When Destiny Burns, Ep. 2 A Halo and Inheritance Cycle Crossover [Discontinued]

Chapter 15.1 Their Emotions

As the strange festival dragged on, Maine started to see the most idiotic things. Elves had placed platters with food on the large table, ranging from loaves of bread to stacks of small cakes. There were all sorts of fruits, vegetables and sauces yet there was no meat. No fish, no stews, nothing. It was strange; perhaps the elves didn't eat meat at this time of the day?

Islanzadí was seated at the head of the table with Blagden, the raven. The elven lord called Däthedr was sitting to her left and Arya, sitting next to Eragon, sat to her right. Orik sat across from Eragon and the rest of the elves had seated themselves somewhere else. Daenlith was also sitting at the table, but she looked nowhere near as comfortable or happy as the other elves.

Huge carved plates had been placed at the far ends of the tables, where Saphira and Aeraleth. The elves had started to notice him standing in the shadow of his dragon and more than once, an elven woman had approached him, asking if he wouldn't sit with them.

He had kindly refused their offers, saying that he wasn't hungry. People were laughing and talking without merit and the elusive music kept going on, whispering near his ears and playing tricks with his mind.

He eyed Eragon looking at Arya.

'During your conversation with the queen,' Aeraleth asked him, 'your words held a scale unlike I had heard before.'

'It's the truth.'

'I know that little soldier. But was your war so terrible?'

'It's the reason why I forbade you from entering my mind without me knowing it.'

'You spoke of the destruction of a dozen worlds. Of millions of people having died.'

'I did. I'd rather not discuss it.'

'Is the memory so painful then? Even to you?'

'I don't want to confront you with that now. You should enjoy yourself.'

As it happened to be, the elves were more interested in her than in him. For the first time in his life he wasn't the single conversational topic of the people around him and he loved it. He had dumped the EFSU near the edge of Ellesméra and before he had caught up with Arya and the rest of the group, he had taken the time to scrub the gore off his armor. All in all, he was content. No people gawking at him, no rumors and whispers spreading about him...and Aeraleth could finally relax. A win-win situation for all of them, right?

Islanzadí was watching Eragon and Arya talking with each other. The elf was telling the human how she had never told anyone about her mother, not even Ajihad.

At that moment, the raven jumped from the queen's shoulder and strutted down the middle of the table, bobbing his head left and right in a mocking bow. He stopped before Saphira, croaked roughly and then said:

"Dragons, like wagons, have tongues. Dragons, like flagons, have necks. But while two hold beer, the other eats deer!"

These people know of beer?

The elves froze with mortified expressions while they waited for Saphira's reaction. After a long silence, the dragoness looked up from her quince pie and released a puff of smoke that enveloped Blagden.

'And little birds too,' she said, projecting her thoughts so that everyone could hear. While the elves laughed and the raven staggered back, cawing indignantly and flapping his winds, Maine wondered why Saphira's voice sounded so different from Aeraleth's. Both of them sounded like young teenagers, but Saphira was...different. Perhaps it was because he was simply used to Aeraleth in his head?