The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

Progress

As I awoke the next morning, blinking back the harsh light of the sun and stretching out the crick in my neck, I was amazed to find that the pain in my side was completely gone. It was almost as though it had never been there in the first place. Slowly, I stood and stretched out my tense muscles, feeling better than ever. Eragon and Brom were already awake, bent over in conversation by the smoldering embers of last night's fire.

"Good morning," I called cheerily, sitting down next to Eragon as he handed me a cold piece of cooked meat from the night before.

"How are you feeling?" Brom asked, eyeing me quizzically.

"Wonderful, actually," I admitted. "The pain in my side is gone." Brom cocked an eyebrow in concern and beckoned me over.

"Let me see your wound," he said. Reluctantly, I lifted the edge of my shirt and peeled away the bandages, preparing for the worst. What I saw there took me completely by surprise.

"It's gone!" I cried, rubbing the smooth skin of my torso. Beneath my bandages was not the grievous wound that had been there yesterday. Instead, there was an oval shaped scar with jagged edges about the size of my hand, stretched and pink.

"Incredible," Brom muttered. He looked into my eyes as if he wanted to say something more, but whatever it was, he held his tongue. "I'm betting that it doesn't hurt anymore when you breathe, does it?"

I tested his theory and found that he was right. "No, it doesn't," I said in confusion. Looking back at Eragon, I found that he seemed just as baffled as Brom and I were.

"It's wonderful, of course," Eragon said slowly, "it's just...strange."

"That it is," Brom agreed. He remained silent in thought for a moment before jumping to his feet. "Come. We'd best be getting on our way. We'll need to find some horses in Therinsford. Tabatha, you'll have to ride with Eragon when he's not on Saphira. I can only buy two horses."

"It's alright," I replied half-heartedly. I didn't really mind all that much, and my mind was still preoccupied with thoughts of the strange case of my wound.

We set off about an hour later, after we'd broken down camp and destroyed any evidence that we'd been there at all. Brom swore that Therinsford was only a few miles away from where we were, but on foot it took us a few hours to get there. Eragon flew slowly overhead, close to the trees, in case they needed to duck down to remain out of sight. When we reached the outskirts of town, the pair landed and Eragon instructed her to stay in a small clearing where she could remain hidden.

"We won't be long," he assured her, rubbing her snout softly. She snorted in response, and I'm sure she said something to him. He smiled and nodded and then joined Brom and I as we headed for the road that led into town.

It was more of a small village than a town-and it was certainly bigger than Carvahall-but it had everything that we needed. We found a man that sold horses, and while Brom negotiated with him, Eragon and I perused the stables, eyeing the horses. Eragon stopped at a stall very suddenly, and I nearly ran into the back of him. When I looked over, I could only stop and stare as well. Inside the stall resided a handsome white stallion, his powerful muscles rippling beneath his skin as he pawed the straw floor restlessly. There was a grace and majesty about him, as though he were meant to carry kings and mighty lords.

"He's beautiful," I whispered, fearing that any loud noises would shatter the beautiful image in front of me.

"Aye," Eragon quickly agreed in the same soft tone. Brom noticed us gaping at the animal and asked the man how much he cost. The stable owner seemed reluctant to part with the horse, but he finally conceded, for a very high price, I might add. The horse's name was Snowfire.