Disclaimer: I don't own Eragon or related characters.

A.N. Let's just get straight into the story shall we.

Chapter 14

Bree had been placed in the saddle so she was sitting sideways and, if the soldier behind her hadn't had his arm around her waist, she would have fallen from the horse as soon as it started moving. At least my hands are in front of me this time, she mused, trying to see Eragon through the mass of horses and mounted men, wondering how Brom and Murtagh were faring against the Urgals and the soldiers that had remained.

The soldiers galloped through the gates, neither stopping nor slowing until they had reached the fortress in the centre of the city; the only stone building Bree had seen during the ride. Reining his horse to a stop, the lead soldier dismounted and spoke quietly to the guards at the large iron bound doors. After a minute, during which Bree was still struggling to get free of her captor's hold and look around for Eragon, the guards nodded and stepped aside, opening one of the heavy wooden doors.

Bree was aiming to kick a soldier that was about to pass by and was going to put both feet into the kick but, instead of passing and joining the lead soldier, he stopped by the side of the horse, just out of kicking range, grabbed her by the hem of her dress and pulled her to the ground. Having been preparing to kick at him, Bree found herself unbalanced when her feet touched the ground and she toppled into another soldier. He seized her by the tops of her arms and, setting her back on her feet, roughly pushed her towards the doors. Bree didn't want to go forward but she could see Eragon ahead of her, his limp body being dragged across the cobblestones and through the doors by two of the guards. She hurried to catch up with them, the accompanying soldier pushing her from behind with the tip of his sword whenever she slowed.

They went deeper into the fortress, following a long, dimly lit hallway before descending a short flight of steps into a narrow corridor lined with thick, heavy looking wooden doors. Bree watched as they dragged Eragon into a cell, dropping him onto a dilapidated looking cot and bolting the door behind them when the left. Bree sighed in relief; they wouldn't lock the door on a dead person. She had been worried at the blood she had seen on the side of his face. The soldier poked her in the back once again and she was directed to a cell a few doors down from Eragon's. Bree grimaced as she was pushed inside, her body making contact with the slimy, moss covered wall and, before she had the chance to turn around she heard the door slam and the sound of an iron bolt being slid into place.

Bree kicked at the wall in anger, failing to reach Eragon's mind and the others were too far away for her too contact; too many, minds between them and her. She paced the few steps between the walls before flopping down onto the filthy, blanket-less cot with a muffled scream. Her heart began to race. Don't panic, don't panic, she thought to herself. You just need a plan, that's all. You have magic and a Dragon Rider, you can get out of this, easy. She refused to allow herself to remember that Eragon was of no use until he woke up.

Bree took several deep breaths as she looked around the cell. There was a window in the top of the wall but she wouldn't be able to see out of it without standing on her toes or maybe jumping. The wall beneath the window was covered in slim and would make any attempt at getting a foothold to climb out extremely difficult. She might not even be able to pull herself up that high, certainly not with her hands bound. She looked around the room for something she could use to cut the rope. Noticing a protruding bit a brick on the far wall, Bree moved over to it and began rubbing the rope along the rough, stone edge, sometimes grazing her skin of her hands on the wall. It took several precious minutes but the coarse fibres in the rope began to fray and loosen until she was able to slip it from her wrists. She moved the door, tried pushing it first but it wouldn't open, then she tried using magic, saying the word for open. There was silence, the bolt hadn't moved and when she tried the door again it still wouldn't open. Bree considered breaking the wood but determined that after fighting the Urgals she was too drained to use such magic and then fight the guards that would come from resulting explosion of noise.

Now what? She thought desperately, as she tried again to contact Eragon and the others with no success.

She drifted through the thoughts of the other prisoners. There were many more than she had been expecting; men, women and children had all been tortured and left to suffer in cold, damp cells. Suddenly Bree came across the mind of prisoner, but with this one she could see a barrier. A few of the guards in the rooms above had barriers but his was the first captive she had come across. Slipping through the distortion of colour Bree viewed the person's memories. Glimpses of trees with houses growing from their branches, a tall woman with a crown resting on dark hair, a golden dragon, riders falling from their horses with arrows in their sides, a ring a fire, a pale hand raising a blue stone to the sky, a flash of light, a cell similar to Bree's and pain beyond measure that even made Bree wince forced her to pull back to the surface thoughts. The woman, she was sure it was a woman, was still in indescribable pain but there was conscious thought. Bree saw that she was hoping the egg was safe and that she might die soon, better death, she was thinking, than this continuous torture.

