A/N; I tried to write a fan fiction for this series in the past, though I got stuck and now I understand why. The fourth book hadn't been out yet, the plot wasn't working for me, blablabla. Now I present you my attempt to show my interpretation of a future that could happen in the world of The Inheritance Cycle, with my own special twist of fate. I hope you all enjoy. I do not own this series.

"Tell me, child, have you heard the story of our freedom?"

Though the voice whispered over the fire, it could be heard clear as day on the other side of the gathering. A small child with large eyes and curly hair smiled and shook her head, indicating that she would listen to what the storyteller had to say. When the strange silence settled over those who sat around the small fire, a rather old and wrinkled woman laughed. Her tone was soft and malleable, but underneath it was a raging iron excitement. One could tell without much effort that she would be glad to tell the story.

The travelers, for this was a small town that welcomed them without much question, leaned in as she began to speak once more. "It was not that long ago to us humans, but the elves still sing of it just as vibrantly. Three decades, to be exact. That is how much time has passed since the evil king was vanquished."

Several of the children made noises of awe, and a certain twinkle in their eyes betrayed their clear interest of hearing about the king's downfall. Even some of the adults, save for one, straightened up a bit. The one that kept his position, leaning on his rucksack and keeping his hood over his head, did not move an inch. He knew more about this story than the storyteller most likely did.

"His name was evil in itself, and his soul even darker. They say that his eyes were as pitch black as the oily scales of his dragon. Such hatred in them both, enough to fuel corruption and helplessness throughout all of Alagaësia. We were completely and utterly devoid of all hope that our anguish could be at an end, when suddenly, there came a light."

The speaker moved her hands around the wind as if she were clutching an invisible sphere while staring at the empty space with such wondrous amazement, it was hard to tell whether she truly believed something was there or not. Once her hands fell and her gaze focused once more on the fire, her voice became somewhat lighter in tone and presentation. "There were many that opposed him, but after so long without any one to have faith in, we trusted that he could save us all. With his great blue dragon, he cut down all in his way!"

The covered stranger repressed a scoff.

"There was another, less spoken-of man. He had been a slave of the evil king's will, and slay quite a few men as well. Among the slain men was the dwarf king, Hrothgar, and for that he is referred to as Kingkiller. He was much feared and hated, though after the evil king's own death, he hadn't shown his face since. Some say that he went east, through the desert, though such a place is hard to live. No, I believe he came here, to the north."

The stranger shifted but still did not speak.

"Anyway, these two riders, as the Kingkiller himself had himself a red dragon of a great size, came together many times in battle. Each time, the Kingkiller had bested the blue rider, known as Shadeslayer, and one night, he stole away the leader of a group of rebels in which Shadeslayer lay his loyalty. She was a woman of great power and dignity as well as beauty. You all know her today as our Queen. Queen Nasuada."

"Mere days after her capture, Shadeslayer came with his army of which she used to lead, and stood against the evil king. Many lives were lost, and many of the rebels' allies came to the end of their days. May they rest in peace…" the old woman crossed her arm over her body and spent a moment in silence. The stranger guessed that it was out of respect and he followed suit; seeing that the two were paying their respects, the remainder of those around the fire sat in silence. Even the children, of whom the adults would not have expected to understand the passing sadness and anguish of lives lost, did the special salute, crossing their arms over their chests so that the butt of their wrist would be over their little hearts.

"The Queen of the elves, many dwarves, and many Urgals sacrificed themselves for the good of the rebel's cause. Of the heroes there was the greatest human hero known to date. You all know him as the Earl of Palancar Valley, and as the legendary Stronghammer. They say that because of his love for his wife, he was able to overcome any obstacle in his way. The town he built is not far from here, in fact."

She pointed westwords, and in response, they all looked in such direction; even the motionless stranger.

"As a force, they were too much for the king to handle, and in time, he exploded."

"He exploded?!" one of the little kids exclaimed, their cry of astonishment and disbelief reverberating off of the nearby trees. The adults laughed quietly, though the old woman did not take well to his incredulity. "Yes, child, the evil man exploded. And all throughout the sound and force his essence touched there was poison in the air. There were falling towers, sickened men, and the plaguing emptiness in which his grasp had let go. It took many months for Shadeslayer to break the evil words that bound each city to the evil king, but soon enough it was done, and a peace was spread throughout us. Even the smallest of villages that were furthest from the usurper could feel that there was no more of his evil to touch them. All was well. All is well."

