Here is chapter 7, enjoy and Review.

Chapter 7

Eragon slowly awoke from his long sleep. He had slept for what felt like minutes but he knew it had to have been much longer, the air was cool and clear, a sign that it was either dawn or dusk. Whichever it was he was just grateful that he had the freedom to move around again. He slowly sat up in the dark of his room, knowing that he probably didn't have the strength to stand but he was willing to try, he wanted nothing more at the moment than to leave the tree-house and to see the open. After having been trapped in that prison tree for so long, even this comfortable room felt oppressive. He slowly moved his leg off the bed, registering as he did so how very hungry he was. The food that Katrina had brought him so long ago had only done enough to help him recover some of his strength. He felt weaker than he would have liked but there was nothing to be done about it at the moment. Eragon sighed deeply as he let his feet take some of his weight, they shook violently but after a few seconds they steadied. The silence of the room was broken when he let his feet take all of his weight and pulled himself to a standing position with a muffled groan. He felt all of his tired and weak mucsels welcoming the exercise he put them through. He swayed dangerously but somehow managed to keep his feet, his head swimming from the pain of his empty stomach. He needed to find food, that for the moment was his main priority. If he didn't he was likely to pass-out.

He slowly walked across the room, trying carefully to not hit anything as he did so, within minutes he had found the door and pulled it open. The house was quite and dark, Eragon had both been expecting this and hoped for it. He wouldn't have to worry about the anxious worrying of Katrina or Roran but he still had to be careful, one false step and he was liable to wake up Garrow. It wasn't long before Eragon found the kitchen, the smell of recently cut fruit and tea leaves made his stomach hurt even more and he wasted no time in eating the leftover food on the counter. He also came across a small bottle of Fenril which he drank down as well. As soon as he had finished, he headed to the door, wanting nothing more than to see Saphira face to face. He had been thinking about these things thought while he ate, deciding in the end that rather than go for a walk, he was going to go and be with Saphira. It wasn't a hard decision. Something about the prospect of seeing her again pulled at him, as if she was calling him. He knew that she was sleeping and that, for the most part, unconscious speech was impossible. He slowly opened the door and stepped outside.

The air was cool the early tinting of the horizon through the wall of trees made him certain that it must just before dawn. He looked around slowly, finding it hard to believe that anything unpleasant had happened in the past few days. The peace was complete and silent, not even a bird or cricket to be heard. This then alerted Eragon to another interesting fact of his surroundings. It was dead silent, judging by the light of the sky he could see through the trees, it was close to dawn. He expected to hear at least one creature at this hour, small birds or insects but nothing. Eragon began to view his surroundings more carefully but after a few moments he relaxed, when he heard a bird chirp in a nearby tree. Was this how it was going to be from now on, constantly mistaking such a simple thing as the silence of the early morning as an alert of an approaching enemy. He breathed deep the smell of early morning as he turned to face the house. Saphira lay nearby him, dozing peacefully and quietly, her thoughts were free of any pain or worry. Ergaon hoped that his cautious surveying of the surroundings hadn't woken her.

He didn't know why but he felt the urge to look into her mind and see her dreams, just as she had done with him. He thought that she probably wouldn't mind she certainly wasn't in any state to tell him if it was okay or not. Deciding on the spur of the moment to do so he slowly felt her mind. Her unconscious barriers closed like a steel trap at his touch but they opened when they registered the familiar touch of his mind. He allowed her thoughts to enter into his mind and viewed her dream. What he saw didn't surprise him at all. In her dream, she lay in a dragon's nest with young rolling about her. The site brought tears to Eragon's eyes as he pulled away. Her dreams were the same as his, of love, family, and happiness. The very things that were denied to both of them. Eragon had already made the decision to take no wife because his soul was so tightly wound around Saphira's. Being as close as he was to her Saphira would be bound to his wife as she would be to him. Eragon would not let Saphira suffer the indignity of having her heart shared by another woman. He also knew that Saphirawould be of like decision in this, she would not let Eragon share in the heart of another male. The very thought sickened Eragon but with his own reassuring thoughts he continued to think about Saphira.

