To say the least Eragon's and Saphira's first full day in Ellesméra had been an interesting one, even though it began solely with walking and talking.

After Arya and Fírnen had left them at the edge of the city they had continued to wander on their own, meandering along the various gardens and houses of the elves and talking with the citizens of Ellesméra here and there. They couldn't say they had learned much from these talks as the elves kept their issues as usual among themselves and were avoiding straight answers to even his most common and polite questions.

"If you can be sure of one thing on this earth", Saphira had commented on this, "Then it is that the elves will never change their ways, even if this world were to shatter to the ground and the night to become the day."

And though Eragon was of the opinion that every creature and every matter in the living world was to change if pressure and time were gnawing on it for only long enough, he had somehow felt like agreeing with her.

In the end his own observations had sated his curiosity better than the numerous hints and half-truths he had heard, for the atmosphere in the forest had changed compared to what he remembered from before the end of the war.

The city of the elves - and their inhabitants for that matter - had always felt peaceful and pleasant to him in contrast to the hectic throng he was used to in larger human cities, but now an even deeper quiet and serenity seemed to dwell within every blade of grass and every flower which grew everlasting in its bed. And what confirmed him in this intuition even more were the surprisingly often encounters with elven children.

"Apparently the elves have finally recovered from the downfall Galbatorix and the Forsworn had inflicted upon them", thought Eragon on that matter.

His curiosity and concern as well now further ignited he asked for a dialogue with Arya's householder, as Arya herself was obviously otherwise occupied. The elven woman called Rigantona gladly accepted his demand and he spend the remainder of the afternoon with her, learning from her about elven society and current inner affairs, at least as far as she wanted – or was allowed – to tell him.

What he heard there only strengthened the healthy impression he had gained during his and Saphira's excursion, for the unity of the elven nation seemed steadfast and strong, except of smaller disagreements and that at mostly outer affairs; their birth rate was increasing just as the number and proficiency of their spellcasters.

He still dwelled on this topic as he was sailing with Saphira high above the top of the trees a few hours before the sun was finally going to set.

"Glaedr said once that the elves lost some of their power after the Fall. Now magic is coming back to them - ", Saphira said while gliding softly through the air, " - now that there are more dragons in the world again, now that the balance between our races is secured again."

"Yes, it seems so. They are flourishing. And I am quite sure the Queen had her share in this, too".

Saphira's laughter rang though his mind.

"Of course you would think like that, what else would you expect?"

Eragon smiled at his dragon's playfulness – and maybe at his own folly too.

"Come on, spare me. Where are they by the way? It's getting late."

"Hmpf", Saphira snorted, "I don't know. I hate it when students are late for lessons... Such impertinence..."

"Usually I would agree, yet these are no ordinary students of us. They are not really students at all...", buthe felt mirth bubbling up in his guts as he remembered what Orik had once said about elves and punctuality.

"I know. I am just joking", Saphira returned in good humour, "But look, I think they are on their way."

His gaze followed the turn of her head to their right. There it met the green shape of Fírnen who was approaching them swiftly with Arya sitting in the saddle strapped on his back. Her long midnight locks billowed behind her, shining in the soft light of late afternoon as brilliantly as Fírnen's scales. For Eragon it was hard to tell which one of the two looked more magnificent. He marvelled at the sight of both of them, but couldn't help to appreciate especially the opportunity to see Arya again. She looked so wild and free as she rode her dragon, adapting his movements with an easy grace all of her own. Now he couldn't see any trace of the stiffness and coldness of elven courtesy in her, only the gracious fierceness all dragons – and by that their Riders - possessed. She never lost the regality and elegance however that seemed to be as much a part of her nature as her pointed ears and slanted eyes were on the outside. It impressed him that so many things good and true could be embodied in just one person.

