Inheritance Cycle 1. Chapter 1

____I ____do not own the Inherence Cycle.__  
><span>Warning: there is language and violence.<span>  
>A short chaptered story. The idea was my brother's, and he even tried to write it but quickly gave up. I took over because; well, why not?<br>I debated over the last few days about posting it and figured I would since I had such fun. This story is only three or four chapters long.  
>Enjoy,<em>_

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><p><em><strong>A Call to Resurgence<br>**__**One**_

The room held within it the silence of death.

Selena crept around the doorway, glancing around for her son. She could not see him, not on his bed, the covers were neatly drawn to the feathered cushion, nor was he at his usual post. The cushioned chair by the window was painfully void of his tiny rump, though a wooden toy rested at the window's edge. "Murtagh?" she whispered, barely able to get the word out.

"Murtagh?"

Her throat felt tight, and her hands began to shake. What had Morzan done to her son now?

"Murtagh?" Her voice came out loader, clearer as anger interlaced with her panic. She rushed to his bed and peered beneath it, searching in vain for her young child. He was not there. She hadn't thought that he would be but she had hoped. "Murtagh, this is not a good time to play a hiding game. Come on out."

For a painful moment she held her breath, daring not to move. Nothing in the room stirred, not so much as a mouse. Selena's breath escaped her in a rush, as she croaked out his name once more.

Where was he?

He was not under his bed, nor was he inside his wardrobe, nor the long chest resting near the wall. As she searched, she became more and more frantic, tearing the room apart in her haste. But Murtagh was not there.

Selena's son was rarely out of his room in the evenings. She had told him to hide there when she was away, it is safer, a place where his father would rarely enter, if at all. But the boy must be elsewhere, unless- Selena shook herself, she refused to think such things. He was in the castle somewhere and he was safe. He had to be.

She rushed from the room, eager to find her son. It had been weeks, nearing almost two months since she lay eyes on the child, and her heart ached from the lack of contact. Looking down at herself, she supposed it was for the best; her not being able to find her son at this time. There was still dried blood on her clothing, though she had tried to wash the stains out some days before, and in more than two places there were signs of injury, not to mention the knives and sword swinging from her belt. She did not want Murtagh to get ahold of the weapons, but she so very dearly wanted to see him.

It was just as she thought this when she heard a set of footsteps slapping against the wood flooring. Knowing the steps, Selena turned as her heart jumped in her chest.

There he was.

Murtagh stood before her, a large grin breaking across his face, a goblet held carefully in front of him. His dark hair fell into his eyes, and his tiny nose was wrinkled. It didn't look like she had been away from him for merely two moon cycles but a whole year! He had grown so much!

Her eyes began to burn at the sight of him. "Mamma!" he cried, nearly dropping the goblet. He ran forth, liquid flying out the cup and wetting his neat tunic.

Selena kneeled down and caught him in her arms. They embraced for a moment. "You should not run in the halls," she said quietly, not truly meaning her words. She embraced him tighter, and then let him go. A cold replaced the warmth in her arms where he had been, and she felt suddenly very empty. She wanted to hug him again, but instead folded her arms across her chest. "You might fall. Come here and let me look you at you." Leaning away she examined him, and flicked his nose. "Oh, my! Just look how much you've grown! I think you could take on a bear!"

Murtagh laughed, and shook his head. "A bear too big!" he said as his giggling stopped. "Don't be silly, Mamma." He took in a sudden breath, and then glanced inside his goblet. It was empty, its contents on spewed across the floor. He glanced behind him at the liquid, and then back at his cup. With a shrug he looked back up at her, a grin spreading across his face. "I didn't know you home!"

"Nor did I." They both turned to see Morzan. He stood behind Selena, watching the scene with his strange eyes; one dark as night and the other as bright as the day's sky. His hair fell past his shoulders like a waterfall made of raven's feathers, shockingly dark against the pale of his skin. He was not wearing his armor, as he rarely did in his home and the dark green tunic he wore looked out of place on him. "When did you get back?"

"Only moments ago," Selena said, keeping her face as blank as she could. She could feel Murtagh's small body press into hers.

Morzan's lip curled up as he frowned. "You're supposed to come to me when you when you return."

