Captured Hearts, Chapter 5

Chapter 5

ARYA

As I meandered down the hall listening half heartedly to
Abby’s chatter, I thought of all the events that had brought Eragon and I to this place. My musings were interrupted as a deep male voice issued out of a room.

“Thought boys were not allowed down this hall,” I commented.

That’s when Jackie appeared. “Jaws are talking too much.” She complained.

“Is that the name of the boy in your room?” I asked.

“No, it’s not a boy! It’s a voice that comes out of my computer; it talks to me and tells what is on the screen.”

I vaguely understood what she meant. I did not inquire any further, wishing to go back outside and explore the new campus. Hopefully Eragon would be busy elsewhere. His affection was sweet, but I did not feel inclined to return it. For one thing, I was much older than he and I could not bear to fall in love with a mortal, Dragon Rider or not.

“So Arya, where do you and Eragon come from?” Abby asked, suddenly catching me off guard.

“We live far, far away from here. Aland few know about.”” I answered slowly making sure that I did not disclose too much.

“Why did you come here then?”

“We have personal reasons for being here.” I said, not wanting to sound rude, but also making it clear I did not desire to continue that line of questioning. There was an awkward pause and I did not know what to do.

Then, I thought of singing. I loved to sing sometimes and if I was inspired I would make up my own lyrics. I felt inspired, by some whim to sing about Du Weldenvardin.

World of green leaves and life
Sung from trees of old
Born of love, Born of song
Ever growing, ever knowing
Sing to me oh love of my heart
And never from this land depart

I felt the melody in me. I had not sung in so long. The desire burned in the back of my mind.

“Wow, that, that was really good! I’ve never heard anyone sing so pure and true, but did you just make up those lyrics or were they from a song? You sang with such depth. Where did you learn to do that?” The hail storm of questions caught me off guard and I wished she would stop asking me. It was getting harder and harder to avoid answering.

I hastily made up an excuse for going to my bedroom saying I suddenly felt tired, which was not far from the truth. I went to my bed covered with the blanket given to me. There were multiple sheets and coverings and the frame was a sad dead thing. It lacked the magic of song that my kin put into making wooden things. Unlike humans we do not chop and hack out our furniture. It sickened me a little to see how the wood had been treated.

I then went to my wooden wardrobe. Again, I noticed the sadness of such a death. Opening the door I looked at my possessions again. There were my cloak and my usual clothes. I ached to be in them again. These clothes that I had purchased were unfamiliar and did not feel right on my skin. I scolded myself for being so petty and complaining about everything. This mission was important and I needed to stay focused and not dwell on my discomforts, no matter how they bothered me. Sighing, I turned and decided to find Eragon and make sure he hadn’t gotten into much trouble. But first, I decided to lie down. I was somehow over come with tiredness, a rarity with me but still elves are not meant to travel through time portals and come out full and rested.


ERAGON

I Followed Aubree as she led me about the campus explaining the cottages to me but also telling me a little student background.

I listened halfheartedly and thought about all the strange things here. They spoke the same language, but it was different too. For one thing, they seemed to shorten words and it was a dialect of its own. I wondered at this and realized I would have to pick it up quickly and soon if I wanted Arya and I to remain inconspicuous among these humans. Some more sensitive part of my mind told me that there were more to these youth than their sight impairment. A sense of depth and even power resided in a few of them.

I thought of my early days, when I could barely move a pebble from my hand. I felt a kinship in a way to this certain group of people. They were a bit off their rockers at times, but who wasn’t? I wondered where Saphira was at this moment. I felt the absence of her presence always and wanted to find her. My thoughts were interrupted by Aubree’s voice.

“Eragon, are you even listening to me?” Her eyes were deep brown, a little light on the outside and darker on the rim and near the pupil. They reminded me of warm days, but they had a determined look in them. If she had to, she would fight for what she cared about. I thought of Katrina and Nasuada, yet she was different.

“Forgive me; I was not being very attentive to what you were saying. I think I have too much on my mind. It’s not your fault.” As I apologized her feet seemed to stumble and she started to fall. I reflexively caught and steadied her on her feet. Right then I noticed that her skin was very pale like some of the elves I had seen in Du Weldinvarden. I wondered at what her lineage was like and if she had some magical blood in her.

“Ugh, I can’t seem to do anything without stumbling over something, including myself. Anyways, what is on your mind? I like to help people and a lot of them come to me to talk.” She said this in a soft lilting way that was like a groom coaxing a troubled horse to be calm.

“I don’t think you would like to be troubled with my worries and cares for they are many and heavy. I scarcely know what to do with them.” I did not mean to give so much away but there was something that made me trust her. I don’t know what it was, the look in her eyes, the way she seemed to listen to my every word as if it mattered to her, that my feelings mattered to her.

“Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I am always here.” With that she said goodbye and went inside. I then went to my assigned cottage and late into the night I was still thinking about what she said. I know that after we left this world our appearances would return to normal. For now I was glad to lead a somewhat normal life for a little while. I could forget who I was, and be someone else.