Here it is, ten chapters to make up for my...absence. I will do better, that I can assure everyone.

~NitexXxMare

Okay so I want to say sorry to my wonderful Beta because I need to get this chapter up! I really do but this will be the last time I'm uploading something without him checking it over. I feel bad. But the reason being is that I typed this chapter with a resolution in mind and I wanted to see it up and posted before I could change my mind. But hopefull this chapter and the rest coming after it shall not disappoint you all. Thoughts on this chapter please! Happy Reading! :)

It only took the dragons a day of flying until they reached the outskirt of Du Weldenvarden. The rippling grass gave way to tan scrub, which grew ever more scarce until, in turn, it was replaced by sunbaked ground bare of all but the most hardy plants. They had to stop and rest that night for Eridor was still in his gangly youth to fly continuously. It was an uneventful but enjoyable journey. He often spoke to Saphira throughout the flight and sometimes when Arya was up to it, her as well.

And like the time they traveled together through the forest, Eragon had decided to come up with another game. But this time it was a sore mistake for Arya bested him in every turn, for the game was riddles. Whenever he gave her one it didn't take her more than a few minutes before she deciphered its meaning while he had a much more difficult time.

Sometimes the dragon would join in, but mostly they kept to themselves for Eragon knew that they two of them were conversing with one another. No doubt sharing memories and emotions. One time, Eragon had to smile when he saw a flash of Eridor chasing a deer in Du Weldenvarden and in his haste, tripped over a fallen log. Another time he cringed when Saphira showed the emerald dragon the memory of his first flight which caused Arya's mind which was joined with his to tinge with amusement.

On the third day since leaving Ellesmera, the wind rose up behind them and wafted the dragons farther than they could have flown on their own, carrying them entirely out of the Hadarac desert. Near the edge of the waste, they passed over horse mounted nomads who were garbed in flowing robes to ward against the heat. The men shouted in their rough tongue and shook their swords and spears at the dragons but made no attempt to shoot an arrow at Eridor and Saphira.

That night, they made camp at the southernmost end of Silverwood Forest, which lay along Lake Tudosten and was named so because it was composed almost entirely of beeches, willows, and trembling poplars. Instead of taking shelter in the forest itself, they made camp near the lake so the dragons could clean their scales of the sand for Saphira complained that it itched her endlessly when it managed to get stuck deep between her scales.

After collecting some firewood, Eragon squatted in the center of their camp next to the lake and lit a fire for night was fast in coming. While Arya was sitting on the shore of the lake conversing with the dragons, he moved to his bags that he packed his scrolls and texts in and began to review them and the information that he'd collected while he was in Ellesmera. There was nothing useful that could help him, for he had gone over the details and information multiple times. He sighed as he sat there in the light of the fire trying to figure out a way to save his soul.

The violet seal had gradually disappeared the morning they left Ellesmera but he knew that is power still remained for he hadn't had an attack since the Agaeti Blodhren. Even then he couldn't trust in the dragons power for he didn't know how long it would last and whether or not if certain conditions could bring about its disappearance altogether.

He reached up to touch his right eye again. What was it? He'd drawn out the star like pattern on a scroll but there wasn't a text about it that he'd come across it in. Was it the dragons' doings or Galbatorix's?

After a few moments, he heard the sound of Arya's soft footsteps and closed the scrolls he had opened. He didn't want her to see it. Just as he'd finished packing it away, she lowered herself on the ground opposite him. Ever since leaving Ellesmera, her relaxed disposition had disappeared replacing a cautious and alerted elf.

Eragon could tell that she wanted to ask about the scrolls and texts but being her, she didn't ask instead she pointed to a distance across the lake. "The dragons have left." He blinked and turned. True to her word, they weren't swimming in the lake like he'd saw them moments ago. They were no doubt mating. He grimaced at the thought of possibly feeling Saphira's emotions. "You seem displeased."

Eragon shook his head. "I just don't want my emotions to be overcome by Saphira's. It can be rather overwhelming."

Arya nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her pointed ear as it fell before her face. "I admit that it can be." She remained quiet for a moment before speaking again. "You seem much better."

"I am." he threw a piece of firewood into the fire, watching as sparks crackled and flew into the air. He turned back to Arya, curious. "Are your people ready to go to war with the Varden against the Empire and Galbatorix?"

