Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you definitely make me update quicker. Special thanks especially to sungodess64 who's amazing comments have inspired me and made me feel great when I was in doubt. This one's definitely for you!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Eragon or the Inheritance Cycle, Christopher Paolini does.
"Two eggs in one day?" Zyana said exasperatedly watching the amethyst egg roll on the ground rhythmically. The eggs glow had returned and was pulsating eagerly, lighting the room for a second, then letting it dim again. Arya was speechless, holding a struggling Ilian with difficulty in her arms.
The young dragon was trying everything in his power to free himself of Arya's grasp to get a closer look at the egg, and when Arya's attention wavered for a second, he took advantage and leaped from her arms. He ran straight towards the egg and as he touched it with his snout, it ceased to move. Holding their breath, Zyana and Arya watched on assiduously, not daring to take their eyes off the egg. Ilian sniffed it for a moment, then lay down beside it, looking up at both women with his bright emerald eyes.
"What are you doing Ilian?" Arya asked her dragon, but he just closed his eyes and curled into a small green ball in response. Sighing, Arya took a seat on the bed. Zyana watched her, then looked back to the egg that was now completely still, a faint glow emitting it's surface. "What's it doing?"
Arya shook her head. "I don't know, we will have to wait and see. I don't know anything about this type of egg and I am curious to see how long it takes to hatch and how it develops." She put her head in her hands, suddenly weary.
Zyana studied her sister, then sat beside her, rubbing her back. For what seemed like hours, they sat there, unmoving, waiting for the egg to do something, but it never budged. Everything was silent except for Ilian's occasional snores from beside the egg and Arya's shuffling on the bed. When she could take no more, Zyana stood quickly, earning quick glance from her sister, and left the tent in the direction of Nasuada's.
The sun was bright and beaming down through the few clouds that littered the sky, and Zyana relished the warmth that ran through her body as it shone on her. When she arrived at the Varden leader's tent, she was immediately blocked entrance by the large, burly guards that towered over her petite frame.
"I need to see Nasuada." She demanded, and the largest guard raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He motioned to the guard standing opposite him, and he walked over hurriedly. After exchanging a few quiet words, the smaller of the pair disappeared into the tent.
Zyana, growing impatient, began to tap her foot quickly, with the large guard looking down on her with a menacing smile. Seconds later, the smaller of them emerged from the tent nodding, pulling aside the flap to allow Zyana entrance. She scoffed at the large guard and disappeared into the tent with a triumphant expression on her face.
"Ah, Zyana. This is indeed a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?" Nasuada looked up from her papers and gave her a wide smile, which Zyana returned eagerly.
"Good day Nasuada. It seems that there will be no need for us to pass the other egg around like we did the green one." Surprise appeared on Nasuada's features and she raised an eyebrow slightly. "What do you mean Zyana?" She asked looking at the half elf intently.
She sighed. "I mean that the egg has begun to hatch," Nasuada gasped, but Zyana raised a hand quickly, silencing the Queen and continued. "It has begun to hatch a few hours ago, but as we know, it is not like any ordinary egg." She began to run through the series of events, from the first clicking noises, the glowing on and off, and then the stillness that followed after Ilian touched it with his snout. Nasuada's eye's widened dramatically as she took in what the woman in front of her was saying. "You should have alerted me sooner." Was all she could muster. Zyana dropped her head slightly and apologised, saying she had been distracted.
Nasuada nodded and rose from her seat, saying she would like to see the sight for herself. Zyana followed her out of the tent and entered Arya's minutes later. Arya looked up at the pair and dipped her head respectfully to the Varden leader and lifted two fingers to her lips. Nasuada returned the gesture, then turned her gaze to the egg. "Nothing has changed." Arya stated, knowing the question that was about to leave her lips. Nasuada sighed and sat on a chair in front of the desk and watched the egg patiently, waiting to see if any change would occur.
Murtagh and Thorn sped through the bright sky, rolling through the clouds and twisting in the breeze, performing loops and spirals with exhilaration. The pair had never felt so free and Murtagh gladly looked down onto the Varden encampment, noticing for the first time the array of colours that littered the earth below him. The first thing he had noticed were the tents that littered the ground, all different colours depending on their rank. He noticed Nasuada's first, the bright crimson and gold most noticeable throughout the camp, the bright blue tents of Eragon and himself, then the emerald tent of Arya's which would no doubt now change to match the riders, the yellows of the nobles and guards, the orange for the warriors, and the pure whites for the healers. He then noticed Zyana's bright purple tent, also striking and highly noticeable amongst the others. He smiled and steered Thorn into another twist and spiral. Thorn roared with pleasure causing Murtagh to yell out his own delight loudly.
A second pair of wing beats were heard, and but seconds later through the clouds emerged Saphira, her scales shining stunningly in the light, with a grinning Eragon seated on her back. "Hello Murtagh, I see we are having fun on this fine day." Eragon yelled loudly over the gushing wind. Murtagh returned this comment with a smile as Thorn began to dance around Saphira happily, twisting in front of her and spiralling when her back was turned. She watched him for a few moments before joining in herself, her own rider laughing loudly from her back.
