AN: I apologize if anything in this chapter isn't quite accurate. It's been a long time since I've read Eragon and I tried to do certain parts by memory. Anyway, I hope everyone had a really nice Thanksgiving. Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review ;)

The next morning, Alianna awoke with Murtagh's arms gripped tightly around her. She looked at him and saw that he was already awake.

Alianna smiled and asked, "How long have you been up?"

"Awhile," Murtagh told her.

"You don't have to hold me so tight you know. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"Nothing," Murtagh said as he sat up.

Alianna knew that something was going on, but decided not to press Murtagh any further. Instead she asked him about the Twins and if he knew who they were. Murtagh told her that until recently, he thought that the Twins had worked for the Varden.

"I realize now of course," Murtagh said, "That they must've been spies for Galbatorix this whole time."

"So it's true?" asked Alianna, "You really did go to the Varden."

Murtagh nodded.

Alianna continued, "How did you end up there?"

"It's a long story." Murtagh sighed.

"We've got time."

Alianna listened intently as Murtagh told her that, while he was at his friend's estate, he heard news that the Ra'zac were tracking someone.

"I had also heard news that there was a new Rider," Murtagh said, "So I knew that's who the Ra'zac must be after. I left my friend's estate and began tracking them down in the hopes of finding the Rider. I did."

Alianna was surprised, "You found Eragon?"

Murtagh nodded, "Yes." He then proceeded to tell Alianna how he had come upon the Ra'zac attacking Eragon and Brom.

"Brom?" Alianna asked herself.

That name seemed so familiar. She knew Brom was the one that killed three of the Forsworn (including Morzan) and was responsible for the deaths of five others, but it seemed so much more than that. Since she could not figure out the reason, Alianna just shrugged her shoulders and continued to listen to Murtagh's story. He told her about Brom's death, what Eragon and his dragon Saphira were like, and how he ended up traveling to the Varden with Eragon.

"I never thought you would go there." Alianna said.

"Neither did I," Murtagh told her, "My plan was to travel with Eragon only so far and once we neared the Varden, I would leave. It didn't work out that way."

Murtagh then began to tell Alianna what happened along the way: rescuing Eragon and the elf Arya from Gilead, their long trip through the Hadarac Desert, how he was treated when they arrived at the Varden, and finally, the big battle at Farthen Dur and how he ended up back in Uru'baen.

"Wow," Alianna said once Murtagh was finished telling his story, "You've certainly been through a lot. Does my father know about all this?"

"Yes," Murtagh replied, and then quickly changed the subject, "I take it you've been through a lot as well."

Alianna nodded sadly. Just as she was about to tell Murtagh what happened to her while he was gone, she heard the door open and in walked Argus. Alianna let out a small scream and quickly pulled the sheets over her body.

"Argus!" Alianna said.

"What are you doing in here?" Murtagh asked.

Argus looked up and immediately turned his head away, his face turning bright red, "I'm so sorry! I thought you'd be up by now. I should've knocked first… I'm sorry…" Not knowing what else to say, Argus left the room.

Alianna and Murtagh got out of bed and quickly got dressed. A few minutes later, Alianna opened the door, "Argus, you can come back in now."

Argus walked in, "I really am sorry."

"It's alright," Alianna said.

Argus replied, "I was coming to tell you that the king wants the two of you to eat breakfast with him in the dining hall."

Alianna was surprised, "Why? I haven't eaten with him in months."

"I'm just telling you what he said." Argus told her.

Alianna nodded, "We'll be ready in a moment."

Argus smiled, "Alright. Is there anything special you'd like for breakfast? I'll ask the cooks to make it."

"No, but thank you. I'm sure whatever they make will be just fine."

Argus gave Alianna a quick hug and then left the room. When Alianna started waling back towards Murtagh, she noticed right away that something was wrong. She saw that Murtagh was angry and had a strange look on his face. Murtagh just glanced at Alianna briefly and then looked the other way.

"What?" Alianna asked.

"Nothing," Murtagh said coldly, still refusing to look at Alianna.

