AN: Wootiness! It's finally up! And I only made you people wait a week! Incidentally, if you haven't read "Taize," you don't really need to have read the whole thing to understand what's going on, but you should probably at least read Chapter 15. Basically, Taize was a slave in Galbatorix's palace until she escaped and managed to steal the last dragon egg. And then she did something really stupid and got herself captured. Oh yeah, and the egg that she's been carrying around with her just hatched. That just might be important for you to know. So yeah. R&R!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Murtagh, Galbatorix, or any of the other characters in Inheritance. I also don't own the seventh paragraph of this chapter. I copied it directly from the book (except for substituting the gender pronouns). It's in the chapter "Awakening," at the top of page 39, at least in my version of the book.

Edit: Yeah. Seriously. Don't read the entire thing of Taize. I just reread it myself, and it SUCKS. (Bangs head on keyboard.) Chapter 15 is fine, but the rest… Argh. BAD. So until I get the time to do a major revision, just read 15, or you'll think I'm a terrible writer and not want to read C'koro.

Chapter One
Murtagh

"I'll be back," the man said, and walked out the door, shutting it securely behind him.

Taize felt like punching the wall again. Damn it! Here she was, a Rider, for Alagaësia's sake, and she couldn't even get past one stupid door! Of course, she knew it wasn't just one door that she'd need to get through. Galbatorix wouldn't be about to let the last egg – well, the last Rider and her dragon, now – slip through his grasp again.

The baby dragon, who she had almost forgotten about in her frustration, let out a loud squeak. She felt resentful towards it for a moment; after all, the dragon had chosen her, not the other way around. She was a little mad that she'd had no say in the matter.

But as the hatchling squawked again, her irritation faded. It wasn't the dragon's fault that it had hatched under less-than-perfect circumstances. The dragon let out another squeak, and she sighed. "What do you want, you overgrown little lizard?" she asked it affectionately.

It squawked again, this time in indignation, and turned its head to look at her. Those eyes… They were… intelligent, was the only word she could think of. It unnerved her a little. "You can understand me?"

It didn't answer, but squeaked again, and she finally realized what it wanted. "Oh! You're hungry, aren't you?" She rummaged through her bag, which was difficult with only one hand, but she finally managed to find what she was looking for. She still had some dried fish from Nezjy's boat, and as she pulled it out, the dragon bumped its head against her broken hand, like a cat wanting to be petted. She dropped the fish, and the dragon snapped it up, but Taize didn't notice.

A blast of icy energy surged into her hand and raced up her arm, burning in her veins like liquid fire. She fell back with a wild cry. An iron clang filled her ears, and she heard a soundless scream of rage. Every part of her body seared with pain. She struggled to move, but was unable to. After what seemed like hours, warmth seeped back into her limbs, leaving them tingling. Shivering uncontrollably, she pushed herself upright. Her hand was numb, her fingers paralyzed. Alarmed, she watched as the middle of her palm shimmered and formed a diffused white oval. The skin itched and burned like a spider bite. Her heart pounded frantically.

It was almost as though a secret compartment in her mind had suddenly been opened. The feeling was familiar somehow, but she couldn't quite… The voice! When she had escaped the palace, there had been a voice in her head. That was what this… connection felt like. She realized suddenly that she could speak to the dragon with her mind.

If I touch you again, will it hurt? she asked.

The dragon sent her a feeling of incomprehension. "So you don't know what I'm saying," she told it aloud.

"Well, he is still just a baby. You have to give him pictures, or feelings." Taize jumped at the sound of the voice. Apparently, the man had come back while she was preoccupied with the dragon. "I brought some food for him," he continued, "but apparently he isn't hungry anymore."

"How would you know?"

"If he still wanted food, he'd still be squawking like there was no tomorrow."

"You seem to know a lot about dragons."

He didn't answer, but entered her cell. She glared at him warily, but didn't move away as before. "I'm just going to splint your arm," he said. "No need to get hostile." He put a subtle emphasis on the last word, as if he was mocking her, as if she was so little of a threat that hostile was much too intense of a word to describe her.

