Another decade of heartache. Each second felt like another century. So much had transpired but still no Eragon. Scrying didn't seem to work as the resulting image was always a blank grey. Shattered fairths lay all around her on the floor. Only one remained intact. The one Eragon had made of her during their last few days together. Why must it be so difficult to endure? Behind her, the sound of another person made her spin faster than an arrow could leave a charged bow. In the same room as her stood… Oromis?

Frozen on the spot he could do nothing but stare at the elf that stood before him. His heart was stuck in his throat as he took in her beauty once more. His heart began beating faster than before and his mind felt slightly fuzzy. The scent of pine needles was making his nose itch while he felt the emerald gaze of his significant other burn through his emotionless stature.

Arya seemed to be rooted to the spot. She suddenly gasped before blinking and looking around as though just waking up from sleep.

'I- I'm sorry, I didn't know what overcame me something just felt so strange when… oh never mind,' she stuttered. 'I just saw you crying from a distance and was wondering if you needed any… assistance,' the elf ended awkwardly.

'I- I…' he trailed off before letting loose a few more tears. As he looked up at Arya all he could see was confusion. Nothing he recognised about her was visible within her.

'I hear you've… lost someone very dear to you.'

He nodded again. 'They were closer to my soul than my body is,' he replied.

She knelt down beside after he finished his sentence.

'I too have lost someone dear to me. His name was Faolin. I don't fully understand what is what that I felt for him… but all I remember is that he was my closest friend.'

A tear fell from her eye while she spoke. Involuntarily his hand moved underneath the tear and didn't let it fall to the ground. He then wiped away the stain it had left behind it. Arya suddenly shuddered for no apparent reason before standing up and bidding him farewell. Thereafter she darted her head away from him and walked into the snowy forest.

Once again he was alone.

'Wrong Eragon. You are never alone,' Oromis stated from his gem, 'look at Saphira. She has been watching you patiently for the past thirty days without fail. My daughter and her mate also are with you and so is the descendant of your cousin Roran. Do not feel so down. If you didn't realise Arya is slowly rekindling her bond with you. It's in her nature. You may not know but both of you are bound to each other and that bond cannot be broken, by necromancers, by Oathbreaker, by elves, humans, dwarves or dragons. Nothing can separate the two of you.'

Thank you ebrithil…

The next few days were difficult but Eragon took the advice of his master and focused on what was important. During his training sessions he would realise Arya sitting a little way away from where he was and could feel her watch him. Du Dröttningu had once contacted him mentally to let him know she was watching so as to boost his spirit. This made it easier for him to cope with his distress. Eragon had decided that the way forward was to move back, to move back to before they were even friends.

The days slowly passed and he started to see more of her. She would watch him as he trained and would sometimes even follow him to his room. Eragon tried his hardest to ignore her, to let her adapt to him naturally. Each day felt longer than the last as time moved on but his heart hadn't healed. Someone in the Varden had once told him that time was a great healer after he had lost Murtagh, but he now realised how it wasn't so.

Eragon continued to work on Rya in order to further her understanding and competence involved with being a rider. When he wasn't training or being trained, Du Ebrithil would be bashing him apart with bruises from his sword. Oftentimes he would think about his father, Brom. The man he had felt so comfortable with but angry with at the same time. He only wished he had been able to spend just one more day with him, but not as a student or a travelling companion, but rather, the way a father and a son would.

Eragon felt a renewed rush of tears, the memories of his father once again bringing back the thoughts of how many he had lost during the great war. Although the outcome had been pleasant, the road to that victory had scarred his soul in so many unimaginable ways. He thought about the hardships he had faced on his journey with Brom, then with Murtagh. Then he recalled how they had saved the elven princess from Durza, after which they travelled to Farthen Dur. The war costing the lives of so many against the urgals.

The lives that had been lost in the battles for the cities on their path to Galbatorix. All of this made him feel sick. How could he rest in this room knowing how many had died fighting for the future of Alagaësia? He should be mourning the loss of each and every individual life, but here he was, the great leader of the riders, broken over one elf.

Eragon craned his neck over in the direction where Selena lay peacefully. The girl was beautiful, just like her mother. Black hair, emerald green eyes and overall an adorable appearance. Albeit an infant, anyone would have thought that the father wasn't at all related to the child, the resemblance she held with Arya was too strong to denounce that she wasn't the mother. For this reason, Eragon kept Selena out of Arya's sight, to not guilt trip her into loving him again.

A knock on the door was followed by a distressed Rya poking her head through the ajar gap.

'Eragon come quickly! Murtagh has just washed up on the beach. He's not in a good condition,' she said before dashing down the hallway outside.

Eragon immediately picked up a random tunic he found which turned out to be a navy blue, before walking over to Selena and taking her in his arms. Thereafter he briskly strode out of the chamber, not caring to shut the door behind him.

Saphira! Where are you? He called reaching out his mind throughout the vast island.

I am on the beach where Murtagh is. Whitestorm and I were locked in combat until he noticed our friend lying on the floor. He is seemingly quite shaken about something but we don't know what. Moonstone is here too. I think he may have found Murtagh before we did. Should I come over to you? she offered.

No, keep an eye on him. Make sure he is safe and that he is ok until we arrive, he ordered.

We?

Selena, Rya and I, he responded. He couldn't help the flow of sadness between their link.

Alright but hurry, she urged before closing her mind off from his.

