Chapter 19:

Saphira had her head rested next to him, and he could feel the waves of heat that rolled off her. Arya sat on his other side, her face a mask, but Eragon could tell that something troubled her. Nasuada and a row of nobles sat before him, each one carrying a curious expression. When murtagh finally rushed in and sat, Nasuada spoke.

'It is good to see you back, Eragon. Would you be so kind to tell us what has transpired on your trip?' she said, obviously wrestling with her curiosity. He held his head high and stood, his soft white shirt hanging loosely from his shoulders and his sleeves. He spoke then, about everything that happened, and to Arya's gratefulness kept what had happened a secret. Arya had a clean view of his back, and because his collar hung so loosely, she could just see the markings near his neck. She could make out two claws raking at his neck, and she leaned forward to get a better view. At that, she felt a sharp tug behind her, and she turned to see Murtagh give her a surprised look. She immediately drew back, waiting for Eragon to finish. She focused to hear him finish and a man that seemed fat enough to roll down a hill asked him sceptically,

'These markings, can we see them?' he looked at him as if he was lying. Eragon nodded and replied,

'Yes. I myself have yet to get a good view of them, my lady, do you have a mirror?' Nasuada looked at him and gestured towards a wall, towards a silver mirror. Eragon looked around nervously at the people in the room, and Arya realized he must be shy. She smirked at the thought. But she again focused as Eragon lithely drew his shirt off his body. He lifted his arms, so that they were parallel to the ground, and he turned slowly, making sure that everyone had a good look. What they saw amazed them. Six dragons were carved in black down his muscled back, and as Arya saw his front, she leaned forwards, catching sight of the spectacular creation on his chest and stomach. The front dragon was larger than the others were, and it was pictured as it seemed to claw its way up to eragon's face. The claws left trailing marks, and the head seemed to be trying to bite Eragon's neck. He looked down, and seemed stunned to see the marking on his front. And as he looked at his back through the mirror, his eyes widened. All six dragons grappled each other, and two fought at his shoulder blades, one of their paws dragging at the base of Eragon's neck. Arya looked at the reaction of some people, and found her self becoming very protective as she saw that all the woman were staring, goggle eyed, at his form. When she looked back at Eragon, his face had transformed, it was mixed with delight as he saw his favourite creature, but sad as he saw the poses they were striking. One person finally found their tongue. It was Nasuada.

'I think that it is about time we rested, good night everyone.' She left no room for argument, so everyone filed out, leaving Arya, Eragon, murtagh and Saphira. She dismissed them all, and Eragon found himself rubbing Saphira's scales as they walked aimlessly through the tents. Saphira took off, claiming something about not eating in a week, so she was going hunting. He decided to walk out in the forest, hoping to sleep somewhere peaceful. He came upon a small stream, and Eragon sat comfortably next to it, letting his thoughts melt away at the sound of running water. The sound of clumsy hooves caught his attention, and he looked at the bushes across from him, waiting for the creature to appear. It stumbled out, the small dear immediately saw Eragon, and turned to leave. As it did, it favoured the wrong leg. The leg buckled, squirting blood, and Eragon quickly stopped it from falling. He laid it down gently and looked at the wound, frowning slightly. It bucked in his arms, but Eragon slowly crooned to it and it slowed, letting him touch it gently. With a quick spell it was healed, and it as he helped it stand, the small deer nudged him, and Eragon felt it again, the alien thought, and he heard it, the small creatures plea.

Leg hurt. Now no more hurt. Sing. It nearly demanded it of him, and Eragon replied.

Why? Why does each creature need me to sing? He rubbed the soft fur for a moment, and then the deer answered.

We talk good, sing. The deer nudged him harder, willing him to make a sound. Eragon thought for a moment, then sung a small line,

'I know you've suffered but I don't want you to hide; its cold and loveless, I won't let you be denied.' The deer spoke again, somehow its thoughts seemed stronger, and the words made more sense.

Keep going. It said in a strong voice, Eragon nodded

'Soothing, ill make you feel pure. Trust me, you can be sure. I want to reconcile the violence in your heart. I want to recognise your beauty is not just a mask. I want to exorcise the demons from your past. I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in you heart.' He finished smoothly, amazed at how good it sounded. For as long as he could remembered, his voice could kill a baby chicken, now the small doh at his feet was fast asleep, all because of his voice.

Good. You know, if you tried to do this more often, the thoughts of my race will become very clear to you. The doh said in a cool voice, and it fell asleep. Eragon sat stunned for a moment, and then he slowly stood up, deciding to relocate and test the doh's theory.