"I was on my way to search for you," she said, smoothly rising to her feet. Selena was not going to admit that she had returned some time ago and spent that time as far from her husband as possible.

Murtagh hid himself behind her legs, trying his best to remain out of sight.

"Of course you were," Morzan muttered lowly. His voice no longer held the charm it once did, now it sounded as he spoke from the depths of the Void. "I take it that the traitors has been executed in an orderly fashion, and you know all that they once did?"

"Naturally," she muttered. She hadn't killed Hemard and his family, but sent them south to Surda, she did explore their minds before doing so, and set their home ablaze afterward. No one, not even Morzan, would be able to call her out on this bluff. Selena had taken too many careful steps and Morzan trusted her completely. That was the only thing she could count on him for, his complete trust. "I have done as you asked, Morzan, no more, no less. And now that I have reported to you, may I tuck my son into bed? It shan't take long."

Morzan looked at the boy hiding behind her, his face darkening. "No," he said. "The boy is too old to hide behind his mother's skirts and be tucked into bed, he should have a sword of his own by now." He stood for a moment, watching Murtagh before flicking his hair from his face. "Well, boy? What are you still doing there? Get to out of my sight!"

Selena pressed her lips together. She didn't dare say anything, even from this distance she could smell the reek of alcohol seeping from Morzan's breath.

Behind her she could feel Murtagh's debate; Morzan was standing by his bedroom door, her son knew not to walk by the man in the evenings, nor could he flee back the way he came, and to knowingly ignore his orders would lead to punishment.

Slowly, Murtagh detangled himself from around her legs and walked past her. She placed a hand on his shoulder as he passed, and let it fall to her side when he walked out of her reach. The boy glanced nervously at his father before continuing to the door. His shoulders and back were stiff with anxiety. As Murtagh walked past Morzan, as close to the wall as he dared to get, the man reached out for him but Murtagh was faster and dodged towards the wall just out of the man's reach. He ran the rest of the way to his room, and slammed the door shut behind him.

Morzan snorted as he watched the boy. "Your son's a sniffling coward."

"He's hardly more than a babe." Her hands tightened into fists, as a boiling anger roiled through her.

"I don't see him nuzzling to your tit," he said with a sharp laugh.

She pressed her lips tightly together, refusing to let the words she thought to be said. It would be worse for Murtagh if she did, and she couldn't do that to him. She could not be that thoughtless.

Morzan began to walk away and she followed, knowing that it was best not to let him angry in the slightest way. Him being drunk did not help her in that mission, not in the least. "What did they tell you?" he asked after a moment.

"Nothing," she said. "I couldn't get them to talk. I searched their minds instead. They did not know much."

Morzan grumbled something she couldn't hear. "That boy is turning you indulgent," he said after a moment. "You should have brought them here where they could have been properly taken care of."

Again Selena said nothing, her lips pressed tightly together. Slowing her footsteps, she held her hands behind her back, placed there to resist the urge to strike at him. She was still very upset about what he had done to Murtagh- she would never forgive him for it.

"It would do that boy good to see what his mother can do."

Visions of the past flashed before her eyes; the blood and the faces twisted in pain as the lifelight in their eyes slowly faded and flickered out, like a candle being snuffled. She had done that; killed them. But Morzan had done that to her. He had killed the innocence she once had, killed it and twisted it until it was unrecognizable and horrible. He would do the same thing to her son, unless she did something to stop him.

"He will be a man soon enough. He'll need to hold his own against any who challenge him."

Murtagh had witnessed no more than three winters. He would not a man for a very long time. He didn't need to learn to defend himself, expect perhaps from his own father. The man had almost killed him once, and he would no doubt do it again. She should be there for her son more, to protect him; it was her greatest regret.

"You should have gotten more information from them, woman," he continued after a pause. "I know they knew more, and now what they know is gone as well. You made a mistake."

Selena had made mistakes. All people did. Her biggest was putting her trust in this man.

As they turned down the collider towards Morzan's bedchamber, something shifted inside her. Something dangerous. Something thirsty. Something he had created. Anger swept through her; her skin felt like it was crawling and boiling.

