Reviews!
Moonbeamfilly: Thanks! Please keep on reading this chapter…it's really different from the others. I update about once or twice a week, mostly on weekends.
Granuaille: Thanks! Murtagh is not in this chapter (at least by name), but he will be in the next one. I promise.
angel-flame: Yes, I'm trying. I took your advice and plotted out…something similar to a plot. This chapter as a result is very much different from the others. But it'll all clean itself up in time. Any help would be much appreciated.
Okay, shutting up. Here's the chapter.
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2/13/101
The famous elfin philosopher Deóne Shinaria had once said, "Gossip is a ravenous monster, mindless of what it destroys. Castles and towns are its cage, but it only takes one bent tongue for it to escape."
Urú'baen was no exception. It was whispered all throughout the town and castle that there was a new Rider, started by a wagging tongue belonging to the friend of a friend. Some people said it was a tall man, with eyes of blazing fire and a golden bow. Another story involved a hunchbacked trickster and tales of beautiful enchantresses. Still others cried out that there wasn't a human Rider at all; instead, it was a wild dragon that Galbatorix only managed to keep in check by hidden powers.
Salem Blackfire shook her head as she listened to the latest rumors circulating among her friends. "And I heard that the new Rider has a secret cache of jewels stolen from his Majesty," one woman, Riane, said. "He's actually a spy from the Varden, trying to gain wealth for the rebels!"
"That's not what I heard," a man, Alexandros, said impatiently. "I'm telling you, it's a woman! A woman with long, silver hair. She goes to Galbatorix's bed every night in exchange for the dragon, and there was this one night when she didn't, and he whipped her until she bled, and there was blood all over the chambers of the royal bedroom!"
The group burst into argument as they debated the points of Alexandros's story. Salem listened, shaking her head. "That's ridiculous," she stated firmly. Heads turned to look at her quizzically. "Look, nobody actually knows anything. Riane said something, and Alexandros said another. It's so stupid."
"Well, aren't you curious?" someone called. Her best friend, Charis, moved closer, eyes sparkling. "Come on, Salem," she coaxed. "We dumb townspeople gossip because we've got nothing better to do." She leaned forward. "You have a sister, don't you? Beltane? Isn't she a maid in the royal palace?"
Cries of "yes, tell us!" and "you have a sister?" came from her friends. Salem mock-glared at Charis, then turned back to the others. "Yes, I have a sister," she sighed. "And no, I'm not going to tell you what she said!"
"Oh, so she did tell you," Charis said, grinning. "Really? What?"
The other joined in. Salem withstood the considerable pressure for the better part of an hour before she finally gave up. "Fine, fine, fine!" she said. "But you have to promise not to tell."
They agreed readily. Salem rolled her eyes, knowing that by that night tongues would already be wagging. "Right," she said dryly. "All right, listen up. Beltane works in the lower rooms with a view of the courtyard, and she's actually seen this Rider. He's a man, about a head taller than Damian," she said, pointing to one of the group. "His dragon is red, about the size of a good gelding. Every day, she sees him. In the morning, he does nothing but sit and look at the wall, and in the afternoon he mostly spars. Sometimes she passes by his room and can hear…" Salem considered carefully, then shrugged. "Nothing."
There was a disappointed silence, then Alexandros said, "And that's all?"
Salem nodded. "That's all. He's not different or anything besides the fact he's got a dragon. If he is, Beltane hasn't heard about it."
"I don't believe you," Riane declared forcefully. "Our Majesty has a dragon, and you've got to admit he's…" she lowered her voice and said, "different. So," she continued, her voice returning to its normal pitch, "anyone who's a Rider has got to be different. So there."
"Truth is boring," Salem drawled. "Sorry to disappoint you."
The conversation rapidly returned to the debate of various rumors. Salem listened idly to all of them, eyes fixed mostly on the road ahead. "So," Charis's voice said suddenly into her ear, "I take it that you like your boring story?"
Salem twisted, startled. "Well, yes," she said after an initial pause. "It's perfectly ordinary. It's perfectly true. I think it's perfectly fine."
"But a Rider, Salem, a Rider! He's got to be weird—not maybe a hunchback or silver-haired woman like Alexandros said, but he can't be just a man. There's got to be something…special."
"Defining?" Salem said.
"Yes, that's it! Something that marks him as a Rider. And not just the dragon," she said warningly, seeing the look on Salem's face. "I knew you were going to say that, but no. It's something different. Don't you understand?" she turned up her face towards Salem, innocently earnest.
"Well…" Salem hesitated. "I'm leaving in a week for the king's palace, anyway. Beltane recommended me to the housekeeper there, and they'll take me on as a maid. So maybe I'll see him. But really, don't expect anything. He's not that amazing."
"Everyone's got bones in their closet," Charis said. "People like to make them up, but in the long run, truthful bones are just better to chew."
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After a month at the palace, Salem had nothing interesting to say to her friend. "There's nothing even vaguely fascinating about him," Salem said to Charis on her day off, leaning against a tree. "All he does is exactly what Beltane says—he looks at the wall, he spars, he eats, he sleeps. The end."
Charis shook her head, obviously frustrated. "There has to be more! A Rider has to do more than that—don't you remember the old tales, Salem? They were great magic-workers, their dragons marvelous and mystical…"
"Charis, why are you so obsessed?" Salem groaned, rubbing her face with her hands. "Big deal, he's boring! Is that really such a revelation? The old tales are only—old tales. There's nothing to say they're true!"
"Our lord Galbatorix is a Rider, and he proves the old tales."
"Charis, you know perfectly well the dragon has nothing to do with any of it. So he's lived a longer span of years, you and I both know that that's because of his innate magic. The dragon's just…a really fancy horse."
"You give up too easily," Charis declared.
Salem grimaced. "Do I? I'm glad, because those who poke and pry too much disappear. Enough is enough, Charis. No more."
Charis sighed. "I suppose you're right," she muttered. "He is just a normal man, then."
Salem nodded, feeling completely disgusted with herself that she had to lie to her old friend.
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Salem returned to the palace that night, feeling shaken. "My poor friend," she murmured to herself. "There's so much in this palace that you don't know…and so much out of it, too."
From under her tunic she drew a small crystal, running her hands over its smooth surface. Breathing softly on it, she whispered, "Eka shakel sa Galbatorix…atra iet rinyi elha hórnya." I am an enemy of Galbatorix, let my voice be heard.
The crystal glittered softly, then a picture formed and shimmered within it. "Are you there, Blackfire?" a hushed voice whispered from the stone.
"I'm here," she said quietly.
"Good," came the reply. "Tell me what you know."
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Yes, I know. Murtagh's not even mentioned by name in this chapter. I am branching out a little bit, but this will all be wrapped up and explained…soon. Is Salem or Charis better for Murtagh, or do you hate them both and want to start anew with Beltane? In a romantic relationship, I mean.
Once again, please R and R! Thanks!
PS. If you don't like this too much, please bear with me and say so. I know this has a really different tone from the other chapters, but I'll explain soon!