AN: I wanted to get this chapter up by Christmas. Think of it as my present to all of you lol. Anyway, I know this chapter is a little short and not a whole lot happens in it, but I hope you like it :)

About an hour later, Murtagh came back. He looked exhausted and appeared to be in a great deal of pain. But despite all of this, he managed to smile as he saw Alianna walk towards him.

"What happened?" Alianna asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Murtagh said as he winced in pain.

Alianna helped him over to their bed, "You're not fine! Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

"I told you," Murtagh said, "It's nothing you need to worry about. Please, lets not talk about this anymore."

Alianna nodded, "Alright," The last thing she wanted to do was get into another argument, "But do you need anything? I can go get one of the healers."

"No, I'll be alright." Murtagh told her, "It's just my back again. Not a big deal." He then changed the subject, "So tell me, what did you do today? You look like something's bothering you."

Alianna began to tell Murtagh about the dream she had earlier. She also told him about the other dream where the woman was being murdered, the one she had had a couple of times over the last few months.

"What do you think it means?" Alianna asked.

"I don't know," Murtagh shrugged, "Could you tell where this was all taking place?"

"No," Alianna replied, "Both places seemed so familiar though… But that's impossible- I've never been outside of Uru'baen."

"Maybe they're premonitions." Murtagh suggested.

Alianna had never thought about that. Perhaps these dreams were trying to tell her about things that were going to happen soon. Maybe Alianna was meant to help these people. But how could she help them when she couldn't make out their faces or tell where they were located?

"I'm sure we'll figure it out." Murtagh said, "Try not to worry so much. Come on, lets go visit the stables. I'm sure it's been awhile since you've seen Bella."

"Are you well enough?" Alianna asked, "We can always go tomorrow."

Murtagh still appeared to be in some pain, but he said, "I'm fine. Besides, I promised you we'd go."

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A few minutes later, Alianna and Murtagh were walking out of the castle. This was he first time Alianna had been outside in many months. She had missed being able to take long walks in the courtyard and riding around on Bella.

As they were walking, Alianna said, "So tell me more about Eragon. What's he like?"

"He's a good person." Murtagh said, "Although I'll admit, there were times when I wanted to wring his neck for some of the situations he got us into."

Murtagh told Alianna all about those situations and also how he had to save Eragon's life on more than one occasion.

"This is the great Dragon Rider who's suppose to save us all?" Alianna thought, "It sounds like he can't even take care of himself."

When Alianna told Murtagh this, he said, "I thought the same thing at times, but there were other times when Eragon wasn't so bad. We talked a lot and sparred nearly everyday."

"Do you miss him?" Alianna asked.

Murtagh nodded, "He was the closest thing I had to a friend."

Alianna was about to ask Murtagh more when she realized they were nearing the stables. As soon as they reached them they were greeted by Thaddeus, who had been running the stables for as long as Alianna could remember. It was Thaddeus who had taught Alianna to ride when she first got Bella.

"My lady," Thaddeus said, "Is that really you? It's been too long. I heard about everything that happened- are you alright?"

Alianna looked at Murtagh and then back at Thaddeus, "I am now."

"I can see that." Thaddeus said, also looking at Murtagh, "It's good to see you again Murtagh."

"You too," Murtagh replied, "How's your family?"

A sad look came over Thaddeus, "I lost my oldest son in the battle."

"I'm so sorry." Alianna said.

She knew Thaddeus and his family had been through a lot over the past year. His wife had died not long after giving birth to their daughter and now this. Alianna couldn't imagine how difficult it was for Thaddeus to be raising his infant daughter and his other son (who was just two years younger than Alianna) alone.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Alianna asked him, "I can see to it that your family had enough food and clothing…"

Thaddeus interrupted, "That's very kind of you my lady, but we're managing alright. Thank you for the offer though."

"Your welcome."

"Anyway, I bet you're here to see Bella. She's missed you."

"I've missed her too." Alianna told him.

"Come, she's right over here. I was just about to brush her mane."

Alianna smiled, "I can do that."

"A princess shouldn't be doing such things." Thaddeus said.

"I'm not your typical princess." Alianna replied.

"That's for sure." Murtagh said.

Alianna just smiled at him and took the brush from Thaddeus. She spotted Bella in the last stall to the left. Alianna was worried that Bella wouldn't recognize her (it had been such a long time), but as soon as she approached, Bella greeted her happily.

"Hey girl," Alianna said, "How are you?"

Alianna could tell Bella had been well taken care of all these months as she brushed her mane. Once Bella's mane was all brushed, Alianna insisted on riding her. Thaddeus helped Alianna put the saddle on. But when Alianna tried to climb onto Bella, her bad leg started to hurt.

Seeing this, Murtagh said, "Here, let me help you."

"I can do it myself." Alianna insisted.

When Alianna tried it again however, the pain in her leg became worse and she nearly fell over. Luckily, Murtagh was right there to catch her.

Alianna looked at her husband and said, "Maybe I do need some help."

Murtagh helped Alianna climb onto Bella and then got on his own horse.

As they rode around, Murtagh could tell that Alianna was still upset, so he said, "It's alright. You haven't ridden in awhile, that's all. I'm sure once you get use to it again, your leg won't hurt so much."

"I know," Alianna told him, "I just hate asking for help with things I use to be able to do so easily."

"I understand. I'm sure things will get better though."

Alianna and Murtagh rode around for about an hour. After that the walked around the grounds for awhile and then headed back to the castle for dinner. Luckily Galbatorix was too busy to join them, so Alianna and Murtagh were able to eat in peace.

The rest of the evening was rather uneventful. Alianna read for awhile and then talked to Murtagh before the two of them fell asleep.

The next morning, however, Alianna woke up and when she turned over, she saw that Murtagh wasn't there. Panicking, Alianna quickly got dressed and went out into the hall. She found Argus and asked him where Murtagh was.

"He left early this morning." Argus told her, "He said to tell you he'd be back this afternoon."

"Did he mention where he was going?" Alianna asked.

Argus shook his head no.

"What's going on? Why is Murtagh being so secretive?" Alianna asked herself as she walked back into her room. She was determined to find out what Murtagh was up to.