A/N: Okay, I don't really have anything to say, so, here it is.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own any of the works by Christopher Paolini. . . .

Chapter 3: It Squeaks!

Addy woke up, and then reflected on the night's events. She looked at the stone she found. Something told her that it was the source of the explosion that caused all the damage in the room. She had decided that for now, she would keep it a secret, it would just raise questions as to where she found it, and she didn't want to lie to anyone.

She went downstairs to prepare breakfast. When she got down, she was startled to see that Peter was already up.

"You woke up early."

"I was thinking about the Spine's Ghost."

"Do you find this person trustworthy?"

"I don't know what to think. He was very eager to get away from me, and he looked almost uncomfortable." As Peter said this, he noticed that a strange look had passed across Addy's face.

"What?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

After everyone had eaten, Addy decided to go for a walk. She roamed the field around her house, and then decided to explore the Spine, and see what it was like in daylight. She brought her stone, wanting a chance to examine it properly.

"Addy! Where do you think you're going?!"

"I was going to go for a walk."

"In the Spine? Are you crazy? It's too dangerous!"

"Of course not! All that dwell in this part of the Spine are a few deer, some rodents, and birds. It's not dangerous at all!" Even before the words were out of her mouth, Addy regretted them instantly.

"How would you know that?" Peter asked, growing suspicious.

"Well, I just figured. It looked like the forest in back of the house, so I figured it had the same animals," Addy invented, cursing herself for not thinking before she spoke.

"Yeah, get out of here. Go see Jenny or something."

Addy ran off, glad that in his surprise and suspicion he hadn't noticed the big stone she was hiding behind her back.

She was almost back at the house when she heard a loud squeak. She realized that it came from the stone, and, after looking around to make sure no one saw, she ran into the now empty house. By the time she made it into her room, several cracks had appeared on the stone, and the stone was squeaking and shaking so violently Addy was afraid someone would hear and come investigate.

Then, the stone went silent. With a resounding crack, the hard violet broke, revealing that the stone was hollow. Inside was . . .

"A dragon!" Addy shouted, then clamped a hand over her mouth. She was in awe of the little creature, with scales so deeply violet she could stare at them for hours. Hesitantly, she reached out with her right hand to pet the dragon's head. A wave of cold spread from her fingertips to the rest of her body, and she lay there, curled up, until she could finally move again. Once she could, she studied the dragon intently. Her palm itched, and she looked at it, finding a silver oval on it.

Tentatively, she reached out to touch the dragon again, bracing herself this time. Instead of what she expected, however, there was just a light tingling. Strangely, she felt like something was brushing against her mind. She looked at the dragon quizzically, and it looked right back at her and tilted its head. It looked around, obviously wanting food.

When Addy returned to the room with a small chunk of meat, she found that the dragon had curled up on her pillow. It hungrily snatched up the pieces of the meat she cut up for it, and then curled up and went to sleep.

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The next few days passed uneventfully, and the dragon grew to about as tall as Addy's knee. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hide it. She discovered that, through images and emotions, she could communicate with her dragon with her mind. She finally constructed a shelter for it near where she found the egg. The dragon knew to stay out of sight of the other humans. She got more and more cautious as the soldiers told tales of the dragon egg that had disappeared from Galbatorix's castle.

Addy continued to hunt for the townspeople, but in smaller amounts, so that there wouldn't be as great a shock to them if something happened. Instead, she started to introduce animals into the forests that didn't reside in the Spine. Many were reluctant, but she found that she could (on a much smaller scale) convince the animals to populate places where people would be willing to hunt.

One night, she came home from hunting and was about to make her way into the house, when she saw Peter.

He looked beside himself with worry.

She tried to sneak back into the house, around on the other side, but Peter looked up.

"You! You need to help! My little cousin is missing, and I'm afraid she might have gotten into trouble!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't do anything!"

"Addy?" Peter was incredulous.

Addy cursed herself. She forgot to deepen her voice. Why couldn't she ever think things through? Reluctantly, she removed her mask.

"Please don't tell my father," she asked.

"You're the Spine's Ghost?!"

"I really wish you would stop using that name. It really is ridiculous."

"Do you have any idea what danger you've put yourself in? You, a girl, hunting in the Spine of all places! I cannot allow you to do this any more!"

"Because you could stop me? If I don't do this, people will starve!"

"I need time to think. Go to bed."

"I will not take orders from you! You are only two years older than I, and you had better not tell my father, either!"

Addy stormed to her bedroom, livid. It wasn't until her dragon calmed her down that she could fall asleep. . . .

A/N: Okay, there! Chapter 3! Review please; I need inspiration to make it better!