(Poster Disclaimer: This story isn't mine! It was originally written by St0rylady35 & Ray-Ken, but this story was sadly removed due to some unknown circumstances. I'm only posting this here again to let others rediscover this amazing story. I found this story on Wattpad thanks to Ray-Ken posting it there! So feel free to check her out over on Wattpad! She and St0rylady35 deserve all the credit for creating one of the greatest FanFics of all time for The Dragon Prince franchise! So yeah, enjoy the story everyone! And hey, Ray & St0rylady, keep on making great stories! :3 )

Chapter 6: Darkness

"Rayla!" Callum called, running outdoors to her, but stopped quickly when she turned around and pointed her sword at him.

The assassin blinked for a moment. "Callum!" she gasped, stepping away from him and lowering her weapon, "I'm so sorry. But... whatever you do, don't surprise me when I'm practicing or you might lose a finger." She smirked a little, "I mean, could you imagine going around with only four fingers?" She wiggled her four digits at him to make a point.

The point was lost on the dragon who just looked confused. "Umm... you manage?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes with a fond smile, "You were looking for me?"

"Oh, yeah, I wanted to ask you if you've seen my book? The one I draw in? I can't find it."

"You left it by the tree over there," she said, pointing to the tree in question.

Hurrying over, he found the book and opened it, checking the inside. The pencil was still in the slot and he took it out, sitting against the tree, and drawing with a smile. He soon got engrossed in his work.

Her practice disturbed, the Moonshadow elf decided to call it an end and walked over to him. She couldn't help but peek at his illustration, "Wait... is that me?"

He looked up at her and beamed, turning the book to show her, "Yeah!"

"Nar, that can't be me... you made me look far too pretty."

His smile vanished and he stood by her side, "No way! If anything, I didn't make it pretty enough! You're far prettier than this Rayla!" He looked down at his work, "Besides, this one's wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Your eyes..." he said, speaking to the picture and touching her eyes on the paper, "They aren't right. Your eyes are way better than this. But they're always changing, I couldn't pick a memory I liked, so I kept changing it..." he sighed in frustration and looked at her, concentrating on her eyes, "They're so... intense. It's hard to draw them from memory."

"Callum-"

"Do you think I could draw you while looking at you?" he interrupted, eyes full of hope, "It would be easier if I could look at you while I did it. Please Rayla?"

She glanced away and twisted a lock of her hair around her finger. She was kind of nervous over the request, "I-"

"Pleaseeeeeeeeee~" he begged, dragging the word out.

Looking at him, she let out a breath and conceded, "Oh alright."

"Thank you!" he exclaimed, wings spreading wide with joy and his tail wagging. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to a rock, forcing her to sit on it, and then began to turn her body and head, messing with her hair until happy with her position, "Right," he said at last, sitting himself on the ground, book open to a new page, and ready to draw.

Rayla frowned as she was forced to model, "How long is this gonna take?"

"Rayla~" he groaned, "Don't move."

"But..."

"You're moving!"

Deciding to humor him, the elf sat as still as she could, waiting as the dragon did his drawing. About fifteen minutes had passed before he appeared to be satisfied, "Yeah, that's it! Perfect!"

"Can I move now?"

"Yep. I'm done."

Stretching, she groaned and walked over, "Alright if I have a look?" The prince smiled and passed her the book.

Instantly, she saw what he meant about the previous drawing being wrong. This one was beautiful! It put the previous image to shame to the point where she couldn't believe she was looking at herself.

There were two sides to the drawing, one showed a full-body image of her sitting on the rock, her hands folded delicately on her lap, and her whole outfit frozen perfectly in time. Every part of it was detailed and clear, and she couldn't stop looking up and down the entire page. She was smiling, and had a likeness in the page she didn't know how he'd captured.

The other page only had her from the shoulders up, a small smile on her lips, and eyes looking off into the distance as he'd positioned her. Her hair shone even with only charcoal as color, and her eyes were indescribable. They looked... enchanted.

