The morning sun spread across the fields, reflecting off the dew from the night, and lighting up both red hair and scales like a beacon. Lorena dug her heels into the stallion, trying to speed up the slowing horse, while Thorn soared along above her. She glanced at the creature, worried that someone may spot him, and even if his shape was mistaken for a bird that his flamboyant colour would not go unnoticed.
They continued to ride south, Thorn letting out an occasional joyful roar, causing Lorena to scold him, claiming that Murtagh said they had to be quiet in an attempt to obtain his obedience, with little success. Mid morning they happened across a stream, and Lorena gave no fight when the stallion made for it.
Dismounting she found her legs did not want to support her, and she collapsed in a pile on the grass. The physical exertion was one that she had come accustomed to, but the weight of her task was what struck her the most. She had never been alone in the Empire before. Yet she was in charge of protecting an endangered creature, one of only three dragons in all of Alagaësia, and possibly all over the seas. And most importantly in her mind, the partner of the man she loved.
Cool wind struck her as said dragon landed beside her and made for the water. The stallion was so engrossed in the well deserved beverage that he didn't even skirt away from the creature, who took a mouthful, then jumped into the stream. Lorena laughed as the animal frolicked in the clear liquid, causing the stallion to notice him and move away, both dragon and girl enjoying the moment too much considering their circumstances.
She continued to watch the creature for a few minutes before calling out to him, "Thorn, it's time to go."
He glanced at her, dived under the water, then climbed onto the bank. As he came into view Lorena laughed again. His chest and stomach were brown, guessing he had dived right into the stream bed Lorena reached forward to wipe the mud from him.
"Wait," she whispered. Where the mud rested she could barely see the red from his scales. "Thorn, do that again."
He didn't need to be told twice. The dragon jumped backwards into the water, washing the mud from himself.
"Damn. Come here." The dragon climbed out of the water, she reached into the stream, grabbed a fistful of mud and slapped it on the dragons back. He turned and hissed at her hand, so she scratched her nails against his scales and he shivered along his full length, easily distracted. She continued to scratch the dragon as she collected more mud, rubbing it along his body, tail, head, and lightly over his wings. When finished Thorn barely showed any of his natural colour. "Much better, let's go."
The pair avoided the roads, and when they spotted a town in the distance they did their best skirt it, and any prying eyes. The stallion fought for rest, continuously pulling off to lush patches of grass. Despite feeling sorry for the animal Lorena refused to take a break, worried that at any second someone might appear and drag them back before the king.
She shivered at the thought, then dug her heels into the stallion to speed him up.
When will Murtagh join us?
Lorena jumped and looked frantically around the dark fields.
Will it be soon?
The voice was familiar, and she looked up at Thorn flying above her. It took her a moment to realise that she had not heard him with her ears, instead the presence of a mind pressed against her. I truly hope so.
You don't know?
I do not. He is with the King presently, he will come to us when he can.
I do not like this king… Thorn's voice turned dark, I do not like him keeping Murtagh from me.
I know how you feel.
The pair spoke through the night, and continued on well after the sun rose.
Lorena thought about stopping and allowing them all to eat when she spotted a lone rider across the plains. She glanced around her, but there were no houses or towns anywhere close, there was no one to help her. Turning back to watch him she saw that he in fact was heading her way. Deciding to see what he wanted Lorena allowed the stallion to take a break and waited while he approached.
"Riding alone ma'am?" he called as he came close, then pulled to a stop, "It's not safe out here."
"So I've been told," Lorena retorted examining him, knowing there was no one near enough to hear her scream. She would have to take care of him herself if it came to a fight. He had a strong build, she guessed a farmer or someone who was accustomed to demanding physical labour. He possessed average features; a nose that was too large for his face, thick brows, thin lips, a well trimmed brown beard, but deep blue-grey intelligent eyes.
"May I ask where you are going?"
"South, to a town along the Tüdosten."
"I have family along there, may I ask which town?"
Lorena bit her lip and scrambled to think of a name. "I seem to have forgotten all of a sudden, I apologise, I guess I shall think of stopping for the day when I happen upon the next village. Then I may get my bearings in order."
"Well, I shall escort you, ma'am."
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary."
"I believe it is. It's not safe, and I could never willingly allow a woman to ride by herself. If you forgive me for saying so, especially not dressed the way you are. I don't think I've ever seen a woman dressed in trousers before."
Who's that?
Lorena glanced up at Thorn, the dried mud had peeled in places and the red showed through, Don't let him see you.
He gave her in inquisitive look. "Are you feeling alright ma'am? Maybe you should come back to my farm, my wife should be finished preparing lunch around now."
