I watch. I wait.

The sound of the elf's labored breathing fills the small distance between us. Once again, Eragon and I stand eye-to-eye, the advantage of the situation in my favor. His stance is awkward; I had dealt him a blow to the hip earlier… yet he never stayed down for longer than a second. His dragon, Saphira, stands strong behind him – growls come now and then, to be challenged by one behind me.

Many times, he moves his lips as if to say something, yet he always catches himself before he could continue. Judging from the flicking of his eyes, he is conversing rapidly with his dragon.

I give him a few more moments, before pulling the elf up, startling him extremely.

"Murtagh…"

He seems a little more forward, now that the silence and stillness were broken. Tentatively raising his arm toward me, he whispers three words:

"Please… release her."

I frown at this statement, not knowing him to give up this easily. My gaze instead shifted to the elf in my arm. Arya – I do remember clearly – as we had embarked on that journey for our lives toward the Varden.

She was a powerful woman – thus it became my initiative to eliminate her first. It did not occur to me that Eragon would react differently.

"Why?" I pressed.

"Because…" he starts, hesitating.

"Because she's a friend of yours," I supplied, watching emotions flicker across his face. He was never good at hiding his feelings.

"I…," he replies, breaking off. At this, I merely chuckled as I drew my blade, pressing it to her throat. The blue dragon roars and bellows flame, amidst Eragon's screams – yet the flame is shielded by Thorn, who retaliates with his own fire.

"Murtagh…" he pleads, sounding more desperate, "please…"

"It's such a shame to see a Dragon Rider pleading. By hesitating you are already showing weakness, Eragon."

"Just… keep her out of this! This is between us!"

"Indeed, yet she chose to interfere… she made her own choice," I said. Eragon grits his teeth, his hands forming into fists for every moment that the elf lay in my arm. I finally turn and sheath my blade and lay her down on the ground, much to his surprise.

"If holding her makes you whine all the while… then I think I'd rather abandon the idea of holding her captive right in front of you. Though… that doesn't mean I'm giving her back," I shot at him, standing up. Pulling Zar'roc from within my robes, I prod the rock near me, making small, clinking sounds.

He breathed deeply before drawing his own sword. Behind me, Thorn's muscles tense just as Saphira's back arched.

The battle commenced.

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I fire blasts of magic from Thorn's back, effortlessly blocking Eragon's as well. We had gained the upper hand in the battle, once again due to the damage we had inflicted earlier.

Eragon counters with his sword, forcing Thorn to drop me off just as we neared the ground. He caught a draft that brought him back into the air, but as he leveled off Saphira shot toward me like a serpent.

I quickly create a wedge force in the space, effectively flinching the blue dragon and tossing Eragon from her back, twenty feet in the air. His body smashes into the rock, I hear the crunch of bones breaking just as I protect myself from the gusts of wind from Thorn's wing beats. Saphira lands heavily beside him, fear clear in her eyes.

"Still not enough, Eragon. Still not enough…"

He groans audibly as I approach him. Almost immediately, a terrible, feral snarling noise emanates from his dragon, her blue wings forming an impenetrable wall between the two of us.

You bastard! she roars at me, driving through my mental defenses. Thorn joins the mental battle, struggling and shoving against her weight, shifting the power from her vast mind to my sheltered one. Through their struggle I sensed shards of pain through their mental link. Taking action, I sever their link temporarily and whispered a few words of the ancient language.

Seconds later, the blue dragon let out an anguished howl, before falling apart, twitching on the rocky ground. Her brows met as she struggled against invisible bonds, trying to return to her rider, who was now lying in a pool of bloody crimson.

I turn around, retuning to the elf. Her breathing continued to be labored, and now she started shivering against the wind.

I shift myself to shelter her from the unforgiving gale. Taking out a small bottle, I pop open the cover and pour clear liquid unto my hand.

Thorn watches silently as I pass my thumb over her neck, muttering to myself. A red glow lights her up momentarily, before subsiding. Finally, I sit her up, brushing the strands away from her face. I whisper a few words into her ear, before carrying her to the shade of the rock Eragon had smashed into.

I say a few more words of the ancient tongue before turning to Thorn.

'You did what was right.'

'As long as you and I live…'

'I already know.'

I nodded. For once, I turned in silent prayer to gods unknown as I adjust the saddle on my dragon. Images of the past flash through my mind – from the time I shared Saphira's saddle with Eragon to the moment that Thorn chose me to be his rider. I shared with him a quiet pity for his state… Thorn's abnormal body growth would never do him well until Galbatorix released us.

…If he ever will.

'Murtagh.'

'What?'

'You haven't given up hope, have you?'

I grip myself tighter to him, leaning for support.

'Never.'

I could feel a sad smile coming upon him as he raised himself and walked toward Eragon, Saphira and Arya.

'After all… in the darkest times, hope is something we give ourselves'.

'I know that.'

'Mm. But young one…'

I shift my gaze to the gleaming red scales on his back. He turns his head and a weary eye stares back at me.

'Don't you think we should give him some hope, too?'

My eyes dart toward Eragon, blood still pouring from his arm, unconscious on the rock. Agony crossed lines across his face as he struggled with the pain. The same pain, I realized, that I had once gone through.

Thorn was right – he always was.

"Waíse… heill."

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A/N: Okay, so I know this seemed a little weird. Actually, Arya's involvement here was for Murtagh to discover Eragon's strength and weakness, and greatest, most trusted ally - at the same time, he passed over some information to her, which he couldn't give directly to Eragon with the oaths he and Thorn made. After, they both hope that this effort would go unnoticed, and hope that this effort would free them of their bonds someday.

Read and review – and tell me what you think!