Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Swedish snorkeling gear… Oh, I suppose I don't own Eragon ether…

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 4. This is the moment you've all (well, I have) been waiting for. Kristin's NEVER ever gotten past chapter three in anything. Planned ahead of three? Sure. Written? Nah. So here we are! My very first time ever writing chapter FOUR! Woohoo… (I actually thought it would be more exciting… Hm.)

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Chapter Four

Within the Black Bastion

LET ME OUT you… you INSECT! I pounded my fists fiercely against the metal bars of my cage. It was a lovely cage really. It even had a furnace. Still, that did not by any means make it alright for me to be in it.

Just outside, sitting in a chair watching my fruitless efforts was a fat old guard. He completely ignored my insults, which only infuriated me further.

WHERE IS MY SISTER?!

Look, lady, he growled, peering at me from under his leather cap, your sis is jus' fine, right. I alread' told ja she in a differ'nt cell sumwhere.

Why am I here, then? I asked for the eleventh time. The guard just shook his head and began fiddling with his ring of keys. They clanked unpleasantly and made me nervous. Sullen, I shrank to the back of the cage and sat on the somewhat soft mattress laying there.

How did I end up in a prison cell, you ask? The answer is short of fast and vague, even to me. Perhaps I should start back where we left off…

The dragon! Give me that damn dragon!

The young, dark man seemed to fly towards Zetch and me. I could feel his intense fury radiating across the rock garden. Zetch chucked a few more stones in his direction, but they all missed.

Who are you! I yelled, but he didn't even seem to register. His thoughts were a swirling mass of panic and anger all directed at the little white hatchling creature curled around my ankles. He pushed me aside with surprising strength for such a skinny person. The force knocked me down completely, and I must have slammed my head against a stone to have been rendered unconscious. Upon opening my eyes four hours ago (according to the clock set on the wall behind the guard), I found myself here, in this oversized birdcage.

Still, greater than my worry over my whereabouts, is my worry over Zetch. I wondered exactly how far away from me she was, and if she had been knocked unconscious as well. I also wondered who that man had been, the one that had such passionate rage towards that newborn dragon. Of course, it was a dragon. The man said it was a dragon, and what else could it have been? Strangely, I was worried for it too.

Ay, lady, said the guard, approaching the door to my cage and peering between the bars. I sent him my nastiest glare in return. He grinned. One of his front teeth were missing, shortening his smile's intentions greatly. No need fo' distrust, right. You 'ungry?

I was. My stomach growled just at that moment. I wasn't going to tell him so, though. Instead I settled for a determined:

Tell me where my sister is.

My stomach growled louder. The guard laughed heavily and turned around to fetch some foul smelling concoction on the wooden table squeezed into the corner of the small black room.

Honestly, I'd never thought much about luck before that moment when he twisted to the left. However as my eyes caught the glint of his keys slipping from the grasp of his belt and skidding just within my reach outside the cage, I knew that it existed and it was with me.

Even better, the guard didn't notice as he lumbered over and began dipping out two bowls of whatever food was on that table. He hummed a strange tune and took his time. Quietly as possible, I reached between the bars and caught the ring on my middle finger. They clinked against one another; I flinched, but the guard continued to scrape against the bottom of the pot with the ladle, his chubby face screwed up in concentration. Once I got them through the cage, I realized with a terrible shock that I didn't know which of the fifty keys on there unlocked the door. I stared at them all blankly as the guard waddled back with the food.

AY! 'Ow'd you get those! he shouted once he spotted them in my hands. He very nearly dropped the bowls in his attempt to reach his chubby fingers in through the bars at me. Suddenly, another idea sprung into my head. This guard was stupid. I could probably get away with it…

Oh, I'm sorry. Here you go, I said blandly, handing the keys back to him. He grinned his horrible grin again.

Heh. Good lady. I though' you'd be tryin' to escape… Well anyway, 'ere you are… I stood up as he fumbled for the correct key on the ring with one hand, holding one steaming bowl in his other. The door unlocked with a click, and I was off. I didn't stop to look back, and I was terribly surprised that running out when his guard was down really worked. I could still hear his thoughts: confusion and anger. I didn't think he was running after me. He was hoping another guard would catch me instead. I was determined to not let that happen. Not until I found Zetch.

The halls I ran along were all the same. The walls were all painted black, like the room my cage had been in, and the floors were old wooden boards that creaked whenever my feet hit against them. So far, there had been no other doors, no windows, and no intersections. After I long while, I slowed down along the winding black path, gasping for breath. I found in extremely strange that no one had come after me yet. I began to walk along placidly; looking straight ahead and keeping my mind open in case another person approached. I had long since lost the thoughts of the first guard. There was such a lack of life and sound that I began to feel scared and then nauseated.

What are you doing?

I jumped and emitted a shrill squeaking noise. All at once, there was life everywhere. So much sound of so many thoughts. Abruptly, shiny wooden doors popped out of the walls, and conversation and laughter could be heard behind everyone of them. And behind me, there was another presence. Spinning around, confused and almost terrified, I came face to face with the same dark eyes I had last witnessed in the dead of night, gazing at me with annoyance and a strange resentment.

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Sorry it's sort of short, but I wanted to hurry and not take another month to update… and I wanted to leave this chapter on a cliffie (cause it's my first fourth and I have to make it special somehow). Please review!