AN: Just a quick note: Nezjy (you'll meet her later) is pronounced NEZH-ee. So don't screw it up. Plus, forgive me; I know nothing about sailing or boats, just be happy that I have actually updated, cause I could have waited three weeks and said, "but I updated three times last week."

Chapter Fourteen
Sailing

She ran towards the docks, hoping against hope that there would be a boat willing to take her to Petrøvya. It was still dark out, she guessed it was about three in the morning, hours too early for even the fishermen to be out. However, there was one boat in the distance that had what appeared to be a lit lantern.

Taize had no idea who would be on board, but it really didn't matter at this point. For all she was concerned, Galbatorix himself could be on that boat. Her fate would be the same if it wasn't an ally.

By the time she had almost reached the boat, the gap between Taize and the soldiers behind her had lessened considerably. She sprinted the last thirty meters with her last reserves of energy. The boat was small, maybe four meters long. It had a single sail, and two oars as well.

Suddenly, a woman materialized from the shadows. "Well, what are you waiting for? We haven't got all day." Taize climbed in awkwardly, too tired to care who the mystery woman was. "Come on, come on." She quickly began adjusting the sail. "Untie that rope. No, that one there, the one tying the boat to the dock! Good. Now grab an oar, the faster we're moving, the more of a head start we'll have. Hopefully it will take them an hour or so to organize themselves."

For once, Taize did as she was told, hauling the rope onto the deck.

"Come on, grab an oar," said the impatient woman. "Good. They should only be able to go two or three to a boat." They rowed in silence for awhile, watching the soldiers' lights on the shore become more and more distant.

Taize took the opportunity to study her mysterious savior. Her face was lined, but not wrinkled, and there were streaks of gray in her long red hair. She looked to be in her mid-fifties.

After several minutes of silence, the woman spoke. "Sorry if that was a little chaotic. It's just…Well, we can't have that," she pointed to Taize's bag, "falling into the wrong hands, now, can we?"

Taize was suddenly angry. "How is it that everyone knows what's going on except for me? I don't even know who you are or where your alliances lay, yet you already seem to know exactly who I am!"

The woman thought for a moment, as though deciding what she was allowed to say. "Oh, screw it," she finally decided aloud. "I'll tell you everything I know. Which isn't all that much. I'm from the Varden. They thought you'd show up in Furnost, though you did take your sweet time, didn't you? I'm sorry, it's just…" her voice trailed off.

"But how did you know I'd stolen the egg?"

"We have a contact in the castle. He knew you escaped, but he didn't find out that the egg was missing until the next morning. Then he just put two and two together and figured that you were the thief."

"Who was it? The contact, I mean."

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

"Oh. Alright."

They were silent again for another hour or so, until the woman broke the silence. "You were wrong about one thing, though." Taize looked at her. "I don't know who you are. All I know is that you were a slave in Galbatorix's palace, and one night you escaped with the egg."

"No one ever bothers to so much as learn my name." It was a sore point for her. It wasn't easy living every day, knowing that you could be bought or sold just as easily as a sack of flour. And she had never really had her own identity. She had always been just another slave. Just another bit of background noise, doomed to live a life without freedom. "My name is Taize."

"Nezjy…You must be tired. You should probably get some sleep." Taize hadn't realized it when the adrenaline was pumping, but she was tired. "Do you want a blanket? We'll have to sleep on the deck, I hope you don't mind."

"It doesn't really matter if I do mind, does it? It's not like there's any other choice. But no, thank you, I'll be fine without a blanket. If I get cold, I have my own. And believe me, I've slept on worse than the deck of a ship." At least out here, she could see the stars. "Shouldn't you get some sleep, too?" she asked, the thought suddenly occurring to her.

"No, no. I'm well rested. Besides, we don't want to veer off course. I'll be fine."

"All right," Taize agreed reluctantly. She pulled her bag closer to her and laid down on the wooden planks of the deck that were so similar to her old bed.

When she awoke, the sun was shining, and for a moment she didn't know where she was. The wood beneath her felt like her old bed, but there was far too much light for her to be in the slave quarters…Then everything that had happened over the past couple weeks came rushing back. Ugh. How long have I been sleeping? she wondered.

She must have spoken her thoughts aloud, because Nezjy answered, "About a two days."

"What?!" She felt disoriented. How could she possibly have slept that much? She didn't dwell on it, however, because her stomach growled.

Nezjy must have noticed as well, because she said, "There's bread and dried fish in the crates over there if you're hungry."

She was hungry, and she ate the food ravenously. When she was satisfied, she turned to Nezjy. "How much longer do you think it will be until we get there?"

"Well…The wind has been strong for the past few days, so if we're lucky we could actually make it by tonight." (AN: I think this is about noon on the third day; if I'm wrong, I don't care because I'm horrible at writing traveling scenes. That's why Taize slept for 48 hours straight.)

"How far are they behind us?"

Nezjy looked uneasy. "Not very, but once we get to Petrøvya we should be safe, because they'll be outnumbered twenty to one by men who hate the Empire."

"But can we make it without them catching up to us? Even if we do manage to get there tonight?"

"Honestly?" Taize nodded for her to continue. Nezjy did so only reluctantly. "I hope so."

"So in other words, we're pretty much screwed if we don't get there in record time, aren't we?" asked Taize unemotionally.

"Uh…"

"I had a feeling you'd say that." They both seemed to know that they needed to pick up the pace, and they picked up the oars again.

Disclaimer: Since my attempt to kidnap CP has failed…I don't own Eragon. (sob)

AN: Sorry, I know this chapter was sucky. Next chapter they will get to Surda and things will get interesting, I promise.

Mangos: Let me make this clear: I am not going to quit writing Taize when the musical comes around. It will be on hiatus. If you don't know what that means, look it up. I may manage some updates, but if I do they will be few and far between.

And believe me, it is more than possible for someone to live two weeks without food as long as you don't get dehydrated. You can die in two or three days without water, but it takes weeks to die of starvation. Besides, Taize is already used to being hungry all the time, so it's not quite as bad for her as it would be for a normal person.

And get a freakin fanfiction account so I don't have to put my review reply for you at the end of all my chapters. It's annoying.