Okay, so technically you all shouldn't be getting an update yet. However, I'm stuck on my Digimon story (it isn't exactly motivating when hardly no one reviews it) and Amy is yelling in my head to address the current problem and prove to xlilypadsx that Amy is not a Mary Sue. She won out, and I'm working on what is the last chapter of Jadia's life as a hatchling. Yes, I'm time skipping, about six months. Paloni did it, I can do it too.
Disclaimer: I own a website now! It's my homepage on my profile! However, that's about it. Paloni has all rights, I don't, no copyright infringement intended, blah blah blah.
Walking into the room, Eragon wasn't surprised to see the youngest Rider curled up around her dragon, the two of them even breathing in sync. Behind him, Oromis was waiting patiently for him to stop blocking the doorway. The dusky blonde-haired man did exactly that, letting in both Oromis and Arya. Rather than stay standing, the elven woman moved to sit on the edge of the bed, brushing Amy's bang away from her forehead gently. "She isn't warm to the touch, anymore," she whispered softly, her voice easily carrying to the two men. "The slight fever is gone… Oromis, you know more of healing than I. Is such a minor fever normal with memories?"
"Sometimes our bodies cannot deal with our mental trauma, so they fight it as they would an illness," he said, moving to stand beside Amy's bed. "She has seen much in her time, though I am unsure as to what Vanir saw. Who that man was, what exactly he was doing… Only Amy knows the answers to that, and we must not press her to talk about it. To do so could only make the damage worse, and she may say nothing anyway."
"That's right…" Both elves and the one Rider jumped when they heard Amy speak. She sat up, scooting slightly so that her back was pressed against the headboard. Waking briefly herself, Jadia moved to where she was in her Rider's lap before curling up and going back to sleep without so much as a grumble. Absently, Amy rested her hand on the green dragon's head. She sighed softly and said, "I know what Vanir saw, and I'm sorry. It… The fear grabs me sometimes when I least expect it. Honestly, I've gotten better. I used to be much jumpier, believe it or not." Closing her eyes, she continued quietly, "It's over and it is never going to happen again. I want to just forget it. Talking about it won't do that."
Before Eragon or Arya could protest, Oromis said, "If that is how you feel, we will leave it be." To appease the couple, he added, "However, should you want to talk, feel free to do so. No one here will judge you." Nodding at his two students and his future queen, he left the room quietly.
"You're training starts this afternoon," Eragon finally broke the tense silence. "Oromis found you teachers in swordsmanship and archery."
"Joy," she said dryly, though obviously not arguing. When it became clear she was done talking, the two left dragon and Rider together so that Amy could begin to get ready for the day. The teenage girl was obviously ashamed and emotionally exhausted from what had happened with Vanir.
That afternoon at the practice grounds, Amy stood awkwardly at the edges, Jadia poking her head out of the shoulder bag she was carried in. Out of her nightgown, she had pulled on a pair of white tights and brown boots, dressed also in a white shirt with a deep violet lady's tunic over it. Rather than leave her hair loose, she had braided it and twined the braid around her head the old-fashioned way, pinning it into place. Only her bangs fell loose from it. With no weapon of her own, she came unarmed and could practically feel people staring at her. Amy tried not to let it bother her, but she wanted to snap at them like she had snapped at Eragon when they first met.
"You must be Amy Archer, the new Rider," a feminine voice spoke up from behind her. Turning around, Amy felt her self-consciousness raise up another level. Every brunette she had ever talked to all confessed the same thing: blondes always made their self-esteem drop. Lo and behold, the person addressing her was a blonde, albeit a slightly strawberry blonde, with wide blue eyes set in classic features for her race. Her skin was tan as opposed to Amy's porcelain, and she had far more of a figure than the teenage girl.
Please don't be my teacher, please don't be my teacher… she mentally pleaded.
"I will be your teacher in swordplay," the female elf said despite Amy's hopes to the contrary. "Oromis says you have no experience with blades?"
"Not with anything larger than a kitchen blade," the human girl admitted with a shrug. Jadia made a noise in her throat, and Amy added, "I had to bring Jadia with me. She freaked out yesterday, apparently, and her protective instincts kicked in. Saphira promised to check in here in a few hours to make sure she was alright and to see if she wants to leave."
