Chapter 6

A thundering crash of savage waves slammed against the hull of the charging ship. Boisterous laughter bellowed from the ship's blind captain; his hands twirling the barreling steering wheel from side to side. Captain Villads loved this feeling. The wind slicing at his beard and dual eye patches, the crisp taste of ice and salt tickling his tongue and the bouncing gyrations endlessly tossing and throttling his ship like a leaf in a windstorm. He found no greater joy or thrill then sailing the open seas and riding across whatever tumultuous wave mother nature could unleash against his wooden vessel. Ever since he lost his second eye, very few souls would risk their own to step aboard his ship. He often sailed just for fun for fear of that fleeting feeling of freedom and adventure would become as dried up and vacant as his profits.

But then they came along.

To say he was delighted when the young princes and their exotic pets came to his dock would be a gross understatement. With so few customers asking for his services, he found even the cheapest or sketchiest of individuals to be a welcome port in the dreary universal storm known as life. He had standards of course; he'd never let evil place one murky footstep on his ship. Thankfully even a blind man such as himself could feel the warmth emanating from these young passengers and their noble quest.

"SQUAWK!"

And his trusty parrot felt the same way.

Callum and Ezran couldn't have found a better captain to stow away their elf friend aboard. Unfortunately, the incident at the inn had left the young mage broken and barren inside. The sight of Callum staring vacantly across the rumbling seas with a rigid, statue-like stance had become a painfully all too common visual for the past several hours. It was a site that caused much unease and sickness in the stomachs of the group's surveying members; Ezran, Zym and Bait. Though in Rayla's case, the feelings of unease and sickness were a bit literal as well as figurative.

"Ugh…I hate the water, I hate the water, I hate the water," she tirelessly droned on as a sour shade of green filled her cheeks from the punishing vibrations of the waves. She tasted a thick, vomitous taste rapidly climbing up her throat. Hands gripped the edge of the ship tightly; fighting to swallow it back down. "I really wish I could just…like…stab the ocean, ya know? Like REALLY stab it, to the point I lost all feeling in mah arm," Ezran and the others gave a bewildered look at Rayla's poorly worded comment. She groaned heavily and rolled her eyes. "I know I know; I still wanna do it. I mean, obviously, if it was possible," she lamented lazily.

"This is really bad, like, way beyond normal kind of really bad, more like SUPER-beyond-anything-and-everything-I've-ever-seen really bad! I haven't seen him this shut down since that time Claudia walked in on him changing and saw him naked and almost laughed," Ezran shook his head wearily.

As if a switch had flipped in her soul, Rayla crunched her fingers against the crackling wood of the side beam and spun around. Her violet eyes ablaze with raw seething hatred of that witch's filthy name. "She did WHAT?! That isn't just cold, that's bloody sub-zero! How dare she do that to him! At least when he was naked in front of me, I had the decency ta be respectful bout it," she hissed; her tone dripping with scorn-soaked fury.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat, you saw my brother NAKED?!" Ezran gasped.

Rayla suddenly snapped out of her jealous haze. She forgot she and Callum purposely neglected to tell Ezran about their special arrangements when they found shelter during that storm. No way to un-scar his brother from a lifetime of mental trauma at this point, besides, she had other concerns at hand. "And THAT is the end of that story! Moving right along," she coughed loudly and motioned to focus back on their mopey mage situation. "I'm glad were finally out of Cressla's crosshairs but clearly Callum didn't leave town completely unscathed. I can't just stand there watchin 'em soak in his misery like that; it's breakin' my heart," she said achingly.

"I know how you feel," Ezran said with a heavy sigh. He stared painfully at the empty ghost that was once his older brother. He looked as blue and numb as the icy waves crashing down around them. "I've seen Callum deal with all kinds of stuff growing up but this feels like this is the big one, like the worst I've ever seen him. Except for…well…you know," the young price rubbed his neck anxiously. They knew all too well the death of their father was still fresh in their minds.

