A/N: Quick note, signing is in bold.
Summary: B-127 has a mission given to him by Optimus Prime, to establish an Autobot base. However after he is attacked by a Decepticon and loses his memory, he will embark on a journey with an elf assassin named Rayla and Princes Callum and Ezran to Xadia in order to stop war from destroying their world. BumblebeeXDragonPrince
Part Two
Prince Callum hadn't been doing much today, it was not until around midnight in the night did something out of the ordinary happen. From his window from his room, he spotted what appeared to be soldiers on horseback headed this way. While it wasn't unusual for soldiers to come to the castle, it was however strange given the hour. Though Callum preferred to stay out of the way and hidden, he was curious about what could have brought them here.
If they were coming at this hour, that meant something could be wrong. A knot formed in his stomach at the thought of something being wrong, what it could be was beyond him, but his imagination came up with plenty of horrible scenarios. With a glance at his sleeping brother, Prince Ezran, Callum left their room and raced down to the main floors of the castle. He stopped at the top of the stairs, he jumped back so that he would not be seen and peeked around the corner.
Two soldiers he didn't know raced to the left, his right, with an unconscious kid on a stretcher. The kid, from the brief glimpse Callum had seen, was too young to be a soldier with blood stains along his torn shirt. Callum swallowed, he hoped the guy would be the trio was out of sight, Prince Callum's attention was brought to his aunt, General Amaya and her partner, Commander Gren. As leader of the Standing Battalion, to see her leave her post meant things must be really bad.
Callum left his hiding spot and rushed down the stairs to ask her what was going on. She spotted him a moment later, her face was colored with surprise for a moment, before she smiled at him. Every day, he looked more and more liked her sister, it both hurt and filled Amaya with joy. General Amaya raised her hand to Gren, indicating that he did not need to verbally translate as Callum was fluent in sign language. Commander Gren nodded to show he understood.
Amaya signed to her nephew, Callum, what are you doing up at this hour?
Callum replied, I couldn't sleep. I didn't know you were coming home. Did something happen? Are you okay?
I am fine, Amaya started, though she hesitated to tell him everything, she realized it would be good.
Though Callum would not be King, he would have an important role once he was older and he would need to be prepared for all sorts of things. While she wished to protect his innocence and keep him from the horrors of war, she refused to coddle him. In a matter of weeks he would turn 15 and in the blink of an eye he would be an adult.
She signed to him. There was a complication at the border. It is secure, but we found a boy there. He was badly injured and we are unsure what happened to him or how he got there.
Callum nodded, he looked in the direction of where the boy had been taken. No one was ever near the border except for elves and human soldiers, so what was a child doing there?
Callum looked to his aunt again, I hope he makes it. King Harrow is still in his study I believe, I'm sure he'd want to know.
General Amaya inwardly frowned at Callum falling his step father by his title, but she sighed. Thank you. Now you should get some rest. I will see you and Ezran before my departure.
Callum nodded to her. However, before he could leave, she pulled him into a tight hug. The prince smiled and returned her hug. Though he would miss his aunt while she was away, he was always confident in her return to him and Ezran. When his mother died all those years ago, he turned to her more than anyone and she did the same to him. They were each other's connection to Sarai.
In a quiet, hoarse voice do to the lack of use, she told him, "I love you Callum."
When their embrace ended, he signed to her the same words and bid her goodnight. He told Commander Gren goodnight as well verbally and the commander nodded to him with a small smile as his own. Once Callum was out of sight, Amaya and Gren made their up to see the King and inform of the day's events.
Callum had been visiting the unconscious teen throughout all of yesterday, hoping he would wake up. The eldest prince claimed to his step father that it might help for him to wake up and see someone close to his age nearby and that it was his duty as prince to look after their guests. The King had no problem with it, so long as there was a guard posted outside.
As Callum sat in the infirmary, he studied the unconscious teen. He had short blond hair along the sides of his head and the back of it, however the interesting part of his hairstyle was the thick black locks in the front. His clothing seemed to match the hairstyle too which Callum found interesting. Though he wore the infirmary shirt and pants now, the clothes he had been brought in with were yellow and black. That wasn't the strangest thing about the teen though, on the backs of his hands and on his exposed arms were black stripes.
The marks were similar to that of the same marks elves had, but the healers and Lord Viren confirmed he wasn't an elf. The marks were similar to tattoos, if only a more intense version. At least that's what Callum had overheard last night. As he sat there in silence, the sun rising over the horizon, the teen started to stir. Callum adjusted his sitting position and would wait for the teen to notice him, give him a moment to gather his surroundings and all that.
His eyes opened, panic flared to life in his chest and the beat of his spark felt odd. A sharp and aching pain pulsed in time with his spark beat on his neck, though he could not remember where the injury had come from. He sat upright groggily, ignoring the stinging along his torso and arms. Gingerly, he brought his servo, his hand, to touch where the wound was and feel some kind of soft square there along with something smooth along the edges. He began to pull at the smooth edge, but was stopped by a voice from beside him.