Morzan turned, and he must have seen it, whatever 'it' was. His face paled and tightened. "Selena?"

She had to protect Murtagh- him and her unborn child. She couldn't stand here in front of him, any longer. Each day, each an every moment, was like death. Her hand went to a knife, the smallest one, the one he had enchanted for her. Before she knew what she was doing, she threw it at him.

Morzan did not move, he was far too shocked, and watched as the knife sailed into his chest, just above his heart. He stared at the knife, then, and like an angry cloud his face darkened. He pulled the knife out, muttered the healing words, and grabbed at her.

Fear ripped through her, cold and distracting, as she ducked out of his way. She fell back against the wall, and rolled out of his way as he charged her. Her head slammed against the wall, and for a moment she could see nothing. As her vision cleared she looked up.

Morzan stood over her, with one hand on his blood-colored blade, it glittered in the dim light from the torches. His other hand was clenched into fist. His carved white face was set into a sneer, splitting the fuzz that covered the lower half of his face. "Get up."

Selena spit the hair out her mouth then stood up, not knowing what else to do. A moment later she gasped in surprise as he seized her by the shoulders, and spun her around so that she was facing him. He glared down at her. She felt something inside her flinch.

The look in his eyes, froze her in place. He leaned closer and put his lips to her cheek, close enough that she could feel them move he breathed. "What did you think?" he asked. "That you could kill me with a cutlery knife? You know better than that, Selena. You are better than that because I made you that way."

She couldn't help it, she flinched. Reality of what she just did began to weigh on her. Her eyes widened with the relation of what she must now do. She raised her hands and placed them against his chest, then turned her head. Her lips met his, her stomach twisted sickeningly, and she felt him stiffen against her. Her lips moved against his. His being warm yet hard as ice in the dark. Selena slid her hand down his arm, to his sword and tingled her fingertips with him, at that moment he pulled away from her. "I thought it would be more interesting," she murmured.

"Stabbing me in the chest would make our bed games more interesting?" He laughed, the sound echoed throughout the halls. His lips met hers lightly, almost teasingly, and he pulled away once more. He was much more drunk than what she originally thought he was. "Interesting, indeed, but I would prefer both of us to live through more than just one night."

She nodded, and wiggled her leg free, then brought it up and kicked him hard in his knee- where he had an old injury from his childhood that had hadn't quite healed. As he fell back, she yanked Zar'roc from his hilt, and shot towards him. Morzan jumped to his feet, and nearly fell, but she did not wait for him to gain his balance and swung the flat of the blade at his head, knocking him off feet, blood blossoming against the black of his hair.

He snarled and sprang at her, his fist slammed across her face with enough force to send her skidding across the floor. She was stopped when she crashed into the wall, gagging, and coughing blood. Zar'roc spun down the narrow hallway and bounced against the wall. Selena dared to look at Morzan, he was fumbling over himself in his drunken state. She took advantage of this, and threw another knife at him. It bounced off his wards, he didn't even notice it. She forced herself to her feet, and launched for his sword.

The ruby blade cut her hand as she grabbed it, slicing the skin clean open to the bone. Morzan yelled from behind her, and jerked her away. He was casting a spell, but his words fumbled over each other and he could not get much out. She stood up slowly, her muscles giving way, and slashed Zar'roc at him. He jerked back in surprise. Selena jabbed the blade into his thigh, and when he reared back, she drove her elbow into his throat, cutting off his spell. He went sideways, choking, and she rolled, pinning him under her as she yanked the bloody blade free from his leg. She drove the blade down toward the pulsing vein of his neck, and stopped-

Morzan was laughing. He lay under her, bloody and injured, and he was laughing, his body vibrated through her own. His skin was spattered with blood- both his and hers, dripping down his face. He let his arms fall down to his sides, and looked at her in disbelief.

"You've changed," he said, his mismatched eyes meeting hers. "But you shan't kill me, wife. You have not the prowess."

Selena disagreed and thought of her unborn child and her living child. She would not allow Morzan to have control over her life or theirs. He would not hurt them anymore.

She brought the blade down and screamed when it met skin.


