This chapter is dedicated to the 500th reviewer, Silverleaf of the Faerie. (Well, an annonymous reviewer signed in as Silverleaf which I assume is my lovely Silverleaf of the Faerie, formerly known as Silverleaf of the Forest. If not, you're lovely too.) :P But back to Silverleaf of the Faerie. She's a great reader and always has something nice to say and constructive criticism to offer, and is just all-around wonderful. Random and spunky, but wonderful! XD
Again, IMPORTANT TO YOU PEOPLE! I have a new poll up on my profile page! But this time, it's for Greeni's name. (I mean, who ever heard of a dragon called Greeni? Poor thing... Saphira would laugh at him.) By this time, you should ALL know about my decision issues, and I'm predictably having a hard time choosing a name. It would mean a lot to me if you could all take two seconds to help out. :)
Note: People. People, people, people. I know you're excited. I know. But there was a time jump last chapter for a reason! What happened is a secret, and I'm not telling! :P Naw, the whole point of the jump was that everyone can just think whatever they want to think. That way the shippers can feel happy and those of us who aren't shippers can go through less pain. :) Good? Awesome.
Did I ever mention how much I love you guys? I did? Let me mention it again. I love you guys. I got 40 reviews for last chapter! 40! *dances* You are AWESOME! 8D
I apologize to anyone who noted my absence this past week, either in not responding to their PMs or not reviewing their stories. I had band camp. So... tired... you have no idea... O_o
Now FINALLY for this chapter. It's pretty short and pretty jumbled, but our favorite little elf is kind of in shock most of the time. So please excuse her. She just got mind-melded with a dragon! :P
Frozen in place, Arya couldn't even bring herself to breathe as she stared incredulously at the jade dragon egg that had emitted such a noise. Her thoughts had dwindled to a complete halt, and nothing registered in her mind aside from the fact that the egg was moving. Rocking violently back and forth, it was squeaking and bashing itself against whatever happened to be near it for all it was worth. Finally, the elf managed to choke out, "Eragon… the egg it's… it's…"
"Hatching, I know." He finished for her, perfectly calm in both voice and appearance as he sheathed Brisingr and began to pull on his clothes as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Arya mimicked him uncertainly, dressing herself in a blind haste and dropping her blade back onto the floor. But her wide emerald eyes never left the egg, which had lessened in its urgency and stilled to small wobbles, peeping softly. "It's hatching…" she breathed in wonder and awe before her tone fluttered into one of puzzlement, "But… who for?"
The rider looked at her evenly. "It's hatching for you Arya." He said simply.
A thousand cries of protest raked through the elf woman's consciousness. How was that possible? She was over a hundred years old, and dragon eggs only hatched for children. Didn't they? "It cannot be…" she hissed softly, but her voice held little conviction and the gaze that was fixated on the egg was not one of doubt.
Eragon didn't rebuke her aloud, but she knew by feel that he was entirely confidant in his assessment. Walking silently up behind her, the rider wrapped his arms around her and planted a kiss on the top of her head. Absent-mindedly, Arya pulled his arms tighter to her, but still she gazed in a mixture of shock and dread upon the egg that had resumed its activities with a vengeance. It had, by this time, crashed onto the floor. As they watched, still locked in this pose, a crack appeared on its pristine surface that ran down almost its entire length. Suddenly, another sprang into existence. Then another. Then another. Eventually, fissures of all lengths and widths webbed its surface, and where the majority of them met, the egg's surface trembled with an unseen force. A jab from the hatchling within loosened a few of the egg pieces, and another caused them to fall away completely. Slowly a dark form heaved itself from its encasement, bits of eggshell splintering away all around it, revealing the awkward shape of a whole, complete baby dragon. Seemingly nonchalant, it then proceeded to pose itself gracefully next to the remnants of its egg and lick off the sticky membrane that clung to its vibrant green scales.
"There he is." Eragon spoke through her hair with a hint of pride before releasing her. "He's your dragon."
