Hey guys, so I finally finished this chapter off due to a few changes I made to the plot. It's half term so I thought I would do this one before I got down to some hard core revision. Again I hope you enjoy it, don't worry it is shorter than the last chapter and I hope you enjoy it
I was stood in the middle of the room. Galbatorix was sat on his thrown, the dragon behind him and my teacher sat on one of the steps. I was scared to say the least. My first time showing the King my skills with a spear. He had summoned a lot of soldiers so many that once I killed one, there were three to replace him. I felt someone grab the spear out my reach and saw them jam it into a crack in the floor. I had been fighting for hours. I was now surrounded. Someone attacked; I ducked and kicked them away, running towards my spear. I grabbed it with both hands and then spun around it, kicking soldiers as I went. I completed the spin and my feet hit the floor. I then proceeded to easily get the spear out the floor. Duck, pare, spin, avoid, smash, stab, and most importantly attack. I looked around amazed as no more soldiers attacked. I was surrounded by dead bodies. I heard a clap but I was paralyzed, I still hadn't got used to the deaths. I dropped the spear and ran to the doors, but they slammed in my face. I slumped against them in shock.
I woke up gasping for breath as I felt the cold water hit my face. I looked up to see Orrin standing over me. Dazed I looked around; something was missing, but what. Then it hit me. Jimmy had gone, I suddenly jumped up and looked frantically for him. "Where is he" I shouted frantically, then quieted down, realising Elearnor, Tom and George were all asleep in the room too, for the first time since I had 'adopted' them I had completely forgotten about them.
I felt someone grabbing me. Smelt like Arya, which was annoying because she was stronger than me. "Calm child, he is being taken to be prepared for the funeral." I heard her saying. It didn't matter, I was furious, this was the second time he had come into my room without permission and this time he had taken something from me. I had been shocked by what had happened yesterday, and couldn't understand why he had done it. It was out of character for him, and I hated him for it
What eventually stopped me was when Orrin said "think about your family." I instantly stiffened and stopped. Arya let go of me, but stayed directly behind me. I slowly calmed down, my anger just simmering away inside me. "I think you had best get ready and set off" he continued pointing towards the window so I could see the sun, which was now laying low in the sky.
I nodded silently at this. Orrin turned to leave then turned back to me and said "I would suggest you start just on the outside of Teirm. That was where the last battle with him was and where you are most likely to pick up his scent." With that he walked off and Arya followed but before she closed my door she gave me a sad look. But within a second she was gone and I was left alone in my room.
I realised I was still in the dress and took it off, throwing it on the floor. I stalked over to the carpet and bent down slowly, picking it up and chucking it to the side. I took the key from around the chain that never left my neck and unlocked the secret door that opened my secret storage space. I started taking things out and laying them on the floor deciding which to take with me. I looked at all the weapons I had and thought about my task. I would probably need a sword. But then I would not be coming back here until after the engagement tour thing. I tied a cloth around both my thighs so I could put a knife or two in both without cutting my flesh. I then continued and put a few in. I put on a short sleeved tunic that went down to mid thigh, and slipped my arms through a strapped contraption which had been made for more knives strapping even more to my body. I next strapped my belt to my hips and added two swords and a dagger, along with three tiny vials of poison. I guess I always prepare for the worst case scenario. I got out my travel bag and strapped the spear to it, also putting those high heels in. I put on my well worn hunting boots, sticking a few more knives in them. I finally put my hair into a braid and added a baggy coat.
I looked down at the three children sadly. I felt bad about having to leave them again, but I knew Aria adored them and the kitchen staff also so I knew they would be ok. I leant down, kissing each of them on forehead and wrote a little note for them in the morning. Looking back at the three children which had come to mean so much to me I walked out of the room, regret lingering behind me.
I walked to the kitchens next and picked some bread putting it into the bag and filling a waterskin with water before walking to Umbra's stable. I picked up the light saddle which had been made for her and carefully put it on to my felines back, securing it to ensure I would not slip off. I then got on and secured my wrists and legs so I was almost lying on her.
I briefly told her where to go and with that we left. It was amazing the speed at which Ulma could go, but then again considering she was just a large panther, maybe not. We went at a mighty pace and by night fall had got as far as Melain. It was an impressive distance. I dismounted from my ride and carefully took the saddle off the cat. I decided to stay away from the town though, even if a nice bed would be welcomed considering I had a little bit of saddle sore. I hated seeing people when I was on a mission. It just made me think, it could be you next time. I felt a presence pushing into my consciousness and realised Ulma was hungry. I had been so unsettled by recent events I had forgotten to pick her up some food. I cautiously walked up to her, stroking her side and told her she could go and hunt, but not to kill too many farmers produce.
Once my cat had gone, I sat down and thought things over. Who was this mysterious man who had been killing troups? I picked up the delicate box which contained the rag and sniffed. The scent there was undeniable and unique, it was also intoxicating, I breathed in again and the scent flooded through me, it was warm and inviting, slightly musky, the smell of a forest and plants lurking it. It made me sad to think I was going to have to kill this mysterious man. I was also curious as to why I had not been given a name, I was always given a name.
Putting the cloth away before I got too captivated by it, I took a little bit of bread out of the saddle bag and nibbled on it quietly. I then carefully said a spell to give me warmth and fell asleep. I only vaguely felt Ulma come and sleep next to me, her body curling around my own as she offered me protection and a source of heat.
