RORAN'S TRAINING

BEGINS

" Well, it looks like I was right," said an all to common voice from behind him. " If you can't even protect yourself when you are to worried about me, Galbatorix, no, Murtagh well rip you to shreds." Eragon felt the cold blade pull away from his neck. " Your training is truly not done my young rider."

Eragon was speechless. Then he felt rage build up inside him like a fire growing under the guidance of logs. " You tricked me Arya?" he spat suddenly. " I was worried about you, and you tricked me. I thought you were in serious trouble!"

" That is exactly what I was trying to make you believe, and what I saw truly troubles me." She bowed low to the ground, " please forgive me Shadeslayer, but I had to see what would happen if you were ever tempted with me, and what I saw truly concerns me."

" It still doesn't excuse what you did, I was really worried about you."

" Yes you were, your feelings for me blinded you from protecting yourself, you were too focused on what was happening to me to even reach out for magic. Now do you see why we could never be?"

" So…. You do have feelings for me?"

Careful little one, you don't want to get on her bad side again. You remember how it hurt you the last time. Eragon hadn't even notice her join once again with his consciousness, seen how he was so used to it by now.

Moments past until she answered, then Arya said quickly, " I told you once, and I shall not repeat my self again, my feelings do not sway outside of friendship, and if you cannot grasp that, I'm afraid you are only hurting yourself." She walked over to him and placed her right hand on his shoulder, " let it go Eragon. Please." She took her hand off and turned towards her tent.

Eragon, Roran, Saphira screamed all of a sudden. The words echoed off the inside of his head like an avalanche racing down a mountain. It made him shiver.

" Arya, wait. I need you to do me a favor." She turned around with a puzzled look on her face. " I need you to quickly teach Roran the way around a sword."

" For, what Shadeslayer?" Arya asked suddenly.

" As you may have heard, I am accompanying him to Helgrind to rescue his fiancé from the Ra'Zac. I need to know he can handle himself around a sword, for my protection and his." As he finished he bowed, then he twisted his figures over his torso in the Elvin sign, " please Arya"

" I wasn't aware that you planned on this trip. I just thought that you were going to go back to Ellesmera to continue your training with Oromis and Glaedr. Plus, you could take them out with magic all by yourself, you are strong enough."

" Yes, but he wants to go, and I'd like him to be there so we can bring vengeance on them for our Carvahall.

" Vengeance is not the reason to fight, but I am not in charge of you, if what you say is truly what you wish, I will tutor your cousin as a favor to you. Just lead the way."

" Thank you," he said as he reached out with his mind until he found Saphira, Saphira come, we need you to take us to our tent.

I'm already on my way. He looked around at Arya, the situations I keep getting myself into, he said to himself. Shaking his head suddenly, he turned around to Arya " Saphira's on her way, she'll take us to the tent."

" I figured as much, tell me, do riders even remember how to walk?" She joked as she turned her back towards him, " I see that you lost your sword, that both troubles me, and brings me joy."

" How so?"

" It troubles me to see you are once again weaponless, and also because if what I think is what truly happened, it means the sword is once again with the true heir of Morzorn." Eragon felt himself getting jittery, looking down at his shiny belt of diamonds, he began to become hypnotized by the lighting reflecting off the jewels, he reached down and began to play with the individual diamonds, he had been getting more and more uncomfortable every time that the words "heir" and " Morzorn" were put together. " No," she said suddenly as if reading his mind, " I don't think of you as a son of Morzorn, but as a hero of the Varden," she said. She turned around and flashed him a quick smile, " you are no villain, Eragon Shadeslayer, you are the future of Alagaesia."

Eragon felt himself start to get hot, trying to change the subject, he blurted out " and what's good about it?"

" You finally rid yourself of that cursed sword that brought the riders so much pain and suffering, when we get back to Ellesmera, I will talk, beg if I have to, for Rhunon to make you a new sword." She looked up and saw Saphira soaring out of the sky. As she landed they both jumped onto her and flew towards Eragon's tent were Roran was waiting nervously. When they landed, Roran ran out of the tent, before the flap even flopped closed, Arya was off Saphira and airborne towards Roran. He looked towards Eragon for the briefest of seconds before he put his gaze back on Arya. While she was in mid air, she pulled both of her swords from there appropriate hilts, and as gravity pulled her down towards Roran, he did a side roll as she brought the swords down in unison, dried dirt flew in the air as Roran brought himself to his feet.

" What is going on?"

" Eragon has asked me to tutor you in the way of the blade, I see your troubles have made you quick on your feet. This is good and will cut the time I need with you down drastically."

He is good, Saphira told Eragon honestly. Aye, that he is, maybe even better than I was before my training.

Eragon jumped off Saphira, as he landed he said quickly " You will need to learn your way around a sword sooner than later, I figure now is better than later. Especially with the Ra'Zac battle so close."

" I figured you would do something like this," Roran joked as a grin crossed his face. " Thank you, this will come in handy more than my hammer."

" That it will Roran." Eragon walked across the now made battlefield, placed his hand on Roran's shoulder, and said, " You will not be strong enough to beat her, but she will teach a lot. Arya is a worthy fighter, treat her with the utmost respect." Eragon smiled back. " Good luck!" He pulled his hand away and turned towards Arya, " He is in your hands now Arya-Elda. Treat him well."

" That I will Eragon." She smiled a stiff smile, and then fixed her eyes back on Roran.

Goodnight Saphira, keep an eye on them for me.

I will do just that, I am interested in what your nest mate is made of, this will be very interesting.

He laughed to himself, and he felt Saphira laugh to. That it will be. HE walked towards the tent, opened the flap, and went into the tent. Before he lay down he took off his belt of jewels, focused his mind, and reached out for his energy. He transferred the energy until he had almost none left. Then as he lay down and started to approach his self-made elvin trans, he felt the lack of energy truly take its toll. As he began to close his eyes the last words he heard were Arya say the words that Brom had said so long ago, the words to put the protective coating over his blade. He didn't sleep, for Elves did not sleep, but he had witnessed next would stick with him forever…