Forgot to put this in before I first posted this story..

Warning: This Eragon, my version of him, is bi and he will have both female and male lovers in the future. No I won't get dirty and describe every single detail as it comes to mind. I don't think I could write that stuff. But it will probably be implied or some such.

There's also torture in this. (Not in this chapter, specifically)

So, yeah, read on if you're okay with that.

I hoped this would be as long as it seemed on paper, but it turns out I was wrong. Darn. Oh well, it's still the longest thing I've ever written so far. Especially in only one chapter.

Chapter 1

Eragon woke up to the sound of several birds chirping outside his window.

"Stupid birds," he mumbled and rolled over, covering his head with his pillow.

But the world didn't want him to sleep, because only seconds later a voice came from outside his door.

"Eragon!" A female voice.

"Go away," he yawned, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"Get out here, Eragon! I know you're in there!"

He pulled the pillow off his head and yelled, "Fine!"

"Well, you don't have to scream at me… I'll wait in the hallway."

He blinked. That was easy. Then he sighed and dragged his hand down his face. Why couldn't Inelie let him sleep? She knew he hated getting up. Everyone in the house knew.

Eragon slowly got out of bed and walked towards the large mirror on the opposite wall. He shivered. He had always hated mirrors; he was always afraid of something, or someone, being there that shouldn't be…

He shook his head. Enough of those thoughts.

Eragon grabbed a small comb and started pulling it through his hair. It was shorter than how most elves kept their hair; it was barely past his ears, and was a very dark brown instead of black or silver. His skin was pale; that's the way it always was, and his face was rounder than normal. He was also thin no matter how much he ate.

He grimaced.

It was already bad enough that he was practically hated just for existing, yet his body decided to be different and set him apart further.

Finishing his hair, Eragon threw the comb on the floor and walked towards his dresser. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of leggings and a shirt. He quickly pulled off his bedclothes and put the clean outfit on. He immediately felt better; the clothes were plain, but comfortable and soft.

He put on a pair of socks and his boots and walked to the door.

He hesitated with his hand on the doorknob and sighed, "Another day, I guess."

He opened the door and walked into the hallway.

Eragon immediately stopped outside the door and looked around.

Where was Inelie?

She might have gone to the kitchen…he thought and went right.

Every single door, wall, and rug looked exactly the same; plain white walls, red rugs, and brown doors. No marks, pictures, statues, or anything else that might allow someone to notice a difference in an area and remember it.

Eragon turned four corners on his way to the kitchen. It was memory alone that kept him from getting lost.

He walked down one more hallway and turned left into an open doorway at the end.

He screamed, jumped backwards and hit the wall.

Inelie stood over him, laughing.

"You should've seen the look on your face!"

Considering how hard she was laughing, Eragon wasn't sure how she managed to speak.

He glared at her. "How could I have possibly looked at my own face?" His seemingly calm voice held a dash of I'm-going-to-tear-your-face-off.

Inelie immediately stopped laughing and tilted her head to the side with an innocent look.

"A mirror?"

"I'm not completely obsessed with my looks like you are however, so I don't carry one with me at all times." Eragon couldn't keep the smile off his face as he spoke.

Inelie grinned.

"Now, why did you try to scare me to death?" Eragon asked, his smile fading slightly as he stood up.

"Because of the way you yelled at me earlier," Inelie answered, her grin not fading in the slightest, "You need to lighten up a little bit, you know?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, knowing all too well what she meant.

"Well…" Inelie hesitated, "you've been awfully depressed lately…and, um, we all miss the, uh, normal you…"

She paused and glanced at him.

"Are you okay, Eragon?" She finally asked, "We're all worried about you, ya know… Especially Rioro…" Inelie trailed off with a worried look, true to her word.

"I'm fine," Eragon said shortly, "I assume my overly-worried brother is the one that asked you to do this, right?"

Inelie slowly nodded. "It was partly my idea too, though," she added quickly.

"Of course."

She stared at him silently, expecting him to say more.

Eragon purposefully waited several moments before giving in.

He knew she meant well, and the others too, who were no doubt eagerly awaiting her report somewhere. He appreciated it in a way, but that didn't make it any less annoying.

Inelie waited patiently, watching him.

He smiled inwardly, deciding to wait a little longer before speaking and started watching her.

Eragon understood why his brother was so interested in her.

Her face was smooth and her eyes a light blue. She had silver hair that reminded him of moonlight (he wasn't sure of what else he could compare it to…cheese, maybe?) and curled softly around her face reaching slightly past her shoulders. She was shorter than him, but gave off a feeling of being taller. She looked comfortable in a long, wavy red top that was almost a dress and long black leggings that were loose around her ankles. She was barefoot.

She is really pretty, he thought, though she's more of a mother to me than anything else.

Inelie lightly cleared her throat when she noticed him staring at her.

Eragon started at the sudden noise and quickly looked away.

She gave him a curious look, but said nothing.

"Um," Eragon said while trying to collect his thoughts, "Inelie, I really appreciate the fact that you and the others care about me so much, but…"

"But?" She sounded confused.

"But," he repeated, "there's nothing wrong. Even if there was…I'd ask if I needed your help, okay?"

"Okay…" Inelie said slowly, than she grinned, "You're so stubborn, you know that?"

Eragon chuckled, "Of course, what else did you expect?"

Inside he felt immensely relieved.