Two of a Kind

"Durza!" I growl as I place myself in between my bro and the Shade. He mutters a few words, and I fall to the ground.

"What's wrong, Sher?" Eragon turns a pissed off look at Durza. "What the hell are you doing to my sist-"

"NO!!!" I yell, only to hear Durza laughing.

"Ah, so THAT'S the connection between the two of you. Boy, if I would have thought it was going to be that simple, I would have just brought her in here when you first arrived!" I grimace, and take a hold of one of the chains of the cot. It breaks instantly as I touch it. I throw it at Durza, and it wraps him to the wall.

"Come on!" I say as I grab a hold of Eragon's wrist. "We have to get out of here!" I take off running down the hall. We get to a door, and I drag him inside.

"What is THIS room?" He asks. I turn to smile at him, and pick up a familiar bow and a crafty looking sword. I hand them to him, and then grab another sword.

"It's where they keep all the weapons that belong to the prisoners that are brought in." I say absentmindedly as I sheath my sword in its sheath hooked to my belt. I smile as I hear the familiar sound of the blade running across the leather of the sheath. I grab his wrist, and drag him to a different part of the room. One that offers a bit more shelter from the door if someone were to decide to come barreling inside. I eye the different shelves across the wall, and begin searching through them.

"How did you get here?" He asks, looking around. I don't remove my eyes from searching as I answer his question.

"I was captured in Carvahall, and woke up here....how long have I been gone?" I ask, absently.

"Almost four months." That got my attention. He watches as my mouth drops.

'I survived without revealing anything to him for four whole months!! Wow! No wonder my shielding was about to fully rip!!' I think as I go back to searching through the many drawers.

"What have they been doing to you here?" I cock my head to the side so he could see the sad smile plastered across my face.

"Tortured me...and not just physically. Durza's a master of mentally raping his victims. He shreds your mental barriers repeatedly until you tell him what he wants to know..." I say with a shutter.

"What was he torturing you for?" He asks, appalled.

"Information." I say distracted.

"Information on what?" He asks, growing angry.

"You. He wanted to know what my relationship with you is." I turn a glare at him. "I probably couldn't have lasted much longer, but of course, now all my pain and sorrow in the last four months might as well have been for naught. Since you revealed it all in about three minutes!!"

"Sorry, I didn't realize-" I cut him off with my hand when I hear footsteps. I unsheathe my blade, and prepare for the person to walk into the room. The door flies open, and a guy with familiar black hair and blue eyes walks into the room. I lift my blade, and point it at him.

"Who are you?" I question the stranger. Eragon grabs the blade of my sword just when I was about to rush forward.

"Murtagh! Is that you?" Eragon questions. The man grins, and removes the fake beard he had been wearing.

"Hey, rider." Murtagh says to Eragon. He then turns to look at me. Eragon lets go of my blade, and I sheath it. I go back to my search as I except that the man was not a threat. "Who's your friend?"

"Murtagh, meet Sher-" I cut him off.

"I go by Deanna now.....ten-to-one it'll change again pretty soon, but that's it right now." I say as the two of them stare at me. I grin. "I've been switching it every few weeks. Whenever I feel the shade's coming closer to discovering my real one. It's the safest thing to do. He's a smart one. AH-HA!!!"

"What is it that you're looking for?" Eragon questions as both him and Murtagh watch me coercively open a drawer.

"These." I say as I turn around with another bow and sword.

"Who do those belong to?" Murtagh asks. I look at him, and grin evilly.

"They belong to the elf that we're going to save." I say, and watch as both of their mouths drop open. "What?"

"You mean the elf is......here?" Eragon asks. I look at him like he's lost his mind.

"Err.......yes? She's right down the hall from where you were locked up...what in the world is wrong with the two of you?" I ask as they both look at each other.

"We've been searching for her for weeks!" Eragon shouts, and I laugh.

"Well, that's got to make your time soooo worth it, huh?" I ask sarcastically. Eragon looks at me with surprise. "What's the matter, bro?"

"You never used to be this way. What happened?" He asks, and I grin evilly at him.

"I grew up. Durza put me through hell and back. It was enough to make ANYONE mature faster then they would normally..." My eyes narrow as I sense something, and I push both Eragon and Murtagh out of the way as two spears fly by me, cutting me in the shoulder, and the neck. I cringe at the neck wound, and both the boys watch me in horror as I run my hand over the wounds, healing them instantly.

"You know how to use MAGIC!!" Eragon shouts in horror.

"Yes, I do. I learned a while back. One of the times that Durza was shredding my mental shields. Never mind that now, we need to get the elf, and get out of here." I stand up on shaky legs. Durza had made a routine of digging arrow heads into my legs whenever I escaped....which was to say....a LOT. After a moment, I stand up straight. "Come on."

The three of us run back to the dungeon area, and run down the corridor. I notice as we run by the cell that Eragon had been in that Durza was no longer there. I mentally curse at my bad luck, but keep running. We get to the elf's cell, and I break the door down with magic. The boys run inside the cell, and grab her. The four of us then run to one of the dinning halls. I hook my hip to a corner of one of the table that was about a dozen or so feet away from the door, while the boys examine the elf, and talk about something called Saphira. I assume it's Eragon's dragon, but I'm not sure. The door's suddenly blown off it's hinges, and I draw my blade as I jump to my feet.

