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A/N: This is a redo of Hidden Valor, just under a different title. I looked back at it and I want to change of it now, so here goes nothing.
Chapter 1: If There Is A Reason I Don't Know
A boy of seventeen and a girl of fifteen walked on a dirt road in Carvahall. The boy carried a sack on his back, looking like he was ready to leave but relucant all the same. The girl looked tense, knowing where he was going wasn't easy. He looked around him again, seeing no sign of anything changing. He bent down to the girl's level and looked at her for a moment.
"Ari, I want you to keep doing what you're doing. Stay here and don't venture out." He said.
She nodded, which is what she seemed capable of at the moment. He looked around again and hugged her, silently vowing to come back home. He left and she left. If there's a reason that he had to leave, I don't know but Galbatorix has something to do with it.
It had been two weeks since he had left and she had been working harder than a fifteen year old should. But Merritt couldn't run the trading post all on his own, so she odd jobs for him. And today, she had to go into a local tavern and pick up something for him. She had made it and saw the stranger sitting there with a hood, only letting his blue eyes show. She handed him the note and he took out a sack with something in it.
"Don't show this to anyone, got that?" The stranger said.
She nodded and made her way back. She stopped for a moment and realized that the sack was light as air, not that it was a bad thing but it was suspicious. But seeing that there was nothing she could do about it. Once she was inside, Merritt looked at the sack with a glow in his eyes. She wondered what it was and handed it to him.
"You were wondering why it's so light, weren't you, Arianna?" He said. "Let me tell you why. It's a dragon egg."
"But I thought dragons didn't exist anymore." Arianna replied.
"They do, what you just delivered to me is the last dragon egg. It was stolen from Galbatorix himself." He said looking at the stone with pride.
"We'd better hide it, then." Arianna replied.
"Not yet, I want to see if it'll hatch for you." He said. "Our family hasn't had a dragon rider for generations. And I have a feeling you're it."
"But Nolan is the one away, why didn't you ask him." Arianna replied skeptic of his claims.
"I don't think he was the one that could hatch that egg." He said. "Give it a go."
Arianna went with it and touched the cool surface. It was as soft as silk and unscratched, she wondered how it had survived such a trip. Nothing happened. She disregarded this to his overactive imagination and went to bed.
Late into the night, something cracked in another room and Arianna had woken up to it. She had gone downstairs to see the source of the noise and sleepily went over to where the mysterious stone was left. Arianna looked around, so that was the source of the noise. It cracked a little more and a small cry escaped. It was a small creature of some sort. Even in the dark, she could see green eyes. She went up closer to him.
"What are you?" She said. "You're not a bird, and if you are, I've never seen you. You're a dragon."
It cried again and came a little closer to her. She let out her hand and it sniffed it, then let out a cold, blue flame onto it. She felt her skin crawl, blood boil, and body going numb. She tried to move but couldn't as her mind blackened.
Arianna had woken up, breathing heavily and looking around. She finally looked at the small creature sleeping peacefully but when she got up, it did. The mark on her right palm was visible and shined in the morning sunlight. Arianna got ready to go and hide the dragon. She left the trading post where she lived and worked and walked into the small patch of woods. She had been here before and would always go there to think. At the end of the path was a dirt section only surrounded by the trees. She thought it'd be a good place to hide the dragon. She took some sticks and built a small hut which was going to hold for now. There were plenty of mice around.
"I'll be back later, but I have to do something today." She said. "You should be okay here."
It didn't respond and she left quickly, making sure no one saw her leave. When she got back, Merritt had already gotten ready.
"Went to your usual spot?" He asked.
"Uh-huh." She said covering her scared hand.
"And what's that on your hand?" He replied.
"I must've cut my hand or something. So what do you need me to do today?" She said.
"You go do whatever you want to. You're working too hard, hunt, go to the tavern if you want." He replied. "I can handle it today."
"Alright." Arianna said, leaving.
She went back to the spot where she left the dragon and sat there. They had recieved a letter from Nolan and he seemed happy.
It's not all that bad really, it's like home but I'm up earlier and we learn military tactics. I'll be home in a week so I'll see you two then.
She sat there thinking about it for a moment but when someone seemed to reading her mind, she stopped. The little dragon sat on her knee, he was trying to read her mind. She tried to say something but it did.
Ar...i.anna
Arianna raised an eyebrow but knew that he was trying to talk to her but she couldn't say anything.
