It skips a few weeks so things are a bit different between Darcie and Murtagh now (just so you know ))

And the horse Murtagh rides used to be my horse. If you can't imagine a grulla paint, I have pictures of my horse that will make it easier for you. They're on my Photobucket account 'rcgal455', or I can email one of them.

This is another long chapter by the way!

Enjoy!

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Another few weeks passed by in mostly silence. Even though they talked about it, Darcie and Murtagh have had long stretches of awkward silences for a week, sometimes talking. Afterwards, they finally both seemed to understand the other both accepted what happened and there are, indeed, feelings.

As Kazryth grew, Darcie was trying to figure out a way to escape the madness of her father and his rule. Once the long, uncomfortable silences between her and Murtagh passed, she had asked him abot the oaths that had been forced upon her and the ones he and Thorn had been forced to take. Once she had been told, she spent many nights trying to find loopholes to the many strict oaths they had taken. After a month, she finally figured out how to break the oaths without dying.

"Must I...?" Darcie started to complain when she saw the corset hidden under the dress Desiree had in her arms.

"This is neither the first nor last time, dear. You might recall the past two months that when you weren't training you have been wearing one. It isn't new anymore," Desiree pointed out. "Now come along."

Darcie stood where she was and crossed her arms.

Desiree shrugged and, within moments, somehow managed to get the corset onto Darcie.

"How'd you...?"

Then the pain came. Darcie swore she could hear her ribs cracking in complaint. Just as she thought they were about to break, Desiree had finished tying the hellish garment. Darcie them put on her dress and Desiree helped put up the young girl's half-tamed curly blonde hair. After an hour, Darcie was finally able to leave her room, still complaining about not being able to breathe.

"But Dezi..."

"Don't Dezi me," Desiree cut in. "You must grow accustomed to wearing a corset, despite having a beastie."

I heard that.

Darcie chuckled.

"Dare I ask what you find so funny?" Desiree asked as she walked behind Darcie down the stairs.

"'The beastie' heard you."

Desiree rolled her eyes.

"And might I ask how I'm expected to eat in a corset if I can barely breathe in one?"

"You are swallowing, not breathing."

"It is early morning, what if I have to yawn? It's physically impossible to take a deep breath in a corset, so what if I have to yawn? It's like taking in a deep breathe..."

"Guess you can't yawn this morning. Should've thought twice before waking up in the dark of morning."

Darcie glared at her nanny. Desiree then went down one hallway while Darcie went through the other to get to the dining hall. The guards opened the doors for her, and Darcie entered and sat down at the far end. Her father was at the head of the table, and to her surprise, Murtagh was at the table - he never joined them for any meal other than dinner, and yet that was rare. The three ate in silence, no word uttered throughout the meal. Once the servants had cleaned up the dishes afterwards, the three still sat at the table in awkward silence.

"Well I best be going..." Darcie started to get up.

"Sit," Galbatorix commanded.

"But father..."

"Sit," her father snarled in a more threatening way. Darcie dropped back down into her seat in a rather unladylike fashion.

"Well it appears..." Murtagh started to stand up.

"You too, boy."

Murtagh sat back down noiselessly. There was a few moments silence.

"I am in no way trying to sound rude when I say this, but..."

"Silence," Galbatorix cut in snappishly. His hands held up his head on the table momentarily.

Darcie's heart pounded: what was going on?

"You two," Galbatorix started. "Haven't been telling the truth, and it has shocked me that neither one of you has said a word before me of it." He was then silent, seeming to expect an answer.

"What have you been expecting, father?" Darcie asked, unfaltering on her words.

"To be told by at least one of you about this... fling."

"Fling?" Darcie was picturing something being thrown across the room.

"Not that kind of fling," Galbatorix snarled impatiently, knowing what his daughter was thinking of. "If you weren't a blonde you wouldn't have excuse for your ignorance."

Darcie gapped, completely insulted at being called stupid because of her hair colour. She had heard the blonde stereotypes and even some jokes in the past and hated them all. She didn't have any choice on what her hair colour would be; she was born with her fair, platinum-blonde hair and shall remain the same way until she dies. She didn't know what fling meant other than the throwing kind of fling because she had been locked up in her room for her whole life because of...

"Don't you dare start with that," Galbatorix said warningly, causing Darcie's thoughts to be broken. "Now tell me, why have neither of you said a word?"

"I'm not aware of what a fling is because of my hair colour apparently," Darcie said casually. Galbatorix glared at her, and a sudden, crushing force surrounded Darcie - it was as though a strong had had gripped her body and was squeezing her to death. She gasped for air and tried to move.

"You dare to challenge me?" Galbatorix slowly pronounced each word with a cold edge. "You insolent girl, you have much more to learn." The force dropped Darcie and let her go. The force then seemed to give her a hard smack on her left cheek.

Galbatorix turned to Murtagh.

"I expected more from you. You court my daughter without consent and then not say a word? All the years you have eaten my food, used my money, have been trained under my watch and lived under this roof and this is how you repay me?" the king was now yelling, his voice echoing through the dining hall and presumably throughout other parts of the castle. "You would've died if it wasn't for me."

"I've lived in the wilderness," Murtagh responded simply. He was aware this comment was as bad as Darcie's 'hair colour' comment to Galbatorix, but he truly didn't care anymore.

"Get out of my sight," Galbatorix snarled. He then turned to Darcie, who was still trying to catch her breath, which was rather difficult in a corset. "I don't want to see your face either - get out."

