He stood in front of the broken doors of his home with a gloomy look on his face. The grandeur of Belatona was completely gone after the attack by the empire. The accursed red dragon had set fire to many buildings and broken the roofs of many more buildings. Walking around the town was like moving through some rubble-filled long forgotten city with a small change - lots of people lived in this city. The dwarves had taken the repairing works upon themselves. He was amazed by the skills they exhibited. They had completely covered the breaches in the wall in three days and one look at those parts showed that those parts were now stronger than the other portions of the wall. As he pondered the further measures he had to take to fortify the Urgal settlements outside the city, he heard Katrina's soft footsteps approach him from inside the house.
A moment later she was at the door. "Why are you standing here, Roran?"
Roran raised his head to see into Katrina's face and as always just seeing her made him forget much of the worries gnawing at his mind. "The door needs repairing", he said.
"Fisk has promised to attend to it, Roran. The door won't repair itself if you stand by it", Katrina said mischievously. Roran smiled at that. But soon the momentary flare of pleasure left his mind and he said, "Hmmm... You are right" Katrina walked upto him and placed her soft hand on his bearded face. "What is it?"
"I can't believe we won the last battle. I was afraid that we may lose it. I was afraid for you and our child"
"Oh, Roran... It is over now. Be proud for you inspired this victory. You fought that rider", Katrina said tenderly as if to a little child. "He called me cousin", Roran said with distaste.
Katrina moved closer to him and running her hand over his cheeks, she whispered softly in his ears, "Don't think about that. We already knew he was your aunt's son" Then in a more emphatic but heartfelt way she added, "And that didn't stop you from fighting him, did it?"
Roran felt embarrassed. "Fight? He played with me. He could have killed me twice.", he said gloomily. Katrina put her fingers under Roran's chin and lifted his face making him look into her eyes. "You bought them the time needed to defeat the empire. You gave them confidence when they decided to hide. You didn't fear fighting a rider who couldn't be defeated even by Eragon." Roran smiled fondly at Katrina. She had the knack of making him feel like he was better than he really was. He knew whatever he had done till that moment was for her. And he knew he would continue doing whatever he had to do to keep her happy. He pushed a few strands of her copper hair that had fallen on her face back and slowly leaned in towards her. Katrina caught his hand and tucked it into her own. Then she pulled him into the house with a naughty smile telling, "Come in, Roran. You can't do anything to the door and I have made you food"
Roran smiled at Katrina's back happy that she was happy. She didn't let go of his hand even after they entered the home, pulling him along with her. She made him sit on a chair and placed a bread in the plate before him. The smell of roasted meat reached his senses and Roran felt hungry all too suddenly. He scanned the table for the dish containing meat but before he could find it, Katrina placed a nice piece of meat on his plate. "Eat", she said kindly.
"You should eat first.", Roran said.
"No. You just came back from the meeting. You will be tired."
"And you are pregnant. Think what Elain would say if she knows that I ate making you watch"
"Fine. We both can eat together."
"Deal", Roran said and helped Katrina sit on a chair adjacent to him. Both became silent concentrating on the food. Roran was forcibly reminded of the days he, Eragon, his father and mother had sat around the table eating and speaking merrily. A small lump formed in his throat as he registered that none of them were with him now to enjoy the time with the newest member of their family-Katrina. But he didn't want to ruin the rare moment of good mood they were having. So he forced himself to keep his face devoid of the worry he was feeling inside.
Katrina broke the silence between them, speaking in between her bites, "I spoke with Saphira" The lump became more pronounced. Eragon had emphasised to him many times that he and Saphira were one and the same. 'If you can't find me for some reason, contact Saphira instead. We are one and the same afterall', Eragon had said. But Roran hadn't spoken to the dragon even once after Eragon's capture. It wasn't that he didn't want to. He just couldn't think of anything to speak to her except Eragon. But something didn't allow him to speak about Eragon to Saphira. "Oh...? What did you speak?", he asked resolutely pushing his thoughts away.
"I thanked her for coming to our help even when she was distraught with the loss of Eragon."
"Oh..huh...hmm...What did she say?", Roran stuttered unable to form words because Katrina had just said that she had spoken to Saphira about what he wasn't able to:Eragon's state.
"She thanked us for being loving family members of Eragon's. For being genuinely sad for his loss", Katrina said with a faraway look on her face. Roran found that he couldn't eat anymore. The lump had become too prominent and was refusing to go away. Tears started gathering in his eyes, against his will. Katrina came to stand by him, and pressed his face against her warm body. He looked up into her face although his vision was blurred by tears. She gently ruffled his hair. "Era..Eragon he..he..has", Roran struggled to make words.
