Yay! Reviews!
Reviewer Reponses:
ChaosOfTheUniverse: Thanks! I did try, and it was made easier by the fact that Galbatorix is a complete blank slate for me to scribble on.
someoneuprobablydontknow: I know! Murtagh is my favorite character; I actually cried at the end of Eldest when we found out the big secret and everything, and how Galbatorix was so mean to him. What a loser.
Trinity Anya: Thank you. I haven't read much anything where Eragon and Murtagh are depicted as gay, but thanks for the compliment :)
Anyway, I'll stop now. I'm trying the x's as barriers…
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1/30/101
Murtagh stared at the eggs, then raised his glance to meet Galbatorix's. "It's been seven days," he said wearily. "There, now, are you satisfied?" He smiled joylessly, his face cold. "You've found my true name, for all the good it'll do you. I'm not a Rider."
Galbatorix's face was as near rage as Murtagh had ever seen him. "You will," he snarled. "If you aren't, Murtagh, you will suffer, do you understand?" He stood, hurling the chest violently onto the floor. The eggs bounced, then rolled to a halt on the richly carpeted floor. "Hatch, damn you!" he shouted. "Hatch!"
Murtagh watched impassively, feeling a strange sense of triumph. He had no doubt Galbatorix would hold to his promise, but at least the Varden would be safe from a second Rider. And so would Eragon, he thought, his stomach clenching. My brother.
Leaning down, he scooped one of the eggs from the floor and regarded it dully, turning it over and over in his hands as Galbatorix raged, screaming and throwing things in his fury. The egg felt slippery in his palms, a perfectly smooth oval. Murtagh sighed, then—
The tiniest of cracks appeared in the surface of the egg. Murtagh jumped, staring at the tiny crack, wide-eyed. "Oh, no, no, no," he gasped, dropping the egg. "No! Don't you dare hatch, no, no—"
"What is it, Murtagh?" Galbatorix's voice cut into his. "Tell me!"
Murtagh picked up the egg and handed it wordlessly to him. Galbatorix took it and peered at the surface, his eyes widening with greedy delight. "It's hatching!" he shouted. "What did I tell you, Murtagh? It's hatching!"
"I wish it weren't," Murtagh snapped angrily. "Damn you, stop it!" he shouted at the egg. "No—"
"Oh, shut up, Murtagh. Imagine! All of Alagaesia shall unite…, no more wars, no more fighting! No more shall the people have to fear…I have only the best interests of people at heart, do you understand? The people need a strong ruler…and I will be that ruler, with you by my side." He turned, offering a hand to Murtagh. "Will you join me?"
Murtagh swallowed heavily. "You're insane," he growled, hitting it away. "You were the one who destroyed the Riders in the first place. You've stayed in your palace, terrorizing the people, and you've never bothered to go inside the villages! The people suffer, they starve—"
Galbatorix backhanded him viciously, a feral snarl on his face. "Watch your tongue, Brikijae Knívarya!" Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the madness vanished. "The Riders were useless," he said persuasively. "They were weakened, unable to do their job properly. To see them reborn, Murtagh, that is my wish. Not to destroy them. Never to destroy them—to eradicate the weaknesses, yes, and to rebuild the strong. That is my wish. The Empire must survive, and Riders reborn."
"The Empire can survive, just not with you on top," Murtagh snapped, fury making him reckless. He had nothing to lose, after all. "You're insane, mad, power-hungry—all you care about is yourself, you fool." He stepped back, breathing heavily, eyes filled with loathing. "The people despise you, as do I."
Galbatorix laughed. He laughed, the bastard, a deep hearty belly laugh, throwing his head back in amusement. "I do not need their love," he said when he had gained control of himself. "Nor do I need yours. I have your true name, and soon I will have your allegiance." He smiled. "Will I have your love? No, but do I want it?" He whirled back to face the room. "A new Rider! Come, my protégé—there is something you must see."
Murtagh rose, cradling the egg, his face expressionless as he exited the room that had been his prison for the past week. The guards in front of the door avoided his eyes, as did the many servants they encountered. Galbatorix strode confidently ahead, down winding passages, past heavy doors, into a deep, smelly cavern.
He heard the occupant before he saw it. A huge roar bellowed through the cave, threatening to knock him to his knees. A jet of blue flame slammed violently into the wall; even twenty feet away he could still feel its heat. Galbatorix flung up a hand, shrieking words that Murtagh vaguely recognized.
Instantly, the sound stopped. Galbatorix hesitated for the tiniest of fractions, then stepped forward, beckoning Murtagh. There, chained to the wall by thick irons around all four of its legs, was a gigantic black dragon.
Shruikan.
It was huge—no, huger than huge. Fifty men could've stood head to toe on top of each other and only reached the thing's nose. Murtagh gasped, slightly taken aback. "Oh—oh!"
"Yes," Galbatorix said, his eyes fierce. "This is my dragon, Shruikan. His former Rider was too weak to deserve him, too weak to be worthy of a dragon—so I took him. He's mine, I tell you, mine! We share a bond—" He grunted, deep and low, then said, "This is what yours will become, Murtagh, do you understand? A fierce fighter upon your beast…"
The dragon gave a mournful sigh, deep and low, craning its head to peer down at them. Galbatorix looked up at it with a strange expression. That's not how Eragon looks at Saphira, Murtagh mused. Their bond—it's perverted, isn't it?
As if Galbatorix had heard Murtagh's thoughts, he turned around. "It's a real bond," Galbatorix snarled. "It's real, it'll always be real. If you say otherwise, I will kill you—you little mongrel. Come!" With that, he stalked out of the room. Murtagh followed wordlessly, his fingers feeling the vibrations as the occupant of the egg struggled to escape.
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How is it? Personally, I think it's moving a bit too slowly…should I make it go faster? Or is it just fine? Please tell me; I need constructive criticism or else I'll bore the crap out of everybody. Next time it should pick up, and maybe I'll actually find out why I picked 'romance' as a category. Please review even if it is too slow…I love reviews!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything…blah, blah, blah, you know the drill.