Chap 19 Troy and Fauna

Luka turned around quickly. A man and a woman, both in their twenties were standing on the other side of the fountain. The woman looked like Marcie with curly brown hair, light tan and gold eyes. The man had dark blond hair and his eyes were blue. The accusations Luka was about to scream at them got stuck in the throat. "Kali? Murtagh?"

The woman smiled. "Depending on the situation. But we are Fauna and Troy."

"Guys, please," Luka started, her tears brimming, "If that is you, I want to know. I want my brother and sister back. I don't care if you're in another body; I just want both of you back."

Fauna looked at Troy. A silent message passed through them and Fauna's body started to shimmer and change. Kali smiled at both of them. She looked the same although her hair was longer. Both pups on the floor barked happily and scampered up to her. Troy's body also shimmered and turned into Murtagh. "Luka..." Kali said softly.

"I just need a really, really big hug," she said quietly as she walked forwards. Kali opened her arms and hugged Luka tightly. "Why did you leave?" Luka cried, "Why did you leave me?"

"We're sorry," Kali whispered, "We are, really. We just thought it would be better not to put salt in the open wounds. We knew that if we came back others might be suspicious. We knew that you, my parents, Eragon's and Murtagh's found out what we were and we didn't want others to find out and we would have to go into hiding again, fake our deaths again."

"Would you stay?" Eragon asked as his wife detached herself from them. "Would you at least let us visit or see you from time to time?"

Murtagh and Kali looked at each other for a moment. "Please?" Tayten whispered softly. They both looked at her. "Mummy and daddy have space."

Kali smiled and knelt down beside the little girl. "It's not that," she whispered, "We can stay for a little while but we have a little boy and he can't stay by himself forever. My friend is taking care of him but she is busy as well."

"He can come too!"

"He can," Eragon stated as Kali looked up. "We have more space than is necessary. Both of you are welcome to stay."

"Eragon," Murtagh started, "We would but-"

"Maybe..." Kali whispered thoughtfully, "Just for the rest of the day." She looked up at Murtagh. He nodded once and a bronze mist enveloped him before he was gone. Kali's body shimmered and she looked like Fauna again.

"How do you do that?" Tayten asked. "Mummy and daddy can't do that."

"Because I'm different from you," Kali smiled slightly. "Look." She opened her hand and showed it to the girl. A small flame rested in her palm. It started to twist until it looked like a miniature dragon. It opened its wings and flew in a circle around Tayten's head before dissolving again in her palm.

Tayten giggled as it disappeared and Murtagh came back with a six year old boy. He had Troy's dark blond hair and Fauna's golden eyes. He looked intelligent for his age. "This is Zane," Murtagh, now turned into Troy, stated.

"Hi," Zane said shyly.

"Zane, this is Luka, Eragon and Tayten. And the pups," Kali added as an afterthought.

Eragon? Have you found Tayten? Saphira asked. Thorn is blaming himself that he didn't take care of her.

Yes we found her, Eragon replied. And Murtagh and Kali too. They have a son called Zane and they are coming with us to the house.

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Thorn had been at loss for words when he heard they had found his ex-Rider. The group had gone back to the castle and had flown west to the desert. Eragon had kept his promise to Saphira that they would live there. They lived on the outskirts of the desert, where there were still trees, food and water. Their house was large with two floors and a shed. Crops were growing in the two fields that were fenced and a small garden behind the house which grew all kinds of flowers.

Kali, Murtagh, Saphira and Thorn landed in one of the outer fields where nothing grew. Zane jumped down from his father's back at the same time as Tayten and the pups did. They both started to run after one another in the field with the pups barking happily after them. "Silent communication," Kali shook her head.

Luka and Eragon led them into the house. "Nice place you got, Eragon," Murtagh stated.

"It's nice enough," Eragon replied. "Saphira and Thorn wanted the desert so we came here. It's far enough so we don't roast alive but near enough for them to be happy. So...what about you two? Settled down anywhere?" Luka placed a tea pot in front of them as they sat down.

"Not really," Kali poured herself a cup of tea. She hated it but found that it usually calmed her down. "We've travelled here and there but never settled." She laughed slightly, "I don't think we ever will really," she said as she looked at her hands, "with the way we go."

"What do you mean?" Luka asked as she sat herself in a chair beside Eragon's.

"Well, both of you guessed that we don't die," Murtagh said slowly, "And you're right; we can't die. We've lived too long yet we've never been able to die. Our children grow, have families of their own and we watch them die happy, knowing that their children and grandchildren will live happy lives." He paused for a second and looked at Kali.

"They die, we live," Kali continued. "No parents should ever watch their children die, yet we have; more times than we cared to count, really. We have been alive since...er...before eighteen ice-ages ago?" she looked questionably at Murtagh.

He snorted, "Much more."

"I don't keep track, you know. Either way, more than millions and millions of years ago," she said, turning back to Luka. "We don't know where we came from, how or why. All we know is that we're more powerful than demons. Yes, we are demons," she said quickly to stop Luka from interrupting. "But we're different than them. Our children are also demons. Everything dies; trees, demons, elves, dwarves, dragons and even stone can die, yet we can't. We've watched wars, fought in some of them, we've seen species become extinct, close friends die and we can't stop anything. It's as if we're immune to death."

"How do you cope?" Eragon asked.

"We learnt a long time ago that you can't stop fate, not really," Murtagh answered. "If we tried, we could make someone like us, someone that could never die. But we don't want anyone to share the same fate as us so we leave them be. They would prefer to have their families; we're not selfish enough to take someone's chance of having a family," he smirked at Luka at that last sentence.

"I knew it was you!" Luka yelled standing up.

"Luka, calm down," Kali said softly, "We thought you would have wanted your own family so we gave you the chance. You always loved children."

"It's not that," Luka replied quietly. "It's that...I knew it was you, both of you, and I didn't...I just couldn't understand why you two always came and went, letting us know that you were here yet you never let us close enough to talk."

"Look, both of you," Murtagh sighed and looked at his hands, "With Zane...we would have come, alright? But, he's a demon and..." he broke off.

"Oh," Luka said softly while Eragon nodded understandingly.

"We're really sorry," Kali whispered.

"It's not your fault," Eragon stated. "It was bound to happen, even if you didn't come."

"That's why we didn't want to come," Kali murmured. "If we waited, you would have your little girl more often. We know what's its like, having your children move on with their lives even before you really get to know them."

"It's alright," Luka sniffed, "We...never really had time...for her. After the war, there were so many things to do and Nasuada having us at every meeting, messengers to the elves and dwarves for the good of Alagaesia. We never had time to really watch her grow."

"Luka...please, don't be angry."

"I'm not angry at you; I'm furious with myself. Eragon normally had more time for her," she whispered. She chuckled slightly and shrugged. "Like you say, fate is cruel but there is nothing we can really do about it. If Tayten is happy, then by all means. She is his mate after all. She would be happy being a demon."

N/A: Aalllrrrriiiiigggghhhhhhttt...I don't know where this is going to tell you the truth. My ideas have literally flown out the window sso i have no ideas left. Anyone got an idea? I would appreciate one to start going again. Review please! And again IDEAS WANTED!!