Oh, shut up. I had stories left even longer than this that I had to take care of first.

Chapter 13: Secrets Secrets Are No Fun

Miranda opened her palm, and the stream of water flowed upwards. A gesture with her wrist, and it formed into a swirling ball. She clenched her fist. It froze into a spiky ball of ice and hung in the air.

Galbatorix watched from the doorway of the training room she practiced in, one of many in the palace. He turned away and walked back towards the central part of the castle. He encountered Riza along the walk; she fell into step beside him.

"How is she doing?" Riza asked quietly. The air between them was still tense following the argument that had led to Riza's following Miranda in the first place.

"She's improving rapidly. It might be because she's never thrown that much energy into her magic before, but she's moving much faster than I expected her to." Galbatorix looked straight ahead and refused to meet Riza's eyes.

"Don't treat her like an experiment," snapped Riza. "She's your daughter, not some hapless Eldunari. Honestly, the way you talk sometimes…"

Irritation flickered over the king's face briefly. "I was merely referring to the fact that her magical skills are finally approaching what might be useful in actual battle, instead of how she used to treat her magic, as if it were some toy she happened to have." The tension was thick today, it seemed.

"You mean for her to fight?" asked Riza quickly, eyes darting to her husband's face for any clues before flashing back to the hall in front of her.

"I do," replied Galbatorix. "If she is to truly be my daughter and take up the throne of Alagaesia one day, she must have seen battle. She is my daughter, as you said. I must know that my heir can be as well-versed in the reality of the world as I am."

Riza sighed. "Any battle that you send her into is just as likely to get her killed as teach her about the world."

"That would be why she's training." They arrived outside the throne room; here they stopped. Galbatorix patted Riza's shoulder. "It will all work out. You'll see. You don't need to worry about anything."

And she didn't worry abut anything, because he was using his reassuring voice, and then he kissed her, and then how could anything go wrong when her beloved said otherwise in his reassuring voice? They parted company then, and Riza returned to the gardens she had been sitting in prior to their talk.

~Ice Witch~

Miranda's hand flopped downwards, and the water splashed onto the floor. She sighed, before quickly evaporating it; there was nothing Father hated more than useless puddles on the ground.

She'd never before put this much effort into training; she'd never needed to. The magic came to her naturally. Why was she doing this again?

Because Father asked you to. He had, indeed. It was his right to ask her, after all: she'd just returned from her trip. Looking at it now, it seemed inconceivable that she would ever run away from home. She wanted more freedom? When she'd returned, her father had given her more freedom than she'd ever been given before. She was allowed to attend all his important councils, and he made sure she was kept well-informed about everything she needed to know.

So when he had asked her to practice more, it seemed only natural that she would obey him. And he was so kind and warm, the way he spoke and treated her and Mother. All the awful things she'd heard about him couldn't be true, when he acted this way towards his family! Miranda didn't mind being fulfilling the dutiful daughter role in this family.

Miranda left the room and quickly walked back to her chambers. In accordance with her new position as the budding heir, she'd been given new, larger rooms with a better view, and her arranged marriage had been called off. Father had made up his mind that his new, stronger heir didn't need to be tied down by marriage just yet.

In short, Miranda had been granted everything she'd wanted. The least she could do was obey him in return. She opened the door to her rooms, deciding that there was enough time for her to take her time washing up for dinner.

Her sword was lying on her dresser. Looking at it, Miranda wondered briefly about Angela, her only friend outside the palace. She's probably reached the Varden by now… Ah, the Varden. Father's only enemies. Upon returning, she'd been given the whole truth about the struggle; she'd learned just how wrong the Varden were and why they needed to be stopped.

A small frown crossed her face. Honestly, the Empire was a peaceful place; couldn't they see that they were the ones causing all the trouble? It wasn't as if they stood a chance, anyway. Father's armies could crush them like bugs if they wanted to. Perhaps they would, and then the Varden would realize that resistance is futile.

But Angela wasn't a bad person… thought Miranda, somewhat conflicted. Not bad, misguided, perhaps? argued another portion of her mind. She was very strange.

Miranda shook her head to clear out these troublesome thoughts. Maybe if she had someone to talk to more often, this wouldn't happen as often as it did. Mother had Justa, Father was with Shruikan. Unfortunately, this wouldn't happen for Miranda; she'd tried both dragon eggs in Galbatorix's possession long ago, to no avail.

Riding wasn't her destiny, apparently. Miranda sighed wistfully; maybe if she was a Rider, she'd be able to live up to all of Father's expectations. And if she wanted to be as good a ruler as he, she'd need to.

Even so, it was all she could hope for to have him devote so much time to her improvement. Galbatorix was a busy man, after all.

~Ice Witch~

Shruikan opened one eye blearily. It's working, isn't it?

"It's working. The whole plan is going very smoothly and exactly how I wanted it to," replied Galbatorix. "Miranda wants nothing more than to please her dear father, and Riza can be swayed to my will at any time I choose."

Good luck making her fight.

Galbatorix frowned. "It is a problem. She'd definitely have trouble killing humans; it would be easier if we were fighting Urgals, but that particular attack won't be made for some time."

Justa appeared on the windowsill. So many you plan to trick. If Miranda dies Riza will not be happy.

"Who invited you, werecat?" snapped Galbatorix. "The fact remains that I have both of them under my control—not an easy feat, I'll have you know."

She will die. You realize that, don't you, said Shruikan. It wasn't a question.

Galbatorix sighed. "It is a possibility. One that I wish everyone I talk to would stop reminding me of," he added, glaring at both of them.

If she lives, she'll have gained valuable experience. If she dies, you've lost an uncertain element. Is that how it goes? asked Justa scornfully.

"Miranda is unstable in her loyalties, likely to betray me at the worst possible moment," said Galbatorix. "I raised her too leniently. She cares too much about people. This is beside the point."

Shruikan looked directly at Galbatorix. What is the point?

"The point is that if I have these two under my control, the possibilities regarding who else I can control are limitless."

…Unless you share with everyone! Short, yeah, I know. This was mainly a chapter devoted to establishing the current situation in the palace right now.

Actually, Galbatorix creeps me out a lot more now.

Galbatorix 0wnz: That's not necessarily true, and I'd rather not turn this into a debate on the quality of Paolini's plot structure, if you don't mind.

Namiko Shigemoto: I'll take your word for it!

Voldy's Worst Nightmare: Ooh, now I have a standard…

Jedi totallyNsane: thanks!

MegElemental: sorry, no romance in this story. I would definitely make it Eragon/Miranda if there were, though!

See you…umm…I don't know when. Junior year, it's a type of hell.