Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon. Anything familiar belongs to Christopher Paolini, but everything else belongs to me.


Chapter Four

They rode in silence until dusk settled over Alagaësia. When Kaiya would slow her pace, Tesu would bark at her to speed up. All the while Kaiya would try to comprehend what had happened. The tears that had threatened to spill over earlier were long gone, but in their place was a hollow feeling. Every part of her body felt strangely numb, as numb as her blood-covered arm. She didn't dare to speak a single word; Tesu's bitter mood convinced her to hold her tongue.

Kaiya felt sickened as she saw the same landscape as far as the eye could see. For the first time ever, she wished greatly that she had never laid eyes on the dragon eggs. That she had never heard of the Dragon Riders, taken part in the scheming of raiding Galbatorix's castle.

Galbatorix. The very word aroused seething anger within her. That bastard. He can go to hell for all I care. All of this was his fault… her father's dying, their journey to escape from his clutches…

"We shall rest here for the night. Though we should continue riding through the night in case the Urgals pursue us, we cannot continue on like this. We will leave early tomorrow morning." Tesu said abruptly, gazing coldly at Kaiya. He let out his breath slowly, azure eyes filled with a tiredness unlike she had seen in them before. All his kindness and calm nature had been stripped of him… she could see it in his eyes. Nothing was left except pain, sorrow, anger, and an unfamiliar icy coldness. He looked like what he was: a boy that had been forced to adulthood too soon. Had all this happened in one day, or was this merely the final result of a gradual transformation?

Sliding off Raiden, Kaiya felt his words pass through her meaninglessly. Her brother, the brother that she had known all of her life, was gone forever. This person beside her was a stranger. She could not accept the change that had occurred within him since their leave. Already she was devising a plan in her head of what they would do the next morning. A faint smile came upon her lips unconsciously as she imagined their reunion. She wouldn't allow herself to think of what she might actually discover; it was too painful of a thought.


It was scorching heat and fiery pain that awoke Jevden from his painful slumber. When he weakly reached up and touched his head, he could feel dried blood in his damp hair. An unnatural silence filled the air; neither the shrill calls of birds nor faintest whistle of wind could be heard. It was as if all of nature was holding its breath, waiting for something unknown to occur.

The man was on the verge of unconsciousness yet again when he heard the sound of a nearby horse. He cursed under his breath as the muddled thoughts came flooding back to him. Urgals!

…The deafening sound of swords clashing against one another… the snarls of foul Urgals as the poured into the area… screams of pain as their fellow men fell to the ground in defeat… so many corpses abandoned and left to rot… crimson liquid staining the grass and dirt… so much blood…

"NO!" Jevden cried hoarsely, his fist crashing down to the earth powerfully. He cringed instantly, feeling the pain race up his arm to a deep sword wound on his right shoulder.

Jevden watched somberly as Tesu and Kaiya galloped away, a thick cloud of dust arousing behind them. Another snarl sounded and Jevden whirled around to find a large Urgal leering at him. Blood covered his hands and the tips of his long, twisted horns. It lunged at him instantly and uttered a low growl as Jevden parried the attack with ease. Then came the two other Urgals. Pain spread throughout Jev as he was stabbed in the right shoulder, followed by a large wound in his chest.

He felt himself falling backwards and landing on the ground with a thud. His eyelids fluttered for a few moments before closing finally. Then the fallen man waited for his death to come.

"Dead. They are all dead," an Urgal spat after several long minutes. Jevden felt a pang at his heart and bit down hard on his lip. He heard the heavy footsteps of another Urgal coming forward.

"No, two got away. One carried a large pack and the other was a young girl. I watched as they rode away… we should go after them before they reveal our location."

Fear instantly flooded in Jevden, and he tried hard to contain himself. I have not forgotten what I have learned, though I wish not to use it, he thought bitterly to himself. He selected a few choice words and waited for the head Urgal to issue the command. It would most certainly kill him, as weak as he was, but it was inevitable if he wanted Tesu and Kaiya to reach safety.

"They are not important. We must leave immediately to reach the Hadarac Desert in time." The leader said.

