She was wet. She'd dived into water to save someone's pet from being eaten, right after reaching the safety of solid ground. And if Callum hadn't thought quickly enough to cast a spell... She'd have been fish food.

Still... Several times during her heroic rescue, she could have sworn she caught glimpses of something moving on the shores of the lake. But now she had time to look properly, there was no-one there. And, in a kingdom like this, how many people were going to escape the eyes of a trained Moonshadow Assassin?

"Aspiro!"

Rayla turned around to see Callum using a wind spell to collect some of the floating, cooked fish his spell had killed. Ezran, on the shore, was busy scooping them out of water, and dropping them into one of the packs they'd scavenged from the Banthar Lodge.

"Oh, Moon and Stars..." Rayla muttered. "Callum, where are all the supplies we collected?"

In mute answer, the human pointed out into the lake. "My pack has a few jars of vegetables in, and everything else is at the bottom of the lake."

"Why did I let you load us all into that stupid boat?"

"You seemed as keen as anyone else was when Claudia was throwing fireballs at you!"

"Yeah, well, maybe when your homicidal girlfriend is trying to kill you, you'd be trying to get away from her!"

"She's not my girlfriend, Rayla!"

"Oh, I don't know. She seemed real chummy with you before she was throwing fireballs at me."

"She was trying to recruit me for whatever half-baked scheme she's trying!"

"Kidnapping me and trying to use me in some sort of dark magic ritual is just a half-baked scheme, is it?"

"We'd have found you first!"

"Oh, and where was the brave Step-prince of Katolis while I was chained to a wall, being force-fed a potion made from Moon-knows-what innocent magical creatures?"

"I was tied up on your bed, completely naked, trying to raise the alarm! Which involved two guard corporals seeing me..."

"And I'm sure there was nothing to see!" Rayla shouted, before climbing up a tree. "Or not enough to be interesting!"

"If it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have known you'd been abducted!" Callum shouted from the foot of the tree. "Or they'd have thought you'd just run off, violating your parole, and put you down as just another untrustworthy elf!"

"Oh, you think I'm an untrustworthy elf, do you?"

"I think you're trustworthy!" Callum shot back.

"So why do you always wait until you think I'm asleep to go to sleep yourself?"

"Because you came to Katolis to kill my little brother, and he's currently the guardian of the most valuable object in either the Pentarchy or Xadia!"

"And you really think you are going to stop me, if I want to kill him and take the egg?"

"I'd never forgive myself if I couldn't or didn't try!"

Rayla sprang out of the tree, landing like a predator. Callum didn't know how to interpret the dangerous look in her eye but stood his ground as she flicked her blades out. Suddenly, she gathered herself and sprang, vaulting over his head. He drew a rune in the air, almost without thinking. "ASPIRO!" He roared. The hurricane force winds picked Rayla out of mid-air, hurling her out into the lake. She lost her grip on her blades as she was caught, seeing them continue onwards and bury themselves in the rich soil of the lake shore.

I. Am. Going. To. Kill. Him. Rayla thought, as she flew through the air.

She hit the water awkwardly. For a moment, it didn't yield under her, and the wind was knocked out of her body. She sank, ending up submerged without a gasp of air in her lungs. She panicked, almost taking a reflexive breath of water. She was going to drown, and this time Runaan wouldn't be there to fish her out, and she would sink to the bottom and that thing would eat her. And then the steel kicked in, from hundreds of training sessions. She wasn't going to fail. She was going to succeed, because succeeding was what she had to do. The panic didn't disappear, or even fade, but she forced herself to swim in spite of it, propelling herself to the surface, forcing her body not to take a breath before she could feel the sweet, fresh air on her face. And then she was gasping it in as a breeze came out of nowhere to push her towards the shore.

When she grounded on the beach, Callum was waiting for her. The look in his eyes wasn't one she'd seen on him before, and he was brandishing the source stone with an assurance that seemed out of place.

"Put your hands behind your back with your wrists crossed." He ordered her. "Or I will find out what a lightning spell does when it hits someone full-on. And fold your legs with your ankles crossed."

Rayla looked into his normally soft leaf-green eyes, and realised they were hard and the colour of aged bronze. And that if she didn't do what she was told, he absolutely would blast her with a lightning bolt.

She did as she was told, looking into Callum's eyes. She'd lost her temper. But she wouldn't have hurt Ezran. Just proven her point. And then she realised how much she'd scared Callum. And she regretted it. He was her friend, wasn't he?

Wasn't he...?

"Callum..." She whispered. "I didn't..."

He didn't answer. He just knelt down, pressing a knee into the small of her back as he grabbed her wrists, and twisted them, pressing each against the opposite elbow. She didn't try to stop him as he lashed her right hand to her left elbow, and vice versa. He tugged at the cords, checking they were tight, before pulling her onto her knees, and tying a rope around her forearms, anchoring them to her belt. He paid no attention to the sobs wracking her body as he checked the ropes were tight, and roughly dragged her to her feet.

"I'm taking you to the guard post at Caldera Village." He ground out, before tying a rope to the front of her belt. "The guards there will hold you for me until my father sends guards to collect us."

"I'm sorry, Callum. I would never hurt Ez. No matter if my life depended on it."

"I can't take that chance." Callum responded, refusing to even look at her. "Ez is the heir to the throne of Katolis. His safety comes before anything else."

As he began leading her through the forest, a silent Ezran following behind them, he never turned around, ignoring the sounds of her sobbing.