	2. Chapter 2

____I ____do not own the Inherence Cycle.  
>Enjoy,<em>___

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><p><strong>Two<strong>

Selena released the bloody hilt and struggled to stand up. She stumbled back into a wall, droplets of gleaming blood splattered around her boots with each step. There was a straggled sound, she looked down. Morzan was struggling for breath, his mouth open in shock. She could see him calculating just what exactly she had done.

Oh, dear, gods, what had she done?

She backed away a little farther, and turned away. She could not stand to look at what she had done. Her heart was beating impossibly fast, like the fluttering wings a hummingbird. Her breath hitched but her chest felt empty, choked. She couldn't think about what had happened, not at that moment, it would come later. Right now, she needed to find her son and leave.

The thought of him was like an anchor, and she latched onto it. She could finally take her son and leave this place. Something she had been wanting to do for so long.

Turning away she ran back the way she came, towards her son's room. Just as she moved away, Selena's chest felt like as if knives were going in and her vision flickered black. For a few moments she was conscious of nothing but the pain. And then a great thundering roar, like a cry from the heavens to the earth below, shook the walls and she remembered the dragon in the garden. There was no one to control him now. She pushed the pain away. It was only pain, she told herself. It was only pain.

Selena squared her shoulders, trying to will away the pain and wounds and tiredness, and walked quickly through the hallways. The roaring continued and the tunneling hallways shook with each roar. Selena didn't even see the people ran pass or around her, nor did she hear their cries. She weaved around them, as if they were simply still columns. Had the hallways always been this long? They seemed to be growing, stretching longer and longer, until they were without any sort of end.

And then, at last, very suddenly she came to her son's chambers.

She did not pause, did not even slow, but pushed the door wide open with such force that her son let out a startled scream. He turned from the window which he had looking out of and stared at her, her dark grey eyes wide with shock.

"Mamma," he said somberly, "you scare me. That not nice."

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Selena looked around the room and grabbed the soft woolen blanket from his bed and handed it to him. He held it tightly to his chest, along with his wooden toy. "Hold onto this and stay close to me, alright? It is very important that you do."

Murtagh nodded and grabbed ahold of her hand. "Mamma?" he asked as they through the doorway.

"Yes?"

"Your hand is oozing," he said. "What happen?"

Selena looked down at hand and saw a wide, deep gash, likely received from her fight with Morzan. She didn't recall when it had happened or feeling it. "I fell," she lied, and the lie did not settle well with her. She hated lying to her son but she could not tell him the truth either.

Murtagh was silent for a time as she picked him up and balanced him on her hip, careful of her weapons and wounds. "Did daddy push you?" Murtagh whispered.

"We'll talk later," she said. "You'll be my brave warrior until then, alright?"

"Alright," he agreed, and then he touched her face and frowned. His touch hurt, she could only assume that she had a wound there as well. She would simply just have to add that to her ever growing list.

They turned and twisted around the corners, Selena always stopping sharp and peering around, and then dashed down a hall but they saw no one. Where was everyone? The castle was eerily empty. Selena's feet sounded too loud, her footsteps echoed off the walls, and the sound of the roaring seemed muted. There were moments when the walls shook, and flickering shadows were cast over them. She thought that somewhere the castle had been set on fire; she could faintly hear crackling of wood and stone. As they came to a small passage that led to the sables Selena said; "I have to put you down now. Can you run?"

Murtagh clenched her hand. "Mamma, wait," he said, not moving. "I don't want to go outside. Daddy's monster is angry. It will eat me."

Selena started and looked down at him. "The dragon won't eat you," she said. "I won't even let him near you. I promise."

He shook at her hand, trying to loosen her grip, and nodded at her, and then Selena pulled open the stout door and they ran through an ivy covered tunnel. The moment the door opened, a deafening roar that shook the ground, and the rumbling of flames, the crackling of stone and wood. Selena could smell smoke and knew that fears were confirmed; Morzan's dragon had set the castle ablaze. At least it was busy, she thought.

Murtagh sniffled beside her, and she looked down at him. "Don't cry, Murtagh," she said breathlessly. "There's my brave boy." He looked up at her and sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Selena frowned, she wished he didn't have to witness any of this. Guilt twisted through her but she pushed it away. She would think about it later.