Remembering the stale bread and cheese in her saddle bag, Lorena struggled to force herself to shake her head. "I truly can't."
"Why are you so against protection?" he asked exasperated.
"Excuse me, sir," Lorena snapped, "but you are not my father, brother, nor betrothed, and I do not see how I am any of your concern. I must be on my way." Giving the stallion a kick she went to guide him around the man, before he pulled his own horse in front of her.
"Because, ma'am," he almost hissed back, "if my daughter, sister, or wife were travelling alone I would wish for a trustworthy man to protect her from the vile that crawls across these lands. Therefore, I must insist."
Just then she heard a familiar thudding sound and felt a burst of wind across her face. Thorn, no!
The dragon landed next to her and roared, no longer a squeak nor was it playful, but was the sound of a powerful, angry beast. Both horses bucked, and it took all of Lorenas' strength to hold on. She burst into the mind of the stallion, then spoke to him in the ancient language, telling him to not be afraid. By the time she steadied her horse, she looked up to see the young mans' had bolted and he lay on the ground. Thorn stood over him, hissing.
Thorn, back away!
Leaping from the stallion Lorena moved to the dragon, and stood over the motionless form.
Did he see you?
Yes, that's why he was frightened.
Lorena glanced at the dragon and shook her head.
The man groaned and rolled onto his back, he paused and stared at Thorn, understandably shocked. Then he glanced at Lorena, who had drawn her sword and had it pointed towards his throat.
"You might want to put that away," he said slowly, "before someone gets hurt."
"It won't be me or mine," Lorena threatened, inching the sword closer to him, "so I have no fears."
"A new dragon rider, that's amazing."
"If you know what's best for you you'll forget about all of this and go your own way, you don't want your wife to be made prematurely a widow," Lorena bluffed.
"Are you Empire, or Varden?" he asked, ignoring her.
"What?"
"Do you serve the Empire and the King, or are you trying to go to the Varden."
Lorena glanced around the plains, he already knew she was travelling south, there was no way he would believe that she planned to serve the Empire. "If word of this reaches the King, I swear by all the gods, I will come back here when he is fully grown, and we will burn your lands and family."
"Good," he grinned, causing Lorena to step back in surprise, and allowing him to move to his feet, "we need strong spirited recruits, and a dragon rider! You'll do wonders for Surda."
"You're from Surda?" Lorena asked lowering her sword.
"No, but I support their cause, and I'll help get you there."
Lorena sighed in relief, then brought her sword back up. "How can I trust you?"
"I guess you can't really," he claimed looking around the plains, "but if you're a dragon rider, my guess is that you're more powerful than me. Now, let's go back to my farm, my wife will feed you two up, and I'll call some men who can be trusted. But first, let's find my damn horse."
A thin, blonde haired woman was hanging out sheets, her back to them, as they rode up to the farm. The house was quaint, clearly built with expense in mind, but with a few womanly touches here and there.
"You're lunch is going cold," she called without looking around, "that's what you get for riding off without telling me where you're going."
"Sorry, my dear. But you may be interested in who I've brought back with me."
"I'll tell you now, if it's Willy he's going to have to fix that chair he broke last time before he gets a bite to-" she stopped as she turned and spotted Lorena, then Thorn next to her, "Inside, quick."
Lorena dismounted, and hobbled the stallion. Then she walked inside, past the woman holding the door open, Thorn at her heels. The door slammed behind them and Lorena turned to look at the woman, pale faced and gaping like a fish.
"I can't believe there's another rider. We've heard stories about you for about a month now. But I never would have guessed a woman rider, and that you've managed to keep away from the king for so long!"
"Those stories wouldn't have been about me," Lorena claimed and sat in a proffered chair, then Thorn rested his head on her lap. Reaching down she stroked his neck. "They would have been about a friend of mine."
The man sat across the table from her while his wife brought out bowls of stew. Lorena thanked her and watched as she disappeared again before returning with a freshly plucked chicken.
"Will this be enough?" she asked looking at Thorn. Lorena nodded, and thanked her between mouthfuls. Once given the chicken, Thorn tore into it hungrily.
"The Rider you would have heard about is a man by the name of Eragon Shadeslayer," Lorena ignored their gasps and took another mouthful, "He and his dragon Saphira were travelling companions of mine. There was a group of us that travelled from the Empire to the Varden."
"Where are the Varden?" the wife perked up eagerly.
Lorena smirked and shook her head. "The point is that now that Thorn has hatched, and there's another Rider it's so important that we get to Surda. We can't risk having him fall into the Empires hands. The Varden need as much help as they can get to overthrow Galbatorix."
