Two of a Kind

"Eragon?" I ask, putting a hand out. I feel breath on my neck. When I look up, I see Adrik standing above me. I sigh.

*What's wrong with him?* Adrik asks. I look at Eragon.

*He thinks you're Claydon's dragon.* I explain. I stand up, and walk to Adrik, putting a hand on his side. "Brother, this is Adrik...my dragon. Adrik, this is my twin brother, Eragon." I say motioning between them.

"Your......dragon?" Eragon asks, confused.

"Yes, brother. I'm also a rider. That is why I could not leave the king." I explain. Eragon's expression changes from caution to understanding.

*Are you sure this is a good idea?* Adrik asks, looking at me with worry.

*My brother needs family.* I say in a tone that makes no argument. Adrik taps the side of my face with his nose.

*Then I shall help in any way possible.* He says in a serious vocie. I smile.

"Thank you." I say in a happy voice. We both jump when we hear a dragon hiss. I look up, only to see Claydon and his dragon flying towards us. I look wide eyed from Claydon to Eragon. "NO!!!" I yell, jumping on Adrik's back. He roars as he takes flight. We fly at Claydon, cutting off their advance.

"What the hell are you doing, Kayashi? Or should I call you Sheryl?" Claydon questions. My eyes widen as soon as my name comes out of Claydon's mouth.

"H....how do you know my name?" I ask. He grins.

"Thank your brother." Claydon says with a grin. I turn to my brother. "He asked us what we did with his little sister, Sheryl." Claydon explains. I sigh.

"I'm not going back, Claydon." I say, looking at him with anger. He grins.

"You don't belong here. You belong back with my father, Sher." He says. I look at him with confusion.

"Are you planning on telling me why?" I ask. Claydon grins hugely.

"I think I'll keep that information until you come home." Claydons says.I glare at him with narrowed eyes as I draw my sword off my back. He sighs. "Must a conversation always come to a fightbetween the two of us?" He says, also drawing his blade off his dragon's saddle.

"Seems like it...although I was under the impression that you liked fighting me." I says, getting into the best defensive possition I can on Adrik's back. Adrik launches himself at Claydon's dragon with exposed teeth.

The battle ends with Claydon standing on Adrik's back with his sword against my neck. Adrik hisses in protest.

"I'll see you soon, my dear." Claydonsays with a smile as he removes his blade, and jumps to his dragon's back. They fly away. I take a deep breath, and wipe the sweat off my face as Adrik flies to the ground.

Once we land, we see Eragon's slumped form over his dragon, and a group of people beginning to gather. I see Murtagh run towards the front. As soon as he sees me, he changes his course to run to me. Adrik growls, stopping Murtagh in his tracks. I put a hand against Adrik's head.

"It's.....all right. He's a.....friend." I say in between burst of pain. Adrik looks back at me with worry filled eyes. I nod. He looks at Murtagh, only to see him bow.

"I will not hurt her. My only intention is to bandage her wounds. Otherwise, she may bleed to death." Murtagh says, dropping his sword. I sigh, closing my eyes. I fall towards the ground, only to have someone catch me.

I slowly open my eyes to see the man I had sliced arm open. I grin.

"Who are you, and what are you doing with a dragon?" The man asks. I sneer.

"It's common to offer your own name before asking a complete stranger for theirs." I say, glaring at him. He smirks.

"Very well. I am Ajihead, leader of the Varden." He explains. I sigh.

"My name is Kay-" I'm stopped midword by someone.

"Her name is Sheryl." I hear someone say. I look to see Murtagh standing next to the door, supporting Eragon. I smile.

"So you did survive." I plop back onto the bed with a sigh. "That's good." I say, closing my eyes. I feel someone sit down on the bed.

*You mustn't tell them that we're related.* I mentally tell Eragon, hoping it works the same way it does with Claydon and I.

*Sheryl? How are you in my head?* Eragon asks, surprised. I open my eyes, and look at him.

*Riders can talk to each other mentally....AH!! I suppose since you've never been around another rider, you wouldn't know this.* I say with a bit of a smile in my voice. He glares at me.

*Not funny!* He says in a pouting voice.

