AN: Hopefully this long chapter makes up for the time it took me to finish it. I do have a good part of the next chapter already finished, so it shouldn't take me as long to have it up. Enjoy! Reviews would be nice. I'd really like to hear what you guys think of this story so far and if you have any ideas for it :)

Alianna stared at the dragon for a moment, and then asked Murtagh. "Are you alright?"

Murtagh nodded. "I knew this would happen."

Alianna could tell by the tone of his voice that Murtagh was not too happy about being a Rider. She could understand why. Being a Rider would be such a huge responsibility. It also meant that Murtagh would be even more tied to Galbatorix than he already was.

Although she was nervous herself, Alianna tried to convince Murtagh that everything would be alright.

"You'll make a fine Rider, Murtagh. I'm sure of it. Think of all the wonderful things you'll be able to do. You can help people."

"I won't be helping anyone, except Galbatorix. You know I have to serve him."

"You don't have to."

"Yes I do. We've been over this a thousand times. It's the only way I can keep you safe."

Alianna told Murtagh to be careful. Now that he would be one of Galbatorix's Riders, Galbatorix would more than likely have Murtagh swear loyalty to him in the ancient language. If that happened, there was little Murtagh could do to get out of it.

The thought of this made Alianna very upset. Murtagh could see this, so he held Alianna close and tried to calm her down. He told her not to worry.

"How can I not worry?" she asked.

Suddenly, the small red dragon started squeaking again. Alianna turned towards it. Seeing this beautiful creature, she couldn't help but smile.

Alianna looked at the dragon and then at Murtagh. "May I?"

"Go ahead," Murtagh told her.

Alianna slowly approached the dragon, bent down to its level, and reached her hand out towards him. He hesitated at first, but then he allowed Alianna to pet him.

"He's certainly a friendly dragon." Alianna thought.

The only other dragon she had ever come across, that she could remember, was her father's dragon, Shruiken. But Alianna tried to avoid Shruiken as much as she could, since Galbatorix had turned him into such an evil thing.

Alianna was able to pet the dragon for quite awhile.

Murtagh smiled. "He likes you."

"Does he have a name?" Alianna asked.

Murtagh shook his head no. "Not yet."

Alianna stood up. "He's a magnificent dragon Murtagh. Perhaps some good will come out of this."

"I hope you're right." Murtagh sighed.

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Now that Murtagh was a Rider, his training had intensified. Alianna and Murtagh spent even less time together than they had before. Everyday as soon as they got up, Murtagh would go off and begin his training with Galbatorix, while Thorn, that was the name he had given his dragon, would train with Shruiken. Then later in the day Murtagh and Thorn would train together. As for Alianna, she spent most of her time with Argus walking around the castle, reading, or just talking. While she enjoyed Argus' company very much, Alianna couldn't help but feel lonely. She wished things could go back to the way they were, when she and Murtagh would spend every waking moment together. But she knew that wasn't possible.

Alianna turned to Murtagh one night while they were in bed and said. "Murtagh, I need to talk to you."

Murtagh, who was exhausted, said angrily. "What is it Alianna? I'm tired."

"Nevermind. I can see I'm bothering you."

Murtagh felt bad now, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. What were you trying to tell me?"

Alianna told Murtagh how lonely she felt and that she didn't like how they hardly spent time together anymore.

"I don't like it either." Murtagh said. "But what am I suppose to do?"

"Perhaps you could finish your training earlier…"

"You know I can't. I'll tell you what though, tomorrow night when I get back, we'll go down to the river like we use to. Just the two of us."

Alianna sat up. "Do you mean it?"

"I promise," Murtagh assured her.

Alianna smiled and then kissed him. This continued for a minute or two, until things really started to heat up. That's when Murtagh pulled away.

"Alianna, not tonight."

"But…"

"I said, not tonight!"

Alianna sighed; the two of them hadn't been very intimate lately.

"Hopefully tomorrow night will be different." Alianna thought as she rolled over on her side and began to fall asleep.

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The next morning, as Alianna sat down to breakfast, she couldn't help but notice the strange look on Argus' face.

"Is everything alright Argus?" she asked.

"Of course," Argus told her. "Why do you ask?"

"You look like something's bothering you."

Argus smiled. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

Alianna was curious, but decided not to pry. She knew Argus would tell her eventually. Instead, she began to eat. For some reason, Alianna began to feel sick after just a few bites. She tried to hide this from Argus, but there was no fooling him.

"Alianna, why aren't you eating? I thought that was your favorite breakfast."

"Is is," Alianna said. "My stomach is just bothering me a bit. It's nothing."

"Are you sure? You look pale."

"Yes, I'm sure. You don't need to worry about me Argus."

Argus smiled. "I'll never stop worrying about you. You know that."

Alianna smiled back at Argus awkwardly and decided to change the subject. "I hope this day goes by quickly."

"Why's that?" Argus asked her.

Alianna told him about her and Murtagh's plans to meet down by the river that night. She was excited that the two of them were finally going to spend some time together.

Argus, however, didn't look so excited. "Alianna, please don't take this the wrong way, but what if Murtagh doesn't show up?"

