Let Me Be Your Wings

Chapter 1

King Galbatorix kept his daughter in a glass jar with holes poked in the lid. At meal time, the servants would unscrew the lid and throw small chunks of food into the jar for her to eat. No blanket, pillow, or other comforts were given to her as she lived in the glass prison. The King kept the jar hidden in his private chambers, his servants sworn to secrecy to tell no one about the spell.

A few of the king's subjects asked about the missing princess, and the news Galbatorix revealed to them made them all distressed. He had told them that Gwen had been murdered by a spy from the Varden. Time passed, and so did the grief of the kingdom.

Poor Gwen lived in the jar in constant agony, for she knew that she could never go back to her old life. All she wanted was to help her people from the tyranny of her father, but all hope of resistance faded from her heart. Some evenings, her father would talk to her about court and news from the kingdom. One night, he revealed a certain fear that he managed to keep hidden. He told Gwen that there is a new Dragon Rider in Alagaesia and that the rider gave no signs of joining the Empire.

Gwen reveled with the news, hope rekindled. Her chances of escape were impossible, but chances of someone resisting her father were not. At night she had dreams of the rider defeating her father and discovering her existence. As months passed without an attack, Gwen began to go back to her depressed stupor. Galbatorix grew restless and tired of Gwen so he made plans and shipped her off to a new location outside of Urû' baen…

Eragon awoke, cold and sore. His mind was fuzzy making it hard to think without getting a headache. He sat up and looked around. He was in a small room with solid stone floors and walls. A single door led to a long corridor dotted with many rooms similar to his. Above his head, was a small window with bars. Standing up, he looked outside only to see that his vision was at ground level.

He sat down again and cursed his ill luck. He knew that he was imprisoned at Gil'ead. Once more he tried to think, but that made his head hurt. Finally, he gave up and lied down, dozing off into sleep. The door opened startling Eragon. A soldier entered carrying a tray of food and a pitcher of water. When the man left, Eragon quickly devoured the food and drink. Satisfied, he sat down, doodling in the dirt with his finger.

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep again. Hours passed. When he woke up, his head was still dizzy, but not as bad as it was before. He was able to recall bits and pieces of the Ancient Language making him very happy. The door opened again when more food and water came. Eragon was about to take a sip of water when he suddenly detected a strange smell. The water is poisoned, and the food as well! His revelation was taken with ill humor as he tossed the food out the window. If I can manage to not eat for at least a few more hours, I should be able to recall more and find a way to escape this place. He settled into a nap with that thought in mind.

The sound of soldiers marching woke him. He groaned and walked over to the door. Parading down the hallway was the King's men. That's when it suddenly hit Eragon; he was captured by urgals, not men! Confused, he continued to watch the men pass by. A few minutes passed before a break in the procession came. A woman with raven black hair, almond shaped eyes, and wearing a shirt and trousers was being carried. She was unconscious and badly wounded. Anger flooded through Eragon as he recognized the woman from his dreams. Before she left his line of vision, her hair shifted revealing a pointed ear. She's an elf!

He bunched up his fists and almost said an incantation that would have knocked out the soldiers, but he stayed his hand realizing that there were just too many men to take down at once. Citing a spell that could render them unconscious would kill him in the process. He sighed and walked away from the door making a silent oath that he would rescue the woman somehow.

He was busy thinking of a plan when the cell door opened for a third time. Instead of a soldier walking in with food, it was a tall man wearing a long, black cloak. His hair and eyes were maroon. Fear struck Eragon as he looked up at the Shade. Stay calm; everything will be ok if you act like you don't know what is going on.

Behind the Shade, soldiers lurked, waiting for orders. The man stopped in the middle of the room and started down at Eragon. "Greetings, I have waited a long time to see you."

"Who are you?" asked Eragon, his throat parched. He hoped that the Shade would not notice his discomfort, or else the shade would know he hasn't been drinking, or eating.

"No one of consequence," he said, his voice loud and deep. "My name does not matter to one in your position. I am much more interested in you. Who are you?"

"My name is Eragon, but that is not all I am, is it?"

"No, it isn't." The shade shifted his feet, then said, "What is your name."

"Era-"

"No, not that one! Your other name."

He wants my true name so he can control me! But, I don't even know what it is myself, so even if I wanted to, I could not tell him what it is. Wait! What if I made up a name? Eragon skimmed through the Ancient Language until he settled on a name that might scare off the Shade. "I was told what it was once, I believe it was Du Sundavar Freohr." This meant almost quite literally as "death of the shadows."

The Shade stiffened and remained silent as if in deep thought. Then, he turned to his guards and motioned one to his side. The Shade whispered something in the man's ear. The soldier nodded and left the room when the Shade finished. "I supposed you think you are very clever, Eragon. We shall see if you are telling the truth here soon enough." A crooked smile crossed his lips revealing pointed teeth.

Long, uncomfortable minutes passed before the soldier returned with an object. It was cylindrical and covered with a cloth. The soldier gave the object to the Shade. From under the cloth, Eragon swore he heard muffled noises, but shook his head. Have you gone mad?I

The Shade looked at Eragon and said, "You look very confused." He laughed, then went on to say, "I want to show you a very peculiar way a traitor was handled."

Eragon gulped. Whatever is hidden under that cloth cannot be good, possibly limbs from some poor prisoner. Thinking of such things made him sick. He held his breath when the cloth was taken off revealing a very tiny girl caged in a glass jar.

Eragon's jaw dropped; he prepared himself for severed limbs, not a living person! The woman behind the glass was young, and beautiful. She had long golden hair, blue eyes, and a slender body. What her normal height was he could not guess, but from what he saw, she was no taller than 3 inches. Her clothes were tattered and her demeanor weak and depressed. His heart bled at the pitiful sight and wondered why she was punished in this fashion.

"Eragon, meet the girl we all call Thumbelina. She disobeyed the King and was punished accordingly. I did not bring her before you to show you what will happen to you, I show her to express the powers that you protest against. Join the Empire, and you will learn such powers and be free."

Eragon was sick, and angry. "I'll die first."

"That might happen, but alas, not today." The woman stood up and walked to the edge of the jar, placing her palms up against the glass. She looked helplessly at Eragon. The Shade shook the container sending her tumbling down. "What is your name? Is it really Du Sundavar Freohr? You know, at this height and her being so small and delicate, the fall would kill her." He led the glass slip within his fingers. The woman screamed. Eragon gasped. "That's what I thought, you lied to me, Eragon."

The Shade covered the jar and walked out of the room leaving Eragon to ponder what had happened.