Arya? Bree hoped she was right. The woman's thoughts seemed to freeze for a moment before she dismissed the voice as an illusion from the pain. Arya, is that you? The thoughts froze again, resuming as the woman tried to lift her head and glance around the room. Just lay still, said Bree, soothingly, you can't see me. The woman had begun to realise that the voice really was in her head and not somewhere in the cell.

Who are you and how do you know my name, came her faint reply.

My name is Bree. You're the elf that carried Saphira's egg between the elves and the Varden.

It has a name? It's hatched? The woman's thoughts were confused and faded in places as though she were barely conscious.

Yes, she just outside the city, we were attacked by Urgals and soldiers a little while ago. Eragon is in a cell nearby.

There was a moment of silence as Arya tried to stay awake. Eragon, he is the Rider? Bree sent an affirmative and felt Arya's despair at the Dragon Rider's capture. Bree could see her thinking about what this meant for Alagaësia; a Rider on a blue dragon decimating the Varden in their mountain stronghold. Arya suddenly seemed to remember that someone was in her thoughts and she had just been picturing the location of the Varden. Don't worry, Bree tried to reassure her, I've already picked the information from Brom's head as a precaution. Her words had the opposite affect Bree intended.

Where are you? The elf's thoughts had become angry. And scared. She was wondering what had been done to Brom, if he had been tortured as she had.

I'm in a cell too, you're, Bree paused and counted the minds between her and Arya, seven down from me and I'm about four down from Eragon. I can't tell you where Brom is, he's too far for me to reach. The last I saw he was fighting off several Urgals and there were soldiers on horseback ready to step in if the Urgals lost.

You're a prisoner? But how are you in my thoughts, I am weak but my mind is still mostly secure. You should not be in here. The voice was worried.

I'll have to explain that after we escape. It tends to go into a very long, convoluted narrative of my life.

There is no escape from here, Arya said, her tone defeated. There is a Shade here, you may be able to read my thoughts but I can assure you that you will be no match for his magic.

Bree huffed. Well I wasn't planning on meeting him, Eragon's the one that got killing Durza into his when we started planning to rescue you. I was more for the 'wait until he leaves the city, slip in, rescue the damsel in distress and leave quickly' plan. Then we were attacked and now I'm stuck here, Eragon's unconscious and I've got no clue what's happened to the others.

You came here to rescue me? Knowing of the Shade? Arya was shocked and horrified. You should not have, now the king will have a Rider at his command. He will twist Eragon until he does his bidding. The Varden will be lost with any hope of freedom for the people of Alagaësia.

Yep. At Arya's incredulous thoughts, Bree quickly added, the rescuing, not the doom and gloom stuff. Remember, we're escaping, so Eragon won't be subjected to Galbatorix and his weirdness, will he? We came to rescue you because you don't deserve to be here, no-one does, and as long as you're in this cell Eragon is going to get nightmares about it. you tend to be a bit boring and from this conversation, I gotta say you're not coming across as very cheery either, but you are important and people like you so why not?

Because you have now been captured, that is why not!

You are too pessimistic, princess. We are going to escape; even if I have to stick my finger up at Durza to do it. Bree stated confidently.

There was silence again, then, you speak strange words. Arya was growing tired and her eyelids began dropping.

As long as you can understand me. Go to sleep; I'm not going anywhere. Bree tried unsuccessfully to joke and was grateful that the elf was now asleep. Now where is Durza? She thought as she reached her mind out. She really should have begun looking for him before; multitasking while she spoke with Arya the way she was now, flicking between her search for Durza and checking on Eragon, Arya while also looking for Brom, Saphira and Murtagh.

Soon enough, Bree had found him. It was not hard as his mind was a writhing mass of thoughts, all whispering together; whispering dark things. He was on an upper level of the stone building, speaking to the soldier Bree believed had lead the attack on their camp. He was reporting to Durza on the outcome of their raid, mentioning the capture of the Dragon Rider and the girl, meaning her. She sighed in relief when the soldier explained that with the aid of the dragon, the other two men had escaped, killing the last of the Urgals and driving off the soldiers. Bree was so thankful they were alive but grew concerned as the soldier was dismissed and a guard ordered to show Durza to their cells. Please don't wake up Eragon, she pleaded silently as she watched Durza descend into dark of the dungeon level, keeping to the surface thoughts as she watched through his mind; she didn't want what she had cautiously identified as the evil spirits to know she was listening.

