"What were you thinking?" Thorn roared angrily in Murtagh's mind.
"I know, I was wrong! But I just wanted him to leave us alone!" said Murtagh while he was walking to his room.
"Don't you get it? You put her in danger!" said Thorn.
"We'll get Saphira, ok? Gia will be fine." said Murtagh, trying to convince himself in what he was saying.
"Huh. I guess I'll have to wake you up from this silly dream you're having." sighed Thorn "If we don't get Saphira, Gia is dead. But, if we actually get Saphira here, Galbatorix doesn't need any of us. So that would make us all…dead!"
"And what do you want me to do, Thorn?" Murtagh got angry "I'll do anything to keep her safe and you know it! We just need a good plan how to get her out of here."
"Oh, yeah. Like that is going to be easy! Galbatorix will watch every step she makes!" said Thorn.
"I'll think of something…" said Murtagh.
"Would you die for her?" suddenly asked Thorn.
"Thorn, stop annoying me! I have to think!" said Murtagh.
"Oh, so now I'm annoying you? I would say you're just avoiding to answer my question." said Thorn upset.
"Fuck off, Thorn!" said Murtagh angrily.
"Hey! Act like that again and I'll kill you!" Thorn was furious.
"You won't! You're not suicidal" Murtagh rolled his eyes "I don't want to talk to you anymore! You are my dragon and you will do what I say! No matter what I decide, you'll be with me!"
"Fine!" said Thorn and they both broke their mental connection.
"Thorn…" Gia was trying to contact Thorn again while she was sitting on the bed in her room.
"Gia!" Thorn's voice sounded upset and sweet in the same time.
"Is something wrong?" asked Gia suspiciously "That's the first time I finally managed to contact you since…"
"Yeah, I know. Galbatorix didn't let me talk to you." said Thorn.
"But something is wrong…you're…I don't know." said Gia.
"I'm fine." said Thorn "Will you come to see me?"
"I don't know will the king let me…but I'll try, ok?" said Gia.
"Are you angry on Murtagh?" suddenly asked Thorn.
"No, why?" said Gia nervously.
"He's risking your life." said Thorn "And I don't want…"
"It will be fine. I have…a plan." said Gia hesitantly.
"A plan?" Thorn asked surprised.
"Yeah, but I can't say more…the king mustn't know." said Gia.
"Sure. So if you are thinking of something…you don't trust us, do you?" said Thorn "You don't really believe him he will save your life?"
"It's not that. I just need you two to do something for me, ok?" said Gia nervously.
"What is it?" asked Thorn.
"You'll have to keep the king busy for some time. I need to have a private conversation with someone, but completely private. It's a part of the plan." said Gia, carefully checking is someone trying to read her mind.
"Ok. When?" asked Thorn.
"I don't know yet. Just talk to Murtagh and tell me, ok?" said Gia "Be careful. It's very important."
"Sure." said Thorn and broke their mental connection.
"Umm, Murtagh?" said Thorn hesitantly after some moments.
"What?" asked Murtagh coldly.
"Gia needs us to do her a favor." said Thorn "We have to keep the king busy for some time."
"Why?" asked Murtagh.
"It doesn't matter why!" said Thorn "I can't say."
"Huh, keeping Galbatorix busy? If she tries to escape, magicians and soldiers will stop her." said Murtagh.
"Yeah, but she won't do that. Only the king will be checking her mind all the time. But if he gets distracted, no one else will do it." said Thorn.
"Yeah…but he can find out later." said Murtagh.
"True. But I believe she's taking that risk. Maybe he won't think that something happened in so little time." said Thorn.
"Could be. But if that fails, you can try to hide it. The king won't count on that maybe." said Murtagh.
"And what do you think I'm doing all this time?" Thorn got angry again.
"Ok, ok! I guess I'm going to have a nice conversation with the king then." said Murtagh.
"I'll tell Gia to prepare." said Thorn.
"Ok, I'm going to the throne room. And you better tell to Gia that she'll pay for every scratch I get." said Murtagh and went out of the room.
"Gia! He went." said Thorn. Gia took a deep breath and tried to think about something not so important. She got in the bed like she's going to sleep and thought about her mother and other boring things from her childhood.
"Now!" said Thorn when Murtagh got in the throne room. Gia got out of the bed fast and ran down the hall. She went to one of the rooms and found her father standing there.
"Gia!" said Zephyr surprised.
"You have to listen to me. We don't have much time! It's very important." said Gia nervously "If Murtagh doesn't bring Saphira here in a month…the king said I'm going to die."
"What?" Zephyr stared at Gia in shock.
"Please! No time for explanations. You need to leave! You know some people; the king has to die." said Gia angrily "Find out everything you can and go to see Eragon, that Dragon Rider who is with the Varden. He can be useful."
"I believe I know what you're thinking. But do we have a plan B? This is little bit…umm, unsafe?" said Zephyr upset.
"Just act normal. Go away like you're supposed to. Don't make it look suspicious. The dragon will help us." said Gia "And I don't have a plan B. Invent one!"
"Ok, Gia! But I told you your obsession with that Rider will be dangerous!" said Zephyr.
"Yeah, yeah! I have to go now!" said Gia.
"Always leaving the final job for others? Great." said Zephyr "See you."