"But if you were with the Varden not long ago, why are you now in the Empire?" the husband pointed at Thorn, "Did you steal his egg?"
"Not his egg, him," Lorena grinned, "We left the Capital only two nights ago. Right from under the nose of Galbatorix."
"But how, what talents do you have that allowed you to do such a daring thing."
"My talents are my business, but know this, our greatest weapon is the Kings pride. The only reason he has allowed Surda, and the Varden to survive is because he knows that if he wanted to, he can easily crush them." Lorena held her hand out, stopping the husband from protesting. "Don't be naïve. Galbatorix can crush whomever he wants, whenever he wants. But for some reason he allows the rebels to stand, and that's our greatest hope. That he will underestimate us long enough for us to grow in strength and overthrow him."
Lorena glanced down at Thorn and the bloody mess he was making.
"But Galbatorix can be wrathful. I've spent time in the Capital, and I know what he will do for punishment. I need to get Thorn and myself away from him as quickly as possible. We need to get to Surda."
"I'll call some men I can trust to help escort you there."
"How long until they can get here?"
"It'll take me a few hours to have everyone here and ready to go."
"I'd like to go as soon as possible."
"How long has it been since you've slept?" the wife asked.
Lorena thought back on the past few days. "We rode all day and night and the night before, but we had rested fully the previous night."
"Well, since it will take a few hours, I suggest that you two get some sleep now. I don't know how much you will get on the road."
Lorena bit her lip, she wasn't fond of the idea of sleeping and allowing herself and Thorn to be unprotected, but this family had proven themselves so far, and if they continued on without sleep, they may fall from sky and saddle alike.
"Okay," Lorena agreed. Before asking for a towel and cleaning up Thorn.
The pair were shown into a small room, with a double bed. Lorena thanked the wife and closed the door behind her before looking at the window and watching the husband ride off. I hope they're trustworthy.
She looked back at the bed to see Thorn stretched out across it. Laughing she pushed him onto one side and climbed in too, then her head hit the pillow and she knew no more.
Lorena woke with a start.
Throwing the hand off her arm Lorena grasped Murtaghs' dagger from her belt and held it up defensively. It took a couple of second for her eyes to adjust, but when they did she saw a thin blonde woman with her back pressed against the wall, looking fearful.
Realising where she was Lorena sheathed the blade, "Sorry, I- I was startled."
"It's okay," the wife responded shakily, "I just thought I'd wake you because I spotted them coming back."
"Good." Lorena pushed herself from the bed where Thorn still slept and glanced out the window, against the orange horizon she could see a group of mounted figures riding towards the house. "Are we sure it's them, not soldiers."
"Soldiers never come around here."
"Are we sure these men are trustworthy?"
"If my husband trusts them, then I trust them with my familys' life."
Lorena turned to look at her. "Do you have kids?"
The woman smiled and beckoned her over. Together they walked from the bedroom into the main room, where Lorena spotted a baby swaddled and sleeping on pillows on the floor.
"I'm always scared she's going to fall off any furniture I put her on," she explained as she picked her up, "she's only a week old."
Lorena looked the thin woman up and down. "I would have never guessed."
"Thank you," she said with a grin and offered the baby.
Lorena took the dark haired child and cradled her carefully. She opened her eyes for a second, revealing blue-grey orbs and causing Lorena to gasp, before going back to sleep.
"She has grey eyes," Lorena whispered, remembering her dark haired, grey eyed baby from the vision Galbatorix created during her time in Urû'baen.
"Yes, she gets them from her father," she claimed, "Do you have any children?"
Lorena bit her lip and shook her head, "No, we don't have any."
"We?"
Glancing up at the woman Lorena shrugged. "My betrothed, we planned to have six but… he's still in the capitol. He got Thorn and me out, but couldn't help himself."
"I'm sorry, my dear." The woman placed her arms around Lorena, the unexpected touch causing her to fight back tears.
The door opened behind them, and both women turned to watch a group of six men enter. Lorena blinked the wetness away and handed the child back to her mother.
"Merina!" One of the men called, holding his arms out. He was skinny, with a crooked tooth and big ears. "How good to see you!"
"Hello, Willy," she replied coolly, "did you come by to fix that chair you broke last time?"
"Merina, why be like this?" he asked, smile falling from his face, "Aren't you glad to see me?"
"I'll be glad if you stay off the drink, and fix my chair."
One of the other men laughed and patted him on the back. "Guess you'll be staying behind while we escort the rider."
"Not bloody likely."
"So where is he?" another called and collapsed on a lounge, "I thought we wanted to get going as soon as possible."
"Where is the dragon?" the husband asked taking his baby from Merina.
