Rayla was suprised she didn't hurt. After all, she'd been training with Amaya for most of the day. Stretches had turned into slow, gentle movements, fighting at a quarter speed. That had turned into faster movements, gradually accelerating to full speed. The first time they'd sparred at full speed, Rayla had lasted perhaps ten seconds before she was pinned. By the end of the first day of training, it was usually closer to twenty seconds. Amaya seemed pleased with her progress as they headed back into the tower to freshen up.
Someone, Sadie, she presumed, had laid out a simple dress on her bed, with a note. "You'll be eating in the King's Chambers tonight. Wear this. I'll launder your day clothes."
Almost before she'd finished putting on the dress, there was a knock at her door, followed by a familiar voice.
"Can I come in?" Callum called.
"Sure. Just make sure you're bringin' some moonberries with you."
"Do strawberry tarts count?" He asked, as the door slid open, revealing the human carrying a small basket of tarts. "Also, you have got to try Barius' new lemonade."
A bottle was unceremoniously placed on the table in front of her, as Callum unpacked what seemed like a small picnic hamper onto the table.
"I know you're eating with us tonight, but I know exactly how much training with Aunt Amaya tires anyone out."
"Voice of experience, there?"
"She did her best." Callum commented, looking away from Rayla. "But when there's nothing there to teach..."
"What do you mean, nothin' there?"
"You haven't seen me try to fight with a sword."
"It can't be that bad."
"No, it's probably worse."
Rayla snorted.
"Oh, I've got to see for meself, then." She produced a pair of what looked like measuring sticks from a corner.
"Defend yourself!"
Callum took up a guard, hoping it wouldn't be too embarrassing.
It was.
Ten seconds later, Rayla was standing over him 'blade' at his throat. His 'blade' was on the other side of the room.
"I mean, I thought you'd just be bad by Amaya's standards. Not totally and utterly useless with a sword."
"Can I get up now?"
"Only if I can have all the rest of the tarts."
"What?"
"Oh, you don't want to get up?"
"Rayla!"
He was impressed that there hadn't even been a cracking of the door, even with the sounds of raised voices following a loud thud and a scuffle.
"You can have half." He offered.
Rayla lent on the 'sword' she was menacing him with, placing it in the middle of his chest. "Why not all of 'em? After all, I've been workin' out all day."
"I've not exactly been sitting on my laurels, you know."
"Oh, do tell." Rayla started nibbling at a pastry.
"Well, I've been in the library. And I've been learning a few things about this." He pulled out the stone he'd taken off Claudia. "And some of the things I can do with it." He began drawing a shape in midair, which glowed as his finger sketched what looked like a whirlpool.
"Aq—aah!" He began, before Rayla leant on the measuring stick.
"Oh, no you don't."
"Hah! You fell for my cunning plan!" He retorted, before suddenly taking out her legs.
"Awk!" Rayla squawked, as she landed next to Callum.
"See."
"Oh, sure. Trick me into leanin' on you, an' then take me legs out."
"It wo…" He stopped talking, as she tapped his lips with a knife.
"Now, I'm goin' to have some more of those nice pastries, an' you're goin' to watch me eat them."
Callum just lay there, smiling, as Rayla proceeded to sit on him, and eat every single one of the remaining pastries.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Harrow sat back, smiling as he read the assorted missives that the Crow Master had bought to his study.
Ever since Sarai, he'd hated Dragons. Had wanted nothing to do with Xadia. And Viren had spent those years gradually dripping poison in his ears, a single drop at a time. He'd pushed away suggestions of how one might use Dark Magic to take revenge. He'd focused on ruling his people. Looking after his sons. Being the best father that a monarch could be.
But he hadn't been able to close the distance to his stepson. He hadn't been able to work his way around Saleer and Viren so that Callum would formally become his first-son. Even if that might well have saved his life, in the end, he regretted it.
He opened a note. Saleer was attending meetings with several wealthy factors, it seemed. Probably trying to get a slice of the trade in magical creatures.
And now, Rayla.
