Hello guys! This chapter may be slightly uneventful. Just letting you know… Kay?
Disclaimer: If I owned the Inheritance cycle, would I be writing this? HELL NO! I'd be writing about Arya!
-Ellesmera. Arya is seven and a half months pregnant.--
Arya stretched, yawning as the first rays of dawn trickled into her quarters in Tilidarí Hall. She stood, walking to the stream that flowed through her room, and bent to splash her face. Her abdomen got in the way, but she managed to complete her small mission. The frigid water woke her up, and she stood from the stream.
She had began staying in Tilidarí Hall when Eragon went into a coma, due to the stairs in the treehouse and how out of the way it was for her minor duties this far along in her pregnancy.
She felt Bhronnë stretch through their mental link. Good morning, Little One.
Arya snickered slightly to the empty air, knowing Bhronnë would hear it. I don't feel so little.
Neither does Saphira. She's due in three days.
Arya snorted. Lucky her. I have two weeks.
Be patient. Are you going to visit Eragon this morning?
Yes. Are you there?
Bhronnë sent a slightly lonely feeling across their link. Yes. Saphira is staying in the treehouse until her eggs hatch.
Arya stripped, putting on a comfortable outfit. She fingered her gedwëy ignasia fondly before pulling her shirt over it. That is fine. We can visit her after Eragon. She put on a pair of socks and left the hall, not able to wear shoes this late in her pregnancy.
I'll be waiting for you.
Okay. See you in a bit, Bhronnë. Arya broke contact with her dragon and walked across the frosty grass of Ellesmera. It was the eleventh month of the year, and soft snow was falling slowly from a sky dotted with clouds. Although it was something a younger elf would do, she stuck out her tongue and caught a snowflake. It instantly melted, and Arya shivered with delight. A hand was on her stomach as she walked.
Opening the infirmary door, she walked to Eragon's cot. The elves who were visiting him left upon seeing her arrival, and she sat in an unused chair.
"Hello, Eragon." She brushed his long hair out of his eyes. She knew she would have to cut it for him before long, hopefully when he was aware of her.
Eragon kept breathing evenly, not hearing her words and not moving at all except for the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Arya moved his arms and legs into a position that she knew he liked, and smiled. He looked like was sleeping.
Illyria had been able to keep him alive through the three months he was her patient so far, trickling water and liquid food down his throat to keep him going. She walked up to Arya, and heard a few tears drop to the floor. Arya turned to look at the healer with twin rivers on her cheeks.
"What if he's not aware when the baby comes?" She asked.
"He won't know how long it has been, Queen Arya. For all I know he may have to learn how to walk and fight again. If he's not aware then there isn't anything I can do to wake him up, or else I would have done it a week after he was here." Illyria put a gentle hand on Arya's shoulder.
Bhronnë looked at Arya with his wise emerald gaze. I will help you through it. You know that.
She smiled at the emerald dragon. "Thank you both, Illyria and Bhronnë." They sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the moment with the four of them.
Saphira's presence appeared in their minds. Hello there.
Hello, Saphira. Bhronnë thought to his mate.
Thank you for leaving me prey, Bhronnë. I'm afraid I may have scorched the wood in the treehouse though.
Arya laughed lightly. I will sing to it once I come to see you later, to repair it Saphira. It is fine.
Illyria looked at Arya quizzically. "Is this how the communication feels like?" She asked.
Arya nodded. "You get used to it when you're a Rider… or you commonly converse with a dragon."
Illyria nodded and looked at Eragon's long hair and nails disapprovingly. "I'll need to cut those."
Arya grasped the healer's hands gently. "Allow me." Arya murmured a few spells and Eragon's hair was shorter and in order; his nails clean and cut. She touched Eragon's forehead gently. "I will see you soon, my mate."
She stood and walked outside with her dragon, climbing gingerly on top of him. He flew slowly to the treehouse, landing gently and letting Arya take her time getting off of him. She went to Saphira and patted her neck. "How are you, Saphira?"
Saphira snorted a greeting. Bloated, what else? But besides that I'm fine, Little One.
"Good." Arya glanced around the room, finding a large black patch on the wall. She walked over to the charred wood and touched it, singing to it the song of healing forests. The wood began to gain color, and soon was good as new.
She smiled at the sapphire dragon. "See? It is easy to repair."
Now I see how you elves have such good voices. Saphira put her head on the ground, weary. Thank you for repairing it. How is Eragon?
"He is the same as usual…" Arya saw the dragon's eyes start to flicker. "We should leave you to rest, Saphira. I will see you soon."
Saphira nodded and closed her eyes, her breath rolling into a gentle snore.
----two days later----
Arya and Bhronnë landed beside Saphira, who was panting heavily.
