Destiny (Volume I: Shur'tugalar)

Chapter Six Part LI (ED)

This marks the end of the Search Arc and the start of the Trials Arc, the final set of flashbacks before the Reminiscence Arc ends and present-day action resumes. Enjoy!

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An image formed on the surface, one of Nia's bedroom. Morning light streamed through the balcony's wide glass doors, shining through the thin curtain on her bed. A lump was underneath the covers, hidden from view. Around the room, the viewers could see it was more cluttered than in the past: a bookshelf and desk stood against the wall with the door while clothes lay scattered around in piles. The walls themselves had multiple fairths: one was a large collage of Niaomi's bondmates, another a picture of the five around the age of ten in a group shot on the beach, one of the mermaids singing on their rock, the next Alaleä captured from above, and finally the biggest fairth of all was one of the young Riders about five years old and the two parents.

In it, Niom wore a loose white shirt and black pants rolled halfway up his shin. On his shoulders sat Nicholas dressed in a forest shirt and brown trousers, the boy's green eyes crinkled as he smiled into his father's upturned face. Niom had one hand supporting his son, but the other was tightly clutching Nia's hand. The little girl was dressed in a black short sleeve dress with a purple waist trim, equally dark curls bound into a high horsetail with the purple scarf.

The girl swung between her father and mother; Leafë held her other hand, green eyes bright as she looked down at her daughter's grinning face. The elf woman had on a white cotton dress that bared her arms, and unbound her silver cascaded to her waist. A few feet to their right, the water lapped the shore. Nathan and Rose were playing in the waves; him splashing her, looking almost identical to his brother but with a blue shirt and mischievous brown eyes, as she held out her arms laughing with one blue eye closed to fend off his attack.

In front of them on the shore, her twin crouched in the sand, curiously studying a starfish with her solemn gray eyes. Renata had the same white dress on as her sister; however, her trim was silver, while Rosaminda's was a light blue shade. A dragon's tail curved around their left, long and gray with coiled muscles. The picture was a beautiful one, managing in that moment to capture not only the closeness of the family but their individuality as well.

Eragon noticed all these details in the span of a few seconds. In that time, the lump beneath the covers shifted slightly before settling down once more. The quietness was disrupted as the door banged open, revealing Nate. Only a year younger than he was in the present, his features were not as elvish as now, but his cheeks were still as sharp-boned and his sparkling brown eyes angled. Bounding over to the bed now, he bent over and shook the lump.

"Nia, Nia, wake up!" he yelled excitedly. His hair was pulled back into a small horsetail, and he was dressed very neatly: beige breeches tucked into soft brown leather boots, with a crisp white shirt under a brown vest completing the ensemble.

A muttering was heard from the bed, presumably Niaomi. Her brother ignored it and continued shaking, calling her name louder and louder. Finally, she shot up, hair in a disarray as she screamed, "I'm up! Blast Hypnos, I'm awake, thanks to you."

"Good," Nathan said promptly, taking a step back to avoid her vicious swipe. "You do know what day it is, right?"

Frowning tiredly, she tried to push her hair out of her face. She seemed to be wearing a narrow-sleeved white shirt that hung loosely on her slim frame. "It's some celebration of sorts…"

Rolling his eyes, her brother exclaimed, "Good gods, you can't even recall your own day of birth!"

"Oh yeah," Nia said quietly, flopping back onto the pillows with a large yawn. "That's the occasion."

Nate sighed heavily, walking back to the door. "Get properly dressed and be downstairs in ten minutes, or I'm coming back up here - with a bucket of icy water." And with the threat still hanging in the air, he shut the door.

His sister winced out the sound, though it hadn't been that loud, and muttered darkly, "A stupid and inconsiderate fool - that's what I have for a brother."

The scene switched to Nathan, who was walking down the stairs which had fairths of the family hanging beside it. He tromped into another room that was clearly the kitchen if the counter encircling the large area and the round island in the middle filled with baskets of fruit and bread was anything to go by. A sink was fixed below the wide window, and a wood stove fixed across from it; cabinets, pots, and pans hung in between. In one corner, an icebox stood, much larger than any Eragon had ever seen and made from metal instead of wood.

Leafë stood in front of the sink, hands sudsy from washing the dishes. She looked up at the boy as he strolled in, grabbing a green apple before sitting on a nearby stool. The elf showed no noticeable signs of aging except a few faint lines around the corner of her eyes, which deepened as she smiled at her oldest son. "Is your sister up yet?"

"Oh, she will be," Nate said with a relaxed grin, biting into the apple.

"Good," his mother replied. She rinsed her hands and patted them dry with the apron she was wearing over a spring green skirt that matched her vibrant eyes. Her long moonlit hair was braided back from her beautiful face, and her long sleeve shirt was a light gray. "The cake should be done by noon, and she has to visit all the others to receive their well wishes."

Niom came into the room, ruffling Nathan's hair as he said, "Happy birthday, Nate." The man was wearing an outfit similar to his son's except his breeches, vest, and boots were black. He walked up and slipped his arms around his wife, a smile splitting his dark beard as he leaned down to give her a kiss.

Nate pretended to gag on his apple, and Niom glanced at him shrewdly. The boy just hopped off the stool and said, "I'm heading out to find Rose."

His mother leaned back from her husband. "She's out in the garden collecting flowers to decorate the house." Nathan waved his acknowledgment before rounding the corner.

Leafë sighed, smiling at Niom a bit sadly. "They grow up so fast."

He hugged her tighter. A good few inches taller than his wife, he still had a youthful vigor even if his face had aged, adding a few more lines and beard hair. "Ahhh, I can still remember the day they all were born. Time truly seems to fly here." Casting Leafë a look, Niom asked quietly, "Today's the day, right?"

"Right," she said, extracting herself from his arms to check on the cake. While she did so, Niom moved to finish the dishes. "We should pass sometime late in the afternoon."

"After all these years," he said, eyes unreadable. "I can't believe it's really happening."

"What's really happening?" Niaomi's familiar voice asked. The reminiscence focused on her where she stood in the door frame, clad in an elbow-length white tunic that had purple roses sewn along the left side. Her legs were shod in thick black stockings, with which she wore a mid-thigh length purple skirt with knee-high black boots. Nia had managed to brush her hair so that it now lay gleaming in a side ponytail with sweeping bangs, held by the purple scarf. The only jewelry that adorned her were the elemental rings and bracelet on her left hand.

"What's happening?" the girl repeated.

"Your coming-of-age," her father replied, staring at her with pride and more than a hint of amusement. "Even after five thousand, eight hundred and forty-three mornings, you still haven't managed to wake up on time."