Yeah, so the girls are still mad at me about killing Brom and I have to do the disclaimer because they got all of my other OCs and canon characters in on it. I only own those insufferable imaginative beings and I hope you enjoy!

"A hero's gonna save me, just in time," -Skillet


They were to travel to Gil'ead to see a friend of Brom's who would help them. Murtagh had chose to come with them, though he made it quite clear that he would leave once they set out for the Varden.

Time seemed to pass rather quickly. Meg treasured her pocketbook which kept calenders for the next five years—the only item from the other world that had come with her. In it, she kept dates and plans she had from the other world, though most was useless now. One morning, she woke and showed the pocketbook to Sarah and Ellie, "It's Rebecca's birthday today; she's officially eighteen." What was meant to be a happy occasion quickly became sad.

Six months had passed. Six months since they slept in their own beds with their own families in their own homes.

Now, Ellie rode on Snowfire with Eragon; they had become close during the six months and back home, Sarah and Meg had no doubt they would be a couple. Meg rode on Tornac behind Murtagh. Sarah and Ellie were still wary of him, though they had to admit, they made a cute couple. As for Sarah? Her thoughts revolved around Solembum, a werecat.

One day, Eragon asked Murtagh to spar. The girls did not know who to cheer for and frankly, were too zoned into the battle to waste time cheering. They sparred for a long while, clearly equals.

Eventually, Eragon called them to stop; both dropped to the ground, drenched in sweat and exhausted. "Our heroes." Meg muttered sarcastically, handing Murtagh a cool, wet rag to clean off his gritty face. She tripped and fell unintentionally on to her unsuspecting 'hero' who let out an "umph!" which earned laughs. Their faces were bright red.


They arrived at the outskirts of Gil'ead the next evening. As they ate, Murtagh suggested an alternative to their plans. "I do not think you should be the one to go into Gil'ead."

All eyes were upon him. Of course, Eragon protested, but Murtagh won and left quickly after.

Hours passed and each minute seemed to draw a new wave of fear from Meg; new scenarios and issues popped into her head, explaining in exaggeration what had become of him. "I should have gone with him." She murmured, shaking her head.

"He wouldn't have let you." Ellie said, attempting to be comforting. "Let alone what we would've done to keep you here."

Sarah snorted, "If it's any consolation, we would've tied you to Saphira to keep you from leaving." She apologized to the dragon when a glare was given.

"Look," Eragon interrupted, pointing to a lone rider coming towards them.

Wary, Meg fingered one of her throwing knives, prepared to defend the small camp should it be an attacker. With a sigh, she was relieved to hear Murtagh's ask, "Did anyone follow me?"

Meg bit the inside of her cheek as he explained that he had been found out. She felt safe when she was with Murtagh, but was entitled to fear what lurked behind the walls of Gil'ead.

"I doubt that soldiers will be sent to search for you in the dark." Eragon said, rousing her from her thoughts. "We can at least count on being safe until morning and by then, if all goes well, we'll be leaving with Dormnad."

"No, only you will accompany him. As I've said before, I will not go to the Varden."

Meg's teeth clenched and she stiffened at his words. Her heart ached at the thought of leaving him, but she quietly pushed the yearning feeling away. He hurt you. She reminded herself. He does not care for you. Sarah is the guy magnet, not you. He does not look at you like Eragon looks at Ellie.

One by one, they laid down to sleep, though Meg found no comfort in the rocky ground or the thin blanket. She jolted awake when she felt a hand on her shoulder, though her body relaxed when she found it to be Murtagh. "Sorry," He whispered. "May I speak with you?"

Silently, she nodded, raising an eyebrow as she accepted his offered hand and they went away from the camp to not disturb their companions who they presumed wrongly to be asleep. "Is everything alright?" She asked.

He opened his mouth, but was hesitant, "I...I want you to come with me, Meg." She stood there, awestruck, a million thoughts in her mind at once. "When Eragon and your friends leave for the Varden, I want you to come with me. We could go anywhere we want, do anything we please. There wouldn't be any fear of the King or anyone to tell us what we're supposed to be."

For a moment, Meg allowed herself to dream of what his rich words had conjured in her mind. She allowed herself to dream about leaving with him, of being with him, of loving and being loved by him; and then the moment ended. "I..." She stammered. "I..."

