YYYYYY-Eragon-YYYYYY
Not even a hole big enough for a woodrat, Saphira declared after having searched and circled Helgrind several times. She slowed and hung in place before a ridge that connected the third lowest of the four peaks to the prominence above. The jagged buttress magnified the boom produced by each stroke of her wings until it was as loud as a thunderclap. Eragon' eyes watered as the air pulsed against his skin.
A web of white veins adorned the backside of the crags and pillars, where hoarfrost had collected in the cracks that furrowed the rock. Nothing else disturbed the gloom of Helgrind's inky, windswept ramparts. No trees grew among…What was that?
Eragon blinked. He could have sworn he had just been surrounded by people. Just for a second. In a big grassy field, at least a hundred of children had been standing wearing more or less the same thing.
Something is wrong, Eragon thought, terribly wrong.
Only then did he notice Saphira's success in having found the hidden opening.
And…?
Eragon looked down at her massive eye which was turned towards him in an expectant sort of way.
Aye, aye, good, very good…thank you… Eragon managed to utter before leaping into the cave. He probed with his mind, but could only make out two people in the whole if Helgrind. Katrina and Sloan.
He followed Roran from the ledge into the cave and gasped. Within the cave was a very peculiar room. It was well sized but had several small tables grouped together, each with chairs surrounding them, and on the far side of the cavern was a black board hanging from the wall. Eragon squinted and read out loud,
"The Anglo-Saxons were a confederation of old Germanic tribes. Their modern day descendants are generally considered ethnic Germans, Dutch or English…"
Roran scratched his head, "Who are the Saxons?"
Eragon shook his head, "Who or what are 'Germanic tribes'?"
Roran raised his eyebrows, "who or what are Germans, Dutch and English?"
YYYYYYYYYY-Misty-YYYYYYYYYY
Apart from the last question, that happened to be the same thing Misty was asking herself as she tried to concentrate on the board…Ehem. She tried to LOOK as though she was concentrating on the board, but the book on her lap said otherwise.
Hurriedly, while the teacher wasn't looking, she read the next sentence. 'They wielded long, pale blades of an ancient design from their malformed hands. Unlike their parents, the Ra'zac were roughly the same size and shape as humans. An ebony exoskeleton encased them from top to bottom, although…'
"Misty? Misty! What are you doing under the table?" Miss Weatherman screamed suddenly.
Misty jolted upright and dropped the book on the floor. "Uh…"
"Answer my question!"
Misty peered at the girl on the table next to her; she was bent over a notebook and was scribbling away furiously.
"I didn't quite catch it," Misty made up.
"Who was the first king of the Saxons?"
Misty looked at the board as a helpless attempt for inspiration.
"Err…err…erm…Oromis?" she guessed. Dimwit! She told herself.
"That's right! Offa! Well done Misty, you WERE listening!"
Misty blinked at her teacher stunned. Still deliberating how Oromis could be heard as 'Offa' she picked up the book and resumed her rudely interrupted hobby-reading.
Eragon's POV
Eragon looked around after asking himself these questions. Now, the board was gone, the walls dark and the cave empty. He checked where Katrina was again, nudged Roran and the two of them began to climb up to the top of the dark 'mountain'.
What is going on? I have a feeling something's wrong…
"Eragon, which one is Katrina in?" Eragon was jolted back into his own world as Roran posed the question. There were indeed many doors. He cursed, feeling that this had all seemed so much smaller from far away before checking again.
"That one," he replied, pointing. Roran started hammering on the door, leaving Eragon free to find Sloan.
He searched the tower for another person but found none. Eragon bit his lip, what now? Was Sloan dead?
He wished there was anyway of checking whether or not he was without opening all the cell doors. "Leave me alone you toothless bastards! I…" Eragon heard Katrina cry. There was silence and then Katina let out her long-held breath with two words, "You came."
"I came"
A laughing sob broke out of Roran…
Eragon looked back at the cells and then down the hall. He followed the sound of the two lovers and turned into the cell.
