Thanks to everyone who reviewed. All your amazing comments have kept me writing and updating so quickly. I hope you like this chapter...
Nasuada gasped loudly as the small dragon sniffed at her skirts slowly, and turned her gaze towards the three waiting riders who were smiling widely. "Nasuada," Eragon started, but was cut off by a small wail that erupted from the tiny dragon. It looked around the room hopefully, first at Eragon, then Murtagh, and later, Arya, almost as if it were studying each closely. They were all interrupted by Saphira who had poked her head through the opening in the tent, Eragon glancing at her quickly in confusion.
It seems we have a small problem. She projected her thoughts to everyone in the tent.
"What is it Saphira?" Eragon asked out loud, studying his dragon closely.
It appears to me that the rider is not actually Nasuada. She replied quickly before retreating to her own mind to attempt to converse with the young dragon. Nasuada glanced quickly at the dragon at her feet who was now looking up at Saphira absentmindedly, no doubt making its own attempt to communicate through feelings and images.
After what seemed like hours, Saphira pulled away from its mind, seemingly satisfied. She nudged Eragon slightly who looked at her in surprise before pulling her head away to rejoin Thorn. "What is it Eragon?" Murtagh asked him, but Eragon just shook his head.
"You will find out for yourselves in a few minutes." He said nodding towards the amethyst dragon who was now stumbling around the room clumsily.
Everyone smiled at the sight, but none more than Zyana who, confused by her emotions, looked on beaming with pride. As if her thoughts and emotions were projected out of her mind, the amethyst dragon turned its gaze towards her quickly and squeaked in excitement, crossing the room towards her. Murtagh smiled as she turned towards him with a bewildered expression on her face, and bade her pick up the cooing dragon at her feet.
She returned his smile and turned towards the small dragon who was pawing at her eagerly. As she reached down, a searing pain ran up her arm and she screamed out loudly. "My arm feels like it's on fire!" She yelled, but only Nasuada heard her, the other riders all clutching their own palms, a renewed feeling of unmistakable pain running through them.
Zyana found a seat quickly, clutching her throbbing palm closely to her chest, not daring to release it in fear that the pain would intensify. Nasuada glanced at all the riders, a wide smile plastered on her face. "Zyana. You are the Varden's new rider! This is absolutely wonderful news, and now with the elemental dragon we are four dragon riders against one. We will surely win this war!" she enthused loudly, but none of the riders responded, rubbing their palms slowly, trying to relieve themselves of the pain that ran through them.
Saphira and Thorn appeared at the door, curiosity and worry written on their expressions, and nudged their riders slowly, comforting them. Ilian was licking Arya's hand slowly while the amethyst dragon sat on Zyana's lap with contentment. Nasuada smiled at the scene before her seemingly relieved while Murtagh patted Thorn's snout and released his palm, looking at it closely.
His silvery gedwey ignasia now had a light purple tint running over its silvery surface, glowing slightly. It throbbed dully as it wove slowly around his palm, leaving a small silver trail behind it until it found its original posistion and became still once again. He looked towards Eragon and Arya who were also examining their own palms in confusion. "What happened?" He asked in a small whisper. Arya looked at him quickly before shrugging her shoulders. "I think we may have underestimated the power of the dragon." She muttered, turning her gaze to the tiny dragon in her sisters arms.
Zyana examined her palm closely and stroked the light purple glowing swirl that had appeared on the surface. It looked nothing like Murtagh's and she wondered what else her dragon had in store for her. My dragon. She thought happily. I'm a rider, I'm actually a rider. A small smile found her lips and the tiny dragon looked up at her and hummed loudly. Zyana felt a slight brush against her consciousness and ran her fingers over the dragons smooth scales.
She turned to Eragon and Murtagh who were still staring at their hands. "Murtagh, Eragon? Could you get Saphira or Thorn to tell me if it is male or female?"
They looked up at her quickly and nodded, smiling. Thorn was the first to poke his head through the opening and studied the dragon for a long moment before announcing happily that is was female.
"This is wonderful!" Nasuada exclaimed excitedly. "With all these dragons on our side, we will be undefeatable! There's just one thing left to do. Zyana." She turned quickly to face the new rider who looked back at her in puzzlement. "Nasuada?"
"You have to give her a name. Take your time, it has to fit her perfectly." Zyana smiled at her widely. "Indeed. No doubt it will be difficult to find a fitting name, but when I do, it will be perfect."