"Hahahaha!! I can't believe you've managed to stay undetected for so long! Well done, my dear." My eyes narrow, and I can feel both Eragon and Murtagh's gazes boring into my back.

"Who is he talking to?" Eragon questions, looking around the room. I watch as the look on Durza's face switches to amusement.

"You mean she didn't TELL you?" He asks, they look at me expectantly. "Well, that's surprising. You see, her and I have become l-" He's cut off by the ceiling falling, and a big blue dragon flying....err....falling, I guess is a better term....in. They run to it, and strap the elf into the saddle.

"Get on! Fly as fast as you can, and as far away as you can get!!" I say, never taking my eyes off of Durza.

"But, sist-" Eragon begins, I cut him off.

"No, Eragon!! You three are more important to have escape than I am! The Varden need a rider! And the elf is an important one to her people as well! Murtagh is also important in his own ways. Now, don't worry, I'd rather it was me they have in a prison than the four of you. If they caught any of you.....well, you wouldn't live for very long." I say, still not looking at them.

"Do you know my-" Murtagh starts to say, but I cut him off too.

"Do not fret. I shall not tell a soul what I have learned about you." I say as I slowly walk backwards, towards the great dragon. I walk to her head, and gently lay my hand against her forehead.

*You are a gentle one.* I hear her mentally sigh.

*Yes, but you must take them away from here, and do not let any of them come searching for me, ever.* I feel her curiosity at my words. *If they were to search for me, they would surely perish in the attempt. I could not live with myself if I were to be the cause of either of their deaths. So please, great one.* I feel her understanding and sorrow.

*And you, gentle one?* I smile sadly.

*I am going to bring up the rear.* I feel her alarm at my words. *Do not fret, I shall survive.*

*Very well, gentle one. I shall do what you have commanded.* I watch her take a step back, and nod her great head. She then jumps up through the hole that she had made, and flies off towards the east.

"Ah, such a noble sacrifice by you." I turn around to face the greatest challenge of my life, Durza.

I wake up, and realize that I'm not in Gil'ead anymore.

"Where am I?" I mumble as about ten guards drag my numb body down a corridor towards two HUGE doors. I look up when I hear one of them begin to talk.

"You are going to stand in front of our land's great king. Where he shall choose what to do with you." It falls quiet again, and I watch as the guards stop in front of the doors. They hesitantly knock on the door, and I hear a very deep voice behind the door.

"What is the reason behind you disturbing me?" The voice asks, and I involuntarily try to move away from the door.

"We brought the female you ordered us to bring you." The guard that had spoken to me says. I hear a grunt, then the door opens, and two bald ones come out of the room. I start to feel my body again as they walk towards me.

"We shall take it from here." One of them says, and the guards take a step back. The other one that had not talked grabs me, and the feeling in my body completely comes back. As soon as his hands touch my skin, I begin to squirm. He drags me forcibly into the room, where I am pushed to my knees. They pull my wrists behind my back, and some of my hair falls in front of my face. I look through it at the man sitting on the throne in front of me.

"You must be....I'm sorry, dear, but I seem to have missed your name. Perhaps you could repeat it?" His voice is compelling, but I completely ignore it.

"I don't believe I ever said my name, so to answer your question....no, I don't think I WILL repeat it." I say as I spit on his shoes. I hear one of the bald ones gasp at my acts. When I look up, I see the 'king' smiling.

"You're a spiteful one, aren't you?" He asks, but I kind of figure it's a rhetorical question, so I don't bother answering. "Very well, there may be a use for you, but first." I cringe as I feel my mental barriers once again shred. After a few moments, he laughs. "So, that is where you get it from! Very well, I DO believe that you will work." He snaps his fingers, and the two bald ones step forward, releasing me. "I no longer have a need for the two of you to be here, so you are dismissed." The bald ones walk out of the room. "Now, for the test." He walks towards a huge map of Alagasia hanging from the wall, and swiftly cuts down the center of it. I watch him quietly, until I couldn't stand it anymore.

"What is this so called TEST?" I blurt out, and instantly clasp my hand over my mouth when he turns to glare at me.

"I see patience isn't one of your virtues. As was it not one of his. You are a lot like him." He says, and I look at him strangely. He laughs as he removes two eggs from behind the map. He sets them in front of me, and I look at him. "Touch them." He commands, and I feel my hand move towards the eggs without my having to tell it to do so. I touch the green egg first, and then the red. To my surprise, and the 'king's happiness, we hear a chirp like sound coming from the green egg.

"Excellent!!!" He grins down at me. I get pulled to my feet, and dragged over to one of the walls that has a torch on it. He intertwines a chain with the torch holder, and then wraps the free end around my wrists. He walks away, and sits on his throne. "Now, it's to my understanding that you are a spell caster, correct?" He looks at me, and I hold my head up high.

"Yes! I am!!" I say, with pride. He grins at me.

"That's even better!" I hear him mutter enthusiastically. I growl, and try to break the chains. "Don't even bother, they're magic proof." I stop dead as soon as he starts talking.

"Isn't it kind of risky to have chains that can be used against you in your castle? Not to mention your throne room?" I say, with venom leaking from my words. He stands up, and walks up to me. He lifts my chin so that I'm looking at him.

"You sure like to speak your mind, don't you, young one?" He says as he stares into my defiant eyes.