Here we go! Right back on track where we belong :P Please review, people! It gives me a reason to finish this fanfic... considering there's no suspense; we all know Eragon will raise the dragon and save the two races...
In the end, Eragon decided that he was hungry, but not hungry enough to eat a food group that he had never consumed before. He would wait until tomorrow, if ever, to have his first bite of meat. Because that night Eragon had full intentions to find the elf-in-black that was following him, and force that elf to reveal all the secrets there were to be revealed.
When the Sun began to set, he decided that he would sleep on the ground, to try and lure the elf-in-black into a more vulnerable position. Besides, it's easier to create a temporary shelter on the ground than in a tree. The weather wasn't looking very good either, the temperature was dropping rapidly and the wind was getting stronger.
"He'll probably sleep in the trees if he sleeps at all. I'm convinced that our dear-little-friend was sent to kill you. He'll take your life and return to his boss. No need for him to sleep then, and he'll get out of here before a blizzard hits." Eragon chuckled at his coarse joke, directed solely at an irked Bid'Daum.
"Oh, he'll sleep all right. Just like you slept when you were tracking the dragon. Close, but not too close, and only half-asleep really. He's tracking you for some reason or another, remember? And he'll find a way to outlast the storm." Bid'Daum's logic shone through. "Your plan should be to do the same."
"You're right. Those clouds aren't looking friendly, and the Sun won't be out for another hour. I'm going to make a snow-fort."
"With what? You didn't bring anything except for your sword, bow and faelnirv."
"Magic." Eragon smiled, stopping in his tree. He looked down at the icy snow, uninviting and sparkling in the Sun's light.
He stretched out his hand, drawing an image in his mind and he fiddled with several ideas of constructing the most protective home. Who knew how long a storm could last? He had to outlast it.
"Make sure you think to put firewood in it. Easy or not to see you, we don't want you freezing to death," Bid'Daum commented, shivering at the thought.
"Or suffocating to death." Eragon smiled again. Bid'Daum was becoming more of a parrot on his shoulder than a part of him. He hadn't had an imaginary friend for years. He had kind of missed it.
He decided to construct an igloo. With waves of his hands and the direction of the ancient language he quickly cut blocks out of the snow and set them upon each other in a spiral, leaving two holes on the sides with one large enough to climb through, and an orifice on the top.
When he was finished on the construction he leapt down and went about looking for firewood. There was hardly any light left, the temperatures were dropping and the winds were rising steadily. He searched fast, and grabbed whatever there was, fit for firewood or not. He now had magic, and he was skilled with it too. Anything would burn under a spell from him.
Predictably, he made it into the igloo as the Sun disappeared from view and had a fire going within minutes.
"I bet our follower had the sense to imitate us," Eragon murmured, looking out of the door and seeing the snow whip around.
"Invisibly. No secrets will be divulged to-night."
Eragon did not say anything more, but sat still watching the effects of the wind through the tangoing tongues of flame.
"Eragon!" a voice pierced the wind, barely. Eragon's head shot up, as though that would help him hear better.
"It seems our follower not only was ill prepared to fight this, but knows your name also," Bid'Daum said smugly.
"Eragon!" the voice came again, a little closer, a little more desperate.
"You should leave him," Bid'Daum suggested. "Kill him while he's weak."
"No," Eragon whispered, clambering around the fire, deciding to help only because Bid'Daum told him not to.
"Oi! This way!" he shouted. He made it out the door and stood up. He started waving his arms, until he spotted a hunched figure making his way through the gloom. "Right here!" For a moment Eragon wondered how smart it was to do this. Strangely, he thought of Bid'Daum as an entirely separate entity, lying inside, too proud to save a stranger. Separate. Unnecessary and easy prey. "You don't pay rent and you don't stay around to do me any good," Eragon thought to the person inside, warming himself by the fire. "I'm going to kick you out and claim myself one day. You better be ready."
The figure came next to him, looked up and asked,
"May I please join you?"
"Would I respond if I had any other intent?" he answered, stepping aside to let his guest enter first.
"Why should you have responded anyways? You know they say on this night the ghosts visit from the afterlife." He didn't know that's what they said, but he didn't mention it. He crawled in after his guest, breathing deeply in anticipation.
He closed up the door, keeping it loose enough for air flow. He saw his company huddle near the fire, breathing deeply in relief. He turned and took off his hood, staying silent.
"Who are you?" he asked in a low voice, curiosity hidden well behind his mask.
"An idiot." The voice was definitely feminine. Eragon's ears perked up, wondering if this was the maiden by the river. She looked up at him, then looked sharply away. He hadn't been able to see her face, so he sat and waited patiently. "Okay, before we say anything else, I'm sorry for not saying anything before." She pulled her hood back.
"Eliana?" Whoa. Backtrack. What? "How long have you been following me?"
"Hmmm... well, it's easy to lose track of things when you're spying on somebody, but I'd say about... I don't know, six months? You've only been doing interesting things for the past 12 hours or so. Like escaping on the trees. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I really can't tell you why no one has thought of that before." Eragon relaxed as Eliana went on, talking quickly and... nervously? Eragon allowed himself a sly grin. She wasn't the elf-in-black. Not apparently.
"You did this of your own accord, correct? Nobody told you to?" Eragon had to know how much the Queen knew of this.
"Well... some of my officers thought that learning from you would be smart, and that's when I began observing you. You talk to yourself a lot, is that for lack of an intelligent person to have a conversation with or is there a reason for that? I promise I had no malicious intent, I was just curious! Of course, when you started talking to yourself about magic and protecting yourself from a baby dragon... I became a little more curious, and suspicious enough to stalk you." She grimaced at herself. "That sounds so bad! I was just watching to see what it was that you knew that I didn't, what the Queen saw in you that I apparently didn't have. I'm sorry," she whispered it now, wrapping herself tightly in her now wet jacket.
"I forgive you. If you're willing to commit insubordination with me," Eragon whispered too, leaning forward.