Well Here is Chapter 6, I hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Read and Review.

Chapter 6

Eragon groaned softly. All of the pains of a man who was starved for three days hit him with a brutality that was unmatched by anything he had ever felt before. He opened his eyes gingerly and immediately shut them again as the light of the noonday sun struck his dark weakened eyes. His tired body struggled to move in some way that didn't cause him agony but it was hopeless. In the back part of his mind he registered one very important fact, he had been freed. This mere fact was enough to get him in a sitting position and his eyes open. He surveyed the rich color of his surroundings and breathed the warm air with great satisfaction. He was content to be out of that tree but now he was confronted with another problem as his stomach gave an almighty rumble. He yelled in pain and grabbed his gut as the pain of his empty stomach reached an intolerable peak. He fell back onto the pillow he had been laying on and groaned in agony.

It wasn't long before Katrina came into the room in response to his pained groans and had brought with her a tray of food, it consisted of a single bowl of thin soup. She had dealt with those who had been starved among the Varden before and knew that anything thicker than soup would be rejected from his system because of the fact that it had grown weak from not processing anything. She could not let him eat anything large straight off. Eragon sensed her presence and turned to look at her. He knew immediately what it was that she carried but at the moment he had only one question and that was, "Katrina, where is Saphira?" Katrina looked at him with a look that could best be described as a look of understanding mixed with a look of knowing. She placed the tray she was carrying across his lap as she said, "You needn't worry about her she most certainly can take care of herself and you. She's off hunting right now."
Eragon took the soup she offered him and drank it down eagerly. Even though it was thin, he felt it burn as it hit his stomach and nearly passed out from the sudden dizziness he suffered from his eagerness. He managed somehow to regain his posture long enough to finish drinking his soup before asking a second question, one that had been plaguing him since he had been placed into that tree.

He took a deep breath before he asked, "Katrina is Saphira angry at me?"
Katrina gave him a surprised look. She knew from where the question was born but she knew enough to understand that the best person to answer this question was Saphira herself. She looked at him carefully, trying to judge what he was thinking before she answered, "If you want to know then ask her yourself. She gave me and Roran specific instructions to tell you to contact her when you woke up." She smiled in a cheerful manner as she conveyed the rest of Saphira's words. "She also said that if you didn't contact her that she would give you a personal view of the ground from her claws." Eragon gave a shaky laugh as he lay back down on the pillows of his bed, thinking. He was deeply worried about how Saphira was feeling, the actions a few days previously had been a great evil. He didn't wish to dwell on the past, cursing his own weakness in not being able to protect Saphira from himself.

He felt sure that those actions hadn't been his own but what force that malevolent or powerful could enter into Du Weldenvarden without the elves knowledge. Unless....
Eragon sat up right as a sudden thought occurred to him. What if the elves were aware of the presence of an evil in the woods of Du Weldenvarden but had simply chosen to ignore it, or worse consort with it. The mere possibility that he had been betrayed by the very same people who had struggled like every other that lived in the land of Du Weldenvarden was appalling but it did make some sense. The elves rarely imprisoned in the same manner that they had with him. It was rare that they judged much more severely than banishment. That being the case, what had caused the sudden determination to slowly starve him in a completely secluded environment. He needed someone to discuss these things with, and who better than the person who had being on the other side of these same events.

Slowly he cleared his mind of all other thought so that his mind was focused on the one being whose voice he wanted to hear more than any other at that very moment. Within minutes he felt her mind touch his, the touch was familiar but hesitant. He knew why the touch was hesitant and allowed her to view his mind completely before trying to say anything. Saphira on the other hand had other ideas. As she lowered her minds defenses she felt Eragon touch her mind gingerly. The moment she felt the touch she quickly rushed into his mind and warmly wrapped it with her own, seeding in it thoughts and memories of happier things...happier times. Eragon was lost in an ecstatic bliss as Saphira's love and care encompassed every fiber of his being, melding in his very spirit. She whispered softly to him as she tightened onto his mind, "Eragon, never doubt my love for you, it runs deeper than you know."

