Author's Note: Ok so here is chapter 7, sorry that it took so long to update, been busy. Also, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I've gotten at least seven feet of snow, so crazy. Now reviewers, a big thanks to purpleangle, emeraleyedragon, crazy4band, and teenchic2004. So I did have chapter 6 up and was about Roran and what he was doing, but since I didn't really get any response on it, I deleted it. Also I went over all of my chapters and had made some changes to them. Anyway, here is chapter 6, enjoy!
Green Dragon
Chapter 6:Training Field
Eragon was at the training field, watching the other elves. He had his bow on his back, and a few arrows. Since he couldn't sword fight, he decided that he would get some practice in on his bow. He walked over to the target practice were some of the other elves were already shooting. Saphira was right behind him, watching him as he strung his bow. The arrow was light and smooth, he reached back were the feathers were level with his eye. He keen eyesight could see the target that was a hundred feet away. He let the arrow go, it whirled threw the air, land right in the middle.
Very good shot Eragon, your aim has improved. Saphira said from behind him.
Thank you Saphira, my aim has improved. He said, stringing another arrow to his bow.
They stood there as Eragon practiced. With every arrow, Eragon wished that he would be wielding a sword and not a bow. Finally all of Eragon's arrows were gone.
"You are very good at the bow Eragon." Someone said from behind him.
Eragon turned around to see Vanir standing a few feet away smiling, "I did not know that you were that good." He said, he came up to Eragon.
"Thank you Vanir."He said.
"May I see it?" Vanir asked. Eragon handed him his bow, he took it in his hand and studied it. He ran his hand along the bow, looking at the pattern. He grabbed the string between his fingers and plucked it.
"Urgal horn, very rare bow. It is the best kind of bow to have, only the dwarves make theses since they see them more often then the elves. I am guessing that you got this one from one of the dwarves?"Vanir asked as he handed the bow back to Eragon.
"Yes, I did. A dwarf friend gave this to me since my other bow broke in two." Eragon said, taking his bow back.
"You are lucky to have one. Since we do not see Urgals here in Ellesmera, we are not able to get their horns, and it is unlikely for any elf to journey outside of Ellesmera unless we have to."Vanir said, eying the bow.
"It is a good thing that the Urgals aren't in Ellesmera. Actually it may be good, you would be able to get their horns."Eragon said with a grin.
"It would be, it would give me something to do instead of just standing here and practicing."Vanir said.
Eragon looked at Vanir with a confused look, "Have you never fought against anyone who wasn't an elf?"He asked.
"Once, I was riding through the lower parts of Ellesmera with some other elves when we ran into some Urgals."He said, looking down at the ground.
Eragon looked at him with pity, he had never been outside of Ellesmera before, and the only real fight that he had ever had was still in here. 'Have you ever been outside of Ellesmera?"Eragon asked.
"No, I have not, I would like to."He said looking up at Eragon.
"Is the reason why you haven't gone out of Ellesmera is because you can't, right?"Eragon asked.
"Yes that is the reason why." Vanir sighed, "It would be hard for an elf to go around Alagaesia right now. Ever since the rise of Galbatorix only a few elves had gone out of Ellesmera, a lot of them never returned. Before Lady Arya was caught by the Shade, the elves were able to leave if they wished, but the Queen advised them not to. But after Lady Arya was captured, the Queen banned everyone from going outside of Ellesmera, only the ones who needed to could go."
Well her majesty does have a good reason for banning leaving Ellesmera, you wouldn't really fit in, you would be to easy to spot. Saphira said.
"You are right Bright Scales, it would be easy to spot an elf. When Galbatorix falls and a new king is chosen, the elves will be able to travel around Alagaesia again."Vanir said.
"I must be horrible to not go outside of Ellesmera."Eragon said, giving Vanir sympathetic look.
"It is, I have never left Ellesmera, I long to travel around Alagaesia, to see new places, to meet new people. Ellesmera is a beautiful land, but it is also a cage. Even though it is safe and you are well provided for, you are still not able to be free. You are locked inside with no way to escape, no way to see what the world is like."He said, he looked away.
Eragon did not know what to say to this, he walked over to Vanir and put his hand on his shoulder, "One day you will be able to escape from your cage, to see Alagaesia."
Vanir put his hand on Eragon's shoulder smiling, "As do I, my friend." They stood there for a few moments, grinning at each other. Finally Vanir spoke, "Come let us put this behind us, let us now have a friendly challenge of the bow an arrow."
Eragon looked at him with confusion, "I did not know that you were skilled with the bow?"
