Chapter 9

The next morning, Eragon woke up,with his eyes cracking open little by little Eragon swung his feet over the bed, so that he may sit up and ran his hand through his hair.

Good Morning, he told his dragon through their link their minds, he was met with a sleepy voice saying:

Good morning, the voice said back, Eragon turned around and saw his dragon stand up fully opening her mouth as some sort of a yawn

Eragon walked over to the washbasin in the other room, but first stopped to move the curtains, so that sunlight would pour into the room making the room more bright and warm, Eragon sighed in pleasure, What a great start to our day, huh Kayda? He told his bright blue dragon Kayda (Don't worry, this name is temporary, she'll get her rightful name later in the story, just wait) Eragon had found the name while in the palace library. The library had many books and scrolls about the dragon riders and their history. Eragon walked to another room that housed a washbasin as well as a tub to bathe in. As Eragon washed his face with the water he remembered the events that had happened the night before. How his father had won the battle that had gone down on the island of Doru Araeba and how Brom is his father's advisor.

Eragon washed his face thoroughly and sighed. Oh Kayda, what are we going to do Eragon told his dragon hopelessly.

The dragon got up angrily Never lose hope Eragon for hope is all we have She said angrily.

Eragon apologizes quickly to appease the young but big dragon. Kayda looks quite smug with herself, seeing as how she brought Eragon back to the light from his dark thoughts.

Eragon puts on his clothes which were some loose green pants with a white longsleeved shirt. Kayda yips and walks with Eragon, they both walk out of the treehouse that Eragon and Kayda call their home for the time being.

I must hunt Eragon, behave yourself Kayda says, flying up into the air.

Oh, you do not need to worry about me Kayda, I will be fine Eragon responds. With that, Kayda left Eragon to go hunt.
Eragon sighed as Kayda left him to go hunt, of course, there was still that little sliver of connection that remained between the two.

Eragon walks through the pathway that leads to his treehouse, to the capital city of the elven kingdom. Along the way to the city, he practiced stretching his mind out as far as he could to sense everything. It was one of the exercises that Brom and Oromis had him do. Meanwhile, Kayda was being trained by Oromis's dragon, Glaedr, so that is where she gets her training from.

Eragon started seeing buildings approaching soon and sighed. The training was rigorous work and Eragon still did not know why he needed to be trained at such a young age. He was thirteen years old.

As Eragon walked on the pathway that was paved through the city, more and more elves peeked out and looked at Eragon. Eragon became uncomfortable with the level of attention he was getting so he keeps his head down to the dirt.

As he was about to approach the palace gate, Evandar had changed the spells of the gate so Eragon can get inside as well, one elven minister was walking and saw Eragon and quickly walked towards him. Eragon recognized this man as Lord Fiolr.

As Lord Fiolr approached he began the elven greeting.
Eragon responded for he had learned the greeting from Brom and perfected it with Arya.

"Ah my young lord, off on such a hurry this morning," He said smiling at Eragon. Eragon thought the smile was more forced than natural, probably because Lord Fiolr had an ulterior motive to talking to him at this hour in the morning.

Eragon thought for a moment about his response then said: "Yes Lord Fiolr, I have been summoned by Brom to appear in the palace at this hour in the morning," He said.

"I believe you have no allegiance to anyone at this moment correct my lord?" Lord Fiolr said.

"T-that is correct," Eragon said. A teenager of thirteen years, Eragon was still quite naive and did not know the purpose of this conversation he was having with the elven lord. Eragon himself was curious about who he was supposed to fight for. "Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering, why do you not ally with my family," Lord Fiolr says as if the idea had just popped in his mind. But in reality, Fiolr had been thinking of making this move against the young dragon prince for quite some time now.

Eragon was at a loss for words. He did not even know where to start, he knew he could not ally with his family. But how was he supposed to say that? But Eragon remembered his teachings from both the dragons and Brom. "Why because my allegiance is with the dragons and the dragon riders first, as I am their prince," Eragon said.

