"You know you can't sneak up on me."
Rayla flinched, almost in shock, as the human turned around, before crying out in shock.
"Uh, uh... you're not who I thought you were... you're one of those with the pointy..."
"Oh, you don't like my ears?" Rayla replied, relaxing slightly at the lack of shouting, screaming or flying objects.
"No... I mean yes I do..." the human stammered. "I guess... I meant the pointy... swords..." he completed, as Rayla brandished one of her blades.
"That's far enough." she told him as he attempted to back away down the corridor. "I'm looking for someone."
"Oh, uh, did you check back there?"
Rayla glanced off to one side. The next thing she knew she was engulfed in a curtain, that the human had taken advantage of her momentary distraction to grab and throw over her. It took her a few moments to shred through the curtain with her swords before she set off in hot pursuit of the human. He stumbled before recovering and tipping over a suit of armour into her path. She simply ran along the wall to avoid it as he fled towards a nearby doorway. Rayla bounced from one wall to another, rather than using the stairs as the human was before chasing him out onto the ramparts.
By the time she'd made it out of the door, he was talking to a pair of guards, who stepped into her path. Darting towards them, she flipped from one side to the other, before vaulting over them, landing behind them as they tried to react. Quickly, she hooked her swords behind their ankles, and flipped them to the ground.
"Hey, you swept the leg!" Her quarry commented, as she took a moment to preen, looking down at the two dazed guards.
"What?" she demanded, suddenly confused.
"Nothing!" the human said, before turning and running as she resumed the chase, into the neighbouring tower. He fled up the stairs, just about managing to stay ahead of her as she ran up the wall, just below the line of the sconces.
"Viren, Claudia... anyone!" she heard him shout as he burst into a room.
It was empty.
She had him cornered.
Rayla shoulder-barged him into the room, knocking her quarry across the width of it. She was surprised by just how easy it was to do, as his bag fell to one side, and he picked himself up.
"You don't have to die." she said, stalking towards him, swords spread out to her sides. He just sat there, stunned. "There are only two targets tonight."
"Wait, two? What do you mean?"
"I'm here for the king. And I'm also here for his son, Prince Ezran."
"You can't that's not fair." Her cornered victim interrupted. "Why would you hurt someone who's done nothing wrong?"
"Humans cut down the King of the Dragons and destroyed his only egg, the Dragon Prince!" Rayla tossed back at him, aiming her left sword at his chest. "Justice will not be denied!"
"I see, he replied, looking past her. "Well then... you found me. I... am Prince Ezran."
She looked at the now-revealed prince, startled, as he began to backpedal.
"I have to do this. I'm sorry. I don't want to, but I have to..."
"Why? You know that this is wrong."
Rayla felt her resolve waver, as she looked down her sword at a helpless victim, who wasn't even trying to fight back. "An assassin doesn't decide right and wrong." She said after a moment. "Only life and death." Runaan's mantra felt slightly trite in her mouth, as she said it.
"That's very clever." Ezran stammered. "But come on, really? How does this solve anything?"
"This is justice! The humans attacked us unprovoked!"
"So, it's ok for you to do the same thing?"
"Well, no, it's not the same thing." She insisted. "We're attacking you, provoked!"
"Then it's a cycle." Ezran almost seemed weary as he said it. "You hurt me; someone will get revenge against the elves. It won't end."
"Callum!" She suddenly heard from behind a portrait, as both of them twisted to regard a picture of a red-haired human woman holding some form of animal. "Psst... Callum?"
"Shh..." Ezran responded. "Go away!"
"I've found something."
"Are you talking to that painting?" Rayla asked, suddenly bemused.
"Uh, why would I do that?" Ezran asked her, trying to laugh it off. "Cos it's not a good time!" The second sentence appeared to be addressed to the painting.
"You mean, because you're with a girl?"