"What do you think I do all day? Sit and read, no, I practice with every weapon. So what do you say? Are you up to the challenge?"He asked a glint of mischief in his eye.
"I except."
They stood in front of the targets, Eragon had got a new supply of arrows. They each pulled back their strings, Eragon had the feather level with his eye. They were to see who could hit their bull eye with the most arrows, using all of their arrows. Eragon let go, he saw out of the corner of his eye, that Vanir was doing the same. Eragon reached back and strung another, he let the arrow go. One after another, he was string and releasing arrows, he didn't stop to see where his arrows hit. He glanced over at Vanir and saw him doing the same thing. Finally, they were both out of arrows. They looked at the targets, Eragon had ten hits, but Vanir had all of his arrows in the bull eye. Vanir came walking up to him.
"You won, congratulations." Eragon said, he smiled at Vanir.
"Thank you Eragon, you did very well too." Vanir said, returning the smile.
"Thank you, you were amazing, I have not seen anyone skilled at the bow as you are." Eragon said.
"Oh that was nothing, the other elves are better then me, but this is because they are older then me. As for you, you are very good, I am better only because I have had more practice."He said.
"He is right, he does have more practice then you do, but I think that you were still good."
Eragon and Vanir turned around. They only saw Saphira who had moved a few feet so that she wouldn't have gotten in the way. Eragon and Vanir looked at each other, they had the same thought.
"No, it was not Saphira who spoke." Elemmire said, walked around Saphira, it seemed that she had been behind her.
Eragon and Vanir looked at each other and started to laugh. Eragon looked at Elemmire to see her smiling and shaking her head.
"When did you get here?"Vanir asked still laughing.
"When you started, honestly, did you really think that Saphira had said something?"She asked.
"Well yes, she is the closest female that was around us. And Saphira does speak."Vanir said.
"I know that Saphira speaks, but not with her mouth. She is to intelligent to use her mouth. "Elemmire said, she walked over to them.
Thank you Elemmire, and you were right, they did fall for it. Saphira said, coming to stand by her.
Eragon chuckled, he looked at Elemmire. It had been a week since he had learned that she was a spy, throughout the week he had been wanting to see her.
Now that he knew what she was doing, he had wanted to get to know her better. Eragon studied her, she was wearing a silvery grey tunic, which made her hazel eyes stand out. Her honey brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and had tiny braids by her ears. Even in casual cloths, Eragon thought she looked beautiful. He found himself staring at her, he could not take is eyes off of her, nor did he want to. She looked at him, her eyes met his. She smiled at him, Eragon's heart rose, and for some odd reason he found it hard to breath. He heard a little buzz in his head, he ignored it. But no matter how much he ignored it, it just came back stronger.
ERAGON!
Eragon jumped, he looked around, Saphira?
Took you long enough, you know that you are staring at her. Saphira said, she sounded annoyed.
Was I? Eragon asked, he looked around. He saw that Elemmire was looking another way, and Vanir was trying to hide a laugh. Eragon blushed, he didn't even know that he was staring at her. Elemmire looked back at him, which only made him blush even more.
"Well I think I will leave you three alone, I have to be somewhere." Vanir said, still trying not to laugh. He bowed to them and walked away.
It was just the three of them now, nobody spoke. Eragon looked down at the ground, he shifted the dirt around with his foot. He could not understand why he was acting this way. Why was he acting as if he was a five year old with a crush, and why could he not breath when he looked at her? Eragon glanced up at her. She turned her head to look at him.
Say something. Saphira hissed.
Like what? I just made a complete fool out of myself. She probably thinks that I am fool. Eragon said, looking at Saphira.
No, she doesn't, she probably doesn't care that you were staring at her. You stared at Arya and she didn't think that you were a fool. Now go and talk to her! Saphira said, she put her head behind his back and shoved him.
Elemmire watched as Saphira pushed Eragon in front of her. Eragon glanced at Elemmire and then looked down at the ground again. They stood in silence for a minute, finally Elemmire spoke.
"Um, Eragon, is everything ok?" She asked, trying to catch his eye.
Eragon looked up at her, "Yes, Saphira and I were just having a talk." He looked back at her, Saphira snorted.
"Right, well I came here to talk to you." She said, deciding to ignore what had just happen.
"Alright, what do you want to talk about?" He asked, glad that she had ignored what had happen.
"Well, after you told me about what happen to your sword, I've been wanting to help you. Tell me, have you ever used short knives?"She asked.
"No, I have not, why?"Eragon asked.
"I thought not, well, how would you like to learn another weapon?" She asked, her voice was a little excited.
