Voices wafted out of the tent as the opening in the fabric was pulled back so that she and the other two could walk in. The voices stopped and the young, dark skinned woman, in a beautifully and brightly coloured dress, turned around after ending her conversation with the other gentlemen to welcome the other men.
"Eragon," she said with relief. "Blödhgarm. What has happened?"
The two men stepped forth, the man with fur stayed in the shadow as if protecting the other from an attack. He gave a glance to the other side of the tent where a woman stood with a large and unusual cat was at her feet.
She stared at the cat which turned her way and nodded which, if she hadn't been used to more bizarre things from the wizarding world, would have been unsettling to others.
"My Lady," he said nodding his head towards her. "The girl they found last night is here to be tested." They turned to face her.
Nasuada looked at the girl in front of her. She wore clothes that were foreign and unusual for a girl to wear where she came from: Some kind of red tunic with short sleeves; Trousers of a unfamiliar fabric and coloured a blue to almost navy shade; and finally laced up shoes, red with white laces and a white circle appliqué on the outside of both. She was, as Nasuada estimated her by appearance even though she knew that they could be deceiving, about the same age as her, a little younger perhaps.
The girl was calm and collected, surprisingly, in spite of her situation, she thought.
"Who are you?" she asked as she stood before the girl.
The girl inhaled a breath and looked up from her feet and into Nasuada's eyes. "My name is Rachel my lady," she replied evenly, as if she was concentrating very hard on keeping her head up.
She didn't smile yet, but Nasuada smiled to herself in her head. She seems like a strong person- If she's not a threat I will probably like her.
"So, Rachel," said Nasuada after a pause in the address. "Do you know how you got here?"
Nasuada paced towards Eragon and Blödhgram as Rachel answered. "I don't know. I only remember falling asleep where I was and then waking up in a bed and tent that I've never seen before."
She stopped and turned around, after walking half way to the other two.
"There's a war going on if you didn't already know and we, as a precaution, need to examine the minds of people we come into contact with… Do you object to having yours examined?"
Rachel looked at the woman before her: She seemed trustworthy and she, herself, knew that to gain their trust she must allow her mind to be searched.
"No I don't object," Rachel said.
Nasuada nodded and looked back to the others. "Eragon could you?" she asked.
The young man, whose name was Eragon, walked towards her: Now she could see him properly unlike earlier when it was only a brief glimpse. He had brown hair and eyes of the same shade and his expression was kindly and warning.
He stood in front of her. "This may use up a bit of energy but it shouldn't hurt unless you resist," he told her as she looked into his eyes. She nodded to allow him to put his hand upon her head.
Suddenly her mind was whirring and bustling with her memories and thoughts of her life time. After a few minuets he stopped and stared at her.
"My lady I can't find anything to do with Galbatorix or even our world," he told her.
Rachel could almost hear the minds of people in the tent shock outbursts forming in their mind.
While Eragon, Blödhgram and Nasuada consulted each other she stood in the tent and took in her surroundings. She felt a brush up the side of her leg and saw that the cat that had been with the woman was by her feet. She sat on her heels and rubbed gently behind the cat's ears.
Now what are you? She thought. You're not an ordinary cat by any means- a kneazle maybe, but you're larger than an ordinary cat and you don't have spots so what are you?
You mean you haven't heard of a werecat before? It asked looking into her blue eyes with its own red orbs.