Alianna didn't understand what was going on. She gently touched Murtagh on the arm and said, "Tell me."

Murtagh jerked his arm back, "Just forget about it."

Alianna grabbed Murtagh by the arm and forced him to look at her, "No! I won't forget about it. I want to know what's going on."

"Fine," Murtagh said, "It's Argus."

"What about him?" Alianna asked.

"The two of you seem to have gotten awfully close."

Alianna rolled her eyes, "It's not like that. Argus and I are just friends."

She let go of Murtagh's arm and he told her that the servants had been talking.

"Some of the servants love to gossip." Alianna told him, "It's what they do. I swear, the things they're saying about Argus and I are just rumors."

Murtagh was not convinced at all, "Are they? It sure didn't look that way when he was hugging you just now. I was gone for a long time… maybe the two of you did…"

Alianna was becoming angrier by the minute. Tears formed in her eyes and soon were slowly trickling down her cheeks. Her voice grew louder, "How dare you accuse me of being unfaithful! I love you."

Murtagh shook his head, "Well you have a funny way of showing it!"

That was it. Alianna began to shout and she didn't care who heard her, "You bastard! You have no idea what I've been through!"

Frustrated, Murtagh walked over to their bed and sat back down, "Then tell me."

Alianna walked over and sat next to him, "When I was captured and brought back to the castle, I was unconscious for two days. When I finally woke up, I confronted my father. I refused to tell him where you were going, so he tried to beat it out of me. He beat me so bad that my face was covered in blood afterwards. But no matter how hard he beat me, I never told him where you were. For weeks I could barely eat or sleep. There were even times when I wanted to die. Argus was so kind to me. He was the only friend I had all those months. Who know what would've happened had Argus not been there for me."

Murtagh sat there for a minute, stunned. He didn't know what to say.

Alianna tried to fight back the tears as she continued, "So don't you ever doubt that I love you again. I went through hell for you!"

Murtagh slowly leaned in and kissed Alianna. He then said with a sad tone in his voice, "I'm sorry. I had no idea it was that bad. I never should've reacted that way. I just don't want to lose you."

"You won't," Alianna assured him.

There was a long, awkward silence before Murtagh spoke again, "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"You said that Argus was your only friend. What about Emma?"

A rush of sadness came over Alianna at the mention of that name. Because of the painful memories it brought back, it had been a long time since Alianna had thought of Emma.

Finally, Alianna said, "Emma is dead."

Murtagh was shocked, "What? But how? Was she sick?"

Alianna shook her head no, "My father he… he killed her when she refused to tell him where we were. It's all my fault."

"How is it your fault?" Murtagh asked.

"I should've convinced her to come with us. I should've…"

At this point, Alianna began sobbing.

Murtagh put his arm around her, "Don't think like that. You'll drive yourself crazy. Galbatorix killed Emma, not you. You didn't do anything wrong."

Alianna wiped the tears from her face, "I guess you're right." She took a deep breath to relax and then said, "We should probably get going. My father will be angry if we're late."

Murtagh nodded and then the two of them walked out into the hall where Argus was waiting. Alianna could tell by the look on Argus' face that he had heard the whole argument. Yet, he didn't say a word about it.

Murtagh approached Argus and said, "Thank you."

Argus looked at Murtagh strangely, "For what?"

"For being there for Alianna when I couldn't be."

"You're welcome," Argus said, smiling slightly as the three of them began walking down to the dining hall.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Alianna and Murtagh arrived at the dining hall, Galbatorix was already there looking very angry, as usual.

"Took you long enough." Galbatorix said harshly.

Alianna simply shook her head and sat down, "Is there any time when you aren't angry, Father?"

"Enough! I won't allow this kind of talk."

"I swear, every time we eat together we end up in an argument." Alianna said, "Just tell me what I did wrong this time Father so we can get this over with."

Galbatorix turned to Murtagh, "You allow her to speak like that?"

"She may be my wife," Murtagh said, "But I don't control her. Unlike you, I don't treat Alianna like property. Besides, she has a point."

