Renewal

Disclaimer: I don't own Eragon or Eldest, just Arianna and Nolan

Chapter 1: For Good

Angela had been working throughout the long night to save two of their own from death. She hadn't allowed anyone in, as to keep her own focus on what she was doing. She had done it before on the girl but this time was worse. Arianna had been brought in a rather critical state and seemed to be dying under her care, which made her feel guilty. The only thing keeping her going was the constant hovering of the girl's dragon who peeked a great green eye in every once in a while. Angela, who was deep into it, had no choice but to shoo him away. The poor thing, but I'm sure she'll be okay. She had her first signs of hope when Arianna started struggling against her administrations. That was always good. In her train of thought, she realized that was she could do. Now it was time to check on Murtagh, who had fared better than the girl had. He sat up, seeming not to remember much. But he remember Arianna muttering something under her breath. Something that brought him back here.

"Don't think about moving. I barely got to you in time." She said, forcing him back down. "What the girl did was extremely clever. She severed your contract with Galbitorix."

"How?" He asked.

"A young man traveling with you gave his life to him." She said, checking his wounds. "Of course, it came with a price. You both suffered."

"So she's still..." He said, looking towards her direction.

"At the moment, yes but she is stirring." She replied. "See?"

He nodded and looked around. This was the Varden. He wondered if Eragon had paid the price or was it another.

"It wasn't Eragon if you were wondering. It was someone else." She said.

Arianna had been listening the whole time and she found her moment to explain what happened.

"Simple, I found out your true name. It changed and Galbitorix never suspected a thing." Arianna said, struggling to move. "And I can control him, if I want to."

"Are you that powerful?" He asked.

"No,no, I needed Eragon's help for that." Arianna replied, shaking her head. "But he's not dead but we did enough damage to cripple him for a while."

"And us?" He asked.

"Well, I can tell you now that you'll be under my care for now." Angela said, fixing a bandage.

"Arianna, you're not as powerful as I thought." He said, looking at the girl's distant stare."I know I've said it before

"Not yet anyway. I'll get there one day." She said getting up with little struggle.

"You'll be okay, Arianna?" Angela asked.

"I will as soon as I see how everyone else is coping." She said. "Thank you, Angela. I will forever be in your debt."

She left now leaving Murtagh alone with Angela. She treated him no differently than any other soldier tending to his wounds conversing with him from time to time; at the same time, she felt like a traitor herself treating someone who worked for the king they were against. Arianna had told her before she had left that he would have a major choice to make; go back to the king potentially giving away secrets or stay with them and work to earn his trust back. She would tell him sooner or later but Angela's mind flashed back to the days before Arianna was a member of the Varden. The girl that was broken and weak, bleeding from her back. Now, she was a stronger person with the most faith and loyal to her comrades. But Angela knew that she was still the same as she had been when she first treated her.

"Do you know Arianna from before?" Murtagh asked.

"Yes; I was the one who told her to find the Varden." She said, busying herself. "I was also the first to see that scar on her back. Why do you ask?"

"She seems to have a lot of trust in you." Murtagh replied. "It just seems like she doesn't trust me at all."

"Arianna is like the others; we don't know if the king still has a hold of you or not." She said. "However, she is forgiving."

He nodded and laid there thinking about his choices; he could go back with secrets for Galbitorix but he could stay here, where he wouldn't be hunted. Angela had left, leaving him truly isolated. But there was a lot on his mind that couldn't be left.

Arianna limped out to her tent where Codas lay sleeping fitfully; she went into the tent seeming to delight in feeling the rawness of the winds. But she knew that as soon as she recovered completely that a talk with Lady Nighthawk would be necessary. Her brother came in looking usually calm after all the chaos that happened. Codas peeked in, not even sure what to say.

"Snuck out?" Nolan asked.

"I didn't want to stay under Angela's watch all over again." She said, shielding her eyes. "Where's Eragon?"

"He's somewhere." Nolan replied.

"I think I know where but I'm not going to bother." She said, getting up. "He's as tired as we are. I'm going to go check on our captive again."

"Weren't you just there?"Nolan asked, getting up to go with her.

"This time I'm going as a fellow Dragon Rider." She said.

Arianna walked back experience deja-vu but she knew that this had to be said now. Codas glided on the ground casting the shadow of a rider and dragon; he growled a little asking why they had to be the ones to tell them.

"Eragon won't speak to him and I'm the only rider other than him." She said, bluntly. "Besides Codas, what options do we have?"