A/N: Ok, I got a ton of reviews and I have to thank Middleearthmidget for being the fiftieth and hundredth reviewer! While I'm sitting here typing this I am watching the Lord of the Rings, Return of the King. And I vowed never to watch the ending, cause guess where Paolini got the ending of Inheritance from? And I don't feel like crying tonight. Yeah, Saphira is her.
Disclaimer: Not mine, its Dora's!
E-R-A-G-O-N
His blood ran cold. It was impossible, but yet it was there. Long ago he had totally come to terms with the fact that she would never come back. Never since her death did he ever believe he would happy again. He was happy, in a way. Now, after fifty years he was with Arya, and he had lay awake next to his little one all night.
At early dawn he had smiled and sat up on the bed. Of course, he had to disentangle himself from the intricate tangle of limbs. And when he walked out of the bed and climbed to the highest point of the entire island of Uden, it had come to him.
Whilst he sat there, a small wooden boat the size of a person's head had sailed up to him. At first he had been wary, and had prepared a spell to burn it from the sky. But he had let it come close, and when it had come within two feet of him and he was about to use the spell, but then it disintegrated on its own.
A piece of parchment had fallen from the ashes, and landed on his lap. He had set wards around himself to guard himself against any trap.
When he had opened the letter and read it, the letter had dropped from his frozen hands.
'Come the cliff north of Melian if you ever want to see your Saphira again.'
It was impossible, but written in the Liduen Kvaedhi so it was imbedded with truth. Should he go? At first his answer was absolutely not. It was probably a trap. But then it was yes. If there was any chance for him to see his Saphira ever again, he would take.
Eragon froze again; that was the first time he had thought her name for a hundred years. And then he decided; he would go. It was his only chance to see Saphira ever again. Climbing down from the top of the palace, he dropped onto the balcony that held the teardrop portal. How was he going to get there though? He couldn't use the family ship, the Talita. (OH THE IRONY) He wanted to leave Varnalond discreetly, and he realized there was only one way to do it. Angela.
A-R-Y-A
Most people don't know when they awaken, just that they did. They don't remember what their thoughts were when they awake, but Arya did. And it was alone. There was no one in the bed beside and it made her wonder if the night before was all a dream, a wonderful dream at that. She opened her eyes and shot herself up into a sitting position, not caring that she was naked.
She looked to the right of the bed and saw the covers pulled back and there was a small impression that hinted that a being rested there. Arya smiled; so it wasn't a dream. But then where was he? She looked around the large room even more and saw that her clothes were clean and stacked neatly on the breakfast table. And there was the note next to it, the balcony doors were open, wait, the note!
She leaped out of the bed and grasped the piece of parchment.
Obviously it was from Eragon. She'd recognize his handwriting anywhere. It was rough and brusque, yet graceful in its own way. She quickly began to read the note.
Little one,
I am sorry to leave you in such a short notice, but think nothing of it. I have gone with Angela on a mission that I sadly cannot tell you about. I wish I could, but every time I try it escapes me. Of course I will return in one piece, two at the maximum. And here I sit, writing you this letter. Strangely or not so strangely it has taken me a quarter of an hour just to write what you see above. You know I'm not really one for goodbyes, and you may think me a coward for not saying goodbye in person, and I suppose I am. I just couldn't bear the thought of seeing you cry; even though I have held you when you cry, I always stayed with you and comforted you.
It even hurts to say goodbye in a simple letter, as you can see if you look at the tearstain to the left. But, I will come back, no matter what happens; I will always come back to you my little one. It is hard to believe that it was eighty-nine years ago that you first met me, and so much has passed. Sometimes, I still see the innocent twelve-year-old girl sleeping in my arms. And it makes me happy to know that your soul is still innocent and untouched by malice.
Two weeks ago if you had asked me what I was living for I would've told you revenge, but now I live for you. Even though revenge is still deeply imbedded in my mind, you are there as well. And I thank you for that.
