Chapter 7

The elf turned to her side again, checking the saddle bags of her mount for the thousandth time. Reassuring herself, she looked forward towards the large city they were headed to. Realizing that they were still many miles away, Arya lay her head down onto Fïrnen's neck and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts succumb her. Her mind wandered to topics such as how Ellesmera was doing in her absence, with her adviser Lord Dathedr in her stead. Arya began to ponder more political aspects of Ellesmera, the problems they'll encounter in the future, and how to overcome them.

The Riders weighed heavy upon her mind, because with only two eggs in Alagaesia currently, the possibility of two new Dragon Riders was a hot topic everywhere across the land. Dwarves and Urgals had already been ruled out as the new Riders, and Arya and Fïrnen were on their way to deliver the two eggs to Ilirea to allow the humans to have a chance at a dragon hatching for them. Arya sighed to herself, as the thought of the new Riders made her think of Eragon and Saphira. She missed them dearly, more than she allowed anyone to know. The exception was Fïrnen, for he shared as much pain as she.

Arya, do not dwell upon such thoughts. I am sure that we will hear from them soon.

Thank you for shaking me of my thoughts, Fïrnen.

No problem. Of course we now approach Ilirea, and you would've been strayed from your thoughts anyways. Hopefully one of the young ones will hatch. It seems that the entire human population has massed in Ilirea.

Hopefully.

Arya turned yet again to make sure the eggs were still there. Even though she knew that Fïrnen and herself were safe, it was a nervous habit Arya had from the days of ferrying Saphira's egg to and from the Varden. She peered into Fïrnen's saddle bag and looked at the eggs. One was a fairly large egg, about double the size of Fïrnen's. It was a dull gold; it almost seemed to be tinged with brown. The other egg was smaller than both Saphira and Fïrnen's, and was a brilliant white. In the early morning light it seemed to glow.

Would you like to know the gender of the two dragons?

No Fïrnen, I think I shall wait and see for myself. Although, my curiosity may overcome me if the eggs don't hatch for anyone.

If you wish, Little One.

Arya and Fïrnen had arrived in Ilirea a short while later, and were greeted by many people. The day was mostly taken up with meetings hosted by Queen Nasuada, discussing the final details about how the procession was to take place. It was mainly Nasuada and Arya who conversed, with a few nobles chipping in here or there.

Arya heard Fïrnen chuckle in the back of her mind. They seem to be intimidated by you, Arya. He chuckled again, and let out a snort, which scared the wits out of most of the men and women in the room.

After all was discussed and finalized, Arya returned to a room high within the towers of the castle. Nasuada had made sure her room was big enough for Fïrnen to accompany her as well.

Weary from their travels, the pair both rested, carrying on conversations in their minds. A particularly lengthy conversation about the human nobles was interrupted when Arya noticed a ragged paper ship float in the window. It gracefully entered, before flitting across the room to hover a few inches above Arya's face.

She slowly examined the boat, trying to figure out what had happened to it. It appeared to be the same one she had sent Eragon, except that it looked as if Saphira had sat on it. The note from Eragon was loosely tied on, looking as though it was about to fall off any second.

It looks like my boat has had a rough trip, Arya thought to herself, but the moment passed, and the excitement of a reply overwhelmed her thoughts.

Quickly, she untied the note and read it over.

Arya,
I believe that was a wise decision. I shall send more eggs soon,
and hopefully one of those will find one of the dwarves or
Urgals a suitable Rider. Our island is magnificent, it serves our
purpose perfectly. We have named it Dras-abr Moi. Tomorrow
Saphira and I plan on choosing which eggs Saphira is going
to nest first. Our hopes are that we can start rebuilding the
race of dragons and the Dragon Riders as soon as possible.
Also, if either of the eggs hatches, please notify me. Scrying me
will trigger the necklace I have from the dwarves, and I shall
go to the mirror in my room to talk to you. I've enclosed a map
showing you our approximate location, just in case.

Saphira says she misses Fïrnen too.

Your companionship is missed here as well. I'm not as close
with many of the elves here, and such a bond is sorely missed.
Hopefully we will see each other soon.

Give my best wishes to everyone;

Eragon

Arya read over the letter, then playfully walked over to Fïrnen and smacked him on the neck.

Fïrnen get up!

He lazily opened an eye, his voice rumbling. What would you like, Arya? I was just drifting off to sleep.

We've got some mail, you over-grown lizard.

Fïrnen's head arose off the floor a little, and Arya felt a sense of joy rush through their mental link.

Well, what did they say?

Arya read the letter to Fïrnen, and for the rest of the night they discussed the reply from Eragon and his dragon. Drifting off to sleep, Arya slipped into her dreams with thoughts of Eragon bouncing around in her mind.

Le gasp! A chapter from Arya's POV! This was originally going to be a super long chapter, but I've decided to break it up. Hopefully I'll have it up later tonight or tomorrow. It's turning out to be my favourite chapter yet :) Also, thanks for all the reviews guys :) It makes my day when I kinda obsessively stalk my inbox and find review alerts in my inbox ^^ Also to lapsuke, your review made my day. Thought I'd add that in here. Keep reviewing guys! :)