Hi, this is my third and final story for a while now so I can get a ways into the rest of my books. This is before the Fall of The Dragon Riders, so it's pretty old, even to Eragon. Let's get to it, shall we?
Disclaimer: I don't own Alagaesia, Galbatorix or anything else of Christopher Paolini's. And, although I really wish I was, I'm not even making a penny from this.
I wake up to the sound of morning bells announcing we have roughly an hour before a big event. As I rub the sleep out of my eyes, I smile to myself as I remember that today is the day that Clai is coming. Rousing myself excitedly I quickly dress in a nice, summer dress and attempt to brush my hair. After a few minutes, I simply give up and look into my small vanity mirror. My hair still looks like Frankenstein's wife's worst nightmare, literally sticking up in all directions, my reddish, brown hair is a tangled mess. "One day," I mutter, "Two rats will nest in my hair and then I will be known as the Rat Lady!" Scowling at my reflection, I try my brush once more and end up leaving to seek my mother's advice on how to get a brush out of my hair.
"You really should start sleeping with your hair tied up, Lanilyn." She mutters while coaxing the brush through my tangled mane. My name is Lanilyn, if someone calls me anything else- unless they are a child-, I will be very mad at them. I don't say I'll kill them because the only weapon I can wield is a spear and at that I am but mediocre.
"I'll take that into consideration and pray to King Palancar that we will not lose so many hair-ties this time." I smirk. She chuckles, then I can feel a crease forming on her brow as she works on a particularly tough tangle right under my left ear. My head has become hard and dull from our combined pulling out my hair so it has stopped hurting.
"So has Father already left?" I ask, and turn partially around, just in time to see her nod.
"Which means I don't want you to miss lunch with him." My mother threatens light-heartedly. Although she doesn't have any reason not to like the Dragon Riders, she's never wanted to be apart from me for the whole ten years that it will take to train me to be one, truthfully I don't want to be apart from her for ten years either, but I've always aspired to be the greatest Dragon Rider ever known to Alaglaesia. I shake my head no, and then the 9:30 bell rings.
"Mother, I'd better go soon, I don't want to miss Clai's entrance." She stops soon enough and I hurry out the door.
I walk into our circular town square (that's a joke among us) just a minute before the elf Clai and his black/purple/blue iridescent dragon, Pandora, fly in. I go to the 17-year-old section and sit in between Jaydon and Janya, twins and also my best friends. They both have ultra-platinum blonde and sparkling emerald green eyes, literally the opposite of me appearance-wise. They're also the most popular teenagers in school because they're parents are wealthy tailors; they also happen to be the nicest people- aside from my mother- that I know.
Jaydon jumps right off the bat and yelps: "Hey Lani!" He knows I hate that name but I have grown so used to it, I am able to ignore him like a misbehaving puppy. Janya is just able to settle Jaydon down when the sun blacks out.
Clai always makes entrance when coming in, and this time is just about his best yet; Pandora lines herself up to the sun in just a way that it blocks our entire city, then spirals down so that sunrays flash around all over. It's beautiful.
The rules for Dragon-Hatching (as we call it here) are pretty simple. Everybody eligible (ages 13-26) sit down, youngest to oldest, with two feet in between ages (Sometimes the line will stretch through-out the entire town-square). Clai rolls the egg in front of the 13-year-olds and each one of them touches it, you can't use magic while doing this because the way the dragon chooses you, is that it stops in front of you. When the egg stops, Clai does procedures to make sure you haven't held onto it, used magic on it, and lastly rolls it by you again for good measure; Dragon-Hatching is held once a year. Well, pretty simple, at least.
The younger children (10 or younger) start simultaneously screaming and laughing. By the time they realize what's really happening, they are in fits of giggles and screaming "Yay!" (A/N: Did you know the computer thought I spelled yay wrong!)
When Clai comes down, all the children swarm around Pandora, and we can tell that she's loving all the attention. Clai soon disengages himself and leaves Pandora with the crowd. "Hello wonderful children of tomorrow!" he chirps politely. I look at Jaydon and we roll our eyes- this is all a show for the 13-year-olds.
