Popularity War

Chapter 6

Eragon exited the house for the cool evening air. He was staying at Horst's and decided upon a stroll before Horst's wife, Elain, had dinner ready. Alongside him were Albriech and Baldor, Horst's two sons who were both around Eragon's age. They passed by many men and women who were out either finishing up their business or enjoying the nice weather as well.

As he walked, Eragon ignored the two young men accompanying him to think upon Eva as he wondered how her evening was going at Cassandra's birthday celebration. He wished that she would not try so hard to fit in with someone who clearly was not her friend, though, he still understood why she went through so much trouble. He, too, had to struggle to be be accepted within Carvahall. Shaking off his thoughts of his childhood, he was about to head back to Horst's, but stopped in his tracks when he saw a young woman in elegant attire dart across the market square.

"Oh no!" Eragon exclaimed before running after Eva. He had to shove through a few people in order to intercept her, shouting his apologies as he flew past.

"Eragon, what is the matter?" Albriech asked. Baldor nudged his brother and pointed at Eva. "Oh, I see." They remained behind as they watched Eragon run after the girl.

"He is completely smitten." Baldor said in a low voice. Albriech nodded.

"Eva!" Eragon shouted to gain her attention as he grew near.

Eva stopped running when she reached the fountain and turned towards Eragon. "Please, do not say, 'I told you so,'" she managed to say through her violent sobs. "I know I should have listened to you." As she spoke, she kept her eyes to the ground to further express her shame.

Silently, Eragon walked closer to place a comforting hand upon her shoulder. With his other hand, he gently lifted up her chin so that he could look her in the eyes. "Well, I'm here now, so you are going to be alright—I promise," he uttered softly when their eyes locked.

Her hope of remaining friends with Cassandra was shattered, but Eragon's friendship had seemingly meant more to her as she felt her mood lighten when he spoke those words. Deep down she knew Cassandra was never a true friend; she only wanted to be accepted within her class, and Cassandra had given her a means to achieve that goal and she had took it. For many years she was very popular, and now, Cassandra had taken her place. As she came to her petty conclusion, she felt sick and pulled herself away from Eragon.

"What is really bothering you, Eva?" Eragon asked.

"I don't deserve a friend like you." Eragon wanted to make a rebuttal, but she cut him off when she said, "You have always been kind to me even after I had treated you like dirt. I was only concerned with my popularity status and that meant that I could not associate with someone like you, no matter how kind you have been to me. I can apologize all I want for my behavior, but that does not mean I deserve to be your friend."

Eragon was about to try to cheer her up with a joke, but her tone was much too serious for that, so he settled upon a different approach. "Eva, you have been mean to me and I have been kind to you in return, and that is because you are not like the other girls in the upper class. You have the potential to be like the girl you used to be before your mother died. Her death was hard on you, I know, and you made some poor decisions afterward, but you already apologized for them. There is no need to feel unworthy of my friendship when I know you are being sincere."

Eva sighed. After, she said, "You are making this difficult for me, Eragon."

"Do you want to be friendless?"

"Well, no, but…"

"But nothing," Eragon said cutting her off. "I am your friend whether you like it or not."

Unable to argue with him, Eva relented. "Thank you Eragon."

"You're welcome. Anyways, it's getting late, and I should be getting back to Horst, but I can walk you home first," he smiled.

"I'd like that," Eva said, smiling as well. Linking arms, they began the trek to her house as the sun finished its descent.

Once inside, Eva heard her father's footsteps rush down the hallway. "Eva, you are home so early. Is everything alright?" He asked with a hint of alarm. When he saw Eragon standing next to his daughter he felt himself become a little relieved.

"I am fine for now. I can explain what happened later; right now I want to change out of these clothes." Eva excused herself from the main entrance to head towards her room, leaving the two men alone.

With a sigh, Lord Whikim shook his head. "I told her that she should have stayed home."

"I told her the same, but she would not listen."

Lord Whikim nodded saying, "She is very stubborn at times a trait she got from her mother." After, he recomposed himself said, "Thank you for walking her home. It is good to know that she has at least one person she can still call a friend."

Eragon chuckled. "It was no problem, though, Horst does not know where I am and I should be getting back soon since Elain is sure to have dinner ready by now."

