A/N; Peace! How's it going there? ;D So, since I failed to update yesterday (because I fell asleep…), this is the first of two chapters you're probably going to get today. ^^

So, how are all of you doing today? :3

(Hopefully you're doing well! ^^).

New chapter! New chapter! New chapter!

Haha, yay! ;)

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The sun slowly rose, trekking its path through the sky. Eyelids fluttered gently, and a soft sound was uttered from the elf's vocal chords. As her jade colored eyes opened with her lids half lowered over them, she stirred slightly in her bed.

Sunlight streamed cheerfully in to her room, illuminating the premises. Sitting up slowly, Arya slid out of bed. Quickly changing in to a soft, velvety forest green tunic with a pair of black leggings, the female took a delicate step outside of her quarters. Her bare feet touched the grass, which was wet with the morning dew. Leaning down, she brushed her fingers through the moistened grass, feeling the coolness of the water droplets when they clung to her hand.

The temperature was somewhat warm, though a lethargic breeze kept it relatively brisk. Stepping back in to her quarters, Arya pulled on a pair of supple leather boots, lacing them up so that they fit snugly. Performing a few stretches, she inhaled and exhaled deeply a few times. After that, Arya once more went outside, treading nonchalantly.

She wandered around for a while, before being joined without a word by Faolin. They walked together, side by side, both of them of their own accord. It was a quiet pact; both of them took turns in leading which way their paths went.

It was Faolin who broke the silence first. "Arya," he stated, surprising Arya from her own contemplations as she turned her head to look at Faolin. She met his gray eyes head on, and winced inwardly, though she betrayed nothing on the outside. "Have you heard much from the world outside of Du Weldenvarden?"

Arya was surprised at the question. "Of course not," she said matter-of-factly, as if stating the obvious. She peered at Faolin curiously. "Why, have you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she awaited his answer.

Faolin didn't say anything for a few moments. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, he emphasized his words with a slight nod. "Yes, I have."

A slight hint of alarm rose in Arya. "What?" she asked, impatience beginning to snake in to her voice.

Once again, Faolin took a while to respond. "There are," he said slowly, "more and more troubles brewing in the Empire, day after day."

Arya furrowed her brow in confusion. Why couldn't he just say it straight? She was about to voice her opinion aloud, but was cut short when Faolin continued.

"And day after day, things are changing—and not for the better." At this statement, Faolin appeared rather mournful. "King Galbatorix and the Forsworn have continued raging around the country, recruiting citizens in to an army for twisted purposes. Those who resist are killed, though there are rumors that a group of people have formed a resistance that is hidden away somewhere unknown."

"Faolin, how do you know this?" Arya asked, wondering why he would chose to speak about this subject right now. "And why do you know of it when I don't?" In truth, she felt a little hurt—once again, she was ousted out of knowledge that she felt she needed to know. Why did Faolin, with his lesser status than her, get to know about these things when she didn't?

"There have been other rumors of a race not human, nor of any race we know, terrorizing and rampaging around the Empire, seemingly working in an allegiance with the Empire," Faolin continued, not addressing Arya's inquiries, sending a surge of frustration through her. Could no one ever give a direct answer to her questions?

"But, Faolin—" Arya was cut off here as Faolin continued to speak.

"The people are confused and scared, Arya. They don't know what to do, and it's as if they're balancing on a ledge, close to an edge of a cliff, if you will. Just the slightest push or pull can send them toppling in either direction, either over the edge, or back to safety. No one knows what to do."

"But Faolin!" Arya exclaimed, ignoring his glare when she interrupted yet again. "How do you expect me to believe or understand any of this when I'm not witnessing any of these events? How can you expect me to comprehend what's going on in the Empire when everyone treats me as if I'm a little naïve elf child? I'm over thirty now, same as you—and I'm an elf princess, at that! That doesn't mean I have to live like a pampered little child, do I? In some ways, I was raised more male than female—just look at the way I dress!" She paused here for a breather before continuing. "An elf princess, the future leader to her people… well, she has the right to know, doesn't she?" She took a step closer to Faolin, looking at him intently. "Doesn't she?"

Faolin twitched with discomfort. "I-I don't know, my lady," he said, looking down at the ground. Every time Arya asked questions like this, he would always have the tendency to revert back to acknowledging that his position was lower than hers; he was a regular elf, while she was a princess.

"Very well," Arya murmured, surprising Faolin to the extent where he looked directly up at her. "But, mark my words well—the next time you go to learn about what is going on in the Empire… you will take me with you." Her words had a sense of authority in them that Faolin wanted to resist so much—but he couldn't.

"But, Arya—"

"No buts," she stated firmly. From that point, she proceeded to walk forward in a casual manner, leaving Faolin to look after her.

