The Rogue Rider (An Inheritance Fanfiction)

Chapter 47: The Rogue Rider

Ragin sat on the bed, staring at the stone wall across from him blankly. Nothing seemed real, as if the whole world around him had dissipated into nothingness. He barely registered being dragged back to his room, barely registered as Akaysha's unconscious body was carried, lain on the other side of the room, where she was silently snoring, unaware of the death sentence looming over her rider's head.

They had told him it would be the following morning. That meant that day was the last day of his life. He had thought those exact words before... on multiple occasions, but they had never meant so much as they did now. Before, the life-threatening situations he had come across had been beatable. He had been able to fight back, to run, to disappear. But now, as he sat there, drugged and unarmed, to say the situation was hopeless was an understatement. Never had death been so inevitable.

Every thought, every inkling of escape was gone from his mind. He didn't have any of the usual tools he had for escaping such a prison. Even if he could, there would be no way he could break Akaysha out of their as well, not without bringing the entirety of New Doru Araeba onto them. Still, he would rather that than sit there waiting for his last moment. But there was nothing else he could do. After everything he had fought through, everything he had suffered, this was to be his fate.

It was nearly odd when the door grated open slightly, allowing two figures to slip inside. Ragin blinked, shaking his head, turning to look at the two intruders with surprise, wondering who wanted to come and gloat at their victory. He nearly froze when he recognised them both. One was Logan, his old master come to say goodbye. The other was Eragon himself, come to pay Ragin one last visit before the leader of the riders ended his life.

Ragin didn't say anything. He just masked his expression, staring at the two of elder riders with a blank face. He appreciated that Logan had tried to defend him. But Eragon was the one who had sentenced him in the first place. Elder rider or not, Ragin was not about to give anything away.

Eragon sighed softly when he saw the rider, sitting on his bed. He then turned to Akaysha. The sleeping dragoness had been rechained to the wall, unable to do anything even if she wanted to. He knelt by her, and with a soft word in the ancient language he released her from the spell that had her in her slumber. She jolted awake with a snarl, the chains rattling as they held her still.

She blinked, seeming confused for a moment, before her snarl intensified as she saw the man responsible for their current predicament. She struggled to stand. Ragin could feel her anger as she tried to lash out, to open her mouth and let flames spill into the room, but the chains would not let her go. She ended her tirade with a small whine, the hopelessness of their situation fully baring down upon her.

"I thought you were going to start everything tomorrow," Ragin spoke softly, judging that Eragon had decided to break their bond now rather than wait until later.

"That's not why I'm here," Eragon said, standing up and looking toward the broken rider.

"Then why?"

"I'm here to offer you both an ultimatum."

Ragin's eyes narrowed, and Akaysha grew incredibly still. Ragin could feel her suspicion on the back of his mind, only her curiosity of what Eragon could possibly offer them. He could feel her studying his memories of the events and felt her grow livid when she found the death sentence hanging over his head. But she remained silent, though he knew that both Eragon and Logan could feel the anger in her glare.

"What ultimatum?" Ragin asked.

"An alternate punishment if you will," Eragon continued, "One that is arguably just as bad, but you probably won't think so."