(A/N) I lied. This chapter will divide focus on what's going on with Murtagh and how Eragon (Denethor) ended up in Uru'Baen instead of Carvahall. I needed to do this story before I switch to Azura's storyline in Carvahall, which will only cover the differences from the canon. Enjoy!

Ch. 14: Scars

Eighteen Years Earlier

Selena finally managed to lull her three-year-old son Murtagh back to sleep after one of Morzan's fits of anger had woken him. These episodes were becoming more frequent and destructive to the point that Selena was considering running away and taking her son with her. The one solace she had found in this God forsaken place was with Brom, a dragon rider who fought with the resistance against Galbatorix and his Forsworn. Needless to say this relationship was full of drama reminiscent of her romance novels. One night a week she would sneak out to meet Brom for a midnight picnic once Morzan had drunk himself to sleep and lose herself in the passion of young love. Tonight was no different from any other; Morzan had passed out before even making it to the couch, a feat impressive even for him. The vase he had thrown against the wall lay shattered on the wooden floor as a perfect representation of him, a splintered shell of a man. Selena left the house with haste to meet Brom, seeking an escape from her horrendous life.

As the two lovers lay underneath the stars Selena began to work up the courage to say something that would forever change the paradigm of her life. Brom noticed she was acting differently than usual and decided to speak up since she had not.

"What's the matter dear? I know that look and it rarely bodes well."

"Have you noticed anything different about me?" Selena may have been the Black Hand of Morzan, but she was still a woman who, like most, overestimated the perception of men.

God damnit! Me and my big mouth. Brom exclaimed internally while his mind reeled trying to figure out what it was. Her hair is the same, definitely not a new dress, she gained some weight but I'm sure as hell not making the mistake of bringing that up again. Other than that everything is the exact same. Shit. "No I haven't noticed anything different about you at all, you're as beautiful as the day we met."

"I'm pregnant Brom and I don't think I can hide it from Morzan much longer. He'll know I've been cheating on him and I don't think that I will survive that conversation."

"See I thought you had gained a little weight." He said tongue in cheek and boy was that the wrong thing to say to a pregnant woman.

"Why you stupid! Inconsiderate! Jerk!" She said timing her punches to land while she paused. "I'm over here freaking out and instead of comforting me like you were supposed to, you make a joke about my weight."

"That seems like a reasonable reaction." He said while wincing from the pain. "Your small fists pack quite the punch."

Selena reared back to throw another before Brom raised his hands in surrender and spoke again. "No it was a compliment." It did little did sway her and her fist made contact with his shoulder for the fourth time.

"I'm sorry! I comfort people by making light of the situation through jokes. I didn't mean anything by it; it's just who I am. Please don't punch me again."

Selena finally lowered her arm and unclenched her fist.

"Thank you." Brom said while rubbing his shoulder and a sense of soberness fell upon them. "So what are we going to do?"

"I have an Uncle who lives in a small town near the Spine called Carvahall; if I can leave for awhile and have the baby there he can grow up without the terrible influences here."

"You could play it like you are on a mission and Morzan would be none the wiser. Brilliant! How about next week we meet here like usual and I'll take you there by dragon? That should give you enough time to set up the trip with Morzan so he won't be suspicious. "

"Thank you Brom, I truly don't know what I would do without you." Selena rested her head on his shoulder (the one she hadn't punched repeatedly); her stress finally relieved.

Selena closed the door behind as she entered her house with a smile on her face for the first time in a long time. She saw pieces of the vase on the floor then stopped dead in her tracks. In front of her was a semi-sober Morzan, standing with Zar'roc strapped on his back waiting for her.

"Where the Hell have you been? It's almost dawn."

Selena made sure to choose her words very carefully. "I was out for a walk, after what happened I needed some fresh air and lost track of time."

What she said was plausible, but the thought never entered Morzans head.

Morzan began shouting at her. "Horse-shit! You were whoring yourself out weren't you!"

"No of course not; and don't talk so loud or you'll wake up Murtagh." Selena said attempting to contain the situation.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do!" He grabbed her wrist with one hand so tight it might break and grabbed a bottle of liquor with the other. "I'll wake the little shit up if I feel like it!"

At this point Murtagh had already woken up and begun to get out of bed.

Morzan chugged from the bottle while Selena yanked her wrist from his grasp and pleaded, "You're being irrational; please just stop."

Morzan finally pulled the bottle from his lips and gave her a death stare. "I'm acting irrational? ME? My wife is out sleeping with whatever man so much as glances her way and I'M out of line?" He pulled Zar'roc from its sheath and pointed it at her throat, its tip breaking the skin. His voice became so soft it was almost a whisper and uttered with malicious intent, "I'll show you out of line." He wanted to hurt her in a way she could not imagine.

He heard whimpering behind him and saw Murtagh cowering in the corner. What better way to hurt her than by taking away the one thing she cares about? He kicked Selena to floor, turned, and threw his sword at Murtagh. Despite his inebriation Morzans sword hit his chest dead center, piercing through his small body.

Murtaghs body lay on the floor, blood pooling around him. Selena froze in shock as her baby boy was dying before her very eyes. Morzan started chugging from the bottle again and blocked everything else out. Selena's vision became blurred with red; she stood up and put all her power into a single chop to his neck. Morzan fell to floor gasping for breath as she pulled the sword from Murtaghs body and in one fell swoop chopped Morzans head off.

