A/N: Ha... ha... sorry... I haven't posted for... a while... Oops... I do have a partial excuse though! Mostly it was writer's block, but I was also being to social, rather than nerdy or authory. Uh... I had a party for Halloween, that took a week to prepare for. And I started Forensics, so that took away most of my free time on Mondays and Thursdays. (Amazingly fun, by the way, you should join!) Also, I read The House of Hades and The Royal Ranger, not at the same time. Both were so good! Sorry, I get excited. New favorite: Cyrro! Thank you for your amazingness! Anyway, Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own these two series, and the sky is purple and made of hedgehogs. Of course they aren't mine! (Ten points if you can name who said the sky thing, and what book)

Trust him

Eragon flew off in the distance. The new elves had just arrived, and Will was training harder than ever. The total number of elves were now 20. Nasuada felt vulnerable, she hadn't been without Eragon and Saphira for a while. Every time they left it felt wrong, and Will was not yet very powerful. He was now flying, but the instruction he had received was little, if any. Glaedr, too, was gone. Will didn't know about the eldunari yet, he wasn't quite ready for the knowledge.

The extra elves helped Nasuada's feeling of security, but the soldiers didn't trust them. Eragon wouldn't be gone too long though, he merely had to go to the strange rock, and talk to the beings there. Only a week. Not that much could happen in a week, after all. Even a battle wouldn't take that long. If one were to happen it would be over before Eragon got back. Wait, that wasn't reassuring! What if they became locked in a desperate battle and Eragon was their only hope, but he didn't come back?! It would be a disaster! Nasuada forced herself to take deep, calming breaths. She couldn't afford to be a nervous wreck.

Will sat on a bench, breathing hard after the last round of sparring with an elf. They were amazingly fast, and Will was surprised to find that he was able to not only fend them off, but also give an attack of his own. He still couldn't beat one, but he had improved much, seeing as he had never had a sword fight before coming here. Horace was training with the elves too, and they were impressed at his skill, being human as he was. Will could beat him, but just barely. And with a hint of magic.

Will's musings were cut short by the sight of a slender, dark haired elf striding toward him. He stood and dusted himself off, giving the formal elven greeting to her, noticing as he did so that it was Arya, the woman Eragon was so enraptured by. She made her replies to Will hastily, she obviously had a lot on her mind.

"Come with me," she demanded, walking away without looking to see if Will followed. He frowned at her abruptness, elves tended to be polite, especially to him. As he trotted along behind her, Will's mind was teeming with questions. But he saved them, knowing that they would be answered shortly. At long last, they stopped.

"Well?" Will asked after a moment of expectant silence. Arya gazed at him a moment longer before answering.

"Where have you practiced magic before?" She demanded angrily, "No one is that strong when they start! You say you didn't know about magic before coming here, how can that be true? You say you're from overseas, if that's true, why has no one come in over a century? I might have believed it, until I overheard Halt and that other man, Gilan, talking a few days ago. Gilan asked what information you two had found. You must be spies!"

Will stared, open mouthed at the elven princess, completely astounded by her accusations. How could she think that about them? Didn't she believe Eragon's assessment of their minds? He had seen their lives! At least… within the months before they arrived. Months full of planning for the trip. Months that could have easily been staged to help cover their theoretical infiltration. It was all so clear now! When Halt protested the scanning of their minds, it could easily have been seen as an attempt to cover the truth. The month sailing launched from Alagaesia, to Alagaesia.

"I don't," Will began, trying to explain. "We weren't sent as spies! We honestly came from overseas, we were meant to scout this land discovered by a fisherman. We- Why don't you believe Eragon? Do you not trust him? He saw our thoughts as well as activities. There was not any thought of betrayal! We have been loyal to you since we knew of your plight!" Will desperately wished that Alyss was there, she was so much better at this than him. Of course, he thought, this is what she's trained for.

"Eragon is young. He thinks that he knows what he saw, but he has only practiced magic for a year." Arya replied, still doubting, but less sure of herself.

"What will it take for you to believe me?" Will asked. "Do you need to see for yourself?"

"That is not necessary," Arya protested, but she was too late. Will was already projecting his memories to her. It should not be possible, but somehow he was bursting through her shields, and giving her his mind. She saw his entire life, things not even remembered by him. His desire to be trustworthy was so strong that it gave him inhuman strength, beyond what Eragon, even, could summon. Now she believed him.

A/N: Yeah, I was sort of grumpy when I wrote this, that's why they were fighting... Oh well.