Rayla couldn't help but feel powerless in this situation. She often teased Callum for being so utterly clueless when it came to girls and yet, at this very moment, she felt equally as lost when it came to boys. The elf had aided Callum in every perilous situation they found themselves in that running to help him became second nature, as if it was always a part of her natural instincts and reflexes. To see him drowning under the weight of his emotional torment made every molecule in her body bend and contort in sorrow.

"It's times like these I wish Runaan could be here to guide me through this messy storm…even though he'd be totally against the whole human elf thing."

The young girl shook her head; scattering the hurricane of doubtful thoughts plaguing her mind. Nothing was being accomplished by just standing around matching Callum's 'mopeyness.' She steadied her quaking boots and started shuffling away from Callum and Ezran. Her awkward departure naturally prompted curiosity from the young future king.

"Need some more food in you so you can throw up?"

"No but I don't really have a choice now do I? Besides, before I settle mah stomach, I got to untangle this thorny bush we got going on first."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I need some wisdom and guidance so Ahm going to the smartest person I know."

"Who would that be?"

"The blind guy steering the ship."

Everything about this situation felt as stupid as it looked: an elf girl asking a crazy blind adult captain for advice on how to deal with the emotional turbulence of a teenage boy. Spirits this is not how she thought this day would go!

Her steps slow to an uneasy crawl, her hands carefully gripping the bannisters up the steps to where the steering wheel was. Rayla hated the fact she found herself in such increasing amounts of uncharted territories such as this. Her fingers trembled slightly as her mind raced to make some cohesive sense of the rambling questions that are buzzing about her skull. She had no idea if this man even wanted to talk about the teen angsty romance drama bubbling between a step prince human and a flunked-out assassin elf girl. He's still a guy though and he was young a million years ago so he must have some idea what Callum's going through, right? The ivory haired lass felt her stomach doing distorted backflips inside; mostly due to the still insufferable shock waves of nausea and motion sickness these waves were unloading on her but also due to the fact she knew next to nothing about this crackpot captain she was about to randomly strike up a conversation with. However, he was the only other person and male person at that available to talk to and since Ezran is too young process this situation and the animals are busy chasing each other's tails; Captain No-eyes was all she had. At the very least the fact she's an elf would remain a secret so long as she didn't slip anything out.

"Ahoy captain, how's all the uh…boat…stuff…going?" she approached casually; idly waving her hand to greet him. She immediately slapped herself with that same hand as she instantly just realized she had waved to a blind man. "Was hoping you had a moment to spare for a bit of a chat, if ya didn't mind of course," she sweetly inquired.

"SQUAWK, we love to talk; especially when were busy," the bird loudly bellowed.

Rayla groaned internally. All she needed was another animal with a smart-ass personality.

"Don't mind him; he's just jealous I have someone else to talk to for a change. What's on your mind lassie?"

"I need help with a friend of mine… he is um…a close friend of mine."

"The quiet boy who sounds like he swallowed a jellyfish, I assume?"

"Aye, Callum is his name."

"So, what's got his sea legs in a twist then, girlie?"

"Some arse holes into a tussle with us because of my…well…heritage I guess you could say. Callum tried to help and it didn't turn out so well."

"So, they all jumped ya cause you're an elf then, aye?"

"Well yeah but-wait WHAT!?"

"Lassie, just cause I'm blind doesn't mean I don't know things. You guys talk louder than you think."

"But if that's the case, why are you still helping us? Aren't you going to like, you know, throw me overboard or report me to people with large, pointy objects?"

"Yer a payin' customer, why does anything else matter? Long as yer not gonna set the ship on fire or hold my passengers at knifepoint or something crazy like that; I've got no problem with you, lassie."

"Wow that's…terribly open minded of you…thanks."

"My pleasure! Now then as for yer man down there…"

"Oh, I uh…well...I wouldn't exactly call him that. I mean were still-"

"SQUAWK! He's your man, deal with it!"

"Very wise words; listen to the bird. Now it sounds to me like old mopey mopes feels hurt because his man pride was torn to shreds. Guys love being the big brave hero for their ladies."

"That's the thing; that isn't the kind of guy Callum is. He's always been so supportive and respectful of me and mah talents. He always struggled without having any kind of special abilities but that never stopped em from helping in other ways. He even gave up his primal stone to save Zym's life."

