Lalala… Yes, folks. Alexander is a boy's name, but my character is a girl. Her parents were a bit odd…
I've decided that I'm going to try to steer this story away from Mary-Sue…ness. Here's hoping I don't crash.
And no, I don't own the Inheritance Trilogy. That's the brainchild of Mr. Paolini. I wish I could adopt it…
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Murtagh's thoughts swarmed through his mind as he laid watching Alexander sleep. Growing up, he'd never had any close friends, so he'd never had the chance to play around and rough-house like a typical boy. Now, here he was, wrestling with a girl he'd only really met just a short while ago. Despite that, Murtagh felt like he'd known her since childhood. Her pain touched him, and he felt compelled to comfort her.
You like her, Thorn chuckled mentally. Admit it.
Rolling his eyes, Murtagh sighed. Not like that, Thorn. He gazed thoughtfully at Alexander's sleeping form, her sides slowly rising and falling rhythmically. She's... intriguing. I want to get to know her better.
You'll have plenty of opportunity to get to know her very well if she is, in fact, the next rider, the dragon replied, subtle teasing colouring his mental voice ever so slightly.
Murtagh couldn't keep his face from colouring a bit, and bit back a cutting retort. Instead, he stood and stretched his back, inhaling the forest air deep into his lungs. It occurred to him then that the light quality was changing; evening was inching closer. I'd better find food…I have a feeling Alex is going to be starving when she wakes up.
It didn't take Murtagh very long to find several edible mushrooms and herbs, as well as a wide, flat rock that would serve perfectly as a plate. He returned to the hollow where Alexander was sleeping and had a fire going, with the mushrooms roasting on the flat rock by the fireside, by the time the sky started showing hints of gold. As the mushrooms were getting close to finished, Murtagh added the herbs. The savoury smell made his mouth water, and caused Alexander to stir. She rolled over and pushed herself up, mumbling something that sounded like "Ay'Zat smllsg'd… 'ssat?"
Then, seeing Murtagh's questioning expression, Alexander blushed, obviously realizing that she must have uttered nonsense. She stood and walked over to the fire, sitting a near Murtagh, looking at the mushrooms. "Mushrooms? Those herbs smell wonderful… are they almost ready?"
Smiling Murtagh nodded. "Almost; it should only be another couple of minutes at the most."
Alexander nodded. Murtagh could tell that she was hungry, though, by the way she bit the inside of her lips and kept fidgeting with her fingers. He reached over and patted her shoulder. "Hang in there, Alex. They're almost done!"
The young woman looked ruefully at Murtagh, asking, "Is it really that obvious?"
Cocking his head toward her, Murtagh replied, "Is water wet?"
Alexander heaved a playfully vexed sigh, rolling her eyes. They spent the next few minutes in amiable silence as the sun edged closer to the horizon. Finally, Murtagh deemed the mushrooms done, and poked a stick through one, blowing on it to cool it down. Alexander's sharp mint eyes were fixed intently on him. Taking a small bite, Murtagh chewed it carefully. Swallowing, he smiled brightly at Alexander and said, "Dig in."
She did just that, with much enthusiasm. She'd finished two by the time Murtagh was finished with just one. After those initial two, though, Alexander slowed down enough to talk.
"How'd you learn to cook like this?" she asked, admiration clearly audible in her voice.
Murtagh chewed his mouthful and then answered with a small smile, "My mother and father left to go places a lot, so I had to learn to provide for myself." It was partly true, after all.
Alexander accepted his answer with a knowing nod and continued to chew on her third mushroom. Murtagh couldn't help notice how the fading, orange-tinted sunlight fell on her face and lit her hair like the slowly dying fire before them. Quickly, he turned back to his second mushroom before Alexander could catch him staring. His attention became caught up in the dancing flames of the fire; the flickering, perpetually moving tongues were incredibly hypnotic.
A loud, content sigh broke Murtagh from his reverie. Glancing to his side, he saw Alexander smiling happily, turning her little stick around between her fingers. Murtagh tossed his stick into the fire, watching it crackle in the flames. They'd eaten all five of the mushrooms fairly quickly; they had been rather large ones, too. Alexander rolled onto her back, obviously fully sated.
