Chapter One
Eragon was four when Titania came to Carvahall with her little girl, Gwenivere, seeking work. She was a single mother which sparked gossip among the townsfolk regarding the father of the child. Titania had an exotic look about her making her stand out even more. Her daughter Gwenivere, or Gwen as she liked to be called, resembled her mother in that she had light brown hair and dazzling blue eyes, but she had a wild spirit about her; something her mother struggled to keep up with.
Garrow and Marian offered Titania work on their farm. In return, he helped build her a house three miles from the farm. Very quickly Marian and Titania became good friends and so did Eragon, Gwen, and Roran. The three played many games such as tag and hide-and-seek around the farm often getting in the way of the adults.
A worn path had been formed from the frequent passage Titania and Gwen made to and from the farm. One day, the two could be seen running as fast as they could when news that Marian became deathly ill reached their ears. At this time Eragon and Gwen were nine and Roran was eleven. It was also the time when Eragon learned that Marian and Garrow were not his real parents, rather they were his aunt and uncle, and Roran was his cousin. His mother was a woman named Selena and no one knew who his father was. For the first time Eragon was able to relate to Gwen. Garrow and Titania often found them making up fanatical stories about their parent's which made them laugh. This similarity kept the two as best friends as time went on.
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Gwen trudged on over to the barn where she was to milk the cow. A yawn escaped her mouth emphasizing her tiredness as she was up late celebrating her 17th birthday on the farm with Eragon and his family. She opened the barn door, walked in, and sat on a stool next to the cow. She set the lantern down by the stool and began milking. A few minutes in, an eerie feeling crept over her causing a chill down her spine. She stopped milking to look around the barn but nothing was amiss as far as she could tell. She shook her head and started milking only to stop again. This time the cow began to act up. In an effort to calm her down the lantern was kicked over igniting a fire. Scared Gwen opened the pen of the cow releasing it from the barn. She quickly ran to do the same for the other animals. As she was opening the pen for a horse, she was struck by a hoof and fell to the ground unconscious.
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Eragon quickly awoke as the noise of scared animals filled his ears. He ran out of his room and across the house to the door. Outside he watched as horses and cows ran wild about a burning barn. Garrow, Titania, and Roran soon joined him on the porch shocked.
It was then when he realized something: Gwen. With out hesitation he ran towards the burning barn, Garrow yelling after him. Smoke burned his eyes as he entered the structure. He frantically looked around for Gwen; he found her by the last stall unconscious on the ground. He ran towards her, lifted her limp body and carried her bridal style out of the barn just before it collapsed. "Bring her inside!" Garrow exclaimed, "Titania watch her while I go get Gertrude!"