Murtagh woke up a few minutes later and joined Alianna and Eragon. "Is everything alright?"
Eragon told him that it was. He apologized once more for how he reacted the night before. Murtagh accepted his apology and the two of them talked for a few minutes.
"Is there anything else I should know?" Eragon asked.
Alianna and Murtagh gave each other a quick glance before Murtagh replied. "There's nothing else I need to tell you."
Eragon eyed them suspiciously, but didn't question any further. Instead, to lighten the mood he said. "I suppose it'll be nice having another brother." He turned and looked at Alianna. "And a sister as well."
Alianna smiled. "And soon you'll be an uncle."
Everything seemed to be going well at the moment, which Alianna was grateful for. A few minutes later they were eating breakfast and going over the map. Alianna knew that they would need to go into Furnost at some point that day to get supplies. Given what happened the last time they were in a village, she was obviously nervous. But it needed to be done.
By late morning they arrived in Furnost. Hidden under her cloak, Alianna scanned through the village to make sure none of the king's soldiers were around. Surprisingly, she couldn't find any. Alianna knew better though. She knew Galbatorix had well placed spies all throughout Alagaesia. She kept her guard up.
About half a mile into town was the market. Eragon suggested that they stock up on food since they didn't know how long it would be until they passed through another village. While it was a good idea, Alianna and Murtagh explained to him what had happened in Eastcroft and how the bag containing all of their money had fallen out of her pocket during the struggle. Eragon assured them that this wasn't a problem. He had some money of his own and would gladly help out with whatever he could. Alianna didn't feel right about it, but Eragon kept insisting until she agreed.
"That's very kind of you." She said as Eragon handed her some money.
While Alianna and Murtagh went to buy some food, Eragon walked a little further ahead trying to hear whatever news he could.
While they had enjoyed Eragon's company for the most part, Alianna was happy to be alone with Murtagh again, even if it was only for a few minutes. She was also grateful that the market was not too crowded that day.
"I wonder where the soldiers are." Alianna said quietly as she looked over some loaves of bread.
"It does seem rather strange." Murtagh answered.
They ended up buying several loaves of bread, fruit, vegetables, and some dried meat. It was enough to last them more than a week if they were careful.
As they left the market to meet back up with Eragon, Alianna tore off a small piece of bread from one of the loafs. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was. She ate it quickly, a small moan escaping from her lips. It had been awhile since she'd eaten bread. For the last few weeks they had been living on mostly dried meat and the occasional berries.
Alianna then looked over at Murtagh, who was giving her a strange look. It was a look she knew well.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Murtagh told her he wished things could be easier, especially for her sake. He hated that he couldn't provide enough for her.
Alianna tried to assure him that she was fine. "We're doing the best we can. I knew this wasn't going to be easy. It'll all be…"
She stopped when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw what appeared to be an older man begging on one of the nearby streets. But after looking at him more closely, Alianna began to panic.
Murtagh looked in the same direction she was. "What is it?"
"That man over there" Alianna began. "Is one of the king's spies."
"Are you sure? I don't think I've seen before."
"He must have altered his appearance."
The man Alianna knew as one of the king's spies was actually in his late thirties. She wouldn't have recognized him had it not been for his bright green eyes and the long scar that went diagonally down his face.
Murtagh quickly moved them out of view from the man. "Did he see us?"
Alianna shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Still, we need to find Eragon and get out of here as quickly as possible."
It didn't take them long to find him. Eragon was standing right near the local tavern. Alianna and Murtagh quickly rushed over.
Before Eragon could ask them what was wrong, Murtagh spoke. "We have to leave. Now."
"Why?" Eragon asked.
"One of the king's spies is here." Alianna replied.
"How do you know?"
"I just do. I'll explain everything to you later."
They moved quickly and retrieved their horses. As they rode out of the village, Alianna kept looking over her shoulder. To her relief, the spy did not appear to be following them.
They rode for an hour or so. When they were sure it was safe enough, they stopped to discuss what the next step would be.
"Is this going to happen every time we go into a village?" Alianna joked.
Murtagh didn't think it was funny. "We should have taken more precautions. It was foolish of me to think we could go through there unnoticed."
Alianna saw how serious he looked and started to feel bad. She was just trying to ease the tension. The truth was she was terrified.
In a calm voice she asked Murtagh what he thought they should do.
"I have an idea. It's actually something you said."
"Me? What do you mean?"
"You said that he must have altered his appearance."
"What does that have to do with us?"
"We could alter our appearances whenever we need to pass through a village. I don't know why I didn't think of it before."
"Can you do that?" Alianna asked. She knew that Murtagh, as a Rider, had been trained in all sorts of magic, but she did not know to what extent.
Murtagh assured her that he could. Eragon thought it was a good idea and offered to help if they needed it. He himself wouldn't need to do anything about his appearance since he already looked much different than the pictures on the wanted posters.
Suddenly, Alianna could hear Thorn roaring loudly from up above and he flew down to them quickly.
Soldiers? How was that possible? That hadn't come across any in Furnost. Alianna then realized that the spy must have seen them after all and informed Galbatorix. She tried quickly to come up with a plan as far as what they should do, but she was drawing a blank.
Murtagh asked Thorn how far away the soldiers were.
An hour at the most.
Murtagh thought for a moment, then turned and spoke to Alianna. "I know it's not your favorite means of transportation, but we're going to have to fly. We need to get as much distance between us and the soldiers as possible."
"What about the horses?" Alianna asked. She didn't want to leave them behind. She had had her horse Bella for years and cared for her very much.
Alianna also worried about Thorn having to carry three people. While he was very strong, she knew that carrying them in addition to their supplies would be too much for him.
