When lost alone out in the wood,

A long time waiting there I stood.

It was nearing winter and the trees were bare

I had to move on but I knew not where.

Then upwards I looked, to see the night sky.

A falling star was shooting by.

A sing it was, the king gods send.

So I followed it north to my journey's end.

The stupid scrap of verse I had overheard on the streetcorner was irritatingly stuck in my head. the austere tone and simple chords did nothing to dispel the ditty from my mind no matter the methods I attempted. It had been going on for over a day.

Thus my headache.

Well, that might not be entirely true. I may have mistaken the sweet and edible gooseberry for a slightly poisonous and bitter one I only ate three before I realized my mistake, but it was enough to have me emptying my stomach for the next hour. That might have been the true cause of my headache, but the song is dreadfully irritating.

–Argh! Just thinking of that song has it running through my head. Whatever, perhaps if I continue it will go away…–

Eventually, tired of wandering aimlessly and the tune still running through my head, I decided, having no better option, that I would try to appease whatever had placed the song where it was and go north and see what was to be found there.

Being a wanderer is a lonely existence for one as sociable as I. And soon, to maintain my own sanity, I began to talk to everything around me.

–No, solembum. Stupid cat. He suggests that talking to myself in an attempt to preserve my sanity only proves that it was already a lost effort. But if the rude beast would have allowed me to fiish, perhaps he would have understood. –

I was speaking in the Ancient Language as I opened my mind to the things surrounding me. I felt the trees listen as I sung to them of things such as rain and sun and the animals watch me pass as I told them about the world outside the forest I was traveling. At some point, an eagle became my companion for the course of several days as he listened to my tales, but then he was gone, set out to see Du Weldenvarden and Ellesméra to see with his own eyes the things of which I had spoken.

I was sitting alongside of an ice cold stream, letting the cool water run over my swollen and bleeding feet. After a week and a half of my trek, my elvin cloth boots had worn thin, not intended for such travel. I wished for something of a more sturdy nature, wool, but there was no chance of that.

"Waise hael." The blisters and cuts slowly healed and the swelling went down, but my feet and ankles were still sore and stiff. Even magic could not fully heal when I gave no time to recover. I knew it would only be a matter of hours before the wounds would return. With a sigh, I cast a spell to warm the air around be and combat the biting chill of the cooling wind and pulled my cloak closely around my shoulders. My childish determination and naïve curiousity had led me here, into the middle of nowhere with each night growing colder, the amount of spells keeping me alive and sapping m energy would grow. My strength was fading as the spells sapped my energy night and day, the small brush providing a meager sustenance to aid. Each day, the distance I traveled grew less and less and my inability to collect a significant amount of food hindered me further, leaving me thin and weak. I knew that I was on a slippery slope, but I kept moving. Out in the middle of nowhere, no one was going to come to my rescue. I had to save myself.

Several more days passed the same and I was resting in the middle of a long valley, a glistening river running through. I was huddled next to a small fire, warming my hands over several dead, burning logs as I roasted an edible fungus over the fire. It tasted terrible, even worse than the putrid scent it gave off, but it was nutritious, more than I could say for most of the bland, leaky meals I had eaten in the last few days.

It was then, as I ate the fungus, that a shadow drifted along the valley. I glanced up and saw the form of a blood-red dragon against the gray clouded sky. I waited breathlessly for it to pass, but it seemed luck was not on my side. The dragon lazily circled toward the ground before landing.

"Great. Just great." I muttered to myself, making my expression composed and serene, as I recognized the pair to be some of the traitors. The rider dismounted. He had jet black hair and eyes that didn't match.

Looking down, I curtsied, hoping to avoid arousing suspicion.

–I gave up on that method long ago. Now I attack. I attack fast. Before the enemy even knows what is going on. –

"Have you seen another dragon around here?"

I glanced at the red beast with fear. I couldn't help being disturbed by the sheer violence in the dragon's eyes or the way it watched me as if I were prey. "I have seen no other than yours."

The man eyed me with pursed lips. "You sound like an elf." I ducked my head, waiting with my hand only an inch from the hilt of my invisible weapon. The rider continued. "You are the human girl of whom they spoke." He flashed a feral grin. "You killed a rider. Galbatorix gave orders to take you, dead or alive."