His contemplation however was broken as both dragons gave a deafening bellow at the sight of the other. Eragon was sure all of Ellesméra was able to hear their salutations and sure enough he could see some upturned faces where the branches were shallow enough to let him see to the ground beneath them.

But he looked back up swiftly and raised his arm high in the air as the other pair got ever closer. Arya returned his gesture and even from the distance that still separated them he could see the smile she wore on her face.

"Her day's negotiations must have gone well, she seems to be in good humour", Saphira commented to him, "And you truly didn't separate in good humour this morning."

"No, not really."

"Well, she seems forgiving now. I will pull through what I intend to do, what about you?"

Eragon took a deep breath. He couldn't allow himself to take this easy or to lapse his concentration for even a single moment. The next hours would decide about things that were very important for him.

"Yes, I think I will. You will be occupied with Fírnen for a while, won't you?"

"I can occupy myself with him as long as you want", she turned her head towards him while saying this and blinked cheekily with her shimmering eye. Eragon raised his eyebrows at the glee he felt emanating from her.

"It won't take that long", he started, but then furrowed his brow, "Oh well, at least I think so. Depends on how she will react..."

"We all have a lot to talk about. But I am sure you will be fine. Just don't overdo things, Eragon. I understand that you want to come to solid ground with her, but don't ask to much of her at once – or of yourself for that matter. Everything will fall into place when the time is right for it to happen."

"I know, Saphira", he watched Fírnen and Arya; they would be at their sides just in seconds, "I know. Things like that cannot be forced. But I can't stand this any longer – I refuse to stand this any longer. There was so much between us... And I am determined to believe that it can be like that again.

And I have only limited time left to talk to her; the Agaetí Blödhren approaches quickly and soon we will leave these lands behind again for who knows how long – or forever. I have to talk to her now. I refuse to let this be the end of us... But hush, they are here."

For at this moment Fírnen arrived beside them and directed his course to float alongside Saphira.

"Greetings, Rider!", shouted Eragon from Saphira's back.

"Greetings as well, Master!", Arya replied eagerly, but underneath her outer behaviour he could see deep thoughts or memories dwell in the depths of her eyes. Maybe the sight of him riding Saphira, something she hadn't seen since the war, maybe it had led her thoughts back to a time that was forgotten for a long time – just like he had felt as he had led eyes on Alagaësia again for the first time. Yet her gaze shifted after the time of a heartbeat and got businesslike again.

"We should fly a bit further, follow me!", the Queen suggested and Fírnen took the lead. Saphira followed the other dragon as he crossed the borders of Ellesméra and flew ever onward, leading them to parts of the forest where hardly any elf was living. Eragon was glad about that, he was far from wanting to disturb the peace and quiet of the city.

It wasn't easy for him to see the tiny differences in their surroundings Arya and Fírnen were led by, but he had confidence in their knowledge of the forest and so accepted their decision as they chose what they deemed the right place for their trial without questioning it. Fírnen drew a quick circle around the place to make sure they were in an appropriate area while Eragon and Saphira looked around the place. They were at the edge of a rise in the forest ground in whose front was a small depression but in general the land here was slightly heightened in comparison to the level of the capital.

"We think it is appropriate", Fírnen voice rang through their minds as he approached them once again. The dragons began to circle each other as their Riders locked their gazes and Eragon gave Arya a questioning dip of his head.

"So be it?"

Arya gave a nod in return yet a much more resolute one.

"So be it!"

And Saphira took that as a prompt to start their match. She rose swiftly higher in the air, turning into Fírnen's direction with the same movement and shot down straight towards him with a ferocious roar, powerful, like a spear thrown by a Kull.

Fírnen anticipated this obvious move of hers however and let himself fall backwards to lash his tail at Saphira as she darted down at him. But Saphira dodged his strike, describing a small circle around him by twisting her agile body around her axes twice so that she could bow her long neck towards Fírnen to snap at him. He had just rightened himself after his backflip and could only just escape Saphira's fangs as she tried to bury them in the ridge of his neck.

