Chapter 14 – Ruthless Voyage

It was not the wakeup call any of them expected, but as Phoe-Phoe began to lose her strength with the rising sun, they started to crash towards the ground. All of them screamed in terror as dirt was thrown up into the air and Ezran fell over the edge of a cliff, a loose grip on Bait. Fortunately, Rayla grabbed both his leg and Bait's tail while Callum, in turn, held her. She smirked as they hung over the sheer drop.. "It's good to have both hands again."

Callum groaned, tempted to let her fall for her terrible humour, but then pulled, managing to get them all back to safety. "Is everyone alright?"

"I am," Ezran said, going over to the phoenix who was lying on her front, too tired to speak. "But Phoe-Phoe is exhausted. She gets her power from the Moon Nexus."

"And we're so far away from it now… it must be hard for her," Callum guessed, stroking the magical bird. "You did amazing, thank you. But you should return home. We can handle it from here."

The phoenix cooed, nuzzling both him and the human before taking off into the sky. Rayla sighed. "Well, she saved us a few days… and got us away from that… witch."

"So, what do we do now?" Callum asked, looking out over the cliff and the water that was before them.

"Well, Xadia's that way," Rayla explained, pointing east, "Across miles and miles of the fluid I both need to survive and hate more than anything in the world."

"I'm not fond of water either Rayla," the dragon reminded her. "So… why don't we walk around it?"

"That's a nice idea," she said with a shy smile, "But… but walking around is gonna take too long. And we need to get you back home as fast as possible. The war is only going to get worse… if we take too long… it will be too late."

"So… what do we do?"

"We've got to go straight across. And to do that, we need a boat," she decided, looking at the water before them, "And a captain who knows how to make it go."

"Okay."

"Specifically, a captain who doesn't hate elves… or dragons."

"Hey, I can shift now," he reminded her, "I'm as good as human."

"Apart from your eyes."

"I just don't look at anyone," he chuckled, but then looked down at the water. "I'm sorry I can't fly us across… from what Lujanne told me, in my draconic form, I could make it across in a day."

"Hey," Ezran comforted, holding his hand, "It's not your fault."

"But how are we going to find a boat?"

"Well… there's a town over there." The human pointed to the side.

Rayla and Callum looked in that direction, spotting the smoke and buildings marking a town on the edge of the water. "Well… if nothing else, we should be able to get a place to sleep. Come on, we should head that way," Rayla suggested as she judged the distance. "Should make it by nightfall."

~#~

It was dark when they arrived at the town, finding it mainly deserted as everyone had turned in for the night. As they stood to the side, Callum looked around. "Well, time to shift," he said to the others before closing his eyes and thinking of the incantation.

Ezran gasped as he watched his tail and wings vanish, his horns shrinking into his head. "Wow… that never gets old."

Rayla however, was searching the bags. "Oh no!"

"What is it?"

"I can't find my cloak!" she groaned, "I must have left it at the nexus."

"That was silly," Callum chuckled, then reached to his neck and pulled off his own cloak. "Here, it's a bit warm sometimes, but it will do the job." He placed it over her shoulders and pulled it into place for her. "Now, let's see your human impression again."

"Oh haha, I get it, keep quiet."

"It… might be for the best," Ezran admitted shyly, "I mean… I'm a big fan of 'Human Rayla' but… it can be… kinda obvious."

Callum nodded in agreement before turning to the town. "Well then, let's go and see if we can find somewhere to sleep… and maybe some information on a captain."

"Right. Let's go. And you two, stay close okay?"

Agreeing to listen, they headed into the town, walking around until they found a shop near the water that appeared to be an inn. Callum arranged for a room the three of them could sleep in.

Ezran was soon asleep with Bait, but Callum and Rayla stayed awake, sitting in the window of the room, and overlooking the massive lake. The dragon was in his human form, and he glanced at her. "Rayla… Ez's dad."

"He's dead."

"You knew all along. That's what you've been hiding from me."

"Yeah...I don't know how to tell Ezran. I feel so… ashamed."

"Why? You didn't kill him."

"No, I was too busy saving you," she sighed, "But my people… they did."

"Rayla, it's alright."

"It's not. We're keeping it from him… from your brother."

The dragon took a deep breath. "I know. But… maybe we shouldn't tell him."

