Popularity War

Chapter 14

Eragon scowled at his cousin. "How can you leave now?"

Roran disliked Eragon's sour attitude. "I don't understand why you are so upset? I'll only be away for a few months." He was offered a job in Therinsford for the winter. "I need to save up some money so that I can marry."

"Katrina?" Eragon questioned.

"Of course."

The walk back to the farm was taking too long. Eragon had accompanied his cousin to the village to get a tool fixed never thinking that a man would offer Roran a job. His name was Dempton and he owned a mill in Therinsford, the next village to the south of Carvahall. Winter had arrived in full after the traders left several weeks ago. The snow piled up and now it was up to the men's knees.

Eragon hated the idea of his cousin leaving. Eva could be leaving at any time and that was bad enough, and now he had to endure the loss of his cousin as well. He found the whole situation unfair; what is he to do with them both gone? Life on the farm was dull enough as it is being winter. Without Eva or Roran, he will be incredibly bored. The chill added to his distress as he walked alongside his cousin. Hours later, he finally spotted the small farmhouse. Smoke arose from the chimney making him crave for warmth and food.

Eva opened the door for them with a bright smile and a friendly greeting, but Eragon was not in the mood. He brushed passed her heading towards the fire. Roran however greeted Eva politely as he paced over to the fire as well. "I'll get you two some tea," Eva said scurrying to the kitchen.

Garrow was hidden in his study until he heard the men come inside. He got out of his wooden chair, grumbling at the pain in his lower back, and walked into the living room. "How was the village?"

"Not as bad as the weather," Roran joked. Next to him, Eragon rolled his eyes.

Garrow chuckled. "That is good to hear. I take it you got your tool fixed?" Roran nodded. "Good."

Eva handed the men their tea before finishing dinner. She had been preparing beef stew all afternoon and was anxious to eat. It was already early evening and she figured it would be done within the hour. She was right. About forty-five minutes later she called the men into the kitchen to eat. Not much had been said about Roran's trip, putting Eragon on edge. He wanted to know when his cousin would tell Garrow.

The first half of dinner was eaten in almost pure silence. Then, Roran cleared his throat. Eragon looked up from his bowl, having eaten very little, and gazed at Roran. Eva glanced from Eragon to Roran wondering what had caused tension between them. Only Garrow seemed oblivious to their behavior, though they knew he wasn't; he simply does not make a ruckus over such things.

"So," Roran started, "there was a man from Therinsford in Carvahall today." He stopped to eat some more strew. If Roran didn't quickly finish his tale, Eragon looked like he would.

"Yes?" Garrow prompted.

Roran wiped his mouth and then said, "He offered me a job at his mill and I accepted. I will only be working over the winter to save some money. I want the money to be able to support Katrina…I want to marry her."

"I see." Garrow gently put down his spoon and addressed Eragon. "What do you think about this?"

"It's insane!" Eragon exploded. "We need him here."

Garrow waited for Eragon to finish diffusing before he gave his opinion. "We can manage fine this winter without Roran, Eragon. In the Spring we will need him, so I do not see anything wrong with him leaving for a few months."

Eragon pouted at his uncle's decision, defeated. Roran on the other hand looked relieved. "What? Did you think I would stop you? No, it will be nice to see the family growing again. When do you leave?"

"Dempton will be back at the end of the week."

"Excellent, that leaves us enough time to prepare for your departure."

The next afternoon, Eva found Eragon sitting in the hay loft in the barn. Normally he would have escaped to his secret spot in the woods, but with the snow, he would only create a trail. Instead, he settled upon the barn to hide for a while. "Eragon, can I come up?"

With a grunt, Eragon dropped down the ladder. After climbing up, Eva made her way next to him. He was laying on a hay mound staring up at the ceiling. When he remained quiet, she said, "I understand why you're upset."

Never taking his eyes off the rafters, he replied. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. You've been distraught about my departure and now you have to factor in Roran's. You're worried you are going to be lonely."

"I know I will be lonely." Eragon sighed and sat up. "What am I going to do? It's already boring enough being winter."

"You'll just have to occupy your time with positive thoughts. Roran and I are not leaving permanently." She grabbed his arm, hugging it tightly.

"I know, but it still bothers me."

"I'm not excited about leaving either. When the time comes I'll be depressed like you are now, but we have to think about the fun times we've had together and the times we will have again."

"What fun times are you referring to?" This time, Eragon looked into her eyes.

Giving him a sly smile, Eva answered, "You know perfectly well." Then, she kissed him.

"I do now," he said when she pulled away. After, she kissed him again.

With Eva's help, Eragon was able to get through the rest of the week. Once Roran had left, he found himself depressed for a couple of days, but a snowball fight with Eva cleared his head. She was right, he had to stay positive. Roran was thinking about his future with Katrina and he had to think about his future with Eva.

A month and a half passed before the heart-sinking knock sounded at the door. Eragon and Eva were busy playing a game of cards when the sound reached their ears. "I'll get the door," Garrow said quietly as he stood up from his chair.

Eva locked eyes with Eragon, her nervousness rising. She heard the door open followed by Garrow's greeting. "You must be Lord Richard?"

"Aye," said the man standing at the door. He had on a black trench coat, gloves, and a hat. Underneath the thick clothes, was a middle aged man with medium brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a beard that could use some trimming, but other than that, he looked clean-cut.

"Come in from the cold," Garrow gestured.

"Ah, thank you." Eva could not help but notice that he had a strange accent. Richard was from Teirm, a city quite far south of Carvahall on the sea. She could only imagine the diversity of such a place. Apparently, she had been there before when she was a young girl, but she did not remember.