They carried on in that manner, both dragons attacking and defending themselves as intensive as in a fight of live and death. Both of them had to endure small bites, scratches and bruises caused by sharp sabres and claws, however refrained from wounding the other severely.

"He is doing well", Eragon voiced his own observations after a particular fierce exchange of blows.

"He could do better", answered Saphira short-spoken and lunged at the other dragon once again, increasing the complexity of her attacks and forcing him to react likewise.

As their match continued it became clear to Eragon that Fírnen didn't lack any major skills or techniques, he fought well enough against Saphira who was of course by far the more experienced fighter of the two. Yet he couldn't match her flexibility in the air, nor the creativity she possessed in planning her moves.

"Let him be", Eragon told his dragon some long minutes later, "We've seen enough."

"Alright", she replied and drew back from Fírnen after fending off an attempted blow from his foreleg.

The two dragons paused motionless in the air for a heartbeat while Fírnen watched Saphira suspiciously, waiting for her next move. But Eragon lifted his hand to get both his and Arya's attention and gesticulated them to fly to the top of the knoll. The trees stood there shallow enough for the dragons to land.

Half a minute later Saphira and Fírnen were folding their wings as their Riders descended from their backs at the edge of the rise, both of them slightly out of breath. They regained their strength quickly though as they bathed in the soft streams of light emitted from a descending sun. No one spoke a word for another minute as they watched the warm light engulfing everything around them, the trees, the grass beneath their feet, the clouds in the sky.

After yet another minute and a short consultation with Saphira Eragon took a few measured steps towards Fírnen who jerked his head in his direction as he saw Eragon approaching. Saphira and Arya remained where they stood, yet granted the other two their undivided attention.

"We came to the conclusion that you fought reasonably well, dragon", Eragon spoke out aloud to Fírnen as it would be impolite to touch his mind without his permission, "Yet your balance in the air has room for improvement as well as the finesse of your attacks and defence."

"You were fighting all your life with only very young dragons", Saphira amended his statement, "It is obvious you never had to compete with a skilful fighter."

"We should do away with that if possible. Saphira will try to refine your skills in fighting and some other areas in the short time of our stay here", Eragon went on and even though he had to lift his head slightly to look into Fírnen's eyes while speaking he somehow wasn't looking small at all. Authority rang in his voice and his body language and it made the slightly younger dragon listen to him respectfully, "But we want you to know that you were coping Saphira well considering that you – fortunately – never had to kill or fight for your life hitherto."

After Eragon ended his speech Fírnen lowered his head so that his eyes were level with Eragon's.

"I am honoured by your commendations", he spoke with his deep, rich voice, looking at Saphira too, "And I will do my best to learn quickly, Ebrithilar."

"I am sure you will", Saphira answered for them, then sealed her mind off from everyone but Eragon,

"Is there anything else, little one?"

Eragon shook his head once.

"No. Go. Tell him what you have to tell him. I shall wait here with Arya and have a talk myself."

Despite his try to sound casual Saphira could feel his apprehension, the foreboding he felt rising within himself. She nudged his shoulder with her considerable larger snout and rested it there for a moment.

"It will all be fine, Eragon. You just have to believe it. Believe that she wants the same as you do."

"Does she?", he asked back and caressed her jaw shortly.

"But of course. Why do you think we are here?"

With that she turned away from him, partly shutting her mind from him in the process too, and contacted Fírnen instead. Eragon was slightly taken aback by what she had said as his thoughts had never wandered in the direction she had just hinted at. He had never thought much beyond the words Arya had written in her letter, why not he could not say.

Still a little dazed he watched the two dragons communicating briefly before stepping side by side to the steep and taking wing a moment later, synchronously, rising higher and higher into the sky. Even from far beyond he could still see them for the strange mix of colours the light of sunset forced upon their shining hues.

