I Remember

I remember the first time I saw you—training on the fields. You turned, just after you vanquished your opponent—and smiled.

I remember that smile. You used it on me often, especially when you taught me how to use a sword. Did you know how that skill would protect me, all too soon? Did you know that I would run away while you lay dead?

I remember the flower you made me. You smiled at the look on my face as the petals opened, laughing at my astonishment. But, by then, we knew that this love could not be. We met in secret, both of us laughing at the idiocy of our love.

I remember the night Durza attacked. I will always see the look on your face as you fell off your horse; hear your last, rattling, breath. I swore that I would kill Durza—but it was Eragon who dealt the final blow. Eragon—yet another love that cannot be.

I remember you, every day of my life. I hardly ever laugh now—your death has silenced me, beloved, though I never named you so. Even though—or perhaps because of this—we could never truly be together, my heart lies dead, shattered and broken at the edge of Du Weldenvarden.

Yes, Faolin. I remember you.