Return (An Eragon Fanfiction)

High Queen

Harriet.
The girl with the head of dark bed hair rolled over and groaned, subconsciously batting away the irritating noise.
It's rude to ignore someone speaking directly to you.
She closed her mind off completely now, snuggling further into the soft blankets. A moment later, a cold hard probe jabbed into her mind, mild frustration emanating from it.
Especially ignoring a werecat.
Harriet's dark blue eyes snapped open with surprise, Solembum? Has something happened?
She felt faint amusement across the link, and imagined Solembum flicking his tail like he usually would when he was smug.
Nothing is too amiss... however Nasuada requests your council.
Why? Why would it be so important she felt the need to wake her?
Solembum ignored the question and quickly added, be quick about it, shes flustered and its irritating me.
He severed the contact.
Harriet quickly summoned the energy stand up and stretch. Rubbing her eyes she winced, it was brighter than she expected, yet she still managed to stumble to her window and lean out to look over the city like she did every morning.
Ilirea's dark buildings shone in the morning sun, Harriet had adored the city from the day she had been brought there four years ago. She had been born in Belatona, her mother died during birth and her heartbroken father was neglectful, until one drunk day he killed a man in an inn. Being the criminal he was he was hung for his crimes by Nasuada's orders herself. It didn't change much though, she never saw him anyway.
Harriet quickly called her maid, who helped her into a simple but rich red dress, she then combed her hair until it looked more presentable.
"You look beautiful today ma'am." Said the maid, gently smiling at her.
Harriet turned to look at the girl's youthful complexion and dark eyes, "As do you."
The maid blushed and curtsied, before saying "You should go."
Nodding, Harriet left, making her way around the marble corridors of the castle, smiling to the Lords and Ladies who greeted her as she passed them. She touched a large window as she walked by it, admiring the way the sun streamed through and dappled onto the floor of the hallway, how lucky she was that fate decided to let her leave her old life for this. She remembered the guilt and sadness in Nasuada's eyes when she came to see her after she gave the orders for her fathers execution. Being aged just fourteen at the time, she didn't know how she would have lived the last four years if Nasuada hadn't taken her in and eventually invited her to be her sister, in all but blood.
Several sets of stairs later, along with another large hallway, she found herself before the huge doors of the throne room.
"The High Queen has requested my council?"
Without a word the guards let her past and the door swung open to reveal the famous throne room, lavishly decorated with gold and gems of every colour, boasting the wealth of the Empire.
With a confident stride, she entered and found Nasuada pacing the width of the room. Seeing her, she rushed up to her, and Harriet began to courtesy.
"Hattie I've been waiting for you," she said, gently pulling her over to the large table at the side of the room with a huge map of Alagaësia spread across it.

"I've had a report from the elves that a new dragon hatched in Gil'ead last week to a human boy, and he has already been escorted to Arya for training."
This sparked Harriet's interest, "But there hasn't been a new human rider–"
"–in over ten years, I know," she smiled softly, "exciting things are in store for the new generation I think."
In fact, there hadn't been a new rider at all in over a year, which people weren't particularly fussed about nowadays, seeing as only five riders (excluding the new human) had appeared in the ten years since Eragon had left, and of those, two had been elf, one urgal and one dwarf, all of which had left to join Eragon once they were strong enough. The hatchlings in the eggs had turned out to hatch much less regularly than they had originally thought.
Harriet frowned slightly, "This is fantastic and intriguing news, but why was it so urgent to summon me?"
"Oh yes, onto that," her ebony eyes regained the excited flare they had earlier, "The egg that hatched was the final of the four that Eragon sent us and the one he left, which means..." she pointed to Ellesméra, in the centre of Du Weldenvarden, "Eragon has sent more eggs! Three to be exact."
"That's amazing news!" she replied, it was rare for eggs to hatch, but it was even rarer to have some form of contact from Eragon himself. "I hope the celebrations will be as spectacular as last time."
"But that is only part of the reason why Solembum to woke you this morning Hattie," she took the younger girl's hand guiding her onto the balcony. "Vanir arrived today telling me that the elves have decided to send all three eggs here to Ilirea, and we may do with them whatever we see fit."
Harriet's heart skipped a beat, "When?"
"Well," she broke into a smile, looking over the city, "Vanir also reported that Murtagh has finished retraining with the elves, and wishes to return to his own kind, bringing the eggs with him. He is expected this afternoon."