Brooke: Dibs on victor!
Rebecca: Why didn't you capslock that? She was clearly screaming at the top of her lungs.
Me: Because I start ever "author's note" with Brooke screaming something.
Rebecca: No, you-
Meg: Yes, she does.
Ellie: Yep. Dibs on leader!
Sarah: You're always the leader! Ergh. Whatever. I'm the victim.
Brooke: But Sarah, that doesn't happen until Eldest! Keeper said no spoilers!
Rebecca: Shouldn't Meg be the victim? Or the Pariah? Or is that Murtagh? Hmm... Decisions, decisions. I want to be the soldier...wait, I should be the leader! I-
Me: I only own my characters and the strange plot twists which count as spoilers! So every character of mine is forbidden to speak of them!
"A warning to the people, the good and the evil: this is war. From the soldier, the civilian, the martyr, the victim, this is war...to the leader, the pariah, the victor, the messiah: this is war." -30 Seconds to Mars
None of the girls enjoyed armor, though they managed to convince the man at the armory to let them wear the minimum requirement. At the moment, they were waiting behind Ajihad's battalion with Eragon and...Murtagh?
Ellie nudged Eragon who looked over and placed his hand on his sword. Meg eyed him suspiciously and he smiled, "Don't worry, Ajihad has given me permission to fight."
"How do we know your not lying?" An irritated Orik asked.
"Because I say so." Ajihad interrupted.
Out of the corner of her eye, Meg saw Arya approaching. She gathered Ellie and Sarah and said as quietly as possible to not disturb the suspicious group, "Alright, you two, if either of your boys proposes, you wait until after the battle to get married. We all cried when we saw what happened to Will after that."
"Who's Will?"
"Proposes?"
"What does this have to do with battle?"
So much for privacy. The girls looked over to find Solembum, Eragon and Murtagh watching them with desperately confused expressions. They burst out laughing, though quickly covered their mouths, allowing Meg to reply, "Perhaps a story for another time."
"We have time, Lady Meg," Ajihad said with a devilish smile. "Why not tell us?"
"Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to nail your gizzard to the mast!" Sarah said, pretending to fight an army of fish creatures. Meg and Ellie pretended to give vows as they fought invisible creatures until Sarah called to kiss the bride, in which, they gave each other a high-five.
The men found their acting amusing and even laughed when a joke was intended. However, the laughing and smiles ended abruptly when Will was stabbed and in turn, stabbed the heart.
Sarah (as the narrator) wrapped up the story, "And thus, Will Turner was left to the sea for eternity; one day on land with his beloved, ten years at sea, though they somehow managed to live happily ever after."
There was applause and some cheers, but everyone else had become distracted by the scout that had come out a few moments ago. The Urgals were coming.
Meg stood between Murtagh and Arya, watching as the first acts of battle took place. She thanked God for her and her friend's abundance of energy and prayed that they and their friends survived. Murtagh took her hand and pulled her to him, kissing her gently before pulling away and stroking her cheek to get a probable last glance. "If I do not survive, do not mourn for me, I do not deserve your tears."
She laughed, "Do not mistake your importance to me. Remember? Wherever you go, I will follow."
He smiled, "I appreciate that, but I do not wish to have your life on my hands. If I die, you must keep on living for me."
"Agreed." She kissed him once more. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Solembum was in human form and Sarah was holding his hand, er, paw. Ellie snorted; back home, Sarah was the biggest boy fanatic you could find, but here, she fell in love with a werecat while he was in cat form. Nobody back home would believe this. Not that they would be given a chance to go home. Ellie had had plenty of time to think about their future and from what Angela had said about their lives, they would not go home. If their lives were short, then they'd die and never go home; if they were long, it would not pass unnoticed back home.
She was aroused from her rather depressing thoughts when Eragon pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "Be careful." He whispered.
"You, too."
When they joined the fight, Ellie had anticipated being as serious as everything was supposed to be. However, Sarah had other plans. "You'd think-" She cut down a massive Urgal with Solembum's help "These brutes could-" With her bow, she shot an oncoming foe behind Ellie "Say something a little more intelligent-" Meg cut down one that was after Sarah, though she was was too preoccupied to notice "Than URAAGHH!"
"What are you talking about? They sound just like you!" Meg called, searching for Murtagh in the crowd. With a sigh, she found him by Eragon, defending Saphira.
"You know what, Meg—DUCK!" The three girls hit the deck and missed being hit by a club. While on the ground, Meg threw a knife and killed him instantly.
"I wish I had a bag of legos!" Ellie murmured as they stood back to back. "They wouldn't dare come close to the Varden again!"
"It's funny, I told Murtagh to step on a lego within the first few days of meeting him." Meg added, frustration enveloping her when she found she had lost sight of him. "I should really—SHIVIC!"
"What? What is it?"
"The Shade! Durza is here!"
They looked up, finding that Eragon was upon Saphira and that they were riding to meet the Shade. "I have to get over there." Ellie said. "He and the Varden will die if I don't."
"I hate it when you're right."
"You two go ahead," Sarah said. "I'm going to follow Arya and make sure she's not going to destroy our chances of victory."
"If anyone is going to destroy our chances, it's you, Zimmerman."
"Thanks guys, love you, too."
Ellie and Meg clawed their way through the Urgal infestation to reach the elevated rock where Eragon and Durza were facing off while Ellie joined the struggle to stop the Shade, Meg attempting to join them, though was busy with Urgals.
"Ah," The Shade said with a dark smile. "Wonderful to see you again. Where is your friend? I've longed to see her since our previous encounter."
"I'm right here, you son of a basilisk." He turned, his smile widening when one of Meg's throwing knives embedded itself in his shoulder.
"So glad to see you can speak common tongue." He pulled the knife from his shoulder and twirled it in his hand. His eyes narrowed, "It's a shame that such a beautiful desert flower be wasted on one such as Murtagh." He raised his hand to throw the knife at Meg and Ellie struggled against his magic to help her, but an explosion sounded, distracting him. Eragon grabbed on to him, invading his mind.
Ellie was released from the spell that rendered her still, but was knocked out by an Urgal who Meg killed before he could do any further damage. Angered by the death of the previous Urgal, another came to Meg and managed to reopen the wound in her side that Angela had tended what seemed like years ago.
Everything around her became blurred, but somehow, the Urgal was dead on the ground. She fell, disoriented, into Murtagh's waiting arms, shielding her from Eragon and Durza's battle. She heard Eragon cry in pain, then yell, "Brisingr!" and then the Shade's howl echoed through the the land.
"He did it." She whispered with a smile.
Murtagh laughed halfheartedly and nodded, "Aye, that he did. Now do something for me, stay alive."
"I'll do my best." She smiled weakly and watched as he pulled a needle and thread from a pocket. She began to shake, turning extremely pale.
"Meg, what's wrong?" Concern was laced in every ounce of him.
"Needles," She replied. "I have a fear of needles."
"It's alright; think about something else." He instructed, beginning to stitch. "Think about how stupid Eragon was for not taking the time to be with Ellie. Think of that great story you told before the battle, and of how Sarah's personality can make one laugh during any situation. Think of how you and I are going to live happily ever after just like Elizabeth and Will. Think of how much I love you and will always love you." Meg thought he continued, though wasn't sure, for she had slipped into unconsciousness.