"In your bedroom," Lorena claimed, then looked around at the men standing in the room. "Are we sure that everyone is up for this?"
"Don't you worry little lady," Willy grinned at her, "Hafford told us what was going on, we can get them to Surda, and I'll even rush back if you'll still be here."
Lorena glanced at the husband, Hafford she assumed, who cleared his throat. "Willy, this is our Rider."
Willy glanced between them in shock. "This little girl?"
"I'm a little girl now am I?"
"Yes, a pretty little girl who has no business concerning herself in such dangerous affairs," he stated, anger seeping into his voice.
"Listen here, you weasel. When you've battled against an army of Urgal and Kull, stood face to face with King Galbatorix, or spent a week in one of his torture chambers, then you can speak to me of dangerous affairs. Until then, I don't really care what you have to say." Lorena turned to Hafford. "Are we leaving or not? Cause I could have left without you hours ago."
"Well, it looks like we should be good to go in a minute." He turned to his wife. "Merina, did you pack us supplies?
"Yes, just here-"
"Wait a minute," Willy called out again, "I'm all for us men going, but should we really be putting a woman in the middle of it?"
"Oh, shut up, Willy," one of the large men seated on the lounge called out, "The girl's got more bollocks than you. And if she's a Rider then we don't have much choice but to bring her along. Come one, grab the bags and let's get going."
"Everyone sure we want to do this?" one of the men asked grinning before placing a sweaty hand on Lorenas' shoulder, "We'd be a lot richer just taking them back to the King."
Faster than she thought possible Lorena pulled the dagger from her belt, shoved the man into the wall, and jammed the blade against the flesh of his throat. Lorena stared into his frightened eyes with a snarl, as the others in the room jumped to their feet.
"Calm down," Hafford called, Lorena glanced him coming around to face the two of them, "Let's just calm down."
"I'm calm," the man whispered, his eyes jumping wildly. Blood slowly trickled down his skin from where the tip had broken the skin.
"Me too," Lorena responded, twisting the dagger slightly and increasing the crimson flow.
"Good, good. That's good to hear. Now that we're calm I'm sure we can agree that that was a really bad joke, right?"
"Yeah, bad joke," he whispered again.
"And how am I suppose to know if that was only a joke," Lorena snarled, "how am I suppose to trust any of you. Thorns life is worth more to me than any of yours."
"Well that's good," Hafford looked around for support, "I guess. Here's the thing though, I've proven trustworthy so far. If I was going to turn you in I could have grabbed a bunch of soldiers, and had them drag you back to the Capitol. I didn't. Don't lose your faith over one idiot who doesn't know how to keep his slack jaw shut."
"Idiot, yes," the man before her whispered.
"Fine, he just said something idiotic. It's forgiven." She saw Hafford give a relieved sigh. "But maybe I should cut his tongue out first."
Lorena wasn't sure if she was serious or not, but she learnt that she sounded believable when thick arms wrapped around her and ripped her away from her target. Lorena shouted in protest and threw her head backwards, only to hit a solid chest. She kicked out at his shins and heard him curse before dropping her. Somewhere in the scuffle Lorena dropped her dagger. Turning toward her attacker she reached for her sword, before something connected with the back of her skull and she fell into darkness.
Lorena drifted into consciousness, with the sounds of yelling surrounding her.
Pushing herself up she glanced out the window. The sky was still orange, indicating she couldn't have been unconscious for more than a few minutes. She was almost on her knees when someone pushed her back down.
Lorena glanced up to see Hafford and the others standing over her, clearly furious. Being in her precarious position she registered that she should be afraid, but instead she felt panicked. Ignoring the shooting pains and pounding of her head she glanced around the room, looking for Thorn. He wasn't visible, and she guessed that he was still in the bedroom. Looking over at the door she could see it visibly shaking as a force repeatedly rammed into it, that's when she realised that the pounding noise wasn't coming from her head.
"You're lucky we're decent men," one of the men growled, "you wouldn't want to imagine what others might have done to you."
Lorena laughed as she turned back to him, the sound laced with madness, "I've spent time in Galbatorixs' chambers, I've experienced daily tortures from him personally. I was his tool to extract whatever pleasures his sick wit could think up, not to mention had my mind violated. Do you really think there is anything you could possibly do to me, that hasn't already been done?"
Uncomfortable glances were exchanged, but Lorena ignored them. Instead she pushed herself to her feet and began to make her way to the bedroom.
"Now, if you don't mind. Thorn and I are leaving."
"We're coming with you," Hafford called.
Lorena glanced at them. Most of the men still seemed angry, but there was no denying that they could have taken advantage of them while she was unconscious, yet none did.