Lord Whikim nodded solemnly. "I understand, though, I was thinking of inviting you to dine with us tonight. I do not mean to take you away from Horst and the plans you have made with his family, however, I would feel honored if you could stay."

"Oh," Eragon stammered, taken aback by Lord Whikim's offer. "You know, Horst is not very strict with dinner plans; he always tells be me to either be on time or risk finding food elsewhere, though Elain always manages to save me food when I run late. Anyways, it will be no problem for me to explain the situation and to dine with you. I will be honored as well," Eragon smiled.

"Excellent! It will be a late dinner as I have yet to prepare it, but you can roam around here with Eva while you wait."

Eragon chuckled. "Fine by me." After, he took his leave to tell Horst of his new dinner plans. He was nervous to tell him the change of plans simply because they were not fond of Eva, but he knew it was his choice in the end and he wanted to dine with Eva and her father. Still, he did not want to upset Horst either.

Upon arriving at the house, Albriech and Baldor exited to greet Eragon. "So, how did it go with Eva?" Albriech winked.

Baldor rolled his eyes at his brother's remark saying, "Forgive him, he already drank too much tonight." Softening his tone he went on to say, "Is she alright?" Unlike his older brother, Baldor had a knack for picking up on social cues and reading people. He was a kind soul as well and never as rowdy as his brother.

Albriech scoffed, but remained silent, waiting to hear Eragon's response. Unable to fool the boys, Eragon said, "She could really use a friend right now, which is why I am going to ask your father if I can dine with Eva and her father instead." Baldor nodded and ushered him inside. Albriech followed behind, almost tripping on the doorstep.

"About time you showed up," Horst bellowed, but not harshly. The muscled man had a mug in his hand with an empty plate before him. "Don't worry, Elain saved you some food, as usual."

"There is no need, Eragon is unable to eat here tonight," Baldor said, making a nice entrance for Eragon to explain.

"Oh?" Horst took a swig from his mug while he waited for Eragon to speak. After Eragon did so, he saw Horst become a little rigid, making him worried. "I have nothing against Lord Whikim, but are you sure about his daughter? She has become quite the snob and I do not see how this will end well for you."

"I appreciate your concern, however, I feel like I need to be there for her. If she never receives kindness, how then will she be able to change? On the surface she comes off strong, but deep down she is caring and kind—I have seen it."

Horst sighed heavily ad said, "You make an excellent point, though some people never change no matter how much we want them too."

"She has the potential to change. Let us not forget who her mother was."

Elain walked over to Eragon and placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Then go have dinner with her and her father. We will not wait up for you, but the door will remain unlocked and I ask that you lock it upon your arrival."

Horst was still unconvinced, but did not press the issue. After all, he knew that he could not stop the young man and if it turned out to be a mistake, Eragon would have to face another life lesson. He did not want to wish Eragon ill luck, rather, he wished him all the luck in the world, however, he also did not want to get Eragon's hopes up if there was not much hope to begin with. When it came to the upper class, he was skeptical like the other villagers.

Eragon thanked Elain and the others and trekked his way back to Eva's house. She answered the door and practically pulled him inside. "I am so glad you will be joining us tonight!" Her excitement touched Eragon making him smile broadly.

"Me too." Together, they crossed the entranceway heading towards one of the sitting rooms. Eragon gaped at the elaborate craftsmanship of the home as he walked next to Eva.

Catching him in the act, Eva whispered, "It used to be a lot grander several weeks ago when we had tapestries hanging up and sculptures resting against the wall. I'm afraid the house is rather dull in comparison."

"Well, compared to the rugged farm house I am accustomed to, this place is as grand as a palace!" Eva giggled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Yes, I suppose it is."

They spent the next hour casually talking until Lord Whikim walked in to announce dinner. At the dinner table Eragon's jaw dropped. "Please tell me you did not go through all this trouble for me?" On the table was a wide assortment of food: sliced turkey, broiled potatoes, green beans, asparagus, fresh fruit, an assortment of cheese, bread, and a cake for dessert.

Lord Whikim laughed lightly saying, "Oh, it was no trouble at all. A majority of the food is leftovers and I figured tonight would be the best night to get rid of them since we have another mouth to feed."

"Father, behave," Eva chastised.

"What, it's the truth."

"Well, I can already see how this night is going to go," Eragon said, laughing.

"See, he is not offended." Lord Whikim said as he took his seat.

