Hey! I'm so disappointed with the number of reviews... But I just had to post this chapter! It's just as exciting for me as it probably is for you! The spells may be lame, but I did my best... XP

He smiled at her and sat down. Just like that, without any invitation."Did you find the meeting informative?"he said nonchalantly.

Nasuada hesitated. This could well be a ploy to gain my trust so I will blurt out something I shouldn't and get thrown in jail, she decided. I'd better guard my tongue.

"Oh, it was fine,"she said cautiously.

He raised an eyebrow."You plainly have trouble with money,"he stated calmly."Is the cause really that the Varden are causing trouble?"

Nasuada gritted her teeth."Yes,"she said, pronouncing the syllable carefully.

Murtagh grinned and abruptly changed the subject."Which of these flowers is your favourite?"he asked her.

She responded immediately, grateful that she was now out of dangerous territory."That."She pointed at a silvery-yellow bloom five feet away. It had unfurling petals and a striking, icy blue centre.

He pointed a finger at it and murmured,"Huildr du fëon unin bjart garjzla,". The flower extracted itself from the ground, roots and all, and entered a clear sphere of faint purple light. It's petals shone and glowed with magic. The circle of light floated towards Nasuada and landed on her palm. She lifted it and gazed at the blooming petals.

"Thank you..."she whispered, to the air. The Red Rider had disappeared.

Galbatorix seethed and writhed in his bedchambers. How dare she oppose him? How dare she refuse, point-blank, to pay what was rightfully his? She had even made it seem, so harmlessly, that it was all his fault. I don't believe her when she says the Varden are causing all that trouble. They have been quiet, those traitors. They are not fools, though- Why would they strike? They have not the forces to threaten us, he thought with a hint of suspicion. Suddenly, he sat up pin-straight, as an idea occurred to him. Murtagh. He will go and find what is going on.

The king closed his eyes in concentration, his mind sending tendrils snaking out over the castle, seeking Murtagh's well-protected conciousness. He rammed into its walls, shattering the images, and forced his way into the Rider's mind, making it as painful as possible for Murtagh, and through him, Thorn.

Murtagh. Meet me in the east garden. The king lingered for a moment, savouring his servant's pain, then severed the contact between them.

I wonder what that mad king wants me to do... complained Murtagh to Thorn, rubbing the his aching forehead.

I don't know, but I think you'd better be on your guard. The king is sly and cunning- He would only call you so abruptly if he had an important mission, of great secrecy, for you, replied Thorn.

Later, at the east garden, Murtagh sat opposite the black king, keeping his eyes cast downwards."You called, sir?"he asked, making the last word sound as offensive as he felt the king was.

"Yes,"said Galbatorix, leaning across the stone table."I have a mission for you. Go to Feinster and disguise yourself as the spy I will send to meet you. He is one of Nasuada's advisors, and you can get close enough to find out if the Varden are indeed attacking it so often that they have to expend all their resources to fight those vile rebels."Words said, he swept off, robes billowing around him.

"Barzûl,"Murtagh muttered."Ah well, I suppose I have to go... Skölir edtha unin sundavar."

Clambering onto Thorn, he repeated the spell on his dragon, drawing energy from the Eldunari of the dragons that Galbatorix had given to him, then Thorn took off, soaring high above the black citadel of Urû'baen. They travelled far with no trouble, then finally alighted near the looming walls of Feinster, heavily armed with ballistae for shooting javelins. Thorn slid into a cave to hide.

Don't be gone for long, he fretted. I don't like it when we're apart. I wish I could come with you.

Worry not, replied Murtagh, looking just as anxious as his dragon.

He met the high-ranking spy, whose place he was to take, and changed his appearance to that of the old, gray-haired spellcaster with limp arms and a moustache that was so broad, it covered one third of his face.

Then, he snuck out of the cave and under cover of the breezy mist that surrounded the fortifications of Feinster, entered the city as one of Lady Nasuada's advisors. His name was to be Ralmër, and his age was fifty.

Slowly, he strutted into the castle gate and greeted the guards calmly, and they let him pass with grunts of recognition. Finally, he was ready to begin his mission.

Glossary:

Huildr du fëon unin bjart garjzla: Hold the flower in bright light

Skölir edtha unin sundavar: Shield me in shadows

Review and tell me how it was! Hey! I'll update soon if I get enough reviews!