AN: Cool, I just realized how to put lines in! Although I do kind of like my three little asterisks. Anyway... AAACK! Sorry, sorry SORRY! I know I have not updated in forever! But also...WOOT! Longest chapter yet! Yay! Well, not that much longer than my last one, but for me it's still pretty long coughfivepagescough I will try to have Chapter Ten up either later today, and that one should also be kind of long. So please don't kill me...
Disclaimer: Don't own. Don't sue. Thanks.
Escape
By the time Taize awoke the next morning, the rest of the slaves were gone, off on their daily assignments. That in and of itself was exceptionally odd. By the time she was seven years old, she'd never overslept; her internal clock was that finely tuned. That, and she knew she's have to deal with Kin'naid if she woke up late. But even when she'd had the flu a few years ago, Taize had still woken up on time.
Then she realized that her body was on fire. She was drenched in sweat. If only she could find a little water…
Her feet brushed up against something. Her tin cup and bowl had been set at the foot of her bed, and from the sloshing sound the cup was making, she would soon have something to drink. Someone, probably Ineb, must have gotten her breakfast for her.
She tried to sit up, but even that small movement made her sway with dizziness. Clutching the side of the bed for support, she waited until the dizzy spell had passed and reached for her cup. She wasn't worried that there was nothing in her bowl; she didn't have an appetite anyway, but she chugged down her water as though she was dying of thirst.
With nothing else to do, she laid back down and went to sleep.
She didn't know how much later it was when she awoke, but the slaves had not yet returned from their day's work. Soon, however, they began trickling into the room. Those who did the cleaning returned first, and one of them peeled off from the group and came to her bed.
"I thought I should check on you," said Ineb. "I was afraid you might have an…" He felt her burning forehead and frowned. "…infection. How long have you had this fever?" he asked.
"I can't remember." She was surprised at how faint her voice sounded. "At least since this morning…"
"Not since last night?" He looked worried.
"I don't think so."
"You have quite a fever if it's only been going on for a few hours." He seemed to come to some conclusion in his head. "You can't tell anyone what I'm about to do," he told her.
She was puzzled. What could possibly need to be kept a secret? He must have helped dozens more slaves than her. But she nodded nonetheless.
He put his hands over her and said, "Waíse heill."
She felt a not unpleasant tingling sensation on her back, and her fever went away almost instantly. She ripped off the bandages beneath her tunic and felt her back. There were still plenty of old scars there, but the fresh wounds from yesterday were gone.
"How—? What—? Was that magic?" she breathed.
"Shhh," Ineb warned.
"So that's what you meant when you said you used to be a healer!"
"Would you please keep it down?" he hissed.
"Sorry," she whispered, with badly contained excitement. "But—then why didn't you heal my leg?"
"Everyone was watching. If I had used magic then, I have no doubt that it somehow would have gotten back to Galbatorix that I'm a mage. And," he said, cutting off what he knew would be her next question, "I didn't heal it later because it would seem odd if your broken leg was just magically fixed overnight."
"But then why haven't you used magic to escape?" she asked.
"Do you ever stop asking questions?" He didn't sound too annoyed.
"Not really," she admitted, then persisted. "Why?"
He shrugged. "People here need me," was all he would say.
She thought for a moment. "Galbatorix might want to see me again," she mused.
"You've been to see the king?" he asked incredulously.
"Where else do you think I'd get the chance to insult him to his own face?"
"Point. Still…if he wanted to see you…"
"What?" she asked. "I was going to say that if you healed my leg tonight and I escaped—"
"That's true. I was going to say that if the king himself actually requested to see you, it can't be a good thing. The sooner you're out of here, the better."
"Does that mean you'll heal my leg?" she asked eagerly.
"Yes. But," he cautioned, "I'll have to do it late tonight, after everyone is asleep. That way no one will know you can walk again. Tonight is when you plan on getting out of here, isn't it?"
She awaited nightfall anxiously. If she could have, she would have been pacing relentlessly. Finally, one by one, the slaves began to drift off to sleep. She forced herself to remain still until Ineb came over.
"As far as I can tell, everyone's asleep," he said softly. "I can heal your leg now."
He helped her to remove the splint, then repeated the healing words he had said earlier. Taize got up tentatively. Her legs were weak from not walking for the past two weeks, but she could manage well enough.
Taize quickly grabbed her blanket, and they approached the stairs up to the rest of the castle together. "Damn it!" Taize swore in a whisper. Kin'naid was guarding the door at the top of the steps.
"Shhh," said Ineb. Directed toward Kin'naid, he whispered, "Slytha."
"What did you do?" Taize asked him as Kin'naid slumped.
"He's asleep. Go."
She turned to Ineb. "Thank you," she murmured.
"Go," he insisted.
