Chapter 2
What is Done
In the forest outside of Katolis castle, Runaa and Callista crouch on the branch of a tree, gazing upon the castle.
"They'll be on the lookout for us now." Runaa warned.
"I know Raylis let us down, but the five of us won't be enough. We need all six." Callista stated.
"We will be stronger as five." Runaa reassures Callista, who's looking back down to the assassin camp, where the remaining elves tend to their weapons to prepare them for their mission. Raylis examines his blade with an unsure expression, then turns towards Andromedus, who is currently pouring poison over his own knife. Because Andromedus glares back at Raylis, he decides to address Skora instead, who is sharpening her sword on top of a rock.
"Hey, could I borrow your sharpening thingie?" Raylis asked, pointing at the rock.
"Whetstone." Skora stated.
"Yeah, that."
"No."
Raylis turns away from the group and leaves his head hanging when Runaa and Callista jump off the tree and approach him.
"Come with me." Runaa ordered.
Raylis furrows his eyebrows in worry and puts away his blade, then follows Runaa with a sense of shame in his body language and expression.
Back in Katolis castle, Calla leans against the door to Ezra's room she had previously stormed off through.
"Ezra, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said. I'm just really worried, you know? But I'm sure everything's going to be fine. Come on, later you can call me a jerkface, and I'll do the crazy jerkface dance for you." Calla gestures in a silly fashion while grinning widely. "It is a dance of stupitude and sorry-ness." She slumps over her shoulders when her cheer-up attempt does not work. "Okay, well, I'm going to go grab some books for our trip. We don't have much time, so I'll be back to help you pack in a few."
Calla checks the door one more time as she turns away from it, then fixes her bag on her shoulder and leaves the room.
Back in the forest, Runaa walks in front of Raylis.
"I thought you could do it, Raylis, but I was wrong." Runaa tells Raylis.
"You're not wrong." Raylis said, putting his hand on his chest with a pleading expression. "I can do it."
"I know you've never taken before. I brought you because you're talented. Maybe the fastest and strongest of any of us. But it takes more than that. There's an instinct. A moment of truth. And in that moment, you hesitate." She stops in her tracks and turns around to Raylis with an angry look.
"I won't hesitate again." Raylis said, giving Runaa an angry look as well.
"You will. I see now that you're still just a child. Your heart isn't hard enough to do whatever it takes."
"Look, I messed up." Raylis said, frantically shaking his head. "I know I did. Because I let that human go, we're all in danger. But that's why you have to let me make it right."
"No, it's too late for that."
"I bound myself, my heart for-" Raylis said tensely, as he's about to draw out his blades, but Runaa stops him.
"You'll be unbound when the job is done. Your role now is to stay out of the way." Runaa points to a nearby rock. "You will wait here, quietly."
Raylis sits down with a grumpy look on his face.
"If we're not back by sunrise, go home."
Runaa walks away and Raylis hangs his head in shame, then looks up at the castle of Katolis and the rocks surrounding it. He thinks for a while, then makes a decision.
"I can fix this." Raylis gets up and runs off, jumping off a couple of stones as he heads towards the castle.
Callua enters the castles library where she passes two statues before approaching a book shelf. She pulls out a book called Lost Secrets of Xadia, which she places onto the floor and begins reading it with a smile. Suddenly the pages begin turning on their own, leaving Calla shocked and she stumbles backward.
"How in the..." Calla gasped.
Claude laughs as he comes out from behind a shelf, carrying a Primal Stone. He draws a rune into the air and whispers, "Aspiro."
The drawn rune summons a gust of wind that slams the book against another bookshelf. Claude continues to laugh while he approaches Calla, who then stands back up on her feet.
"I thought the book was haunted or something." Calla said.
"You should have seen the look on your face." Claude chuckled. "It was completely adorable."
"Ridiculous." Calla spoke over Claude at the last word. Then realizes what he just said, "Wait, did you just say 'adorable'?"
"Did I?" Claude teased.
Calla blushed and clears her throat. "It's so amazing that you can do things like that."
"Nah, it's just a simple wind breath rune." Claude lifts his Primal Stone and draws a smaller scaled rune again. "Aspiro." He blows a small gust of wind into Calla's face. "Can you smell the tuna?"
"Oh, yeah. Is that part of the spell?"
"Nope, it's just what I had for lunch."
They both laugh.