Bree held her breath as Durza approached Eragon's cell, she could not here the door unlock through the wooden door of her cell, so she listened intently thought Durza's thoughts. He soon left the cell, having dosed Eragon with the same liquid the Ra'zac had used, effectively removing any magical threat he might have posed; as well as cutting off Bree's ability to contact him effectively when he did finally wake.

Bree backed against the far wall of her cell as the Shade approached. She heard the bolt as it slowly ground through the lock and then the door swung open to reveal Durza. He looked her over as she huddled against the wall in fear; she was still in his mind after all and knew what tortures he was planning. He dismissed the guard, closing the door behind him as he entered the small cell.

"What do we have here? Hmm?" He walked towards Bree, stopping to stand in front of her, eyeing her up and down. Bree clenched her fists at her side and looked straight ahead, refusing to meet his eyes. "You're far too young and pretty to have been such a great nuisance. Yes," he answered her unspoken question, "I have heard of your run in with the Ra'zac. I didn't believe it at first. A young lady travelling with a group of criminals, undisguised, sleeping in a seedy establishment or on the ground in the dirt? It was unthinkable." He stepped closer and reached out to finger the material of her dress, looking her up and down once more. Bree had chosen to wear a pale green sundress for the increasing heat of the day, adding a pair a black, knee-length leggings with a black lace trim. She found that Maybell's saddle would pinch the inside of her thighs if she wasn't wearing pants. Durza took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest in a lazy gesture that spoke of how un-threating he found her.

"Why are you here, little girl, so far from home?" he asked, tilting his head slightly in curiosity. Bree's examination of his thoughts was showing that he believed she wasn't from Alagaësia, his inspection of her clothing had brought him to his conclusion; it was far different from anything he had seen in this country.

At first, Bree couldn't speak she was so horrified at what the evil spirits were saying, encouraging, Durza to do. She'd really like to keep her spleen where it was, so she took a deep breath and bravely said, "I'm here because we were attacked by Urgals under your control and then I was brought here by soldiers, men I can only assume you command as well, if not with magic then by Galbatorix's orders."

"And what makes I have any control over the Urgals?" he asked silkily.

Self-preservation kicked in and Bree said determinedly, "Because I'm inside your head, I have been since you were upstairs. I can read anyone's thoughts while my own stay blocked." Let him chew on that for a while, she thought. She could see in his thoughts that he would be less likely to kill her now that she was of interest; rather than just a nuisance magic handler. Galbatorix had plenty of those at his disposal but if she telling the truth about being able to pass his mental shields, Durza was thinking that the king may have use of her. He found that it was true that he could not read her thoughts, but he did not believe she could read his.

"I am not convinced; you will have to prove it to me. What is it I am thinking about," he asked.

Bree shuddered, then answered, "The same things they are."

"Who?" demanded the Shade, stepping closer.

"The spirits, they're whispering things I'd rather not repeat."

Durza glared at her for several seconds then laughed, turning his back to her. Bree knew he didn't believe her and that he was chiding himself on ever thinking otherwise. Thoughts of torture began swirling through his head and made Bree want to say anything to stop him.

Closing her eyes she went deeper into his thoughts, to where he would be able to hear her and repeated words from an electronic message in her past, picturing the little green creature that had voiced the words.

I'm the crazy voice inside your head.

Is the coffee pot still on?

Did you leave the front door open?

Is all your stuff now gone?

Durza had spun around at first hearing the new voice in his thoughts. He was used to hearing the many voices of the spirits that had overtaken his body, but this one was decidedly female. He listened as she continued, watching her stand with her eyes partly closed and head lowered, so she wasn't looking at him.

You're not getting much done today,

Is that your boss I hear?

You'd better get back to work

(Though you'd rather have a beer).

I'm the voice inside your head.

I'll try to make you fat and lazy.

I'll talk streams of nonsense intended to drive you crazy

Don't think that you can meditate and I'll just go away,

I'm the crazy voice inside you head

And here I'm going to stay.

The poem was amusing and he wondered where she had heard it, most likely from her homeland as he had never heard of a 'coffee pot'. He was intrigued now. This girl was able to enter his thoughts unnoticed and without challenge, not even the king could say as much. She was very interesting, very interesting indeed. The king would be pleased to be presented with such gifts; the new Rider and an odd little girl. "Very clever," he conceded.

