Ah, sorry! I forgot to mention that when Arya is in her cell, she is chained, ok?

Arya was shaking, a million thoughts racing through her over-worked and drugged mind. What would happen to this child? Would Durza kill it? How would he react? I feel sure he'll blame this on someone else... possibly a guard or... ahhh i'm not thinking straight. Just stop. She rubbed her throbbing head and stared wearily at her stomach. It hadn't grown much in the month since it's conceiving, because of the drugs maybe? Or maybe-

Her thoughts were cut short by the rusty, metallic squeal of her cell door being pushed open. In came Durza and another guard she realised as a man called Gaedric. He was often caring enough to her, more so than anyone else had been. Durza threw his ebony cloak at the guard outside her door, forcing him to hang it up for him. Gaedric and the Shade sat down in the middle of the floor, facing Arya. Gaedric looked as though he had been crying, or at least been upset deeply, and Durza looked slightly victorious. Arya surveyed them before asking. "Why are you here." it was more of a statement than a question, really. More of a confirmation that they really were there. Nothing seemed real anymore. "We are here to discuss..." Durza glanced nervously at the door before continuing, "...the child." Arya's breath caught in her throat. She spluttered, "How do you know? And what does this man have to do with it?" Durza nodded in acknowledgment to Gaedric before replying, "Gaedric here has agreed to claim fathership for the child. The torture will continue, as always, but will not be so harsh as to kill the b-baby." He stammered at the last word. He still couldn't believe it... him... a father. Part of it made him proud, but another, much larger part, filled his very bones with dread. At least i wont be the one to blame for it...i've made sure of that.

"Do you have no family, Gaedric?" Arya asked tentatively. "Aye, a wife and a beautiful baby boy. But they have been notified, and agree to let me help you and my Master. They know none of it is true." Arya saw his hands clenched and the mention of his family; he clearly did not want to do this. "Of course, i will be accused of adultery, but i will do anything for my Master." Arya inwardly cursed Durza. He was dragging an innocent family into this, against their will. "S-so you wont harm my baby?" Arya asked nervously. As much as she loathed the idea of being dragged down by a child, she couldn't hack it off and forget about it like she would a burden. It was a whole new life, and one to be cherished. Desperately she prayed to her god that this child was born outside of this hell-hole. She started thinking of how she could make it's life so much better than her own, but was interrupted by Durza's voice. "You will tell no one who the real father is, as Gaedric has promised not to, and you will swear it in the ancient language for us." Arya sighed and repeated Durza's words, too tired, confused and drugged to remember them on her own. "Today, i will take you to the torture chamber as usual, but you will not be as severely beaten. The king will know about the child by tomorrow, and i will not be ordered to kill it. The king will not touch it if it has elf blood, even half. It would be too valuable to loose. Gaedric may loose his job, as possibly his life, but we're willing." Arya's head spun, she hadn't taken in a word.

Before she knew it, she was lying on the long torture table, the guards this time standing outside the door, and Durza was again burning her. But this time he stayed far away from her mid-section, and burnt the nerve-endings on the soles of her feet. At the end, he healed a few wounds on her stomach. "I want this baby to be as happy and healthy as possible, but don't expect to be healed often." He forced the usual drugs into her, slightly less than usual, and gave her a small fleeting smile before she was dragged off again. Don't get used to getting it so easy, you'll get a big head.

Arya settled back against the opposite wall to the one she usually leant against. Her feet felt like molten lava was coursing through them, though she was grateful for the spare the rest of her body had got. She curled up and closed her eyes, dreaming of what it might be like to have a child of her own.

She could see herself with a baby in her arms, she smiling and the infant crying. She stroked the child's cheek, high and proud like hers, and saw tears rolling down her own cheeks in joy.

Her dreams continued for quite some time, until she awoke with a start. The last thing she had dreamed of was not about a baby, but something entirely more sinister. She dreamed that the egg had fallen into the wrong clutches, the hands of someone from the Empire. She realised that tears were were rolling down her cheeks, this time not in joy. She hunched her shoulders slightly and sobbed into the cold night air.

Eragon saw a young woman, bent over by sorrow, chained in a cold, hard cell. A beam of moonlight shone through the barred window set high in the wall and fell on her face. A single tear rolled down her cheek, like a liquid diamond.

((A/N-sorry about this note! Ok the above is an extraction from Eragon, it's how he sees her in his dream, ok? And secondly, this really should be the end of this chapter, but i'll continue cause i'm bored. So about, ohhh another two months has passed since that dream Eragon had about her, ok? So Arya is now three months pregnant. Thanks!!))

Arya rubbed the whip-marks on her arms and upper back. It definately wasn't helping her back pains. She had shifted again to the middle of the room, as far as her chains would allow, to sit in her temporary sunlight. In the short time she was in it, she allowed herself to do nothing, just simply relax as much as she could and let her mind fly away. She felt like it was the only thing keeping her sane, keeping her alive. A voice called out to her from the corridor, "Elf! You're being taken out early today, the king wants us to go a bit harder on you." It was Gaedric. He opened the door and lifted Arya to her feet. As always, he pulled the chains of her frail but growing arm before leading her away, but this time Durza was not with him. He sighed and rubbed his head as he lead her along. "It's my last day of work today. Tomorrow my family and i leave this city for good. I am no longer welcome here, and my wife and child wish to come with me." Arya patted his arm lightly. "I hope for the best for you and your family. I'm sorry this had to happen." Gaedric shrugged. "It wasn't your fault. I also hope you and the child will be happy and healthy throughout your hopefully long lives." Arya grimaced and he continued walking, leaving her standing at the door with the other two guards to wait.

She stumbled back into her cell, almost glad to have the chains back on if it meant she could get away from the branding irons and whips. She lay on the small, musty cot. She hardly ever went near it, it smelt so bad and was harder than the stone beneath it, but this time she felt drawn to it. She cried again, for everything. It was almost a habit now, when no one was around she cried. Her hand flopped over the edge and a trickle of blood dripped of her hand from the large open wound on her shoulder-blade.

He could tell that something was wrong with her. Her breathing was irregular, and she shook-whether from cold or pain, he did not know. In the semidarkness of the cell, the only thing clearly illuminated was her hand, which hung over the edge of the cot. A dark liquid dripped from the tip of her fingers. Eragon knew it was blood.

Ok, FanFiction wouldn't let most people update! Aaargh! BTW, like my new name:D I'm not planning on making this a story following Eragon's lines, i just added a few bits from the book in...ummm...because. Hopefully it wasn't too confusing, i kept changing my mind about what i wanted to happen. Wont be updating for a while so that should satisfy you! Erm, ok...i didn't expect that to work...