Author's Note: Well, this is going to be a shorter chapter, I believe. From Murtagh's point of view. Whee.

Odragon: Aww…what are you allergic to? I hope your eye gets better. –pokes- Hey! You just spelled it:O I think it said somewhere in eragon that Galbatorix had black eyes. Lemme check.

Aha. Page 389 in my paperback, Murtagh's little story about what happened.

"…The meal was sumptuous, but throughout it his black eyes never left me……."

Aaaaaanyways, on with the story! insert dramatic arm gesture here

Disclaimer: I do not own Eragon or Eldest.

Lies. It's nothing but a pack of lies. Murtagh sat, slowly chewing his food, as Galbatorix spoke. He had heard it all before, and he knew that it was not true.

Careful, little one, Thorn admonished. Mind your thoughts. You never know who can be listening.

Don't I know it. He glanced at Samila. She was sitting as if in a trance, arms hanging loosely at her sides, listening. From the look on her face, Murtagh saw that she would hear nothing else. He suppressed a sigh and swallowed.

What now? He asked his companion.

We wait for him to finish speaking, came the reply. He grunted in response through their mental connection.

The wait was a long one. Galbatorix talked for a while, and Murtagh was forced to wait the entirety of it. When at last, he stopped, Samila asked.

"How will the Riders rise to power again? The only dragons left are male."

She is quite blunt, Thorn observed dryly.

Not to mention clueless.

You speak the truth. Murtagh held his breath, and waited for the king to answer Samila's question.

He was silent for a minute or so, before asking softly,

"Do you really want to know?" By the look on the young girl's face, Murtagh could tell she wasn't so sure if she did anymore. It was a few moments before she summoned up the courage to speak.

"Ye-yes. I want to know."

"Very good. Murtagh, show her."

Murtagh blinked. Why him? He hadn't even been a part of the event, just a bystander in the duration of the dinner. However, he stood up without complaint and bowed low to the King, motioning for Samila to stand up. Thorn dipped his great head down, and then turned to follow Murtagh and Samila as they filed out the door.

As soon as the monstrous door slammed shut, Samila began to babble excitedly.

"Can you believe it, Murtagh? The Riders will be back, and there'll be so many new cities that you won't even be able to count them all! Do you think that His Majesty has started thinking up names for them all? Does he even make the names for them? The only thing I can't understand is how the Dragon Riders will rise into power again. But that's what you're going to show me, right? Are there other Riders like y-"

"Shut up!" The words died on her lips and she stopped walking. Murtagh regretted his words at once and bowed his head, refusing to look at the young girl. He walked faster, through the winding hallways of the castles. Thorn nudged Samila into action with his snout.

He doesn't mean it. Murtagh bit the inside of his cheek as Thorn chided him.

That wasn't one of the smartest things you could have done.

I know, alright! His sudden outburst of frustrated thought was harsher than he had intended. Thorn withdrew huffily.

This was even worse. His own dragon was ignoring him. Murtagh sighed and prodded at Thorn's consciousness.

Would it help if I say that I'm sorry? The wall around the dragon's mind remained. Regret washed over him. The wall flickered, and then was let down.

I know you are. Now tell her. Murtagh bit his lip, and then he stopped and turned to face Samila. She stopped and stared at him with a mixture of remorse and resentment. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry." Her eyes widened for a moment, before she said slowly,

"Me…too. But why were you mad at me? I was just talking about His Majesty's plan for the Empire. It's not bad." Murtagh seethed with anger. She just didn't get it. But he could not deny the king. He had to show her the dragon egg.

"It's nothing we need to talk about at the moment. Come." He beckoned for her to follow him again, and set off at a fast walk. His legs were long than hers, and soon she had to break into a slow jog to keep up as his strides became longer and faster. Soon they reached a small iron door.

Murtagh glanced both ways, before pulling a key from his pocket and sliding into the lock. As he twisted sideways, a dull click echoed in the hall.