"I would like to learn another weapon, but I don't know if I would be able to, with my training."Eragon said.
"That is ok, I have already talked to Oromis, and he thinks it is a good idea. He said that you could never learn to many weapons. Besides, it helps in a battle, if you were to lose your weapon that you were using, you could always use the short knives." She said.
"But who will teach me?"Eragon asked, though he knew the answer already.
"Me, am the best short knives fight there is in Ellesmera." She said beaming.
Eragon looked at her, she was giving him an odd look, like as if she was really excited about this. "Well are you going to tell me your answer?" She asked.
Go ahead Eragon, it would be good to learn from her. Saphira said from behind him.
Eragon looked back at Saphira, then back at Elemmire, "I would like that."
She grinned, she reached back and pulled out two short knives. She handed them to Eragon, who took them. The knives felt cool in his hand, he ran his hand along the knife. The metal was smooth and sharp, Eragon saw that a dragon was carved into each of the knives.
"Those are yours."Elemmire said, as she pulled out two more knives.
"I could not except these."Eragon said, he handed the knives back to her.
"No, Eragon they are for you, they are a gift from me, and I do not take gifts back." She said, she pushed the knives back to him.
'Thank you, I wish that I had something to give you."He said.
"That is alright. What you are doing already is a gift to me."She said, she started to walk away.
Eragon and Saphira followed her, "What do you mean Elemmire?"He asked.
She stopped and gave him a stern look, "The gift that you have already given me, to every one is hope." She turned around and started to walk again.
He started to walk also, "How is hope a gift?"
It is a gift because nobody has had it for a long time, Eragon. Saphira said.
"She is right, many have not had hope for a long time. Many have just seen darkness and black, but when they look at you, they see a light and hope. They see you as someone great that will lead us, I see you that way. You fight for what is right is a gift, so the knives are but a small token of my gratitude." She said, glancing over her shoulder.
Eragon was speechless at what she had said, he did not know that he was that important. Of corse he knew that he was important, but only because he was a Dragon Rider. But what she said seemed as if a Dragon Rider was not, that what she said was.
They had reach an open clearing. Elemmire stopped right in the middle of the field, she waited as Eragon came up to her, Saphira stood back to watch.
"Now Eragon, I will be teaching you how to use the short knives and about them. You will hold one in each hand, like so," She held the knives in her hands, showing him how to hold them. Eragon placed the knives in his hand.
"Very good, now, you will find that they are the lights weapon that you will ever use. But after a while, just like any weapon, you will be worn out by them. I want to see how you will use them for the first time." She lifted up the knives and muttered a charm. She slid her fingers up and down the knives, repeating the proses on both sides and the other knife.
"I advise you to do the same Eragon." She said looking up at him.
Eragon frowned, she could not be doing what he thought she was. She looked at him and nodded her head. Eragon's eyes widened in shock, she was going it do it. He lifted his knife, and did the same charm as she did. Once he had finished, he looked up at her.
"Good,"She said, she started to walk up to him, "You will get your first taste of the short knives." She lunged at him with one of her knives.
Eragon dodged her as her blade came at him. He had no idea how to use the knives, and she expected him learn from this. She came at him again, Eragon ducked as the blade came over his head. He stood up and backed away to the edge of the field. Elemmire walked over to him, her knives at her side.
"Your doing well so far, but let me show you how to block the attack, and then we will resume." She said coming up to him. "Now what you are going do first is that you can cross the blades, which is also very good for blocking a sword too, because the knife will come in between them. Also, think as if the knife is but a short sword. They have the same movement, but shorter distances. You can also use one of the knives to block like this," She showed him the movement, " And then it leaves the other knife to stab at your opponent. Got that, good, let us resume."
She lunged at him again, this time, Eragon was ready for her. He blocked her blow with one of his knives, he whipped the other one around to get her waist. She blocked his attack easily with her other knife.
"Good, very good, lets see if you can try that again." She twirled around, releasing them from the hold. Coming back around she swung her knives. Eragon dodged her blade as it went by his stomach, he lunged at her, but she blocked him again. Eragon moved back, but she came at him. He blocked her next move, but barely. She pushed down on the knives, making Eragon drop one of them, and before he knew it, her blades were at his throat.
"Dead." She said calmly. She took her knife away from his throat, she was smiling. "For someone who has never used the short knives before, you did very well."
"Thank you, I tried very hard. The short knives are harder then it looks."Eragon said, he was panting a little.
"Yes they are. People think that just because they are smaller they are an easy weapon to master and over power. They are always surprised that they are in fact not that easy to learn and to over power." She said.
