I Who Should Not Be
Chapter 9
Onika sat alone in the room that she shared with Murtagh, chewing on a piece of jerky that she had found in one of his packs. She had been fed little more than steamed vegetables and bread by Balin's wife, who was told that she was an elf. She had eaten as much as she could out of respect for the dwarf woman, but had soon retreated to the rom complaining of a headache.
As she stood, she winced and put a hand to her back. More than once, her sparring partners had struck her in the kidney and she was really starting to feel it full force. She thought about asking Murtagh or Eragon to heal that wound for her, but her pride stomped on that idea. No, it was better to tough it out and be seen as strong.
She groaned again and walked to the full length mirror, picking up the olive green dress that the tailor had given her earlier. Really, she should try it on at least once…
With a quick nod to her reflection, she peeled off her clothes and looked at herself critically. Her body was decorated with the scars of many battles and punishments, along with a few wildly spiraling tattoos that were supposed to eventually cover her whole body. As of right now, they were only on her belly and back. She would find the necessary tools and continue the ritual that had been cut short, but not tonight.
She turned to examine her back in the mirror and saw that the areas around her kidneys and between her shoulders were badly bruised, and so was her left hip. She touched one of the bruises and winced again, the dress hanging in her other hand.
Suddenly the door opened and Eragon and his brother walked in. For a moment both men looked at her, stunned at their poor timing, and she tipped her head to one side.
:Leader Male forget something? Pack Male, where are you going?:
Eragon closed the door and walked to the corner, his eyes glued to the wall. Murtagh saw this and dragged his eyes away from the Wolfborn, his face burning, to do the same.
:What's wrong? Oh…:
She hastily pulled on the dress and tied it securely before going over and tapping them on the shoulders.
:I'm sorry. With my people, clothes were usually a luxury. I didn't mean to embarrass either of you.:
"It's okay. No harm done."
Eragon looked to his brother and rolled his eyes. The dark haired Rider's mouth still hung open slightly, making Onika chuckle. He sighed and snapped his brother's jaws closed.
"You'll catch flies."
Murtagh shook his head violently and his eyes cleared a bit.
"We were just coming to check on you. But you're okay, so we'll go."
He shoved Eragon out and shut the door, turning back to Onika after a moment.
"Do you want one of us to heal you? Those bruises look bad."
:No.:
"Okay… well…"
When he turned to leave, he heard a rough low female voice from behind him.
"Murtagh."
He halted mid-step and turned to look at the female Rider, a look of confusion on his face.
"Did…Did you just-?"
"Murtagh. You…are…Murtagh. I…am…Onika."
Her words were slow and careful. He blinked wildly and looked into her eyes as she smiled at him.
"How are you doing that? How can you speak our language?"
With a sly smile, she raised an eyebrow and flicked a strand of hair out of his face and closed his mouth more gently than his brother had.
"I…listened."
A/N
Yeah, I know this was short and crappy, but it is all I have right now. Your author has been going to the doctor a lot recently because she has discovered that she is pregnant! Holy cheese! No worries though, I will continue to write and stuff!
I have a question for any guys that may be reading this… What goes through the male mind when it hits him that he has feelings not for the dark skinned leader of the Varden, but rather for the Wolfborn that is sleeping in the same bed as you for the sake of a cover story? I just need help for this as I am most definitely NOT male…
Thank you for all of your great reviews!! I love them!!
Onr sverdar sitja hvass!!