"Hmmm…I may be understood 10% of that."

"Mah point is, he's so focused on what he lacks in physical strength he's missing how great he is in other ways. I think he's upset because he couldn't help me when I was in such a nasty spot. It wasn't that I needed him to be stronger than me in that moment…it's that he wanted to be strong for me and it didn't work out the way he hoped."

"Life seldom does, just look at me lassie."

"So, what am I supposed to do? I can't stand seeing him suffer like this. It feels like I swallowed a blade and every time I look at him, it feels like its digging deeper inside of me; cutting me with no way to stop it. He's such a pure and noble soul. He's tryin' to stop a war while the world around him keeps tellin' him it cannot be done."

"Sounds like a good boy; better than most the men I know."

"SQUAWK! It's a short list!"

"What should I do?"

"That's not an easy question to answer lassie. Sometimes, ye got to leave these things to settle on their own. I'm sure by travels' end he'll be ship shape and back to his old self."

"I just wish I could let him know it doesn't matter to me how big his muscles are or whether he can do magic or not, none of that really matters. He's not dead weight or a failure and I know that's hard for him to wrap his head around; especially right now. If only he could see himself the way I see him."

"Ugh sure…rub it in why don't ya?"

"OH, uh no I just uh, tha-that's not what I meant I-"

"Ha, ha, ha; just messin' with ya lassie. Now go on and help yer man out of those rough waters. Ye'll have plenty of time to play 'drop anchor' when we really do drop anchor at next port."

"Thanks for listenin' captain. Also, thanks for the great advice. I know just what to say now. Ye can add me to yer short friends list…so long as you never EVER say…that…last bit again…I mean it like never EVER-ever."

"Aye, I make no promises!"

"SQUAWK! That's as good as yer gonna get!"

With a grateful smile and a few dozen disgusting images warping her imagination from the captain's morbid metaphor, Rayla made her way towards Callum. Unsurprisingly, he was still sulking miserably over the railing; idly drumming his fingers in an agonizingly slow manner. He looked like the life had been sucked out of him and all that remained was a vacant husk; a deflated shell rotting away. The elf took a deep breath, closed her eyes and slowly opened them back up. She walked to the side of the ship and gently leaned on her elbow onto the top of the banister. Rayla knew approaching Callum directly would yield empty results so she decided to try a different approach: wait until he comes to her.

I'm not givin up on you Callum. I dun care how long it takes; I'll stand here till I'm covered barnacles if I have to.

Callum's eyes faintly turned to her direction. He stared briefly before turning his sullen gaze out to the unforgiving seas; seemingly devoid of any actual reaction. Their awkward silence remained unbearably endless for 30 minutes until one of them finally caved and decided to talk.

"You know this isn't going to do you any good."

Thankfully; it was Callum who decided to cast the first words.

"Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing."

"I'm serious Rayla, you should take this time to practice your fighting skills; get some training. You at least bring something to this group. I'm going to be fine; you shouldn't worry about me."

"Yeah, well that's not going to ever happen so don't bother wasting yer breath."

She crossed her arms and glared defensively at Callum, she maintained that pose until he was forced to look at her and concede she was not backing down from this issue. He offered a weak smile but it faded quickly.

"Ye know ye did nothin' wrong. What happened at the inn with those bigots? Not one filthy word out of their hate spewing mouths was true. I didn't buy into it and you damn well shouldn't either."

"Your right about one thing…I truly did absolutely nothing at all."

"That's not what I said and you bloody well know it so don't fling that shite at me, Callum."

"Well, what do you want me to say?"

"How about something that's true instead of all this murky malarky? You look so down poor Ez thinks your gonna jump overboard any minute now. And if ya do try somethin' stupid like that, I will drag your soggy arse back to this ship and chain you to the mast if I have to."

"But that's the problem right there Rayla, your putting way too much focus on me when there are better things and people we should be focusing on. I had my chance as a mage, I blew it; that's that. It was all worth it to bring Zym into this world but my part is finished. That fight at the inn didn't put that reality into my head; it just opened my eyes to it. I can chronicle your guy's efforts in drawings and words but that's about it."

