AUTHOR'S NOTES WILL NOW APPEAR AT THE BOTTOM! PLEASE READ THEM!

Third Chapter: The Sadness

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Roran was walking through the city of Feinster. He was looking for his cousin or Saphira. He needed someone to talk to. He wasn't sure if he could lift his hammer in battle anymore. All of the bloodshed was too much to handle. Eragon seemed to handle himself from killing all of the people he had, human, elf, dwarf, or Ra'zac, he had always seemed to be able to overcome anything. Not to mention he was the last free dragon Rider opposing Galbatorix and the Empire. He would probably end up talking to Katrina. She was always there when he needed her or even someone to talk to. It felt like the relationship between he and his cousin since they had rescued Katrina had started to dwindle. It felt like that day after day he became more distant from his cousin, and he didn't want that to happen, and he knew that his cousin didn't want it to happen either, but there was nothing they could do. They were constantly being sent off on missions for the Varden or personal errands, that they rarely had anytime to sit down and talk to each other. He just wanted this war to end, as much as Eragon, if not more. He couldn't believe that in such a short period of time he had been carrying out mission for the Varden. He was just a farmer, nothing more and nothing less, yet soldiers in the Varden saw him as hope, that anyone could become a great fighter like him, but the truth is that he wasn't a great fighter, he had just done what he felt was right.

While walking through the city Roran noticed one of the Varden's soldiers running towards him. He wasn't sure if there was something wrong in the city, but he was ready to fight if he was needed, even if he didn't want to, he needed to fight. He needed to fight to protect Katrina, his un-born son, Eragon, and everyone else that he held close to him.

"Hail Stronghammer! Lady Nasauda requests your presence in her tent! She says it is urgent and you are needed as soon as possible." The soldier said to him.

"Do you know what she wants of me?" Roran replied.

"I'm afraid I don't. She only sent me to tell you that she requests your presence."

"Okay, tell her I will be there within five minutes." Roran said sighing.

"Yes sir!" The soldier shouted before dashing away towards the Varden encampment.

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"No Arya!" Eragon shouted.

"Eragon, I will not have you go into battle alone! I'm coming with you!" Arya replied fiercely.

"Please Arya! I care about you too much to have you hurt badly during the battle. I don't know what I would do if I......."

"Eragon...... I know your feelings for me, and I appreciate your concern, but I want to fight, and I know I will be okay with you, Saphira, and Roran fighting by my side."

Eragon was quiet for a moment.

"Alright Arya. But please stay by my side during the duration of the battle, I need to know that you are safe during it so that I can protect you......" Eragon said before he was cut off.

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself!" She shouted as she stormed out of his tent.

"Wait! Arya! Please......." Eragon trailed off.

"I don't know if I could live my life without you...."He whispered to himself.

Where are you Saphira?

I'm out hunting, why what happened little one?

I got in an argument with Arya, and......I think I just need some time to think to myself. So if you come back to the camp, and I'm not there, just know that I'm okay.

Do you want to talk about it?

No, it's okay Saphira. I just need to be alone for a while.

Okay. Don't forget that I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what happens.

Thank you Saphira. Eragon said before blocking the connection between him and his dragon.

He needed some alone time, and he just the place where he could meditate and clear his mind.

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"Lady Nasauda." Roran said walking into the Varden leader's tent.

"There you are Stronghammer! I was worried you had forgotten!" She replied.

"No, I did not, I just needed some time to think."

"I understand. We all need time to ourselves during the day to be alone and go over our thoughts and feelings."

"Indeed. Now, why did you ask me to come?"

"Right, right. I asked for your company so I could talk to you about an upcoming raid mission."

"Another raid mission? I thought that we had cut off most of the caravans heading to any of the Empire's other cities." Roran thought to himself, remembering the multiple missions that Nasauda had sent him on to prove his trust to the Varden.

"Yes, while many of those halted many of the Empire's plans, this is much bigger than any of the other raid missions I have sent you on. This caravan has much more than just essential supplies. This caravan in particular has 2,000 soldiers, 300 of these soldiers are magicians. They are heading for Belatona, and if they are allowed to reach the city, we may suffer more casualties than we want when we attempt to take the city. By stopping this convoy, we can raise our chances of being able to take Belatona, as well as raise the amount of supplies that we have for the battles that are yet to come. Roran, I want you to lead our troops into this battle. You will be under command of 1,000 strong. Eragon, Arya, and Saphira will assist you in taking the convoy. Their top priority before assisting you is do eliminate the magicians. You will hide behind anything you can find to shield yourself from the enemy's vision. Once Eragon, Arya, and Saphira have taken care of the magicians, you and your troops will rush in taking the rest of the soldiers by suprise."

"Won't they see Eragon and Arya on Saphira and prepare to attack?" Roran questioned her.

"No. I have asked that they use magic to make themselves invisible and unable to be heard by the enemy."

"Ahh, right. Magic. I always forget that it exists. It seems unreal." Roran said.

"That it does." Nasauda said as she chuckled.

"Good to see you have a sense of humour in all of this turmoil." Roran said amazed.

"It helps to relieve stress." Nasauda said as she smiled.

"When do we leave for the convoy?"

"You and everyone else will leave in three days time, so make sure to gather up provisions for the trip." Nasauda replied.

"Will do Lady Nasauda. Is there anything else that needs my attention?"

"No, that is all Roran, thank you for your time."

Roran nodded before walking out of her tent. It was going to be a long three days........................................

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Author's Notes: Alright! I got in the third chapter, huzzah! I tried a couple new things in this chapter, and I hope you catch them if you read the past two. It was a little shorter than I hoped, but I promise that I will make Chapter 4 EXCEPTIONALLY long, for I will have ALL WEEKEND if I'm not busy playing TF2 or CS:S on Steam ;). Thanks for reading, and be on the lookout for Chapter 4 on Friday or Saturday!

A Special Thanks to the Reviews from: The Shadeslayers, Macsek92, minihouse, beneath the menoa tree, and Amber Hermione. Amber gets a very special thanks for pointint out something that I guess slipped my mind.

More Thanks to the Alertees: rainbowsix, beneath the menoa tree, Julian Blake, AdurnaBrisingr, Connor, kyuubis-child, and Amber Hermoine.

Super Thanks to the Favortee: kyuubis-child.

Uber Thanks to the Motivatees: Leonzor, Amber Hermoine, and Fate(Cody).