The dragons soon made a competition of it, being the highly competitive creatures they were, and playfully twisted around each other in increasingly complex moves. Thorn lunged at Saphira who dodged his attack gracefully before a large gust of wind that came out of seemingly nowhere threw her off balance. Thorn chuckled to himself, but another stronger gust of wind came swiftly and almost had him spiralling to the ground. He regained himself quickly, but the sudden wind had now grown so strong that it had brought dark clouds over the Varden, dulling the sight below them dramatically. The dragons found that they could no longer withstand the force of the wind and decided to abandon the game and began their long and slow decent.
The wind on the ground was not much better. When they landed they saw the people taking cover in the tent they were closest to, even if it did not belong to them, and they wondered what had caused such a dramatic change in the weather so quickly.
Not stopping to dwell on the matter, they ran in the direction of Arya's tent, knowing they could wait out the storm with her and Zyana. They didn't bother asking for permission to enter, and ran straight through the flap, tying it shut behind them. Murtagh was surprised to see Nasuada in the tent as well and wondered what had come to pass in their absence. He was about to ask when he saw that neither her nor the elves had noticed them enter. Arya's attention was focused on Ilian who was running madly around the tent, knocking her possessions to the floor. She ran after him and caught him when he tripped on his tail. Ilian struggled to get free, but Arya held him tightly, only then noticing the two men before her. "Eragon, Murtagh. How did you..." She shook her head. "Never mind. What is happening?" Eragon shrugged. "We know as much as you I am afraid. We were..."
"Look!" Came Zyana's bell like voice, raised in a state of panic. Murtagh ran to her side. All eyes were now on the egg, which was rolling around on the floor violently, banging loudly as it hit Arya's cot and desk. "This is amazing!" Murtagh yelled over the ruckus it was causing. "Never before have I..."
A blinding purple light filled the room, causing the inhabitants to shield their eyes quickly. The light lingered for a few moments before a bone splitting crack echoed through the tent, which was followed shortly after by another. The light then dimmed considerably, allowing those in the tent to gaze at the egg reluctantly, should it decide to do it again.
It lay perfectly still on the floor, showing no evidence of what it had just caused, except one tiny crack on it's smooth surface. The wind had ceased to a small breeze, but the dark clouds still lingered dangerously overhead. The tent was silent, and Nasuada was the first to speak. "Was that... the egg?" She asked confusedly. They all looked at each other in absolute bewilderment and disbelief, all at a loss for words.
The stillness had an almost eerie feeling and they could hear a few of the braver members of the Varden emerge from their tents to distinguish what had happened. Zyana sighed, suddenly weary and sat on the floor beside the egg as another crack appeared on it's surface. Gasping and holding their breath, not daring to so much as blink for fear of missing something, they watched on as the egg continued to crack until a small section had broken away altogether, revealing s small snout with it's egg tooth poking through the hole. It sniffed the world expectantly and gave a small cry of determination before breaking away more of the shell that had been it's prison.
Ilian squeaked in delight and immediately jumped from Arya's arms running towards the egg. He watched on, patiently waiting until all the pieces fell away revealing a small amethyst dragon with light pink wings and underbelly licking the membrane off itself. It looked up at them expectantly and touched snouts with Ilian who was bouncing happily around the room.
Murtagh! The wind has stopped, and the clouds are disappearing! Thorn called happily. When his rider didn't respond to him, he prodded until he found the image of the purple hatchling on the ground. He roared with delight and called Saphira who was at his side in seconds.
Two eggs in one day Murtagh! We could not be luckier! Thorn screamed into his rider's mind.
Saphira poked her head through the tent flap and looked at the hatchling before her. At the sight of the bright blue dragoness, it cocked it's head in confusion, sending her images of food. Saphira hummed, saying that the hatchling was hungry before withdrawing, allowing Thorn to see the new arrival.
He hummed loudly as he lay eyes on the hatchling and withdrew, sending privately to Murtagh that this was indeed a powerful dragon. Murtagh prodded his mind in confusion, but he nudged his rider away in the same way he would flick away a fly. Annoyed, Murtagh turned his attention back to the tiny dragon before him.
It looked around expectantly as if it were searching for something, and when Saphira returned with a piece of leftover deer, it squeaked gratefully and devoured the meat hungrily. When it was satisfied it turned towards the figures in front of it before studying them with great interest. When it seemed satisfied, it began to clean it's scales once more.
"Who else had touched it besides us?" Eragon's voice echoed through the tent. Murtagh thought long and hard for a moment before saying he thought that they were the only ones. "If that's true, then the rider must be either Zyana or Nasuada." He said in a daze. Both women exchanged a glance and smiled nervously. At hearing the word 'rider' the hatchling stopped cleaning itself and looked at Nasuada, and studied her for a moment before taking it's first awkward steps towards her.