The Varden marched on the next morning, packing as swiftly as possible, then continuing their trek towards Belatona. As soon as Saphira was awake, Leora was in her face. She turned this way and that to show Saphira her new saddle, and Saphira sniffed at it experimentally.

'You made this?', she said looking at Eragon.

'Yes, it took me all last night to finish.'

She sniffed it once more before saying, 'I've never heard of a saddle being made by magic, does it work?'

'So far, yes, it has worked well', Eragon says watching as lines of warriors start to march away. All his stuff was packed and now he was just waiting on the two dragons, which was a first. Leora could not stop jumping around, twisting her body to see how the saddle moved with her. Eragon forgot sometimes how young at heart she was, being that she was technically still a hatchling. Her wise words had covered this up, but now her inner hatchling was showing as her eyes radiated excitement.

Eragon saddled Saphira then they too started to make their way out with the Varden. Taking off into the sky, Saphira and Leora launch themselves higher and higher, each trying to gain the advantage over the other. It amused him to watch the competitiveness of the two female dragons. Saphira had the advantage of more length per flap of her wings, but Leora's much smaller size allowed her to pump her wings faster, and little by little, Leora started leading. Finally, as the Varden looked nothing more than pinpricks, and Eragon did not want to have another experience like in the Beor Mountains, the two dragons dipped and started to dive back towards the earth. They kept their angle shallow, though, to prevent their muscles from becoming sore with the upcoming battle.

As they kept watch above the Varden, Eragon kept his eyes peeled. After the incident from yesterday, he had been set on edge. And it was a good thing he was, for because of his vigilance, he spotted something even before Saphira did.

'Saphira!', he said urgently, 'on the horizon, is that-'

'Thorn', she growls as her eyes focus on the red dragon in the distance, as prominent as a drop of blood.

He quickly sends his mind out to Leora, Arya, and Nasuada, telling them of what they had spotted. As Arya also noticed this, she shocked all of them.

'Do not raise the alarm until they get closer. We do not know if they will even attack us. True, it is likely, but why put the Varden into a panic before it is necessary? Let us keep watch first.'

'Arya, if we warn them now, then we will have more time to prepare!', Eragon says, completely confused by her statement.

'Yes, but if they do not attack? We will know if they angle towards us Eragon, and if they make any movement that even hints at their motives, then we will respond accordingly', she responds calmly. He sighed, knowing there was no way to change her mind. Through his mind link, he could also sense Nasuada silently agreeing with Arya, and knew he was outmatched.

'Fine, but keep your eyes open, just in case', he grumbles breaking himself away from all but Saphira and Leora. But, something was strange about Leora's mind.

It wasn't blocked from him, but her thoughts were murky, as if a conflict was raging inside her. And as he prodded her slightly, attempting to gain insight to the argument in her thoughts, she recoiled as if stung. He caught nothing but an intense emotion as she blocked him out.

As Saphira flew next to her, Eragon attempted to speak with her face to face, but she avoided him there too, by diving down swiftly, trying to put distance between them. He was extremely confused, what was she trying to hide from him? What was she so confused about?

And her emotions. They were very strong, but he was unable to gleam exactly what they were. The only thing he did know, was how immensely opposite they were, and knew that her thoughts were driven by those two emotions.

As he focused more and more, he started remembering distinct characteristics and was able to pinpoint one emotion at least. Guilt.

Why would she feel guilty? He wondered to himself. Did she know something that they didn't? She was a very powerful dragon, and she might have sensed something but didn't tell anyone. Eragon could see her trying to solve it on her own. Her mind was still woefully young, and she could be pushed to making rash decisions based on her past experiences. The last time she had told someone what she sensed, it had resulted in lives being lost, a multitude of lives crushed under a pile of debris. As he thought more about it, he was sure that Leora would hide anything she sensed from everyone and attempt to fix the future problem by herself.

Glancing back towards the horizon, the distinct figure of Thorn started to grow smaller, angling away from the Varden. Though he would never admit it, Eragon was glad they had not alerted the Varden now. But, what Thorn was doing so close to the Varden was very suspicious. He was probably sent by Galbatorix to scout the Varden's whereabouts from Belatona.

'Drop down to the ground for a moment, I'd like to talk with Nasuada', he says to Saphira. She doesn't respond, but instead starts to descend, dropping towards the Varden on the ground. With his elf vision, Eragon spots Nasuada towards the front of the procession and alerts Saphira to her location. Landing on the ground in front of the Varden, warriors part around them as Nasuada strides towards the great blue dragon on her gray Charger.

Slipping down the edge, taking care to not impale himself on her spikes, Eragon drops down off Saphira to the ground below. Misjudging the height, he has to bend his knees to absorb the massive shock of the fall. Once he has straighten himself though, Saphira crouches and launches and into the sky above. On the crowded ground was no place for a massive dragon.

Striding towards Nasuada as well, Eragon glances up into the sky at both of the dragons. They were lower now, so he was able to admire the beauty of their scales. Purple and blue, twisting and turning around each other.

"Eragon", Nasuada says with a playful smile, "how nice of you to come visit me."

Eragon laughs loud and hearty, letting the warmth and happiness seep through him. Laughing was such a rarity these days that he took advantage of every second.

Taking stride next to the large horse, he took a second to brush against the horse's conscience. It was so primitive and underdeveloped compared to a human's mind or a dragon's. He quickly reassured the skittish animal before addressing Nasuada.

"How far off are we from Belatona would you say?", Eragon questions her, running his hand down the sleek neck of the horse.

She puzzles his question for a moment before answering, "A few days off I would imagine, and then the siege would not take place until a day after we arrive. We would need time to assemble the war machines and set up camp. Not to mention discuss our plan of attack. We do not need another Talin."

Eragon's eyes grow distant before he answers in a dreary voice, "No, we don't need another Talin..."

Nasuada does not push the topic, but instead ducks her head in silence. Eragon knew that the failure at Talin would probably haunt her for the rest of her life. Eragon knew he would never get over the sound of the wood cracking, when the whole world seemed to come crashing down. When he thought he would never see Saphira again.

Shaking his head, Eragon attempted to force out the bad thoughts. As if the movement could push the grief clutching his heart away. His mind was becoming fogged over with emotions. He struggled to stay here in the present as Nasuada's voice pushed through his thoughts.

"They sure are beautiful aren't they?"

"What?", Eragon mutters stupidly, breaking out of his stupor.

Nasuada motions upward, "The dragons. Years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of seeing one dragon, now I have the privilege of admiring the beauty of not one, but two. It doesn't seem real."

"You needn't explain it to me", Eragon says, "some days I wonder if this is all just a dream, and if one of these times I'm going to wake up back in Carvahall. This past year has been.....", he fades off.

Nasuada nods. There was no need to explain. But, no matter how hectic and unreal, Eragon wouldn't trade this past year for the world. Saphira was right, there was no place in Carvahall for him anymore. This is where he belonged. Fighting the empire to his last breath until the mad kind was dethroned. And Eragon would not have it any other way.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: HEY GUYS, KIND OF A FILLER CHAPTER, BUT STILL NECESSARY TO MOVE THE CHAPTER ALONG. SO PLEASE, IF YOU CANT WAIT FOR NON FILLER CHAPTERS PLEASE.....

READ/COMMENT/VOTE

THANKA YOUUU

~Bert