Katrina brought Roran's face even closer to her body. "You will be fine, Roran. Everything will be alright.", she said. Roran cried. Tears leaked from his eyes and were absorbed by Katrina's clothes. He didn't know exactly why he was crying. But he found that crying in Katrina's embrace helped him vent all the worries that were gnawing at his mind namely worries about his little cousin, Eragon.
"Roran?", somebody's voice came from outside. Roran extricated himself from Katrina's embrace and made to go. But Katrina caught his arms stopping him and indicated that she would attend the visitor. Once Katrina had gone, Roran tried to regain his composure by rubbing away the tears and clearing his throat. But when he saw his face in a mirror that hanged on the wall, he realised that he needed a face-wash if he wanted to be presentable to anybody. So he rushed to the water closet.
Katrina came back into the house calling him and the voice that had asked him said, "Its fine, I will wait." After washing his face with the cool water, he rechecked his appearance on the mirror and found that although he wasn't completely devoid of the signs of crying long and hard, he could present himself before the visitor. So he came back into the living room. There he came upon the person he had least expected to meet: Arya. He was forcibly reminded of Eragon's feelings for the elf-woman.
"Greetings, Roran-vodhr", Arya said. Though Roran didn't know what 'vodhr' meant he guessed it was some greeting way of the mysterious elves. He had heard it being uttered by the elves he had travelled with a few times. "Greetings, Lady Arya", Roran replied. It was then that he realised that he had never spoken to her outside official matters before except for the one time when she had congratulated him and Katrina for their child before departing with Eragon and Saphira for Gil'ead.
"What may I attribute this visit to?", Roran asked.
"Saphira asks for you" Roran stiffened. The tears that had just dried up threatened to overcome him. But he didn't want to appear weak before Arya, so he did his best to control his emotions. Katrina came to sit by him and taking his hand in her own, started squeezing it. He was eternally thankful for his wife for understanding him so well. "Where is she?", he asked after a while.
"Just outside the city. I can lead you", Arya said.
"Fine. We shall go then.", Roran said. Katrina caught his hand and whispered near his ears, "Should I come?" He just nodded his head. How Katrina knew about him that much, he will never know. But he was just thankful that she did. Whenever he was with her, he was at his best.
Soon, they were out of their house. But with the broken door, they found that they had to leave the house open when they left. Both Roran and Katrina looked at each other not knowing what to do to the door. Arya who had walked a few steps ahead turned with a questioning stare. "Its the door, Lady Arya. It is broken", Roran tried to explain. Arya nodded her head and Roran found that there was something regal about her bearing. 'No wonder Eragon fell for her', he mused. To his alarm though, Arya came back and crossing them stood before the broken door. She said something in the strange language that he had heard Eragon and the elves use. In a minute, their door was completely repaired and shut.
"Thank you, Lady Arya", Roran said. Arya again nodded her head and walked ahead. As he followed Arya, he remembered that he had not thanked Arya for saving his life in the battle with Murtagh. So he called her, "Excuse me, Lady" Arya turned back to look at him. "Erm... I wanted to thank you for saving my life from Murtagh" Once again he found that Arya just nodded her head in the same regal manner he had seen her do just minutes ago. She seemed distant and sad. 'Is it because of Eragon's state?',Roran thought to himself. 'I can't come to any conclusions. I don't know her well enough to judge her behaviour', he corrected himself soon.
When they reached near the city gates, Katrina pulled him close unexpectedly and murmured softly, "Isn't she the one Eragon has an eye for?"
"Yes", Roran whispered back.
"She is really beautiful. She will be perfect for your cousin" Roran remembered having the same kind of conversation with Eragon just the night before they rescued Katrina. He sighed and said, "And brave. You should have seen her fighting Murtagh. In every way, she is a perfect match for Eragon except that she doesn't approve of his love" Katrina didn't reply for a long moment. She was looking at Arya's back intently. Then she said, "Hmm.... She looks... withdrawn..? Might it be because of Eragon's state?"
"You can't say. She is always like this. Even in council meetings. Further she is hundred, so..."
"Hundred?", Katrina's unbelieving voice sounded a little louder than she had intended it to. Both Roran and Katrina looked up at Arya at the same time. They were mortified to find Arya looking straight at them.
Roran wanting to get out of trouble asked hastily, "Erm...Lady Arya, Are we there?"
