Chapter 13 – Scales and Dumb Lump

Taking a deep breath, Viren walked over to a small chest sitting at the back of his office. Grabbing a key from around his neck, he unlocked it, and lifted the lid to reveal its contents. Inside, were around twenty glass vials, neatly stacked and labelled. He looked them over, reading the text on each one. "Let me see…" he mumbled to his collection, "Ah… there." He reached out and picked one vial in particular.

Carefully, he placed it on the desk, then pulled out a cylinder with a hollow chamber and a sharp, but short needle at the end. The vial slid perfectly into the gap, and the mage held it to his shoulder. He stuck the needle into his arm before pressing the end to inject the liquid.

He grunted at the pain, but then sighed at the flow of power running through his veins. "Ahh… that's better," he said to himself, standing up and stretching his back out before looking at the box. The mage frowned at his depleting collection, but locked it up, and headed out to face the day.

~#~

"Callum! Catch!" Ezran laughed as he threw the ball at the dragon. Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to the game, and the ball ended up hitting him square in the groin.

He collapsed forward with a grunt, wings coming around to protect him from any further injury. On the side lines, Rayla laughed, but still hurried over. "Callum? You alright?"

"Fine," he choked, his voice a little pitched while he slowly stood up.

"Umm… Mr. Dragon… sir?"

The group looked up to see Soren coming over. Rayla quickly got defensive, but Callum gave him a little benefit of the doubt. Unlike his sister, this one hadn't done anything too bad yet.

"It's Callum."

"Right… yes, Callum. Umm… I was wondering… could we… talk?"

"Talk?"

"Alone?"

Rayla reached for her blades. "Umm, not gonna happen. I'm not leaving Dumb Lump there alone with the prince. Either prince, after that whole… zip-slide thingy."

"Rayla, we talked about that," Callum mumbled, "This one is alright. I can tell."

"You can?" Soren questioned, "What is it? The way I smell or… something?"

"I don't know how to explain it. It's a dragon thing. But… if you want to speak with me, then so be it." He stepped forward with a small limp, but it soon settled. He paused, then looked back, "Stay close to Rayla, Ezran."

"Alright," he agreed.

"And you be careful with him," the elf snapped, glaring daggers at the guard.

Sighing, Callum began to walk with the other sibling until they were both down the pathway, far out of sight of the others. "Sorry about Rayla. She's protective."

"I-I understand," he sighed, "I would be the same… in her position."

The dragon gave a small huff in agreement as they continued to walk around the nexus. After a few minutes in silence, he sighed. "You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yeah… um…" Soren looked to the sky, anywhere but the dragon, "Claudia… my sister… she… she told me that… you were… umm… you had been…" He took a breath and let it out quickly, "Did my dad really hold you prisoner for ten years?"

"You didn't know?"

"I had no idea…" he confessed, "I… I don't do all that magic. I just… I'm a member of the Crownguard. I prefer strength and skill over… magic."

"Yes, I can tell."

"You can?" he arched his brow, "Is this another dragon thing?"

"No." He smirked. "Your uniform."

Looking at his chest, he saw the Crownguard symbol beneath his breastplate. "Oh… yeah."

"So, you never knew about me?" He turned to face him once more, "But I want to know… what if you had?"

"Had? Had what?"

"Known about me," his eyes narrowed, watching the older male. "If you had known I was there, knowing who I am… would you have done anything?"

Soren thought for a moment, thinking about his question before nodding. "In all honesty… I don't know. I mean… you're a dragon… and dragons don't always-"

"Choose your next words carefully."

He gulped, "Take care… where they step I mean." Callum smirked at his diplomatic choice of words, but Soren continued. "What I'm trying to say is… I… don't know what I would have done. Yes… you're a dragon… and I'm a human and… we are meant to be enemies but…" he took a breath, "The Dragon Prince… was taken ten years ago. And you… you're… so young. You can't be more than fourteen, fifteen years old." He put a hand to his head and screwed his eyes shut, "You… were… were just a kid."

Callum stared at him for a moment, frowning at his reaction.

Soren took a few breaths, then nodded, lowering his hand. "Dragon, human, elf… no child deserves to go through what you did." He looked down at his feet. "I'm so sorry for what my father did to you."