"Don't say that, don't you ever talk about yourself like that again! I didn't stand for it back there and I sure as spit won't stand for it here. I swear I'll knock the teeth out of every ignorant piece of gutter trash that speaks of you that way; elf, human or whatever."

"That's really sweet Rayla, no really; it is. I'm lucky to have someone like you care for me that much but…I just don't see why."

"What, what don't you see?'

"I don't see what I bring to this-"

"Mission?"

"No, to this world."

"Callum!"

"Just-just hear me out. Everything I've tried to be or was destined to be has fallen to pieces. I couldn't cut it as a prince, I was even worse as son to my step-dad, I was even more pathetic as a fighter and then I finally found my knack as a mage…only for that to go away too. I mean yeah, I'm good with ideas and-and helped us out a of few nasty spots back there, but I'm starting to think it was all luck. I don't get what you or anyone else sees in me, I just don't. I'm sorry, I wish I could do more I wish I had more to give to the mission…to the world…and to you."

"Oh Callum, oh my sweet, sweet prince; you have no idea how much you give me."

He stared blankly at her; visibly lost as if she had spoken another language. Her hand gently reached out to his and intertwined her fingers with his.

"This world and this elf girl don't need powerful mages, rippling muscles or bull-headed swordsman; we need specifically you. It's because of your struggle with those skills that makes yer commitment to peace so admirable and noble. You took it upon yerself to change the world when the whole world was desperate to break and change you. That takes strength, courage and a pure heart. You stood up for me when no one else would; defending my name and me from that rotten bastard. Ye don't need to be as bad ass as me to prove your worth as a person. Don't you see? Your already mah hero ya stupid dork! Ye saved me, I'd be as bloodthirsty as Viren if you hadn't had the heart to change mine. So don't say yeh got nothin' to give…Callum…ye have everything to give and both me and the world are countin' on it."

"Rayla…"

"Besides, at the very least yeh owe this girl another date. After those crazy first two I can only imagine how wild the third is going to be."

For once, Rayla could see the faintest spark of hope and light shimmer in those charming green eyes of his. Callum finally looked past the dreary, all-consuming seas and found something…no…someone more worthy of his yearning gaze. He immediately became lost in those luminous purple eyes of hers. It was as if the stars and space itself swirled in her eyes; they sucked him into a world of serene bliss that he never wished to escape. Inside of her eyes was warmth, kindness and love…a heavenly overflow of true love. He felt like it was wrapping him up in a blanket and shielding him from all the pain and agony plaguing him and the world. Callum wanted to return to that love, he wanted to return that love to Rayla; where he hoped she would always be.

"It's a promise. You and me? Were gonna have the best date, one that will like blow away every other dating spot or restaurant in the history of um…dating…stuff. Man, I wish that sounded better."

"Heh, sounded pretty nice to me actually. So, where's it gonna be?"

"Hmmm, how does Heaven sound?"

"That's funny, I could have sworn I was already there."

The young couples' hands locked together; their enraptured eyes never leaving each other's enchanting gaze. Not even the corniness of Callum's suggestion could damper the passion radiating between their kindred souls. They kissed and sighed blissfully in content. Thoughts of future kisses, dates and happy moments flooded their hearts and minds; giving them hope for the future and for themselves.

"Um…guys?"

Ezran's youthful voice broke the romantic moment, Rayla and Callum sighed as their lips reluctantly separated. They knew they had to but their wide smiling lips had silently wished for a longer window before being called back to reality.

"Ez, buddy, I know this is a weird and sudden way for you to find out about this but…um…yeah…this is a thing now; WE are a thing now. I know, I know it's a lot to take in."

SHINK!

