A/N Alright, this is my first real story here so please don't be insanely harsh. I know this chapter seems weird but it should get better farther in. And Aiden might seem really Mary-sue right now but she is definitely not going to save the world or instantly win anyone's heart or suddenly be best friends with any of the main characters. In the summary I say she's a rider and she will be soon but that doesn't mean she's going to be way more powerful than -or even as powerful as – Eragon.

Disclaimer: I really wish it was mine but no.

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Aiden Otho bit down on her lip until her teeth met in the middle of it as the whip came down on her back once again. 'Why can't you just give in?' a deceptively casual voice asked from off to her left. 'It would make life so much easier for both of us.'

Aiden winced as the whip came down again and turned as far as she could to her left to glare at the man towering over her thin and bleeding form. Which wasn't very far because she was laying face down on the floor with her wrists and ankles pinned by magic. 'Will the standard answer suffice or do you wish an elaborate speech, master?'

The man's face contorted in anger and the force of the whip on her back increased before stopping for a second. But her punishment was far from done and one of the man's boots made sharp contact with her ribs. The boot hit her side repeatedly until they both heard something crack and Aiden started coughing up blood. Then the kicking stopped.

'I don't know why you continue to resist your destiny child. You belong to me; even your pathetic mother's curses cannot break a life-bond. You will face your fate or die here one day. All it would take is for you to reach out to one of the dragon eggs and let it hatch for you.' The man growled.

'And let you take over Surda and crush the Varden? I think not.' Aiden laughed coldly.

The man roared and grabbed her by the throat. He canceled the bonds holding Aiden to the floor and slammed her against the cold stone wall, holding her so that her toes barely brushed the floor. Aiden couldn't restrain the scream that came when her raw back hit the wall. The man leaned close to her so that she had to look into his eyes; cold, heartless, unfeeling eyes that were so much like her own in all but color.

'Insolent, worthless girl! Why can you not see the benefit that the Varden's defeat will bring to the Empire?' He yelled at her.

'A twisted empire ruled by an insane man who would kill his own family to gain power.' Aiden choked out as evenly as she could with his hand around her throat. 'You are not a king nor are you a father.'

Galbatorix's hand tightened around her throat, 'Oh, but I am and you will see that someday soon or you will suffer the same fate as all the other traitors. You are a pathetic, worthless child who does not understand the truth of things. You have lived so far only through my good grace, else you would have died as a child, but that will not last forever. If you continue to disobey me you will die, your life is worth nothing if you cannot be useful.'

'You might as well kill me now then, I will not help you.' Aiden challenged. Galbatorix's eyes flashed with something unidentifiable for a second, and then he raised a hand and whispered something that she couldn't hear. A ball of fire formed around his fist and he raised it above her head, 'Do it then.' Her voice remained even and relatively controlled, as if she was not the one only seconds from death. The same thing flashed in Galbatorix's eyes again and he lowered his fist and let the fire fade away. Aiden looked almost disappointed but her face quickly cleared. 'I thought not, even the Great King Galbatorix has a weakness.'

And then his fist was smashing into her face and her head was slamming into the wall so hard that stars danced in her vision. Galbatorix dropped Aiden and turned away to call the servant waiting just outside. Aiden slid down the wall and fell flat on her face, coughing up blood and shaking from the pain that every breath caused.

Someone carefully slipped an arm around Aiden and lifted her into a sitting position against the wall. A familiar face came into her field of vision accompanied by a soft voice making reassuring noises that she couldn't understand, that was about when the world cutout.

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Aiden woke up hours later in her own bed several floors above the dungeon where she had been tortured. There was a soft rumbling coming from somewhere near her feet and slowly migrating towards her head until a small black and white cat appeared beside her and butted his head against her hand as if to ask for attention.

-I see you're finally awake, sleepyhead. - A male voice sounded inside Aiden's head.

'Shut it, you.' Aiden mumbled to the cat, whose name was actually Gigi. 'I have a headache. Go get Sarri.'

The cat ran from the room and returned seconds later with a brown haired, blue-eyed servant girl. The same one who had helped her in the dungeons and also one of the few people in the castle Aiden trusted. 'What time is it?' Aiden demanded while trying to sit up.

'Seven in the evening, my lady.' Sarri replied. She rushed forward to help Aiden sit the rest of the way, careful to avoid touching her bandaged back and ribs. 'His Majesty demands you be at dinner promptly at eight. I tried to get you excused but he does not seem to care that he almost killed you, your highness.'

Aiden smiled faintly, 'It's all right Sarri, I doubt he'd care if he did kill me. As for dinner, I'll just suffer through it like always; just make sure everything's ready when I get back. And don't call me my lady.'