The prince took a breath of his own, then held out his hand.

The Crown Guard looked at it, then at his face, "What's that for?"

"You shake it," he teased, "It's what you do when you accept someone's apology."

"Oh… right," he laughed nervously, shaking the dragon's offered hand. "So… does this mean we're friends?"

Pulling his hand back, Callum returned to the walkway, "Don't push your luck."

Soren chuckled as he went after him, "So… Callum… you're gonna… go home now?"

"To Xadia, yes."

"Alone?"

"No, I have Rayla and Ezran coming with me."

"But… Ezran is a prince… he has to… go home."

"So your sister has told me."

"He has responsibilities. People who need him."

"I need him!" the dragon snapped, his tail flicking in aggravation, "He keeps me grounded, keeps me in this world and not… the darkness." He sighed, "Ezran is my brother, and I will do anything to protect him."

"Your brother? But… he's human and…your…"

"You don't have to be related to be brothers," Callum explained, "Even less for dragons. We can claim anyone as family as long as both wish it."

"Really? Wow, I didn't know that."

The dragon froze for a moment, then looked over at him, "Neither…did I… until just now...I guess my memories are coming back. But yes, Ezran is my brother now, and it is my duty to keep him safe."

"Well, it's my duty to keep him safe too. And you do know he needs to go home, right?" Soren asked as they walked down the path, "He needs to go back to Katolis to become king."

The dragon turned back to him, "Wait… what?"

"He needs to become king."

"His father is the king."

The blonde stopped for a moment, "Callum… his father is dead."

The dragon's wings drooped. "What?"

"He… he's dead. He was killed by Moonshadow elves that night."

Thinking about the times Ezran had spoken about his father, about his plans to tell him everything that they had done, and share their story when they met once more, Callum blinked, terrified. "Ez doesn't know."

"No… I don't think he does."

The dragon averted his eyes for a moment, then grabbed him by the arm. "You can't tell him."

"What?"

"Ezran. He… he can't find out. Not yet."

"But… he needs to go home. Katolis doesn't have a king at the moment! An empty throne is… is… is dangerous. Look, I'm sorry, I didn't know you didn't know about the king. And I understand you not wanting to tell the prince but… it's all the more reason for him to return with me and Claudia."

"You I may trust," Callum said as he looked at the Crown Guard, "You have a good heart. But not her. I will not leave Ezran alone with her."

"What, Claudia? She's my sister. She wouldn't do anything to hurt… anyone."

"Say that to the hundreds of creatures she's killed to use their power for her own gain!" he growled out, "Soren, I will tell you what I told her; it is Ezran's choice where he goes. At no point have I or Rayla ever forced him to do something he didn't want to. If he wishes to return to Katolis with you, then so be it. That's my final stand on the matter."

The guard lowered his head a little. "You're a stubborn guy, you know that?"

"No, I didn't."

"Well… you are."

Callum gave a small shrug, then looked at the sword by his side. "Well, I'm sorry for attacking you last night. I saw you were going to hurt Rayla and… I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Rubbing his neck over where he'd been grabbed, Soren chuckled. "You've got one hell of a grip. But it's alright. She's protective of you and you're protective of her. Best way to be in a relationship."

"Perhaps. But I want to know more."

"More?"

"About protecting her and Ezran. I have my magic, but I don't know many spells. And my claws are good, but… I want to learn how to fight with a sword."

Thinking over it, Soren nodded. "Well, shall I teach you a few moves?"

"That would be appreciated."

"Come on then, Scales, let's go find a place to spar!"

~#~

Rayla searched everywhere, but the dark mage was gone. One second, she stood, talking to Ezran, something Rayla also wasn't happy about, and the next, she was gone. So far, she hadn't been able to find her again.

As she searched, she heard the sound of metal against metal, and turned, racing towards whoever was in danger. She found Callum and the human male in a clearing, swords drawn.

The human charged at the dragon, but Rayla sprinted forwards and crossed her blades to block the attack, then kicked Soren away. "I knew I shouldn't have left you alone!"

"No, Rayla it's alright!" Callum explained before she could attack, grabbing her arm to stop her. "It's alright! I asked him to teach me!"

