Chapter 3

Murtagh yawned as he put his hand on his new brown horse. The mare was quite young and had a gorgeous black mane.

"Your instructions are to leave the mare in Finney's stall that you will find on your way. Galbatorix said he will direct you once you are closer to it," said the small stall boy. He was only about twelve and looked as if he resented Murtagh for taking the mare.

"What's her name?" asked Murtagh, feeling sympathetic for the boy.

"Huh?" he asked, slightly confused.

"The mare, what's her name?"

The stall boy flushed a little. Smiling slightly he said, "Syzel." [seyah-ZEL]

Murtagh patted the boy's head, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her."

"Thank you," he replied, after gingerly handing Murtagh his travel pack. Then he turned around and fled back to the castle.

Murtagh stared at the boys shrinking back as he opened his pack. It was small so he knew that he wasn't going to have a change of clothes for a while. Inside was a few pieces of hard tack and hardly a pint of water. What?! Is he planning to dehydrate me to death?! And what about the mare! How will she get water?

Thorn replied sarcastically. Maybe he overestimated your intelligence. I hope you do realize that you still have magic.

But with a water skin this small, I'll be stopping for water at least 6 times a day! And the food will barely last an hour!

I guess that's the point. He wants you to look totally miserable when you get there. That's what the ash is for. It makes your skin look terrible.

Murtagh groaned in irritation. At least I don't have to kill people this time. The thought of not killing innocent people made him happy. But I'll have to avoid making friends. That would just be too big of a burden.

Murtagh… sighed Thorn.

What? asked his confused rider.

Never mind.

Don't worry Thorn. Even if I refuse to make more friends, I'm not a totally anti-social bastard.

As if I could believe that.

"Che," was all Murtagh said as he lightly kicked the sides of the mare and rode out of the castle. "This is going to be a long trip." (Poor Murtagh, he has no idea.)

~*~

Akai pulled her shoulder-length hair back, and tied it behind her neck with a piece of twine. The hair that was too short to fit in the back fell back to the side of her face. "Ugh," she said, in annoyance. She ignored the piece of hair and put on her water-resistant gloves. She was required by her master to keep her hands out of the lye so that her hands did not become hard and cracked.

"You can't be a prince with hands like the old maid! Mommy! Tell her to be prince-like." The old woman sighed with a smile on her face.

"I'll give you some gloves so that the lye doesn't touch your hands. Playing with our daughter will be an important part of your job. It's also quite entertaining so I hope you enjoy it," said the master's wife.

"Of course…" replied Akai.

These gloves are so annoying. How am I supposed to wash these and then hang them to dry without getting soap on them all over again! she thought. Damn rich people.

When she finished them, she tried her best to hang them up to dry. Half of them became soaked once again. Making sure no one was looking, she quietly muttered something under her breath. The clothes steamed and were dry within seconds. Smiling to herself, she cleaned up the small laundry yard, washed her hands, and brought in the now-dry clothes.

"Akai!" yelled the small 4-year-old girl. "Sebastian stole my candy!"

Akai sighed. This girl is so irritating. Akai always hated spoiled kids. Thankfully, Suzan, the little girl, was the only one who acted like one.

"Aww, is that so? He's being a bad-boy isn't he?" asked Akai, sarcastically. Sebastian, who was standing near the stairs, giggled at this.

"You hear that Sebastian! She said you're a bad boy!" said Suzan. "You have to give me my candy back!"

Akai looked at him with a sweet smile. He visibly blushed and reluctantly gave Suzan her candy back. "Thank you Sebastian. That was very gentleman-like of you."

"There's nothing gentleman-like about that bastard!" blurted out Suzan.

"Now where did you learn about that?" asked a lady in her mid-thirties.

"Mommy!" yelled Suzan. She went to give her mother a hug but she was stopped when her mother picked her up and set her on a chair.

"Now don't use bad language Suzan. That's very unlady-like of you."