Regardless, Eva apologized on her father's behalf. "Honestly, it's alright. I have heard worse from my friends."

"Really?" Eva asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Really."

When their stomachs were full and their plates empty, the three of them continued to sit in the dining room chatting. On several occasions, Eva had to chastise her father again. Once when he began to discuss business with Eragon to which Lord Whikim apologized saying, "Eva has forbidden me to speak of business while at the dinner table."

The second time came when her father brought up the topic of Eva's childhood. He mentioned how she was a lively child and how they had a hard time getting her to take baths. "She hates getting wet," he stated, "and I remember one time when Clara tried to get her into the tub."

"Father, no, stop right there!" Eva exclaimed, her cheeks already starting to turn red.

Interested, Eragon pressed Lord Whikim to continue on with the story. Much to Eva's horror, her father continued. "She was kicking and screaming to get out of a bath and Clara did her best not to get beat up by the child. Well, she managed to get Eva's clothes off, but as soon as my wife had walked in, Eva had successfully wrestled free and ran past the two women and out the open door, stark naked!"

Eva covered her face in her hands, utterly mortified while Eragon struggled to contain his laughter.

"It was me who finally caught her and took her back to the washroom where she got a long bath for 'punishment.'"

'Oi! I have gotten much better when it comes to getting wet." Eva said, defensively.

"Eh, for the most part," her father winked. He then took a few deep breaths to recollect himself before saying, "Oh, how I miss those days."

"Well, I don't," Eva pouted.

Her father pointed a finger at her, "You grew up too fast."

"On the contrary, I did not grow up fast enough."

"Be careful, you may regret saying that later."

"Rubbish."

They stared at each other for several seconds before bursting into laughter. Eragon studied the interaction between Eva and her father, a feeling of longing rising within him. Although he was treated well by his uncle, he still wished for a relationship with his parents. In Lord Whikim's eyes, he could sense the pain and joy of raising a child—pain when the child is no longer a child and joy from all the wonderful memories. His love for her was undeniable and Eragon felt a little out of place.

It was Eva who returned her attention back to Eragon, saying, "I hope you have an embarrassing story to tell, because my father just had to tell you one about me."

"Sorry, I have none to tell," he said, slyly.

"What, you are taking his side," Eva joked.

"Guess so."

"Fine, but beware, this is not the end."

"We shall see about that," Eragon retorted.

"Unbelievable. Did you two plan this?" She glared at her father once more. He shook his head and said something about how Eragon is just clever enough to catch on to his humor.

Tired of the conversation, Eva stood up and began to clear the table. Eragon joined her, despite her protest, saying that it was the least he could do for not revealing any embarrassing stories about him.

"I shall have to ask Roran then, or better yet, your Uncle Garrow." Eva placed a pile of dirty dishes in the sink while Eragon grabbed a bucket to fetch some water.

"I want to help," Eragon repeated when Eva continued to feel bad having him do her chores.

Unable to deter him, they washed the dishes together while her father quietly observed them from behind. He watched as Eragon splashed Eva with some cold water, making her scream. "Eragon, I swear you are going to get it!"

Immediately after, she took the cup that was in her hand and dipped it in the water-filled sink, pouring it on Eragon's head before he had a chance to move out of the way. "Alright, this is war." He splashed Eva once more. They were practically soaked when they were finished, the two of them laughing themselves to tears.

"Right, well I think we should get back to washing these dishes," Eva said once she caught her breath.

"I think so too, though, we will need more water." He pointed at the sink's low water level.

"Oh dear…"

"I'll get some more."

"No!" Eva exclaimed.

"Why, you don't trust me?" Eragon crossed his arms, jokingly,

With her eyes blue eyes looking into his, she whispered, "Not at all."

His mood softening, Eragon offered a compromise. "Fine, then let us fetch it together."

"Agreed."

As they walked arm-in-arm towards the well, Eva said, "Thank you for coming over tonight. I had a great time, much better than Cassandra's celebration."

"Good." He stopped walking to face Eva, placing his left hand upon her shoulder. "And I will always be here whenever you need me."

"I know that now," Eva said, embracing him in a hug for the first time. Eragon wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, glad that she had finally accepted his friendship. Having her so close also brought up a strange sensation that he had never felt before for deep within he felt blissful, as if his heart were on fire. It was sudden and confusing, but also sensational and he did not want the feeling to end.