Hi Everyone! Sorry I've been inactive. Some things happened and so I couldn't work on my fics. But I hate leaving things unfinished and so here it goes. Enjoy! (And no, this is not the last chapter, far from it)

So now to the two you all have probably been worrying about. Enjoy!


Murtagh looked at the red hot poker and thought of the past. The last time he had held the thing was when he had been torturing Nasuada when she refused to join with Florina and her father. It had been a stupid move on her part even though it had gotten her the crown in the end. That was the part that bothered him the most. Even though Florina had proved herself to the Varden by killing her father, they had not let her keep her throne. Instead, they had placed a spell to make it so she wouldn't remember the truth and gave the empire to Nasuada whom they believed had won the Varden the war when in all actuality, it had been Florina and Eragon who had won the war by killing the king. Murtagh didn't know how Florina truly felt about that act. He knew that her feelings had been confused when she had returned from the Vaden and then again when she had been faced with the ultimate choice of killing her father or defending him and killing Arya and Eragon whom never would have sided with them. Now, the same war was happening again and Eragon and Arya were plotting on how to either subdue Florina or kill her. He had to know which it was so he could figure out a way to keep her safe.

He turned to the Rider behind him. The Rider was a half-breed but seemed to take after his elven father. He looked young, but taking after his father, it was hard to say if the Rider really was in his fifties or over two hundred years old like Arya was. Even Florina, being human born, still looked young compared to how old Brom had looked and how Murtagh looked himself. She and Eragon had been touched by the dragons and given the strength and abilities of the elves which seemed to include their extended youth. Eragon had, however, retained the ability to grow a beard and had kept shaving it for a time, at least until he had left Alagaësia. The last Murtagh had seen, his baby brother had finally let his beard grow out and kept it trimmed at his chest.

The Rider moved and his chains rattled. Murtagh continued to examine the poker. His bronze dragon was currently in the dragon hold with Thorn, chained and blocked from reaching his Rider. In turn, the Rider was also blocked from reaching his dragon. The Rider would tell him their plan for Florina. If he had to, Murtagh was ready to use the same tortures that Galbatorix had favored.

"What have you done to me?" The Rider hissed and Murtagh smiled.

"I've done nothing, yet." The ancient Rider answered. "But I will if you do not tell me what you have planned for the queen."

"I am trying to save the Golden Rider."

"The Golden Rider? Yes, that is the name the queen took up when she was a spy within the Varden. She preferred to be called that than her name so her father's people would not think that she was rebelling against her father. It was why she had always worn armor that reflected in the sun, so no one would see her face. It was a convincing act. There were times that I wasn't sure whose side she was on."

"You had been on her side once. When you and Eragon had arrived at the Varden. She had been there and you had fought alongside her. You fought against the king."

"A ruse to get them to trust her. Of course, I couldn't just leave them so I planned my kidnapping by the Twins to keep her safe. And so she had remained until the very end when she was sitting next to her father in the throne room of Urû'baen." Murtagh replaced the poker into the coals and took out another that was cherry red. He smiled and turned to the Rider chained to the wall. "So now, are you going to tell me what I want to know."

"You can go to hell, Traitor."

Murtagh shrugged. "Have it your way." He pressed the poker to the Rider's bare skin and smiled at the scream that came from him.


Oromis hung limp from his chains. His chest and arms ached as did his throat. He couldn't believe that was his uncle, the oldest of Selena's children. His smile…he had enjoyed torturing his nephew. But the way he had been acting, Murtagh had no idea who they were to each other. When the ancient Rider had gone to live with his sister, Oromis and his sister had been with Eragon. He hadn't met them and they looked more like their father than they did their mother. It was the only thing that was protecting them for the moment. If Murtagh learned that they were Florina's children, he wouldn't fail to report it to his queen who would then know she had two more she could call to her under the command of the blood magic. But if Angela was right, the dragon magic in their blood should protect them. Not to mention she might think it a false union with his father while she was caught in a spell. In her mind, she would think that he had chosen to give himself to her in order to make the spell work. But there had been no spell before this. His mother had gone to his father of her own will. She had loved him and, Oromis knew, she still loved him. if only she could remember it.

