Longer than last chapter but not by much :). Thanks for all the reviews I have gotten, that was the most that I have gotten in one chapter. Hopefully this chapter will answer some of your questions. Leave a review when finished, those give me the motivation to keep going.

Eragon and Arya sat in the center of the camp. Eragon was angry that the Empire took over Arya's home and killed most of her race. Arya was, on the contrast, sad that the Empire had the nerve to take over her home like it was a minor village. How was it that her forces were taken down as easily as humans? Were there spells that made them stronger? Were those the same spells that gave Thorn the boost he needed? There were too many questions in her mind. She closed her mind to shut out the negative questions and thoughts. She tried to close in on the positive ones but found only one, Eragon. He was overjoyed to see her. That made her smile more than she ever did recently.

"Who exactly led the charge?" Eragon asked, breaking the scilence.

"Murtagh and Thorn, they were looking for you." Arya responded with concern in her voice. "Don't be afraid though, we will get them eventually. The first thing I remember seeing was the main force, they came from the south and attacked the gates. Our main force was deployed from the gates and we fought the line of attackers very well. The fighting grew worse and worse, there were heavy casualties on both sides and they weren't sure they would make it. The secondary reserve was called in and Murtagh was leading the battle itself. He called out for Eragon but he wasn't there."

That part disturbed Eragon, he didn't see him since the Battle of the Burning Plains three weeks ago and even then, he was strong until Eragon weakened him a ton. How did he get the energy back?

"Once he realized you weren't there, he pressed the attack hoping to flush you out. Oromis tried to contact you but you were too far off. He escaped from the back of the capital and he went around the battle, hiding in the thicket of trees. Once out of Du Weldenvarden, he went south to intercept you and tell you. He didn't see that you went southwest instead of south, missing you by ten leagues. He then turned to the east going through Hadarac Desert.

"Back at the capital, our forces were getting drawn back and our whole line scattered. That is where Thorn came in; he burned down the northern fringe of the city, drawing us south into the fight. He had us cornered, go south and risk being cut down, and go north and risk getting burnt. Go east and west and you get stopped by another set of Galbatorix's troops." She explained. "That is where I met the girl. I went north to see if there were any survivors and I saw her. She was crying over the body of her mother, I rescued her from the oncoming fire and told her to get out and follow me. She did and that is how I got stuck with her," Arya took a deep breath. "Queen Islanzadí was leading the front lines; she was the first to be struck down and killed."

It took a while for Eragon to take that in.

"Is the throne is open for you?" He wondered.

Arya nodded, "Yes, but I can't take it now, not when the Empire has grabbed a hold of it."

"I see," Eragon turned his attention to the girl beside Arya. "What is your name?"

"Nárena," she responded. Her hair was long and it was blonde. She was tall and her eyes were a strange amber color.

"Tell me exactly how you got that egg."

"During that battle scene, I was in my house hoping the fight was going to be over soon. The whole house suddenly went ablaze and one of the walls burnt up. I saw a box that didn't seem to burn up when the flames licked it. I picked it up and there was a note written in your language."

To whomever that finds this,

There is a very special item in this box. I have enchanted it so it won't be abused by the flame. Take it and wait for a while.

"I took it with me and it still doesn't work yet," she took the egg out, marveling its beautiful color and almost perfect shape. She knocked on it for a few times and loved its perfect sound. "It seems so empty but due to that tales I have heard, this holds much more than what it seems to have inside it."

"You are right," Eragon said, smiling. "When I found mine, I didn't know how precious it was. I tried to sell it but no one would take it. I kept it until one night, where it hatched into her." He pointed to Saphira. Nárena ran over to her, highly curious. She marveled over Saphira's blue scales and how they seemed to bend and reflect the sunlight.

"You are?" Nárena asked.

Saphira, she hummed, one of the only female dragons left.

Nárena jumped back, highly confused and enthralled that a voice was in her mind. She reached out to Saphira and was amazed. Memories of Eragon and her filled her mind. Nárena smiled the biggest smile she ever tried in her life.

"What happened to Murtagh and Thorn after the battle?" Eragon asked

"Well," Arya pondered for a moment. "They must have flew back to Urû'baen to report to the king after that is a mystery."

Eragon lay down in the grass, pleased with her answer. He knew that Murtagh and his dragon were going to look for him but what he didn't know was they looked for him in the wrong place and definitely the wrong time. It has been two weeks since he departed from the elf capital of Ellesméra and in those two weeks, he didn't encounter any soldier. He suspected that they massed up their forces to the south of Ellesméra then they attacked in great numbers. They need a plan to figure out what to do.

"Arya, what do we do?" He asked.

She sighed, "Eragon, we need to fall back and contact the Varden. There is no way that we can beat them with two elves, a human, and his dragon."

"We did it before."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean that it will happen now. We need reinforcements soon before this matter spreads westward into Panclair Valley."

That struck Eragon to his core, most of the population of Carvahall was moved to Surda and only a few stayed behind. What about Roran and Katrina? He wed them but that doesn't mean that they would be safe from harm. There was only one plan of action and he didn't like it.

"We need to go back to Surda." He said unhappily. "It is too dangerous to be there without knowing what the dangers are now. The stakes have been raised, I am not the only Rider in existence, there is Galbatorix, Murtagh and Oromis but there is going to be one more. We need to tell them what went on there"

Arya sighed but then obliged to his plan. "We need to get moving right away," she said.

Saphira, how many can you carry?

I can try to carry three but I don't want to risk it. Arya, how fast can you run?

Arya though for a moment, I can travel fast and far, fast enough for me to keep up with you.

Saphira snorted, fine, let's make it a competition.

Fair enough, Arya closed the link as Eragon motioned to Nárena. She nodded and climbed up to the saddle with surprising ease and agility. Eragon climbed up a little bit slower than she did.

Let's go! He shouted and Saphira took to the sky quickly becoming smaller and smaller as the distance increased. Arya smiled, she really is a wonder, than she took off running.

Can't promise any updates coming this fast anymore. I will try to make them a bit longer each time though but I make no promises.