Chapter 2: Breakaway.

*Humming a tune*...

^Randomness Rules.^ Awesome!

Hehe XD.


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Arya's eyes widened with shock, "Eragon!" she blurted out. Eragon noticed her voice sounded more surprised than it was an accusation. Quickly she lowered her gaze and a gleam appeared in her eyes which made Eragon's heart jerk. But the moment was lost and she instantly turned away.

"I- I can explain!" He stammered, but Arya was already making her way out of the lake. She hoisted herself out and put on her clothes quickly, muttering incoherent and unwise elven words that Eragon could not comprehend.

Eragon could not tear his intense gaze away from Arya. Her body. Her fine figure...

What am I thinking?! "Arya!" Eragon called out, cursing himself for being so foolish. Hastily he climbed out of the lake, fumbling to put his clothes on.

Arya's POV.

Barzul! Arya's body stiffened. He had been there the whole time?! THE WHOLE TIME! She silently swore as she grabbed her sword and ignored Eragon's alarmed calls. Her heart thudded loudly, its intense pounding blocked out her hearing.

Why didn't I notice him straight away? How long had he been there?! Arya's mind was ringing with incessant questions. She headed for her tent. Frustrated, she crashed down into a seat. Her chest rose up and down and her breathing became ragged.

She noticed her hair was still dripping wet and her face flushed. With great difficulty, she tried to get rid of the thoughts of what had just happened. It never happened, it never happened, it never happened... she chanted in her head. But after the fifth line, she knew she could not. The memory was branded in her mind.

Hazily she got up and used magic to dry her hair. She changed into her armour and leggings making herself look presentable. Quickly, she grabbed her bag which contained her personal belongings. She muttered a spell to get rid of her scent and when she was content, she headed for Nasuada's tent.

It did not take a long time and Arya found the Varden's leader in her tent. She was bent over her simple-adorned wooden desk which was mounted with endless piles of paperwork. Arya, after what had just happened, could not help resist an amused smile. Nasuada looked absolutely drained, her forehead crinkled with a frown as she read the paperwork. Arya would not want to be in her position right now, but then again, her condition was no better.

"Lady Nasuada." Arya greeted. Nasuada looked up, her face brightened as she heard the elf princess' melodical voice.

"Ah, Arya." She said giving her a tired smile. Nasuada sighed as she sat up straight. There were tufts of hair sticking out and she casually tucked them behind her ear.

"Not working too hard now, are we?" Arya asked as she slowly made her way to Nasuada's desk.

Nasuada chuckled and waved her hand, "Not to worry. I've nearly got them all done."

Arya looked at the clustered desk then back to Nasuada, "I can see that." They shared a small laugh but then Arya's face became serious as she remembered what she went to see her for.

Nasuada noticed her slight change of mood and asked, "Is there something wrong, Arya?"

Arya hesitated. But then her determination drove her on, she cleared her voice and asked as nonchalantly as she could, "Could you possibly set me on a mission?"

Nasuada blinked in surprise then her expression returned to normal. "May I ask why?" Arya paced around the room, her bag on her shoulder, which Nasuada just noticed and raised her eyebrow as if to ask her.

"It's just that..." Arya bit her lip wondering if she should tell the truth. I want to get away from Eragon, she answered in her head.

"I just want to get my mind off a few things," Arya said quietly, "And going on a mission seems like a good idea."

Nasuada sat back, which made her look small as the seat engulfed her size. Arya noticed that she was deep in thought. There was an awkward silence and Arya maintained her head up high. The two women had the atmosphere of superiority around them.

"Very well." Nasuada spoke, breaking the huge tension that had built up between them, "I will set you on a mission." Arya's face lit up in triumph as she heard her words.

"But..." Nasuada added her voice low and calm, "It's a dangerous mission. But with the exception of Eragon and Saphira, I can't trust anyone in the Varden to do this almost impossible task."

"What is it?" Arya's face darkened, but she kept her posture.

"After thinking about this a lot... I've decided to set you on a mission to..." Nasuada paused and darted a quick look at Arya, "I've decided to set you on a mission to locate the third egg."

Arya's face flickered with surprise then quickly hid it, her face now expressionless.

"It would be my honour." Arya bowed slightly.

Nasuada got up from her seat and unexpectedly hugged the Elven princess. "There's no need to bow, Arya. You and I have been close friends for so long..."

Arya gave her a warm smile as they broke apart, "Yes. I should get going then."

"Dark is fast approaching. Why don't you set off early tomorrow?" Nasuada asked worriedly as she casted a look around her tent. The tent was orange-ish yellow caused by the lighting outside. The sun was slowly setting, but Arya would not be swayed with her decision.