"Why?"

"He'll leave us," he mumbled into his knees, "And… I can't face that."

"Callum, that's selfish," she warned him, holding his hand.

"Then let me be selfish."

She sighed, moving over to his side of the window and resting her head on his shoulder. "It doesn't work like that Callum. I don't want him to go. I mean…" She looked over at the sleeping boy. "I'm not a dragon, I can't just… claim someone as family but… Ez is like a brother to me too."

The dragon chuckled lightly as they watched him from across the room. "So, if he's a brother to you, and a brother to me… does that make you my sister?"

"Hope not," she chuckled softly against his neck, "It would be weird if I was your Dragon Guard and your sister."

He smiled, placing an arm around her waist to hold her close. "Yeah, that would be weird."

She mumbled, leaning on his shoulder and sighing softly as her eyes drifted closed. "Cal?"

"Hmm?"

"Are we safe here?"

"Well… yeah. I mean, as far as anyone knows, we're just three humans waiting for morning so we can find a boat to cross the water." He rubbed his brow against hers for a moment, "And that… witch…is days behind us. We're safe Rayla."

She released a slow breath which then turned into a yawn. "Good…"

Guessing she was sleepy, he rubbed her back softly. "Tired?"

"Yeah…"

"Get some sleep then," he whispered, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "Goodnight Rayla."

"'night…" she sighed, leaning on him as she drifted off.

~#~

Rubbing his eyes, Ezran stretched, and looked around the room before remembering that they'd already left the nexus.

He looked over at the other bed in the room and frowned when he saw it was still neatly made. Slowly, he looked over to the window, spotting the two sat in the window sill, leaning on each other, and fast asleep. He smiled as he got up and went over to the second bed, picking up the blanket, quietly taking it over to them, and placing it over their legs.

The action stirred the dragon, but Rayla barely even flinched. Gradually, Callum opened his eyes and yawned. "Ez?" he whispered, "What time is it?"

"Past dawn," he whispered back, looking at Rayla. "She's still asleep."

Rubbing her side, Callum nodded. "Yeah. She's exhausted. I think this is the first time she's really slept since we met her."

"That's over two weeks."

"I know," he sighed, running a hand back in her hair as she snuggled into him. "She's probably been staying up to keep guard and check for danger." He looked over at his brother, "Let her sleep."

"But…"

"If we end up leaving later, then we do. It's more important Rayla gets some rest."

"Well… alright. I'll go…"

"No, you'll stay in this room."

"But…"

"Ez, if I move, Rayla is going to wake up. So I can't come with you. You need to stay in here so I can make sure you're both safe."

Ez groaned, but nodded begrudgingly. "Alright Cal," he sighed, then went off to sit with Bait and wait.

It was a couple more hours before Rayla stirred, sighing as she opened her eyes, and looked up to see she was leaning on the human form of the Dragon Prince. An embarrassed blush quickly covered her cheeks as she leaned back, forgetting she was on the window sill with him. She ended up falling backwards onto the floor, but recovered quickly, getting to her feet and looking at Callum. "Callum, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't… umm…."

"Rayla, it's fine," he said, standing up himself and holding her shoulders, "You needed to sleep. You must have been exhausted."

She couldn't stop the blush as she looked away. "I know but… umm…" she coughed and looked out the window, "Wait, it's almost midday! You let me sleep that long?!"

"You were fast asleep Rayla, leaning on Callum like he was a giant pillow," Ez chuckled at her embarrassment, but didn't notice Callum blushing slightly as well.

"Well… now that I'm awake and ready to go, let's find us a ship and a captain to take us across the water." She sank a little when she looked out the window, "That's if they haven't all left already."

"Then we wait till tomorrow," Callum advised her, throwing her his cloak, "Cover up and we'll go see."

Once ready, the trio left the inn and headed towards the port. Callum and Ez looked around for someone who could take them across the water. As the two boys spoke to possible captains and crews, Rayla stayed away, keeping an eye open, but hiding herself with the long, red cloak.

The two were in the middle of their longest conversation, and she was getting a little bored, leaning on a wall and trying to prepare herself to face her greatest fear. Instead, she turned her attention to the cloaked scarf she was wearing, counting the stitches in the cloth, tracing the pattern embroidered into it, and feeling how soft the fabric was. Smiling, she pulled it up to her face, closing her eyes, and letting it rub across her cheek.