He was gazing after them for another moment, partly enjoying the sight of the two dragons, partly steeling himself for what laid ahead of him, and felt more than heard Arya step beside him. Her eyes were on him, that he knew for sure, and so he turned his face towards her to finally meet them.

He was surprised momentarily to see a frown of confusion or puzzlement upon her face. But then he considered the abrupt departure of the dragons and wondered what Fírnen had been told by Saphira as a reason for it.

"They will take a while, I dare say", he told her, doing his best to sound nonchalant, "We can just as well make us comfortable while waiting for them to return, or what do you say?"

He didn't wait for her answer though, but walked up to a place where the grass was green and soft and sat down with his legs crossed. Trying not to pressure her or making her feel uncomfortable in any way he kept his eyes firmly on the view of the forest at the foot of the knoll and beyond as she was coming after him. A tingle rose up his spine as he saw her sitting down beside him out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head finally to look at her and found her eyes already searching for his. She wore a calm and open expression and her eyes were warm. He took a lot of courage out of that sight and smiled slightly. The silence between them stretched for another couple of seconds till Arya finally broke it.

"So you think Fírnen needs some... refinement? What is it you want to teach him?", she asked him casually but with real interest in her eyes. However he still thought that she was rather posing the question to start up a conversation.

"It's only about subtleties, Arya, really. You don't need to worry that you had missed something or did something wrong about his development, he is a dragon as healthy and fit as anyone could wish for and many of our dragons, young or old, would certainly fail in a combat against him."

Arya nodded at that as though she had already known it, yet seemed relieved anyway.

"Another issue however...", Eragon started but faltered shortly as Arya creased her brow, "Well, he is in a way in the same situation Saphira was before she met Glaedr. As he had only met with younger and so even more inexperienced dragons since we left Alagaësia he has never been told about certain things..."

"What things?", Arya asked sharply, "What do you mean?"

Eragon sensed her agitation and so tried to choose his words with more care.

"There are some things the dragons are not talking to us about; stories and facts that they share solely among themselves and with no other race, not even with their Riders, which is why I cannot tell you exactly what we are talking about.

Yet Saphira told me today that while she was talking to Fírnen yesterday she gave a comment that referred to some of these stories or so – and Fírnen didn't have a clue what she was talking about. She was surprised by his ignorance and so asked him further about other things like that and learned then quickly that he didn't know about anything of this or just very fragmentary."

He paused for a second to gather his thoughts while Arya still listened intently with slight worry on her face.

"Glaedr said once to Saphira that she only knew about her people what her instincts told her and nothing more", Eragon continued, "Of course you have shared everything with him you know and that is why he is far better off than Saphira was with me and my... absence of any knowledge to that time, but still I think the two cases are comparable. Or what do you think on that matter?"

"What shall I say about that, Eragon? Only Saphira knows the true answer or the depth of that problem, yet I think it is nothing we should underestimate. He shouldn't stay ignorant of things like that. If Saphira is right about what she told you, then he had been without that knowledge for far longer than any dragon should be... How do we help that?"

"It's easy enough", Eragon answered her with a reassuring smile, "Saphira will tell and show him everything she can in the time of our stay here. But as I don't know the extent of knowledge we are talking about I cannot tell you whether she will have time enough for all of it... I will talk to her again about that, don't worry. We will find a solution."

Arya nodded slowly yet turned her face away to stare into the distance, her thoughts just as far away. Eragon didn't take his eyes off of her however and studied her in this few moments to an extent he hadn't been able to yet since he never had been this close to her this past two days.

She was sitting beside him with her arms resting on her angled knees and her long black locks falling around her shoulders and back. She wore a fine yet casual tunic of crimson-dyed Lámarae and even though he was not used to so much and intensive colour in her clothing, as he had mostly ever seen her wearing armour or her leather outfit, he thought that the colour looked appealing and noble on her. What he had already noticed before – and with wonderment - was that she was wearing again a leather band to hold back her hair as she always had done during the war. He could only deem that she found it more appropriate for training than the tiara.

