5I am amazed that I got a full second chapter written. Are you guys? I edited the previous chapter, and may not post for a while... Oh well. I send out many thanks to silver-nightstorm, because you are my BETA. And, the first person to give constructive critizism. Enjoy!
Her mind was whirling. Where was she? Why did this man share her Brother's name? It was all so strange, and all these questions made her head spin. Ananya decided to at least stand up. She had been sitting on the ground this whole time.
"I don't know who this Galbatorix is, so I can't work for him. The war with the dragons is long over. Why the last egg? There are wild dragons laying eggs all the time. You even speak Lærin funny, why is that?" she asked. Even if the questions made her head hurt, she wanted answers.
"You call the Ancient Language by its ancient name, and don't know what the guarding forest is. There has not been a war with the dragons for millennia. You carry a dragon egg that is not green, and is hatching for you. You claim to have a brother with my name who rides a dragon. The only others who ride dragons are Murtagh and Galbatorix, yet you claim to not know Galbatorix," he said, looking concerned.
"You are an elf, surely you have heard of Eragon and Bid'Daum, Eragon is my brother," she said, hoping he knew who she was talking about. He was about to answer when she got distracted by the hatching dragon.
A silver, scaly snout poked its way out of the shell, and the dragon's head followed. A gangly looking little dragon tumbled out onto the ground. Anaya reached down to touch it. Eragon was about to stop her, but it was too late. An electric shock hundreds of times stronger than the zap that told her the egg had chosen her hit her like a mother dragon.
She fell to the ground, in the fetal position. Time seemed to pass so slowly until she was able to move again. Ananya sat up slowly, feeling the blood rush from to her head. The tiny little dragon perched on her shoulder, like a soldier triumphant.
She felt a thread of thought run across her mind, like a finger across her arm. It was full of curiosity. Ananya turned too look at her new partner, wonderingly. She reached out with her mind, and was enveloped by the little dragon's.
It was like a chasm, so empty and huge. She knew that it would be so different when it got older. It would eventually be full of fiery wit, and cunning. It was so new. She pulled out, and retreated into her own mind, amazed.
Eragon looked like he'd made his mind up about something, and then beckoned Ananya to him. He got took a deep breath, and began asking yet more questions. "If your brother is the first rider, how did you get here? That was millennia ago," he said, curiously.
Ananya was silent. How could it be millennia ago? It had happened only a few months ago. The memory of the dragon magic that had sent here only a few hours ago was fresh in her mind. She felt so lost. Her brother must be long dead. Her family and her friends, they were all gone. They would have died so long ago.
"Is that why you call Lærin 'Ancient'?" she asked, quietly. Eragon nodded.
Ananya burst into tears. This wasn't possible, except that it was happening. It was happening to her. She didn't curse the dragon that had been guarding her eggs, but fear enveloped her. So much could happen in a single year, let alone thousands.
She ignored Eragon, remembering that it was burning hot outside. Grabbing her pocket knife from its sheath, she took off her shirt. She continued ignoring a surprised Eragon, which had turned around. Cutting off the sleeves of her shirt, she put it back on.
The little silver dragon was pestering her, and got the impression that it was hungry. Pulling a hunk of jerky from her day-pack, she fed it to the little creature. She had planned on eating this in the meadow, once she got there.
Eragon had turned back around, and noticed Ananya taking little bits of the meat, and eating them. "You eat meat?" he asked, once again surprised.
"Why wouldn't I? I never had a connection to the environment, and I've always had trouble with magic. I was never taught not to," she looked surprised at him. When dragon snapped at her fingers, reminding her to feed it, she got back to work. She continued stealing bits.
Once the dragon was well fed and happy, Ananya relaxed. Now that the hunger was gone from both of them, and she felt a little cooler with short sleeves, she was able to answer more of this Eragon's questions.
Eragon's POV
I've been looking for the slave traders in the desert for a few days. It's really not surprising that once I finally found them, they were chasing somebody, so that they could put them into slavery. When I saw that it was an elf, I got Saphira to go after them.
I really didn't understand why anyone would be so far from a city, but I knew that they probably didn't belong in the middle of the desert.
Eragon, do you want to capture the slave traders, or save this person? If we save them, the slave traders will get away. And, we still have to go to Du Weldenvarden, to get Arya, Saphira said. She wasn't in the mood to decide what to do. She loved the desert, but she was tired, from not being able to sleep very well.
"I think that we should save him," I said. At that point, the short-haired person looked male. Saphira let out a roar that got the slave trader's attention. They began running away, and the man crouched on the ground. Saphira snorted.
