Disclaimer: I shall do this now! I do not own the Inheritance cycle, or any of the characters. Except, of course, all OC's. They belong to me.
Chapter One – Another Legacy
The horse beneath her reared. She placed a pale hand on the horse's neck and whispered for him to keep galloping. The two stones in her pouch seemed heavy, but she kept trying to get the horse to go. Soon, however, the reason of the horse's nervous fidgeting landed in front of them.
The horse reared again, this time throwing the rider off and galloping away with the two stones. Red dust flew up from where she had landed, however. Two legs entered her line of sight, and she looked up into the evil face of Galbatorix, murderer and unrightful king of the land. He was sneering down at her. "Where. Are. The stones?" he asked, voice deep and hoarse. It was also calm, which signaled unbelievable anger from what the girl had learned in her time as a servant.
"I do not have them, my Lord. I was merely taking a ride on a horse that I regretfully had to steal. I am sorry. Punish me as you must." Her voice was also calm, which also signaled unbelievable anger, though no one but her captive mother and her best friend (who had escaped five months previously) knew. Galbatorix bent his knees, and came face to face with the servant girl.
She tried not to spit in his wrinkled and scarred face. "You're lying," he said, anger breaking through the calm façade. "I am not lying! You are the lier in this hellhole world! You are dishonest, always killing innocent beings! You are…evil. You do not deserve to wear that crown upon your too large head," the girl spat.
She would die now, she knew. But better to die fighting then to die a lowly coward. He sneered at her, then back at the large black beast. The head of the thing turned and stared straight into the girl's eyes. Then it growled loudly, for the girl was smirking and holding her defenses in her mind. They were like steal, her best friend had once told her. And he would know. He was practiced in magic, and he had once tried to break through them, but to no prevail.
"Shruikan tells me your defenses are strong. For this reason you must be kept alive. But know that because you have stolen the stones, and if they…hatch, I guess you could say, you will return to me with the two fateful ones, or I will find you, and you will die," he said, lifting his body up. The girl kept glaring at him, passionate hate blaring through the blue and turning them to a burning ice.
He returned to the black winged beast, mounted it, and it took off. The girl stood, and the horse, who had been wise enough to stay hidden in the trees, returned to its rider. She mounted the horse, and took off galloping, checking the pouch to make sure that the two stones were still in it. They were.
After a day of galloping away from the country's capital, the girl finally stopped the horse, to let him rest. She dismounted and patted the creature's neck, letting down a tiny wall of her defenses and let her conscious flood the horse's. "We will stay here for the night. Stay with me, Paint. Stay with me," she said out loud, her head touching the horse's muzzle.
He gave a soft whiney, his way of saying yes, and bowed his head to graze. The girl walked to the pouch on the saddle, and pulled out one of the stones. It was a light blue, with white streaks running around in incomprehensible patterns. She laid in on the ground, with her hand to it, and just sat that way for many minutes.
The stone squeaked. The girl grinned when it squeaked again. The horse looked up, pondering. The girl held up a hand to him, her free one. She thought soothing words to him, and urged him to start running towards Surda. He did as told, when the stone started shaking and squeaking. After an hour of this behavior, there was a cracking noise.
A small crevice had formed where her hand was placed. She lifted it, whispering for the creature inside to keep breaking the shell open. The moon was high in the sky by this time, and the horse a good mile or two away. A head, light blue with white streaks running down it poked out of the shell. It looked around, then stretched and the shell broke into tiny pieces. The creature scampered away, licking itself clean.
When the girl smiled and reached out towards it, it looked up at it, and then sniffed the hand. It placed its head in the palm, and a scorching pain entered the girl's body. She let out a startled cry and had just enough time to pull her hand to her body before she went numb. The creature walked up to her, lowering his head and staring at her with eyes that melted her spirit.
They were a soft, watery blue. But they were clouded with white, like clouds in the sky. It made her smile within her mind, since she was unable to move for what felt like hours. Finally, after the feeling returned to her and her hand, she lifted the tiny dragon onto her lap and stroked its head.
"My name's Zana," she said soothingly. The creature curled up in her lap, and she brought it close to her for a quick hug. "We need to get to Surda soon, my friend. For that, you will grow fast, even without magic. I won't rush you like that fool Murtagh did with Thorn. That was terrible to witness," she said, staring up into the stars. The dragon fluttered its wings a bit, before climbing off Zana's lap and curling up next to her.
