AN:

Hey guys!

So, as I said, last chapter… I didn't get to really proof read it so it might not be as good as the others.

Back to reality:

Eragon awoke to the sound of a chirping bird. He opened his eyes and saw the great trees of Du Weldenvarden forest. There was a sound of rustling leaves next to him and he turned his head to see Arya next to him, noting that she was closer to him than when she'd fallen asleep. They had left Carvahall two days ago and they were already a day's flight away from the outskirts of the forest thanks to strong backwinds. It was the first time Eragon didn't wish for back winds for the faster they got there, the less time he had with Arya before he left again.

By the time Arya was awake Eragon had washed in a nearby stream and gathered a breakfast of berries and nuts.

They ate in silence, both knowing what was coming the next day, and then climbed onto their dragons' backs and were off once again.

'Why are you so quiet?' Saphira asked him after a couple of hours.

'You know why' he told her.

'I know why but I don't understand.'

'Well, seeing as we're leaving tomorrow, I'm depressed and don't feel like talking much.'

'Don't you think that this time will be spent better talking with Arya while you two are still together?'

She was right.

'Of course I'm right! You'd think you would have figured that out by now.'

'But how will I talk to her now with all the wind?'

'You're talking to me now, aren't you?'

Smacking himself on the head for being so thick, Eragon reached out slowly to Arya's mind, not wanting to frighten her. Unfortunately he still did and he felt her recoil at the touch and put her walls up before she recognized him and lowered her defenses.

'What is it Eragon?'

'Nothing important, I just wondered if maybe you wanted to talk while we fly.'

'Yes, that would be nice.'

They talked with their minds for the reminder of the day. They talked about nothing of consequence, exchanging stories and experiences, and by the end stopped using words and switched to emotions, images and sounds.

It was the first time Eragon spent this much time in anyone's mind, other than Saphira, and he marveled at the feeling of closeness their temporary connection gave him. Her mind was a musical plane that made all his hurts and sadness go away. If it wasn't for her, he might have gotten lost in the music and magic of her mind.

Eragon was in the process of taking Arya on a tour of the forest surrounding Dras Garjzla when he felt in two parts of his mind a sudden sadness. It took him a while to understand that they were not actually parts of his mind but of Saphira and Firnen, who he was connected to, now, through Arya.

'What is it?' he asked Saphira and drew a bit away from Arya's mind as she asked Firnen.

'I can see where the Forest ends' was all she said and he could feel the sadness in her mind.

Through another part of his mind, the one still connected to Arya's mind, he could feel her spirits plummet. He again turned his full attention to her, knowing that Saphira will have Firnen to comfort her for now.

Arya had a mental diplomat's face but Eragon simply sent her a wave of love and affection and the wall crumbled. She quickly sent him those exact feelings back and they spent their last hour in the air together in a mental embrace.

When they reached the river and landed at its shore they didn't start a fire and they didn't gather food. They simply embraced each other and slowly went to sleep.

Arya awoke before the sun rose the next day. She looked to her side and saw Eragon still asleep next to her. They were very close to each other. Their hands were together at their sides and once again she thought how good their hands fit together and how good it felt to have him engulf her palm with his fingers.

She slowly sat up without waking him up and sat with Eragon at her side and the Edda river in front of her.

Why does he have to go? She asked herself.

You know why, it's for the same reason you have to stay said a voice in her head that reminded her of Firnen.

But still, can't he stay for a little while longer?

Will that make it any easier to say goodbye? Or maybe it would make it even harder.

It still sucks that he has to leave.

Which will only make your next meeting be that more special.

Arya wasn't used to losing an argument, especially against herself.

The sun was rising slowly at her back and Eragon woke up when the first rays of light were bringing a new day with them.

He sat down next to her and put his hand on her leg. She turned to him and smiled and he smiled back. They sat in silence until their dragons woke up and joined them in watching the river and the lands beyond.

"We should be leaving soon. We've been gone for quite some time now and it will take another week get back." Arya heard Eragon trying to hide the sadness in his cracked voice.

"I wish you could stay some more."

"Me too, but we have to get back, there's still a lot of work to be done and we need the city to be ready for when the new riders arrive, which could be very soon."

Thirty minutes passed until Eragon finally managed to get up the courage to leave. He got up and dragged Arya after him. He held her hand as he turned to her.