In the back of his mind he knew that they were condemning the dragon race and Eragon's bloodline by making this choice but somehow the idea did not upset Eragon in the least. Some inner part of him knew that this decision had been made from the moment he had first held Saphira's egg. He sat down next to Saphira's wishing more than anything that there was some way for all boundaries that stood before them to fall away. His heart yearned for Saphira to be happy and to be complete but he knew that there was nothing he could do. He began stroking the top of her head gently, thinking about the impossibility of his desire. He wished that he could be with her as she needed, but that was already determined as an impossibility but he wished it none the less. Saphira sighed deeply, unconsciously nuzzling closer to his hand. She looked so peaceful as she slept, almost like an angel, his angel. For the second time since he had left Uru'baen he heard the voice of Brom in the back of his mind, as clear as if he had been sitting next to Eragon at that very moment.
"Eragon, love is the most powerful force in this entire world. Never doubt what can be accomplished when you have love."

Eragon nodded, he understood the awesome power of love all to well, it had been the only thing that had kept Eragon going throughout the war. His love for Saphira, Roran, and all those close to him that had fallen in the war, Brom, Garrow, and those inhabitants of Carvahall that had died before the exodus. But what had Brom meant by, 'Never doubt what can be accomplished.' That sounded like he thought that it would be possible to bridge the gap between Saphira and himself through love. Then he remembered. The scale, that one silver scale that had appeared on the back of his hand when he had shed an emotional tear for Saphira. His heart had felt for her with everything that he was and in so doing that tear must have held an incredible power. He lifted his left hand and looked at it carefully, thinking as he did so of the emotions that he had felt when the scale had appeared. He concentrated with all his might on those feelings, letting the feelings flow to his hand. After a few minutes he opened his eyes. A single silver light was on the back of his hand. It wasn't much but his heart filled with an immeasurable joy as realized what it meant. Through some unknown means he had discovered the power that he didn't know he why then had only one scale appeared. He had wanted to see his entire hand changed but only one scale had appeared. He continued to mull over the possibility of what else he needed, still elated by the revalation that the impossible could be achieved. But after having heard his deceased fathers voice twice now and encountered an enormous silver dragon that had manipulated time he firmly believed that anything was possible.

Several hours later...

Eragon slowly opened his eyes, only to have them greeted by the noon day sun. He quickly shut his eyes again and leaned back against Saphira. She still breathed gently and deep, sleeping as peacefully as she had that morning. He couldn't recall falling asleep but didn't bemoan the time lost sleeping. He had been asleep with Saphira and that was more than enough for him. It probably wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, falling asleep against the rough neck of a sleeping dragon but even so he didn't mind. He rose softly and chanced a glance down at the back of his hand. The scale was still there and though Eragon was happy to know that what had happened this morning hadn't been a dream, he realized that it probably would be a bad idea for anyone to see it. He didn't know why but he felt that neither Roran or Saphira would handle it well. Roran would more than likely panic and Saphira would want him to show her the completed transformation. The fact was he didn't know how to finish it. He wanted to but needed to think things through before he made any decision. He wanted to change into a dragon but he needed to be careful about it. He remembered the pain he had felt when that one scale had been created so what might happen to him as weak as he was. He concentrated on the scale turning back into flesh and opened his eyes as he let that though flow through him. The scale had vanished and he was content in keeping its existence a secret for now.

He turned and placed his hands on Saphira's side slowly stroke her scales as he looked at her, resting peacefully. She did something all together unexpected as she rolled over. Her foot caught his legs and he fell onto her chest as she rolled onto her back. He hadn't expected it and really didn't know what to do about it. She wrapped her wings around herself and Eragon, creating a stifling tent. Eragon could hear her heart thudding in his ears as he lay against her wondering if she was aware of what she was doing. She sighed contentedly and began to lick his face. He had no idea what she was dreaming or thinking, her tongue was designed to help her take meat of bones when she was eating and was therefore very unsuited for acts of affection like this. The moment her hot rough tongue scraped his cheek he yelped. It felt as though a wood grater was lightly being dragged across his cheek, he didn't bleed but it still hurt. His yelp had pulled her from whatever dream she had been enjoying with a vengeance. Using both tail and wings she flipped her body from a laying position to straight to her feet. Eragon had been thrown from her when she had and had to roll quickly to avoid being crushed by Saphira's landing.

