Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. Absolutely NUH-thing. Except for the OCs.
Murtagh strolled down the path and leaned over to pick a rose. He smiled half-heartedly, remembering that he was scheduled to meet all the lords and ladies of the Empire that afternoon, a boring and uneventful business. Little did he know how the meeting would change his life.
"Ah, there you are, Murtagh,"came Galbatorix's smooth, snake-like voice. "We were waiting for you!"Murtagh shuddered and took his place next to the black king, eyes cast down."Now, Lady Nasuada, as I was saying, you haven't paid your taxes. Would you care to explain why this...lapse in your memory has occurred?"the king's voice was smooth, but Murtagh could recognise a strain of anger beneath. Pitying it's recipient, he glanced up at her. She had ebony-black skin, dark eyes and long, lush hair that cascaded all around her in a tumbling waterfall. She paid no attention to him and instead faced the king, her lips tugging upwards into a lazy smile.
"Sir, the Varden have been attacking Feinster and we have been forced to fight them on our own, without the much needed help from the royal army, thus expending the crops and other things we would sell to pay the taxes. That... Is why we have failed to pay the yearly taxes, sir," she said in a sly tone. Her voice reminded Murtagh of a forest, with its soft rustlings that concealed the danger hidden inside.
Galbatorix's face hardened."Are you implying that this is my fault that you did not pay your due to me for keeping the peace?"There was an audible intake of breath from the counts and countesses sitting around the king.
Lady Nasuada seemed amused, if morbidly so."No, my lord, I was simply explaining why we did not contribute to the cache of treasure you obtain from us."
Murtagh's face retained its blank facade, but inside he was really full of admiration. She's put Galbatorix in a dangerous position. If he answers wrongly, he could risk alienating our supporters, he thought.
Only then did the governor of Feinster turn her amber eyes to meet his blue-gray ones. Something flashed across them, but was gone so fast he doubted that he had seen it at all.
Nasuada heaved a sigh of relief as the seething monarch chose to keep silent and turn to Lord Risthart of Teirm. She knew that she had been playing with fire when she had teased him, but she could not afford to pay the taxes, not when it would endanger her subjects. They had served her well, and she would not betray them.
Her eyes, for some reason, kept returning to the dark-haired man sitting next to Galbatorix. The Red Rider... She had heard of him, and had expected him to be a hard, cruel man who had amassed a veritable collection of scars. She had not expected him to be handsome and yet, with all his charms, look so sad.
I would if I had to serve the black king as well, She decided.
Startled from her thoughts by Galbatorix announcing that the meeting was over, Nasuada sighed again. She would have to scrounge up some money to pay the taxes the next time they met, or blood would be spilled, she knew. Gathering up the skirts of her crimson-red dress, she stepped daintily out of the chamber, hot and stuffy with the stench of men's bodies. Her handmaid, Farica, and her guards, the Nighthawks, stepped out of the shadows and escorted her into the courtyard.
"Finally!"Nasuada gasped. Out of the web of politics, she could finally relax. Her maid and guards gave her some privacy and stood away at the side, watching for danger. She sat on the edge of a fountain and closed her eyes.
She started as a hand on her side pulled her away from her reverie. She looked up to see the Red Rider.
Sorry! It's almost a page, but it's hard to find inspiration for this chapter because I already said what I wanted to say, and because I wanted to end this chapter with this cliffhanger. Review and I'll update sooner! I'm not asking for much, just five or six reviews before I update. This is my first real chaptered story, so I may be a little inexperienced.