Arya and Eragon strode out of Nienna's tent- well, Arya did. Eragon followed her, several paces behind. What might once have been a friendly, comfortable silence was now so thick it could be cut with a knife. The meeting in the tent hadn't gone well; after exchanging a few, brief- and exceptionally stiff- words with Nienna, Arya had bowed herself out of the tent with instructions for Eragon to walk with her.

Having fun? Saphira asked sarcastically. Eragon scowled and ignored her. His heart was racing at the idea of talking to Arya again- what should he say? What could he say? You're going to have to talk to her one day, Saphira reminded him gently. Why not get it over with now?

With a sigh, Eragon acknowledged her. I suppose you're right.

I always am, came the reply.

Taking a deep breath, Eragon spoke; "What do you have against Nienna, Drottningu?"

Arya did not turn to face him; instead, she looked down at her feet, giving Eragon the key opportunity to examine her beautiful face. Her emerald eyes were underlined with purple bags, and the light had left them; she looked, for the first time since Eragon had known her, to be the age she claimed to be-over a hundred years old.

"Nienna is… well, she is unpredictable. I shall say no more than that."

Her voice, normally so proud, was perfectly flat. This, unlike any other changes he had seen in Arya, terrified the Rider. Is she ill? He wondered, examining her more closely as fear rose in his chest. He frantically replied- anything to hear her voice again. "There must be something," he insisted. A flash of annoyance passed over Arya's face, and he regretted his abruptness instantly. "Sorry," he muttered.

Arya sighed. "It is not your fault, Eragon." Then, as they reached her tent, she turned to face him at last. "None of this is."

Then, as Eragon stared in confusion, the elf ducked into her tent and disappeared into the clothconfines of her leaf-green house.

Nasuada paced. And as she paced, she fumed. How could she handle herself that way in front of everyone? In front of Eragon?! She cringed… Behind her, Jormundur drawled on about something useless. She tried to pay attention, but she could only remember how she had behaved… what she had said! How rude she had been…

Ugh…

Nasuada groaned, and Jormundur looked at her with wide eyes. She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Jormundur. Could we reconvene another time? I am not quite myself."

Jormundur nodded, and hurried from the tent. When he was gone, Nasuada collapsed into a chair and put her head in her hands. The pacing had made her dizzy, and she couldn't stop going over what she had said… She, the leader of the Varden and the only woman ever to succeed in the Trial of The Long Knives, had shouted at a messenger of the Queen Islazanadi! And for what? Nothing.

"My Lady, are you quite alright?"

Nasuada looked up to see Farica, her nurse, standing behind her with a worried expression on her delicate face. Nasuada sighed. "Yes, Farica. I am fine."

Farica relaxed and went back to where she had been waiting. Acting on a mere whim, she called Farica over once more. "Have an invitation sent to Lord Eragon for dinner, please, Farica." At this, the maid frowned and shifted uncomfortably. Nasuada raised her eyebrows. "Well?"

"I do believe that Lord Eragon will be dining with Lady Nienna tonight."

Nasuada froze, and some fire sprung up inside her: not the usual fire that she got when she fought, the sort of bloodthirsty fire that she was so ashamed of, but one ten times greater than that. This was a fire of anger. And if anyone dared to disturb her tonight, there would be hell to pay…

Once inside, Arya rushed to the mirror that adorned her wall. Before she could utter the words of the Ancient language that would allow her to converse with her mother, she paused to let the tears that she had been restraining escape from her lifeless eyes. I can't keep this up, the elf thought weakly. Wiping them away with a frustrated moan, she focused on the mirror and spoke the scrying spell she needed. In an instant, she saw her mother, working tirelessly at the desk which had been a gift from her father: he had sung it from the most magnificent tree he could find as a present for her eightieth birthday. Queen Islazanadi looked, for once, all of her many years; dark rings circled her eyes, and she possessed a weariness that Arya had never seen in her mother before. Her anger started to ebb away as she looked on the pitiful sight. But then the Queen's eyes met Arya's and filled with irritation at being disturbed. The anger came rushing back…

"Yes?" The Queen asked, raising a delicate eyebrow.

"You have to ask?" Arya replied just as coldly. The Queen sighed and put down the documents she had being studying just moments before.

"You, I suppose, have a… problem with Nienna?"

"Of course!" Arya slammed her slender hand against the desk that her mirror rested upon in anger. "Do not pretend that your memory is not as good as mine, mother. You remember what she did just as well as I do!"

The Queen regarded her daughter with narrowed eyes. "And this, my daughter, is where you go wrong."

Arya's mouth dropped open slightly, and her emerald eyes widened in shock. "Where I go wrong?"

"Yes." Queen Islazanadi clasped her hands upon the wooden desk before her, in a position so regal it would have been easy to assume that she were royalty, even if she did not wear the crown of gold that was traditionally worn by whoever ruled the elves. "You show your anger. You show your weakness."

Arya stared at the mirror for a few moments, then remembered something Rhunon had once said: quoting her directly, Arya said; "Passion is what we live for, mother. Passion is no weakness, and neither is emotion."

This stopped the Queen for a moment, but she changed tack as fast as lightning. "Still, Nienna is your kin, and your fellow fighter! Give her no reason to fight you, instead of your enemies!"

Arya folded her slim arms. "If you accept that emotion is no weakness, then there is no reason for me not to tell Eragon how I feel."

AN: Just thought I'd give you another cliffie… lol. But seriously, if anyone has any ideas, please share them! That's where I disappeared to: I got writers block… Sorry.

LoveMuchly

Arya x