Inheritance Cycle 1. Pilot

Yes, believe it or not, I am writing again! I had this idea one morning as I hovered in semi-unconsciousness. As an added bonus, this story will definitely get finished because I will write all the chapters for each adventure before posting any of them. I'm going to try to write it so the storyline can continue or end at the end of the adventures most of the time. This is really just a test chapter (A pilot if you will) to see if the story is worth writing. If no one is going to read it, I won't waste my time. Well, without further ado, let the story of the great Murtagh (Or at least what I wrote about it) begin!

"This is a normal spoken sentence."

"This is a 'quote'."

"THIS IS SHOUTING!"

"_This is whispering._"

"An emphasized word will look like **this**."

_This is a thought. Foreshadowing and flash backs will also be in italics._

_A stressed word in a thought looks like _this.

You should be able to figure everything else out on your own.

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Murtagh sat astride Tornac, his faithful steed. The morning had been cool and misty but now the heat of the day had arrived and the young man wiped a bit of sweat from his brow.

Edgy, he shifted in the saddle to look about. Though he was in disguise, he was still nervous about getting caught. The king would no doubt search high and low for him, refusing to let go of, as he had put it once, 'such a valuable resource.'

He found the village he was in to be highly distasteful. Slavery was prevalent and many of the masters were rich and cruel to their 'lowly and filthy' servants. The town itself was rather dirty and sketchy in the area he was in. Grunting in distaste, he urged Tornac forward, ready to be rid of the vile place.

-POV change-

"Caterina!" a harsh voice cut through the brunette's slumber. "Get up you lazy scum!" These words were followed by a painful blow to the head.

Caterina winced and stood. She was a pretty girl, if somewhat skinny. She stood a little shorter than five feet tall and had shiny, beautiful brown hair down to her waist. Seventeen, she had a well developed chest and had a lovely hourglass shape to her body, despite her malnourished state. Her face was delicate. She had large brown eyes and a small mouth framed with red lips that were the envy of many girls. The only disfiguring mark was a raised pink pattern under her chin, the mark that she had been branded with when she had been bought years ago.

The woman of the house stood before the girl, scowling viciously as she waited impatiently for Caterina to get up.

"Is there something I am needed for, Mistress?" A soft and gentle voice came from the young girl.

"It's about time," the older woman snapped. "The master would like to see you in his chambers. Hurry up and go."

Caterina scurried away, apprehensively, to the room where the master of the house spent much of his alone time. The master did not usually call servants to this area of the house. The girl wondered why she had been summoned. Upon arriving, she knocked and said, "You called for me, Master?"

"Yes," a gruff voice came from the other side of the door. "Come in."

Opening the door, Caterina beheld the master of the house. He was old, in his fourties, balding, and quite ugly on the whole. He looked portly but he was very strong, not one who should be angered unless one was looking for a painful fight.

"Didn't you hear me?" he said. "Come. In."

Caterina followed his command, entering and closing the door softly behind her.

"You wished to see me, Master?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he said curtly. His tone was somewhat softer than usual and there was a peculiar gleam in the man's eyes. "Come here."

Caterina crossed the small space and curtsied before the man. "How can I be of service to you Master? Do you need me to organize the books in the library again? Or maybe-"

Caterina gasped as the master harshly grabbed the top of her dress and began to undo the buttons. She yanked away in shock and horror. The master wished to sleep with her!

"Master!" she girl gasped. "Haven't you other servants to accompany you to bed?"

"Yes," the man growled, crossing the distance Caterina had put between them. "But you are the prettiest of my slaves. A virgin what's more!" he smiled hungrily. "Now undress and come to bed with me!"

Frightened, Caterina flung herself toward a window, hoping to catch the attention of someone to rescue her.

Angry, the portly old master grabbed Caterina's arm before she could make it very far. He pulled a knife from his belt and brandished it at Caterina.

"Unless you want this to be your life's final pleasure, you'll come back and do as I commanded," the man glowered dangerously.

Frightened for both her life and her dignity, Caterina yanked against the powerful grip of her wrist, slowly dragging the infuriated master toward the window.

Reaching it, she caused it to burst open, shouting to a mounted traveler, "Help me! Save me! Please!"

-POV change-

Tornac was startled by the sudden opening of the window and pranced away but Murtagh caught sight of the girl crying for rescue and quickly dismounted in the otherwise empty alley.

"Help me! Save me! Please!" the girl pleaded with him.

The girl was clearly a slave fighting her master's will. She cried out suddenly and fell to her knees as the man holding her cut the back of her thigh open with a knife, slicing her dress. Infuriated by the man's cruelty, Murtagh flung himself into the room by way of the open window.

Murtagh drew his hand-and-a-half sword from the hilt on his hip and stared the cruel master down.

"Sir, I don't believe the girl wishes to sleep with you," Murtagh said in a smooth tone, lined with vemon.

"She is a slave," the man snarled, jerking the girl's head back by her hair. "Or haven't you noticed? This mark shows that she is my property!" He jabbed at it with his now bloody knife. "Her wishes mean naught! She can have no wishes without my permission!"

"Well then," Murtagh said smoothly, pulling his sword back in preparation to attack. "I guess I shall have to free her then."