Fiolr cursed in his mind. It would take much to convince this young boy to ally with his family. The elven lord put some thought into it, perhaps he and Evandar's wife and the queen of the elves Islanzadi could help him in his goal. The lord then bows to Eragon. "Thank you for your time then my lord," He says before turning around and walking back to wherever he came from.

Eragon did not know what to think of that conversation, perhaps he would talk it over with Oromis and Brom to understand what that meant. Meanwhile, Kayda, Eragon's dragon, had finished hunting and performed a nosedive from the sky, some of the elves were frightened as to what will happen but Eragon was not. Kayda then pulled up her wings and landed safely beside Eragon I have finished hunting little one, shall we start with our training

Yes, of course, let us go Eragon said quickly opening the palace doors.

Kayda nods with her mind That conversation with Fiolr was concerning was it not?

Eragon was not surprised at how Kayda knew of this. It was, why would he, an elven lord and minister want me?

It is because you hold power in the world Eragon, I believe he would be trying to control you

Well, in any case, we should talk to Brom and Oromis of this and see what they have to say Eragon said walking through the courtyard towards the palace.

Kayda nodded with her head to show she understood the conversation. As Eragon was walking towards the entrance door of the palace, he noticed an elven figure skipping towards him. Eragon recognized this figure to be none other than Arya.

Its Arya Eragon says to himself. What is she doing out here, doesn't she have like tutoring classes to go to

I have no idea a little one, but I believe it has something to do with you.

Everything with her has to do with me He said to Kayda with a groan.

Arya would approach the duo and begin the elven introduction. First with Kayda then with Eragon.

"Eragon?" She said, surprised at his presence. "What are you doing this early at the palace?" She would ask.

Eragon would motion to the palace and say to Arya. "I must head there for training with Oromis and Brom,"

"Oromis told me to tell you that he will not be available for training today," Arya said to Eragon. She looked different today as if she was fidgeting waiting to tell or ask Eragon something.

"I see," Eragon would say and notice the difference in the princess's personality and posture. "Are you okay Arya? You seem to be distracted,"

"I'm fine Eragon, thank you for your concern," She would say, putting her head down.

Eragon would turn to leave but would feel himself being pulled back. He looked down at his wrist and was surprised to see Arya's hand latched onto his. He turned to look at Arya, who was now looking straight at Eragon with her emerald eyes striking true to Eragon's brownish ones.

"Eragon, I-I have a favor to ask of you," She said stuttering a little, but still her tone made Eragon shiver to hear her confidence. Eragon started to open his mouth for a reply but was quickly cut off by Arya's continuation. "I wish to become a warrior...like you, I want to able to fight like you," She said, edging closer to Eragon. To a bystander, it might have looked like they were about to kiss, and Eragon knew that, so he tried edging away from Arya as she was edging closer. Quite a pickle Eragon's in.

Eragon's mind would be flying around in his brain at the moment.
Kayda? Any help?

Forgive me Eragon but you are on your own for this one Kayda responded before she left Eragon alone to deal with Arya. The dragon left to go meet Brom and Saphira early, she had some questions about dragons that she wanted to ask her fellow people.

"Stupid dragon," Eragon whispered under his breath, forgetting about elves superior hearing, Arya chose to ignore it.

"Mother won't let me train for she thinks I am too fragile to be a warrior and that I should focus more on the history of our people and the intricate politics we house in our courts but I hate it, they will never let me be as free as I know being a warrior will, so that is why, Eragon, I ask for you to be my teacher," She finished bowing her head

"A-are you sure you don't want anyone else? Like how about Faolin? I know he's becoming a great warrior, better than me at least," He said, rubbing the back of his head, nervous and not knowing what else to say. Faolin and Eragon were becoming great friends. Ever since Eragon had come to the elves, the two had quickly become friends.

"Faolin is a good friend, but he is not getting trained like I know you are," She says edging closer to Eragon as if that will help convince him. But it only served to make him more uncomfortable with the situation So he tried to back away until his back hit the palace gate. Oh god now where do I go He began searching for ways to get out of the conversation without paying attention to what Arya was even saying.

Just accept it Kayda said, suddenly popping in Eragon's mind.