She smiled at the feeling, then paused before taking a deep breath. The fabric smelled of fresh rainwater and crisp woodland air, despite being so close to the sea. She sighed, hiding herself in the cloth, breathing in deeply. "Smells like him," she whispered to herself.

"Rayla?"

She quickly looked up and flushed when Callum caught her. "Umm… Callum?"

"We found a ship and a captain," he said, not even mentioning her actions as he waved her towards him. "Come on, he says we can board now. Let's go!"

Swallowing, Rayla hurried after him, walking across the port to one of several gangways. There was one where a man stood at the end, looking out to sea. Quickly, Rayla pulled her hood a little closer, but Callum just chuckled. "Don't worry about that. In fact, I could probably shift and he wouldn't care."

"What? Don't you dare!"

He smirked, then looked ahead at the man. "We're back Captain!" he called.

The man turned slowly, revealing his left eye was covered with a patch… and so was his right.

Rayla looked at Callum. "He's blind?"

"Yep. Captain, this is Rayla, our third passenger."

He nodded with a tip of his head. "Greetings! Name's Captain Villads."

"Villads?"

"Aye, with a silent D. And this is me first mate, Berto!"

A red, white, and blue bird sat on his shoulder, flapping his wings for a moment. "I'm a parrot."

"Me ship's this way," Villads said as he walked down the gangway to a large, single mast craft with large sails. The trio looked at it with smiles and trepidation, Rayla and Callum being the ones closer to trepidation than Ezran and Bait. The captain nodded as he introduced it. "Welcome to me water home, The Ruthless! Named after me dear wife, Ruth. Who sadly…" he sniffed, hand on his heart, "Don't enjoy sailing."

Ezran beamed as he made his way to the base of gangplank after the captain. "So, you said if the wind's on our side, we could make it across the bay pretty quickly?"

"Aye!" He paused, then looked to the sky as if he could still see it. "Course, there's a storm coming."

"A storm?" Callum beamed. "That could be fun."

Rayla elbowed him. "Don't even think about it!"

Still smiling, the hidden dragon lowered his head slightly. The captain however, nodded as he walked back down the gangplank. "So, we have to delay departing for a few days."

"Uh… that's not going to work. We're on a tight schedule." Rayla frowned. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

The captain thought for a moment, then nodded. "Hmm, I suppose if we leave right now, we could race across the bay and beat the storm."

"Perfect. Let's do that. We leave now!"

He turned back up the gangplank. "No problem! …Unless the storm catches us mid-bay, and kills us all."

As the group climbed aboard, Callum smirked at the elf. "I don't think we have to worry about a storm." He winked at her, his hand crackling subtly with lightning as he did. The female smacked his arm to get him to stop.

~#~

An hour later, the Ruthless was out in the middle of the bay, the main sail wide and taking them over the waves. Ezran was having a great time, standing at the front of the ship with his arms wide, enjoying the wind blowing against him while dolphins swam by the bow. Callum had shifted back to his hybrid form and found a barrel, sitting on it cross-legged as he drew. Rayla had built up the courage to stand on the top deck with the captain, talking about the weather and sailing.

As their conversation fell silent, she looked over the railing and sighed as she watched the dragon.

"You're in love," Villads said after a moment.

Instantly, Rayla gasped. "Wait… what? What did you say?"

"Don't deny it. You've been sighing all day."

"Sighing? I-I don't know what you mean. I haven't been sighing."

He chuckled softly, "I'm blind and got narcolepsy, but I'm not stupid missy. I can tell when someone's in love. Felt the same way when I met me dear Ruth."

Rayla frowned, looking over at Callum as he sat drawing. "It doesn't matter. I-it could never work."

"And why that be?"

"We're too different. He… he's destined for greatness and… and I'm just… I'm a nobody."

"Nobody is a nobody. Unless ya a ghost."

Rayla chuckled at him. "No, I'm no ghost but… he and I… we're too different from each other."

"What is he? A three-headed lizard?"

"Close enough," she mumbled, "But… nothing is going to change that… he's more than I will ever be."

