The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

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It was a beautiful fall day in Carvahall. The sun was shining and there was a slight, crisp breeze blowing across the meadow where I lay. The wind rustled the tall grass, making it sway all around me. I could hear the sounds of the village not too far off. Horses whinnied and oxen lowed as they lumbered by with a heavy cart. Above it all, I could hear the sounds of my uncle's forge, his heavy hammer falling upon the anvil with a metallic clink as he worked on his latest creation. The breeze tickled my skin and ruffled my hair, drawing it across my forehead and into my eyes. I wiped it away and closed the book I'd just finished for about the hundredth time: A History of Alagaesia. No matter how many times I'd asked him to borrow it, Brom always laughed and handed it over.

"You don't have it memorized yet?" he asked playfully the last time I'd come knocking on his door to dig through the mountains of books. I only smiled and took it gladly.

I came to this meadow every day, to wait for my best friend, Eragon. It had been a few days since he'd met me, though. He was out hunting in the mountains surrounding our village, the Spine. I didn't like it when he went out there; a woman from our village had died in those woods a while back, and ever since then we've believed the mountains to be cursed.

I sat up in the grass and looked around me, my eyes barely clearing the top of the grass. A farmer moved slowly along the road with his wagon, pulled by two black oxen, their hides gleaming with sweat from their heavy load. He raised a hand in greeting when he caught a glimpse of me in the meadow. I wasn't sure who he was, but I raised a hand in response anyways. We lived a simple life here in the Spine, but it was the only life I'd ever known, and I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world. The only problem was the Imperial soldiers. They'd arrived not too long ago, just to keep an eye on things here in our remote village. The soldiers hadn't caused any trouble... yet, but their presence was still unsettling to me.

After another minute or so, I decided that I probably wouldn't be seeing Eragon today, so I stood to go, stretching my arms above me. A bird flew overhead, and I paused to look at it, watching as it flew on black wings towards the looming mountains. As I followed its path I saw a figure moving in between the trees. When it finally emerged from the tree line, I cried out in joy.

"Eragon!" I called, waving my arm in a wide arc.

"Hello!" he replied, picking up his pace as he came towards me. When he drew nearer, I saw he was smiling, but his eyes held a note of sadness.

"You didn't get anything?" I asked when he stopped in front of me.

He shook his head sadly. "No, I didn't. Bit of a waste of three days." He shrugged and twisted his mouth, but his smile returned. "How are you, Tabatha?" he asked kindly.

"As well as ever," I replied, turning to walk with him towards the village. "Aunt Elain is trying to teach me housework, as usual, but it's so terribly boring! I don't know how she's done it for so long, sitting and sewing and cooking and cleaning all day long!" Eragon laughed at me and pushed slightly on my arm, throwing me off balance a bit.

"Don't be so hard on her, Tabby." I smiled at his use of my nickname. "She's made a good life for you all. And she and Horst took you in, besides, after your mother..."

"And I'm forever grateful that they gave me a home," I said quickly, cutting him off before he could bring up any unpleasant feelings. " I just feel like I don't belong with them, Eragon. Like I was... I don't know, like I was meant for something else... something greater." He laughed at that too.

"Don't we all?" he said ruefully. I smirked over at him as his dark eyes lit up in amusement. I punched him playfully on the arm as we drew nearer to the town.