Chapter 5

"What am I?" she repeated, almost in tears.

"Calm down," said Arya calmly. "You are not human. You are a Rider."

"A human Rider."

"No. When you become a Rider, you become a Rider. If you were an elf before you became a Rider, you are no longer elf. If you were human before you became a Rider, you are no longer human."

Arya's emerald green eyes drilled into her own eyes.

"Please, allow me to rest. You have given me much to think about," she said, sighing.

"Remember, Eragon will test your swordsmanship in an hour," she said, standing up to leave.

She nodded, and watched Arya walk out the door. The moment she was out of eyeshot, she flopped down onto the bed, Skyla sitting on her chest.

"You know, maybe you did make a mistake. Maybe, you were supposed to chose somebody like Arya, and you just mistaked me for somebody else. Did you ever think that?" she asked the Dragon.

Skyla stared back at her with intelligent eyes, as if saying, "I chose YOU, Alena Lovvale."

"Great. Now I think my Dragon's talking to me!" she exclaimed, suppressing a giggle.

I am, echoed a voice inside her head.

She bolted upright, startled.

"What was that?!" she cried. "Come out!"

That was me, said the same voice.

"Who?"

Who else? Your Dragon. I am Skyla.

"I knew Dragons could talk… but at this early age?"

We are much more intelligent than your race, Alena.

The Dragon's mind was still slightly groggy and dim, but it was definitely intelligent.

Well, then. Let me ask you this. Are you sure you wanted ME as your Rider? You know, there are plenty of other girls that are brave around here. Why me?

Because, Alena. You are destined to be my Rider. There is no mistake about that.

Are you sure?

Positive.

Cradling the young Dragon in her arms, she dropped it in front of a plate of meat. The Dragon snapped it up quickly, the meat disappearing down her throat every second.

"What am I? Maybe you know," she asked.

"You are a Rider," answered a male voice from behind her.

"Eragon?" she asked unsurely, hiding Skyla.

"Yes, it's me. No need to hide your Dragon," he said with a chuckle.

"You," he said. "are a Rider."

"I know," she replied bluntly.

"Then why ask?" he questioned.

"Because."

"Well, there isn't much time. I'm very busy, you know. Being the only trained Rider not under Galbatorix can be quite stressful. Now, let me test your sparring skills," he said lightly.

"I've never used a sword or stick in my life," she said, her voice shrinking.

"No surprise there," he said lightly. "We'll start with a couple of basic moves."

Taking Skyla to Saphira, Eragon and Alena both walked to the sparring fields, where a small group of teenage boys were training to be warriors, along with a couple of grown men who were sparring. Their instructor was a scarred, old man with tan skin and dark hair.

"It never occurred to me that you don't have scars," she suddenly blurted out.

"I heal myself with magic."

"How?"

"You will learn."

With a swift, sudden movement, Eragon threw a stick at her. Startled, she reached out to block herself and ended up catching it.

"GUARD YOURSELF!" he bellowed, jabbing forward.

In fear of being poked by the stick, she shrunk back, barely avoiding the edge of the stick. Eragon spun around and whipped the stick towards her side. Unable to avoid the attack, she lifted her own stick, in an effort to block it instead. The force of his attack tossed her back, and she landed hard on her back. Using this as an advantange, Eragon lifted his stick high over his head and got ready to hit. Last minute, her own stick was in front of her, blocking Eragon's. However, Eragon's strength was too much for her. He pushed down effortlessly, and both sticks were under her chin, pushing down.

"Dead," he said softly.

'I…can't…breathe…" she gasped in an effort to remove the two sticks from pushing down so hard.

Eragon released and helped her get up.

"Your fear," he said. "It can be good, sometimes."

"In what way?! I panicked!" she cried.

"But you avoided many of my blows. Let's go again."

She stood up trembling, gripping the stick. With a savage cry, Eragon charged. She sidestepped the attack, getting ready to attack herself. She swung the stick at his head, and felt nothing. When she opened her eyes again, the stick was only inches from her own head. She yelped and bent backwards until her hands touched ground. She pushed herself up again and flung herself at Eragon, batting at the air.

"I'd open your eyes if I were you!" roared Eragon.