I love you my little one, now and forever.
Eragon Shadeslayer, Vanquisher of Snails. (It's a long story)
Unnoticed by herself, she had sat down in a chair when she read that he had left. What was she going to do? What could she do? A small part of her felt betrayed, that he would just leave her alone. But she remembered that he wouldn't go without a very good reason. And she couldn't help but wonder what the reason was. She set the note back down on the table and began to clothe herself.
Look away boys…. Elemental Dragon Slayer stop peeking!
She was hell bent on finding out where Eragon had gone, so she went to find Selena. Who else would know where Eragon and Angela went? She used her incredibly useful three dimensional map of the palace. Written in blue ink, it said 'Selena's Chambers'. Racing past maids and workers, and ignoring the violent stream of curses directed towards her, she dashed towards Selena's Chambers.
It only took her a few short minutes to reach the north-west wing of the palace, and an even shorter time to reach the door that was the entrance to Selena's domain.
As fast as possible, she rapped on the door three times and said, "Selena." She knocked on the door three more times and said, "Selena." And she knocked a final three times and said, "Selena."
It took a few moments, and she was tempted to knock again, but the door flung open to reveal Selena. She looked exhausted and her eyes were slightly red from crying.
Arya cocked her head much like a cat or dog would do. "What is the matter Selena?"
In response to her question, the brown-eyed elf beckoned Arya inside the room, and motioned for her to sit where she pleased. Arya walked over to a small chair and sat down slowly.
When Selena had finally sat down across from her, Arya repeated her question.
It took a moment for Selena to respond, "It is Eragon and Angela. You do know they went on a mission?"
Arya nodded her head and motioned for Selena to continue, "Eragon and Angela came to me and told me that they were leaving and that if any trouble had arose, that the persons would need to come to the cliff north of Melian to help them. They did not tell me the full details of their mission, only that they were meeting someone there. It doesn't surprise me though," Selena said with a laugh. "Those two would get into the worst sort of trouble possible. Actually, they caused the most trouble. They were always planning the next scheme, the next prank. And Brom's Saphira was always helping them."
Arya chuckled; it was not hard to imagine Eragon scheming with his twin sister. But it was hard to imagine what he looked like as a boy. "What sort of trouble did they get into?" Arya asked curiously.
"Oh, all sorts," the elf said with an exaggerated sigh. "Angela had started herbalism when she was three years old, and we didn't even know it. And Eragon of course was the one giving ideas and gathering ingredients. And mind you this all started when they were three years old. But we didn't fully discover it until two years later. Their first prank ever was possibly the funniest. Eragon had wanted to start with something big, and I quote from his memories, 'Daddy and Momma go kaboom!'" Arya laughed out loud. Eragon as a child was entertaining to listen to, and they sat there for two hours before Arya's stomach growled.
Selena smiled. "My apologies Arya, it would seem I have distracted you from eating. Although I must ask, why is when you came to my room it looked as though you had just woken up?"
Arya became confused, "Because I had, why?"
"Because when you came knocking at my door it was eleven in the morning."
Eleven in the morning?! She always woke up at dawn or an hour or two after it in the Varden camp. But Arya did know why she had slept so late.
"I guess I was tired from recent events," she said nonchalantly, hoping to get Selena off her tail. But it didn't work…at all.
Selena raised an eyebrow, "Recent events? I do not recall anything tiring happening yesterday. Maybe it was something at night…?" The elf finished with narrowed eyes.
Arya swallowed. She could face the entire Varden and her mother but she could stand against her mother-in-law. Was she her mother-in-law? Arya supposed so; she had consummated her love with Eragon the night before. And Arya couldn't help the faint blush the rose to her cheeks at the elf's question.
"Um, it was nothing really," but she was totally betrayed by her body. She flushed red and she was saved by the door bursting open. It was Angela, and she was crying.
