Sorry about the late update! This is like the most important chapter of the story, so, naturally, I got major writer's block... ;) And, when I was finally done, my stupid comp wouldn't let me download it! . But anyways, enjoy! Thanks to .Hale for betaing!

After Galbatorix dismissed her, the same servant woman, Mildred, led her up a couple flight of stairs to a lavishly decorated bedroom, chatting all the way about frivolous gossip about people she neither cared about nor would ever meet her entire life. But Nasuada didn't say anything and gratefully followed the woman through the vast hallways.

"These are your chambers, m'lady," Mildred proudly declared as they entered the spacious room. The theme was blood red, light blue and ostentatiously wasted hoard of gold.

"Thank you," Nasuada numbly said, seating herself on the vast, red and blue silk bed.

Mildred winced, "You know, m'lord Murtagh is quite attractive," she said, trying to sweeten up the situation.

"I know. Thank you."

"He is quite a catch in this kingdom."

"I know, thank you."

"I am told he is gentle and caring… Many women would kill to be in your shoes."

"I know. Thank you." She repeated once more. She appreciated how this woman was attempting to sugarcoat her upcoming rape, but it was not helping.

Mildred sighed and briskly walked over to the vast wardrobe. "Let's pick out a chemise, shall we? Now, what do you prefer?" She pulled out a blood red one, cut a bit low for Nasuada's modest taste, "How about this? Red has always been m'lord Murtagh's favorite color."

"Fine. Thank you."

She looked slightly discouraged, but said nothing about that. Nasuada held up her arms and allowed Mildred to dress her.

How am I to get through this? As much as she hated to admit, there was a trickle of hot excitement that rushed down her spine at the prospect of sharing a bed with Murtagh. How would it feel to touch that pale skin? - To kiss those cold lips, to have those long fingers run down her naked body? She shivered at her unwanted thoughts and quickly extinguished all desires with numb indifference.

This would be rape, yet she would not fight him. He was much stronger than her and it was pointless to even try. But he could not break her if she gave in. He could not humble her and wrench her spirit away if she walked in and gave her body away with cool arrogance.

Nasuada winced as Mildred dragged a brush through her unruly hair. Tonight, Murtagh was going to take possession of her body, but there was no way he was to access her mind. She would stay strong. A tear rolled down her cheek. Ajihad would have been proud.

***

Your actions tonight were very unwise.

Murtagh was currently seated at his desk, attempting to read a scroll written in the ancient language. He sighed, but did not put his scroll down. I realize that, Thorn. Reacting so hastily to protect Nasuada was imprudent.

No, that is not what I meant.

Thorn was close by, sleeping on the floor below instead of in Murtagh's chambers as always because of the company his rider was expecting. Close enough for Murtagh to hear each word his dragon said as clearly as if he were standing right next to him. So how come he heard that wrong? I beg your pardon? I must have heard you incorrectly.

No, you did not. What you said to Galbatorix was… hasty, but still practical. I'm glad you saved the princess. Blocking me out of your mind was perhaps the most foolish thing you've ever done in my life span.

Murtagh winced, I apologize, Thorn. It will not happen again.

Good.

Well… actually…

He could feel Thorn wince. Yes, Murtagh, tonight I will allow separation of our minds because I do not wish to… witness this evening, but this is the only exception. Are we clear?

Crystal.

Good. She is coming now, so I will be off. Have fun, Murtagh.

Er, thanks? But he was already gone.

Murtagh sighed and sure enough, there was the sound of footsteps in the hall. He stared intently down at his scroll, trying to ignore the thumping of his heart, but he couldn't help but notice that it was taking too long for Nasuada to make her appearance. Belatedly, he heard a firm rap on the door.

"Enter," He idly said, marking a note in a passage with his quill. Her movements were silent and graceful, but the waft of jasmine that came with her presence confirmed that it was Nasuada.

She stood there for a second, awaiting his orders, but when he didn't even look up from his scroll, she lightly took a seat on his bed, her back as straight as her good breeding made it. She didn't know if he was nervous or simply irritated with her, but just ignoring her… She was a queen, the damn ruler of the Varden. She'd let him hit her, use her body, yell at her, anything but this arrogant ignorance. Rulers suffered, always, for the good of their people, but they were never to be disrespected so. She wouldn't let it happen.