Clearly intimidated, the portly master forced the brunette to stand, making her a shield. He needlessly cut her right arm, ripping through her dress again. The girl slumped against him, seemingly fading from consciousness from blood loss. Holding her by the neck with his right arm, the slave owner laughed and said, "Can't very well free her without killing her now, can you?"

Having expected some low tactic such as this, Murtagh was already prepared. Twisting his wrist, he slid the blade between the girl and the man, slicing the man's throat as the flat of it slid harmlessly across the back of the slave girl's neck.

As the master fell, Murtagh disentangled the girl from him and pulled her to his own chest. He pulled her to the window and once outside heaved her on to Tornac, settling her in the front of the saddle so that he could assure she did not fall as he rode. After mounting, he spurred Tornac on, galloping out of town as the girl's blood stained his clothes.

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Well, I hope you enjoyed! Please provide me with concrit as best you can when you review. If I get enough reviews, I'll write more and upload it!

Koinu-chan


	2. Bandages and Bonds

Koinu-chan: Chapter two! Aren't you excited?!

Murtagh: …

Koinu-chan: Come now! Don't pull a Neku! Besides! I'm not that mean! You are the hero after all, not the villain! Wow! So many exclamation points!!! XD

Murtagh: *sigh* Your excitement is exhausting.

Koinu-chan: And now to begin the chappie!

"This is a normal spoken sentence."

"This is a 'quote'."

"THIS IS SHOUTING!"

"_This is whispering._"

"An emphasized word will look like **this**."

_This is a thought. Foreshadowing and flash backs will also be in italics._

_A stressed word in a thought looks like _this.

You should be able to figure everything else out on your own.

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"Pompous bastards," Murtagh mumbled. He grumbled about the incident for quite a ways down the road.

Once during the trip, the girl had woken and stirred a bit but Murtagh had forbidden her to speak in the interest of conserving her strength. She had seemed tense but Murtagh thought little of it, perhaps the horse ride made her uncomfortable.

After some time, Murtagh halted Tornac and set about putting up camp for the night. Once he had finished, he boiled some rags and then drew near the servant girl to see to her wounds. She obediently rolled up her sleeve and allowed him to clean and bandage the cut on her arm. Promptly after he finished, however, she drew away and refused to let him tend to her other injury.

Confused, Murtagh prodded, "Why won't you let me tend to your other cut? If I don't see to it soon, it will get infected."

The girl shook her head and shivered in what appeared to Murtagh as terror. "You could…It would be so simple for you to…" she stammered incomplete sentences, her voice quavering at several points. Her hands made their way to her bosom, clutching at the fabric of her dress.

Comprehending the girl's fright, Murtagh spoke softly and gently when he said, "I won't hurt you or try to force you to sleep with me. I'm not like that dirty old man," he offered his hand as he continued, "Look, if you get uncomfortable, you can hit me or something. I'll back off and let you calm down then maybe I'll try to finish after that."

"But if I strike you-"

"I won't even fight back," he promised, hands in the air surrendering with his posture.

The girl hesitated and though she still looked unsure, she eventually nodded her consent.

TIMEPASSESTIMEPASSESTIMEPASSESTIMEPASSES

Murtagh rolled out a sleeping mat so the servant girl could lie down and not dirty her clothes. He indicated that he needed her to lie on her belly then, trying to put her at ease, suggested that she move the skirt herself.

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Caterina shivered at the idea of baring skin in front of a man so soon but obliged. The man touched her hand lightly when she had fully exposed her cut which stung in the night air.

Caterina felt scared and defenseless in her position. She was terrified that the man would do something terrible despite his word. Terror made her heart pound loudly inside her chest.

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Feeling waves of fright and general discomfort roll off the servant girl, Murtagh made his job as fast as he could while still being gentle and thorough.

Trying to make light of the tension, Murtagh asked, "So do you have a name?"

"Caterina," was the timid reply.

"My name is Murtagh," he said. "I'm pleased to meet you, though the circumstances could be better."

She didn't laugh but she did seem to relax a little.

Shortly there after, Murtagh said, "I'm finished. You can get up now, but be careful that you don't reopen the cut on your leg."

When Caterina rolled over and her features caught the light, Murtagh fully realized why the old man had been so (disgustingly) interested in her. She was the most beautiful woman he had seen in a very long time.

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Caterina saw the look that Murtagh had given her. It frightened her for just a moment but then she remembered his voice and how strong his name sounded to her.

_He won't hurt me…_

She yawned and stretched, tired and a bit sore from her adventure that day.

Murtagh looked concerned all at once. "Are you tired? Maybe you should rest." He looked out suspiciously at the surrounding area and then said, "Yes, you should rest. I'll keep watch."

Caterina almost asked, "Are you sure you'll be ok?" but thought better of it and nodded instead. She lay down on the sleeping mat that was beneath her and fell asleep quickly.

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Murtagh watched the girl fall asleep and then sat with his back to the fire, the girl between the two, his blade bare across his left leg. He rested his right forearm on his bent knee and settled in for a long night.

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Koinu-chan: So I've uploaded the chappie but that's because I feel like I'm taking too long. I'll try to get some more writing done but I just took on another story. Wish me luck!


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Inheritance Cycle