"The little one is welcome as long as she likes," the elf maiden said with a gentle smile at the hatchling. "Now, set her down under that tree, and we'll begin." Her tone had turned brisk the moment she addressed the Rider rather than the dragon. Amy scowled at her in response, disliking being bossed around. She stood still and crossed her arms over her chest, quirking a brow at her new teacher. "Well? What are you waiting for?" the elf in question demanded.
Amy shrugged and said coolly, "A name for you would be nice before you start bossing me around like I'm beneath you in station or something. Though, if I remember right, a Rider technically has both more ranking and yet no more political voice than anyone except for the rulers of each country."
A frown tugged at the elf's mouth, but she said calmly, "An intellect, are you? Hm. Very well. My name is Kathrina. I would tell you my House, but I have a feeling you are unfamiliar with elven heritage."
"My knowledge is limited to the current ruling House, I'll admit," the human girl said with a shrug. "Perhaps it will be one of my lessons while we wait for Jadia to grow up a little." She knew mentioning that Jadia hatched for her was a hard blow to this elf, seeing as Kathrina looked to be the age that the eggs were offered to the elves. Her being female as well only added to the burn. Rather than risk one of their tempers exploding, she turned and set her bag under the tree, Jadia chirping at her encouragingly. When she turned around, she found that the elf had brought forth a pair of swords.
The two swords were complete opposites. One was obviously heavier than the other, the blade pure steel even as the hilt was gilded in gold, a ruby set in the center as brown leather wove over the handhold. Its twin was lighter, made for easier movement. There was no gilding, leaving the blade almost silver-looking in appearance. Much like the other, brown leather formed the handhold and a stone was set in the center, this one a gleaming emerald. While Amy was taking this in, she saw that Kathrina had her left hand loosely wrapped around the hilt of the gold sword, even as her other hand was wrapped around the dull base of the silver blade.
"Why do I have a feeling this is going to end with me covered in bruises?" she grumbled in annoyance, though she took the silver sword's hilt as Kathrina handed it to her. Backing away from her teacher, Amy watched the blonde woman swing her sword around as she prepared to… do something. The human girl had very, very limited experience in swordplay, and was already feeling overwhelmed. Her grip on her sword was loose as she waited to see how she would need to move. Amy saw Kathrina raise her blade and take a step inward, so she raised her sword to block the attack, though it wavered unsteadily from her lack of strength.
The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back, gasping for air.
"Too slow, Lady Rider," the elf taunted, her voice falsely sweet just like the smile on her face. Kathrina watched in obvious amusement as her student struggled back on to her feet. The teenage girl obviously had some sort of balance problem. It had been all too easy for her to knock the skinny little thing off her feet. Watching the brunette stand, she couldn't understand what the green dragon saw in her, besides her stubborn nature. Amy had picked up her sword and was watching her elf teacher again, this time her green eyes much sharper.
The training session continued on in this manner for the rest of the afternoon. Amy couldn't stay standing long, whether because of her already uneasy balance made worse by the extra weight of the blade or an attack from Kathrina. In one way, she was right. By the end of their first "training session," Amy's entire body was sore and most likely all of her limbs would have bruises in a few hours, not to mention the scrapes on her left knee and both her elbows from her falls. Only when the sun was beneath the treetops did the strawberry blonde elf finally call their time together to an end.
Standing slowly, Amy didn't comment when the other immortal looked down at her smugly. She was trying too hard not to sharpen her tongue on the other female. Most likely sensing her Rider's turbulent emotions, Jadia called out with a soothing croon. True to her word, Saphira had stopped by to check on the littlest dragon. The blue female had noticed how thoroughly Amy was getting beaten, but didn't dare comment once Amy gave her a look that could burn the largest glacier. Instead, she brought a fresh kill for Jadia, while eyeing the newborn's current physical health. Having caught Eragon checking Saphira's scales the day before and rubbing oil over the rough patches, Amy had done the same to Jadia. The silvery green scales were more prone to rough patches than Saphira's bright blue it seemed to Amy, though the girl hadn't complained. What the newest Rider didn't know was that was natural with dragons until they were a few months old and they were no longer experiencing huge growth spurts. As it was now, the older female dragon was satisfied with Jadia's health and expected to begin teaching the dracling to hunt in the next few days as her first rapid growth hit.