Nasuada ran her fingers down the silk spread of the bed, slightly envious. They haven't had riches like these since… She couldn't even remember back that long. She sighed loudly, just to spite him. Murtagh's ears twitched with annoyance, but other than that, there was no sign that he had actually heard her.

Now it was her turned to be annoyed, "I hope you are not too busy for tonight, Murtagh?" She lazily drawled, "Surely there is nothing so urgent that you cannot come to bed?"

He finally turned to face her, but instantly regretted it. Nasuada's skin shone like ebony underneath the clingy silk and lace that hugged her shapely figure. Her hair had been loosened from its numerous clips and twists and now hung like a sheet of black silk across her shoulders. Her eyes were dark and seductive. He had never seen anything so beautiful.

Murtagh slowly put down his scroll and walked up to sit on the bed next to her, though as far away from her as possible. True, he has had women in his bed before, but never a queen, and certainly not one as elegant and simply regal as Nasuada. He didn't know where to begin, but he did know that they had to begin. And soon. Galbatorix wouldn't like him being gentle. Murtagh knew he should just grab her and force himself on her, but he couldn't. It wasn't as though he didn't want to. Every aggravating hormone in his body was begging him to, but he couldn't. He had too much respect for her to use her so. Besides, his nerves made it rather difficult.

Nasuada gave him an expectant look, "We are both to be killed if we do not… begin." Truth be told, she was nervous, too, but she was not about to let him see her in such a weak state.

Murtagh looked frustrated as he ran a hand through his slightly mussed hair. Nasuada froze and her eyes locked on the simple action, but he thankfully didn't notice, "I know," he quietly said, refusing to meet those dark, accusing eyes.

They were silent for a couple minutes. Nasuada inhaled deeply, closing her eyes, "Just do it," She finally said through clenched teeth.

He knew that he should stop hesitating and just get it over with. Instead, he looked down at his hands, "I don't know if I can," he admitted in a quiet voice.

There was a long, thick silence for a good part of a minute. Suddenly, Nasuada threw her head back and laughed- actually laughed. Murtagh tensed and his eyes narrowed to slits. Rage replaced his uncertainty. He despised being weak. "Oh, that is rich!" Nasuada exclaimed, wiping moisture from her eyes, "The man who kidnaps me, plans to destroy my people, and is a minute away from raping me, feels concern for me!" She burst into another round of laughter.

His gray eyes were fiery, "In case you do not recall, princess, I was the one who saved you from becoming my master's bed toy."

Her usually clear, bell-like laughter was dark and mocking, "If I were in Galbatorix's bed, we'd have finished already."

"He would have murdered you afterwards," Murtagh darkly pointed out.

"As opposed to later, after I've had to endure you?"

They were both on their feet now, but Murtagh towered over her by a mile. Surprisingly, Nasuada didn't feel an ounce of fear. All she felt was the rage that was reflected in Murtagh's eyes. "For your information, your highness, I-"

"You what?" Nasuada shot back, "You are on the side of a madman planning to destroy all of Alagaesia! The last time we met, you told me you were a good person," her voice softened, "What happened, Murtagh?"

He was extremely aggravated as he began to pace back and forth, "He knows my true name!" he quickly defended himself, "Galbatorix has unlimited control over me!"

"And all the Varden are suffering as a consequence of that little detail."

His eyes were blazing gray heat, "No stranger's life is more important than my own or Thorn's."

Nasuada's eyes were black slits, "You say that as though you practice it in front of the mirror so you can sleep at night."

Murtagh looked troubled, "The desire to save my own skin is not a sin, princess."

There was a split second of silence before the rage in Nasuada bubbled up to the surface, "I trusted you," her voice was quiet but deadly, "I mourned your death; I actually believed you to be my friend and you betrayed me. How can you live with yourself?"

He grimaced, "I had no choice."

A muscle twitched in her jaw, "Then kill yourself."

