AN: Yes, still here, in the seventh circle of my own personal Hell. Many thanks to the computer geek, who shall remain anonymous for safety reasons. So it turns out that you can't just use some guys computer to check your e-mail and upload a story and what not every once in a while without him thinking your, like, friends or something. I mean, that guy would just not take the hint. Although I will say this for him, he sure can take a beating. That boy has the skull of a mountain goat.
So now I leave you with chapter 20. I've not been naming my chapters, but if I had to, I'd name this one...Francis. I just came up with that right now on my own. People ask me where I get these genius creative ideas from. It's like a gift from God or something.
Well anyway, I hope you enjoy it, I'm off to throw stones at some cows in the field behind my house. Why? Because. Screw them, that's why.
Every morning and night after that was spent training for battle which, as Obsidian pointed out far more frequently than Katharean would have liked, was a looming inevitability.
She trained with her blunt sword, mostly, having decided that her archery was in no further need of improvement, a notion seconded by Hearan, the training partner assigned to her by Eragon. She had been introduced to him on her second day in Tronjheim, and the two had become fast friends. She enjoyed his company and his easy banter, such a far cry from everyone else with their constant talk of strategy and battle plans. She quickly came to recognise him as the brother she never had. They spent hours together, sometimes training, other times just talking.
He told her of his young wife and daughter who lived in his old home of Dras Leona, where he one day hoped to return. He told her how he had been driven out by the king's soldiers, accused of a heinous crime that he did not commit, although he never elaborated on the nature of the crime, so Katharean never asked.
She told him of her father, step-mother and Selena, who she missed terribly. She told him of the arrival of Obsidian in her life and of her hasty departure from her home to escape imprisonment by royal marriage. She then told him about Murtagh.
After that, most of their conversations seemed to gravitate back to the dark rider and Katharean's feelings for him.
One warm night, as they sat around a small camp-fire in the mouth of a shallow mountain-cave which had become their usual resting place after a long day of training, Hearan sparked one such conversation.
"Do you think you will ever forgive him?" He asked, barely daring to look at her for fear of having overstepped some invisible boundary. She was silent as she thought about it for a moment, before replying.
"I am not entirely sure that he is the one in need of forgiveness." She said, quietly. Beside her, Obsidian snorted his disagreement. She glanced at him, sighing inwardly as he forced a stream of shared memories upon her. Murtagh lying to her. Murtagh making false promises to her. Murtagh offering her mead. Murtagh's gedwey ignasia rough against her skin. Thorn's attack. Murtagh frowning. Murtagh cursing. Murtagh spitting.
Yes, yes, it is all very well to remember the bad things, Sid.
Perhaps you should try it once in a while, Katharean.
"What do you mean?" Hearan asked, curiously.
"Well...he did lie to me, and I have thought that he only travelled with me so that he could take me to Galbatorix. But...i don't know. I've been having strange thoughts of late. If Murtagh is as strong as Eragon and Saphira claim, why go through the charade of befriending me in the first place? Why not just take Obsidian and myself to the king by force? I am, after all, just one girl, and Obsidian was much smaller when I first met Murtagh that day in the woods."
"So what are you thinking?"
"I am thinking...I am thinking that Galbatorix told Murtagh to bring us to him. I doubt that the tyrant's plan involved befriending or seducing me. And I don't think Tag...I mean Murtagh, had counted on it either."
"So you are saying that Murtagh defied Galbatorix? He did let you go without a fight, after all...yes, that makes sense, Kate."
She laughed, humourlessly.
"Hearan, I do not know of anything that makes less sense."
"Yes...Murtagh, the Dark Rider, son of Morzan, leader of the Forsworn, and brother to Eragon, leader of the Varden...has forsaken his King and fallen in love with the enemy." He continued, ignoring her last comment. "It's almost poetic."
"That is dark poetry." She muttered in reply. "And I would beg of you not to recite it to another soul." Obsidian growled in agreement, a low, terrifying sound, stretching his wings, agitatedly. "I do not yet know if I can trust the council, and I daresay it would not be beyond them to use me as bait to lure Murtagh closer. Like a mouse on a string, being dangled above an angry cat. I do not wish to play such games, you understand."
"You have my word of honour. I swear it by my own daughter."
"Thank you. I know I can trust in that. You are one of the few people in Alagaesia who i count as true friends, Hearan. I value your friendship more than you know." She told him. He inclined his head, graciously.
"I think I may have some idea, Rider. Friends are an under-rated treasure in these dark times. My father used to say that a friend you can trust is worth their weight in gold."
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, hypnotised by the dangerous, elegant beauty of the dancing fire. Hearan turned to speak to Katharean, but his words caught in his throat when he saw the alert, searching look on her face. She scanned the surrounding area, ears pricked, before relaxing with an inaudible sigh. She casually flicked a blade of dry grass into the flames before tilting her head back to gaze at the starlit sky.
"You know...stealth really is not your strong suit." She grinned to a seemingly invisible presence.
"Who...?" Hearan started, before being cut off by the sudden arrival of Eragon and Saphira from behind them.