"Isn't that up to him? I mean…" He scratched his beard for a moment. "What's that saying? Worth is in the eye of the beholder?"

"I think its beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

"Well beauty ain't much use to me," he gestured to his eyes, "So, I think worth is more than beauty."

Rayla thought about it for a while before heading down to the lower deck, walking over to Callum as he sat. "Hey Cal."

He smiled at her. "Hey, how are you holding out?"

"I try not to think that I'm surrounded by water, and on a fragile, sinkable… wooden boat. Yeah, not doing too good. You?"

The dragon smiled and turned back to his book. "I've been trying to keep my mind off it… drawing." He turned the book to show her his work. It was a landscape image, showing a large lake of water surrounded by rocks and trees.

"You're trying to keep your mind off the water… by drawing water?"

"It's the nexus. Lujanne showed it to me. I wanted to draw it."

"I know I always say this but… you're really talented, being able to do that from memory." She smiled, sitting down and leaning on the barrel he sat atop. "So… umm… I wanted to ask you something."

"Hmm?"

She blushed, holding her arm. "Do you… I mean… do you have…" she started, but then a loud crack of thunder above startled them.

Callum gasped as he quickly closed his book, seconds before the rain started to fall. "Captain! Where's somewhere dry?!" he shouted up.

"Head below deck if you're so scared of a little water!"

"I just want to protect my book," he huffed, heading below. Once he found a safe, dry place to set his book, he headed back to the upper deck. His tail and wings came in handy to keep his balance while the craft rocked back and forth with the sudden, growing waves. He looked up at the rain, smiling at the feeling of it pattering against his skin, but when the craft shuddered, he looked around the boat and saw Rayla swaying back and forth, hand to her mouth.

Quickly, he ran over to her, his arm around her waist to keep her still. "Rayla, you okay?"

"Yeah," she gagged, "Just…just doing a…glow toad impression."

He smiled, holding her close with his wing around her. "Come on, let's get below deck," he said, escorting her to the lower level of the ship. Above them, Villads and Berto managed to get the craft to a safe harbour to wait out the storm. Ezran had decided he'd wait by taking a nap, curling up in a hammock bed.

Callum chuckled as he watched him snore. "I'm beginning to think Ezran could sleep anywhere."

"So much for 'stuck up royals' eh?"

He smiled, watching her as she wiped her face of the water. "Rayla? You alright?"

"Just a little soggy," she moaned, pulling her knees up to her chest.

After a moment, Callum shifted over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Hey, it's going to be alright."

She smiled up at him. "Thanks Cal." Her eyes narrowed a little, "When did you start looking after me?"

"Sometime after you saved my life."

"Which time?"

"Hey, you've only saved it… two or three times."

She pouted playfully, looking away, "Nar, got to be more than that."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… certainly in the… hundreds."

He grinned, leaning towards her. "You've saved my life hundreds of times?" he teased, watching as she turned to him and blushed. "I think someone is getting a little too proud."

"Truthfully, it's the only thing I've got to be proud of." She looked away from him, a sad smile on her face.

"And what do you mean by that?" he asked, worried about her words and regretting his previous teasing.

"The only thing I've ever taken pride in… is being your protector, and now, your Dragon Guard. I've…I've failed at everything else. Always hesitating, always second-guessing. But being a guard, I know what my duty is. I can at least be proud of that, right?"

He smiled slightly, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "You have lots of things to be proud of Rayla. But if that's the one you want to concentrate on… then I won't stop you."

Rayla blushed at his kiss, then leaned into his shoulder. "Let's hope this storm passes quickly…. so we can get you home."

~#~

Opening her eyes, Rayla blinked as she sat up against the ship's side, looking around when she heard thunder crash. She must have drifted off.

Ezran was still asleep, and Villads and Berto had joined them below deck, both snoring against a sack of something, but Callum wasn't there. She stood up and ran over to the door to check outside, looking for him. He stood by the mast, eyes closed with his head raised to the sky. The rain ran over him and down his wings. He looked happy.

"Callum?"

He turned to her, his whole body drenched as he stood there. "Hey, you're awake."

"Yeah, what are you doing out here? You're soaked." She joined him, soon feeling the cold herself.

Slowly, he turned and held out his wing as a makeshift cover for her. "I don't feel it. The rain… it doesn't bother me."

