Dunei - A Murtagh Love Story - Eldest Fan Fiction

Chapter 08

She felt her eyes begin to tear up, before she managed to gasp, "We agreed."

Murtagh shook his head sadly, "It's the only way." He closed his eyes and his lips met hers. The kiss was brief, feeling more like a judges sentence than a lover. Lorena trembled as he pulled away, then moved sideways to allow the King to stand over her.

"Lower the barriers around your mind, my Lady." Lorena looked desperately from the King to Murtagh, "It won't hurt, I promise."

The King placed his hand gently on her forehead, but it felt more like a cold claw grasping hold of her. She flinched and cried out, "Wait! I... I need to know it's really you, and not some trick. Murtagh, please. You wouldn't have, I know you wouldn't have."

Galbatorix looked down sympathetically, "He would, and he did. It was the smart thing to do. You're an intelligent young woman, you should understand that."

"No! It's a trick, it's not real! I know it isn't, I know it isn't." Lorena breathed deeply, to quiet her hysterics. "Murtagh, just tell me. In Farthen Dûr, on the third day, what did we do?"

Murtagh looked down at her with a quizzical expression, "It was so long ago, being in that cell I was unsure of the days. They seem to meld together in my mind."

"Okay, then tell me. When I first came to visit you what did we talk about? What did we do? That was the longest amount of time we've been separated since we first met. You have to remember, if it really is you, you would remember."

Murtagh turned to the King who nodded and stepped away, Murtagh leaned over her and smiled. "We talked about the Beor Mountains, Du Weldenvarden, and Surda."

"Galbatorix already knows that we talked about that often, good guess."

He shook his head, "Why don't you trust me? It's me!"

"No it's not, you still haven't proved it yet. We talked about our future, you told me what you wanted for us in the future."

"I said I wanted to marry you," Murtagh smiled and stroked her face, "because I love you."

"No you didn't," Lorena sneered back, "you're not Murtagh, and you don't know what we did or what we said! You're an imposter trying to trick me! You failed, you couldn't even trick a child, you fail-"

* * *

The table suddenly gave way from under her. She hit the ground hard before looking up and seeing blue sky. Murtagh and Galbatorix were both gone, she sat in the middle of an empty field filled with white and orange flowers. She noticed she was wearing a thin brown dress, instead of her bloodied shirt and trousers, which fell to her ankles.

Sounds of water reached her ears and she turned to see the Az Ragni flowing past a few meters away. She looked to her left and spotted a familiar wooden house, with a man chopping wood out the front. He looked young-in his mid twenties-with muscled tan skin and dark brown hair that fell in front of his face. When he twisted to grab a new piece of wood his back came into view, and a white knotted scar that stretched from his right shoulder to his left hip.

"Murtagh!" Lorena called. Murtagh turned from the wood, his eyes squinted from the sun, and waved before again swinging his axe. Lorena sat in the field, enjoying the feel of the sun and the cool breeze while watching him work. Eventually curiosity got the better of her, and she pushed herself off the ground and made her way over. As she walked up beside him Murtagh dropped axe and grabbed her firmly about the waist, then pulled her into a deep kiss.

At first Lorena was tempted to pull away, but the familiar hot sun, the sound of the water, the scent of the flowers, and the feel of the man she loved seemed far too wonderful to question. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her into the air, squeezing so tight she almost couldn't breathe. When her feet touched the ground again she broke the kiss and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent. Murtagh pressed his face gently against her and rubbed his hands affectionately up and down her back.