waist as she walked forward and nuzzled up against his snout, a growl of acceptance made the ground shake slightly, he cracked his silver eye.

'Sala…Is something wrong?' he asked as he moved his body and curled around her protectively.

Sala placed her hands on one of his black talons, she stroked it gently, and he was so warm. Sala felt hurt inside she stared up at his eye.

"Valinor…I really dislike leaving him like this…" Sala said softly as she rested her head on his warm talons.

'I know Sala…But it must be done, the elves will never allow him to enter their sanctum.'

Sala contemplated his words, she had often heard that elf's were the ancient race and that they were waiting for their moment to finally live without fear of oppression. Sala stayed crouched against Valinor for a long time, until Eragon came to her, followed by the stout man, Nasuada, and Ayra.

"I am sorry, but time is running short and I must get back to training, we must leave." Eragon said tightly.

Sala merely nodded and stood, Nasuada stepped forward and had a gentle blue fabric held in her arms, she was smiling kindly and knowingly. She silently held the fabric out to her, Sala took it and stared at it, it felt like silk, yet a bit different.

"Come." Ayra said placing a strong hand on her shoulder and guiding her into the tent.

"Ma'am? I can change by myself, I heave recuperated enough." Sala said embarrassedly, as the elf woman closed the tent flap behind her, her penetrating emerald eyes landed on Sala.

"Nasuada tells me of the scar on your shoulder…I wish to take a look at it, may I?" Ayra said flatly.

Sala was apprehensive, she slowly nodded. Ayra stepped forward and gently pulled the tunic off Sala's shoulder and frowned deeply. She studied the scar for a long time in silence; she let her fingers trail over the scar prodding it, the scar only prickled when Ayra's fingers ran over its surface.

"Right…The gown, it's not ideal traveling clothes, but its what we have on such short notice, and it won't constrict your legs," Ayra paused and rested her emerald eyes on Sala as if gauging her, "Change hastily, we must depart as soon a possible." Ayra said as she turned and left.

Sala stayed there a moment, and then letting the dress unravel, it was long and had long sleeves and a low collar. Sala stared at it; she had never had such a gown or for that matter ever worn one. Sala pulled her tunic off and then the blanket. She pulled the dress over her head and then straightened it down her sides. It was long and fell over her feet, but didn't drag across the floor, Sala felt strange in the gown, she bent and folded the tattered tunic and then the blanket and stepped out of the tent, Valinor was up and ready, Sala stared at him and nodded as she padded over to him touching his side. Sala climbed up on to the make shift saddle, Eragon came over and strapped her in, Sala heard a whinny of a horse and saw, Ayra standing next to a horse, it was entirely white with a golden mane. She sat atop it scanning the horizon, when Eragon left to go to Saphira, the dwarf man was waiting for him. The elf woman on the horse touched its side and it galloped away, Sala was shocked the woman was riding it with out a saddle or anything. Saphira, crouched and Eragon climbed on strapping his legs in and got the dwarf settled they took into the air smoothly, Valinor followed as he lanced upwards Sala winced it was rough on her legs, but then it evened out and with the lone white horse racing below, they moved through and away from the encampment.

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