(A.N.) I'm back guys! As always I would like to share my utmost thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Seriously you guys, I know I say this a lot but all of your input really helps me out! Onward and downward!

Thanks again to RaphaeloftheDarkness for betaing my story! Everyone please give him a big thanks and also if any of you run into any mistakes in these chapters please let him know!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer – I wouldn't be writing FanFic if I owned the Inheritance Cycle…or would I? I guess we'll never know…

Ch. 5

Arya

She ran. Eragon called her name but she kept running. She was confused. She should have been upset with Eragon for taking her hand and healing such a simple wound, but she wasn't and that frightened her. Something had stirred deep within her when Eragon took her hand. Something she never thought she would feel again; safe.

It hurt Arya; it hurt her to push those feelings away. Again and again Eragon had confronted her with his feelings and she continuously turned him down, until their final encounter at the Agaeti Blodhern where she crushed their friendship, and both their hearts. It took Eragon a long time to rebuild it and to regain her trust. They had finally once again become friends. They spent a lot of time together and apart since the battle of the Burning Planes. After Oromis' death, Arya was broken. First her father, then Faolin, and then Oromis, she had lost them all. Only one person was there for her, only one person who could fully understand what she was going through.

Eragon.

He was nothing more than a friend to her. Which was just what she had wanted, or so she thought.

"No, I do not love Eragon."

She kept running and she didn't even know where she was, nor when she would stop. Finally she fell to her knees in a small secluded area of a forested area. Arya looked around, making sure Eragon had not followed her. She sighed in relief when he was nowhere in sight.

Arya leaned against a nearby tree and hugged her knees to her chest. She was scared, and that rarely happened. After her father passed there was only one person whom she felt safe around, and that was Faolin.

Now however, she had become unusually comfortable around Eragon. What had surprised her was how well he was able to read her. She didn't even have to speak, and he knew if she was happy, upset, uncomfortable, annoyed...anything. What had bothered Arya was how much she enjoyed his carefree laugh and bright, sometimes childlike, attitude. It was the opposite of Faolin and she began to doubt whether she ever loved Faolin at all. Yes, they were close, but so were her and Eragon.

Arya suddenly felt a familiar presence brush against her mind and she tensed. She was about to throw up her barriers, not wanting to talk to Eragon, when someone else spoke through her mind.

"Arya."

"Saphira?" Arya asked in surprise.

"I wish to speak with you, do not worry Eragon does not know I am here."

Arya remained tense for a moment longer, but soon relaxed and mentally nodded. She felt a gust of wind from above and looked up to see the large beautifully blue scaled dragon drop down from the tops of the trees. She landed close to Arya and folded her wings.

Arya slowly approached Saphira as the great sapphire dragon lowered her head. Arya placed her hand on Saphira's snout.

"Saphira I—,"

"Wait." Saphira interrupted her.

"I only came because I wished to tell you something. You needn't reply, only listen."

Arya hesitated but agreed. She backed from Saphira slightly and waited for her to speak.

"First, I would like to apologize for Eragon's behavior. He was only concerned for you as a friend, however..."

Saphira paused as Arya bit her lower lip.

"I have a feeling you are not being entirely honest with yourself."

There it was, Arya knew it was coming. She knew it herself; she wasn't being honest with herself and when Saphira said this it finally clicked in her mind.

But it wasn't enough; it was enough to convince her.

"I am not trying to force you to change your mind, little elf. I only want you to be true to yourself. You clam that you cannot be with Eragon because he is young. But that is not a factor anymore, is it Arya?"

Saphira was starting to sound annoyed, but she kept her cool and waited for Arya to reply.

Arya got the hint and looked away from Saphira, "No, it is not but-"

Saphira snorted, a plume of smoke exited from her nostrils. "Then why did you act the way you did just then?" She snapped.

Arya squeezed her eyes shut. "Why? Why did she act that way?" She asked herself.