"It will when you get sick from the cold."

"You're more likely to get sick than I am."

"Oh?"

"Call it my dragon instinct," he chuckled. "Ever since the nexus, I'm remembering more and more about being a dragon, but oddly, I don't remember learning it. It's like… I always knew. Like I knew… dragons can claim anyone as family, as long as both want to. And… how to fly and… how to do magic… everything." He huffed and looked away, "Well… almost everything."

"What do you mean?"

"I still can't remember her face. Or my father's. I can't remember… what my home looked like or… anything like that." He turned his gaze back to the sky, "But I know I like the rain. Helps me think."

The Dragon Guard looked back at the door to the lower deck. "I could… go back inside if you want to be alone."

"If you want to, I don't mind, but… I like you being near Rayla," he said honestly, making sure his wing kept her dry, even if the water dripped off his nose. "You're like a constant in my life. With us on the move all the time… it's good to have that."

She smiled, then moved a little closer to him. "I'll always be here for you Cal."

He grinned and leaned towards her, but then looked up at the sky the very moment lightning crossed above them. "Wow."

"Callum?"

"The power. It feels good." He smiled, leaning closer to her and kissing her brow.

She winced a little at the kiss, feeling tingles run across her skin, but when she looked back at him, she gulped. "Callum, you're… crackling again." She stepped back as she noticed lightning beginning to gather around him. "Like you did at the lodge."

"Ah…" he looked at his hands before closing his eyes and attempting to stop. It wasn't working, and he backed away from her as well. "Umm… yeah… I… I don't think I can stop this."

Swallowing, Rayla looked around before noticing a large rock near where they'd docked. "There! Go over there and let it go."

Nodding, he quickly hurried around her to the gangplank and off the ship, running down the dock with his whole body starting to spark. As he did, he cringed, the power too much for him to hold.

Rayla watched from the ship. "Callum!"

"I'm fine!" he shouted back, making his way up and safely away from the ship. The further he went, the more he looked like a fuzzy ball of light.

Rayla watched him with growing concern as the rain ran down her face. "If you die out there, I swear I'll kill you!"

She could almost hear his laughter as he climbed the rock and looked around, getting a little scared as the power continued to grow uncontrollably.

Reaching the top of the rocky hill, Callum knelt down to take a breather. He was soaked, and crackles of electricity were only gathering. Any moment now, the lightning would strike. At this point, he was basically a walking lightning rod. Rayla looked on in nervous impatience. He had never harnessed this much lightning before, whether that was good or bad, was yet to be determined.

She could only watch as he held up his hand with uncertainty, trying to release the power within. When the lightning finally struck, the flash was blinding and crossed the whole sky.

When the light died down, Rayla blinked and rubbed her eyes before looking to the rock. She just barely made out Callum's form before he collapsed to the ground. "Callum!" she screamed, jumping off the boat and running down the path. It wasn't easy to get up the hill in the rain, but she finally made it, spotting him lying face down with his clothes smoking a little.

"No-no-no-no-no!" she gasped, running over and kneeling at his side, turning him over and looking over his face. "Callum? Callum can you hear me?!"

He took a moment, then groaned, looking up at her and bursting out laughing, lightning sparking from his mouth as he did. "Whoa! What a rush! That was amazing!" he laughed, rolling back and forth.

The elf stared at him as he did. "You-you stupid lizard!" she shouted, striking him hard on the side, "You scared me to death and you're laughing!"

"Oww," he half laughed and half groaned, "Rayla, what was that for?"

"For scaring me!" she scolded him, "You could have died you big, dumb, stupid, scaly, idiotic lizard!" She sat, panting for breath before jumping forward and hugging him. "Don't ever do that again Callum. Don't scare me like that ever again!"

"Rayla."

"Promise me, you'll never go out into a storm like that again. Y-you scared me."

Holding her close, his laughter died, and Callum sighed into her neck. "I promise."


SL: The Ruthless was always going to be an odd chapter to try and put in our AU. I think we did alright. And Villads thinking that Callum is scared of the rain… yeah, that was kinda funny. Also, can any one name the film a certain line in this chapter is a reference to? I'll give you a small hint; think Studio Ghibli.

RK: I didn't get the reference at first, cuz I'm a dunce like that. :P