Disclaimer; the song is from muse, but a small amount of lyrics were changed.
Chapter 20
Nasuada had appeared that morning at Eragon's tent. They had sat awhile talking of little things, and then she had smiled, and told him the real reason she had come.
'Well, Eragon, Murtagh and Roran had a great idea, and it involved you. For the celebration, they would find it great fun if you performed. You can do anything you like; they too will be doing something.' She smiled, and Eragon thought for a moment.
'I could, but I need some time to do it. Can you excuse me from the usual meeting today?' he asked, standing. She nodded, and stood, smiling as she entered the sun light, she said a quick goodbye, and left with her guards. He quickly sat at his desk, considering a small idea as he studied the grain on the wood. Saphira touched his mind, studied what had happened previously. The grating sound of her laughter reached his ears and made him smile.
What? He asked, she replied mischievously,
I do believe that I just saw murtagh about a similar matter. In addition, I would like you to know; he is playing with fire, and Roran will be playing with his strength. HOWEVER, I know something you could do.
Oh. I was going to do those. Well, are you going to tell me? In addition, why has Nasuada made my family do things tonight? He asked, curious.
Well, she thinks that it will increase morale, and I agree. For the first question, your new ability will come of some use. She sent him a picture, of her giving a grin.
Singing? How would I learn something that fast? He walked outside, Saphira had her tail wrapped around her, and her eyes were closing.
Well Eragon, I know you are good at it, and you WILL be able to learn it, if you start now. She said distantly, and Eragon scratched her scales for a moment as she fell asleep. He sat back down on his desk with a new purpose, and as he took out his quill, he started the first line.
Arya PoV
She looked at her wardrobe, and sighed. Saphira had told her what colour Eragon was wearing tonight, but Arya had only one gown, and it was black, which was half of the colours she needed. It revealed a lot of her back, and it left a smooth trail for the bottom of the gown. She looked at it, and reached back into her draw. She drew out a silk cape, and tore a strip from the bottom. She fixed the fray edges with magic, and tied it around her abdomen, it fit snugly, and she looked at it, pleased with herself. She attached it with magic, and sat down before her mirror.
Now, how should I do my hair? She asked herself, absentmindedly. She looked at two blue and black pins, they started as straight pins, then the merged outwards into a fork, so that a person could pin their hair into place. She pinned it up, and leaned forwards, reaching into her draw. With one hand, she drew out a raspberry lip colouring. The elves made it by mixing raspberry juice and honey. She carefully coloured her lips, and began to fix her eyelashes with special oils. She looked into the mirror, and looked at her shoes. She did not have any shoes for this kind of occasion. She panicked slightly, and tried to calm herself. Taking a deep breath, she thought of a solution. She went to the tent next to her, and found her sister. Nealin was sitting at her mirror, fixing her lips. She looked up and smiled, somehow Arya knew that Nealin knew her problem.
'I need shoes. Please.' She said grudgingly. Nealin's smile widened.
'Do my hair you can have any pair you want.' She replied, smirking. Arya smiled, laughing slightly. She quickly and elegantly did her sister's hair, and then grabbed a perfect pair of shoes for her dress. With a sigh, she sat back down, and devoured her time by perfecting her hair.
Eragon PoV
He cracked his knuckles, and lifted the final draft for his songs. He had spent an hour practicing, and it was time to get ready. He cleaned himself with magic, and took out his elven tunic, leggings and boots, all where black, with shiny blue stitching. He slipped them on, smiling as he thought of how fun tonight would be. He combed his hair, and with one final look, walked out to Saphira. She was sparklingly clean, and he smiled.
You look beautiful. He said, pleasure emanated from their bond.
Thankyou, little one. You need a cape, the blue one, with the black clasp, go put it on. She looked at him, and nudged him back into his tent. He through it over his shoulders and went back outside, turning a circle so she could see.
Very good. Now, go to Arya, I will meet you there. Those children, I must admit, are so cute. She quickly jumped into the air, and winged her way towards the party. He sucked in a breath, suddenly nervous. He looked at himself one more time, making sure he was presentable, with a sigh, realising he could not stall, he walked towards her tent, trying not to hyperventilate.