"Your second claim is that you do not want to distract Eragon from his task, but did you stop to think how much you are on his mind Arya?"

Arya's eyes grew in shock.

"Whether you decide to be with Eragon or not, you will always be in his thoughts, and in his heart Arya. Do you not see that this constant dancing of your feelings around each other is causing more trouble that it is solving?"

"But I…I can't…" Arya was shaking, she knew she was fighting off those feelings but they scared her. She didn't want to confront them.

Saphira clenched her jaws, showing her sharp teeth. "Eragon wouldn't want me to tell you this, but I will. As of late Eragon has been having trouble sleeping."

Arya flashed Saphira a look of confusion and concern. "What do you mean?"

"Arya, how much battle has Eragon experienced? How many men has he killed? Do you think it easy for someone like Eragon, who was thrust into this world, to be able to handle such feats with ease? I am doing all that I can but his nightmares sometimes affect me through our connection. I do not tell you this so that you can piety him; it is because you are the only one who can help him."

Saphira turned around and prepared to fly, "It is your choice, Arya. If you do not choose to be with him then you must be able to bear with him. He may do things that may seem as though he is trying to show you his affection but I assure you that he has fully convinced himself that you will never return his feelings. He will always be your friend, Arya.

Arya fell to her knees; the weight of her emotions was too much to bear, a single tear fell from her cheek.

"Whatever you decide," Saphira started as she prepared herself to take off, "I ask that you not tell Eragon of this conversation."

Saphira was about to take off when Arya spoke, it was soft and barely a whisper.

"Thank you, Saphira."

Saphira looked back at Arya and grinned, "What for, little elf? I have done nothing."

With that Saphira pushed off the ground and flew off, most likely back to Eragon's tent.

Arya sat in silence and listened to all the sounds that the forest gave off.

It took her nearly the rest of the day before she was able to come to terms with her feelings for Eragon. She wasn't entirely sure if it was love, but she knew there was something there. As these feeling surfaced from within her, she was surprised to find that she had been harboring these feelings for some time.

She smiled.

She would not tell Eragon of her feelings for him just yet. She wanted to spend even more time with him than usual. She wanted to become closer to him.

And she would, soon enough.

Eragon

Eragon awoke the next day wondering how angry Arya was with him.

"I'm so stupid!" He berated himself and got out of bed.

"Good morning little one." Saphira spoke gently, fully aware that Eragon would most likely be down throughout most of the day.

Eragon sighed, "Good morning Saphira." He sounded thoroughly dejected as he lazily walked over to the wash basin as cleaned his face.

"Little one..."

" What I did yesterday was wrong of me. I know that Arya will never return my affections and I'm trying so hard to be her friend. It seems that I still have a long way to go."

He heard Saphira grunt, "This is not your fault Eragon. You did what you thought was right! You were only concerned for her well-being as a friend. It is she who took it the wrong way."

It did little to raise his spirits. Whether it was his fault or not, the fact still remained that Arya was upset with him Eragon sighed and threw on his pants and boots and decided to contact Islandzadi. He walked over to a drawer and pulled out a mirror. Sitting on his bed, he took a breath and then spoke the words draumr kopa.

The mirror's reflecting image began to shift and swirl until it finally stopped and a new image could be seen. Someone moved around and soon Islanzadi was staring back at him.

Eragon bowed his head and placed two fingers on his lips, giving the customary elvish greeting.

Islanzadi did the same and spoke first, "Hello Eragon-elda, it is good to see you."

Eragon smiled, "You as well, Queen Islanzadi."

"I trust you have spoken with Nasuada?"

Eragon nodded, "I have, a few days ago actually. However I am unsure of what my duties are at this time."

Islanzadi nodded, "There isn't much for you to do at this time Eragon. Right now you need to focus your time and energy on fighting this war with Galbatorix. We shall worry about your other duties later, or perhaps if we find the last egg and it hatches then you will have to train the new rider. Of course, I have little faith that we will find it before the war is over."

