Dawnbreaker [Inheritance Cycle]

6. Traders

She stood before a massive window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling.

Beyond it was water, and nothing else.

At her side were three people, wearing odd-looking armor. They all waited in silence.

There was a loud rumble that reverberated through her very being. Outside, a shadow shifted, impossibly large.

There was something out there, moving within the watery darkness.

"What is–" One of the others, a man of pale blue skin, began when something from below swam up, covering the entire window and plunging them all into shadow.

A great eye opened on the other side, dwarfing her entirely, startlingly green and beautiful.

So achingly familiar, yet so alien.

-

Serafyna's eyes flickered open.

The sun's rays streamed through the window, warming her face.

Rubbing her eyes, she sat up on the edge of the bed. The pine floor was cold under her feet. She stretched her sore legs, yawning.

She briefly thought about the odd dream but didn't think much of it. Already, she forgot most of the details, left with only vague impressions.

Probably the result of not getting enough sleep lately.

Beside the bed was a row of shelves covered with objects she had collected. There were carved pieces of wood, an odd collection of shells, rocks that had broken to reveal shiny interiors and strips of dry grass tied into knots.

Her favorite and most precious item was a tiny stone that floated half an inch off the ground, no matter where it was put down. While pointless, it was the only piece of magic she owned. She had bought it, long ago, from a trader using all her savings.

The rest of the room was bare, except for a small dresser and nightstand.

She pulled on her boots and stared at the floor, thinking. This was a special day. It was near this very hour, sixteen years ago, that her mother, Selena, had come home to Carvahall alone and pregnant.

She had been gone for six years, living in the cities. When she returned, she wore expensive clothes, and her hair was bound by a net of pearls. She had sought out her brother, Garrow, and asked to stay with him until the baby arrived. Within five months, she gave birth to twins.

Everyone was shocked when Selena tearfully begged Garrow and Marian to raise them.

When they asked why, she only wept and said, "I must." Her pleas had grown increasingly desperate until they finally agreed. She named her daughter Serafyna and her son Eragon, then departed early the next morning and never returned.

Serafyna still remembered how she had felt when Marian told them both the story before she died. The realization that Garrow and Marian were not her real parents had disturbed her greatly.

Things that had been permanent and unquestionable were suddenly thrown into doubt.

Eventually, she had learned to live with it, but she always had a nagging suspicion that, somehow, for whatever reason, she had not been good enough for her mother.

I'm sure there was a good reason for what she did; I only wish I knew what it was.

One other thing bothered her: Who was her father? Selena had told no one, and whoever it might be had never come looking for her or Eragon. She wished that she knew who it was, if only to have a name. It would be nice to know her heritage.