Chapter 16: Fallen Crown
One head smacking against the tunnel wall. One hard punch to the midsection, followed by a kick across the face. Rayla tried to catch her breath as she took a moment to look back at the unconscious barbarians. Then she turned, realizing she was spending time she didn't have, and climbed up the ladder.
She hopped through the manhole, onto the street.
And found herself, predictably, surrounded by enemies.
"This...is becoming a particularly aggravating elf." Azrael grumbled. "Open fire."
Rayla turned, jumping onto the edge of a home, as arrows came flying at her, smacking against the wall of the building, as she climbed.
She felt a sting, as one of the arrows hit her in the leg, and she rolled upon reaching the roof, forcing the pain away as she grabbed the hostile object.
She took a deep breath, then ripped it out of her leg, blood splattering across the rooftop as she did.
She turned, in time to see the black and grey dragon soaring towards her.
Her eyes widened, and she forced herself to stand.
And run.
The pain was so fresh, so clear, but she didn't have time for it now. She leapt to another rooftop, as flames erupted from the dragon's maw.
Ezran and Callum forged ahead, splashing through the catacombs, toward the exit.
"Callum...I gotta stop..." Ezran pleaded.
"No." Callum replied firmly, eyes narrowed "She just stayed behind to buy us time, we have to keep going till we're clear."
Ezran stumbled, nearly losing his footing, and scrambling to keep running.
"Callum...I can't..."
"Jump on my back." Callum replied. "Now!"
Ezran jumped, and Callum caught him, letting out a groan as the extra weight became part of his push, a little extra momentum forward.
"Ez, when did you get so heavy? How many jelly tarts do you eat before bed?" Callum demanded.
"It's not that, I've got Bait in my backpack!" Ezran insisted, grabbing on tightly to his brother's shoulders.
"Right! Bait! How did I forget about Bait?!" Callum exclaimed.
He heard a muffled, disapproving grumble from inside Ezran's backpack.
They reached the end of the catacombs, and found, with great disappointment, a dead drop.
With a river beneath them.
"Callum...is this the only way out?" Ezran asked nervously.
"I think so, Ez." Callum replied, with a defeated sigh. "Good thing Rayla's not here. She'd hate this."
"Wait, are we really gonna..?" Ezran began.
Callum jumped over the edge, and the two plummeted down toward the river.
"Wait, what? I didn't think that was up for debate..." Callum asked, turning to look at him before the two smacked against the water.
"Azrael. Reinforcements are arriving." One of the barbarians warned. "A legion. From Katolis."
"Already?" Azrael questioned. "They are far too early."
"Azrael. We could defeat them." Rhizan said, pounding his fist against his chest.
Azrael looked up at the burning horizon.
"But at too great a cost. For now. Pull everyone back. We'll focus our efforts on pursuing the king, and his brother."
"What of the elf?" Talon asked anxiously. "She carries word of what we've done here. She's seen our dragon. She could give Katolis time to organize..."
"She is an elf. In a human land." Azrael replied. "Her word will mean nothing. Fall back. Get Borvir out of sight."
Talon nodded, bowing.
"Yes, my king."
Corvus's eyes widened, as the blaze appeared in the distance.
"No..." he whispered. "What has happened here?"
"Be ready for anything!" General Pryce commanded. "Those who committed this atrocity may still be near. We will hunt them without mercy!"
"General, that cannot be our priority!" Corvus argued. "What of the king? What of his brother? We do not know if they survived!"
Pryce, who rode a horse ahead of him, paused and turned around.
"Of course, Corvus. You are right. We must search for survivors first. Then hunt those who have committed this most heinous act, against a meeting of peace."
Corvus bowed his head, letting his horse carry him forth, as fear burned through his heart.
Fear for his young king. It made him feel sick to his stomach.
Rayla tried to dive for another rooftop, but to her own surprise, came up well short.
She crashed through a wooden barrel, and came to a painful stop, in the deserted street.
She could feel the blood loss beginning to affect her. She grabbed a rag from what had been a food stand, and began wrapping it around her bleeding leg.
The arrow had done its work. She was barely able to stay conscious.
The lights of the fire around her were beginning to dim. She tied a knot tightly, cutting off the blood loss, then, as she tried to stand back up, the darkness enveloped her.
She fell.
The current was so strong. Stronger than Callum had expected it would be.
His bones were still ringing from the impact with the water, as he was carried forth, away from what remained of Etheros, toward the unknown.
He didn't know which way they were going. He could look to the stars, but they were still close enough to the city, that the stars were invisible beneath the haze of smoke.
He could no longer hear the dragon behind them. But that wasn't his problem now.
His problem was that he could barely keep his head above water. And this current was carrying him far too quickly for him to be in control.
He turned around, and saw a soaked Ezran, his backpack still attached by a single strap, Bait sticking out of the flap, a look of panic in his big eyes.
"Callum...Callum help!" Ezran called, trying to reach for him.
Callum turned, and grabbed his hand, trying to pull him closer.
And just as he did, he slammed against a bank, letting out a grunt of pain.
As he and his brother were rudely, but safely deposited onto a sandbar.