"Yes, Roran-finiarel. Saphira will be here soon" Her face was devoid of any emotion which made it too difficult for Roran to guess if she had heard their conversation or not. But he felt that as she had not spoken anything about it, either she had not heard it or she didn't want to speak anything about it. His instincts said that the second choice was more likely.
All three of them waited silently. Then all too suddenly Arya raised her head towards the skies. Following her vision both Roran and Katrina looked up. Saphira was rapidly descending. Looking at Saphira brought back Eragon to the forefront of Roran's mind. He was too occupied in his thoughts that he didn't have the strong footing needed when Saphira landed. Hence he was swayed dangerously at Saphira's landing that brought a buffet of wind in its wake. Katrina caught his hands firmly stopping him from falling over. Saphira scanned the people around her casually and when she came upon Roran, she fixed her gaze on him.
'I haven't seen you in a while, Nest-mate of Eragon'
Roran felt weak. He needed some support and found that as always his beloved Katrina came to his rescue squeezing his hands in assurance that she was there. "Aye, Saphira. I.. I was busy", he lied.
'You lie. Sorrow oozes from your mind. I can feel it.', Saphira's voice filled his mind with a kind of affection that he didn't know she had for him. He was lost. How could he have thought, he could deceive a dragon?
"I couldn't speak to you because I didn't know what to speak... I.. How... Eragon", Roran struggled to say what he wanted to say. Katrina held him close to her and curving one hand around his back, she gently patted his arm.
'Remember Roran, I and Eragon are one. You can speak to me whatever you will speak with him' Roran was stunned. Those words were the last he wanted to hear at that time. "That is why, I...I couldn't... I know..I..", he said, tears flowing from his eyes. "Oh, Roran", Katrina put her hand on his head encouraging him to tell Saphira what worried him.
Saphira's eyes never left Roran. After a long scrutiny, Saphira bent her neck and touched Roran on his brow with her snout.and said, 'Don't feel bad because you are not able to help him. Your sorrow at his loss is more than what he will ask. He knows you and I know you. You are the best kin one can have and know that Eragon is proud to have you as his cousin'
Roran was dumb-struck. Saphira had somehow known what had made him reluctant to visit her. His inability to protect Eragon from the trouble he was facing had made him miserable. Roran was not one to watch events as they unfold. He always wanted to rush to the aid of his loved ones when they were in trouble. Yet he was completely clueless when it came to Eragon's current problem. It had worried him from the start: from when he knew Eragon was captured. But the discomfort magnified when he thought of meeting Saphira whom Eragon had repeatedly claimed to be 'one and the same' as himself. But now, Roran saw how much that claim was true. How like Eragon was Saphira's stance. He could only bow before the great dragon. A measure of peace entered his mind.
Everyone became silent after that. But the whole air around them seemed heavy. Roran guessed that it was the effect of their mental state: Dark and clouded. After a few moments of silence, he saw Arya who had stood by Saphira never interfering in their conversation move slightly and she said, "Saphira, Blodhgarm has found Jeod."
'Take good care of Katrina, Roran', Saphira said to him. She then spoke to Katrina but her conversation was guarded from him. And then in seconds, Arya had gotten into the saddle and Saphira got ready to fly. The last thing he saw before Saphira took to the air was Arya nodding her head at him and Katrina.
He stood rooted at the spot for a long time watching the bright sunshine. His mind though was racing through many thoughts. 'Jeod? What did Saphira and Arya have to do with him? He was afterall an old man and just an acquaintance of Eragon. They had sent Blodhgarm who was the leader of all elves that were at the Varden in search of him. It must be something of importance. What was Jeod useful at? From what he knew about Jeod, he had known Brom, Eragon's father. He helped Brom in retrieving Saphira's egg from Uru'baen. Ah!! yes. So Saphira and Arya were working out something to rescue Eragon. Yes. It makes sen..' "RORAN", Katrina's voice broke through his thoughts.
"What?", he asked.
"What happened? You have been standing here like a fool looking at the sky for ten minutes"
"They are rescuing Eragon!!!", he said putting in all his excitement and joy at that thought in the sentence. Katrina looked at him peculiarly and then gasped as though realising the meaning of his words late. "How?", she asked finally.
"How do I know? Because they are going to visit Jeod" Katrina looked confused and Roran started explaining Jeod's story to her as they made their way back to their home.
Author's Note:
I figured that Roran would want to rescue Eragon for it was in him to give his all for his loved ones. But in this case, he will be at the loss of ideas and that would make him miserable.
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