Meri stared off into the east. Her eyes roved over the treetops outlined against the sky.
You are worried.
The thought entered her mind in the mellifluous tone of Trea's mental voice. The golden dragon walked up and lay beside Meri.
Yes. What if they don't come?
They will come.
But what if—
They will come.
Meri sighed, running a hand over Trea's scales. The plates sparkled in the light from the setting sun behind them. Her bond was barely a month old, yet she was already the size of a workhorse. She was beautiful, with golden-orange eyes filled with the fire of a thousand setting suns and scales like burnished gold. She was Meri's redeeming quality, as far as Meri was concerned. Even as far as Meri's village was concerned, really. When Trea had hatched for her, Meri's mother had breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to her grandmother that it at least the girl had some practical use, since marriage was out of the question.
Meri was not beautiful. She had inherited her father's square jawline, fronted by a flat nose that was all her own. Her eyebrows were thick, her mouth was wide, and her eyes were a muddy brown color. She had a stocky build that ill-befit a young woman of nearly seventeen. Her parents had been trying to marry her off since she came of age at sixteen. None of the young men of the village were interested. She didn't blame them.
Trea interrupted Meri's reflection.
Your self-esteem is dropping again.
Sorry. None of that matters now, anyway. The escort will be here soon.
Oeí. Are you as excited as I am?
The new thought-voice joined the conversation in Meri's mind. She turned around and smiled at Enik. His brown dragon, Voldur, clumsily skidded to a landing behind him. Enik was a dwarf, Meri's companion for the last month since their bonds had hatched and all four had been sent to Ellesméra to be taught by Queen Arya and her dragon, Fírnen.
I most certainly am, friend. And nervous. Ready to meet our destiny?
Ready and willing. It's nearly sundown; they should be here any minute.
"Look!" Meri spoke aloud, pointing toward the rising moon.
Three shapes could be seen outlined against the white orb in the sky. Three dragons and their Riders.
"I'll go tell the queen," Enik said, pulling himself onto Voldur's back. The brown dragon pushed off and flew back toward the camp.
Meri stood up, as did Trea. She held up a hand in greeting as the dragons grew closer. Fírnen suddenly flew overhead with a joyful roar. The great green dragon met the leading dragon and Rider in the air and circled around them.
The elves ran up to stand on the edge of the cliff near Meri. Queen Arya raised her arms in welcome as the three dragons and Fírnen landed. The Rider of the leading dragon leapt off of his blue-scaled bond's back and bowed to the elven queen.
"Atra du evarínya ono varda, Eragon Sundavar-Vergandí," Arya said in the ancient language.
"Atra esterní ono thelduin, Arya Dröttning," the man answered. The Riders embraced.
Eragon Shadeslayer? Meri wondered. Could it be?
In the flesh, young Shur'tugal, an unfamiliar thought-voice answered.
Meri jumped. Eragon—for it was indeed he—turned around, a smile on his face.
"So you are Meri, Rider of Trea?"
Both Rider and dragon bowed their heads in deference.
"Oh, don't start that again. Please, allow me to make a proper introduction." Eragon gestured to the beautiful blue she-dragon beside him, who was easily ten times Trea's size and likely larger, and his two companions, an Urgal and a dwarf, along with their dragons. "Meet Saphira, Jharzhik, Glavra, Hylldiran, and Arget."
Meri bowed once more.
"It is the greatest honor to join your ranks, Eragon-elda."
"You can stop bowing, Meri. Respect is good, but over-formality slows things down. Now, where is the second new Rider?"
"Incoming!" Enik's voice called out. "Look out!"
Voldur flapped his brown wings clumsily and managed a halfway decent landing—his nose still dragged through the dirt, but at least he stayed upright. Enik dismounted haphazardly and hurriedly bowed to the Dragon Riders.
"Apologies. We had some difficulty getting through the tree canopy—again."
Meri stepped forward to assist her friend in getting his bearings.
"Eragon-ebrithil, Jharzhik-ebrithil, and Glavra-ebrithil, this is Enik, Rider of Voldur."
Enik's eyes widened. He bowed again, even deeper. Eragon shook his head, chuckling.
"No need for that, young Rider, as I have already explained to your comrade. Now," —and here he turned to the queen— "Arya, I'll be staying in Alagaësia for a fortnight in order to meet with all four leaders. Jharzhik and Glavra will escort Meri and Enik to the school."
Meri swallowed, nervously directing her attention to the other Riders, who were approaching. Jharzhik, the Urgal, was over six feet tall, with grayish skin and yellow eyes. His head was shaved save for a long, thin braid in the back, and his horns were large and shiny, curling around once. His bond, Hylldiran, was only about three times Trea's and Voldur's size, with deep, royal purple scales and dark blue eyes. Glavra was about Enik's height. She had frizzy red hair pulled back out of her face by a piece of twine, a ruddy complexion, and sparkling green eyes. Arget, the silver dragon next to her, was twice the size of Hylldiran. His svelte build greatly resembled Trea's.
Glavra held out a hand in greeting.
"Welcome to the Dragon Riders, Meri and Enik. I hope you're ready for a long flight."
"I hope we will be able to eat first," Jharzhik rumbled. His deep voice, though gravelly, was softer than Meri had expected.
As though Queen Arya had read the Rider's mind—which, Meri speculated, she probably had—the elves with her began to bring out tables and food from the forest. Glavra beckoned to Meri and Enik.
"Sit with us; I'm sure you have plenty of questions about the school."
Meri glanced at Trea. The gold dragon was staring intently at Hylldiran; they appeared to be having a conversation. Voldur nervously crept up to Arget, while Fírnen and Saphira sat behind their Riders as Eragon and Arya took seats next to one another.
"They'll be fine," Enik reassured her. She nodded and followed the other Riders to the table.
Dinner was delicious, as usual. To Meri's surprise, even Jharzhik was happy with the meat-free arrangement.
Vegetarianism must be a Rider thing.
Perhaps the Riders realize that their dragons consume more than enough meat for the both of them, Enik replied mentally, grinning at her.
Meri laughed aloud.
The feast ended after a few hours. Meri enjoyed getting to know Glavra and Jharzhik and getting answers to her questions about the Dragon Rider school in the east. Finally, Queen Arya raised her hands for silence.
"It is time to bid our guests farewell. Meri, Enik, we wish you the best in your training. I know you will be a credit to your families."
Meri and her friend stood up and bowed. Glavra and Jharzhik walked over to Eragon. He clapped each of them on the shoulder, even embracing Jharzhik. Glavra headed over to Arget and pulled a large wooden box from the saddle. She brought it back over to Eragon, who had her place it by his chair.
"The next two eggs," Jharzhik explained to Enik and Meri.
Eragon saluted the newest Riders.
"Work hard, learn quickly, and I will return in two weeks."
The pair inclined their heads.
"May your sword stay sharp," they chorused.
"And yours as well," he replied.
The four Riders mounted their dragons.
Are you ready, little heart? Trea asked.
Meri grinned down at her.
Let's go meet our destiny.
'Sup, guys! I'm Lizzy! I hope you liked this piece of writing from a few years back. It was weird to open it up and review it after so long and then decide that it's worth posting. If it's piqued your interest, let me know. I think I'd like to do something more with these characters, but I'm not sure what, so any ideas, suggestions, questions and/or comments are very much appreciated! PM me or review this story if you've got something. It'll be a fun challenge to come up with a one-shot or similar work in response to whatever I get. Have a great week!