"You what?"

"Teach me how to fight with a sword," he pointed to the blade in his hand. That was when Rayla noticed it was the illusion sword from her 'knighting'. She looked at Soren as he stood up, and noticed he suddenly had two swords, one in the scabbard at his side, and another in hand.

"They're both fakes?" she asked, grabbing Soren's sword and finding it blunt.

Soren nodded and even stabbed his own hand to prove the point. "Well, yeah, I wasn't going to teach him with a real sword. Someone might get hurt."

The elf turned to her charge. "I could have taught you how to fight if you asked."

"I know, but I didn't want you to worry about me," he confessed, rubbing her cheek gently, "I mean, you always protect me. But the other night… I realised no one is there to protect you. I want to be that someone that can save you from the murderous, insane swordsman, and his crazy, black-magic sister." He quickly glanced at Soren. "No offence."

"None taken."

"So please, Rayla, you can teach me later, but for now, let me train with Soren."

Looking at the guard, she decided to trust the dragon's intuition. "Fine, but if he gives you so much as a scratch," she left the threat unfinished, showing how certain she was.

Soren rubbed his neck again. "Honestly, he's more likely to scratch me."

"I did offer to shift to human form," Callum reminded him.

"Nah. Always wanted to say I fought a dragon," he chuckled, then moved to a fighting stance. "Ready to go again?"

Looking at Rayla, the dragon smiled. "Go, I'm fine," he said, then copied Soren's movements. "Ready."

As the two clashed, Rayla walked off to try and find the mage again. Internally, she was quite impressed with Callum; first magic, and now sword-fighting.

He was becoming more and more prince-like every day. And that, for some reason, made her heart flutter in her chest like a hundred butterflies.

~#~

"Haha, that was amazing!" Soren laughed as he walked along the path with the dragon that night, holding the two illusion swords over one shoulder. "You've got some real potential. Hey, if being King of the Dragons doesn't work out for you, you can always come and be a Crown Guard."

Callum chuckled too. "Well, thank you for teaching me."

"Are you kidding?! It was an honour! I wish the guards at the palace put half the dedication you did into training."

"Well, maybe tomorrow we can train again?"

"You can bet on it," he said, then punched the dragon on the shoulder, sending him forward a step. It took him a moment to realise what he'd just done. "Umm… I'm sorry! It's a human thing!"

Callum growled at him for a moment, eyes narrow and ready for the attack, but then he stopped and laughed before punching his shoulder back. "It's a dragon thing too."

"Worried I was in trouble there," he laughed nervously before they came to a fork in the path. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow Scales, and we'll do some more training."

"See you in morning Dumb Lump," Callum laughed as they went their separate ways, heading to the gazebo he, Rayla, and Ezran shared.

Shaking his head, Soren watched him leave, then went up the path to his own gazebo. The guard left the two illusion swords near the door, but as he did, he heard something from inside. He paused, kneeling down and opening the door a crack, peeking in to see his sister pacing back and forth and mumbling to herself.

"Ah… dad wants me to get the dragon back… but… he's a… prince and… kinda cute but… he's also a dragon… and… we need him and…" she groaned, "Come on Claudia, make up your mind! Either kidnap the dragon, force him back into a cell for the rest of his life… or… just get Ezran back… or… let them both go? Well I can't let them go, so that's out… and I mean…dad gave me this blood… but like… will it hurt the dragon…will Ezran get mad at me? Maybe he won't come if we take the dragon? Ugh! Why is this so hard! Okay… okay… think about this logically… Ez needs to go home to become king… and… dad needs the dragon to… to do magic to keep the kingdom safe. So… my only option… is… kidnap them both! Right, that's what I'll do. I'll have to deal with the elf but… I could just put her to sleep then trap her! So… what do I need for a sleeping spell again?"

Listening to her, Soren sank back against the ground, thinking about what she'd said, about what it was implying. He thought about Callum, how they'd bonded and had fun training. He couldn't condemn him to a life in a cell.

Standing, he ran back down the path and down the other fork, heading towards the other gazebo.

He could hear talking from the inside of this one too.

"No!"

"Rayla, please. He's a good guy!"

