I spent a total of seven and a half hours on a plane writing this so it is very long. It is a bit graphic with descriptions involving Saphira (you'll read and discover that) but the next chapter may be worse than my Chapter 16 love scene. We'll see how it all pans out. Please remember, the love scenes I create are not meant to be nasty or vulgar. I avoid going into that much detail to do so. Thank you to all my loyal fans.

Chapter 35: The Wedding Crashers

Eragon and Saphira met together in the Elvin hallway while Draken went flying with Thorn and Murtagh. Both were in human form, holding hands as they walked through.

"You were a little hard on our child," Saphira sighed. "You hurt him inside."

"I know," Eragon muttered, squeezing her hand lightly. "I do think that I overreacted."

"Perhaps," Saphira said, slowing her steps to where they stopped in front of the exit. "He is flying though, is he not?" Eragon sighed and walked outside with her. They both stood still and listened to the joyful chirps of the robins that were playing in a nearby ash tree.

"Today will be our most memorable moment together!" Eragon whispered romantically into her ear. She smiled and turned to place her lips against his own.

"I will bear the title of your wife proudly, my love," she whispered back, taking her free hand to brush his hair with it. "It is going to be beautiful." They both watched as twelve Elvin women that were dressed in pure white tunics walked towards them on a dirt path. They all had brown hair and green eyes; no lady was taller or shorter than the other. Suddenly, the girls broke out into a loud giggle and rushed over towards Saphira. They continued to laugh as they clamped onto her arms and tried to pull her away, while Eragon chuckled lightly beside her.

"What is happening?" Saphira asked nervously, struggling to break free of the girls' grasps. "What are you doing? Eragon, help!"

"There is no need, love," Eragon chuckled. "They are the bridesmaids. Their job is to prepare you for the ceremony tonight. Trust them."

"What is needed to be done to me?" Saphira asked intently. The girls stopped tugging her and stood to her side, still giggling like school children.

"This is a formal affair," Eragon explained. "I have something for you, but it is with them. You must trust me on this."

"Only because you tell me to," Saphira sighed. She turned to the ladies and sighed again. "Do your worst."

- - - - - - -

"Move it!" Stave yelled, as he forcefully shoved Arya forward. She was bound by some strange type of shackles and was gagged with a dense cloth. She turned around and glared at him.

Eragon! Arya screamed mentally. Help!

- - - - - -

Saphira was led back into the hallway and was gently pushed into a large royal bedroom. She looked around the room and studied it; until her eyes stopped on the most astounding piece of clothing she had ever seen that was lying on the bed. It was a pure white wedding dress that had heavy traces of sapphire around its edges. The veil was also sapphire in color, but it was more transparent.

"This is yours," the youngest elf of only sixty-five years named Tyran said cheerfully. "You must forgive us. Master Roran explained this custom to us and we are a little…overwhelmed on this matter. You see…elves do not celebrate this."

"It is alright," Saphira replied with a smile. "I am fairly new to this custom myself."

"Shall we get started?" The oldest elf, Wilken asked with a wide grin. Saphira nodded nervously. "Take off your tunic and we will all begin." Saphira obliged and slowly removed the tunic from her body. When she had removed it, she was surprised to see that she did not have on any underwear. She blushed madly at the fact that she was standing naked in front of the ladies, and quickly threw her arms up to cover herself up.

"Do not fret," Tyran soothed. "We are all the same here. I find it strange that you have…?"

"It may have to do with how I change forms," Saphira snapped. "I did not do this by choice!"

"It is alright," Wilken said, attempting to calm her. "Just remove your arms and let us do our job." Saphira sighed again and let down her arms. The twelve girls circled her and began babbling amongst themselves as they inspected every inch of her form.

"He has made a wise decision," she heard one elf exclaim.

"Yes," Tyran exclaimed. "This dress will complement her beautifully. Eragon has made a wise choice" Saphira turned again to face the beautiful dress that was laid out on the bed.

"He chose that?" Saphira asked.

"He designed it," Wilken replied. "He drew it out and sent it to our weavers last night."

"But we were all asleep," Saphira said. "How did he…?"

"Perhaps he snuck away to do it?" Tyran asked. "Either way…are you satisfied with it?"

"Very." Saphira watched as the elves placed on a sapphire silken bra over her breasts. She shuddered at the soft feeling, which only made the elves giggle again.

"It has taken our weavers the longest time to make it like so," Wilken explained, as she helps slide on a silk pair of panties that were the same color as Saphira's bra. "He was very specific in how he wanted the dress to be."

"He did promise to give me his best," Saphira sighed happily.

"My dear," Wilken replied. "You do not know all that he has planned, do you?"

"I know that we must mate after the ceremony," Saphira stated. "Is that not the custom?" The elves burst into kind laughter.

"He has quite a lot more planned than that, dear," Wilken said. "He plans to fly you to a place called 'the cliffs' after the ceremony." Saphira blushed madly and turned her face to cover it.