She was looking at him oddly. "You're more lucid then I was expecting," Bree noted, catching the shade off guard. "I would have thought you'd sound a little more insane. Not that don't sound insane," she amended when he glared at her. "It's just that, with all those voices talking at once, I'm surprised you can even form sentences, let alone ones that make sense."

Durza was surprised at her boldness and grinned maliciously as he stepped forward, placing a hand on the wall beside her head, holding her chin in place with his other. "The king will be pleased. It would be a shame to lose that fire. Tell me everything I want to know and I'll consider not torturing you." He spoke softly but he was close enough to her face that Bree heard each word clearly. "Now, tell me, why were you camped so close to Gilead? What were your friends planning?" he asked.

Bree debated answering seeing that he didn't think she had much to do with what the men decided; she was little more than a girl and therefore of small importance. Finally, figuring it was in her interest to say something, she said quietly, "We needed supplies and were going to go in this morning. It was late and we figured any merchants would have already closed their shops."

"Don't lie to me, little one," he purred, a hard light in his eyes. "You will only make it more difficult on yourself."

"That's what they said," she told him meekly, going with what he had already assumed about her. Durza didn't seem to buying it. He moved his hand from her chin and wrapped it around her throat, squeezing slightly. She saw that the intent behind this move was too scare her into revealing something. "We would purchase the supplies we needed and then head to Varden. That's all they told me. Please, believe me," she added, her voice pleading. She gasped as she realised that she had mentioned the Varden. Damn, it does work, she thought, horrified at what she had said.

Durza looked interested now, becoming more believing of what she said when he saw the anguish in her eyes. "And where are the Varden?" he asked. Her eyes widened, you can't tell him, think Bree. Durza's hand tightened and Bree sobbed in fear and frustration. "Tell me," he demanded.

"I don't know," she said again, tears running down her face. Bree absentmindedly noted the tears were a good effect, made her seem more believable. "There was a riddle we had to solve to find them; I'm not good at riddles." Bree was sobbing heavily now.

"Tell me the riddle," he said, loosening his grip when Bree coughed from the pressure. She sniffled and recited:

"`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought -
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought."

He looked contemplatively at the wall to her left. "It makes little sense," he said. "Is that all of it," asked the Shade, suspicious.

Bree nodded. "The old man at Dras-Leona made sure we had it memorized." She continued when Durza reapplied pressure to her throat. "He didn't tell us his name, called himself 'the seeing one'. He recognised Eragon at the tavern and came over to speak to us." Durza nodded in contemplation, beginning shortly after with a new round of questions.

"What of the old man you travel with, what is his name?"

"Neil, he said he met Eragon outside of Yazuac."

"How long has the son of Morzan been travelling with you. No, I can guess that one. He was there when the Ra'zac fled, was he not? The unknown attacker," Durza mused. "The king will be displeased to hear this."

The questioning continued for over an hour, Bree held against the wall as the Shade attempted to learn everything she knew. Bree found she had to answer some things truthfully as she was sure he already knew the answer, such as could she perform magic, and how did Eragon come by the dragon egg. For everything else though, she lied through her teeth. The sobs and reluctant answers made her convincing and Durza began to feel certain that she was just a simple child, easily mislead into following the male travellers and that he could easily control her until she was delivered to the king. Bree was extremely thankful that she could read minds.

Not to overdo the dramatics, she held back more sobs and just sniffled miserably when Durza removed his hand from around her throat and took a step back. "I cannot have you using magic and causing mischief among my men," he said, pulling out a small glass bottle from within his robes. Bree gulped knowing what it was. Durza continued at her wary expression, saying "You are familiar with this, yes? It is the same potion the Ra'zac would have used when they attacked you. It slows the mind and makes it nearly impossible to use magic, even to remember the words of power." He stepped forward and Bree found she could not move from the wall, he was holding her there with magic. She struggled as he came closer. Gripping her chin again, he forced her mouth open and trickled the burning liquid down her throat. Bree spluttered and coughed but enough had made it down that she was suddenly dizzy. He had used more than the Ra'zac and it seemed to be working fast. As darkness crept along the edges of her vision she felt her body rise and tilt backwards before it came to rest on the lumpy mattress of the cot. The last thing she heard before the darkness consumed her was the sound of the bolt grinding into place.

A.N. I was going to have a section for everyone, but Eragon can wait until tomorrow afternoon. I've got the early shift in the morning.