"Sweetie what's wrong?" Selena asked while bringing her in the room.
Selena sat Angela down next to Arya, and it took her a whole five minutes before she was ready to speak. "We left at three in the morning, and arrived at the cliff two hours later. I can't tell you how we got there, that's a secret. But it went wrong almost immediately…"
A-N-G-E-L-A
"There!" Her brother shouted. Eragon pointed to the lone cliff north of Melian. They quickly arrived (And I will not tell you how; some things need to remain secret with Angela) and walked slowly through the trees to the edge of the cliff. Angela wouldn't even be here if there wasn't a chance to bring Saphira back. Angela loved Saphira, and was devastated by her death. But none more so than Eragon, who had disappeared for six years and eight months. Those years were the worst of her life.
She was alone, and didn't pull any pranks anymore, didn't cause any trouble. Because everybody in Varnalond believed there greatest hero dead in the wild after he fled after the Battle for Ilirea.
But then there he was; nobody had recognized him at first. Only that he had a cloak over his shoulders and his shoulders hunched in a defeated expression. It was most unlike the old Eragon who looked courageous all the time. When the stranger had arrived at the palace gates, most or all of Varnalond was watching him, and Angela and her mother were at the gates. Then the man had pulled his hood back, and it was Eragon, but he was dead.
His appearance and soul that day still made Angela shiver at night. But that was the past, it was time focus on the present.
"Do you see anyone there?" Angela whispered to Eragon. Eragon poked his head through the trees and pulled back as soon as possible.
"Yes, a man in a black cloak." Eragon hesitated for a moment, then said. "I'm going out there alone, without you." She immediately began to protest, but she was silenced when he put his hand over her mouth. "Listen to me! If anything goes wrong I need you to go back to Varnalond and warn Arya and mother. If it goes right, then I'm not sure. But stay here!" He hissed.
She cursed him yet remained in the same spot when he walked through the foliage and out onto the top of the cliff.
The cloaked figure did not even acknowledge her brother's presence. Eragon slowly walked next to the man, and mirrored his movements and stared at the sunrise in the east.
She could barely here the words, but she could nonetheless. "Where is she?" Eragon asked.
"Do not worry Shadeslayer, she is here." The cloaked figure responded, and his voice sent chills through her body.
Eragon lost control and grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and stared him dead in the eyes. "Where is she!" He shouted. And in his screaming, the figures hood was swept back, and it revealed his features. She had never seen a shade before, but Eragon had three times. This one had maroon eyes, deathly pale skin and flaming red hair.
Eragon immediately dropped the shade and hissed, "Durza!"
"Me!" Durza said gleefully. And without uttering a word Eragon was frozen in mid-lunge with Brisingr drawn. "Yes, yes I promised you Saphira. And here she is!" From within his cloak he withdrew a sapphire gem. Eragon gasped; it was an eldunari!
"And here she is! Take a good look." Durza cooed sarcastically. "Because you will never see or speak with her EVER AGAIN!" And the shade squeezed the eldunari within his palms and it cracked along the middle, and Eragon screamed in pain. Cracks began to form all over the gem, and in one final moment, the eldunari shattered into a million pieces.
And the worst scream of pain she had ever heard erupted from Eragon mouth as the last chance of him ever seeing his Saphira again was destroyed.
Durza only smiled sadistically, "Good, now that's settled once and for all. Now as you know, the Varden camp are right there next to Melian. I'm sure they'd appreciate a half-breed prisoner wouldn't you?"
And without another word Eragon was flung through the air towards where she presumed the Varden camp was. Even though Eragon was flying at close to a hundred miles and hour she somehow knew that he wouldn't be hurt on impact. But he would be hurt within the next ten minutes of impact.
And following the last words Eragon spoke to her, she ran back to Varnalond.
A/N: So many ironic things here. The Talita, and Eragon being captured by the Varden. SO IRONIC! If you have any questions just put it in the review!