"Damn…" she sighed. "I never thought anyone other than mothers could cook that well."
Murtagh flicked a twig at Alexander, saying, "Are you suggesting something!"
The firelight danced mischievously in the young woman's eyes. "Maybe," she replied tauntingly.
"Now, let's not get into that again," Murtagh chided mockingly. "I don't want to have to humiliate you yet again."
A scowl formed on Alexander's face, and she looked as if she were about to lunge at Murtagh. Then, with a sigh, she relaxed and rolled her eyes. "Well, you do have an unfair advantage over me in being male."
"Would you rather I go easy on you," Murtagh taunted, laying back and turning his head to look at Alexander.
She just glared at him until he burst into laughter. Alexander's stern façade quickly crumbled and gave way to peals of laughter. The laughter tapered off, and the two lay peacefully on the ground, staring taunts at each other in the dusky light.
Alexander was the one to break the silence, heaving a sigh as she sat up. "We should get ready for the night," she said, glancing up into the trees at the sound of rustling leaves. "It's going to get cold tonight; do you have a warm blanket?"
Murtagh reluctantly sat and drew his pack to him. "Yeah, I'll be fine," he answered, pulling a thick blanket out. The thought of Thorn's warm wings briefly flashed through Murtagh's mind, and he reached out instinctively to the dragon. A warm, comforting emotion from Thorn quickly quelled Murtagh's feelings. Luckily, Alexander didn't seem to notice, and instead was pulling out her own blanket; it was moderately thinner than Murtagh's, he noticed with a touch of concern. "Will you be okay, though? Your blanket doesn't seem very thick."
The eyeroll again. "I assure you Murtagh, I've been through worse with less. I'll be fine. Besides," she continued with a hint of teacher-like condescension, "this blanket is made of the finest, warmest wool money can buy. My parents were, may I remind you, very successful merchants."
"Okay, Alex… no need to take that tone," Murtagh said, reclining by the now small and lazy fire with his blanket.
Alexander lay on her side on the opposite side of the fire, clutching her blanket around her. "What tone?" she shot back heatedly, her drooping eyelids betraying her sleepiness.
Yet another sigh escaped Murtagh as he gently ordered, "Go to sleep, Alex." Under his breath, he repeated himself in the Ancient Language. A gentle smile warmed his face as Alexander fell peacefully off to sleep.
Are you certain you don't feel anything more a brotherly love for her? Thorn's snide voice teased in Murtagh's head.
I'm positive, Thorn! Murtagh spat back irritably, even though something told him he could be wrong.
Thorn sensed it, of course. You're lying, Murtagh. The triumph in his voice was enough to make Murtagh clench his fists. Come on, admit it. You're falling for her.
Shut up, Thorn! Murtagh practically yelled in his mind. Okay, maybe you're right! But it won't work out! Think about it. What do you think her reaction will be if she does, in fact turn out to be a Ride? I'd be one who brought her to become Galbatorix's slave!
There was a pause as Thorn seemed to weigh his answer. I see your predicament, but I don't have a solution at the moment. Sleep on it. It's been a long day.
Silently, Murtagh acquiesced and let the sputtering embers of the fire lull him to sleep.
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Gah…. Sorry it's so short this time, guys! But it's honestly the best I could come up with! Better than nothing, right?
Ariel32: Maybe… Guess away. I'd think it would be obvious, so if you guess wrong, it'll give me a good laugh.
moonlitStarDestinyThankies! English AP pays off…
iluvSarmatianKnightsMuhuhuhu… yeah… that's going to be interesting… and fun to write……. plot
cooking: Awe! I feel so honoured!
silver sliver: Never underestimate the suspicious nature of humans… coughspanishinquisitioncough-cough I decided that Alexander is a much cooler and more fitting name for my character than Alexandria.
booksquirt: I like switching POV's every chapter, though. It keeps things interesting, for me at least. Seeing things only from one point of view gets boring after a while; I want to know what some of the other characters are thinking! What will happen when Alexander becomes a rider and finds out all about Galbatorix? Wooo… We'll find out! It's looking to be quite spectacular.