We are soon watching a blotchy red and orange female egg roll by. I think in my head, in the Ancient Language: Good luck on your journey. I learned that in the town's library and surprised my parents by telling Father that before he left to go fish in the morning, and they were very proud of me.
The morning goes by quickly and soon we're onto the last egg, a silvery, metallic, and white-dotted egg. "Our last egg until next year, and what a pretty one at that! A female born no more than four months ago!"
The egg rolls by the 13-year-olds. The egg rolls by the 14-year-olds. The egg rolls by the 15-year-olds. It rolls by the 16-year-olds. It rolls by everyone in the 17-year-olds until me. Good luck on your- I stop half way through my sentence as it slows to a stop in front of me.
My mouth hits the ground. Clai hurries over- with a speed only an elf or Dragon Rider could match- and inspects the scene. Somewhere in the back of my head, my instincts tell me to hold on for dear life, but I'm so dumbstruck that when Clai gives the egg a tug, it falls out of my grasp.
"Lovely!" He announces when he finishes. "What's your name, Miss?"
I force myself to shut my mouth and answer. "L-L-Lanilyn R-Rosaliesdaughter." I stutter.
"Well, will you stand by Benjamin Coltonsson, and then we will be on our way!" He instructs us merrily. As I stand by Benjamin, a 13-year-old I've seen walking around the school grounds, I see my mother leave the crowd. Benjamin gets to say good-bye to his family first, so I figure I have just about ten minutes until it's my turn. I practice my facial expressions the whole time and when it's my turn to say good bye to my mother, (Father's out fishing until early afternoon) my face is an impenetrable mask of no emotion. My mother walks in first and I can see she's been practicing the same thing.
"Hi honey," She greets me, and without anytime to spare she thrusts out a little bundle of thick hair ties. "You'll need them if you are to impress your masters." I nod and except them gratefully. Then she gives me a small pack of things to remember her by, a pair of dress shoes, (I've worn my everyday slippers here) a necklace and matching bracelet, and a small fairth of our family.
"Mother! I'm not going away forever! Just…" I think for a moment, "Just think of me at boarding school. I'll be back sooner than you'll realize and we can write letters every week! I will become the best Dragon Rider yet! When I come back I'll have my dragon fetch all the fish in the ocean and bring them back here and then we'll move into a huge mansion and live happily ever after!" I end up yelling at the end because by now I'm trying to convince myself at the same time.
She nods, but her impassive façade is slipping. "I-I know sweetie, but when you come back you won't be the same, sweet Lanilyn as before…" Another thought occurs to her- "And you'll be gone for ten years! I don't know what I'll do without you and-" She begins sobbing into my shoulder and I start rubbing her back. "You could be attacked by Urgals!" She gasps suddenly. "Or Kull!"
"With another Dragon Rider by my side, we'd crush them in minutes!" I over-exaggerate. The guard calls my mother out and I walk her to the door and hug her one last time before Janya and Jaydon come in.
Jaydon- upon hearing my last statement- jumps right to it. "Kull? Urgals? You'd be the one crushed within minutes." Janya's moved beside me on the loveseat and I take the opportunity to lie my head on her lap, sobbing silently.
Janya calms me down by stroking my hair and murmuring praises in my ear like: "You will be the greatest Dragon Rider ever."And: "You won't be gone long, we'll make sure everything's exactly the same."
Finally, Jaydon gets the hint and sobers, "Wow…you won't come back for another ten y-" I don't need another hint so I thrust my fist out in his general direction and hear a somewhat satisfying 'Oof!'. (A/N: OMG, how unlady-like! I want you to get the picture that they have a boyish relationship, as in fighting and stuff)
The guard takes the hint and ushers them out of the room. As I'm sitting up, my last glimpse of them reveals Janya has been crying silently, too and Jaydon has tears forming in his eyes. My last thought before I'm whisked away to Pandora is This can't be the last time I see them for the next…I gulp ten years.
First Eragon fanfic! Please comment, review, flame harshly/strongly! If you don't like something, if you don't tell me it's never gonna change! If you love something, and you don't tell me I might decide against it and change it in the next chapter! These stories are about US! The FANS! So come on peeps! (Oh yeah, I could totally rock being a motivational speaker )