AN: Took ages again, I know, but I was visiting relatives in the isolated moors of Scotland, otherwise known as Auchenheath. Never heard of it? Neither had I. Neither had people who live five miles away from it. This was what I was dealing with, people. But still, back now, hope you enjoy, cause I had fun writing this one. Not really.
Murtagh woke me early the next morning, much to my dismay. I had found myself unable to sleep for most of the night out of sheer giddy excitement, but the day of travelling beforehand had taken it's toll on my energy supply...and adrenaline could only conquer so much.
"Selena...it's after sunrise..." Murtagh reached down and shook me gently in a bid to rouse me.
"No, go away." I grumbled, rolling stubbornly onto my front and covering my head with my arms. He chuckled and I sensed him moving away from me. I smiled, sleepily, to myself, thinking that he was going to let me sleep a while longer. I was mistaken, however, and moments later I was sitting bolt-upright, wide awake and dripping wet.
"What the...! What are you...?! You can't just...! What was that for?!!" I yelled, my voice higher than usual due to the freezing cold water that Murtagh had promptly thrown over me.
"Good morning." He grinned down at me, in an annoyingly endearing way, and I narrowed my eyes, scrambling indignantly to my feet.
"You get one of those in your lifetime. Understand? One." I told him, in the same authoritative voice that my father often used when giving orders to the servants.
"Yes, ma'am. Now, do you want to learn some magic or not, drippy?"
I ignored his last comment, and my expression softened at the mention of our previously planned magic lessons. I had all but forgotten about them.
Over the next few hours, Murtagh explained to me a bit about the ancient language, and it's importance for the correct use of magic and spell-casting. I already knew a few words in the language because of the old scholar who used to teach my sister and I as children, so memorising the few words that he was relaying to me was of little challenge, and Murtagh seemed pleased with my progress.
"You are a swift learner, Selena." He beamed, and I reddened slightly at the praise.
"No, you are just a slow teacher." I replied, hiding my embarrassment with attitude. He disregarded this, however, and went on to talk about the dangers of using magic.
"Now, magic can be useful, but only if you are ready to use it. Some of the more powerful spells can be extremely dangerous. If you use them before you are ready, it can cause serious damage. The spell can go horribly wrong, or...you could be killed."
"I'm sorry, killed?" I asked, suddenly shying away from the concept of spell-weaving.
"Yes...but do not let that put you off, most of what I will teach you over the weeks will be simple spells, the ones that consume less of your energy." He replied with what I was sure must have been his most reassuring voice, but which did nothing to relieve the feeling of trepidation and reluctance lying in the pit of my stomach. This must have shown, because he rolled his eyes and walked towards me. He turned his back to me to face the camp fire and muttered, "Let me show you: Brisingr!"
The dead, black logs that lay in the middle of the clearing bore the scars of a small fire that had burnt itself out hours previously, but at Murtagh's command, red flames leapt out of the ashes and danced before us, shining unnaturally bright in the light of day. He turned to look at me, smugly, and I quickly replaced my expression of astonishment and wonder with one of boredom. I had seen magic being performed before, by wizards and mages of the King's high court who often showed off their skills at the lavish parties held by my father and his rich, powerful friends, but I had never seen it wielded so effortlessly.
The boy has power, I see. I think, Katharean, that perhaps he is not the humble peasant he pretends to be. Obsidian mused, although he did not seem too surprised by this revelation.
It crossed my mind. I replied, unsure of how to respond to this sudden display of magical talent from a source so unlikely.
"That was impressive, Murtagh." He grinned at my praise and replied,
"That was nothing. But you are not ready for anything more advanced yet."
"And where, pray tell, does an orphan living in dire straits learn such advanced magic?" I asked, trying to keep my voice casual and unaccusing. He shrugged,
"I've travelled around a lot, and met a lot of interesting people."
"How kind of these 'interesting people' to take the time out to teach you such skills...I'm sure it must have taken years...months at least."
"What are you suggesting?" He asked, defensively, narrowing his eyes
"Nothing at all...what are you suggesting I'm suggesting?" I replied, back-tracking quickly.