The sound of merciless; unfeeling metal instantly ended the tender moment. All warmth drained from the area; it vanished almost instantly, now all that remained was a suffocating storm of frigid, morbid dread. Rayla and Callum slowly turned to seek the source of Ezran's fear filled voice. There, standing with a single, constricting arm tightly wound across Ezran's throat and a gleaming blade pressed against his cheek; was Cressla. They don't know how Cressla got on board without any of them noticing or what they could do at this very moment, all they knew was Ez was in danger and they had to do something. The one-armed assailant stood firmly yet proudly; visibly pleased with her human hostage and soaking in the squeamish looks of gut twisting fear etched across the young couple's faces. For the first time in a while, she finally felt like the power of death was back in her hands. She loathed having to butcher her body while her traitorous comrade flaunted her flawless physique without as much as a bruise where the binding once was. It was the cruelest injustice Cressla had choked down since those morally bankrupt humans murdered the Dragon king. At this moment though, with the verminous prince squirming against her grip and the cold metal of her blade digging into his freckled face; everything finally felt right with the world.

"You know, these are the moments where you just feel truly happy to be alive. It almost makes losing my arm worth it," her bloodthirsty smile faded slightly. She pricked Ezran's cheek with the blade; drawing a droplet of blood. The whimpering cry of pain brought her predatory grin back on full display. "Almost, wouldn't you agree; Rayla?" she hissed cruelly.

Rayla quickly released Callum and whipped out her dual blades. Callum, nobly tried to step in and speak or act against the menacing assassin but Rayla stopped him before he went any further. A quick look of sweet gratitude flashed his way before returning to the imminent threat at hand. "Cressla," Rayla's steely gaze bore hatefully towards the unfeeling elf girl; "I'm not a killer but Aye swear if you dare do anythin' against Ezran, I'll-"

"SILENCE! I dare to do whatever I please; it is the least you owe me after you destroyed our group, our mission and our lives! Time to pay your blood debt traitor and I expect to be paid in full," Cressla gleamed mercilessly. Her boots stomped closer; each thump against the creaking wooden boards inched her blade ever so closer to Ezran's throat.

"I'm not going to deny you've got valid reasons to do what you're doing, I know my dad and other humans have caused you nothing but pain and suffering," Callum said cautiously. He carefully raised his hands in the air; showing he was unarmed. The would-be mage approached Cressla as safely as possible. "But this isn't going to solve anything. Death will only cause more death; everyone has already spilled enough blood on both sides. There's no need to do this," he maintained eye contact with his trembling brother.

Cressla didn't even try to contain her ghoulish laugher at Callum's hollow words. Bait and Rayla tried to inch closer and catch Cressla off guard but she was too quick to fool. She backed up and positioned her blade directly under Ezran's chin. "Course there is, it'll be worth every blood-soaked minute just to see that look of utter agony on your faces," a humorless giggle escaped her broad grinning lips.

"Hey, who that be running amok on my ship?" Captain Villads called out. The newfound voice and tension in the sir quickly drew the blind captain's attention.

"Shut yer trap you cancerous filth! I've got a mission to carry out and I won't have my moment trampled or tainted by crippled human trash," Cressla's sharp words forced the captain back into silence. His bird squawked many unsavory words in the murderous' self-direction. Cressla sneered at the flying rat and focused back on the human princes. "It's time I finish what Rayla could not: ending your rotten royal legacy once and for all! Just like we did your father," Cressla added coolly.

"Oh, come on Cressla, we both know that's not what ye really want. I'm the one who really burned ya the worst; didn't I?" Rayla's words stopped Cressla cold. Much as she wanted to feel the brat's blood soak her fingers now, she could not deny her hatred for Rayla ran a bit deeper than what she felt towards Callum and Ezran. "Take me instead," Rayla dropped her blade to the ground and raised her hands behind her head. Callum tried to stop her but she refused to let him stop her. "Everythin yer feelin' comes from what I did to you, not them. We both know this is more personal than business so why not just do away with me and leave the boys be?" Rayla pleaded.

"Whoa, no way, Rayla that is not happening! Totally out of the question," he protested adamantly. He knew exactly what Rayla was trying to do and as touching as it was, he refused to let harm happen to her or his brother.

