Chapter 15:

Battles

Trianna laughed in a deep voice and said, "My name, "she laughed again, lifting her head slowly, "My name is… VINAZLA!" She screamed her declaration to the sky, and then looked down, fixing her eyes on Eragon. He fell to his knees, thinking, No, no, not another one. She grabbed him by the throat and picked him up. He clutched her hand and tried to pry it off his neck, but to no avail. After a full minute of being strangled he started to see red lights pop in front of his eyes. "I will kill you, and then Alagaesia will have no hope to survive." He coughed up some blood, trying to get a spell past his constricted windpipe.

"YOU"RE WRONG!" The voice yelled it behind him; it sounded far away, and everything became a dream…. There was a hazy flash and a low buzz. A sickening thump reverberated around the dirt path as the arrow embedded itself in her flesh. Just before he passed out, she dropped him, leaving him gasping for breath, while another arrow flew through the air, this time hitting her neck. She yanked both of them out of her skin, and then looked behind Eragon, snarling. He turned his head to see what it was that was causing all this commotion.

Something was sprinting towards them at a break-neck pace. Eragon frowned; it wasn't Arya because the thing was a male figure. It was then that he realized who it was. The figure lurched forward and there was a loud battle cry. A silver blade glinted, a large hammer rose up over the person's head, and it was Roran. He jumped over Eragon and swung his hammer. It flew straight through her neck, and her head disappeared. Seconds later, her body went with it and rose into thick black smoke; it soon vanished.

Eragon sat on the ground, holding his throat, puking in the dirt and grass. Roran walked over to him and held out a hand. He raised his head and looked at him thankfully, taking the outstretched palm. He was pulled up off the ground, dust billowing around him. He brushed some sand from his pants, and spit on the ground. After he had wiped his mouth, he smiled. They both laughed reluctantly, and after a moment of awkwardness they embraced each other in a bear hug. "Why is that every time I leave you, you seem to get into trouble?"

"Heh, you sound like Saphira."

"I'm not surprised. Would you like to take a walk?"

"Aye. Saphira?"

What?

"I think we should fulfill that promise to Jeod." He finished his sentence before he could catch himself.

What promise? She hissed. He flinched, and then recounted to her his talk with Jeod. She wasn't pleased, but agreed to let him ride her. Roran and Eragon began walking down a dusty and grimy looking path. Tents passed by them in hordes, and then Katrina dashed from around a corner, looked around frantically, and saw them.

"Elaine is in labor!" She practically screamed it at them. She turned on her heels and ran back the way she had come, both of them following. They soon reached an old, weather-beaten tent. They heard shrieks issuing from the short edifice, and the trio bustled inside. The first thing they saw was a ring of people around her. They pushed through, Eragon at the head, and stood beside her. Eragon immediately laid his hands on her belly, murmuring words that were incoherent to the throng of onlookers.

He was trying to remove as much pain as possible, and at the same time, try and make the baby unharmed. After three long minutes of spells, he had to stop. He was cold and weak. She kept screaming and then said, "It's coming! IT'S COMING!" Eragon moved to her hind side. He was scared of might happened. Some of the scrolls he had read in Ellesmera had slightly brushed over the subject of child birth, but because elves rarely had children, it was an untapped subject. He tried to remember everything.

"Push and breathe, Elaine. Push and breathe." She did as she was told and even more screams filled the air. Then Eragon saw something round appear. He grabbed it and carefully pulled, the head of the baby steadily coming out. "Almost there," He breathed, "just a little further." The neck had just come out, and there was something wrapped around it. It was choking and retching, flailing it's arms about. Eragon pulled out his hunting knife and slit the umbilical cord. After about a minute, the whole baby had come out. It had been wrapped in a blanket and wiped off, and then given to Elaine. She smiled at the new addition to the family. Horst bent over it too, playing with it. The baby giggled, and soon Horst motioned for Eragon to follow him out.

Once they were outside he said, "Thank you so much, Eragon. You have helped us a great deal. I was afraid the baby would not come, or that it would be maimed. I can't thank you enough." Eragon just patted him on the shoulder.

"It wasn't a problem. Does this pay off the meat that you bought for me?" Horst laughed; it was a booming sound that resonated throughout half the camp.

"Yes, my dear boy, it does." They both walked back into the tent to see what Elaine would name her baby girl. It was tradition in Carvahall to have the woman the girl, and the man name the boy.

"I will name her…Nami." Elaine put her lips close to the baby's ear and whispered, "Nami." Elaine made it so that only she and the baby could hear, but with Eragon's enhanced hearing, he was able to discern what she said. Everybody clapped and laughed, trying to get close to the baby, to touch it, to see the wide grin on its face. Eragon turned to walk out, but a hand shot inside the tent and grabbed his sleeve he was pulled out so swiftly, that he couldn't see whose lips it was that met his. They were soft and round. He smiled and kissed back. Arya felt so good, he thought. His eyes were closed the whole time, so when she broke contact, Eragon opened them.

Arya wasn't standing in front of him.

It was one of the elfin women from his guard. He gaped for a second, and then his face hardened; he gritted his teeth. "What are you doing?!" He yelled at her. She smirked mischievously.

"I was only kissing you," she said in her cool clear voice. It was extremely seductive. He was too mad to care.

"Well you shouldn't have. Arya is my mate, and you know that perfectly well. Don't do that to me again, or I will have you sent back to the elves and I will request a different guard." She just smiled at him. His eyebrows met in a sharp V, and he half turned his head. She turned and walked off, leaving him with fear. A fear of what Arya would do to him when she found out.

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Hey everybody, sorry it took me so long to update. It's been a tough work in progress. Thanks for reading, and I want 15 reviews before the next chapter. See yah.