AN: Thank God for pre-written chapters! This one was actually done Thursday, but I'm sick this weekend so it's a good thing that I don't have to write. You may be wondering why this chapter has such a weird name. (At least, I think it's weird in this story). I had a hard time naming it until I got to the very end. Then it was just kind of obvious.

Disclaimer: Once again, still don't own anything. Still don't own an iPod, either. That makes me sad.

Chapter Eight
Candy

Taize woke up, cursed Galbatorix and Kin'naid using every oath she knew, and winced as her tunic rubbed against her raw back. The king had had her whipped last night, and Kin'naid, as always, had carried out her punishment. Apparently Galbatorix had taken her insults less kindly than he had let on.

"Ineb!" she called.

By the time she had been returned to her bunk, most of the slaves were asleep. She hadn't wanted to bother him during the night, but the pain in her back was making it completely impossible for her to get any rest whatsoever.

A slave nearby stirred. "Quiet," she mumbled. "Sleep."

"Wake up!" Taize fairly shouted.

"Shut up," the woman retaliated.

"Oh, come on. Will somebody get Ineb for me?" She paused a moment, then added reluctantly, "Please?"

"Will you let me go back to sleep if I do?" the woman asked.

"No, I'm going to keep you up all night because you did something nice for me."

"No need to be sarcastic." She wearily raised herself out of bed and disappeared into the darkness. She was back a short time later, Ineb following behind her. He looked as though he had already been awake when summoned.

"What do you need?" he asked, not sounding tired at all.

"Didn't I wake you?" She ignored the question.

"It's not easy to find sleep here. What do you need?" he repeated.

"Bandaging."

"What did you do this time?"

"Who says I did anything? I'm offended, Ineb."

"You aren't clumsy. You aren't hopelessly unfortunate, unless you count Kin'naid hating you. To put it briefly, you don't just receive random injuries unless you've done something to annoy someone." His voice had a very knowing tone.

"Fine," she replied. "I insulted the king."

"But you do that all the time."

"Yeah...In front of you."

"Taize, I know you didn't belittle Galbatorix in front of Kin'naid. You're not that stupid."

"Well…"

"Please tell me you aren't that stupid." He sounded as though he thought she was crazy.

"Possibly more so. It wasn't in front of Kin'naid…It was to the king's face."

"You are crazy!" Despite what he had just said, he sounded awed.

She grinned at him. "Probably."

He shook his head. "What was it you said you needed from me?" he asked, clearly still in shock at her stupidity.

"Bandaging," she repeated.

"Oh! Yes…What do you want me to use this time?"

"My blanket is about the only thing I have left that's big enough." She thought for another minute, though. She would be freezing at night if she gave up her blanket. Then she recalled that Rhet was gone. He wouldn't be needing his anymore, unless he'd thought to take it with him. "Do you know where my old bunk is?" she asked Ineb.

He nodded.

"Get Rhet's blanket, if it's still there. You can use that."

Ineb did so, and swiftly began tearing it into strips. When he was done, he surprised her by saying, "Taize. Be careful. If you're not, you're going to get yourself killed."

"Maybe I will."

There was a lull in the conversation until Taize inquired, "Ineb. Would you do something for me?"

"That depends on what it is you want me to do." He sounded amused. For some reason, that irked her.

"I hate being dependent on everyone else because of this stupid leg."

Ineb interrupted her. "Ah, yes. You've always been rather…independent, for a slave, at least." He still sounded amused.

She scowled. Was he purposely trying to annoy her tonight? "As I was saying," she said rather pointedly, "I was wondering if you – or someone else – could get me a walking stick or something like that, so I wouldn't need someone to lean on whenever I want to go two steps."

Ineb sat beside her on the bed. "Do you remember Mil?"

She searched her memory. "I'm not very good with names…Wasn't he the old guy who was missing a foot? Why are you asking, anyway? And why are we speaking about him in the past tense?"

"Yes, because he used a crutch, and because he died in his sleep last night," he replied, answering all three of Taize's questions at once.

Then she asked a question that most people would have thought was completely off-topic. "How long was he here?"

"What?"

"Mil. How long was he a slave?"

She could see something click as Ineb understood the significance of her question. "I'm not sure exactly. You know how hard it is to measure time here."

"I've always been able to find out when my birthday was." She glared at him. "Approximately how long, then."

Taize could see him doing the math in his head. "Less than five years," he finally responded.

"Lucky —" she swore bitterly.

"Lucky?" Ineb seemed interested in her reasoning. "He died a slave, Taize."

"Everyone here is going to die a slave, Ineb!" she exclaimed, causing several slaves sleeping nearby to stir. "Mil got to enjoy his freedom for longer than most of us, even if he took it for granted."

"Don't we all? Take it for granted, that is. Even you?"

"I didn't have time to! The first three and a half years of my life are a complete blur. I was captured when I was five. Eighteen months. I can only remember being free for a year and a half or my life. Even from that, I only have scattered memories. Mostly about the night my village was destroyed." She frowned, then smiled faintly. "And my mother teaching me to shoot an arrow."

"You were using a bow at age five?"

"Well…yeah."

"That would explain a lot." He changed the subject. "You know, there were those of us who were born into slavery," he said gently.

"Sometimes I wonder if they aren't the lucky ones." Seeing Ineb's questioning glance, she went on, "They've never known anything else. You can long for candy if you've never had it before, but once you've tasted it, you'll want more. My mother taught me that rhyme. She used to say that you can't really want something unless you've already had it, and then it's gone. She was right. Candy is like freedom. I want it back."

AN: You know, I really kind of hate this chapter. I don't feel like it had enough...something. Next chapter will actually have some good action in it and will be looong.