Eragon agreed. If the last egg was indeed in the dark castle of Uru'baen they would be hard pressed to get their hands on it.

"Queen Islanzadi, I wish to return to Ellesmira. There are a few things that I must attend to, on top of my former master funeral."

"Of course, you are 'Eragon-elda' now after all, you must be here as Lead Rider. I believe Arya will also be accompanying you."

Eragon groaned, this would not be good. Unfortunately Eragon did not shield his emotions very well and Islanzadi picked up on them almost immediately.

"Did something happen between you two?" Islanzadi furrowed her eyebrows.

"N-No, it was just…a misunderstanding, that is all." Eragon said, trying to sound confident.

Islanzadi looked at him oddly, but soon took his word. "That is good to hear. I know that you two have become good friends and I would hate for Arya to lose that relationship. It has been a long time since I have seen her smile the way she does around you sometimes."

Eragon blinked, confused. "Does she really smile that much when she's around me?" He never really noticed it that much, but perhaps that was because she shielded her emotions so well.

"We are…still friends my queen." It hurt Eragon to lie, he wasn't sure if Arya would forgive him this time but he did not want to worry her mother.

"Eragon." Isanzadi suddenly spoke. She sounded concerened.

"Yes...?" Eragon replied, unsure of what was about to happen.

"You know that Arya and I do not have the best relationship as mother and daughter. She does not really have anyone in her life with whom she can talk to; I want you to be there for her."

Eragon's eyes grew large, "W-What? Queen Islanzadi, I do not think I understand." He looked confused.

Islanzadi sighed and furrowed her eyebrows, "I mean that I want you to be by her side as much as you can, I fear for Eragon. Keeping that much pent up emotions cannot be good, even for an elf. I do not mean that you must be with her day and night, only that you should be her friend. Spend time with her Eragon, as much as you can."

Eragon sighed. He would do it, of course. There wasn't anything he cared more about than Arya, except for Saphira. The only thing that worried him was whether Arya would be alright with something like this. Eragon pushed his worried aways, for now he would tell Islanzadi he would do what he could.

He switched to the ancient language before he spoke, "You have my word, Queen Islanzadi, I will always be there for Arya."

Islanzadi's eye grew large, "Eragon…do you realize what you have just said?"

Eragon nodded, "I do. I have bound myself to always be there for Arya, regardless of how she may feel about me. My only concern is for her happiness."

"You, are a special man Eragon." Islanzadi spoke as she closed her eyes and smiled, "Thank you, I did not know the extent of how much you cared for my daughter."

Eragon bowed, "Always." He spoke again in the ancient language.

"Very good, then I shall let you go. You deserve the time off that you have been given. I shall expect you in Ellesmira in two weeks time."

Eragon nodded and then ended the spell. He relaxed on the bed and released a deep breath, placing the mirror on the nearby desk. He would have to somehow apologize to Arya.

"Do not worry Eragon, I am sure she will forgive you." Saphira reassured him.

"Why do you say that?" Eragon asked, confused.

"I have a feeling."

Eragon raised an eyebrow, "You have a feeling?"

"Do not question the powers of a dragon; we can manipulate magic in strange ways, just not always when we want to."

Eragon shrugged, she was right after all. He stretched again and stood up, deciding to go over and speak with Arya even if it took him all day to find her. He would do all that he could to assure her that he would only be her friend. Eragon opened his tent flap and walked out, running straight into someone.

"Ow!" Eragon rubbed his head and looked around to see who he had run into. He froze as he looked at the ground. There, lying in front of him, was Arya.

"A-Arya, what are you doing here?" He hesitated and slowly extended his hand. He fully expected her to reject the offer but was surprised when she took his hand and stood up, she even thanked him.

She looked into his eyes and Eragon thought he saw a hint of guilt. He stood in front of Arya, completely confused and unsure of what to do.

Arya finally spoke, "Eragon I…I am sorry…" she spoke softly. Eragon blinked, he wasn't expecting this from her.