"What?"

"There are hundreds, thousands of innocent men to die for your stubbornness. Do you want Galbatorix to triumph?"

He shook his head, "I did not choose to be a part of this. Life is too sweet for me to give up over a petty argument over nations."

"A petty argument?! How can you possibly say that?! Galbatorix is a monster! He killed my mother! He killed my father! And now, he's killing my people! I may not have been able to prevent the first two from occurring, but I am not going to allow anymore innocent people to die because of one madman's whims!" Her dark cheeks flushed with anger and Murtagh couldn't help but notice how beautiful it made her.

"And what do you propose I do about this?"

Her eyes flashed, "Kill yourself!" She demanded again, "With you out of the way, the war is even! Eragon can defeat Galbatorix and lives would be spared! You are the only thing in the way!"

His eyes were so stormy, she was fearful for a second. Suddenly, he lunged forward and grabbed her face between his hands. Before she could complain, he crushed his lips on hers. Nasuada had only been kissed twice before; once when the farmer's son was dared to when she was nine and a second time when she was thirteen and her friends dared her to. She hadn't even kissed Orrin, her fiancée, yet. But none of the kisses she'd experienced in her short life time felt like this.

Murtagh wanted her; he wanted to kiss every inch of her body but he also wanted to hurt her; make her pay for her comments. The end result was explosive. Passion and anger fueled the kiss so she felt his hands grabbing her hips hard enough to bruise while his hot, wet tongue slipped past her lips to mingle with her own. His musky scent filled her nose and the softness of his hands in her hair sent shivers down her spine. It was a sensory overload. Alarmed, Nasuada immediately pulled back. At the loss of physical contact, her body felt cold. Her heart rate was dangerously high and she was out of breath.

Murtagh raised a dark eyebrow at her, "There are about a hundred different ways I could make you obey me without speaking a single word." To prove his point, he dismally waved his hand and her sheer chemise fell off, leaving Nasuada clad only in her under things.

She angrily crossed her arms over her chest, "Do you really think your life is worth more than another man's? A thousand men? What makes you special? The fact that you're a murderer? You only cause death and destruction! Let someone else; a good person live!"

That hit home. It was all true. What made his life more important than someone else's? The truth hurts. Murtagh suddenly wished that Thorn was there to restrain his temper in case he decided to do something he regretted. "You don't understand anything about me, so don't pretend like you do," A second later, Nasuada was tossed backwards by invisible hands onto the bed.

She tried to move up, but the invisible bindings were suddenly replaced by Murtagh's own body, hard and brutally demanding. Compared to how he was now, he was playful a minute ago. Now, he was vicious. His body pressed against hers on every side like an iron cage. His tongue and lips were no longer soft but ferocious against her soft skin, moving hard enough against her skin to bruise. This wasn't right. But still, Nasuada found herself mewing in surprise and wallowing in the pleasures his body created against hers. Somehow, she managed to resist enough to pull her face away. He took that opportunity to ravish her neck and chest.

"You're a selfish bastard!" She hissed at him, biting her tongue to keep from moaning in pleasure as he nibbled on her bare shoulder, "How do you not feel guilt killing all these innocent people? No man's life is worth less than yours. You're just so… pathetic." She spat out.

Instantly, everything changed. Murtagh froze in the action of stripping of the rest of her clothing and quickly removed himself from his tight molding to her body. His face was covered in shadows, but Nasuada could make something out in the dim light… Was it shame that clouded his eyes?

Murtagh guiltily looked away from the half-naked princess on his bed. "I know," he quietly said, his tone filled with self-loathing.

There was a shuffling sound next to him and he looked up to see Nasuada position herself next to him. Her hair was rumpled from his mussing, her cheeks were flushed, and there were only a few scraps of silk covering her smooth skin. "Good," She said, her voice husky. Their eyes met and before he knew it, it was her who leaned over to gently smooth a kiss on his lips…

To those who were expecting lemony smut, sorry, but I didn't find that necessary. I wanted to focus primarily on them, not the sex... Yup. But anyways, reviews= love! ;)