Chapter 15 has arrived! So… I can't think of anything to put for an A/N, so I'll go right to the chapter…OH! I only get around 20 hits per chapter, so I guess I have about 20 loyal readers. I have to thank you guys sooo much!!! I wish you would all leave a review so I could thank you by name, like marie, Blackangel90, and Wise Pallas Athena. So, here's the chapter.

DISCLAIMER: This is the first chapter I need one in. I DON'T own anything except Penelope, Verina, Jeremy and the cave setting, okay?

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Our "few hours' flight" ended up consuming half of the remaining daylight. Verina was exhausted from fright and her exertion in flying so fast. The fact that she was gradually becoming more and more depressed with her situation didn't help, either. She didn't have the energy or the will to keep up her pace, so we landed a few times.

This meant that by the time we crossed the border into Surda, I was annoyed, cranky, tired, and sad all at the same time. I couldn't help Verina cheer up, no matter what I did. I had been flying all day, and my legs were sore from Verina's paranoid glances behind us for pursuers causing her scales to rub against them.

Given these things, it was no surprise that I had made another critical oversight: I didn't know exactly where in Surda the Varden actually were. We searched for over an hour and our sense of despair grew. Suddenly I found myself with tears in my eyes. I tried to push them away, but they came in a torrent so strong they overflowed and began to run down my cheeks.

Just as my tears threatened to worsen, I felt a powerful, almost alien consciousness touch my own. A voice emanated from it, commanding, Halt!

Verina, what do we do?

What does it matter what we do? Whoever this being is he or she is many times more powerful than we are. We would stand no chance against it. But she stopped to hover in midair even as she finished this depressing rant.

Verina, how do you know it is an enemy? Wouldn't an enemy just attack us outright and not bother to try to negotiate? She was silent, but I could tell she saw that I was right.

Who goes there? State your name! said the being mentally.

Penelope and Verina of Alagaësia. We are looking for Eragon Shadeslayer and the Varden, I added in an attempt to be helpful.

Well, you have found them. At that moment a brilliant sapphire-colored dragon darted out from behind a cloud. It was at least twice as big a Verina was, and flew with such confidence that its very presence intimidated me.

But Verina was fascinated and awed. Another dragon!

I told you Eragon was a Rider, Verina.

I know, but mere stories cannot hope to compare to seeing another member of my species first-hand.

Eragon, for I knew that was who sat atop the dragon Saphira's back in a saddle, said, Hail, Rider! This is an unexpected surprise. Our spies did not mention that another Rider had been revealed. I am very interested in how you come to be here. But that tale can wait until we land. You can follow me. And Saphira angled downward steeply towards the ground. In that moment I noticed that Eragon looked almost non-human. He had pointed ears and angled features the likes of which I'd never seen, except in storybooks. He looked like an elf.

Verina stumbled over herself in her rush to catch up. I felt her complete and utter embarrassment at this mistake. What will Saphira think of me now?

She probably didn't even notice, Verina.

A dragon such as her notices everything, she informed me, abashed.

We landed with a loud thump, and Verina again stumbled, this time over a stone, as she attempted to walk and fold her wings in the same instance.

"She's not usually this clumsy, she's just never seen another dragon before, and she's a little nervous and really wants to impress you, Saphira…" I trailed off weakly.

"We understand, Penelope. Now, I apologize, but I must search your brain for any signs of deceit. You are not under Galbatorix's influence, I hope?"

"No, we'd rather die than serve him!" I answered fiercely.

"Again, I'm sorry, but I cannot believe you until you allow me to search your mind. Will you give me permission?"

I hesitated for only a second. I had to get Eragon to trust me or he wouldn't listen to my news. "Yes, I grant it."

"Okay, I'll try to be as gentle as I can. Do not block your mind from me or it will hurt more."

I said nothing, not wanting to admit that I didn't know that you could block your mind from other people. I felt a spike of steel jammed into my thoughts, hurting my head and, surprisingly, my entire body. I'm sorry, Eragon thought again as he began to delve into my thoughts.

I could do nothing as he picked through every section of my memories, pouring over the events that happened in the last year. He briefly flipped through my childhood memories, and he cringed, as I did, as he watched the torture and murder of my mother. After what seemed like far too long, he withdrew, and my mind felt oddly cluttered and dirty.

"You are obviously not working for Galbatorix, which means you are more than welcome here among the Varden. Come, I will take you two to their leader."

The leader was a young woman only a few years older than me. She had dark-pigmented skin and wore a dress made of intricate lace. To her left sat a very young girl of about ten who had creepily piercing eyes. Also in the tent was a man garbed like a king, a warrior, and, to my great surprise, an elf woman.