"See this?" Claude holds up the Primal Stone. "It's a primal stone. It uses magical energy from one of the six primal sources. Look." He hands it to Calla.
Calla takes the stone and examines it in awe. "Wow. What's inside?"
"It's a storm, a real storm. Captured from the top of Mount Kalik."
"That's incredible. You're so lucky you get to learn magic."
"Well, you get to learn sword-fighting."
"I'd switch places in a second."
Claude suddenly gasps, as if an idea popped into his head. Then taps his nose and wags his finger at Calla, then runs off without a word. He turns left, then corrects himself and dashes to the right instead. Calla taps her nose the same way he did, then slumps over her shoulders. "Boys are really weird."
In a tower of the castle, Queen Hera gazes out of a window, when Vira approaches her.
"My queen, we have not been able to find the elves. Sundown is only an hour away. Sonja and the others have returned to bolster your defenses."
"It won't be enough. I've accepted that tonight, I may pay the price for our mistakes."
Vira places a hand on Hera's shoulder. "Hera, don't give up just yet. Claude and I are still searching for a creative solution."
"Call it what it is..." Hera said in a serious tone, "dark magic."
"Yes." Vira said, taken aback.
"I've spent years going along with these 'creative solutions', and where has it gotten me?" Hera questioned, raising her voice at the last part.
"I don't understand." A confused Vira said.
"I know you don't." Hera said solemnly. "Leave me."
Vira leaves the room and closes the door behind her. She was contemplating what Hera was saying when suddenly her son rushes towards her, exclaiming excitedly while tapping his nose and pointing back and forth between himself and his mother.
"Okay, what is that, with the nose, the finger? Not everyone speaks Claude, Claude."
Claude sighs. "It means, I've got something." Claude said, smiling confidently. "Now you'll know what this means next time." he said as he tapped his nose again.
Calla knocks on Ezra's door again.
"Ezra, we need to get going. It's almost sundown." Calla begins to worry. "Ez? Are you still mad at me?" She places her bag down and opens the pet door to check Ezra's room, finding it to be empty. "Oh, no."
"Princess Calla." Someone behind her said, causing Calla to hit her head on the small door.
"Ow! Uh..." Calla chuckles, holding her head. "Of course we're both here. Why wouldn't we be?"
After an awkward moment, the guard says, "Right. Well, the queen wants to see you alone, Prince Calla."
"Oh, perfect. But she could have seen both of us if she wanted to." Calla said. She picks up his bag and leaves. She sighs in relief that the guard doesn't suspect a thing, thinking she handled it well. Completely obvious to the guard rolling his eyes at her strange behavior.
Raylis jumps through the tree tops and stops when he spotted two guards conversing beneath him.
Male guard "Yesterday, I had two eggs for breakfast and I was starving. Today, I had four eggs and I'm stuffed." The female guard pats her belly. "So, tomorrow-"
"Three eggs, I get it. We don't need to talk." The male guard complained.
"I was going to say two eggs and one sausage." The female guard said in disappointment.
"Whoopee!" The male guard said sarcastically. The female guard frowned in response.
Raylis narrows his eyes and continues his way through the trees, then hides behind a tree when two more patrolling guards pass. When he reaches the river, he shuts his eyes for a moment, then inhales sharply to gather the courage to try his luck on climbing the wall. He pulls out his knives and jumps over rocks in the water, then slams his blades into the rock surface of the cliff. Using this method, he ascends further.
Calla opens the door to the throne room and peeks in. "You wanted to see me?"
Hera turns around to face her and Calla walks up to her stepmother, then drops her bag on the ground and looks down sadly.
"Princess Calla."
"My queen." Calla bows.
"No, I... Please." Hera steps closer and gestures Calla to raise her head.
"Okay." Calla raises her head.
"Calla, I know I'm not your birth mother, but I want you to know that..." Hera deeply inhales. "This isn't easy. So, the most important things, I've written down." She hands Calla a sealed letter.
"A letter?" Calla said, taking it and examines the seal.
"You'll understand in time. I want you to break the seal when..." Hera sighs again. "Well, you know when."
"When you've been killed." Calla said.
Hera puts her hands on Calla's shoulders. "War is full of uncertainties."
"Then why can't you do something about it? Can't you just make peace with them?" Calla questioned.
"It's not that simple." Hera said.
