A Second Rider? (Eragon X Reader) [Book 1]

Chapter 36

Eragon's (POV)

   I jolted awake when I heard a loud humming beside me. Saphira was still asleep. I could see her eye moving under her eyelids and her upper lip was twitching as if she would growl. I felt a smile being drawn to my lips, but then I flinched when she hummed again. She's dreaming, I realised. I just sat there and watched her for a minute and the carefully made my way out from under her wing. I stood up and stretched. It was a pleasant temperature in the room. I saw that Murtagh was laying in the corner as he played on his back with closed eyes. Murtagh moved when I stepped around Saphira. "Morning", he said lowly and sat up. "How long have you been awake?", I asked quietly. "For a while. I'm surprised that Saphira didn't wake you up earlier." "I was so tired that I could've slept through a thunderstorm", I said. "Do you know what time it is?" "No. In here it's impossible to keep track of time." "Have someone checked up on us?" "Not yet."
We sat there in silence. In a way I felt bound to Murtagh. I have carried his father's sword, that would have been his... his legacy. We are alike in many ways, but we are still different in our way at seeing life and how we were raised. I felt a chill go through my spine as I remembered Murtagh's scar. What kind of man does that to a child? I felt a smile being pulled to my lips as Saphira lifted her head and blinked to clean her eyes. She sniffed in the air, let out a big yawn and rolled her tongue.
'Has anything happened?' I shoke my head no as an answer.
'I hope that I'll get more food than that little snack last night. Im so hungry that I could eat a whole pack of cows.'

'You'll get food.', I ensured her.

'I hope so.' She stood up as her limbs cracked softly. It was funny to look at her stretching out like a cat while she didn't seem to see it herself. She went over to sit by the door, and as she sat there she kept on flicking her tail. I closed my eyes and felt a pain in my back as it relaxed, but it quickly went away as it finally completely relaxed. I felt myself starting to drift off to sleep, but then I stood up and started to walk.
'Eragon.'

'What is it?'

'It's Vladmir. He's very worried about (Y/N)... I'm afraid that he will try to come in here.' I felt a little ashamed when I realised that I hadn't even thought about Vladmir. I knew that he would rather die than let (Y/N) get hurt.

'Then what are we supposed to do?'

'We should see how she is. Soon.'

'I know.' I kept on walking around. I went to look closely at one of the lanterns. It was made out of a single, drop shaped piece of glass, about dubble the size of a lemon. The lantern filled the room with a soft blue light, that didn't flicker nor faded. Around the glass there were four elegant thin metal ribs that joined together at the top like a little hook. The whole thing looked really pretty.
Voices were heard from outside the room. The door opened and a dozen soldiers came in. The one in the front swallowed unsurely as he saw Saphira. They were followed by Orik and the bald man, that explained; "Ajihad, the leader of the Varden, has summoned you. If you have to eat, you'll have to do it in the way." Me and Murtagh both stood up and looked at him cautiously. "Where are our horses? And can I get back my sword and my bow?" I asked. The bald man glared at me. "You will get your weapons back when it pleases Ajihad, not sooner. Your horses, however, are waiting for you in the tunnel. Now come!" While he turned around to leave, I asked: "How is Arya? And (Y/N)?" The bald hesitated. "I don't know. The healers are still with her. And about your friend... she is waiting outside for you." I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I heard that she was alright. The bald then left the room followed by Orik. One of the soldiers told us: "You go first." I walked out of the room, followed by Saphira and Murtagh.

(Y/N) POV

I heard a lot of footsteps coming from behind us. I looked behind me and saw that Eragon, Saphira and Murtagh came with a lot of guards. "You'll ride slowly in the middle of the tunnel", the bald man said. "You'll be stopped if you try to ride any other way." Eragon started to climb up on Saphira, but the bald man screamed: "No! Ride on the horses until I tell you something else." Rude.
Eragon shrugged his shoulders and made his way up on Snowfire, and I followed shortly after. Behind Saphira I saw Murtagh climbing up on Tornac. The bald inspected the small row. He then gave a sign to the guards, who spread out around Saphira to give her as much space as possible to move. Orik and the bald went first in the line.
The bald man inspected us one more time, clapped two times with his hands and then started to walk. The whole group started to go towards the heart of the mountain. There came echoes from the horses' hooves against the hard floor, and the sounds were amplified due to the empty halls. The halls were completely empty except some closed doors here and there. I didn't like to be underground like this... it made it feel like it was harder to breathe.
'(Y/N), are you alright?'

'I'm fine.'

'I... I'm sorry.'

'It's alright Eragon.' I heard him let out a sigh in front of me.

'You should talk to Vladmir. He has been very worried about you.'

'I know. I'll talk to him when we're alone. I don't want to do it in front of these people.'

As we had kept on forward, there were now thick pillars in marble with lots and lots of rubies and amethysts, along the walls. By the end of the hall, there was a big black door. It had a crown it.
The bald came to a stop and lifted up his hand. He turned to Eragon. "Now you will ride on your dragon. Do not try to fly away. You have an audience, remember who you are and what you represent." Eragon climbed off Snowfire and then up on Saphira. I took his place on Snowfire's back as he sat on Saphira. "I'm ready", Eragon said and sat up straight. "Good", the bald said and stood together with Orik behind Saphira. "Go forward to the gates now, and follow the road when they open. Go slowly." Saphira walked forward to the gates.
Without warning the gates opened. There were sunbeams coming through them and I shut my eyes due to the light. When I looked again through the doors I could see a colossal volcano crater.
   We went into the crater where a lot of dwarves and humans were waiting. I looked and I noticed that there were more dwarves than humans in there. As Saphira stepped out with Eragon on her back, everyone was quiet. They stood there. I saw Eragon lift his hand in a wave, but nothing happened. He lowered his hand and then he lowered his head in ambaressement. Suddenly, erupting the silence, was a loud cheer. Someone clapped loudly. It seemed like the hesitated for a moment, but everybody soon erupted into loud cheers. "Very good", the bald man said. "Now start to walk." I saw Eragon sit straight as they carried on. I smiled as Saphira bragged as she breathed out smoke.

   We had went through an another gate. The crowd kept on cheering, even if the dwarves barely did - or not at all. Now there was a really big gem. It was really big, and they had made it into a big rose. It was absolutely beautiful. They had made it with such skill that it almost looked real, but the best part must have been the colour. It was a shade of red that made it look like a sunrise.
    Suddenly (while ruining this perfect moment), the rude, bald man stepped in front of Saphira and said: "Here on you must walk on foot." There were spread 'boos' coming from the crowd as he spoke. A dwarf came and took Tornac and Snowfire away from us. Eragon climbed off Saphira but still stood close to her.
   We followed a corridor for a few minutes, until we came into a smaller one. We finally arrived to a black door made out of old wood. The bald man opened the door and made everyone go inside except the guards.

^Hello guys!! How are you? Sorry for not posting in the weekend last time and for updating a little late now! But now (Y/N) is finally back! What did you think of this chapter? See you guys next time!!^