The wavy strands of her hair were shining in the warm light of the sun, forming a contrast to her light, smooth skin and the soft shadows underneath her high cheekbones. Above them he could see every single one of her long eyelashes with his keen eyes. Even such a simple thing as a blink of her eye was a graceful motion when she did it.

All things considered, Eragon thought to himself, some things simply never change. Not even a single, little bit.

She was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in this world.

And it made him gather all his courage.

"Arya."

She turned the moment he spoke her name and looked at him with slightly widened eyes. He had heard himself how breathy his voice had been.

"Yes?"

"I would like to talk to you."

He knew this wasn't the most ingenious way to approach her and he hoped dearly she wouldn't jump at the opportunity for a witty remark.

"About what?"

Apparently she didn't.

He felt relieved for a moment, but was sobered quickly as he tried to shape what he had to say next.

"About many things... And some of them quite delicate. I will only proceed if you feel up to it however. You are invited to stop me any time you think I am going too far. Is this alright with you?"

"Go on", came her outright reply, yet her voice showed a reluctance which Eragon quickly decided to ignore.

"First of all... I wanted to apologize. I really behaved impossibly this morning and wronged you terribly. For that I beg your pardon."

After saying this he lowered his head humbly till she replied, yet never his eyes which remained locked with Arya's own. She in turn nodded once to acknowledge his efforts.

"There is no need. You are already forgiven. We...", she was looking at him very kindly now, "Our situation is not an easy one. Your reaction was understandable."

"This is no excuse for what I said to you", but he felt relieved how self-evident she spoke about this topic, "I am far too old to let myself go like that. I've been childish and – "

Yet he was silenced once again by Arya's hand as she laid it soothingly onto his forearm. She shook her head at him to hush him, the kind expression never leaving her face. He could feel the warmth of her flesh through the fabric of his tunic and wasn't able to say anything else. She receded from the touch a few heartbeats later, but the confidence it brought to him lingered.

"Then there is another thing... Something a bit longer ago, but I still feel as though I would owe you an apology", he began but was stopped by Arya as she raised one eyebrow and looked at him queerly; he gave her a crocked smile, "I am sorry, but I think I have to."

"Really?"

"Really. You know, after this day we spoke through Nasuada's mirror, this one day nearly a hundred years ago..."

A strange moment followed after Eragon spoke these words as they both suddenly were very still.

In this moment both of them relived an unpleasant memory. In this moment both of them didn't know anymore what to say or how to behave.

This one moment were past and present were suddenly one. For just one moment. And it left him feeling as empty as he had all these years ago - as their hands had touched with a plate of cold glass between them.

"Arya... I am searching for so many answers. I have always been. I have spent all my life asking questions and the more I got to know the more questions came to my mind. But now I feel deprived of them all. I cannot find the right questions anymore – and am still striving for the answers to them."

He had kept his eyes on the ground while talking, but now he raised them again to meet her silent gaze. And silent it was. It was hard for him to see into her depths right now. Not even there he was able to find his answers – at least not for now.

"Arya, you have to believe me, it didn't want that... that estrangement, I didn't want to stay away from you for that long. But it was... difficult for me to talk to you and as the time went by... With every day I couldn't make myself contact you it got harder to even consider trying it. And so weeks became months and months became years... I am so sorry, I have been selfish. Have you been very angry with me?"

"I wasn't angry with you", she nearly whispered, "No, anger was pretty much the last thing on my mind. And you really shouldn't claim all the blame for yourself."

He wondered what his face looked like - it was certainly astonished enough to make Arya grin.

"Come on. You could just as easily blame me for the very same thing. I didn't even contact you once. I... I didn't want to force my presence on you. I knew it wouldn't be easy for you..."

