He was up before the others, even before the dragons had welcomed the dawn and he knew why. When they were to arrive to the Varden's camp, they weren't going to greet him with open arms and light hearts. He'd be lucky if they didn't shoot him and Thorn down before they touched the ground. Looking to a few feet at his right, Andria was sleeping calmly with a peacefulness on her face he hadn't seen before.
Was he really going to drag this beautiful creature in behind him as the Varden accused him of being the scum of the earth? What was he thinking making a huge promise that he wouldn't be likely to keep? It was her eyes that drug it from him, those emerald orbs that made him promise to never leave her.
Sitting up from his spot on the grass, he ran a tired hand through his tangled black hair. As he thought about the day before and looked over to his brother, he suddenly could feel her lips on his once more. The way she tasted and felt under his hands was something he didn't want to give up. She almost made him want to go back to Galbatorix to rid himself of the feeling of her body with his. He shuddered at the thought.
It's too early to be this excited, Thorn yawned in his mind, feeling something that Murtagh hoped he could keep to himself. His arousal was no one else's business.
Oh, shut up you over grown lizard, Murtagh shot back, marching off to the creek nearby to cool off. He knew the best thing for him right now would be cold water.
After cupping heaping handfuls of water into his hands and splashing them on his face and neck, Murtagh sat back and listened to the forest around him. Something about the way that Andria had talked about the rain making a orchestra out of the plants and living creatures of the forest had interested him. Tuning into the sounds of the crickets and deer nearby, he tried to hear the melody that she had talked about this place being. All he heard was noise though, and he felt like he somehow failed her.
Hearing a branch break behind him, he turned to see a droopy eyed Eragon walk up to the creek beside him warily. His more fair haired brother nodded to him as a way of saying 'good morning' and took his own turn at splashing cold water on himself.
"Sleep well?" Murtagh said curiously, not sure as what to say to a person who saw him as an enemy.
"As well as I could with someone who wanted to murder me nearby," Eragon said coldly, still sitting down with him. It was like his brother was fighting an internal battle.
"Ah yes, so as well as Andria slept with Roran so close?" He asked, cruelty in his voice that surprised him.
"Roran thought her to be something else, he can't apologize any more for what he did," his brother said, huffing from frustration and exhaustion. Murtagh wondered what he had been through these past few weeks.
As they sat there together and stayed silent, Murtagh looked over the face he had known so well before they were separated. Now though, the round ears had slight points, his eyes became a more almond shape, and his scars were gone from him. It was like he was turning into an elf. Would this happen to him?
"I need you to take Andria with you," he said as coolly as he could, trying to hide any feelings from his brother that he could. Though, he knew Eragon knew him better than anyone.
"I thought as much. I know what the Varden will probably do to you when you come back, it's best to keep her safely out of your range for that time," Eragon said as if he had stayed up all night planning the same thing. Well, at least they were on the same page.
"Yes, so make sure she is looked after. Now that the Twins are gone, we won't have to worry about the internal inspection. I'm not sure she would have made it through that," he said quietly, more to himself then his brother.
"I'll watch her as if she was my own," and they way Eragon had said this, the intimacy in his voice, made Murtagh wish more that he could take her to the Varden himself. He didn't need his brother getting on her better side before he could explain what he was doing.
"Thank you, Eragon. I know you will." Without waiting for his brother's response, he stood up and walked back towards the camp.
-----
A few hours later he was close to being finished packing when he heard Andria wake up. He didn't want to face her, he had slightly hoped he could have escaped before she awoke but his side trip to the creek had made him dawdle too long.
"Good morning," she said softly, walking over to him as she stretched her stiff limbs. Refusing to look at her, he kept his mind on making sure everything was secure on Thorn's stomach.
She kept talking, to herself mostly as if making up for his part of the conversation would please her. The sound of her melodic voice made him want to take her with him and fly far away where no one would find them. A place like that didn't exist though, so he turned to her and looked at no where but her eyes.
"I talked with Eragon this morning. You'll be riding with him," he said bluntly, daring no to show an emotion that would tell her he wanted it any other way. He didn't want her to fight against this.
He heard Thorn say they would see her soon, and he climbed onto his dragon's back and took off. The cool air damp with future rain stuck to his cheeks and he didn't look back.
You are doing this the wrong way, Thorn said deeply, navigating his way through the clouds towards their imminent doom. At least it felt that way to Murtagh.
And how would you have done it, dragon? Murtagh asked coldly, resting his body against his companions to keep the water droplets out of his eyes.
You should have told Andria why we were leaving her there with Shadeslayer, why you broke a promise you so dutifully made, Thorn growled at him like he was upset, that he hated that he had hurt Andria by leaving her with Eragon.
It's not as if my brother is going to torture her, Thorn. She's safe and I doubt she's that upset she doesn't get to ride with us. After he said this, he actually thought about how she was feeling.