Saphira turned on the spot looking for the source of the yell. Eragon reacted quickly in an attempt to prevent her from going into an almighty panic and crushing him in the process. The moment he touched her mind in a reassuring way she calmed, looking down at him as he lay on the ground. She noticed the deep red streak on his face and knew what must have happened to him. She nuzzled the spot gently and he answered her unspoken question with a nod. She sighed and looked at his face, feeling sorry for the mark but knowing that there was virtually nothing that she could do about it. He raised his hand to his face and muttered an inaudible spell. Immediately the mark vanished as the mark healed over.
"I am sorry Eragon, I did not mean to hurt you."
He looked at her, knowing full well that the act had been unconscious. He felt no anger with her, instead he felt curiosity as to what she had been dreaming to have caused the action. He looked her in the eye, something he rarely did and said, "Saphira I am not angry with you, You were sleeping but that still deserves the question, what were you dreaming about to have caused such an act?"
Her response was immediate and slightly panicked,
"I..Er...I was dreaming about what I was going to eat for breakfast." It was a pretty rushed story, Saphira thought to herself and she knew Eragon thought so as well. The hesitancy and panic was more than enough to prove to him that she was stalling for an answer.

Eragon wondered to himself what she had been dreaming but if it was such a personal matter that she would lie to hide it then he wasn't going to force her to tell him. Saphira felt sure that Eragon was contemplating whether or not to ask the truth of her and to her relieve he said,
"Saphira, if whatever you were dreaming is so personal that you don't want to tell me then keep your secret. I won't force it."
She felt relieved that he wasn't going to press the matter but now she felt guilty at the fact she had lied to him. She didn't like lying to him but what she had been dreaming about had been both personal and embarrassing. It didn't take long for her become angry with Eragon shortly after he had spoken to her. What was he doing outside? He had been starved and imprisoned for three days and only just now begun recovering. Before she could say anything to Eragon about he spoke. "Yes Saphira, I am outside and walking around after being imprisoned until recently, but I have had a decent meal and at least 14 hours sleep."
He paused at this to think back to his imprisonment in a dungeon under the keen eye of a shade. He had had to deliberately deprive himself of all necessities then because of the drug that Durza had been using to incapacitate him. It had been very near to what had happened only a short while ago. He felt fine, a little weak but otherwise normal. He looked up at the sky partly visible through the tree tops. The small area that they were in was the only one within a five minute walk that had a break in the trees.

It was nice being able to see the sky rather than the oppressing roof of green. He looked back at Saphira, who still held an air of uncertainty as she looked back him. He knew that she was still concerned for his health but he planned on relieving her of her worries, if only for a short time. He sighed deeply and asked,
"Saphira, would you like to go for a ride?"
She blinked at him then grinned a dragons smile as she agreed,
"Okay Eragon, regain your position on my back once more and we'll take to the winds."
Saphira expected him to go and fetch the saddle but he had other ideas. He put a foot on her foot and climbed his way to her back, positioning himself where the saddle would be and muttering to himself. He had cast the spell he used during sword practice, to guard his blade except this time he directed it to protect his legs from Saphira's scales. She felt the barrier against her scales and knew what he had done. She spread her wings and gave them an experimental flap. Eragon locked his legs tightly against her feeling a bit sore but set in his decision to ride on Saphira without an cumbersome saddle. Saphira hoped sincerely that he would be able to hold on. The rigors of riding a dragon unaided were high and she felt that he wasn't quite strong enough for that but she trusted that he knew what he was doing. Saphira flapped her wings hard and soon she rose from the ground. Angling herself for the largest of the holes in the treetops and asked,
"Are you ready Rider?"
He looked at her and answered in a joyous yet cocky tone,
"Show me what you've got Saphira!"
She let out a pleased roar at the eagerness of her rider and she shot off through the trees, relishing in the experience of being with Eragon once more.

Tell me what you think, Chapter 8 is coming your way as soon as I finish it.