Many small growls of disapproval could be heard from the rest of them. One of them grunted, "We can send two to kill the ones that abandoned. It will ensure us going unnoticed and will not delay us."

Jevden could almost see the Urgal nod his head, a wicked grin across his face. "Go," he snarled. Two pairs of heavy footsteps could be heard walking away. "For the rest of us, we will continue to the desert."

The crowd started to depart slowly, pocketing any weapon they favored off of a dead body. Suddenly Jevden felt a massive foot knock against his head brutally. Before he could utter a single noise, he lost conscious

"They… they are going after Tesu and Kaiya," Jevden said softly. Guilt flowed through him freely. He was too injured to go warn them and too weak to do anything to help. "I am sorry my friends," he whispered. Ignoring the bothersome flies and burning heat around him, he let down his head and closed his eyes. Perhaps rest would give him the strength he so desperately needed.


Kaiya and Tesu sat around a small fire silent and alert. Although Kaiya argued that a starting a fire would give away their position, Tesu had continued to insist on it. For the first time they could have the luxury of a warm fire.

Tesu was dead silent. He stared through the crackling fire with a troubled look. Kaiya shifted at the uneasy silence, but said nothing to him. Every innocent remark she made ended up with him snapping at her. Yes, it was safer to avoid talking to him unless he made the effort to.

A beautiful sword rested in his hands, reflecting the flames brilliantly. It wasn't his own; his sword was safely tucked in his sheath. Tesu must have grabbed it in the midst of the battle.

Looking up at her for the first time, Tesu gave her a tiny smile and slid the sword back in it's own leather sheath. Then he tossed it carefully to her.

Kaiya reached out and caught the weapon clumsily. "What is this for?" She asked carefully, her hands running down the casing.

"You need a real weapon, not just a dagger. If you had this before you would not have that cut on your arm."

She glanced down at her newly bandaged arm. "Thank you," she said softly.

Tesu nodded and then looked down at his hands. Taking a deep breath, he reached over and pulled the dragon case onto his lap slowly. "I suppose now is the time to try this, though Je—though he wanted to wait until you were properly prepared."

"What… what are you talking about?" Kaiya asked quietly, avoiding the eyes that seemed to look right through her. Instead she watched golden embers rise slowly into the night sky.

"Jevden and I had agreed to see if a dragon egg would hatch for you. It would be hard enough to find a qualified person as it is, us being on the run. If we had gone to the Varden, they would pay no mind to finding a person that we thought qualified. Therefore, I convinced Jev that you would be an ideal person to become a Dragon Rider."

Anger surged through her, and said in a shaky, low tone, "And what if I did not wish to become a Dragon Rider?"

Tesu laughed faintly at her. Kaiya noticed that the laugh sounded hollow and different. "This is no time for your irritating stubbornness, little sis. The fate of the Empire is in our hands at this very moment."

His hands calmly went to undo the latches of the case. As he pushed the top off, Kaiya watched as the eggs reflected the fire stunningly. Small white veins could be seen meandering across their surface in every direction. Once again Kaiya was overcome with the urge to reach down and feel the eggs' smoothness.

"W-Why can't you become a Dragon Rider?" Kaiya asked him after she had forced her eyes from the eggs.

Tesu gave her a sorrowful smile, "I am too old for such an adventure. Even you are on the verge of becoming too old for an egg to hatch for you. Back in the time of the Riders, the new Riders were still only children when they were taken away for their training. Nineteen years old is too old."

Kaiya hesitated, and then reached down into the case. Her trembling hand went first to the jade one, then suddenly to the scarlet. Tesu watched all the while, an unreadable expression on his face.

The egg was a couple pounds heavy. If she had not known any better, she could have easily mistaken it for a polished crimson stone.

"It feels warm," she murmured, her hand rubbing the egg and admiring it.

Tesu nodded in satisfaction, "That is good. When I first held them, they were not."

The two sat in silence once more, Kaiya holding the egg tenderly in her arms. Her brother watched Kaiya and the egg sharply, his bright sapphire eyes never leaving the two.

Under her fingers, she could feel the egg tremble suddenly. Kaiya slowly let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Two words quickly formed in her head: it's hatching! A high squeak came from the egg, and the egg trembled once more. Tesu leaned forward in interest.

