Fourth chapters finally out! Go on, read it. Sorry for the delay..there were a few.. Issues. Anyway, here it is! I had no idea what to name it so *shrugs*. Meh..

Chapter 3: Pieces

Isabel looked around the kitchen warily. No one was about so she warily picked up her coat from where it was kept at the table and left, shutting the door behind herself quietly. Stepping outside, she took a deep breath of the crisp winter air and let herself slowly relax.

The past few months had been tense and agonizing. Waiting for the Empire to show up and take Eragon and his dragon with them had been...boring almost. No, that came out wrong... It had. She didn't want her brother to go away but after living under constant stress for months, anyone would start to wish for something to happen.

She sighed quietly and walked into the woods, the only place she could truly feel at home.

X.o.X.o.X.o.

That evening,while they were eating dinner, her wish came true. Something interesting did happen, and the news came from Roran. " I was offered a job a Therinsford's mill...which I plan to take"

Isabel and Garrow just looked at him in surprise for a moment. Judging from the way Eragon was looking at the two of them, he had already heard this piece of news. Slowly getting over her shock Isabel looked from Roran, who was looking at his father expectantly, to her uncle. Garrow had put down his fork carefully and was chewing slowly. After a moment, he swallowed and looked Roran in the eyes. "Why?"

Roran looked at his father for a moment longer and then set off to explain how he wanted to ho there to earn enough money to marry Katrina. He said that Sloan would never accept him as he was now and that Katrina meant the world to him.

Isabel just sat there quietly, drinking it all in. She knew she was supposed to be happy. Happy that Roran had found a new job, was foing to get himself a new life, was going to be happy with a wife and soon, children. But all she felt was envy. There was a small part of a brain happy for him, but with the rest of it screaming in protest. Screaming at him because he could have what she could not, a happy, normal life.

If only she could somehow escape from all of this, escape and find peace and quiet in some small corner of the world. Maybe tomorrow she would go to Brom. Tell him that she had had enough of him and his little plan that she was not capable of any such thing as- Stop. Right now. You, young lady, will do no such thing. You are brave and you can do this. You know it. She silently scolded herself. Thoughts like these are for the weak-willed. Not yourself .

Something nudged her foot under the table and she looked up, into Eragon's eyes. She must have spaced out. She gave him a small nod. They would meet later.

Garrow meanwhile, had deliberated long enough. "When do you leave?" Roran was surprised, she could feel his astonishment like a small blow against her wall. This man, he was a little too open with his emotions sometimes. "What?! you'll let me go?" Eragon shot up at the same time- "You can't be serious! You're just letting him go?", he looked to her for support but Isabel just shrugged and told them what she thought. "If he wants to go we should let him Eragon. It's his future, he should have a right to make it himself." Instead of having his life chosen for him. Her brother just looked at her in disbeleif,"Isabel, you can't possibly be serious! We need him here!" "No we don't Eragon an you know it. We can manage without him and besides, you don't need him here you want him here. You're being selfish and you know it." she snapped at him but regretted it immediately. She shouldn't have but it was too late now, the words were already out from her mouth.

In return Eragon just glared at her and muttered something under his breath. She was sure she caught the words 'pigheaded' and 'self righteous'. Isabel just rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long two weeks...

X.o.X.o.X.o.

The two weeks did pass slowly and Isabel literally dragged herself through them. The house had slowly begun to feel emptier, with small things being carefully wrapped and packed into Roran's pack. Depression hung over the house. Nobody seemed to be wanting to talk about anything anymore, not even Eragon who was gone nowadays more often than not to go meet his beloved dragon. Slowly Isabel found herself in her clearing more often now that the house was almost...suffocating to her. There seemed to be nothing in the house anymore...just emptiness wrapping itself around her, choking her, till she could no longer breathe and had to go out. Then the binds would loosen and a weight would lift off her chest, allowing her to breathe again.

It was the evening before Roran was leaving that Isabel found herself in hes clearing once again. Thats when she heard it. Laughter, gruff and loud, coming from some distance away. Before she even knew what she was doing, she had gotten up and was slowly walking towards it, years of practice making her feet soft and light on the snow. She made no sound as she walked towards the sound, a hunter hunting her prey. After crossing a few clearings, when she was quite close to the Anora river, through the branches of trees she saw the glow of a fire. Around it sat men in armour,eating what smelt like stew, with the insignia of the Empire stitched onto their tunics with gold thread. So they had come after all...

Behind them were their tents. But there was one that stood a little away from the others, a slightly larger one. As she watched, a dark, humped figure emerged from it and the clearing went quiet. Even the soldiers watched the figure with apparent dread. She knew what it was from the memories she had seen in Brom's mind...the Ra'zac were here.