"Let's go then," she nodded, then opened the door. Thorn burst into the room, and roared at the men. They jumped back, and the child woke screaming. "Thorn," Lorena called with both tongue and mind, "it's okay, we're heading for Surda now."
The group rode through the night in silence.
Hafford kept to her side, a somber look on his face. Once in a while Lorena glanced at the others. Some still seemed irritated, and the man with the cut neck stayed as far away from her as possible. Every now and then she received an angry stare which she returned.
When the sun appeared on the horizon Hafford called for the group to stop. The men dismounted and went through their saddle bags, removing their food and sitting to eat.
"Wait," Lorena grasped Haffords' sleeve, "We can't waste time sitting around. Galbatorixs' servants could be on their way now. We have no idea how much time we have to get to Surda, we need to keep riding."
"It's just breakfast, shan't take too long."
"Well hopefully not." Lorena glanced up as she was buffeted by wind. Thorn landed beside her, and looked toward the horse. Knowing he wanted food Lorena rummaged through her saddle bags and found the dried meat. He wasn't too happy with the meal, but Lorena knew it wouldn't take much to fill his stomach after the chicken last night.
Grabbing a heel of bread for herself Lorena went to eat when Hafford motioned for her to sit next to him. The pair ate in silence, listening to the others chat amongst themselves.
"So," Hafford whispered brushing crumbs from his beard, "how did you two get out of the Capitol?"
"We have our connections." Lorena replied watching Thorn slowly chew the last of his meat.
"You're not his Rider are you?"
Lorena glanced up at him in surprise and saw him nod acceptingly. "How did you know?"
"I didn't, just guessed. He answers to you though, why's that? Is it because he's so young?"
"It's because his Rider told him too, and because he knows what his Rider and I mean to each other."
"And what do you mean to each other?"
"The world," Lorena sighed, "we'd be married if we could, but Galbatorix had us taken from the Varden to the Capitol. We were prisoners. He still is actually, he managed to get us two out, but not himself."
"If you don't mind me asking, why did the King want you in the first place?"
"Because my betrothed is the son of Morzan."
Hafford sat tense for a few moments, and Lorena glanced at him nervously. "I didn't know the forsworn had any children."
"Only Morzan did. His name is Murtagh, and he hated his father with a passion. The man was a monster."
"Well if he's a Rider, how do you know he won't become as evil as his father?"
"For one, he forced us to escape, and would have come too if he could have. I doubt someone would do such a thing if they liked the power that comes with being a high servant of the King. He knows the horrors that we have faced and will continue to face in the Capitol, and he doesn't want us to continue going through that, even if that means sacrificing himself. Someone who is evil doesn't know how to love anyone but themselves… that's just not Murtagh."
"But how can you be sure."
"Because I know him, and I'm completely sure. Just like you know your wife, you understand what she's capable of because you understand her."
"Me? Understand women? Not if I lived for a thousand years." Hafford threw his head back and laughed, "come it's time we get back on the road."
Lorena watched as the group all stood and made for their horses. Beside her Hafford held out a hand, she gratefully took, then he pulled her to her feet.
Watching Lorena and Hafford speak that morning must have helped ease over the hard feelings of the other men, because they all perked up. Lorena listened to them joke and laugh, and was surprised to find them including her once in a while.
"How far do you think we are?" Lorena asked looking out over the fields.
"Not too far actually," called Willy, "If you look to your left you can just spot those mountains. They're along the Tüdosten. I reckon we could probably make it to Surda by the end of the day."
Lorena grinned and glanced up at Thorn. Hear that? We should be there by the end of the day.
Good, he said and did a flip, Now we just need Murtagh.
That would be perfect. Lorena agreed, smiling happily to herself.
Lorena? What kind of bird is this?
Lorena looked over the fields and spotted a flock of birds heading away from them. I honestly don't know, maybe sparrows? I can't see them properly.
No, not those, that one behind us.
Lorena turned in her saddle and scanned the sky, then she spotted it. The form couldn't be too far away, it was far too large, but yet was not close enough to make out details. Slowing her stallion she examined the creature, something about its movements were familiar and she realised it was not a bird.
"Lorena?" Hafford called, "What's wrong?"
It's a dragon! Thorn called, bubbling with excitement.
It can't be, Lorena replied, but after a few moments she realised he was right.
It's Saphira! Thorn looped through the air and started back towards the approaching dragon.
Lorena continued to watch, a sick feeling creeping over her. The dragon was too dark, she hoped that maybe she was in the shadow of a cloud, but the sky was too bare. That wasn't Saphira.
It seemed that she was finally going to meet Galbatorix's dragon.