Carefully, so as not to startle the little creature, Arya sank to the floor, her doubt and fear melting away. In the background, she could hear Eragon shuffling around and lighting candles so as to illuminate the room. But her attention did not waver from the dragon hatchling. No, witnessing such an event as this filled her with far too much wonder for distraction.
Sensing her gaze, the hatchling whipped his head around to look at her, and each considered the other coolly for a moment. He was not built as sturdily as Thorn, possessing finer features and a body shape that was supple and suggested great speed, but he was definitely male. As for his scales: they were not the light, fresh green of grass or an oak tree's leaves. Rather, they were a deep, dark green reminiscent of the pine needles of Du Weldenvarden that faded to black around his snout and claws and down his spine, his vibrant emerald eyes and diminutive ivory spikes, talons, and fangs being the lightest aspects of his appearance. In all, he was an unusual, but unquestionably handsome, dragon.
"Touch him. Go on." Eragon prompted from her side, brushing the side of her face with the back of his hand soothingly.
Nodding determinedly, the elf woman slowly extended her hand towards the little dragon, stopping just a few inches beyond his nose. Lazily, the hatchling considered the hand proffered to him with a shrewd eye. Then, unusually zealous, he thrust his head into Arya's palm.
White-hot agony raced up her arm and spread throughout her entire body as if she had swallowed molten lava and ice at the same time. The pain was everywhere, and the elf barely had time to shriek out a wordless scream before it overcame her and trapped her in a world where only it existed, racing down her limbs in ravaging fire. For what seemed like two times an eternity, Arya remained shut down in her icy, semi-conscious state. But slowly, ever so slowly, the frozen flames receded from her body like the tide does the shore and warmth, not heat, trickled back into her. Shuddering at the sensation, Arya slowly fluttered her eyes open again.
Immediately, her senses were assaulted by the poorly hushed babble of excited voices and she moaned her protest, clenching her teeth and sitting up. Oddly enough, this proved to be a bit of a difficulty seeing as she now had an entire dragon curled contentedly on her collarbone. Smiling softly, Arya traced a finger along his jaw line, and he hummed in delight. And this delight she could feel. It spread throughout her own body along a cable of awareness that tied her mind to another's that was most definitely not her own, and yet, in the strangest way, was.
"Welcome back, Arya Drottningu Shadeslayer Shur'turgal." An amused, semi-mocking voice greeted her. Glaring up, the elf saw Murtagh hanging over her with laughter written all over his features. He grinned knowingly at her. "Hurts, doesn't it?"
"May you be gifted with many warts, Murtagh." She growled irritably, but so softly that only he could hear, managing to lift the dragon
–her dragon- from her chest and onto her shoulder with minimal destruction of clothing. Sitting up from her sprawl on the floor and looking around her, Arya wasn't surprised to see that just about every figure of importance in the Varden had been crammed into Eragon's tiny bedroom. She nodded expressionlessly to each of them in turn; Nasuada, Orrin, Nar Garshzvog, Narheim (appointed as Orik's representative for the dwarven troops), Grimmr Halfpaw, Seramyl (although Arya suspected she had snuck her way in), both her and Eragon's guards, Anyglen and Kayla, and even Angela. Needless to say, the space was a bit cramped, although no one really seemed to mind aside from herself. They were all busy discussing the advantages of having yet another rider on their side.
"My apologies. I thought it best not to warn you that it's a bit painful." Eragon muttered, squashed somewhere between Murtagh and Blodhgarm and not appearing too happy about it.
"I understand." The elf answered with a sigh, running a hand through her hair uncomfortably. Eying the crowd surrounding her, she asked reproachfully, "How long was I out?"
"Trust me, not very." Nasuada interjected with a laugh. Eragon told Saphira what had happened, and Saphira told Thorn, who told Murtagh, who told me and…" She shrugged at the eager faces flanking her. "It got a little out of hand from there."
Raising one delicately arched eyebrow, Arya declined to comment on this and instead looked around her challengingly, one hand resting on her humming dragon's side. In response, her audience quieted and stirred a bit uncomfortably.
