AN: here's the revised version of Requiem of a Dream. I have worked really hard on this so I hope you like it. to all my Fans, dont worry I will still be posting the original version without any edits because I have already written them and I dont want the people who enjoyed the original who dont like this version to miss out. this chapter is dedicated to Sparklegirl and not Lisa because she killed Gabble (HOw dare you Lisa!).
I was standing with my fellow slaves, the cold winter wind chilling me to the bone, my thin cotton dress was giving me little protection in this harsh climate but still I was thankful that I had it. My arms and legs, from the knees down, were not so lucky, exposed to the freezing temperature with no form of covering at all. We had been standing in the freezing courtyard for the past few hours, not allowed to move from our spots and left to starving. Early that morning we had been dragged from our beds and forced outside. Some of the other slaves were still silently crying, the horror of our master's death still affecting them. The sight of him dying didn't hurt me as much as it did for my fellows; I rarely was forced into his presence. I was mainly forced to work in the kitchens, cleaning the muck and killing rats.
I was staring off into the cloudy skies, searching for where I knew our transport was going to be coming from, when I suddenly felt a sharp prod in my back. I fell forward onto the ground, my hands reaching out to break my fall but they could do nothing to protect me from the puddle of mud I landed in, my thick blonde hair creating a curtain around my face. Despite the muck on my hands I pushed the hair away, wishing I had a band to keep it out of my way. I looked up from my spot on the ground and glared up at the Ra'zac that had pushed me. He stared down at me, a large cattle prod in his hand, the end shining slightly from the magic he had used to shock me. I lifted my less messy hand and did my best to wipe the grime out of my eyes. The creature stared down at me, its sharp beak twitching. He spat at me, just missing the hemline of my dress, it then turned and joined its brethren over at the Platform, leaving me lying in a pool of mud and cursing him under my breath.
Once the Ra'zac's focus was on the platform and his fellows, the other slaves leapt into action. Pulling me up by the armpits and doing their best to clean me off, staying just as silent as me. We all knew what the punishment would be if we disturbed our masters with our screams and talking; beatings and starvation for a week. Once I was clean as I could be, which wasn't that clean, I took my place back in line. We were being relocated. The master we had been serving for my whole life had been executed by Galbatorix after he tried to help the Varden. We were going to another castle somewhere; we didn't know the details, who would waste their time talking to lowly slaves?
After another hour waiting in the freezing cold our transport finally arrived. The lethrblaka descended in a great gust of wind, almost pushing me and others over. Once they were settled the Ra'zac scuttled forward to hook them up to the harnesses that attached them to the platform. The harnesses were specially designed and arranged so there was a lethrblaka at each corner and one on either side. This allowed them to lift the platform into the air and carry it to its destination in little time at great speeds. The platform itself was made of wood and metal with tall heavy fences that protected you from falling off and dying. Not that anyone cared if you did. I had never ridden in one but I had seen them arrive and depart on multiple occasions, mainly transporting new slaves here and there. Once everything was secured my line of slaves was led inside then our shackles were tied to rails. The rails were more of an afterthought in the design of the platform. Originally they weren't there but after slaves started jumping off the sides they were installed. Soon we were all strapped in and the Ra'zac were in their positions at the guard stations at each corner. With a great push off we were in the air, the lethrblaka moving in unison as they flew towards our destination.
Once we had finished ascending the air began to get colder and we shuffled closer together. The guards around us seemed to take no notice as we struggled to keep warm and alive. I could feel my eyes getting heavy and my mind sluggish, black spots danced around the corners of my eyes. Around me I could feel others drifting off into the realm of sleep and this drove me to stay awake, the thought of them never waking scared me and I forced myself to shrug off the shroud of sleep that had slowly been embracing me. I stared out into the sky and rubbed my arms, trying to distract myself but there was nothing of interest there. My search continued until finally I noticed a speck in the distance, one that seemed to be getting bigger by the second. The guards must have also spotted the speck because they all pulled their weapons out and tensed up. The lethrblaka continued on their path, giving no indication they noticed the it.
As we moved closer I realised that it was in fact a flying animal, I froze for a while imagining that it could be a lethrblaka that had rebelled and was planning on attacking its family but soon enough we got even closer and I could see that it was actually a dragon. My heart felt like it stopped as I stared in marvel at the deep blue dragon, on its back I could just make out what appeared to be a group of humans riding it. I forced myself onto my knees to get a better look over the wooden fence. Around me the other slaves began stir slightly by the action and tense atmosphere but didn't wake.
Soon the dragon was upon us. A great blast of fire rained down, by some miracle missing me and the other slaves but managing to hit a few of the Ra'zac. The dragon turned and made another pass, this time instead of attacking with fire, all the humans on its back, except one, leapt off to engage the Ra'zac in sword fighting.
The dragon, now relieved of its passengers, began to attack the lethrblaka. When it first began to charge them I was almost fainted with fear, they wanted us all to die? But when it charged the lethrblaka it didn't touch it, only distracted it slightly, it seemed to be trying to slow them down. This was going well except there was one serious side effect, the platform was beginning to shake and sway with all the action around it. I gripped my shackles tightly, praying they wouldn't break. Someone must have had something against me because this didn't work because only moments after I began praying there was a large jerk of the platform and my shackles broke, leaving me falling into the skies with no hope of rescue.
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