Murtagh slammed his fist down onto the table beside his bed, causing the entire contents on the top of the desk to shake furiously.

Why did I bring her back here? He asked himself. I knew the King would lock her away! So, why did I do it! He punched a wall with his bare fist, barely noticing the pain.

Flashback

As soon as Thorn landed inside the gates of Urû'baen, three of the King's guards came out from the castle and immediately took hold of Korin. Murtagh's first reaction was to grab hold of Zar'roc and thrust it into each of the men's breastplates, but before he could move, Thorn wrapped his thick tail around his Rider's waist.

"Stop!" Murtagh ordered, but the guards paid no attention to him. One of them tied Korin's wrists together with a cord of rope and tugged hard on the rope to make sure her hands were tied correctly. Murtagh fought hard to be free of his dragon, but Thorn held him secure.

Ganbek fought against the guards, scratching, biting and coughing sparks of fire onto the guards to free his Rider. The guards just shook him off and resumed pulling Korin into the castle.

Korin did not fight against them. She caught Ganbek as he was about to attack the guards again and bent down to his level. She stroked the side of his face and kissed his nose.

"You be a good boy, okay?" her voice quavered as her eyes filled with tears. Then, she stood up and walked over to Murtagh.

"Korin," he breathed, still fighting to be free of Thorn. "Don't let them take you…" he pleaded helplessly. Korin only smiled warmly at him.

"Take care of Ganbek, won't you?" a single tear dripped from one of her sapphire eyes. She calmly planted a kiss on Murtagh's rough lips. When she broke away, she was smiling. "Thank you, Murtagh, for all that you've done for me…thank you so much." As Korin stepped away from him, Murtagh began to struggle against the ruby dragon even more.

"No," he gasped. "Please, Korin, no!"

Korin continued to walk away, but as she was about to disappear behind the door to the castle, she stopped and turned around to face Murtagh.

"And Murtagh," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Don't do anything stupid." The tears were flowing freely now. "Don't try to be the hero…" And with a final tug from the guard, Korin was gone.

End Flashback

Murtagh slunk down to the ground and sat against the wall, tears streaming down his cheeks. A sudden knock on his door that brought Murtagh out of his trance. The Rider stood, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"What is it?" he demanded. "I told you I didn't want to be disturbed."

The door creaked open and one of Shruikan's golden orbs stared straight back at the young Rider. I am afraid that you do not have a choice in the matter.

Murtagh froze. "What do you want?" he asked, prepared to attack at any given moment.

If you could come out of your tower, princess? The ebony dragon said mockingly. I cannot fit inside such a small place.

The Rider scowled as Shruikan's head snaked out of view. Murtagh was in no mood to be trifled with, and Shruikan knew it all too well. That did not stop him one bit.

Murtagh trudged down the steps of his tower. Once at its base, he leaned against the stone wall, staring deeply into Shruikan's golden orbs. "What do you want?" he asked bluntly.

The ebony dragon looked slightly taken aback. Excuse me? He said forcefully. You are in absolutely no position to be taking that tone. Revise your statement.

Murtagh cursed at himself and then "revised" his statement. "Why do you request my presence, Lord Shruikan?"

The dragon smirked. Suddenly, a jolt of pain shocked its way through Murtagh's spinal cord. The Rider writhed in pain, clutching his head in his sweaty palms. I have been ordered to search your mind, not that it would matter to you, seeing as you have no say in the matter.

The Rider could feel Shruikan digging through his thoughts. Of Helgrind, of Eragon, and… NO! Murtagh hissed mentally when the dragon came to Korin. Shruikan stopped. Murtagh felt him pull out of his mind, leaving it in chaos.

A snort escaped the ebony dragon's nostrils. I found what I came for… But there was an edge to the old dragon's voice that made Murtagh uneasy. Just what had Shruikan seen about Korin? Was that what he had been looking for, and not the Helgrind information at all?

As Shruikan turned to go, Murtagh reached out for him, gasping for air. "W-Wait…" he panted. "T-Tell me…Wh-Where is K-Korin…?"

The dragon suddenly looked sad, but only for a second, and then he resumed his natural, harsh look. She is being contained. He shot a glare to the exhausted Rider. You took a great risk bringing her back here, Rider. If you had kept her away—

"She wanted me to bring her!" Murtagh screamed, still sprawled out on the hard, stone floor. "She insisted that I bring her back! I wanted to keep her away, but she WANTED to come back!"

