A Second Rider? (Eragon X Reader) [Book 1]

Chapter 35 (pt2)

Eragon POV

   "Thank you", I whispered to Orik. The dwarf grunted. "I'll make sure that you get some food." He muttered something to himself and then walked away while shaking his head. The door was once again locked from the outside. I sat down. It all felt like a dream after everything that happened today. My eyelids were heavy. Saphira sat down beside me.
'We need to be careful. We seem to have as many enemies here as in the Empire.' I only gave her a nod in response, too tired to speak. I saw Murtagh leaning against the wall as he slid down to the floor. His eyes had an empty look in them, like glass. He pressed the arm of his shirt against his neck to stop the bleeding. "Are you going to be alright?" I asked him. Murtagh nodded with effort. "Did he get anything out of you?" "No." "How did you manage to keep him away? He's so strong." "I've... had good training." There was a splash if bitterness in his voice. It went quiet between us. My gaze wandered to the corner where the lanterns were hanging. I didn't think about anything special, but then I said; "I stopped them from finding out who you were." Murtagh seemed relieved. He slightly bowed. "Thank you for not betraying me." "They didn't recognise you." "No." "And you're still telling me that Morzan is your father?" "Yes", he sighed.
   I was on my way to saying something, but I stopped when I felt something warm dripping on my hand. I looked up and was surprised to see a dark drop of blood rolling down my skin. It had fallen from Saphira's wing.
'I forgot. You're hurt!" I said and arose against my bodys will.
'I'll just have to heal you.'

'Be careful. It's easy to make mistakes when you're tired.'

'I know.' Saphira folded out her wing and lowered it to the ground. Murtagh watched as I put my hands over her wing. "Waíse heill" I said every time I found an arrow hole. Luckily all of the wounds were easy to heal, also those on her nose.
   When I was done I sank down beside Saphira and breathed heavily. I could feel her steady heart beat. "I hope they'll give us food soon", Murtagh said. I shrugged my shoulders, I was too exhausted to be hungry. I crossed my arms and I suddenly missed the weight of Zar'roc against my hip. "What are you doing here?", I asked Murtagh. "What?" "Galbatorix wouldn't let you wander around freely in Alagaësia if you actually were Morzan's son. How did you find the ra'zacs on your own? Why have I never heard of any child of the Forsworn? And what are you doing here?" In the end I almost screamed out the words. Murtagh dragged his hands over his face. "It's a long story." "We're not going anywhere", I gave him as an answer. "It's too late to talk." "There probably won't be any time for it tomorrow." Murtagh put his arms around his legs and put his chin on his knees. He put his gaze on the floor. "It's not a-" He started but then interrupted himself. "I want to tell the story until the end... so make it comfortable for yourself." I moved a little until I got comfortable against Saphira and then gave Murtagh a nod. Saphira watched us both. Murtagh didn't talk loud at first, but as he kept speaking his confidence grew. "As far as I know... I am the only child to the thirteen servant, or the Forsworn as they were called. There could be others, because the Thirteen had the ability to hide anything, but I doubt that, die to reasons I will come back to.
   My parents met in a little village - I never got to know which - under one of my father's trips for the king. Morzan showed a little friendliness to my mother, probably just to win her trust, and when he went away she went with him. They travelled together for a time and it lies in human nature that she became deeply in love with him. Morzan became overjoyed when he understood that. Not only because it gave him plenty of opportunities to torture her; but he also realised the advantage to have a servant that would never betray him.
   Thus my mother became Morzan's most reliable tool when he returned to Galbatorix. He used her to deliver secret messages. He taught her some magic, which helped her stay unnoticed and, at some points, make people tell her information. He did his best to protect her from the rest of the Forsworn. Not because he had feelings for her, but because they would have taken every opportunity to use her against him... And so it went on for three years, until my mother became pregnant."
   Murtagh paused and fiddled with a strand of hair. He continued to talk: "My father was a sly man. He knew that the pregnancy put both him hand her in danger, and also the child - which was me. In the darkness of the night he sneaked her out of the castle and moved her to his own castle. There he put powerful spells that stopped everybody, except a few chosen servants, to see her. And so the secret about the pregnancy was kept a secret to everybody except Galbatorix.
   Galbatorix knew the Thirteen's life in the smallest detail: their intrigue, their fights and, most importantly, their thoughts. He enjoyed to see them fight each other and often supported one of them for his own entertainment. But for some reason he never revealed my existence.
   I was born in the end and was given to a wet-nurse so that my mother could return to Morzan. She got nothing to say about it. Morzan let her visit me after months over and over, but otherwise we were kept apart. It went like that for three years, and it was during that time that he gave me... the scar on my back." Murtagh sat there muttering to himself for a moment before he continued.
   "And so my life would've continued if Morzan hadn't  been sent away to hunt Saphira's egg. As soon as he went away my mother disappeared, that had been left behind. No one knows where she went, or why. The king sent men after her, but her tracks were impossible to find - probably due to Morzan's training.
   At the time when I was born there were only five if the Thirteen alive. That number had decreased to three by the time Morzan left, and when he finally met Brom in Gil'ead, he was the only one alive. The Forsworn met different ends; suicide, ambush, misuse of magic... but for the most part the Varden was behind it. I have heard that the king became furious over these losses.
   However my mother returned to the castle before we had known about Morzan's and the others deaths. Many months had passed since her disappearing. Her condition was weak, as if she had been through a difficult sickness, and she quickly got worse. Before two weeks she died."
"What happened then?" I encouraged him. Murtagh shrugged his shoulders. "I grew up. The king brought me to the castle and arranged my nurture. Except for that he left me alone." "Then why did you leave?" Murtagh gave out a laugh without humor. "Rather escaped. On  my last birthday, when I became eighteen, the king called upon me to visit his private floor, just the two of us. I was surprised, since I had always stayed away from him and not so often met him. We had talked earlier, but there was always eavesdropping nobles within reach.
   I said yes of course; I knew how stupid it would be not to. The dinner was luxurious, but his dark gaze never left me once during the whole meal. His gaze made me insane: it seemed like he was searching after some secret in my face. I didn't know what to believe and tried to make a conversation, but he refused to talk and I soon stopped to try.
   After the meal he finally started to speak. You have never heard his voice, so it's hard to explain what it was like. His words were ravishing, like a snake that whispered golden lies in my ear. I had never heard a more convincing or fearsome man. He painted up a dream: the Empire as he imagined it. All over the country there would be beautiful cities, full of the biggest warriors, craftsmen, musicians and philosophers. The urgals would finally be completely gone. And the Empire would spread to all directions until it reached all the four corners of Alagaësia. Peace and  prosperity would grow, but the most wonderful of all was that the Riders would return to rule over Galbatorix country with reason.
   I probably listened for hours. When he stopped, I excitedly asked how the Riders would return, because everybody knew that there were no more dragon eggs. Then Galbatorix became completely still and looked at me thoughtfully. He was quiet for a long time, but then he reached out his hand and asked: "Oh, son of my friend, would you serve my endeavours to make this paradise come true?"
   I knew the story all too well about how he and my father had gained their powers. And even so the dream he painted up for me was so tempting and alluring that it couldn't be ignored. The mission made me eager and I swore an oath of allegiance to him. Galbatorix became visibly pleased and gave me his blessing. Then he said the words: "I will call upon you when you are needed."
   It took several months before he did. I felt how my excitement returned when I was called upon. Like the last time we met alone, but now he was neither pleasant nor charming. The Varden had destroyed three brigades in the south, and Galbatorix's fury had reached it's full capacity. With a fearful voice he ordered me to take a troop of soldiers and destroy Cantos, where it was known that the rebels hid sometimes. When I asked what we would do to the people there, and how we would know if the were guilty, he only screamed: "All of them are traitors! Burn them all!" He was ranting wildly, cursing his enemies and described how he would haunt everyone that wanted to hurt him.
   His voice was completely different from the one that I had heard before. It made me realise that he was neither merciful nor kind enough to win the trust of his people: he only ruled due to pure strength and was only controlled by his own passions. In that moment I decided to leave him and Urû'baen forever.
   As soon as I became free from him, I planned my escape with my loyal servant Tornac. We left the same night, but Galbatorix hade somehow predicted what I would do, because the soldiers waited for us outside the gates. Oh, my sword was bloody and shining in the light of the lanterns. We defeated the men... but Tornac was killed.
   Alone and sad I flew to an old friend who hid me in his home. I followed the rumours closely, while I stayed hidden, to predict what Galbatorix would do and to plan my own future. It was then I heard about that the ra'zacs had been sent out to capture or kill someone. I remembered the king's plans for the Riders and decided to find the ra'zacs and follow their trails; in case they would find a dragon. And that was how I met you... Now I have no more secrets."
'We  dont know yet if what he is saying is true', Saphira warned.

