This has got to be one of the longest chapters I've written for this fan fiction so far...

Probably will be the longest but I'm not sure since I obviously haven't finished the fan fiction itself.

Anyways, enjoy this long chapter!

Weeks passed by and Darcie started feeling different. She started to forget certain aspects of herself, new aspects taking her place. She didn't much care for the world around her as much anymore, only Kazryth and Murtagh (since she spent a fair amount of time with both). Her nanny, Desiree, took notice of Darcie's snippiness and her overall attitude along with everyone else Darcie had associated with.

Darcie changed quickly after waking up and headed outside to visit Kazryth. As she turned the final corner in the castle that led to the door, she looked out a window and was very sure dragons grew overnight - Kazryth was about half of Thorn's size now and he was only 3 months old.

She slipped into the barn quietly, figuring Kazryth was too lazy to walk out the enlarged barn door. She saw him sleeping peacefully, his light snore blowing any stray hairs around. Tip-toeing up to his side, she poked him in the neck and jumped back - nothing. She then tip-toed up to Kazryth's face - which had grown a fair amount as well, and took a feather from her pocket and stuck it up his nose, which was a proven way to wake him up. As soon as she did, he snorted, and with a flurry of motion grabbed the feather with his teeth, dropped it next to his leg and stomped on it.

Good morning!

Yeah, yeah...

Someone grumpy today?

Someone to happy this morning? Kazryth snapped.

I always figured dragons were morning... creatures.

Well if they are you didn't get lucky. Kazryth stood up and stretched out his neck, his nose managing to touch the ceiling in the process. Darcie smiled.

Don't you have a... sword lesson or whatever you call it?

I don't really feel like showing up just yet, Darcie told him with a shrug.

You owe it to Rider Murtagh to show up.

Kazryth still wasn't taken by Murtagh, but he didn't hate him as he had when he was younger. He was rather quiet around the other Dragon Rider, willing to occasionally make a comment but didn't want to give him a chance.

He should plan times that don't require waking up in pitch black!

He is taking his time to train you.

Why do I need to be trained? I already have enough problems to deal with; swordsmanship and magic lessons aren't really something I won't need in the future.

Kazryth was silent.

Right...?

The great green dragon looked away in thought.

To be a Rider you have to be willing to make sacrifices. Being in battle is one of those many things, but more importantly you must train for battle. There are many other things you must do, of course, but training is required.

Then why hatch to an ungrateful girl? Darcie asked cheekily.

I knew you could do more, Kazryth responded, nudging Darcie forwards slightly. More than anyone else in this twisted world that was created by a mad-man that forced his dragon to hatch to him. I knew you had a drive to prove yourself and with that drive you could save the lives of many, including yours. Showing indecency to Rider Murtagh just because you 'already have enough problems' and because you 'don't have the time'...

I never said that! Darcie cut in indignantly.

That's what you meant, Kazryth cut in with a snarl. And that discourtesy you show one who is making a sacrifice for you isn't proving much. Now you get out to the training grounds and TRAIN!

No!

Kazryth grabbed the back of Darcie's clothes and flung her onto his back. She tried to jump off, but he spun his neck around and roared warningly. She sat still as he walked out of the barn loudly, flew over the fence and landed with a heavy thump. He kept walking until he got to the training fields. He once again did a fly-hop over the fence and landed in front of Murtagh, who appeared surprised.

Here's the little stubborn one Kazryth said. Darcie refused to get off, so Kazryth grabbed the back of her clothes again and dropped her to the ground. The dragon then thudded out of sight.

"So you're the 'little stubborn one' this week?"

Darcie glared.

"I did agree with your dragon up to his twisted world by a twisted mad-man speech... he does have a point about sacrifices. Most dragons sacrifice themselves for their Rider if they must, so it's best to make sure that never happens."

Darcie's pale face appeared shocked.

"There's a little something called privacy, maybe you haven't heard of it yet."

"Oh, that hurt," Murtagh responded sarcastically, hitting his long practice stick to his chest dramatically. Darcie grabbed the stick and hit Murtagh's side with all her strength and stormed off.

Murtagh was just as shocked as Darcie - she had never hit him or anything else so hard. Grimacing momentarily, he hollered, "Hey, get back here!"

"NO! You can't make me!"

Murtagh merely rolled his eyes. A force surrounded Darcie and dragged her backwards. Screaming and fighting the entire way, she kept stopped fighting but kept screaming even after the force stopped her in front of Murtagh.

"Use your anger with this," Murtagh said as he handed her a long stick. As soon as she grabbed it, she started attacking him. Within 5 seconds, she was on the ground.

"You're forgetting proper movements."

Darcie took her stick and swung it around and hit his ankles. He tripped over the stick and landed in the ground in front of her. As he stood up, Murtagh realized he had never seen Darcie so enraged before. She could be rather snippy and sarcastic, but she wasn't as short-tempered. He pulled her up to her feet and she stood in front of him like a stump, panting for breath angrily.

"Since when have you been so quick to be angry?" he asked.

Darcie wound her stick back and was ready to hit Murtagh in the side, but he grabbed it in mid-release. She fought him for control of it.

"I'm sick of all this! Why me?!"

"Sometimes you don't have choice in life. You just have to accept it and flow with it."

Darcie once again tried to whip it out of Murtagh's hand, but as she started to position her arm to do so, he took advantage and grabbed the stick out of her hand. She tried to grab it, but a similar force guarded it from her hand.

"You shouldn't have to go through something like this without choice!"