"Just because he taught you how to… to swing a sword does not mean we can trust him!"

The Crown Guard coughed suddenly, realising they were talking about him, and knocked on the door. "Scales! It's me! I need to talk to you!"

The door soon opened, but it was the elf. "What do you want? And who are you calling Scales?"

"It's a guy thing," he explained, pushing past her to enter the room. "Scales, you need to get out of here! Now!"

"What? Why? What's going on?"

"My sister… she… she's going to try and take you away."

"Take… me away?"

"I overheard her, she has a vial of your blood. She's going to use it to put you to sleep… and kidnap Ezran to take him home."

Callum stared at him, then grabbed the vial from his pocket before quickly crushing it in his hand. The glass didn't even graze his scales, but the liquid that ran over his hand smelled sweet. "Berry juice…" he realised in horror, turning to Rayla, "We need to go! Now!"

"I knew you were trouble!" Rayla shouted, going for her blades, but Callum stood between her and the guard.

"Rayla! He's come to warn us!"

"Yeah!" Soren agreed, "I'm giving you a chance to escape! Look, Callum doesn't deserve to be chained up! So please, take Ezran and go!"

"How? We need a way to make sure your psycho sister doesn't follow us!"

"Leave that to me! I have an idea." He nodded at the dragon. "Just get ready to go when I give you the signal."

"And what makes you think we can trust you?" the elf huffed.

Sighing deeply, Callum turned to her and held her cheeks with both hands. "Rayla… please, listen to me. Just… if you can't trust him, trust me. I can't explain it… but… I know he's good. Just like I knew you and Ezran were good. We can trust him."

She stared at him as he held her face, then slowly sighed. "Fine. I trust you Cal."

He nodded and let go of her, turning to the blonde, "How long do you need to get this distraction ready?"

"If I can get the magic moon lady to help me… twenty minutes."

"We will be ready."

He nodded, then stepped forward and held out his hand. "Good luck Scales."

"I hope we meet again Dumb Lump," he said as he shook the offered hand, then punched him in the shoulder. "Stay safe."

Soren nodded, then stepped towards Rayla and nodded politely to her as well. "Look after him."

"You bet I will."

"And Ezran…" He turned to the human, kneeling down beside him, "Come home when you're ready, okay?"

"I will, and you'll tell my dad I'm alright?"

He nodded and looked to the ground, " I'm sure he knows."

As Ezran and the guard hugged, Callum looked at Rayla and caught her eye, mouthing 'I know about the king' to her while the pair parted. Soren made his way to the door. "Be ready to move."

~#~

Sleeping spell ready, Claudia walked out of the gazebo and headed as quietly as she could towards the other one, but she soon spotted her brother running towards her.

"Claudia, I was just going to get you! Ezran and the others, they are preparing to leave."

"Now?" she gasped, recalculating her plan.

"Yeah!" he said, then turned back the way he came, his sister now hurrying with him.

Lujanne stood smiling as she spoke to the elf, dragon, and human. "I really will miss you three."

"We won't forget what you've done for us Lujanne."

"Just make sure you get the prince home."

"Wait!" Claudia called as she approached them, "Y-You can't leave now."

"Not that it's anything to do with you, but yes, we can," Rayla told her, glaring at them both. "The sooner we leave the sooner we can get Callum home."

"But what about Ezran? His father misses him!" she lied, desperate to get them to stay. "He wants to have his son back."

"Ez wants to come with us, and he wrote a letter while at the Banther Lodge explaining everything."

"But-but…"

"But what, witch?" the elf huffed, and the dragon glared at her, silently growling.

Claudia swallowed hard. "Umm…"

"Well, it doesn't matter. We are leaving, and you're not coming with us. Callum, Ez, let's go." The group turned and began to make their way towards the nexus entrance.

Claudia followed them. "Wait… I… I need to speak to Callum!"

The dragon just glared at her, but stepped back along the path for a moment.

Facing him, the mage sighed. "Callum, I… I wanted to ask you to come back with me… to the palace." She quickly held up her hands, "It won't be like last time! W-we won't chain you up or… do anything like that. We'll get you a nice room, with a bed… and… and no chains. But… but please, won't you consider it?"

