A/N: Hey everyone.
This chapter is a bit shorter than previous ones.
It's also more informative than anything, with little to no 'action'.
I hope you will enjoy it all the same though. :) Some previous questions may even be answered.
Anyways, here's the story:

Story:

Chapter 11: Talk among Friends

Almost half an hour after departing from Nyte at the base of our tree house and following Dylan and Jak into the depths of Du Weldenvarden, we stopped at the edge of a garden. The garden was the size of a few houses put together, and was fenced off with long bars of wood grown from four tall trees that sat at its corners, their branches all interlocked with one another. A gate also made of wood stood at the entrance with but a single lock on it.

Jak strode up to the gate and touched the lock with his two forefingers while whispering something in the ancient language. With a small clink the lock was undone and Jak swung open the gate, and while ushering me in he and Dylan said in unison, "Welcome to our very own Secret Garden."

Even though there was no roof to the garden, and there were gaps in the fence, there was immediately a difference in the air on the inside compared to the outside. It was thicker, heavier, and smelled greatly of flowers. Looking around I was awe-struck by all the different flowers that grew throughout the garden. There were different patches for each kind, from Lilies, Daisies and Marigolds, to Poppies, Zinnias and Roses, to all different types of tropical, water, land, hanging, and other various climate types of flowers. Every single one was healthy and full of an abundance of life. I could almost feel the energy from the flowers hanging in the air.

"The flowers have done really well, even though we were gone for so long. I'm surprised, and happy. Aren't you as well, Jak?" Dylan smiled as he roamed among the flowers and leaned down to sniff a few. Jak nodded, and Dylan continued talking, "No one other than Jak and myself – and now you, know about this place. We made it a long time ago, all by ourselves, as a little escape. A place just for us. We figured that you'd like it, so we thought we'd share it with you."

"Kyra…" Jak's voice was soft and quite as he stared at me. For a moment I thought that he wouldn't continue speaking, and that maybe I was the one who should say something. Just when I started to reply he spoke again, "What is your favorite flower? I'm sure we have it somewhere in here – and if not we can add it."

"The lotus flower." I blushed slightly at how fast I replied, and then added, "It has always been my favorite flower. Such a delicate and beautiful flower, grown from the depths of the mud yet still shedding light upon the world."

Dylan bounded up to me with a smile on his face and grabbed my hand before Jak could say anything, "The lotus flower? Somehow that really suits you. They are rather pretty. We have some this way." He pulled me farther along into the garden, where a little, shallow pond resided. Around the pond were large polished stones that one could sit on and all around and in the pond were dozens of lotus flowers of all colors and sizes.

"Wow…" I muttered, while taking a seat on one of the stones and fingering the petals of a light blue lotus. Jak quietly sat on a stone to my left and Dylan on the one to my right. We all sat quietly then, staring at the pretty flowers, with many emotions and no words in the air.

A dark violet lotus, almost the same shade as Nyte, floated towards Jak and he carefully cupped his hands around it, lifting it partially out of the muddy water. He then began to sing softly, in the ancient language. I couldn't quite make out what he was singing, but the sound still entranced me. While Jak sang, the flower grew darker and darker until it was the exact shade of Nyte's scales.

When he was done, Jak released the flower back into the water and blew it towards me, and then onto Dylan, who slowly caressed it as he began to speak. "We are sorry for not telling you of our blood relation. Jak and I are indeed brothers – twin brothers. We are but 19 years old – which is more than the age of manhood for humans, but is still considered children for the elves, and we look to be only 16 or 17 amongst humans. We would have told you earlier, but we were not allowed – both bound by unbreakable oaths in the ancient language."

"But now…Now is the time to tell you everything. I'll start at the beginning, so that you shall understand. When we were 3 years old both of our parents died. At the time we didn't understand as to how or why, but it was because they wanted to assist the Varden, but they were killed by Morzan. It was around that time that you're father also died – he was close friends to our parents, so we both met him, but we were still quite young."

"Anyways, we didn't want to be waited on hand and foot by the other elves, for that's exactly what they were doing. Elf children are special, and twins are even more so. And the loss of our parents, and yours as well, sent the elves into grief, and they wanted to protect us at any cost. We both got fed up with it and ran away from Ellesméra. That is when we first met Oromis and Glaedr. We spent a few days with them before they took us back. But on doing so Oromis promised that we could come and visit whenever we wanted, for however long we wanted."