The tunneling merged rather suddenly to the sables, and Selena pulled Murtagh into the building, and made a wild dash from her horse. The stallion was whinnying worriedly, his eye rolling, but after a few calming word in the Ancient Language he calmed and allowed her and Murtagh to approach. She turned to Murtagh and told him to stay put, then she began to look for the bags and saddle that only recently put away.

"Lady Selena," came a voice, "The whole High Tower is in flames. It's spreading fast. Where's Lord Morzan? He usually controls these outbursts."

Selena turned to the sable-hand, a young boy named Nab, and pointed to her horse. "Where's my supplies?" she asked ignoring his questions. "You don't put them away yet have you? No. Good. I need them out and set up as quickly as possible."

The young man looked troubled but turned away to do as she asked. Slowly Selena backed away and looked over herself. She could feel the damage done to her body now that she was calming down. Her first thought was the baby. If she were lucky the child would remain within her, but her luck had never ran strong. She frowned and began to pace.

What was she going to do? Where was she going to go?

Brom was gone. He had been gone for weeks on a mission he would not speak of. She didn't know how to contact him. And she desperately wished he were here, to help her, or perhaps give her an idea of what to do now.

Now that she had killed Morzan.

Selena sank to the ground and looked down at herself; she was covered in blood, and could see none of her injuries. She said a quick spell for healing anyhow, one that would merely help the process; to look for them and then heal all of them right then and there would take too much energy and time but to leave then uncared for could be worse.

Murtagh sat on the ground beside her, his blanket hugged tightly to his chest. There were wet treks from tears running down his face and he was hiccupping. Selena wished she had time to grab him warmer clothing, something more than a blanket, or at least a more durable pair of boots. She could buy him something better later, she reasoned and placed her arm around the boy's shoulders. He sniffled.

"Where we go?" he whispered. "Daddy come too?"

"No, Daddy is staying here." She pulled him closer to her. "We are leaving him here so he do some important work."

Murtagh nodded into her shoulder and then went quiet.

After a few moments Nab, the sable-hand, returned with her things, Selena stood and helped him load them. She had always been kind to Nab, in a way he reminded her of her brother when he was younger.

As she packed she wondered what she would do for food, likely she would hunt and collect berries and herbs as she usually did when out on a mission. But she did not know what she would do with Murtagh. She wasn't certain how she would hunt with him about, nor was she certain what he even liked to eat.

She thought that it was best to avoid town for a time that would mean that durable clothing for her son would have to wait.

Selena sighed. She was a horrible mother…

"You're not going out a mission for Lord Morzan are you?" asked Nab, as he looked at her. His face was troubled.

"No," she said. "And yes. It's complicated."

Nab wrinkled his nose. "I won't ask then," he said and then went back to work.

"Nab?" said Selena after a moment. "Should anyone ask, I was not here. Murtagh and I, we never exited the castle."

Nab's frown deepened but he nodded in agreement.

"There is something else I want you to promise me."

"Yes?" He looked nervously.

"I want you to leave this place, and find that girl you wanted to court before you left," she said, picking Murtagh up and setting him on the horse. Murtagh looked at her uncertainly, and grabbed ahold of her sleeve. "Will you do that?"

"I have no horse to get there."

"Take one of mine," she said, forcing her son's grip loose. She swung herself up behind her son. "Sell it later for money and start that trade you've speaken of."

Nab looked at the horses and then back at her, his dark eyes wide. "I cannot possibly do that."

"Then take two, or, if it pleases you, all of them. I shan't be coming back," she said urging her horse forward. "But act quickly, Nab, before the guards come to their senses."

Nab opened his mouth to speak but closed it, and turned away to look at the ground between his feet. Slowly he nodded.

"Take care, my friend," Selena said and then turned away.

She did not know where she was going to go, nor what she would do once she got there. All she knew was that perhaps she and her son and the unborn child inside her could find a place to settle and have peaceful, safe lives. She would find a way to contact Brom, she decided, and maybe he too would join them, and meet his child. Perhaps they could be a family.

Selena urged her horse into a gallop, and left a burning, broken world full of hate and lies far behind...


End file.

Inheritance Cycle, Adventure, Family