"We've had a century to prepare for this moment and now that it's come, we will not remain idle in the forest anymore." Her eyes drifted towards the fire. "It may have been a century since our army has marched but when we do; we can cause as much destruction as we can sing to flowers and trees. And my mother being an able commander will see to it that our name is not forgotten in history."

He nodded. "And so we've made the first move in this game we call war."

Her green eyes were bright as she considered him. "And so it would seem." She paused. "Are you ready to fight this war? It will be a long and arduous task."

"I'm just as ready as you are, Arya," said Eragon as he drew a pattern into the dirt beside him. "However long I have to fight to reach Galbatorix, I will fight even if it costs me my life. I won't let him take what's mine anymore."

"Your revenge?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "He'll pay for what he's done in full and whoever gets in my way will be cut down by my blade." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I apologize if I'm merging my personal matters into the affairs of the Varden but I refuse to let his reign stand anymore."

"It is not my place to say."

He nodded and glanced up at the sky, they would only have a few hours respite before they left again. "You should rest; I'll take the first watch." Without another word, she laid down facing the fire for the warmth of the flames before closing her eyes. Within ten minutes her breathing had evened out and she'd fallen into the slumber that most elves wrapped themselves in. Eragon sat there, finally able to see her for the first time. She was a very beautiful person. There wasn't a flaw on her that he could point out and he knew that he was attracted to her but he wasn't fool enough to approach her. He would never do such a thing for it would only burden her.

Arya was the first person beside his mother, Saphira, and his servants that he wanted to protect with his life. That he wanted to see smile from deep down in her heart. He didn't understand it, the tenderness he felt for Arya. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling for the elf. Was it a deep friendship or was it something else? As he sat there gazing at her slender and angled face, he felt the same emotion stir within him as it had countless times before that he'd brushed off. This time it was stronger because of the connection that Saphira and Eridor shared.

He couldn't understand it. He couldn't understand what he felt for Arya. Sighing, he stood and walked to stand on the shore of the lake. Just thinking of it made him feel restless. Tossing his blades onto the ground, he did the one thing that came to mind as he stared at the smooth surface of the water.

Swim.

Not bothering to remove any of his clothes, he waded deep into the water until it was level with his shoulders, the coolness of it seeping into his bones and relaxing his tense muscles. Without another word, he took in a deep breath and submerged himself in the water. Letting his instincts take over, he swam endlessly without a thought in mind.

But after a moment it would drift back towards Arya. What was happening to him? Was it because of Saphira and Eridor mating? He couldn't make sense of it. With a thought of frustration, he swam upwards breaking the surface of the water. Flying a few feet into the air, he leaned forward; bring his hands together in front of him before spearing back into the water. He had to stop thinking. But that in itself was an impossible quest. Eventually after an hour or two of nonstop swimming, Eragon came to a stop.

His body ached but it got his mind off of the subject altogether. Ready to return to the camp to sleep, Eragon began to walk to the shore of the lake, stopping with the water mid chest when he caught sight of Arya standing there before him. She stood waist deep in the water. Suddenly feeling self conscious, Eragon remained there staring at her.

She slowly moved forward towards him, her emerald eyes bright in the dark. "Forgive me for the intrusion but I was unable to sleep." Her voice floated over to him, loud in the silence of the night. "And it seems like you too have something on your mind, Eragon."

He didn't say anything but blinked at her. The second he opened his eyes again, she was gone. What? Glancing over the surface of the water as he searched for her, Eragon called out her name, "Arya?"

There was movement behind him and as he turned, she emerged from underneath the water letting out a breath of air as her familiar scent of crushed pine needles filled his nose. As his eyes focused on her, he felt his breath catch in his throat. She looked much different in the moonlight. Even though she was drenched in water and her hair clung to her face and back, she was still very beautiful. What's wrong with me?

He was beyond irritated at his reaction to Arya. It had never happened to him before and he couldn't imagine why it would start now all of the sudden. "You look refreshed." To this she awarded him a smile as her left forefinger began to draw patterns on the surface of the lake, creating ripples in the water.

"It is hard not to be," she paused, her eyes glancing back at him. "Is there something bothering you, Eragon?"

There were many things bothering him but he didn't say that instead he shook his head, "No."

Her eyes narrowed for she didn't believe him he could tell and she asked the question again this time in the ancient language. He stood there for a moment trying to speak around the language but as she'd anticipated he couldn't get the words out.

