Okay, so since I have read quite a few fanfictions and Murtagh has kidnapping girls left and right, I decided to follow in those footsteps, but add a new twist which probably isn't all that original, but orginality was never my strong point, so of course that's why I'm writing fanfictions! Anyway, this also was inspired from a story of mine that will never see the light of day, and also from a dream I had recently. Without further ado, I present Kiana's Story.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Inheritance series. I do own Kiana and Amethyst.
The wind whistled shrilly as it gusted through the tree, flattening the prairie grass. Dark gray clouds raced across the sky, ringing the promise of a heavy rainstorm.
Kiana pulled her hood farther over her head to protect it from the biting cold, and pressed her face against her horse's neck. Arrow's neck tossed, and he pranced nervously in the gathering storm. Even he could sense that something was wrong.
For the past day, it had felt as if Kiana was being followed, although every time she looked around, she had seen no one, and there was hardly anywhere for them to hide. However, the thought that she had a follower continued to put cramps in her abdomen, and she pulled the barriers around her mind even more tightly around herself, save for the link that connected her to Amethyst. She never wanted to be separated from her bonded dragon, even knowing that being in the Empire with her was taking an extremely dangerous risk.
There it was again – the nagging feeling of being followed, except it felt even stronger, and there almost seemed to be a tug in her mind, a tug not made by Amethyst.
Kiana clicked her heels into Arrow's dies, and he broke in a canter. She had already run him hard all day and there was sweat clinging to his golden body, but he pushed on anyway. It was his speed and reliability that had given him his name.
This brought on thoughts of home, and the farm, and the villagers, and images of Kiana's parents' faces, all memories that she angrily pushed away. Hurt and betrayal coursed through her blood as it always did when she thought of home.
Suddenly, a dark shadow passed over her head. Expecting to see a low-hanging cloud, Kiana glanced up, and her heart almost stopped.
A dragon as red as the sun at dusk soared over her. Its wings spread almost thirty feet on either side of its massive body, and Kiana could see saddle straps underneath its front legs and around its deep chest.
Fear constricted within Kiana, and Arrow, sensing her terror, broke into an all out gallop, trying to escape the monster above her.
Amethyst! Kiana called with her mind, Stay away! We might have been discovered!
Kiana, you need me! The dragon called back to her, Please let me confront whoever has shaken you so!
No! Fly as far away as you can from me, so that we can no longer sense each other!
Kiana…!
Go! It's them! They can't know about you!
Very well, I will go…please stay safe, Kiana…
I will, Kiana promised, if anything happens, you must fly to the Varden. Please tell them what happened, and aid them in their quest to defeat Galbatorix!
Stay safe…the last phrase was barely a murmur, and then there was silence within Kiana's mind.
The red dragon, that had effortlessly been keeping up with Arrow's frantic stride, with a roar that rivaled the howling wind, it dove down at Arrow and Kiana, snapping its jaws. It pulled up before it could physically harm either of them, but Arrow, utterly terrified, slammed to a stop and reared.
Crying out, Kiana was flung from his back. She tried to fling out her left hand to break her fall, but she fell heavily on the ground, and there was a sharp crack in her wrist that sent pain rippling through her body. With a groan, she attempted to pulled herself up, but her broken wrist sent a thousand complaints that kept her pinned to the ground. Her other arm was stuck out at a slightly awkward angle, her face was tilted to the side, leaving a crick in her neck. Meanwhile, she caught a glimpse of Arrow bolting away to the horizon.
Completely immobilized, Kiana could do nothing but listen to the sound of four heavy paws hitting the ground, sending painful vibration through the ground and her body. Then she heard a male voice grunt, and what sounded like two leather boot-clad feet hitting the ground, so she guessed that the dragon's Rider had dismounted. Then she heard the footsteps walk in her general direction.
Fear ledged in her heart like shards of ice. For Kiana knew exactly who the Dragon Rider was. And his dragon. It seemed so painfully ironic that she had been caught by the very people she had hoped to completely avoid. Alagaesia was a huge country, wasn't it? How was it that they somehow ended up in the same place at the same time?
Stop panicking, Kiana told herself, Just because the caught you it doesn't mean they know who you are. Just play it cool, don't let them in your mind, and they'll leave you alone. She tightened her mind's security even more, feeling pangs in her heart at Amethyst's absence.
They would be reunited again. She had to believe it.