"Of course he will!" Alianna exclaimed. "Why would you say that?"

"Murtagh's been so busy with his training that you never know what time he'll get back. All I'm saying is, don't get your hopes up."

Alianna shook her head. "He'll be there Argus. He promised me."

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The rest of the day seemed to go by very slowly. Alianna tried to keep busy by reading in the library, but she became tired of that after a few hours. She had wanted to go down to the training field and spar with Argus, but Argus didn't like that idea given what happened the last time they sparred. Instead they went for another walk around the castle.

Eventually, the sun set and Alianna began to prepare for the evening. She put on her new blue dress that was neither too formal nor too casual. It was bright blue with a v neck. The sleeves puffed out at the shoulders and the bottom of the sleeves were white with lace trim. Next, Alianna decided to style her hair. At first she pulled it back in a bun, but after looking in a mirror, she didn't like how it looked. Alianna tried several different styles before finally deciding to set her hair in waves. As the finishing touches, she put on her silver locket and her sapphire bracelet.

Once Alianna was finished. Argus knocked on her door.

"Come in," Alianna said.

Argus walked into the room, but once he saw Alianna, he froze. He stared at her for the longest time.

"Is something wrong?" Alianna asked.

Argus shook his head no. "Nothing's wrong."

Alianna looked down at her dress and then back at Argus. "Perhaps I'm too dressed up."

"No, you're not." Argus assured her. "You look… beautiful."

There was a very long and awkward silence before Argus spoke again, "We should get going."

Alianna nodded and she and Argus left the castle and walked down to the river.

The weather couldn't have been better that night. It was warm, but not oppressive, with a slight breeze. Alianna sat down by the bank and waited for Murtagh to arrive. Argus insisted on staying with Alianna until then, even though she assured him that she would be fine.

The minutes went by and there was no sign of Murtagh. Alianna began to worry some, but she figured that Murtagh's training was running a little later than expected.

When more than an hour had passed however, Argus spoke up. "Alianna, I don't think he's coming. It's getting late. We really should head back."

"Just a few more minutes." Alianna said. "He'll be here Argus. He promised me. Please?"

"Alright," Argus sighed. He then mumbled to himself. "Why do I have such a hard time saying no to you?"

Alianna looked all around, hoping she would catch a glimpse of Murtagh. Once she even heard footsteps, but when Alianna turned her head, she saw that it was just one of the maids and her family walking by. More than a few minutes passed by and Alianna could feel the tears forming in her eyes.

She turned to Argus. "He's not coming, is he?"

Argus didn't say a word. He just shook his head no.

At that point, Alianna couldn't hold it in any longer. She hugged her knees to her chest and began to sob.

Argus slowly walked over and sat down next to Alianna. He could see that she was shaking and becoming very pale. He knew he had to do something to calm Alianna down before she made herself sick. Argus hesitated at first, but then touched Alianna on the arm.

"I'm sorry," he said gently.

Instead of jerking back, Alianna threw her arms around Argus and hugged him close. She didn't care if anyone saw her. She was so upset and Argus was there for her, as he always had been. She buried her face in his chest and kept on crying. It didn't take long for Alianna to soak Argus' shirt with her tears. He didn't seem to mind though.

"He promised me," Alianna cried. "He promised me…"

"I know," Argus replied as he gently rubbed his hand up and down Alianna's back.

Alianna cried for what seemed like hours. She didn't think she would ever stop. But eventually she did and Argus helped her up since she was feeling a little lightheaded.

"Alianna, you're not well." Argus said. "We should head back."

Alianna nodded, linked her arm with Argus', and the two of them began to walk back to the castle.

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When Alianna got back to her chambers, all she wanted to do was lay down on her bed and forget about this whole day.

"I'll have dinner brought up." Argus said.

Alianna shook her head no. "I'm not hungry. Thank you though."

"Alianna, please. You've barely eaten all day. Just-"

"I said I'm not hungry."

Alianna could tell by the look on Argus' face that he was angry. It didn't appear that he was angry with her though. It took Alianna only a second to realize that Argus was angry with Murtagh for what he did. But when she tried to talk to Argus about it, he told her not to worry and insisted that she get some rest. Alianna just shrugged and layed back down on her bed.

A few minutes later, Alianna could hear footsteps coming down the hall. Before she could get up to see who it was, Argus said, "I'll be right back." and stormed out of the room.

Suddenly, Alianna could hear Argus shouting at someone. She quickly got out of bed and went over to peak out the door, which Argus had accidentally left open ajar. She could see now who Argus was shouting at. There in the hall stood Murtagh. Alianna had never seen Argus so angry with someone as he was right now. She listened in more closely to their conversation-

"I thought you were going to meet Alianna by the river!" Argus said. "We waited for over an hour. How could you do this to her?"

"It wasn't my fault." Murtagh explained. "Galbatorix-"

"I don't want to hear your excuse! Do you have any idea how upset Alianna is right now?"

"I know she is."

"No, you don't." Argus said. "Alianna's in there crying and she's so upset that she's made herself sick."

