They camped in a small clearing. The night was cool and the sky was clear allowing the moon and stars to shine brightly. “We must be extra cautious tonight, with the moon that bright; the soldier’s will be able to see a little better.” Murtagh stated. He was weary like the rest of his companions and sat upon the dirt trying to relax a little after he made a place for the elf to rest. She was still unconscious, unsettling them, but they shrugged it off for the time being. They made no fire unwilling to risk the soldier’s from seeing the smoke.
Saphira nestled near a tree while Eragon sat down with the jar. Gwen remained quite the entire time she was rescued. Eragon unscrewed the top and gently set down the jar on its side allowing the woman to climb out. When she was free from her glass prison, she stood frozen waiting for what might happen next. “There, you are free now.” Eragon said, trying to cheer her up.
“I am only free from the glass jar, but I am still imprisoned within this tiny body.” Her voice was weak and she carried a shy demeanor.
“I am sorry about your fate. No one should have to endure so much. But, let us stray away from that dreary topic. What is your name?” He hoped that she would trust him enough with basic information.
“I am Gwen. I know who you are, Eragon. I have heard all about you from…” she trailed off, uncertain of how much to reveal, especially with Murtagh right there watching her every move.
Eragon did not notice Murtagh’s reaction when she said her name; he was much too focused on the woman. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Gwen. I am glad that you are already aware of my existence.” He pointed at Saphira and continued, “This is Saphira, my dragon. She says that it is pleasure to meet you as well.”
Gwen looked at the sapphire dragon. “She is magnificent! You should be honored to ride her.”
“Trust me, I am.” Eragon smiled. “And this,” he pointed at Murtagh, “is…”
“I am Murtagh.” He said, interrupting Eragon. “Now, enough of this idle chit chat, she must be starving.” He got up and grabbed his saddle bag taking out bread and cheese. He tossed some to Eragon, who broke some of the food in tiny pieces and gave them to Gwen.
“Thank you.” She sat cross-legged on the ground and began to eat her meager meal. She tried to avoid eye contact with Murtagh, but every once in a while, they would look at each other, making her feel uneasy.
Eragon did his best not to stare at Gwen while he ate, but he was so fascinated with her that he found it impossible to stop. Saphira snorted, and laid her head down, closing her eyes. When Gwen finished her portion, she yawned. “It’s been a long day for all of us, sleep would do us some good, but I will take first watch, is that all right with you, Murtagh?”
Murtagh nodded, “Yeah, I don’t mind. Besides, I am probably more tired than you are.”
“This is true. I doubt you slept much while I was at Gil’ead.”
“I didn’t. If it wasn’t my conscience keeping me awake, it was Saphira.”
Eragon laughed. “Well sleep for now. We trade shifts a few hours before sunrise.”
Murtagh unrolled his bedding and fell asleep quickly. Eragon turned his attention to Gwen, “I don’t have much for you to sleep on, except this.” He pulled out a shirt from his bag. “I am sure this will work for now. It will keep you warm and off the dirt.” He folded the shirt a few times and placed it on the ground. Gwen uttered her thanks and crawled onto the makeshift bed. Eragon folded the sleeves over her for a blanket. “There, that should do it.” He smiled. “Now, try and get some sleep.”
She nodded, then rolled over and closed her eyes. Though her eyes were closed, sleep did not come easily. She tossed and turned for nearly an hour she tried to enter the realm of dreams, but it was not forthcoming. At long last she gave up on sleep. With a sigh, he sat up.
“Can’t sleep?” Eragon asked her when he noticed that she was awake. “What’s troubling you?”
“I have too much on my mind is all.” She said.
“I know how that goes. I lost much sleep with a restless mind.”
They sat there quietly until Gwen broke the silence. “Why did you rescue me?”
She was looking at him with curious eyes that Eragon could barely see in the darkness. “I could not leave you in there cooped up in a jar for the rest of your life.”
“But what of the other prisoners? You save me and another woman, but you leave the rest there to suffer?”
“Look, odd as this may seem, I felt like I had to rescue you; I felt as if you were someone who was worth the risk to set free. Correct me if I am wrong, but there is something about you that compelled me.”
Gwen became a little uncomfortable. “You really think that I am was worthy enough to be rescued? Why is that?”
“Well, I figured that the King kept you alive for a reason, shrinking you instead. I do not know what his reasons were for doing such a thing, but alas, you had to have been worth something to remain alive. That is my logic behind this situation, am I anywhere close to what really happened?”
“No, not really. Eragon, if I told you a secret, will you swear to keep it, aside from telling Saphira?” She was trying to keep from crying.
“Gwen, what is it? Yes, of course I will keep it secret. You have my word.”
“You are right about one thing, I am not like other girls, and I mean aside from my small size. The only reason the King shrunk me instead was because he cannot kill me. My mother placed a spell on me when I was an infant protecting me from him.”
Eragon became rigid, but his voice was steady. “How did your mother know to protect you from the King?”
“Simple, the King is my father!”
The news shocked Eragon at first, but as he thought about it, he wanted to slap himself for not realizing it sooner. “The king said you were murdered, but that was only a cover up!”
