Well, here's my first attempt of The Dragon Price fanfiction. I got bored, decided to watch the show, actually loved it, and now here we are. Hope you guys enjoy this short little story and as always feedback is appreciated.
One night, after helping to set up camp, Rayla made her way to the nearby stream. Despite the fact that she despised being in water or a boat going through water, she rather liked the sound of it moving. The gentle trickles and splashes provided her mind with much needed ease. Life hadn't been kind to the young moon shadow elf. Four moons prior, her parents shamed the family by failing to protect The King of Dragons and the Dragon Prince's egg. That burden trickled down to her. To gain back the respect and acceptance of her people, she joined the Elven Assassins. Serving justice to the humans would be her only shot at redemption.
Rayla gazed at her wavy reflection in the stream. Her eyes looked tired. The features of her face looked young still, being only fifteen, but yet looked wiser than perhaps they should have. Some days, she wanted to cry. Her parents ruined her life and abandoned her to pay the price. Nothing about it could be described as remotely fair.
She brought her knees close to her chest as she sat down on the bank. Even her friends back home stopped hanging around her. They all believed because of what her parents failed to do, her blood became cursed as a result. Callum and Ezran were the first beings in months she felt comfortable calling friends. Yet, she felt lonely. All of the turmoil bottled up inside ached. It needed to find a way out.
"Hey, Rayla!" Callum spoke behind the elf, causing her to jump slightly in surprise. "What're you doing here, I thought you hated water?" He asked, sitting next to his pointy-eared friend.
Rayla turned her head away slightly. She already felt on the verge of tears. Letting Callum see her weak couldn't be an option. "Ah don't hate water. Ah hate bein' in water. We all kinda have ta drink tha stuff ta live." She jabbed.
"Well yes, fair point. I guess at least that's something humans and elves have in common." Callum pointed out. He briefly thought of a strange reality where the common need for water to survive united the crossed races.
Rayla wanted to be alone at that moment. But telling Callum to go away would raise suspicion. "Hardly think that will end tha war, Callum." She said. "But hopefully returnin' tha Dragon Prince will."
"Yeah." Callum agreed. "I hope it is just that easy." He looked at the water as Rayla had been doing when he arrived. It seemed so calm and gentle. The stream reminded him of their earlier boat trip over the waterfall. Once the chaos of saving Bait from the sea monster ended, Rayla admitted her parents weren't dead as she previously stated, but wished they were. "Hey, Rayla? Do you really wish your parents were, you know, what you said before?" He asked.
Rayla felt the same twinge of anger she felt every time someone mentioned her parents. Her people mocked her for their failure. "Yes... b-but no, and yes... Ah don't know..." She covered her face with her hands. "It's complicated."
The conflict in her voice concerned Callum. "Were you close? Before The King of Dragons was killed?"
"No." Rayla spat, turning away. "We weren't."
Callum winced. Obviously talking about her parents hit a tender spot in an otherwise very hardy elf. "Oh, I'm sorry." He apologized, not seeing another way out.
"It's not yer fault they were always too busy ta pay attention to me." She spoke sorrowfully. "Then they went and ruined ma life by failing ta protect tha King of Dragons."
"Well that's rough." Callum observed. "But do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Only child." Rayla answered quickly.
Callum paused in silence. "Rayla..."
"It's fine. I'm fine." She cut him off. "Ah need ta live mah own life now. They had their chance ta be a part of it, but they messed it up."
A loving family of some sort always had a place in Callum's life. Hearing Rayla brush off her parent's existence like they didn't even matter made his chest tighten. "Do... Do you love them?"
The ache in Rayla'a chest throbbed up into her throat. "Ah..." She pulled her knees closer to her chest, resting her eyes over the rippling water of the stream out in front of her. "Th-they're mah parents, Callum. Ah hate everythin' they've ruined for me and for all of mah people. B-but they're mah only family, and ah still love em'."
Callum felt slightly relieved she admitted that she still loved her parents. He couldn't even fathom hating his parents, even if they had passed. "I'm glad you said that, Rayla." He said. "Even though they made some mistakes, I'm sure they still love you too."
Rayla rested her chin on her knees while battling against a hopeless fight with her emotions. She wiped a tear from her cheek as quickly as she could.
"W-woah, are you crying?" Callum asked, surprised. In most of the stories told to him as a child about elves, most of them emphasized their inability to show emotions like sadness or regret. Just another item to add on the list of lies about elves.
"N-no! Ah got dirt in mah eye!" She defended loudly. "Ah don't cry!"
Callum turned his torso towards the elf. "Rayla... It's okay to cry sometimes. When something makes you feel sad or lonely, it can help." He spoke quietly.
Rayla couldn't stop her eyes from welling up with more tears. They came, and she couldn't force them to stop. She choked a bit on them, not used to letting her emotions go free.
Seeing an elf cry further twisted Callums's perceptions of the species. They felt all the same love, pain, excitement, fear, joy and anxiety as humans did. "Hey, you know what always makes me feel better when I'm down?" He asked, opening his arms wide. "A good hug."
Rayla sniffled, tilting her head towards her human friend. No one had been so kind to her as he and Ezran had been. She leaned into him and accepted the embrace. His arms tightly around her made her feel so safe. She sobbed into his shoulder quietly.
Callum held her for a few minutes, and she didn't seem to want him to let go. He could clearly see how neglected and alone she truely felt. Her parents passed a terrible burden on to her: one she could not deny. She needed someone to care about her. Finally, the embrace broke, and he could see her red, hurt eyes.
"Y-you won't t-tell anyone about this, right?" Rayla asked anxiously.
"It's our secret, Rayla." Callum assured. "But for future reference, Ez and I are here for you. That's what friends are for."
Rayla sniffled, taking in what strange, new, relieving things had occured. "Th-thank you, Callum." She said.
Callum smiled. "Now why don't we go back to camp? It's getting cold and Ez is keeping the fire going." He suggested.
A small gust of wind made Rayla shiver. "Why don't ya go ahead? I'll catch up." She assured. "Ah just need to think by myself for a minute."
Another gust of wind forced Callum to shiver. "Alright, but don't be too long. It's cold out here." He said, getting up and walking back towards camp. Rayla looked back over the water, trying to remember the last time her parents hugged her. "Ah hope ah can see them again after this is all over." She said aloud. "Ah don't really wish you were dead." She wiped her eyes again and stood up. The journey of redemption had only begun.
As soon as Rayla said she wished her parents were dead and explained why, I knew I had to write a little piece on it. I hope you liked it and let me know if you have ideas or suggestions!
-GoldAlpha