A/n: Talk about a hard chapter, It took off though and is uber long. Anyways all you who reviewed said pg-13 was good with you, so I will go with what feels right. If you don't like it well…you have only a few more chapters to speak up. So yea, go ahead and read, hope ya like it!
Ch. 14
The next morning Aris woke up just as the sun reached the sky, the fog barely lifted, the morning gray. She sat up and folded the blanket Eragon had placed on her last night. That action had been reassuring to Aris, had he been at all suspicious that she was part elf, he would not have stared at her for an hour last night or placed a blanket over her.
She stood up and felt the toll yesterday had taken on her body, she was stiff and achy. She stretched painfully and placed the blanket and his cloak on top of Eragon's saddle bags. Aris looked around and noticed a small stream to the side of the camp, so she walked quietly over to it.
As she saw her reflection she was repulsed by her appearance. Her high delicate cheekbones were pronounced against her gaunt, sunken cheeks. Her chin was bony and her forehead was sickly white and huge against her thin features. Her hair was long, all the way to her waist, but it was knotted and matted with mud…and blood from the look of it. She stood up and saw how frail her legs looked, her dress falling just above her knees, very ripped and dirty. Her shoulders were bare save for the one piece of cloth holding her dress up, it was thin and it hung on her body making her looked hunched and sick. She couldn't even remember what color the dress was supposed to be. She knelt down and splashed the cold water on her face.
After a few minutes of scrubbing, Aris wiped her eyes and looked back at her face. It was cleaner now, but each cut and scrape was red from the scrubbing and stood out against her now clean pale skin. There was a bruise from where Bryshaw had slapped her yesterday too. Her hands were pink from the cold water; they were callused and torn up. Aris sighed and turned as she heard someone approach her from behind.
"Morning…I woke up out of habit." Katrina shrugged and knelt next to Aris, "Wow, you washed your face! You have such pretty skin." Katrina smiled and dipped her hands into the water splashing it on her own face. "Huh, doesn't make that big of a difference with all these scrapes does it."
"It does, you look refreshed." Aris commented sitting back and tucking her legs into her chest.
"Thanks…umm do you think maybe you could still teach me magic?" She asked curiously.
"Riders are skilled in magic, Roran can teach you." Aris said staring at the morning sky.
"Yes, but somehow I doubt that he wants me to learn to fight, he wants me to run and hide when danger comes. But…I will not be taken without a fight like last time." Katrina clenched her fists in determination.
"The potion hasn't worn off yet, but I will still help you if you'd like."
Katrina smiled and picked up a stray pebble, "Shoot it across the camp right?" Aris nodded.
A--E
Roran awoke with a start as he realized Katrina was no longer in his arms. He banged on Inarkien's flank so he would lift his wing then he darted out to the camp. He relaxed as he saw Katrina sitting with Aris. They were looking at something in Katrina's palm. His eyes grew wide when the pebble lifted and wobbled before shooting two feet then dropping, his jaw dropped.
Eragon came running out from beside Saphira, to stand next to Roran, "Did you feel that? Someone is doing magic!" He said quickly, then he noticed Roran pointing and the expression on his face. He followed his gaze and saw Katrina lifting the pebble again with magic. Murtagh joined them just then and all the dragons shook themselves awake.
"Magic? How did she learn that? Surely the slavers didn't teach her." Inarkien rumbled through their minds.
"I…I don't know…" Roran mumbled, suddenly Katrina looked up at them.
"Morning!" she called with a bright smile, getting up and crossing the camp to Roran. She greeted him with a kiss, and he momentarily forgot his shock as her soft lips molded against his. As she pulled away Aris approached the group warily.
"Uh," Roran cleared his throat to regain his thoughts, "Were you just using magic?" he asked, still holding her tight against his chest.
"Yes, I'm not very good yet though." Katrina shrugged nonchalantly, acting as if it didn't matter.
"Why? How? Who?" Roran blurted, confused.
"Aris, because I want to be able to defend myself, and the same way anyone else would learn." Katrina stated, proud of herself for how much she had learned, and how much stronger she had grown in mind and body.
Roran simply gaped at her, while Eragon stared at Aris, "You can use gramarye?" He asked, slightly suspicious.