Ezran was thrown into Callum's chest by the impact, and he looked up at his brother with wide, terrified eyes.
Valley of Graves-Freddie Wiedmann
"Callum...they're all...they're all..."
"I know. I know, Ez. It's gonna be okay. They didn't...they didn't make it, I'm sorry. But it'll be okay." He said, rolling over, and coughing up water.
"Didn't make it?" Ezran asked, standing up slowly.
Anger in his young eyes.
"Didn't make it?! This isn't some royal dinner party, Callum, they're dead! They're all dead! They just died so I could get away! That's not okay! That's not going to be okay!"
"Ezran..." Callum began, standing up.
"No, no, I don't care if I'm king, theres one of me! I'm just one kid, how many people were in that city?!"
Callum closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"HOW MANY, CALLUM?!" Ezran demanded, a few tears burning his cheeks.
Callum looked back at the distant flames, eyes sunken.
"Hundreds." He said quietly. "Maybe...maybe more, I don't know."
Ezran shook with rage. But then his eyes began to soften, from rage to sadness. To sorrow.
He sank to one knee, as tears began to stream down his face, and Callum rushed in to embrace him.
"How...how could someone do that?" Ezran asked. "How?!"
"I don't know Ez..." Callum replied, shaking his head slowly. "I don't know. But they're not gonna give up. They came there for us. They did all that, to try and catch us. We can't stop, we have to keep moving."
Ezran shook his head.
"No. No, we can't, we can't run away, what about Rayla?!"
The words cut deep into Callum's heart. Like a hot blade.
He let out a low sigh, the pain evident in his breathing.
"She did what she did so you could get home, Ez. So we could get home." He looked up at Ezran, as tears spread in his eyes. "We have to go. Come on..." he begged.
Ezran let out a sob. Then he nodded.
"Okay...okay. I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm sorry for bringing you, for bringing her, Callum. I never wanted any of this to happen..."
"I know." Callum replied, lifting him up. "I know, don't be sorry Ez, come on. We need to go..."
The two brothers slowly made their way forward.
Toward the border of Katolis.
9 years earlier.
"Wooden swords? Already? Are ya sure?" Lain asked, worry in his eyes.
"My dear. She's a natural. Ya cannot deny a natural her gift." Tiadrin replied.
"Aye. I suppose." Lain replied. "I just...can't see her as a soldier. Or an assassin..."
"Of course not my dear." Tiadrin replied, looking into her husband's eyes. "She's your baby. Our baby. I'm...struggling to come to terms with it myself. But it's a inevitable, with her talent. And it's never too early to start preparin. She's gonna be grown up before we know it."
Lain paused.
"Dear...I don't think she's as asleep as she's lettin on."
Tiadrin arched an eyebrow. "Is that so?" She asked, gazing upon the resting moonshadow elf.
Rayla closed her eyes a little tighter. Trying not to smile, as her deception was revealed.
"Should we tickle her?" Lain asked.
"Nah. Let's just wait. She's onto us now. She's onto us bein onto her." Tiadrin said with a chuckle.
There was a moment of tense silence.
Then impatience got the better of the two.
"Whose my little adoraburr?!" Tiadrin exclaimed, tickling the little elf's sides. "Who?!"
Rayla let out a screech, and squirmed, eyes shooting open, as she tried to wriggle away.
"Ahhh! Quit it!" She exclaimed, trying to roll away.
"Sneaky little one." Lain commented. "Maybe you're right dear. She's got some natural stealth to her."
"So..." Rayla said breathlessly, looking up at the two. "I'm gettin swords?"
Rayla's eyes shot open. She was breathing heavy.
She tried to grab for her leg, to see if she was still bleeding, but found she couldn't reach.
She wasn't dead. That much was apparent. She could hear soldiers marching.
Armored soldiers. Not barbarians. She let out a low breath of relief.
Maybe it was all over. Maybe Callum and Ezran had already reached safety, maybe Azrael had already been defeated.
She paused, realizing she couldn't move her wrists, and with a look down, she saw that her hopes were too high.
She was in shackles. Her hands chained together, the chain connected to the stone floor.
She pulled on them. Letting out a grunt of frustration as she struggled.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It would lead to certain presumptions of guilt." A voice called.
She looked up, to see a human approaching, clad in armor.
"What's goin on? Get these things off me!" She said angrily.
"I'm afraid I cannot." The voice replied.
As her eyes adjusted, she recognized him.
General Pryce.
"Not until I've cleared you of the charges you face." He continued.
"Charges?!" Rayla exclaimed. "What charges?!"
"Well...an entire city has burned. Not one soul has walked away alive. No survivors...not even the king."
Pryce tossed an object, that skittered across the floor toward Rayla.
As it came into the light, she realized, with horror, what it was.
The burned, charred crown of King Ezran.
Rayla's eyes widened when she saw it.
"No...no, that can't be. I got him to safety...I got them both to safety. There must be some kinda mistake..." she said, a tear forming in her eye, as she examined it.
"They're gone. Just like the entire city. All of its people...except for you. Elf." General Pryce stated, eyes turning with hatred towards her. "Rayla of Xadia. You are hereby charged with high treason against King Ezran, and the Kingdom of Katolis."
