Ok, now Arya's around six months pregnant. Excuse the jumps in time, but i kind of want to get the baby out soon!

Durza's small, comforting smile didn't ease Arya's worries. In fact, the lacerations she received stung more and more, and she feared the stress of being chained to a wall for most of the day and not being able to sleep at night might not see her give life to her last remaining hope, the baby.

Galbatorix would soon grow tired of the endless torture without the answers he wanted, and if indeed she was poor of health, how could she possibly be of any use to him?

And Durza.

Durza.

Maybe it was her warped sense of time or the fact that his subtleties were getting to her, but now Arya felt such self disgust that she could have believed the word of a Shade so cunning as Durza. He wanted to have his way with her, and nothing more. She tried to overlook what she had seen in Galbatorix's throne room, and decided she had two options; escape or die.

Arya cried softly, tears seeping from behind her shut eyelids. The empathy she had once felt for Durza was gone. She feared his return, and new it meant only bad news. His plan had seemed like her ticket to freedom, but she was sure it benefited Durza solely, and she could not stand another day in that Hell hole.

The disgusting watery paste Gaedric passed as breakfast slid on a tray under the door. Arya pushed it aside and thought. She needed some way to distracted Durza and get herself out of the cell at the same time. She heard distant footsteps of others in the castle and knew it would have to be soon.

She saw the sun peering over the horizon, and knew it wouldn't be long before her body was torn at like a rag doll once more. No…

She cried frantically; today, unlike the rest, she voiced her dread. With all her remaining strength, the elf hurled the tray of food at the opposite wall, still with some force, sending sparks as it scraped along the cold concrete. Arya's tired face lit. She had an idea. For the first time in months, she smiled.

She jumped. Gaedric's sword rang out as he rapped it against the steel bars of her cell as he gave her a condescending glare. If Durza returned, he could fuck her all he wanted, and no amount of blood could dampen her newly awakened spirits.

Unless of course, she was dead.

The Shade gave his horse's reins to the stable hand without a word. He had to deal with some beggars who had broken in to a grain stall and stolen three times their weight worth in animal feed. Not a very nice job; to cut a man's finger's off.

He stalked to the prison, a small amount of electricity emitted from his palms as he passed some Urgal's, then again when he entered the King's throne room. Although, Galbatorix wasn't there, this surprised Durza; he expected to be shouted at, hit or…

But then the thought was completely wiped from his mind and the electricity was drained from his body as he saw smoke coming from the elf's cell. In an instant, he had dissipated and was greeted with a rush of intense heat to the face. He jumped back. Urgal's tried desperately to put the fire out. It was then he noticed Gil'ead's healer holding Arya on the ground, coughing from the smoke, and he felt a rush of relief. Durza, on instinct was about to step over to her, but was stopped by a spindly, knarled hand.

"Going somewhere?" Durza didn't need to turn around; he knew who it was. "I was...just about to give her another fifty lashes...for almost burning down the city, my Lord." Galbatorix's grip tightened. "Come with me." Durza was half dragged into Galbatorix's throne room, and pushed to the floor using magic. "Don't...lie...to me!" The king pushed down on Durza's throat with every word, choking him, leaving him grappling for life. "W-what do you mean?"

"The guard, Gaedric, told me of your plans, of your acheivements. How you made the elf with child. How you plan to use one of my men to cover up your mistake. And most of all...how you have gone against your word to the Empire, and fallen in love with your captee." Durza cried out as an enormous amount more pressure was magically forced onto his throat, almost binding him to death. He pushed back as hard as he could, to no avail. He slipped into unconciousness, as Galbatorix released when a crash resounded behind them. There stood Arya, blackened with soot and frozen in shock as she saw that the room was inhabitted. He placed a nervous, shaky, pasty-white hand on her bulging belly as the baby kicked against her ribcage. The king smirked. "So, elf, you thought you could get away by setting fire to the castle? A rather poorly planned escape, pardon my mirth." She took a step forward as replied with a firmer voice than she thought she could muster, "It's Arya."

"What did you say?" He moved forward, only a few yards away from her now. "My name is Arya, not elf." The king stared in silence for a few moments before laughing, shaking his head and turning back to the Shade. "Your lover seems to be out cold. Perhaps you can joins him, Arya." He turned back again, and whispered, "Slytha." Arya fell, asleep before she hit the ground.

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Durza awoke, first aware of chains binding him to a stone wall, and secondly of a warm form pressed against his side. He groaned and opened his eyes slowly, yawning. His chains allowed him to stretch his arms only a few inches higher than the ground. He peered blearily to his left, where Arya dozed, stomach rising and falling gently. He smiled grimly and put a hand to it. He felt the small form of a child, curled up inside, and grinned widely. If he was stuck here, at least he was with the two he loved. He shuffled closer, and whispered soothing words into Arya's ear. If he was to be killed, and he was almost certain he would, he wanted his child and Arya to be happy. "Stay safe. Wiol pömnuria ilian." Arya smiled in her sleep, seeming to light up the room, and Durza kissed her forehead goodnight.

. I kept getting stuck, and then i couldn't remember what i had planned, and Jypsi is to thank for the majority of this chapter!!! Yay! Please review, my friends!! Oh yes, and Jypsi and myself have worked out the sex and name of the baby, but i am open to any new names you can think of, male or female!!