The following morning, after Nasuada had prepared herself her the day, she walked to her veranda to get some fresh morning air.
Her veranda overlooked the palace gardens which provided her with a beautiful view and sweet and flowery scents.
As Nasuada absorbed the warm early morning sun, a structure at the end of the garden caught her eye.
It was still a bit foggy, but she could make out the form in the fog as a hedge labyrinth.
'That looks interesting.' Nasuada thought as curiosity overwhelmed her.
And so she made her way out to the hallway to go to the labyrinth.
As she was making her way down, she passed by Murtagh's room.
Everything from last night came back to her. She was concerned with Murtagh's reaction. He seemed so defensive and Nasuada could understand that.
Fate has not been kind to him.
Glancing both ways like a child who is about to do something mischievous, she approached his doors and pressed her ear onto it, listening if the room is occupied.
It was quiet except for a soft rustling and shuffling of sheets.
Her master must still be sleeping. Nasuada thought that Murtagh must be up late last night.
Backing away, she made her way down the dim, lonely halls and out to the garden.
Nasuada gaped at the large ancient looking entrance on the labyrinth.
It was an arch covered with flowering vines and the iron gate looked like it wasn't opened even once.
The gate was adorned with elegant swirly designs but they were rusty and old.
Nasuada pulled off the dead vines enveloping the lock on the door of the gate and surprisingly, the old lock fell on her feet as if it just died with old age.
The gate eerily creaked opened on its own, opening the path way into the maze of flowering hedges for Nasuada.
The Lady of the Varden wandered inside the maze. Taking a left at an intersection, then a right to the next one and going straight to the next. She did it in a pattern, repeating it over and over again.
Nasuada felt like she was in an enchanted place in the forest, with all the sweet smelling flowers on the walls of hedges surrounded her. Little birds flew over the blue morning sky and perched on some branches stretched out from the ancient hedges. Nasuada closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, absorbing such a peaceful sight in. it was rare for the Varden Princess to let her guard down and does such vulnerable thing for girlish thoughts take over her mind. Thoughts prove useless in a warring nation, thoughts that could decide her future.
The labyrinth was larger in the inside than it looks like in the outside. And after long minutes of wandering, Nasuada began to tire out. She regretted coming here in the first place without leaving a track to follow back.
"This is what happens when I let foolish things get in my way of logical and practical thought." Nasuada folded the skirts of her dress and sat down in a lady like kneeling position.
"Now how am I going to get out of here?" she asked herself. The sun was starting to climb up in the sky and she could feel hunger clawing her stomach. She hadn't eating breakfast yet and she's stuck in the middle of nowhere of the labyrinth.
Sighing and having rested enough, she stood up and began walking again.
After a while, Nasuada noticed that the pathways are widening and when she took a right in an intersection, she found herself in the heart of the maze.
It was a round clearing with a fountain in the middle with a few benches encircling it. On the other side of the clearing where three entrances continuing to the end of the maze if one wishes to find the exit.
Nasuada approached the fountain. It had the statue of a winged young boy carrying a tilted jar on his shoulder and water poured out from it, lading on the pool at the bottom where another statue of a young girl with a fish tail instead of legs sat in a sitting-lying position and looked up at the boy with loving eyes and a happy smile on her lips.
Nasuada found it romantic, but she quickly discarded the thought for a pang of jealousy envelopes her heart each time she things about it. Just like the first time she saw Roran and Katrina when they arrived to the Varden with Saphira.
Oh how lovingly they held each other.
And for a moment there, Nasuada wished that someone would hold her like that as well.
Nasuada rolled her eyes and sighed irritably.
"I can't believe that I desire something so…" she said, "So…"
She paused when she couldn't find the right word to describe the feeling.
Nasuada was alone. Yes, she was. No one could see her. She could be herself in here.
She looked at her reflection in the water of the pool in the fountain.
Her features were elegant.
Dark skin.
Almond shaped eyes.
Soft, pink lips.
High cheek bones.
She was beautiful as many would say. She was a promising young woman.
Many nobles from around Alageasia have trekked the dangerous woods of The Beor Mountains to find the rumored beautiful young maiden, daughter of a powerful rebel leader and propose to her.
No one succeeded.
The King of Surda, Orrin Larkinsson. One of her few friends, the only person she could think of marrying and this for political reasons.
"What pathetic thoughts." Nasuada thought. But deep inside, she couldn't help but feel lonely.
