The Age of the Dragon 4: On Silver Wings

Chapter 17

She was found near the kitchens, on the far side of the palace from where she had been imprisoned. She suspected she might have been able to escape if she'd really thought it through, but she mostly wanted to make a point to Galbatorix, and by extension Murtagh.

The point? She could escape any time she wanted.

Or at least, that was the image she wanted to portray. In truth, she knew without Fang and an army waiting nearby, she would not get far on her own. But the idea was a nice one.

When the soldiers had found her, she had calmly gone with them, holding her chin high with dignified defiance. There was much puzzlement, as they noted the intact manacles and still locked door. The guards who had been watching appeared asleep as they remained slumped against the wall. They quickly resecured her, then left her alone, and she hummed quietly to herself.

She had waited until after her jailor had come for their usual ritual of feeding and letting her go to the privy. Then, with a flare of her markings, she slipped out of her bonds and made her way up the stairs. There, she used a small amount of her mana to create a miasma that caused the guards outside her door to fall asleep, with surprised noises. Then she passed through that door with her markings and continued forward. It had been almost an hour after her escape that soldiers found her, quietly helping herself to fresh fruit.

She smiled to herself at the memory. She had been craving the sweet fruit, and the escape was well worth it if it succeeded in rattling Galbatorix in any way. Around a half-hour, after she'd been resecured, there was the sound of boots and Galbatorix burst into the room with a swirl of his cape. After blustering and threatening for a time, he stormed back out and she was left alone once more.

She had been in the middle of amusing herself with an old memory of Crookytail - her father's griffon - chasing a ball of light she had created with a mirror and the sun when the sound of many boots once again clamoured outside her doorway. She sighed deeply and started going through the many mantras and snippets of Elvhen prayers, lore, and poetry and the Chant of Light as she tried to prepare herself for the coming unpleasantness.

The door crashed open, and two sets of footsteps echoed in the room as Murtagh and Galbatorix walked towards her. Murtagh positioned himself where he usually did, but without the brazier to occupy himself with, he crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and glared at the floor. Fallyn could see some of his expression from beneath the mask and felt mild trepidation at the way the hard lines on his face seemed harsher than normal.

Galbatorix positioned himself near her head, in such a way that she could sense him, rather than see him. Then he extended his hand over her, holding a small box decorated with what appeared to be carved runes in the ancient language, though she couldn't be sure. From within the box came the sound of a faint skree-skree that made her skin crawl.

With the pad of his thumb, Galbatorix pushed open the lid, which slid aside. Then he reached in and pulled out what appeared to be a large, ivory-coloured maggot. It was almost three inches long with a tiny mouth on one end which made the unpleasant noise she had heard before. Plump and pleated like a caterpillar, she noted numerous tiny legs - so small, they were almost invisible to the eye. It wiggled violently in a vain attempt to escape Galbatorix's grasp.

"This is a burrow grub," Galbatorix said. "It is not what it appears to be, much like many things, though this is especially true for the burrow grub. They are found in only one place in Alagaesia and are far more difficult to capture than you might suspect. Take it, then, as a sign of my regard for you, Fallyn Stormrider, that I deign to use one on you."