Leaving
Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue. Thank you.
Siloa felt Vrael touch her mind.
Leave now, he told her.
Why? she asked.
Galbatorix is going to kill the Tábors. That includes you, Vrael explained hurriedly.
She pulled herself out of the bed and dressed.
Her husband opened his eyes. "Solaera, where are you going?" he asked.
Siloa whipped around. Should she save him? She had never liked him, but did he deserve to die for that? She remembered how she had caught his eye when she first came to Dras Leona. Nobody had wanted him to marry her, but he always did whatever he damn well pleased. Mort had been in particular objection to the marriage. Marcus the Younger was aptly named as he was the father all over again, and he hadn't cared a wit. Claudius had been mild about it because he had seemed to be used to his father's escapades. She had almost ignored him when she married his father. Claudius himself had had a wife then. The woman had disliked Siloa until her death. She and Claudius had both had little interest in each other. She had thought him practical but boring; he had thought her lacking in caution and almost cruel. Slowly, they had come to understand, trust, like, and even love, each other.
"Solaera, answer me!" Tábor commanded.
Siloa made up her mind. She had to go to the Varden. Tábor would ruin everything there.
"I have to go get Alexandros," she replied nonchalantly.
"Why do you need to get my son?" he asked.
He's my son too, Siloa wanted to shout. She had to be nice to him now, though. Luce would need her help, and she had to get Claudius and Alexandros out of Urû'baen now.
"He has been sick. I need to check on him," she lied.
"Why have not heard of this until now?" Tábor demanded.
Siloa let out a stream of breathe through her teeth. This was not the time for her husband to grow a brain. "I did not wish to worry you," she told him.
This mollified him. "Go if you must. Return soon," he shrugged. The old man was asleep within minutes. Siloa had packed what she would need and strode through the door. She had to get Alexandros first.
When she roused her son from his sleep, the boy looked blearily at her. "What is it, momma?" he asked.
"We have to leave. Danger is here," she explained.
"Is father coming?" he inquired.
Siloa paused. "No," she answered.
Alexandros looked scared. "Is Claudius coming?" he pressed.
Siloa nodded. She picked him up ran to Claudius' room. Sanchez stood outside the door.
"Mistress Solaera, what is it?" the younger man inquired.
"We're leaving," she told him.
"We as in…?" Sanchez pressed.
"You, Alexandros, Claudius, and I," she replied.
"Sanchez, what is going on?" Claudius demanded as he pushed open his door. He stared at Siloa and Alexandros.
"Solaera, why are you here?" he questioned.
"We're leaving," she stated briskly.
"When was that decided?" Claudius asked, grabbing her wrist.
"When I found out that Galbatorix is going to kill us all," Siloa responded. She pushed past Claudius and began to grab things off his dresser. They had to get out now.
"Sanchez, get the horses ready if the king hasn't already gotten to them. Solaera, calm down. We'll be alright," Claudius ordered.
"Call me my real name when we leave here," she whispered. She had finished packing. Sanchez had left the door. Claudius, Siloa, and Alexandros followed him.
He has not yet begun. You have time. At midnight, Marcus dies. The younger will be murdered in Dras Leona at the same time. Mort will not be killed until the opportune moment, Vrael comforted.
Líf fra Andlát, Siloa whispered.
Aye, Vrael replied.
Should we save him? Siloa asked.
We cannot. Galbatorix has him already, Vrael mourned.
Siloa relayed the message to Claudius. He stared at her.
"What is Líf fra Andlát?" he asked.
"Life from death," Siloa translated.
"I know that," Claudius replied. "What does it mean?"
"I'll explain later," Siloa told him. They ran through the corridors. "There's a secret exit here. It goes right to the stables," she put in as they passed a door.
They went through it quickly. Siloa put Alexandros into the saddle in front of her. The five year old looked set. He hadn't liked riding before, but he seemed to know this was important.
Claudius and Sanchez mounted their horse and followed her as she rode out of the stable. The horses trotted across the stones on the pavement. A gallop would have alerted the guards. They didn't need a fight right now.
"Name?" the guard asked Claudius at the gate.
"Martin. I'm going to see my relatives in Gil'ead," Claudius answered smoothly.
"I need a pass," the guard remarked.
"Here," Siloa shouted. She held out a card. "Martin, you left it at home. I got it for you."
As soon as they were through the gate, Claudius asked, "Siloa, why do you always make me be the dumb one when we spy or flee?"
Siloa merely smiled. None but Vrael had called her that name in seventeen years.
Derek lifted himself out of his bed. Deandra had found a way to escape. The red-headed woman stood near him.
"Hurry up, boy. You're moving slower than molasses in January," Deandra scolded.
Derek merely shrugged it off. He was used to Deandra behaving this way.
"Do you have your scrolls?" the healer whispered.
Derek nodded. Bonstan's message for the Varden was tucked securely in his cloak.
"Good," Deandra stated.
"How are we getting out?" Derek inquired. Deandra hadn't been too clear about this.
"You see that horse over there?" Deandra asked, pointing at one of the soldiers geldings.
Derek nodded nervously. "Please, tell me we're not stealing him."
"If you must, call it borrowing without permission with little or no intention of returning it," Deandra snapped. "Of course we're stealing it."
Derek gulped. He didn't know how this was going to work.
"I'll distract the guard. You'll cut the horse free and mount it. You can do that, right?" Deandra explained.
Derek shook his head. "Fine, switch roles," Deandra whispered.