"Saphira, you are doing fine. Keep pushing." Arya said gently, standing behind Saphira, watching her first egg emerge from Saphira's body. Bhronnë was looking into Saphira's stressed eyes, telling her to keep doing what she was doing.
The sapphire dragon gasped in pain, roaring quietly. A small jet of flame appeared out of her flaring nostrils. Ouch. She commented.
"I'll share your pain in less than a fortnight, Saphira. Keep going, you're doing great." Arya said, hearing the sound of an egg dropping into Saphira's bed. "That's the first one. Two more to go!"
Saphira panted heavily. This is harder than I anticipated. She winced, her eyes screwing shut at the pain. She was screaming in her mind. Another egg dropped into her bed.
"One more, Saphira!" Arya cheered the dragon on.
Bhronnë smiled at his mate. You can do it, Saphira. Just one more time.
I'm trying, Bhronnë. She snapped. Her eyes stayed clenched shut, and she kept her jaw locked. I wish I had a sapling right now. Saphira gave one last push and at last, the final egg fell from her body. She relaxed slightly, stepping aside to see the colors.
One egg was a light teal, one a dark denim color and one a flaring gold.
--Infirmary. Same time.--
Eragon's peaceful face turned into a snarl. Illyria jumped as a dragon roar escaped from the elf's mouth. Eragon rolled on his cot as if he was in pain. She attempted to restrain him when he opened his eyes. He was calm then.
"What just happened, Eragon?" She asked the elf.
Eragon looked confused. "H... how long was I out?" He asked, completely ignoring her question.
"Three and a half months." Illyria answered promptly. "You were in a coma. I'm glad you lived through it. Arya is due in less than two weeks. Now what happened just now?!"
Eragon swallowed loudly. "Saphira's given birth to three dragon eggs." He looked completely and utterly confused.
"Ah. So that means there's a week before Arya is due. Bhronnë and Saphira became mates while you were out. You suffered serious blood loss that shut down your body. I guess that Saphira's eggs were a good method to bring you back."
Eragon felt as if everything was explained to him. Then alarm spread across his face. "Arya's due in a week?!"
Illyria nodded. "Let me see if you can stand."
Eragon sat up and threw his legs over the side of his cot, standing as if it was no big deal. "Where is she?" He demanded.
"My king, she is with Saphira in the treehouse. She has been staying in Tilidarí Hall while you were in a coma and will keep staying there until her stamina returns after she gives birth."
Eragon barely heard her. "Thank you, Illyria." He sprinted out of the infirmary in the direction of the treehouse just as a normal elf would.
Illyria stood there, suddenly alone. "I wish all of my coma patients in the past would recover this fast." She muttered.
--
Eragon opened the door at the top of the staircase to Saphira being praised in the company of a teal egg, a navy blue egg and a golden egg. The parent dragons and Arya stared at their new visitor before his mind was filled with joy of the three.
"ERAGON YOU'RE BACK!!!!" They yelled in unison. Arya walked quickly to Eragon, hugging him as tight as her soon-due child would allow. "I'm guessing Illyria explained it all to you?"
Eragon nodded, taking in the sight of the dragon eggs and how much Arya's abdomen had grown. He kissed his mate passionately. "I missed you," he said through a tangle of tongues.
Arya kissed harder to give Eragon his answer to his comment. When he was gasping for breath she stopped. "I missed you too. More than you missed me. And you've lost stamina. You'll need to work on that, since we'll be back to what we used to do in a few weeks."
The male elf nodded, walking to Saphira. He hugged the exhausted dragon. "I missed you." He glanced at her unhatched children. "Beautiful. You couldn't have had more beautiful eggs, Saphira. I'm so proud of you."
Saphira hummed tiredly with pride. It would be nice if you didn't choke your dragon, Uncle Eragon. Eragon laughed. He looked to Arya. "We're aunt and uncle now! … to dragons!" Arya burst into a quiet laughter.
Arya and Eragon bent over the eggs, Eragon holding out his gedwëy ignasia and Arya kneeling closer to the eggs, lifting up her shirt. Their Rider symbols shined, enveloping the eggs in an unspoken spell. The glow subsided slowly.
"Let's let our dragons sleep, now that the eggs are prepared for their Riders. They look tired." She murmured. At that time Saphira crawled into her bed and fell asleep protecting her eggs. Bhronnë dragged himself to his own bed, also closing his eyes instantly.
Arya and Eragon descended the staircase slowly for both of their sakes, strolling through the frigid, snowy air to Tilidarí Hall. News was told to any elf that passed about Saphira's eggs and ordered to be passed on. The two elves reached Arya's quarters and fell onto the bed, falling asleep side by side for the first time in months.
The next chapter will be on Arya's birth mainly. See you guys tomorrow! Review!!!