Chapter 10

(Ignis Aurum Probat)

Dearest Mother,

I write to you now to let you know I am alive and well. The castle

is not so bad. I have servants to feed me, servants to dress me,

and servants to do anything else I wish them to. It is quite different

from life back home but, with time, I am sure I will adjust fine.

Please, do not worry yourself over me, I am just fine. I hope to

make you proud.

Signed with love,

Rene Trumbel

The scribe had finally been fetched for and Rene had sent her letter out. It was not long, nor was it detailed. She had intentionally neglected to mention any and all of the people she had met. She knew not why. Perhaps she was afraid of what her mother might say, or, more likely, she did not trust the scribe to whom she was reciting the lines. He did not appear remarkably shady, but there was something about him that gave Rene chills. A look, a smile, a subtle vibration picked up through the air, it made her nervous. She felt him crawling beneath her skin, slithering through her veins. She never wished to see him again.

When he had left Rene breathed a sigh of relief. A new scribe was a must. She sank down on her bed, glad to at last have some time alone to think. She knew she had not been entirely truthful with her mother. The castle was indeed different. So different, in fact, that she knew she would never become accustomed to it. She liked things simple, free, and here they were the opposite. Every relationship was complex, every move was calculated, planned, watched.

Why don't I just go home? Rene wondered. I can pretend like this was all just a dream.

The thought rolled over in her head but she knew, deep down, that she would not be going anywhere. Something had bound her to this place and, even if it had not, she would have one difficult time attempting to convince them to let her leave.

A knock came at the door.

Rene snorted in disgust, picked herself up, and allowed her feet to drag her over to the door.

"Melody, I'm sorry, I'm just not in a mood to-" she opened the door. "Oh."

In front of her stood a rather confused Ivan.

"Ivan, I didn't know it was you!" she blurted out.

"Rene," he looked at her, "is everything alright?"

She took a deep breath, held it, let it out, and nodded slowly. "Yes, things are a bit overwhelming right now but I will survive."

He stared her down, searched her for any sign of distress, and ultimately found nothing and was forced to give up.

"Ok, I'll trust you," he told her, his voice dropping to a whisper, "but only if you'll agree to meet me this time three nights from now in front of the old hall."

"Sure thing," she replied in the same hushed tone, "but why are we whispering?"

"No reason!" Ivan's voice returned to normal though his eyes continued to dart from one side of the hall to the other.

What has gotten into him? Rene furrowed her brow. He was acting awfully strange.

Taking a step back from the door he sent her a toothy grin that did not seem to reach his eyes before he strode off down the hall, leaving her with a quick, "I'll talk to you soon, Rene!" and nothing more.

Rene watched as he disappeared around the first bend before retreating back into her room, stripping off her uncomfortable dress, and losing herself in a sea of blankets.

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

It was hours later when Rene awoke to a rustling sound in her wardrobe. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Though she was now well rested she was no less confused than she had been prior to taking her nap.

Stupid castle. Rene groaned as she stretched.

"Rene, I didn't even hear you wake up!"

She snapped back to attention. In a mere moment she had entirely forgotten about the noises that had knocked her from her pleasant dream land to begin with. Rene now found herself staring at the foot of her bed at a blonde woman, dress in either hand, grinning wildly at her.

"Quick, let's get you up and ready! You'll want to look your best for tonight!"

Rene's eyes began to pool. "Melody!" She could not think of a time she felt so loved. Here she had completely ignored her friend and now, without even a mention of her actions, the same friend stood before her smiling as if nothing had ever happened. "Melody, I'm sor-"

"Oh, hush!" Melody held one of her dress-covered hands up, "Don't you even think of apologizing. Now come on, up! If all eyes aren't on us tonight I'll blame you!"

The two giggled like a pair of school girls while Rene struggled to untangle herself from the mass of sheets.

"Perhaps it would be best if all eyes weren't on us." Melody joked.

After finally managing to extricate herself, Rene joined her friend going through the mountain of dresses heaped in her wardrobe.

"One hour!" a woman's voice rang out through the hall, "One hour left!"

Melody's hands flew through the multitude of fabrics even faster than before but Rene stopped.

"One hour left till what?" She furrowed her brow once again.

The young blonde gasped. "Have you not heard?!"

"Heard what?" Rene was still confused.

"That would explain why you weren't ready…" Melody mused.

"Heard what?!"

"It's wonderful, Rene!" Melody's face lit up, "It's the most fantastic thing to ever happen to Uru'baen! His Majesty, Lord Galbatorix announced just this evening.."

Rene was growing more impatient with each passing moment.

"What did he announce?" she inquired through clenched teeth.

"Why, a ball of course, in precisely one hour!"

A/N: My goodness, you guys! You have no idea how excited I am to finally have this out! It seems that as soon as I believe things are starting to slow down, life takes another twirl. I fully intended to have much more done with this story long before now but I have spent all that time I planned to dedicate to writing taking my younger sister from specialist to specialist. She was diagnosed this week with Celiac Disease and hopefully now, knowing what is going on, she will be returning back to health. I would like to say I will have more of a chance to write again but I am realizing more and more that the older you get, the more determined life is to stir things up. I would love to write back to each review I recieved but, as they are beginning to number up and are getting quite difficult to keep track of I will throw out a big "thank you" to everyone. You have no idea how much a simple comment can motivate someone! A few reviews, however, stood out.

To Solkongen - Your compliments made me smile each time I read them. Your suggestions made a lot of sense as well. For the grammatical issues, I go back and forth with quite a few different minor issues all the time. I am trying to get the little things down but, while I don't have them 100 percent, I try to keep things consistant within each chapter. I really hate it when people change things like.. "I'm going to put this in italics, then in bold, then I'll quote it" so I attempt to refrain from it myself. As for the other thing you mentioned, it is another thing I always strive for but have yet to master. It constantly slips my mind that, while I can imagine things perfectly, readers are not inside my head and, unless I write things exactly as I envision them, they end up with a foggier image. I will keep a closer eye on in in the future though! Oh, and before I forget, Rene's name is pronounced René.

To Rainchecker - I am glad you enjoy this side of Murtagh! Quite a few stories portray him as a trapped, lost, helpless man and, while I understand these are emotion he would be feeling Eldest onward, he is, nevertheless, an aristocrat, a dragonrider, a powerful individual (not to mention male) who is going to go to the greatest extent to cover up those weaknesses he has. Besides, I really enjoy the smugness. There is something fascinating about it.

I would love to stay and write more but, as it is now nearing 2:00 A.M. I believe it is time to turn in for the night. I am sure I will be up again this time tomorrow making up for missed time but, as it is currently spring break, I am more than happy to be doing so. As a wise man I like to call my father once said, "Better to stay up through fiction and sleep through reality". -TVM