Her vision became clearer as the adrenaline wore off and she remembered that her son lay dying. She rushed over to him, fell to her knees, and pulled him close to her. His breaths were fast and shallow; death was rapidly approaching. Tears were streaming down Selenas face as she uttered the last words she would ever say to him in a broken voice, "I am so sorry baby. You don't deserve this; you didn't deserve anything that has happened to you. All I have brought upon you is pain and suffering; this is all my fault."

Murtagh lifted his hand and caressed her face; he tried to say one last thing to her before he died, "Mommy, I…" His body fell limp in his mothers' arms and his words, like him, were lost in oblivion.

Selena shook his body a couple of times to try and get just a few more seconds with him. "Murtagh? Murtagh sweetie wake up. Wake up for mommy… please."

She knew he was gone and never coming back. That night she vowed to raise her next baby herself and teach him/her to value others so that they would never turn into the person Morzan had.

It was then that Brom busted in and saw the bloody scene. He didn't need to be told what happened when he saw her clutching Murtagh to her chest and weeping. He approached Selena and put his hands on her shoulders, "You need to go, now."

"I can't leave him."

"You have to; I'll set fire to the house and make sure someone sees me fleeing. I'll get blamed and you will be free to raise our baby in comfort, but you need to go now."

"Fine, but I'm burying him properly."

They took his lifeless body into the backyard and quickly dug a grave. A misty-eyed Selena carefully put Murtagh in the shallow grave and filled it in.

Selena hugged Brom tightly, releasing all her emotions. She let him go and moved to leave when he grabbed her arm.

"You might want to change your clothes you are literally, not figuratively, literally covered in blood."

Brom went about collecting flammable objects to ensure the fire would consume the whole house while Selena changed and washed the blood off. When she emerged ready to leave Brom was ready to set the place ablaze.

"Brom… how did you know to come here?"

"You'd never believe me if I told you."

"That's an unsatisfying answer, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. Will I ever see you again?"

"I'll be around."

With that Selena left to start a new life free from Morzan's influence.

Three Years Later

Selena's life had not changed much since Morzan died; she was provided a castle by Galbatorix to raise her new son in and unfortunately his life was already plotted on a course to assume a role in Galbatorixs army. If Selena had the foresight to see the danger she would put her son Eragon in by staying in Uru'Baen she would have faked her death the night she killed Morzan, but there was no changing that now and she cursed her naivety daily. During the first two years she fired every servant Galbatorix sent her way until she was allowed to pick her own. Selena met Rose at Vandr Wülf market near her home and instantly bonded with her. Rose was only fourteen years old at the time so her parents jumped at the opportunity to give her a life among the elite by becoming a live-in servant for Selena. Roses assistance in raising Eragon was immensely helpful to Selena who sometimes needed time to herself; usually that meant time to spend with Brom who visited her as often as he could.

Tonight, like any other they had spent together, was a picnic under the night sky. However there was something different yet somewhat familiar.

"Have you noticed anything different about me?"

Brom was having none of it, "No we aren't doing this again. This question is a trap that I refuse to fall into. I still remember last time when you punched me repeatedly."

"To be fair you called me fat."

"No I didn't! I merely stated the fact that you had gained a small amount of weight. And you were pregnant so that doesn't count!" Selena raised her fist to punch him. "But lets not dwell on that. Are you pregnant again?" She lowered her arm and Brom silently thanked God for that miracle.

"Yes, and I won't make the mistake of raising thais child where Galbatorix can get his hands on it. Is there any way you can take it to Carvahall when the baby is born?"

"Of course. Are you sure you want to wait that long?"

"I have a servant I trust that isn't affiliated with Galbatorix and can run errands for me so I am able to stay out of sight. A few months after it's born I will send it with you to my Uncle in Carvahall."

"Will you be okay leaving your baby like that? It is unlikely you will ever see it again."

"What I want is irrelevant. What is important is that my baby will be safe from Galbatorix."

"What if I was able to be there? Keep watch over it until it's grown."

"The Varden needs you Brom, you are the last Dragon Rider they have."

"There is little one rider can do against the empire and the offspring of riders tend to become riders as well. If I can manage to get a dragon egg to Carvahall it could change the tide of the war. This next part will make your life harder Selena; you need to set Eragon up to be a rider as well and raise him to be a good person. It will make his life a living Hell for a while but when the time comes he will want to leave Galbatorix and join the Varden. You must ensure he does, for then there could potentially be three riders against Galbatorix and with those odds we have a chance."

"That could actually work… but how do you know the dragons will hatch for them?"

"To be honest I don't, but it's the best shot we have."

Little did they know the events set in motion that night would prove to be the turning point the Varden so desperately needed.

Present Day – In the Spine

A tall man with dark hair knelt on the ground examining the scene that lay before him. A circular patch of ground was seared black next to a dried pool of blood that trailed off.

"Three weeks old going by the blood. There is a strong magical residue surrounding the burnt ground likely hindering growth of the vegetation."

He subconsciously ran his hand over the scar on his chest, the cause of which remained unknown to him. Eyeing the trail of blood leading away from the area Murtagh stood up and began to follow it.

(A/N) Right now you're probably thinking, "What? He's alive? How?" My answer of course is, "Spoilers." The scene with Morzan killed me to write, but I hope that you enjoyed it nonetheless. As always please review and tell me your thoughts. Now excuse me while I go cry into my glass of scotch. Vandr Wülf = Bad Wolf.