Cressla eagerly took advantage of their little squabble and pulled her blade back like a boomerang. She hurled it forward slicing it directly into Rayla's right shoulder; forcing her to drop her twin blades. The young elf cried out and collapsed to the ground. Her hand feebly grasped at her bleeding shoulder; failing to stop the crimson color soaking into her clothes. Ezran cried out in horror. Callum felt the color drain from his face; his heart slowing to a deathly, sluggish paced crawl. Cressla kicked Ezran to the ground and removed another blade stashed within a pocket on her hip. The jagged, curved dagger was raised above Ezran's fallen form and was about to be violently plunged into his young heart. Suddenly, the ship violently swerved to the side and tilted everyone to the far right. The group tilted and swayed alongside the ships jerking motions. Cressla fell against the edge and dropped her blade into the ocean.

The one-armed assailant looked towards the ship's feel. There stood the red bearded captain, hands raised and allowing the wheel to spin out of control to the far right of the starboard. "Oh no, lost control of me ship. Clumsy me," he said sarcastically. Villads idly wiggled his fingers in the air, the sight caused Cressla to curse and spit in his direction.

"No matter," Cressla reached into another pocket to retrieve another blade. She would not let these pestering humans rob her of her revenge when she was so close to achieving it. "Any good assassin worth her mettle always comes-"

CHOMP!

Zym leapt out of seemingly nowhere and crunched his dragon fangs deep into the flesh and cloth of Cressla's hand. Her shrill voice deafly screamed out across the rumbling waves and rocking wood of the ship's creaking structure. The surprise attack snapped her assassin reflex into full, murderous activation. She tossed Ezran to the side like he was trash in desperate need of disposal. With one full swing from her single arm, Cressla flung Zym to the ground with loathsome force. Her bloodlust eyes locked squarely on the infant dragon; slowly widening as she suddenly realizes who and what had attacked her.

"Well, I'll be…so the dragon prince does indeed live," her shocked gasp slowly morphed into a twisted grin. She looked on the infant dragon with opportunistic glee; a new future opening up right before her very eyes. For the moment, the traitorous elf and sniveling human princes had vanished from her path of vengeance. "It's only fit that a worthy elf brings him back to his mother in Xadia, along with the heads of the rotten rat brained filth that killed his father in the first place," Cressla schemed maliciously. She reached towards Zym with her outstretched fingers; ready to claim her prize. Zym growled at her like a grumbling guard dog.

Ezran cried out in defiance. Zym wanted nothing to do with this dark hearted elf; even if she was intending on bringing him home to his mother. Ez could see it and feel it in the scorn dripping from Zym's savage snipes. The young boy rushed to his friend's aid but was quickly thwarted by a spinning jump kick from the one-armed attacker. Ezran was painfully swatted down with merciless precision. Callum raced up to aid his brother but Cressla was already prepared for this; she had a fresh blade twiddling between her fingers. Rayla knew she couldn't run fast enough to push Callum down to safety, but she had her own blades and skills and would put them to use just as quickly. Rayla launched her blade towards Cressla; hurling it like a spear. Cressla however proved to be more graceful and reactive than expected. She spread her legs and performed a splits maneuver; narrowly dodging Rayla's blade as it sliced past an ear. Unphased, Cressla retaliated with her own razor-edged reply, but instead aimed her lethal attack directly at the scarf-wearing prince Rayla loves so dearly. Purple eyes follow the blade's trajectory. Rayla's boots moved with lightning grace; running and leaping with every ounce of energy and speed her legs could give her. Callum was pushed safely out of the way. The blade sunk into the slender yet firm muscles of Rayla's right arm; sending a spurting spray of blood raining across the ship's planks. She dropped to the ground and cried out as she landed directly on her wound.

"RAYLA!"

Callum rushed to her aid; his eyes widening with heart-stopping fear. Blood, death, war; none of these were new lessons for Callum to experience. Living a life as a prince in a land bombarded with threats of war has made Callum all too aware of what blood-soaked horrors reality could conjure…and then he met Rayla. She was the living proof that the world was not destined to be plunged in to darkness and despair. She was hope, she was beauty; she was the future, Callum's future. She cried out as she removed the blade from her arm; her screams made Callum's heart twist and ache. His hands fumbled around his person to find something to stop the bleeding. Rayla vainly tried to insist she was fine and he shouldn't worry about her; that just wasn't going to happen. Finally realizing he had the perfect solution literally wrapped around his neck, he unraveled his trademark scarf and quickly secured it around Rayla's wound.

