Well, it has been awhile. So sorry this chapter took sooooooo long to be added but it is finally here.

This is the last chapter of the story and if you haven't noticed yet, this story is from Arya's POV. I tried really hard to keep Arya in character throughout this story so I am very sorry if I haven't. For me she is such a difficult character to write about!

Anyways I hope you like it=D

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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Uneven footsteps echoed through the empty hall as the music and festivities were in the centre of the castle. It had been a week since Galbatorix had been defeated and tonight was the first night of the celebrations.

Arya was surprised to actually find this corridor empty as everyone young and old of every race seemed to be here tonight. The castle was bursting with people singing merry tunes with drinks in their hand. Couples had found dark corners or unoccupied tents to have their privacy, even younglings were running around chasing each other as there were no boundaries tonight.

There were spots of light that littered the castle grounds from fires. Juicy smells wafted through the night as tender meat roasted over the fires. Next to every one of those fires were fruit, nuts, breads, vegetables, and beverages, everything to suit everyone that was there.

Arya turned the corner and nearly collided with a couple kissing passionately against the wall. She managed to sidestep them albeit unsteadily as the stab wound she endured from Murtagh was very stiff and hard to move. She managed to heal the deep wound with magic but it tightened her muscles where moving it proves to be a task.

She remembers during the battle, just after she got the stab wound, when everything started to go wrong. She remembers her dread when Murtagh had let slip that they knew of their plan. She remembers how helpless she felt when she saw Eragon falling to his death and seeing him writhing in pain. It was the most horrible feeling of Déjà vu she had ever had. Everything was happening too fast for her to process and analyze the feeling but a few days after their fight she knew why. Faolin. It was like watching Faolin die again. He didn't fall from the sky nor was he kept alive and restrained by a sword on his throat, but instead arrows protruded from his body the day they were ambushed by Durza and the Urgals. Arya could only watch as there was absolutely nothing she could have done to prevent it. Seeing Eragon on the brink of death made her realise that she was given a second chance to save someone she cares about and she was determined not to lose this one.

Arya was happy to see Murtagh and Thorn back in fighting shape within a few days and also happy to see the Varden accepting them. Of course, not everyone is willing to let their guard down with him but that is what happens when your father was one of the worst evils of all time. He is flying up the front with Eragon so as to try and show everyone that he can be trusted. Everyone in the Varden trusts Eragon with their lives and so to have Eragon ride side by side with Murtagh is a way of showing that Eragon trusts Murtagh and if he does then they should trust Murtagh too or at least Eragons judgement.

After the battle, Queen Islanzadi wanted all the elves to return to their home in Ellesméra to let every elf know that the war is over and it is now safe to walk amoung the lands. After some convincing on Aryas part Islanzadi let her stay with the Varden. Blödhgarm and his nineteen other spellcasters were all held high amoung the elves as they were known to not only defeat over a hundred Empire soldiers but also for saving their Princess, Eragon, Jade and Saphira. Although the cost of their survival was hard as there were twenty of them to start off with but only emerged with five in the end.

Jade and Saphira were also making speedy recoveries over the last two weeks, despite the fact that they had to carry their riders the rest of the way to the castle. As far as she knows Eragon is also fully recovered, but that is only what she has heard from reports that have been given to her through the course of their march to the castle. While travelling Eragon led the way while Arya brought up the rear; to make sure there were no surprise attacks from loyal Empire fighters or to make sure that there were no stragglers. The first night they had after the battle she had every intention in going to see Eragon but she underestimated the size of the camp. It was huge and to walk from one end to the other would take hours. She soon realized that as she was limping to Eragons tent. She got halfway and got slightly frustrated when she looked up and saw the full moon in the centre of the sky. She let out an angry breath and was about to turn around when she saw Nasuada's tent still had light burning on the inside and headed over to see her instead. Arya requested that she be sent reports on Eragon's progress everyday and Nasuada gladly complied with the request though she assured Arya that he was fine.

