"Who the hell are you?"
Stunned to hear a feminine voice Lorena spun around. It was dark in the courtyard and she had expected the visitor to be Galbatorix. Instead she faced a raven haired woman, tall statured with evident curves. She had a fine face, with a pointed nose, and scowling brown eyes.
Still grasping her arms Lorena opened her mouth to reply, but became unsure of what to say. She then shrugged and claimed, "I'm Lorena."
The woman rolled her eyes. "I don't care what your name is. What do you think you're doing here?" She looked her up and down. "You're not the reason why the King hasn't called on me!"
She was already in a bad mood and dealing with this woman did not improve it. She snapped back, "You have a problem with that?"
"Oh! This one's feisty, now I see why the Kings interested in you. Don't be surprised if he invites you to join us." The woman reached behind her and began undoing the lace on her dress. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get ready for when the King arrives."
Lorena watched as she slipped out of her gown, allowing it to fall to the floor. Blushing Lorena quickly looked away, she wore no underclothes.
"A modest whore?" the woman laughed, "That's interesting."
Turning back to face her, Lorena found her stretched out across the bed. "I'm not a whore."
The woman laughed again. "Of course not. Let me guess, you love the King and would do anything he asked of you."
"I don't love Galbatorix." The woman's mouth dropped, seemingly shocked that she used his name. "And I won't do anything he asks of me."
"You should watch your attitude, or you'll have that beaten out of you. You should be glad to be here, the King is the best lover in Alagaësia."
"I've had better."
The woman raised an eye brow. "There's something wrong with you."
"If you want him, you can have him." Lorena snapped and walked out into the courtyard. With the absence of the moon and stars she could barely see her own hand, even if she held it in front of her face.
She listened for the sound of the fountain and followed blindly. She found the marble wall when she stubbed her toe on it, then sat. It was too cold to dangle her feet in the water, so she folded her legs up beside her and listened to the splatter it made.
It wasn't long before she heard the bedchamber door open and the sound of voices. She had her back to the chambers and didn't bother to see what was going on. The voices spoke quietly and she was only able to make out every few lines.
"What are you doing here?"
"Your Majesty… for you, do you like?"
"…you were not invited…abscond."
There was a pause, then the chamber door slammed shut and was followed by silence. Lorena was staring at the sky, attempting to glimpse a star when a hand touched her shoulder. She jumped and glanced beside her but saw nothing. Though she felt a form sit next to her. The hand trailed lightly down her arm and it took all her will power to not flinch.
"It seems you had a guest."
"I believe that you had a guest." She resisted the urge to move away from the invading form. "She left quite quickly."
"She was unsolicited. Besides, I don't need her when I have you."
Lorena turned to face him, at least she thought she faced him. "She is willing. It doesn't bother you that I'm not?"
"You will be soon enough." His hand traced back the way it came and rested on her upper arm. "Let's go."
"I'm fine here." She replied stubbornly.
The hand on her arm suddenly gripped painfully tight. "You need to learn to do as you're told."
Gritting her teeth she snapped back. "I don't need to learn anything."
The form stood, jerking her to her feet. She grasped at the hand to pry it lose, but his wards prevented her from making contact. "It looks like we will continue the hard way."
Murtagh woke with sunlight pouring through the window. He felt his right hand, prodding the previously wounded flesh and was pleased with his work. Sitting up he scanned the room. The usual weight of Thorn beside him was gone and he remembered that they had slept apart for the first time. The dragon was absent from his bed and it took Murtagh a moment to find him on the window sill.
Thorn perched on his hind legs, staring out at the strip of visible orange sky. Guilt pressed against his chest and he wished he could take him outside so that he could fly. As he watched Thorn turned on the sill and launched himself into the air. His wings snapped out and he glided before bringing them down hard and propelling himself upwards. He flew quickly to the other side of the room and turned gracefully as he came close to the wall. Re-angling himself he went toward the bed and crash landed on the soft sheets.
Murtagh reached out and poked him in the side. "How long have you been doing that for?"
Thorn simply hummed and Murtagh guessed he'd had the skill for a while. He poked him again and Thorn snapped playfully at his fingers. Pushing him onto his back Murtagh held him down and scratched him stomach. Thorn yowled and swung his tail, the sharp barb smacking into Murtagh's arm, creating a welt and thin line of blood. He ignored the injury and scratched harder, causing Thorn to squirm and snap at his hand again. Murtagh pulled back quickly and laughed, through their bond he felt Thorn was pleased with himself.