Now, however, Jadia was watching her Rider with loving, patient eyes as the girl limped over to the leather pack she was in. While eager to run and fly, she knew that she was too young still to be left alone, and she didn't want to be away from her chosen for very long anyway. Both dragon and Rider were physically lacking as far as strength was concerned, but had cleverness and intelligent to replace it. What her Rider lacked in balance and physical grace, she made up for in her ability to read and handle people, telling them exactly what they wanted to hear to get her way. Amy had proven that when she had acted exactly as Oromis had expected her to that morning, playing a victim trying to forget her past and move on with her life. What the little dragon wouldn't have in physical intimidation like the other dragons would be her speed and her own determination, she was sure of it. Even as Jadia was thinking, her Rider was doing the same as she picked up the leather pack and brought it over her shoulder.
Alagaesia was used to Eragon and Saphira and Murtagh and Thorn. Eragon held ties to all the races, through his adoption by the dwarves, his oath to one human queen and the fact that he was human, and his learning coming from the elves even as his wife was set to become the next queen. Amy mused the facts as she began to walk to her new quarters, set in a tree near enough to both the other Rider's elven homes. Murtagh was not trusted by any after his previous attachment to the fallen emperor, and Thorn would be the same by association. The blue pair was capable of both great magic and great physical feats, while Murtagh's magic would have been limited because of oaths she assumed he would have to swear from using dark magic, leaving him to be the almost completely physical side of their square of Riders. Oromis couldn't do either serious physical activity or magic, but he held centuries of wisdom and knowledge, many of which was lore and abilities of the Riders. He was also heavily aligned to the elves. That left her, Amy, a human girl who was at the edge of adulthood, and Jadia, a newly hatched dragon that was on the small side. Her skills mostly included strategy, and perhaps some sort of magic when it appeared, and it could be assumed that Jadia would have similar skills as her Rider. So far, neither Amy nor Jadia had any true allegiance to any race. Together, the four were ideal. They were balanced in every sense. In time, Oromis would evenly pass his knowledge to his three students and release himself from his pain left by the injuries he received long ago.
As she thought, Amy had made her way up to her room. Setting Jadia down on the bed, she laid out a nightgown and unpinned her hair. The chocolate-toned curls were relieved to be free of the pins and braid, falling in a heavy cascade down her back. She undressed and, after learning the mechanics of the odd shower, hopped into the slightly too warm water. Instantly, the pounding of the water helped ease the stressed and knotted muscles of her back. Sighing in relief, Amy took her time getting clean of the large amount of dirt her sparing with Kathrina had covered her in. The young girl hissed as she cleaned the scrapes on her abused joints, pain and bruises forming underneath and around the flesh wounds making her grit her teeth. Only when she had rubbed off at least three layers of skin, or at least it felt that way, did she come out, wrapping her hair up in a towel like a turban and another around her body.
Once her body was gingerly dried, the female Rider found her old nylon bag from when she first came here. Inside was her precious laptop, which she refused to use till she figured out a way to keep it charged, a normal notebook, a binder full of both blank and written on sheet music, multiple pens, mechanical pencils, and highlighters, a case of lead for her pencils, a pair of scissors, a roll of clear tape, an eraser, and, of course for a klutz like her, a mini first aid kit. It wasn't much: a handful of adhesive waterproof bandages in various sizes, a couple of large gauze pads, a roll of gauze, medical tape, a tube of antibiotic ointment, and a mini-bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Amy took out the peroxide first, using it to carefully disinfect the scrapes before she smeared antibiotic on it. Only when she had finished self-doctoring herself did she pull on her nightgown and comb out her hair. She knew it was rude, but she skipped dinner with the others.
That night, as she lay with Jadia snuggled close to her, Amy marveled at how her life had changed in only a couple of weeks. Briefly, she worried over what the next few months would be like.
Wee! Review! And as a note, you really can stick that much stuff into a nylon bag/purse. I do it all the time, though I usually have a bottle of water also stored in mine. However, it has to be a good nylon bag. Both my brown and green and black and gray bags are Columbia, meaning they are waterproof, durable, and hold a whole lot of crap. Next chapter, we skip a couple of months and Murtagh finally returns! More reviews, the more Amy figuratively yells at me to write an update. I've kinda decided to focus on this story. I want to finish it before Brisingr comes out. (shrugs)
As a weird note, there is a poll on my profile. I would appreciate it if you all voted in it.