"Wait, no don't do that!"
When Callum first saw the boy's eyes open, he wanted to give him a chance to gather his surroundings before making his presence known, but when he went straight for his injury, Callum knew he had to say something. Now bright blue eyes that contrasted against his tan skin stared back at him, the fear clear as day. Quickly, the teen jumped out of the infirmary bed and backed away, his legs shook slightly, but he refused to fall. One hand on his bandaged neck, the other raised in a fist, ready to fight if he had to.
"You're okay," Callum said as he rose to his feet, he raised his hand in surrender, "I, I won't hurt you."
The teen eyed him warily, his gaze cold at first, but it seemed to warm after a moment. He didn't know who this boy was, but judging by his size and physique, he decided this kid dressed in blue and brown clothing wouldn't be a threat. At least, at this moment. The black and blond haired teen tried to open his mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was a choked gasp. His face scrunched in pain, a twisting pain came to life where the bandages were placed on his neck. An injury he couldn't remember getting.
Callum spoke before the teen tried to speak again, "You're neck was injured badly, I wouldn't try talking for a couple of days. You were brought here to be treated, uh you've been unconscious for a little more than a day."
The boy tried to respond, but only as gasping sound left his lips and his face scrunched in pain at the feeling. It was as if a thick needle had been pushed into his neck, a twisting pain occurred as he tried to force words from his mouth only for gasps to enter the air. He couldn't speak, he couldn't communicate. Callum watched as all sorts of emotions flashed across the nameless teen.
"Are you okay," Callum asked unsurely.
The teen looked away from him, just as uncertain on what to do. However, he could feel his strength was leaving him so he gingerly made his way back to the cot and took a seat. His shoulders slumped, even though he was still a little scared at knowing where he was, what happened to him or even who he was, he was still too shocked at the news that he couldn't speak. The injury on his neck was new, which meant that he could talk before and now he couldn't. For some reason, that hurt a lot more than the actual injury.
"Hey, do you uh want some water or something," Callum asked as he walked around the cot to stand in front of the distraught teen.
The teen looked up at him uncertainly, he brought his hand to the bandages, but didn't try to remove them.
"The healer said whatever was used to hurt you missed your esophagus, so you should be able to eat and drink with little pain," Callum told him, hoping he answered the question in the teen's mind.
The teen just nodded. Not like he could say anything else. Callum quickly went to get the water for the teen, luckily there was some already here and he wouldn't have to go to the kitchen to get some. Even though Callum wasn't looking at the teen, he could feel his eyes on him. Once the water was in a cup, Callum brought back o the teen who sipped at it with a wince.
"Can I ask you some questions," Callum asked as he took a seat in front of the teen.
The teen frowned and touched his throat once again. Sure Callum could ask as many questions as he wanted, but it wasn't like the teen could give any definitive answers. Callum nodded, if the teen wasn't able to talk maybe he could have Aunt Amaya teach him sign language like she taught him. However, he could worry about that a bit later.
"I'll uh just stick to yes and no questions, okay," Callum said, his expression worried.
The boy nodded, a gentle smile on his face.
"Do you remember what happened to you," Callum asked next.
The big question everyone wanted to know was what or who did this to him. The rumor so far was that he had gotten too close to the border and the Sunfire elves attacked him. After all, the stories of the elves that Callum had heard never painted them in a particularly pleasant light. Especially the ones Aunt Amaya would share, which were few and far between. However it was unlikely that he would have gotten passed the Standing Battalion, so the real question was how did he even get in the divide?
The teen shook his head, no.
Callum took a breath, "Okay. Where'd you come from- wait that's not a yes or no question, uh are you from Katolis?"
The boy frowned at him, the name unfamiliar. He shook his head.
"From another human kingdom then," Callum said.
The boy shrugged his shoulders, he had no idea.
Callum blinked, "Do you not remember anything where you're from?"
A shake of his head.
"What about your family? Your name? You don't remember any of it," Callum asked in slight horror.
The boy's blue eyes flickered away from Callum, he shook his head once more and visibly swallowed. It was already terrifying enough for him to wake up in a place he didn't know, but to not remember what happened to him or where he came from. Just the idea of it made Callum sick to his stomach. He leaned forward on his knees, a solemn look on his face.
"I'm sorry," Callum told him bringing the teen's attention back to him, "Once the healer comes back, I'm sure she'll be able to help your memory come back."
He said nothing back of course, but he did nod in acknowledgement. He lifted his hand and pointed to Callum, a question in his eyes. Though the young prince didn't understand what he was point to. Callum looked down at himself, he spotted his strap and looked back at the teen.
"Are you pointing this, my bag," Callum asked as he lifted the side bag, "It holds my sketchbook and pencils."
The teen shook his head no and extended his arm further, pointing at Callum once more.
"Oh, who am I," Callum said in realization.
With a kind grin, the teen nodded.
"My name's Callum," he extended his hand to the teen.
The teen eyed it, but eventually brought his hand to Callum's and shook it. The gesture was strange, however the teen grinned at the young prince, glad to put a name to a face. If only he could put a name to himself, then things would be a lot better.
