A/N: I apologize in advance to any misspellings of names of person/places. It's kind of easy to do when you're working with someone else's characters.
Two:
Thorn
King Orin blinked. "Say that again?"
"Murtagh tried to kill me," Nasauda said briskly from her desk. She smiled slightly over the delicate wine glass, despite her weariness. It was nearly dawn. The sun gleamed trough the narrow window slits at last, a golden half circle that slowly peaked over the horizon, fulfilling the promise of a new day.
King Orrin's eyes widened. "Nasauda, that's horrible!
"But he didn't, Orrin. Arya said that he ordered himself to obey only his free his will. He's free now."
"That's a good thing? But he's our enemy!"
"He was under Galbatrox's control. Eragon told us that the Galbatorix was using Murtagh's true name against him, but he turned the tables and broke free of those oaths."
King Orrin watched her carefully. "You seem…happy about all this."
Nasauda lowered her mug, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Relieved actually. Now that Murtagh has released himself, it's one less battle Eragon will have to face, and one more ally we have. Murtagh also knows many of Galbatrox's secrets. We can use this to our advantage. And. I'm more than positive he'll help us."
Orrin was still skeptical. "But does this liberation make him good? Or will this mean a future enemy? He might help us now, but what about tomorrow when Galbatorix is gone? What if he becomes an even greater foe in the aftermath of this war?"
"He won't," Nasauda said confidently. "He has no intention of becoming our enemy. If it weren't for the Twins, he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."
King Orrin wondered if Nasauda knew what she was getting herself into. "Still," he said. "We should tread carefully on this. We're walking on rather thin ice here. Even if he does help, and even if he doesn't become our enemy down the road, the Varden, the elves, and the Dwarves are not going to be happy when they hear about this. The dwarves already want his head on a pike. Nasauda, this could put your leadership in peril. Are you really willing to gamble everything on this man?"
Arya had said something like that. "I'm well aware of the situation, Orrin," Nasauda said flatly. "It will take a lot of persuasion, and a great deal of Murtagh's cooperation. He may never truly gain their trust, but I believe that he will help us."
"We can't even guarantee his trust! If Murtagh can find his way around his oaths to Galbatorix, who's to say he won't slip out of our control too?"
Nasauda scowled. Although she knew he was right. That was their one big problem. The people would want some sort of confirmation of his trust. She didn't really want to control him. Too many people had tried to control him before, but after all, who could control the wind? However, her personal beliefs would certainly clash with that of her allies. And that was where other problems arose.
"I don't know," she said. "We just do. We're gambling a lot of things as it is, but this is one opportunity I will not let slip away." Orrin was giving her that 'are you crazy?' look.
Lately, it seemed that everyone was wearing that expression. Lace, Elva the child bodyguard, Urgals, Murtagh…was she really being that outlandish? Her plan to fund the Varden with lace proved more than successful, and obtaining alliance with the Urgals had done wonders for them in battle. As for Elva, despite her suffering, she did a fairly sound job in foreboding danger. So it seemed to Nasauda that the term 'outlandish' was simply a synonym for 'original'.
"Nasauda—"
He was interrupted by a thundering loud crash, followed by the chocking scent of smoke, the distressed yells of frantic soldiers, and a loud, throaty roar. Nasauda and Orrin expanded glances before darting out into the main hall, weapons drawn. Orrin gave a horrified sound at the sight of utter chaos, half between a squeak and half a shriek. There was giant hole in the corridor's great, arching ceiling where Thorn had broken through, roaring madly and spewing vast streams of formidable inferno. Several of the fallen beams had caught fire.
The soldiers ran away in terror, some boldly stayed behind; they lasted only a little while though, against Thorn's redoubtable wrath. His razor sharp claws and barbed tail tore through their armor like a knife through paper. Meanwhile, other soldiers frantically were running around, buckets of water in hand, trying to dissipate the growing flames without getting mauled.
"Great gods!" Orrin cried. His eyes were as wide as plates. He turned to Nasauda, hysterical with panic at the chaotic scene. "Nasauda! What are you waiting for? Do something! Hurry! That monster is destroying my home!"
Nasauda hardly heard him. She marched up to the raging dragon. It probably wasn't the most intelligible action, but what else was she to do? If Thorn was anything like Saphira then he would at least listen to her.
Thorn! Nasauda shouted with her mind. Stop!
Thorn whirled around angrily, impaling a nearby soldier with his barbed tail. There was a dangerous gleam in his glowing, ochre eyes. He let out a nasty snarl; puffs of black smoke seeping threw clenched jaws of razor sharp ivory. You! Where is he? Tell me now, woman, or I will find him myself!
Relax, Nasauda said. Murtagh is fine. He's—
Another throaty growl escaped Thorn's throat. What have you done with him? If you have hurt him, then I shall wreck havoc upon your kin—He's fine, Nasauda repeated. He's resting.
Thorn gave her a suspicious look. He broke the oaths last night, Thorn said. We don't have to obey that monster anymore. We won't obey him. He has caused Murtagh a great deal of pain. He bent down and met Nasauda's gaze nose-to-nose.She could feel the heat of his breath pressing against her face like an oven's wavering fervor. I will never let him go back. You understand that don't you, woman?
Perfectly.
So you won't hurt him?
Of course not.
"What's going on," Orin whispered, glancing at the dragon anxiously.
"He was worried about Murtagh."
"Oh, so then that perfectly justifies destroying my roof, doesn't it?"
"Look, I'll fix your stupid roof. Just let me handle this first." She turned back to Thorn. Will you please come with me?
Are we going to see Murtagh?
Not right now. There are some things we need to sort out first—
Thorn let out another dangerous growl. "Patience, we are on your side, O great dragon," Orin said quickly.
Don't mock me, silly man, Thorn sniffed. I am in no mood for comics this morning.
"We just need to talk," Orrin said. "At least hear us out."
You two are in big trouble, Nasauda said. Were the Varden under anyone else's rule, you'd probably face execution. But I think I may have found a way around it, if you are willing to hear me out.
Thorn watched her carefully. Behind those glowing ochre eyes, she could see the wheels turning in his head, contemplating the delicacy of the situation. Finally, he said, Perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement. Murtagh always said that that you were of reasonable consideration.
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A/N: Holy crap! Excuse my language, but I'm surprised at how many reviews I have. Are you reviewers feeling sick or something? I've never had this many for a second chapter. It's almost unheard of! Oh well, we'll just keep surprising each other, won't we?
One of you lovely reviewers (red'-'clueless) suggested there should be a twist, 'like if something came from over the seas to help Galbatorix.' I think I'll take this into consideration. Funny you should mention it, actually, because I was already toying with the idea.
And I think you'll be rather pleased with it.
In the mean time, happy reading!