But Arya knows that Eragon is not fine. He may appear fine on the outside and he may be good at putting up a charade of good health but Arya knows him better than that. She can see it in his eyes. Whatever Galbatorix did to him during that battle has traumatised him to the point where he is trying to hide it from everyone. Arya saw it drifting in his eyes when she asked him if he was alright when they had just flown back to the battlefield where the Varden and the Empire were fighting. Eragon dropped Galbatorix's lifeless body in the middle of the battle. Everyone had stopped while he landed and announced with a strong voice that "the King has fallen." It took a little while but Angela was the first to start cheering, which set off a domino effect throughout the Varden and most of the Empire. Arya looked over at Eragon to see him smiling too but that is when she first noticed it drifting in his eyes.

Arya approached another set of double doors and carefully, quietly, opened one of the doors. She looked around and saw who she was looking for. She watched his back as a small smile graced her lips. She had a feeling he would up here. He always did like beauty.

She walked over to him with soundless footsteps. Once she was close enough he turned toward her and she stopped in her tracks as brown met green. She didn't want to intrude on his privacy or time but she needed to talk to him to make sure he really is alright. She waited until he gave off a sign whether for her to stay or go.

At last Eragon smiled out the side of his mouth and motioned with his head to join him. Arya gladly accepted and sat down next to him, while his legs dangled off the ledge Arya sat cross-legged with a straight back. They were so close to the ledge that if Arya looked down at her lap she wouldn't be able to see the concrete she's sitting on but without any wind she feels comfortable to sit so close.

They sat in a comfortable silence as they watched the firefly like fires below. They listened to the distant festivities of the celebration as they were too isolated from everyone; everything sounded like a distant humming. The smoky smells from the fires had diluted by the time they filled her nostrils as they were sitting up so high.

Arya shook her head slightly; she came up here for a reason. "Eragon..." She waited until she had his attention.

When he turned his head to look at her she started again. "Are you okay?"

He smiled in confusion at her. "I am well."

Arya was definitely not being fooled; the incriminating evidence was so obvious in his eyes. "Eragon you cannot fool me. I know you are hurting."

His smile left his face as she spoke the words. She watched as he crossed his legs like her and his shoulders sagged. She sighed and spoke softly. "You know that I have been through torture and I know the emotional and physical strain it can put on the mind and the body. I am just letting you know that I am here should you feel the need to talk."

He looked across to her and smiled his appreciation. "Thank you Arya Svit-Kona."

She nodded her head but held his gaze as she wanted to keep his attention. "I hope you do not mind me asking Eragon but what happened?" Seeing his confused look he was giving her she realised that she was being vague. "During the battle, what happened?"

Eragon shrugged and replied: "You were there."

By his answer Arya realised that she was still being vague. She took a deep breath and blew it out before rephrasing her question. "I mean, what happened to you during the battle?" She watched his reaction closely.

Eragon started to frown as the memories clouded his thoughts. She caught a glimpse of an expression that she couldn't quite put her finger on before turning his attention back down at the activity below. Arya watched him having an internal conflict over something, she doesn't know what but she was definitely curious.

It took a little while but Eragon finally heaved a sigh, as if he is announcing his final decision. "Galbatorix was in my mind."

Arya looked at him void of emotion but she was wondering why he chose to word it in such a manner. "You mean he managed to break through your defences." She corrected him.

Eragon just shook his head. "No Galbatorix was in my head. I saw him just standing there; mocking me, almost daring me to do something. But every time I did try, nothing would happen." Eragon hesitated then took a deep breath. "Then he started to warn me after my persistence but I would not heed to his warning because I foolishly believed he was bluffing."

He paused again as Arya watched his frown deepen. Either he was finding it hard to get the right words out or he couldn't remember.

"I cannot explain how he did it but it felt like my whole body was on the verge of exploding."

"Exploding?" Arya asked

Eragon took a moment to think about his answer but when he did he carried on in an unsure voice. "Have you ever eaten so much that your stomach feels so full that you cannot move because of the discomfort?"