"I haven't been able to for a long while, but my mother was proficient, I was able to teach Katrina." Aris said quietly, standing a few feet away from the group.
"I didn't notice yesterday the difference in Katrina's mind, now I can tell she has it blocked." Eragon thought to Saphira.
"It has been a long while since you've been near her, and I think Aris just answered our question about being drugged. She used to use gramarye and her mind is more pronounced this morning." Saphira replied, as she studied Aris with a large blue eye.
"I don't know Katrina…magic is dangerous…" Roran didn't like the idea at all.
"Roran, next time someone wants to harm me-"
"I'll protect you, I'm stronger now." Roran interrupted. Murtagh moved away and began pulling out bread and cheese for breakfast as well as boiling water.
Katrina smiled softly and placed two fingers on Roran's lips, "Next time someone wants to harm me, I will be able to hold my own, I'll take two of them and you can take the other forty-eight, deal?" She smiled but she really wanted his approval, she would learn anyways, but she wanted his support. He gently removed her fingers from his lips but didn't release her hand.
"Only if you are very careful, and don't try anything out of your strength capacity." He qualified. She nodded and smiled, giving him a huge hug. Aris turned away and sat by the fire, her stomach suddenly grumbled.
Murtagh looked up from dividing the bread and grinned at her, "Hungry are we?" Aris nodded slightly. "Well it's a good thing we don't have to wait for anything to cook." He stood up and handed her a large chunk of bread and cheese. Then passed another large chunk to Katrina before handing his brothers their shares.
Aris bit into the bread and closed her eyes at its taste. It was just basic loaf bread, but it was fresh and soft, something she hadn't had for years. She hungrily bit into the cheese and its taste was almost foreign to her mouth, as if it was only in her dreams she had eaten it before. She took her time eating it and when it was gone, though her starved shrunken stomach was very full, she longed for more.
"What's the water for Murtagh? We don't have tea or cups." Roran asked when everyone had finished.
"I guessed that before we left you would want to heal Katrina, but since Aris is uncomfortable with us healing her, and rightly so, I thought perhaps she would like to tend to her wounds herself." Murtagh explained pulling out a few strips of clean rags from his pack.
"Good idea." Eragon agreed, "But, I really wish you would let one of us heal that bruise on your cheek, it looks swollen."
Aris didn't know how to respond to the kindness these men were showing, it didn't feel right that strangers should be so nice to people they didn't know or care about. "Thank you for the rags, but your energy need not be wasted on me Eragon." She finally responded quietly.
"Just the bruise and I won't ask to heal you again though the offer will always stand." Eragon suggested, he really wanted this girl to feel more comfortable; it seemed as if she was putting herself through unnecessary suffering, but he didn't want to push her.
Aris thought for a moment, a bruise really wasn't hard to heal, and it was very tender. After a moment she nodded, and Eragon got up to approach her. She resisted the instinct to flinch away from his touch and scoot away from him, as he knelt on one knee in front of her. He very gently placed his palm over her cheek, his fingers warm on her skin. "Waíse heill." he spoke the words and the magic flowed from his palm healing her cheek. He removed his hand and stepped back. She nodded at him to thank him.
Murtagh handed her the rags then everybody left her alone while they packed up the camp. She soaked one of the rags in boiling water then slowly began to clean out the cuts on her legs, chest, and arms.
"These look like they've been taken care of." Roran noticed as he and Katrina sat to the side and he healed her wounds. He was addressing the scars around her wrists.
"Those are leftover from the chains the Ra'zac had me in," Katrina nodded as a bruise on her arm disappeared, "Aris knows how to make a soothing paste from a combination of plants, it helps everything heal faster." She explained.
"So she does care." Roran said thoughtlessly as he inspected the arm for anything he had missed. He was surprised when Katrina yanked her arm from him, he looked up to meet her glare.
"What did that mean Roran Stronghammer?" She asked severely.
He held up his hands, "Nothing bad! I just didn't know that she actually felt emotion, she doesn't look like it." he explained abashed.
Katrina set the arm that hadn't been healed back into his grasp, "Well, she does, she just can't express it. She hadn't spoken to anyone until I had gotten there, and most of the other slaves spoke only broken bits in the human tongue, they were all nomads and spoke their own language. You can't expect her to be laughing and dancing around, she doesn't know you yet. Besides it took her over a month to be as comfortable with me as she is, and I still haven't seen her smile." Katrina defended her friend.