"But mommy…"

"No 'buts'. They're just excuses," she said as she picked up her daughter. Akai rolled her eyes. "Oh, and Akai." Akai looked up immediately. "Please watch your language around Suzan. And you can go ahead and set the clothes in my closet."

Akai did a small curtsy. "Of course, Lady Phyllis." When the woman and the girl were out of sight, Akai couldn't help but mutter (once again), "Damn rich people." Sebastian laughed.

"Hey, can you—" he started, but was promptly cut off.

"No I can't. But what I can do is make your dinner, like I'm supposed to." She was about to go towards the kitchen when there was a desperate banging at the door, which stopped as promptly as it started.

"I'll get it!" called Sebastian, as he ran towards the door. Akai followed, incase it was another beggar.

~*~

Murtagh had been riding for an hour before a demon grew in his stomach and tried to convince him to eat all his food.

Damn you Thorn! Taking my food like that!

It was your fault, and you know it, he replied, calmly, and smug since he was perfectly full.

Murtagh sighed. It was only about a day's ride to Finney's stall. He should probably be able to get food when he gets there, so it would be okay if he just ate one…

-

Murtagh growled at Thorn as his hearty laughing filled his head. Murtagh was even hungrier than before. And had only been 6 hours since he ate all his food at once. He was about to make a witty comment when a deep monotone voice chilled his blood.

"Slow the horse down when you get in sigh of the gates. Pull your hood over and make sure your face isn't seen. Hold up your crest when you get there, but don't raise your head. It's not that I expect anything to go wrong, it's just that you're an unreliable slave," instructed Galbatorix.

Murtagh followed the instructions, hiding his smirking face. Unreliable, eh? That sounds good.

Murtagh held his crest out so that the guards could see it. "What's wrong?" asked a particularly big guard. "Afraid to show your face?"

Murtagh replied with a hiss. "You seem eager to lose your family." The man straightened up and opened the gates. Murtagh headed in without further question.

"Down the alley on the left. Leave the horse. There. Finney will come down himself and retrieve it. You, in the mean while, will be walking towards the large brown stone house at the end of the next city. It's not as long as it seems."

"Okay… that doesn't seem too bad. Wait… I'm not actually going to meat Finney? Then how am I going to get food? I have no money to buy any. Are you planning to starve me?!"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. The hungrier you look, the more likely you will be able to trick anyone of any intelligence. Or, if you're really hungry, I have no problem if you beg."

"No, no thank you," replied Murtagh, grimacing. He glanced longingly at a nearby restaurant. He walked in the direction that Galbatorix told him.

-

It was almost dawn by the time he arrived at the end of the current city. It was more like a village really. Not civilized or anything like the bigger cities. It's not even on the damn map! thought Murtagh.

Murtagh got to the other village very fast. They were surprisingly close. That was until he saw the charred remains of houses. It seems this used to be one big city instead of two small town/village things.

It seems you're right, Murtagh, answered Thorn.

Where's the King?

He's attending other issues. He can still hear us though.

Dang it! Whatever. Thorn, is it possible for you to send me any food ?My stomach has been talking more than the people in this village. And trust me. They talk a lot.

If you're so hungry, than just beg like Galbatorix told you to.

No way! You know I would never do that!

You're about to when you get to the house. It's going to take you till tomorrow night to get there. You might as well practice now, so that the household will think that you are really a genuine beggar.

Murtagh groaned. He was about to consider Thorn's idea, when another one popped into his head. He didn't tell this to Thorn though, because he knew that it would be rejected. He was going to steal some food.

Murtagh, you're not planning to steal food are you?

What?! How did you know?

Lucky guess. You can't do that, what if you are caught and the family will not take in a thief.

Well I'm sorry but my hunger isn't big enough to cover my pride. And since you're so far away, you can't stop me!

A big dragon sigh filled his head. Don't blame me when you piss someone off.

I won't. Eyeing a weak bread shop owner, a plan began to form in his head.

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. Please review. It really helps. Constructive criticism welcomed.