It was obvious she felt uncomfortable speaking like this to him. But Eragon was glad she did, and especially because she did it despite her inhibition. He couldn't describe the extent of sympathy that rose up in his chest as he looked into her beautiful, unsure eyes.

"So where does this leave us?", he asked her, speaking very softly and watching her face all the time.

"Maybe we should agree upon a draw?", she gave back with more playfulness than he thought she would be capable to in their present situation, "No one is to blame. There is only praise for you."

At that Eragon cocked his head in surprise.

"Praise? What did I do to earn that?"

"You came up with the first grassboat-letter", Arya answered simply, "And it really was the best idea you could have had. I wondered at the first one you know. I didn't know what you wanted to tell me with it, but then more of them arrived... I think it was a very, very beautiful thing for you to do, Eragon, and I enjoyed our correspondence greatly. Maybe...", she began and looked away for the time of a heartbeat, "Maybe your grassboat-letters told me more than anything else you could have said, especially under these specific conditions. Yes, I think you truly came up with the only thing that could have kept us in touch. I don't think that a usual correspondence or talking through mirrors would have worked over this amount of time. At least we didn't break tie completely – and all because of your grassboat-letters."

Eragon didn't know what to say to this but the most obvious thing, namely that he was very grateful that she thought that way, and so he told her exactly that. He also recognized how she referred to them strictly as "grassboat-letters"; she must have used the term frequently enough so that it became an inherent part of her vocabulary. Maybe she talked with Fírnen about them and often so it seems; and that, like nothing else, told Eragon that the letters really were important to her. That he was important to her. And even though she had told him that already some long time ago he revelled in the knowledge that it still was true.

"I am touched, Arya. And I feel honoured to be your friend – back then just as today. And I hope dearly that this will stay between us in the years to come – this affection. It would be a great pity if we were to lose that just because of time and distance, don't you agree?"

In the silence which followed his words she never stopped looking at him, nor did he lift his eyes off of hers, and he was glad to find neither anger nor disapproval in them .

She didn't answer or comment to what he said however, not with words at least, but he saw the muscles underneath the skin around her mouth and eyes soften and then a very small but very kind smile brightened her features.

And this sight was enough to let hope flourish in his heart – hope that someday they would be again what they once were, that everything will fall into place again between them. He didn't wish for anything else at this moment but this.

He knew he was balancing on the edge of a knife right now, he could feel it. They still were separated by a wall of yet unspoken feelings, memories and desires of all kind. But the wall was getting thinner and thinner and he was determined to shatter it down as fast as he could. And he promised himself in this moment of trust and believe – swore by the sight of her beautiful face and the emerald eyes that he loved so much - that he would never leave her again for such a long time.

He never wanted to feel anxiety or even fear again by the prospect of meeting with her.

Arya had meanwhile rested her cheek on her folded arms but didn't cease watching him in his silent contemplation. He wondered how much of his thoughts she was able to read within his eyes.

But he was interrupted in his thoughts as his momentarily forgotten dragon touched his mind this very second with a gentle nudge and so claimed his full attention.

"How is it going?", Saphira asked through their link. Eragon could feel her smugness as she felt the dispersion in his mind.

"Fine. Really. Much better than I thought it would. How about you?"

"I will tell him now. Would you mind to tell Arya?"

"Do you think this is right? It is Fírnen's decision, too."

"Do you really think he will keep secret from her? No. And Arya is my friend, too. And I want her to know about him."

"Alright. I am convinced. If this is what you want..."

"It is. I will give notice when we are on our way back to you."

With that she withdrew from his mind and left him on his own again with a curious elf that was looking at him in a way that told him that her own dragon didn't contact her for explanations.

"They are fine. Saphira just told me... Well, she wants me to relay something to you", he was speaking a tad slower than usual for he was unsure how to tell her something as monumental as this and she recognized the change in his demeanour immediately.

"To me?"

