Hello!

Again, thanks for your reviews, questions, and ideas, everyone.

I will not repeat the disclaimer.

To the story…

Chapter Ten: Discussion of Rituals

Veritas looked at the calendar of notches she'd made.

Two and a half months left until her mating time.

Saphira was already there, but Veritas was sure Ayatas would not mate with her; he'd declared several times that she was a sister to him.

Veritas hoped he wouldn't, for all their sakes. Thorn loved Saphira, and he'd always been Veritas' friend. It was under Galbatorix's orders that he'd given her the book explaining the dragons' mating ritual, but she could tell he'd have done it anyway.

Usurper! Egg-breaker! Traitor! Veritas never had any other coherent thoughts about Galbatorix; that was how much she hated the man. It always took every ounce of strength she had and a few tugs from her rider to get her thoughts moving along a different line.

Well…she could stop on her own by thinking about Ayatas.

She especially liked his cheerful personality and attitude and his skill at quick thinking, wanting to be friends with the emerald dragon so much more than she ever had with Thorn…

Enough! she told herself sternly. You've work to do, and that does not include foolish daydreaming about him.

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Eragon rubbed his head, scowling at the scroll in front of him.

Beside him sat Kara. The half-elf had refused to speak to him during the fortnight since her cousin had arrived. Now, ignoring his presence, she avidly read from a scroll about the first Eragon, refusing to notice his presence.

At last, she rolled it back up and took another. This one appeared to be directions for something, and she read it most carefully, frowning and taking notes.

"Ayatas will be pleased with this," she murmured. "Goodness, I never thought a dragon's mating ritual would be so complicated."

"Dragons have a mating ritual?" Eragon asked with interest, turning towards her.

"Oh, yes," nodded Aelyn, who sat on Kara's other side. "I read about that back in the castle. Apparently it's the same for wild dragons as those of the Riders, and vastly complicated." She chuckled softly. "By the time I'd finished reading half of the passage on that, my head was in a whirl."

"In that case, I think I'll be lazy and let you girls summarize it for me instead of reading it," Eragon yawned.

Kara laughed. "I think Ayatas needs a few more months until reaching the mature age needed for a male to perform it," she decided aloud. "Let's see, what's the mature age needed for females, Aelyn?"

"Ten months for both, I believe," her cousin replied.

"That's pretty young considering how long they live," Eragon commented.

"Oh, I don't know. Remember, during the war between the elves and dragons so many were being killed that they'd have to breed fast against extinction." Kara's dark hair swirled around her shoulders as she turned her head toward him. Today, her eyes were hazel, matching her tunic. A few leaves had fallen from the tree into her hair, oddly landing in a placement resembling a crown.

"You look like the woodland queen today," he suddenly blurted out, at the last second managing to make it sound like he'd meant to say it. Kara laughed it off, playfully slapping him as she turned toward their approaching teachers.

Eragon closed his brown eyes, listening as wings swooped and folded. The dragons were back early. Saphira and Ayatas flew on either side of Veritas in case she fell; because of her upbringing in the dungeons, unlike her peers the dragon had had no early chance to practice flying and was still trying to make up for it.

The breeze brushed his face. He opened his eyes to see Kara laughing with…who was this?

An elf he'd not seen before stood in the clearing, tall and slim, dressed in a quietly elegant gray-blue tunic.

Eragon felt an icy hand grip his heart as the newcomer turned to look at him. The rider suddenly realized that the elf was best described as the embodiment of winter; he was unearthly handsome, even for an elf, with chiseled features, closely cropped white-blond hair, blood-red lips and ice-blue eyes.

It was the eyes that troubled him.

"Eragon, this is Nix Heims, my friend Liána's brother." Kara blushed slightly as she made the introduction.

After the formalities, she explained, "He's here to invite all of us, dragons included, to her name-day celebration tomorrow night."

"Thank you," the older Rider said gravely. "­Saphira and I will try to come. Where is it?"

"At sunset by the lake, Shadeslayer." Nix bowed courteously. "May I inform my cousin that you intend to come?"

"Yes, you may, Nix, and there's no need to be that formal," teased Kara.

Nix smiled. "Farewell, then." He turned and strode back down the path a few steps to mount his elvish horse. They took off at once.

"See you later, Shur'tugal," Kara smiled, mounting Ayatas behind Aelyn; she would give her cousin rides until Veritas was skilled and strong enough to carry her own Rider.

She has a beautiful smile, the young man thought to himself as the two dragons took off and he walked toward Saphira.

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Back in her own rooms, Kara smiled happily to herself as she changed into a moss-green gown with flowing sleeves.

She had finished her homework and had time to take a short walk to the lake before dinner, perhaps to meet with Liána or Aelyn or…someone else.

Ayatas lay asleep in his portion of the treehouse; his Rider would not disturb him when she stepped out. Kara blushed as she thought of her dragon's probable comments when he saw her in such an unusual outfit. But she had a good reason for choosing it.

Maybe if she acted a bit more feminine at times, Eragon would let their friendship grow, perhaps even into something beyond friendship. Perhaps it was merely a foolish dream of hers, but why not? It was worth a try.

Stepping into light slippers, Kara walked down the stairs and out onto the trail to the lake, a happy smile on her face.

……………………………………………

Back at his treehouse, Eragon suddenly found himself wondering what his brother was up to. Remembering he could no longer scry Murtagh, he decided to repeat the tactic he'd used to find Arya after the embarrassing Agaetí Blödhren.

Picking up the mirror beside his bed, he focused on Thorn's image and muttered, "Draumr kopa."

As his reflection went dark, the mirror cleared to show Thorn sitting behind his rider as Murtagh leaned against him. As his brother turned, Eragon noticed his cheeks were glistening; the Red Rider had been crying.

"– can't believe it; I mean, I'm happy she and Veritas have gone from here, Thorn, but I'm terrified for their safety. Who knows where they are?" A short pause as the dragon bent his head toward his rider. "Yes, I know Kara probably brought them to Ellesméra, but I'm so worried!

"I love her, Thorn."

Eragon sighed, allowing the picture to dissolve as he released the magic. How could his brother be so foolish as to state his love out loud with no protections at a time like this? Murtagh knew as well as Kara how Galbatorix could use attachments to trap him. And Eragon strongly suspected that the King would take grim pleasure in forcing Murtagh to hunt down and kill his beloved.

He groaned. Foolishness, it seemed, was overpowering the new Riders. Eragon had just admitted to himself that he loved Kara, despite (and perhaps because of) all the factors that had made others fear her.

But did Kara love him? Did Aelyn love Murtagh?

And whom were their dragons falling in love with?

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Okay, what do you think, guys?

Am I keeping with everyone's personality? I wasn't sure about Murtagh, since he always seems so tough, but I thought it was right for this scene.

Let me know what you think! As always, I struggle, so ideas and questions are great!

-Deer-Shifter