Part Seven:

Days passed by fast at the Academy. You hanged out with Loki, Thor and Sif most of the time and introduced them to your best friends, Darla and Frask. Sif and Darla got along well so you were soon left with the boys. Frask and Thor were engaged in their own conversation about war stories and adventures of their own when Loki circled his arms around your waist drawing your attention to him.

'You didn't say anything lately. Everything's okay?' you asked quietly placing your hands on his around your waist.

'I had a conversation with your father some days ago… he is concerned about you' said the Trickster. 'Did you speak with him since we arrived?'

'…no' you answered feeling guilty. Eragon deserved your apology and you couldn't even face him because of your guilt. You were the one who pushed him away and told him all those things when it wasn't his fault. Whenever you thought back to the old times you could realize now how he looked at you with that silent plea to whatever gods are there for them to create an opportunity for him to call you his daughter. While you always wished you had a father like him. Now it became true and you didn't have the guts to tell him that you love him and want him to be a part of your life? You felt pathetic.

'Good' said Loki and let go of you suddenly. You turned around confused by his answer but you found no one behind you missing his touch.

'(Name)? What's wrong?' turned to you Thor and Frask seeing your distressed expression.

'I just… I need to find Loki' and you took off to his room. He was usually in his room when you weren't with him. The library was full of Rider recruits so it wouldn't be the place he would choose. As you ran down the corridors in the dormitory you ran into someone feminine. She had bright red locks and brown eyes with long eyelashes. You stumbled to the floor with her but rolled off of her quickly and apologized.

'I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going' you smiled apologetically at her.

'Oh, it's okay, (Name)' smiled at you the other girl. Your eyes widened at her response. It wasn't an accusation or insult which surprised in itself but she called you by your name and not princess or bastard.

'Do I know you?' you asked confused. Her smile widened and she shook her head.

'No, but it is time for us to meet!' she chirped. 'I am Ismira, daughter of Roran, your cousin.'

Your eyebrows almost hit your hairline in surprise and you gasped. Last time you saw her she was small and had two pigtails bouncing as she ran after Srunugr happily. You were confused as to why she was still alive because humans don't live more than eighty years at best. Roran and Katrina were long dead because so much time passed but Ismira still looked to be in her early twenties.

'How can you be alive?' was the first question leaving your lips. You clapped your hands on your mouth. 'Sorry, it was rude, forgive me please.'

'No, no it's okay, (Name)' she chuckled. 'I became a Rider not long after you got locked up. So… here I am…'

'Wow… I have so much to learn of those who lived their lives during these two hundred years…' you sighed sadly. You noticed a small coil in Ismira's hand and furrowed your eyebrows. 'What is that?'

'Queen Jonaldel sent me back to deliver her message to the council members' she answered. 'The atmosphere in Alagaësia is too heavy and tense. People started to fear and most of them gone to Teirm and the other seaside cities. Vraë's army took Gil'ead in two days ago. He's now the soulless king's ally.'

'How many people died?' you asked your face changing into a serious one. Your rage starting to boil. You lost so many precious ones to you in the last battle you fought with the soulless king, Eldon. Your hands balled into fists as your eyebrows furrowed.

'Almost the whole town except those who could escape or weren't near' sighed Ismira. 'The council will have a meeting in the noon. You're invited.'

'I'll be there' you nodded and said goodbye to her before going to your room. You needed some time to think before you would end up yelling at anyone in the conference room on the meeting.

You sat down on your bed and looked down to your lap where your hands rested and sighed out a shaky breath. Your body shook as you were flooded with memories of the past.

Flashback~

You were sitting in your tent staring onto the ground between your legs as you tried to concentrate on the oncoming battle. Everyone was so tense just like you but the fact that you just said your goodbyes maybe forever to Loki made your heart throb more painfully. A few days passed since your first kiss and you still dreamt of his thin lips on yours.

You just talked to Eragon but both of your words felt like dancing around a sensitive topic. Srunugr was in front of your tent's entrance and you sensed him to be just as nervous and tense as you and everyone was. You didn't speak to Arya yet and didn't want to but you promised you would do that after you win. You had to win and you needed to protect your people, making the burden heavier on your shoulders. You thoughts still swirled around Loki and your first kiss but the memories of your mother and your master kissing flashed between those thoughts making you angry and confused.

You looked up at your armor which would be soon on you. A few hours separated you from your first big battle. Your heart raced in your chest and you couldn't eat all day. Someone lifted your tent's slab and walked inside your eyes finding Murtagh. His now longer dark brown hair was in a tiny pony tail at the back of his head while his brown eyes looked intensely into your (e/c) ones.

