20Chapter 4- Aryanna's Story
Hey everyone! I'm so incredibly sorry for dropping off of the face of the earth for about a year. I've just started high school and things got incredibly crazy. You can blame my high school, and my hectic life for my disappearance. (you can blame Navarog too. It is his fault anyway…)
Navarog: Hey! It wasn't my fault!
Me: hush up dragon boy! Don't deny it!
Navarog: But…
Me: Don't make me go all ninja on you!
Navarog: You're not a ninja no matter how much Naruto you watch!
Me: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!
Navarog: crap…
Anyway, I don't own Eragon or Fablehaven, or in the above case, I don't own Naruto either. *cries*
Special thanks to…
GreatIceDragon
AndAPartridgeInAGrapeTree
Blahblahblibbityblah
Anon
Fizdazzle
Ledgendary WandererMario Man
JV
Power2thepen
An awkward silence fell over the dining room, broken only by the occasional "pass the condiments". Bracken and Gavin were glaring at each other from opposite sides of the table, with Kendra kicking them, trying to get them to stop on one side, and Seth on the other side, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
Gavin felt a sharp pain in his leg and looked at Kendra who shrugged. Gavin glared at Bracken (again). "Stop kicking me Bracken!" he said, giving Bracken a sharp kick in the shin.
"It wasn't me!" Bracken said, returning the kick. "But that was!"
They both turned their glares to Seth who was unsuccessfully trying to suppress his laughter. "Seth!" Gavin growled.
"We already hate each other enough as it is! And you're being really immature!" Bracken said, annoyed.
"Sorry! It's just really quiet! I don't like it!" Seth said.
"So, you said that you two have met before?" Marla said, giving Seth a look, which he simply ignored.
"Yes, we had a rather long and violent history."
"It wasn't pleasant." Bracken agreed.
"Well then can you tell us about your sister and how she was kidnapped, Navarog?" Marla asked, changing the subject.
"My sister," he began "Aryanna, was taken years ago, like hundreds of years ago. If we were mortal, she was about five, I was about seven. Before Dragon Sanctuaries, we lived in small tribes, and together, we are almost impossible to defeat. But, the shade attacked so suddenly, we were completely off guard. We didn't have many options, it was fight or flee, and the second one was hardly an option, considering that fleeing isn't exactly in our nature. It was about two hundred men, and ten spell-casters, under Durza's command against seven adult dragons, and three or four adolescent dragons. If it wasn't for Durza, we would've won. It was a valiant fight, but we were still overwhelmed.
"Mother and Father told us to take our human form and to leave. Naturally, we hid, so that we could stay and watched. They flew into battle. They never came out. That was the last time I saw them alive. I later found their bodies among the fallen." He paused for a moment and lowered his gaze.
"It was Durza who felled the most dragons. He moved as if he knew where we were hiding. I ran from our hiding spot when he was within five feet away. I didn't care about my own safety, only about protecting Aryanna. The shade didn't bother much with me; he just forced me out of the way with magic. He walked to Aryanna, picked her up by the waist, and disappeared. She couldn't take her true form because he was pressing against a certain bone in her spine that prevents the transformation. It's a secret only known by the dragons. I don't know how he knew about it." He looked at each of them individually, "in other words, if any of you tell anyone…"
"We won't tell." Vanessa said, speaking for everyone.
"She was screaming for me as the shade took her away. I saw the fear in her eyes, she was terrified. We both were. I took my true form and lunged at the shade, in a last attempt to rescue her, but the shade had vanished.
"I've had dreams about her, I see Durza torturing her in the most horrific ways possible that even Gorgrog would find cruel. He would torture her, and her body would be covered in scars, she begs for mercy, but the shade is relentless; that is, until she gives him what he wants. I have not the faintest idea, as to what that is though.
"I could see the pain in her eyes, and I hear her cry out, but I can do nothing. I know that the dreams are real because my sister and I have this sort of, mental connection, an empathy link. We can see each other over vast distances and we can tell if the other is close to death. If she dies, the tie would be broken and I would be alerted immediately and I would be granted a last conversation with her. If she dies, I would still make the journey to avenge her death, and soon after, join her. She is the only family that I have left. I have to save her."
"You would really kill yourself to be with her!" Kendra said stunned. "You love her enough to die for her?"
"Yes, that much and more. She's my sister. She's the only one I have left. I've saved her life plenty of times, and she's stuck her neck out for me on more than one occasion."
There was a pause, and then everyone began murmuring to everyone else.
"So," Gavin interrupted, "what's the soonest that we can leave?"