However, he showed surprising gentleness when he was putting on the splint, which puzzled her. So biting and sarcastic one moment, but kind the next.

"Come on," he said. "And bring your dragon." He opened the cell door.

Taize picked up the dragon gingerly with her good arm, careful of the ash-colored spikes on its back. It hummed contentedly.

"Don't bother trying to escape," added the man as she stepped out into the hallway.

She almost snorted. Yeah, right. She'd just follow him, unbound, and not even attempt to get away. She'd let him lead her outside, then she'd make a run for it.

"That won't work," he said, startling her.

"What won't work?"

"Your so-called escape plan. Frankly, I'm surprised you think I'm so idiotic that I would actually allow you to escape. Even you should know that if the king himself sent me to get the last dragon egg, I'm not a complete dunderhead."

"It was worth a shot," she mumbled, slightly embarrassed and very confused. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

He smirked. "Your mind is completely defenseless. It's like an open book, practically begging someone to read it."

"Is that what you did?" she asked, horrified. "You read my mind?"

"It's not the same thing," he sighed. He sounded as though he was talking to a small child. He probably would have gone into greater detail, but at that moment, they emerged from wherever it was Taize had been held. She didn't stop to look back, however, because right in front of her was a magnificent ruby-red dragon. Its scales caught the bright sunlight, making the dragon's hide look even more brilliant than it would have been normally.

"Holy crap," she said, awed.

"Subtle," remarked the man sarcastically. Taize realized that he must be another Rider.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Murtagh," the Rider said, "and this is Thorn."

"That didn't answer my question."

"I know."

Taize was exasperated. It was completely impossible to get any information whatsoever out of this man – Murtagh. "Where are we going?" she asked. Perhaps he would at least answer that.

"Urû'baen," he replied succinctly.

"What?!"

"You really are stupid, aren't you?" Now he was the one who was exasperated. "Where else would we be going? You're the last Rider in Alagaësia. The king wants to see you." Taize could have sworn she heard him add, under his breath, "you dolt."

"Well, forgive me if I'm not quite thinking clearly right now. I've just had the last dragon in the world hatch for me, which for most people would be a time of great joy. But for me, of course, it only serves to make me more miserable!" She glared at Murtagh with fiery intensity, but it only seemed to amuse him. Then his face darkened.

"You have no idea what misery is," he said softly.

"Oh, really? Have you ever been a slave? Have you ever lived every single day knowing that the value of your life is measured in crowns? Knowing that to the rest of them, you're not even a human being?"

Murtagh didn't seem remotely affected by her outburst. "If you thought you were a slave then, just wait until we get to the capital." Skepticism was plain on Taize's face. "I'm not going to wasted time arguing with you," Murtagh said. "You'll find out for yourself soon enough."

"I'm not going back. You can't make me."

Murtagh sighed. "Now you just sound like a three-year-old. And if you try anything, I will, as you so aptly put it, 'make you.' Now come, we should have left five minutes ago. And before you ask yet another stupid question, we're riding on Thorn."

"What about my dragon? He can't fly yet… Can he?"

"No. He can ride in one of Thorn's saddlebags, as long as we keep this journey short. Soon enough he'll be up to your waist."

Taize sensed her dragon's unease as she neared Thorn, but she sent him reassuring thoughts of comfort, trying not to let her own growing panic seep across their mental link. She was going back to the capital, back to the place of all of her worst memories, the place of her childhood – if, indeed, it could be called a childhood.

Not to mention the fact that the last time she had actually seen the king, she had insulted him. And of course, stealing the egg wasn't exactly the most ingratiating thing she could have done. She doubted she could escape Galbatorix's wrath entirely even if she begged on her knees for mercy and swore her loyalty to him.

No, she was not looking forward to returning to Urû'baen.

AN: Not bad (lengthwise, at least) for the first chapter, huh? REVIEW! If you do, I will love you forever! (And I won't sic Barney on you. Mwahahahahahaha!)