DragonInk 2 (Eragon Writing Competition)

Final Round- Entries

Etheralda (AJSCURRAH):

When I awoke, it was to the sounds of the forest and the warmth of a filtered sun. Stiff, but not sore, I stretched as I sat, curious to note that I was on a bed inside a wooden cabin of sorts. Dust motes circled overhead, settling into the fibres of my blankets and joining a layer on the floorboards. A broad-shouldered man with dishevelled hair sat in a chair across the room, his sword on his knees, a book discarded at his feet.

"Azren?" I asked. The last I remembered of our time together was in the cave, when I'd been abducted and he'd freed me from the chains. Cinder had been there too, to render my torturer limb from limb, but the touch of her mind was soft now, as if she slumbered. I retreated from the shores of her mind, intent on letting her sleep.

The man in the chair stirred. "I'm awake," he insisted, and I believed him — he sounded tired, as if he hadn't slept for days.

"When was the last time you slept?"

The man frowned. "The night before your abduction. Which was yesterday, might I add; you've slept from sundown to midday."

He'd stayed awake two entire nights, just to watch over me? "I don't..." I was about to say that I didn't know what to say, when the words in the ancient language eluded me. I did know what to say. "Thank you. I am in your debt."

He couldn't deny the truth of that statement, but he did reply with: "I acknowledge the debt exists, but I won't take advantage of it."

Appreciation surged within me. The man was smart, and decent, too — not to mention exotically handsome. Azren filled his shirt in a manner that elven males could not, and his features were a divine blend of strong lines and rounded corners. High cheekbones tempted my fingers, a full bottom lip tempted my own, eyes large enough suggest innocence tempted my heart; gold eyes large enough to drown in.

I realised that I was staring at him and cleared my throat. "What book is that?" I asked, gesturing to the tome at his feet. "Finished reading it already?"

Azren snorted. "I haven't even started it," he admitted, running a hand through that silky dark hair. "Ever since... well, I've been distracted lately. Can't seem to get my head in a state to accept the words."

Ever since what? I wondered, leaning forward with an unbearably acute curiosity. It seemed that over time, Cinder's traits had rubbed off on me.

As if my curiosity had rekindled her own, Cinder woke. She pilfered my memories to regain her bearing. I think he likes you, she slurred, still recovering from sleep. I saw it in his head when I attacked him.

You did what? I gasped. Now I was the one pilfering memories. In a rush, I recovered everything that I'd missed from the moment I was abducted. I winced at the recollection of her fear, rage and pain — her emotions had been so potent. I relived the moment where her love for me drove her to kill a fellow rider.

You shouldn't have done that, I sent, sober with the implications of what had transpired. He was insane, but he was also grieving. We could've taken him back to the settlement and handed him over to the healers.

Cinder disagreed.

Azren cleared his throat. "If you're feeling better now, we should get going. Someone needs to report the incident to Eragon and Sapphira, let them know we have a grieving dragon on our hands."

I frowned, confused. Then it hit me — the violet dragon that had been paired with the insane rider who abducted and tortured me. She'd refused to make contact with my mind and had stood guard out the front of my prison. She'd foiled my one attempt at escape. "She yet lives?"