Her eyes snapped open, and she ducked just in time as the stick came flying at her head. She squatted, and seeing Eragon's leg, stuck her stick out. Eragon cried out as he went flying, tripping over her stick. He crashed into the floor, muck filling up his entire vision. He felt the blunt edge of a stick at the back of his neck.

"Dead!" she declared proudly.

"Okay," he said, getting up. "You're a lot better than I thought you were. I'll go a bit harder on you."

He stood up again and wiped the muck off his face, smiling.

"Just a little bit harder."

They stood facing each other, staring. Alena flinched, and Eragon raised his stick. He rushed forward, appearing to be only a glimmer as he struck her. Knocking the air out of her, he proceeded to twist both her arms behind her back. She dropped the stick, as Eragon pushed her to the ground, falling on top of her.

"Dead. At least try to fight, Alena. Don't just stand there."

"Again," she said, forgetting all about her fears.

"All right," he said with a laugh.

Again, they stood facing each other. This time, Alena did not wait. Screaming, she ran forward. Eragon sidestepped the attack easily, smirking as she jerked to a stop. She turned on her heels and charged again, yelling. Eragon seemed to disappear as he sped towards her, swinging at her wrist. He hit her lightly, causing her to drop her stick. She howled in pain, swooping down to grab her stick again. When she was up, she found herself face to face with Eragon. She bent backwards, performing a cartwheel before aiming at his head. She threw it with all her strength, aiming for his heart. Eragon grinned and blocked it, rushing up to her with his stick. He nudged her on the chin with it, smiling.

"Dead. Never throw your weapon."

She groaned and sat in the dirt.

"Why can't I do it?" she asked, frustrated.

"I've been training for a while. For a beginner, you're amazing."

"Can we do it one more time?" she asked weakly.

"Whatever you want."

Before she faced him, however, she formed a quick plan in her mind. It was one of the games she and the children played back in the village that they had invented. Being a master in acrobatics, she would spring on the other side of the person and stand back to back with the other person. It was a quite simple maneuveur, one she had mastered after a year of playing. Once back to back, the person would then confuse the second player with a series of acrobatic moves. The addition was, that she would be striking him while she moved.

As they stood, she charged and flipped right over him. Eragon yelped in astonishment, pivoting on his feet. She rolled underneath him, curling up into a tight ball, landing on the other side. She jabbed her stick backwards, and heard Eragon yelp. Even he was vulnerable to pain. She flipped two times, and flung her stick at him, hitting his shoulder. Rolling under him again, she swung it down low at his feet, rapping both ankles. At last, she jumped up and whipped the stick forward, knocking him to the ground. She stabbed the edge of the stick into his back, and declared proudly,

"DEAD."

She let him up, watching with satisfaction as Eragon shook himself clear of all the dirt.

"I've never seen that kind of fighting," he said slowly. "No enemy would expect that. Although, they may be able to avoid your attacks. Our enemies are incredibly quick and light on their feet."

"Exactly HOW fast? I think I moved pretty fast."

"You did. I probably could have blocked your moves, but… you caught me off-guard. But people like Murtagh and Galbatorix would easily overpower you. Their speed and strength is… incredible."

"Then I will train until my speed and strength is just as good as theirs."

"It's much more complicated than that," he said warily. "They have… unnatural powers. To vow that you will become stronger than them is like… promising that a normal dog will never die. It cannot be done naturally."

"Unnatural power? What would that be?"

"Ah… I will speak to you of it when your Dragon is fully grown."

"Which will be?"

"Dragons grow quickly."

"Dragons… they're magnificent creatures, aren't they?" she questioned, her eyes hazy.

"Yes," he said, taking a deep breath. "They are magnificent creatures."

"Eragon, what do you plan to do with me after my training is complete?"

He laughed heartily.

"Why, I plan to alter the history of Alagaësia with my very hands!" he cried, still laughing. "With YOU by my side!"

A little bit of sparring.

I really can't get onto the real action until AFTER Alena's training, so looks like this fanfic will be a big longer than I planned!

Well, hope you enjoy~

Oh, to clear things up:

She ADDED the attacking for her little game with the kids, which means that when she played with the kids, they just tumbled over each other.