Jace

I stared at the slumbering form of Shruiken behind the throne while the King spoke, briefing me on what Shroud and I were to do.

"I doubt Lord Barst will need our help. He already has an Eldunauri." I drawled when he paused, and he raised a dark eyebrow at me.

"Are you saying that my battle planning is foolish, Jace?" He challenged, and I resisted the urge to glare at him. I paused before answering.

"We will join Lord Barst immediately." I said dryly, my dissatisfaction clear. Murtagh and Thorn would get the actual action, as always, while Shroud and I fought on the ground like common foot soldiers.

Where he placed us had nothing to do with experience or might, since the pair of us definitely were more experienced and mighty then Murtagh or Thorn, but more to do with the King's need for entertainment. Something about seeing brother fight brother greatly amused him, and it was for that reason that neither Shroud nor I had ever so much as caught a glimpse of Saphira or Eragon, besides through the memories of others.

"Once the Varden is defeated, come back. By then, Eragon and Saphira should have made it here, and I'd like you to be present, with Shroud." He said, and I nodded. We turned to leave, while Murtagh and Thorn stayed behind to get further instruction.

Shroud stayed silent as we walked through the hall, and I could sense that he shared my distaste for having to fight on the ground.

Let us finish the two-legs quickly. I'd quite like to meet this Saphira. Shroud said, his dislike for the blue dragon obvious in his voice. Shroud often wished to be free of his bonds, as did I, and the fact that Saphira had been free to do and be as she wished since hatching did not bode well with him. The injustice of it often caused him anger, though we both knew it was foolhardy to blame someone who you had only heard of.

And I Eragon. The memories of others are not satisfactory. I agreed as we exited the castle. We both had donned our armor prior to meeting with Galbatorix, so we didn't have any need to stop by our chambers.

Shroud's white scales glittered in the sun like freshly polished white opal gemstones, and I could sense his pride when he saw himself through my eyes.

Your vanity will get you killed one day. I said, and he snorted, a coil of black smoke streaming from his nostrils.

I'm a dragon. He responded simply, as if I were thick skulled. As we approached the Lord Barst's battalion, I could see the relief in some of the weaker, more nervous soldiers faces.

I left the conversation at that, since I knew I wouldn't, and probably never would, get Shroud to see the flaws in being vain.

"Greetings Jace," He said, inclining his head towards me. He greeted Shroud in the same fashion, "Our Majesty failed to inform me that you two would be joining me." Lord Barst said in a hushed voice from atop his stallion when we got close enough. Lord Barst was planning to attack once the Varden had already breached the walls, and until then, he didn't want his battalion's position being compromised.

"Greetings, Lord Barst." I bowed my head slightly, "We did not know either." I raised an eyebrow slightly as we waited for orders. Barst looked past us, his eyes becoming distant as he most likely imagined his battalion in his mind, and where we would fit most likely.

Barst sighed, appearing to take our presence as an insult. He had probably assumed Galbatorix didn't believe him able of defeating the Varden.

"You will go along side me. Your very presence will scare some of them away." He said, and I climbed Shroud's back and settled into the saddle, not bothering with the leg straps since I had doubts about whether we would even be flying.

We all stayed silent as we listened to the Varden stampede into the city like a pack of unorganized, clumsy dogs. We listened as the sounds of battle stopped, before they continued their way into the city.

I felt Shroud beginning to get restless while we waited for Lord Barst's signal to march. While the men behind us grew increasingly nervous, our bloodlust increased exceedingly. I drew my blade, a stolen black Riders sword, and tapped the flat side against my thigh impatiently.

I could have gone hunting twice by now. Shroud grumbled, and I silently agreed with him.

Finally, when the noise of the Varden had quieted, Lord Barst raised his left arm and motioned forward. Shroud's talons clicked loudly, heard over even the pounding beat of the foot soldiers march.

The faces of the Varden warriors when they saw us were worth waiting. Few even dropped their weapons and fled. Shroud hummed with the pleasure at the thought of the coming battle, and I smiled.

The Varden regained rank, and one of the groups of soldiers were led away, much to my amusement. They probably thought they would be clever and would attack from the side, or behind.

I withdrew from Shroud's mind and began concentrating on an Elvish phrase, incase any of the Varden's magicians decided to attack my mind. I doubted they would be a match for even one of those incompetents fools of Galbatorix's force of supposed magicians, but it would be foolish of me to automatically assume they were all incompetent and be lax, even though they probably were all incompetent.

I slipped into my battling mood, a mood where I didn't think and instead had only the goal to kill whatever lay in my path, and could feel Shroud do likewise. I slipped from Shroud's back, standing about five yards to his right so he'd have space to attack.

I couldn't hold back the sinister grin that stretched my lips painfully when the Varden let loose war cries and began thundering towards us.

A/N

This is only one of the many plot bunnies I got while reading Inheritance, but this one had the most plot to it, which is why I'm writing it.

If it seemed confusing to you, the main girls' name is Jace (Yes, I have read Mortal Instruments. The characters have nothing to do with each other, besides name.) and the dragons name is Shroud. Also, this is during the last battle in Inheritance, the capturing of Uru'Baen.

There isn't going to be any alteration of the main ending to Inheritance, so Eragon and Saphira will still be leaving. I apologize if you dislike that, but I believe that the ending was an ending we all knew was coming since the first book, and it fits more then 'Eragon decides to stay in Alegaesia and raise the dragon riders with Arya, who he falls in loves with and becomes King of the Elves' or whatever people think should happen.

I hope you like this story so far (the Authors Notes won't always be this long) and expect an update within the week, and two weeks at the longest.

-Ash Colored Wings