Arya opened her eyes to the yellow desert sands. She could not think why they were there and then, all of a sudden, the memories came flooding back. She remembered Eragon flying off into the sandstorm along with almost all the other elven soldiers. Some were smart enough to bury a hole and tried to stay put. Others, like herself were captured by the storm.

Arya looked around. Most of the elves were there, some treating wounds and some scouting out for others.

Arya headed to the closest soldier to her, also the one who was second in command after her of their little group.

"How many are missing?" she asked as she accepted water from another elf.

"Two soldiers are missing. One was found dead," said the soldier, Arrok, with a sad bow of his head to honor the dead.

"What about the rider and the dragon?" asked Arya as she examined the site with her sharp eyes. Both were not in sight.

"The dragon is safe. The rider is… gone," muttered Arrok with another bow of his head.

"What do you mean gone? Is he dead or is he lost?" asked Arya hurriedly.

"I mean there is no trace of him anywhere, your ladyship. He was not found by any of us. Some say he was blown eastward, to the middle of the desert. His dragon is searching for him as we speak. She is flying eastward."

"But is he dead?" asked Arya anxiously.

There was no response but finally, Arrok spoke, "The dragon thinks that he is alive."

Arya breathed a sigh of relief but, "There's more," said Arrok.

"Well what is it?"

"Galbatorix's army is marching in the desert. An army or Urgals," finally announced the soldier.

Arya dropped to the sand. She had failed. Eragon was probably in their hands by now. Maybe not dead like Saphira reported but he is in the enemy's hands and to her that is worse than death. She was selected to bring Eragon, their one last hope, back safely to the elves. Now, she has failed.

"Where is Saphira?" asked Arya in a cracking voice.

"She is searching for any trace of him, just in case he did not get captured."

"Good. Try to find the last two soldiers. We will be heading to Du Weldenvarden soon. Get them ready. We will wait until Saphira gets back and then we move on," Arya said with a finality in her voice that even Arrok did not dare argue with.

"As you wish," and with that, he left her to tell the orders to the others.

Arya knew she was to find Eragon but if Saphira couldn't find him, then there was no way they can. She would have to wait until they get to Du Weldenvarden where then, she can tell the queen what happened and find a solution. Surely Galbatorix would not kill Eragon. He would be smarter than that. He would probably use Eragon or try to have Eragon join him.

"Arya," said Arrok hesitantly as he approached her.

"Yes."

"We have found the two missing soldiers. One is dead and the other one is fine. Should we get moving?" asked Arrok.

"Yes, bury the dead and move on," Arrok gave a disappointing look when Arya said that for it is Elfish custom to bury the dead with their families. When Arya saw the look, she quickly added, "We do not have the time or the strength to carry them along with the sick and wounded. We must move on without them. Make it a good burial and make sure to tell their families when we get back."

Arrok knew there was nothing left to do so he got up and gave the orders. Soon they were moving on into the forest.

"How long does he sleep?" asked Eliena softly to Emerlden while looking at Eragon.

He had been unconscious for about three days since they came into the forest. Emerlden dropped them off in a secluded area near a pond. His wounds were easy to heal when she found some of the right herbs in the forest. Not only did she know herb lore, she knew more than enough to keep herself alive out there. But that was part of a past life. A life she didn't lead anymore.

I have no idea but you must be patient Eliena. He will soon revive. You have healed his wounds and he doesn't seem to be in much of a critical condition anymore. You must be patient.

"But you know patience is not one of my good qualities."

Well than you must practice that. Why not practice that magic thing you do or try to practice your swordsmanship. It needs lots of improvement.

"You sound like you know everything," sneered Eliena but she did pick up her sword from her bag and swung it around. She practiced the movements that were drilled into her from her early age. A swing there and a kick there. Swinging her sword as if in a dance, she swirled and swung and ducked and kicked to an invisible opponent.

Finally, half an hour later, she stopped, with beads of sweat running down her flushed face.

"Not so bad is it?" she said proudly to Emerlden.

Actually it has been quite improved but it did keep you occupied for half an hour, grinned Emerlden.

Eliena was about to argue back when she realized that it did keep her occupied and kept her impatience at bay. So instead of saying anything because she knew she was wrong, she just scowled at losing which caused a merry chuckle from Emerlden.

"So what are we going to do with him when he wakes up?" Eliena questioned as she put her sword away and wiped her face with a damp rag.

I don't know. You were the one who rescued him.

"Maybe we should rob him and then throw him out in the desert?" asked Eliena half jokingly.

Very funny. What are we really going to do with him? If he does wake up, then his dragon will be here and then he'll know more about us than we want him to know and he already knows enough.

"Well we could just throw him out now. Or better yet, he can stay here and we can go back to the desert. Yeah, that's a great plan. I mean we always planned to live in the desert for eternity and its not like he'll die here," answered Eliena intelligently.

And what if some creature comes up and eats him while he's unconscious?

"Well than it's his problem. I mean we already went through enough trouble healing him and staying in this damp place for three days. I think it's enough," whined Eliena.

Then why did we go through all that trouble saving him if he's going to get eaten in the end.

Eliena tried to come up with a response but couldn't. Emerlden's words made sense and she couldn't just leave him here.

"Fine, we'll take care of him," she sighed as she went back to her bag and took out a rather old and long book. Might as well read if we're going to be here a long time, thought Eliena as she opened her book.

Emerlden chuckled and suddenly flew up for his daily hunt for food.

asasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasasassasasassasasasasasasasasassasassasasasasasasasassasasasasasassasasasasasas

sorry its so short but thats all I could do for the time being. I will have more action next chapter and Eragon will finally wake up. so please review!