"And what became of Shadeslayer?" asked the stranger, though his low voice was met with silence. The old woman looked pained.

"He left Alagaësia, and word has it that he trains the new Riders in another land. He has not shown his face, has not given us any word. The only things he is to send would be the new Riders, and it seems that he will not return."

The group gave off an aura of sadness, though the stranger thought that they should be hopeful. With a man like Shadeslayer to train the new Riders, Alagaësia would be a safer place.

Regardless of his thoughts, he kept quiet. As the camp became tired and they all went to bed, the stranger pulled down his hood and gathered his things. The only reason he had stayed was for the warmth and the food; he felt no need to sleep yet. He tried hard to keep quiet and despite his best efforts, he had managed to wake one of the youngest. She did not speak; merely blinked at him with confused and sleepy eyes. By the light of the fire she could see his face, and right when he thought she would cry out or scream, he placed a gentle finger over her lips.

"You're-!"

"Go back to sleep," he whispered softly, pulling his hood back up. Hopefully the child will have thought their encounter to be a dream, but for good measure, he left all the more quickly. Within minutes he was gone.

The child had shut her eyes, but had not fallen asleep, for the sound of thunder scared her. It was a strange thunder, she thought as she curled into a ball and covered her head with a thin blanket, as it had not been accompanied by a storm. Rather, it sounded like a heartbeat in her ears that shook the ground ever-so-slightly. It was when the thunder faded away that she was able to fall into her dreams once more.

For such a laborious job, Nasuada felt content.

The afternoon was bright, the people wore smiles, and her kingdom was peaceful. There was not much that made her kingdom unhappy in these days, and the Queen had been teased several times that she was spoiling her people, though she knew it was not true. Her rule had been strict, yet if her subjects followed her rule, they would be rewarded and treated kindly. She wore a smile on her face that caused very slight (yet still visible) wrinkles around her eyes. In her age, however, it was only sooner or later before her looks began to fade into that of an old wise woman.

By her side was Elva, who had taken the form of a young woman in her prime. Though she was more than 30 years old, she didn't look a day over 18. Nasuada had expressed her curiosity one day to the girl, and she explained that it was because of her gift. She would age slowly now that she had reached her maturity. While she was still growing, her rate of aging was well over 50 times the normal point, but once she hit her own version of puberty, the process had been reduced to around half of the normal speed. Though Nasuada was glad to hear that her guardian and treasured friend would not die before she herself began to accumulate wrinkles, she had to admit that Elva's slow age scared her. Would she fare well on her own once the Queen would come to pass? Would she protect the next ruler as well as she had protected Nasuada?

Deep down inside, she knew that Elva knew best. She would do what was right. Or, she believed so.

Among the peace was silence. It was not uncomfortable, nor was it wondrous, but it was something that the ebony-skinned woman had grown used to over her time as Queen. She found comfort in being left to her own thoughts, if only for a spare moment, as her job was a demanding one; one of the most demanding jobs there could ever be. Elva understood this and kept her mouth shut when she could. It was not common for her to speak without reason anyway, though some days she found herself asking the Queen questions that were on her mind. Sometimes they even spoke of trivial things such as the weather, or dreams that they had the previous night. When Nasuada felt troubled by a memory or by fleeting emotions, Elva would calm her down, and in turn the Queen would be the mother that Elva had never gotten. Their relationship could be strained at times, but their allegiance lay in each other.

As the years went by, it became easy to tell if either was troubled, and it was with ease that Nasuada caught the very slight shift in Elva's gaze. The girl was experiencing pain in someone, she knew, though it wasn't as painful as in her youth; it was one thing that Elva had strived to control for the many years of her life, and had succeeded. No longer did she cry out helplessly or vomit with the pain, rather, it was merely a recognition in her sight.

"Elva?" Nasuada inquired, though she received no response. Alarmed, she shook the girl's shoulder, to no avail. "Elva!"

