Chapter 1

So much show, and for what? Seren thought as she surveyed the scene in front of her. Her father's court was wealthy, especially now the Lady Nasuada had come to power, since the fall of Galbatorix 5 years before. Then two years ago, he had become one of the wealthiest Lords around, after having ventured out to the land discovered by the Rider Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Brightscales.

Even so, it seemed to Seren that her father's obsession with ostentatious displays of grandeur had finally gotten beyond ridiculous.

I know why, she thought to herself. I just don't want to admit it.

The fools, the acrobats, the mage, all just to persuade Lord Nuallan to marry her now she was of age.

It wouldn't be so bad if he weren't such a pig…Seren winced watching her betrothed-to-be guffaw heartily and the fools' antics. With his mouth open. Full of food.

"Seren, that face does not become you." Her mother hissed in her ear. Seren blushed; she hadn't realised she was letting her disgust show.

"Sorry, mother."

Sorry mother…A fine example of filial obedience. The voice-that-was-not-own filled her head and shook with suppressed laughter, and she had to restrain herself from sticking her tongue out at its owner.

That was the other reason. Altair. He was showing off now, acting as a 'mage' thanks to her father's ridiculously large 'incentive', but when it was just the two of them, he was the kindest, most thoughtful friend a girl could have. More then a friend if truth be told.

She looked over at him and sighed. He winked, then seeing her despondent look frowned.

What's wrong? He asked her silently, though even with out his telepathic skills, she would have been able to see the question, written on his face as it was.

You have to ask? She raised an eyebrow, then sighed again.

"I can't do this." She muttered to her parents, then stood up and fled the room, as fast as she dared without actually running out. Silence followed in her wake as everyone in the Great Hall stopped what they were doing to watch her go.

Altair climbed up the old tower, and when he got to the chamber at the top he frowned. Empty.

She must be more upset than I thought… He closed his eyes for a moment, then snapped them open as he heard a sniff from the slit window. He smiled sadly then went to where his love was perched, dangerously high on a ledge outside the window.

Leaning out, he sneaked a look at Seren.

In the last two hours since she had fled the party, she had cried a great deal. Her usually porcelain skin was blotched red where she had rubbed away her tears, and her forest green eyes were red and swollen. Even so, Altair didn't care. She was still beautiful to him.

"My lady. Isn't a little dangerous out here?" He asked taking her hand as he leant out the hole.

"Altair! Go away". Seren pulled her hand away from him.

"Seren, please. I just want to talk. Make sure that you are alright."

She laughed once, bitterly, then turned to look at him, sweeping her chestnut hair away from her face to give him the full affect of her glare.

"How can I be 'alright'? In one month's time I will be married to that cretin downstairs who thinks that Knock Knock jokes are the height of hilarity and that 'all castles should have serving maids of 'negotiable' affection'." The hysteria in her came to a pitch, then vanished as she continued. "I won't last a week Al."

He looked at her, deep into her eyes, conveying all the sympathy and empathy he could muster. Altair then winced as he became uncomfortably aware of the crick in neck coming from craning round to look at Seren.

"Not to rain on your bonfire, 'Ren, but could we at least continue this scintillating conversation, inside the chamber? You might be small enough to fit through that gap, but I'm just a wee bit to large, and if this continues much longer, I'm not sure I will be able to straighten my neck. Please?"

Seren laughed at that, then nodded, smiling ruefully. She slipped into the chamber, and flopped down on to the dusty old four-poster bed.

Once they had both stopped coughing enough to talk, Altair came and lay beside Seren, slipping his arm round her and looked at her again. He couldn't believe that in a little over 30 days time, he would probably never see her again. At least, not like this.

"I love you Seren. I want you to know that always, no matter how far we are apart." He smiled to himself then, and conjured up an image of the moon into the room, muttering the words of the ancient language necessary as he did so. "And if you ever feel lonely, I will meet you at the moon." He let the image vanish, and stole another at the beautiful girl lying next to him. She was smiling albeit quizzically.

"Which means?"

"Which means, Lady 'Ren that if you are ever feeling sad or lonely, that you can just look up at the moon and know that I'm doing the same."

"And how will you know that?" She asked teasingly.

"I'll scry you, and then that way, I'll know." He kissed her gently on the temple, and she curled her body into his, taking his hand as she did so.

"Do you miss it?" Seren suddenly asked, the change in topic taking Altair completely by surprise.

"Miss what? How it used to be before?" Thinking she meant their old relationship, the first kisses, the stolen meetings. Before Lord Nuallan had ever existed for them.

"That too I guess…but actually I meant the Varden, Du Vangr Gata. Do miss it?"

"I've never really thought of it. You've never asked me before."

"Well, I'm not going to get much chance in the future am I?" She said, half jokingly.

He thought for a minute, back to moments of heart stopping fear, terrifying monsters and bloody battles. The way of living your life to the full, because you never knew whether the next moment might be your last. And Eragon and Saphira, their amazing skill and power, wishing an egg would hatch for him, so he too could be a hero.

"Yes. And no. The fear was bad. And seeing those you love die in front of you, knowing you can't stop it. But… I don't know. I've never felt like I truly belonged anywhere else, not 'til I met you two winters ago. And I wish you had seen the riders in action. Even fighting each other…it was…something else."

"I saw Eragon and Saphira once. Just after the final battle. They were beautiful." Seren turned to look at him and smiled mischievously. "Still, even though Eragon was probably the most handsome man I've ever seen…"

"What?!" She placed a finger on his lips.

"Let me finish? He wasn't the most attractive man I've ever seen – too much of a pretty boy for me."

"You were eleven…"

"So? I'm not now. And I can assure my love, that you still beat him any day."

The fact that their lips were in very close contact for a while after that made any further conversation very difficult.

Later, after they had exhausted all amorous urges, they lay intertwined on the bed, Seren curled up on Altair now bare chest fast asleep. He looped a strand of her hair round his finger and sighed sadly.

"I wish I could stay with you always." He whispered. "So I didn't have to stay here and spend my every moment worrying about you in that man's domain. I love you Seren."

It was a shame that he didn't see the hooded figure in the half open doorway, nor hear its whispered warning as it left, the trail of magic following it.

Be careful what you wish for…