She turned away from him and instead faced the new moon that hung high in the sky, giving her milk honeyed skim a glowing look. "It was a new moon that night when you rescued me from Gil'ead many months ago." He waited for her to continue. "And in the time that we've spent together we're always saving one another, aren't we? Back in Farthen Dur when you rescued me from Durza, when I saved your life in Du Weldenvarden from the arrow and your illness."

"Circles within circles," murmured Eragon.

She continued as if he hadn't interrupted her. "You said I had saved you back in Gil'ead but it doesn't seem that way."

"What are you talking about?" Eragon asked slowly and hesitantly.

"I know that something is amiss," her emerald eyes found his and the piercing gaze seemed to stare right into his soul. "I've seen it throughout our travels together. You're ill, Eragon. In both mind and body and it doesn't seem to be getting any better."

He glanced down at the dark glossy surface of the water, trying to figure out how to move about the situation without telling Arya about his condition. "I have gotten better." It was true in a way, ever since the Agaeti Blodhren, his mind had been sound.

Even though he'd said it in the ancient language, she ignored it, as if he hadn't said anything at all. "Master Oromis and my mother have been searching for something. Something that could be found in ancient scrolls and texts of magic, the same answers that you are searching for, Eragon." She paused. "I know that I speak out of bounds but I want to help you…however I can."

He stared at her moved by her words but he couldn't bring himself to say it to her. He couldn't bring himself to acknowledge the fact that his condition was still a threat to him and that even the dragon's magic couldn't cure him of it entirely. When he didn't speak, Arya glanced from him to the moon again. "It is your soul that's troubling you, is it not?"

Eyes widening, Eragon felt his mind go blank for a moment, how did Arya know? "I—"

"What is it Eragon?" she whispered her eyes returning to him.

"You can't help me…" he said, feeling his barriers slowly drop before Arya. Barriers that he tried so hard to keep up. "No one can…not Master Oromis…not Queen Islanzadi…not even Saphira can help me."

"Tell me," her expression was one of concern as she stood before him in the lake, refusing to back down. And for the first time, he was able to experience her stubbornness. She had never refused a lack of answer from him before. But now….

He blinked, and in a low voice told her everything. His lack of half his heart and half of his soul. The bloodlust of the spirit that was chained inside his body that was trying to worm its way in control of his body and his life. That her mother and Oromis had tried countless methods to save him some dangerous, others not so much. By the time he'd finished, her expression went from concern to grief.

"It can't be," Arya whispered.

"I wish it wasn't," said Eragon. "But it is." He sighed. "The dragons have tried their hardest to heal me. But how can you someone that isn't ill but incomplete? Without the other half of my being, I can't live as two halves of one whole. My soul doesn't have the energy to sustain my body and mind."

"But what of the spirit inside you?"

"He was locked away inside my body to keep me from dying for his magic was enough to sustain my life. Without him I will die. But if I'm not careful his need for bloodlust will drive me to insanity. If he takes control of me, he can bend my will with ease." Realization flashed in her eyes and he was sure that she was remembering the time that he had attacked her in the sparring field within Ellesmera.

She didn't say anything for a while and he was sure that she would remain that way for quite some time. After a moment, Arya reached forward, and laid a hand on the right side of his face. Her thumb gently caressed the skin underneath his right eye. "The seal in your right eye…is that keeping the spirit at bay?"

He nodded. "But I don't know for how long or whether or not it'll come off at any moment's notice."

Arya stared at his right eye for a long moment and then she did something he would never suspect her to do. To anyone. She kissed him on the brow over his right eye. Her lips were smooth as it brushed against his skin.

When she pulled away, he found himself staring at her with a mixture of shock and astonishment. What did she just do? The skin where her lips brushed him burned. "I want to stand by you, Eragon…as your friend…as a fellow dragon rider…" she hesitated as if unsure of whether or not to continue. Then steeling herself, she finished her last statement. "And as your mate."

If what she did shocked him, what she said made his mind stop its functions altogether. And he found himself questioning whether or not there was water in his ears making him hear her wrong. "You've asked me whether or not I loved Faolin, and I too have wondered that. In the twenty years that we've traveled together, though I did feel strongly for him, I was not as certain of them as I am now. But in the short amount of time I've spent with you, Eragon. I felt things I've never felt and seen things in new perspectives that I've never thought I would see." She smiled wryly. "You are changing me as Eridor is."