'I thought you must need some fresh air, kid. Come' lifted the tent's entrance Murtagh with his hand and you knew you didn't have a choice so you got up and walked outside. Clouds gathered around on the sky hiding the sun from you and making everything seem grey and bitter. You could smell rain in the air and heavy, cold wind blew throughout the field you were camping. You followed Murtagh silently assuming he wanted to scold you for running away for so long and not contacting anyone. You reached the small grove near the camp but he still walked quietly farther. You were too lost in your swirling thoughts that you didn't notice him stopping and you bumped into his back. You rubbed your nose and looked up at him sheepishly.

'I'm sorry… wasn't looking where I was going' you mumbled. Murtagh turned around and sighed placing a hand on your shoulder.

'It is alright to be afraid, (Name)' said gently the Rider.

'I'm not afraid, Murtagh…' you shook your head.

'I told myself the same thing everytime I tried to kill Eragon back then' said the brunette looking at you seriously. 'Look, I know you well enough to see when you're afraid or nervous, (Name). You have to face your fears in a few hours and you should do it now because if you don't pay attention when you fight you will die. I don't know what happened in Ellesméra and I don't want to know either but you should get over it now at least until we win.'

'Eragon didn't tell you?' you asked surprised.

'I knew the truth since a long time but I didn't want any details' shrugged Murtagh. He looked around and sat down on a fallen tree trunk groaning. The Rider patted the spot next to him looking at you expectantly so you walked over and sat down next to him.

'That isn't the only thing bothering me' you said looking onto the ground. 'You know I'm friends with the Asgardian princes… and um… one of them asked me to be their wife.'

'You're old enough after all' shrugged Murtagh making you blush. 'Arya will be furious if she gets to know that-'

'Nothing happened between us!' you cried out trying to fight the blush which covered your whole face now. Murtagh started laughing at your blushing face and made your eyes widen in surprise. It was the first time you heard him laugh. You saw small smirks and smiles here and there but he never laughed so carefree before.

'Will you go back after the battle?' he asked after he calmed down.

'Mother will punish me so… there's not much chance to that' you shook your head.

'She really loves you, (Name), you have to know that' said the brunette.

'Huh… yeah, she always showed it with punishes and disapproval everything I did. I couldn't be perfect enough for her… everytime I failed something she just kept telling me to be better and when I finally succeed at something she just told me that it was the least I could do.' you huffed.

'She just fears that other rulers will find something objectionable in you and they would hurt you when you would take over the throne, if you would take over the throne' smiled sadly Murtagh.

'I will have you and Eragon and everyone by my side in that case' you answered smiling brightly at him. Murtagh was always there for you and protected you since you met him at the academy. At first Eragon had to drag him to teach the recruits but soon he started enjoying teaching the new ones.

'But not forever, (Name)' shook his head the Rider next to you. A sad but comfortable silence fell on you making nature's voices stand out. Birds chirping above you and wind blowing, it all made you feel at ease like you were the part of it all. 'We should go back.'

Murtagh's voice broke your daydreaming and you stood up before following him back to the camp. The Vardens were preparing for battle, their kids and wives spending their last minutes with these men. You and Murtagh separated in the mass of tents as the air was still filled with the smell of stew or roast. You soon arrived to your tent where Srunugr curled up on the ground at the entrance. His head perked up at seeing you and you hugged his neck pressing your face to his scaled skin.

'Eragon searched for you a few minutes ago. It seemed to be serious' said your dragon.

'I'm going to talk to both mother and him after the battle' you answered before walking inside your tent. You organized the stuff you thought was unnecessary right then and picked out Kweikva, your green star iron sword. You unfolded it from the rags you wrapped it and admired it in your lap. You decided to put on your armor when you sensed danger slowly crawl towards you. You stood in front of your mirror looking into the eyes of a fearless elven warrior you never thought you could be. You (e/c) orbs flamed with fire and your features settled into a serious, hard and cold expression.

'I wish the armor wouldn't suit you so perfectly' spoke up Arya behind you. Her green orbs looking over you with some kind of admiration and sadness.

'This is my duty as a princess not just the balls and conferences' you answered looking at her beautiful features. You two looked similar yet different. Her eyes met yours and bored into them while she placed her palms on your shoulders.

'Yes, but you're the future as well' she said.

'Mother, I promise you, I will not die' you answered determined. 'But because I made a promise to someone I love with all of my heart and soul… and I am keeping my promises.'

Her eyes widened in surprise but went back to unreadable in a flash of a moment. Her lips slowly pulled into a sad smile and she shook her head.

'You're so much like your father, (Name)' her voice rang through your being as she said that. You couldn't keep yourself from asking anymore so you turned around suddenly and looked into her eyes directly.