She stood still as a statue, breathing very slowly. She knew she should be running in the opposite direction, but something, whether it was fear or curiosity she would never know, kept her frozen in her place. The creature walked towards the men who visibly shrank back away from it, and in a raspy, hoarse voice said : "Tomorrow we sshall leave and ssummon you if we need you. Be awake at the break of dawn" It then pointed at one soldier " You, come with mee..". It then began to turn away and Isabel, releived, let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

She regretted it the moment she realised what she had done, for the Ra'zac whipped back around and looked straight at her for what seemed to be the longest moment in her life. Isabel stared into it's cowl and held her breath, not daring to move a muscle. Seconds ticked by. Then finally, just when she was running out of breath it turned back, hissing and clicking, and began to walk, if you could call it that, back to it's tent. She made sure it and the soldier who had followed suit had disappeared into the dark tent before she dared breathe again and quietly walked back to the farm, making sure she hid her tracks using magic.

On reaching home, she contacted Brom.

They're here! Brom! They've come for Eragon!

Who came? Was it Durza?

No...the Ra'zac...

He swore.. Are you sure? What happened?

She proceeded to tell him everything that had occured that evening, not leaving out a single detail.

Once she was done there was silence and then a faint reply, Come meet me tomorrow when you come to bid Roran goodbye..

She had told him about that the day she found out.

X.o.X.o.X.o.

The next morning the three of them stood in front of Garrow, who gave Roran his blessing along with a small bag of money. After giving them a few pieces of advice, they walked along the path to the village, with Garrow looking at them till they were out of sight. Looking, for the last time it seemed, at the three children he had raised to be his own. When he could no longer see them he walked back into the house and sighed. He was growing old, and soon would be the only one living in this house that would be too big for just one man alone.

Garrow walked through the house, reminiscing over old memories. How he and Marian had raised their three children till the fever had taken her away from them that night. Eragon and Isabel were not his children, but as his father had said, family is not blood, they have to earn it, and he felt that they were his for he had raised them and made them who they are now.

There was a knock on the door, surprising Garrow out of his thoughts. It was too early for the children to be back. He peeped out of the window and saw two hunched figures standing in front of the door, the insignia of the Empire stitched onto their cloaks. It would be a very bad idea not to open the door and besides, what had he done to bring down the wrath of the Empire on him? He went up to the door and opened it cautiously. The thing in front of him hissed three words : "Where iss hee", before the world began to burn around Garrow.

X.o.X.o.X.o.

The smithy doors were open when they reached, heat and light pouring out. Albreich and Baldor were there, working away on the iron. Isabel'smuscles clenched when she remembered what had happened the previous time they had talked. The silver rose he had given her was tucked safely in her pocket where she had put it last time, now cold against her skin as if reminding her of it's presence, that she should not, could not forget what had happened no matter what.

Now she greeted him with a small smile while the boys talked to the man who had hired Roran, Dempton. She heard him say that they would be leaving within the hour and she and Eragon excused themselves as he began to explain to Roran exactly how a mill works. Horst pulled Eragon aside and Isabel, not ready to face Albreich yet, excused herself once again to go meet Brom.

She was halfway there when she saw him walking towards her. The greeted each other with nods. "You know what to do."

"Are you sure about this Brom? I feel as if I can't..." she trailed off

"I know you can do this. You were born for this."

"Then I have no other choice do I. Goodbye Brom...Don't die on me."

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" he smiled at her and she returned his smilew.

"I guess I should be on my way then.." Congratulations Isabel, you didn't break down and cry in the middle of the road. Now go and doom yourself. That voice in her head was so..Selfish, but true. She didn't want to do this, but had to...for Eragon.

X.o.X.o.X.o.

Isabel approached the farm, and was glad that it had not yet erupted in flames. She approached the door, sure that everything was still the same, before a hoarse shout made told her otherwise. She burst into the house, years of training making it feel like nothing in front of her. What she saw inside turned her blood to flames in her as Garrow lay on the wooden floor, gray with burns on him everywhere, a sickly swet smell clung to him. Above him stood two dark, humped creatures. Ra'zac.

With a cry she flew onto the first one, her dagger in hand. It easily leaped away from her and she landed on the floor with a thud. The other one reared it's boot to kick her but she rolled away, and into Garrow. A little bit of fluid touched the back of her neck and she cried out in pain. It burned. Siethr Oil.

y"Deloi sharjalví!". The mud below all the snow heaped onto the two Ra'zac, slowing them down for a few minutes. She knelt down on the floor, not caring that drops of the oil seeped into her clothes, burning her skin, and shook Garrow by the shoulders. "Garrow, can you stand? We have to leave now!" when he didn't respond she gave up and tried to drag himout of the door. The Ra'zac had begun to emerge from their mounds of mud. She haD almost dragged him to the table when the first one freed itself. It approached her and drew it's sword. Where was Eragon?! He should have been home by now..

Isabel left Garrow and pressed her mouth into a hard line while and considered her options. She could use a death word but they were probably protected against those...or she could fight. But with what? She had lost her knife when she had fallen and now had nothing. she looked around for something she might be able to use but found nothing. There was nothing left to do but run, divert their attention from Garrow. So she dashed through the door, knowing that it was hopeless, that they would both follow her. And she was right, even as she had run only a few yards, blinding pain spread through the back of her head and she turned around, looking straight into the cowl of the monster, into it's beady black eyes before she finally gave in to the blackness and let it swallow her completely.

Huzzah! It's over! Yipee! Cmon people RR! I need some motivation to continue here!

OF