It was after a moment that the young woman could see Nasuada clearly. Her expression was one of true fear, one that Nasuada had never seen on her companion's face, and she whispered a word that sent the blood out of Nasuada's face. Her fingers became ice and she immediately stood, throwing open the doors of her chamber to call for the guards. Already they were running for her room, stopping with sweat on their brow when they announced the arrival of the elf Queen Arya.

Even further down the hall, behind the guards that had relayed the word to Nasuada, said Queen stalked over with an expression that exclaimed both her worry and anger, as well as an untold emotion that Nasuada could not isolate. From outside she heard a great roar; Nasuada felt that in the rumble was a multiplied example of the emotion that Arya had been hiding, and suddenly, she understood.

Once the elf was upon Nasuada, they exchanged greetings of respect and friendship, and immediately began a talk that called for the human Queen to step out of her room and walk down the way that the guards and the other Queen had come from. They spoke quickly and quietly so that no one could overhear, though they both knew that if someone wanted to listen that they would be able.

"He has sent no word for the past months. I should have realized that something was amiss."

"If you felt that something was amiss, why did you not act on your instinct?" Nasuada demanded.

The elf did not let her voice or her face betray the growing anger at the woman's response. "I expected there to be a simple explanation, in which my actions would have been for naught but a cry of wolf. Now is not the time to bicker, Nasuada," she let a small slip of venom to enter her voice, though she did not drag it out.

"You are right," she nodded. "But what are we to do?"

"I would suggest going to fight, but we do not know what is out there. We do not know what has captured Eragon, nor the consequences that would be wrought if we were to go. It seems we are at an impasse…"

"…" an obscure thought crossed Nasuada's mind, but she knew that it could never be, and shook it aside.

"You have an idea?" questioned Arya.

"No."

"Now is not the time to dawdle. If you have any thought whatsoever, then speak it."

"My thoughts simply go to the only capable person that would be fit to set out for Eragon."

A moment's passing let Arya confirm that the person in mind was Murtagh. "He has gone to the north. He wishes not to be bothered."

"I know, I know, it was simply an errant thought."

After many a thought, Arya touched the Queen's shoulder in an attempt of comfort. The elf could sense that Nasuada's thoughts went deeper than errant suggestions, but did not ask, for she believed to know the reason behind them. If Nasuada realized the connection that Arya made, she did not reveal so.

"We must act soon. Call for his students. Tell them to come back," Nasuada said.

"I already have, what ones are still able are flying as fast as they can."

"How many?"

"I cannot say. Four, perhaps, maybe five."

"So few?" dread filled the Queen's voice, as did a hint of helplessness.

"Whatever force took Eragon is not toying around, but seeing as how they captured him, they may have let so few escape. To come here, no doubt, and to drag us out into a fight. It is clear that they are challenging us."

Nasuada paused for a moment, unsure of what to say or even what to think. Before her lay a task of such magnitude that she was unsure whether or not she could come out successful; only once had she done anything close to this, and the Varden's success was not without heavy casualty, even with the help of the elves and Surda. Still, deep in her heart, she knew that they would be better off (even if only slightly) with the help of the red dragon and his rider.

Finally, she said, "We must try and ask his help. His skills may not be as well as your's, but combined, the both of you could help with the apprentice's training once they return. There'll be no time to waste, and we'll need all the time we can possibly take."

Arya hesitated. Nasuada could tell that she was unsure of letting Murtagh into their ranks, and as she spoke, the Queen could hear a small amount of skepticism in her voice, "And what if he chooses not to come?"

"Then I will accept that you will be the only one capable of training the new riders, and trust that you train them well enough to go against the great force that troubles us to the east."

The new silence that fell over them was tense and uncomfortable, though Nasuada knew that it was necessary for the elf to make her decision without any vocal interference. Minutes went by, and right before Nasuada was about to demand an answer, Arya nodded. "Fine, let us call for him."

"And then we wait for the escaping riders," Nasuada confirmed.

"And then we wait."

A/N; If you all are interested, I could continue it, as the plot I have in mind is very clear. I know that my other projects have gone unfinished, and you'll have to forgive me for that if you read them, but I really do have high hopes for this one. Reviews might encourage me. c: