Ragin walked slowly back to his room, his mind awhirl. He had kissed her. The action surprised him. He didn't think Freya was aware, but that had been his first kiss. He had never really been so close to a girl before to even think about that sort of relationship, and while he was open to something happening, for it to be Freya, it hosted an enormous amount of complications.

He sighed, shaking his head. His head was too muddled to be having these rational thoughts. The alcohol was not helping, nor were the rather ravishing and passionate thoughts and feelings originating from his dragon in the back of his mind. He closed his head off to her a little more with a soft sigh. He wondered what Akaysha would think once she found out what had happened. He chuckled softly at the thought.

Stuck with his thoughts swirling he approached the sliding door that would lead to his room. From the other direction walked someone else. A bit of a shadowy figure, with a long dark grey cloak that Ragin himself was fond of when sneaking around. As the rider glanced at the figure he frowned, a worm of suspicion trickling into him. In his alcohol induced state he wasn't quite as quick to notice things as he usually was. That changed however as a knife appeared in the figure's hand.

His eyes widened as the figure rushed him, stabbing toward him. His wards deflected the blow, causing him to flinch. It was surprising how quick one sobered up when their life was in danger. The assassin thrust his dagger again at the rider, and Ragin leapt to the side, deflecting the dagger with one hand and smashing his fist into his assailant's nose, causing them to stagger backwards, grunting in surprise. They broke Ragin's grip on their hand and leapt back, allowing the rider time to draw his sword.

They faced each other a moment, silent. Realising that he had failed to take the rider by surprise, the figure's eyes continued to dart around, realising that he was likely about to loose this quick clash. Ragin narrowed his eyes, realising his attacker was a human, likely someone that had managed to sneak into the dragon city with everyone else that had arrived. He spotted a ring around the man's finger, and when he tried to reach out his mind to mentally attack his opponent he couldn't find it.

"Who sent you?" Ragin growled between his teeth.

The man's eyes flashed in annoyance at the question, before seeming to realise there was no chance he was getting out of this alive, "Foeswarn sends his regards."

He pulled back his arm in an attempt to throw his dagger at Ragin, knowing it wouldn't really work but deciding to try a last ditch effort. The rogue rider didn't let him. As soon as the man moved, so did Ragin, leaping forward and slicing Wyrda's starlight blade across his assailant's throat. The man gasped, staggering backward, a line of blood appearing where his blade had struck. He quickly grasped his neck, before pulling his hand back and blinking in surprise when he realised it was covered in blood.

He glared at Ragin angrily, before falling to his knees, blood now flowing freely down his throat, "We will get you... you can't hide. You can't... stop... us..." the man collapsed to the ground, dead.

The rider cleaned his blade on the corpse's cloak, finding himself a little shaken up. He had grown complacent. No one had attacked him in over a month, the most negative reaction he had had was Theaden's, and he hadn't seen the elf for a while. He suspected the black rider had been scent to Alageasia.

He gently sheathed his blade, realising with grim humour that this man had been the first one to fall before his sword. He wouldn't be the last either, considering what the man had just said. Narrowing his eyes he knelt by the body, taking the ring off the finger and pocketing it. As he did, something else caught his eye, a flash of gold in the man's clothes. Curious he reached for it and pulled it out.

It was a hand held mirror, with intricate gold carvings of flowers and plants running along the outside. There was a ruby situated in the pommel just below the glassy surface of the mirror, the gem holding energy to maintain the magics woven around it. The object seemed to be almost alluring, as if it begged Ragin to keep it. He knew that the reason for this was likely one of the enchantments said over it, but despite this he decided it would be a good idea to study the mirror a little more. He slipped it into his own robe before reaching out with his mind.

'Logan,' he said when he found the conscious of the golden rider, 'I was just attacked. It might be best if you send someone up here to dispose of the body.'

He felt his master's surprise, a surprise that quickly turned to anger and regret, 'Where are you?'

'Just outside my room.'

'I will be there soon.'

With that Ragin shut of the connection. He leaned against a nearby wall, allowing his racing heartbeat to calm down. He was glad Akaysha hadn't noticed, he didn't want to disturb her, or make her worry. Before long he heard the sound of footsteps. Logan appeared with a couple of other people. The golden rider quickly spotted the dead body.

"What happened?" asked Logan.