As she looked at the picture, she leaned on the tree behind him and slid down to sit on the ground, unable to take her eyes off the image. "Callum... you... you are amazingly talented."

"I only draw what I see Rayla," he explained, leaning over and resting his head on her shoulder, "That's... just how you look to me."

Finally able to look away from it, the elf smiled at him, "I... I had no idea."

He smiled back, closing his eyes for a bit.

As he rested, Rayla flipped through his book, finding a few flowers, pictures of Bait and Ezran, and a few smaller, rougher sketches of herself. There were images of trees, fruit, and even the lodge itself. There were multiple sketches of the rooms and outside the building. Almost half of the book was already filled with his drawings.

As she tried to work out how far he'd gotten, she spotted something towards the back, a drawing that seemed out of place. The pages before and after it were blank, but there was something. Slowly going through, she found the image and instantly wished she hadn't.

It was her again, but this time she was lying on the ground, her head turned away and eyes closed. A dark mark ran down her face, blood frozen in the charcoal.

Above her was a man she didn't recognize, but she could guess. He stood over her, a staff in hand as he raised it above his head, ready to bring it down on her. The detail on this man was sharp and clear, a face seared into Callum's memory from years of him being the only person he saw.

Unlike his other pictures, this one had a background behind the two people, showing the room they had found him in. The jars of remains were the same as when she'd walked past them a few days ago. He had captured the detail of every one, recreating the view from his prison.

At the front of the image, were two hands, reaching out towards them. She could almost hear him screaming from the way they reached for her, but unable to save her. The hint of chains peeked out around the base of the page.

Glancing at the teen resting on her shoulder, she closed the book and placed it in his arms, wishing she could change the blood ribbon's target from Ezran, to that monster.

"If I ever meet him Callum, I'll kill him. I swear to you."

The sound of Ezran's laughter outside was evidence enough to Rayla that there was no danger heading to the lodge. So, she sighed and rubbed her wrist, unsure how much longer she could hide it from the others. Her hand was starting to turn a dark, purple hue. They would begin to notice soon.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she looked for something to keep her mind off it. Then, she spotted a tail swaying back and forth across the floor. Slowly, knowing how jumpy he could be, she approached the tail, peeking around to see the prince sitting in the corner and licking something in his hand.

"What-" she started, but the dragon quickly turned away from her, hiding his arm by his side.

Rayla frowned, "Callum, what are you doing?"

"Nothing," he muttered, still hiding his hand and turning away from her.

"I can tell you were doing something," she countered, hand on her hip, "Come on, show me."

Glancing at her, and then away, the dragon finally bit his lower lip and slowly pulled his hand out from where he'd been hiding it. Forcing back a gasp, the elf realized he hadn't been licking something in his hand. He'd been licking at his hand.

The raw, chafed skin was clearly still sore and red from his imprisonment, small cuts covering his skin.

"Oh...Callum."

"It... it started hurting when I was drawing but... it hurts less when I lick them."

Mentally kicking herself for not thinking about it sooner, Rayla sighed, "Come with me." Taking his hand as gently as she dared, she led him upstairs to his room, "Sit down, and take your shirt and boots off. I'll be right back."

Despite being confused over why he was here in the middle of the day, Callum did as he was told and sat down. He pulled his shirt and boots off, hissing at each painful throb.

The dragon sat on the bed for a while, watching the door for Rayla's return, but all that came back was the itch on his arm, so he brought it up to lick it clean once more.

"Callum, that won't help them heal."

He looked up mid lick to see Rayla with a bowl in her arms and a bag over her shoulder, "I knew the humans would have one somewhere," she explained, then placed the bowl on the floor, and the bag on the bed, "I'm sorry I didn't do this earlier for you. But let's get you sorted out now." She reached into the bag and searched for something before pulling out a cloth, then dipping it into the water until it was damp. "I've been so caught up in making sure this place was safe and... I just forgot you were hurt."

"I don't mind. I'm used to it."