He smiled, before looking at the portrait of his wife hanging on the wall. "I think you'd have liked her." He told her, quietly. "She's strong, capable and smart. And she has principles. Even trained as an assassin, she is capable of mercy."
The next message concerned Viren's children. Or rather, the lack of them. Neither had been seen since the night of their father's death. It was strange, given that they both lived in the castle. He scribbled a quick note on the parchment. "Find them. Whatever they're doing. Now."
His mind wandered back to Callum again.
Neither of them has realised, yet. He mused. I don't even think they know that they have feelings for each other. But they're there, deep down.
After that, he picked up a missive concerning yet another request from a small village up north, for the Royal Army to be sent to protect them from the monsters in a nearby Caldera. He filed it under 'If in need of additional uses for soldiers', next to another twenty similar missives, dating back years. If there were monsters in that Caldera, someone would have actually been eaten by now.
He wasn't going to make a show of encouraging the two teenagers. He wasn't even going to do anything that so much as hinted at them getting together. But he was going to quietly leave them to it, with opportunities to be alone together.
It was the only way he could think of, to create a true, lasting legacy for Sarai. One she would have been proud of. One she would have happily helped him work towards.
Peace with Xadia. Between Human, Elf and Dragon.
And he could think of no better way to preserve that peace than by putting a half-elf on the throne of Katolis, in the fullness of time. He smiled at the prospect, before picking up the next item in his in-tray. But first, he needed to end the war. And that meant returning the egg of the Dragon Prince to its mother.
He penned a quick note to Amaya, before he left. "Detach Corvus from the Standing Battalion, and order him to report to me."
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Rayla was surprised when Callum led her into the small dining chamber at just how simple it was. After her previous experience in a grand feasting hall, she'd expected more of the same. Instead, it was low-ceilinged and homely, with platters of food sitting in the middle of the table. It wasn't much bigger than the table in Ethari's kitchen, back at her home. She almost choked up at that thought, fighting to keep her face under control, as a single tear crept down her cheek.
"…ou okay?" She heard a voice asking. "Rayla?"
She glanced around, taking a moment to remember where she was, and who she was with. "I'm fine, Callum. You don't need to worry 'bout me."
The human gave her a sceptical look, before dropping the subject, and handing her a basket of freshly baked bread. She slumped into a chair, taking a chunk of bread for herself, before placing it back on the table. To her surprise, King Harrow looked almost normal, sitting at one end of the table without his crown, stirring what looked like a bowl of the same thick broth that had served as the first course of the banquet.
"Dig in." He told her, when he noticed she was hesitating. "Amaya should be along shortly."
Rayla spooned some of the broth into her own bowl, before buttering her bread. "I'm curious." She said, between mouthfuls. "Humans normally, well, eat animals, don't they? I know Callum offered me some when I was still… less trusted." She couldn't really think of a better way of expressing it, other than 'a hostage' or 'a prisoner'. "But there wasn't anything like that at the banquet, and there's nothing like that here… why?"
"Because you're our guest of honour." Harrow explained. "And if that means us foregoing meat for a few days, well, it's not going to kill us, but it makes things easier for you."
Rayla felt slightly stunned, as she looked at the human.
"I'll let you in on a secret." Harrow said, with a smile. "I don't really mind not eating meat in the slightest."
Rayla looked away at that point, turning her attention to the broth, which contained a variety of vegetables, cut into chunks, along with some form of grain. Abruptly, a spoon of something bizarre-looking was plopped into it, and she turned to glare at the spoon's wielder, Callum.
"Try it." He suggested.
Cautiously, she added a small amount of the stuff to her next mouthful, and was surprised by the slightly fruity, slightly acidic taste. "What is that?" She asked, after finishing her mouthful.
"Chutney. Barius makes it from whatever comes to hand in after he's made fruit pies."
"It's nice." Rayla commented, stirring it into the broth.
After they'd all finished eating, Harrow tapped a glass a couple of times.