"Yes. She is telling Fírnen about it this very moment and, as they will be occupied for a little while longer, she wants me to inform you in her stead."

"And about what does she want me informed?", her voice was purposely calm. Eragon grinned; he knew he was beating around the bush and Arya had the most interesting ways to remind him of it. He took a deep breath to steady himself. He wasn't sure how she would react to this.

"A few weeks after we left Alagaësia it became obvious that Saphira...", he began and then decided to just blurt it out since he wouldn't be able to alleviate the impact of his words no matter how he said them, "She laid an egg a few months after we arrived in what was to become Minuial."

Silence followed his statement for a long suspended moment as Arya became as rigid as if carved out of stone beside him. Her features remained just as still, yet he knew her well enough to see first incredulousness, joy and then anger flash through her eyes.

"She laid an egg... an egg of Fírnen's?", she spoke silently, yet Eragon could tell that her voice was kept calm with lots of effort.

"Yes, of course."

She stared at him for another tight moment and he watched the thoughts that danced behind her eyes with the speed of light.

"You – Saphira and you – you should have told us. You should have told us immediately."

Then she apparently wasn't able to take the tension any longer and jumped to her feet. Eragon watched her a bit sadly as she stepped with stiff legs to the edge of the rise and away from him. He gave her some time to gather herself again, he understood how difficult it must be for her to deal with this particular piece of information, but soon enough stood up to walk up to her side, slowly so to give her the opportunity to object his presence. As she did nothing to stop him from approaching though he stepped closer till he stood directly beside her again. For quite some time they watched the sunset together and how the tops of the trees were bathed in blood-red light as the sun descended behind them. But soon Eragon sensed that Arya understood it as his duty to break the silence in this situation and so decided quickly to do so.

"Please listen to my, Arya. Maybe we should have told you, maybe not. It wouldn't have changed anything, would it?"

"Maybe, maybe not. We will never know now", she answered, and quite coolish so.

"Saphira wanted to tell it Fírnen herself and there has never been an opportunity for that till now. And it was a bit... well, a bit as it was between us – the longer you delay something like this...", he trailed off, but Arya finally turned her face towards him again. She looked still a little angered, at least he thought so, but there was also a deep and tender emotion in her eyes that he had rarely ever seen within her.

"He's got a child... A child, Eragon."

"Yes", he saw now that she was definitely touched, her eyes were very bright, "A son who goes by the name of Chiaran. He is wild and lives with the other wild-born dragons in another valley as we do, but we meet him frequently to fly or hunt with him. He is also blue, but lighter than Saphira, light blue like a clear summer sky."

Arya listened intently to him, nearly absorbing his words, but he could tell she felt a little crestfallen. And Eragon somehow felt as though he had betrayed her indeed.

"Arya, we didn't keep this from you in bad faith, we just thought... We didn't want to force you into such a double bind, it would have only brought pain. I mean... we thought for a very long time that we would never see you again, you know. It is all a bit different now. I hope we didn't disappoint you too much. I tried my hardest to make the best out of it."

"Yes, I know you did that. And I know you would not hurt us on purpose", she spoke quietly and made Eragon's heart sink despite her tender words.

But you tell me we have hurt you nonetheless, don't you?, he thought to himself, but couldn't make himself ask her about it.

For a long time they stood there on a knoll in the middle of Du Weldenvarden and watched the advancing evening till the first stars appeared in the skies. They never spoke a word in this time as each of them followed the course of their own thoughts. Saphira contacted Eragon in the meantime to tell him that she and Fírnen were now on their way back to them.

"The way to Minuial", Arya tore Eragon out of his reverie, "How long is it from here?"

"Two weeks if a dragon flies swiftly with tailwind, three if you are less fortunate", Eragon sighed, "I know what you think of and I understand that it is no easy decision to make, but there are many reasons good and sound for both of you to grant us a short visit. You really should consider it, Arya."