"I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to insult her, it was merely a tactless observation." He apologized pulling her chin up to look into her eyes as he finished with the other arm.
"She's my best friend, and I'm her only friend, give her a chance." Katrina pleaded.
"I will, and so will everyone else you'll see." He smiled and healed the scratches on her face. "Is that all your injuries?" he asked.
"Not quite." she sighed and turned around. "Umm…could Inarkien cover us with a wing?" she asked shyly.
"Ask him." Roran encouraged, "You've learned to reach out you're mind right?" he asked, "Katrina is going to ask you something, keep you mind open?"
"Of course."
Katrina closed her eyes and extended her mind out carefully until she felt six very large consciousnesses and retreated back behind her barriers. "Who were those!" she asked in shock.
"All of us, the dragon's minds are very powerful and so is Eragon's, Murtagh's and mine are large, but nothing to theirs." Katrina nodded and took a deep breath.
She reached out again but this time she was prepared. As she touched the first mind it felt like it was right next to her, she assumed that was Roran, in front of them was larger mind, that of Inarkien. She entered into the mind and thought her words, "Will you block us from view please?" She asked.
"Of course." Inarkien replied again and extended his wing. Katrina pulled her mind back quickly, the sensation of reaching past your body was uncomfortable.
"Good, now what other wounds are there?" Roran asked. Katrina lifted her dress up to her shoulders revealing her back. There were only a few cuts and bruises, but the scars were visible from the one time she had been whipped. "Bloody slavers." Roran growled.
"It's fine, just get rid of them please." Katrina soothed him, he healed the marks then she let him heal a bruise on her stomach and chest. She lowered her dress and thanked Inarkien aloud. "See, now I'm in perfect health again." she smiled, "I just need to wash my hair and I look like I used to, and you'll have a pretty fiancée again."
Roran smiled sadly, "You're always beautiful to me, but you're too skinny to be called perfectly healthy, give it a few months, then you can say that." She hugged him tightly then they stood up and walked back into the main part of camp. Aris was standing again, her arms and legs looked cleaner and less grotesque in the absence of dirt and dried blood.
"Are you two ready?" Murtagh asked looking at Katrina and Roran, all the packs were on the dragons and the fire had been put out. "The Ra'zac haven't found us yet but I don't really want to have to fight them, so we should leave before they catch up."
Eragon looked up in surprise, "Didn't I tell you?" His brow furrowed as he thought, "I guess I didn't, when we went back for Aris, we caught the Ra'zac in surprise. Saphira caught one of them and their mount on fire, I don't think it survived."
"So there is only one left?" Katrina's eyes were wide as she looked at Eragon.
"Yes, and its mount." Eragon nodded.
"Wow…" Katrina said, "That reminds me…Aris, Eragon said you had killed a man as he flew up…was it…?"
"Yes, I killed Bryshaw." Aris said in monotone, "He barely put up a fight."
Katrina nodded and met Aris' eyes in understanding, "I'm glad you got to."
The three men looked at the women in confusion, but they decided to let it slide. "Well, if we leave now, and fly all day, we might make it to Surda by nightfall." Eragon said judging how much time there was left in the day by the position of the sun in the sky.
"All right lets go then." Roran agreed, no longer in a rush as long as Katrina was with him. "Katrina you can ride with me." He placed the cloak back over her shoulders and helped her onto Inarkien.
"Saphira is the largest, so she will have less trouble with the two of us." Eragon said, "Though Inarkien is the smallest so if he can carry two so can Rahzin, you decide Aris."
"I don't mind either way." Aris spoke softly. She removed her mother's bow from her back, and the swords from her hips, "Who can hold these in their bags?" She asked as the deciding factor. It would be uncomfortable to ride with them on.
"I have the food, so Eragon does." Murtagh said climbing onto Rahzin. Aris nodded and walked over to Eragon who took her weapons and secured them in a bag. He removed the cloak from another and handed it to her.