It is small, but powerful. Saphira said.
"Your right, it is small but powerful." Eragon agreed.
"That is why it is good to master it, if you are ever in a battle and if some uses the short knives, you will know how to attack them. I will teach you the strongest points, and the weakest point. You will be able to face whoever has them, knowing what you are up against."She said, coming up to Eragon.
"You are going to teach me this."He asked.
"Yes, it will be long and hard, are you sure that you still want to do this?" She asked.
Eragon thought about it for a moment, "Yes."
"Then us lets try again." She lunged at him.
Two hours later they were walking off the field, Eragon was limping just a little, she had hit him with her knife on his kneecap. He had gotten some bruises from their fight and was sweaty, Elemmire on the other hand looked perfect and untouched.
"You did very well for your training Eragon." She said, putting her knives on her back.
"Thank you, you are a wonderful teacher." He said in a light voice, the last hit she had made had taken the wind out of him.
She laughed, "Don't thank me just yet, there is still a lot to learn."
They walked off of the training field, talking about the lesson. Saphira was walking by him, she rubbed her head against his shoulder.
What was that for? He asked as he patted her head.
Nothing, I just wanted to say that you did a very good today. She said.
Thank you Saphira, that means a lot to me. Eragon smiled at her, glad of her affection.
"You have such a special bond between you two." Elemmire said, watching them.
"We do, I would die if anything happened to her. Saphira and I are connected together in many ways. I am lucky to have her."Eragon said.
Oh stop it Eragon, your going to make me blush. Saphira said, turning her head to the sighed as if she was embarrassed.
Eragon and Elemmire laughed, they even heard Saphira laugh. They were in walking under the cool trees, and Eragon was grateful, he was very hot day. Eragon looked around, he saw a lake that was close by where they were, he also saw that the lake had a cliff to it, he got an idea.
Saphira, how would you like to go for a swim? He asked.
Saphira looked over at the lake, her lip curled up into an unmistakable smile.
Elemmire looked at them with curiosity, "What are you two thinking?"
"Oh nothing."Eragon said smiling, he and Saphira walked away.
"Where are you going?"She asked, watching them walk away.
Eragon just turned his head to look at her, his smiled widened. Elemmire stood there, her arms folded across her chest. Eragon and Saphira were now standing at the edge of the cliff, he called back to her.
"Well, aren't you coming?" He asked.
He watched her stand there, looking confused. Finally she started walking towards them. Eragon looked at Saphira, she made a rasping sound. Eragon looked back at Elemmire, she was only a few feet away from him. She came up beside him, her arms still folded.
"I am here now, so what are we to do?"She asked eying him.
"Well, I thought that since after a hard practice of training, it would be good to cool down." He said.
Eragon moved a little to the side as Saphira pushed Elemmire with her head. She screamed as she fell off the cliff, she made a big splash as she hit the water. Eragon roared with laughter, Saphira did the same. He watched as Elemmire's head popped out of the water. She looked up at them.
"Eragon and Saphira! What was that for!" She yelled.
"I thought that you could cool off for a little bit."Eragon said, still laughing. He saw that Elemmire was glaring at him, "Are you mad at me know?" He asked.
He saw her brake into a smile, "No, I am not."
Eragon was then pushed off of the edge, he landed in the water. The water was freezing and it made him cold. Eragon swam to the surface, he felt his head come up above the water. He took in a deep breath and looked around. Elemmire was laughing at him, he looked up to see Saphira's head hanging over the edge, laughing at him.
"How was the jump Eragon?"She asked laughing, she splashed water at him.
'More like a push."He said, looking up at Saphira, "I thought you were on my side." He yelled up at her.
Sorry, I couldn't resist, and besides, you did say that you wanted to swim. Saphira said.
"Come on Saphira, why don't you come in?" Elemmire asked.
They watched as Saphira started to move her wings up and down, until she was up in the air. Saphira circled the lake once before she dove into the water. Eragon and Elemmire were splashed with water as Saphira dove in. They waited for Saphira to resurface, but she didn't. They looked around, trying to find her. Eragon felt a tug on his boot, suddenly he was pulled under. He saw Saphira had his boot in her mouth, pulling him down under the water. He heard a splash, he turned around to see that Elemmire had dove under to see if he was ok. Saphira let go of his foot and rose up to were they were. Elemmire turned away from them and started to swim away. Eragon swam after her, he saw her resurface to get some air. Eragon went up for a quick breath of air and went back down. He swam over to her and grabbed her foot and pulled her down. She came down to where Eragon was. Her hair was flowing around her, catching in her face. Eragon brushed back the hair that was covering her face. She smiled at him, then she backed away and went back up. Eragon followed her, his head broke the surface, the warm air hit him in the face. Then he was hit with water, he looked at Elemmire, but was hit again with water. Eragon splashed her back. As they did this, they were suddenly hit with a wave. They both went underwater from the force. Once they got back up, they found Saphira swimming towards them, her lip curled.