For a while, this seemed to be all that anyone was ever going to do; Arya looked at them, and they looked at Arya. But, predictably, Orrin couldn't contain himself any longer (although he had made an admirable effort). "How did this happen?" he asked eagerly, but, lacking the patience for an answer, plowed on, "I mean, aside from the fact that the egg began to hatch and you came straight to Eragon. But how in the blazes did you get it?"
Arya's heart practically stopped, but she concealed her reaction behind the blank expression she so often wore. She wasn't certain if she wanted to announce before all of these people that she and Eragon had been spending the night together, and with Orrin inquiring after it, she wasn't certain that she could tell a convincing lie. But she also decided that she wasn't ashamed of her relationship with Eragon, and he deserved a say just as much as she did.
"How much do you think we should tell them?" she asked the rider within the confines of his mind.
His answer was not long in coming. "Perhaps now is not the time for them to know." He advised tentatively, with a hint of regret, "What with all of this excitement, I'm unsure of how it would be handled."
Sending him a mental nod of agreement, the elf woman spoke aloud in answer to Orrin's question, "Eragon wished for a brief respite in guarding the egg. Naturally, I volunteered my services." Glib and smooth, the falsehood sounded convincing even to Arya's ears. "I retired, and was awoken by a strange noise that turned out to be the egg. When I realized what was occurring, I ran straight here."
Satisfied, the human king nodded. It was then that everyone broke out into excited blathering once more and Arya was forced to smile and nod politely to things that, to her sensitive ears, seemed as if they were screamed at her. Inwardly, she felt shaky and uncertain. There was more of her in her head; a void of thought and sensation that wasn't her own, and all of this extra stimulation was quite overwhelming. Clearly feeling the same way, the dragon hatchling curled around her neck and shoulders bared his tiny fangs in an aggressive snarl. At that moment, Arya silently thanked any gods happened to exist that those in the room were sensible beings, and that they immediately fell silent.
"Perhaps we shall discuss such things and celebrate at a later date," Nasuada suggested regretfully in a low voice that carried less than a whisper. "once your dragon has acclimated himself more to the presence of so many."
"Thank you, my lady." Eragon responded in a tone just as soft, "If it wouldn't be too bold, may I request that you all depart now? I would like the hatchling to remain as comfortable as possible for the moment, and I myself will meet with you soon, should you so wish."
The dark-skinned woman inclined her head. "Of course." With that, those crammed into the small space reluctantly trailed back into the hallway and began to disperse their separate ways.
On her way out, Seramyl, in her human-esque form, brushed the shaggy hair from her face and whispered to the elf, her childish voice flushed with pride, "My father told me it would be you. But I think I knew it was you all along." Before Arya could respond however, Seramyl tripped after her father, and the elf watched her go with a grin.
Suddenly, a strong, demanding sensation tickled Arya from her link to the dragon, and she called softly, "Blodhgarm." The elf turned just inside the door, lips pursed.
"What is your desire, Drottningu?" he purred, and the elf woman's eyes narrowed at his tone, which was knowing and, somehow, hurt.
Despite this, she answered him with impeccable manners, "He is hungry. Would you request that a servant be sent up here with some meat?"
Eyes unfathomable and words completely complacent, the blue-furred elf informed her, "I have already brought something for him, and have left it with rider Eragon."
Stirring at his words, Eragon wordlessly crossed the room and removed some dried pork from a sack, which Arya's hatchling pounced on with alacrity. Smiling, the elf woman watched the small dragon gorging itself with distinct tenderness. But Blodhgarm, it appeared, had not concluded.
"Ah, and Drottningu?" he added with a touch too much of innocence. "Next time you go off wandering, pleased do inform your guards where you have gone. Luinae was quite worried that you hadn't returned to your own room." Briefly, he indulged her with a short, stiff bow before sweeping from the room.
Eyes wide, the elf woman cursed her own stupidity. Of course her guards would have noted her absence; they were not fools. She had dismissed them earlier this morning, hours before she had dismissed Eragon's guards, but Arya couldn't believe she hadn't anticipated that they would check up on her. The four of them had been getting along wonderfully since the day they had captured Belatona, and one of them, if not all, would frequently take even some of their off-duty hours to speak companionably with her. Of course they would do so today. And in doing so, of course they would note her absence.