Murtagh smiled, Thorn may not be quite happy yet, but at least they seemed to have made up.
"I need to talk to you about Thorn."
Galbatorix looked up from his scroll. The study was filled with literature, sorted into piles of what they had covered and what was coming up next. Murtagh had stopped waiting for the later pile to reduce, every day it seemed to mount higher and higher.
"What about him?"
"He doesn't like being locked up all day. If there was any chance that I could take him outside, just so he can fly around a bit. Just for half an hour a day."
"Not every day," he placed the scroll on the desk, "not even once a week. He's almost old enough to train, so there's no point."
"He's unhappy," Murtagh tried to express, "he just wants to go outside and fly. At least once, that's all I'm asking. It would be ideal for him to have a grasp of flying in an open space early, before you want to start training him."
Galbatorix crossed his arms, stood and stared down at him. Murtagh nervously shifted in his seat. "I'll let you take him out once, but I'll be there too. If you can answer me a question on what we've just studied…" He glanced down at a book on the desk, "tell me how to heal a punctured lung."
Placing a foot on the fountain wall and walking the other out Lorena felt a good burn in her thigh muscles. She reached forward and grasped her toes, deepening the stretch. She heard the bedchamber doors open and stood. Her handmaidens had come earlier with lunch, and she could tell by the placement of the sun that there was no way time had escaped her allowing it be supper time already.
Squinting she began walking towards the chambers when the figures emerged into the light. She stopped dead in her tracks. Galbatorix appeared from the chambers with Murtagh and a small red dragon beside him.
The dragon, Thorn she remembered, took flight as soon as he emerged. He followed the perimeter of the huge courtyard then dived toward the fountain, where he hit the falling water before speeding upwards again. Lorena watched him in awe, and distracted didn't notice the others approaching her.
"Is this what you wanted, Murtagh?"
Lorena turned to see Galbatorix and Murtagh beside her, watching the dragon, a stoic expression on Murtagh's face. "Yes, sir."
She pressed her lips together, angered that Murtagh was ignoring her, and that she in turn had to ignore him. Turning her attention back to Thorn she could see him radiating with enjoyment. "This is interesting."
"A nice break from your usual laps, is it not?" Galbatorix asked.
"It is," she glanced at him as Thorn let out an odd high pitched roar, "but you've never brought him here before, why now?"
"This is a chance for Thorn to become accustom to flying. Here is a large open space where he is safe before he's old enough to begin training in the training grounds. This is just a once off, enjoy it while you can."
The three stood and watched the dragon until he visibly grew wary. When Thorn changed from flying to mostly gliding Galbatorix clapped his hands.
"I shall be back. I have a book in my personal study that I would like you to look at Murtagh, wait here and keep an eye on Thorn." He then walked to the wall of the courtyard, and opened a door Lorena had assumed was still locked. He stepped inside and the door thudded shut behind him.
Lorena spun toward Murtagh.
"Don't do anything stupid." He quickly warned.
She lowered her arms which she had intended to throw around him. "I wouldn't do anything stupid."
He raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.
"What are you doing here? There must have been plenty of other places he could have taken you."
"It's just another one of his games. Thorn's been dying for a chance to fly, instead of being cooped up in our chambers his whole life. But you know Galbatorix, there's always a grain of salt."
"What's so bad about seeing me?"
"There's nothing wrong with seeing you. But seeing you and not being able to touch you, not being able to talk to you properly." Murtagh shook his head.
Lorena repositioned herself to watch Thorn. "He must be expecting us to talk now. There's no way he would have left us alone and not expect it."
Murtagh shrugged. "If he asks then tell him we exchanged pleasantries, nothing more."
"What if he looks into our minds?"
"Then there's nothing we can do about it."
Thorn let out another roar and landed on the fountain wall before taking a draught. "He's growing fast."
"Too fast. According to what I've read he's growing about twice as fast as he should be."
"How is that possible?"
She looked at the little dragon and wondered how long until he would have until he had to fight Saphira. Then she glanced at Murtagh, realising how obvious what was happening to him was, and together they said, "Galbatorix."
The door to the study opened and Galbatorix appeared holding a leather bound book. He shut the door behind him and approached the pair. "Here."
Murtagh took the proffered book and read the title. "The benefits of oath-bound servants."
Lorena focused on one of the stones on the ground, refusing to look at Murtagh.
"Thank you, sir." His voice was tense.
"Call Thorn, he's finished flying. It's time to go." A hand caught her chin and lifted her face up, so she looked into cold black eyes. "I'll see you tonight, wear something golden."