Couldn't let you have all the fun. She said coming up to them.
Eragon splashed Saphira, the water hit her in the eye. But then a wave came and hit Saphira, forcing her down under the water. Eragon turned around to see Elemmire smiling.
"Magic is better then a hand."She said.
"You may regret that."Eragon said. Just as he said that, she was pulled under the water for a second time.
Eragon laughed as she was pulled under. He waited for them to return to the surface, but they never did. Eragon was starting to get worried, Saphira could hold her breath for a long time, but he didn't know how long Elemmire could.
Saphira? He asked, no respond.
He waited for a few more minutes, they didn't resurface. Eragon ducked down into the water, trying to see if he could see them. It was clear blue around him, he saw nothing. He noticed that the water got darker as it got deeper, he wondered if they had gone down there. Eragon poked his head out of the water.
SAPHIRA!
Yes.
He saw her head come out of the water. He sighed a relief, he looked around for Elemmire. She wasn't there.
Saphira where is Elemmire? He asked.
"I am right behind you." He was pushed under the water, hands on his head. Eragon came up and found them laughing at him.
"Stop laughing, I thought you were in trouble."Eragon snapped.
Elemmire and Saphira stopped laughing, "Sorry Eragon, we did not mean to worry you."Elemmire said.
"Well you did. I knew that Saphira would be ok because I know she can hold her breath for a long time. But I didn't know how long you could. And you Saphira, for taking her down for so long."Eragon said angrily.
Eragon do you really think that I would keep her down there unless I knew her limits? I would have brought her back up if she had needed air. Saphira said.
Eragon looked at her, he knew she was right. She wouldn't have kept Elemmire down there if she had needed air.
Elemmire swam up to him, " We are sorry Eragon, do you forgive us?"
She was pouting at him, her hazel eyes were pleading for forgiveness. He rolled his eyes, "Of corse I forgive you."He said.
Good, now that we got that out of the way, grab onto one of my horns, we're going under. Saphira said, coming over to them.
Eragon and Elemmire went up to her and grabbed onto one of her horns. Saphira waited for them to get a firm grip, before she went underwater, taking them with her. Water rushed by him, making his hair go back. Saphira was taking them deep into the lake, his ears started to pound. The sun reflected off of the water, making strips of light in the water. The reflection caught Saphira's scales, making the water around them sparkle with dark blue. He looked around, little fish swam by them, all a different color. They rode through the water for a long time before Eragon's lungs were starting to burn, crying for air. As if she was reading his thoughts, Saphira started to go upwards. They broke threw the water, droplets of water came down on them. Saphira flapped her wings until they were up in the air, over looking the lake. Eragon's grip started to slip, Saphira lowered herself to the ground. Eragon dropped to the ground, he shook his head, droplets of water flew everywhere.
"It is a pity that you can't hold your breath for that long."Elemmire said, coming around from the other side.
My same thoughts. Saphira said.
"Are making fun of me?"He asked amusement in his voice.
"No, we are not, but it would have been better if you could hold your breath longer. We could have been down there longer."Elemmire said, walking over to a sunny spot. She laid down on the ground, taking her hair out of its ponytail. She spread her hair out in a fan like shape around her head.
Eragon walked over to her and laid down, the sun warmed his face. Saphira came over and curled around them, she laid her head down and closed her eyes. They laid down in silence, Eragon closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun. They all fell asleep, drying out. About an hour later Eragon woke up, he found Elemmire and Saphira talking. He sat up and stretched, he looked over at them. Elemmire got up and walked over to him.
"Well this has been fun, but I must go, I have things to do. Will you be free tomorrow for training?"She asked.
Eragon yawn, "I am sorry but I have to train with Oromis tomorrow, but I will be able to the day after."
She nodded her head, "I understand, well good by, Eragon and Saphira."She bowed to them and walked away.
Come Eragon, we should probably go back to the tree. Saphira said.
I think you are right, let us go. Eragon got up and climbed up on Saphira's neck.
She waited till he was safely on and took flight. The wind rushed past Eragon, making him a little cold. He looked up at the sky, it had been a great day.
Author's Note: Ok so there was chapter 6! I hope that making this one long made up for the lateness of updating. Anyway, if you like my story then Review, please.