I paused before I spoke, my mind spinning as fast as it could. The words of my teacher, Gwendolyn, came to my head. 'A battle is like an argument. If you lose your temper, you have lost the battle.' While it was not foolproof, it was more than I had before.

The oath I had sworn to my parents still held me, the oath seeming more and more foolish the more time passed. All the rider would have to do would be to take me without fighting and I would be helpless to resist. "Like I would go with the likes of you." I spat at him, a strange but yet truly insulting thing I had picked up from the humans. "Cowardly traitorous basterd. Why were you chosen to join the ordor. You don't belong." The man's jaw was clenched, an angry tic playing in his cheek. "I could defeat you." I said more confidently than I felt. I knew I was grasping at straws. "Your dragon might be able to defeat me, but if he were not here, you would not stand a chance. I would easily win."

The man glared, rising to the bait. "You are an insolent girl."

"Fight me then." I smiled. "Unless you truly are a coward."

He growled and drew his sword. "I will bring you head to Galbatorix, but first we will settle this. We will duel."

"You dragon should promise not to interfere. You would be weak if you needed him to defeat a girl.

The man was dense. He looked to his dragon and the dragon obeyed his rider. I promise not to attempt to sway the duel in any way, nor interfere.

I nodded and drew my twin blades. He lunged, and I blocked his first strike with mine, dancing away from his superior strength. Then, I stepped forward, deflecting his ruby sword as I slashed at him with my second blade, using my light form and agility to mark him.

My sword tasted flesh, but the red rider flinched away before I could inflict more than a shallow cut. His eyebrows narrowed. Five minutes passed and I felt him begin to lay siege on my mental defenses. My back stiffened at the attack and I barely raised my sword in time to guard against his next strike.

Lack of food, combined with exhaustion was wearing down my body as I continued to fight. It would only be a matter of time before my strength failed me.

All of my focus was on the battle and I did not see the second dragon until it was close, about to land. The dragon's muscles rippled as it landed.

A curse came from my opponent's mouth and he threw a baleful look at the newcomers, allowing me time to shrink from his attack on my mind.

"I knew you were around here somewhere." The newly arrived man spoke, leaping from his dragon's back to the ground.

"Brom."

"Morzan." The man said with a dark chuckle.

I leapt away from a viscious swing, almost caught by my distraction. "I have been waiting for this day."

"Let the girl be." We were circling each other warily, waiting for the attack to continue.

"Galbatorix wants her." I spat at him again and he swore. "She deserves to be killed!"

A blue blade met the red and the man glanced at me. "Get out of the way so that you don't get hurt."

Knowing that I was exhausted, I obeyed, watching as the dragons joined the fray, ripping at each other's throats. I stood back, watching from the edge of the battle without distracting the participants until the red rider yelled, "Letta!"

The man, Brom, suddenly fropze, bound by magic. I ran forward to defend him as Morzan sought to kill him as he was struggling to break the spell. He knocked one of my swords from my hands. The traitor spun suddenly, anticipating the sudden fall of the sapphire dragon as the red knocked her to the ground. His blade was going to pierce the hollow of her throat.

"No!" My remaining blade the far one, I did all that I could to save the dragon. I threw myself in the path of the sword at the same moment that Brom broke free of the spell holding him and flung himself at the enemy, forgetting his sword. The sword pierced my chest, slipping through my ribs and into my heart, Brom knocking Morzan to the ground as I swayed on my feet before my legs buckled, pain erupting in every inch of my body.

I met the aquamarine dragon's eyes as if looking through a thick fog and she blinked once, understanding that I had sacrificed myself to save her. My vision faded for an instant and then returned for a few seconds, a glimpse of red against the sky all I saw. And then all went dark and still as my senses faded, my dying heart beating futilely, becoming weaker as every pulse pumped more blood from my body.

–Hmm… That should do for now. Obviously I lived, but as to how, my heart beyond the skills of Brom to repair, shall have to wait. As of now, there are things that must be done.–

A.N. Please tell me what you thought. Was it good, bad? Leave a review. And I need suggestions for names of urgals if anone has any ideas. If they are good they could end up in the story eventually. Thanks.