Sarah: This is one of my least favorite chapters.

Meg: Why?

Ellie and Brooke: DON'T GO WASTING YOUR EMOTIONS, LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME!

Meg: Oh.

Rebecca: Mama mia,

Meg: *catching on* Here we go again.

Sarah: *death glaring* Hey, Meg, WHY, WHY, DID YOU EVER LET MURTAGH GO?!

Me: Alright, ENOUGH! I only own my girls.

"I wasn't jealous before we met, now every woman I see is a potential threat," -Mama Mia!

Eragon's naivety bothering Meg to the point of annoyance. Clearly, Ellie liked Eragon. Clearly, Eragon liked Ellie. With that established, why on God's good Earth (or wherever they were) did he tell her about dreaming of another girl, and then scrying her?!

At least Meg had better control than Sarah who approached him from behind and hit him upside the head. He rubbed the back of it guiltily, though obviously did not fully understand what he had done wrong.

He sent a questioning look to Meg, who hadn't responded by stomping off in the opposite direction, only smiled sympathetically and went to try and sooth her seething companions.

"He's such an idiot!" Sarah cried, rubbing Ellie's shoulders as said girl sat silently, staring into the distance.

"He does have a lot on his mind. He was just given an extreme destiny to fulfill; you have admit, that is something that can dull all other priorities." Meg pointed out, sitting beside her and comforting her gently. "I doubt he intended to hurt you or even knew what he was doing. He was and will be conflicted and bombarded for a long while, so we have to be patient."

"Thank you, O! Voice of Reason." Ellie murmured.

"He is loyal to you," She continued, the words bitter and heavy as lead on her tongue. "He will not forget you until he is long gone."

Ellie smiled, "Thanks, you guys."

After a while, they returned to watch Brom and Eragon spar, swallowing their cheers as it became apparent that the young boy was finally besting the old man.

However, when the boy won and planted a triumphant kiss upon Ellie's cheek, all previous anger was forgotten and the girls congratulated him.

Perhaps, Ellie thought,Meg was right.

The next day, they made their way to Dras Leona, the city beside Helgrind. Needless to say, the girls found the outskirts of the city horrific.

"It gets better farther in." Brom assured them, though Ellie held Eragon a little tighter and Meg and Sarah stayed as close to the elder, who seemed to know what he was doing, as possible.

Sarah hated Dras Leona. She never felt safe, even in the company of Brom or her friends. She wished Solembum were with her; merely the thought of him was enough to ease her troubled mind when Ellie, Eragon and Meg went missing the second day.

She alerted Brom, not knowing what else to do and not desiring to be left alone in the awful city. "Knowing Eragon," He said, speaking to Saphira as well. "He will get us all in a fix."

"I fear he already has." Sarah muttered, spying Meg and Ellie hurrying to them from the crowd, fear etched into their faces.

"We have to go!" Ellie exclaimed as a slightly bloody Eragon finally popped up behind her. Eragon explained what occurred while they climbed on to their horses and began to make their way through the crowd.

In accordance with Sarah's gut feeling, the gate was already being lowered when they arrived. Ellie and Eragon ran to the wheel that opened the gate and while he turned it back, she defended him from attack.

With no small amount of luck, they all managed to make it out with a few cuts and bruises. However, the storm decided to volley against them.

"Out of the frying pan, and into the fire." Meg murmured, pulling her cloak close to her to dull the bite of the wind.

"Eragon!" Ellie's cry made all of them turn back abruptly, only to be grabbed and held, blind and deaf to everything but the cold.

They were taken to a camp the Ra'zac had set up and were bound and cast into the center where they would not be able to escape. Ellie stayed close to Eragon, though Meg and Sarah were together, and Brom was to the left, barely stirring at all.

Meg nudged Sarah and whispered, "Cette ne semble pas bon." (This doesn't look good.) Her counterpart opened her mouth to respond when Meg was pulled back harshly by her hair.

"Ssspeak in normal tongue, wench!" A Ra'zac hissed.

Meg glared at him and replied, "Aller mourir dans un trou." (Go die in a hole.) Sarah highly doubted that the creature understood French, but he must've taken offense because with the hilt of his sword, he knocked her out.

"Let's just kill them," The short Ra'zac said. "They have caused us much grief."

The taller ran a finger down his sword temptingly. "A good plan, but the King's instructions were to keep them alive."

"Keep the girl you rendered unconscious and say the others died in battle."

"What if thisss one talksss?" The taller asked the shorter, pointing to Eragon with his sword.

"He would not dare."

"Agreed." They dragged Brom to the side, pushing him to his knees. Those who were conscious struggled against their bonds, though the Ra'zac laughed at their attempts. One stopped though, and sniffed the air while the other prepared to slit Brom's throat.

Just as Brom was about to draw his last breath, they heard a faint buzz followed by the howl of pain from the tallest foul creature. The arrows continued until the Ra'zac fled, though one, in a desperate attempt, through his dagger which became imbedded in Brom.

Meg's head ached viciously and the taste of blood sat in her mouth. "She's waking up." That voice; it was Sarah, but that meant they were alive. Were they out of danger? Where were the Ra'zac? Where was she?

"Meg?" That was a male voice. It was too young to be Brom, yet too concerned to be Eragon. Who...?

She opened her eyes and found Sarah, accompanied by a face she thought looked familiar watching her. She shot up, hissing as her head pounded painfully. "You need to rest, Meg." The man said. "You don't want to aggravate the wound."

Sarah snorted, "You'll find it easier telling a lion not to eat meat than attempt to control our stubborn Meg."

Meg shot her a glare, then got a good look at the man and gasped, "Murtagh! What are you doing here?!"

"I told you, I was hunting the Ra'zac, my search brought me to you." He replied; Meg was the only one who noted the ever so slight uncomfortable tone in his voice though she ignored him as best as possible by looking around.

Her gaze fell upon Brom and her eyes softened thoughtfully, "How is he?"

Murtagh frowned, searching for the right words, "Worse than you."

She looked around to find Eragon and Ellie beside each other, fast asleep—or unconscious. Meg closed her eyes and sighed, well aware that Sarah and Murtagh's eyes were upon her. Without saying a word, she struggled to her feet, brushing off the offered hand and relying on her own strength, "Meg, you shouldn't; you still got injured." Sarah said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Leave me be, Sarah, I need time to think." She said coldly, not looking at her friend.

"Meg, you're conflicted. No offense, but you're not the best decision maker when your emotional." She said firmly. "I want to go home, can't we just stick together long enough to accomplish that?"

She scoffed slightly, then whispered with tears in her eyes, "What home?" Then she stalked away to contain her thoughts.

"Megara!" Sarah called; usually Meg always replies to her real name, but this time, she didn't.

When she was sure she was not followed, she clung to the branches of a tree that seemed to have been stretching out to embrace her and the tears fell freely into the bitter wind. She couldn't do it. The weight of their situation had finally hit her hard enough to break her. She wasn't sure when the branches became warm arms, but she realized almost violently that it was not just the trees that comforted her any longer.