Saphira and Thorn

Disclaimer, the normal stuff: I don’t own Eragon or Eldest or any of the major or minor characters contained within. Christopher Paolini does, and he probably always will. I do however own this particular fanfic, so don’t steal my work, even if you paraphrase.

I welcome friendly flames, as long as you don’t openly insult my work. I just need critiquing so I can do better the next time I write a story.


Saphira and Thorn
A Dragon-Sized Love Story

“WHY?” Eragon shouted. “Why does she have to be separated from me? It’s not like I’ll have a hundred male dragons attacking me whenever I’m with her! Let alone one dragon!”
“Saphira must be separated from you when she’s in heat or she’ll never attract a male. Even if she did, if you were killed by the male, she would die, along with any eggs that might have been fertilized!” retaliated Glaedr in his booming voice. “She must also be left alone during the courting and mating process, or the egg cells will never even be released from her ovaries, and the male may be scared into leaving her. She needs time, Eragon, so do not worry. The only risk for dragons in the mating is simply the risk of not pulling out of the Dive of Courting in time.”
“Fine, but I still hate being away from her. Can I even see her during the courting?” Eragon asks.
“NO! If she is not completely alone during the egg laying process, she will not lay and the eggs will die. If she gets distracted even by her mate, the eggs may not survive. You must not go anywhere near her until she comes for you, and you must also not try to contact her with your mind, whether hers is closed or not.”
“But…”
“Eragon… You must trust me and heed my words. She is the last female dragon in existence, and we cannot afford to lose her through your own stupid actions!” Glaedr started quietly, and got near screaming at the end when he says this.
“Okay… Um, Glaedr…?”
“Yes, Eragon, what is it now?”
“You will not try to be her mate, will you?” Eragon asked almost in a whisper.
“No, Eragon, I have already been mated, and even if I was still a virgin, I am too old to mate Saphira. I would probably crash in the courting dive, and that would be bad now, wouldn’t it? Also, I’m too big to mount her, I’d crush her before… well, you know.” Glaedr blushed hot enough to cause Eragon to sweat at this.
“I see… Well, bye then, I’ll see you at magic training,” Eragon said and started to walk away.
“Eragon,” Glaedr said sternly, “I mean it. If you go anywhere near her, try to contact her"—he paused for emphasis—"she could be killed. If she dies because of you, I will not hesitate to kill you. I’m sorry, but I cannot have the extinction of my race because a stubborn teen would not heed my words.”
Eragon almost pissed his pants when he saw the evil eye from Glaedr. “Y… Yes, sir!” he stammered. Eragon could’ve outrun an Olympian on his way back to his tree house.

Saphira flew slowly over the forest, looking for prey. Suddenly, she heard a twig snap below her. She dove silently down, killing her prey—a wild pig—with a combination of impact and a cut spinal cord.
As she flew back to the cave, she suddenly felt a very strange sensation touch her mind. A stray Elf, trying to contact her, maybe? No, she knew only Eragon and other riders could even make her feel a mindspeak. And besides, Glaedr told her that Eragon wouldn’t contact her for the next month or so, unless he or she was in grave danger.
She landed at her cave, and went to lie down in her nest, built only yesterday. As she bit into her catch, she began to ponder the recent events of her life.

Just a week ago, she was flying back from her dragon training when Glaedr told her a surprising fact: She’d been going into estrus every 6 months on the nose ever since she’d been 6 months old. She nearly fell out of the sky at this.
“Well, if I’ve been in heat so many times, how come I haven’t been assaulted by males?” Saphira asked.
“Well, until you came to the forest, there haven’t been any male dragons close enough to you to smell your scent. Good thing, too, because if there had been, Eragon—and because of it, you—would have died by now. You haven’t been far enough away from humans to prevent their deaths until just recently. Now, though, it’s very important that you listen to what I tell you.”
“And what…?”
“In about 2 weeks, you will go into heat again. Don’t worry about me, I’m too old to be driven into mating frenzy by your scent, but the other males within about 500 miles of you will be driven wild enough to level entire forests if they don’t find you. Luckily Galbatorix’s dragon is locked in his castle, with no air vents, so He won’t try to mate you. However, I’ve sensed that another male has hatched recently, I believe you have met him…?”
“Yes, his name is Thorn and Murtagh rides him.”
“Ahh, I see. Well, he probably will not be restrained so he might actually try to mate you. Do not resist him, his genes do not pass on any evil that Murtagh and Galbatorix may have taught him, and he will not act evil when he mates you. If he is the last dragon on this planet that will take you, you must accept him, understand?” Glaedr said sternly.
“Yes, but will I enjoy being mated?”
“It is the best feeling there is for a dragon, other than finally finding a rider,” Glaedr said with a shine to his cataract-glazed eyes.
Saphira knew she would accept any male that came for her, but whether they would be mates for life…

End


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