Taking his hand gently in hers, Rayla looked over the scales and skin, the raw flesh that had spent years locked away. It almost brought tears to her eyes, "No one should be used to this," she whispered, taking a moment to pull herself together and exhaling, "This will sting a little." She warned him before placing the damp cloth on his arm.

He flinched and his tail slapped against the floor at the pain, but he didn't pull away.

For a bit, Rayla sat and cleaned his wounds, removing the dirt and dried blood. The dragon only hissed a few times as she tended to him. Once satisfied that it was clean, she reached into the bag once more for a roll of something and slowly began wrapping up the cuts.

"W-what is that for?"

"To stop you from licking them," she explained as she tied it off.

"Is licking them bad?"

"It won't help them get better."

"Oh," he looked at his arm before frowning, "It... it doesn't hurt now."

"Yeah, that's the idea. Now, let me do your other arm."

Still looking at his arm, the teen smiled to himself and nodded, "You're really kind Rayla."

Concentrating on her task, she blushed a little. "Thanks," she replied as she cleaned the wound on his arm, "Listen, Callum... I was thinking."

"About?"

"Ezran," she said, listening quickly to see if the human was near, but it sounded like he was still outside with Bait. "See, I was thinking... that it's going to be a long journey to Xadia... and it's going to be dangerous... and I will keep you safe but..." she looked at the prince, "I'm worried about him. I'm not sure... I'll be able to keep you, him, and Bait safe."

"What do you mean?"

"I think... it might be safer if... Ez and Bait don't... come with us."

Quickly, the prince pulled his arm away from her, hiding it, "No! No, they come with us! I won't leave them!"

"But..."

"NO! They come or I don't go!"

Staring at him, the elf shook her head and sighed, "Alright, alright, they can come."

"And you will keep them safe?"

"And I will keep them safe." She held out her hand and smiled, "Now, can I have your arm back so I can finish?"

With a nod, he gave his arm back to her and allowed her to clean the wounds. It didn't take long before she wrapped it up in another bandage and moved on to his ankles. They were silent for a bit as she worked and Callum watched. He shifted a little on the edge of the bed, "My arms really do feel better now."

"Told ya."

"D-do you think you can do this for my wings?" he asked shyly.

"Your wings?"

"T-they... they hurt too."

Having finished his ankles, the female nodded and stood, "I don't know much about dragon wings but... let me have a look. Turn around."

He did just that, showing the silvery blue wings and the range of dark marks that seemed to cover them. Some showed gashes and old scars, but some were lighter, newer wounds.

She swallowed her regret, then nodded, "Try and keep still." Rayla took a gentle hold with one hand and the other began to wipe the dirt away, careful of the bruises. "Shame we don't have any Batter Berries."

"Batter Berries?"

"Yeah, they grow in Xadia. They're great for when you get 'battered'. Do a really good job healing bruises. Used them all the time when I was younger. Mash them up into a paste, put them on a bruise, and in a few hours, you're as good as new."

"D-did you need them often?" he stammered, trying to keep his mind on the conversation and not the pain in his back.

"Training to be an assassin, you get battered pretty good."

"It must be nice... to know how to protect yourself," he said, then hissed when she touched one of the fresher marks, but he kept as still as he could. Callum tried his best to hide the pain, keeping his face turned away from her.

Moving her hand from his wing to his shoulder, she stepped a little closer, "Callum, look at me."

Slowly, he shifted his gaze to her, a haunted, distant look in them, similar to the terror from his nightmare.

She moved around to face him and cupped his cheek, rubbing it gently, "No one will ever, ever hurt you like this again. You understand?"

"But..."

"No buts. You are a prince, the Dragon Prince. And no one will ever hurt you again. I'll make sure of it."

He looked at her with fondness in his eyes before sighing deeply, "Rayla... I... I... I don't want to feel... helpless again."

"And you never will. Callum, no one can make you feel helpless ever again. You have to believe that. You don't have to do what anyone tells you. Never again. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Understand?"