"Don't worry about replying now." He said, brushing a stray bit of hair behind her ear. "Think about it, take as much time as you need." His hand rested upon her cheek. Her eyes fluttered, leaning towards his warmth and comfort. He pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers, his hesitancy clear until she kissed him lightly back.

When they drew apart, she could guarantee he was not expecting to be shoved out of the way of an Urgal, but she didn't have much time to ponder such a thing as the beast's club caught her in the side and threw her to the ground, unconscious.


Meg woke to an uncomfortable throb in her temple where her head had struck a rock. "Meg, are you alright?" She was surprised (and ever so slightly annoyed) to find Eragon's concerned face looking down upon her. She sat up, biting back a groan as everything seemed to spin. They were in a cold cell, most likely in Gil'ead.

"As alright as it can be in our situation." She muttered, holding a hand to her head. In a rather painful instant, she remembered the others. "Where's Murtagh? What happened to Ellie and Sarah?"

"I don't know, I blacked out." He replied quietly. She got a good look at him and paled, whatever food was in her wanted to make a surprise reappearance at the sight of the blood that coated his skin. "Don't worry, it's not mine." He added when he realized why she was suddenly sick.

She managed to nod in sync with the door opening to a man bringing in a platter of food. "You should eat something, it's been a while since our last meal." He offered a bit of bread.

She smiled, but shook her head, "I don't think I'll be able to hold it down."

They were tired and had little strength to do much, so they settled for sharing the rather small cot after pointing out numerously that there was no strange feelings between them. After an hour or two, they were shaken from their awkward slumber by the synchronized fall of heavy boots upon the stone floor. Eragon stood and looked out the window in the door, returning when the 'thuds' had faded, white as a ghost. "A Shade." He whispered. "So help us...we have a Shade in our midst."

She assumed a Shade was probably not a fairy and swallowed. What had she gotten herself into this time?

When she woke next, she was confronted by a man with maroon eyes, looking at her with a dark smile upon his lips. She raised an eyebrow and decided that it was best to avoid him as much as possible. So she said in French, "Qui etes-vous? Que fais-je ici?" (Who are you? What am I doing here?)

The Shade looked at her in disgust; apparently, he did not like foreigners. His attention turned to Eragon who played dumb. She had to act along her part and when Eragon finished explaining, she added in a confused tone to throw him off, "You're an arse, you know."

He merely ignored her and left with promise to discuss Eragon's name in greater detail later. She didn't like him and was relieved when he left. "We can not stay here," She whispered when she thought the Shade could not hear. "We have to go before he decides to take advantage of our predicament."

"I know, and we will get out, I promise." He assured her, though as the day dragged on, the words had less affect.

By the end of the day, Eragon could finally use magic (he had explained that there must've been a drug that was clouding his mind earlier.) He muttered something in the ancient language and Meg breathed a sigh of relief when the lock 'clicked' and swung inwards.

As they walked out, Eragon froze and grabbed Meg by her arm, "Wait, Saphira says not to do anything. Murtagh and Ellie are on their way-" Footsteps interrupted him.

Six soldiers came from around the corner and stopped in their tracks upon seeing them. In the brief time between silence and one of the soldiers yelling, "Charge!" Eragon pulled Meg behind him and placed a hand on her arm protectively. He raised his other hand, prepared to speak fatal words when there was a low buzz and a man crashed to the floor, an arrow in his back. Meg could feel the blood in her face drain and she clung to Eragon's arm as though it was the only thing keeping her from falling. Why was she suddenly so sick? The sight of death had not done this to her before.

Three more fell from the arrows and they could now see two ragged men with beards aiming at the remaining soldiers. "Thrysta!" Eragon shouted and another clutched his chest, then fell, dead.

The man with the gray beard aimed to kill the final soldier when Eragon called, "Don't kill him!" He lowered his bow. Their rescuers approached them while he interrogated the soldier and put him to sleep after receiving information as to the location of the elf and weapons. "Murtagh! Is that you?" The former farm boy asked the man with the black beard.

"Yes, I do not want my face seen." He replied with a smile. "Meg, are you alright?" The smile quickly faded when he saw how pale she was and noted a thin sheen of sweat over her face.

"Don't you dare lie to us, Jackson." The other archer had discarded their beard to reveal the feminine face of Ellie.