'You can't wish to continue with the plan with such injuries Aiden. You'll be half dead if you even manage to get out of the city. Stay at least until you're healed.' Sarri said, looking absolutely horrified.

'I can't Sarri and you know it. I might be half dead when I get out of here but I'll definitely be dead if I stay any longer. I can't stop one of the eggs from hatching for me much longer, and then Galbatorix will have all he needs to win what war there is with the Varden.' Aiden said harshly, 'Do you want to spend the rest of your life as a slave here or do you want to see our world free? I have to go Sarri; the Varden is all that's left of the resistance. The people are withering under Galbatorix's rule, their will is broken, they will not fight unless they have a powerful leader.'

'And you think you can be this leader?' Sarri demanded, her eyes filling with tears. 'You think that you can lead them to victory? All you will do is get yourself killed! You are bound to the king; even you cannot escape his magic for long.'

Aiden's expression softened slightly. 'No, Sarri, I don't think I can be their leader. But it is my wyrda to find the one that can be. And as for Galbatorix's magic, I'm not stupid. I know I cannot avoid his rage for long, even far away from here he will find me. But I can still bear his torture for gods know how long and keep him from finding out anything useful. I don't need forever, just long enough.'

'I know my lady, but I worry for what lengths he will go to in order to get you back' Sarri admitted softly.

'Well, let's not think about that now, dear one, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Help me get ready for dinner and then find everything I'll need for tonight.' Aiden said. Her mouth tugging into the faintest of half smiles.

And so Sarri helped Aiden out of the soft night shirt the healers had put her in after bandaging her wounds and into a beautiful blood red dress with long sleeves to hide her wounds and a black bodice. While Sarri laced up the back of the dress Aiden brushed wavy two-inch past shoulder length blonde hair and tied it in a bun at the back of her head.

'I'm done, Aiden.' Sarri's voice broke Aiden out of her thoughts and she turned to face the other girl. 'You look beautiful, my lady.'

Aiden laughed and shook her head. 'Not nearly as much as you.'

And it was true, at almost sixteen Aiden might be very pretty, but she wasn't traditionally beautiful. She was as tall as most boys and built of lean muscle, though thin and relatively curvy; her hair was thick and honey-blonde in color, but when it caught the light at the right angle it had silver tints, and the ends of her hair were midnight black; upper lip length bangs fell to cover her left eye, which glinted silver in the candle light; Aiden's silver iris's were rimmed by a thin band of black on the outside and a band of blood red around the pupil; her bottom lip was slightly fuller than the top, giving her the faintest of pouts and had faint scars from being bitten through to many times to count; her skin was lightly tanned and dry from being outside for long periods of time; her eyebrows were dark and prone to trying to disappear into her hair; and her nose had been broken before. All things considered the elves would have considered her one of the more attractive humans and she certainly got second glances from most men but she was oddly otherworldly and Sarri definitely outmatched her for normal human beauty.

Sarri herself was of normal height with straight hair, shining eyes, and stunning curves. She was probably the most beautiful woman in the castle and all the visiting ladies hated her for it. But she always insisted that Aiden was prettier, as a servant she was uncomfortable thinking of herself as better than her mistress. 'Don't be silly, you look like an elf standing there. You're so much like your mother I could almost believe that she was standing before me again.'

Aiden smiled, her mother had been the only elf Galbatorix managed to capture during the war. Her name had been Addia and she had sworn never to reveal anything to Galbatorix, but over the years he had fallen in a twisted love with her and she had been forced to marry him. A year after Aiden had been born Addia had killed herself because Galbatorix had been close to breaking the oaths she had taken in the ancient language. 'I wish.'

And then the smile was gone. 'I'd better hurry if I'm to get to dinner on time. Gods know what he'd do to me if I was late.'

Sarri blanched, 'Yes, hurry. I'll take care of everything so that you can just rest when you get back.'

Aiden nodded and then turned and rushed out the heavy oak doors to that led into the hall. She made her way through a maze of corridors until she found the door she was looking for. The doors into the private dining hall that Galbatorix used for dinners with Aiden were ornately carved and Aiden wished she could spend all day staring at them instead of going into the dining hall and facing the monster that it held.

-Go on, Aiden. The sooner this is finished the sooner we can leave. - Gigi had followed her from her room and was standing beside her, facing the door.

Aiden sighed before reaching out one hand to knock. 'Come in.' Boomed a voice from the other side of the door. With a wince Aiden pushed the door open and entered.

End Chapter One

Alright people this is my first real story here so advice would be appreciated. Constructive criticism is welcome but if you hate it enough to bother flaming please just stop reading.