"So, you might be wandering why I called you here. Recent… matters… have thrown a unique opportunity into my lap. With the recovery of the egg of the Dragon Prince, which both Xadia and I believed destroyed, there is the prospect of peace breaking out."
Amaya's face went stony at that, becoming completely unreadable.
"However, this is not simply a matter of marching up to the breach and displaying the egg. We need to return it, directly to the Dragon Queen herself. And we need to do so in a way that proves both our good faith, and that our only ulterior motive is peace."
He looked around the room.
"To achieve this, I will be sending both of my sons, without a military escort, to return the egg directly. However, they will need a guide."
"You mean… me?" Rayla asked, before clapping a hand over her own mouth when she realised she'd interrupted the king.
"Yes, Rayla. You." Harrow confirmed. "Although I have known you for just two days, that's long enough to have formed a judgement of your character. You saved my life for the sake of justice, even though I deserved to die. Since discovering that you would lose your hands for staying them, you haven't attempted to kill me or Ezran. I trust you enough to entrust you with escorting my sons to, and across Xadia, all the way to the Stormspire."
Rayla bowed her head, not knowing what to say to that.
"You will depart when the General tells me you are ready to. Now… I think it's time for something a little lighter."
He produced a familiar box of cards, with a smile.
"General Amaya tells me that you are very talented at Teng."
Rayla felt a sudden rush of chills as he took a deck, before handing the box to her, and expertly shuffled them.
"So, before I completely destroy my sister-in-law, how about you show me what you're made of?"
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
"Does every single human know how to bloody play teng?" Rayla demanded, as she changed back into her regular assassin's garb, minus, for now, the leather armour. Sadie had told her it was being 'improved'. "I… he… playing against General Amaya was like facing a series of natural disasters, one after the other. But… the King… he knew every move I was going to make before I made it… how did he do that?"
She stopped talking to herself as there was a knock on her door. She'd registered the familiar footsteps approaching almost without thinking about them.
"Come in, Callum."
The human entered, carrying what looked like a small hamper.
"Barius sends his regards."
"Oh, Barius does, does he? And does he know you've been in the kitchens, fillin' up a hamper?"
"Of course, he does." Callum responded, sweating slightly, as he laid it down.
"Didn't we already eat?"
"Well, yes. But this is a… different sort of thing."
He began pulling two plates, each carrying a selection of confections, out of the hamper.
"You can't serve these around Ezran or Amaya, because they'll eat them all."
"Oh, I see. You're sneakin' food that they like."
"Barius is a good cook." Callum replied.
They each picked a plate, and began eating.
Before long, Rayla started to hear faint music, that reminded her of her childhood in the silvergrove. It was beautiful, coming from some sort of wood instrument.
"Are there musicians in the courtyard?" She asked Callum, stifling a yawn.
"I dunno. There might be." Callum responded, sounding half-asleep. "Your eyes are so pretty… Rayla."
She blushed at that comment, before yawning again. "Uh… sure…" She responded. "Don't fall asleep on the table…"
Callum sprawled backwards in the chair, as she realised that she was on the verge of sleep as well.
I… think he likes me. She thought, drowsily, before drifting off, riding the melody into a land of surprisingly peaceful dreams.
And then she snapped awake, awakened by a sudden, burning pain in her cheek. She wasn't in the quarters that were quickly becoming hers. The air was much damper, and colder. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a hoarse, almost silent whisper. When she tried to reach for her throat, her hands were chained above her head. When she tried to stand, her feet were shackled together and to the wall, and she realised she was trapped in a kneeling position, staring at a female human's back, unable to so much as scream.
And then she turned around, and she looked pleadingly into the eyes of the female human standing there, recognising her as the girl from the cellar. She didn't see pity, compassion, or concern. She saw satisfaction, and an almost cat-like gleam in her eye as she stalked closer to the elf.
"You're called Rayla, right? I'm Claudia. You killed my father! And now, you're going to help me bring him back to life!"
AN: I'd like to thank TheFranninator and BlackDragon829 for their feedback on the last chapter, and encourage any reader with thoughts to let me know what they are.