"…Where we conceived our first young," Saphira sighed out. "How…romantic of him."

"That is not all," another Elvin girl spoke up. "He also plans to take you to the…?" The girl was quickly silenced by Wilken, who had placed her hand over the girl's mouth.

"That is a surprise," Wilken shot out. "We do not wish to ruin it."

"I see," Saphira muttered, as the elves put on her wedding dress. She studied herself in a large mirror that was hanging off of a nearby wall. "Leave it to my mate to make matters more…complex."

- - - - - -

Arya! Eragon shouted after catching the elf's plea. What is wrong? Where are you?

I have been captured, she replied. There is a man who wants to trade me for your child!

Arya, Eragon muttered. What can I do? I cannot give away my child, even if it was Saphira who was captured. Tell me where you are?

They are blindfolding me, Arya replied in a very saddened tone. They have mentioned a lot about your wedding. I will sacrifice myself for your family and have him kill me. I have nothing to live for anyways.

Arya NO! Eragon screamed, but he quickly discovered that she had broke the mental link between them.

- - - - - -

"I am beautiful," Saphira sighed happily. "Will my mate approve of this?"

"He would be a fool not to," Tyran replied, adjusting the back of Saphira's dress. "We must hurry! Outside is a carriage that will take us to the stream. Your 'mate' will meet us there!" Saphira smiled and picked up her dress to where she could walk and not trip on it. They all made their way outside and quickly ran into Saphira's husband-to-be, who was panting breathlessly.

"It is Arya!" Eragon puffed. "Stave has taken her in hopes for us to trade our child for her life." He paused. "He may bring her to our wedding!"

"This is horrible!" Saphira exclaimed. "What shall we do?"

"To you remember what Brom did so long ago?" Eragon asked. Saphira shook her head.

"Think hard, darling!" Eragon replied sternly. "What did he do with the toll man on the bridge? He tricked him!"

"That is a logical idea," Saphira stated. "How do you plan to do this?" Eragon pointed to Wilken.

"Swap clothes," he ordered. "We will set up decoys. Wilken will pose as you and I will have Roran wear my finest tunic and pose as me. We must tell Orik too! Make sure that your hair is completely covered, Wilken. He knows that Saphira is a blonde." Eragon paused and nodded his head at Saphira, who had taken off the dress to where she was standing in her silken underwear. "You do look stunning," Eragon told her. "With…and without the wedding dress. Did you like what I picked for you?"

"I fell in love with it," Saphira replied, tossing on Wilken's pure white tunic. She was surprised to discover that Wilken's tunic had a hood, so she quickly flipped it up and over her head to conceal her identity. Eragon waited until the girls were finished and reached out to take Saphira's hand.

"Shall we?" Eragon asked.

"Let's."

- - - - - - - -

"It should not be much further!" Arya heard one of Stave's guards exclaim. There were four guards in total along with Stave, who was holding Arya by her hair. They all cut through the forest and stopped at the foot of a shallow stream. Just across it was a beautifully decorated stage with vases of multi-colored roses and other flowers sitting along the front edge. In front of the stage were one hundred elves that were sitting Indian-style on the ground in white tunics, but they left a clear isle that went separated them into two different sections. In the back were four humans. Stave guessed that they were Roran, Katrina, Nasuada, and his least favorite, Murtagh. All the humans were sitting side-by-side in the back.

"Draken and Thorn are here somewhere," Stave advised. "Look for them!" After scanning the grounds, his eyes ran over a massive red colored dragon that was lying on his paws, only a few hundred feet from the stage, and Draken was playing with a grasshopper in front of him. "Marvelous! The trade should not fail! If I am lucky, I may be able to kill Nasuada and rise to the throne! I can surly kill two birds with one heavy stone!"

"Sire," one of his guards said softly. "They are starting the ceremony! We need to cross silently." Stave watched as a small Dwarf ascended the steps on the side of the stage and clapped his hands together.

"This is a new custom for me," the Dwarf explained in his usual Dwarfish grumble, "but Eragon be a good friend to us Dwarves. I am honored to have such a…privilege to bind these young souls together under our gods. May the two who wish to be bound in love step forward."

"There they are!" Stave's last guard exclaimed silently, as they started crossing the river.

Eragon, Arya tried to contact him. It is a trap. He refused to kill me! Do not go up there!

I know, Eragon replied. Do not worry. Suddenly, he shut of the link between them.
"Get up!" Stave ordered, as he shoved her again with the hand that was not holding her hair.

"What be this?" the dwarf suddenly shouted, pointing at Stave and his men that were crossing the stream. "You are late for the ceremony! So much disrespect for young Shadeslayer should be punishable by death!"

