AN: I will be including chapters like this periodically through the story for events that the main cast are not directly involved in, but are relevant to the story and plot.
He had to admit that the human king was very skilled. Two of his troupe were bleeding out at the man's feet, and he was marching Runaan blow for blow. In time, he'd probably overwhelm the king. But he wasn't sure if he had that long left. The sounds of fighting outside the suite were dying down. They were both wounded, although Runaan was probably the fresher of the two.
Suddenly, he heard the doors burst open, as the purple glow of dark magic intruded into his vision, and he lunged for his opponent's neck. He heard the sound of a blade flying through the air and heard feet approaching him from behind. He twisted his body as much as he could, but he couldn't noticeably change where the sword sliced into his body. He did, however, manage to change the trajectory a few crucial degrees. Instead of punching into his heart and lungs, the sword skimmed one of his lungs after bouncing off a rib, before emerging from his chest.
He recognised the blade.
It was one of Rayla's.
The pain and the shock, more than the effect of the blade, caused his blow to falter as he heard the sound of a sword crunching through a sternum, followed by a body sliding down a wall. His niece had always been good at throwing blades. He smiled slightly, as he went to the floor, keeping her blade inside him. Bleeding to death from a clipped artery would be an embarrassing way to die after surviving a sword through his chest.
As he slumped, his eyes went to the definitely dead human dark mage, with one of Rayla's blades practically nailing him to a wall.
He approved. But he thought the lesson could use a little reinforcing.
"Rayla..." He whispered. He might have to upgrade that lung injury from clipped to punctured. "Well done. Congratulations on your first." He let out his best death rattle (convincing someone the assassin is dead sometimes came in handy), and cast an illusion over himself, of his still body. There was no reason for anyone in the castle to know he'd survived, especially when he still intended to complete the contract.
He lay there, watching as she was shackled, before crying on the shoulder of one of the humans he'd confronted earlier. He felt a degree of protective anger, but couldn't understand why, especially at the sight of a (presumably) male human holding Rayla close.
After it was all quiet, he picked himself up, and began stumbling toward the stairs. Before he got to them, the door opened, and two guards stepped through, followed by a group of humans in robes.
Sword slithered out of their sheaths at the sight of him, staggering towards the door with a sword still embedded in his chest.
He tried to head for the balcony, but simply collapsed onto one knee.
He allowed himself the luxury of passing out as the humans began to hurry forwards.
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When he woke up, Runaan was surprised to find himself still breathing, never mind in what appeared to be a clean, if simple bed. He was, however, shackled to it, his arms attached to the sides of the bed with manacles that were definitely designed for elves.
A figure next to the bed offered him a cup of water as soon as he woke, which surprised him further. He was here, after all, to kill the king. But they were treating his wounds. Judging by the sounds from other beds, he was in the same medical ward as soldiers his troupe had fought.
His ears caught a brief muttered conversation, followed by departing footsteps.
Perhaps ten minutes later, the king himself arrived.
"Under other circumstances, I'd probably be congratulating you." Harrow said, standing at the foot of his bed. "But it's rather hard to do when thirty of your sworn guards are dead or dying."
"An assassin doesn't decide right or wrong, only life and death." Runaan responded, refusing to look at the human.
"Nice proverb."
Runaan didn't respond.
"I'm here to make a deal."
He stared at the ceiling.
"It's not for your benefit. It's for Rayla's."
Runaan's head snapped straight up, looking at the human with barely disguised anger.
"I've currently got her locked in a nice, comfortable dungeon. It doesn't really look like one, but I don't know of any way out other than the door. She's quite impressive, really."
"She failed her mission."
"And, if I know Moonshadow Elves, the punishment for letting a sentry escape was death."
"She's a child. Her punishment was to be treated as one. What's your point, human?"
"My point is that you have a choice. You can be treated for your wounds, and moved to a dungeon when you've recovered, while she gets the run of the castle. The other option is both of you being thrown into the dungeons, prior to trial for attempting my assassination. And I'm sure you know how that would end for both of you. The same thing will happen if you try to hurt either of my sons."
"Why wouldn't you do that regardless?"
"Because Rayla made a choice to stop the fighting. That's why she came into the tower. Not to betray her mission, but to stop the violence."
"That's not her decision to make!"
"Then who can?" Harrow bellowed. "Who does have the power to make that decision?"
"The Queen of the Dragons." Runaan said. "Who sent us to kill you and your heir."
"And now we know her heir isn't dead. And I see no reason not to use that fact."
"To do what? Get yourself killed trying to cross into Xadia? Avizandum was merciful compared to Sol Regum."
"We finally have a chance for peace."
"How?"
"If we return the egg of the Dragon Prince to his mother, without preconditions."
"And you think that, just like that, she'll offer peace?"