"I was wrong to assume anything of you." She continued, "I do not want you to think that I am angry with you, I wish for us to remain as friends." She finished, extending her hand.

Eragon was frozen. This was unlike anything Arya had done before, and it seemed so out of character. He shook off his thoughts and took her hand in his, and that's when he saw it. He didn't know what it was, desire?

"NO!" Eragon yelled at himself, "That's how you got into trouble in the first place! She will only be your friend!"

Eragon smiled at her, "Arya, you needn't apologize to me. I want you to know that my only concern for you is that of a friend, I will always be your friend."

Arya smiled back at him, "Thank you, Eragon. I am glad that I am so lucky to have you as a friend."

Eragon blushed but he was saved by Saphira. She walked over to Arya and smiled, "We will always be here for you Arya."

Arya bowed to Saphira, "Thank you, Saphira, Eragon."

Eragon shook his head, "Arya, would you still like to accompany me to the celebration tonight?"

Arya nodded, "Yes Eragon, tonight's and every night's celebration."

Eragon, Arya and Saphira spent most of the day walking around the Varden Camp, talking with familiar faces as they did. As the day passed on, Eragon and Arya spent some time in silence and laughed many times. Eragon felt that something had changed within Arya but he said nothing out of fear that she would become angry again. The day passed by quickly and they soon found themselves near the Carvahall tents.

Eragon was amazed by how much the area had changed. Many of the tents had been moved around to make a large open space that was filled with large open tents. Large wooden tables where placed next to each other and colorful banners littered the area. Eragon could smell a wide assortment of meat, fish, cooked vegetables, fruit, and many other delicious smelling foods.

Eragon grinned and looked at Saphira, "Alright Saphira, if you drink tonight then you can't drink tomorrow, got it?"

Saphira snorted, "Baahh, you cannot tell me when I can and cannot drink!"

She tried to argue but Eragon shot her a dark look and she immediately caved. Saphira was hard to control when she was drunk, and too nights in a row was too much for Eragon to handle.

Arya laughed and walked with Eragon further into the area. Many people smiled and waved at Eragon, but did not do so much with Arya. Eragon frowned, he was afraid of this. It was one of the reasons why he did not want to invite Arya as many of the villagers were not comfortable with elves.

Eragon spotted Roran and walked over to him.

Roran saw Eragon and smiled as he gave him a hug, "Eragon! I am glad you came!" he let go of Eragon smiled at Saphira. "You as well Saphira."

"It is good to see you again, Roran." Saphira

"I am glad you came as well Arya. I had hoped that you would accept Eragon's invitation."

Arya smiled and nodded, "I am glad he asked me, and it is good to you Roran."

Katrina and Horst soon joined in and they all conversed for some time. Roran, Horst and Katrina shared some interesting stories about Eragon's past and while he was thoroughly embarrassed by some of the rather childlike things he did, he was surprised to see that Arya seemed to be having a good time.

After some more embarrassing stories, the time had come to start the official celebration. Eragon chatted amongst many of his old friends and they asked him questions about magic and what is was like to be a dragon rider. Arya was talking with Katrina for some time but made her way over to Eragon soon after.

"What do you mean you can't lie in this 'ancient language'? How is that possible?" Albriech asked Eragon.

Eragon furrowed his eyebrows, "That's a little hard to explain, basically if you did try to lie in the ancient language, you would be stopped by the language itself."

Albriech looked even more confused than before, "I still don't understand. How can a language stop you from lying?"

Eragon sighed, "It has to do with the Grey Folk. Just understand that the Ancient Language is the oldest language in all of Alagaesia. It's what gives life and structure to everything in this land. Take the elfs, for example." Eragon looked at Arya when he spoke, "The elfs 'sing' the trees and plants to life in their woods. It is how they make their homes, through ancient language."

Albriech and the other men looked from Eragon to Arya in astonishment. "Amazing, I had no idea." Horst said.