Calla pushes Hera away. "It seems pretty simple to me. You don't want to die. I'm sure the elves and dragons don't want to die. So, everyone agrees."
"There are centuries of history. Generations of wrongs and crimes." Hera stated. "On both sides. I am responsible for some of those wrongs. I have done terrible things. I knew they were wrong to begin with, but I thought they were necessary. Now, I'm not so sure anymore. What I do know is that your father paid the price for the choice I made, and it looks like I will be doing the same."
While Calla was confused about what her father had to do with it, she continued to debate about Hera's decision. "There has to be a way to make it right." Calla hoped.
"It's too late. What is done cannot be undone."
"But you're the queen. You can do anything."
Hera sighs and chuckles. "The great illusion of childhood is that adults have all the power and freedom. But the truth is the opposite. A child is freer than a king or queen."
Calla looks at the letter and clenches it in her fist. "I'm going to give this back to you this weekend, okay? I'm not going to have to open this."
"Take care of your sister." Hera then turns her back to Calla.
Calla prepares to walk away and grabs her bag, when Hera approaches her once more. When Calla turns around, the two embrace each other and hold each other for a while as tears fill the corners of their eyes. One last goodbye; which Calla prays that it isn't.
Raylis reaches the top of the cliff and slumps over the castle wall, panting in exhaustion. She manages to pull herself onto the wall floor with a grunt and allows herself to gasp for air on the ground, before pushing herself back up. She gazes over the forest with a determined look on her face.
"You're wrong about me." Raylis said out loud, thinking about what Runaa said. He puts blades away. "I can do this. I will do this. This will make up for my parents' mistakes." He puts on his hood and proceeds into the castle.
Calla passes through the hallway when she notices movement in the corner of her eyes. That movement is Raylis, who sneaks his way through the castle.
"Ez, is that you?" Calla called out, turning to enter the hallway where she notices the movement. "Hello?"
Calla continues through the hallway as Raylis emerges from behind a knight's armor, then silently follows her, readying his blades. As he nears her, Calla stops and smiles, expecting Ezra. "You know you can't sneak up on me." She turns around and exclaims in fear upon seeing a hooded assailant.
Raylis takes down his hood and steps closer to Calla, a determined expression on his face.
"Uh, uh, you're not who I thought you..." Calla stammers, pointing in fear. "You're one of those, with the pointy..."
"Oh, you don't like my ears?" Raylis smiled.
"No. I mean, yeah. Yes, I do, I guess. I mean..." Calla stuttered. "I meant the pointy swords." She flinches as Raylis pulls his swords out again.
Raylis points his sword at Calla. "That's far enough. I'm looking for someone."
"Oh. Uh, did you check back there?" Calla points to the side.
When Raylis glances over to where she had pointed, Calla takes the opportunity to grab a nearby drape and pulls it on top of Raylis. She then runs off, screaming and panting heavily, stumbling on her way. Raylis cuts the drapes open with a twirl of his blades, then rushes after Calla. She tries to block his path by pushing over a knight's armor, but Raylis jumps against the wall, leaping over it. Asshe threatens to catch up to her, Calla makes her way outside, where she runs past two soldiers.
"He's right behind me!" Calla points back towards Raylis.
The soldiers ready their swords, but after a twirl of his blades, Raylis manages to dodge any advances by leaping over them, then forces them to the ground by sweeping their legs with the bent part of his weapons. He smiles proudly.
"Hey, you swept the leg!" Calla exclaimed.
"What?" Raylis asked in confusion.
"Uh, uh, nothing." Calla stuttered.
Calla awkwardly steps away, then continues running, followed by Raylis. The chase heads into the tower stairway.
Calla pushes open the door to Vira's office and calls out in panic. "Lady Vira! Claude! Anyone!" She then got pushed over by Raylis, then stumbles into a nearby table and loses Hera's letter as her bag drops to the ground. Holds her head as turns to look at Raylis.
Raylis steps in after her. "You don't have to die." He approaches her slowly. "There are only two targets tonight."
"Wait, two? What do you mean?" Calla questioned.
"I'm here for the queen." Raylis stated. "And I'm also here for her daughter, Princess Ezra."
Calla widens her eyes in shock. "You can't. That's not fair. Why would you hurt someone who's done nothing wrong?"
"Humans cut down the Queen of the Dragons, and destroyed her only egg, the Dragon Princess!" He points his blade at Calla's throat. "Justice will not be denied."