If he had, she'd have seen the silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

There was no conversation around the fire that night. Callum had lit it and thrown a couple of fish onto it. Once they'd been vaguely cooked, he'd taken one for himself, and handed the other to Ezran. Rayla, with her bound arms slowly going to sleep, was surprised when the younger prince shared some of his with her.
"You don't have to give me anything, Ez." She whispered, surprised to be grateful for the fish. Even though it had been alive, she found that a day of hunger and walking through a forest was enough to overcome her reluctance. The rope around her waist had been looped around the tree, and then knotted in front of her, well away from anywhere she could reach.
"I know Callum's upset with you." He responded. "But I know you didn't mean to make him upset."
"I would never have hurt you."
"I know. And so does Callum."
"So, why am I tied to a tree?"
"Because he hasn't realised that he knows yet." Ezran confided. "Do you want me to untie you?"
"No." Rayla said. "Maybe he's right. Maybe I am untrustworthy. Maybe I would end up turning on you. I'm a kin slayer already. Maybe I'd find a way to rationalize it to myself."
"You wouldn't." Ezran's voice was completely certain. "You're not that sort of person."
"I'm the sort of person who willingly drove a sword into the back of a man who'd raised me since I was six!"
"To save someone's life!"
"How is killing my uncle to save your pa something I can ever justify..." Rayla sobbed.
"Because you knew it was the right thing."
Rayla didn't respond, as the tears rolled down her face.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
"You could always try being nice to her." Ezran commented, as Callum sat, glaring at Rayla across the fire. "She was trying to prove a point, not hurt me."
"I can't take that risk." Callum repeated. "I can't let her hurt you."
"She doesn't want to."
"Because she said she didn't?" Callum scoffed.
"Because she's Rayla, Callum."
"That doesn't change anything."
"She's had so many opportunities to hurt me. When we stole the egg, she could easily have killed me and taken it. And you wouldn't have been able to stop her, because you were helping her."
"And then I'd have..." Callum didn't finish the thought. "Go to bed, Ez. We'll talk more in the morning."
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Sitting in a tree overlooking the camp, Corvus just rubbed his eyes. He'd been sent out by Amaya and the King to ensure that the trio's trip to Xadia was as uneventful as possible. And now... Now this had happened.
He wasn't sure what had triggered the row, or why it had escalated. Only that it had the chance to disrupt everything.

He wondered how his fellow shadow was taking it. Although he hadn't initially expressed a position, Corvus had come to recognise that while reserved, his travelling companion cared deeply about Rayla, and he had nearly gone diving into the lake to save her.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The next morning, having lit a small campfire, Callum looked over at Rayla and froze. The elf was tied securely to a tree, looking utterly miserable, especially since she was in the smoke. Her lilac eyes were pleading silently with him, and her cheeks were streaked with hours of tears.

For a moment, he got up to help. And then he remembered why she was tied up. But he also remembered that they were friends. And that she'd never do anything to hurt Ezran.

But she might. The part of his brain that had trusted Viren whispered. Just because you think you know her doesn't mean you do.

Sighing, he went to get one of her blades out of his bag. As soon as he touched it, though, he remembered her chasing him through the castle and holding him at blade point, intending on killing his brother. Pulling out the blade, he struggled to open it, in spite of how easily she always did. He wanted to bury it in her throat.

And then he pushed that thought away. He liked Rayla. She liked him. He liked her. Why would he hurt her?

He remembered their fight yesterday. But he remembered new details. The wry grin on her face as she tried to jump over him. Yes, she'd said things intended to hurt him. But he had said things equally intended to hurt her. He remembered grimly standing over her, threatening to kill her if she didn't let him tie her up. He remembered her sobs as he'd done so. All the things he'd blocked out hit him at once.

He stumbled towards her and began untying her. She was his friend. He'd treated her like an enemy. He'd accused her of wanting to kill Ez.

The look on her face was utter confusion as he freed her arms, and she shrank away from him slightly.

"It's Ok, Rayla. I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who should be apologising. I scared you. I made you think I was a threat to Ez. I'm responsible for this."

"No, Rayla. You're not. At least I'm pretty sure you're not."

"I said those things. I was angry, but it don't mean that they..."

"I know. But the way I reacted..."

"Was my fault. Just like..."

"No, Rayla. It wasn't your fault."

"Then..."

"Rayla, it was Claudia's fault."

"But she wasn't here."

"Outside the lodge, she gave me something. It was supposedly intended to help me protect Ezran from you."

"But you don't need to."

"I think she used some sort of spell. Something that would influence me into thinking she had a point. And then convinced me to accept some sort of trinket to keep the spell working, but that only works if it's in close proximity. I need your help. In my bag, there is a small red vial. I need you to take it out and drop it into the fire."

"Why can't you?"

"Because when I went to get your blades out of your bag..." He couldn't look at her. "I wanted to kill you."

Avoiding skin contact with the faintly glowing tube of something, Rayla gingerly scooped up the vial, and dropped it into the fire. There was the faint sound of shattering glass, and then a red fog began seeping from the vial.

Callum froze for an instant. "Rayla, run! Hold your breath. Now!"

She glanced over, seeing his genuine concern for her in his eyes, and ran like Kim'dael was after her, swarming up into a tree as the gas spread. She could see Callum grab Ezran and Bait, then start running.

AN: I didn't plan this chapter. I started writing it, and then it all happened. I'd like to thank TheFranninator, Dragon Lord Draco and MarauderPrime12 for their thoughts on the last chapter, and encourage anyone with thoughts to give me feedback.