"It gets rather cold up there." He held a hand out for her to climb up. She grasped it and seated herself, Eragon sliding in front of her. "You can hold onto my waist until Saphira gets steady, it's bumpy at first." As if to prove his point Saphira took off and tilted sideways as a gust of wind caught her. Aris wrapped her arms around him tightly in reaction. Eragon laughed, "You'll get used to it after an hour or so." Aris kept her grip firmly, scared to look below her.
After a few moments Aris slackened the tightness in her arms and relaxed her tensed shoulders. She felt much more comfortable, and almost let go completely until another wind shook Saphira, Aris rewrapped her arms around Eragon and hid her face in his back before she realized what she was doing. She felt her cheeks flush red and she pulled her face back quickly.
"Sorry." She mumbled.
"It's fine, you can't really prevent reactions." He laughed again. She wanted to laugh with him but she couldn't make her lips smile, it just frustrated her further.
After hours of flying in complete silence, Eragon had been speaking to Saphira but to Aris it had been quiet, Eragon began asking Aris questions, "So where are you from?" He asked.
Aris wasn't sure how to answer that question, she still didn't want to bring up who she was, that would take more explaining than she desired to do, and, what if her father and brother didn't believe it was her when they arrived. "I have a home in Surda." She finally answered.
Eragon nodded, "And, do you have family?"
"My mother is dead, my father and brother reside in Surda." Aris answered that truthfully.
"I'm afraid I don't understand something…well many things actually…first, Katrina said you had guessed that I was a rider when she told you of the stone I found in the Spine. How did you know of a dragon's egg?" Eragon tilted his head back so he wouldn't miss a word.
She didn't speak at first, "My family has the knowledge of many stories and histories long forgotten by others." She finally answered. Eragon frowned she was omitting something, her answers were very evasive.
"I see,…how was it that you were captured?"
"My mother and I were returning from visiting family, when we were attacked, she was killed and I ran off, then I was captured." She said bluntly, her dead voice and direct answer making Eragon flinch.
"Oh, I'm sorry." He said after a minute, "Your family believes you dead then?"
"I assume so." She returned flatly. He nodded and that was the end of the conversation for another long while.
"Saphira…she is hiding something…I just can't guess what…" Eragon puzzled in his mind.
"It is up to her as to what she reveals, why does it bother you so?"
"I don't know, she looks very exotic, and her voice, sometimes I think I pick up and accent but I can't be sure…then those weapons, they seem to suit her but she denied they were hers." His eyes narrowed as he thought.
"She didn't deny it, she said they suited her, which if they were hers then they would. Eragon she reminds me of the way elves talk in the ancient language, how they don't lie but don't tell the whole truth either." Saphira observed, dipping slightly as the first city of Surda came into a distant view.
"You're right…but I've never heard of a part elf. Not in all the histories I've read. And, elves have been in hiding for so long, that it's impossible for an elf to have mated with a human seventeen years ago unless it was Arya or one of her guards, which I doubt." Eragon reasoned and rejected the idea.
"We will either find out at a later time or we won't but don't question her anymore Eragon." Saphira dropped the discussion and pushed her wings through the dusky air to gain speed as they soared over the Surda sky.
About an hour before night fell, they descended over the capital Aberon. Aris felt her stomach clench in nervousness. Saphira glided easily into the courtyard of the castle, Rahzin and Inarkien landing right after her. The riders dismounted first, then Roran helped Katrina as Eragon helped Aris.
They walked forward, Aris trailing behind the main group, very scared of what was going to happen, her chest ached with anticipation of seeing her dad again.
"Eragon Shadeslayer!" A booming voice carried across the courtyard.
"Shadeslayer?" Aris wondered for only a moment before forgetting her question and peering around Eragon to see a tall man walking out of the castle. "Dad!" She bit her lip as he approached then she stared harder. That wasn't her father, he looked like him…only younger.
"King Orrin." Eragon bowed to the man.
Aris' heart stopped, "King Orrin…why is Orrin king, the son doesn't become king until…the father…" She didn't want to consider the possibility of her father dead, she prayed that he had simply passed the crown on to his twenty five year old son. She watched as her brother greeted all the Riders and dragons.