Calla looks down sadly. "I see." Then she looks back up with a serious expression. "Well, then, you've found me. I... am Princess Ezra."
Queen Hera is being equipped with armor for the upcoming fight by her guards. Vira enters the throne room, carrying a mysterious yellow basket.
"Not a great day for a picnic, Vira." Hera stated.
"On that, we agree." Vira walks up to Hera. "Moonshadow Elves are dangerous, elite fighters. Under a full moon, they become nearly invisible, and they can penetrate any defense. Nothing in the five kingdoms can stop them."
"I know this."
"They will find you, and they will kill you.
"Not helping, Vira." Hera whined.
"But it doesn't have to be you. In the black sands of the Midnight Desert dwells a mysterious snake called a Soulfang Serpent." Vira holds the basket forward, in which hissing can be heard. "The Soulfang has an unusual diet. Its bite drains and consumes the spirit of its prey. On our last journey into Xadia, I acquired a rather unique specimen." She opens the basket and lifts the snake with his staff, revealing it to have two heads. "Two heads, two bites, two souls held at once. And through magic, I can switch your spirit with another. The Moonshadow Elves will find the king's body, but your spirit will survive."
Hera gazes at her with a serious expression.
"I have to do this." Raylis said as he steps closer to Calla. "I'm sorry. I don't want to, but I have to."
"Why? You know this is wrong." Calla said.
"An assassin doesn't decide right and wrong, only life and death." Raylis stated.
"That's very clever, but come on, really? How does this solve anything?"
"This is justice. Humans attacked us unprovoked."
"So it's okay for you to do the same thing?"
"Well, no. It's not the same thing, because we're attacking you provoked."
"Then it's a cycle. You hurt me, someone will get revenge against the elves. It won't end." Calla stated.
"Well it's the humans' fault!" Raylis said angrily.
"Calla." Ezra whispers.
Raylis and Calla both turn their heads to look at a portrait of a barefoot shepherd boy, holding a crook and a sheep standing besides him, on the wall.
"Psst, Calla."
"Shh, go away." Calla said.
"I found something." Ezra said.
"Are you talking to that painting?" Raylis asked.
"Uh, why would I do that?" Calla chuckled nervously. "'Cause it's not a good time."
"Why? Is it because you're with a boy?" Ezra teased.
Raylis steps toward the painting and opens the path behind it, revealing Ezra and Bait.
"Uh... Jelly tart?" Ezra offers Raylis a jelly tart.
"Little girl, get out of here." Calla said.
"Calla, what's going on?"
"Calla? I thought you were Princess Ezra. You lied to me!"
"Okay, how is that worse than trying to kill someone?" Calla asked.
Ezra chows on her jelly tart, then holds Bait up to Raylis. "Have you met Bait? Say hello to my little friend."
Ezra closes her eyes and Bait emits a blinding glow, which forces Raylis to shield his eyes with his hands, distracting him briefly.
"Calla, follow me. I have to show you something."
Callum picks up his bag and the two disappear into the passage behind the painting. While closing the painting, Ezran's hand leaves behind a jelly stain. Rayla meanwhile tries to adjust her eyes back to the light.
"No. I won't hide in the body of another, while someone else dies paying the price for my decisions." Hera argued.
"Two hundred men and women are ready to fall protecting you tonight, but you won't let one soldier sacrifice their life for you?" Vira asked.
"It's not the same. I would rather die a queen, than live as a coward." Hera declared.
"Ohh, I see what this is really about."
"What are you talking about?"
"Pride." Vira said.
"No, I already told you the problem." Hera said turning around, visibly irritated about this. "It's dark magic."
"Yes, it is. It's clever. It's brilliant. It's practical. It will save your life and many, many others."
"It's a shortcut. We may not pay now, but we will pay the blood price eventually. What do you think got us here? Dark magic!"
Vira scoffed in response. "You're acting stubborn and ungrateful!"
"Should I be grateful that you destroyed that dragon's egg? Thank you for starting this unwinnable war? Thank you for angering the dragons and the elves so much that tonight they are here for my life?"
"Destroying that egg saved our kingdom. Maybe all of humanity." Vira argued.
"It was an egg!" Hera shouted.
"And it would have become the most powerful creature in the world!" Vira screamed.
