yey, back to the 0 numbers!! lol. sorry for taking so long to update, i got a bit stuck and couldnt think of what to write, but i managed to get this out before bed, so whatever :D

claimer:i own everything not familiar to u, i am deffinately not a guy, nor did i write the inheritence books, so hopefully thats enough proof for you people not to go suing me anytime soon :D

enjoy chappy 40!

40.-Forgotten world

We touched down on the soft earth, the grass marsh-like under our claws and easily torn by our talons. Glaedr had led us to a small clearing in the never-ending emerald sea; the trees that surrounded us were even larger and more beautiful with natural grace than any others in the dense forest.

None of us spoke, afraid that if we did we would disrupt the serene atmosphere. We padded forward, the golden dragon's form taking up most of the room. As I walked beside him I gasped as I caught sight of his front leg, the foot had been completely severed off, only to leave behind a white and scale-less stump.

Dorran sensed my distress and was suddenly at my side, his wings brushing against mine, not needing to speak, his expression saying it all. Saving the empire was definitely not going to be easy and there was going to sacrifices that were going to need to be made along the journey. I just hoped they wouldn't be too severe.

Faolan looked down from his brothers' back, his expression sad and slightly anxious; no doubt searching my features for the return of the unemotional zombie I had been when Dorran was gone. I smiled reassuringly at him, hoping that he didn't mistake the upturning of the corners of my mouth as another emotion on my dragon-face.

We made our way forward, the mossy trunks of the surrounding trees never leaving our vision, they were everywhere and non-stopping. We weaved around the trees until we were suddenly immersed in sunlight, the abrupt change in illumination burning our eyes that were accustomed to the soft green glow of the woods.

I blinked away the dark spots swarming my vision and stared ahead, wondering why we had stopped. I caught sight of a man in the middle of the small clearing we were in, his snow-white hair glowing gold in the sunlight, his face wrinkled with an ageless grace framing his eyes that were sad with the memories of what they had seen.

A circlet of silver adorned his brow and he stared at us, his eyes unblinking and showing no emotion. Oromis nodded to the elf and tilted his hand palm-up, the skin shining silver in the light, his pristine white robes flowed over the scales of his dragon as he stared at the elf and I knew that they were conversing within their minds.

The wizened elf smiled, even more wrinkles forming around the creases of his smile and eyes. His arms opened wide and his eyes closed, saying nothing, and getting no words in return.

Glaedr carried on forward and stepped around the elf, his bulk ensuing us to wait until he had passed to follow him onward. As Dorran and I passed the elf that obviously guarded this part of Grimshaw I saw his eyes flicker open and stare straight into ours, as if trying to communicate something important.

I stopped and looked at him, but Dorran nudged my onwards, Do not stop, just keep going, he is only an elf and all they are good for is telling tall tales and trying to cause even more trouble. Dorran's voice entered my head, his tone annoyed and unconcerned, but I couldn't help wonder if there was more to the elf, as if he knew something we didn't, and Dorran's resentment towards the fair folk only fueled his belief that they were nothing more than story tellers that hide when they are needed most.

I suddenly remembered why we were here in the first place, because of Eragon. I looked ahead at Saphira, her rider's limp form slung across her shoulders, the golden dragon's rider looking back at the young man, his face concerned and full with anger. What was going to happen to him now? Surely he wasn't going to die, the elves had to be more skilled with medicine than any other being, surely they could heal him, at least I hoped they could. What would Saphira do without her rider? Would she continue to fight against the empire, if not to save the people, than to avenge her rider with the death of whatever had killed him?

Questions swarmed my head as we made our way towards the hidden city, my head too clouded with thoughts to pick out the soft babble of a nearby stream, of the more often occurring patches of sunlight that peeped through the canopy, illuminating our way.

We are here, Faolan's voice was projected around our small group and I was startled out of my thoughts, my eyes seeing my new surroundings for the first time. We were at the edge of a glade, the ground was strewn with flowers every possible color, their scent making my head dizzy but was pleasant at the same time.

As I looked more closely I realized that apart from the plentiful wildlife, the space was practically empty.

