Runaan's POV
It was quiet whenever the High Mage leaves to retrieve something else for his dark magic. But the somewhat peaceful silence was shattered when my ears picked up footsteps approaching the door to my cell, I opened my eyes to see him entering. The human closed the door partway before setting down the bowl he was carrying. "Enough brooding, elf. My patience wears thin." He said before pulling the cloth aside to reveal a mirror, "Tell me what you know about this relic or I will seal your fate." My eyes widen a bit as I recognize the runes inscribed on the mirror's frame. "It couldn't be…" My mind flashes back to the story that used to scare me as a child of an elven thief who tried to steal from the Dragon King and Queen– only to be sealed away within the mirror, never to be seen again. But they say that anyone who provokes the spirit of the thief will get pulled into the accursed mirror. But that's impossible; it was only a cautionary tale to make children behave– yet like the egg of the Dragon Prince, I'm seeing it with my own eyes.
"You have succeeded." I said, "Oh, have I?" The High Mage asked me. "That mirror? You have found something worse than death." I told him, "Then, tell me. What is it?" he questioned. I know better than to tell him, lest I provoked the thief's spirit. "I will never help you." I just hope this monster gets pulled into the mirror when he provokes the thief… "Then you are of no use to me." the human then grab for his staff and adjusted its form. He began to mutter something before the jewel on his staff and his eyes began to glow, causing me to realize too late on what he's doing. I could feel the excruciating pain as my life force is being pulled away from me and toward his staff, only for the ritual to suddenly stop. I gasp for air when my life force quickly return before noticing the High Mage on the floor as the door opens, revealing a cloaked figure standing at the threshold…
Azura's POV
"Thank goodness…" I breathed out my relief, if I hadn't intervene when I did… I shook my head in order to focus on the situation at hand. I walked over to the unconscious High Mage before moving the staff away from him and searching his body, "You have some nerve touching the dead like that." I turned my attention to the moonshadow elf chained to the wall. He was shirtless with one of his horns broken and his turquoise eyes glaring back at me; not only with interest, but also with contempt. "First of all, he's asleep. And second, you're welcome for saving you from a fate worse than death." I said, not taking any of his attitude– even though he is quite handsome… for an elf. I shook that thought out of my head when I found the keys, "But… to tell you the truth, that monster doesn't even deserve to live." I added with venom in my voice as I look back at the High Mage.
I carefully walked over to his right arm and unlock the shackle before giving him the keys, allowing the elf to free his other arm. I reached down to grab the staff when I notice from the corner of my eye, the elf struggling to stand before sitting back down and grimace in pain. "Must have been refusing the food. Figures…" I thought to myself before digging into my satchel for a small bottle, "Here, you should drink this." he looked at me guardedly when I offer it to him. "It's an elixir– created with medicinal herbs and charged with various crystals. It will help with your injuries and restore some of your strength." I explained as I knelt down in front of him, only for the elf to smirk. "You must be more naïve than I thought… Just because you helped me doesn't mean that I'd fall for your lies. As far as I'm concern, your 'elixir' could be poison." I glared at him; and although I'm not having any of his ingratitude or him calling me 'naïve', he does have a rather good point– Trust is something that is earned and not given. Looks like I'll have to convince this stubborn elf that I'm not a threat of any sort and telling the truth.
Runaan's POV
I watched carefully as a human hand pull out a small dagger and use it to cut the other hand… Opening the bottle, the figure carefully poured some of its contents in the same hand before drinking it– causing the wound to mend itself in a comforting light. "Sorry to disappoint, but dealing with poison is never my specialty." A female voice said, showing a healed hand. My eyes widen when I realized that a human proved me wrong… and I walk right into that. It was one thing for Rayla to defy me, but this… I grabbed the bottle from the woman and took a cautious sip, only to taste the refreshing liquid almost akin to the juice of a Xadian orange. I can feel my strength returning as I continue to drink the elixir. Once I've finished, I noticed from my reflection in the mirror that most of my injuries are completely healed, with the exceptions of a couple scars– though I can't say the same for my horn or even my arm… Hearing something, I turned my head to see the woman dragging the High Mage to where I was chained to.