Gia rolled her eyes and ran out of the room. After some moments she was back to her room, again in the bed like she was some minutes ago. One hour passed and Gia heard the door of her room open. She saw Murtagh standing there.
"Hey." Gia smiled at him. She felt Thorn's presence in her mind and knew they are safe for a moment.
"I got two cuts and four bruises while talking to the king…because of you!" said Murtagh, not moving from the door.
"Not bad." laughed Gia "What did you talk about?"
"You don't want to know…mostly about Eragon and Saphira." said Murtagh "He didn't agree with my opinion, as you can see. Now act like this conversation never happened. Thorn can't protect us any longer."
"Hey." said Gia like she just saw him.
"I missed you." he said and entered the room, closing the door.
"I don't believe you." she said with a playful smile on her face.
"Ok, I can prove it to you." he said and got in the bed next to her, kissing her gently.
"Will you stay with me?" whispered Gia quietly.
"Yes." he smiled "But I need to talk with you first."
"Oh?" Gia was surprised.
"About you and me." said Murtagh.
"What about us?" asked Gia nervously, moving away from him a bit.
"I think we should get married before I go…" he looked deep into her eyes.
"What?" she stared at him in disbelief.
"Yeah, I want you to be mine…completely." he whispered "And that whole world knows it."
"You're crazy!" Gia started to laugh "I thought we don't need that stupid thing! And I don't care what people think…"
"Come on, Gia! It would be special." said Murtagh.
"No way!" said Gia "I'm not getting married. Not now. Not yet!"
"Why?" asked Murtagh "Do you think you'll meet someone else? Do you think I won't make it?"
"No! I can't live without you…" said Gia.
"And you won't…" said Murtagh quietly.
"What?" Gia raised an eyebrow. In that moment someone knocked on the door.
"Yes?" said Gia and a maid opened the door "What?"
"There is a guy looking for you, Gia." said the maid.
"Now?" Gia was shocked.
"Yes, he said his name is Tristan." said the maid.
"Umm, tell him I'm coming, ok?" said Gia nervously.
"Yes, sure." said the maid and closed the door. Gia immediately got up from the bed and looked for a dress. She picked the black one and put it on.
"Who is he?" asked Murtagh coldly.
"Just some guy…" said Gia, fixing her hair.
"What does he want?" asked Murtagh suspiciously.
"I don't know." said Gia "I'm going to see."
Gia hurried down the hall and saw Tristan standing at the end of it. He smiled when he saw her.
"Wow, even more beautiful than before." smiled Tristan.
"What do you want?" Gia rolled her eyes.
"Just came to see you." said Tristan and got closer to her "I hope you still remember I saved your life."
"Huh." said Gia annoyed "Stay away from me!"
"Come on, I don't want anything special…anything expensive…just you." he put his hand on Gia's face.
"Why do you play with fire?" asked Gia and pushed him away.
"I wouldn't be doing this if I knew that you don't want this…" said Tristan "I can make your dreams come true…"
"What do you know about what I want?" said Gia "You know nothing about me."
"You're wrong." smiled Tristan "I know what you like…I'll let you do to me whatever you want…one night of passion."
"Huh?" Gia didn't look convinced.
"Listen to me, Gia. I'm asking for just one night…and then if you're not happy, you can kill me." said Tristan "But I'm sure you'll be asking for more…"
"Wow, I can't believe how self-confident you are…and how stupid." said Gia.
"Tell me the idea doesn't excite you." he smiled. Gia looked at him for a moment, not knowing what to do. The guy was a total jerk, but a good-looking jerk. And it wasn't such a bad idea, considering that her life could end soon if Murtagh fails. Suddenly someone came behind her back and hugged her, making her gasp. She turned around a bit and saw Murtagh.
"Is everything ok?" asked Murtagh, looking coldly at Tristan who was surprised a bit.
"Umm…" Gia realized what Murtagh was doing; he was checking Tristan's mind and she had to stop it "Don't! The guy is sick."
"If you don't mind, I would like to finish my conversation with the lady." said Tristan.
"You can do that right here." said Murtagh.
"And who are you?" asked Tristan.
"Gia is mine." said Murtagh coldly.
"You can't talk like that about her. She's not your property. Not even your wife." said Tristan and looked at Gia "Do you want me to leave?"
"Yes." said Gia and looked at Murtagh who was holding her in his arms "Just go!"
But Tristan didn't move, just stared in shock at them. Murtagh gently pulled Gia closer to him and started to kiss her passionately. Finally Gia pushed him away and looked back at the spot where Tristan was standing. She gasped as she saw him on the floor.
"You killed him?" Gia looked at Murtagh.
"No one will ever touch you…except me." said Murtagh and smiled "You see, it would be much better if we got married…then people would know about it and no one would dare to touch Dragon Rider's wife."
"I could have killed him myself. I don't care how many of them come, I can deal with them." said Gia.
"You didn't look like you planned to kill him actually." said Murtagh "He was pretty sure about what he was doing."
"He was crazy, ok? I wanted to have fun with him." said Gia.
"Fun? Huh." Murtagh looked at her suspiciously.
"Yes. But I guess I'll have to do that with you." smiled Gia "Come here!"
"Ok." Murtagh let her take him back to her room "You know the king might be…watching…"
"Well, let's make a good show then!" smiled Gia "To make him stop watching!"
"Of course." smiled Murtagh and they started to kiss passionately.