He came into view of her tent, the soft light of dusk casting it in slight shadow. He straitened his tunic, and raised his hand to knock. He tapped three times, and asked quietly.
'Hello?' after a short pause, she appeared, sweeping aside the tent flap. He stopped breathing for a moment as he took in her gown. She looked beautiful, the gown fitted her perfectly. Her scent was mixed now with a raspberry honey flavour, and he delved into a deep breath. He found words, and he smiled as he said it.
'You look breathtaking.' he looked directly into her eyes, and he was surprised to see a spark of excitement. He smiled again, and offered his arm. She took it with enthusiasm, and he heard her whisper
'Thankyou, you look fantastic.' She squeezed his arm. Looking down he said,
'How did your day go?' looking directly into her eyes.
'Well, Nealin made me do her hair for a pair of shoes.' She smiled, as Eragon laughed.
'They look great on you.' he said in the same quiet voice. When he said that, she beamed. He smiled back, and they turned a corner as they passed a group of men. They stared at her, but Eragon turned his head to look at them, they all hurriedly looked down. They talked about other things, and Arya was surprised to find that he was going to perform along with his brothers. They turned one last corner, and they both gasped as they saw the party grounds. It was huge. Long tables sat next to each other, each one facing a big stage. Six bigger tables where stacked with enormous amounts of food, and six others with huge casks of alcohol. The last row of tables was elevated, they saw Nasuada sitting next to Murtagh, Saphira just behind them, trees backed her, and children played and patted her scales. She would occasionally snort laughter, and that made the children laugh. With relief, she found only four seats on that table, and two were empty. They hurriedly sat down, and Eragon leaned over to say to Nasuada,
'Amazing. You did a great job.' He smiled, and she replied,
'The chefs have been cooking before yesterday morning, they are still very flustered.' She laughed slightly. Soon everyone was seated, so Nasuada stood to speak. Eragon magnified her voice, and she proclaimed loudly,
'Welcome! Tonight will be a great time, and I hope many more come. I have three special performances, and I am sure you will find them very entertaining. Let the celebrations begin!' people roared their agreement, and soon music was playing, food was being served, and everyone was dancing. Murtagh and Nasuada kept close together, talking to each other, he was making big gestures with his arms and smiling, but Eragon could not make out his words. He turned to Arya, she was watching the dance floor, and her fingers tapped along with the tune of the song. She jolted as Saphira let loose another small jet of flame, and Eragon laughed slightly. She looked at him, and her face was bathed in shadow. Pushing back his anxiety, he stood, and said in a courageous voice,
'Excuse me, Arya, but could you honour me with a dance?' much to his pleasure, excitement rippled on her face, but she replied in the same tone, biting back a smile.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Arya PoV
'Ofcourse, it would be my pleasure.' She stood, and Eragon led her towards the dance floor. Halfway there, a group of girls passed their path. They batted their eyes at Eragon, and they came closer. Without thinking, she closed the gap between herself and Eragon, so their bodies touched. He looked down at her, and opened his mouth to ask a question, but he finally noticed who was coming towards them. She found it funny the way he reacted. He gripped her tighter, without looking at them, he said through a smile,
'How many?' she looked at them for him, and replied,
'Six.' And giggled slightly. He looked at the dance floor; it was barely twenty metres away, and he huffed. She laughed, amused by his impatience. He looked at her, a pleading look plastered on his face. This made her laugh even more, he smiled, enjoying the sound, then his face turned serious, and he said quickly before they came,
'Gods help me.' with one last look at her, he turned to see the women barely three feet away.
'Hi, and who are you, cutie?' one said in a flirtatious voice. From her view, his jaw clenched slightly, the muscles retracting slightly, biting back a crude reply.
'Eragon, and I do believe that your name is Minea?' he smiled, it strained slightly as he looked into her past memories. She batted her eyelids again, leaning closer, ignoring Arya.