"Of course, we had already known of their existence long before this point, we just had never gotten to meet with them. From that day forward we spent almost every day with Oromis and Glaedr. The older we got and the more time we spent with them the more we wanted to bring down The Empire and Galbatorix any way that we could. We wanted to assist the Varden, and we were willing to do whatever it takes."

"Three years ago, when princess Arya had spent her year in Du Weldenvarden, and was going to return back to the Varden, we decided to make our move. I assume you heard the details on her ferrying Saphira's egg to and fro the Varden?" He paused long enough to look at me and wait for me to nod before he continued, "We went to the Queen and argued with her for days before she let us go. No one wanted us to go. It was bad enough that princess Arya was so often gone and working with the Varden, but to let two children go? You have no idea how hard it was for us to convince her… But we eventually did."

"Thus we traveled with Arya to the Varden where we became ample and loyal members. We worked hard to help in any way we could, going on several missions, from spying to assassinations. Arya was an important member of the Varden, but because she was only there a year at a time, Jak and I became a little more valuable. Our superior strength and speed, and our use of magic came in handy often. Needless to say we were often sent on rather dangerous missions."

"A few months back we got sent on a mission to the isle of Nía. The exact details of the mission are irrelevant now, but basically it was a multitude of missions put together – from information gathering, to helping members of the Varden escape from The Empire. Accompanying Jak and I was a member of Du Vrangr Gata, the group of magicians within the Varden, Sam. Over the years we had spent with the Varden, Sam was the first person to warm up to us, and became our first and closest friend there. But while on this mission, he betrayed us."

"Now, Nía is the smallest of the trio of islands, but it isn't too small. There is still a lot of land on it. We met up with the Varden members there, but somehow a lot of Galbatorix's men showed up. We all got separated, and while we were at it Jak and I made sure to hide our identities as elves. While trying to find our way back to everyone else I sort of lost my footing along the edge of a small cliff and tumbled into the water." Dylan's face slightly reddened, as though he was embarrassed.

"Though it was just our luck that I did, for I stumbled upon a small alcove. The alcove was hidden from view while on land, and while on sea the waves of the water hid it from view, making it seem as though it was just the wall of the island, no matter low or high tide. It was perfectly hidden from view from all angles – unless you were to happen to fall off the edge of the cliff there, and survive, you would never know it existed."

"Jak joined me to help me get back up, but before doing so we had the sudden urge to look inside the alcove. I know, I know, we were being pressed for time and had to get back to our comrades as soon as possible, so it was irresponsible to spend our time sating our curiosity. But we had to…something was compelling us to move forward."

"It was inside that alcove that we chanced upon Nyte's egg."

There was a pause as he took a deep breath and traced the delicate petals of the dark lotus. He sighed before continuing, "It was in a dark package buried half buried and covered in rocks, with but a small streak of its color showing. There were magical wards placed about it so that no one could find it by magical means. Meaning that one would have to physically go into the alcove and see it for them to know it was there. Very cleverly hidden, if I do say so."

"Anyways, after discovering the existence of Nyte's egg we were more determined than ever to get off that cursed island and back to the Varden. We made our way back up onto the island and carefully around to the rest of our small group."

"But…by the time we got there… everyone was dead. They were all slaughtered, every last member of the Varden, except for Sam. He was happily cooperating with Galbatorix's soldiers…He even stomped in the face of one of our fallen comrades. It was then that we realized that he had betrayed us, and that we were in great danger if he told the soldiers all that he knew about us."

"Without even hesitating…Jak…" Dylan's voice trailed off, and Jak spoke for the first time since Dylan had started explaining their long story.

"Without hesitating I killed Sam where he stood." Jak's voice was full of pain and sorrow, and each word was strained, "He betrayed us, and knew secrets that could be devastating to us, the elves, and the Varden. Even if he was our friend…it had to be done."

Jak fell silent then and refused to speak again, so Dylan had to pick up from there. "Jak had me stay hidden since I had Nyte's egg in my possession. He mercilessly killed as many of the Soldiers as he could, and I helped with my magic from afar. There were too many though, and Jak got captured. With what energy I had left I scoured their brains to find out where they were taking him. It turned out to be Dras Leona."

"I couldn't follow them for risk of being captured and the egg being taken away. I couldn't go back to the Varden for Jak had made an agreement with them that if he were ever caught they wouldn't allow me, or anyone else, to try to rescue him. I couldn't even risk sending a message back to them about Nyte's egg, for they would then want me to return immediately and would be suspicious when I didn't. So, they don't know of Nyte's existence yet, or the fact that we are safe, or anything else that happened. I couldn't turn to the elves for help, for they were too far away, and they had already cut off all contact with the outside world some time before when Princess Arya was captured. My only choice was to try to rescue Jak myself."