Arya nodded and replied. "Of course."

"Imagine that tenfold throughout your body."

Arya frowned at Eragon. In all honesty, she cannot imagine what the feeling could be like but she can imagine filling something up passed its point where it can contain it. She wondered how Galbatorix knew of such magic. To invade someone's mind is normal though not recommended but to actually appear in their mind is unheard of.

Arya shivered involuntarily as Eragon pressed on. "He cut off all contact to the outside world and he was talking to me like I was you. At first it was strange until I realised that he was talking to you because I heard you, distantly, talking back."

Again he paused and frowned at his fidgeting fingers in his lap. It was easy to tell that he was having an argument with himself again but Arya could tell that it was not a question of trying to find the words or trying to remember the chain of events, this was deciding whether or not to tell her. She hoped he would, it is none of her business if he chooses not to but she is so curious to know how he managed to break out of Galbatorix's hold and save her.

Arya was surprised to see a smirk break out onto Eragon's face. "I guess he was so arrogant that he did not plan anything for if you said no."

Arya smirked a little too as she remembered the look on his face when she said such a foreign word to him. But her emotionless face returned as she thought on what he said. "Why would Galbatorix want you to hear our conversation?"

Eragon chuckled to himself and shook his head. Arya frowned at him confused, was he mocking her? Feeling a bit annoyed she was about to retaliate when Eragon answered softly. "He liked to watch people squirm and suffer. He thought you would accept." He looked down in his lap again and spoke the next part so quietly Arya had to strain her keen elf ears to hear him.

"He thought I would say yes to his...proposal?" Arya hesitated as she didn't really know what to call it.

Eragon nodded. "I did too."

Arya was taken aback. How could Eragon even think that she would submit to a beast like Galbatorix? Arya heaved out a frustrated sigh as she moved herself to face him. "I admit that the offer was alluring." It was Arya's turn to pause and think about how best to word this. "Of course I had to think about it. It seemed that we were about to lose everything we worked so hard for and the only way to salvage that sliver of hope was to submit to his proposal. I knew I would make a difference if it meant a small sacrifice on my behalf."

His gaze was still watching his fingers playing with each other as she followed his gaze and saw her hand move of its own accord over his to stop them from moving. Her breath hitched in her throat as she saw his eyes snap to their hands in shock.

It was such an impulsive move and she was as surprised as he was that she wanted to pull away, but she didn't. "But..." She carried on softly as he met her gaze. "...you are as mad as Galbatorix if you think I could have killed you."

Arya kept her gaze unwavering as Eragon bore his eyes into her. Searching for something that can give him an indication of any untruthfulness but Arya was confident that nothing of the sort showed because what she said was true.

Although finding out about his health is very important to Arya, what she really wants to know is how he managed to break Galbatorix's hold on him and save her. She couldn't understand how at one instant he was writhing in pain and then the next standing over her with his sword dripping in the late Kings blood.

"Eragon how did you save me?"

Eragons already dark eyes turned a shade darker as he looked back down at their hands. Arya could tell he was reluctant to tell her, for reasons she knows not of. He slipped his hand out from under hers with a sigh and stood up to look straight down over the edge. The fires that littered the ground and the light of the moon produced enough light for Arya to see the troubled and confused look that was etched into his features.

Eragons whole demeanour told Arya that he was not in the mood to discuss how he managed to do it. Arya considered the pain. She knows from her own experience of torture that talking about it can re-open old wounds that would prefer to be closed. The emotional and physical pain that was dealt to her while being held captive was inhumane.

Before Arya could fall into an emotional turmoil she was brought back when she heard Eragon take a deep breath. "Do you remember when I told you that I could hear your conversation? And during the battle, when I managed to wake up to look at you." He stated in a hoarse voice.

Arya nodded and replied softly. "Aye."

"When Galbatorix asked you to be his queen, something inside of me snapped." He said slowly. Arya frowned up at him as the memories of his confession after his Agaetí Blödhren celebration flooded back to her.