I curtseyed as best I could in pants as Eragon introduced each of the occupants. "This is Lady Nasuada, leader of the Varden and my liege lord. The girl is called Elva and it because of her that I found you."

"Well then, I must thank you, Elva."

"You are quite welcome, Penelope," she replied, shifting her bangs to reveal a dragon mark on her forehead. Her voice was tinged with amusement, condescension, and an overall ominous feeling. I shivered.

Gesturing, Eragon said, "This is King Orrin, ruler of the land of Surda."

The king clasped my hand in a handshake. "It is absolutely wonderful to meet you, Penelope. I am most curious as to how you came to find us and your dragon here."

"If you please, Orrin," Nasuada interjected, "We will wait until the introductions are over, so the poor girl only has to relay the tale once."

"Thank you," I said, curtseying again.

The Shadeslayer continued, "Now then, this is Jörmundur. And this," he said, leading me to stand in front of the elf, "is Arya Svit-Kona."

"It is an honor to meet you, Rider," she said, touching her first two fingers to her lips.

"And you as well, Arya Svit-Kona." I repeated the gesture, thinking giddily, An elf! I'm meeting a real elf. I said to Verina, Isn't this exciting?

Hmm? Oh, yes, very much so, Penelope. Verina was preoccupied talking to Saphira. I was a bit annoyed, but I decided to let her be on her own for now.

"You may call me simply Arya, young Rider," the elf said in the midst of my thoughts.

"Now," commanded Nasuada, "I think we would all like to hear about your adventure."

Eragon took a seat and the dragons stuck their heads inside the tent as I began speaking. When I reached the part about the cave, Eragon asked a flood of questions in quick succession, many of which I couldn't answer. He conferred with Saphira for a few minutes before announcing, "Neither Saphira nor I have any idea what this spell was. But we are intrigued, and don't think it would be dangerous. Please, continue your story."

I continued on, talking about meeting Verina and our first few weeks together. When I told about my spell in the wilderness, Eragon's eyes widened, as did Saphira's, to my great surprise, but they remained silent. I mentioned the Ra'zac, and Eragon cut in, "Did they have a prisoner with them? A young woman about your age?"

"No," I said.

I couldn't tell if he was relieved or disappointed as he said, "Sorry for the interruption."

I continued on, talking about my adventures in Kuasta and showing them my blade. They barely glanced at it, except for Arya, whose eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. But no one else seemed to notice, and she refrained from comment.

I ended my tale by warning them of the presence of the other Dragon Rider. "And we saw a red dragon flying away from Helgrind. We quickened our pace to get here, because we felt we had to warn you that a new Rider has emerged and allied himself or herself with Galbatorix."

The assembled group didn't seem at all surprised, although Eragon's face soured. "So Murtagh's been in contact with the Ra'zac…"

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Murtagh is the name of the red dragon Thorn's Rider. He used to be my friend." Eragon finished oddly, voiced tinged with regret and even anger.

I answered everyone's questions politely after I was done, though it began to get tiring after the first ten minutes. Eventually Nasuada stood. "I think that perhaps Penelope and Verina might want to rest. After all, they have had quite a journey. Eragon, you and Saphira can show them to a tent. I'd prefer it if our two Riders would stay together."

Bowing, Eragon beckoned me to follow. When we were out of the tent, he smiled at me. "Sorry about all that. They're all very big with formalities here." After a pause, "I-um, I saw what happened to your mother when I examined your mind. I want you to know I really am sorry."

I nodded, blinking back tears. Then I flushed with embarrassment, angry that I still allowed myself to cry after all I'd seen since. "Thank you for your concern, Shadeslayer."

Chuckling, he said, "You can simply call me Eragon. I don't much appreciate that Shadeslayer stuff."

In the middle of this Verina cut in, Penelope, Saphira wants to know if you will open your mind to her so she can speak with you directly. She dislikes speaking through Eragon so much.

Tell her I would be honored to allow her into my thoughts.

I explained this to Eragon, and he said, "That's probably a good idea. Verina, you may speak directly to me as well."

I got the clear, distinct impression that Verina was nervous about contacting someone such as Eragon, but she didn't tell me that outright.

Saphira, however, did. Penelope, I think you and I will need to work on Verina's self-assurance. Her voice held a hint of amusement.

Y-yes. I've been trying since she first hatched, but ever since we saw the other dragon she's been unbearable.

Verina inserted herself in my mind then as well. Penelope, have you felt left out since we arrived? I have been conversing with Saphira for almost the entire time, and Eragon thought that you might have been lonely.

