Arya-
A year is nothing to the elves with their immortality, but to Arya, every day without Eragon was like an eternity. She remembered the night he left well. She had begun flying back to Ellesméra on her green dragon Fírnen. Fírnen hadn't spoken to her, focusing his thoughts on his former mate, Saphira, who he had only known for a few weeks before she had to leave him. Arya understood Fírnen's grief, as she too felt this, and they flew on in silence. It wasn't until the next night that Fírnen resumed speaking with her.
While Arya was thinking of Eragon, she could not stop the tears from falling. As she hastened to hide them, Fírnen stopped her and, speaking through his mind, told Arya, "Do not hide your tears. Do not be ashamed to let them fall, for we, along with all of Alagaësia, have lost a great Rider and an even greater friend." Arya threw her arms around Fírnen's neck as she wept for all she had lost and for what could have been if she had gone with Eragon. She was grateful for Fírnen's company, felling like he was the only one left in Alagaësia who truly understood her.
~Queen