"What are you doing?" I asked, "Making sure to buy us more time– and by 'us', I mean you– to escape." The human explained as she pulled the High Mage up to the wall and shackling his wrists. She then leaned the staff against the opposite wall before exiting the room. I quickly covered the accursed mirror and was about to exit as well before my eyes fell onto the pouch– I have to show this to Rayla, now that I know our parents' fates… Until now, Rayla and I thought that they ran after failing the Dragon King and Prince– with my sister referring to them as 'cowards'. I grabbed the pouch before walking out of the cell, it was then that I notice the chamber filled with ingredient used for dark magic. I shudder with abhorrence before finding my belongings nearby.
Azura's POV
"Tell General Amaya what transpired here." I sternly told Gren, earning a solemn nod from him before taking his leave. With Viren chained up, I'll have to find Callum and Ez now before Soren and Claudia… Hearing something, I turn around to see the elf gathering his belongings and putting them on before walking toward a door. "Where do you think you're going? You'll need my help getting out of here." I quickly stopped him, "I can find my way out." He said, crossing his arms. "Look, I get it that you hate humans. But it's labyrinth down here, and not many knows about it. Not even the royal family with one exception." He opened his mouth to protest before closing it again, "I will get you out of here, but you need to trust–"
"How will I know that you're not just saying it and betray me later on?" the elf questioned, still holding his ground. I let out a sigh before pulling out a ribbon made from the silk of a golden celestial moth and made him put his right hand on it, "Tivarui aem agil…" I said quietly to the ribbon before seeing it glow golden as it send off two astral projections; one to the Moonshadow elf's upper arm, and another close to my wrist. The projections then wrapped itself tight on their respective position before becoming more physical as the golden glow dies down. "What kind of dark magic was that?" the elf asked defensively as he pulled his hand away like he touched hot metal, "It isn't dark magic at all, it's a truth binding. A tangible proof that I won't go against my word, even if you want me to." I told him as I demonstrated by pulling the keys out with the 'intention' of locking the elf, only for the binding to tighten enough for me to drop the keys. "Whenever someone tries to go against their promise, the binding will tighten. But only on the one who gave their word in the first place, so you won't even get hurt. The only way for it to come off is if the promise has been fulfilled or my hand falls off. Much like the binding on your other arm." I explained before pointing to the tight, silvery white ribbon on his other arm as a comparison.
Normal POV
It was quiet, yet the slight tension still lingers between the moonshadow elf and the cloaked human for a while before Runaan let out a sigh, "Lead the way, human. The sooner I'm out of this room, the better." The figure nodded and ascend the stairs with the moonshadow elf close behind. "You and me both on that thought." The human agreed, "So, what is your name?" Runaan looked at the cloaked woman. "Is this an interrogation?" Runaan countered, "No, it's called an introduction. I personally find it degrading to be called by what you are instead of your name." the woman reply, taking Runaan aback by her shrewd remark as he recall how the High Mage refers to him as 'elf'… The only time he stopped following the cloaked woman is when he found himself exiting from a painting of a girl holding a sheep, only to be discovered by a patrolling guard. He would have killed the guard had the cloaked figure not intervened, by removing the cloak and using it as a distraction before rendering the guard unconscious. With the cloak off, Runaan can see that the human helping him is indeed a woman close to his age with sun-kissed skin. She was shorter than him by a few inches and was wearing a white shirt that expose her shoulders, light-coloured pants with a satchel and the dagger attached to her belt, and black knee high boots. Her raven hair was tied back into a ponytail and her striking eyes shame a deep blue sapphire with little efforts.
"What were you thinking? I told you I'd get you out, but not if you're captured again– or worse, killed." The woman scolded as she knelt down beside the sleeping guard and place her hand on his head, "Suie rutacsivilbo..." There was a brief light where the woman's hand touch the guard's head before fading away. "In case you're wondering, I made sure that the guard wouldn't remember seeing you– lest he alert the others. Anyways, we need to head back into the passageway." The woman said as she walked past Runaan and entered, waiting for the moonshadow elf to follow before replacing the portrait. "So, what now, human?" he asked her.