"No, I'll go now. Earlier the better." She said and was about to leave when Nasuada touched her shoulder gently.

"I should tell you; this mission will keep you away from the Varden for quite long time. Maybe a month or so. Tracking the egg can be arduous work." She warned, her voice low.

Arya stopped on her tracks and without glancing back she softly said, "Maybe that's what I just need." Nasuada casted a confused look which Arya didn't see, so she didn't pester her on.

Nasuada released a big, long sigh as she looked up at her ceiling. She recalled what had just happened. Did Arya say what I thought she said? "Maybe that's what I just needed?" Puzzled, she decided she would ask Eragon later. Shrugging off her thoughts she continued through her tedious paperwork.

Arya's POV

Arya ran like the wind across the open expanse, and the Varden soldiers wondered if she was actually running away from the camps. Full of energy, Arya maintained her speed until she stopped for a rest. She had reached the outskirts of the Hadarac Desert. Carefully she dropped her bag and looked around.

"Risa!" She summoned water from the soil and transferred it to her drinking bottle.

Finding a soft spot on the ground, she sat down. Was I right to go on this mission? It was suppose to be Eragon's task to find the third dragon egg. Arya thought. "Well Nasuada ordered me to." But she had asked for a mission; it was not given to her freely.

Sighing she rested her head gently and closed her eyes. Her chest rose up and down softly as she quietly thought of the fourth dragon. Who will it hatch for? She wondered.

There were a few possibilities; Nasuada, Roran, maybe even Orrin... or her. No... That wouldn't happen. But as she thought of it more and more, she realized she was a strong candidate to be the fourth rider.

Quickly her eyes shot open, if she was the fourth rider, it would bring Eragon closer to her. Would that be a good thing? Arya asked. I mean the only thing that's mainly keeping me and Eragon apart is because of our positions. I'm an Elf princess and an Ambassador. Eragon is a Dragon Rider. So if I were a rider, that wouldn't be an excuse anymore.

But Arya had rejected Eragon so many times, she was wondering if he still had feelings for her. How about our long age gap? I'm a hundred years old and he's still young. But he's been turned into an elf; he has possibility of a long life ahead of him…

Arya's mind drifted on to the recent encounter she had with Eragon. She remembered how she felt when she saw him; surprised, shocked, irritated… and something else she could not quite place. But she did remember that she was utterly infuriated at herself for not being aware of his presence in the first place. His face… it was so angelic…so handsome… Arya shook her head, she shifted uneasily. We're never meant to be… Arya thought quietly, Faolin, I need you…

A slight breeze of wind caused Arya to snap back to reality, mind on the mission, she reminded herself as she abruptly erased all her other thoughts. She fixed her bow and arrows and kept her sword at her hip. In no time she was running again, her hair dancing wildly behind her.

During the day, she spotted Empire soldiers but kept well away. There was no need to cause any unnecessary attention. She had been an egg courtier for seventy years; it was easy for her to tell if there had been any dragon egg at areas. For the second time in the day, she stopped again. Her eyes flickered ahead of her. There were two footprints. Arya touched it. They were soft; still fresh.

There was a growling sound, or was it just her hearing? Swiftly, she took her bow and arrow. Arya pulled the string towards her right cheek, taking aim. Time slowly passed. One minute... Arya lowered her bow, she scanned her surroundings. There was no one around. Was I just imagining it?

There it was again! Arya whipped her head around, her ears sharp and her eyes observing the trees. She heard ravenous munching. Arya searched for the sound. Gradually it was getting louder and louder, Arya found it challenging to trace the sound.

Finally when she found it- what she saw shocked her. On the ground was a dead soldier, his armour ripped off and his head dangling from his neck, a couple of his veins still attached. Blood oozed from his neck and it slowly dripped to the floor. There were two bent down figures savagely tearing his limbs and flesh off. Arya felt something rising in her throat; she forced herself to look away from the repulsive sight.

Slowly she compelled herself to look again, her eyes searched the figures and she caught something shiny. Her heart skipped. She had found the third egg! The emerald oval shone brilliantly, illuminating the baby dragon inside.

The only trouble was how to obtain it… from those things. It would have been no trouble getting the egg, but Arya did not know what they were capable of and how dangerous they were.

Arya could not make out their appearance; but she saw that they were wearing black hoods that covered their faces and cloaks that hid their body. From the atmosphere, they radiated a scent that Arya was somehow familiar with. A Shade's scent.

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CJ.x