Rayla felt a sudden surge of angerembarrassmentannoyancefrustration at that. Pointing her right-hand sword at Callum, she crossed over to the talking painting, and swung it aside. Behind it was a smaller, dark-skinned human, holding what looked like a triangular pastry in one hand, and an ugly, brightly coloured creature in the other.
"Uh, jelly tart?" He offered, seemingly completely unperturbed by coming face to face with an armed, angry elf.
"Kid, get out of here!" Ezran interjected.
"Callum, what's going on?" the child asked.
"Callum?" she challenged, suddenly suspicous. "I thought you were Prince Ezran... You lied to me!"
"Ok, how is that worse than trying to kill someone!" Callum retorted, holding his hands out to the side.
There was a sudden munching noise from behind her. She turned, to see the small human had apparently manged to fit the entire pastry into his mouth, in one go.
He looked up at her, before holding out the creature, which started to glow. "Have you met Bait? Say hello to my little friend." He glanced away, as the glow continued to grow.
And then Bait emitted a flash of light, blinding her for a few moments as her body screwed her eyelids closed. She couldn't contain the scream of shock and pain as she staggered back, dropping her weapons and covering her face.
"Callum, follow me!" She heard, followed by the sound of footsteps, which were quickly muffled. "I have to show you something!"
By the time Rayla could see again, the painting was closed, with only a handprint to show it'd been moved.
She pulled open the painting and followed the disappearing sound of running feet down the stairwell behind the painting.
They weren't going to get away from her.
As she began to close in, she shouted "You're only making this worse?"
"Worse how?" Callum retorted, from just out of sight.
"This way!" She heard the younger human shout, as she hurtled down the corridor.
When she reached what seemed like a dead-end, there was no sign of them. She glanced around, startled. Humans, as far as she knew, did not have the ability to disappear into thin air.
And then she noticed that she could, vaguely, smell the slightest trace of a fruit.
Looking more closely at the wall, she saw a series of tell-tale handprints.
These humans were cleverer than they'd initially appeared.
Tapping the rocks, she was almost startled as a staircase began to revolve, but quickly caught herself, stepping onto the next-to-bottommost step with her swords at her sides.
"How did you...?" the smaller human asked.
"I just pressed all the stones with a sticky handprint on them." Rayla responded, looking around the room, as she stalked towards them. "What... is this place? Runaan is right. There's nothing in humans worth sparing!" She spat. Her quarries were cornered. They had nowhere to go. "Time's up. Humans destroyed the egg of the Dragon Prince. There must be justice!"
The older human, Callum, stepped in front of the younger human. "You'll have to get through me!" he declared, his face set.
"Really?" Rayla responded, stalking closer, face set.
"Wait, you need to see something!" The smaller human interrupted.
"I'm not falling for that flashing frog trick again!" Rayla responded, halting her advance.
"He's a glow toad!" the smaller human interjected. "But there's no trick this time. Please... look."
"Fine!" Rayla spat, after a moment of hesitation. "You uncover it. Slowly."
"I can hear something inside." The smaller human told her. "Something alive."
He pulled the sheet off, suddenly, revealing a brightly coloured glowing egg.
Rayla couldn't contain a gasp as she saw it. "It... it can't be."
"The egg... it wasn't destroyed." Callum said, almost reverently.
"This... changes everything." Rayla admitted.
"So, this is it?" Calum asked. "The egg of the Dragon Prince?"
"I can't believe it. If the egg lives..."
"Maybe it could stop the war?" Callum asked.
Rayla crossed over to the egg, noting the two humans backing away, and knelt in front of it, almost communing with it for a few moments, before the small human broke the spell.
"He's Ok in there." He said. "I can feel it."
"But how?" Callum asked. "Why wasn't it destroyed?"
"Because my father saved it!" A new voice interjected.
"Claudia!" Callum exclaimed, as Rayla spun, dropping into a combat pose.
"Callum, Ezran, get behind me!" Claudia instructed, seemingly ignoring the armed assassin standing directly between her and the humans. "I can protect you from the elf!"
