Author's Note: This chapter is going to pull from some of the little details I mentioned in Daughter of Earth and Sky. You might not remember them, so PM me if you have questions about where they were. Hearts, Kittie

Rune floated in blackness. Her mind felt fuzzy and strange.

Who am I? she asked herself. She couldn't remember. There was a name…

Eragon?

No…that wasn't right. She wasn't Eragon. Eragon was someone else…who?

Is any of this real?

Or not?

Another name came to her. Rune. That was it. It felt comfortable and familiar to her. Rune. She clung to the name, made it her own. Yes, she was Rune.

But who was Rune? Who am I?

Rune didn't know. Things seemed to float just on the edge of her memory. There…there was a town…a mountain range…the Spike. No, that wasn't it. Spear? Spade? No… Spine? Yes. The Spine. She remembered the Spine…and a farm. A cozy farm. It jumped to her mind's eye. There was a man in the fields, a woman by the stove. She had kind eyes. Two boys played in front of the house with wooden swords.

What else?

Something didn't feel right about these memories…

There were other memories too…a castle, with dark hallways…a blonde serving girl, tall and lanky and beautiful, who had forgotten to dust…what was her name? Did it matter? Something with an L…Lisa. No, it was a flower. A flower beginning with L. Lavendar…Lotus…Lilac…Lily! It was Lily. Why that mattered, Rune didn't know, but somehow it did.

The memories didn't fit together. A castle? A farm? They couldn't both be true…

She delved deeper, trying to remember more about herself. Deeper into the blackness of a mind that was entirely unfamiliar to her, deeper into the uncertain depths that awaited.

There was something about a man…yes. A man. Mur...something. Mur…Murtagh. Yes, that was his name. She felt warm when she thought of him. He had hugged her…kissed her cheek…was he her brother? His face was clear in her mind. He didn't look much like her…then again, Rune couldn't remember what she looked like. So maybe he did.

And a dragon…Thorn. Yes, Thorn. She remembered him clearly as well.

Another dragon…not like Thorn. Black. Big. Scary. Shrew…Shruikan…yes. He was old, ancient. At first, Rune thought he was evil. But more faded in. She wasn't so sure. There was something about him…

And an old man. Persnickety, good at telling stories…Brom. Had she met him before? She didn't know…

Vile beasts. Ra'zac. She felt a strange urge to kill them. Revenge! her heart cried. Revenge for what? Had they done something to her? It was all a blur…

Memories of a curly haired woman…something about a Vault…a girl of royal blood…

Royal blood! A princess! Rune was a princess, she suddenly knew with certainty.

Then she had doubts. No…that couldn't be. Why would she have memories of a farm? Who was woman with the curly hair? Certainly a princess wouldn't have anything to do with that.

No…she was common blood. Common. A servant girl, maybe? She entertained this thought to herself. Yes…the farm could be from her childhood. The castle would be where she had worked…that fit. That could work.

So that's what she was. A servant girl. The woman in with the kind eyes must have been her mother. The two boys playing…her brothers, perhaps? What about the dragons?

That stumped her. Certainly a servant girl wouldn't have anything to do with dragons.

The thought of princesses brought another picture to her mind. A woman. Tall and beautiful, strong looking with steady eyes…pointed ears. An elf? Hmmm…Arya. That was her name. The elf princess.

Surely a servant girl wouldn't know the elf princess…

Rune was utterly baffled. These memories…they confused her. Were they hers? Or someone else's? That name came back to her. Eragon.

As soon as the name was there, it flitted away again, replaced by another boy…with a scar. She remembered the scar. Something about a shadow. No, not a shadow, a Shade. Or maybe it was a shadow…The boy's face was blurred in her mind. She couldn't remember who he was.

And a sword! There was a sword as well. The color of blood. Named…misery. Zar'roc.

There was a man with angry eyes and red hair. He made Rune feel afraid. He screamed at her soundlessly. His face began to fade.

Don't go! she cried, grasping for the memory, desperate for anything that would tell her about herself.

The man came into view again. He screamed more, his face turning the color of his hair. There was a little girl too, and a little boy…her hair matched his, a dull copper color, but besides that there were no similarities between the girl and the man. She was small, but not timid. She scurried away from him, hiding behind the door. Who she was, Rune didn't know.

All was quiet. Even when Screaming Man yelled, the sound didn't reach Rune.

Another man came into view. Somehow he had always been there, but Rune hadn't noticed him. The first man, the angry one, screamed at him too.

Screaming Man drew the Not There Man's sword from its scabbard. Rune didn't want to watch anymore, but she couldn't push the memory away. She knew what was going to happen, in that way people sometimes do. Like she'd already seen the story, almost…

Screaming Man plunged the sword through Not There Man's chest. Not There Man cried out in agony, sinking to the floor. The little shadow boy started crying. Screaming Man threw the sword at him, cleaving a cut across his chest. Red blood filled Rune's mind.

Copper Girl darted from behind the door. She held the shadow boy's hand, humming softly. Screaming Man hit her.

The memory faded to another. There was no picture this time, only a steady throbbing hum. A sort of wordless, chanting melody. Then, out of no where, words sprang to her mind.

The sun has set, the hunt begins

So settle down to sleep

I sing a song of dragon sins

And blood oaths meant to keep

ooo

This lullaby I sing to thee

Of dragons long gone past

Great wings and claws, a flight so free

A heart was meant to last

ooo

A story told, of war and strife

Across the plains and land

Robbed dragon, elf, of precious life

When both did take their stand

ooo

So union rose, between the two

Of earth and of the sky

Of Dragon bold and Rider true

None more would live to die

Rune felt sad as the song faded. She could picture a dragon mother hunched over her brood, humming it softly and solemnly in the growing darkness. For that was what it was, she realized. A dragon lullaby.

But where had she heard it? She didn't know.

Where am I? she asked herself. But she had no answers. She did not even know who she was. Much less where.

Unsure and uneasy, Rune continued to wait. Wait and remember. That was all there was to do.

Eragon…

Author's Note: Sorry I didn't update earlier, but I got back from the Villa late last night. :D Hearts, Kittie