Eragon interrupted them. "Murtagh, you go with Alianna. I'll take the horses and meet up with you."
Murtagh began to speak. "Are you sure?"
Eragon told him that he was. He said he knew of an area just outside of Melian. He would meet them there as soon as he could. No sooner did he say that then he got on Murtagh's horse, held Bella's reins, and took off.
We must go!
Murtagh helped Alianna onto Thorn, which was not an easy task given that she was well into the seventh month of her pregnancy, before getting on himself. Alianna held onto Murtagh's waist tightly, closed her eyes, and braced herself for what was sure to be another interesting experience.
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Much to her surprise, Alianna did not feel as nauseous as she did the last time she had flown on Thorn. Due to the high altitude she found herself shivering again, but she could deal with that. Murtagh looked back every so often to make sure she was okay. Other than that he remained focused.
I wonder if I'll ever be as comfortable at flying as Murtagh is. Alianna thought.
They flew for several hours, finally stopping around nightfall. The area outside of Melian was mostly open land, with very little wooded area. This worried Alianna some since it would make it easier for them to be seen. But it was the best they could do. It wasn't as if they would be staying there long anyway.
Alianna unpacked a few things while Murtagh started a small fire. Once everything was settled, they ate some dinner and looked over the map. From what Alianna could see, they were only a week or two from reaching Surda. That meant she had only two weeks at the most to get Eragon to completely trust her and reveal to him who she really was. That had been the plan. Her plan. She had assured herself that it would work, but now that time was running out, she felt a little afraid. Alianna had seen how Eragon had reacted when Murtagh had told him that the two of them were brothers. She could only imagine how he was going to react when he found out that Galbatorix was her father.
At least I have another two or three days to think things over. Alianna thought.
That was about how long they figured it would take for Eragon to reach them, barring any trouble.
The rest of the evening went by rather uneventfully. Alianna and Murtagh mostly talked about the baby and how the whole pregnancy in general was going. She was feeling much better lately, although carrying all that extra weight made her back sore from time to time. Murtagh kept assuring her that she looked great, and while she appreciated his kindness, Alianna didn't agree with him.
They also discussed what their baby's name should be. Alianna had a few ideas, but there was no one name that stuck with her yet. The truth was they had been so busy running from soldiers and wondering where their next meal would come from that they hadn't had much time to think about it.
"What if we name him after you?" Alianna suggested.
Murtagh strongly disagreed. He felt that their son should have his own name. Alianna understood his reasoning, but still liked the idea. She decided to compromise- their son wouldn't be named after Murtagh, but would start with the letter M. Murtagh seemed to be okay with this.
Eventually, all the hours they spent traveling caught up with them. Thorn took the first shift guarding their camp site while Alianna snuggled into Murtagh and the two of them slowly drifted off to sleep.
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A little more than two days later, Eragon arrived. He appeared to be tired but was in good condition otherwise. So were the horses, which Alianna brushed and fed while Murtagh spoke with Eragon.
"Were you followed?" Murtagh asked.
Eragon told him that he wasn't. The two of them then planned what their next step would be, which Alianna could hear from where she was standing.
Eragon thought it best if he went into Melian alone tomorrow. He would make sure everything was safe first before they all passed through together. But Murtagh insisted on going with him in case there was an attack. Alianna could tell from the way Murtagh looked at her that while he knew this was necessary, he hated leaving her alone. Even if it was only for a few hours. But knowing that Thorn would be there to protect her made him feel a little better about it.
"When will you go?" Alianna asked.
"Tomorrow morning." Murtagh replied.
"Well, I guess we should get some rest then."
The three of them ate mostly in silence. Then, since none of them were tired enough to sleep just yet, Eragon suggested to Murtagh that the two of them spar for awhile. Murtagh wasn't so sure, but Alianna told him that he should. It would take his mind off things.
"Alright." Murtagh said with a slight smirk. He pulled out his sword and then turned to Eragon. "Lets see if you've improved any since the last time we did this."
Alianna walked over to Thorn and sat down.
This should be interesting. She said to him with a smile.
That smile quickly faded when Eragon took out his sword from his bag.
Zar'roc.
Alianna recognized it immediately. The red blade. The ruby in the pummel. She had obviously heard of the sword before and even vaguely remembered Murtagh telling her that Eragon had it. But this was the first time Eragon had taken it out and for some reason as Alianna stared at it, she became paralyzed with fear. She couldn't even cry or speak, not even when Thorn asked her if she was alright. Thorn must have alerted Murtagh because the next thing she knew, he dropped his sword and was at her side.
It was only when Murtagh shook her gently did she finally come back to reality.
"Alianna are you alright?" Murtagh asked frantically. "Is something wrong with the baby?"
Somehow, Alianna managed to answer him. "No, he's fine."
"Then what is it?"
"That sword." Alianna said, looking towards Eragon.
"Zar'roc? What about it?"
"Something about it seems familiar. I don't know what it is."
Eragon took a few steps forward. "If I upset you in any way, I'm sorry. I know this sword once belonged to Morzan and he did many horrible things with it. But Brom gave it to me and it's the only sword I have at the moment."
"That's not it. This has nothing to do with you."
"Then what does it have to do with? Why are you…"
"Back off!" Murtagh said. He turned his attention back to Alianna and held her in his arms. "It's going to be okay."
Alianna stood up quickly. Tears began forming in her eyes. "No, it's not going to be okay. I'm tired of this!"
And she really was. She was tired of all the nightmares. Of being confused. But most of all, she was tired of knowing there was something buried deep within her that was important and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember what it was.