"Majesty, a Rider comes!"

Florina looked up from the book of spells in her lap at the call. She had locked herself in the library for the past few weeks to try to find a way into her father's rooms. So far, she had found nothing.

"A Rider? Is it just the one, Kuldra?"

"There are two. One is being carried."

"Dead or alive?"

"Unconscious, but alive. It is a bronze dragon."

"Bronze?" That was the same color of the dragon from her vision. Its Rider was a half-elf. A bronze Dragon had also tried to get to her. That's the one Murtagh had been fighting right as the retreat was being sounded by Arya. "Who captured who?" Florina wondered as she hurried to the courtyard. She had been scrying for Murtagh for months. She had a plan and she needed him to pull it off. Though, he was near dead for making her think that he was dead. She would make sure of it. The red dragon was landed and the bronze dragon was unconscious and so was the Rider in the arms of two more Riders. Murtagh was leaning against Thorn. He stood straight as Florina approached him. her fist connected with his jaw and he was on the ground next to Thorn. Florina stood with her arms crossed as he stood.

"Where have you been, Murtagh?" She demanded.

"Interrogating this Rider." He gestured to the unconscious Rider hanging limply between the other two Riders.

"Take him to the dungeons. Chain him up. And make sure he can't talk to his dragon." Florina said. "Take the dragon to isolation. Make sure he can't talk to the other dragons. Total isolation."

"Yes, Majesty." They answered and their dragons took the bronze to where the elves' dragons were being kept.

"Did you learn anything from them?" She asked, walking away. He followed.

"Unfortunately, they decided to go to great lengths to keep secret whatever information they have."

"That is unfortunate, for you." She said as they entered her study when she turned around and knocked him down with the back of her hand. "If you are going to disappoint me, you had better think of a better excuse. You disappeared for months." She planted her foot firmly on his chest, not letting him up. "You say you disappeared so you can torture that Rider, one who has appeared to me in visions. You are supposed to be a master in retrieving information for me. You took the information from the elves that we still have in my dungeons. Why could you not take information from him and his dragon?" She looked into his eyes and could see fear. She scowled. He was afraid of her because she was turning into her father. Well if that was the way it needed to be. "I'm going to send you on another mission." She said. "As we speak, two dozen Riders are preparing for battle. I am sending them to Vroengard to wipe out those who oppose me. They are to be given a chance to join me. If they refuse, they and their dragons are to be killed. The ones who do choose to serve me are to be stripped of their weapons and kept under guard for protection and security. And to make sure you don't screw this up, Edan will lead alongside you."

"You summoned me, Majesty?" Edan's voice suddenly entered the conversation. Florina looked at him and saw that he was in full armor, ready for battle. She nodded.

"Yes, Edan. I did." Florina took her foot from her brother's chest and stood straight. "You have been asking for a chance to prove yourself. This is your chance. You and Murtagh are to lead an attack against Vroengard. Capture those who are willing to serve. Kill those who refuse."

"You have my word that it will be done, Majesty." Edan answered. Florina waved him away.

"I have one more thing to ask of you, Murtagh." Florina said as he was about to walk out of the room. "How do I enter my father's rooms?"


Lifaen looked at the amethyst dragon. They had flown across the ocean in three days, the wild dragon having to use his reserves of strength just to cross and land them on the beach. He was now sleeping to regain that strength. He was going to need it to get back. It was harder to get back into Vroengard than it was to get out. But that didn't concern Lifaen. He doubted he would be going back to that island. Delinnëa was doing a fine job of leading the Riders. If Florina could be saved, maybe it was for the best that the two of them disappear. Either to the north or to the valley with Eragon where Murtagh couldn't get to them, if he lived. If Lifaen had his way, the traitor would die for what he had brought upon them all. Florina would have been fine if it hadn't been for him.

Lifaen gave one last look towards Vroengard before disappearing into the forest. He would first stop in Palancar valley. He needed to know what the state of the Empire was before he went to Ilirea. He had to know what he was walking into. The dragon would go back to Vroengard just fine without him. Right now, Florina needed her husband. Maybe he would be able to pull her out of the magic, just as he had been able to before. Besides Kuldra, he was the only one able to do so. And if she did have the rose, then his influence might help it along. He just hoped that his children would be safe if his presence did trigger a memory about them. He didn't need them turning on their allies. Delinnëa did not need that. As for Oromis, there was no telling what would happen and whether or not he was alive.


"I do not think we can help her, Eragon." Vanir said as they walked through the fields that served as home to the displaced elves.

"Something has to snap her out of it. She knows I care deeply for her and will think that I am just saying it so I do not blame her for what has happened."

"Yes, that may be. But how will hearing the same thing from me going to be different?"

"Because she thinks she had failed her people. She was chosen as queen at the end of the last war. She was found when she wanted solitude. Florina lived among you for a long while yet before moving to Vroengard and the two became fast friends. We both know that Arya can do what needs to be done, but I don't think she was prepared for it to be someone as close to her as Florina is."

"But what do I say?" Vanir asked. Eragon shrugged.

"It's got to come from your heart and be true." Eragon finally said after a few minutes of silence. "She needs to know that she has not failed your people."

"Is that what she truly thinks?"

"I think it's part of it." Eragon said. "Will you help me in this?"

"I will try." Vanir swore. Eragon nodded. That would have to be good enough for now.


Florina looked at the door in front of her. These doors had been locked since the end of the last war. There had to be something in here that would tell her what was happening to her. She needed to know. Kuldra had told her that she suspected that there might be two spells fighting for control. If that was true, then there was no guarantee that her memories were truth. What if her father had actually been evil? Did she truly fight against him? There was so much doubt that she wasn't sure if sending the Riders to Vroengard was the right thing to do. But the decision hadn't come lightly either. A week before Murtagh had returned, the Rider from Terim returned. Both Rider and Dragon were injured. They had barely been able to tell her that it was another Rider before they died. It had to be the Rider who was related to Stronghammer and Eragon. He had to be in charge now that Arya and Eragon were both in the valley.

Florina shook the thoughts from her mind and raised her hands, one holding her dagger. She made a neat slice on her palm and smeared her blood on the door. "Open by this blood that I share with the king. Open these doors by order of the queen. I will see what he has kept hidden here. Open!" She said in the ancient language. She kept her hand pressed against the door until it fell open under her hand. She stumbled in and barely caught her balance on a nearby chair. The door closed behind her.

"I have been waiting for you, Daughter of Galbatorix."


So, any guesses as to who has been waiting? hehehe. Thanks for reading and please review.