hem well I went back after one of your reviews and realized something. The whole forgiveness part was too easy and horridly done. How will you guys ever forgive me? Well I hope to make it up to you in this chapter. BTW, sorry for not updating….hehe

Murtagh limped down the hallway, grasping onto Tornac's shoulder, and clutching his broken ribs. Tornac winced as Murtagh suddenly twitched ever so slightly. He knew the boy was in excruciating pain, but Murtagh would never admit it. Tornac silently cursed the throne room for being so damn far away from Murtagh's room.

"Don't worry." Tornac said, speaking more to himself than to Murtagh. Murtagh simply grunted in response. After what seemed like an eternity, they turned a corner and came upon a set of doors, seemingly made of a deep red wood. Tornac vaguely noticed the beautiful carvings carved into the doors as they were opened and he and Murtagh passed through them. The throne room was a expansive place, with marble pillars set up against the walls on either side of the room, sinister looking torches poking out from their middles. An extravagant carpet stretched from the doorway all the way down to the foot of a large throne in the shape of a dragon. Seated in the throne was King Galbatorix. The king was wearing an elaborate robe, and a long sword hung from his waist. Tornac tore his eyes away from the king and instead looked at the angry group of nobles seated near the wall on the king's right in uncomfortable looking chairs.

"Ah, you have finally arrived." The king's voice sent chills down Tornac's spine.

"Yes milord. I am sorry for keeping you waiting, but with Murtagh's injuries, it was difficult." The king nodded, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Understandable of course. Have a seat." He said, motioning to a much more comfortable seat on the King's left. Tornac helped Murtagh over to the chair then stood protectively behind the chair Murtagh sat down.

"Now," the king started, "The noble's children told me that you, Murtagh son of Morzan," the king paused and watched carefully as Murtagh winced at his title. "That you ambushed them in the night and killed one of their friends." Murtagh glared at the nobles who all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Their parents feel that you should be punished for this." Galbatorix concluded. Murtagh opened his mouth to respond but was cut off,

"Punished? He should be put to death! An eye for an eye! A death for a death!" an angry noble shouted out. A murmur of agreement went through the nobles.

"And besides," another noble called out, "who would honestly care that the Son of Morzan is gone? It isn't really a loss is it?" Murtagh, pale enough as it was, went stark white. Tornac took an angry step forward but the king held up his hand.

"Morzan was a great man, and a personal friend. I will NOT allow such talk in this palace, nor in this kingdom." The nobles instantly went silent.

"Now, it would not be just for Murtagh not to be able to defend himself." The king continued. His cold eyes turned on Murtagh, as did everyone else's. Murtagh cursed mentally. He opened his mouth but found that his voice did not want to work. He shut it and tried again.

"I didn't mean to kill him." He said hoarsely. One of the nobles shot out of his seat in anger.

"LIES! You are a cold blooded killer! You killed my boy! MY BOY!" he said furiously. Murtagh scowled.

"Your boy was the cold blooded killer! They would have killed me first!" Murtagh shot back. The noble screamed in rage and ran towards Murtagh. Tornac acted instantly, jumping in front of Murtagh and, in one swift motion, smacking the noble to the floor. The king held out his hand and murmured something under his breath. Instantly the noble's body went stiff and Tornac leapt away. Murtagh was on the edge of his seat now, his eyes darting from the king to the stiff noble. Magic. He though excitedly.

"There will be none of that." The king said smoothly. Out of a side door, three guards emerged.

"Remove him." Galbatorix said, waving lazily at the stiff noble. The guards hurried over and lifted the noble, bearing him through the door, and out of sight. There was silence; no one dared move a muscle.

"Continue Murtagh." The king said. Murtagh snapped his head up to look at the king. He quickly averted his gaze. He slowly recounted the tale, making sure to leave out no details. The entire time his gaze was fixed on the floor, not daring to look at the king or the nobles. Tornac had moved back to his spot behind Murtagh's chair. With every word that came out of the teen's mouth, Tornac gripped the back of the chair tighter. When Murtagh finally finished, he looked up at the king's face. He was startled t find the king looking at him kindly; a small smile playing around his lips.

"Thank-you Murtagh." He said. Murtagh looked back at the floor.

"Surely you don't believe him." The noble sitting closest to the throne said.

"Oh I do." The King replied, never looking at the noble. "You see, his story lines up perfectly with the memories I extracted from the boys mind's." A stunned silence followed these words.

"Forgive me my king." Tornac said timidly. "If you knew Murtagh innocent, why did you call this meeting?" The king laughed.

"You see my good man, my nobles needed to be reminded their place, and to teach that place to their offspring. Those offspring, by the way will be flogged for their crime." The king said, mirth in his voice.

"You may go." The king said to Murtagh and Tornac. They did not need telling twice.

That night Murtagh lay in his bed, unable to sleep. Out of all the things that had happened to him that day, one thing stuck in his mind; mind thing kept him awake. Magic; the power to strike a man helpless, unable to even move. He knew his father had been able to do magic. Morzan had even taught him a few words of the powerful language that was required to perform magic, but he had only performed small spells in front of his son, nothing of this magnitude. It awakened something within the teen, a need, a lust for this thing. He wanted this power, and somehow he knew, he was going to get it.

DUN DUN DUN!!!! Ssooorrrrrryyyy it took so long for this! I was going to work on it over spring break, but I took a trip to Texas instead. Yes, Murtagh is going a little dark here, but he is not turning evil on us. Speaking of which, I was looking through an Eragon forum today, and I found a discussion about what might happen to Murtagh in the third book. I looked at it, and these people were crazy! This one person was convinced that Murtagh was pure evil, and he was plotting to kill galby and take over the empire. And he said the only reason Murtagh let Eragon go was he didn't want eragon to serve the king, he wanted eragon to serve him. I mean come on! That is so dumb! Other people were like "oh he well realize he was wrong and go back to Eragon's side" …….HE CANT! Ugh, it just made me mad. I just felt the need to enlighten you all to this. ;)

Twilight Kumorichu- Pickiness is good! I need critique to help me get better! I hope you like this chapter! Kinda drama-ish

Lost Scribe- oh wow. You want to see more of Kamara? (the princess) Well she wont really be around for a while. Just hold on tight, she has a role to play!

Tiger Priestess- Is getting whipped a good enough punishment for those "little noble brats"? I hoped you like this chapter!

C.T Eleczko- Haha, I seem to write on this story when I am sick. I am once again sick, but not home from school.

MurtaghLuver- of coarse I put your name on the bottom! You reviewed, now I reward you by replying to that review.! It's a bribe we writers have to get people to review ;)

-Bista- you are forgiven! Murtagh doesn't start training with the king till after he gets captured by the bastard Twins and brought back to Urubean. And I suspect not until Thorn hatched for him. The princess is Kamara. You were close!

Wulfeh – You idea was an inspiration for me! Tornac doesn't die till Murtagh is like 18 or 19 when they escaping Urubean. Murtagh is only 13 or 14. Bad me forgot how old he is!

Rower4life- oh wow! Thank you so much! It is true that if you havnt read the books, most stories around here will confuse you. I cannot say mine is the best here though. I recommend the story Counter Clockwise though. I am not sure if I am allowed to do that. Oh well. It is a Au story, so you really don't need to have read the books. And it is good for anyone who loves Murtagh!

The Cookie Thief- Your review JUST made it. I would have had this next chapter posted the night before your review, but the website was being difficult!

Thank you for all the compliments! Yes I know, I have bad grammar, I try to be good about it though!