Chapter 4

Alena woke up with a stiff back from sleeping so carelessly on the cold floor. Rubbing her eyes, she groaned as she stretched. As her full vision came around, she found a woman of extreme beauty with black hair and startling green, slanted eyes. Her skin was light-honey colored. She watched in awe as the elf slept peacefully on a bed. She slowly got up, careful not to make any noise.

"No need," suddenly said Arya, her eyes snapping open.

She flinched as her sharp gaze wandered over her body. Arya stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles of her shirt and leggings. Alena silently noted how she wore men's clothing, even for slumber.

"I am Arya. You are the Dragon Rider," she said, motioning to Skyla.

It was not a question—it was a statement.

"I am," she said, her voice thin and shaky.

"There is no need to be afraid. I will not harm you. From what I have heard, you are afraid?" she prompted, brushing her hair back.

"Yes," she said quietly, dipping her had in shame.

"There is no need to be ashamed," said Arya, a distant gaze entering her eyes. "Everyone is afraid."

"But my fear is unnatural, Arya," she whined.

"No fear is unnatural," she said calmly.

"Being afraid of the outside?" she asked, her voice unsure.

"Fear comes in all forms. Some are afraid of water—" a small ball of water appeared in her fingers. "—others are afraid of nature, just like you."

"Then those that are afraid of water have unnatural fear as well," she concluded.

"No," she replied. "Fear is natural, whether you are afraid of water or monsters."

She smiled.

"Thank you," she said, nodding. "Your words are most… inspirational."

"I am glad. Now, let us visit Nasuada and Eragon. I am sure they will wish to know how your night went."

She nodded, and began to follow Arya. She wove between the tents, moving with inhuman grace and agility.

Is she human? she suddenly thought, alarm striking her. She can't be… No human can move with such grace. Can they?

They passed through a village of tents, where all the people seemed to look like humble, kind people. In fact, the tents looked almost familiar to her as she passed through them. A man held his child while the woman did the laundry, a young couple sitting by the entrance of a tent, a small group of children drawing in the dirt; they all seemed to be kind people. thoughts were mangled as they arrived at a tent larger than most others. Nasuada's, she assumed. Guards surrounded the entire tent, in shining armor. She cringed as they lowered their weapons to face the visitors.

"I am Arya," said Arya calmly.

"Lady Nasuada! Arya and a girl wishes to speak to you!" called the guards.

"Let them in," replied Nasuada.

"Yes, m'lady," said the guard, bowing.

He nodded curtly to them, and they entered the tent unscathed. By the time they were in the tent, Alena was trembling so severely Eragon was alarmed as he saw her.

"My fears," she whispered when he asked.

"I see," he replied somewhat stiffly.

He opened his mouth, and shut it, seeing that it was the inappropriate time to say anything.

"Anyways," he said, keeping his eyes focused on Alena. "Training will begin immediately for Alena, while her Dragon grows."

"While the Dragon is young and cannot protect itself from creatures bigger than it self yet, we will have to guard it. The difficult part is, that nobody can know about it," said Nasuada.

"Why not?"

"Galbatorix, Shruikan, Murtagh and Thorn will come to destroy her, or make one of the other Dragons mate with her. You said it was a girl, right? Well, it's one of the two only female Dragons in existence. If Skyla and one of the other Dragons mate, Galbatorix will have a whole group of Dragon Riders. Eragon cannot fight all of them," explained Nasuada. "The Varden is weak enough already. We are only surviving because of Eragon. They cannot kill Saphira, for they think that she is the only female Dragon alive. In a way, Saphira protects us in a way that does not use claw or fang."

"So… I have to stay hidden?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"No," broke in Eragon. "You will train, as said before, while Skyla grows. Saphira will provide her protection. You will be learning swordsmanship, archery and magic. All are important for your survival."

"Outside?" she asked weakly, feeling faint.

"Outside," he confirmed.

"But…"

"No buts," he said gently. "Riders must train. In the outside world."

Nasuada eyed her strangely, and dismissed them. As Eragon, Arya and Alena headed back into the tent, Eragon asked to speak to Arya alone.

"Do you mind?" asked Arya.

"Of course not," she said, forcing a smile.

Arya nodded and followed Eragon through the maze of tents that stood in their path. She watched as Eragon's muscled back and Arya's lean one disappear slowly, as if they were fading into the tents. Too late, she realized that she was alone.