"Another one of Tharin's," Ragin muttered, "He would have killed me if it hadn't of been for my wards. As you can see, I returned the favour."

The other rider knelt by the body, "Do you know who he was?"

"No. I didn't break his mind before I killed him. He did say they would keep coming though. It seems like Tharin has an entire army he's sent after me."

"We did intercept some people trying to sneak in with ill intentions," admitted the golden rider, "It seems we didn't get everyone."

"I told you they would come after me," Ragin said softly, "It is only a matter of time before another gets through."

"I will talk things over with Eragon," Logan stood back up.

"Good. Now, I'm going to go to sleep. I'll leave you to deal with this," the thief said before turning and walking into his room, sliding the door shut behind him. After a moment's thought he whispered a quick spell to make sure that if it were opened he would be alerted. He didn't want to risk getting attacked again.

He placed his sword by his bedside and dressed in some more comfortable garb for sleeping, and lay back on his bed with a long sigh. It was surprisingly lonely in his room without the familiar presence of Akaysha sleeping in her nest. He touched her mind again and was surprised to find that she was now fast asleep. A smile crossed his lips. He would tell her everything when she returned. For now he would let her enjoy herself.

He closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep, but the attempted assassination continued to run through his head. That and the kiss with Freya, along with all the complications that came with it. Eventually he gave up trying to rest and sat up from his bed. He rummaged through the clothes he had left on the floor and pulled out the mirror he had scavenged, before laying back on his bed again.

He began to pick at the enchantments around it with his mind. It was relatively easy to figure out that it was a scrying mirror. One that could be used to talk over long distances with other people. He could guess who it was used to contact, and a rather daring side of him was tempted to try and talk with the man on the other side. He quickly disregarded that idea though, the last thing he needed right now was to talk to the man hellbent on killing him.

Fate didn't let him have his wish however. Almost as soon as he had had the thought a pulse of magic ran through the mirror, causing him to narrow his eyes. The face of it turned black like ink, before an image became quite clear in it. It looked like a small study, with a small shelf of books to one side and a desk and chair situated in the centre. The flickering orange light of a fire was visible, though the flames were too far to the left for him to actually see them. But it was the man sitting in the chair behind the desk that demanded his attention.

Tharin Foeswarn looked as ruthless as ever, his hard eyes, fancy dress and neatly combed brown hair all boasting control. The man smiled when he saw Ragin, not at all surprised to find the rider on the other side of his spell. For a moment the thief hesitated, before narrowing his eyes.

"Tharin," he said, stating the man's name with all the anger and hate he could muster.

"Ragin, I see you have successfully found one of my message mirrors," Tharin said, seeming far too calm for the rider's liking.

"You wanted me to find one?"

"Of course. I was a little disappointed you didn't scavenge one from the first assassin you killed. I've been wanting to talk to you for a long time now."

"A strange way to show it, sending scores of people to kill me."

"Aaah, I knew that you wouldn't be so easily lain to rest, especially by the common assassin. Though I must admit, getting them into New Doru Araeba was more difficult than I anticipated."

"What do you want Tharin?" Ragin growled, not wanting to play this game of idle chit-chat with the man he hated the most.

"So serious Ragin. Why, you should be happy. Tonight you finally slipped out of your shell a little, laughing, drinking, dancing. Even scored yourself a kiss. I was surprised you didn't take it any further."

The rider froze at that comment, a bolt of fear running through him.

"And of course, your dragon is having the time of her life. You named her Akaysha didn't you. A nice name," Tharin glanced to his right at something to the side of his mirror, "You don't know who she is with do you? It's that orange dragon, Freya's one. What's his name? Haraytor or something like that? They are sleeping now, in a cave toward the peak of one of the mountains around the dragon city. She seems happy."

Ragin instantly tried to reach out his mind in an attempt to warn Akaysha, but it was like a massive wall had been placed in the way, and no matter how hard he hammered it, he couldn't get through. He glared at the man in the mirror, gritting his teeth. He went to get to his feet, thinking he would try warning one of the other riders of what was happening, but Tharin's voice stopped him.

"I wouldn't do anything rash if I were you, young rider," Tharin said rather menacingly, "I mean, we wouldn't want Haraytor to wake up to a dead mate now would we?"

"You leave her out of this!" growled Ragin through gritted teeth.