Rocking gently in Kaiya's arms, the egg gave two more shrill squeaks. A crack raced down the crimson shell, followed by another. A small piece of the shell shot to the ground. Kaiya stared in awe as a small object could be seen from under the surface.

The egg gave another shudder, and more squeaks from the dragon could be heard. "Set the egg on the ground," Tesu ordered quietly. Kaiya tenderly put the hatching egg on the ground, almost regretfully. They watched for several more minutes as the small hatchling struggled to escape. Finally the egg gave a final shudder, and the dragon came completely free.

Both watched as the beast licked off the membrane that encased it. The broken shell lay scattered across the ground in wet pieces. The dragon itself was slightly longer than her forearm, and the glittering scales were the same rich crimson color as the egg. Two sharp fangs could be seen sticking out from its mouth, pearly white like it's claws. Small spikes ran across the dragon's spine: from the base of its head to the tip of its tail. For a moment the beast merely stared at Kaiya with hard, scarlet eyes. Although it was only a baby, she could see distinct fierceness across its face.

Uttering a loud chirp, the dragon stretched out its large wings. Then it cocked its head and observed the surroundings. Kaiya slid off from the tree stump she had been using for a stool and tentatively reached out to touch its back.

She instantly regretted it. Fiery pain shot up her arm and throughout her body. Kaiya felt herself falling backwards in surprise and the horrid pain, but no cry escaped from her lips. She tried desperately to jerk her arm back, but she couldn't move it. Her head was spinning and she heard a scream of unmistakable fury explode into her mind. Eyes shut tightly, Kaiya let the violent pain wash over her body and leave her breathless.

And then it was gone. Coolness spread throughout her, replacing the awful hotness that had overtaken her moments before. Jerking her hand back, she snapped her eyes back open and stared at her palm. A dim white oval appeared onto it slowly, shimmering slightly. It burned painfully and she put the palm to her cheek as if to cool it down. Sweat mixed with her hair and onto her forehead and she found herself panting hard.

Struggling to get back up, her eyes widened in horror as the dragon blinked in confusion and hopped onto her leg. She braced herself for the pain again, but it did not come. Her hand went slowly to the dragon and she petted it awkwardly.

A low humming came from the dragon. It arched its back, obviously enjoying the treatment it was receiving. Suddenly she felt something brush against her mind. Kaiya frowned at the strange new feeling. Something had happened to her at the touch of the dragon. It was as if she were free to reach out at things with her mind. Curious, she felt something brush against her mind yet again. Hunger. She could sense the hunger from the dragon, though she did not know how.

"It-It is hungry," Kaiya said uncertainly to Tesu. He had been watching the ordeal with strange calmness.

Tesu reached down by his side and took out a few strips of their precious dried meat. A troubled look crossed Kaiya's face, but she grabbed the meat and took out her dagger to cut it.

The dragon waited impatiently, occasionally snatching a square as she tried to cut the meat into pieces. She laughed out loud at this and scooted him away from the food. It gave a pathetic growl, not sounding the least bit threatening. When she finished, she fed the dragon one square at a time. It snatched the food from her hands instantly, nipping at her fingers at a couple times. When it had finished off the last square, the dragon curled up by her stomach and dug into her shirt. It snorted softly, then closed its eyes as it fell asleep with a full stomach.

Kaiya was overwhelmed with all of this. Now this certainly complicates things, she thought softly. But she couldn't help but smile as she watched the sleeping dragon in her lap. But me, a Dragon Rider? What if I disappoint Tesu? The new responsibility both frightened Kaiya and excited her. Already she was fond of the small, impatient beast. Although it had a tough appearance, it was awfully cute.

For the first time in a while, Kaiya felt at peace. She watched sleepily as the fire crackled, rubbing the sleeping dragon gently. A puff of dark smoke rose from its nose as it shifted its position, then the humming continued once again.

"My dragon," she whispered softly to herself. She tiredly wadded up a blanket and used it as a pillow to rest her head against the tree stump. "My dragon."


And there's chapter four, people! If the hatching and describing of the dragon sounds oddly familiar, it's because I referred to the book for the describing.

Please review!