"Goodbye, Arya Shadeslayer. Atra du evarínya ono varda"

"Goodbye, Eragon Shadeslayer."

He turned on his heels and walked a to Saphira's side.

'Are you going to do this or should I?'

'What…'

'You don't have time for this now, just go and pretend you don't know what I'm talking about later' Firnen said, not even trying to hide his amusement at his rider that, even now, has a hard time admitting what she wants when it comes to the blue rider.

Arya, knowing the truth of his words and seeing Eragon starting to climb up, took a deep breath and started running to him.

"Eragon wait!" she shouted and he stopped with his leg on Saphira's side.

"What is it?" he asked when she reached him.

She put her hands on his chest and kissed him and, after a moment's surprise, he put his hands around her and returned in kind. The kiss was much more passionate than any they've shared in the past. Arya scanned his body with her hands and tried as hard as she could to pull him as close to her as was physically possible, an effort he did his best to help her with. Eragon started to kiss her jaw and slowly make his way to her neck. The heat of his body and the burning touch of his lips on her bare skin made it hard for her to breath and she found herself struggling to draw breath while she held Eragon's head at her neck. After that Eragon moved back up and she kissed him with renewed vigor. Eragon started running his hands up and down her back and she trembled at his touch.

It took the better half of an hour for their kissing to slow down and their breaths to return to normal but they still held onto each other, afraid to let go.

Eragon's face was next to hers and she could feel his warm breath on the back of her head. Suddenly he said her true name and made her whole body tremble at the sound of it. What he said next had a much greater effect on her though.

"I love you" he said in the Ancient Language. Her entire being froze at that moment and her breath caught in her throat. "I always have and always will" he continued and she felt his body suddenly tense, as if he just realized what he'd said.

"Arya I'm s…" but he never finished. She said his true name and stopped the rest of his sentence. "I love you too Eragon" she said. "I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out."

He looked her in the eyes and she found herself lost in his chocolate brown eyes. She kissed him lightly again and then, as much as it made her heart ache, freed herself from his embrace.

"Go. I'll wait for you" she said.

He closed the small distance she put between them and kissed her one last time before he climbed onto Saphira's back and strapped on his legs.

With one last look at Arya and a smile, they were off.

Arya and Firnen had their gazes directed at the pair as they gained altitude on the warm morning air currents and then started to fly east towards their new land. She didn't feel like going back to politics and bickering elves just yet so she sat at the river side for the rest of the day long after they were gone from her sight.

Finally she decided it was time to head back and started walking to Firnen's side. An unusually large and flat stone at her feet caught her attention and she bent down to get it.

It was perfectly flat on one side and was almost half an arm's length long. As she looked at it she got an idea. She recalled the spell and modified it a bit to draw the paint from around her. She put the picture of Eragon on Saphira's back from a few hours ago and allowed it to fill her mind, including every detail of both the dragon and the rider. Firnen, understanding what she was doing, added a few details that she forgot until they were both happy with the image. With a few words in the Ancient Language the image painted itself on the stone. She looked at it with satisfaction and felt Firnen's warm breath behind her as he watched the image over her shoulder.

'I like it. You should keep it' Firnen said and she had to agree. She put the fairth in one of the saddlebags and before long they were in the air.

'That was long you know' Firnen said halfway back to Ellesmera.

'What was?' she asked.

'Your kiss' Firnen said and Arya sensed that he was both giddy and unsure how cooperative she would be. 'It was more than thirty minutes long and I must say that Saphira and I were starting to feel uncomfortable to intrude on your private matters.'

'I guess that says something for a nosy overgrown lizard such as yourself' she said and Firnen, annoyed at the tees and his rider's change of subject turned upside down for a few seconds. Upon returning to flying the right way up he returned the conversation to its original course.

'So why the long kiss?'

'Well, you see' she said as a smile crept to her face at the memory of those happy minutes. 'We won't be seeing each other for some time now; it had to last for at least a decade.'

The End

AN:

So, what did you think about the chapter? And about the story as a whole? Please review and tell me!

It was really nice and challenging to write this story but I'm happy with the final result.

I don't know when I will start working on the next story but, as I already said, it will have some nice action in it and a more noticeable plot. It might take a while because I want to do it right, but I might post some small one-shots while I work on the bigger story.

Until we meet again! Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass!

Cheers!

P.S. anyone looking for a good story might want to look at "A New Future" by unparralleledthinking… I liked it and you might too!