Was she upset with him? Did she feel betrayed? He knew he felt horrible for doing it and slightly sick with worry that something might happen on her journey, but he hadn't thought about her feelings until now. He suddenly felt very selfish and foolish.
Hatchling, you must think before you do. You don't plan very well. Sleep little one, you'll need your strength, Thorn said more calmly, and it didn't take long for Murtagh to obey.
-----
He woke up to yelling and growling loud in his ears. Opening his eyes with a hand falling to Zar'roc, he looked around at the members of the Varden staring at him with fear and anger. They knew who he was long before they had landed, and he could see a large guard coming at him with an axe that could slice him in half. So much for a peaceful visit.
"I come here meaning no harm to your people. I seek council with your queen," he said much more steadily than he felt. His knees were shaking along Thorn's spines.
"Why should we let you see our queen when you've betrayed us so?" The large guard said, swinging his axe with emphasis on his "betrayal".
"I have not betrayed you, and this is what I've come to clear up," he said again, more loudly and confidently than before.
They all studied him carefully like he was some new breed, a few jogged away and a few sheathed their swords. The whole time Murtagh didn't let his eye contact dwindle from the guard's, not wanting to show the terror he was feeling at the axe the man held.
One of the men who had ran away came back and walked to the larger man. They had a hushed conversation and the smaller man handed the guard some shackles. Murtagh already knew where this was going, and he was happy he wouldn't be sliced in half anytime soon.
"Murtagh, son of Morzan, you will be imprisoned until the queen deems you otherwise," the guard said loudly and with such pride in his voice it almost made Murtagh smile.
Sliding down from Thorn's back, he stood in place as one man took away his dagger, horn, bow, and sword as the larger guard shackled his wrists together in front of him. After he was securely locked into his handcuffs, the men marched him off as he heard Thorn fight off anyone who dared try to tie him down.
Well done, Thorn, he smiled in his mind's eye to his dragon and kept pace with the others.
Walking through the camp he saw Saphira safely land a few tents over as he went towards his prison. Eragon had gotten off her back and was holding Andria like a small child in his arms as the Varden welcomed him back. As long as Andria was only sleeping, Murtagh was equally as happy to see his brother.
"You'll be in here until we summon you in front of the queen," the guard said, setting his axe next to the large cage as they pushed him inside. At least he could sit down without being crammed inside.
"Not as nice as my place in Farthen Dur," he said sarcastically, settling on the bit of hay that laid in the bottom of his cage.
No one responded to his remark, allowing him to become comfortable and take a small nap before he was to beg for forgiveness.
-----
When he was presented in front of Nasuada later that evening, he could hear the angry whispers and tempers rising within the tent as he was placed on his knees in front of the queen. After being told he'd have to wait until the other Rider was sworn in, he watched as Eragon came in with Andria gliding behind him.
The first thing he noticed was that her hair was up in a comb. The second was that she was wearing a dress. The third was the burning sensation gathering in his groin as he looked at how the gown tapered to her body. Groaning as she looked at him with her emerald eyes and then quickly away again, he bowed his head and studied the grass below him as she spoke.
"Thank you, I am yours." The words easily slid from Andria's lips minutes later and he was pulled up to his feet again.
Wishing he could get the hair out of his eyes, he stood before Nasuada with not an emotion crossing his face except, perhaps, worry. He watched as Andria took her seat next to Eragon and the look that crossed Arya's face as she stood behind them. If he didn't know Arya better, he would have named her jealous.
"Murtagh, son of Morzan, and bidder of the Empire's needs, why do you stand before me?" Nasuada said with such disdain he hadn't heard from her before. Once, he thought they could have been friends if not more. That felt so long ago.
"I stand before you, leader of the Varden, in hopes to show you my true story and not the one you have written for me," Murtagh began slowly, Thorn listening as he spoke. He felt comforted that his dragon was always with him.
"Is that so? So this story I have somehow written for you, does it not entail you cowardly escaping with the Twins after my father…died," she said with a brief moment of discomfort at the mention of her father.
"I had not known you father fallen, and I did not escape in any form of cowardice. I was captured, stripped of my clothing as evidence as if I had been killed, and taken to the Empire under order's of Galbatorix. He believed me to be the next Rider," he continued, Thorn relaying things to say to Nasuada in case he became short handed.
"You think us dense enough to believe this dung of a story?" One man shouted, making the entire tent explode in such a manner that Murtagh shifted uncomfortably hoping he wasn't losing ground.
"What do you believe Eragon Shadeslayer? What do you take Murtagh to be?" Nasuada said, turning to his brother as Eragon sat up straighter in his seat.