"Callum, take Ezran and Zym and run. I'll hold her off."

"No way, that's not happening! There's no way I could-"

SHINK! SPLAT!

A glob of warm crimson splashed onto Rayla's face. Callum and Rayla felt their voices and faces collectively drain of all life and energy. Lifeless green eyes weakly looked down to locate the peculiar source of simultaneous cold and warmth within his body. Callum noticed two black horn tips; drenched in blood poking just slightly through the meat of his chest. Cressla had plunged her horns into Callum's back and skewered through him. The young boy could barely react to what had happened, his fingers reached for the horns but could not grasp them. His digits trembled rigidly and succeeded only in grabbing the cold air wafting through his puncture wounds.

POP!

Cressla dislodged her horns from Callum's chest with a thick, sickening mixture of popping and squishing sounds. She backed up; her face painted with specks of the prince's blood dancing near her unhinged, wicked smile. Callum dropped to the ground with a soul crushing thud. He landed on his back facing his right; no sound emanated from him beyond the trickling sounds of his blood pooling out of the open wounds. Ezran was left speechless; tears welling up in his eyes. Rayla shuffled weakly towards Callum. Her voice was broken, shriveled; barren from the indescribable pain snuffing out every spark of joy Callum brought into her lonely, withered life. She couldn't even speak his name she was crying so intensely. The broken girl buried her face in Callum's chest; unphased by Callum's blood smearing her pale purple cheek markings.

"I think I just made the world a little bit safer," Cressla said crudely. Her smile and distorted chuckling made Rayla's blood boil. Watching her twist and quake in anger only increased the volume and venomous nature of her mocking laughter.

Taking a life was something Rayla knew she could never do, that was what brought about the friction between her and Runaan on the night they came to kill King Harrow. This lack of blood thirst is ultimately what brought about the very situation they were in with Cressla on this ship. However, as the warmth oozed out of Callum's body; leaving him a cold and eroding shell within her hands, she finally found a reason to end someone's life. Right now, at this very moment; the only thing that mattered was butchering this soulless, smiling monster and tossing her chopped remains into the seas as cheap fish food.

"Cressla…you…. you…I swear I will…I will KILL YOU FOR THIS!" Rayla shrieked.

Rayla grabbed the blade still wedged in her shoulder, ripped it out like a measly thorn; screamed in anguish and lunged forward to violently claim her vengeance on Cressla. Her former comrade was already prepared. Cressla spin kicked the blade out of Rayla's hand with effortless ease. She stomped her boot on Rayla's wounded shoulder; grinding her heel into the bloody spot and keeping her pinned to the ground.

"Impressive resolve, greenie. I must admit I didn't think you had it in you. You're finally in the club," Cressla reached into her other boot and removed something slender and jagged. She revealed a lengthy, jagged blade in its holster hidden in her boot. The blade gleamed its lethal shimmer as Cressla unsheathed it and raised it up high. "Too bad there's no room for traitorous late entries. I'll take your head and then the heads of these human prince vermin back to Xadia as gifts for the dragon queen; tokens of the Moon shadow elves undying servitude to her along with the safe return of her son. I think that should wipe the shame you and yer family brought upon our clan; don't you?" she replied with a sickly cackle.

Try as she might, Rayla had no more strength left to fight against Cressla. Ezran was an emotional wreck, Bait and Zym didn't have the energy to do much and Villads was still busy piloting the ship. Rayla could tell by how tightly he gripped the wheel that he was desperate to do something other than stand by and listen to his passengers be slaughtered by this merciless witch. Unfortunately, even if Villads did come to help, being blind left him with a severe disadvantage that Cressla could easily use against him. Fearing this was the end, she turned to look at Callum one last time; the last person she wanted to see before Cressla's blade plunged her into eternal darkness.