"Hey, what's that around your neck," Callum questioned when they ended the hand shake.
Confused, the teen looked down to see he was wearing a thin chain with two tags on it. Hesitantly he held the tags in his hand, studying them. The metal tags and chain were black, there was writing etched in yellow on each of them. Autobot and B-127. He wanted it to mean something to him, but it didn't ring any bells. He looked back at Callum and shrugged his shoulders to show he didn't know.
Callum nodded, "That's okay. It could come back to you later."
The teen just nodded. There was a chance, though he didn't believe that entirely. Whatever happened to him, it must have been something horrible. After a moment of silence, the door to the infirmary opened to reveal General Amaya, Commander Gren and the healer, Resa. General Amaya hadn't been expecting to see the teen awake, or to see her oldest nephew sitting with him. Though as she looked at him, she vaguely recalled hearing Harrow mention that Callum had visited the teen yesterday and that Ezran had tried to sneak their guest jelly tarts.
She signed, Commander Gren spoke, "Glad to see our patient is awake. Have you been keeping him company Callum?"
Callum answered her, "Yeah, it seemed like a good idea. He woke up a few minutes ago, but he doesn't remember what happened or where he's from."
General Amaya frowned at that, she signed as Commander Gren spoke to the teen, "You don't remember anything at all?"
The teen's shoulders slumped, he shook his head with a sorrowful expression.
"Given the trauma of his injuries, I say it was a case of amnesia," said the healer Resa as she walked over to the boys, she stood before them, "I'm going to check your stitches, to make sure they haven't torn or anything. Do you have any pain?"
The teen blinked at her, he nodded to answer that he did have some pain, though it wasn't bad. Luckily her next question would to determine how bad it was.
"On a scale of one to ten, how bad would you say it is," asked the healer as she began to pull back the wrapping.
The teen glanced at her then held up four fingers. This exchange went on for a couple more minutes with the healer asking him questions that required a nod, head shake or numbers for a scale of pain. It was fairly standard and easy enough to complete. Communicating with him wouldn't be too difficult. At least, that was the original idea.
"Would it help if you could write down what you wanted to say," Callum asked from his spot at the end of the bed.
The teen didn't react for a moment, he gave a tentative shrug. It didn't sound like a bad idea, it might make things easier for the others here, he didn't want to be a burden. However when the piece of paper was on his lap and the pencil in his hand, he found he couldn't remember how to write. He looked at the pencil curiously for moment, but shook his head.
"What is it," Callum asked with a frown.
Amaya signed, Gren spoke, "Why do you hesitate? Can you not write?"
The teen looked at them with a frown, he shook his head no. The healer said it must be due to head trauma, but that did little to comfort the teen in question.
As Callum showed him the words, the teen shook his head to show he didn't understand. His blue eyes were wide with confusion and fear, he didn't understand why he didn't know the words, just that he didn't. He could read the words on his necklace, but not the ones on the paper Callum showed him. Callum decided he would teach him to read and some sign language, Amaya thought it would be a good idea.
The General was currently on watch, standing in the doorway of infirmary as the teen was lying in bed. There were so many questions she had about where he came from, what happened to him and so much more. She turned her gaze to look back at him. The teen, who had yet been given a name, was sitting on the cot looking out the window nearest to him.
His knees were drawn up to his chest, chin resting on his arms. She felt bad for him, she couldn't imagine what it must be like to wake up in a strange place with people you didn't know and unable to communicate with them. Communicating with others had been a struggle for her when she was growing up, even when signed only a few knew the language and could respond back. Lip reading was difficult enough as it was, though having Gren sign to her what people were saying was certainly nice. Sarai had done it as often as she could, but the two weren't together all the time and Amaya had to make do.
Amaya looked to Gren and signed, I want to check on him.
Commander Gren nodded, he followed Amaya into the infirmary to where the teen was sitting. The teen glanced over at them with sad blue eyes, his eyes were still a little bright.
Amaya signed to him, Gren speaking, "I wanted to check to see if you were doing okay. You have been through quite a lot."
The teen shook his head miserably. Then his expression shifted slightly as he turned his body to face them, letting his feet rest on the floor. However what he did next surprised both Gren and Amaya. He signed to her.
I not okay.
Amaya signed, Gren speaking, "You know some sign language?"
The teen shook his head. He pointed at her hands then nodded to Gren. General Amaya looked at Gren then back to the teen as understanding dawned on her. When she had been here earlier, whenever she signed his eyes never left her hands. At first she thought it was because he hadn't encountered it before, especially since his memory was lost. Now she understood, he was trying to learn how she communicated so that he could communicate as well.
Amaya signed, Gren spoke, "You're trying to teach yourself language."
The teen's eyes lit up, he nodded and signed, Yes. Yes.
Amaya smiled at him, Gren spoke, "Brilliant. Callum suggested the idea earlier. During my stay here, I will teach you what I know."
The teen smiled back, he gave her two thumbs up to show he was pleased by that answer.