Disclaimer: I do not own the owned.
Author's Note: First off, I would like to thank each and every one of you who R&R'ed the previous chapter. I really do appreciate it, but keep in mind that this isn't a short story. It's a Book 4 attempt, but more of a humorous and smutty one as opposed to the very typical Book 4 that can be seen in a parody of Book 4's I wrote called "Book 4 for Dummies" located on my profile.
Wow, that was one long run-on sentence! Okay, I will try to avoid those in the future but I tend to ramble on and on usually so just bear with me as chapter 2 is on its way. Just to let ya know, this chapter is more of a filler chapter but there will be lemons later on and it's rated "M" for that very good reason. There will also be some action eventually but it's mainly for some AxE lemons. Now that that's out of the way, I present you with the next episode of "The Ritual."
Chapter 2: In Which "The Ritual" Is Discussed
"We have to have sex?" Eragon squeaked.
Sweat beaded on his forehead and his hands shook from trepidation and, as much as he hated to admit it, excitement. It wasn't that he was gay or any such thing, oh no! It's just that the only one available (unless they wanted to fly for three days straight again which could not happen since Saphira was too tired and probably sleeping right now) was the elf woman who rejected him twice.
He had finally managed to push her out of his mind although a strong friendship still lingered. It's not that Eragon didn't want to have sex with Arya; quite the contrary! But the crux of the problem was that she did not want to have sex with him. She might if The Ritual was true and really worked but they had no way of knowing.
It was an ancient ritual comprising of very arcane practices that had not been carried out for some several hundred years. Inwardly, Eragon was freaking out as this was crossing over forbidden territory. Then again, he reminded himself – it was Arya who had found The Ritual and not him. So why was he so confused?
"Don't get too excited, Shadeslayer," Arya drawled, rolling her eyes. "It's just a ritual to boost your power. Besides, such an act couldn't possibly work or you'd think that elves – even human magicians – would have done this before."
"Um," Eragon stammered, blushing furiously as Arya arched an eyebrow delicately at him. "There's also the fact that in order to maintain the power-boosting ritual you have to have sex as much as possible or else you will lose your magic all together and possibly die as well."
"I can see how that would be a problem," Arya quipped sarcastically, making Eragon feel abashed look away.
"There's also the fact that this is an ancient and obscure elvish ritual," Eragon pointed out, deciding to throw caution to the wind. "That not too many human magicians would know, only those of elf friends. Coming to think of it, neither you nor I knew about this ritual until we searched the hut which stands to reason that not even many elves know of it."
"Your point being?" Arya asked, a hint of steel in her voice.
Eragon gulped. "The point of the matter is that this spell is so powerful that the elvish nobility hoarded it for themselves. Then, no offence, they discouraged sex and marriage in the elvish population which results in how things are today."
Arya's eyes flashed dangerously and Eragon swallowed hard, bracing himself for her wrath. It was not wise to cast doubt on the elvish race when you spoke with the princess of the elves herself! Finally, Arya's face softened and Eragon breathed an inward sigh of relief.
"Everything has to be complicated with you, is it not so?" She asked softly with a wry smile.
Eragon chuckled weakly and nodded, unsure of what to say.
"Well as long as you keep in mind that this ritual is only to give you the upper hand against Galbatorix," Said Arya, gazing out the window apprehensively. "Then I don't see why we could not do it."
"Pardon me?" Eragon yelped, his eyes bulging in surprise.
Arya tilted her head at him and smirked, her eyes twinkling.
"You seriously do not think I would pass up a chance to get a stab at Galbatorix, would you?" Arya chuckled. "We need all the power we can get, what with his Eldunarya and all."
A shadow passed over Arya's face and Eragon sobered. Once again, she was right. No matter how hard he trained, Eragon could never mach up to the Mad King's might due to his demonic usage of the Eldunarya – the Heart of Hearts of all dragons.
No one knew how many he had and who was to say that he did not possess hundreds or thousands of them? It made Eragon's blood boil in rage to think of how the king perverted such a jewel of nature. Dragons were the king of beasts and were even more powerful and wise than most humans and, dare he say so, a lot of elves too.
"So when should we begin?" Arya asked, interrupting Eragon's train of thought.
Eragon felt his stomach swoop slightly at the softness in her voice and realised that things would get very awkward and embarrassing between them from now on. For as much as he had dreamed of sleeping with her, it was nothing like this and that totally changed things.
"Whenever you wish," Eragon answered politely, hoping to keep his voice on a normal level.
"How about tomorrow morning?" Arya suggested. "We are weary from travel you more than me, and hunger would cause an error in the ritual I feel."
"Good point," Eragon agreed. "Tomorrow then, would you like me to prepare some supper?"
"That would be nice," Arya said with an odd look in her eyes.
Eragon's face flushed and he looked away, still uncomfortable by the almost piercing, scrutinizing gaze in the elf princess's eyes.
"Alright then, I will go check up on Saphira and gather some fire wood," Eragon said, standing up and stretching his weary limbs. "Perhaps you could clean up the hut as it looks like we shall be staying here for the next few days."
"Agreed," Arya nodded.
Eragon was momentarily surprised when she smiled gently at him, and he returned the gesture with a grin of his own. Perhaps things wouldn't be too unusual between them after all. Humming an old tune, he strode out of the hut and basked in the fresh evening air while searching for his beautiful, azure dragon. Little did the Rider know, however, just what exactly he was getting into!
To Be Continued...
A/N: Well, that was more of a filler chapter as you can tell but there will be some lemons between them in the next few chapters and maybe even some action eventually. Eragon has to put his boosted power to use after all, and what better way to use it than against Galby? Anyhow, that's about all for now but more chapters are coming soon and maybe even today since I have some free time on hand, so all I have left to say is do leave a review as I really appreciate your feedback and, of course...
...Stay tuned for more!