-1

Title : Journey Westward (1/?)
Author : Amy Shinomori
Characters : Murtagh, Galbatorix, Eragon, Saphira, Thorn, Angela, Solembum, Elva.
Rating : R.
Disclaimer : own them,heh ? Still not…
Warnings : slash
Notes : Sequel to The pros and cons of Breathing. Set after eldest. Murtagh is still prisoner of Galbatorix… Eragon swore to avenge Hrothgar by killing him.

Journey Westward

Corrupting Morzan had not been as easy as story-tellers made it sound, those days; for the first of the Forsworn had not always been the power-hungry brute that he had been under the King's reign…

For one thing, Morzan had never liked Galbatorix before the Fall. They had never gotten along. Morzan was too occupied with his young follower, then… Brom… what a fool the boy had been.

True, Morzan had never been a model of kindness or compassion… but he had never been very ambitious either. He was lazy and ridiculously nonchalant and talkative… and he liked to fight… more than anything in the world, he liked to swirl his sword and use his muscles.

He liked his Dragon, too… Amaidan. A huge red beast with eyes the colour of burning coal and fangs the size of long swords. Morzan and his Dragon friend had always displayed a ridiculously strong affection for each other… to the young Rider, nothing was more important than his Dragon…

'At the very least, I know that Amaidan will never betray me… unlike some of my fellow Riders that would probably pay a good amount of gold to have me killed…'

And he had been right…

Morzan was arrogant and he had an uncanny capacity to make enemies amongst his own people…

…but he could be funny and charming when he wanted to be.

And more than that, he was strong and powerful… more so than almost any one else in Ellesmera.

…this was probably what attracted Brom to him in the first place… and then, later, Galbatorix himself.

Morzan had a kind of magnetic aura around him… he radiated wits and confidence.

…and he was attractive… very attractive. Something in his slow manners and short temper appealed to both Brom and Galbatorix.

Morzan and his eternal luscious black hair and lazy smiles. Morzan and his dark, shadowed green-eyes and his pale, closely shaven skin. Morzan and his strong, warm hands on their skins…

Brom had been a kind of recluse before he met Morzan… he spent all his time in his books, reading and studying, or training with Andromis, his mentor.

Then, one day, Morzan stumbled across one of Brom's training session…

Galbatorix was there… he saw the sparkle of interest in the slightly younger Rider's intense green eyes. Saw the flash of a smile flourish on his red, slightly plump lips as he watched Brom unarm his opponent with a flicker of his wrist.

Morzan had laughed then… a mirthful, sincere bark of laugher as he took a few steps towards the middle of the training grounds where Brom stood, staring at him as if he had lost his mind. Morzan just grinned and clapped Brom on the shoulder, wordlessly congratulating the fourteen-year old boy on his 'victory'.

Galbatorix had never seen Brom smile before then… it had been priceless.

The smile was awkward but pleasant nonetheless and it even brought some light to the boy's usually blank hazel eyes.

From then on, Morzan had taken it upon himself to train Brom personally, teaching him everything he knew with no restriction whatsoever.

The truth was, it unnerved Galbatorix greatly to see the both of them getting along so well when all his attempts at befriending the dark-haired Rider had failed miserably.

Throughout the years that followed, jealousy had slowly burned it's way into the older Rider's heart…

As Brom and Morzan became closer, Galbatorix grew more and more arrogant and power-hungry… he was Twenty and therefore one of the oldest Dragon-riders in Ellesmera.

At the age of seventeen, Morzan was now old enough to join the rest of the Riders on patrols but still an apprentice. Brom, fifteen by the time he completed the second level of his apprenticeship, was pretty far from their level but still spent most of his days trailing behind Morzan, following his elder around like a lost puppy, his eyes brimming with awe.

…it made Galbatorix sick to see the boy so open and trusting. He couldn't keep himself from harassing Brom every chance he got, stealing his boots so he wouldn't be on time for his training with Andromis, shoving him into the mud-covered floor of the training grounds just so he would get into troubles for not bathing before he went to his master… but every time, Galbatorix made sure that Morzan wasn't there to witness it.

For although he was strong and powerful, no one, not even Galbatorix himself, could anger Morzan and still keep enough teeth to tell the tale.

… and everyone knew that Morzan had a soft spot for Brom.

On the day of the latter's sixteenth birthday, Galbatorix planned to find him out and lock him up somewhere underground just to spoil his fun. But upon arriving at the younger boy's favourite spot in the forest that surrounded the training grounds, Galbatorix stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes so wide and his jaw hanging so low that he was sure anyone within ten feet could have seen his uvula dancing the carioca.

… he couldn't help it though, really, because right in front of him, no more than a dozen feet ahead, Morzan was pressing Brom down against a tree, kissing him with such uncharacteristic tenderness and caution that the boy had to struggle to keep his knees from buckling.