The tents that looked so familiar to her just moments to her seemed like a forest. She looked around wildly, trying to locate the tents that looked so familiar to her. Where was the man and his wife? The couple? The children? Pivoting on the same spot, she looked all around her, locating nothing.

"I'm lost," she said weakly, her voice lost among the loud voices. "I'm lost."

She took a shaky step in the direction she came from, hoping that she could get Nasuada to find a guide or somebody that could lead her back to the tent. She walked slowly, trying to see anything that she saw before. Her legs felt weak and useless as she wandered aimlessly in the maze of tents. She always burst into tears as she saw that she had gotten to an area that looked even farther away.

"Oh, please," she whispered. "Where's Arya? Eragon?"

A sudden thought struck her.

"SKYLA!" she cried out.

Several people looked in her direction at her outburst. She tried to disappear into a group of people, and succeeded. She expanded her thoughts, so that they covered all of the Varden's camp. Life was all around her! Crawling in the dirt beneath her feet were the insects, the bold spots of life that were the humans, the smaller specks of light that were the animals. She expanded her mind even further, ignoring minds that were guarded. At last, she found the Dragon's mind—dimmer than Saphira's, but generally the same. With a giddy step, she bound towards the tent with her Dragon, her eyes closed. She heard the surprised mutters of the people that she miraculously avoided, the barking of the guard dogs, the cries of the children that parted at her feet.

She ran into the tent, where she saw her Dragon sitting contentedly on the bed, chewing at what looked like a rabbit. It stood up as if greeting her, and jumped off the bed.

"Magnificent creature," said an unfamiliar voice behind her.

She gasped and twirled around, to see a woman standing there. She rushed towards the Dragon and snatched it off the floor.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" she snapped.

"And I thought you were afraid," she said, tilting her head.

"Who ARE you?" she demanded angrily.

"Angela, you silly girl," she replied. "I'm to be trusted."

"And how do I know that?" she asked, squinting her eyes.

Just then, Arya entered the tent.

"Angela," she said calmly.

"Arya," cried Alena. "This… this lady, she knows about the Dragon! What do we do?"

"Relax," she said in a soothing tone. "She is to be trusted."

With a sigh, she dropped Skyla, who fell to the floor with a squeal.

"And you passed your test," said Arya with a smile.

"Huh? What test?" asked Alena, her eyes twisting with confusion.

"The test," said Arya, still smiling. "Eragon and I set up a test. We wanted to see if you were really hopeless. Seeing that you figured out a way to get back to your Dragon… you passed."

"So… it was all a TEST?!" she bellowed.

"Where's that fear?" asked Angela with a smirk.

"Oh, that isn't the matter anymore!" she shouted. "You intentionally left me among those people!"

"It was a test," she replied. "And you passed."

"Well, there's something to be happy about!" cried Angela. "I must be off, then. Sheep don't sing by themselves, you know!"

With a wink, she disappeared as well. Arya sat down on her bed, while Alena slunk to the floor.

"I can't believe you did that to me," she began.

"We have hope. You discovered that you could find your way through by locating Skyla's mind."

"I ran through the tents with my eyes closed," she said shyly. "Think anybody noticed?"

Arya sighed.

"We'll dispatched a girl that does the same, so that your existence does not appeal to anyone," she replied. "For now, stay inside, and try to stay hidden."

"Staying inside with nothing to do? No problem," she said confidently.

"At the moment, Eragon is busy. In an hour, he will come and take you to the battlefield."

"Another test?"

"Yes."

"That, I'm not so confident at."

"Don't worry," said Arya. "Eragon may be the most feared opponent for Galbatorix's soldiers, but I'm sure he will go easy on you. For now."

"Arya," began Alena, sitting down. "Maybe… maybe, Skyla chose me by mistake."

"Don't say that," she said sharply.

"Skyla chose a poor village girl that's afraid to go outside. I think she made a mistake," she said softly.

"And Saphira chose a poor farm boy, Eragon. Now look at the fierce and brave warrior he's become. The Dragon will change you, Alena."

"But Eragon knew the basics," she said, feeling helpless.

"What basics?"

"How to fight."

"No, he did not. He was a poor farm boy," she replied.

"So you're telling me that a simple farm boy turned into the most feared Dragon Rider?" she cried.

"Yes. Anything's possible," she replied, facing her now.

"Okay… If anything's possible, let me ask you this."

Arya nodded for her go on.

"Are you human?" she asked boldly.

"No," whispered Arya. "And neither are you."

Alena was stunned; speechless.

"Then what AM I?"