We awoke early the next morning with the rising sun. Quickly and quietly I packed up, nibbling a little bit more of my bread supply before strapping on and we continued on our journey. We had started early and were determined to reach our goal by nightfall. The smallest time we spent on this job, the better. We passed villages and farms and the like unseen and unnoticed. I kept dipping in and out of Umbra's mind, mostly out of boredom. Her perspective never failed to stimulate my mind. The colours she saw, how sharp and bright everything was. It also stopped me worrying about the three children back home. I was worried about them. Surely Orrin would figure out that these were the children I had saved. What would he do to them now I wasn't there to protect them? Would Aria and the staff and maids protect them? Surely he had grown a little fond of them.
I was just starting worrying again when the scent of blood hit my nose. We hadn't stopped for lunch and the smell was nausciating. The smell was old, but distinct none the less. I looked around on my saddle and realised we had in fact reached the outskirts to Teirm. Wow, that was twice as far as yesterday. I was very impressed with my girl. We made our way towards the now over whelming smell that bombarded my senses. It was now joined by the smell of rotting flesh, somewhere a crow shrieked. I felt like throwing up. Why had no one cleared up this mess?
I put the strip of cloth in front of Ulmas' nose and we rode around the battle field until she had found the scent. I looked around amazed, whoever I was meant to kill was obviously a very dangerous man, and surely there were so many dead bodies for just one person. A brief hit of doubt rushed over me, what if I would fail? I stopped myself, whoever this man was, I was better. Whoever this man was, he cannot have gone through such vigorous training as me! I could even beat Aria hands down in a fight. I would do my job report back, and make sure those children were ok. After a moment of reflection we carried on, following our new path.
We were doing well, until it disappeared... We went back and followed the scent again but it was no good, it just disappeared. Unsure what to do Umbra told me through a series of emotions that she thought we should just continue in the direction the scent had been going. I agreed, I mean what is the point of going so far in one direction only to turn around? We carried on until we reached the foot of the Spine, then with the light fading decided to enter the mass of trees. I had only ever been in the Spine once, yet it seemed intimidating and dark. I heard rumours about this forest, and they never had a happy ending. We walked through the woods, Ulma's feet barely making any sound on the foliage of the forest floor.
At this stage, Umbra was giving off 'subtle' hints that she was hungry. We therefore gave up on our search for the murderer and instead went in search of some food for her. This was much more the cats plan then mine as I had food already and she was the one moving, not me. We went deeper and deeper into the forest until we stumbled upon a clearing, at which point I felt a sharp spike of excitement surge through the silly feline and quickly jumped off before she pounced on the prey she had no doubt found. Needless to say I was shocked when I was overtaken by her mind and a vision entered my mind in her weird perspective.
The clearing was sharp and defined, the colours making my head hurt. I would never be able to get used to her slightly off perspective on the world, yet it was invigorating. Most shocking of all though was the mass of dead bodies in the clearing. In the middle stood two men, dead still, neither moving. I felt intrigue coming from the cat and realised she didn't realise what was happening, what was going on between the two men was not a fight of the body, more a fight of the mind. Suddenly one of them started twitching uncontrollably and it all became too much for me. I snapped back into my own mind and jumped through the thicket, walked behind the twitching man and slit his throat quickly. Having your mind overwhelmed was a fate no man should have to endure.
Suddenly I was back in Umbras' perspective and my senses came more alive again, everything sharper and clearer. I could sense a distinctive smell coming of the surviving man and reeled. What were the chances? We had stumbled upon our victim by mistake... That was when it hit me; we should be attacking not staring into the distance pondering at our luck. I was captivated though, he had killed all of these men? And just taken over the mind of another, it was impressive. I felt the scent start to overwhelm me again and snapped out of the cats mind before I became fully intoxicated.
I grabbed for the hilt of my sword, just as the confused man figured out what had happened. He came at me slashing with that vaguely familiar sword. I defended myself fine but was pushed back by his brute strength. This was clearly going to be harder than I originally thought, this mysterious man clearly had more skills then his murdered victims lead me to believe, although the other battlefield did suggest he was good. We fought, blade to blade, his movements as fast as mine, this dance would not end, he held a slight advantage over me at being stronger and taller but I was full of tricks and slightly faster. At one point in our little dance about death I had been pushed right back against a tree, I had inhaled and once more become captured in his scent, what was that about? I was momentarily distracted by it and he was about to swing at me, with a fatal blow, when I snapped out of it and ducked hitting him where it hurt. This fight was the most difficult fight I had had for many a year now. Who exactly was this man?!
He finally looked like he was tiring when I heard a loud thud, followed by another. The noise was deafening to my ears, and I heard Ulma – who had decided to stay out of this fight for some unknown reason- hiss and growl, a new presence had appeared. The noise was making all the trees shake and tremble, I could barely take the gushing of wind that hammered down over my head as I was about to strike at one of my opponents defenceless points that had just opened up when I felt a slam of pressure around me and realised I could not move. The bastard had cast an immobility spell over me. I was fighting to think of another spell to free me when another jolt went through me and I felt my consciousness failing. The last thing I saw before I hit the ground was a flash of red colour.
Duh, Duh, Duuuuh, so there we go, can you guess who she was sent to kill? I hope you njoyed that chapter and will update as soon as I can, please tell me what you think of it, until next time!