Finally gathering his wits, Galbatorix balled his fists tightly and clenched his jaw, his eyes glaring daggers at the two younger riders…

Delaes ! he cried within his mind, feeling his temper rising but knowing he would achieve nothing just standing here, watching as the two other boys shared what he assumed was their first kiss.

Yes, young one…?

Meet me at the training ground…

Where do you want to go…

Anywhere… just take me away from here.

)))oOo(((

Little did he know that his decision to take Delaes for a flight over Urgal's territories would cost them both dearly.

Two of his closest comrades died that day, along with their dragons…

…along with his Dragon.

Delaes !!! Delaaaeeesss !!!

Mad with grief, Galbatorix kept on calling for his Dragon for hours, pulling out his hair to make the emptiness he felt melt away…

…he was hurting… pain stronger than any he had ever experienced was piercing through his skull…

…and Delaes wasn't there to take it all away. Deleas would never be there again… she would never come to him again after a long day of training, complaining about everything and nothing, shaking herself like a dog every time one of the other Dragons tried to touch her… she would never let him sleep curled up against her side again…

A small part of him knew that he had been foolish, that he had brought it upon himself…

…the rest of him was furious. Furious at the Urgals for killing his other-half, furious at the other Riders because they still had their soul-mates… furious at Brom for claiming Morzan in the first place…

…none of this would have happened… none of this… if he had not… if they had not… not… it's their fault…! ALL THEIR DAMN FAULT !!!

Meanwhile, news of Galbatorix's disappearance had reached the council of the Riders. Morzan and Brom had been questioned… everyone knew that Galbatorix disliked Andromis' apprentice.

Not alarmed in the slightest, Morzan had shrugged it off, claiming he had way better things to do than sit around all day pondering about 'that nasty bastard Galbatorix''s whereabouts.

…most of the youngest Riders had agreed wholesomely. Still, in the end, it had been decided that Morzan and two other Riders would saddle their Dragons and leave Ellesmera to find Galbatorix and the two younger Riders he had brought with him.

Brom volunteered to go with Morzan but the older Rider refused, smirking smugly as he got onto Amaidan, claiming he didn't need back-up from a sixteen year old sissy. Lower, he told Brom that he wanted him to go train with Vanir to entertain himself in his absence and pulled him into a fierce hug before he left.

The young apprentice trained late into the night, fighting hard to keep his mind from wandering too much. But the pull was too strong and he couldn't help but wonder whether Morzan would come back whole or not…

His thoughts kept going back to that kiss… to those words Morzan had whispered against his neck… to the way Morzan had entwined their fingers as they sat against that large trunk, in Brom's favourite spot of the forest.

You make me feel shy… and that's one thing I have never been in my whole life.

Smiling faintly at the memory of the slow, tender kiss that had followed those words, Brom sheathed back his sword and knuckled his forehead at Vanir to let him know that he was leaving.

'Careful, Dragon rider… you are being way too trusting with this one.' Vanir had sneered.

But Brom had ignored him… he always did, whenever Vanir gave him his opinion, he would nod but still do as he pleased.

…he had learned this much from Morzan : 'Vanir is an anal retentive little bastard and is not to be trusted in any way…still, you'd better tread carefully with him, for he is rather sneaky and quick to anger.'

)))oOo(((

'Won't you help him…?'

After a few days of search, Morzan and his men had come back to Ellesmera carrying an half-unconscious Galbatorix with them… upon seeing the older Rider so utterly lost and broken, Brom couldn't help but wince in sympathy… he didn't know what he would do if Saphira were to… to…

…he couldn't even think the word.

Straight as an arrow, Morzan looked down at him through the dark bangs of dirty black hair that fell on his face, no trace of compassion in his eyes.

'He brought it upon himself…'

'Morzan !'

Unaffected, the dark-haired Rider touched two fingers to his lips as he left the elves spell-casters relieve him of his burden and then proceeded to unsaddle his Dragon.

'Morzan… you could ask the council to give him another chance…'

'I could but I won't… this is not my problem, Brom.'

'Have you got no compassion !?'

A sharp pang of pain pierced right to Morzan's heart as he caught the disappointed look Brom was giving him.

'This is who I am… don't like it, find yourself another model.' he spat, glaring down at the young Rider. 'I don't care… if you ask me to help the man, fine, I will ! But I'm warning you… I have a bad feeling about him. If anything bad comes of it, you'll face the consequences!'

With that said, he turned around fiercely, refusing to look at Brom as they both made their way towards the council's chambers.

)))oOo(((

Predictably, the eldest Riders refused to let another Dragon hatch for Galbatorix. He was too old to take on another hatchling…

Upon hearing this, Galbatorix was utterly revolted. He went completely berserk, his eyes mad with both grief and fury.

For some reason, he seemed to be redirecting all his anger and frustration on Morzan, of all people, claiming it was all his fault and that he would make him pay dearly.

'He is raving mad…' Brom said, his hand automatically seeking Morzan's wrist to keep him from launching himself at Galbatorix. 'You didn't do anything !'