I thought you didn't care

I didn't, but now its taking a while for you to get here, so just accept and move on

But I don't want to, I don't want to waste my evenings teaching someone I don't even like

Just teach her little one, it will prove to help you in the future

Its very hard for me to imagine a future where this proves good for me

Do it or else I will hang you by your feet and fly all around Du Weldenvarden

No no no no, I'll do it, please just don't hang me please Eragon begged.

Thats what I thought with that Kayda left Eragon's mind, with just the little sliver of connection remaining.

"Eragon? Eragon? Eragon?!" Arya repeated over and over, ending it with a shout. Eragon quickly turned his head towards Arya's from its original position facing the direction where Kayda had flew to.

"Yes?" Eragon asked, meekly. He dreaded having the conversation that was about to come.

"Do you accept my offer?" She asked quietly, looking towards her shuffling feet. In that moment, Eragon felt some pity for the elven teen. It must've taken courage to ask him to train her.

"...I suppose...I shall...but only if you able to meet the challenge," He said after some moments of pause.

"Of course!" She said with pride. Now she will be able to take her first steps for becoming a true warrior.

"We shall meet at my home, maybe at sundown?" Eragon asked. He always did value the night and the darkness and cold it brings.

"Yes of course friend," Arya said, her eyes beaming with excitment.

Eragon nodded his head. "Well now I have to go see Brom now, goodbye Arya," Eragon said, turning around to open the elven castle's gate behind him.

Arya nodded as well but then was reminded: "But Eragon, I told you that your training was canceled today!" She yelled.

Eragon stopped in his movement and scratched his head as he slowly turned around. "Oops...it appears I forgot,". Now what was he to do with his day. Maybe he can go flying with Kayda and fly to the edges of the giant forest, or maybe he can take some time and practice his magic or maybe become more fluent in the Ancient Language, or maybe he can train with Faolin. Or maybe he could train with...Arya.

Arya giggled quietly and turned to leave before Eragon quickly said. "Arya would you like to train with me now?"

Arya looked at Eragon with her face detailing her surprise before nodding her head. "I would be glad to,"


Eragon and Arya stood apart from one another, with a couple feet in between. They stand in the private training grounds in the elven palace at Arya's request. Both had wooden swords in hand as they were too young by Oromis and Brom's standards anyway. Eragon thought that he had progressed in his training enough to at least practice with a steel sword. But that is of no matter right now.

Both duelers steadied their mind and concentrated to the matter at hand. Each elf prepared their sword and at the same time dashed towards each other in a speed only elves can attain. With both swords meeting with loud clang, another sound entered the fray.

"STOP!" A feminine voice yelled. The two elven teens put down their swords at looked towards the origin of the yell and were surprised and embarrassed, in Arya's case, to see Queen Islanzadi, walking down the stairs that lead to the training grounds, dressed in a purple dress accompanied by a gold necklace that made her neck glow with the sunlight.

Islanzadi quickly approached the pair and had a look of anger that was not seen by Eragon ever in his life. Before Islanzadi could open her mouth which was sure to be filled with words of anger conveyed with screaming, King Evandar quickly came down and rushed to calm his wife with words. Islanzadi looked to Eragon with much anger then to Arya before finally walking away.

Evandar quickly excused himself so that he may deal with his angry wife at the moment before leaving himself.

Eragon did not know what to make of this whole situation so he just opted to stay quiet at the moment. Arya turned to Eragon with looks of apology and said: "As I said my mother does not like for me to dwell in the combat aspects of elves, she would much rather delve in the political matters of things," Arya said with a down bit of emotion. It seems she was looking forward to duel with Eragon. Like before, Eragon felt pity again and suggested another idea. "Well, if we can't duel, maybe we can just walk around the forest," He said in a way like he doesn't care.

Arya nodded her head and dragged Eragon along with her as the two left the castle. "Come Eragon, I know the perfect place to go,"


The two ended up climbing up a tree with Eragon climbing below Arya, as Arya knows the way and in her words: "One single misstep can lead to your death,". That was enough to scare Eragon into submission and follow every step that Arya did. Eventually the two came to the top of the tree, which turned out to be a massive one, Arya said that it was one of the ones that is the biggest in the whole forest.

