AN: Oh-ness! Worship me! I think this is the fastest I have ever actually written a chapter and updated! Although I do feel kind of bad that I couldn't torture you with that cliffhanger for too much longer…

Chapter Twelve
Away

Taize backed up slowly, being careful not to let the soldiers see her. Her mind was working frantically, trying to remember what her mother had told her. She called forth memories that she had suppressed a long while ago; they combined with slavery had just made life too painful.

"Taize, I know I told you that your father left a long time ago, right?" Little Taize nodded, looking up at her mother's face with wide, solemn eyes. "He left right before you were born…" Lia paused. "I just wanted you to know that he…He's not a bad person. He just did something very stupid and…he had to…go away. But having him as your father doesn't make you stupid, or bad, or anything else like that, no matter what other people may think."

"What was daddy's name?" Little Taize asked innocently.

"…Fegrad."

Why had she not wanted to remember that? Her father was a sorcerer, big deal. It was kind of cool, actually. For a moment, she wished he had stayed around and taught her magic. Taize with magic…That would have proved very interesting when her temper flared up. Then she remembered why she was searching her memories in the first place, and delved back into her mind.

"It was built right after he left. Just in case…Not that we think he would…Just in case," she finished, with a sense of finality on the last three words.

But what was "it" that had been built? Taize had a nagging feeling that it was important, but she couldn't force herself to remember. At least she didn't have to hurry. Since no soldiers had actually come in yet, probably no one had been told exactly how to enter the village. That, or someone extraordinarily decent hadn't passed on the information.

"The tunnel leads southwest, not very far, but from there a person could manage to get away…It's under our house, we doubt he would attack if he thought his daughter could be inside, but then again…" she had said very quietly. Her voice had been stronger the next time she'd spoken. "You know the cupboard drawer in the kitchen that we never use? In there. That's where the tunnel starts."

Oh, joy. She had to go back to her house. I'd rather face Galbatorix's army, she thought grimly, but nevertheless she began trudging home. Again.

The kitchen was all the way at the back of the house, so it wasn't quite as destroyed as the rest. But when she opened the cabinet drawer, she was faced with a chasm of absolute blackness. Normally, it wouldn't have been a problem, because there had always been a lantern and flint within easy reach. Unfortunately, the lantern had melted into an unrecognizable blob of glass and metal, and the flint was probably long gone.

Though she wasn't afraid of the dark, she had no idea how long the tunnel was, and the claustrophobia of the space combined with its pitch-blackness would be enough to make anyone refuse to go in.

For the last time, Taize turned her back on the house that was no longer her home, formulating a plan as she walked. She would sneak out at night. It would be better if there weren't too many people around to see her. No doubt there would be sentries at the watching the entrance, but she had a plan for that, too. Besides, they were looking for a girl.

She checked her reflection in the spring before she left. It didn't matter that she was dirty, it would help hide her face. Her hair wasn't as short as it had been before she'd left Urû'baen, but it wasn't long enough for anyone to be suspicious of her gender. She walked to the entrance calmly. It would be almost impossible for her to get caught.

Almost.

As it started to get dark, Taize checked every so often to see how many of the men were asleep. It took a very long time for them to settle down for the night, because a lot of them stayed up late drinking and gambling. Damned alcoholics. I wish Ineb was here, he could put them to sleep in a second. Finally, very late at night, she decided to make her move.

She walked casually out of the stone archway, and was immediately stopped by two soldiers.

"Hey! Who are you? Why are you here?" one asked.

She pretended to look confused, as asked, "Qué?" in the Hadarac dialect that she knew almost as well as English. (AN: I didn't feel like making up a new language, so I made it Spanish. Forgive me if my grammar isn't that great, I'm only starting Spanish 2.)

"Er…Who are you?" he said very slowly, pointing at her.

"Mi nombre?" (My name?)

"Uhh…Sure."

"Soy Jay." (I'm Jay.)

"What are you doing here…Jay?"

She looked up at him, feigning puzzlement. He pointed to the bag at her side. "What's in there?"

"Sabes, usted es muy estupido." (You know, you are very stupid.) She had to suppress a grin, because the guard obviously had no clue what she was saying.

"Aw, come on Hol," said the other guard. "He's just a native wandering through. And in case you don't recall, we're looking for a girl. Jeez, I knew you were stupid, but I never thought you couldn't tell men from women…"

"Well then, what's he doing here so late at night?" He directed the question at Taize, and pointed to the moon.

"Y feo. Usted es muy feo, tambien." (And ugly. You are very ugly, too.)

"In case you haven't noticed," said not-Hol, "it's hot during the daytime."

Hol looked very sullen as he directed her to go on ahead.

She slipped away quietly, thinking about Hol's supposed inability to tell men from women. If only they knew…

"Why'd he even have to send us here, anyway?" she heard a voice say from behind her. "She probably went south, to Furnost. From there she'd have an easy path along lake Tüdosten, straight to Surda. Why can't we be there, instead of in this godforsaken desert?"

"I don't know, but I do know that you should know better than to question orders from the king himself. Come to think of it, if anyone found out…"

"Are you blackmailing me?"

She walked away smiling, leaving the two men to their bickering. They had just told her everything she needed to know. She turned, and began heading south. First, she would go to Furnost, just long enough to get some food. Then, to Surda.

AN: Just click the little blue button (It is SO not purple). All you have to do is click…and then type a little bit. Click the button…REVIEW OR DIE!!!

Kelsey (author's friend): Way to be subtle, Diana.

Diana (author): Shut up.

Kelsey: Why?

Diana: Ugh…

Yeah, I know. That was incredibly random, even for me.