"I... I think so."

"Good," she let go of his face and moved to his back once more, gently cleaning the wings. When she finished, she backed away, "How does that feel?"

"Better," he sighed, his wings moving back and forth slightly, "It... feels better. Thank you Rayla."

She smiled back at him, "You're welcome."

"You're really pretty when you smile," he tilted his head a little to the side.

Her face dropped as a blush came to her cheeks, "Umm... thanks."

"I like it when you smile." Stepping towards her, he looked at her with an innocent smile of his own, "It makes me happy to see you smile Rayla. Wait... your face is turning red. Are you alright?"

She stared at him before laughing and pushing him away playfully, "Get back you big lizard, and get dressed." She shook her head as she took the bowl and medical supplies away, wanting to quickly get away from the teen.

Once she was gone, the boy put his shirt back on, but left his gloves and cloak off. He let his wings move freely before heading off to see if he could find his friends. Rayla had disappeared somewhere, but Ezran was in the main room, sitting on the floor with Bait as they played with some toys.

"Hey Callum, where'd you go?"

"Rayla was... bandaging, I think she called it?" he said, holding up his arm to show her work, "Apparently it will help?"

"Yeah, bandaging helps wounds get better."

"She caught me licking them," he sat down and picked up a toy from the floor, "Not... good?"

"Nope," the human chuckled, "Hey, come look at this thing Bait found!" Ez pulled out a small, hand-sized cube that was stored in a coppery, metal chest. Strange symbols marked each side, "I dunno what it is, but watch this."

He held it towards the glow toad and one side suddenly started to glow a bright golden color. Callum's jaw dropped at the sight, "Wow. How did you do that?"

"I dunno, it just does that."

"Let me see it?" he begged, holding his hands out for the box. As Ezran passed it over, another side began to glow, "Wow!" Callum gasped in amazement, moving the box away then closer to himself, "W-what does that mean?"

"Maybe... because you're a dragon?"

"I wonder if it works on Rayla?" he pondered, standing up and looking around for her, "Rayla! Rayla! Come see what we found!"

It took a moment, but the elf appeared as she always did when Callum called, "Callum? What is it? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but look at this!" he said, holding out the glowing cube, "See? It glows! And it glows on this side when it's near Bait... and this side near me... but doesn't for Ez. Do you know what it is?"

The assassin frowned, looking confused by it. She took the cube and watched as another side lit up, "Well, I dunno what it is... or why it's... glowing... but these marks are the primal sources."

"Primal what?" Ez asked, confused.

Rolling her eyes, Rayla turned to the dragon, "You still got that book?"

Picking it up from where he'd left it, he passed it over to her, watching as she went to the table and opened it to a random page, drawing quickly. "See, these are the primal sources. All magic in the world comes from these six Primal Sources. They're the original and purest forms of magical energy." She turned to the Dragon Prince who was staring amazed at her work. "I can't tell if you're impressed by the idea, or by my drawing."

Callum looked sheepishly at her, "Umm... both?"

Rolling her eyes, the elf pointed to each mark on the page, "This is the Sun..."

"That one glowed when it was near Bait!" Ez interrupted, matching the symbol.

"This is the Stars, the Earth, the Ocean, the Moon..."

"That one's you!"

"And the Sky." She ignored the human and held the box towards the dragon, "Which is you Callum; a sky dragon."

Taking the box, he stared at it in amazement, then at her, "Does this mean... I can do magic?"

"Yes, all dragons can do magic. It's a part of you."

The expression of amazement on his face soon turned to one of horror. He dropped the box, letting it clatter to the floor, "No. No, never."

"Callum?"

"No!" he shouted, then ran off, bolting outside.

Rayla and Ez looked at each other before heading out to follow him. They found him sat under a tree, knees up to his chest, wings around him, and tail pulled close to his body, only the tip moving as they heard sobs coming from the boy.

The two knelt at his side, trying to see him, but his wings were obscuring.

"Callum?" Ez asked softly, "Callum what's wrong? Talk to us Callum."