He continued to glare before turning and heading back to Rayla.

Not willing to let the power source go, she looked at him, then reached into her bag. "Callum, I don't want to do this!" she shouted before throwing the vial to the ground.

The group turned, watching as the blood turned to red smoke and rapidly headed for Callum. Rayla tried to cut it away, but it went around her. "Callum! Hold your breath!"

He did, covering his mouth and nose, but the smoke just went for his eyes, turning them red. Instantly, the dragon shuddered once and fell forward to the ground, unmoving.

Rayla gasped, then charged at her. "What did you do to him?!" she demanded, swords out, but Soren charged at her, his own sword drawn.

"Let the prince go!" the Crown Guard shouted back.

"Ezran! Run!"

The boy did turn to run, but Claudia held out her hand, casting a spell as the chain bracelet she wore came to life. They moved like snakes and slithered towards the prince, quickly wrapping around Ezran until he was trapped, and fell to the ground. Claudia walked over to him and knelt at his side. "I'm so sorry Ez," she whispered, "I'm doing this for your own good."

The prince didn't look at her, just stared off into the distance.

"Ez, please don't be angry with me. I'm taking you home. And I meant what I said; I'll make sure Callum has a good home… and I'll get dad to let you visit him. You'll be okay."

He still didn't say anything.

"Wait… Ez?" she questioned, reaching out and touching him. Instantly, he and the dragon vanished into a puff of smoke, the chains falling to the ground. "What?" she gasped, "An illusion!"

Lujanne chuckled as she stood to the side, "Of course. This is my home after all. Do you think I would let you harm the Dragon Prince?" she reminded her, "And you just broke your only way of controlling him."

The dark mage looked down, horrified by the broken glass scattered at her feet. "No…" She turned to the elf, holding her hand out and preparing another spell, but Lujanne just smiled, waved her hand, and vanished herself, as did the nexus, and Rayla. Claudia suddenly found herself alone on a dirt path with Soren, his blade still aimed. "Wait… I don't understand!"

"It must have been an illusion… all of it!" he growled, putting his sword away, and trying to hide a smile. "Where are the princes?"

"I… I don't know," the mage said, turning around before spotting something above them. It was a blue, feathered creature with blue flames flickering on its tail. On it, Ezran, Callum, and Rayla rode on its back. As they flew past, Callum looked down on the pair, his eyes drawn to the blonde.

Soren gave him a small wink and a nod.

"Soren!" Claudia gasped, "They're getting away!"

"What can we do? They're flying!"

"Not for long," she growled, furious with their tricks, and grabbed a strange tentacle from her bag. She called upon the Dark Magic to create a massive, shadow version of it, fire and sparks flying around her. Then, she sent it out after them, wrapping it around the flying bird, and slowly beginning to pull it down again.

She held them still, pulling them closer while the bird tried to fight back. Ezran stared at her with desperation. "Please! Claudia, don't do this!"

Soren stared in horror as their plan backfired. At that moment, he looked to the trees just before a man armed with a chain jumped out. The man stared briefly at the magic in horror before swinging the chain and wrapping it around Claudia's arm.

Rayla blinked as she recognised the man. "That's the hunter! The… the one I… fought a few days ago."

"That's Corvus!" Ezran exclaimed, also recognising him, "He's one of Aunt Amaya's men!"

Corvus frowned as he pulled on the chain, knocking the tentacle from her hand, breaking the spell, and throwing her to the ground. The moon phoenix quickly pulled back into the sky and flew them far out of reach. Claudia stared angrily at the man as his chain held her arm. "What are you doing?" she begged, "They're getting away!."

"I've been listening to the stories as I followed them! And they are no danger. So, I am protecting them from you!"

Soren let out a regretful sigh, picking up a rock and striking the man at the back of the head. "Sorry, chain man," he whispered before his sister could hear. "I got him!" he said with a false chuckle, "We'll tie him up and take him in as a traitor."

"Agreed…" his sister huffed as she watched the phoenix fly away. "But we will have to take him with us. We still need to get Ezran back."