"Be quiet, you little Nom!" Stave shouted, drawing a dagger from his tunic. He watched as Eragon and Saphira stood still with their backs to him. This further enraged Stave and caused him to trudge further into the ceremony. All of the elves swore and cursed him, feeling guilty for leaving their weapons at their homes and all were too fearful of using their magic due to the fact that it could hurt Arya in the process. "Face me!" Stave screamed. "Or I kill her!" He continued to walk forward, passing the four humans on his right side. The four guards spread out through the crowd and turned to watch Thorn lift off with Draken hanging from his mouth.

"He took Draken!" the first guard screamed. Stave shook his head.

"Foolish choice," Stave yelled to Eragon, who still had refused to turn his head. "Why will you not face me?"

"Because that is not me!" A voice rose up from behind him. Stave turned to meet a heavy fist, which brought him down to the floor and knocked his saber from his hands. Murtagh quickly rushed in to escort Arya to safety while the man who hit Stave continued to pummel him on the ground. They continued to roll around on the floor, punching and kicking each other in the process.

"You?" Stave asked, locking eyes with his assailant.

"Yes," the man said. Stave watched as the man lifted up one of his hands to hold it over his face. It was a marked palm.

"You…tricked me!" Stave shouted, rolling over to get free of Eragon's grasp. It was useless.

"You have threatened my family," Eragon growled, reaching behind him to pick up the sword the Stave had dropped, "you killed many innocent people, and you put my friend's life at risk. Stave, you will find no mercy here!" Eragon quickly leapt to his feet and thrust the saber deep into Stave's stomach, to where the tip of his blade dug into the dirt below him. Stave screamed in agony, but soon grew limp as Eragon withdrew his blade. "That was for my son!" Seeing their commander lying limp, the four other soldiers turned tail and ran for the forest. Eragon spat on the body as he turned away to see Saphira, who was standing by with the other bridesmaids.

"Is he…?" Saphira asked. Eragon nodded his head.

"It was a well played trick, love," Eragon replied, taking her into a firm embrace. "I told you this would be the most memorable day of our lives."

"Yes," Saphira sighed, leaning in to kiss him. "I am glad that he is gone." Eragon turned to watch two elves casually lift up Stave's body and toss him into the stream. The body began drifting away by the gentle current until it was out of sight. "We are free to be a family again."

"There is one thing that does worry me," Eragon muttered. He quickly shook his head. "Never mind." He turned to look into the sky after hearing the familiar thumps of dragon's wings.

Thorn, Eragon called. Nice work. Is Draken safe?

Of course, Thorn replied.

Carrying him off in your mouth was a nice touch, Eragon explained. He never knew that Draken could fly.

That was what I had figured, Thorn replied. Now, may we continue with the true ceremony? The sun is supposed to set in just a few hours and you need to remember your plans for this evening.

Thank you, Eragon muttered. He turned again to face Saphira. "You need to get that dress back on dear. We have a wedding to do!"

- - - - - -

He is not the only one who can play tricks!

- - - - - -

Eragon stood tall beside his bride with his hand held firmly in hers. They were both dressed in white, except for the sapphire touches on Saphira's dress. They stood proudly in front of Orik with Draken sitting at his father's side.

"Do you Saphira," Orik began, "take this man beside you to bear the title of your husband? Will you nurture him, love him, and protect him until the end of your days?"

"I will always," Saphira replied, bowing her head respectively.

"Do you Eragon," Orik continued, "take this woman to bear the title of your wife? Will you watch over her, love her, and provide shelter for her until the end of your days?"

"That and then some," Eragon replied cunningly, turning to wink at his bride.

"Well then," Orik exclaimed, clasping his hands together. "By the gods of the Dwarves and Humans alike, I now…?" He paused to scratch his head. "Is it man and wife…or man and dragon? You have confused me yet, you have!"

"Just choose one Orik!" Eragon said in an annoyed tone.

"Very well," he huffed. "Man and wife, you two be. Now hurry up and kiss! The mead is getting warm!" The audience laughed loudly as Eragon removed his hand from hers and pressed his lips against Saphira's even more passionately than the first time they had done so. Before giving her a chance to say a word, Eragon scooped her up "bridal-style" and carried her off of the stage.

"Daylight is burning, my love," Eragon told her. "We have much that is planned."

"What is that?" Saphira asked. Eragon looked down to see Draken padding in front of him.

"Father?" Draken asked. "Where will I go?"

"You shall spend the evening with your uncle and Thorn," Saphira said before Eragon had the chance. "I have a feeling that this will be a very beautiful 'honeymoon.'"

Okay, I tried to make as much sense as possible. I must give credit to a person (sorry for forgetting who) who suggested having con men as the enemy. I flipped it and made Eragon do the trick. He switched clothes with Roran and sat next to Katrina while Saphira switched clothes with Wilken and stood with the other bridesmaids. I hope that makes sense. Also, I am thinking about resigning from Fan Fiction after the completion of this story. Not known yet, but in progress.

PEACE!