Hera turns away wordlessly and walks to a nearby chest, on which she sits down and brings her hand to her face, exhaling in frustration.
Vira calmed down as well and spoke gently. "What is done cannot be undone. I am offering you a path forward. Your discomfort is understandable. You don't feel right trading your life for another's. But know this, every one of these men and women would gladly trade their life to save yours." She gestures to the nearby guards, who exchanged concerned looks.
Hera drops her hand as she has a thought. "Would you, Vira?" she asked, glaring at Vira.
"I... uh..." Vira stammered.
"Get out." Hera said with silent anger in her voice.
Vira takes the basket and bows before the queen, before she readies to leave.
Calla and Ezra rush through the dungeon corridors in panic, panting heavily, while Ezra carries Bait.
"Where have you been?! I thought you were still in your room angry with me." Calla said, while panting for air.
"I was angry at you. That's why I decided to sneak away to think about what you said. Then I suddenly found something interesting." Ezra said, also gasping for air.
"You're only making this worse!" Raylis called out.
"Worse how?" Calla yelled back.
"This way." Ezra said.
Ezra runs to the left, followed by Calla, when they run into a dead end.
"We're trapped. What do we do now?" Calla said worriedly.
Ezra approaches the wall, then turns to Calla with a smile. "Time for a puzzle." Faces the wall again and begins pressing against the stone wall. "Rock, rock, stone, rock, stone, stone. Rock, stone, rock, stone, stone..."
Calla watches her observantly. Then realized something. "Wait, what's the difference between the rocks and the stones?"
"Ugh! You made me do stone instead of rock." Ezra said frustratedly, and returns to pressing the stones. "Rock, rock, stone, rock, stone, stone, rock, stone, rock."
"Uh..." Calla clenches teeth in panic and gets fidgety as she looks back at the corridor.
Ezra smiles proudly and turns to look at the floor behind them, while a secret door opens, leading into a secret room via a spiral staircase. The sisters stumble back and wait until the passage has fully formed.
"Wow." Calla awed.
The trio makes their way down the stairs and end up in some secret chambers, where Ezra pulls a lever to close the passage behind them. They watch the stairs pull away while they bring some distance between themselves and the entrance.
"Yes!" Ezra shouted victoriously.
"You're sure he won't be able to follow us?" Calla asked.
"No way. It took me over a month to figure out that combination."
The trio flinches as the door rumbles and appears to reopen, and watch as Raylis descends into the room on top of the stairway.
"But how did you..." Ezra questioned.
"I just pressed all the stones with the jelly handprints." Raylis stated.
Ezra facepalms, leaving a jelly handprint on her forehead.
"Uh, you got some jelly on your face." Calla said.
"I'm aware." Ezra deadpanned.
Raylis steps closer, letting his eyes wander through the room, discovering the bodies of animals inside strange jars.
"What is this place? Runaa is right. There's nothing in humans worth sparing." He points his blade at the girls, who back away in fear. "Time's up. Humans destroyed the egg of the Dragon Princess. There must be justice."
Calla stands in front of Ezra protectively. "You'll have to get through me."
Raylis swings his blade. "Really?" He was impressed that this young lady in front of her is willing to risk her life. He begins to approach them.
"Wait." Ezra said and nudges her head towards a corner. "You need to see something."
Raylis points his blade again. "I'm not falling for that flashing frog trick again."
Bait grunts and glows red.
"He's a glow toad." Ezra corrected.
"Now's not a good time to correct someone."
"There should be." Ezra said to Calla in annoyance, then turns to Raylis. "And it's no trick this time. Please, look." Ezra points towards a cloaked object.
Raylis hesitates for a moment. "Fine. You uncover it. Slowly."
Ezra gestures in defense. "I can hear something inside, something alive."
Ezra pulls down the sheet of the object, revealing... the shimmering egg of the Dragon Princess.
Raylis gasped. "It... it can't be."
"The egg... it wasn't destroyed." Calla said.
The three gaze upon the egg together. This changes everything.
Author's Notes:
I was inspired by RockieQuickfire VA's genderbend fandub collab video of Callum meeting Rayla in YouTube. Check out the video, and you'll hear the voices of Calla and Raylis.
The reason behind Hera bringing up Calla's father will be explained eventually.
In the episode, the portrait in Viren's office is a woman, so I switched the person's gender too. He resembles Jackson Overland, pre-Jack Frost.