Chapter 3

Ellesmera, the capital of the most powerful and ancient race in Alagaesia, stood outside the flow of time. It had not changed in nearly two millennia, save for some minor addition of living quarters and such. Certainly nothing had changed since Eragon had last walked under its' trees and along its' paths.

Life remained the same, for the most part, as it had since the Riders of old had flown above it. Despite the fact that elves could roam the land freely once more, humanity rarely saw one. In fact Arya was one of the few elves who still left the shade of its' trees. And that was only to fulfil her queenly duties. She had no reason to leave except for the occasional meeting of the land's monarchs. The outside world had little of offer her ever since her dearest friend had sailed to lands unknown.

Eragon. She often thought of him, though they rarely spoke. In fact the number of times they had held conversation with one another over the last three centuries, that was not related to politics or business, could be counted on her hands. It was partly her fault. Too busy with council meetings, training new riders, or dealing with ambassadors. Arya missed him though. One of two people to truly see her. And just her. Not the princess. Not the elven ambassador. And certainly not the queen.

He had written her letters though. Sent on little grass boats. She enjoyed seeing those messengers sail gracefully along the air currents and into her hands. It was somewhat of a private joke between the two riders. This was when they could be personal with each other. This was when they could be what they really were to one another. Friends. Best of friends. Though Arya had long since known they would be nothing more. She did not deceive herself by saying she never had feelings for him. She had. Strong ones at that. But time has a way of diminishing all it touches. And, without the constant presence, those feelings had waned. The only consolation she had was that he had admitted in one of the grassboat letters, some eighty years ago, that he no longer felt the same way about her.

Arya had been relieved. She knew how much he had once loved her, but without any reciprocating feelings, that he was aware of anyway, his feelings had faded with time as well. Arya turned her thoughts to the last few decades.

Nothing of great importance had happened. Eraden Stronghammer had taken the throne as the 8th ruler of the Empire nearly two decades ago. For Roran's great grandchild had married into the royal family, thus merging the two great houses. But other than that, the land had been quit. And at peace. The Urgals had greatly benefited from being brought into the Rider pact. They had become more civilized and mellowed out as a race. Though certainly not by much. Though it was enough to keep the peace.

Perhaps it was time for her to take up Eragon's offer of visiting. Her people could do without her for a few months.

"I agree, it is time for a break. I'm tired of being cooped up in the damnable forest," Firnen interjected into her thoughts.

"I'm inclined to agree with you," Arya replied. "Perhaps it is time for us to visit the home of our order."

Her dragon merely snorted.

Arya stood up suddenly, her mind made up.

"Firnen, we're leaving. By tomorrow at the latest we will be on our way to Eragon's home."

Firnen let out a joyful roar, startling several poor elves who were reading quietly next to him.

Arya smiled at his happiness. To long had he been kept away from his mate, Saphira. And to long had she not seen her best friend.

Eragon dodge yet another sword thrust, his body twisting and turning as graceful and fluid as air. He allowed himself a smirk at his opponent's obvious frustration.

"Come Yaela, you seem slower this morning. Are you feeling well?" he taunted.

A scowl appeared on her beautiful face. "Stop running and fight!" she shot back.

Eragon grinned. She had asked for it. He struck out with Brisingr, startling Yaela, who had not expected him to actually respond to her taunt. As such, she barely blocked his swing with her own sword. Blue met gold in a shower of sparks and the ring of steel as the two swordsmen exchanged blows.

Despite everything she tried, Yaela was on the defensive and could not get a single counter attack in. Eragon was considered a master of the blade at the tender age of fifteen. Now, over three hundred years later, his skills had not diminished. If anything they had improved to the point that he was, quite possibly, the greatest swordsman in history. And as such, she could not hope to last long against him, despite being nearly four centuries his senior.

With a twist of his sword that Yaela couldn't even see, Eragon disarmed her. She felt the cool metal of his magnificent sword rest its' tip on her collarbone.

"Dead." He said.

She scowled. "I do not understand it, Eragon-elda. I have sparred with you for over two hundred years and yet the number of times I have bested you can be counted upon one of my hands.

The lead rider shrugged. "I do not know what to tell you, Yaela. You are a very talented swordsman. One of the most formidable I have ever faced, but I do not know how to improve our skill. You are doing nothing wrong as far as I can tell," Eragon said, trying to placate her.

It was strange to him, how much she had changed since her dragon hatched for her. Where she used to be quiet and reserved, now she was open and boisterous. It amazed him what a dragon could do for one's personality. He had to say that he liked this Yaela much better than the old one though. They got along rather well. Often taking meals together and having good conversation. Or sitting at the cliffs, enjoying nature and watching their dragons dive into the ocean and play about in the water.

The two riders unblocked their blades and began to clean up the arena.

"I keep telling you that she would make a good mate, little-one," Saphira thought to him.

Eragon's face turned slightly red at his dragon's statement. "Enough of that, we've already talked about this, Saphira. She is a good friend and companion. Nothing more."

The blue dragon snorted in disbelief, but dropped the subject for the moment.

Eragon found himself watching Yaela as she moved about, picking up various weapons and returning them to their respective places. She moved with a gentle grace that belied her strength. Back in Ellesmera, she was regarded as one of the great beauties of the elves and Eragon did not disagree. He had found himself glancing her way more and more ever since he had told Arya his desire for her as something more than a friend had vanished.

He watched as the elf-maiden looked up at something in the sky, her hair framing her face and the sun's dying light falling gently on her face. Breathtaking, he thought. Eragon caught himself staring again and quickly shook himself as he resumed his cleanup. She did not think of him as anything more than a friend, and he was not going to do anything to ruin their current relationship. He had made that mistake with Arya, and it had nearly cost him their friendship. No, he would content himself with remaining her companion.

Author's Note:

Hello again everyone. Sorry for the wait. I wanted to show a little of what had happened in Alagaesia since Eragon and Saphira left. A very little bit, as it turned out. You will find out more of what happened later, but it's probably not much different than what you'd expect to happen.

About the Eragon x Yaela. As you can see, I'm not starting them off in a relationship. They are friends and have been for a long time. Eragon is fearful of taking the next step and telling her he's interest because of what happened with him and Arya all those years ago at the Agaeti Blodhren.

In case some of you guys ask, I'm not currently planning on putting Arya with anyone. For two reasons mainly. First off, I don't know of anyone besides Eragon that she could feasibly end up with while staying in character. Secondly, I'm not confident in my ability to both create a believable OC for her nor in my knowledge of her as a character. Paolini really didn't flesh her out as much as he could have. She had the potential to be an amazing character, but ended up mainly as "Eragon's love interest".

Which is sad, because I've read plenty of Eragon x Arya fanfics where she had been fleshed out rather well. They have a believable romance. One that honestly is not all that difficult to write. Not easy, but not too difficult.

As for ExY, I'm rather nervous as to how good of a job I'll do. I'm a big fan of Eragon and Arya getting together, but decided I wanted to do something different for my story.

Anyway, tell me what you think of this paring in your review. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated and asked for. And if any of you know of any good Eragon x Anyone-but-Arya stories, please let me know as I have a hard time finding them.

Hope you enjoyed it, and as always,

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