She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. She fought the desire to deny him, to insult him, and to spit in his face. With Murtagh and Thorn present she couldn't be sure that any punishments for disobedience would be dealt only to her.
The fingers on her chin tightened. She grimaced and nodded, "Okay."
The hand disappeared and Lorena's head dropped in response. She peeked at Murtagh, who's lips were set in a white line. She shook her head at him, hoping he would take control of his expressions before it caused trouble. However, he didn't meet her eye. Thorn glided to them from the centre of the courtyard and the men left together, the carved door thudding shut behind them.
The first thing Lorena did when they left was run to the study door. She turned the handle and pulled, wondering what was inside. The door didn't open. Pushing and pulling she grunted, then even gave it a good kick before releasing the handle.
She tried every other door, just in case, but to no avail. For the time being she still had nothing to do.
After dropping Thorn off in their chambers Murtagh made his way to the training grounds. A sea of soldiers covered the fields, from the elite to the newly conscripted. In a corner of the grounds the archery targets were being restuffed, next to the weapons room and smithy. Murtagh surveyed the scene and found the new weapons master sitting on the edge of the fields, sharpening his hand-and-a-half sword. "You're late."
"Good afternoon to you too, Brandt," Murtagh replied testily.
"What were you up to?" The pepper haired man examined the edge.
"I was with Galbatorix."
"And you don't wish to speak about it?" He waited for a response, then nodded when he didn't receive one. "Well, then I suppose we should start. Better late than never."
They found an empty space and took up arms.
"Have you prepared your blade?" Brandt asked as he shifted from one foot to the other.
"Yes, I took care of it in-" he had run a thumb over the swords edge as he spoke, just to be sure and Brandt used the distraction to lunge forward. Murtagh threw his sword up and blocked as he stepped back. Brandt tried to run him through the middle and Murtagh leapt out of the way, bringing his sword around at the older man's shoulder.
The steel clinked as he blocked and Murtagh scowled as the man grinned. "You must have been profoundly affected by your talk with the King to fall for something so obvious."
"I don't want to talk about it."
Murtagh renewed the attack and they fought in silence, the only sound an occasional grunt or growl. Brant sliced at Murtagh's hip and he knocked aside the blade.
Brandt laughed, causing Murtagh to stare at him. "You remind me of Tornac. Even if I hadn't already known I could have figured out that he trained you."
Wanting to know more Murtagh lowered his sword. "How?"
"More the way you move than anything else. The way you stand, the way you flourish the weapon—spinning it in a quick circle by your side. It all screams Tornac."
"You knew him that well?" Murtagh questioned, failing to hide his pride at being compared to his foster father.
"We studied under the same teacher, but Tornac was his best student and he knew it. Big headed fool he was."
"He was no such thing."
"Don't get snippy with me. You didn't know him when he was young, I'm sure he was the spitting image of nobility when he taught you." Murtagh resisted a snort. "But when we were students he was rash, and sometimes arrogant."
"You were friends?"
"Bah! Friends? We detested each other. We were the best and always wanted to outdo the other. Until my accident it was unclear who was going to stand greater."
"What accident?" Murtagh looked the man up and down, he had not noticed anything off.
"I crushed the bones in my foot." He shook the offended limb. "For a long time I couldn't fight, not until I found a skilled healer. You can hardly tell now, but I'll never be as good as I once was."
The courtyard was still light when the bedchamber door opened. Lorena squinted into the chamber, expecting her handmaidens, and was surprised to see the outline of Galbatorix. He removed his gloves, cape, sword, and crown before making his way into the courtyard.
"What are you doing?"
"Relaxing," Lorena called, her feet dangling in the water.
He sat next to her, removed his own shoes and dipped his feet into the water. He watched as the fish approached and began nibbling on the bottoms of his feet. "Does that not tickle you?"
She shrugged, "I've gotten use to it. Though I did accidentally kick one of the big ones once, and it hasn't come back over ever since."
The courtyard quietened as they watched the fish, the noise of the fountain the loudest sound.
"You seem to like the water."
Lorena glanced at Galbatorix, he sat straight-backed but his hands rested comfortably in his lap, and he kicked his feet back and forth slowly in the water.
"I grew up next to a river. I actually have thought about going for a swim, but…" She shrugged.
"But what?"
"I guess I just haven't." She didn't mention that she didn't want to strip off before jumping in, nor wanted to suffer the consequences of ruining any of the clothes she had.
