The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

Anger Management

There was a moment of breathless anticipation, in which I imagined I could see every tiny movement he made: the twitch of his hand, the furrowing of his brow, the intake of his breath, and then... He attacked. I was expecting it to be just like his first attack on Eragon from the night before, and it was. Without much effort, I swiped his blade off to the side. He waited another moment before swiping at my legs, and again, I knocked his sword away with a loud metallic clang. These little short swipes continued on for a while, and I couldn't help but grow irritated.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to best me," I laughed sharply, my voice sounding cruel to my own ears. His eyes narrowed in annoyance, and there was a hint of something else that could have been recognition, making his face take on a dark look.

He swiped at me a couple more times, only a bit harder than before, until I grew tired of his antics. He aimed a blow at my upper arm, which I blocked easily, but this time, instead of merely swiping his blade to the side and waiting for his next move, I made one of my own. Lunging forward, I made a swipe at his exposed neck, and he only barely brought his blade up in front of his face in time. I saw the opening in his defenses, and made a quick feint at his stomach. He jumped back to avoid the dulled edge of my blade, glaring at me with his hard, grey stare. I was gaining the upper hand here, and he could tell.

I moved forward, swiping and lunging and slashing in a whirl of movement, my steps calculated and planned. Although I was using my best combinations, he was still blocking them, though only just barely. He made a swipe at my neck and I ducked down, finally landing a hit on his knee. He jumped back in alarm, letting out a cry of shock and anger. He was growing frustrated, and I could use that to my advantage. Brom had always told me that a frustrated opponent was one easily beaten. He took the offensive then, lunging toward me with a cry of rage, but I jumped aside. He followed me, swinging his blade in a blind sort of rage. Soon, he'd lose all sense of awareness, and I'd be able to route his defenses. Everything was playing out perfectly. If I could just draw him in...

My sword arced through the air, aiming for a slash across his broad chest, but his blade came up to meet mine, stopping it with a sudden jolt. I pushed against him with every ounce of my energy, feeling my muscles tightening. He countered me easily though, as I knew he would. What I didn't expect, though, was the enormity of the strength with which he pushed against me. I'd been leaning heavily against him, and his sudden burst of strength threw me off guard. My backside connected with the ground with a hard thump, my sword coming free of my grasp, and I stared up in anger at that telltale swing of his sword. No! This was not the end. I was not going to be beaten by him!

His sword came down towards my neck, but I kicked out at it, knocking it away from my body. Time seemed to slow as I watched the sword move away from me, and then Murtagh's grip loosening on the hilt. The blade began to spin, flying out of his grasp and landing near Eragon where he stood by the fire. I saw the look of utter shock on Eragon's face, and then looked back to see the same look reflected on Murtagh's. He stared down in confusion at his empty hand for a moment. This is my chance!

His gaze connected with mine, and I saw that he was not quite ready to give up yet. Now was my opportunity to use my famous finishing move that I'd used on Brom many times before. I placed both hands behind the line of my shoulders and arched my back slightly, pushing my feet off of the ground and forcing my weight backwards. As my legs swung over my head, I felt the heel of my boot connecting with the underside of Murtagh's jaw. When I got into a crouching position, I snapped my head up and saw him staggering backwards, clearly taken aback by the sudden force of the blow to his head. But I wasn't wasting any time. My left leg came out from under me in a sweeping kick, knocking Murtagh's legs out from under him. He landed with a thud on the ground, staring up at the sky in a daze.

I had dropped my sword when he knocked me to the ground, so I grabbed my unblocked dagger from my bootleg and vaulted forward, landing on top of him. His strong hands shot up to grab my arms, but the dagger was already resting on the base of his throat, a small trickle of blood seeping out from under the blade, a shocking red against the tan skin of his neck. The battle was over, and I had won.

We both breathed heavy gasps of air, staring into each other's eyes intensely. And not a peep was to be heard from the stunned Eragon. We stayed like that for a long moment, scrutinizing each other's faces. Murtagh's mouth opened, as though he was going to say something, but then I realized the position we were in. Our faces were mere inches away from each other, one of his hands on my arm and the other gripping my hip. My legs were straddled over his hips, and my chest was pushed up against his own. He seemed to realize it at the same time that I did, for his face was beginning to turn scarlet in a slow blush. I pushed myself up off him, bounding agilely to my feet, and looking over to see Eragon's mouth hanging wide open.

"Tabby!" he exclaimed incredulously. "I had no idea you could fight like that! I mean, I've seen you before, but that was incredible."

I stared at him in dumbstruck wonderment. "This was your idea, Eragon. And you didn't think that I could actually win!" I barked, causing him to flinch. I sighed and rubbed my eyes wearily. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Eragon." I glanced back at Murtagh. He had sat up, but was still sitting on the ground, legs extended straight out in front of him. He was staring at me in a daze, as if he didn't truly believe what had just happened. I just shook my head at him and turned away, heading into the woods to be in solitude.

~*~

I sat in a little grove of trees, resting on a boulder and drawing lines in the dirt. It felt good to just be alone, away from all of the stresses of being on the run, always looking over my shoulder to see if soldiers were nearby. As I daydreamed, listening to the sounds of the nighttime, I heard a twig snap behind me. Jumping up and pulling my dagger, I saw Murtagh standing there, hands held up in surrender.

"What do you want?" I growled, lowering my dagger.

"I just wanted to come and tell you congratulations," he said slowly, putting his hands back down at his side. He hesitated, looking away from me. "I... You're a very skilled fighter, Tabatha. And I'm honored to have been able to spar with you." With that, he turned away and disappeared back through the trees. I watched him go, feeling a tightening in my chest, and I had to admit that I'd enjoyed sparring with him as well. And I couldn't help the little triumphant smile that spread its way across my lips.