Disclaimer: I did not come up with any of the characters, places, names or anything else in the world of the Inheritance Cycle. All of that was the great mind of Christopher Paolini. I wish I had a genius mind like his.
"Text" speaking in the mind
Text thinking to ones-self
"Text" speaking out loud
Text Saphira speaking
Text dragon speaking
Removing The CurseAs Saphira circled the camp Eragon reached out with his mind to find Elva. "She is there….near Nasuada's tent." Eragon told Saphira and she began to descend landing near the outer rim of the tents in the camp. Eragon jumped from Saphira's back landing gracefully and began to walk toward Elva's tent with Saphira next to him. Eragon struggled to keep back the feelings that Arya had invoked in him. Come on Eragon! You don't want to add to Elva's pain so get rid of them already. He chastised himself. Easier said than done. He argued with himself. They reached Elva's tent and she came out immediately giving him a sad look. I guess I didn't do so well at getting rid of my feelings. He thought with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you extra pain." He said to Elva. "It can not be helped. Have you come to keep your promise?" she asked him.
"I have. Are you ready?" he asked her as he held out a hand to her. She smiled as she stepped forward and placed her hand in his. He gripped her hand and led her to the saddle. "Saphira and I thought it best to take you away from here, so that you don't feel everyone's pain and suffering. And also so that we don't have people watching us." He said as he helped her in the saddle. "Wow. I've never flown with a dragon before. I never thought I would." Eragon smiled. "Well in that case I hope that you enjoy this experience." Yes I hope you do as well. Saphira added as Eragon stepped away. "I'm going to tell Lady Nasuada what I am about to do." He informed them and then headed for her red pavilion.
"I need to speak to Lady Nasuada right now." He said in a calm yet commanding voice to the two guards standing watch. One of them entered her pavilion and Eragon listened as he informed her of what Eragon said and her answer in the affirmative. The guard returned and held one flap of the pavilion open for him. Eragon thanked him and walked in and greeted her. "Eragon! This is unexpected. How are you fairing since everything happened last night?" Nasuada asked him. "I am doing well." He said. Nasuada regarded him uncertainly, but didn't say anything. "So Eragon why have you come?" she asked him. "I wanted to let you know that I am going to attempt to remove the curse from Elva, and I have no idea how long we will be gone or in what condition we will be in when we do return." He said to her as he watched her gaze go from steady to worried. Eragon wouldn't have informed her, but he knew that she had been relying on Elva's help in avoiding her enemies and keeping somewhat safe.
"Do as you must Shadeslayer." She said as she began to turn around. "I also wanted to let you know that Roran has asked for my help in rescuing his fiancé from the Ra'zac, and I will do so when I am certain that Elva is alright." He said to her in a steady confident voice. She may be his liege lord but he is his own commander, his own authority figure. "I understand Eragon. He is your cousin and the battle is over for now. Just be careful." She said with a sigh. She could tell by the tone of his voice that refusing him was not an option. Not to mention that he came to tell her not to ask her permission. "I will." He said and with that he bowed and returned to Saphira and Elva.
He climbed into the saddle behind Elva and Saphira began to take off. He was conscious of the fact that many of the soldiers wondered what he was doing with the child, and was startled by the range of thoughts that came from them. Some were nice, some were embarrassing and others were down right disgusting and he grimaced as Saphira headed for the nearest forest. Saphira showed him an image of the spot she had in mind. It was a wide clearing covered in rich green grass with large trees to the left and a downhill slope to the right, and it was very far away from the camp. "That looks like a good place." He said to Saphira and she began to descend to that area. When she had landed she lay flat on the ground, and Eragon slid off and then turned and helped Elva down. "Did you enjoy the ride?" he asked her as they walked a few feet away and sat down in the grass. "It was amazing, but I've been wondering if I'll even remember it if this works." She said in soft tone.
"That's a very good point." He said to Saphira. "I was wondering that myself. Do you think that she will be okay? I mean assuming that this works properly." Saphira thought for a moment then said I'm not sure what will happen, but I don't think it will be bad. What ever it is we will deal with it when the time comes. Eragon nodded his head and took a deep breath. "Well if you don't remember it doesn't matter much since I'm sure that you'll get another chance." He said to Elva with a smile. "So..are you ready?" She smiled and nodded her head. "Okay then lets get started." He said as he closed his mind to all but Saphira. He then reached for the magic within him and let it course through his body. He placed a hand on her forehead and said a long phrase in the ancient language. He let his magic flow from him to her and concentrated all his energy on her. After a few minutes he began to feel a change in her, so he closed his eyes and focused even more on her.
He could feel Saphira giving him her energy to help, and after another few minutes he felt that the change in Elva was complete and stopped his flow of magic. He then opened his eyes and looked at her. "How do you feel? Can you feel any pain?" he asked her. She didn't feel any pain immediately, so she tried focusing on Eragon but could feel nothing. "I don't feel anything. I mean I don't feel any pain." She said as she sat there for a moment then she got up and started to run in circles around him and Saphira. "It worked! It worked!" she shouted happily. Eragon gave a weak smile as he watched her run around happily. Eragon? We should go. You need to rest. Saphira said to him. "Yeah…your right." He said to Saphira. "Elva lets go back now." He called to her as he got up and stood next to Saphira. Elva came and he helped her into the saddle then climbed up himself and they took off.
Eragon was quiet as they flew. Oh I'm so tired. I seriously need to rest. I hope Roran doesn't think that we're leaving as soon as we get back, because if he does then he's got another thing coming. He thought to himself. He then noticed that his grip on Elva wasn't as tight as before. I must be really tired if I can't even keep a tight hold on her. He thought to himself and just as he finished that thought it hit him. "Saphira? Elva is changing back into a baby!" he said to her. Then I will slow down so that neither of you falls. She said to him as came nearer and nearer to the camp.
By the time they reached the camp Elva was baby again, and resting comfortably in his arms. Saphira landed as gently and carefully as possible so that she didn't harm or scare Elva. I can't believe that she changed back into a baby. I mean I knew that something was going to happen, but I didn't expect this at all. He thought to himself as he slid from the saddle and landed on the ground in front of their tent. As Eragon walked into the tent he knew that he should inform Roran, Nasuada, Arya, and Elva's guardian that they had returned, but all he wanted to do was lay down and get some much needed rest. Don't worry little one. I'm sure that they saw us fly over the camp, so they probably already know that we have returned. She reassured him. He knew that she was probably right, so he lay down on his cot and laid Elva on top of his chest. She was already on her way to sleep, so he figured they could rest together until he had the strength to take her back to her guardian.
I wrote this chapter for the person who put my story on story alert. I was completely shocked by that, but also happy. I would have updated sooner, but I had homework to do and a final exam to study for. Well I still have a final exam to study for but no more homework. Yay! So I hope you enjoy. Please read and review. Reviews would be nice. Doesn't matter if they are good or bad.