"Claudia, do… do we have to?" He winced at his own words. "I mean… what if we let them go? Ezran is safe with them, and… Callum…"

"That dragon is dangerous! If we let it get home, it will grow stronger and destroy everything we know!" she snapped, "We have to kill it."

"Claudia…"

"I know you got to know it, but you don't know the power dragons have like I do." She panted as she remembered what she'd read, "They are so… so powerful… and dangerous…"

"But he's a person! He… he has feelings… and you want to kill him?"

"Yes, I do." She turned to look at the man on the ground as he groaned, starting to come around. "Tie him up. Quickly!"

Doing as told, Soren tied the man up, hands behind his back. As he slowly came around and Claudia retrieved what was left of her magic, Soren leaned over to his ear. "Listen, I don't have long, but I want you to know, I'm on your side. I will help you protect the prince, but you have to play along."

"What?"

"Just play along!" he hissed as Claudia came back. "And I mean it, you give us any trouble and I'll make sure you regret it! Hey Claudia, finished tying up Corvus the traitor."

"Traitor? General Amaya sent me to protect the prince of Katolis! And the prince of Xadia! Yes, I worked out who he is! I've been watching you for the last few days! I know that boy is the Dragon Prince and what you've been doing to him! And I won't let it stand!"

Soren glanced at him nervously then stepped back, "Don't worry Claudia. General Amaya will never find out now that we've got the traitor!" He spoke so robotically, any normal person would've probably worked out his meaning, however, Claudia wasn't a normal person.

"Just keep a close eye on him Soren. We can't let him escape," she sighed, heading down the path, "Come on, we need to go after them."

"No. We can't have him escape," the guard said as he helped Corvus stand. He leaned closer and winked at the other man. "Yet," he whispered, then pushed him to walk on ahead.

~#~

High above, Ezran was laughing as he held his arms out to the side, the wind blowing hard against his face. "Is this what it feels like to fly Callum?" he called as Phoe-Phoe flapped her wings to carry them on.

Callum laughed as he kept his wings pinned to his side. "I don't know Ez! I've never flown!"

"Well, I bet it feels something like this!" the young boy chuckled, closing his eyes as he felt the breeze.

Behind him, Callum touched Rayla's shoulder. "Rayla…" he whispered, his voice lost in the wind, "We need to talk about Ez's father… when we land."

She looked down and nodded, going back to the flight, but then, she looked back at him. "Callum… try it."

"Try it?"

"Spread your wings. Try and fly."

He frowned, glancing down at the clouds, "Umm…. Are you sure?"

"Try it!" she laughed, holding his hand, "Go on! Spread your wings!"

He bit his lip and took a deep breath, slowly spreading his wings against the air. The phoenix slowed a little, as if sensing what he was attempting to do.

As the wind lifted him up, Callum swallowed and allowed himself to float off a bit further, holding Rayla's hand tight. Eventually, he beat his wings himself and smiled, feeling them lift him upwards. Rayla stretched her arm out to keep hold of him, but then he pulled away… and flew.

Rayla laughed as she watched Callum flying beside her, his wings stretched out as he rode the air currents. Ezran also gasped. "Callum!"

He grinned at the pair, then flapped his wings once, instantly taking off into the sky faster than the moon phoenix. He happily raced through the clouds, looping and twisting in the air, before coming back to fly by their side with a worried expression. "Rayla… I don't know how to land!"

"Silly lizard," Rayla sighed, holding out her hand for him. Once he grabbed it, she pulled him into her so he could sit on the phoenix once more, but now, he was between Ezran and Rayla, closely facing the elf. He felt a heat come to his cheeks, being so close to her, but the pair soon broke apart, looking away from each other as they both flushed pink.


SL: So…. Callum flies, Soren chooses a side, and SO MUCH HAPPENS IN ONE CHAPTER!

RK: *pats Soren* Good job baby! Mama proud. But in all seriousness, quite an intense, yet fun, eventful chapter.

SL: Also, we would like to take this moment to shout out to HyzeClawser and MaggiesHeartLove for their amazing Fan art and gifts! They are beautiful and made us both so happy! Like crazy happy!

Also, anyone interested in some...very mature 18+ artworks from the Dragon Prince Callum AU, contact Ray on Deviant Art! (Trust me, they are good)