'I know', I said, 'but why would he lie to us?'

'Maybe he's insane.'

'I doubt that.' I dragged my finger along Saphira's scales and saw how the light reflected in them. "So then why won't you join the Varden? They will distrust you for a while, but when you have proved your loyalty, they will treat you with respect. And aren't they in a way your allies? They want to end the king's ruling. Isn't that what you want as well?" "Do I have to explain it to you?", Murtagh wondered. "I don't want Galbatorix to know that I am here, and there's no doubt that he will when people start to talk about how I have allied his enemies. Which I never have." He took a breath and grimaced. "These rioters won't be satisfied with just defeating the king, they also want to see the Empire fall... and I dont want that to happen. That would spread devastation and anarchy. Sure the king is rotten, but the system itself is healthy. What lies in winning the respect if the Varden: Ha! As soon as I am revealed, they will treat me like a criminal, in the best case. Not only that, they will suspect you too since we travelled together."
'He is right', Saphira said.
I ignored her. "It's not that bad", I said and tried to sound optimistic. Murtagh snorted in disliking and looked away. "I'm sire they don't-" He was interrupdet when the door opened a little and two bowls were pushed through the gap. A bread loaf and a piece of raw meat followed after that, and then the door closed. "Finally!" Murtagh groaned and went forward to the food. He threw the meat to Saphira, who caught it in the air and swallowed it whole. He then ripped the bread loaf apart, gave Eragon one half and then went into a corner of the room. We ate in silence. Murtagh ate the food. "I'm going to sleep", he said and put away the bowl without saying anything else. "Good night", I said. I layed down beside Saphira with my arms under my head. Saphira layer down beside me and put her head beside mine as her wing folded out over me like a blue tent and made everything go dark.
'Good night, little one.'
I felt my lips being drawn into a smile, even if I was already asleep.

^Hello guys!! I decided to update before the weekend! How are you guys? And what did you think about this part? This chapter became over 2400 words... and this was only six pages from the book! I hope that you guys are feeling alright!
See you guys next time!!^