Eragon chuckled to himself again as he looked up at the stars. Arya then realised that this laugh and the one before was not him mocking her but it was Eragon mocking himself. She felt a bit better knowing that he was not laughing at her but she was still left wondering why he was laughing at all.

He finally looked down at her and asked softly. "Are you sure you want to know?" Arya could see that he was pleading with his eyes that she would say no but she couldn't lie. She really did want to know.

Arya gave a single nod as Eragon kept watching her. A grim smile spread to his lips as he rubbed the back of his neck and spoke to the stars. "I love you Arya." He turned his eyes back to her and the intensity of his gaze startled Arya. "Do you think that I could stand watching you with another man? Even if you did kill me, in death I would be sick with grief knowing that I left you vulnerable to that beast." Arya saw his jaw clench and unclench in his tell-tale sign that he was nervous. She found it rather odd that he would be nervous when he has done this before but, then again, she did not respond very well then.

"I started to fight back. Just thinking of what he could do to you was making me angry, so I fought him until I realised that you didn't say no straight away." He looked straight out over the horizon as he continued. "I started to give up, if you decided that it was best for everyone that you should accept his proposal then who was I to throw away a chance of hope for Alagaësia for my own selfish reasons?"

Arya felt a twang of sympathy for Eragon. While being tortured by Galbatorix he was also being tortured by the person he cares the most for when she takes her time to say no. "But you understand why it took me a while to say no?"

"I do now." He said and let the silence envelope them. To Arya it looked like he was mulling over everything in his mind before telling her.

"When you finally said no and I heard your reasoning..." Eragon carried on looking straight ahead. "...I was filled with a new resolve. I saw and felt Galbatorix's rage and I knew he was going to hurt you or end you. There was no way I would let that happen to the person I love most." He said the last bit as more of an afterthought.

He looked back at her with an amused smile on his lips. "I thought your words to be bold Arya. A very risky thing to say to him, you may as well have keeled over then and there."

Arya smirked at him but felt as though he should know that she would do something like that. It is just not Arya to let Galbatorix or any enemy for that matter, walk all over her. "It was not bold; it was my tongue running before my mind."

"Well then your tongue is bold." Arya hummed an amused laugh at Eragons reply though his smile left his face. "There was finally an opening. I do not know exactly how it happened but at the time I had no chance to think about it I had to act and break through or be lost to Galbatorix forever. When I was finally able to open my eyes I saw him, reaching for his sword with hatred filled eyes trained on you. And...Well, you know the rest."

They fell into an uncomfortable silence as Aryas mind recollected the events that followed Eragon's story. She thought over his words and found his actions to be reasonable even if she doesn't like the fact that he thought that he may as well have given up just because Arya thought it best. He has proved her wrong before and though she hates it when anyone, especially him, does it, she will accept it if it really is right.

"You don't seem surprised Arya."

Arya found that her eyes were still watching him as he looked out over the land. She smiled slightly and replied. "Do you expect it of me?"

He thought about it for a little while then looked down at her with a bashful look on his face. "I guess it was bound to happen again."

Arya smiled her tight lipped smile in return and stood up to face him. While his body was turned toward the land his eyes never left her. "What I am surprised about though, is how you can keep pursuing me though I have done nothing but cause you strife."

Eragon shrugged and smiled wistfully. "The heart wants what the heart wants."

Arya nodded, she felt a kind of satisfaction and understanding with his answer. "That it does."

They fell into another silence except this time it was comfortable. They just stood there, enjoying each other's company, watching the celebrations progress without them.

Arya turned her head to look at what Eragon is looking at as she let her mind wonder. She would be lying if she said that she had no feelings for Eragon, it was just hard for her to admit because the last time she did Faolin was unfairly taken away from her. Arya scolded herself for thinking of him again, he is gone and she knows it too. She had a lot of time to think about it while held prisoner in Gil'ead so she also had a lot of time to grieve for him. At first she couldn't, wouldn't believe that he had really been killed. It just seemed so unreal, or maybe the mere thought of him being gone was the unreal part.