Eragon knew then that he had been very foolish to have ever thought for a second that Saphira could ever harbor any hate for him. He felt her slowly loosening her grip on his mind but he inwardly didn't want the feeling to go. He never knew what it was like to be intimate with the one he loved but he felt sure that this feeling of utter peace and contentment was surely what it felt like. He lovingly stroked the heart of her spirit, her true heart, with his own love, his own thoughts and emotions. He heard her purr lovingly in his mind as he did so, the first time she had ever done so. The sound was a low hum that seemed to somehow convey peace in its steady low tone. He had never heard her make any sound like that before but found that he quite liked the ability to cause her so much peace and happiness by such a simple act as sharing his love for her in such a way as this. In a way he felt as though he was apologizing for the actions of the three days previous but even now as they shared in each others love, those events seemed to become nonexistent. The only true thing that seemed to matter anymore was each other. Rider and Dragon, the two as one.

Saphira slowly pulled away from his heart, allowing only a slow exchange of love between them. The few moments of intimacy had done more to change the pair than either was willing to admit. It was as if the two had fallen into a taboo that went against everything they had known but that seemed right none the less. A silence built up between them, it was a comfortable silence but eventually Eragon broke it.
"As much as I don't wish to dwell on events of the past..."
Saphira interrupted him abruptly,
"Then why do so?"
Eragon sighed. It was true that he did not wish to dwell on the past events that had caused so much pain on both parts but he knew that even if he and Saphira chose not to remember them, the elves would not be as forgiving. He knew that the best thing to do was to view these events now and find explanations now, before the elves wanted answers. He explained this to Saphira, trying his hardest not to sound like he was eager to try and find an explanation to the events of the past. This was doubly so because of what they had shared. She seemed to understand even though the matter was not at all to her liking. Eventually she sighed and spoke to him in a resigned way, "Very well Eragon, what about those events do you want to talk about?"

Eragon considered for a moment and decided that the first thing that he felt he need to talk with her about was the one thing that worried him the most. Before he had screamed at Saphira,or more accurately his body had screamed at her, he felt a third mind invade his and suppress his spirit. He was sure that this Spirit or mind had been the cause of his anger and was what had taken over his body in those brief moments of insanity. This being the case he felt that it was an entirely likely possibility that a spirit as powerful as a shade was running loose in Du Weldenvarden. He ran this idea by Saphira even as he heard a loud thud as she landed outside the house he was in. She didn't respond immediately but when she did her response was exactly what he had expected, "Eragon, if that were the case don't you think the elves would have detected it when it passed through the wards of the forest?" Eragon nodded to himself before giving her his theory, "Saphira, what if they do know about it and have ignored it? Or worse yet what if they are dealing with it. It would certainly explain their vicious attitude of late." Saphira was silent for a moment, contemplating the possibility that the elves could have been dealing with a spirit as powerful as a shade. It would indeed explain the events of the past few days on the part of the elves but she felt sure that they would not be as open about allying with a creature that had helped Galbatorix in the past during his tyranny.

Saphira was inwardly concerned about the possibility but understood that if this was the case then they would have done much more to Eragon rather than just imprisoning him. But wait... they needed Saphira alive to bring the dragons back, anything more than just imprisonment would have sealed the fate of the dragon race because she would have died at the instant Eragon breathed his last. This being the case then they would not have killed him unless... Saphira felt a cold shiver run up her spine as she came to the conclusion that the elves must have devised some way of separating her and Eragon without having them die. If this was the case then they may yet force the two of them apart in an attempt to gain complete control of her without the interference of Eragon. The very thought terrified her but she was master of her emotions and let no sign of her fear reach Eragon. Little did she know that Eragon had also come to the same conclusion but before another word could be exchanged between the two Roran came bursting into the room.

