AN: Three chapters in one weekend!!! (I count Friday as part of the weekend, and since we get this Monday off, it's also part of the weekend. Either way, three chapters in four days ain't bad.) Unfortunately, don't expect this every week. This is a fluke. A FLUKE, I tell you! I will try to get more chapters done than usual, though. Before you know it, it will be musical season. I love being in the musical, but Foz (director/chorus teacher) makes us have SUCH long rehearsals! And if I have to say goodbye to my social life, you guys have to say goodbye to Taize for two months or so! Oh, yeah, and this chapter was written at about 4 a.m. last night (well, technically, I guess it was this morning). AND I had really bad writer's block, but still the inexplicable urge to write, and this is what came out of my head. So I hope it isn't too sucky. Wow. My author's notes are getting WAAAAAAY too long. Whatever, just read.

Disclaimer: Insert something witty that says I don't own Eragon here.

Chapter Twelve
Furnost

She had been walking for what felt like years, though in reality it had only been a week. Her feet ached with every step. She was long accustomed to going barefoot, but Taize was used to traversing the smooth stone floors of Galbatorix's palace, not the sand of the Hadarac, which slipped beneath her feet at every step, nor the packed, dusty dirt of the plains between the desert and Furnost. But her feet would only be in real trouble if they encountered gravel. All of those little stones were merciless, even to the toughened soles of Taize's feet.

She had seen a faint smudge of blue on the horizon at about noon the day before, but she figured that she still had at least a day of traveling before she reached Lake Tüdosten. She had scowled in dismay; the sooner she could get food, the better.

It had been almost two weeks since she'd last eaten anything. The longest she'd ever gone without food was a week. Kin'naid had overheard her calling him a blubberheaded idiot. Even though he'd threatened everyone with a whipping if they shared with her, no one could resist an adorable, albeit ragged and dirty, seven-year old. So even that had been more like a week on reduced rations.

Today, the blue was getting larger, and by noon, she had reached the enormous lake. Her waterskins depleted, she drank thirstily, then paused to take stock of her surroundings. A narrow dirt road led alongside the lake. It appeared little-used, but there were quite a few people traveling along it. Unfortunately, those people were Galbatorix's soldiers.

How many of them can there possibly be? she wondered. It seemed like there were so many in the desert…Unless Galbatorix knew where I was headed and he sent them here. She frowned.

Despite the risk, she had to go into town. Her disguise had worked well enough in the desert, anyway. Although she did hope that it would hold up in broad daylight.

She reached the tiny village of Furnost just as the sun was setting. Taize had no idea what to do or where to go. She needed food, but she had no money, and she didn't want to steal again unless it was absolutely necessary. Or unless she met a bastard like Kin'naid who really deserved it.

Eventually she decided to go to the single inn in town and see if she couldn't work out some kind of a deal for food and board. As it turned out, the innkeeper, named Graefe, was quite a friendly man, and he agreed to give Taize (now going by the name of Caib) a room and meals for the duration of her stay if Caib would cook for him. She reluctantly agreed. Taize hated to admit it, but after spending so much time in the palace kitchens, she knew a thing or two about preparing a meal. Besides, she was only staying for one night, then she would head off for Surda.

If she didn't go insane before the night was over. The inn had been all but taken over by Galbatorix's troops, fortunately none of whom seemed to doubt that she was a boy. But more of a threat to her sanity was the innkeeper's wife, Kalsu. She was by far the nosiest, most obnoxious person Taize had ever met. She simply would not stop pestering Taize about the contents of the bag she kept close by her side.

Taize hadn't dared left it up in her room in case a drunken soldier, or worse, Kalsu herself, should wander in (or, in Kalsu's case, decide to go snooping), but she had a feeling that carrying the sack with her all the time made Kalsu suspicious. When Graefe's wife had first questioned her as to what was inside, Taize had replied simply, "Just some of my things."