The young dragon squeaked happily while a small breeze erupted through the tent rustling the papers off the desks and knocking Ilian off his feet.
"This wind today is just uncanny. The weather was perfect a few hours ago, and since that wind storm has finished, there's been a real eerie feeling. Did anyone else notice?" Eragon asked, his eyes wide. Zyana's dragon let out a small squeak that sounded somewhat like a chuckle and all eyes turned to her immediately. When she noticed, she puffed a small cloud of smoke out of her nostrils and hid her head under a wing, curling up in Zyana's skirts.
"It was the dragon!" Arya yelled, cursing herself for not realising sooner. All eyes turned to her immediately, wide with curiosity. "Think about it. The wind only started up when it was actually hatching and ended the second the egg cracked. That can't be coincidence. She really is powerful." She finished in awe. "Can you imagine if she can muster up a storm like that now, what will she be capable of when she is fully grown?"
"Dragon's aren't supposed to get their abilities until they are around a year old though." Eragon pointed out, and Arya shook her head. "This is no ordinary dragon Eragon. My theory is that because she is going to have four abilities, one was developed while still in the egg, while the others will develop as she grows. This is fascinating." She said taking it all in.
Zyana looked at the tiny ball in her lap and wondered how such a small creature could create such a large gust of wind. There was a tiny knock on the tent flap, followed by a husky voice that Zyana recognised as the guard who had given her a difficult time in seeing Nasuada earlier that day. "My Lady. You are needed on the ground. That storm has made a terrible mess, we've lost some tents and the healers have been summoned for the people who were injured. "
Nasuada stood and disappeared out of the tent, muttering a few choice curses as she left.
The riders all exchanged worried looks. "People were injured?" Eragon asked still wide eyed. Arya rolled her emerald eyes teasingly. "Honestly Eragon. What did you expect with a storm that big?" Eragon coloured noticeably and Murtagh let out a small chuckle at his brother's flustered expression and turned to Zyana who had stood quickly and placed the dragon around her shoulders. He gave her a questioning look which she returned with a weak smile. "I have to go to the healer's tent immediately. They will need my help with the injured." She made her way toward the door but Murtagh grabbed her wrist, turning her to face him. Zyana caught his eye and they both blushed slightly as Murtagh released her.
"You can't go. No one can know about the hatchling yet, Nasuada still needs to give her ascent that it is safe to do so." He stammered.
"I need to go Murtagh. They rely on me more then you realise. I can't abandon them when they need me most." She argued.
"What will you do about the dragon then? You can't take her with you, especially to the healer hall." Zyana was torn, knowing he was right. The hatchling cried in anguish and rubbed against her hair, making the decision all the more difficult. She reached up and pulled her dragon down and looked into her bright, intelligent eyes which were full of confusion.
"My little one. I will only be gone for a small while, and I will be back the first moment I can. The Varden need me." She told the squeaking hatchling in her arms. It's cries were growing ever louder and Zyana didn't know how much more she could take before she gave in. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face Arya. "I will watch her Zyana. She can play with Ilian, and Thorn and Saphira will be here as well. You need not worry about her safety. Go."
Sighing, Zyana pushed her dragon into her sisters arms who took her over to Ilian. She gave one last confused look at Zyana before Ilian nipped her tail playfully, waking her from her misery. Seconds later, her rider was all but forgotten as the pair rolled around the floor in a swirl of green and purple.
"Well, it turns out it wasn't hard to replace me at all." Zyana laughed to herself before hurrying from the tent.
She closed the flap firmly behind her and prepared herself for the sight that that awaited. Turning bravely around, she gasped at the state that the Varden camp. Several large trees were uprooted, some of which had tents tangled in their branches, and various men and women were running around anxiously looking for missing family members or helping clean up the tangled messes that littered the ground.
She shook her head in absolute disbelief, once again finding her thoughts wandering to the power of her dragon and how she could have accomplished what she had at such a young age. She woke from her daze when she heard Nasuada call her name.
"Zyana. Oh, thank god. Your presence is desperately needed in the healer tent. It is already full and more casualties are flowing in with every minute that passes." She said exasperatedly, a slight flushed expression on her face. Zyana nodded and ran in the direction of the tent, not faltering for a second.