"First though, I needed to find a good place to hide Nyte's egg, and gather up some of my lost energy in the process. It didn't take me long to decide where would be best. Aiedail's, your mother's grave, was the best place I could think of. Not only did I know it's exact whereabouts, for I had seen its' location and how to get there through another elves memories, but it wasn't too far off from Dras Leona, and the area it was in had special wards placed around it. Not to mention it was in the spine, where I as an elf could easily travel, yet Galbatorix's soldiers dared not go."

"So, after my mind was made up I set out for Aiedail's grave, and placed Nyte's egg deep within the deep pond near it. I had placed wards around it that would notify me if someone had chanced upon it and taken it out of the water. I had never expected it to be found, especially so quickly. You may have dreamed about it the day before you found it, but I had dropped it off a week earlier and had made it a long ways away by then."

"Coming back and finding that you were the one who found the egg surprised me greatly, but more than anything I was surprised by the fact that you wanted to come with me. It was forbidden for me to say yes…But there was no way that I could say no, knowing that you were being hunted by the Empire. I also couldn't bear to use force to retrieve the egg, either. And you know the story from there."

Silence enveloped us as we all stared at the dark lotus between Dylan's hands. It felt nice to know the truth and what had happened up until now with Dylan and Jak, but at the same time it felt as though I didn't have the right to this knowledge. It also felt nice to know the reasoning for Jak's initial cold behavior towards me, even though it hurt to know how deep the wounds in his heart ran.

"Thank you for telling me all of this…and trusting me with this information. Things make a little more sense, at the very least." I looked at Dylan, then to Jak, and then let my gaze settle on the lotus flowers before me. "…What now?"

"Now," Dylan stood up and stretched, "It is late and you should be getting rest for tomorrows training."

"That's not what I meant," A small unsteady breath escaped my lips, "I left my home with you, Dylan, in order to escape capture by the empire. Nytes egg hatched for me, which I never expected, and you helped me to raise him. I helped to save you, Jak, from Dras Leona because I was compelled to help Dylan, whom had become my friend. And I fled here to Ellesméra with you two in order to, once again, escape capture by the empire. What will happen from here on out?"

"We know that you didn't expect to come here to Ellesméra and train to be a Rider…But from now on you need to continue with your training. In this war against the Empire, against Galbatorix, you and Nyte will be needed. We ask that you train here with Oromis as long as you can in able to help us the elves, the Varden, and all the people of Alagaësia." Dylan promptly bowed his head to me, and Jak stood up and moved beside him to do the same. "Please, Kyra."

"Yes…Of course. I will help in any way I can." When they raised their heads I quietly asked, "What will you two do from here?"

Jak spoke again, and this time his voice was much stronger, "We plan to stay here in Ellesméra for a while, but ultimately we are members of the Varden, and must return to them eventually, especially when they have yet to learn of what befell us. There will still be plenty of time before we leave, and although you are not a part of the Varden and do not have to, we wish that someday you will join us with the Varden. Don't decide now, for it is something you should think about, and you will have plenty of time to think about it."

I nodded solemnly. The idea of them going far away and not being able to see or contact them anymore saddened me. They were the only friends I had here, and I didn't think I'd have a chance to make more, save for possibly Eragon and Saphira. Though going all across Alagaësia and fighting all the time didn't seem like a pretty concept either. Though if I did, there was a chance I could find out what was going on with Jason, and possibly help him. This was definitely something to consider.

"Let us head back then. We'll guide you back to your tree." At that we left the quiet, beautiful garden. As Jak closed and relocked the gate he turned to me and smiled, "If you ever get some free time, or wish for a quiet place to study, you are more than welcome to come here. Dylan and I will be here from time to time, so we may just cross paths if you do. We'll add you to the lock's mechanism as one of the people allowed to unlock it. Just make sure to say 'Please Open' in the ancient language when you come."

My face flushed slightly as I thanked him, "That it is very kind of you." At that we trod back through the forest and into Ellesméra, and then to the base of my tree. Nyte had already long since returned from his hunting trip and was resting high up in the tree, waiting to hear all that had transpired.

"May the stars watch over you, Kyra." Jak and Dylan both said before flitting with the grace of the elves they were back into the trees. I quickly ascended the stairs and went to Nyte, eager to share all that had happened, and spend the night curled up next to his warm side.

End of Chapter 11! ((Up next: Chapter 12: Day by Day.))

I hope you enjoyed it. :)