'How did you know that?' she asked, biting her bottom lip, smiling slightly. He smiled, and leaning in, just as close, he said,
'You have a FANTASTIC reputation among men.' With that, he strode past her, Arya giggling slightly. He stopped short as she grabbed his elbow.
'You know, I love dancing. Maybe we should, considering the song that is next is easy to dance to.' She batted her eyelids again. Arya had the urge to grab her by the throat, and her grip tightened on eragon's arm. Straightening his shoulders, he replied in a very different voice then before,
'Are you blind? Consider this, next to me now is one of the smartest, and beautiful woman in this camp. You, Minea, have a shallow personality, a habit of bedding any man, married or not, yet you still find yourself decent enough to ask other people remarkably degrading questions and expect us to answer in kind. You and your friends can saunter over to that edge of the camp,' he gestured with his arm, towards a particular dark side of the party,
'And find people that actually ENJOY what you do.' He finished, and at a tug from Arya, started to walk the last few metres to the dance floor. The next song began to play, and Eragon took a stance, an apologetic look on his face. She smiled, flattered about his comment about her. He smiled back, his anger melted away, and he said coolly,
'Sorry, you did nothing to deserve seeing that.' She placed her hand on his shoulder, ready for the beat to begin,
'Am I really the most smartest and beautiful woman on the camp?' she replied, humour seething in her tone. She laughed as his cheeks turned slightly red, and he smiled at her joke, glad that she took it as a compliment. With one smooth movement, he started the dance, slowly at first, he led her into a complex series of steps, and she found herself smiling at his skill. With one hand, he supported the small of her back, and with the other, he held her other hand, supporting her as she leaned back and he leaned forward. They looked at each other, daring them to make it harder. He twirled her outwards, and she landed with her back on his chest. He gripped both elbows as she reached over her head and ran her fingers along the nape of his neck, secretly savouring the feel. Then she slung out of that position, Eragon's hands gripping her wrists, and twirling her back into a normal position. They smiled, enjoying the challenge.
'What else did Oromis teach you?' she asked, he led her into simple steps as he replied,
'You know, he taught me a few things. A good amount of instruments, how to cook, draw, and most importantly, dance. You know a proper landing position, yes?' she looked at him oddly, and replied,
'Ofcourse but why?' He smiled and sped up; with one fluid movement, he bent over slightly and used his arms to hold her waist, and using that strength he threw her upwards, catching her again around the waist as she turned half a circle, landing again with her back to Eragon. He laughed at her expression, and he said in a soft voice,
'Now for the finisher, you lead the way.' She looked at him with disbelief, but quickly found herself twirling faster and faster, until the music stopped, and the flurry of movement froze. Her back was against him again, this time, her hands still held the nape of his neck, and his lips were just millimetres away from her ear. The both laughed as they walked back towards the table, she did not take any notice of the looks people gave her, only the cheery laughter from Eragon.
Eragon PoV
They sat back down, and Nasuada nodded towards them, smiling and said
'That was amazing, you two work well together when you dance.' she smiled and turned around, and they all watched Roran begin to lift boulders, and throw men twice his size to the ground. People applauded when he was finished, and Arya leaned over to whisper in his ear,
'he is quiet strong for a human.' Her breath brushed against his ear, and he sucked in a breath before answering,
'Hmm, he is. However, let us see what murtagh has in store for us.' He nodded towards the stage, where murtagh had three torches, and soon he began to swirl them around his body, creating a blur of flames. When the pole began to slow down, he swept a cup from his feet and took a mouthful; his cheeks were puffy as he held the torch before him and blew, making the drink catch on fire, and it seemed he was breathing fire like his dragon, the red tongues of flame brightening the surrounding landscape. When the liquid finished, he bowed, torch in hand. And quickly hurried off stage, cheeks turning scarlet. He sat down at the table, and put his head onto it muttering a string of curses. Eragon leaned forwards and said,
'You did great, now I am nervous.' he took a deep breath as he stood. Arya gripped his elbow, and he looked down, giving a nervous grin, she smiled again, and Eragon was relieved to see her smiling again, he squeezed her hand and walked towards the stage. With a deep breath, he brought the stool into centre stage, and briefly walked off before he came back carrying a piano. He briefly muttered a few words in the ancient language over the piano, and cracked his neck. He smiled towards the audience, and said in a magnified voice,
'this is a couple's song, so I suggest that any pairs come to dance.' He sucked in a breath, and nervousness seeped into his mind like a river, and he froze. Saphira nudged his mind, and he shook his head to clear it.