Upon arriving, her jaw dropped at the sheer amount of injured people there were, and the extent of their ails. Not wasting a second, she set to work healing those with smaller injuries with magic, but grew weary soon after, with just as many casualties entering as leaving.
She worked long into the night until she grew so weary she could barely stand. The healers thanked her earnestly and bid her rest, saying she would be of more use once she was fresh. Nodding weakly she left the tent, not knowing in which direction she was walking. She felt a hand grab her arm, leading her towards a nearby tent, and became immediately alert.
Zyana turned to face her captor in alarm but relaxed instantly when she realised it was Murtagh. "Murtagh, you scared the life out of me. You really should refrain from doing that in the future." She said yawning. Murtagh smiled. "I'm sorry. You were walking in the wrong direction and I figured you would wish to be taken to your dragon." Her eyes widened at the mention of the hatchling and looked around in alarm hoping no one had heard him mention her. Murtagh's smile widened slightly, and said reassuringly, "Don't worry Zyana. Everyone is either asleep or in the healer tent. No one will hear us at this time of morning."
"Morning?" Zyana asked him slightly confused. Murtagh laughed, not disguising the fatigue in his voice. "Yes. It has been many hours since you went to the healer tent, the people will be waking soon." He nodded towards the pinkish glow that lay on the horizon and Zyana's eyes widened more. "Oh my. I don't have time to rest now, there is much still to do. The tents, the trees. I need to make sure that everything is fine before I can even think about resting." She continued to ramble as Murtagh led her inside her tent, sitting her on her bed. Her dragon woke to Zyana's bell like voice and squeaked with joy, leaping into her riders arms. Zyana sighed with contentment and lay on her bed, curling her dragon in her arms. Murtagh could stand for no longer and found a seat beside Zyana on her bed and within a few moments found himself in a deep slumber beside her.
"Arya. Have you seen Murtagh or Zyana today?" Nasuada approached the elf with an exhausted sigh. She had not slept the night before, finding herself dragged into several meetings to discuss strategies with the urgals and helping clean up the Varden camp from the previous days events.
The elf looked at the Varden leader and shook her head. "I'm sorry Nasuada, I haven't. My guess would be she is asleep. She was healing all the injured until dawn and in the process used all her energy."
Nasuada nodded in understanding. "Well, we need to conduct another meeting I am afraid. It seems we have much to talk about and so little time to do it in. When she wakens could you come and see me? I need all my riders there, if we can find them." She said, a small smile finding her lips.
"Of course Nasuada. I will begin the search for them right away." Nasuada nodded and walked wearily in the direction of her tent, a worried Arya staring after her. Not having time to linger, Arya set off searching for Eragon, Zyana and Murtagh. She ran into Eragon first who was helping Saphira untangle a tent from a tree branch. When he saw her approaching, his eyes brightened and came straight up to her, leaving Saphira with a large log in her mouth. Blowing a small puff of smoke out of her nostrils, she glared at her rider, but he didn't notice.
"Good morning Arya. The weather has improved much since yesterday I see." He greeted her warmly. She nodded quickly not stopping to exchange pleasantries. "Nasuada has requested an urgent meeting with the riders. You haven't seen Murtagh by any chance?" She asked. Eragon shook his head and offered to help her look, earning an even greater glare from his dragon. She entered his mind briefly, as Arya could tell, and had a quick argument with him before he rose his hand and flicked it, like he was shooing away a fly.
He took Arya's arm and led her in the direction of Murtagh's tent and was startled to find it empty with no evidence that it had been slept in at all. The pair exchanged glances before turning towards Zyana's tent.
Arya approached the entrance and entered without so much as a knock, surprising Eragon who waited outside. Seconds later he heard Arya's bell like voice muttering softly then calling his name to enter. He did as he was bidden and upon entering looked over to the bed which housed Zyana, Murtagh and the dragon hatchling all curled around each other sleeping peacefully. Murtagh had his arm laying on Zyana's hip protectively who had her head resting on his chest, her own arm reaching over his waist and curling around her dragon.
Eragon laughed loudly, rousing the pair slightly, a small groan emitting from Murtagh's throat. Arya smiled and cleared her throat loudly, while Zyana opened one of her bright blue eyes to glare at her. Instead of seeing her sister standing before her, she saw a sleeping Murtagh beside her, his arm around her. She squeaked in surprise, waking Murtagh who removed his arm immediately before sitting up. The pair had both hidden their now colouring faces behind their hair, making the scene before Eragon and Arya all the more comical.
