Curse of the Phoenix

Ch.7 -Painful Reminders

I straightened up and stepped back from the bath. Eragon did the same, and he left the small room open. I waited for him, but he motioned to the door. "Lead the way."

"Okay." As I set a foot outside the door, I heard a small, squeaky snap. I looked down, at my foot, as I assumed that was where the noise had come from. My sandal had broken. All the shoe was was a thick, hard piece of leather secured with a bit of twine rope and a few wooden beads. I had worn these sandals for at least a year, the only pair of shoes I had. The sudden breakage of one mad me sad. I bent down and took it off, to carry it.  I didn't really care that I was half barefoot. Eragon didn't seem to either. I walked out into the hallway and down the stairs. Saphira was sprawled out in the empty room, her massive body barely taking up any room. Grimm was crouched slightly inside the building, his back end and tail were outside. He blotted out most of the sunlight that came through the door. The dragons were staring at each other, unblinking, as if they were made of stone. That unsettled me, made me think of the skeletons we saw earlier. As we came down the staircase both dragons turned to look at us. Grimm settled a bit more once I was in the room, his muscles seemed to relax.

What?  I asked.

You took a while. I was wondering what you were occupied with.

He spent a lot of time explaining things. And my shoe broke.

And? There's always something more.

We have to go back to our camp. Eragon said we can get our things and bring them here.

Like it was easy to get your things here in the first place.

You were waay smaller then. And you were weighed down by me. You barely made it.

True. A single bag is nothing now. When do we leave?

Now I guess. Grimm stood up and stretched like a cat. He backed out of the castle and I followed him. Behind us I could hear Saphira get to her feet as well; her scales made a very definitive scraping noise against the stone. Grimm crouched a bit so I could clamber on. Once I did, I looked back and saw that Eragon was ready to depart.

Alright.

He took off, flapping three times with effort before he could get out of the heavier air and into the sky. He went the exact way we had come from, yet he took a detour of about three miles so I could avoid seeing the bones.

Thank you.

They unsettle me more than they do you. But you're welcome. Eventually we came to the clearing where we had first met each other, Grimm paid no special attention to the place, not wanting to remind anyone of the experience. He kept going, until the tiniest meadow came into view. A single large tree would have filled up the gap. Grimm had to carefully worm around the trees to avoid crashing into one. Eventually he made it, and he had to go slightly into the forest to make room for Saphira. She made it. And she took up the whole meadow. I had to walk around her legs to get to the tree where I had my knapsack. It was stored in an old animal den of some sort, and the heavy canvas protected what little I had from the elements. I grabbed it and then walked back to Grimm.

"That's it?" asked Eragon.

"That's it."

"What is it?"

"Stuff. Mostly just......" I immediately thought of a particular item in there. I had to sit down on one of the tree roots as I gathered myself. Don't think about it, don't think about it, Grimm said not to.... But it didn't help. I remembered when it happened. Grimm was at my side, he had made Saphira move, she was snarling, seeming annoyed at the other side of the clearing.

Iara don't-

I'm trying! He showed me memories, good ones, happy ones. But they barely compared to the bad ones. I remembered the sand, the sun beating down upon us. I heard the clank of the chains. The metal rubbing on my sore skin. And the whinnying of horses. I cried out as the memories returned. It felt as if a hole was being ripped through my chest, tearing me apart. Time ceased.

I came to. I was laying face up on the ground. My arms were wrapped around my sides, my hands clutching the fabric tight. I was shaking. It felt as if the hole was still there, the pain of remembering. Grimm was laying next to me. Eragon was crouching next to me. He had an extremely worried look on his face, and he was holding one of my hands. Tears were streaming from my eyes. I took a rattly breath and tried to stand. I had to lean on Grimm's leg. I didn't face Eragon. He was silent. Eventually I turned around. He was standing straight up, about ten feet away, staring at the ground with a worried look on his face. When I had turned around his head flashed up. We were silent for a minute.

"Iara?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"At the moment."

"You sure?" I waited a bit before answering quietly.

"No."

"What happened?" That question halted me. Froze me. How could he understand?