"As Kazryth said, he chose you. Just in the same way Thorn chose me and Saphira chose Eragon."

"But...!"

"No buts!" Murtagh cut in. "Many would love to be in your..." Murtagh looked down at the boots on Darcie's feet momentarily. "Shoes right now. Living in the castle with a dragon..."

"Locked in the castle with a dragon that hatched for me without warning," Darcie cut in with a snarl.

"You never get a warning when a dragon hatches for you, or even appears to you. You and I were given a chance for one of the eggs to hatch, we had some warning - others don't."

"Like Eragon, right? I'd personally rather be in a position similar to his than now!"

"So you want to live in a small farming community, struggling to survive everyday and working your ass off just to live? Saphira's egg was stolen by the Varden. Under Galbatorix's orders, Durza found an elf bringing it back to the Varden, but she tried to transport the egg to Brom, but the closest she got to was Eragon. Oh, what a nice find! An oval-shaped, sapphire blue stone that can be used for money in trade. He didn't get money off of it, he got a partner for life, and that's much better than just a few crowns. You think having a dragon-companion gets in the way, but this way you will always have a friend to talk to, someone to go to and tried to help, almost always understanding already."

"Don't turn this back onto me, I'm not the one related to him!"

"And I'm not the one that was locked in a room for 18 years! Your ignorance and impertinence told me that before I even figured it out."

"I TOLD YOU WHEN YOU ASKED!"

"You asked me if Eragon was my brother, so shut up about it!"

Darcie's expression was almost unreadable, only the fury was noticed. Her hard, light blue eyes glared into the fierce, dark eyes of Murtagh who matched it. She suddenly seemed to give up, collapsing onto the ground on her knees in front of Murtagh, her head down. If he hadn't have heard her sobs, he wouldn't have known she was crying.

"Are you alright...?" Murtagh asked, unsure of how to handle the situation.

"Does it... does it look like... like I am? It's just... one day I'm... I'm looking out my window and... the next I have a baby lizard called a... a dragon. Now I'm just... just forced into this new... new world and because I don't... don't know anything about it..."

"You can't know everything."

"I know!" The comment would've sounded rather scary if she hadn't have been sniffling. "It's not like... you've been locked in a room and hall... for... for 18 years! You've... you've known about magic and dragons... and everything else! I'm just shoved into... into the middle of it!"

"I've been held prisoner to myself... and to the Varden. I know what it's like to be forced into something new and having to adjust. That's all you can do - adjust. Learn as you go."

"You try learning... two different worlds after being a world... unto yourself!"

"Everyone is a world unto themselves, Darc."

Darcie looked up.

"What?"

"Darc. You know, short for Darcie..."

She tried glaring, but a choked sob made her less intimidating.

"I... I don't even know why... I'm suddenly like this. It's like... like the person I knew as myself... is gone."

"You change as you grow older..."

"Not that way!" Darcie snapped, still looking up at him with narrowed eyes. "I mean... I know I could be occasionally... sarcastic... and an ignorant twit that's as snippy as... as... as scissors!"

"Scissors?"

"They snip things!" she screamed.

"I'm not saying they don't, but..."

"I don't even... know why I'm so... so angry all the time... I just am! And I... I take it out on you and Kazryth... and Desiree..."

"Who?"

"My... old nanny that... that works me like a mother would. She's... she's been asking me about... about my mood changes and... and all I'd do is yell..."

"Have you ever said something in the Ancient Language?" Murtagh suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Have you just has a jumble of words come out of your mouth and sound like a bunch of gibberish?"

Darcie was in thought. A few days ago there was something about a 'shurtugal'...

"What...?" she asked warily as she saw Murtagh's escalating horrified expression.

"He knows..."

"Who knows... knows what?" Darcie asked, wiping away tears.

"Your father... Galbatorix knows your true name."

"But I don't..."

"You're under your father's control. He's forced you to swear oaths already."

"I can't even control myself anymore!" Darcie wailed as she slumped back to the ground in tears.

Murtagh reached down and pulled Darcie up to her feet. Blind to her surroundings, she started thrashing to get out of his hold. Murtagh then pulled Darcie closer and held her in a hug until she finally gave up fighting. Within moments, she fell into him and cried into his tunic.

Her thoughts whirled in his conscious, words jumbled in a confusing fashion. He knew Darcie was right about how he should stay out of her mind, but Murtagh couldn't help himself. Almost nothing could calm him completely, not even Thorn, but hearing the girl's thoughts, her voice in his head, to him it was a soothing sound. He didn't understand what it was about her, but despite her difficulty when he tried to help her learn and sarcastic and snippy attitude, she kept him going every day. Deep down she wasn't the brat she always acted like; she's just misunderstood, ignorant of the world because of her father's choice.

A faint tug of Darcie pulling away brought Murtagh back to reality.

"Sorry..." she said quietly, blinking lightly to resist crying. Murtagh raised a hand and gently wiped away a tear that escaped her eye and slid down her cheek.

"Will you be ok for tomorrow?" Murtagh asked quietly.

Darcie looked down at the ground and nodded faintly. She then saw Murtagh's other arm pull away from her in a cautious manner; when she had pulled away he had let his hands stay on her waist. She then looked back up at him with slightly blurred vision. She blinked and her vision was clear and now could see Murtagh looking into her eyes. A few moments after she returned his gaze, he broke it and said, "I'll see you tomorrow then." He then walked away, leaving Darcie alone in the middle of the field.

Was he blushing? she realized.