There was no reply, just more sobs.

"Callum, come on, tell us what's wrong. Maybe we can help?"

"No... you can't."

"Why can't we?"

"C-cause... 'cause." came his voice, his tail pulling even closer, "Because."

"Because what?"

"I'm magic. A-and... and magic is evil."

The pair looked at each other, and Rayla reached out for him, but as soon as she touched him, he pulled away, "Don't touch me! I... I'm bad."

"No you're not Callum. You're good."

"Says who?"

"We do. And aren't we the ones that matter?"

"If I'm so good, why did Master take so much from me to use for dark magic? He-he took... he took everything... for his magic. What he took from me... was dark magic. S-So I must be dark."

Rayla stared at him. She thought he was cowering away, hiding from them because he was afraid, but he was really trying to isolate himself from them, keeping them away from his 'darkness'. She let out a deep breath and looked for something she could hold before spotting his tail, which was still moving. Reaching out for it, she gently stroked the hairs at the end.

"Callum... what that man did... was not magic. It was an atrocity. To use a living thing... to use you... was evil. But you are far from that. You are the purest, kindest, and sweetest boy I've ever met. The way you light up and smile... it's heart-warming."

"Yeah!" Ez added, "You're really strong Callum. I mean... you were locked up for ten years... and yet look at you now! You're running, laughing..."

"You're free Callum," Rayla finished, still stroking the hair on his tail, "Look, think about this; if a sword kills someone, is the sword evil?"

The question made his wings flicker a little, "I... I don't know."

"Okay... how about if someone... gets hurt by a bee, is the bee evil?"

"N-no?"

"So, if someone takes... say a pencil... and uses it to write something mean... is the pencil, or the person it belonged to evil?"

The wings parted a little to reveal his teary eyes, "N-no... it-it's the person... that uses it?"

"Yes. And it's the same with you. Just because something that belongs to you was used to do a bad thing does not make you a bad person."

He blinked and looked up to the sky, frowning as he thought, "But... I'm still... magic."

"Yes, you are. And when you get stronger, you will understand that magic isn't bad. It's the way it is used that defines good and bad. Primal magic is the magic that is created by life and everything living. It was never meant to be used by death."

Callum looked at her, then smiled a little, "You're really smart Rayla."

"Nar, I'm just telling you what anyone would," she chuckled, still messing with his tail that had since moved to her lap, "You're not a bad person Callum. Bad things just happened to you."

The prince thought for a bit then frowned, "Bad... bad things are happening to others... right? This... this war you talked about. People... people are being hurt... and dying?"

"Yes," she sighed, messing with his fur absentmindedly, "Yeah, people are getting hurt and dying...Why?"

"I... I don't want anyone else to get hurt... and if I can stop it... I want to." He turned to her with determination in his eyes, "I'm gonna stop the war. I'm going to... to... help others... like you've helped me."

Smiling at this change, Rayla nodded, "Once you're ready to go, we will head off."

"Together?" he asked, glancing at Ezran.

The human looked hopeful, as if he knew about their previous conversation, about leaving him. But Rayla just smiled, "Yes, together."

"When?"

She thought for a moment, "If we spend tomorrow getting ready... we can leave the day after that."

"But, Callum's only had three days to recover," Ezran protested, "Doesn't he need longer?"

"I'm fine Ez," the dragon said as he pulled his tail free from Rayla's grasp. He looked at it, noticing she'd braided some of his fur into the same style as her hair, "I have you two to look after me. And I did just run all the way here. I'm feeling much stronger."

"Then it's agreed. Tomorrow we pack, and then the day after, we head off for Xadia."

"Alright! Let's do this!"

Callum smiled, then stared ominously towards the west, knowing his 'master' was still out there somewhere.

Authors' Notes:

SL: So, we get to see Callum being a sweetie pie and a nervous wreck in this chapter. Still, got to love him.

RK: Smol bean. Must protecc.

SL: Ray is such a proud mamma XD