"What the?"

Rayla's response aroused Cressla's curiosity. The one-armed assassin turned towards Callum's direction and much to her surprise; discovered he was in fact still alive. Callum was weakly writing something in the air with his trembling finger. He appeared to be mumbling something; dry lips were whispering unintelligible sounds as his finger continued to weakly write in the air. The boy was still facing off to the right and it seemed he was looking out at Villads; though his other movements didn't match up with that theory. Despite all the pain and blood loss he had suffered, Callum's movements moved with a committed purpose albeit with dwindling energy. Miraculously, one of the legendary elemental magical symbols; the one for air specifically, appeared where Callum's finger was sky writing. A bright, oceanic blue magic symbol appeared before the groups collectively widening eyes. Finally, Callum's frail voice managed to speak the word his dying voice had been aching to say.

"Aspiro"

A gust of wind magically summoned at the base of the mystical symbol. It blasted forth and struck the ship's sailing mast with a mighty force of wind. The mast spun around the ship, went around full clockwise and slammed into Cressla; catapulting her off the ship like a fly being swatted away. The murderous elf had been too stunned to dodge the mast after seeing a lowly human successfully use air magic. Cressla landed with a skin slapping splash into the cold, pounding waves of the vast open ocean. Ezran, Rayla, Zym and Bait rushed over to the edge of the ship and peered over; eager to see what fate had befallen Cressla.

She thrashed angrily against the water; desperately trying to keep herself afloat with one arm. Cressla looked up at the gawking fools aboard the ship looking down on her. "This isn't the end of this! I will get the dragon prince eventually," she turned to spit a glob of water from her mouth; angrily focusing on getting back aboard that ship. So furious was Cressla, she was unaware of the looming dark shadow billowing up below her. "When I get back, I'll gut the other prince just like I hacked up Rayla's boy toy. Then I'll-"

CHOMP!

Cressla was suddenly engulfed by a monstrous, meat-eating River creature; similar to the one that nearly Bait earlier on. The beast was a gargantuan emerald green eel like whiskered fish with 4 red eyes, 4 long whiskers with teal tips and a large dorsal fin along the top of its head. The monster almost swallowed Cressla completely up! Her booted legs dangled from the creature's meat starved jaws, they wiggled helplessly in mid air as the beast swished her around his jaws. Her legs were sucked down with a grotesquely audible slurp and the river beast dove back into the sea; vanishing from view. Unable to properly respond to what happened, Rayla, Ezran and the others left the side of the ship and quickly went to Callum's aid.

"Callum, ye did it, ye actually did it! Yer a real mage after all," Rayla said sweetly. She stifled back her sniffling sobs as best she could. Her hands gently cradling his head in her lap; cupping his cheeks. "Ye saved us all…ye really are a true hero…my silly, handsome prince," she kissed his forehead softly.

Callum's eyes fluttered open and shut frequently. He felt so happy and proud and yet, so cold and tired. He felt like all of the warmth was flooding out of his body and the only thing he could still faintly feel was Rayla's hands on his face. Weakly, Callum lifted his head and looked around; seeing his friends, family and loved ones surrounding him in a sea of sad smiles and tear-filled eyes. For the first time in a long time, he truly felt like he finally was able to do something right.

Callum smiled big and wide, closed his eyes and rested his head down one last time.

"CALLUM!"

To be concluded…

Ta da! Update time right on the release of the brand new 4th season of Dragon Prince. Could this be anymore perfect? Well yes actually, I was hoping to finish the story and mark it complete when the hype was high off the release of season 4. Unfortunately my work and personal schedules have become extremely busy lately and I couldn't quite get everything in I wanted to. Rest assured the next chapter will be the last one and it will be shorter, which means it won't take me nearly as long as my last chapter. I know things got pretty serious and grim for a comedic romance story but this was the only way I saw this scenario ending. Everything will be summed up and cleared up in the last chapter so stay alert and enjoy the story/show! Please feel free to leave any reviews, questions, comments, criticisms and let me me know what you thought; it means more to me than you know. Bye for now!