Derek stumbled up to the guard. The man looked down at him good-naturedly.
"Had a little too much to drink, son?" the man asked. His breath reeked of alcohol.
Derek nodded gleefully.
The man chuckled. Deandra came up behind the guard and knocked him out.
"Get on the horse, boy," Deandra ordered nonchalantly.
Derek obeyed without question.
Claudius was awoken from his sleep by the sound of horses. He pulled himself up off the ground and stared into the distance. A red-haired woman and a boy of about ten were riding towards them.
"Siloa! Sanchez! Alexandros!" he barked.
Siloa roused herself immediately. She stood beside him and looked into the distance. She shook her head. "They can't have been sent to find us."
Sanchez came to stand beside them. "Should we go?" he asked.
Siloa stood still for a minute. She stared hard at the riders. "That's Deandra!" she shouted suddenly, her eyes wide.
Claudius turned to look at her. She had told him of Deandra, a girl who had been her friend when she had been Galbatorix's wife, when she had still been called Siloa. Now, she appeared surprised. The horse veered into their camp, and the woman called Deandra tried to make it turn.
"Honestly, you're a gelding, not a stallion! You're supposed to listen when I talk!" Deandra shrieked. The other rider of the horse was trying to control it as well.
Sanchez, who was the closest to Deandra, grabbed the reins and shouted to the horse. Claudius and Siloa joined him quickly. Eventually, they managed to calm down the horse.
Deandra and the boy dismounted and looked at their rescuers. Deandra's hazel eyes surveyed Siloa's face for a moment before she gasped as her eyes widened in recognition.
"You-you-you're dead. They killed you. They..." the maid stuttered.
Siloa shook her head. "I assure you, Deandra, I am quite alive. I have never seen you so lost for words."
"I've never seen a woman brought back from the dead," Deandra shot back.
"I didn't die," Siloa muttered. She began to tell the tale Claudius had heard her tell him the first night they had succumbed to each other. It was the night she had finally begun to trust him. The night had occurred five years ago, and it was around the time Siloa had become pregnant with Alexandros. Claudius wondered who had really fathered the boy. It could be either one of them.
Deandra stared at her. "Only you, Siloa, only you," the woman mumbled.
"Tell me what has happened with you," Siloa urged.
"I raised Luce as you asked me to. She is exactly the girl I would expect you and Galbatorix to make. I am sure you saw that. I was banished to Gil'ead when Ardis escaped, and I tried to flee myself. I was captured along with this boy, Derek. I helped him escape. He has a message for the Varden. He says it's important," Deandra explained.
Siloa and Claudius both examined him. The boy seemed to shrink from their gazes at first, but then he found the courage to meet their eyes.
"I will come with you," he stated. Claudius nodded his approval.
"Milord, should we go?" Sanchez inquired.
"We should rest first," Claudius argued.
"I'll have to agree with that," Sanchez replied. Siloa, Deandra, and Derek nodded ardently. Alexandros had already fallen asleep again.
Vanir slammed his fist against the table. "Aunt Miranda, you can't keep me from going to Helgrind!" he shouted at the female elf that stood across the structure he was mutilating.
"I am your mother's friend. I promised to keep you in check for her. You have no business going to Helgrind. Arya Svit-kona, Eragon, his cousin, and that half-insane village woman whose husband got eaten are going. You need not go. Your place is with the Varden," Miranda protested coolly, her golden-brown eyes set.
Vanir sighed and dropped his head. He thought for a moment, and then said, "The Ra'zac are powerful creatures. My help would not be a problem, Aunt, whatever you may say. I am going. I am not a child, and you are not my mother. I go to save the rider."
Miranda stared at him for a long moment. "You go for the rider, Vanir?" she muttered. The female elf then left the room wordlessly, leaving Vanir alone.
The male elf ran after her and shouted, "Why should I not go for her? She is important to us."
Miranda turned to look at him and stated, "It would seem as though she is important to you."
Vanir stopped in the corridor. He heard another person walking towards him. He turned and saw Aeristor and Analien.
"That was foolish, Vanir. Miranda will use that against you," Aeristor remarked.
"She is my aunt, unlike you, Aeristor," Vanir shot back.
"She is still Miranda," Aeristor corrected.
"She is the manipulator in the game of runes," Analien put in.
"You just dislike her," Vanir argued.
"You would not be so defensive of her if she had refused you. Now, tell me, for whom do you go?" Analien shot back.
"If you say I cannot trust my own aunt, I see not why I should trust you," Vanir replied bitterly.
Aeristor sighed, "Do not fight with Analien, Vanir. You wish to go to Helgrind, you should go. None of us object. If Analien does, I ask her to only give her reasons."
Analien blanched. "I have no objection," she decided coolly after realizing she had no argument.
"Then I shall tell Eragon," Vanir told them both. He stalked away from the two elves.
"Why did you stand up for him?" Analien demanded.
"He had already made up his mind. We could not change it. Your course of action only made him more determined to go. You are young, Analien. You know not how to deal with these things," Aeristor replied. He left the elf girl standing alone in the corridor.
Next chapter is Helgrind, I swear. I just had to get a few things out of the way. Here are the review responses.
Teenchic2004: I'm glad you think it's cute. Sorry that chapter didn't come soon enough. LOL.
Parnagan: I'm glad it was "WOW!"
Amantine: I'm glad you liked this chapter.
Vixen Hood: I didn't think it was that big a twist. It will affect the sequel more. Yes, Ardis' capture is bad for the Varden.