Are you sure? It doesn't look as if there is a whole civilization living here, I projected to Dorran and his brother, doubt trickling into the edges of my mind, perhaps this was a trap and Glaedr and Oromis were simply leading us into it.

My body tensed and my eyes scanned the clearing like a hawk, not missing any detail, however small. Then my brain registered irregular growing patterns of some of the trees, and as I looked closer I made out the outlines of small doorways and windows. These were obviously houses, but how had they made them grow out of the trees like that?

We made our way along a pathway that I could just see out of the grass and flowers underneath and my vision seemed to shift, as if a lens had been taken away and I could see everything clearly. The city was beautiful to say the least; the buildings were elegantly carved out of the wood of the forest, everything supporting a natural grace so innate that had I not known to look for a city I would have gone straight past it.

I caught flickers of movement at the edges of my vision and caught fleeting glances of the residents of the amazingly crafted metropolis and as their curiosity got the better of them they crept out of the mottled shadows and came into full view.

Fair Folk indeed! Faolan cried into our minds and I smiled as I saw him eyeing the local elven women who were more beautiful than I had every seen, it almost hurt to look at them. The men were just as striking, their faces perfect, feline, yet masculine at the same time.

Dorran's tail swished in annoyance and I turned and grinned at him, hey, no matter how much of a dragon or wolf I am, I'm still female, it's not my fault I look at such things as handsomeness. I whispered into his mind and he looked back at me, his eyes angry and…jealous?

I smiled at him then swept passed, ignoring the emotions he tried to hide from me, yet at the same time I was completely aware of them.

So Dorran was jealous of the elves, maybe that was what spurred his dislike towards them, but I had a feeling that that wasn't completely it, Dorran wasn't so vain as to hate people better looking than himself, but I would find out the real reason soon anyway.

The elves danced at the edges of the trees, their movements beyond graceful and elegant, their mottled green, brown, and orange clothing blending almost perfectly with the background. It was apparent how they had escaped the hunting of the kings servant riders and had managed to hide and live in peace for so many years undiscovered.

The elven women had started to sing, their chime-like voices seeming to radiate with joy, sounding even better than a pealing bell, their faces seeming to glow with happiness. Oromis made a strange hand gesture, touching his first two fingers and muttering a strange sentence to the surrounding elves, replying to their own questions in their strange language.

Their smiles grew wider and they followed us down the path, commenting on the shine of our scales and the lethalness of our claws. It was nice to be complemented, even though I knew that they would have done no such thing if they knew what we were and what we were capable of, I was sure they wouldn't have commented on anything other than our plainness in comparison to their exclusivity if we were in human form.

Enjoy it while it lasts, which will not be long if we tell our secret, Dorran's teasing voice resounded in our heads, the complements were obviously not going to his head.

I looked up at Faolan and noticed that he too was making the same gesture as Oromis had, and I realized that the elves saw him as Dorran's rider. And I was a dragon without one, what did that make me, wild?

I debated the idea of going along with that and came to the conclusion that it would probably be fun to act a little wild and rebellious, but just not too much, if I knew one thing about elves, it was that they were partial to manners and could hold a grudge for decades if need be. At least my grandmother's teachings had not gone through one ear and out the other, and luckily I had found the small conversations about different races interesting, so I had paid attention.

The path came to an end revealing steps carved out of tree roots and two large double doors which swung open seemingly on their own accord as we neared. We entered, following Glaedr into a hall where the walls were constructed entirely of old trees, the leaves and vines blocking out all the sunlight. Twelve chairs lined each wall, each supporting an elf lord or lady, their eyes keen and their faces ageless, their features turned towards us as we entered, their expressions bright and hopeful.

At the end of the hall stood a startling white pergola supporting a throne of knotted tree roots. Upon which sat the most beautiful person I had ever seen, her hair as dark as Dorran's scales, her lips as red and bright as fire, the shade matching her flowing tunic. She looked strangely familiar but I knew I had never set eyes upon her before, yet I knew who she was instantly.

Queen Islanzadi.

yey, finally got to Ellesmera, 'bout freaking time if u ask me:D

hope u liked it, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!

-Firesilk:D