Thank you for being patient with me! I've already had several very nice reviews for chapter 1- thank you thank you! hopefully this chapter was worth waiting for; I have to say, it's one of the longest ones I've ever written...so enjoy!
It took less than five minutes to assemble the remaining warriors of the Varden. All together, there were scarcely three dozen left. Every eye was fixed in terror upon the red dragon approaching in the distance.
Even from such a great distance, Eragon could tell that Thorn was flying faster than he had ever thought possible. Dread threatening to overwhelm him, he leaped onto Saphira's back, and nodded to Nasuada, who was mounted on her warhorse in front of the soldiers. She nodded back, and Arya looked up from the soldiers and met his gaze as well, eyes bright. As Saphira launched into the sky, Eragon clutched the hilt of his sword so tightly that his hand went numb.
"Do not fear, little one," Saphira told him, though Eragon could sense the doubt in her mind as well. "They may be strong, but we are not powerless either."
Eragon nodded. "Let us end this, once and for all!" Perhaps...he thought privately as they approached Thorn and Murtagh, if we are defeated, I won't have to leave Alagaesia...
And then, suddenly, the red dragon was upon them; but before Thorn had a chance to do anything, Saphira attacked, diving for Thorn's neck with fire streaming from her jaws. Thorn rolled onto his side to escape, but couldn't evade Saphira's claws, which left deep, bloody gashes in his shoulder.
"Stop!" cried a desperate voice; it took Eragon a moment to realize that it belonged to Murtagh. Twisting around Saphira's neck, Eragon saw the red Rider, sword still sheathed at his side, looking towards him with a grimace of pain from Thorn's wound. Saphira ignored his shout and dove in for another attack, but Thorn dove suddenly for the ground, thousands of feet below. Saphira followed.
Eragon and Saphira landed a few seconds after Murtagh and Thorn; Murtagh had dismounted and was hurriedly muttering a spell with his hand on Thorn's torn shoulder. Eragon leaped off Saphira's back and drew his sword. It was only then that he realized where they were standing: the plateau on the Burning Plains, the same place he had been defeated so long ago by the red dragon and his Rider. "I will not lose this time," he told Saphira.
He started towards Murtagh, sword at the ready, when Murtagh turned to face him. "Wait! You don't even know why we're here!"
Eragon stopped in his tracks. "To capture us, of course."
Murtagh shook his head. Teeth clenched, he fell onto his knees. "You must help us," he said softly, unsheathing his sword and throwing it onto the ground between them. The ruby in its hilt seemed to catch fire in the sunlight. "There. We will not hurt you."
Eragon almost dropped his own sword in shock. "Explain yourself!" said Saphira. "Tell us why we should not fight you." There was still blood on her claws, dripping into the dirt under her feet.
"We cannot fight for Galbatorix any longer. We came to ask you for help."
"How did you escape Galbatorix to come here?" Eragon asked.
Murtagh frowned, now reluctant to meet his eyes. "We didn't escape. He sent us here to capture you."
Saphira growled, a long, rumbling growl that shook the entire plateau. "Then how can we trust you?"
He didn't reply for a moment. Then he stood roughly, put a hand on Thorn's side, and said, "You can't. Our oaths even prevent us from swearing loyalty to anyone else besides the King."
"Then, there's nothing we can do for you," Eragon said.
"No!" Murtagh's eyes blazed at him angrily. "There must be a way: You once mentioned altering a person's true name. If Thorn and I accomplish this, we could be free!...Couldn't we?"His voice barely concealed his desperation. "You must help us find a way." As Eragon continued to look doubtful, he added, angrily, "Eka eddyr onr fricai!" I am your friend!
Was this Murtagh's way of swearing loyalty as best he could? He did still consider Murtagh his friend, he realized with surprise. He had killed Oromis, Glaedr, and King Hrothgar, but Eragon knew he would never have willingly murdered them... "I know," he said, pitying him despite himself. "You are bound by oath to capture us...but if we were able to free you before your oaths forced you to fight us, perhaps it could be done."
"Remember, Eragon. We are leaving in seven days!" Saphira said, showing her thoughts only to Eragon now. "Would you stay behind? Unless you wish to take Murtagh with us, you won't be able to-"
"Wait!" Eragon interrupted her. "That...that might actually work!"
Saphira paused in surprise, seeing his plan, then slowly nodded. "You may be right. But we must ask the others first."
"Well?" Murtagh asked. "Will you help us or not?" Eragon explained their idea to him. His eyes grew wider and wider, and he exclaimed, "Leave Alagaesia! Are you mad? It's a death sentence! And how would that help free Thorn and me?"
"It would give us much more time to try to change your true names, for one thing," Eragon said. "And if that doesn't work, well, if there are other lands beyond the ocean, perhaps they could help free you from servitude to the King. It's worth a try, isn't it, Murtagh? What do you think?"
"I think you're crazy!" Then he laughed sadly. "But Thorn and I have nothing to lose, anymore. Alagaesia has been cruel to us. Maybe it is a good idea to leave. But, I have to know..." he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Will we be coming back?"
"I don't know," Eragon said truthfully.
Murtagh turned to Thorn, clearly discussing it. Finally Murtagh nodded. "This sounds like our best plan. Our only plan, to be frank. But things can't get very much worse for the two of us."
"So you will accompany us?" asked Saphira.
Murtagh picked up his sword, Zar'roc, from the dust and sheathed it. He then nodded, and shook Eragon's hand stiffly. "I will accompany you." Thorn stepped closer to Eragon and Saphira, and snorted a puff of smoke from his nostrils in what Eragon assumed was a friendly way. Then, to Eragon's surprise, Saphira stepped forward and placed her long blue snout on Thorn's shoulder, where she had wounded him. "I am sorry for hurting you, young one," she said . When she stepped away, the muscles and scales of his shoulder were completely healed. Thorn stepped back in surprise, twisting his neck down to examine his shoulder. "Do not make me regret that," Saphira hissed, steam issuing from her jaws.
Eragon and Murtagh watched their exchange with wide eyes; Eragon didn't think he had ever seen Saphira apologize to anyone before. Then he noticed something else. "Thorn is bigger than Saphira now," he said.
"Galbatorix's doing, of course," said Murtagh bitterly. "Even so, he could not fix his tail." He pointed, and Eragon saw the last several feet of Thorn's tail were missing. "It was the gold dragon that did that, before..." his voice trailed off.
"Before you killed him." Eragon finished, equally bitter.
"His name was Glaedr," Saphira told him harshly. "He was our mentor. He and Oromis, his Rider."
Murtagh, noticing their anger, glared at them defensively. "I did not wish to kill them! I was angry that they did not fight the Empire earlier; they could have helped us escape. But it was Galbatorix that killed them, not me. He...overcame my mind."
Struck by a sudden fear, Eragon asked, "He could not do that again now, could he?"
Murtagh shook his head. "I left my Eldunari behind. I became disgusted by their power after he used them to control me like that. Without them I do not think he cannot enter my mind from this far away." Eragon sighed, relieved. "I was wondering," Murtagh continued. "Who else is coming on this journey with us?"
"Arya, Orik, and Nasuada."
"Shut up, Thorn," Murtagh hissed, glaring up at Thorn in annoyance. Clearly the red dragon had said something to him, but Eragon could not guess what. "Anyway," Murtagh said, as though nothing had happened, "What do you think they'll say when they find out you've enlisted me on your little journey?"
Eragon frowned worriedly, then shook off his fears. "They'll be angry, of course. But once I explain, they should accept it." Even as he said it, the words seemed hollow.
Murtagh nodded, but continued looking doubtful. Eragon couldn't blame him.