Emotions swirled around in Faolin's mind, aligning themselves in to a perfect amount of turmoil. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to chase after her and cry her pardon? Or was he supposed to pretend that nothing had happened?

Faolin cursed slightly underneath his breath as he began following Arya. He tread carefully on the ground, making sure that he did not step on any twigs, for fear of disrupting the silence and thus causing Arya to turn around and ask him more questions about how he knew about what was happening in the Empire.

Running his fingers through his air, Faolin moved forward with the utmost stealth. Despite his wanting to remain inconspicuous, he couldn't help but let out a sigh.

There was a lot to be said in one single sigh. Faolin's sigh was one of exasperation, true, but if you looked deeper… well, there were certain things that could be told. For example, why was he sighing of exasperation? It was simple: he wanted to protect Arya from any dangers that lurked in the Empire, which there were sure to be many. After all, many of the humans hated the elves, for they believed that they were cowardly, hiding in the own depths of their forest.

In some ways, Faolin had to agree with them.

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The moon's reflection wavered in the cool, black water as a gust of wind stirred the placid surface. Faolin made his way cautiously through the forest, attempting to creep without a sound. His eyes, pools of silvery gray, darted every which way.

Suddenly, his left foot came down on a twig. The twig snapped abruptly, leaving Faolin to stand there, frozen. Hopefully if anyone had heard it, they had simply dismissed it for the sound of an animal. As it turned out, most elves still awake, indeed, simply took the sound as some creature scurrying about.

But Arya didn't. Standing near the ledge of her window, she looked down. For a fleeting instant, she saw a flash of silver through the night that passed by so quickly, it could have just been a figment of her imagination. Arya, however, thought differently.

Craftily, she slipped through her window, ignoring the usage of her door, as it could creak and give her away quite easily. Once her feet, encased in the same boots as earlier today, touched the ground, she spared no time. Trusting her instincts, she followed the elf—which was, without a doubt, Faolin.

To ordinary humans, the forest at night would have appeared rather daunting—but Arya thought it looked rather pretty. Her eyes drifted to the scenery, marveling at how different it seemed at night. She snapped back to attention, however, when she apprehended that Faolin had increased his speed.

Following in pursuit, Arya tracked Faolin through the forests of Du Weldenvarden. She considered calling his name, but was afraid to awaken any souls who happened to have their dwellings here.

Soon, Arya realized that Faolin was going straight for the borders of Du Weldenvarden.

A sense of apprehension overcame her, but she followed the male elf nevertheless, since her curiosity won out over her fear.

She had never before ventured out of Du Weldenvarden, and Arya was confused. She had thought that Faolin was receiving news of the Empire from another elf—not from outside sources.

Unexpectedly, the forests of Du Weldenvarden ended. Arya halted here, as she looked out on to the endless flat plain that extended from underneath her feet. In the distance, she could see Faolin's figure still running. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she took a tentative step on the land outside of the forest. She was surprised to see that it was sand, and with a slight "oh!" she realized that she was standing on the border of a desert.

A desert? For goodness sake, why was Faolin running across a desert?

There is no time for questions, Arya—just answers. Calming herself through a series of inhales and exhales, the female elf began darting after Faolin, kicking up sand, which twirled around her as if performing a dance of some sort.

No foliage grew from the sand, Arya saw. As she began to grasp the general size of the desert from the fact that she couldn't see anything but endless amounts of sand in either direction, amazement crept over her. Why had Faolin not shown any of this to her before?

Steeling herself against the harsh winds that gusted all the more fiercely through the desert, Arya trudged on, convincing herself that all would be answered once she met up with Faolin.

It was at this point when a new worry overcame her. How would Faolin react to her following him? Would he be absolutely furious, and would he send her back? She had authority over him, yes, but she hated acting like she did.

Faolin's image got closer and closer as she neared him, and she suddenly saw that he had slowed down. Why?

Before overtaking him, Arya found the answer to that question and slowed down. If Faolin had to slow down… well, it was obvious that he was dealing with a place where there were humans, and humans didn't take too well to seeing supernatural things—such as uncommon speed.

A small inhabitance made itself known in to her view as Arya neared where Faolin was going. At this point, she was getting tired of the sand, although she had to admit that it was good for muffling the sound of her footsteps.

As Arya got closer, she realized that there was a small hut built, almost unnoticeable unless you looked carefully.

By now, she was about twenty paces behind Faolin. If he turned around, then he would obviously see her. Because of that, she took care not to do anything foolish that might give away her position.

Faolin entered the hut, which was enclosed on three sides with some type of wall made with mud, and partially closed on the last side with some type of canvas. It was a dismal looking little place, but if Faolin found out all he needed to know about the Empire from there… well, she was looking forward to going inside and finding out everything she wanted to know once and for all.

Arya waited for a few moments before slipping in after Faolin.