She laid down, letting sleep over take her as the dragon snapped up a stray field mouse.
The next morning brought a surprise. A large, red dragon was sleeping in front of her. Under its wing, was a boy no older than eighteen. The tiny dragon beside Zana was hissing, and the red dragon opened one eye, growling. Zana sat up straight when it lifted the wing to show Murtagh.
"So a dragon hatches for the poor servant girl with the strange hair?" he asked, sitting against the dragon's side and gesturing towards Zana's white and blue streaked brunette hair. Her blue eyes narrowed at him. "Go away, Murtagh," Zana snapped. He stood, wiping his hands on his pants. His black h air fell into his cruel hazel eyes. "No, I won't. I expect you to lead me to the Varden," he answered, tightening the saddle on the dragon's back.
Zana picked up the tiny dragon, clutching it close to her. "I will never lead you to anyone, Murtagh. I heard the stories you told Galbatorix. You backstabbed your own brother," she hissed. The dragon in her arms gave a small growl, showing his rows of teeth. The red dragon, Thorn, swung his head around and showed his teeth, snarling. A plume of smoke left his nostrils.
The dragon in her arms kept his ground though, and kept up his tiny hum of a growl. Murtagh rolled his eyes, and walked right up to Zana and the dragon. He got level with the creature and held a finger out. The dragon bit it, and Murtagh cursed, yanking his hand away. Zana stroked the dragon, giving it the pleasure of seeing this man hurt.
"You're foolish, Zana. You're a foolish sixteen year old girl. You don't know what you're going up against. Either you lead me to the Varden, or I take you back to Galbatorix and you swear in the Ancient language like I did," Murtagh said, walking around her. She looked at him, eyes narrowed an ice again. "I can tell you dislike this oath you have taken, Murtagh. I heard you considering out loud to Thorn one night about actually trying to change your true names. Do it!" Zana answered, stepping back.
Thorn snarled. Murtagh raised a hand. The tiny dragon growled. Zana just glared at Murtagh until his hand lowered. Zana stepped around him, and past the large red dragon, to walk south, towards Surda. She could feel Murtagh's eyes on her back, and it was only when she was half a mile away did she place the creature in her arms on the ground and let it start walking.
She heard a whooshing sound, and two deafening roars. She looked over head, and a blue streak with white and green on each side were flying at fast speeds. A red mass flew into the air, and flew away, sending a wall of fire over its shoulders. Soon the three beings landed, the blue in the center, green on the left and white on the right.
A band of horses came galloping out of the trees when the large creatures landed. A tanned, tall, regal woman on a black horse had the pinto horse that belonged to Zana tied next to her. The tiny dragon leaped into Zana's arms. It hissed at the horses. A boy, who had dismounted from the blue dragon, walked over, eyes going wide. They were brown, and slanted like the elves. His ears were also pointed, but he carried himself like a human would.
He reached out a hand, and this time before snapping, the dragon sniffed it, then nipped it quietly. "Arya, do you know where these eggs are coming from?" he asked, turning. An elf no doubt, with emerald eyes and black hair, was standing next to the green dragon. She gave him a quick, sharp answer in a language Zana didn't understand.
The dragon leaped out of Zana's arms and ran over to the large blue dragon. The bigger one lowered its head, letting its nose touch the tiny ones. The tiny one looked back at Zana, and suddenly she felt like laughing at the child's obvious happiness at being accepted. The rider of the white dragon was staring at Zana with wide, bright green eyes. His hair was a sandy brown, and his skin a tannish pale.
Zana met his eyes with a rather startled look. He had grown at least a foot, and he had filled out. He wasn't too bulky underneath silver armor, rather... lean and strong. "Zana," he mouthed. Zana just stared at him. The boy from the blue dragon glanced between the two of them, and said something in that strange language.
Zana watched as the second boy answered, then turned his familiar green eyed gaze landed on her again. "Daniel," Zana whispered, and she ran at him, tackling him in a hug. His arms wrapped around her, and she smiled widely when he started talking to her. "You should have seen the fights I've been in, Zana! You should have seen it! The night I left the capital, I took two eggs with me. The green one has hatched, and so has the white one! You remember them as eggs, don't you?" he asked.
"Yes, yes I do. And I managed to get away with the last two. One of them hatched for me," Zana said, flipping over her right hand to reveal the silver mark on her palm. The boy with the elfish features came over suddenly, taking the hand and peering at it. He looked at the elf lady and nodded.
