The Girl with the Broken Crown

Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon or Eldest or the newest book that hasn't been published yet. I wish I did, but we all know that it belongs Christopher Paolini--the so-called genius.

Summary: Rya's back and she has her father's mess to clean up now. Even worse, she has to find a husband of some royal bloodline, train with the elves, and hunt down all the Ra'zac all before the end of the year... along with ruling what's left of Alaglaesia...

Author's Note: Yes, yes, it's time for the sequel. If this is your first time picking up Rya's story, I encourage you to read the first part first. Or not. Whatever floats your boat, I say. I enjoy reviews if you leave them, and constructive criticism is always nice. I hope you like.

Chatper One: A Bad Start

"No! No, no, no, no... over there... yeah, there... excellent," Rya commanded. Allaster set down the giant statue of Galbatorix that had once been in the courtyard. "Thanks Allaster,"

Hey, no problem, as long as I get a piece of the action. Allaster said, gliding over behind his rider.

"Eragon! Murtagh! Get over here!"

The brothers jogged over a couple minutes later. "It's ready?" Eragon asked.

"Yup," Rya answered with a grin. "And you can have the first shot."

Murtagh threw Rya a dirty look as Eragon pointed at Galbatorix's head and shouted something in the ancient language. The head exploded in a shower of marble splinters. Allaster snorted in amusement.

"Now it's your turn Murtagh,"

Doing a small spin move, he mumbled something as his hand moved past the statue, cutting it in half at the torso. Of course, it didn't topple.

"Smooth," Eragon joked.

Would you like to do the honors, Allaster?

Very much so... thank you, Rya,

With that, Allaster launched off the ground, moving quickly toward the statue. One swift leap and he overtook the upper half of Galbatorix's body, crushing it, causing Murtagh to whoop and Eragon to whistle loudly.

"Your turn," Eragon smiled.

"Fine," Rya cleared her throat. "Jierda!" she shouted.

The legs of the statue exploded in a bright flash, similar to what Eragon did to the head. Large pieces flew past them and kicked up dust. The three coughed, shielding their eyes, only to be quickly followed by cheering from the three riders and a joyful roar from Allaster. The old marble was scattered about the plain, and dust still drifted with the wind to the east.

"What's with all the ruckus out there! I'm trying to sleep!" someone shouted from the castle walls. It was the new Army General, a previous member of the Varden; Jormundur was poking his head out of the battlements. Ever since Galbatorix had fallen to his death during the Great Battle less than a month before, the Varden had been invited personally by Rya to come and stay in Uru'baen. The dwarves, of course, refused, and most of them returned to what was left of Tronjheim and Farthen Dur. Eragon promised to come to Tronjheim and repair Isidar Mithrim as soon as he could. He could have easily left now, but he choose to stay awhile with his brother and new-found friends.

"Sorry, Jormundur! We'll be quieter now that we're done!" Rya called back to the battlement-tower balcony that her General was leaning over. She knew that he disapproved of her carelessness and her being crowned as such a young age, but he had no say in the matter, or so everyone thought.

Murtagh and Eragon laughed in unison. "He's a little grumpy today, isn't he?" Eragon noted, grinning.

"I don't ever believe I've seen him crack a smile,"

"Me neither," Murtagh commented.

The threesome headed back toward the gates of the wall that surrounded Uru'baen. Allaster took off into the air and flew over the city to the other side, where the dragon-holds were located. It was almost noon, which meant that Tristan, Rya's old friend, would be bringing in some kind of food for the four dragons to eat.

Rya walked between the two brothers in silence as the boys chatted about random things. In the past few weeks, she noticed the air in the castle had seemed to lift, and the feeling of stress and worry was gone. No one was really old enough to experience this, so everyone in the city expressed their feelings differently. Rya, even though the heavy burden of pleasing her father was gone, she felt sad, as if a giant part of her life was gone, which was true.

She was seemingly pushed into the world less than a year ago; beginning with the birth of her dragon, the training, the battles, then the death of her father, leaving her the rightful heir to the throne of Alaglaesia. She almost felt as if the problem that she was facing was like a house. Standing on the outside, you could only see one or two walls; not really all that complicated. But on the inside, which, when you entered and got the full concept of what it was like, turned out to be far more detailed and elaborate than you had expected, and now your already in over your head.

Or maybe it was the other way around. It seemed uncomplicated because it wasn't complicated at all. Rya shook her head. She was overreacting to this whole thing.

"What was that for?" Eragon asked, bumping against her with his shoulder.

"What was what for?"

"You shook your head."

"I did? Oh, I'm just hungry."

"Mmm, me too," Murtagh interrupted in a dreamy tone. All three laughed, entering the gates to the city.

The poverty that you used to see coming in was now clearing up, and more people were smiling and interacting with each other. She got a lot of waves and nods in her directions, and even some smiles and "long live the queen" shouts. Too bad the guard that was approaching them hastily couldn't be smiling.

"Your highness," the soldier said, bowing deeply. He was out of breath, and could barely get the words out. "The Council would like to have a word with you immediately, sir--ma'am."

Rya would have laughed, but at hearing "The Council" her heart sunk. That was another one of the major problems her father had left her. "What? Why? Did they say why?"

"They did not tell me the reason, ma'am, no."

Sighing, Rya's face crunched into a snarl, and then she forced a small smile. "Fine, I guess I have no choice then; thank you for relaying the message."

The soldier nodded and ran off.

"What was that all about?" Eragon asked, a look of troubled curiosity crossing his face.

"I don't know, but you guys better go get lunch. I'll catch up with you as soon as possible."

So there you go. Hopefully all you who reviewed Rya: Daughter of the King will come back for this story too. I can hope! Reviews are wonderful! Thank you!