"If he had harmed me or taken me back to Galbatorix as he easily could have during the battle, I would have never believed his confession. Now, though, I do believe he is telling the truth….even if not the whole story," Eragon announced to the tent, making everyone begin to chatter again annoyingly.
"And you, Andria of Ellesmera, what do you take Murtagh to be?" He hadn't expected this question and when he looked up to Andria, it didn't seem she expected it either.
"I trust and believe that Murtagh would not dare lie in front of you, Nasuada. I also believe he would say this in the old language if you wanted to make sure he was telling the truth," Andria said with a slight stutter in her words. He could tell she was nervous.
"Murtagh?" As he closed his eyes and recited his story in the ancient language, he was surprised by the fluidity as he spoke them. He had learned this language long ago from his father and more recently again from Galbatorix, but he never knew he would be able to speak it so gracefully.
"That being said, I will have you under close guard until I feel that I can fully trust you. I'll have you train with the other Riders in weeks to come as I'm sure another battle will be on our land. No doubt Galbatorix will want blood for the betrayal you are placing upon him," he nodded, knowing that the happiness she felt at having all the Rider's under her watch was shadowed by the fear she had for her people at having this advantage.
As the shackles were removed, the people in the tent left and he watched Eragon and Andria speak in whispers about something as he was lead off to his tent. His night guard stood outside as he walked into his somewhat large tent and went over to the cot and settled into it.
Here he was, free from Galbatorix and the Varden behind his back. Yet, he felt unhappy because he was missing something. Or rather someone. He knew he'd have to keep the distances if he were to keep her not only safe, but sane. She had no idea of his past and he didn't want her tangled in it. He rather die than let her fall in love with someone like him. He rather her be with Eragon.
Removing his tunic and shirt beneath it, he took a cloth and soaked it with water before wringing it out over his back. The cool water traced over every inch of his back and he could feel it fall over his scar before he heard a small voice he didn't expect.
"What are you doing here?" He said with a sneer, turning to her quickly and seeing her cheeks high with a flush of excitement. She surprised him, showing up in his tent was a bold move and he wasn't sure what he was going to say. He hadn't planned out his attack on her just yet, the words to make her keep her distance weren't well formulated. Yet, he watched as one of her hands drew along her neck and to her breasts as she spoke.
Giving her up would not be easy.
"I was hoping you'd be in good spirits. After all, you don't have to go back to Galbatorix," Andria said with a small smile, hope straining in her voice as he continued to stare at her.
Stay calm, Murtagh, he heard Thorn say in the back of his mind but he blocked it the best he could.
"What? Since they told me I wasn't a cursed beast you think we can just go back to kissing and declaring secrets I shouldn't have told you in the first place? Are you so blind to think we can keep this up?" The lies that were coming from his mouth hit her the way he wanted them too. He wanted her to feel hurt if it meant she wouldn't be physically hurt.
"No, I was just hoping you could lift some stress off. I was happy that you wouldn't have to go back to him," she said quietly, her eyes still holding some hope that she did, indeed, want that intimacy. Parts of him couldn't hide that he wanted it too. Cursing himself, he dug deep for a horrible memory to help his anger rise.
"I'm thrilled that I get maybe a few weeks before that bastard comes back and tortures me into going back, truly. You, on the other hand, should stay away from me. I'm bad enough without you around, everyone knows I could go crazy at any point. Why don't you act like everyone else and put a large distance between you and I. Go see if you can woo Eragon with your beautiful face, he would be more fit for you anyway."
Murtagh spat, watching small tears rise in her green eyes. It was working, but the more he yelled at her the more awful he felt. Also, as the words became harsher, the more angrier Thorn became and the harder he had to try to block him out.
"Fine, perhaps I will. At least he doesn't wallow in memories of what daddy did when he was drunk." The anger she had mustered put him in awe for a moment, never expecting her to ever be as harsh as he was. At least this was working, even if it did bring out the terrible side in her.
"You two will be perfect. He can talk about being a sad orphan and you can talk about how everyone is so mean to you and that you have no one to love you. If you would just get over the fact that not everyone likes you, you wouldn't be so selfish. So what, you look a little different from the average elf, get over it and move on. You're just pitiful," there, he had let his temper completely fill him and forgot about promises and stolen kisses as long as it made her keep her distance. As he watched her glittering tears slide across her lips, he held on even tighter to that emotion.
She stalked over to him, making him afraid for a moment that she was going to try and kiss him. Though, that was soon replaced by a hard smack against his cheek that he had no doubt everyone heard. Murtagh knew he'd be feeling it with weeks to come.
"Don't you dare ever speak of things you have not even a clue about. You probably wouldn't have even lived through half the things I have. You aren't the only one who's had a hard life, Murtagh. Try to start realizing it you self absorbed ass." She walked away and threw back the flap of his tent as if to slam it.
Now that she was gone, he could leave all his feelings about her behind.
Or could he?