When the two rested on a branch. Arya let out a sigh and gazed out towards the majesty of the mighty forest. It was now night and darkness covered the entire sky as well as blanketed the forest. But a plus was that the stars turned their magnificent gaze to the habitants of Alagesia.

"I come here to empty my mind and relax almost everyday for the past...well all of my life," Arya said turning her head to Eragon. "I've never shown it to anyone except you Eragon," She said, looking straight at Eragon's eyes.

Eragon stared right back and saw all of the emotions in Arya. He felt touched that she was so vulnerable with him.

"You know Arya...I apologize if I haven't appreciated you and gave you the attention you deserve," He said honestly. He did feel bad about it, especially after spending almost the entire day with her.

"I forgive you Eragon, besides it not like a apology was necessary, I understand the things you have to deal with Eragon," She said, scooting closer to Eragon, but this time, Eragon didn't scoot away.

Eragon read about this moment in books and scrolls he had found in libraries in the elven castle and had read about what to do in such scenarios. With such information in mind, Eragon leaned his head in towards Arya and Arya, much to Eragon's delight, leaned in as well and the lips of the two soon met in a passionate fire of electricity. It started as something awkward as if the two didn't know what they were doing, which was true in a sense, until the two completely abandoned everything else and kissed. Eventually the two separated, after how long? Neither one knows.

Eragon started to chuckle quietly while Arya just had a small smile on her face, but then it seemed a look of realization came onto her and she quickly stood up and looked at the moon glistening. Arya cursed loudly and Eragon looked towards her in confusion.

"Eragon, I must leave, I'm afraid I forgot tonight's celebration," Arya said quickly.

"Celebration for what?" Eragon asked. He was not aware of any celebrations happening. The Blood Oath Celebration was not happening for a year and some months so what other celebration would there be?

Arya did not answer and instead leapt down the tree and quickly ran away into the night towards the elven castle.

Eragon did not know what to do except to follow Arya. But in the way that she left, it seems that she did not want to spend any more time with Eragon.

Just follow her Kayda said, popping up loudly in Eragon's head.

She's probably long gone by now, how am I supposed to find her now

You know Eragon, you keep forgetting very important aspects in your life

Like what

Like me Kayda said, flying though the tree branch that Eragon was on and scooping him up. Eragon was now dangling by his feet which was being grabbed by Kayda's claws. The mighty dragon, while not as big as Glaedr or Brom's dragon Saphira, she was still strong and able to carry one human at a time.

Kayda you said you wouldn't hang me by my legs if I accepted Arya's request, which I did!

So you kissed Arya

That is different

How'd you go from not liking a girl to kissing her in hours Eragon

I...I do not know

The conversation continued carrying on the whole flight to the palace


A.N. Time

Hello again my fabulous readers. I know I've taken a long time with this chapter...one year I think and I apologize and I basically stated everything else in my author's note before this.

First off, I just want to apologize if my writing style is bad this chapter and if my flow of things are bad as well. I am still learning as a writer and breaks are turning out to be bad for me. But good news is that I'm picking up this story again thanks to a review dropped by a guest. That guy who reviewed knows I'm talking about him hehe.

Also I'm still looking for beta readers so if you wanna beta read just PM me. Also if you have new ideas you wanna add to the story PM me or say it in a review and I'll see what I can do.

Another thing, I'm gonna try a new thing where I respond to reviews in following chapters. So review and I'll respond in chapter 10.

Alright last thing, NO MORE AUTHOR NOTES AS CHAPTERS. I can't believe I have to tell myself this in the form of a author's note in a chapter but no more author's notes. I don't want people being excited about new chapters and it just turning out to be an author's note.

Alright I think I covered everything. If I have anything else to say I'll just say it in the next chapter...in the form of a author's note.

OOH before I leave I just want to thank everyone who has viewed this story. Each and everyone one of you has made me feel like my story is a good one worth continuing. So thanks!

And now that should be it. Goodbye everyone and I'll see you in chapter ten.

BYE BYE or toodles.