Garrow led Richard into the living room. "Eva stood up from the floor, Eragon following suit. Their card game lay abandoned at their feet. "Hello Uncle Richard." She put on a fake smile.

"Eva, is that really you? Look at the young woman you have become." Richard smiled back at her.

"Thank you." She remained quiet after, unsure what else to say.

Thankfully, Garrow began to talk once more. "I'd like to introduce my nephew, Eragon. I believe Eva mentioned him to you?"

"Why yes, she did. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Richard held out his hand for Eragon to take. Eragon did so to complete the gesture.

"Likewise," Eragon replied.

"Now, down to business, I suppose." Garrow said.

"Ah, yes. I'd like a day or so to rest, if that is alright with you. Then, Eva and I can depart. She'll need some time to pack and say goodbye anyways, so no need to rush." He finally began to take off his gloves and hat.

"Of course. Stay as long as you need to. I'm sure you had a long journey."

"I did." He took off his coat.

"Here, I can take that," Eragon said, grabbing the belongings from Eva's uncle.

"Oh, that's kind of you."

"Do you have a horse?" Garrow asked.

"I do. I tied him up by your barn."

"I can take care of him while you rest and warm up."

"Thank you," After, he sat down in a chair by the fire while Garrow put on his coat and boots. "I see that someone was playing cards."

"Yes, Eragon and I were playing before you arrived." Eva sat back down on the floor to gather them up.

"No need for that, I didn't mean to interrupt, you two can keep playing if you want."

"No, it's fine." Eva continued to pick up the cards. When she finished she took a seat across from her uncle, Eragon sitting next to her. "How was your trip? Hopefully not too difficult."

Richard chuckled. "For someone not used to such conditions, I fared well enough. The hardest part was the distance."

"That's right, you came from Uru'baen didn't you?" Eragon asked. Richard nodded. "That is a long ways off."

"I made good time before I hit the far north and encountered all the snow and ice. In Teirm, we get snow, but not this much."

"What is it like there?" Eva wanted to know what to expect when she arrived.

Richard thought for a moment before responding. "Well, it's always busy. Many people live there on top of all the visitors. A majority of the folk are fishermen or some sort of merchant and they all have differing personalities. The city is as diverse as the items they sell. You'll find many shops selling items that came from all parts of Alagaesia. Rare rubies, expensive silks, intricately designed pottery, you name it.

"However, the best part is the sea itself. There are beaches along the shore that you can visit, especially in the Spring. The air is salty and moist. I love to collect the shells washed up on the shore. There are many different kinds: long, thin, curled ones; oval shaped ones; circular curly ones. I've found shell's left behind from crabs and even flat round ones."

"That does sound incredible," Eva admitted.

"Aye, "I've always wanted to see the sea." Eragon replied.

"The sea is as beautiful as it is dangerous. Right now many merchants are struggling to survive as many ships have been lost this year. For some reason, their ships keep being attacked. No one knows what really happens since no one has come back alive to tell the tale."

"That's horrible." Eva nodded in agreement.

They continued chatting until Garrow came back. At that point, Eva excused herself to make dinner. The evening progressed without much incident. During and after dinner Eva got to know her uncle a little better. She asked him what he did for a living and she learned that he is an accountant and helps merchants keep track of their expenses. Once night had fallen, Richard dismissed himself to prepare for bed. Richard would be sleeping in Roran's bedroom.

Garrow decided he was tired too, being and older man than Richard, and headed to bed as well. Only Eragon and Eva stayed up for couple more hours. They cuddled by the fire kissing and whispering into the night. Neither of them were ready say goodnight or goodbye. Yet, as the night wore on, Eva began to yawn.

"You should go to bed." Eragon said as he caressed her cheek.

"I don't want to."

"I know, but you need sleep. So do I." Eragon yawned as well. "Come, I'll walk you to your room." He stood up and grabbed her hands.

With his help, she got up and walked next to him towards her room. At the door they said their goodnight.

Eragon jolted awake. An odd noise sounded across his room waking him up suddenly. In the darkness, he listened carefully, but the noise did not come again. He reasoned he imagined the noise and fell back asleep. Less than an hour later, the noise woke him up again. Certain of it this time, he listened longer, wondering what was making the sound. It was like a stone scraping against something.

In that moment, he remembered the blue stone he found months ago in the Spine. From the little light shining into his room from the moon, he could see the stone moving. Curious, Eragon stepped out of his warm bed to take a closer look. Up close, he even heard what sounded like scratching noises. In an attempt to quiet the stone, he took a shirt from his drawer and placed it underneath to keep it from resounding off the wooden shelf.

For the second time, he went back to bed after being woken up. This time, it was a few hours before a loud thud made Eragon wake up yet again. He was frustrated with the stone and was about to take it outside when he heard a cracking noise. He stopped in his tracks to watch the stone violently shake and crack. The sight frightened him, but he could not leave. He watched until a creature popped its head out and struggle to crawl out.

The creature was bird-like and a deep blue like the stone. No, not a stone. An egg. The thin white lines he had seen webbed along the blue shell were the bones of its wings. The creature was as long as his forearm, the wings slightly shorter, leaving Eragon breathless for several minutes. When he gained back his composure, he carefully approached the creature. Standing only a two feet away, Eragon crouched down and reached out his hand, thinking it would be like most animals and sniff his hand. The creature stared at his hand for several seconds before taking a few steps towards him. He then reached out his snout and touched the palm of Eragon's hand.

Instantly, a searing pain coursed through his arm and body. Eragon cried out before his world went black. When he gained consciousness again, he noticed he was laying on his back. His hand was tingling a little, but the feeling went away soon after. He brought his still clenched hand to his face and opened it to see an oval silver marking on his palm.