He stared at her, still not comprehending what she was trying to say to him. Everything seemed to remain still, not one sound seemed to penetrate the silence that settled over them. Even the lake was still. "It goes against reason…for I am older than you by decades and yet all this time, I can never see you as anyone else besides my equal. In strength, in wisdom, and in knowledge," her eyes twinkled at the last statement. "You may be young Eragon, but certainly not a child. Not after all you've gone through. You're wise beyond your years and you are nothing like I would expect most to be. There may be those who will look down on my decision for taking such a young mate, but it is of little concern to me. If you feel anything for me then allow me to return my own feelings for the life of solitude that I've led up until now has slowly blinked passed my eyes."

Eragon felt horribly confused. This was the first time, he'd never thought of such a confession from Arya and yet something inside him swelled at her words. An emotion that was foreign and yet comforting.

He noticed how his silence was affecting her for she'd turned her head face away from him, her eyes raised to the star dotted sky and the new moon that hung over them. "Arya," he murmured softly, she turned to face him again, "I don't have anything to give you in return for your feelings. My own isn't enough. I've done horrible deeds…my hands are stained with blood…they aren't for tender caresses."

Her hand came to grip his upper left arm. "You're a good person, Eragon. You've done the best in your situation and even now, you're still trying your best. Let the past be and move forward towards the future."

What was he supposed to do? He'd never had experience in areas such as this. In his entire life, he rarely associated himself with women romantically and never thought that he would. Staring into Arya's eyes, he felt the emotion in his chest burst forth nearly encompassing all of his being. A blazing warmth that he'd never felt before in his life. Instinctively moving forward, he placed a hand on the side of Arya's face. He leaned forward, before hesitating, unsure of himself. But Arya wouldn't stand for his hesitation and closed the remaining distance between them her lips meeting his softly.

Almost immediately, his brain was overwhelmed by the intoxicating fragrance of crushed pine needles and of Arya…It was a strong feeling of ardor that he felt for her, so strong that it warmed him from the inside out. As her lips brushed against his, he hesitantly responded to her at first. But with time, he began to return her kisses, to lean into her, and to part his lips and receive them. Despite the fact that they stood chest deep in the lake, his body was aflame as if he was being burned alive but he didn't feel the pain. Instead he felt a warmth that throughout his travel had been growing and growing with every moment he'd spent with her. Their time together fighting, learning, and conversing with one another. All of those moments in which they came to rely on the other's strength. When she dove willingly into his dangerous mind, when she came after him after his attack. And he knew that Arya would never let him fall.

When he felt Arya's tongue sliding against his lips, he pulled away slightly shocked. She stared at him, her eyes dark and her lips a darker shade of red they normally were. "I'm not sure how…to…" he stopped unsure of what else to say.

To his surprise, she burst out laughing. And the few times he'd heard her laugh, he treasured above all. Smiling up at him, she reached forward again, disrupting the water. "It is all right, Eragon." She leaned forward to capture his lips again. "You will learn soon enough."

And he did. Eventually, when he'd allowed her entrance to his mouth, it felt strange at first but when her tongue gently brushed his, a jolt ran the length of his body. And he instinctively responded to her. After a few light caresses, she became more demanding and he found himself responding in kind. As his lips moved in rhythm with hers, he brought his hand up to wrap tangled itself in her silky hair while the other wrap itself around her slim and slender waist. Though he didn't know what he was doing, he knew that he was right in doing so for her arms came to wrap themselves around his strong neck. As they stood there wrapped in each other's embraces, he felt wonderfully light hearted and for the first time in a long time, truly happy. And it was because of Arya.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard Angela's voice echo in his mind like a long forgotten song. An epic romance is in your future, extraordinary, as the moon indicates—for that is a magical symbol—and strong enough to outlast empires. I cannot say if this passion will end happily, but your love is of noble birth and heritage. She is powerful, wise, and beautiful beyond compare.

Well, at least she was correct he thought humorously. She is powerful, wise, and beautiful beyond compare. And so begins his epic romance…together with Arya.

So what do you think? Good, bad, eh? Anyways, I had always planned for them to get together towards the end of Eldest. My reasoning? There wasn't a good enough time to put it in Brisingr and definitely not Inheritance. I tried to plot towards a Brisingr moment but it felt like the romance was being dragged out to the point that its spread kind of thin. And I felt that this moment was perfect. They're outside of the influence of Du Weldenvarden and Arya just wants to confess before they're swamped into war and politics all over again. Good thinking right? I think so. Anyways, I'm already halfway through the next chapter and I'm having so much fun. If you think you enjoy reading this, just think about writing it! See you all next chapter! :)