The lady turned and spoke with the regal woman on the horse. She then gestured Zana over to them. "Where is the egg that didn't hatch?" the elf lady asked. Zana moved to her horse's saddle pouch, and removed the dark purple stone. I handed it to the elf lady, who put it in the other one's hands. "Watch it for tonight, Nasuada. It may just take to you," the elf said wisely, and then she turned to Zana.
"I'm Arya, that's Eragon over there, and you already know Daniel. And this is Nasuada," the elf said. When she said the name Eragon, she pointed at the strange boy who was now talking to the blue dragon. The tiny dragon that was close to Zana's heart strode up, shaking its tail. Zana bent and lifted it up into her arms, letting curl close to her.
"Is this one yours?" Nasuada asked. "Yes, yes it is. I don't know whether it's a boy or girl just yet, however. It just hatched last night," Zana answered. Daniel and Eragon walked over, chatting, while the three dragons were talking amongst themselves. The tiny one lifted its head at the approach of the two boys. Daniel gave a smile to Zana that she gladly returned, and Eragon dove right into the subject of Murtagh.
"He ran. And now he knows about the other two dragons. This is bad. These two have to be kept secret," he said, gesturing towards the babe and the girl holding it. Zana readjusted the creature so she could tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "He, uh, he already knows," she said nervously, putting the dragon back so it was comfortable. It let out a small whine through a yawn.
Arya, Daniel, Nasuada, and Eragon stared at her. Their eyes were narrowed. "Did you speak to him?" Daniel asked stiffly. The white dragon's head swirled around, revealing bright silvery eyes. The voice of the dragon entered all their minds. That's insane, Eragon. From what I've heard of Murtagh, he would have killed her! the dragon said, a female voice ringing through Zana's head.
A deeper voice, definitely male, soon joined it. You've said it yourself, Everest. You saw that Daniel knew that Murtagh had a respect for Zana, it said. A much wiser, slightly older voice joined the two. It was female. And from what I've seen, that respect was in place long before the oath. It's amazing how human emotions can even break through magic, she said. The blue head swiveled and stared at Zana with hard, dark blue eyes.
Zana bowed her head. The tiny dragon her arms squealed and jumped down. It ran at the largest dragon, and curled up by a paw. The blue dragon gave a sound similar to a chuckle, and laid down beside the creature. It's a boy, by the way, Zana. He's telling me he wishes to be named Streak, though I'll never know why, she chortled.
Zana looked at the hatchling. His eyes were wide, young, yet so wise… "Steak it is, then." Her voice was firm, and he gave a small hum as if to say, "Yay!" The other three Riders, however, did not look too pleased. "What, exactly, did you say to him?" Eragon asked. Arya stared at her with her emerald eyes.
"I told him he wasn't pleased with his silent oath, that he should change his name… And that he backstabbed his own brother. To none he took kindly," Zana answered softly. Eragon winced. Arya glanced at him. "I am still sorry to hear of your…unfortunate relation, Eragon." Her voice was still stiff though. He looked at her desperately. Zana sighed, shaking her head, and Daniel just peered at her. "You know more than I do, Zana. And I've been out fighting," he said. Zana looked him in the eye. "Sometimes servants know more than they are supposed to.
"And sometimes those servants become highly dangerous Dragon Rider's that Galbatorix, damn him, will fear for the last minutes of life."
Arya, Daniel, Eragon, and Nasuada looked at her. She stared right back at them, showing her obvious hate for even uttering the foul name of the so called "king."
Alas, chapter one comes to a fateful end. *bows* *coughs* Anyway, for the main fact I am most likely going to finish this before Christopher Paolini (is Paolini Italian?) releases the fourth and final book, I started my own legacy.
Three more eggs were found, while Galbatorix ordered a search through the land five months ago. One month previously to this foretold quest, the last egg Galbatorix had with him mysteriously disappeared. The egg was green, and hatched for Arya Dröttningu. She named the green dragon Evron. Since then, Arya has remained a Rider. One month later, after the last three eggs were found, the same boy stole a white egg. It was named Everest, for the snowy look the creature beheld.
Five months after his escape, Zana, nothing more than a servant girl, comes along. She steals the last two eggs, one of which hatches for her. She names the dragon Streak, because he preferred it, and for the white streaks running down his light blue body. The last egg went to Nasuada, and to see whether or not it hatches for her, you must read the next chapter, which will come soon if all goes well.
RR please! :D No reviews, no continuation!