The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

We rode for hours on end without rest under the threat of being caught. Torches glared behind us as the soldiers were undoubtedly searching for us. The endless riding was exhausting, but I had to push onward; I was not about to be captured now when I had come so far. It wasn't until the next day that we decided to stop, out of pure exhaustion alone.

We met Saphira as she drank from a stream at the base of a cliff, the elf still bent over in her saddle. I couldn't help but think she was being quite dramatic. Why isn't she awake after a day and a half? This is getting to be ridiculous. The last thing we needed right now was to be weighted down by some helpless elf.

Eragon and Murtagh immediately went to Saphira's saddle to get the elf down. Really? Look at how they're fawning over her! I growled from deep within my throat and glared in their general direction. The male species never ceases to amaze me. They never even once lift a finger to help me, but as soon as one pretty face comes along they're the perfect gentlemen.

When they were finally done waiting on Her Highness, they helped me set up camp, though I was nearly done already. We wouldn't be staying very long so the camp was very small. I growled and huffed angrily as we laid out our bedrolls and plopped down on the ground. Murtagh looked at me quizzically for a moment, one eyebrow cocked above the other..

"Are you alright, Tabby?" he asked, his piercing gaze searching my face. Eragon looked at me as well. But I just glared at both of them.

"No, I am not alright," I growled angrily. The look of confusion only heightened on both of their faces.

"What's wrong with you?" Eragon inquired. I rolled my eyes at them both. What could I possibly say? As if they would understand! I hardly understand what I'm feeling myself! I growled again.

"It's nothing, just leave me alone!" I yelled angrily, crawling beneath my blankets and turning away from them.

What is going on with me? Why am I acting this way? It must be because of the elf. Every time I see her I just get so angry! And then, to add to it, the way that Eragon and Murtagh dote on her is absolutely insufferable! Maybe I am a little jealous; they've never once offered to help me out, not that I really needed it, but the gesture would have been nice. Don't they know that competition doesn't help my anger issues!

~*~

"The Hadarac Desert? Are you mad! We'd never survive in that desolate wasteland!" I yelled at Eragon's stupidity. Really, how could he be so moronic? We wouldn't survive three days in the desert, and yet he wanted us to trek across it. Had he really learned so little in the time that we've been away from home?

"Tabby is right," Murtagh muttered. Over the course of the past couple of days, Murtagh had taken to calling me by my nickname, just like Eragon. I didn't necessarily like it all that much--it's not as though we had suddenly become best friends or anything like that--but I didn't really mind either; I had more important things on my mind. "We will never survive in the desert. It's full of poisonous and inedible plants and hostile creatures. Not to mention the complete lack of water. The desert is three times bigger than the Great Plains outside of Gil'ead; we'd never survive that long without water."

"It is our only choice," Eragon argued. "We cannot go back to the east and the Empire; only Du Weldenvarden lies to the north; we couldn't slip by unnoticed to get to Surda in the south; it is the only way!" I rubbed my temple impatiently as he argued his point.

"Then how do you suggest we do it? How are we going to travel that distance without any water?" I snapped. Eragon reached into his pack and pulled out a musty old map of Alagaesia he'd gotten from Jeod in Teirm.

"Look here," he said, pointing to the bottom right hand corner of the map. "If we cut sideways across the desert we can get to the Beor Mountains and hide there. It's roughly the same distance it took us to travel to get to Gil'ead."