"How do you do that?" Eragon asked her with a mixture of annoyance and respect. She shrugged.
"Just talented, I guess." She replied with feigned arrogance. Eragon snorted and sat down between Hearan and her.
"So...this is what all the wild folk do these days. Sit around campfires at midnight. Had I known how exciting you were, I may have joined in the merriment sooner."
"What a shame, because I was thinking earlier, 'this would be so much better if Eragon were here; I do hope he will grace us with his presence'." She drawled, rolling her eyes, good-naturedly.
"Really?" He asked with mock surprise.
"No, of course not." She grinned.
"One can always dream. So why are you here, anyway?" He asked.
"We were training." She brandished her sword in front of her, pointedly. "And it was such a nice night out that we thought it would be a shame to return indoors so early. Besides, Obsidian's growing too large for his quarters." She smiled, winking at the great dragon, whose dark eyes glittered in the firelight.
"Is that so? Well we shall have to remedy that. You are growing much faster than Saphira did. Are you sure you haven't used magic to accelerate his growth?"
"No, Eragon, I am pretty sure that I would remember doing something like that." She replied. Both dragons snorted in amusement. Eragon blushed slightly.
"Well, i don't know how much bigger he is going to grow. For all I know, male dragons could be twice the size of females. I am afraid, in recent times, anyway, that your case is unprecedented. Galbatorix has been said to have placed several enchantments on both his own dragon and Thorn. Whether that has affected their true size...I cannot say."
"Hmmm..try not to grow much more, Sid. I like the size you are now." She told him, winking.
Well, I shall do my very best but I make no promises. He retorted, lazily. She grinned in amusement, before turning to Eragon.
"So, Shadeslayer. I trust you came here for a reason?"
"Why do you say that? I could just be seeking the simple pleasure of your company." He replied, sounding slightly offended by her assumption. A brief, calculating glance at Saphira told her this was not the case.
"Of course." She smiled, feigning agreement. "So what is wrong?"
He sighed, defeated, dropping his facade.
"Hearan...could you give us a moment?" He asked, apologetically.
"Of course. I was just about to head back home anyway. It's getting late. Kate, I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early for some more training." He called as he turned to leave the four of them, dragons and riders, alone. Katharean turned to Eragon, frowning.
"So, it is serious then." She muttered, quietly.
"I am afraid so. Galbatorix is making moves against us." He replied.
"What do you know?" She asked in a business-like tone which did not betray the cold fear which gripped her.
"Not much. Only what our scouts managed to report back to us."
"You mean to say, only what Nasuada and the council chose to let you in on?" It was not a question and Eragon knew it, though it had been presented as one. He shifted uncomfortably in reply, before continuing.
"Infantry mostly, a few on horseback, but no great force."
So why does he look so shaken? Obsidian asked, suspiciously.
Because he is not finished yet. Katharean replied, darkly.
"And now for the thing you are not telling me." She demanded.
"They also spotted some archers and a couple of mortar..."
"Who is leading them?" She cut him off, sharply. He did not look at her, but instead seemed intently focused n the dancing flames of the fire before them. "Eragon? You do wish me to fight for you, don't you?"
"With me, Katharean. I wish you to fight with me, as my equal, for that is what you are." He replied, in barely more than a whisper.
"How noble of you. I am touched." She replied, a little more harshly than she had meant to, but fear will do that to a person. "Now, if you could do me a further kindness by telling me the truth I would be most grateful. Who is leading the soldiers?"
He was silent for a few more seconds before looking up at her with an odd mixture of anger and sympathy. Somehow, she knew even before he spoke what he was about to say.
"Murtagh and Thorn." He growled. She responded with a strange noise somewhere between a gasp and a sob. He reached out a hand to comfort her, but she avoided it as she rose to her feet in one smooth, graceful motion. She turned and walked away from him, slowly, ignoring his concerned voice calling after her, gradually allowing the surrounding night to envelope her, when she felt a weight on her shoulder. She did not have to turn around to know who it was.
Oh, Obsidian...how could he? She asked, her devastation at the news clear.
He has no choice, Kate. You know that. He cooed, obviously distressed by her pain.
I know, but...I am still wrestling with my feelings for him and he's on his way here right now...with an army!
Well, what did you imagine was going to happen? Did you think he would spend six months locked in a dark room on his own, weeping and lamenting your absence?
No...there could be a candle in the room...She stopped walking and turned to look up at him, her eyes shining with tears. Okay. A couple of candles.
He smiled, sympathetically.
I...I thought I was ready for this, Sid. I really did. I've been training for this...I thought I could handle anything. But it's too much. It's too much and it's too soon.
I know this is hard. It would be difficult enough without Murtagh to worry about. You are a young girl being forced into battle for the first time. But I know you, Katharean, and if anybody in Alagaesia can handle this, it is you. This is your destiny. It is what you were born for.
Does destiny always hurt this much? She asked with a strangled sob, as a single tear rolled silently down her cheek.
Always.
AN: Please review!