Picking up on her alarm, her dragon abandoned his meal and rubbed up against her leg with a slight whine. Arya looked down distractedly and stroked his back comfortingly, carefully avoiding his spines. But that didn't stop her from being all to aware that she had told a blatant lie today, and now her elves knew that she had done so.
Gently, Eragon lifted her chin as he stepped in front of her, causing the little emerald dragon hatchling to squawk with indignation as the man crowded him a bit. "Don't worry over it." He told her firmly.
Vehemently, Arya shook her head. "Don't worry over it?" she repeated, "Eragon, I lied to them. We lied to them. They have a right to be upset, because now they'll feel as if we don't trust them! After all the time they've spent with us, we don't trust them!"
"We didn't lie to them." Eragon responded carefully, "We lied to the others present. They have no way of knowing that we wouldn't have spoken to them privately after all of the excitement was said and done. I, for one, would have. And their reaction of offence is exactly why we lied in the first place. There's far too much stress surrounding the events of today for them to have taken it well."
Reluctantly, the elf woman nodded, scooping up the hatchling into her arms as he squeaked in protest, squirming. "But now," she added sadly, "we have offended them. We have instigated exactly what we hoped to avoid, and have in addition made it worse."
Surprising Arya considerably, Eragon began to laugh helplessly, and didn't cease until she demanded what was so funny. "Oh Arya…" he chortled, gently nudging the dragon, now resigned to being held, in the nose with one finger, "This has to do with me! How could you possibly forget that I make everything far more complicated than it is? You said so yourself, I must make an effort to walk through every bramble in the land!"
She tried very hard not to laugh. She really did. But Arya managed to keep a straight face for a grand total of a heartbeat before breaking down and laughing just as hard as Eragon was. Why not? Frankly, he was right.
Filler-ish, but necessary. I'm looking forward to writing about the ensuing drama. *evil laugh* It's SO like high school! XD
(There were a LOT of reviews last chapter. I'm sorry if I don't get to you here, but I don't want the entire update to be replies.) :P
Replying to ToLazyToThinkOfAGoodName...
Haha! Well I'm glad you liked it that much!
Replying to Engr99...
Aw well I don't think I'm THAT good... I like my imaginary trophy though. I think it's pretty. :)
Replying to Agretlam...
Oh now can you blame the blonde chick? Even Arya thinks Eragon is hawt! XD 'Sides not only did she get rejected, I used her as a tool to push at Arya a little. *shame* Poor tool... :P
Replying to RestrainedFreedom...
Right? XD Mind. Blown. Poor elf! And now everyone on the planet is about to freak out! (Exaggeration.) But really. What will her mother say? *winks*
Replying to Very Good...
I like your point about Faolin. I think I will quite soon. :)
Replying to KyuuinShinkel...
All right, you're now officially KiSs. Why? Because your pen name is long. I'm lazy. The initials are KS. That's lame. You're KiSs. It's a good band.
I'm so happy you finally got a chance to review! :) And thanks for bringing to my attention those people who choose not to review. It's way too easy to forget they exist and that's a terrible mistake on my part. They matter just as much as reviewers (even though I love reviews). So thankyouthankyouthankyou. Shoutout to non-reviewers, you're awesome! :D
Replying to Inkweaverabc...
Oh don't worry, the reluctant pair is getting to that. XD
Replying to KO...
Hooray for mutual reviews! :P My band kids are irritating too. But I love them SO much! They're my family.
Replying to Dagibsta...
*lafsnortlaf* Lol Arya with multiple personality disorder is something I would pay a great deal of money to see... XD
Replying to Darknessbecomesme...
Cliffies are an authoress's best friend! :D (And hi! I missed you!)
Replying to chaSing b0b...
Why would I call a boy dragon Esmeralda you silly? :P
Replying to ReadsTooFast...
Wow well in that case I'm honored! :D And yes, I did. I'm so EXCITED! *runs around in a circle waving cat around like a sombrero*
Replying to Revan...
I like the 99.983%. You are very precise lol! :)
Please review! And don't forget that poll!