"Nothing at all." He echoed. I nodded slowly, and he cleared his throat, awkwardly. "Well, I think that is enough for now, we should press on to Ceris."
"I thought you were going to teach me something?" I asked, unable to mask the disappointment in my voice.
"I just did." He replied bitterly, turning his back to me and gathering up his bedclothes.
I think you insulted him. Obsidian offered, and I frowned at his obvious amusement.
I did not insult him, all I did was ask a few questions...what is insulting about that?
It shows that you do not trust him as much as you claim to. He explained. I watched as Murtagh rolled his bedclothes into a ball and thrust them irritably into his travelling pack.
So what, I'm supposed to watch him perform unnatural feats like that and not display any natural curiosity?
Well, he has been sparing with his questions, little heart. Perhaps you should show him the same courtesy.
Fine. I replied, suddenly feeling guilty. Maybe I had been too inquisitive of Murtagh...after all, he had already shown that he could be trusted, had he not? And who was I to judge, with a secret as great as mine? After all, I had not even told him my real name!
"I'm sorry, Murtagh." I said, so quietly that I was not sure he would hear me. He was tightening the straps on his pack, probably tighter than he needed to, but he stopped when I spoke. I heard him sigh quietly, and he turned to me.
"Sorry for what?" He asked,though it was obvious that he knew what I was talking about.
"For questioning you. I suppose I am just...too inquisitive for my own good." I replied.
"Fine." He said, and I waited for him to say something else, but he just turned back to his pack.
"Fine?" I asked, frowning.
"Fine." He repeated.
"That's it? That's all you have to say to me? Fine?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry?" He turned back to me, bewildered.
"I do not think you realise what just happened here. The only other person I have ever truly apologised to was my father and that was because I accidentally burned half of our house down when I was eight years old." I stormed, unable to control my indignation at his obvious lack of respect.
"Selena, I-I don't know what...wait, you burned your house down?" He asked, frowning disbelievingly.
"Half of it. Will you please accept my apology sincerely?"
"Fine...I mean yes, I accept your apology."
"Good. Now we can leave."
What was that about? Obsidian chortled in my head.
What? The balance of power had shifted between the two of us, so I fixed it. Now he feels bad instead of me. I explained, as Murtagh handed my back pack to me with a sheepish grin.
Like I said before, I will never understand you, although sometimes you do seem to make sense...in a 'you' sort of way.
Thank you. I replied, triumphantly.
Did you really burn down your house? He asked, chuckling. I grinned, despite myself.
What can I say? I like to play with fire.
After a few hours of walking, we arrived at the Eldor Lake. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The sun was high in the sky now, and it reflected white-gold light onto the smooth, ever-moving surface of the water. At that moment, I felt overwhelmed by a conflict of emotions: joy and reverence at the glorious sight before us; but also an incredible, unexplainable and entirely unexpected sadness, that no matter how close we could get to this wonder, no matter how deeply surrounded we were by it, we would always be entirely separate from it. We could never truly be one with the beauty of nature. It was a privilege held only by the Elves of lore, and we were destined to do nothing more than scratch the surface.
Then, almost as soon as the feeling had come upon me, it was gone again, and we continued our journey, knowing that Ceris was only a few more hours away.
"What will you do when we get there?" I asked Murtagh, suddenly wondering how we were supposed to stay inconspicuous whilst surrounded by suspicious villagers and, in the worst case, the King's guards. To my dismay, he simply shrugged.
"I suppose we will have to stay at one of the village inns whilst I look for the men who stole from me."
"Whilst you look? Do you think I've come all this way and listened to you whining all the while just to sit in an inn somewhere? I want to help." I said, determinedly.
"That will not be necessary." He replied, surprisingly cheerfully.
"Two heads are better than one." I insisted, and he seemed to think about this for a while, before shrugging, agreeably.
"I suppose so...it will allow me to keep an eye on you, you know, make sure you stay out of trouble...remain undetected by the King's men...keep you from burning anything down..."
I heard Obsidian chuckle inwardly at Murtagh's remark, and I couldn't help but smile to think that the dragon was warming to the boy, simply due to his treatment of me.
"So, it's settled then. When we get to Ceris, we can look for a room at an inn somewhere and then start our search for your thieves straight away."