Arya PoV
He splayed his fingers over the piano, and as he hit a note, a jerk of flame erupted under his fingers; he smiled, and began to sing, his voice making everyone turn around.
'I know you suffered
but I don't want you to hide
its cold and loveless
I won't let you be denied
Soothe me
I'll make you feel pure
Trust me
you can be sure'
Soon couples were coming to the dance floor, and dancing to his song, the flames creating a wall under his fingers. She leaned forwards as his words took on a new meaning, and he went on, the notes becoming faster.
'I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart
You're not a sinner
But your innocence is mine
Please me
Show me how it's done
Tease me
You are the one
I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart
Please me
Show me how it's done
Trust me
You are the one
I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask
I want to exorcise the demons from your past
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart'
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Eragon PoV
He finished, and looked up at the forest, ignoring people's applause. His face carved a deep scowl, and he saw Arya look at him oddly. He sprinted off the stage, running fast as it reared behind her. He leaped, blew past her, and crashed into it with all his strength. A low growl escaped his lips as the bear snapped at his face. He yelled into its mind
Calm! I am a friend, calm! The bear paid no heed; instead, it clawed at his back with all his strength, and Eragon roared in agony as it left a trailing gash along his back. He rolled away, holding his side, and looked at his hand. It was scarlet, hot blood trickling down his arm. His jaw felt unusual pain as he growled again, the bear launched itself at Eragon again, this time pinning him to the ground. He heard someone scream,
'Eragon!' and it sounded so much like Arya. He roared, throwing the bear off. The pain in his jaw spread rapidly down his body, and Eragon found himself leaning forward, roaring a challenge. He was aware that blood was pooling around him, and that someone was screaming, but Eragon didn't care, the pain was becoming too much, and he found his back muscles rippling, his bones popping out of place. The pain washed through him, ending at his jaw line. He growled, he felt something click in his mind. He grabbed it, and instinctively delved into it.
Arya PoV
His body rippled, and changed in a frantic disk of light. A bear stood in his place, roaring a challenge, its teeth bared in a vicious snarl. She stopped breathing. It launched itself forwards, snapping at the bear that had tried to hurt her. They landed in a pile, tumbling and clawing at any piece of each other they could find. They backed away for a second, surveying there wounds. She breathed a sigh of relief. Eragon had a deep gash along his back, but his body was unharmed. The real bear had a deep gash on its leg, and it limped. Eragon's body blocked the bear off from coming any closer as he took a protective stance in front of her.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Eragon PoV
The bear touched his mind, and Eragon was amazed by how mundane it sounded.
Done. Kuthian. Like. You. Change. Yes. Help. Sing. He looked at Eragon with helpless eyes, and it lay on the floor, ready to die. Eragon felt himself calm, and his body rippled again, changing back to his body. He kneeled before the bear, even though his back hurt more than anything, and crooned gently, and the bear relaxed under his hands. After nearly ten minutes he spoke again, his voice strong and normal, and Eragon could understand.
Thankyou, cub. I had no intention to hurt the small female, he gestured with his massive head as he stood up, his leg was healed, and he stood tall again.
But Kuthian asked me a long time ago to anger the soul singer, so he could change. Thankyou. I was going half mad without his songs. The female is behind you, and looks ready to kill me, I must go. He turned to leave, and bounded towards the forest, leaving Eragon behind. He bowed his head, tired and weak, the pain behind him making him feel dizzy. Someone caught him before he fell, and healed his back. His head lolled as someone pushed him up onto Saphira's saddle, and the air rushing past him as she began to fly, rocking Eragon to sleep.