“Exactly.”
“You, you are Princess Gwenivere?! Wow, I…I…” he was speechless.
“I am the princess of Alagaesia, and as such, I did all I could to help my people. I sent supplies to the Varden, but soon, a letter I sent was intercepted and I was punished with this curse.”
“Gwen, I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what? This was not your fault, it was mine. I don’t regret helping the Varden, my only regret was refusing to leave Uru’baen. There have been a few times where the Varden were able to sneak me out of the palace, but I was too afraid to leave. If I left, my father could say that I was kidnapped and then he would be able to send his troops throughout Alagaesia ravaging village after village until I was found, or falsely pronounced dead.”
Eragon listened to her theory and could not deny how incredibly smart she was. “You have a knack for scrutinizing every detail, don’t you?”
“I do, call it one of my many talents…or flaws. My father never liked it; he said that I was just a stupid girl. If I were truly stupid, I would have let his words bother me, instead his cruel words fueled my support for the Varden.”
“Interesting. I do not wish to bring up any more bad memories, but what happened to you mother? Who was she?”
“The night she placed that spell on me was the night she was murdered.”
“Murdered, by your father?”
“Yes.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “She was a supporter of the Varden as well.” She paused for a moment to recollect herself. “What about you? I told you a little about my background, what of yours?”
Eragon shifted, then began, “I was a farm boy living in Carvahall with my Uncle Garrow and his son Roran. I was allowed to live there after my mother begged her brother; she left when I was only an infant. I do not know who my father is, my mother told no one. Anyways, until recently I lived there.
I found Saphira’s egg in the Spine while I was hunting. I took it with me thinking that is was a stone that I could trade for some meat. Obviously, that did not work out. Even the traders didn’t want the stone. So, I kept it until Saphira hatched. In secret, I raised her. Months passed and things began to change drastically.
My cousin left for Therinsford to work, and right after he left two strangers came looking for Saphira’s egg. At that time I had no idea that they were called the Ra’zac. They destroyed my home and killed my Uncle. I only survived because Saphira grabbed me and took me far away from Caravahall until the Ra’zac left. When I returned, I discovered the wreckage and soon left with Brom, who wanted to travel with me for reasons I discovered later, to pursue the Ra’zac. Brom was a Rider as well, and he taught me how to fight and use magic.
We traveled far until one night we were attacked off guard by a few Ra’zac. Murtagh saved us, apparently he was following the Ra’zac as well and when he saw us get attacked, he help us. Well, that is he tried to save us, one of the Ra’zac threw a dagger at me, and Brom dove in front of me. A few days later, he died. I miss him dearly. Anyways, Murtagh and I traveled together until I was captured by Urgals and brought to Gil’ead.”
Gwen quietly listened to his tale. When he had finished, she said, “And then you escaped your cell, rescued me and, well, here we are talking in the middle of the night.”
“Exactly.” Eragon said. “So, besides your father, you have no other family?”
“That is correct.” Gwen yawned. She was beginning to tire. “What about your cousin? You said he left.”
“I did. He left to work so that he could marry Katrina. I do not know how either of them are doing. Heck, I have no idea if Carvahall is still there or if it has been burned to the ground.”
“That’s terrible.”
“Aye.”
In order to keep the conversation flowing, Gwen asked him, “So, you were never close to anyone in Caravahall like your cousin?”
Her question caught him off guard. “Huh? Oh, no. I was never with anyone. What about you?”
“No, my father never made any wedding plans for me, and I never became close to anyone on my own.”
“Really?” Eragon found that to be surprising. “I figured that someone like you must have been with someone, I mean you’re…” he trailed off embarrassed to finish his sentence aware of how forward he was becoming.
Gwen blushed. “Don’t get me wrong, there were many men who wanted to be with me, but I never fancied them back.”
“I understand now.”
“Good, I’d hate to have you confused.” She said a little sarcastically. After, she said, “Anyways, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“What doesn’t?” Eragon asked, confused.
“Finding someone.” Her demeanor became sad once again. “Who could ever be with me now that I am cursed to be the size of a walnut?” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Eragon’s heart broke as he watched her cry. “Gwen,” he began softly, “nothing is certain. Who knows, maybe one day you will find a way to break your father’s spell.”
“I doubt it.” She sobbed. “Unlike me, you are lucky. You can find someone and settle down, I can’t.”
“No, don’t talk that way…”
“Why not? It’s the truth.”
“The truth according to whom?
“According to society. I doubt you would notice, but the world is not sympathetic towards small creatures. Who could ever love me this way? No one.”
Eragon did not want to argue with her any further. He knew she was wrong because he cared for her, and he had no idea why he felt so strongly for her this early on. Get a grip! You barely know her. But still, I cannot suppress the happiness I feel when she is around, or the way he eyes sparkle in the moonlight that makes me weak. He sighed. By the time he snapped out of his thoughts, Gwen had already fallen asleep. Eragon made a silent vow that he would find a way to help her. “Sweet dreams, Gwen.”