"Hardly. It's a gesture of pure goodwill, something that has been sorely lacking on both sides."
"And what's Rayla's part in it?"
"My sons will need an escort they won't try to evade. She likes both of them, I think."
"Tell the older boy that if he touches her…"
"I think she's capable of looking after herself."
"Why are you even offering me a deal, human?"
"Because I very much want this war to end." Harrow said, letting out a long sigh. "Humans and Elves have been killing each other for more than a thousand years. Maybe it's time we stopped."
"A human blinded Sol Regem, the King of the Dragons, with Dark Magic."
"Because he was about to burn a human city to the ground."
"To stop the humans living there using dark magic."
"And not because he saw humans as lesser creatures who didn't deserve power?"
Runaan paused, considering the stories he'd heard about Sol Regem. "You are aware, of course, that I have bound myself to kill you, should you give me the chance?" He said, after a moment, without answering the question.
"Rest assured that I am not going to."
"Then you have my word that I will not attempt to escape from this place until my wounds have been treated and I have been moved to a dungeon. Unless harm comes to my niece, of course."
Harrow nodded and left.
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Two days of extreme frustration and rest later, Runaan had a pair of visitors.
"Your niece is impressive." One of them, a freckled human, said, looking at a silent, strong human who Runaan did recognise. After all, General Amaya's reputation was known on both sides of the breach. "She managed to put up a fight when I took her blades away."
Runaan blinked. "Why?"
"Because I don't like people threatening me with toothpicks. And because she needs to be good enough that I can't take her blades away before I'm willing to let her bodyguard my nephews."
"Why did she threaten you?"
"She was protecting my nephews."
Runaan snorted. "Why would she do that?"
"Because she's actually spent time in their company."
"And I raised her. That didn't stop her trying to kill me."
"And?"
Runaan couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Anyway, I just want to tell you that if you, or Rayla, even think about thinking about hurting either of my nephews, I will kill you both and return your bodies to Xadia with a catapult."
"You're welcome to try." Runaan responded.
Amaya just looked straight back at him, levelly, before leaving.
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When the various guards began shouting about an elf stealing the egg of the Dragon Prince, and kidnapping the Princes, Runaan decided it was probably time not to be in the castle anymore. Breaking out of his chains was surprisingly easy (why did no-one check for the lockpicks in his boots?) and he was quickly on his way.
He was, however, rather annoyed to find a small committee waiting for him at his preferred exit route.
As soon as he arrived, he noticed General Amaya handing a small pouch over to a human in light armour, with some sort of chain wrapped around his torso.
"You're still injured." Amaya's translator said. "And you can't go into human settlements. This is Corvus. He's my best tracker."
"Rayla will be covering their trail."
"Corvus will find it."
"You seem very sure of his talents."
Amaya gave him a small smile. "I wouldn't entrust the safety of the princes to anyone else. And, of course, if you do try to hurt them…"
Runaan didn't gulp. He was far to disciplined for that. But he knew exactly how impressive Amaya's reputation was, and that if this was one of her picked men…
"He's welcome to try and keep up with me." He said, before vaulting off the ramparts.
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As it turned out, the human was a surprisingly good travelling companion. He didn't talk much and was purely focused on the job at hand: Keeping the impromptu Dragon Return Team out of preventable trouble. And, Runaan grudgingly admitted after a day or so, better at fieldcraft than him. Not that he'd ever tell the human that of course.
Of course, keeping the three out of trouble did create a few issues. After whatever had happened by the lake, Rayla had spent an hour perched in a tree while the older prince tried to disperse whatever gas they'd somehow managed to release. Even with magic, it'd taken them around an hour to disperse it enough that no-one was affected by it.
Runaan was lying on top of a glacier, having narrowly avoided an avalanche triggered by the two humans, with the able assistance of his niece. As he watched, the egg (followed almost immediately by the younger prince) went through an area of thin ice. Corvus, the last time he'd seen the annoyingly evasive human, had been just behind the neighbouring ridgeline.
As he watched, Rayla stopped the older prince jumping in after his brother, before guiding him to the spot where his brother had gathered the egg, before ending up trapped underneath the ice. A few blows from her blades (Ethari really outdid himself with those) and they were pulling him up. Rayla immediately hauled him to his feet, and began hauling him towards a nearby cave, as Callum fished a set of dry clothes out of his pack.
He supposed that the humans were growing on him. As long as they stayed true to Rayla, he wouldn't have any reason to act. Returning the egg of the Dragon Prince to Xadia would certainly fulfil his contract. And perhaps he had acted rashly at the castle.
Perhaps… there were humans who weren't so bad, when you got to know them.
I'd like to thank Snony Monday, MaruaderPrime12, Dragon Lord Draco and TheFranninator for their feedback to the last chapter, and encourage any reader with thoughts to drop me a review.