But eventually her nosiness got on Taize's nerves. "Look," she finally exploded, "It's MY bag, and whatever is in there is MY business, NOT YOURS!" Unfortunately, after that it was her subconscious that was perpetually annoying, saying things like: Way to keep a low profile. I'll bet everyone within a four mile radius heard that. You were shrieking like a banshee!

Later that night, Graefe approached her apologetically. "I am sorry for my wife's pestering," he told her. "But I must admit that her nosiness isn't entirely groundless. You have heard of the escaped slave girl, I take it?"

"I don't understand why the king would go to such trouble just for a runaway slave," she stated indifferently, knowing full well exactly why Galbatorix's army was after her.

"Well, apparently she stole – don't tell anyone, I'm not supposed to know this – a dragon egg," he whispered.

"Really?" Her eyebrows shot up in mock surprise. She wondered where he had gleaned the information from. Then again, men said a lot of interesting things when they were drunk… "Still, what does that have to do with me? As you can see, I'm definitely not a girl."

"Fair enough. But you can't blame her, really, everyone wants the reward."

"Reward?"

"Haven't you heard about it? It's quite substantial."

"I've been traveling in the desert for the past few weeks. I'm afraid I've been terribly out of touch with what's been happening here in Alagaësia." The innkeeper seemed satisfied with that answer. "If you don't mind," she continued, "I'm going to go to bed now."

"Of course, of course," Graefe replied. "But – If you don't mind, I do have a question for you. She stopped cold. Did he suspect something? "I'm curious, where are you going after Furnost?"

She visibly relaxed. What would be the harm in telling him, after all? "To Surda. Could you tell me the best way to get there?"

He seemed surprised, but answered anyway. "The quickest way would be to go by boat down the length of the lake, but you've told me you have no money…If that really is the case, you could walk, but it would take you at least a week and a half to reach Petrøvya."

"How long would it take by boat?"

"Four days, give or take."

Taize frowned. There was really no choice. Another week and a half of walking was out of the question. She would be exhausted after the fifth day, which would leave more than enough time for the egg to be recaptured and for her to be either captured or killed. She had to get across that lake.

But now was no time to figure out a plan of action. She was tired, and would need her rest if she was to stand a chance the next day. She trudged up to her room on the second floor, setting the sack down by her bed. She nestled up under the covers, her clothes still on, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

She was awoken by the creak of the floorboards. She opened her eyes just a crack to see what was going on. There must have been a lantern somewhere, because there was light emanating from a corner. There was also a figure beside her bed, rifling through her bag. The egg. She shot up out of bed, badly startling Kalsu, who jumped as though she had just seen a ghost.

But then, a triumphant smile appeared on her face. "I should have known. You're a girl. And in this…This is what you stole from the king, is it?" Taize's bag was open to reveal the emerald green egg.

Taize's face went white. "You BITCH!" she screeched. Not the smartest idea, she realized, once she remembered that there were soldiers in every room except her own. She tore the bag and her belongings out of Kalsu's arms and made for the stairs. Soldiers were peeking out of their rooms to see what all the ruckus was about, but fortunately for her, none of them had quite come to their senses yet.

"You idiots!" she could hear Kalsu screaming behind her. "She's the one you've been looking for!"

She heard steps trampling heavily behind her, and she ran. An arrow whizzed past. Miraculously, it missed her, but it went right through her bag and into a tree. Damn it! Her bag was pinned, and she couldn't get the arrow out. Suddenly, a thought came to her, and she snapped off the back half of the arrow, sliding her bag off of the shaft. Then she continued running. For once, she didn't have a death wish.

AN: By the way, musical season doesn't really start until about December, so you still have another month and a half or so of regular updating. And for the record, I know that there are at least twelve of you who actually somewhat care about this story, so REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! I don't care if it's two words, just give me the satisfaction of a REVIEW (even if you are telling me that the chapter sucked).

Oh, and sorry, I know I've been talking to you people way too much already, but I have been thinking about taking some time off from "Taize" and writing a short prequel. Let me know if you want me to.