Chapter 6

(Eragon)

What is she thinking!? She just touched me!

Arya looked sad. She had just made his trousers into a tent. It was still shaped like one but less conspicuous.

I need to find out what is up with her.

He brought all his courage together and asked Arya a question which would surely make her tear him apart but he needed to know.

'Arya… why are you doing this?'

'Doing what?'

'These… things,' he said cautiously.

'What things Eragon?'

Realisation struck him hard. She's trying to make me say it all! She knows I'm beating around the bush.

He steeled his self before saying, 'When I first came, you didn't let me even say the traditional greeting of the elves. Last night, you dragged me into the room. You watched me while I wasn't wearing anything. You looked offended when I denied a relationship to Murtagh. You're wearing the most immodest clothes I've seen you in. When Murtagh was here, your voice was of a cold nature, however, when he left, it returned to one you reserve just for me.'

He sighed before continuing, 'and, just now, you… you know what happened. Please explain this to me. The Arya I knew before I left Alagaesia is gone. Now, I hardly understand you.'

He waited for a response and when none came he thought he had finally broke the limit, until she started to speak.

'Eragon, I-' she took a breath before asking, 'will you not wait?'

Eragon shook his head. He needed to know, even if it would be the end of him.

'Eragon, when you left, I was so distressed that my true name changed. Had it not been for Fírnen, I would have lost my sanity. The only time I had felt like that had been when Fírnen and my father had died. I thought I would go insane without a proper purpose. Being a queen is not what I want… I want you Eragon.' The last four words were just a whisper but he had managed to hear them and they shook his very being.

She hadn't finished.

'Eragon, I love you,' he jerked backwards and fell off the bed but she didn't stop, 'I never want to be separated from you again. The hole you left in my soul didn't refill itself until I saw you on the cliff. I try to picture you without me but I can't.'

Eragon stood up but then the weight of what she said sagged on his shoulders like a burden heavier than Saphira. He collapsed onto the bed.

He heard a voice in his head, Congratulations little one, it seems you finally did manage to find your way into her heart.

Eragon hadn't noticed Saphira in his mind but he guessed that the power of the emotions he was feeling at that moment caused him to allow her into his mind.

He didn't block her off, instead he simply thanked her but she left of her own accord.

'I'm sorry if you don't feel the same way about me but I wanted to show my feelings towards through what I did before I confessed it, but it seemed to make you impatient with questions. I really am sorry for the things I did to you. A dragon once told me about how broken people cannot be broken.'

Eragon immediately understood she was talking about Saphira.

'Arya, you don't have anything to be sorry about. My lust driven young mind didn't understand the war raging on around us and I was being selfish in assuming that we could have a relationship and ignore the people that needed our help. No… I'm sorry.'

Arya had her face twisted in an unusual way before she leaped forwards and grabbed Eragon into a tight embrace. His eyes widened as he felt her lips pressed firmly into his own. She was about to pull away but Eragon grabbed her before she could do so and began reacting accordingly to what she was doing. He felt a tidal wave of satisfaction. For the last two centuries, this was all he dreamed of doing and it had felt like a far-fetched dream until now. He had the most beautiful elf in the forest begging entry into his mouth which he gave to her. Eragon suddenly felt a hand sliding up his tunic and he groaned before Arya continued to work her magic on him…

(Rya)

Gil'ead was by far the largest civilisation she had ever seen. She stared at it for a few minutes in awe before Murtagh turned around in the saddle.

'You didn't have to kill the horse you know. We could have left him there. Whether or not it would have survived would have been its own problem but to pull out your crossbow and kill it just like that is just wrong,' he said as he shook his head.

She shrugged her shoulders.

'Dot you even feel an ounce of remorse in you?' he asked, disgusted.

'Not really. I only had it for a few days,' she replied quickly.

'So you're saying that just because you didn't know it well, it deserved to die?' his voice growing ever louder.

'No. You forget why I did it. We needed food for Thorn,' she replied growing angry at his forgetfulness.

'Thorn could have gone for a few hours without food but for you to mercilessly kill a horse like that? Can you explain to me what you felt when you killed it? How you killed it deprived of a second thought?'

Rya could make out the anger in his voice.

'Am I answerable to you?'

'I-'

'AM I ANSWERBLE TO YOU?'

Murtagh was surprised at her sudden outburst.

'No,' he replied quietly.

'So stay quiet,' she said in her usually kind voice.

Murtagh appeared to be startled at her abrupt variation of moods. She felt Thorn rumble beneath her and make a peculiar noise.

'Is he Ok?' she asked, anxiously.

'Yes… he's laughing,' he explained.

Rya giggled and turned her attention back towards Gil'ead.

They flew over the houses, shops and streets, towards a tavern near the middle of the city.

'We'll have to jump off him,' she heard Murtagh exclaim.

'Ok.'

Thirty seconds later, she felt Murtagh's hand close around her and he turned right in the saddle so his legs were dangling off the side of Thorn. Thorn was now only a few feet off the ground in a large courtyard.

'Now!' Murtagh shouted before jumping off and pulling her off with him.

They both landed and rolled to supress the fall. Rya stood up and dusted herself of any dirt that may have attached to her cloak during the roll. She looked to her left and saw Murtagh do the same.

'The sun is setting. We'll go to the tavern and leave at first light. Thorn has gone to the dragonhold of the city so we don't need to worry about him. I would have gone to any tavern on the edge of the city but because you're here I decided to use this one.'

'Thank you very much,' she said in a sarcastic tone and curtsied. Her motives caused him to blush and he turned away quickly.

