OW OW OW MY HEAD OW SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH MY HEAD OWWWWWWWWW. SOMETHING IS SQUEEZING MY BRAIN. IT HURTS.

Anyway…

AnonFanboy: You'll see. You'll see.

Guest: …that's exactly what I was saying… *facepalm* Sorry, I can be very weird with words sometimes. I meant that the movie was not bad by movie standards, but it brings shame to the book. Aside from Jeremy Irons. Jeremy Irons is awesome.

Valentin was a strange young man, Cora decided. Actually, he was a little like Eve when she was little—wary of anything new, but quick to warm up to it.

Or hate it, depending.

But when he saw Ellesméra, he was instantly enchanted. They hadn't stopped at any of the other elven cities on their journey, and so he'd only seen the wonders of the forest—though they were plenty—and Cora's magic as she would settle them down for the night. Now, he saw with his own eyes the glory of the elves.

They were greeted by Oromis as they made their way to Cora's house. "I trust your mission was successful?" he asked once the proper 'hellos' had been said.

Cora sighed sadly. "It turns out I have been lax in my duties as a mother and grandmother. Eve has been dead for ten years, her daughter was left to the wolves at age six, and her son was put to farmwork—though, as you can see, I brought him with me." Switching to the human tongue, she said, "Valentin, this is Oromis, a very old friend of mine. Oromis, this is my grandson Valentin."

Valentin gave an awkward little half-bow, mumbling, "Pleasure to meet you, Mister Oromis."

The old elf chuckled. "The pleasure is all mine, Valentin. Any child or grandchild of Cora's is welcome here. Will he be staying with you?" he asked Cora.

She nodded. "He was three when his mother died. I doubt he was taught how to interact with elves by the village—they follow a god named Gazilar, who they say 'struck her down for her evils'—so I'll be teaching him myself."

"She's a very good teacher so far," Valentin put in.

Oromis smiled. "If you need any help, you know where to find me, Cora."

They'd been flying for four days straight. At night, they kept flying until the moon was starting to set, then they'd land and sleep for only a few hours before returning to the skies. Used to keeping a quick pace over long distances now, the land below Ophelia's wings was a consistent blur—the green of the grassy plains that marked the border between Du Weldenvarden and the desert; the burning gold of the Hadarac sands; the green-brown-gray of small forests, rivers, rocks and villages as they approached the heart of the Broddring Empire.

Even so, the importance of their mission, and the strange adrenaline of anxiety, had kept both Rider and Dragon awake and on their guard.

Now, though, Tania could only think Scary scary scary as they watched the castle of Urû'baen from the protection of a little knoll, menacing even in the bright noonday sun.

A jerk of Ophelia's camouflaged foreleg jolted Tania out of her thoughts. The Rider looked over, though she couldn't see anything. Is something wrong?

I can hear them screaming. Both of them. They're underground—deep underground—but I can still hear them.

Underground? You can sense them?

They're in my head. I think… I think it's because I dreamed about the hatchling.

Tania bit her lip, frowning. If the hatchling and his Rider were underground, that could make things complicated. We need a plan.

Sneak in camouflaged once Galbatorix goes to bed, find out where they are, find them, get them out, fly away. Pretty simple.

How do we sneak in in the first place?!

Doesn't the castle have a dragonhold?

…that could work. But how—

The guards probably don't have walls on their mind, so that the king can control him easier.

Okay, but—

If Galbatorix goes to bed, the torture will probably stop, which means the screams will stop.

Alright, but—

I'd been climbing the marble walls of Tronjheim for most of our visit, so even if we need to pass people, we'll just cling to the wall and I'll cover you with my wings.

Great. So then—

Then we'll knock out the guards by forcing ourselves into their minds and suggesting that they go to sleep.

Ophelia!

What?

What if they have a guard who can use magic? What if it's someone like the Twins?

We kill him. Simple as that.

But it's not! What if there are spells and magic alarms or enchantments so that only Galbatorix can release them or—

If they're chained up, I might be able to use fire. No enchantment can withstand dragonfire, and Arya says that a dragon's first few breath's are often their most pure and powerful.

…you don't know that.

True, but I can at least try.

Even if you did, what if you burnt us all to a crisp?

You know the words for 'shield us from fire.' I trust you. You can do it.

But…

Life is full of risks. Might as well take one for something that counts, right?

Tania sighed, her heart suddenly racing. Alright. She took a deep breath, then said it again, firmly this time. Alright. As soon as the screams stop, we'll find the dragonhold, wrangle their location out of a guard, make our way to them, bust them out, and then fly away as fast as you can.

That's the spirit, Ophelia said cheerfully, then winced as a scream louder than the others had been pierced her mind. I just hope they don't break before we break them out.

EDIT*******: As you might have noticed… some chapters have disappeared. PLEASE DO NOT PANIC. I was displeased with how they turned out, looking at them now, and I can go nowhere with them at the moment. So, I am rewriting them… and they shall return soon! I promise!

I am so excited right now that I'm going to make it a cliffhanger.

Yay!

XD Review!

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