Here we go, starting chapter four and the Search Arc! This one is dedicated to buckwolvhoosier, my first fan and a fellow writer of Eragon fan-fictions (those hers are much better). ;D This next chapter will be a looooooong one, and still a flashback. Let's see what happens!

Chapter 4

The mirror's surface slowly returned to those swirling gray clouds as Nia cleared her throat, blinking rapidly. "After...afterwards, Mother and Father retrieved the belts, set the boat out to sea, and..."

"Buried our mother," Rosaminda finished for her, staring into space. "Móðiras (A/N: "Godmother" in the ancient language) and Faðiras (A/N: "Godfather" in the ancient language), Leafë and Niom, raised us as our godparents and loved us as their own. The five of us got along as well as any family. But we all knew that we didn't share the same parents - "

"For we would visit our birth mother's grave," her twin finished, touching the mirror gently. An image of a glen bloomed, where a crystal grave that reminded Eragon of his own father's tomb resided. Through the transparent rock lay Belinda, eyes closed and a smile still touching her lips, with a marble headstone that read:

Herein lies Belinda the Beautiful
A lady of Galbatorix's court
Twin to the mage Liress
Beloved of Beloth the Wise
And mother of Ren and Rose
May she lie in peace beneath the sky, forever resting in her paradise.

A girl of five crouched at the bottom of the tomb, golden hair hanging around her face as she reached out a hand to touch the crystal and whisper, "Móði." (A/N: "Mommy" in the ancient language)

Removing her hand, Ren watched as the image disappeared as Rose spoke up. "And everyday when I woke up, I would look at the fairth of my parents." She touched the mirror just as her sister had done, and an image from her memory also appeared. This one showed a fairth of a forest, with a small stream bed running along a group of rocks. Belinda sat on one, her white dress spread out as she trailed one hand through the water, and Beloth crouched behind her, gray eyes dancing as he smiled into her lovely face.

"I wished I could've met them," Nasuada said as the blonde leaned back up.

"We wish you could have, too," the twins both replied at the same time, and grinned as the sad moment was broken by their synchronicity.

"Well, let's move onwards," Renata said as Nicholas squeezed her hand. She smiled at him while Niaomi tapped the mirror to continue reminiscence as a beach appeared.

"For the first several years of our lives, my parents tried to figure out why I had this mark on my brow," she narrated. "Mother finally found out it was called a 'Dragon's Kiss' since all the people who'd received one got theirs from a dragon, myself excluded. So, it was not until I was five that I figured out why I had it."

On the beach in the mirror, five figures came into view along the edge of the forest.

"So are we going to go or not?" the younger Nia asked impatiently. Her voice was higher pitched than it was now, and her shoulder-length hair was held back by a white band that matched her and her brothers' tunic. Along with it, she wore the same black breeches and soft leather boots that all five had donned.

"But Móðiras said we couldn't go into the forest," the child version of Rosaminda argued. Her hair was tied back in a horsetail, and her tunic was gray like her sister's.

"But Móði's not here," Niaomi replied impetuously. "So let's go!"

"Don't worry, Ren. I can protect you," the smaller Nick stated with a puffed up chest. Only his emerald eyes made him distinguishable from his brother.

"Thanks, Nick," Ren replied, unimpressed. "But it's Rose who's worried."

"Aahh, come on, it'll be fun!" Nathan said, bouncing up and down. "And besides, me 'n' Nia found a really amazing place!"

"Okay," Rose relented as she smiled at Nate, who didn't notice as he turned back to nod at his sister.

"Great!" Nia said, her eyes shining. Turning to the forest, she delved inwards, followed by the others.

"Nia was always the bossy one," present-day Nathan said teasingly as in the reminiscence their past selves pushed through the forest.

"And you never noticed how much Rose liked you," she countered, making him blush.

"I did notice!"

"Oh yes, because it's not as if when I shoved you into a ditch and commanded you to tell me your true intentions towards my sister you hadn't a clue what I was talking about," Renata scoffed in sarcastic agreement.

"And my back still hurts sometimes from that fall," Nate grumbled, causing Eragon to laugh softly as Arya looked towards the ceiling in a small show of exasperation.

"Shhh, it's about to begin," Niaomi hushed them as the reminiscence focused back onto the children.

"Shhh," echoed the younger, "it's about to begin!"

The kids were huddled on the edge of a beautiful field filled with tall grasses and a range of colorful flowers. Ren finally broke the peaceful quiet, asking, "What's gonna happen?"

Nathan and his sister grinned at her and whispered, "You'll see."

For a few moments, nothing stirred. Then, a wind rustled through the meadow, making the flowers stir and release a cloud of pollen into the air. But the yellow powder looked brighter and more glittery than any Eragon had ever seen.

"That's not pollen," whispered Nicholas, and his brother nodded excitedly.

It began to coalesce into miniature cyclones which swirled around rapidly until they finally settled to reveal an equally miniature person standing on each blossom. The image enhanced on them, detailing their shimmering skin that ranged from the dark brown shade of the Wandering Tribes to the pale skin of the elves. Their dress was as vivid as a rainbow while their hair colors ranged across a normal gradient. Indeed, the minute creatures could have passed for tiny humans if not for the butterfly-like gossamer wings that sprouted from their backs.

"Wow," whispered Rosaminda, her small pink lips forming an O.

Nick blinked in surprise. "Are those actual...fairies?"

"Yeah," whispered Nia, her purple eyes wide with delight and awe. "Just like Jeshindû."

"The name of Niom's fairy," present day Renata explained to the viewers. "Fairies are beings made of magic, and a Rider can create them using magic and their dragon's blood. Those fairies are the color of the dragon's scales, with dragonfly wings and elf-like features, bonded to their Rider and the dragon through a bond not unlike the indlvarn: different, but still powerful."

"But they're different from him," the young Ren said cryptically in the reminiscence, her gray eyes narrowed in contemplation. "Not just their wings or colors, but their...mannerisms as well. They seem less reserved and more untamable."

The kids were silent for a second, and then Nicholas said, "You're right - I see what you mean."

"I don't," muttered Nate, which made Rose and Niaomi start giggling quietly. Soon the whole group was trying to muffle their laughter as the fairies flitted around, dancing from blossom to blossom.

The fit of laughter finally passed, and Nia poked her head over the branch to see better, the rest following suit. The mirror's focus turned back to the fairies, zooming on one particular female. Her hair was a bright blond that hung below her waist and her skin was a light creme that contrasted with her blue eyes. The gown she wore was pink like the rose she stood on, and a beautiful, small silver circlet adorned her brow.

"That must be the queen," whispered Niaomi.

"She's really pretty," Nick said a bit dreamily. He yelped when Renata subtly pinched him. The noise made the fairies halt in place, turning towards the bush which the kids hid behind.

The fairy queen rose from her flower and fluttered towards them, stopping a few feet in front of the shrub. "Iknol eru ono?" she called out in the Ancient Language, voice tinkering like small bells. Switching to Runic, she repeated her question. "Who are you?"

Slowly, five small faces came into view. Nia's was the last to emerge, and the queen gasped when she saw the Dragon's Kiss on the girl's brow. Turning around, she called to her folk in the ancient language, "Come and see this child's brow!" The words appeared on the mirror below in the human tongue so the Nasuada and Orrin could understand.

The fairies flew towards their queen, gasping with awe as they saw Niaomi's forehead. Murmurs started through the minute crowd, and the kids turned to one another in confusion.