Saphira withdrew then, presumably to question her Rider. Actually, I did feel a little slighted, Verina, but it's okay. I know how exciting it must be to finally meet another dragon.

That is granted, but I still apologize, Penelope. I shall try my hardest to be a better companion for you.

That would be wonderful, but you don't have to change much of anything.

Verina sent me a rush of gratitude and then knocked her head against my knees, making me sit on her snout. She twisted her neck and allowed me to sit up on her back. For the first time I noticed the looks of awe I got from the soldiers around me. I smiled sheepishly at them, thinking that it wasn't a big deal.

Our tent was a good distance away from any of the other soldiers'. I unpacked what little I had and moved the sleeping mats around until it was to my liking. Verina was just outside, scratching up the ground and swishing it with her tail to make a suitable sleeping spot for herself.

The next morning, I was roused by a voice calling my name. I stepped outside the tent to find Eragon standing there holding a sturdy sword in his hand. "I hope I didn't disturb you."

"No, I was getting up anyway," I fibbed.

"Well," was all he said to that. "Saphira and I have been thinking, and Nasuada agrees with us, that your basic training should begin soon, as we never know when we'll be attacked next. I figured we'd start with swords, since you don't sound like you know much about magic. No offense," he added.

"None taken," I assured him, slightly disappointed that I would have to wait to begin my magical instruction. But I obediently got Guardian out of the tent and followed the Shadeslayer to a fenced-in area on the edge of the camp. Other soldiers were sparring inside, but they bowed upon seeing us approach and relinquished their spots.

Awkwardly I stepped into the ring behind Eragon. Verina and Saphira landed just outside the gate seconds later. Eragon turned to face me. "I figured we'd just start with sparring so we can see at what level you are. Is that okay?"

I nodded, and Eragon unsheathed his sword. I was scared to be actually fighting with blades; he would tear me to bits, but the Rider said, "Gëuloth du knífr." A blue spark flared between his fingers and he ran them along the length of his blade on both sides.

"That means Dull the knife in the ancient language…wait, do you know what that is?" Seeing my vacant look, he elaborated. "That's the language we use to control magic. There's actually more uses for it, but right now all you need to know is that it allows you to do magic. Now, do you want to try to guard your sword yourself?"

I did try my hardest, but it didn't seem to work. After five very embarrassing minutes, Eragon gestured for my sword. "It's okay," he said after he had put the block on it. "It takes a long time to master magic."

I nodded, still extremely embarrassed at not being able to do even that fairly simple spell. "We'll work on it," Eragon assured me as he began to warm up. I couldn't help noticing how easily he shifted through his stances. There was no way I'd ever be able to be even a quarter as good as he was.

But I didn't say anything and instead self-consciously began my own warm-up routine, stumbling through even simple forms. Belatedly I noticed that we were gathering an audience around the ring, consisting of soldiers, children, women, even Arya, to my greater embarrassment. I also saw beings I thought were dwarves, but reasoned I was seeing things.

Eragon asked, "Are you ready?"

I nodded, swallowing hard, and we began circling each other. Eragon attacked first, springing at me so fast I couldn't even see him move. But somehow my sword shot up and met his in a shower of sparks. I twisted around and parried another blow, sending him backwards a step.

Newly confident, I leaped at him swinging Guardian in a powerful arc. His sword blocked mine but, quick as a flash, I danced my blade under his arms to tap him on the side. His eyes flashed with curiosity even as he whirled around and slashed at my sword arm. Without even thinking I parried the blow and returned with one of my own, aiming for his legs.

The fight continued like this for almost ten minutes, neither of us losing or gaining any ground. Eragon suddenly switched sword hands and took a more defensive posture, no doubt to try to throw me off. I lunged through his block, contacting his hip and making him wince. I felt bad, but he switched back to his dominant hand and advanced at me with a flurry of blows. I parried each one, not getting a scratch or bruise on me the whole battle.

I twisted to my left quickly as swung to his right, my sword contacting his near the hilt and underneath. I jerked upward, wrenching the sword from his grip and sending it flying into the air. I leapt up and caught it, noticing that Eragon just sat there numbly.

All of a sudden a great cheer broke out form the crowd, and the whole mass of people surged forward, patting my shoulders and back. The elf Arya caught my eye and gave me a small nod before turning and walking calmly away.

Verina swooped in next to me, clearing the crowd for a second. Penelope, that was incredible! You did not get inured at all! You defeated the great Eragon Shadeslayer in a duel!

I nodded mutely, stunned. I had defeated Eragon Shadeslayer in a duel. I didn't have a scratch on me. I knew those things were true, yet I refused to believe them because I didn't know how I did them.

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