But Morzan knew… knew that he was somehow responsible for Galbatorix's foolishness. He had known of the older Rider's feelings for years and he had always rejected him… the truth was, Morzan had always been afraid of the older man, avoiding him at all price, making sure that he knew that the feeling was absolutely not reciprocated… but Galbatorix had always come back to him.

He never did anything to threaten him, or anything… but something about the man made Morzan's insides tighten. Something in those bright amber eyes made his heart beat a tad too fast for his liking… Galbatorix was obsessive… dangerously obsessive.

The fact that Morzan had done nothing to hide his growing feelings for Brom probably didn't help matters much either.

The question was : was Galbatorix mad enough to harm Brom just to spite him…?

Shaking with barely contained anger, Murtagh had grabbed the man by his collar and backed him against the wall, his face mere inches from Galbatorix's, seeking to intimidate him but only succeeding in making the older Rider smirk and press closer to him.

No one was around to witness it… no one but Brom.

'If you try anything, I will kill you…' Morzan growled, low in his throat, feeling possessive beyond belief as he saw Galbatorix's eyes dart to his young lover. '…do you hear me?'

'…Morzan let him go. He's had his share for today.' Brom said, gently tugging on his wrist to make him loosen his grip on Galbatorix.

'Shut up…' Morzan howled, shoving the boy off.

Brom let out a startled yelp as he felt his backside hit the hard ground.

'Violent, aren't we…' Galbatorix chuckled, pulling on Morzan's collar, bringing him just close enough to whisper in his ear. '…what next…? You going to beat him to a bloody pulp because he doesn't want to cook…?'

'Morzan…?' Brom asked, his voice all small and hurt as he watched the two men struggle to keep the upper-hand in this battle of wits.

'Brom, please stay aside…' Morzan said, his eyes never leaving the older Rider's. 'Leave the boy out of this…'

'We'll see…' Pushing Morzan off with a snort, Galbatorix let a snarl curl his lips and took a few careful steps towards the stables.

As soon as the other man was out of sight, Morzan swallowed back the lump in his throat and let himself drop to the floor, shaking like a leaf as he took his head between his hands. Startled by his friend's odd change in behaviour, Brom made his way towards him on his hands and knees and gently seized him by his broad shoulders, pulling him into a soothing hug.

'Morzan… it's alright.'

'He's going to kill you…' Morzan growled, his voice breaking slightly as he felt Brom's line arms wrap around him.

'Morzan, why would he do such a thing ?' Brom asked, taken aback.

'I told you I had a bad feeling about him… but you made me do it… you made me go to him. You made me try to help him… I just wanted him to die and you…'

'I… Morzan, I'm sorry I asked you… if I had known that he affected you this much I would have left you alone…'

'I know…'

Meanwhile, in the council's chambers…

'Do you reckon Galbatorix will try something foolish to convince us to let him have another Dragon…?' Andromis asked his brother…

'I don't think so… he understands that nothing he does will make us change our minds.' said Oromis.

'What then…? He's not going to stop there… you saw the glint in his eyes. He'll come back, sooner or later…'

Furrowing his slim eyebrows together, the old elven Dragon Rider took a long sip of his infusion before he spoke.

'We'll have to be extra careful…' he said. 'Especially with our youngest riders.'

'Do you think someone from inside Ellesmera would agree to help him…?'

'Well… Morzan did try to convince us that Galbatorix needed a new Dragon.'

Oromis said. '…and he is exactly the kind of character we want to be wary of.'

)))oOo(((

Yessss ! Morzan was a whore !! XD ! Galbatorix and Brom (and Selena of course)… but oh, well, if he was half as sexy as Murtagh is, I can't blame them lol !

So, this is the first chapter of my second instalment (lol). Yes, it has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot yet.. But well, you'll see… I have big plans evil laugh of doom.

Hehehehe, I hope you guys aren't too disturbed by Morzan/Galby… ernn, I couldn't help it , really. Anyway, there will definitely be more Eragon in this part… more Roran too (just 'cause… he's got business to take care off points to Katrina in her cell) and, as a guest start, Angela and Solembum ! Oh yeah, and I'll let you take bets on who the third rider will be (no, no Mary sues… I just… no, I can't. Errrr.)

Will it be Orik… Nasuada… Angela… Roran… Vanir… Elva… Solembum… The Urgal chieftain… Murtagh's hidden little sister (no, just kidding there…)… or one of the guys from Little Britain ? … or it could probably be my mom… she's still fit and pretty… oO.

I need to sleep… I need a fag, and… oh, yes, coffee. Sweet coffee… well, not exactly sweet but… yeah, okay, I'm leaving.

Ps : Deleas means loyalty in Gaelic

And the funny thing is that Amaidan has two meanings : in old norse it means wrath or grudge. And in Gaelic it means Stupid or Idiot xD. How fitting.