For deep down, she was still a girl.
A woman.
A woman who dreams.
Who hopes.
Who loves.
But is with no one.
Nasuada did find fancy in a few young men during her youth. But those were nothing but infatuation…
Except with one.
Suddenly, there was a rustle in the hedges which snapped Nasuada out of her contemplation.
She drew out her dagger and her eyes scanned the surroundings. She prepared for any attack.
Then a figure approached from the corner of her eye and she blindly wielded her dagger in fear.
Nasuada was able to hit something hard, then something gripped her wrist and twisted it back, making her drop her dagger and cry out in pain and anger.
It all happened so fast that the next thing she knew when she looked up; her dark warm eyes met and locked with cold icy ones.
"What are you doing?" Murtagh demanded.
Nasuada felt her blood froze. It was her master.
That wretched Forsworn.
Nasuada yanked her arm away and picked up her dagger.
"What are you doing her?" she asked, for all the people to bother her contemplation it has to be him.
"At least it wasn't Galbatorix" she added mentally.
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Murtagh replied. "I was looking everywhere for you."
"My apologies," Nasuada muttered, "I thought you were some animal."
There was slight irritation in Murtagh's calm features.
"You could've killed me there."
Nasuada sheathed her dagger. "Don't worry, you can't be killed with my 'little knife' as you call it. Though too bad I missed the chance."
"Too bad indeed." Murtagh smirked.
"Unless I stab you in your sleep." Nasuada gave a sweet and mocking smile.
"You seem to be exploring the gardens." He said.
"You seem to notice the obvious." Nasuada replied, meaning to annoy Murtagh even more.
Murtagh did not comment on this. But instead, he grabbed her right wrist and pulled out a silver chain bracelet from his pocket. The bracelet was simple, but if you looked upon closely, the designed in the chain is more complicated which adds to it's elegance from a near and simplicity from afar.
He wrapped it around Nasuada's wrist and muttered a few words in the Ancient Language.
On queue, the lock on the bracelet began to glow red as if melting and molding together and after a few seconds, the red glow died out and Murtagh dropped her wrist.
"What is this suppose to be?" Nasuada said, irritated.
"A gift." Murtagh replied simply.
Nasuada tried taking of the bracelet, first by picking the lock and when failed, she tried a more brutal approach by trying to break the chain off. But she only succeeded on hurting her self.
"You can try all you want," Murtagh said, amused. "But you'll fail all the same."
"Get this thing off me!" Nasuada hissed.
"I can't do that." Murtagh replied. "That bracelet serves two purposes."
"First," he explained. "It is a tracking device. With that, I can find you where ever in the world you are. I can also scry you even if you're in a place I haven't been before. So even if the Varden is camped not far from here and you try to make a run for it, you won't get past the city gates fro I'll simply drag you back here."
"And second," Murtagh continued. "That is your personal reminder of the oath you have taken that enslaves you to me. To be reminded of your place and your betrayal to your people."
"I am not a traitor!" Nasuada cried angrily. "I did this for them."
Murtagh laughed darkly. "Under normal circumstances, I would've found your words noble. But unfortunately, you did this to save yourself, remember?"
Nasuada bit back tears. "But I did do this for them. I agreed so I can sabotage you!" she said mentally.
"How selfish of you, Nasuada." Murtagh shook his head, showing false pity.
But Nasuada kept her head held high. "In that case, thank you for the gift."
She gave a curtsy. "I would like appreciate my thanks by letting you know, that I hate you."
And she turned around and walked away proudly back to the path she took leaving Murtagh alone by the fountain.
Murtagh gave a small smirk and went to other direction towards the exit of the labyrinth.
What he did was satisfying to any master. But deep inside, he wasn't.
He walked silently, his eyes cast to the ground and his mind satisfied from breaking Nasuada's spirits.
But his heart ached with pain from the venom of Nasuada's words; I HATE YOU.
His heart which held few treasured memories.
His heart which housed a small flame of hope and dreams.
His heart which he fought hard to never give up to Galbatorix's control.
His heart which remained human when all of him is bathed in blood from all the monstrous killings he has done.
His heart that loves her.
A/N: OMG! Update! I hope you don't find this one boring. Because I certainly did not.
Again, my apologies for the typos and grammar. I'll try to update soon! Thanks to the reviews. DON'T FORGET TO R&R =D