Eragon dashed with Selena in his arms towards the beach Saphira had indicated. Upon arrival he could see both Whitestorm and Saphira covering both sides of the red rider with their flanks in order to keep him warm. Eragon had forgotten to cast a spell for heat to protect Selena but assumed that the cloth he was using was enough for now. As he approached he could see his brother shivering uncontrollably. Behind him he could hear Rya approaching along with several other riders and dragons. Kneeling besides the poor man, Eragon embraced him, but not too heavily since he hadn't been able to lay his daughter down anywhere and was hugging Murtagh with her in between.

'Murtagh?' he called to the red rider who was seemingly blank with fear, 'Murtagh!' he called again. No reply.

Murtagh's eyes unexpectedly snapped to meet Eragon's which made him cringe slightly but he recovered quickly. Recognition flowed through the face of his beloved brother which soon melded together with sadness. Murtagh reached forward for Eragon and embraced him tightly. Eragon kept his back bent outwards so as to keep Selena safe.

As they both held each other in one long squeeze, he could hear sniffing and sensed tears on his shoulder.

'Th- th- they- they killed Thorn…' The last word was hardly a whisper.

The whole world entered a crazy vertigo for him. Who was Murtagh referring to? If this person was Oathbreaker they would pay dearly for what they had done.

'Eragon… Eragon… they killed him. THEY KILLED HIM!' he yelled.

Selena started to wail. Saphira bent her head down in sadness. Whitestorm also did the same. Moonstone seemed to understand what was going on and also complied with the senior dragons. All of the riders behind seemed to have fallen silent. Eragon suddenly saw Rya approach Murtagh from the side. She held out her hand and stroked the dragonless rider on the back before giving in to the tears that threatened to break loose from her wide eyes. She also embraced Murtagh who seemed to recognise her and joined her into the encirclement of lamenters.

Whoever did this will pay dearly. Nobody harms my family and lives to see the light of another day. Nobody.

He gestured to Rya to take Selena from him. He stood up and walked over to Saphira, stroking his dragon between her magnificent eyes.

Are you ready to avenge our lost brother? He asked darkly.

Yes, was her reply. Blunt yet sharp.

Eragon mounted Saphira who turned towards the direction of Alagaësia, and took flight… and would have continued if not for the white dragon behind them.

Whitestorm had grabbed Saphira's wings and used his weight to force Saphira back down to the ground. Once grounded, Eragon rolled off whilst the two dragons let their claws and teeth speak for them. Saphira was more agile than Whitestorm's bulky figure but not fast enough to avoid a foot stomping her into the ground painlessly and forcing her into submission.

What were the two of you thinking? His thoughts boomed.

Du Ebrithil and Du Dröttningu had also arrived at the beach.

You would have been slaughtered. Whoever it was that murdered our brother, Thorn, would not think twice before killing you if engaged in battle. Whitestorm's rage echoed throughout the minds of every present being. Let us hear more from Murtagh so we can understand our enemy before rushing into battle like a mere animal. Next time think before you act!

The pair of them stayed silent, as did everyone else. Saphira lifted her head out of the sand, shaking the dust off. The only noise was the wailing of Selena. Eragon made his way over to his daughter and took her back into his arms. Holding her close to his chest, he ordered that Murtagh be taken in and treated medically before any further questioning. He ordered that he be fed and allowed to rest thereafter, before any further contact was to be made with him.

Eragon waited patiently outside Murtagh's room with Rya leaning against him and Selena in his arms. Every now and then Rya would enter the room to feed their guest before leaving again and waiting for him to recover from his emotional shock.

Every time he opened his mind, grief and utter sadness hung in the air like a bad smell. The death of one's dragon wasn't an easy burden. His brother's gedwëy ignasia had gone dark and grey, just as Arya's had. The red rider had been tortured but kept on the brink of life throughout his time with whoever had captured him.

'Eragon…' Murtagh called from inside.

Hastily he got to his feet and barged open the thick wooden door, all the while rocking his daughter. Eragon wasn't the fatherly type but he knew that without a mother, the best his daughter had was him.

'Yes Murtagh?'

'I… I have something to tell you,' Murtagh started through struggled breathing. 'The… the one who killed thorn was… it was…'

Anyone would have thought that Murtagh had trailed off, but the concentration of his elven hearing told him otherwise. The name had been said barely as a whisper, yet he had heard it and was no shivering uncontrollably. How could this have happened? Roran?

Oromis seemed to be intrigued by the number of destroyed images of Eragon there were on her floor. Facing her, the old elf studied her confused, forlorn expression. How had he entered? 'Oromis?' she called out to what she perceived to be a ghost.

'You miss him don't you?' he stated rather than asked. 'I too reminisce of his presence. Why don't you go and visit him?'

'I-I can't Oromis elda. You know I can't. My duties as a queen bind me here,' she replied gloomily.

'Then let someone else take care of your position while you are gone. Or do you plan to not return if you go? I'll leave you with that thought. You just haven't been yourself lately so I just came by to give you some advice. Farewell,' he said before fading away.

Holding out her hands where he had been Arya called for him again. 'Oromis? Oromis wait! Come back! I… I need… you…' she breathed. Everyone she loved was gone. What was she still doing here?

Do not worry Arya, we shall see them both again, Firnen reassured.

Not the greatest writing I've ever done but oh well. Felt a little down while I was doing this. Won't disappoint next time.