And so she went, slowly climbing the stairs until Ineb was out of sight. She emerged from the subterranean stairway only to realize that she had no idea where she was going.
The voice came out of nowhere, speaking directly into her head.
For one who has been so obsessed with leaving this place for the past year, it would have done you well to plan ahead a little better.
Whoever it was, their voice was deep, rumbling, and filled with an ancient sadness. And male. The speaker was definitely a man.
"Wha—?" she asked aloud, forgetting in her surprise to keep her voice down.
Shhh. Think your answers and I will hear you.
All rightshe thought in reply. Who are you?
You want to get out of here, don't you? He didn't wait for an answer. We have no time for pleasantries. Now, go to the right…
Taize followed a complex series of directions until she finally stood in front of a plain wooden door.
Go inside, the voice said.
Inside? I thought I was leaving! She silently berated herself for listening to a random stranger, and someone she couldn't even see at that.
You are leaving, he replied impatiently. But you need to go in there first.
At first she was wary of a trap, but subconsciously, she felt that she could trust this mysterious voice. Before she could talk herself out of it, she twisted the doorknob and went inside.
It was just a small storeroom, piled with crates and barrels.
Look in the far left corner, the voice instructed her.
She did so, peering into various containers, but she found nothing that could be of any value until she reached the final crate. There was a coarsely woven sack inside. Taize opened the bag and saw a large green stone, crisscrossed with veins of white. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
Is this it? she asked, describing the stone.
Yes. But it's not a stone…It's a dragon egg.
What? she practically shouted mentally.
Yes, he repeated. And it's the last one, so for Alagaësia's sake, be careful with it! You must take it to Surda, to the Varden
But—what? Why? Why me? It was too much to take in.
Because you are the first person in a long while who has had the opportunity to steal it. Before she could ask, he added, The king has a powerful spell on that door. Only his slaves can get in, and he will be warned when the egg is taken from the room.
But why would anyone be allowed to come in here?
If there was a room that no one ever entered except for the king himself, it would be quite obvious that it was where the egg was hidden. However, if there are people going in and out regularly…
Oh, I get it. No one would suspect.
Exactly.Now, no more interruptions. When you take the egg from this room, the king will be warned. He will be able to find you pretty much anywhere in Alagaësia because now that he has seen you, he can scry you. That's a sort of magical way of seeing what people are doing, he remarked so that Taize wouldn't ask. But he'll only be able to see where you are if he's seen that place before.
Well that's good, she mused. I can think of several places that I doubt Galbatorix has seen.
Do not underestimate him, it could get you killed.A dangerous path lies ahead for you. Oh, and do try not to get caught. That would be bad. Very bad.
Well, thanks Sir Pointouttheobviousalot.
The voice sighed. When you get out of this room, turn right andrun. Galbatorix will know that you've left the castle, but hopefully he won't know exactly where you are for at least a few hours. By that time, you should be out of the city. I must go now.
Wait…
Yes?
What is your name?
That is none of your concern, little one.
The presence in her head was gone as quickly as it had appeared. She put her blanket over the egg in the sack, picked it up and made for the door.
Nervously, she approached the threshold, took a step into the hallway and…Nothing happened. Nothing visible, anyway. She had a feeling that Galbatorix would be waking the castle guards soon. So, taking the mysterious voice's advice, she turned right and ran like hell.
Soon a small door, not unlike the one she'd just run from, was in front of her. She opened it and peered out cautiously. No one seemed to be watching her, so she darted outside.
The moon was full, which meant she could see well, but it also meant that searchers would be able to see her without a problem. She had come into a large courtyard through a little-used side entrance. At the far end was an archway that led to the rest of Urû'baen. She ran over to it and was irked to find that thick iron bars blocked her way, but a moment later her frustration subsided. The bars had been spaced to keep out fully-grown men, not a skinny teenage girl. She slipped through them easily, finally on her way out of the city of Urû'baen.
Then a voice came called from behind her, "Stop! Who goes there?"
She took off running. Taize heard an arrow whiz by, but she kept running until she was away from the palace, away from Galbatorix, away from all she had known for eleven years.
AN: I wanted to put something here but now I can't remember what it was...Have you ever done that? Like walked into a room and completely forgotten why you went in there in the first place? I do that a lot. Hey! Now I remember! Yay! Um, anyway, I am getting another screen name (I have LONG outgrown angeleyeseleven, and not just due to the fact that I haven't been eleven for quite awhile). I'll still be updating and stuff, but eventually I'm probably going to finish this story and do a continuation under a new penname. I'll let everyone know my new penname and story title when (if) that happens. Unless anybody knows of a way to change your e-mail address on this site so you can keep the same penname but get stuff sent to a different e-mail address? Let me know if you do. Thanks!