"Well, Gavin, I hope that you realize that a trip like this takes some time, preparation, planning, and forethought." Grandpa Sorenson said.
"Yes, sir." Gavin responded solemnly, lowering his gaze. He knew that he wouldn't like the answer that was coming.
"But, seeing as your need is urgent, pick your team, you're leaving tomorrow."Grandpa said with a smile.
Gavin looked up, shocked. "Well in that case, there are a few people that I would like on the team. If there is anyone who does not want to join me other than Stan, Ruth, Scott, Marla, and Dale, say so now." The room remained silent, although it was obvious that Bracken was hoping that Kendra would speak up.
"Well then, I would like to include Seth,-"
"YES! Yea! The Demon Prince likes me better than you guys do! Ha! Yea! Wait is that a good thing?" Seth yelled, jumping out of his seat, fists in the air, startling everyone. "Uh, sorry."
"Um, anyways, I would like Seth, Kendra, Warren, Vanessa, Tanu, and as much as I dislike it, Bracken, and if you could get Raxtus, that would be appreciated. All of your talents will definitely be useful on this journey." Gavin said. He turned to Bracken and grinned. "And I am sure that Bracken would refuse to let Kendra go alone."
Bracken's face turned scarlet. He stood up, but before he could say anything, Marla Sorenson interrupted. "Now to the matter of where you are going to sleep Gavin."
"Let's set up his cot in a cell in the dungeon, say, maybe in the Quiet Box?" Bracken said, glaring at Gavin who returned the icy stare. Kendra put her hand on Bracken's shoulder, which seemed to calm him. He sat down. "Fine. You can set up the cot in my room. I still don't trust him. I don't want to put anyone else in danger."
"I'll go get the cot." Grandpa Sorenson said.
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That night
The room was dark, and the night cast eerie shadows across the room. Bracken sat up. "So Navarog, you really care about this girl, what's her name? Aryanna? Enough to risk your life?"
"If you didn't get it earlier, yes. She's all I have. Before she was kidnapped, she was my whole world. I'd give anything to see her face again." Gavin replied from across the room.
"Can you tell me about the Shade?"
"This Shade, the Shade Prince, Durza, well first of all, he's no prince. Not a real one at least. It's like how I was labeled "Demon Prince". I'm not royalty, and I'm certainly not a demon. Durza is one of the most powerful shades in existence. The more powerful the shade, the more evil.
"He is different from the shades that you are familiar with. The shades here were born as magical creatures. Durza and others like him were all once mortal sorcerers who learned the arcane art of controlling spirits. They summoned evil spirits who were more powerful than they could control. The spirits possessed them, and made them shades. Shades have inhuman strength and reflexes, along with a vast array of powerful dark magic, so don't be fooled by his humanlike appearance."
"Humanlike appearance? Exactly how humanlike?"
"He looks like a normal human, aside from the fact that his eyes are maroon, and his hair is blood red. Other than that, he looks relatively human. But like I said, he has superhuman strength and speed, along with powerful dark magic." Gavin responded.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Didn't give me much choice, now did you?" Gavin said sarcastically.
"How was releasing the demons from Zzyxx a rescue operation?" Bracken asked, ignoring Gavin's sarcasm.
"I was planning on opening the prison and storming the shade's fortress and rescuing Aryanna."
"But what would you do with the demons after you got your sister back?"
"After that, I couldn't care less about what happened to them. I guess I would have destroyed the gateway and trapped them in the shade's realm."
Bracken remained silent for a moment. "I guess that we'll have to work together on this one, won't we?"
"Mm-hm"
Bracken chuckled softly to himself. "Who would have thought? The son of the Fairy Queen helping Navarog, the Demon Prince of Dragons!"
"I suggest that you get some rest Bracken. This is going to be a long and perilous journey." Gavin said, turning face the wall. He didn't want to talk about anything that reminded him of Aryanna. He soon realized that he couldn't escape thoughts of his sister even in his sleep. That night, he saw his sister through their empathy link.
Thanks to all of you who reviewed. I promise that I will try to update regularly. I'll try to post at least once a month, I'll be able to update more regularly once summer break begins, but I will also be in summer school during the last half of the break. *sigh* keyboarding class is such a drag. Mandatory keyboarding classes can kiss my-
Navarog: OKAY! How about we end the chapter here huh?
Me: I was just gonna say butt… Why are you still here anyway?
Navarog: lets just end this chapter.
Me: fine. NAVAROG COMMANDS TO LEAVE A REVIEW! Thanks! ;3