It seemed like only minutes had passed before Keeva woke up. It was still dark and the moons light had not yet reached its brilliant fingers over the dark ominous mountains. Nothing moved, Aradan slept peacefully next to her and Arya slept on his other side, Eragon was nowhere to be seen.
What had awakened her? She lay still listening; everything was quiet, too quiet. She heard a twig snap off to her right and peered into the dense forest.
"Eragon?" Keeva said just above a whisper, there was no response. She slowly reached towards Arya.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A man's voice said. He had a slight Scottish accent. Keeva froze as she heard the distinct sound of someone pulling back a bowstring.
"Who are you?" Keeva asked, her voice cold. Her gaze darted around trying desperately to find an escape route but found none. She could try to grab Aradan and run but that would leave Arya exposed to the danger and even then there was no guarantee that she and Aradan would be able to escape.
She could tell by Arya's still form that her friend was awake and listening. She only hoped that she wouldn't make the wrong move. Keeva glanced at the bow and arrows she had discarded earlier…. They were just out of reach. How could she be that careless?
"Does it matter?" The man said from the shadows, "I know who you are Princess, and I know what you are worth." Keeva's heart skipped a beat but she didn't let her fear show through.
"Step into the light." Keeva said and watched as the man complied. He was taller than her with dark hair that reached just above his shoulders; his striking blue eyes could be seen even in the firelight. He carried his bow in his hands already strung with an arrow, though now it pointed towards the ground.
"Happy?" the man asked tilting his head slightly sideways. "I'm sure I have better things to do than to follow the every whim of a princess, now get up." He said raising his bow threateningly.
Oh Lord, please protect us. Show me what to do, there is deep sadness in those eyes and instead of fearing him, I want to help him.
"What do you want with me?" Keeva asked carefully unwrapping herself from the blanket and draping it over her sleeping son. She gently kissed him before rising.
"Its not what I want with you, its what I can gain through you. The king wants you dead. There must be a reason for that?" Murtagh asked still pointing the bow at her.
"There is always a reason the king wants something, how would I know the answer to that?" Keeva asked him hoping that he would fall for the falsehood and leave them alone.
Murtagh made a 'tisk tisk' sound with his mouth. "Your not playing fare, I ask the questions and you answer them, end of story." He dropped the bow and in one solid move had a knife to Keeva's throat. "Try again" He whispered into her ear.
Keeva's heart was racing, she thought she had seen pain and fear in his eyes when she had first seen him but now all that remained was malice. "I wont tell you." Keeva said just below a whisper. "I wont give you anything you can use against us." She felt him tighten his grip and winced as the knife grazed her skin, causing a trickle of blood to run down her throat.
"Wrong answer." She felt Murtagh's breath tickle her ear as he said it. Her heart was pounding, if he killed her, who would protect Aradan?
Lord help! Keeva prayed as she silently waited for the knife to cut deeper into her skin.