Disclaimer: As redundant as these are...(it is fanfiction) I'll make sure I cover my butt...No copyright breech is intended in the writing of this story. All recognisable plot points, characters etc. belong to Christopher Paolini.
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Prologue: Deja Vu
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The woman's dark chestnut hair gleamed almost ebony in the single strip of moonlight that illuminated the stone cell. Head bowed, wrists shackled to the roof; her muscles strained and trembled with the effort of attempting to lift her weight off her scarred and bloodied wrists. Her clothes, or what remained of them, hung in tatters off her bony shoulders. Where her skin was not covered by the dirty and frayed cloth, evidence of her abuse was visible as she shifted further facing the moonlight. Wounds days old wept between crusty layers of dirt and blood while the newer sores continually bled and reopened with each small movement…
…Leaves blew across the ancient ruins, the rustle being the only sound he could hear. The air colder due to the summit, the oak trees trembled with the frigid breeze. The ground was scattered with pieces of stone, debris, leaves and the remnants of snap pea pods.
"Well? Are you coming?"
The croaky voice pierced through the sound of the wind, causing him to turn quickly only to see the whirl of a cloth disappear behind a stone ruin as its owner vanished from sight. He followed, turning behind the ruin only to find himself within a spacious stone room, littered with scrolls and paper. The window set high in the wall was swinging on its hinges, the latch broken, and allowed a strong gust of wind to enter the room, resulting in paper being blown to the far side of the room. Instinctively, he hurried to contain the flying bits of paper, grabbing the scrolls lying on the table closest to him and gathering them in his arms. When the wind died down, whispers replaced the rustle of paper as he replaced the scrolls and attempted to close them. The words however were blurred to his eyes just as the voices were jumbled to his ears. The sound of footsteps behind him however caused him to drop the paper in surprise…
The sound of echoing footsteps outside of the woman's cell caused little response except for the further tensing of her muscles and the capture of her blood red lip between her teeth. As the footsteps ceased abruptly, the only sound that could be heard was the slow but shaky inhale from the shackled woman, until the door flew open, rebounding with the force of the blow. The woman finally lifted her head just as the shadow of a hulking man darkened the room, the sound of a leather lengths creaking at his wrist…
Eragon awoke in a cold sweat...
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A/N: Hey guys. So this story has been in my head for an incredibly long time. I swear, you should see the copious pages of notes I have on this thing…lol. Anywho, I can't say for sure when updates will be up, but the next chapter is written and shall be up VERY soon. I enjoy this story so much so it shouldn't be hard to continue! :P
