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Disclaimer: I only own the fic, the characters belong to mr. paolini.

the language of the dragons (the ancient langue) is in bold italics

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She looked at the two humans. They didn't look like the humans who had attacked her and her people. They had midnight black hair and forest green eyes and had pointed ears and slanted eyes. The younger one, the one who had bumped into her, smelled like a female while the other smelled like a male. She growled again and the two humans backed towards the entrance of the cave. She uncoiled herself and followed, still growling. "How did I get here?" She asked in her own language, wanting a reason to kill them.

"You don't remember?" The female asked. She growled in annoyance that these humans could speak the language of the dragons.

"Remember what? The last I remember is setting the forest aflame before following the rest of my people." She hissed as the sunlight hit her eyes. "How long have I been in this cave?"

"Arya, it's true." The male finally managed. "There was a dragon imprisoned here."

"What do you mean?" She swung her head to face the boy, a growl rising in her throat.

"Hush, Fäolin, let me speak." The female, Arya, turned to her. "Oh Mighty Dragon, the event you remember happened over two thousand years ago. The king of the time attacked your people on the false prophecy of a seer. The dragons fled and a month later, many of the humans ceded from the kingdom to settle on the land where the dragons lived."

"Why?" Saphira demanded. "Humans are not allowed to settle on our sacred lands."

"We did it in honor. We thought you all dead. There was much blood that has soaked into the ground."

"Explain how I ended up in that cave."

"The seer's daughter came with the human army for one dragon in particular, knowing the true prophecy. She was told to place the sapphire dragon into an enchanted slumber and not let her wake until she was once again needed. The woman then sealed the dragon in a cave and disappeared. I, we, were curious and wanted to know if this legend was true. We rid the cave of the magic keeping it sealed and found you inside." They were all outside the cave by now. Saphira swung her massive head from side to side, examining herself. It was true. Much time had passed. She was larger than she was at two hundred years old. She looked at the humans one last time and then took to the darkening sky. Arya and Fäolin watched her go to the tallest peak in awe and wonder. Arya turned to her brother, who was older by a minute, and smiled. "Can you believe it? A dragon still lives in Alagaësia!"

"We are lucky she didn't eat us." Fäolin muttered just loud enough for his sister to hear.

"Arya! Fäolin!" The twins turned sharply and came face to face with their parents, Evandar and Islanzadí. The twins exchanged quick glances and then looked at their parents. "What is the matter with you two?" Their mother yelled. Fäolin flinched. He knew he was in more trouble than his sister as he was the older one and the one expected to take his father's throne.

"We only wanted," Arya began but Evandar cut her off.

"Do you realize what you have done?" His voice was soft, but that was what scared Arya. She knew that when his voice was soft, his anger was raging. "You have released a dragon back into the world and she is alone. What do you think is going to happen when she realizes that none of her kind still live in the mountains? The last thing she remembers is the attack by the humans and her people retreating when it became apparent that they could not win. No dragon has returned since. She is alone. She may not even know where they went. It would have been better if you had killed her."

"No!" Arya yelled, a fire in her eyes that caused Fäolin to back away slightly. "If we did that, we would be no better than the humans who attacked them back then. She was placed in that sleep for a reason! The magic around the cave was already weakening. I will not allow her to be killed." Evandar and Islanzadí looked at their youngest daughter. They had never seen her this passionate before. A roar split the air, forcing the family to cover their ears. Minutes later, the sapphire dragon had landed in the same area she had occupied minutes before, buffeting the family. Arya and Fäolin turned to her. "Dragon?" Arya said softly, taking a step closer. Saphira swung her head to face her.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know if you are well. My people honor you and your kind. It was wrong for the king to have attacked you and break the truce. We thought that your imprisonment was only legend and that is why we are out here. We wanted to know the truth."

"You want the truth?" Saphira sneered. "The truth is I am alone in a world ruled by oath breakers! My family is gone along with the rest of my people and I cannot remember where they have gone!" Arya stopped moving. "I have no one I can trust."

"You can trust me." Arya said, taking another step.

"How do I know I can trust you?" To Arya, she sounded broken inside, and alone.

"I don't know. But we did not run when you woke."

"But you summoned more to you." Saphira looked at the adults.

"They," Arya's brow wrinkled and she turned to her parents. "Why did you come here?" She asked them.

"We knew you had been coming out here. We knew what was hidden here. The seer's daughter had told us to guard it with our lives, even if it meant war." Evandar answered. "She said that the dragon within the cave was important to the future. When we felt the earth shake, we knew what had happened." Arya turned back to Saphira, but the dragon was looking at her parents.

"You were told to guard me?" Evandar nodded.

"My ancestor was found by this woman after he led what humans wanted to Du Weldenvarden."

"Why did you leave?"