Darcie got out of her chair and headed for the door at the fastest walk possible, her previously flushed cheeks now pale. She didn't even wait for Murtagh; she just left the castle and headed towards Kazryth's barn. In tears at this point, she ran through the fields and jumped over the fence. Kazryth broke the barn door, leaving part of it standing since he didn't take down the entire thing when he burst through, and landed in front of her.

Are you alright, little one?

W... no, I'm not. I nearly got killed by own father!

Kazryth lowered his head to her height and exhaled, drying her tears. She hugged his head and let her forehead rest on his nose. She felt his worry through their connection.

He then told me to get out.

She then felt realization and happiness flow through Kazryth.

What? she asked, confused.

This could be our chance. The king told you to get out, so if you were to leave Urû'baen, you would be getting out.

Darcie realized what he was getting at.

He also told Murtagh to get out.

Well there's him to...

Why don't you like him? Is it the sword he carries, the past it holds?

It is not only that, but I have a feeling there's something else to Rider Murtagh... a certain flaw. It is hard to explain in words, but there is something about him I can't place.

It might just be the sword and its past.

Maybe it is...

She sensed his doubt. The great green dragon wasn't telling her the whole truth, and they both knew it.

"Darcie?"

The tearful girl let go of Kazryth, who in turn carefully pulled his head away. He snorted at the sound of Murtagh's voice. She had just realized she was shaking from shock. She felt Murtagh's arms envelop her. She fell into him and buried her face into his tunic, still shaking fearfully. She felt him rub her back reassuringly and kiss her hair, which had freed itself on the run to the barn.

"I'm so sorry," she heard him whisper.

If you didn't want this to happen you should have said something to that madman! Kazryth finally yelled at Murtagh.

I didn't think this would happen! Murtagh responded pointedly, trying to speak out loud.

You are well aware of how courtship of your kind works. This event could have been avoided if you hadn't have been so reckless.

"Just drop it," Darcie wailed, her voice muffled. She felt Kazryth's anger for Murtagh linger, but he had stopped arguing. There was another silence between the three, only broken when Darcie pulled away from Murtagh and asked, "What is a fling in the terms father meant? I can only assume but..."

"The king is only coming to horribly thought-out conclusions about me," Murtagh responded, his hands now resting on her waist. "A fling is a relationship that only lasts a matter of a few short weeks or even days."

"That bastard..." Darcie muttered. She sniffled once, and looked up at Murtagh. "Kazryth found a way for us to escape this madness."

"How?"

"Father told us to get out. If you take that literally, he means get out of the castle... get out of the city."

Murtagh looked up at the dragon and told him, "I have underestimated you."

That is no surprise, Rider.

Darcie gave him a sharp, scolding glare. She then felt his guilt for saying what he had.

"Can he fly with you on him?" Murtagh asked.

"That's why I have had saddle for the past month..." Darcie responded slowly.

"Ok then. The easiest way out is by horse. Kazryth, get Thorn and..."

I know what to do Kazryth cut in snappishly.

"Watch it!" Darcie snapped. The green dragon huffed, indicating he was sighing. "Could you actually fly me straight up to my room before doing that? There's no way I'm traveling in a dress and sure as hell not in a corset."

The dragon hummed and crouched down so Darcie could mount. With only four hard flaps of his wings, they were level with her window. She jumped from the saddle to the window ledge, almost falling off in the process. She regained her balance and broke the window with a hard punch. The glass cut her hands, but they quickly disappeared when she thought the words of the healing spell.

She jumped through, put on her 'feminine men's clothes' as she called them, which she had grown accustomed to and grew to like since she had been wearing them every day. Before putting on her boots, she put on thigh-high nylons. She then took a mirror small enough to fit in her pocket and many hair pins and ties in case.

Opening her vanity, she found paper in one of the drawers. Taking out the quill and ink next to it, she quickly scrawled, I was told to get out, and Murtagh was told to leave father's sight. That is exactly what we're doing.

Placing the note on her pillow, she jumped up and onto the window ledge. She crouched down and walked through where the window used to be. She then jumped onto Kazryth's saddled back. He carefully made his way down, landing on the field in front of Murtagh with a solid, silent thump.

"Now I can ride," Darcie said as she jumped off of Kazryth's back. She turned to look at him and said, "Go get Thorn, and don't 'I know' me," she added before Kazryth could do so.

"When you do, start heading south-east and keep going until you can't see the gates of the city," Murtagh said.

It will be my pleasure, Kazryth said with a hint of sarcasm. He then took off for Thorn's barn.

As soon as he did, Murtagh and Darcie ran for the stables. They found their common mounts - a grulla paint named Poco and a chestnut paint named Shiloh. They quickly saddled their mounts and led them outside. Darcie pulled herself onto Shiloh's back and waited for Murtagh to get on Poco. Once he did, they went around the corner and took off at a gallop towards the fence that enclosed the area Kazryth had. They turned away from it a few strides before coming towards it and circled around the castle, going off at an angle once they got around the second corner. They slowed to a trot and went through the packed streets of Urû'baen. Once they got to an opening in the gates, they jumped off and led the horses through as to avoid going through the main gates where guards were positioned. Once Darcie came out from behind Poco, she mounted Shiloh again, waited for Murtagh, and then took off again. Within an hour, they met up with Thorn and Kazryth.

Where are we to go now? I don't see any other open options for lodging for the night Thorn said snippily.

Don't be so pessimistic, Thorn Murtagh told the red dragon. He looked at Thorn and then Kazryth; Thorn was almost twice the size of the young green dragon. He then looked at Darcie and said, "I just thought of something."

"What?"

"I think I know how to break the oaths."