This one is brave, she stated dryly.
The man turned to look at Saphira, and then curled into a ball on the sand.
Just so full of pride and courage. Saphira was feeling sarcastic.
He looked up again, and I realized it was a woman, and an elf no less. I jumped off of Saphira, and landed lightly in the sand. She sat up, and looked at him. She seemed a bit scared.
"Who are you? What's your name?" she asked. She sounded thirsty, and she was speaking the Ancient language, albeit a bit strangely.
"What are you doing so far from Du Weldenvarden? You should know who I am, considering the fact that you are an elf." I was puzzled that an elf didn't know who I was.
Saphira fell asleep, without me noticing.
"Of course I'm and elf. What else would I be?" She looked even more confused than me. "Who are you to ride a dragon, like my brother?" she asked. I was even more shocked and confused now. Another dragon? Was she somehow related to Murtagh or Galbatorix?
"I'm Eragon, who are you to be so far from Du Weldenvarden in the middle of a war?" I was confused, but demanded, "Who is your brother?" Maybe I could figure out who or where this rider was.
"You carry the name of my brother! Why do you have his name? What is this Du Weldenvarden you keep talking about?" she spoke in the ancient language, but he couldn't be sure if she was sincere. A high pitched squeak I hadn't heard in almost a year. I looked at the elf with new surprise.
She pulled out a silver egg, causing me to go into shock. Silver? The last egg was green. "You carry a dragon egg, do you work for Galbatorix?" I asked accusingly. She looked confused. It was at this point, that she stood up. I had forgotten she was sitting on the ground. I asked Saphira about the last egg out loud, because she had awoken when I had sent my surprise across our connection. I hadn't even noticed she was sleeping until she told me. Even more surprising was the fact that the egg was hatching.
"I don't know who this Galbatorix is, so I can't work for him. The war with the dragons is long over. Why the last egg? There are wild dragons laying eggs all the time. You even speak Lærin funny, why is that?" Her confusion was evident in her voice. I was surprised by her response when she finally spoke.
The elves had stopped calling the Ancient language 'Lærin' hundreds of years ago.
"You call the Ancient Language by its ancient name, and don't know what the guarding forest is. There has not been a war with the dragons for millennia. You carry a dragon egg that is not green, and is hatching for you. You claim to have a brother with my name who rides a dragon. The only others who ride dragons are Murtagh and Galbatorix, yet you claim to not know Galbatorix." This whole situation was incredibly confusing. She said she didn't know who Galbatorix was, so it had to be true. Considering that we were speaking the Ancient Language.
"You are an elf, surely you have heard of Eragon and Bid'Daum, Eragon is my brother," she said. Again, she was speaking the ancient language, but what she said seemed impossible. Was it possible for elves to go insane, like humans sometimes did?
I was going to respond, when we were both reminded that a dragon egg was hatching. The little creature quickly freed itself from its shell, and Ananya reached down to touch it. I was about to stop her, but it was too late. She looked like she was in pain, and for a few minutes, she was in the fetal position on the ground. It was during this that I noticed she was wearing long, thick sleeves. Was she insane? It was seeming more and more likely.
Either way, she was a rider now. The whole set of events happening was so complicated, and now there was a new rider.
I decided at that point that I needed to take her to Du Weldenvarden. Beckoning her closer, I got ready to ask some more questions. "If your brother is the first rider, how did you get here? That was millennia ago," I said, trying to convince her that it was impossible. If she believed it true, she could say it was.
"Is that why you call Lærin ancient?" She asked, almost whispering.
When the woman took off her shirt unexpectedly, I turned around, confused at to what she was doing. I turned around a minute later, and noticed that she had cut off the sleeves from her shirt. I wondered why she hadn't done it sooner, but it made it clear she wasn't completely insane.
I also noticed she was feeding herself and her new dragon beef jerky. "You eat meat?" I asked, it seemed so strange to see an elf eating meat.
"Why wouldn't I?" She said, matter-of-factly. " I never had a connection to the environment, and I've always had trouble with magic. I wasn't even raised not to." She looked surprised at my question. She kept on feeding herself and her dragon, until they were both full. It took a LOT of food to feed them.
I finally noticed Saphira was asleep, and woke her up, asking her if I should take the new pair to Du Weldenvarden.
I finished a second chapter. I have ideas for the next five or so, if I manage to get them to come out of my head making any sense. Eragon calls it Du Weldenvarden because he is thinking in English, not Lærin. Review! Only 3 people reviewed, and one of them only said a single word! Constructive Critisizm.