'This way,' he called out, still facing away.

They walked towards a large building with a hanging sign which read The White Horse.

The floor of the tavern was made of marble along with the pillars. The walls were made of polished granite. There were stairs leading up on both the right and the left side of the room, both spiralling up and meeting together at the top which overlooked the lobby on a balcony. Rya guessed the corridors on the next floor were where the rooms for the guests were. There was also a wide corridor leading into a hall which she guessed to be the drinking section of the tavern. There were paintings on the walls, most of them with a man with a blue dragon next to him. Rya had seen many pictures with the man on it but nobody she knew had much of an idea of who it was.

Murtagh walked up to the counter on the far side of the room.

'One room with two beds for one night please,' Murtagh said to the man behind it.

'Yes sir, that will be four thousand crowns,' the man said.

Four thousand crowns!

Murtagh was about to make the payment but she quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her.

'Are you sure you want to make this ridiculous payment just for me?' she whispered.

'I'd pay more if I needed to,' he said humbly, and he turned back to make the transaction.

Rya let him do as he pleased and they both turned around to go up the stairs. They could stay in any room that wasn't occupied. They headed up the stairs and towards a room. Rya was sure that this was only for the most elite of Gil'ead to stay in. the room they entered was decorated lavishly. It contained two fine beds, a table, a washroom with toiletries inside and the floor was made of marble. There was a large pillar in the middle of the room. Rya relieved herself of her weapons and armour. She desperately needed a bath.

'Do you mind if I take a bath Murtagh?' she asked.

'No of course not. Go ahead,' he answered.

Rya went in and filled the tub with hot water. She locked the door closed and entered the bath. It felt soothing and reminded her of Carvahall. This was the first bath she was having after the beginning of her journey and she was sure that Murtagh would make sure she got the same kind of wash every time. But why? Why did he say he would pay more if he needed to? Why did he come here, ruling out all the other taverns in the city and coming to the most expensive one there was? Rya honestly couldn't care less. She was enjoying herself in a bath, comforted by the idea that she was with a Rider, reassured that he was also from among her family, and also pleased to know that she had another family member alive.

She spent the next hour in the tub and when she felt the water begin to go cold, she got out and began to dry herself. She looked at her clothes and saw them for what they were: dirty.

She hadn't thought to bring another set of clothes in with her. She unlocked and opened the door slightly, still aware she had no clothes on. Murtagh was facing away from the door and so she used magic to bring her a set of clothes from the bag Zenith gave her.

'Kuasta,' she whispered and a pair of leggings and a tunic flew towards her.

She felt a reduction in her strength but it was hardly an amount to worry about. She started putting on her clothes when she heard two voices outside the room. A clattering sound came from the room Murtagh was in and Rya hastened her changing.

Once she was clothed, she walked out of the room and saw two men inside, both duelling Murtagh at once. Murtagh was holding pretty well considering the disadvantage he had with the numbers. However, he couldn't get many opportunities to land blows of his own. Rya needed to help him. She looked towards her pile of possessions in one corner of the room. The men hadn't heard her yet so she started to walk towards it. One of them saw her out of the corner of his eye and shouted to his companion something she couldn't make out due to the clattering of swords. She needed to get to her weapons swiftly but one of the large men stood in her way. His face was covered by his hood but she could sense an aura of power around him. She had no desire to engage him without an armament. Behind him were her swords but they would be a problem to reach. The room wasn't wide enough for her to skirt around him and retrieve them. Rya tried to look for another possible solution but she only had one. The gold stick she had bought in Yazuac was propped up against a wall. She could try and use it to defend herself, but the only way she could reach it was with magic.

'Kuasta,' she said. The stick flew towards her and she caught it in mid-air. She positioned herself in a fighting stance and advanced towards the man. He seemed to have been surprised when she had used magic, nevertheless, he walked towards her.

The man attempted the first blow but Rya battered the sword aside and continued to pivot the staff, causing it to hit the man's face. His guard dropped and she used this time to batter him a few more times before jumping back. She had made sure that the hits she had landed had been on parts of the body he would need to defend himself. She launched another series of blows, two of which he managed to parry, the rest of which battered him apart. The last blow knocked the sword out of his hand, sending it several feet away.

A smirk crawled onto Rya's face as she abused him into unconsciousness. She entered his mind while he was in his pain forced sleep. She learned that he was a Rider whose dragon had been slayed by an elf and he had gone seeking out the one who had killed his friend in Carvahall: Rya. She then ended his life with a final, fatal blow to the head.

Murtagh walked towards her with the head of the person he had been duelling.

'They have been following us for a while. According to this one,' he said, motioning towards the head in his hands, 'they are the ones who attacked Du Weldenvarden whose dragons had been killed.'

'I figured just about the same from this bastard,' she replied.

Murtagh sighed. 'We need to clean the blood and hide the bodies until we leave in the morning. We leave as quickly and anonymously as we can. No unwanted attention. Who knows if we are still being tracked by anymore of them? They seem pretty well trained so I wouldn't expect you to manage to handle one on your own again.'

'I handled you,' she retorted.

'I'm different. I wasn't hell bent on slaughtering you. They were. Now don't be proud. Pride will lead you to the void faster than you would have hoped if you had too much of it.'

He then went over to the body of the one he slew and hid it in one of the wardrobes. Rya did the same and they both went to their respective beds to get enough sleep for the journey tomorrow.

A review will be much appreciated. Also, thanks to all of those who added this story to their favourites. It means a lot to me.