The look on Murtagh's face turned from angry to concerned. "She's sick?"

Argus nodded. "Yes, she has been for awhile now actually. If you were any kind of husband you'd know that and would be there for her. Instead, I'm the one looking out for her and worried that something might be wrong."

Murtagh became angry again. "How dare you! You think I like the fact that you spend more time with my wife than I do? I love Alianna."

"You're not exactly showing it. What kind of a man treats his wife like this? Making promises and then breaking them?"

"This is none of your business Argus!"

"It concerns Alianna, therefore, it is my business!"

Murtagh continued. "Look, I know things are rough now, but in time I'm sure Alianna will get use to it."

Argus was in complete disbelief. He stared at Murtagh for a minute before saying. "You don't deserve her!"

"What?"

"You have no idea how lucky you are to have someone as wonderful as Alianna."

Murtagh looked at Argus oddly. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing," Argus said quickly. "I just-"

Then it hit Murtagh. "You love her, don't you?"

Argus didn't say a word for the longest time.

Murtagh took this as a yes and shouted. "So it's true! I knew something was going on. I knew it! I see the way you look at Alianna. From what I can tell, you rarely interact with anyone other than her."

"I do care about Alianna a great deal." Argus admitted. "But-"

"Oh I know you do." Murtagh said. "I hear the servants whispering everyday about just how much you care about my wife!"

"It's not what you think. I've been Alianna's guard since she was two years old. Until she was three, I was the one who raised her. I've watched her grow up into the fine woman that she is today. I've always been there for her. I have no family- Alianna's all I've got. I'm afraid if you keep treating her this way, she's going to end up the way she was when you left."

"I know that was a hard time for her."

"You have no idea how hard it was!" Argus exclaimed. "You weren't here. You didn't watch as Alianna cried for hours on end and refused to eat. You didn't spend many sleepless nights at her bedside, scared to death that if you closed your eyes for just a moment, she might try and kill herself! I don't want to see that happen again. I won't let it happen!"

Murtagh took a few steps closer to Argus, his fists tightly clenched. "I'll talk to her. Believe me, I'll take care of this."

"You haven't been doing a very good job so far." Argus told him.

"She's not your wife!"

"You're right, she's not." Argus admitted. "But you can bet if she was, I wouldn't treat her the way you are. You know, sometimes I think it would've been better if you had never come back at all!"

That was the last straw for Murtagh. Alianna watched in horror as Murtagh's fist slammed into Argus' face, causing blood to come pouring out of his nose. Before Argus could take a swing at Murtagh, Alianna came storming out into the hall.

"Stop it both of you!" she screamed. "You're acting like children!"

Alianna summoned one of her servants and asked her to see to it that Argus was taken to a healer. She then turned to Murtagh. "I need to speak with you, now!"

The two of them walked into their chambers.

"Alianna, how much of that did you hear?" Murtagh asked.

"All of it." Alianna told him. "Have you lost your mind? You probably broke Argus' nose!"

"I'm glad. He deserved it!"

Alianna was shocked. "How can you say that? Argus has been a very good friend to both of us."

"He wants you! Can't you see that?"

Alianna sighed. "I thought I already explained all of this to you. Argus is just a friend, nothing more. And while I'm just as mad at him as I am you, he was right about one thing."

"What's that?"

"The way you've been treating me lately."

"If this is about tonight, I'm sorry. We can go down to the river right now if that's what you want."

"This has nothing to do with the stupid river!" Alianna shouted. You're missing the whole point."

"What point?"

Alianna looked as if she were about to cry. "We never spend time together anymore, except right before we go to sleep. We haven't been intimate in weeks. I'm lonely, Murtagh. While I'm grateful I have Argus to keep me company, he's not my husband."

"What do you want me to say?" Murtagh asked. "You knew this would happen. I'm doing the best I can. Do you think I like being away so much?"

"I don't know what to think anymore." Alianna said. "You could make more of an effort."

"You're unbelievable! Don't you think if I could I would? How can you get?"

"Don't you dare call me stupid!" Alianna shouted. "My god Murtagh, what's happened to you? You never use to speak to me that way. And the way you were with Argus… so angry. You've changed. It's almost as if…" She hesitated to say the next part. "As if you're becoming just like Morzan!"

Murtagh snapped. The one thing he hated more than anything else in the world was being compared to his father. "How dare you say that! I'm nothing like him! Do you hear me? Nothing!" He charged forward at Alianna.

Alianna quickly took a few steps back. The look in Murtagh's eyes frightened her. She had never in her life seen him look at her this way. It looked like he wanted to kill her. She began to cry.

"Get away from me!" she screamed.

Suddenly, the look on Murtagh's face turned from angry to worried and upset. "Alianna, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so angry. You know I would never hurt you."

But Alianna didn't want to hear it. "Get out of here!"

"Alianna, please…"

"I said get out!"

Murtagh hesitated for a moment, but then left.

As the door slammed shut, Alianna layed down on her bed and began to sob.

"How could things possibly get any worse?" she thought as she cried herself to sleep.