"You grew a beard!"
Eragon chuckled.
For the first time, Katrina seemed to notice him. She glanced him over, then settled on his face, which she studied with evident puzzlement "Eragon, is that you?"
"Aye,"
YYYYY-Misty-YYYYY
"Are you serious?"
Misty glared at the ceiling and sighed.
"Sorry, it's just…" Misty's best friend began.
"Silly right?" Misty kicked the ground "I know, I know, but it KEEPS happening! I swear of it."
Misty's friend, Florence, looked at her for a long thoughtful while, then she picked up the book, Brisingr, and read the first page. She looked around expectantly, were any dark towers of stone appearing, did Eragon appear crouching by their feet? No, Misty's imagination was probably just going into overdrive due to lack of sleep and god knows what else.
"Maybe your magic!" Florence exclaimed. Misty looked at her.
"Remind me why we're friends again…" she groaned. Florencechuckled.
"Well, tell you me how else characters from a book could be appearing every time YOU read them out? Why else would your day be so odd?"
Misty lowered her eyebrows and started to question her friend's apparent 'high IQ'. She tested.
"What's 96 times 32?"
Florence blinked at her once, very quickly, "3073"
How did she manage that so fast? She was like a blooming calculator!
Misty shook her head, "Anyway, I don't know, and until you get me evidence, I won't believe it. People don't just start jumping out of books!"
Florence looked around at the cafeteria. Boys trying to chat up girls, girls cackling about boys, younger kids annoying older kids, older kids nicking younger kids lunches, all the usual, but whether it was just the two girls imagination, or whether the building had actually shrunk, the world seemed a lot smaller, as though another, larger one had been built right next to it.
"Nah, Misty, you've just gone totally bonkers,"
"Gee, Florence, thanks!"
Florence grinned at her.
YYYYY-Eragon-YYYYY
Roran and Katrina were over the moon and all Eragon could do was sit and pretend he wasn't jealous. Their unstoppable happiness seemed to bounce off the bare surroundings, kick up the leaves from the few trees there were and rub itself in Eragon's face like an old pie from the baker Eragon used to annoy when he was a little boy.
Eragon turned his back on the two. Saphira snorted at him.
Oh, sh! Let me struggle with my own emotions for once!
Saphira put her head on the ground and viewed him sceptically.
Roran screamed out. Eragon sighed. What now? His heart hurt too much from all the love? For crying out loud, he had already said that line twice!
"ERAGON!" only then did Eragon manage to peek through the holes in his jealousy filled mind and realise there was actual pain and panic in Roran's cries. He practically fell of the log he was sitting on to scramble towards the fire around which Roran and Katrina sat. No wait. Just Roran?
"Where…" He was already getting the answer, so Eragon just stood and listened.
"…VANISHED! JUST! THERE! SHE WAS RIGHT THERE!"
They started searching for her, but Eragon knew they were not going to find her there. Eragon had seen the place everyone around him kept on vanishing to through Saphira's memories, she was there, and there was no point in searching for her around Helgrind.
YYYYY-Misty-YYYYY
"Nah, Misty, you've…just…gone absolutely…bwa?" Florence repeated slowly as the woman walked through the hall, lost, dressed oddly and with panic written on her face like the graffiti in the boys' toilet (there was a lot of it).
Misty put own her book in slow motion and watched the woman.
"YOU have GOT to be KIDDING ME!" she shrieked.
She danced between tables, children, teachers, dodged flying fruit and bread and darted between gossiping girls (they were the most dangerous, never mind the little boy throwing cutlery, knives and all, Rihanna got a new haircut AGH!) until she got to the woman.
"Hello, ehem and excuse me, what's your name?"
The woman looked at her. "Ka-Katrina, what's yours?"
Florence pushed herself passed three larger boys and stood behind Misty, just in time to catch her fainting.
"Florence!" she whimpered. "I'm confused."