"No," Murtagh said flatly, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Come on, you were pushing me to train, and now that I ask you say no?" Darcie pointed out with an expression as flat as Murtagh's response had been.
"Well I didn't know..."
"Neither did I, yet it didn't stop you from telling me to start using the sword. I need to be able to at least beat you once before going into battle."
"Considering the sightings of Galbatorix's army being close and getting closer, you might be waiting for that chance to go into battle."
Darcie's mouth dropped slightly. "How close are they?" she asked curiously.
"A fortnight."
"I can learn a lot more within a fortnight."
"You're not going into battle this time."
"That's not fair! You gave me a lecture on why I need to be in training, and now that I have usefulness for it you're telling me I can't?"
"Things have changed," Murtagh responded after a moment.
"I noticed," Darcie snarled. "Just because of one little thing getting in the way..."
"Little?!"
"Don'tblame this on me. You couldn't control yourself in the first place," Darcie snapped indignantly, crossing her arms across her chest.
"You didn't stop it."
"I didn't start it!"
"Technically you did."
"You continued it! I'm trying not to be a bother like I used to be with training, but now that you're refusing..."
"For a good reason," Murtagh cut in, which won him a cold glare from Darcie.
"Teach me more or else."
"You're trying to force me to train you?" Murtagh asked, scoffing.
"You offered to do so in the first place!"
Murtagh was silent; it was true. Back in Urû'baen, Galbatorix had been looking for someone to train Darcie just shortly after Kazryth hatched. Murtagh offered, hoping to get to know the beautiful, mysterious girl who appeared to have come out of nowhere.
"Well you can't be trained now."
"It didn't stop you before."
"We're not getting into the same argument again," Murtagh responded simply. "I'm not training you now, and that's that. It's not only that you're pregnant, it's that you're still sick."
"From being pregnant," Darcie pointed out.
"Exactly."
Darcie was about to yell, but she thought better. Her hard expression softened and she asked in a sweet yet quiet tone, "Please?"
Murtagh looked into her begging eyes and fought himself to stay in control of his decision. She brought his head down to hers and gave him a soft, yet slow, kiss. As he started to open his mouth and bring her closer, she pulled away, her forehead leaning against his, and smiled with hope behind her warmth.
"No."
Darcie scowled and pulled out of his grasp. She looked around on the ground and picked up a large, round rock. Murtagh backed away a few steps warily. He watched Darcie's knuckles grow pure white from her grip upon the stone. Moments later, she hurled it to the ground and stormed off. She stormed angrily down the paths and nearly ran into Eragon, who was coming in the opposite direction.
"Watch where you're going," he snapped.
"Sorry," Darcie snapped back in a sarcastic tone. She walked around him and then stopped when a realization hit her. Turning around, she called out, "Hey, Eragon!"
The elf-boy, as she called him, stopped and turned around.
"What?"
"Do you have any spare time?"
He was silent for a moment, and then responded mysteriously, "Maybe... Why do you ask?"
Darcie blushed slightly. "Do you think you could help me train? Murtagh refuses to continue doing so."
"He refuses for a sensible reason."
"Not even in magic."
"He made it clear he knows more and is more powerful than I am," Eragon spat, the memory of his battle against Murtagh on the Burning Plains many months before.
"But he got me working with my sword after using a stick for months. I still need to learn how to at least control it properly," she pointed out.
"Well you can learn after..."
"How can I defend myself against a sword with a stick? I'd be dead before even making a good hit. Now look, can't you just put any hatred of me away for like, an hour or two of the day to teach me how to use a sword properly?"
"It's not any feelings that are holding me back."
"It's your fear of your 'big brother hurting you' isn't it?" Darcie mocked, a smirk growing.
"No it's not!" Despite Eragon's attempts to resist blushing, his ears went read.
"It is!" Darcie realized. She let out a single laugh in spite of her effort to not do so. "Oh, come on! I know when he visits Thorn and whenever he does, he never hangs around the area with Kazryth and Saphira. He wouldn't know."
"Which makes it even worse," Eragon pointed out in a flat tone.
"Do you even know how to block your mind from him?"
"Of course!" Eragon snapped back indignantly.
"Well then do that for an hour or two of the day and there are no worries."
"But..."
"Please?" Darcie asked, giving her best begging look.
Eragon sighed. Even with his mind being guarded, she seemed to know his fears, worries, and overall feelings. It was true; he greatly feared Murtagh would kill him if something happened to Darcie while training, let alone if he found out what was going on.
"I don't even know you that well..."
"You could get to know me while training me," Darcie pointed out with a growing smile.
"Or what you know..."
"You could figure that out while training me," Darcie cut in again.
"And how much..."
"Again..."
"I could figure it out while training, yes I know," Eragon snapped. "And truthfully, Murtagh would kill me if I defied him like this."
"You're afraid of the man that showed you mercy in battle?"
Eragon's jaw clenched.
"But if he didn't he would've killed you, correct?" Darcie continued. "Or are you too stubborn to admit it? I wasn't there, but I know the story. Truthfully, the day you fought Murtagh was the day I was released from my prison of a room."
Eragon shrugged.
"I'll stop bugging you about this if you just teach me until further notice."
"Which will be how long?"
"Until I'm either too sick or too fat. Either-or really."
Eragon bit the inside of his lip in thought. After five silent minutes, he looked up at Darcie's expectant face and sighed.
"When does Murtagh leave with Thorn?"