"I know. But I cannot tell", she shook her head, "I really cannot tell. But see, there they come!"

And for sure, two small dots were flying towards them from the end of the horizon and glittered like stars. But Eragon still dwelled on her dilemma and couldn't appreciate the view of them as much as he wanted to.

"It's a pity, really. Every Rider should be able to see the home of our order", he said and looked at her again as she was still staring straight ahead towards Fírnen and Saphira who were approaching quickly by now, "And I would be glad to have you there, too. Even if just for a short time."

At that Arya all at once turned to him again; her eyes were now devoid of any kind of resentment and only filled with wonder and a slight disarray. He understood that his words had unsettled her, but he felt... disordered enough to ignore the alarm in her gaze.

"Arya, Saphira said something to me before they left... and it made me wonder about what I somehow never thought about before. Arya... Why am I here? Can you explain that to me?"

Her bewilderment strengthened even more at his words, but there was suddenly something else, something he felt he had missed when looking into her eyes these last past minutes. But he remembered. As always.

"I don't know, Eragon. Sometimes I do. But then I lose it again. But it's never very important for me anyway. Do you understand that?", he was startled how intensive her voice suddenly rang in his ears and he knew she could see the effect it had on him.

"And what about you?", she spoke on, "Do you need a reason to be here? And do I really have to give you one?"

The dragons approached for landing just as she had closed her lips and Eragon felt quite grateful for that. For Arya turned away now towards Fírnen and thus spared him to answer any of her questions. It would be hard enough for him to ponder them in the coming hours.

Eragon followed her example and stepped to Saphira's side who lowered her head in front of him. He laid his hand onto her forehead and studied her shimmering sapphire eyes for any kind of turmoil, but they were as gentle and calm as her mind felt as they joined a moment later. He knew she was fine and that everything went well with Fírnen and that had to be enough for now, there would be room enough to talk later tonight when they were alone again.

"It's getting late, we should go now", he heard Arya saying firmly and as he turned his head he saw that she was already sitting in Fírnen's saddle. She obviously was just as eager to retire to her home. For sure she had a lot of questions for her dragon in her mind.

Eragon nodded his agreement and mounted Saphira with practiced grace. He felt tired from today's events, but he didn't want to end his first day in Ellesméra with gloomy thoughts. Strapping his legs to the saddle he transmitted his suggest to Saphira and felt her imminent agreement. Both he and his dragon turned towards the other pair in unison, Eragon with a slanted grin on his face whereas Saphira growled challenging at Fírnen.

"Are you up to some practice before dinner?"

Arya returned his grin and as an answer Fírnen rose swiftly into the air with a light of wild excitement dancing in his eyes. Saphira gave a deafening roar at the pure anticipation she was feeling and jumped after him, ever rising higher into the skies till she matched his height. The dragons hurtled towards each other as both tried to win the honour of the first strike.

Just a fragment of a second before the impact Eragon's gaze drifted towards the Rider in the green dragon's saddle and his eyes met with Arya's. A ferocious grin spread across her face as she locked gazes with her opponent, her long black hair whipping around her face.

He had seen this gaze before, the untamed fierceness she only showed on the battlefield.

My shield-mate.

He had seen it so often before... This gaze in these eyes...

My Arya...

And the dragons clashed.


Hey guys,

at first sorry for the delay ;( but I really tried to pull off a decent chap 6 and i think i succeeded so far... But you tell me ;)

And please give me lots of reviews for this, i felt a little let down by how few i got for the last one... was it that bad? I read it through again and - well i know it was a babble-chapter, but come on... i didnt find it that terrible... what did i do wrong? did i do something wrong? (well of course i know there are mistakes but was it so bad in general?)

I hope you like this one better and i promise, really promise to post another till next sunday or monday, though it will be quite short. it will be an Aryas pov-chap again and at first a wanted to attach it to the end of this chap but then didnt find it fitting to do so...

See you! AryaNuanen