"I still don't see how you can't lie in this language, it doesn't seem possible." Alberich replied, taking a drink from his pint of mead.

Eragon shrugged, "Believe what you want." He took a bite of an apple and relaxed into his seat.

"So Eragon." Baldor started, "when do we get to meet the lucky girl who gets to have you all to herself?" He grinned and the other men seemed to be more interested in this next question than the previous one, everyone except Eragon and Arya, of couse

He blushed lightly and averted his eyes.. "I am not with anyone."

The men looked at him baffled, "What? Oh I know, it's her isn't it?" Baldor spoke looking at Arya.

Eragon's eyes grew wide but he soon masked his expression. He could see Arya tense up slightly but he doubted anyone else noticed.

"Do not worry Arya, I will only tell them then truth." He assured her.

He could feel her gratitude wash over him and he used it to strengthen his answer. Regardless of how he felt for Arya he would never put in such a compromising situation as this.

Eragon shook his head, "No it is not Arya. We are only friends, but good friends." He looked at Arya and smiled.

Baldor frowned, "Oh, I see. Well it is good to have close friends Eragon, I am happy for you."

The rest of the night was filled with laughter and music. Saphira was, of course, already drunk by this time and was trying to convince Roran of the existence a rare subspecies of dog-birds.

"They are quite *hiccup* real Roran." Saphira struggled to say.

Roran looked as though he was about to die from lack of oxygen from laughing so much. The sound a dragon made when they hiccupped was incredibly funny.

Eragon sighed as he looked over at Saphira.

"Do you think we should stop her?" Arya asked, fighting hard not to laugh.

"No, she will be alright. Trust me, the last time this happened it was impossible to get her to move. I think I have had my fill of fun for tonight, what about you?" Eragon replied stretching his upper body.

Arya nodded in agreement, "Yes, I do believe I wish to return to my tent."

Eragon finished his stretch and smiled at her, "Well are tents are fairly close to each other, I suppose we can walk their together; unless you prefer to go alone?" He said causally.

Arya chuckled softly, "Of course we may walk together Eragon."

Eragon tried to hide his embarrassment as they started down the dirt path to their tents.

Arya

Arya felt her heart begin to race; she didn't know what was happening to her. All of a sudden she had begun to feel a burning desire to be closer to Eragon. She fought hard to suppress those feeling but she found it to be impossible.

When they finally reached her tent, Arya could take it no longer. She grabbed the front of Eragon's shirt with both of her hands and rested her heard on his chest.

"A-Arya! Are you alright?" Eragon cried, completely shocked by her sudden change in behavior.

She looked up into his eyes, "Eragon…I…" she never got the chance to finish her sentence as a men suddenly ran up to them. Arya threw herself off of Eragon and tried to the hide the blush that threatened to take over her face, luckily for her if was too dark for either Eragon or the other man to notice.

Eragon looked so confused that Arya couldn't help but feel bad for him. She had this strange way about her that always seemed to push and pull Eragon.

Just like that she was off of him, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes downcast. Eragon looked like he was ready to punch the poor man in his face.

"What is it?" Eragon said rather annoyingly.

The man took a moment to catch his breath and then spoke, "Forgive me Eragon Shadeslayer, but it is about your cousin Roran."

Eragon's eyes grew wide, "What about Roran? What has happened to him?!"

The man paused again to take a breath, and Eragon grabbed his shoulder's and shook. "Speak quickly!"

"Eragon..." Arya spoke softly, but he voiced held a sense of warning. She had rarely seen him act so angry.

"I-I'm afraid…h-he has been attacked." The man replied shakily.

(A.N.) Hope you guys enjoyed it! The next chapters will contain some drama and action (thank god right?). I am sorry to say that the next chapter probably won't be up until the end of next week . Between RaphaeloftheDarkness going on vacation for a few days and me being busy with a test and two finals it will be tough, but I promise that it will be good!

Stay tuned!

- Demonzmagic