Destiny (Volume I: Shur'tugalar)

Chapter Six Part XLIX (ED)

Or maybe I scared you soundless, a whispery voice said. Ruyi slithered through the grass up to Niaomi, who reached down to gently drape the darksnake around her neck.

Twittering indignantly, the thunderbird replied, I was not afraid!

Really? Ruyi swung her head to face Ion, her jade green eyes staring hard; it seemed she'd learned how to speak properly while Nia had been asleep. Because you seem a bit nervous now.

"Ruyi," the girl gently admonished as the kveykav-fethrblaka hopped a few inches away from the snake. Chuckling softly, Ruyi coiled her body back around so that her head rested beside Flair instead.

Rumble shook his large wings, quietly padding towards the group. He gently laid down next to Niaomi, leaning his body softly against hers. Well, this has certainly been an interesting turn of events.

"Indeed," Leafë spoke up, sitting down on a nearby swinging bench. "The others explained what happened, but I want to hear the whole tale from you, Nia."

"Well," she began, sitting down beside her mother. Sky traded her arm for the bench's, settling down on her perch as the girl started to tell her tale. "It all began in when we wandered into Du Welden Abr Súndav …"

The mirror returned to its swirling gray clouds, and the older Nia narrated, "I told my mother everything that happened, from Shwa's entrancement to the conversation with Zeus. Afterwards, she took me aside and told me I should explain all this to my father. So, leaving my bondmates and friends behind, I went off in the direction of Wayłoêr's river to find him."

Done narrating for now, she pressed her hands against the bronze glass, and the clouds parted to show the young Niaomi walking through the woods. Pushing aside leafy ferns, she finally emerged in the small space where Niom had first met Tristan and the naiad. A few yards away, the man was crouched next to the stream, peering intently into the water. The werecat kitten sat at his feet, her large blue eyes locking onto the girl once she came into view, unnoticed by her father. She walked closer, craning her head to see what held his attention.

The water in front of Niom showed a scrying scene. In it, Eragon saw a younger Ajihad and a girl about his age who must be Nasuada. The two stood, dressed in dark clothing with their heads bowed in front of a small altar. There were candles burning, and a small frame with a very decent sketch of a sixteen-year old Niom. Eragon compared the sketch to the older version, and could see the changes that being bound with a dragon brought on; Niom's ears were definitely tapered, and his eyes more slanted.

"Who's that?" Nia asked, curiosity in her eyes.

Jerking upright, the image started to waver as Niom lost his concentration. Looking back down at the river, the man kept the scrying going. Instead of answering his daughter's question, he asked her, "Do you know what day it is, Nia?"

"Umm," she said, counting in her head. "It's three days after the day we left, so…"

"Not the day of the week, but the day of an occasion."

Niaomi frowned. "Huh?"

Her confusion made Niom smile slightly, but it soon faded to be replaced with a pained look. He looked down at his hands, and Eragon now noticed that he clutched the purple scarf that had led to him arriving on Alalëa. Fingering it gently, he explained, "Today marks the eighth year of the day that I arrived to this island. You know I and your mother didn't originally come from here."

His daughter nodded. "You and Móði came from Alagaësia, where an evil Dragon Rider rules the country."

"The Empire," Niom corrected. "But do you know how I ended up here?"

"No."

"This scarf is what brought me to Alalëa."

"What?" the girl exclaimed. "How?"

Laughing, her father ended the spell and sat, gesturing for her to sit in front of him. When she did, Niom gently turned her around and began braiding her hair, his long fingers sliding in and out of the silky black curls. The werecat walked delicately onto her bondmate’s lap, settling there as the man began to speak. "I swam after the scarf when my little sister dropped it."

"A sister…the same girl in the scrying?"

"Correct," he said. "Her name is Nasuada, and the man beside her is our father - your grandfather - Ajihad."

"A grandfather…and an aunt," Nia whispered, awe in her voice.

Niom nodded once. "Unfortunately, they don't know I'm alive, and are mourning my supposed death. I wish I could find someway to contact them, to tell them, but Alalëa is always moving. Vanilor and I fly up each day, searching for a glimpse of a nearby landmass. But there has been nothing but the sea."

His daughter was silent for a time. Then, she asked quietly, "Do you wish that Niüle had never brought you here?"

Hurriedly explaining to the other viewers, present-day Renata said, "Niüle was the dolphin that led Niom to Alalëa. They still maintained contact with each other."

The reminiscence continued, and Niom was saying, "Of course not. If I hadn't come here, I would've never met your mother. And I wouldn't have this troublesome young daughter, either." He squeezed her, and her giggled as she tried to free herself. Teasing put aside, Niom wound the scarf around the braid he'd finished making. "And this is for you."

Touching her hair, Niaomi felt the scarf and twisted her neck to see it. Studying the intricate silver designs, she whispered, "But it's the last thing you have of your sister."

"And I'm giving it to you," Niom said, eyes crinkling with his smile. "You're growing up, Nia, and that means more freedom along with more responsibility. This scarf was passed down, from generation to generation. And since Nass can't have it, it belongs to you."

Grinning widely, she hugged her father tight. "Thanks, Faði. And if I ever meet Auntie Nass, I'll make sure to give it back to her - for you."

Stroking his daughter's hair, the man hugged her back and murmured, "I hope you can one day."

The scene ended, and silence fell upon the viewers. Putting the mirror aside, Nia reached into her bag and removed a small pouch, setting it down before Nasuada without a word. Slowly, the older woman picked it up and opened it, overturning the pouch to spill the contents into her hand. Out tumbled the purple scarf, faded slightly with age but its silver markings still gleaming.

Nasuada ran her fingers against the cotton fabric, then looked up with shining eyes at her niece. "Thank you for this."

Niaomi grinned, her white teeth bright against her dark skin. "It was always yours, my lady."

"There need be no formality between family," Nasuada replied, her brown eyes twinkling.

Smile growing even wider, the Rider said, "Of course not...Auntie."