Soren spent most of his time in silence. Something about him had changed. At least Ezran thought so. Ezran couldn't figure out exactly what was different. He seemed just like the Soren he had always known yet at the same time was a complete stranger.
Claudia too was surprisingly quiet throughout the voyage. Something was on their minds, he thought.
Claudia had been thinking about Soren's secret mission given to him by their father. She started reflecting on the kind of man her father was. Their father had always been single minded in his goal and held everything else secondary, even his children, even himself. It wasn't to become king of Katolis or rule over others. It was his fear of Elves and Dragons that drove him and his most ardent desire was to protect humans. She knew he didn't always make the best decisions. She certainly did not agree to killing the princes. But she believed her father made his decisions with the goal of preserving humans, no matter the cost. Somehow her father believed the princes would be better off dead for the good of humanity. She couldn't make sense of it.
Soren had never been a deep thinker. He had always focused on fighting. He was good at it. Really good. Even when the Moonshadow elves had come, he had made it out alive. He had been wounded sure, but nothing that wouldn't heal with time. He had always thought that's all he needed. He had never felt the need to think things through. He had Dad for that and Claudia too, though he'd never admit it to her face. He wanted to be the sword that protected them. But since the dragon incident, he found a huge weakness in himself he'd never realised. He had acted stupidly and it had not only cost him dearly, but also his sister. She tried to hide it, and she probably succeeded when it came to other people. But he was her brother, they'd known each other too long. He could tell that she was suffering from some kind of backlash from that spell she used to heal his paralysis. He could tell from the way she moved and the way she talked. He could sense the firm hold she was keeping on herself the whole time she interacted with anyone. Part of her hair had turned white as if she'd suddenly aged. He couldn't bring himself to talk to her about it. He felt ashamed. It was all his fault.
The ship made its way through the ocean relatively calmly. Ezran was thankful there was no storm this time. Eventually it made its way to the port where they'd first met Captain Villads with the silent 'd'. Thinking about 'human' Rayla made him realise how much he missed her. And Callum. And Zym. He hoped they made it to Xadia safely. He wondered what wonderous sights Callum might be seeing on his travels. He couldn't wait to see the drawings.
They disembarked from the ship and proceeded to find a carriage. It wouldn't be long before they made it to the royal castle. The carriage stopped a few times, because Claudia was getting sore from sitting on the bumpy carriage for too long. She'd take walks and always came back looking more energetic and lively. Soren seemed to brighten up slightly seeing Claudia return but always returned to his somber mood.
Eventually they arrived at the castle. When Ezran stepped into the castle, the guards stared in shock. One of the guards punched the other and told him to let everyone know. In his hurry, the guard ran into a patrol and they all fell to the ground. The guard quickly got up and didn't even apologise and ran off. The victims wanted to shout at the clumsy guard but quickly realised Ezran's presence. After their shock wore off, they immediately kneeled, catching the attention of everyone in the plaza. Gasps could be heard and more people kneeled.
Ezran was overwhelmed with the situation. Corvus wanted to step forward and place his hand on the young king's shoulder to assure him but knew it wasn't his place. Ezran thought back to how people would always kneel in front of his father, and only now could he see it from his father's perspective. He realised all these people were depending on him. He felt like running away, but forced himself on the spot. Opeli soon came rushing and kneeled in front of Ezran, she shouted "All hail, King Ezran".
"All hail, King Ezran", shouted everyone present. Those who heard the cry, stopped what they were doing, kneeled and repeated that shout. As the message was repeated, soon the whole city knew that their king had returned. Wave after wave of cries echoed throughout the city and later the entire kingdom.