Oromis waited for supporting opinions from Glaedr but none were forthcoming. Murtagh had placed a spell between the two of them that kept dragon and Rider from speaking with each other. All Oromis knew was that his dragon was safe, for the moment. He had no idea what Murtagh would do in the form of torture to get Oromis to loosen his tongue and let slip the plan to save his mother. He needed to be strong, for both of them.

Oromis turned his thoughts to his sister and father. They were on their own for now. Before he had been captured by Murtagh, he had seen Arya sound a retreat. In the chaos, he had seen Nëa pull their father onto her dragon and the two of them flying away, Florina's old sword in his father's arms. Once Oromis had seen that his family was safe, he turned to get to his mother, to spirit her away from Murtagh and his influence. Instead, he had been spirited away from his family by Murtagh. He had no idea where they were or how to get back. For all he knew, they could be hidden in the desert somewhere. His odds of surviving the war were slim.

The door opened and Murtagh entered the room once more, lighting the fire with a simple word. Oromis could feel his eyes on him, as if admiring his work. What tortures did this man know? What would he use? He had mentioned that he had learned of a fourth Rider sent to Du Weldenvarden before Florina had attacked. That could only mean that Alia, Riflen, and Naridan had fallen during torture or had their minds broken. It would have been the only way that his mother would have learned about Asdrina going on to Ellesméra with the information that his mother would protect her people no matter what. It was the only reason that she had attacked the elves. In her mind, she must have thought that they had attacked her first by trying to take the people of Yazuac from her.

"Where is my dragon? What have you done with him?" Oromis demanded.

"Your dragon is safe for now." Murtagh said and Oromis didn't like the tone of his voice, his suspicions confirmed. Glaedr's life depended on Oromis and the young Rider wasn't sure if he could bear to let his best friend be tortured just for information on Florina and Kuldra and the plan to save them. It wasn't like Oromis could send Glaedr away like his mother had done when she had been Galbatorix's prisoner. Glaedr was in danger and Oromis knew that Murtagh would torture the dragon just to get his Rider to talk. Were they strong enough to endure something like that? Could Oromis be just as brave as his mother or would he do anything to protect the two of them? Murtagh touched the cherry red poker to his nephew's skin and pressed deep. Oromis roared in pain.


Glaedr looked up at Oromis's roar of pain. He was being tortured again. The bronze dragon knew that the ancient Rider wanted to know what the plan was to save gold-dragon-Kuldra and partner-of-heart's-mother-Rider-Florina. Red-dragon-traitor-captor-Thorn had done much of the same thing to him. Glaedr was unsure if either of them would be able to keep their tongues in check long. Glaedr knew his partner-of-heart would tell the plan if only to keep Glaedr safe and alive where Glaedr would gladly die in the service of the Golden Rider, to save his Rider and his family. If he wasn't chained, he would be able to leave and so not put his partner-of-heart in that situation. It was the same situation Oromis's mother had been in with Kuldra and the bronze dragon was loath to repeat the event with his own Rider. But they were in the same situation. Murtagh could easily threaten to kill Glaedr which would force Oromis to take drastic measures, possibly even take his own life. The bronze dragon remembered their name sakes. He remembered how Kuldra's father had given his Eldunarí to Eragon and Saphira to help them and still teach them. As they were learning, Glaedr had been with Saphira, helping her teach the twin Riders while Eragon worked with the older students some days.

Glaedr still had his, but he knew that if he transferred his consciousness to it and he was to die, Murtagh would be able to take it, and him, and threaten to crush it to break his Rider. No, he couldn't do that. If he was to die, he would die fully, so no part of him would be left to be used against Oromis. Glaedr looked at Thorn. It was a sacrifice he was ready to make. Oromis was strong if he had a reason to be and if that reason was to be because his mother was in danger and his dragon was dead, then he would be. Glaedr just hoped that Oromis would be strong after everything was said and done. Oromis couldn't blame himself if something happened to his dragon, otherwise, the sacrifice would be in vain. They just both had to be strong, for Florina and Kuldra. If the Riders lost them, then everyone lost, especially Oromis and Delinnëa.


Vote! Will Oromis and Gleadr turn or die? hehehe, of course I have yet to decide. I'm not sure for either course of action at the moment. There might even be a third option. Thanks for reading and please review.