She felt the Kings eyes on her and decided he must have realised what her problem was, because seconds later a hand pressed against her back and pushed. The water was colder than she had expected and she was sure she almost swallowed a fish when she screamed. She burst from the water, spluttering and spitting out a small orange form that quickly swam away.
Flipping away the wet tresses from over her eyes she glared up at the King who sat with a smirk on his face. "What was that for!"
"You wanted to swim," he stated matter-of-factly.
"I never said I wanted to swim, I said I had thought about it." She patted the side of her head, attempting to dislodge water from her ear.
"Well now you'll know if you want to do it again."
"What about you, do you ever swim in here?" With her feet touching the bottom she found the water touched her shoulders, and she guessed the water would reach no higher than the top of his stomach.
"You swim in a lake or river, not a fountain."
Lorena scowled, then mustering up her courage she scooped her hand through the water, splashing it toward the King. As with her fists she had expected the water to bounce off his wards, and stood stunned when the spray landed on his shirt and cheeks.
The King raised a brow and wiped a drop from the corner of his eye. She opened her mouth to say something but no sound came, and instead she stood wondering how much trouble she was in.
"You'll pay for that." He pushed himself off the wall and into the water. Lorena closed her eyes and turned her face from the splash, then looked back to see the King standing over her. A leg hooked around hers and kicked it out from under her and she fell backwards under the water. She scrambled to her feet, trying to get up before she was drowned, and regained her footing a few feet away from him.
She lifted her hands to ward off a blow but instead heard laughter. She looked up at the King to see him genuinely amused and realised he was playing with her. Scooping the water again she sent a spray his way, he lifted a hand to protect his eyes. Picking up on that detail she splashed again and when he mimicked the motion she took advantage of his temporary blindness. She cut through the water and tackled him around the middle, sending him backwards and successfully under.
She didn't wait for him to surface, instead made her way to the centre and began climbing the marble dragon. She managed to stand on a hind leg before strong hands grabbed her hips and gave a sharp jerk backwards. She screamed as she fell, but remembered to hold her breath once she struck water. It was shallow enough that she bumped the bottom, but deep enough that the impact didn't hurt.
Once she surfaced she expected to give a counter attack but didn't receive the chance. An arm encircled her waist and lifted her before spinning her in circles. She screamed and clung onto his arms for dear life. He paused and she took the chance to catch her breath, before he spun the other way and let go. She was caught off guard and tried unsuccessfully to grab him before hitting the water.
When she resurfaced she didn't try to clear her eyes, instead splashed at him again. Unable to see she didn't realise how close he was, and instead of striking water she struck him across the chest. She wiped the water from her face as he grabbed her arm. He didn't look angry but Lorena was surprised that she managed to hit him. He turned her around so her back pressed against him and held her as she tried to pry his hands loose and escape.
"You better hold your breath," he whispered, and Lorena tried to shout in protest. He plunged her under the water and the liquid filled her mouth, and was sucked down to her lungs. She fought his hold and when she managed to resurface she coughed up the liquid. She felt a grip on her shoulders that redirected her and next thing she knew she was grasping the marble wall. When her burning lungs cleared she looked up at the King. "I told you to hold your breath."
She spat water. "I thought I could talk you out of it."
"Good luck with that." He looked down at his shirt. "These were good clothes."
"I didn't push you in," Lorena chuckled.
"No, but if you hadn't splashed me in the first place I wouldn't have had to jump in and teach you a lesson."
Lorena shrugged and hooked her arms over the wall before pulling herself up. It wasn't too high but the dead weight of her dress dragged her back down. She tried again and felt a pair of hands grasp her thighs and give her the extra push she needed. Pulling her legs up she tried to sit on the top of the wall, but she misjudged the weight of the sodden material and instead rolled off onto the stone floor.
A pair of tan feet entered her field of vision and she looked up to see the King sitting on the marble wall, looking down at her with a smirk.
"Having a bit of trouble there?"
"It's the dress," Lorena defended, "it's a lot heavier now."
"I guess we'll just have to get you out of it."
Lorena stared up at him, the good humour she had mustered now evaporating. Despite their fun he was still going to go through with her daily torture, and she found that every day it was becoming harder to find the willpower to fight a losing battle.
After training Murtagh made his way to his bedchambers. He ignored those he walked past in the halls and tried to think of Tornac acting as a fool. Maybe arrogant, he thought as he stepped in front of his door.
Murtagh.
Murtagh froze with his hand on the door handle.
Murtagh.
He pushed his way into his bedchambers and found Thorn sitting on the bed.
Murtagh.
He leant back against the door and smiled at the should-be hatchling. Hello, Thorn.