'Tell me why did you keep the truth from me?' you asked quietly but just as powerfully. You couldn't wait for the answer anymore and you felt Srunugr's attention turn to the conversation. Suddenly the alarming horns sounded through the camp alerting everyone for the coming battle and to gather into their own divisions. Both of you burst out of your tent and looked around. You jumped up on Srunugr's back while your mother did the same with Firnen. Your dragon jumped up into the air and stopped above the camp fifty feet high. You could look over the whole camp and you watched the soldiers hurry towards the battle field.

'It has begun' rumbled through your mind Srunugr's voice. You looked over the landscape while Srunugr flied towards the front lines. Queen Nasuada, Eragon, Murtagh and Arya with the council told you about the battle plan. Your duty was to lead the sixth division on the left side and if it was possible get behind the enemy. Your dragon landed in front of your division in his armor making everyone look up at you two in awe. You heard the signaling horns in the distance so you pushed Kweikva into the air and cried out. The soldiers behind you followed your example and ran after you with their horses. Soon the two bevies met and blood started flowing onto the grass. The strange thing was that the enemy's soldiers didn't die even if you pushed your sword through their heart. They just kept walking towards you. Srunugr sliced them in two with his claws but the soldiers cut in half just kept crawling towards the Vardens. You heard frightened and death screams from your right and shot your head towards the sounds but what you saw was something you never thought was possible.

The enemy's soldiers with skin as pale and sickly as a dead man's grabbed hold of one of the men and sank their teeth in his flesh before ripping large pieces out of his body. Everyone's eyes widened in horror and fear as yours did but soon all of you had to continue to chop these half dead soldiers unless you wanted to get eaten. Someone cried out in victory near your position.

'Stick your sword in their head! Their head is the key!' sounded from a man. Your division started attacking their heads and it was a success finally. You killed as many as you could when you noticed something strange in the distance. Horse hooves beat up dust by nine riders all of them wore black clothes, hoods hiding their faces. The half dead soldiers were all down but the next attack came from these mysterious riders.

'They are different…' sounded Srunugr's voice in your head.

'They seem to be strong' you answered as you could finally take a deeper breath and turn your attention to the approaching men. Suddenly riders raced through your division slicing your men's heads from their horses' backs. You gasped in surprise but you felt a sword coming for your head too. You bended your back at the last second but the force you moved pushed you down onto the ground. You jumped back up and turned to Srunugr who had a big wound on his right leg, hot and crimson blood flowing out of it slowly.

'It's just a scar, don't worry' reassured you the green dragon. Reinforcement joined you with Arya on the front lines. Your heart bumped in your chest with relief at her sight.

'Are you alright?' asked Arya her mind flowing into yours like a river.

'Yes, mother' you answered. Your attention turned back to Srunugr. 'I'm going to heal your wound a bit. Please don't move.'

'There is no need for it, (Name). I'm alright' dismissed it the emerald green dragon next to you. You turned your head to the leader of the mysterious riders. He was tall and the robes he wore hid the upper half of his face but even then you could make out a large scar over the left side of his face. He slowly pushed back his hood with his companions in sync. He had silvery white hair, thin lips and strong jaw. His left eye was blind because of the scar going through it while his other, good blue one looked at you with a cold hardness and cruelty chilling you to your bones.

Your lines collided in mere moments and you found yourself eye to eye with the scared man and another. They radiated coldness you never thought anyone could. After a few blow at their head and other body parts let you realize what was wrong with these men. They were soulless. They didn't care of who died or how not even about their own death making them a fearful enemy.

'I have heard about you, (Name) Dröttningu' spoke up the leader. 'I would love to not kill someone as beautiful as you but unfortunately your country is what our king needs. And you will all fall to your knees in front of him… or die.'

'Someone will surely fall but not my people' you narrowed your eyes at him and attacked him. The leader just smirked playfully and dodged your attack. You were fast enough to dodge his strike at your back as you turned around and parried his long sword. Srunugr's claw suddenly landed on his shoulder drawing a long and deep wound along his back. The man just turned around and threw his sword right into your emerald dragon's chest with an incredible force. Your chest felt like someone stabbed you but all you could do was watch Srunugr fall to the ground.

'I'm sorry, little one… I could not protect you…' you heard his voice fading into silence inside of your head. You searched for his mind but there was only darkness and silence. Your eyes loaded with tears and all you heard was silence. Painful… suffocating silence.

End of flashback~

Someone was shaking you by your shoulders. Your lips were ajar and your eyes filled with tears. Those hands… were cold but in a soothing way as they slid onto your bare neck caressing the skin. You looked into worried blue eyes and saw finally the man you loved so deeply.

'(Name)… love… what is wrong?' he asked concerned.

'Memories… enemy… blood… death…' you mumbled but Loki noticed a burning fire flame in your (e/c) orbs as you looked almost through him. 'Revenge.'

To be continued…