Chapter 7

(Ducunt Volentem Fata, Nolentem Trahunt)

Rene rolled over in bed, sinking deeper into the mountain of pillows. If she had known beds could feel so nice, she would have never settled for the one she had at home.

The door creaked open and Rene's eyes did as well. She saw two middle-aged women whom she identified as her ladies-in-waiting. She closed her eyes again while they ran about the room moving this, dusting that.

"M'lady, M'lady," Rene felt a gentle nudge along her side."

She stifled a yawn. The room, being deep inside the castle walls, was windowless. There was no way of telling exactly what time it was, but she was positive it was early.

"You must rise, M'lady. Lessons are due to begin shortly. If you do not hurry you will surely be late."

Rene groaned inwardly as she slid from bed.

Lessons?! I knew this place was too good to be true.

She let her feet hit the stone floor and shivered as an icy chill ran up her legs. In moments she had been dressed and the women were ushering her down the hall.

"But what about breakfast?!" Rene protested.

The two looked at her.

"You could have had breakfast-"One woman said.

"If you had woken up on time." The other continued.

Still too tired to argue, she hung her head and allowed herself to be led through the twisting corridors, growling stomach and all.

'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`

"-and that is how our beautiful land of Alagaesia came to be found. You may be excused."

Rene looked about her. Though none of the other women appeared to be mopping drool off of their chins, they did not seem to find the lecture particularly intriguing either.

"Well that was the biggest waste of daylight I've seen." She spoke aloud.

A woman chuckled behind her.

Rene turned to see a girl, no older than herself, standing.

"I would have to agree." She said. "I spent more time staring at Madam Leista's hideous mole than I did listening to her drone on about wars between the elves and dwarves."

Rene laughed. She liked this girl. She took a second look at her.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, she was not particularly stunning, but she was still easy on the eyes.

"My name is Melody." Her newly acquired companion told her.

"Rene." She replied.

They walked together toward the banquet hall, following the crowd of women to find their way.

Rene absolutely loved the food served here. She piled her plate high and knew she would never go hungry, which was more than her village could say.

She took a few bites.

For every few years of decent crops, there was always one of terrible famine. She thought back on all the people she missed and wondered how they were doing.

Food continued to travel past her lips.

"Be brave, my child!" Her mother's farewell rang inside her head. "Stay strong, darling! I love you!"

A single tear rolled down her cheek. Rene prayed her mother was well. She could not bear the thought of never seeing her again.

She shoveled the last bit of food into her mouth.

That's it, She decided. I will write to her as soon as possible! I will send for a scribe and then-

"Rene?" Her thoughts were cut short. "Rene, are you coming?" Melody's blue eyes stared into her own.

"What?" Rene was unsure of what was going on.

"We have the day off." Melody told her. "I was just asking if you wished to come exploring with me today."

Rene bolted up. "Exploring?! I'd love to come!"

Melody laughed and, together, they left the banquet hall.

'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`

"I can't believe there are so many rooms!" Rene was in awe at the size of the palace. It seemed too big to be real. Her entire village, and more, could easily have fit inside of it. Why anyone, even a king, needed a castle of such an immense size was a mystery to her.

"This is just the beginning!" Melody told her. "Just wait until you see the west wing!"

They marched through the countless halls, visiting room after room. There were ballrooms, bathrooms, guest chambers, storage rooms, sitting rooms, libraries, quite possibly every type of room ever created was somewhere inside the stone walls.

"I wonder where the King sleeps." Rene laughed.

"Probably on top of the highest tower." Melody chuckled.

"Or down in the dungeons."

Their peals of laughter rang through the passage.

"Here we are." They stopped in front of a door Melody had gestured to. "Keep quiet. We're not really supposed to be in this part."

Rene's heart began to race. The thrill of adventure, the adrenaline, she lived for this.

She reached out her hand and grabbed the doorknob. Her eyes met Melody's.

"Ready?" She asked and, without waiting for a reply, pushed the door open.

"Uh-oh." Melody whispered.

"You're not supposed to be here! Why aren't you back with the other… Rene?"

Before them, hand outstretched, reaching for the door, was Murtagh.

Melody was stunned. "You know him?"

A/N: Alright, this is about an hour after I had initially planned to have it up, but at least it is up!

To Lady Scribetracker: I am very pleased you continue to post reviews. Input is invaluable. I love writing the scenes that bring out characters, it makes me happy inside. It is nice to know that you are enjoying them. Haven't you always wanted to get lost inside a castle? Not completely lost, of course, but just enough to know how huge it is. I know I have!

To Lightkit: I cannot really blame Rene for liking Murtagh above Galbatorix. He is not the best looking man in the world and, while not 100 percent sure, I am pretty positive that he smells bad too.

To Solangedrama: You really like it? That is fantastic! I always wonder if things are turning out the same for other people as they are for me. To be honest, other than running spell check, I never proofread anything. I am just too excited to get it out!

To NationalWonder, werewolf666vampire, PSfan712, LittleSaphireButterfly, and narniagirl18: Thank you guys so much for the input. You have no idea how much it truly helps shape the story. Besides, it makes me smile when I log on and see numbers shooting up, and everyone likes to smile!

I, again, want to thank everyone for reading. It has been great on my end of things. New chapters will be posted friday of next week as well as the week after. Semester is up on January 22nd, after that I will have much more time to concentrate on writing. Till then, I know it is going slow, but please bear with me, it will start speeding up again here shortly. Get out there this weekend, go bowling, watch a movie, do something, anything, and make sure to have a wonderful friday! - TVM