That explained why Callum had been so willing to lay down his life. He was protecting the real prince, and willing to sacrifice himself to ensure he lived.
"Your father didn't save it!" Rayla objected. "He stole it."
"That's a lie!" Claudia retorted, as Callum moved towards her.
"Then Claudia, why is it here?" he demanded.
"My father took it to protect us, Callum! So the elves and dragons couldn't use it!"
"What are you talking about?" Rayla responded. "How can we use it?"
"Don't play dumb. You know it's a powerful weapon."
"It's not a weapon! It's an egg!"
"Ezran, don't be afraid." Claudia said. "Walk towards me. And if she moves even an inch..." She drew a glowing rune in the air as she was speaking.
Rayla tensed, before preparing herself to lunge forwards. Hopefully, she could strike faster than the human could react and cast the spell.
"Just bring that thing here!" Claudia instructed Ezran.
"It's not a thing!" Rayla insisted. "It has a mother! And it needs to go back to her!"
"You're right. Ezran said. "It wants it's mother."
"Ezran, be careful." Claudia said, still holding the half-completed spell ready to fire.
He glanced at Rayla, as she looked at him.
He grinned back. "Follow me."
Both of them darted towards the end of the chamber.
"Don't worry!" Rayla heard Claudia say. "I won't hit... ugh!"
The next sound was what sounded like a human body slamming into the floor. She turned around to see Callum holding what looked like the primal source Claudia had been brandishing, and the girl lying on the floor next to him. He looked stunned. Rayla noted almost detatchedly that her chest was at least rising and falling.
"We need to get this egg to the top of the tower. Now!" she ordered.
And then, echoing through the tunnel, she heard the sound of bells ringing, and the clamour of battle. "We're out of time!"
Sprinting through the corridor, they left the mage girl behind.
On the ramparts, they found the first casualties, and their killer.
Runaan.
"Rayla." He said, a threat in his voice. "You defied me."
"Runaan, you need to call off the mission."
"You've lost your mind."
"Please, listen to me!" Rayla begged. "I've found something... The egg of the Dragon Prince."
"That's impossible." Runaan replied.
"The egg wasn't destroyed, it was stolen. Their high mage was going to use it for dark magic but the human princes found it. And they're only trying to help."
"No!" Runaan interrupted. "Humans are liars. This is a trick and a trap. You're a fool, Rayla."
"She's not a fool." Callum said, stepping out from concealment behind her and a box. "What she's telling you is true."
"You've made a terrible mistake." Runaan said, with murder in his voice.
"Ez..." Callum said. "Show him."
Keeping her eyes on her mentor, Rayla didn't see what happened next., but heard footsteps, and saw his reaction.
"It... it's beautful." Runaan said, lowering his bow.
"How can we take vengeance for an act that never happened?" Rayla demanded, moving closer to her mentor. "You have to call it off."
"Rayla, you know it doesn't work that way." Runaan objected. "We bound ourselves. There's only one way to release."
Rayla knew what she was going to have to do, now. "Runaan, please!" She beeged. "There has to be another way! This is a miracle... a chance for peace!"
"The humans struck down the king of the dragons! Justice will not be denied. Now, give me the egg!"
Rayla's hands blurred as she made the only decision she could. Her blades hissed as she unholstered them, and readied to fight.
"Callum, Ezran... go!" she ordered.
"But..." the older human objected.
"Just keep it safe." She told them, standing between them and her mentor, blades drawn, as the clouds revealed the full moon in all its glory.
"Don't... do this!" Runaan said, spliting his bow into a pair of swords. "I will kill you." As he said it, he changed, the power of the moon flowing through him.
Rayla suddenly felt lighter and freer than she had in years. "Probably." She said, before the power of the moon flowed through her, and she lunged forwards.
Runaan met her charge with his own, and their blades crossed.
