The Girl with the Broken Crown
Disclaimer: Meh. I'm too lazy to type it again. Take a look in the first chapter.
Summary: Rya's back and she has her father's mess to clean up. Even worse, she has to find a husband of some royal bloodline, train with the elves, and hunt down all the Ra'zac... all before the end of the year. Not to mention old friends, mysterious, handsome young men, and an awry spirit... along with all of Alagaësia to rule...
Author's Note: Yay! Update! Thank you to Weeping Willowleaf for reviewing!
Chapter Three: Emidite
Several hours later, Rya could be found in her chambers. The servants were busy buckling armor on her, even though she insisted that she didn't need any help. She had found Eragon and Murtagh eating their cares away in the dining hall, both of them had nearly finished half of the stuffed pig and most of the bread and vegetables. Of course, they scurried off to get their armor fitted too after Rya spoke her mind about gluttony.
It wasn't long before she sent out the command to saddle the horses. Even though the dragons were coming along, several knights and appointed generals would be traveling with them who had no such thing. Therefore, Rya decided it would be more convenient to travel on horses and let the dragons bring up the rear from the sky, because it was a little more awkward for them to be walking.
Nobody knew how long it would get to reach the nearest civilization to the east past the city of Hedarth and the Eda River, since nobody had traveled that far since her father was a boy. It was strange and made Rya nervous. Deaux, the current mapmaker and historian was considerably young and insisted that he come along, and Rya wasn't about to object.
There were records of the eastern lands, but none of it made any sense. They spoke of creatures that were unimaginable to the human mind. The records also explained the eerie culture of the people and their traits. All of it seemed over exaggerated and none of the three dragonriders took it seriously. Even Deaux thought that it might be a little misrepresentative of the actual thing.
Several people were on the list that Rya had conjured up to come along. This list left the highest command in the castle to the position of Steward. Jörmundur.
"But, Milady, I must--"
"No, Jörmundur, you must stay here. You're the man I have trusted to look after the Empire while I am away. You should be grateful." Rya never turned too look at the general because she was hiding a twisted smile on her face. She loved being able to boss around people that were older than she was.
"But I am! I am very... glad that you have chosen me, but should I be going with you?"
"Your duty is here." Rya stated, turning abruptly once she was through the door. With a smirk, she snapped her fingers to the guards and they shut it as she walked away.
::alagaësia::
Over all, Rya was a little surprise at the turnout. Her horse, Corweth, shifted uneasily beneath her as a red dragon skirted the outer-wall of the city. A few other horses whinnied nervously.
"Rya!" Murtagh called as Thorn's wings beat up the loose dirt around the animals.
"What?" Rya shouted back.
He tossed a scroll to her that was tied with a black ribbon. "Don't forget that,"
Rya looked at the thick paper for a second before looking back up at him. "What is it?"
"I don't know exactly. Etham told me to give it to you and told me to tell you that... well, I'm not going to repeat it. In short, he isn't very happy."
A small smile crossed Rya's face. "Just make sure you're back out here by the time we leave, Murtagh."
He nodded and mentally urged Thorn into the air. Just as he disappeared from view, Rya shoved the scroll into one of the saddlebags. A group of knights on horses exited the gates in a line. They all wore the same dark red leather armor that was normal for knights when they traveled on horses. Rya was happy to notice that Tristan was with them.
"Milady," the first knight said, bowing a little, not that it was easy bowing on a horse.
Rya nodded back.
"Deaux apologizes for the delay. He mentions on how hard it is to leave library."
"I understand the feeling," Rya laughed. "What of my two sorcerers?"
"Both Kindel and Middai have accepted your offer and are also on their way."
"Excellent." Rya glanced over the small group. Eight knights. Three squires. Three dragonriders with their dragons. Two sorcerers and a historian. And no fancy entourage. She looked at the knight who she had been talking to. "May I ask your name?"
"Sir Rymn, Milady," he smiled, "at your service."
Rya smiled back. Wisps of silvery hair reflected the light as they poked out from beneath his helmet that was left unpolished because of the sun. He seemed nice, but she didn't quite understand why her father chose him to be head of the knights. Rymn was muscular and middle aged, but he seemed too gentle for her father's tastes. Then again, she had just met him, so who was she to judge?
Then there were the sorcerers. Siblings, but not twins, although it might seem like it at times. Kindel and Middai were the highest ranking magic users in the castle that Rya could get her hands on at the moment. At this moment in time, they were on horses, arguing as usual. Kindel, the white haired and older of the two, rode a black horse, and Middai, who had pitch black hair, rode a white horse. It almost looked like it was arranged that way.
"Speak of the devil," one of the knights commented softly.
"Or devils," another chuckled.
As soon as the two sorcerers noticed that everyone was staring at them, they shut up immediately.
"Lady Rya!" gushed Middai, his grey cloak gently moving in the wind. "Thank you--"
"Thank you for inviting us!" Kindel finished in unison with his brother. His hair was cropped around his ears and flew into his face as he shot a reproachful glare at his brother.
Rya laughed as she sensed them talking to each other with their minds. "I would have it no other way." she told them.
This pleased the brothers.
I hope they don't do that the whole way. Eragon's echoed through Rya's mind. She looked up to see Deaux coming out of the gates accompanied by Eragon and Murtagh.
You said it. Rya countered with a small sigh.
If they do I'm going to have to teach them a lesson in brotherhood. She saw Murtagh's expression drop as he looked at his own brother. Eragon smiled innocently.
"Are the dragons prepared, Murtagh?" Rya asked.
"The keepers are doing so right now." Murtagh replied.
As Rya went down her mental check list, she told everybody else to do so also and make sure they weren't leaving anything behind. Soon, they were prepared to set out.
::alagaësia::
They were only two hours into their trip when it began to get dark. To insure that they would have water most of the time, they planned to take the route along the Beor Mountains, which meant that they had to travel southeast before they could actually go east. Rya had hoped to get to the city of Furnost before they stopped, but it looked like if they kept going, it would be dark when they arrived.
After a quick council with the rest of the group, they decided to enter the city at dawn. They stopped near a small grouping of trees to set up camp a few minutes later. As the rest of the party went to sleep, Rya took out the scroll that Etham had given her. It was small, more the size of a diploma than an actual scroll. A small bag fell out onto the ground as she unrolled the parchment and several smooth black stones fell out when it hit the dirt.
Rya reached down, picked them up, and rolled them around in her hand before turning to back to the parchment. It was an old record of trades with a note in scrawling handwriting at the bottom.
"These rocks are worth more than your head. Do not loose them. Find more and bring them back. -Etham." Rya read softly. She looked down into her hand at the rocks. It was then she noticed that when they moved, there was some kind of liquid that seemed to be right beneath the surface that created the effect that the surface itself was moving. Rya was almost tempted to go wake Deaux and ask him about them, but right after thought against it because it might cause some problems if they're worth as much as Rya thought they were.
On the parchment, it was a trading record between Urû'baen and several other cities that she had never heard of. Galena. Chalcum. Míca. All of the cities had sent this rock back, which seemed to be called Emidite, for other precious things, including gold, jewels, and another thing she had never heard of before. Baux Powder.
Suddenly, Rya, with a sweep of her mind, felt a pair of eyes gazing at her. She looked up to see Tristan mesmerized by the rocks in her hand.
Deaux is pronounced De-oo, like a French name. Baux like "Bocks", Middai – "Mid-eye", Kindel – "Kin-dell", Míca – "Mick-ah", and Rymn – "Rim"