Arya PoV

She could not sleep. It was not because of nightmares of torture. She thought back on their trip, and she frowned. The shirt that lay on the stool before was eragon's, and she found herself wearing it that night. She thought slightly, and her cheeks reddened, thinking about the way she probably looked to him that night. The thought vanished as she remembered what he so brutally did to the men in that cold cell. She shuddered as she remembered the man's sternum cracking away from his chest. She shook her head, throwing the thought away. She had never seen Eragon like that; he seemed so ferocious that night, as if his lone desire was to kill. She stood, grabbing his shirt. Deciding to give it back to him, she walked out, towards his tent. She found it empty, and guessed he would probably be with his guards, so she contacted Blodhgharm.

He said he was going to the forest, he should be alone, and Saphira went hunting. She withdrew from his mind, carefully making her way across a plain towards the woods. She came upon a small stream, the small doh next to it jerked as it looked around for something. It darted away, leaving her enough time to glimpse Eragon in its thoughts. She walked further, maybe a hundred metres. She heard a low growl, and she walked faster. She came upon a small clearing littered with mid sized stones. She looked through the darkness, and glimpsed Eragon kneeling before a mountain cat. She looked on, frightened and amazed by what Eragon was doing. He was crooning something, and she crept closer, trying to hear. He leaned against a sloping rock, facing away from her, and that cat followed, totally relaxed. This time she could make out what he was saying.

'I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing. Just praying to a god that I don't believe in. cause I got time while she's got freedom, and when the heart breaks no it don't break even.' He finished, and Arya's frown deepened. The cat had its head on eragon's lap, sleeping. His fingers lightly rubbed the animal's fur. He did not seem slightly perturbed by the dangerous animal, even though it was big enough to tear his head off. She crept closer.

'Eragon?' she whispered, wary of the animal. He jerked forward, and the cat leapt up, hissing.

'What the? Arya? How did you find me? Be careful, don't come any closer.' he slowly calmed the animal, and they resumed there position. He gestured for her to come closer. And they animal cracked an eye open and stretched slightly, seeming at ease. She sat close to Eragon, on his other side away from the animal's body. He smiled at her, she noticed that his canine teeth seemed much sharper than before.

Eragon PoV

Arya sat next to him, slightly wary of the cat. The cat could sense it, and it opened his mind to Eragon.

That female is frightened. I should go. Besides, I find my cubs very hungry these last days, so goodbye. The cat stalked away, head butting Eragon lightly. Arya gave Eragon an are you crazy? Look before smiling. He found himself smiling back. She handed him his shirt, and her gaze bore into him for a moment.

'You know, I never got to say thank you?' She said in a small voice. He looked at her sideways.

'It's fine. Besides, those men got what was coming to them.' He flexed his fingers into a fist.

'I know that Eragon. And thankyou again for giving me a shirt when I my own was shredded.' She said mildly. She smiled as his cheeks reddened. He was playing with a long strand of grass, looking down, trying to avoid his own embarrassment.

'Eragon, I saw what you did to one of those men. I have never seen anyone get that angry. You ripped his chest outwards, Eragon, those two other men, I could not see, but from what I heard…' she shook her head, trying to imagine the scene. His face had darkened, and his voice had become seething.

'They did not know what one person can mean to another. I dealt with them accordingly.' His voice weakened slightly at the end of his sentence, and he slid further down the rock. She looked at his form; it was rigid, shaking in anger. He lay with his head propped up against the stone, he continued darkly.

'If you knew how you looked Arya. And what they were about to do! It made me so angry. That man who was about to touch you, I snapped his head of his shoulders with my bare hands.' He shook his head, giving her a pleading look. She sighed. She did not know why, but she felt the urge to just touch him, tell him it was all right. She slid further down the rock, and placed her head on his strong chest. The beating of his heart filled her ears and she closed her eyes.

'You have no idea how dangerous that was, Eragon. though I am glad that you found me.' she said, feeling relaxed as his heart beat on, his breathing steady and slow, no longer carrying anger.

'I knew what I risked. But that risk of losing you would have ultimately been my downfall. Tomorrow, when the celebrations begin, may you accompany me? It would be a great honour.' He said in a low voice. She whispered in a small voice,

'Yes. Yes, I would love that, thankyou Eragon.' she smiled as she felt his chest swell. And he whispered a thankyou in return. There, on his chest, she felt safe, and for a moment, she felt so in place there that her eyes closed, and passed into her realm of dreams.