Shruikan roared. If you really loved her, you would have KEPT HER AWAY! The dragon's sudden outburst left Murtagh speechless. Now that she has come back, Galbatorix will torture her! He'll probe her mind until it is in nothing less but utter chaos!

The two were silent for a long time.

Then, "Tell me where she is, and I can save her."

Shruikan stared at the Rider.

"If you tell me where she is being held, Lord Shruikan, I can save her, I just know it—"

If you were not the King's Rider, you would die for saying such words. The dragon whispered. No matter how much she means to me, Korin is a traitor. And she will be treated as such. Shruikan turned to leave, his golden orbs looking distant.

Murtagh reached out to him on the floor. "No, please…"

There is nothing I can do.

"L-Lord Shruikan, please—"

You will not receive punishment, seeing as you brought her back to Urû'baen.

"I don't care if I receive punishment so long as Korin is not harmed!"

Korin shall reap what she has sowed! Good day, Rider. With that, Shruikan left Murtagh there, collapsed on the floor.

Suddenly, Murtagh felt a blaze of anger rush through his mind. He groaned in pain. Shruikan's earlier attack had made him vulnerable, and that was something he did not like at all. Then, the Rider heard Thorn's voice in the back of his head.

Murtagh! There was a sense of urgency in the dragon's voice that made Murtagh flinch. Murtagh, are you there?

Yes, Thorn… He replied painfully. Shruikan just searched my mind. Keep your voice down…please…

The ruby dragon sent another wave of anger throbbing through Murtagh's mind. HE DID WHAT?

Murtagh groaned. THORN, IF YOU DO NOT STOP SCREAMING, I'LL TEAR OUT YOUR VOCAL CHORDS! Now tell me what is wrong…

If you're not feeling well, this certainly isn't a good time…

THORN!

All right, but I promise you…you're not going to like this. An image shot through Murtagh's mind.

Korin hung from a wall down in the dungeons, her face as pale as a sheet. She looked like she was going to topple over from exhaustion and lack of food. But what bothered Murtagh the most was that her eyes were no longer their beautiful, sapphire color; they were a dull, blue color.

What came next made Murtagh's heart lurch. Galbatorix was standing in front of her. He would say something to Korin and she would shake her head. Out of anger, the King would plunge a sword into her belly, wrenching a cry from her chapped lips, and then he would heal her. The process would repeat itself, all the while causing Korin utter pain and suffering.

Murtagh's knees buckled. His fists clenched, and he ground his teeth. The King was torturing her, and he was enjoying it.

Thorn, he said, struggling to his feet. Where are you?

I'm hovering outside a window in the North Dungeon. Why?

Go back to the Dragon Hold. I'm going to the North Dungeon.

Murtagh could feel his dragon's disbelief. You can't be serious! Murtagh, you'll be killed!

The King wouldn't dare kill me.

There are worse things than death, Murtagh! Galbatorix will play to your weaknesses, mainly, Korin!

Murtagh started towards the North Dungeon, practically ignoring his dragon.

Murtagh! Murtagh, listen to me! Don't you remember what Korin said? The Rider froze. She told you not to be the hero! She doesn't want you to interfere, Murtagh. She doesn't want you to get hurt! Thorn's emotions softened. And neither do I, my dear friend.

Murtagh suddenly collapsed, dropping to his knees. He buried his face in his palms and cried. Why, Thorn…? He asked helplessly. WHY?

Thorn sighed. We will find another way, my friend. I promise you, we will not give up on saving her.

The Rider instantly felt his dragon's wheels in his brain turning. What are you thinking, Thorn?

Remember what I said about how the King will not notice how little things go missing?

Y-Yes… Thorn, what do you have planned?

Let's just say that my little messenger boy has departed, and no one will ever know that he's gone…

Murtagh was much too tired to think about troublesome affairs right now. He heaved a heavy sigh and trudged back up to his tower, where he fell into a restless sleep.


YAAAAY! Another chapter! I'm so sorry that this is taking so long! I'm starting to get writer's block again... Well, I've sorta got an outline...ish...for the rest of the story. I know what I want to happen, but it's kinda hard to get it down on the cpu, you know? lol, well, i'll try to get my chapters up sooner. THANX TO ALL WHO HAVE REVIEWED! THEY ARE SOOOOOOOO MUCH APPRECIATED!

Shadeslayer390