"We did not feel right about the attack on your kind and had begged the king not to attack. But he was a superstitious man and would not hear the people. And so the attack. Those who had been against it moved here and chose my ancestor as king. We were changed over the years and began speaking a completely different language."

"It is the ancient language." Saphira answered. "It is the language of my people."

"What is your name?" Islanzadí finally asked.

"My name is Saphira."

Saphira looked up at the sky. She was weak from only having magic sustain her for two thousand years. No one else knew of her and she was content to keep it that way. She had returned to the nest she had shared with her parents and sibling. The young dragon had hatched a month before the attack and had been born a deep ruby color. She wondered if it had made the flight to wherever they had gone. She growled slightly. It annoyed her greatly that she could not remember where they had gone. She wanted to join them and the rest of her kind. She missed her mother, Vervada, and her father, Iormúngr. She still wasn't sure if she could trust Arya and her family. She felt she could possibly trust the girl, but her family was a different story. She didn't feel safe around them. Something told her that Evandar would have killed her had he been the one to find her instead of his children. She watched the stars as she thought about what had happened to these humans because of the dragon blood in the ground. She thought of a name for them. "Elves." It was the word in her language for feline like and these humans definitely looked feline in their features.

She sighed and turned away from the sky. No matter how much she looked at them, she would not regain the memory of where her people had gone. "We had once been a mighty people." She mused. "And because the human Magician had somehow gotten stronger, we were forced to flee our peaceful lives. Humans must be incredibly stupid if they attacked us because of some words. It should be well known that words of prophecy do not come to pass unless they are written in stone." She closed her eyes and controlled her breathing and was soon asleep, dreams of her past filling her sleep.

She looked at the mountain where the dragon, Saphira, had gone to live for the time being. She wished the dragon didn't want to be alone. But she didn't know what she was going though at all. She, Arya, had not been forcibly abandoned by her family and people. She knew where her people were, Saphira did not. Saphira could not remember where the rest of the dragons had gone when they had been attacked.

"How long are you going to stare at the peak?" A voice asked her. She shrugged and kept looking at the mountain. "I am proud of what you did today. Your father wanted to kill Saphira when she had landed. All he needed was for her to attack. Then her fate would have been sealed."

"No, Mother. Our fate would have been sealed. If father had attacked her, she would have killed us and then flown onto the cities and destroyed them before moving to the Empire and Surda and the people of the desert and the dwarves. Then she would have been alone in this land without knowing where her people have gone and looking for a way to bring them back."

"What is your plan, Arya?"

"If she'll let me, I want to help her remember where her people have gone. I have been listening to the muttering of our merchants. They speak of plots against King Brom."

"My dear child, you are listening to gossip. Brom is healthy and so is his son. There is no reason to fear for our safety." Islanzadí squeezed her daughter's shoulder. "Do not stay up to late. You begin your lessons tomorrow."

"Yes, Mother."

The sound of laughter filled the clearing along with shaking ground. Arya looked at her friend. It had been a year since the dragon had woken and they had become close in that time. Saphira still did not remember where her family had fled to, but she remembered more each day with Arya's help. They had figured out that her father, Iormúngr, had led the battle until he was forced to flee without her. He led the dragons to wherever they had gone. She also remembered other special talents that she refused to show the elf as they were dragon secrets.

"Do you not like the name?" Saphira chuckled. This was the first time that she had told Arya of the name she had been using when thinking about the young woman's people.

"I never thought to name ourselves feline-like. But it does suit us."

"I am glad." Saphira laid her head down and closed her eyes. She had confided in Arya that she could change form and appear human is she wished, but she enjoyed he natural form instead. She took a deep breath and her eye snapped open. "Humans!" She looked at the elf next to her. There was worry in her eyes. "Arya, hide in the cave and do not come out until I tell you that it is safe." The elf didn't question and Saphira rose to her feet, facing the direction they were coming. "They are smarter than last time." She thought as she glanced at the darkening sky. She kept her back to the cave, blocking it from sight.

Arya made her way all the way to the back. She would be safest there if Saphira breathed fire. She knew the battle had started when the rock shook around her as she reached her destination. She was too far back and couldn't see what was happening outside. She tried to block out the ferocious roars coming from her friend. She looked up when she heard someone calling her name. She hurried out, thinking it was Saphira, and found Fäolin instead. His face was pale and she saw why. A dozen human soldiers were scattered around the base of the mountain where the cave was. Saphira was nowhere to be seen.

"Saphira!" Arya called and stepped forward. "Saphira!" No answer came. She looked at the soldiers and tore the crest from one of the tunics. It was a twisting, black flame outlined in gold. Tears spilled from her eyes. "I will find you, Saphira. I promise you that I will not leave you alone after your sacrifice for me."

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