Okay, so the idea is that Alayissa is Arya's step-sister. When Brom found out about Saphira, he sent for her, because he knew that he would have to take Eragon to the Varden, but if the Empire wanted Eragon, then Roran was in danger as well. Alayissa came, pretending to be Brom's niece, and has been keeping tabs on Eragon and Arya, as well as the Varden. She hasn't told Roran anything yet; she promised Brom she wouldn't. She's just making sure he's safe.
Please feel free to leave reviews, telling me what you like, or where I need to work on. Thanks so much!

Alyissa sat on the roof of Brom's old house, watching as Roran disappeared toward his farm. Now that Eragon was more well-known, Galbatorix would be looking for ways to get to him. Roran would be the first person in danger. Brom had warned her that this would happen. He had made her promise to keep Roran safe, and she wasn't going to let her old friend down. She wouldn't put Eragon at risk. She knew that if Roran fell into Galbatorix's hands, then Eragon would be almost completely under the Emperor's control.

Alayissa's Elvin eyes let her see farther than the humans around her would be able to see. She could still see Roran, until he went down the hill. Then she couldn't do anything more. It made her nervous when Roran went out alone; it's just the kind of thing that Galbatorix's assassins, the Ra'zac, would be looking for. But she couldn't be with him everywhere he went, and she had to trust that if he fell into trouble, she would be able to get to him fast enough. She didn't like having to spy on Roran; it didn't feel right, invading his privacy like that, but she couldn't take chances. She sighed and jumped off of the roof, landing lightly on her feet. She heard a gasp behind her. She turned, tensing up.

"Oh. Hello, Baldor," she said, cursing herself for being so careless. She couldn't let any of these men see her doing anything out of the ordinary!

"How did you do that?" he asked.

"What? The roof? It's not as high as you'd think," she responded, thinking on her feet. She would have to be more careful. "I've fallen from trees that are taller." She turned to go inside, then turned back. "Would you like to come in?" She had no desire for this man to be snooping around her house, but she knew it would be considered rude to go inside when he was standing right there.

"No. I'm heading home. If you see Roran when he comes back, can you tell him that Mother has dinner ready?"

"Of course," Alayissa said, closing the door behind her. She looked at the interior of her house. She was still in the process of going through all of the scrolls and books that had littered every surface, including the whole bookshelves. She spent most of her time reading, and when she wasn't reading, she was scraping grime from the windows. She wished she could just invoke the Ancient Language to get rid of the filthiness, but she couldn't risk someone catching her at it.

"Time to do some more reading," she sighed. Brom seemed to hoard everything ever written. She had a very small pile of information that would be useful toward fighting the Empire, helping the Varden, or learning more about gramarye. She wearily picked up a thick tome and blew the dust off of it. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Domia abr Wyrda! Brom, old friend, where did you find this?" She knew how rare this book was – she wasn't even sure if it could be found in Ellesmera's vast library. She knew that she had never read it before, but she wanted to. She sat the book aside gingerly before moving on through the never-dwindling pile of literature. After about two hours, Alayissa decided to stop for a while. She needed to stretch her stiff body. She left the house.

There was a fur-trapper telling some wild tale about the Urgals disappearing and the Empire suffering from raids. Most men were laughing, because the trapper was obviously drunk, but Alayissa was interested. Urgals disappearing? That didn't sound good. She headed over to listen, and saw that Roran had just arrived. She stood behind him quietly. Now the man was saying something about Galbatorix being angry and his troops going somewhere, and something about a Shade… Not anymore, Alayissa thought with a grim smile. Eragon's taken care of our old foe, Durza. Her attention snapped back to the trapper as he said something about Galbatorix being fed-up with Surda. That wasn't the sort rumor that would get started without some sort of truth. Was it true?

"What's more, there have even been tales of…" Here the trapper paused and, with a knowing expression, tapped the side of his nose with a forefinger. "Tales of a new Rider in Alagaesia." He laughed then, a big hearty laugh, slapping his belly as he rocked back on the porch.

Roran laughed, as well, turning around. He jumped when he saw Alayissa right behind him. She jumped, as well.

"Oh! Hello, Roran! Sorry I startled you… I didn't realize how close I was!"

"That's fine." He began to head off, but Alayissa stopped him.

"What do you think?"

"About what? That tale?" Alayissa nodded. "I think it's a good fireside tale, but that's all it is. Stories about Riders come up every now and then, but that's all they ever are. Stories, and wishful thinking.

"But what if it were true?" she asked. "I mean, what side do you think he'd be on?"

"It doesn't matter. I'd hope he'd be against the Empire. Maybe if the king has someone who can rival him, he won't prove to be so powerful. But like I said, it's just a story." Alayissa stepped aside as Roran saw Katrina.