Eragon looked at him in surprise that quickly turned into shock as he saw what was in his arms. "Saphira! Roran has a dragon egg." Eragon's mental shout startled Saphira but she immediately registered what he had said. She clawed at the ground unconsciously as she asked Eragon, "Eragon, do you think it at all possible that Roran could be another Rider?"
Eragon shook his head and responded in a puzzled voice,
"I'm more interested in how he got the egg. There's no way that he could have traveled to Uru'baen and back in such a short period of time." Roran supplied the answer to Eragon and Saphira's confusion when he said in an excited voice,
"Look what Lady Islanzadi gave me!"
Eragon immediately became concerned about what Islanzadi might have been planning when she gave Roran the egg. He knew that it was severely unlikely that she would willingly let something as important as the last male dragon leave her sight. She must have been relying on the fact that Roran could be the next rider. If this was the case then another male dragon would enter the land but she was obviously over looking the fact that Eragon would be in direct control of what would being taught to the dragon. But then...of course, the male dragon would have to be in direct physical contact with Saphira during training exercises. This would provide ample opportunity for the pair of them to connect to each other emotionally.

Saphira heard these thoughts and knew that this was more than likely what Islanzadi had planned, to allow Roran the chance to take the egg in the off chance that he was the next rider, if this were the case then Saphira and Eragon had a duty to train the new rider in the ways of the Rider. This would ensure that Saphira and this new dragon would have plenty of time to communicate with each other and in so doing increase the chances that they would mate when the dragon came of age. It was a cleaver tactic but it was also a careless one. There was always the chance that the egg would not hatch for Roran and that being the case then Eragon would most certainly make sure that the egg never got back to Islanzadi, ensuring that she would never have any control over any new riders. Eragon himself would search for the new rider to ensure this. He would need also to leave Du Weldenvarden to make doubly sure that the elves had no chance to interfere. The road was going to be long but he was dedicated to Saphira's safety and if that meant uprooting Roran from Du Weldenvarden to move to another area away from the elves then that's what he'd do. He looked back at Roran and spoke in a controlled voice, trying not to let any sign of anger or fear enter his voice, "I am very happy for you, I'd advise that you put that egg in a safe place, we don't want it getting stolen."

Roran immediately nodded and left the room in an instant going, Eragon was sure, to hide the egg. Eragon was concerned about the curios move that Islanzadi made but was realistic enough to understand that he didn't know enough of what was going on through her head to make any sort of accurate assessment as to what the real threat was. He knew enough to know that the Elves were the most desperate about bringing the dragon's back. But Eragon would be dead before he saw the day when they forced Saphira to mate with another dragon against her will. He hoped the day never came and he felt sure that he was overdoing his predictions of what could happen, but he didn't know to what lengths things could go. He felt Saphira's touch against his mind and sighed. He knew that the wills of the world were vastly different than those that inhabited it but he couldn't accept that others could decide for him, what path his destiny would take.
"Eragon? Are you alright?"
Saphira's soft voice was a welcome inturption, it not only reminded him that was not alone in fighting the wills of others but also reminded him of how very tired he was.

He sighed and settled peacefully back on his pillow before speaking to Saphira, "I'm alright Saphira, I was just thinking about these current turn of events. I will not let any other than you guide my destiny." Saphira smiled to herself, she knew well what he meant. It wasn't often that someone entrusted their destiny to you and she was deeply honored that he chose her although was not at all surprised about it. "Eragon, I know that you are tired, but understand this. I will guard your destiny as jealously as I do your life but you most promise me, that you will protect mine. Protect your dragon's innocence."
Eragon's answer was quick, sharp and clear, "Saphira, you are the only one that I would defend until the end of time. Death itself could not separate you from me. I will never stop loving you or defending you." Saphira felt her heart lift in such a way as to render her lightheaded but managed some how to say,
"Thank you Eragon, rest now, we will talk more tomorrow."

With that Eragon slipped of to sleep, his dreams sweet and peaceful, Saphira filling all of them.

What will the future hold? Only I know for sure. Your welcome to guess but I won't tell.
Number 7 on its way.