It was a furious fight, as they danced around each other, from merlon to merlon, wall to wall, blades missing and crossing with equal frequency. After perhaps a minute of furious combat, Runaan made another attempt to reason with her.
"You're better than this." He said, almost sadly.
"Nope, not really. You've had about twenty years more training."
"Not your fighting skills. I mean your character." As he said it, he kicked her in the chest, throwing her off the wall into another wall, which she just managed to grapple onto, and flip herself onto a lower wall.
A buzz was all the warning she had to sidestep an arrow, then another, as Runaan began to shower her with them. A few more arrows, and he spilt his bow into swords, running down the wall, and throwing himself at her again.
"You saw the egg!" She objected, managing to buy herself a little bit of space. "There's no need for vengance tonight."
As she spoke the last two words, she flipped forwards, slashing at her mentor, whose blades met hers in a shower of sparks as they fought.
Another few moments, and she broke off again, panting with exhaustion from trying to keep up with the more experienced assassin. Her eyes strayed to the tower, looking to see if the egg was on the balcony yet.
"You're just trying to stall me."Runaan said, in a moment of sudden realisation.
"Interesting theory." She responded. "Care to discuss?"
"Your justice will come later." Runaan threatened, before heading for the tower.
"No, wait!" she called after him.
He disappeared without responding.
She slumped against a wall for a moment, before straightening.
She had an egg to protect.
Dropping down the wall, she headed for the courtyard, unsure of where they were. As she walked past a conveniently based cart of straw, which for some reason made her want to jump off a high point into it, the cart began to glow.
"This one's not so good at hiding." She said as she parted the straw to find Bait.
"I told him that." Ezran said, suddenly popping up with the glow toad on his head.
"Er, where's your brother?" She asked.
"He went up to the tower to see our dad."
Rayla glanced up at the structure. "Oh no, that's the last place he should be right now!"
A few moments later, Callum came running out of the tower, breathing heavily, looking like he'd seen a ghost.
"Callum! Did you talk with Dad?" Ezran asked.
The boy just shook his head, as the sounds of battle filled the air, before he glanced back at the tower.
Rayla crossed over to him. "Say the word, and I'll go back into that tower with you." She offered.
Callum looked at Ezran, then at the egg, and then finally up at the tower.
"Let's go. Ezran, climb back into that cart. Keep the egg safe."
Without watching to see if the boy followed his instruction, he sprinted into the tower, closely followed by Rayla. At the foot of the stairs, they almost tripped over an armoured body, which Ezran stripped the cloak from, and threw it around her shoulders.
"If you wear this, hopefully the guards won't kill you." He said. There was the slightest tinge of colour to his cheeks, as she took the lead.
Outside the King's chamber, they found several guards dead, along with two of the elven assassins. Rayla looked away from the bodies of those she'd been camped with hours earlier, as they crossed the threshold. Two more assassins, and ten guards, lay dead inside the room, as Runaan duelled with a dark-skinned human she hadn't seen before, wearing ornate armour and a crown.
And then she saw a human, with his eyes glowing purple, raise his hand as Runaan delivered a blow towards his opponent's neck. Some instinct told her that both wanted the king dead. She reacted almost without thought. Her right hand flicked out, throwing her blade, trusting hours of training, and weeks of practice that it would fly true.
And then she threw herself forwards, putting all her strength behind her second blade.
It struck like a thunderbolt.
Inches from the target, Runaan's blade suddenly faltered and stopped, as three inches of elven steel emerged from his chest. Meanwhile, a kuchunk sound, followed with a sigh and the sound of a body sliding to the floor, told her that her thrown blade had found its mark.
And then there was a sword pressed to her neck, as she released her grip on her remaining blade, moving slowly and calmly. She could feel how sharp the blade was, and knew that, with a slight twist of the wielder's wrist, it would open her neck like a dragon flying through a cloud.
"Dad!" Callum shouted. "Don't kill her! She's a friend!"