"If I am to be honest, I feel as though I am going to faint." Ellie hurried to her friend's side and took a firm hold of her. If she was admitting to an illness, than by God she had an illness.

"We must go," Murtagh said, worriedly gripping Meg's other arm. "We can get your weapons on the way, but we must leave now."

"There's an elf here. We must rescue her first, but I need your help." Eragon protested.

"An elf?" Ellie asked "That's a mistake, we should go while we have the chance."

"Please, just trust me." He begged. "Take Meg to the weapons room, we'll meet you there." With a groan, they separated and headed off in their directions

Ellie heard the footsteps of soldiers and ducked into the banquet hall, quickly hiding under a table. "Ellie?" The shaking voice made her forget the soldiers as quickly as they had entered her mind. "My vision is going dark. I can't-can't stay much longer."

"No, no, no, Meg, don't talk like that. Stay awake. If not for me, try for Murtagh." She stammered.

Meg managed to muster a snort. "I'm not dying, idiot. I'm going to pass out."

"Don't scare me like that!"

There was a crashing noise, like glass falling on to the floor followed by a sarcastic comment and she dragged Meg out from under the table to join Murtagh and Eragon—and the elf. "How is she?" Murtagh asked, hurrying to Meg's side, taking her and holding her against him as a support. Ellie didn't even answer, she watched as Eragon brushed a bit of the elf's hair from her face and felt her blood boil. "Ellie?"

The concern in his voice made her shove any thoughts of Eragon away and return her attention to her friend. "She's going to pass out soon, something must have gotten her sick."

"We must leave immediately." Murtagh explained. "There's a Shade, with any luck he won't find us-"

"It's much too late for that."

The words were chilling, but with enough effect for them to spin around and face the Shade, "So my young Rider, do you wish to test yourself against me?"

"I'll take care of him," Murtagh said quietly, reaching for his sword.

"No," Eragon said under his breath.

"But-"

"Murtagh," Meg whispered, clutching the fabric of his clothes with shaking hands. "It wants Eragon alive, you are disposable to him."

Ellie was almost certain that if Meg hadn't pleaded with him, he would have been a lot more persistent, though he did agree. "Be careful." She whispered to him as he walked to confront the Shade.

With each blow, Ellie winced, frightened that it would be the last. All of the sudden, parts of the ceiling fell to pieces on the floor. Murtagh gifted Ellie with Meg's weight and fired an arrow in between the demon's eyes. It howled in agony, then disappeared into the shadows.

Soldiers shouted to attack, but only three moved into the crumbling room and they did not make it close enough to attack the group of escapees as they climbed onto Saphira's back and flew off.

Saphira flew to where Sarah waited with horses and they rode until they were certain the threat of Gil'ead was far behind them.


When they stopped, Meg had woken back from unconsciousness. Ellie placed her so she could sit up against a tree and watch what was happening.

"Only you could get sick in there." Sarah muttered with a smile. Meg rolled her eyes. "All of last night, I couldn't stop thinking about something."

"Oh?" Meg questioned, not knowing where this was going as it was an extremely random comment. "And what's that?"

"You."

"Really?"

"No, food." Hearing Meg's laugh ring like a bell across the camp brightened the mood considerably. Murtagh took a seat beside her and convinced her to rest her head on his shoulder; slowly (inevitably) she succumbed to him and they fell asleep, his arm wrapped around her.

"Ellie, will you help me?" Eragon asked, motioning to the arrow that was lodged in Saphira's wing. "Hold tight." She nodded silently and kept a good grip. They worked in silence until Ellie cried in surprise when the wing clipped her jaw and sent her flying backwards.

"Ellie!" Eragon ran to her aid and helped her to stand. "Let me see." He cupped her chin to get a better look, only to find that he couldn't pull his gaze away from her eyes.

"It's fine, Eragon." She replied, a shiver running down her spine as they drifted closer to each other.

"Saphira says she's sorry, she didn't mean to." He murmured. She felt nervous, why was she nervous? What did she have to fear?

"I know." No other words were spoken between them until their lips pulled away from each other and they looked away, faces red. "I should go check on Meg."

"I should probably check on Saphira."

"Right,"

"Right,"

"Good night,"

"Same to you."

Sarah rolled her eyes, then smiled evilly. Oh, how she loved blackmail.