Tharin laughed, the sound sending a shiver down the rider's spine, "And why would I do that? She is mine, isn't she? You stole her from me."

"I was never payed. So there has been no transaction. She isn't yours."

"She hatched under my roof, if you remember. It was my magic that made her what she is," Tharin's eyes gleamed, "And I will not hesitate to take back the life I have made."

Ragin hesitated, "So you were the one that gave her access to wild magic."

"Yes, I am, but that is irrelevant. You see Ragin, I am willing to forgive your trespass, even forget it, should you give back what you owe."

"I'm not giving you Akaysha."

Tharin laughed again, "No, of course not. She is not what I want now. You can have your little dragon rider fun. No, you owe me an egg, my young thief, and you will pay me what you owe."

"If you think I'm about to steal a dragon egg for you, you are sorely mistaken," said Ragin with narrowed eyes.

"Am I? Am I really? I mean, you could refuse, but does Akaysha's life really mean that little to you? I thought the rider's bond was the strongest bond there is."

"If you hurt her, nothing in this world will stop me from hunting you down and slitting your throat," said Ragin dangerously.

"I... am... terrified!" the man chuckled, showing he was anything but, "I am sure you would try. Of course, there is only one way to find out how successful you would be if you chased such an endeavor."

He looked to the mirror at the side, seeming to be talking to someone else, "Kill the dragon at your will."

"Wait! No! Don't!" Ragin cried out in anguish.

Tharin held up his hand to the mirror Ragin assumed was next to the one he was looking out from.

"I'll do it! I'll steal your damned dragon egg," he said, "Just don't hurt her."

A frighteningly large smile crossed Tharin's face as he leaned forward on the desk, "I see you are beginning to see reason."

"You are beyond reason," The rider snarled.

"You are entitled to your own opinion, my young friend," Tharin shrugged, sitting back in his chair, "Of course I can't just take your word for it can I? I'll need you to swear an oath in the ancient language."

Again the rider's eyes narrowed, "You realise I have already sworn loyalty to Eragon right? I couldn't break that no matter what you threatened me with."

"That is correct. What was the wording of the oath again? You are not allowed to harm anyone unless in self-defense. You are to report to your lessons each day. Not allowed to leave or plot against the dragon riders... and any forbidden magics must be kept to yourself? That's about the gist of it isn't it?"

"How do you..."

"I have eyes and ears everywhere my friend. Not even Eragon himself knows how far my influence goes. But I'm going to make it simple for you. All you need to do is swear that you'll steal a dragon egg from me, and you will try your utmost hardest to keep this a secret, even if you are discovered. You are not trying plotting against the riders, all you are doing is taking a dragon egg. Place it somewhere easy to access but difficult to find and I'll have one of my people pick it up. Easy as that. Then all debts are forgiven!"

"And you'll leave Akaysha alone?"

"Of course! I am a reasonable man."

"I want to here it from you, as an oath. An oath for an oath."

Tharin sighed, switching to the ancient language, "Very well. I, Tharin Foeswarn, swear that neither I nor anyone under my influence will harm Akaysha, your dragon, unless you refuse to bring me a dragon egg. That good enough for you?"

Ragin studied the words in his head for a moment, before nodding slightly, before saying, in the ancient language, "Then I will bring you a dragon egg."

"And you won't let anyone know of this, nor that it is I forcing you to do this," said Tharin, narrowing his eyes.

He gritted his teeth, "And I will not let anyone know of this, and hide the fact that you are behind it to the best of my ability."

"Excellent," Tharin smirked, "It's been good doing business with you. I'll hear from you soon."

With that the mirror went dark, leaving Ragin alone in his room once again, staring at the mirror in defeat as the force of what he had sworn to do hit him. He glared at the mirror for a long time, before dropping it to the ground and hitting the wall in anger. He was breathing heavily as he struggled to fight his way out of the oath he had sworn, but he couldn't think of a way out of it. Not a single way.

"I'm sorry... Akaysha," he said sadly, collapsing back against his bed, a tear in his eye.

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Hey guys! Surprise, new chapter for ya :) I actually quite enjoyed writing this one, don't judge me, I love being cruel to my characters. Anyway, vote if you enjoyed and comment what you thought. What do you think will happen next? How do you think Ragin will get out of this predicament? Anyway, next chapter will be out as soon as I can get it, I doubt it will be as quick as this one though. See Ya!

Pennator^^