"Yes, ma'am." He grinned, and I shoved him, playfully. "We'll need a back-story, though. Ceris is a small village, and they don't like strangers, especially not suspicious ones. Most men and women who travel together through these woods are man and wife. I think that would most likely be our best option."
"If that is your way of proposing, Murtagh, you are not very good at it. Although, to be honest, it would be the most romantic proposal I have had so far, and I have had a few. It beats trying to buy me from my father." I joked, rolling my eyes. He chuckled, but I couldn't help but smirk inwardly when I noticed that a faint blush had crept onto his usually pale cheeks.
"I think it may be a little early for marriage, Selena, but I'm sure we could put on enough of a front to fool the...fools."
"Hmm...I'm not so sure. Do most married couples treat each other with as much disdain as we do?" I teased.
"From what I have seen...yes, they do." He grinned back.
An awkward silence fell over us and he cleared his throat and continued walking. I followed suit, ignoring the questions raining down on me from the dragon flying above us. It was not that I did not want to answer him, it was that I did not know how to. The questions he was asking me were the same questions I was asking myself, and had been asking myself since I first met Murtagh. I did my best to shut them out, however, and slowly, the awkwardness passed and Murtagh and I started talking again.
"I feel starved." He muttered, and I nodded in agreement. He set his pack down against a tree and turned to me, with his hands resting casually on his hips.
"Why stop now? Ceris can't be more than two miles away."
"And the sun is still high in the sky. We should stop here and eat, then we can continue our journey on full stomachs."
I sighed in resignation and threw my bag down next to his.
"Very well...what food do you have left?" I asked, dropping to a sitting position on the forest floor.
"Nothing, I thought you had some deer left." He replied, frowning.
"No, that spoiled two days ago, remember?"
"Ah...no matter." He went to our bags and turned back to me with our bows and quivers in his hand. He threw my weapons to me and I caught them with a grin.
"I do like to hunt." I admitted, rising to my feet and stringing up my bow. We decided not to split up when we were so close to the village, so we went together. Upon my advice, Murtagh agreed that the river would be the best place to start looking for the larger animals. It did not take us long to get there, but we waited for almost an hour for the first sign of life to appear. A young doe approached the water on the opposite bank. Murtagh shifted beside me, snapping a twig beneath his feet. She stopped and looked around, startled, and I elbowed him in the rib cage. He muffled a grunt of pain and I nocked an arrow and raised my bow, aiming at the creature's chest. A noise to our left, probably a bird or a rabbit, caused her to turn her head, warily, and I gasped and lowered my weapon.
"What are you doing?" Murtagh hissed. I shook my head and he sighed and raised his own bow. He was too far away for me to stop him, so I did the only thing I could think of. I picked up a rock at my feet and threw it with all my strength into the river beside the deer. She bolted immediately and Murtagh's arrow struck a tree.
"What was that?" He yelled, and I rose out of my crouching position.
"I know that deer." I replied, simply.
"What? Are you out of your mind?" He fumed, striding over to tower above me.
"No. She had a perfect triangle of white fur around her eye. She's the deer that you scared away the first time we met. It just felt wrong to kill her now." I explained, calmly, knowing that my actions were not entirely rational. He opened his mouth to say something else, but instead sighed, shaking his head.
"Fair enough." He replied, scratching the back of his head with something like bewilderment. "Well, I'm not so hungry anymore. Come on, we can get something to eat in Ceris."
"Thank you." I said, quietly, and he replied with a small smile, before turning around to head to camp. A noise behind me made me turn back to the river. The doe was back, this time with three others. As they all lowered their noses to the steady flowing water, I noticed that all four had the same white marking around their eye. It suddenly dawned on me that this must be a trait of that particular type of deer, and it was not the same one that I had seen before at all.
"Oops..." I giggled to myself, quietly.
"Selena! Are you coming?" Murtagh called back to me and I winced, but decided that it would be for the best if he did not know.
AN: I'm leaving it there. The next chapter will be set in Ceris. How will they cope with pretending that they're married for the whole time they are there? I don't know, I haven't written it yet, but I'll try and make you go "Ooooh". Again, please review :)