"We didn't... er.... break anything up did we?" Eragon asked, his voice thick with humour.
Murtagh glared at him profusely not saying anything. The hatchling nudged Zyana's arm impatiently, sending her images of food and the emotions of hunger. Glad for a distraction, she bid her dragon stay where she was and muttered quickly she was going to find food for her before quickly leaving her tent, still blushing brightly.
Arya followed her from the tent, still smiling widely while she explained about the meeting that was to take place. Zyana nodded curtly, then grabbed a small pile of deer that Thorn had left uneaten the previous night, before turning back to her tent.
"Yes Arya. I will meet you there. Did Nasuada want me to bring my dragon?" She asked. Arya shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it might be best if you left her where she is for now away from prying eyes." Zyana nodded in agreement and slipped into her tent quickly, relieved when she found Murtagh and Eragon had left. She gave the meat to the squealing hatchling, who devoured it hungrily. When her belly was bulging, the young dragon jumped into her riders lap humming softly.
Zyana stroked her scales and looked down on her warmly. "What am I going to name you?" She asked her, and was not entirely disappointed when she got no response. "You are certainly not making this easy for me." Zyana laughed and ran through several names, none of which fit her. "Aeiha, Fricaya, Hanriah, Du'ne, Salwey." She had felt like she had been running through names for hours, until she remembered the meeting. Cursing softly, she stood and exited the tent, warning her dragon not to leave. She looked at her rider angrily before jumping on her bed and curling into a small purple ball, puffing small bursts of smoke out of her nose. Zyana smiled at her warmly and ran towards Nasuada's tent. Upon arriving, she was dismayed to find Eragon, Arya and Murtagh already seated with Nasuada at the head of the table, her bloodshot eyes looking at her wearily.
"Ah, Zyana. It is good to see you. Slept well I trust?" She asked pleasantly. Eragon and Arya snickered softly between themselves and all Zyana could do was nod and take the only vacant seat next to Murtagh who hid his face behind his hair.
Nasuada ignored the two laughing riders and began the meeting.
"Let us proceed. I am holding a formal assembly for the Varden tomorrow to announce our new dragon riders. You will be expected to saw a few small words, they don't have to be too glamorous, just say how you will help the Varden's cause, etc." She rested her head in her hands.
She remained silent for a moment before seeming to wake herself. "So, Zyana, you must keep your dragon hidden until the morrow when it will be announced. Then you will begin your training. You will need to fly to Ellesmera as soon as possible where you will be safe from the empire until Ilian and the hatchling are strong enough to bear you for the journey home."
Zyana's face lit up immediately. "I'm going back to Ellesmera?! And so soon!" Nasuada smiled at her enthusiasm and bid them go prepare their speeches and get into contact with the elf queen which Zyana did enthusiastically.
She ran to her tent immediately, closely followed by Arya, and pulled the mirror out of her drawer, muttering a spell. Almost immediately the image changed from the two smiling elves to the room that they had seen last time, only it wasn't empty. There was a figure leaning over a desk attentively, seemingly absorbed in what the papers before her stated, not realising she was being watched.
"Mother." Arya called into the mirror, making the elf in the room jump slightly. She turned and took in the sight of her daughters and grabbed hold of the mirror enthusiastically. "Arya. Zyana. My, this is a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Islanzadi asked, her beautiful smile gracing her features.
"Mother. We have much news to tell you." Zyana said and nodded to Arya who showed her glowing palm to the mirror. Islanzadi gasped. "You are a rider? This is wonderful! Where is your dragon?" she asked.
"He is with Thorn, learning a few of the easier dragon manoeuvrers." She said proudly. Zyana could not contain her excitement and flashed her own palm to her mother, earning another gasp. The small amethyst dragon then sat on Zyana's lap and stared at the elf on the other side with avid curiosity. "That is the dragon? My, it is absolutely beautiful." The elf queen laughed.
"Indeed she is beautiful mother. But you will just have to wait to see her in real life. She is much more perfect then you believe." Zyana boasted proudly.
Islanzadi raised an eyebrow questioningly, then asked what she meant by seeing her in real life.
"We are coming home." Zyana smiled widely.
So... I am sorry that this chapter sucked, I wrote it at something like three in the morning and haven't had a proper chance to edit. Please review and tell me what you thought. This story is going to get more interesting... I promise!!