"Roran Stronghammer, and Inarkien, welcome back." His voice sounded so happy and carefree, just like he used to, "Murtagh and Rahzin, great to have you as usual." He turned back to Katrina just as two more figures emerged from the shadows. One was a very familiar dark-skinned woman, her face tugged at Aris' memory. The other woman was easily recognizable, it was Arya, the only thing changed about her was that she seemed more solemn.
"Lady Nasuada, Arya Svit-kona." Eragon bowed to Nasuada and twisted his hand over his sternum to Arya. The greetings were repeated and finally the attention was shifted to Katrina.
"This is my fiancée Katrina, we finally found her last night." Roran introduced her, "Katrina, this is King Orrin, he rules here in Surda. This is Lady Nasuada, she is the leader of the Varden, and this is Arya, an ambassador to the elves." Roran continued. Katrina bowed to each one and looked back at Aris after she greeted Arya.
"Very nice to meet you at last, Roran was determined to find you." Nasuada said, Aris remembered her now, they had played together when they were children, Nasuada was three years older than her.
"Finally you're back, now Roran can smile again." Orrin chuckled and shook Katrina's hand.
"Yes, we've all looked forward to meeting you since Roran joined our ranks." Arya gave a slight bow in Katrina's direction, but her eyes had found Aris. She hadn't, apparently, missed Katrina's glance at her. Nasuada noticed Arya's gaze and she too looked at Aris, Orrin following close behind.
Orrin could barely see her, "Oh! Do we have another guest?" He asked happily. Eragon stepped aside so the three nobles could see her and the smile slid from Orrin's face, as the women gasped. Aris looked down for a moment then looked up to meet their gazes.
She didn't speak, she merely stepped forward, she was glad she had kept Eragon's cloak on, her face was enough, the state of her body didn't need to be publicized. Orrin studied her with narrowed eyes.
"We found Katrina at a slaver's camp you see, and while there Katrina had befriended this young woman, we had to save her too." Eragon explained, at the mention of slavers Arya's head snapped up to look at him. Then she stepped towards Aris carefully.
"It can't be…" Arya murmured looking at Aris.
"She does look familiar doesn't she Arya…but the one she reminds me off is…." Orrin clenched his jaw. Aris took that to mean they thought she was dead. She took a very deep breath and steeled herself, everyone but Katrina was bound to be very confused, she had to be prepared for the bombardment of questions that was about to occur.
"Orrin…Arya." She spoke, her voice clear, not hiding her accent this time, she couldn't instill joy in her words however. Eragon gaped at her, while Roran and Murtagh merely looked confused. Katrina was looking at her in encouragement, and Aris couldn't read the dragon's emotions.
"No…no you're dead." Arya whispered, "I couldn't scry you, my mother couldn't scry you…we couldn't find you." Arya's eyes were wide, she looked as if she was speaking to a ghost.
"Arya, it is me, I was captured and my tracks were covered…they had a magician…he cursed these," Aris spoke again and tucked her hair behind her ears revealing the earrings, "So nobody could scry me, and when you did, it sapped my strength so I couldn't fight of the drug they gave me. I couldn't escape." She explained monotone. Orrin ran his hand through is hair.
"Is that really you…I don't know how I can believe you…." Orrin said.
Aris nodded then walked back towards Saphira, removing her weapons from the bag. She walked back to her family and pulled out both of her daggers. Eragon tensed next to her and touched the hilt of his sword but withdrew his hand at Arya's warning glance. Aris held out the daggers and both of them bent over them, each seeing the delicate A inscribed in each hilt and the narrow vine of leaves and flowers that were etched into the blade's steel.
Arya gasped, and Orrin flashed forward enveloping Aris in a hug. She dropped the daggers and they fell, clattering on the stone beneath their feet.
"Sister!" Orrin shouted as he embraced her.
A--E
A/n: mwa-ha-ha I enjoy leaving it hanging, I hope you all are eager for everyone's reactions, I am! Yup that's right I haven't even decided yet. This story has taken control of itself, seriously. Was anybody else nervous when they arrived in Surda? I was! I had no idea what was gonna happen! Okay another question before I stopped talking your ears off : you know how Eragon and Roran have …well I guess you could call them surnames…w/e you know like Shadeslayer and Stronghammer, well I need one for Murtagh…I went brain dead trying to think of one, help!!