Runaan's POV
"This way." The woman gestured as she walked past me again, only for her to pause a bit. "And it's Azura." I look at her in confusion before she look back at me over her shoulder, "My name, if you wish to know for future reference." And with that, she continues her way as I realized that I referred to her twice as 'human'. While I don't trust humans as far as I can throw them, Azura has not once tried to stab me in the back– but then, it might be due to that little 'truth binding'. She always prove me wrong whenever I accused her; and yet, there's something about her that makes me wonder…
After about an hour or so of following Azura through the labyrinth-like passageway, I was greeted by the cool, evening air. I looked up at the moon and realize how many days have passed, "You know how to swim, right?" Hearing Azura's voice, brought my attention back to her. "Of course, I can swim." I was about to ask her why before I noticed she was looking over the edge of a cliff we're on, "She's not thinking of…" I thought to myself as I cautiously look over to see a rushing river below. "It's either that or going through the castle and alerting the soldiers of your escape." She said, apparently reading my mind. As much as I hate to admit it, Azura has made a valid point– it was hard enough to get into the castle to assassinate King Harrow when Rayla showed mercy to the scout… Azura pointed a section of the river where there's less rocks, "If we dive toward that area and emerge before the rocks, we'll be fine." And with that, she jumped off and landed in the water.
Normal POV
Runaan watched as Azura surfaced after a couple seconds before making her way to the shore. "That woman is either touched in the head or braver than I thought… Well, here goes nothing." Realizing that there's no going back, he took a leap of faith. The moonshadow assassin could feel the wind rush past him before plunging into the water, with the impact causing his arm to hurt due to the assassin's binding. Ignoring the pain, Runaan swim toward the surface.
Azura's POV
I scan the river for the moonshadow elf when he didn't came up. "Okay, maybe diving off a high cliff wasn't really the best idea." I was beginning to worry when I saw him break the surface, gasping for air. He made his way toward the shore, only for me to underestimate the current speed and the state of his arm. I wade in to help him out, barely catching his other arm as the current push him by. We both managed to reach dry land, only for the moonshadow elf to notice the truth binding disintegrating from his upper arm. "There's no need for the truth binding once the promise has been fulfilled." I explained as mine disintegrates, as well. "So, what now?" I asked him.
Runaan's POV
"I have to get back to Xadia." I said curtly, "The queen of the dragons needs to be informed that the Dragon Prince is still alive." As I was answering her, I reached for my bow and pulled an arrow from my quiver. "And I can't let a human go. Someone else have made that mistake." I took aim, but I really hate the fact that I'll be making another unnecessary kill. Especially when Azura had helped me escaped, talk about being ungrateful… "You don't need to waste an arrow on me. I'm not planning of going back, let alone telling anyone." The woman said, taking a step closer to the arrow. To tell the truth, I was actually taken aback by her defiance– there is no trace of fear in her eyes, despite the fact that her life was being threatened.
I raised a brow as I lowered my bow a bit, not loosening my grip. "And why is that?" I asked Azura, causing her to falter a bit. "It's because I need to find the two princes." She replied, with reluctance in her voice. And I don't blame her; after all, King Harrow was not the only target. "That human soldier I freed was originally assigned to find the two princes, but Viren imprisoned him and gave that role to his two children– only he instructed one to retrieve the egg, and the other to kill the princes." While I was confused on why the High Mage would want to kill the princes, I have an idea on where they are… or rather, where they're going.
Azura's POV
The moonshadow elf loosened his grip and replace the arrow back in his quiver. "You should come with me." He said, causing me to look at him dubiously. What if it was a trap? "The princes you're looking for are heading for Xadia to return the Dragon Prince. So it would make sense to travel together until we catch up to them." He explained. "And you're sure you'll be fine travelling with a human?" I asked, something tells me that he wasn't too pleased with that suggestion. "The sooner we find the princes, the better. We'll go our separate ways afterward, but we should get going." He said, but I've made sure Viren is chained up and that guard had the memory of seeing the moonshadow elf erased.
"The guards will be suspicious when they saw the soldier you released." Hearing him say that made me realize that he has a point. "Let's get going." I told the moonshadow elf, earning a nod from him. "It's Runaan." He said, I looked at him in confusion. "You asked for my name earlier. And it's only fair since you told me yours." He explained before he begin walking ahead of me, I quietly repeated his name before catching up to him.