Early in the morning, Ryan and Eragon were leaning on the railings.
They were watching the sun rise.
"You finally did it. Congrats, dude. Took you long enough."
Eragon slapped a smiling Ryan on the back.
"I have no idea what I am supposed to do next."
Eragon sat on the railing.
"That is something for you two to talk about, but don't be too worried. She will help you."
Ryan backed away from the railing and sighed.
"I am still so nervous. What if I mess this up?"
Eragon blew a ring of fire in the air.
"So what if you do? We all mess up, and if it isn't too bad, we will forgive you."
This statement made Ryan smile.
"You always make my biggest worries seem so small. Thank you for that."
Eragon shrugged.
"What are friends for? Anyway, what inspired you to ask her out? You seemed determined."
Ryan thought back to the story Femur told him.
He decided to respect the skeleton's privacy.
"I thought back to Goldhaven. What if something like that happens again, and one of us doesn't survive? How would it feel to hold on to that?"
Eragon just nodded as he spoke.
"That is grim, but on brand for you. Good thing Bell was here to hear that."
Ryan spun and saw no one there.
He heard the boom of Eragon's laughter behind him.
Before he turned back to his friend, he saw Femur shaking as he was laughing.
"Very funny."
Ryan walked up to Eragon and punched him in the arm.
"I see why Isabelle enjoys doing that."
Eragon shrugged.
"As long as you feel better, dude."
"I am going to wake her up. See you later."
Ryan turned around and walked to the door that led below deck.
As a way to distract him from his nerves, he made some coffee for himself and Bell.
Each step he took to her room felt heavier than the last.
He knocked on her door and heard a sleepy voice on the other side.
"Come in."
He took a deep breath and opened the door.
He was met by Bell, tying her hair back while sitting on the bed.
He placed their beverages on the nightstand.
"Morning, Ryan. Thanks for the coffee."
He tried to speak, but he could only force out a quick, "Good morning."
As she picked up the coffee, she started laughing.
"I know you are nervous, but you don't have to be."
He sat down next to her.
"The reason I am nervous is because I realise that I never apologised to you for how I treated you."
She sat next to him, and she gently placed a hand on his back.
"You don't have to. It's ok."
Ryan shook his head and looked her in the eyes.
"I am talking about when we were in the bar and you tried to talk to me and I almost attacked you."
She decided to stay quiet as he spoke.
"I just want to make that up to you."
She smiled and hugged him from the side.
"Apology accepted."
He leaned his head on hers.
"Do you always accept apologies that easily?"
She let go and stood up.
"No, I don't."
This answer made Ryan smile.
They walked above deck and saw Eragon play games while sitting on the railings.
He looked up at them.
"Took you long enough. According to Femur, we are about half an hour out. Are you guys ready?"
Ryan nodded as he drank the last of his coffee.
Eragon moved himself between the two and placed a hand on Bell's shoulder.
"I heard from a reliable source that this young man asked for your hand."
This caused her to spit out the coffee.
"What the hell, Eragon? Why do you always have to be like this?"
Ryan had to look away to hide his laugh.
She started punching him in the shoulder.
Their pilot clanked toward the crew and, with a salute, made an announcement.
"Lady and gentlemen. We will land in five minutes! I hope you enjoyed your trip!"
He then clanked back to the helm.
Eragon stretched as they looked over the scenery.
The trees of the forest spread as far as the eye could see.
"Are you guys ready to meet the Orcs?"
Ryan and Bell nodded.
Eragon leaned down so that he could whisper to Bell.
"We will continue our conversation later, young lady."
He received an eye roll and another punch in the arm.
They landed in a small clearing next to the larger ship.
When they disembarked, Ryan and Bell walked together.
After the previous night and early morning, they were still nervous but wanted to remain close.
As they approached the ship, they saw Grizzly and Eena in the distance.
Ryan saw the old man take a drag of his cigarette as they made eye contact.
Grizzly froze for a second, then smiled at Ryan and gave him a thumbs-up.
He felt a blush burn up his neck.
Ryan was then horrified as Grizzly called Eena over and pointed at them.
When he looked over to Bell, he saw the same blush on her face.
As they looked at each other, they started laughing.
At that moment, Eragon caught his eye.
He was miming kissing and pointing at them.
He spun around.
"What the hell?"
Eragon started laughing.
"They would've realised it immediately. This way, the awkwardness is out of the way."
Ryan and Bell started punching the Draconian in both arms.
When Ryan looked up, he saw a genuinely happy look on his friend's face.
He couldn't stay mad at him.
As the crew rejoined, Eena had a question for them.
"So? Who did the asking?"
She had a big smile as she looked at the youngsters.
Ryan raised his hand while looking down.
Grizzly started laughing and held out his hand to Eena.
She sighed and pulled out a coin and slammed it into his hand.
Grizzly flipped the coin, and when he caught it, he kissed it.
He walked up to Ryan and slapped him on the back.
"Good job, kid."
Bell's face was almost as red as her hair.
"You bet on us?"
Eena stepped in and hugged her.
"Don't worry about that. All that matters is that you are happy."
The hug was slightly tighter than it should've been.
Eena then whispered in her ear.
"I was sure you would've made the first move."
As she let go, Eena took her place next to Grizzly.
They turned their attention to the mission.
They escorted the Orcs to the village.
It took them hours to reach the Barren Clan.
To Ryan, it felt as if no time had lapsed.
He was next to the people he cared for, and for now, that was enough.
When they finally reached their destination, Karn went ahead to announce themselves.
He walked back with an older but larger Orc.
Eena walked up to them, and they had a conversation.
The larger Orc walked with Karn to the group.
He turned the smaller Orc so that they faced each other.
He slapped him in the face.
"Are all clouds da same?"
He slapped him again.
"Are all mountains da same?"
He slapped him again.
"Are all Orcs da same?"
Karn answered.
"No."
The large Orc turned him to face the crew.
"Den why do you treat dem da same?"
Karn fell to his knees.
"I am sorry. In my anger, I forgot what you gave me."
He bowed down.
The larger Orc knelt next to him.
"I want to thank ya for savin' my son and my people."
Eena knelt in front of them.
"You should thank the young man over there. If it weren't for him, your son and people would still be enslaved."
The larger Orc stood up and walked up to Ryan.
He was even taller than Eragon, and he felt a knot form in his chest.
To his surprise, the large Orc kneeled in front of him.
He asked one question.
"What made ya decide to do dat?"
Ryan took a deep breath and chose honesty.
"To make up for the lives I took."
For his answer, he received a tusked smile.
"Good answer, boy. Bad can only be made up fo' with good."
He stood up and spoke.
"My name is Kull and as da Chief of the Barren tribe, you are all welcome at any time."