She then started to cry, a lot. Even when it seemed that she had no more tears to shed she still managed to find some hidden away. She had never cried so much in her century worth of life.

When her tears finally started to cease she started to bargain to anyone who was willing to listen, or maybe she thought that someone would be listening to her because at the time she thought it an unselfish request on her part. She couldn't have been in any worse a position. She was kept prisoner by none other than a shade who happened to work for Galbatorix, tortured everyday and given poison and drugs at night to suppress her magic and allow her no reprieve. No one knew of her whereabouts – she didn't even know where she was let alone how long she had been there for. Everything felt hopeless while being held captive so why not beg someone to kill her and escape the pain just so as the person she cares for will come back and lead a better life than she could at that moment.

But after her journey to the Varden and then back to her home of Ellesméra, where she spent a lot of her time supervising Eragon's training, did she come to accept his death. As much as she wishes that it didn't happen, it did and no amount of bargaining or tears will change that.

Arya was brought out of her thoughts when Eragon cleared his throat. "Though I like spending time with you, speaking or not, I regret to say goodnight as I am very weary from our travels."

Arya didn't want him to leave just yet; his presence is exactly what she needed at that moment. But if he needs his rest then who was she to stop him from getting it? Instead she inwardly sighed and inclined her head slightly. "Goodnight Eragon."

"Goodnight Arya." She could've sworn she saw a flash of disappointment flicker in his eyes but he walked away without another word and Arya was left there feeling lonely as she listened to his retreating footsteps.

Arya is very accustomed to loneliness and she welcomes it with open arms but at that moment when Eragon left her side, she felt like something wasn't right. Like something, or rather someone, is suppose to stay with her.

"Eragon." She didn't even let her brain process anything; it was an impulsive thing that slipped through her lips. But she heard his footsteps halt at the sound of his name being called so she turned around to face him.

She met his searching gaze as hers studied his. Although they were at the celebration of Galbatorix's fall he looked defeated. It was like looking into an emotional mirror of herself, all she saw was the look of lost and loneliness in his eyes.

Arya, still not thinking about any of her actions, started towards him, still keeping her gaze steady on his. As she reached him she hesitated only for an instant before wrapping her arms around his waist. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes tightly; hoping that he would not reject her while she is in such a vulnerable situation. But all fear of that happening was washed away when Eragon finally hugged her back, resting his chin on top of her head.

She stood there, just absorbing the moment when she did another impulsive thing – it seemed to be her habit tonight. She pulled back and went up on her toes slightly to whisper in his ear. "Thank you for saving my life Eragon." She hesitated again before pulling back and looking up at his wide eyed expression. "I also want to thank you for being there for me, in every way I could possibly ask, or every way I did not ask..." She added smiling a little as his bashful smile appeared on his face again, "You have been the best friend that I do not deserve."

Arya watched as his face dropped at the mention of being friends. She didn't want to diminish his hopes so she went up onto her toes again and placed a light kiss on his cheek, lingering there for a bit longer than she initially intended.

Once she pulled back to look at him again she almost laughed at the ridiculous look on his face. But she managed to contain it as she added in a soft voice. "I hope that you do no stop trying."

She squeezed his arm in encouragement and watched his face contort from that of surprise to an incredulous look. She had to make sure that he got her cryptic message and by the smile that is slowly forming on his lips she could tell that he completely understood her meaning.

She smiled back and took that as her cue and bids Eragon a goodnight again. Without waiting for his reply she steps away from him and heads back the way she came.

As she walks unsteadily though the hall thinking and, spirits forbid, blushing, Jade contacts her though their link and lets her amusement pass through to her rider. "You really know how to make a man hunt the deer."

Arya smiled at the comment and replied. "I have already fallen in the trap he has set for me, now it is time for him to find which trap he has, in fact, snagged me."

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And there we have it=D

I hope that the wait (if there was one lol) wasn't disappointing.

Thanks for reading=D

Melissa