*Fine, I'm sorry.* I say, inclining my head. He smiles.

"All right, we're missing part of this conversation." Murtagh says as he takes a step toward us. I sigh.

"Sorry. Forgot there are others in the room." I say, running my eyes over everyone in the room. When I look at Ajihead, I see his eyes widen.

"Rider. I think you should get away from her." Ajihead commands, looking at Eragon with worried eyes. I smile.

"What? Do you think I'd hurt the.....the only other rider besides the king and I?" I ask.

"You never know. After all, no one knows anything about you besides your name." Ajihead says, looking at me with calculation eyes.

"Yeah well." I shrug. "I'm not too keen about people knowing stuff about me." I say, looking around the room. Ajihead sighs.

"I can understand your discression, but no one here is going to trust you until you do tell." Ajihead says, looking at me like this should matter to me.

"No problem. I won't be walking around that much anyway." I say with a smirk. I watch as the look on his face turns to one of surrender. My eyes narrow. "You know, you might not want to show me that look.....ever!!" I say, looking away from him. His eyes widen.

"Why?" He asks, looking at me with a questioning look.

"Well....." I sigh. "I was trained by....by one of the king's best. So I react differently to things due to that." I say, getting control of myself again. I sigh, and stand up.

"Where are you going?" Ajihead asks. I look at him.

"I'm going to see Adrik." I say, and grin when I see a couple of the men take a step forward. I stand there, defensive, as Ajihead walks in between us.

"Stand down! We have no right to keep her from her dragon!" Ajihead sighs. I grin, and walk out the door.

As soon as I take a step out the door, I hear wings beating above me. I look up to see Adrik flying above me.

*What do they want with you that they keep you for so long?* Adrik asks as soon as he lands in front of me. He begins to inspect me for injuries.

"I'm fine. They just wanted to find out some stuff." I explain, laying a hand on his head. He looks at me.

*Very well.* He says as he turns so I'm standing at his shoulder. I grin as I climb onto his back.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hear someone question as soon as I sit down. I look, only to see Murtagh.

"Going for a ride!" I say, rolling my eyes. He sighs.

"You're going to get in trouble." Murtagh says, also rolling his eyes. I grin.

"I don't owe my loyalty to the Varden. I am merely staying here until I find a way to get back at the king for what he has done to me." I say, glaring in the direction of the Empire. Murtagh grins.

"No wonder everyone doubts you'vechanged! You have a really scary glare." Murtagh sas. I looking at him, grinning.

"You don't seem at all afraid." I say, looking him up and down. He shrugs.

"I've seen worse." He glares at me. "Of course, you already know that, don't you?" I shrug.

"Yeah, I do....wait!!" I look at him with wide eyes. He looks at me questioningly.

"What is it?" He asks. I look at Adrik, who merely nods. I look back at Murtagh.

"When you were at the king's palace, did you ever see a wall witha strange glowing symbol?" I ask, feeling stupid. He's quiet for a minute, then his eyes widen.

"Yeah! I remember!" Murtagh looks at me with a confused look. "Why?" He asks. I look at him.

"Because I could see one of them...." I say. He's quiet for a minute.

"But if you can see one of them then....." Murtagh stops talking, and looks at me with wide eyes. "Then you have to be related to one of them." He says. I look at Adrik with a 'WTF' look.

"I wonder what the hell I was doing in Palancar Valley if I'm related to one of the foresworn...." I mumble. Adrik growls, grabs Murtagh, and flies off.

"What the fuck!!" Murtagh shouts when we get into the air. I sigh.

*What in the world is wrong with you, Adrik?* I ask, holding on to the saddle for dear life.

*Someone was going to attack us!* Adrik says, projecting the thought to Murtagh as well. My eyes widen.

*Hey, Sher?* I hear a voice question in my mind. I sigh.

*What is it, Eragon?* I question, and hear his mental sigh.

*A few of the Varden's leaders would like to talk to you.* He says, sounding bored.

*All right, I'll be there in a few hours.* I say, not really caring.

*But...* Eragon begins.

*NO!! A few hours!* I snap before cutting the mental link.