The second those words were out of Murtagh's mouth, Alianna knew he was in trouble. It was different when Alianna talked back to her father- she knew he couldn't kill her. Before Alianna could come to Murtagh's defense however, Galbatorix spoke again.

"I'll deal with you later," Galbatorix said to Murtagh. He then turned his attention back to Alianna, "I hear you were threatening my guards again."

Alianna smirked, "So that's what this is about. Well Father, I suggest you train your guards better. I was able to get a sword to Kayin's throat very quickly."

Galbatorix cursed at himself, "I never should've had you trained so well."

"It's too late now." Alianna told him.

"True," Galbatorix said, "However, you will never threaten my guards again. Do you understand?"

"But…"

Suddenly, Galbatorix grabbed Alianna by the throat, forcing her up. Murtagh tried to run over and help his wife, but Galbatorix used magic to thrust him backwards.

"I said, do you understand?"

"Yes Father," Alianna said weakly.

"Good," Galbatorix said as he let go of Alianna's throat and sat back down, "If you talk back again, you'll be forbidden from leaving the castle."

Alianna was confused, "I thought I was already forbidden from leaving the castle."

"Before you began your little rant, I was going to tell you that I've decided you may leave the castle and walk around the grounds and to the stables. But I don't want you venturing far into the city and you must always be accompanied by either Murtagh or Argus."

"Aren't you afraid I'll try to escape again?" Alianna asked, surprised at what her father just said.

At that moment, for some reason, Galbatorix looked at Murtagh and stared at him for the longest time. He then looked back at Alianna and said, "No, I don't think you will."

Alianna had no idea what was going on. There was obviously something Murtagh wasn't telling her. She decided she would ask him about it later.

The rest of the meal was fairly quiet. Alianna and Murtagh exchanged a few words, but Galbatorix spoke very little. However, once everyone was done eating and Alianna and Murtagh were about to leave, Galbatorix asked to speak with Murtagh privately. Alianna wondered what this was about, but decided not to say anything since she didn't feel like arguing with her father again. Instead, Alianna went out into the hall and waited with Argus.

Immediately, Argus noticed that marks on Alianna's neck and asked, "Are you alright? What happened?"

Alianna told Argus all about the argument she had had with her father.

Argus shook his head and said, "Alianna, you must try and think before you actually say something. You're going to keep getting yourself into trouble if you don't. Your father is a very powerful man."

"He can't kill me."

"But he can make your life miserable."

"He already does."

Argus gave up, knowing he was not going to win this argument. It was at this point that Murtagh finally came out of the dining hall.

"Are you alright?" Alianna asked her husband, "What did my father say?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about." Murtagh replied, "Listen, there's something I have to do. I should be back late this afternoon."

Alianna's eyes widened, "But you just got back last night! What's going on? I thought we were going to spend time together."

"We will," Murtagh assured her, "I promise. We'll go for a walk later and visit the stables… whatever you want. But I have to go." He kissed her gently, "I love you."

"I love you too." Alianna said, kissing him back, "Please be careful."

Murtagh didn't say anything. He simply nodded and started walking down the hall.

"What was that all about?" Argus asked later, when he and Alianna were back in her room.

"I don't know," Alianna said, "Something is going on though. I just wish I knew what it was."

"I wouldn't worry too much." Argus replied, "I'm sure Murtagh will be fine."

"I hope so," Alianna sighed.

Over the next few hours, Alianna spent a good amount of time reading books in the library. Reading always seemed to relax Alianna and distract her from whatever she was worrying about. After a quick lunch, she decided to take a nap. Not long after she fell asleep, Alianna began to have another strange dream-

In her dream, a man was walking along a trail in a very large forest. Alianna could not make out the man's face, but she knew it was not the same man from her previous dream. This man, (unlike the other) Alianna could sense, was very kind and did not make her afraid. He appeared to be carrying something, although she could not tell what it was. This man continued to walk deeper and deeper into the forest until Alianna could no longer see him…

"Why do I keep having these strange dreams?" she asked herself.

Alianna slowly got up. She wondered what this latest dream was about as she waited for Murtagh to return.