Lyroxia Gaped. "Is that really a-"
"A dragon egg, yes"
"But how did you find-"
"Let's just say I discovered it long ago, and I have looked after it since then. You are the first person I have told... I hope it was not a mistake."
"... I... I won't let you down, sir." She said. Then she asked "but... how did you keep it a secret from King Galbatorix? You're in his court... you're close to him. Surely he suspects something. He'd love to get his hands on a dragon egg, and it'll spell disaster for you if he finds out you've been hiding this, sir, won't it?"
"Yes. Everything you have just said is completely right." Alexander replied. "But only in the past few days has the King been able to act on his suspicions. I told you that you are the only person I have told? You are not, however, the only person besides me in this household who knows about this egg. Ellen Miller, one of my maids, happened to stumble across it a few weeks ago. I'm not exactly sure what possessed her to do it, but she informed the King in order to receive a rather large reward of gold. I received a tip-off this morning from a friend in Uru'baen, also a noble in Galbatorix's court. He sent a messenger to warn me that the king has sent his Right Hand, apparently a young man by the name of Murtagh, to search my home, accompanied by a number of soldiers, for the reported egg."
"So you want me to take this to Surda?" She confirmed, slightly breathless.
"Yes. I'm confident that from there it will reach the Varden, and continue to assist them, which, of course, is a brilliant thing to happen."
Lyroxia knew what he was doing. He was trying to make her think he hated the King, just like he knew she did, so she will be more motivated to get this egg to the Varden. As it was, however, Lyroxia saw that he was only getting rid of this egg to save his own skin. Lyroxia herself was an incredibly good liar, and knew how to conceal certain aspects of body language. Her master, however, blinked far too much than a normal person should have to while he answered her question. She stayed silent for a few minutes, and then a thought crossed her mind.
"Is male or female? Can you tell?"
"This one is male. The female eggs are more ovular than the males."
"When should I leave?"
"Immediately. Take this map," he said, handing one to her across the desk," saddle up a horse, gather supplies and go."
A few hours later, darkness was seeping through the forest, and Lyroxia was making camp beside an overturned tree. She had been riding south from her home since noon. She led Belle, her horse, over to a grassy patch close to the fire and picketed her to a nearby tree. Once Belle was secure, Lyroxia removed the saddle bags and took them with her as she sat by the flames.
She took out the weapons her master had given her. There were two ordinary steel daggers, each about half a foot long, a rough pine bow, and a scarred leather quiver containing fifteen jagged arrows. They weren't pretty, nor did they look threatening like the ones she used to have, but she was glad to have them all the same- she hadn't held a bow or a dagger for months.
She picked up her map and studied it more closely than she had before. Her journey was simple. For now, all she had to do was travel south following the shore of Leona Lake, then the Jiet River, into Surda. From there she was confident that it would be easy to find a guide to Aberon.
As she put the map back next to the egg in the bags, the dragon egg caught the flickering light of the fire, and reflected it brilliantly, making it look not just silver, but gold, white and dozens of shades of red.
Intrigued, Lyroxia picked it up. She continued to gaze peacefully at the dancing colours for some minutes. Then she realised that there was a faint beating coming from inside the egg. She held it to her chest and pressed her ear to the surface of the silver shell, listening intently.
She could hear a rhythmic heartbeat. The dragon's? Or her own...?
Lyroxia suddenly jumped back in alarm. A faint squeak had pierced the tranquillity of the forest- from the egg.