The footsteps stopped about three feet away, and Kiana heard, "Well, well, what have we here?" he bent down to see her face. "What's a young woman doing on her own in the middle of nowhere?"
Uh-oh. He was already onto her. She decided to try to play it witty. "I wasn't on my own," she protested, her voice weak, "I had my horse until your dragon decided to scare him away!"
The Rider laughed for a moment. Then he stood up and bent down to help her up. He extended a hand that she took with her non-broken hand. As he pulled her to her feet he said, "We couldn't help but wonder why you were running from us." As he spoke, Kiana felt a mental jab at her consciousness, coming right from the Rider. It bounced right off her defenses, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to withstand many mental attacks of the same magnitude.
"Who wouldn't run from a big, scary, fire-breathing lizard with wings?" she said, brushing dirt off of her cloak and tunic with as much dignity as she could manage. She noticed that the Rider towered over her; she barely reached his chest.
He laughed again. "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves. My name is Murtagh, and this is Thorn, the dragon to whom I am bonded." He indicated the red dragon. "And you are…?"
"Kiana," she finished, "My name is Kiana…Arrasdaughter." She bit back the bitterness that threatened to overpower her voice at uttering her surname.
"And tell me, Kiana Arrasdaughter, where are you headed?" Murtagh asked, his voice creepily polite and gentlemanly. It was a voice that she wanted to recoil from, for it was a voice that wanted to seduce her into giving away all of her secrets. Another mental spear jabbed at her mind as he spoke, more powerful than the last. Another one and her defenses could be shattered like thin glass.
"My home is in Dras-Leona," she replied, "I was out riding, but when I saw the incoming weather I tried to turn back, ad I got lost. Tell me: how far away am I?"
"Dras-Leona? It's about two leagues from here." There was something twinkling in his eyes as he gazed at her. "Actually, Thorn and I were just heading there, if you would like a ride back, seeing as your horse has run away."
"That won't be necessary," she assured him, letting a touch of coldness color her voice. "I can find my own way back." She bent down and plucked a piece of grass from the ground. She pinched it between her thumb and forefinger (as her left thumb couldn't used without pain) and held it up to her mouth to blow into. A sweet sound came from the grass whistle as she played a tune specifically for Arrow, a little off because of her handicap, but he would recognize the tune.
When she finished, she heard an answering neigh. Feeling satisfied, she turned to face Murtagh and his dragon…and they weren't there.
So they bought my story, she realized, and she sighed in relief.
Suddenly, a hand clamped down on her upper right arm, and another on her broken wrist. It forced her hand upward, exposing the silvery circle in her hand. Stifling a scream of pain, Kiana glanced behind her to see Murtagh smiling in triumph at the gedwey ignasia.
"I knew it," he muttered into her ear, "As soon as I first tried to touch your mind. You really need to work on those defenses of yours."
Shocked, Kiana realized the truth. Protecting herself so strongly for heavy attack, she had not prepared herself for those tiny tendrils of thought that could just slip around her iron walls. Murtagh had distracted her with a large mental probe, but then managed to slip in undetected. He had been in her mind the whole time!
Terrified, Kiana struggled, trying to jerk away from him. He responded by twisting her wrist, causing a pained sob to burst through her clenched teeth. He then hooked the arm holding her wrist around her chest, drawing her closer to him and allowing him to hold her securely.
"Galbatorix will be pleased," he continued into her ear, "He's had soldiers scouring Alagaesia, looking for you, after that village he had burned down refused to give away your whereabouts…"
Kiana stopped struggling. The village that betrayed her, that had called her a witch and cast her out, had burned down in her defense. She didn't know whether to be happy or even angrier. Tears slid down her face, causing the cold to sting her eyes. "Please let me go," she begged in a whisper.
"I can't do that," he answered, "My orders from Galbatorix were to find you and bring you to him alive. After that…well, your fate is up to you."
Kiana shook her head, still crying. "I'll never join him," she said in a hollow voice. "I'll die first."
"We'll have to see," he answered, "At any rate, we won't need to bring you to Uru'baen until we track down and capture your dragon. You can make it so much easier for both of you if you just tell us your dragon's whereabouts."
"Never," Kiana whispered. She couldn't betray Amethyst like that.
"We'll talk about this again later," Murtagh promised in a sinister voice. "Until then, sleep tight. Slytha."
The last thing Kiana remembered was falling into Murtagh's strong arms.