Opeli and Rayla both waited for them at the foot of the stairs. "I noticed you were not at lunch, my king," the councilor explained. "Young Rayla told me I might find you and the prince here, so I arranged for something to be brought to you." A servant behind her offered a large tray only one third full of jelly tarts. When Callum reached to take it, Rayla glared at him and Ezran stepped forward. Rolling his eyes, Callum ignored them both, taking the tray and walking to a spot under some trees near the training ground where he sat the tray on a bench and sat down next to it. Opeli looked from the prince, to her king, to their elf friend and said "Is everything alright."

"Everything's fine," Rayla said with a touch of testiness. "He's just being stubborn."

The advisor gave the elf a warning looked and chastised, "I'm sure the young prince has reasons for his actions besides mere stubbornness." Opeli bowed. "My king," she said in lieu of a goodbye and headed back into the castle.

The both watched her go before walking towards Callum's picnic spot. "So how long will you be here," Ezran asked. "After the last few weeks, we could both use a friendly face."

"Why, are the delegates giving you trouble?"

The young king shrugged. "Not me, so much. It's mostly Callum they have a problem with. I don't think they know what to do with him." They slowed to a stop and Rayla looked at her friend. "He's the first human who's their equal, and that scares some of them. If one can do it, why not all of us?"

Rayla scoffed. "Just because you all can learn magic doesn't mean you all will. Most elves don't bother with magic outside the things we can already do. I mean, all Moonshadow elves can turn invisible, but that's just something we can do. We don't have to study it or anything. Mages, they devote their lives to magic."

"Yeah, I know. I live with one." They both laughed at that.

The noise drew Callum's attention and he eyed them from his place on the ground. Mother hens, both of them. What, just because he got a little dizzy sometimes he was suddenly a delicate maiden? Excuse you, I have been through a war, he thought to himself and viciously bit off another hunk of the bread loaf in his hand. "What're you angry at that bread for," Rayla teased as the two sat down next to Callum. "It can't be harder than the stuff we found at the Banther Lodge."

That pulled a smile out of him and he gestured to the platter. "Why don't you find out for yourself." Then his former irritation returned. "I'm sure a big, strong elf like you needs more bread than me. I apparently can't even carry my own lunch anymore."

Ezran winced under the glare his brother had skewered them both with. Yeah, maybe that had been a bit much. Rayla wasn't backing down, though. "Ezran said you've have fainting spells. That's not a good sign, Callum."

"Oh, because you're suddenly an expert," the prince shot back. "I get tired sometimes, so according to you, I must be pregnant, when there's probably fifty other, more reasonable things it could be. And how many pregnant guys have you met again? One? And you were only around him for a couple weeks. I'm sure you know everything." He took another vicious bite and glared again, though to Ezran's relief it was only aimed at Rayla this time.

Haughtily, the elf turned her face away from the older of the brothers and scoffed. "Then I suppose you don't want to know how he's doing now or what he told me about the past four months he's been with child." She took an enormous bite and returned to her delicate air.

Callum scoffed. "I don't need to. I'll just ask him on the way to Ibis and the Dragon Queen. Besides, that's not what's going on." His hand with the last of the bread lowered, as did his eyes. "It can't be."

Rayla looked at his hunched in posture and Ezran's hands, slightly reached out towards his brother. "Right," she decided. She grabbed some of the fruit, threw it in the air, and caught it. "So when do we leave?"

"Leave?" Callum asked.

"But you just got here!" Ezran moaned. "You can't leave already."

A smirk developed on her face. This was far more familiar. "What, scared to face the big bad elves without me?"

Brown eyes rolled. "We were doing fine on our own," The young king answered. "Still," he wondered, his eyes shifting from Rayla towards his brother.

"How about this, Ezran?" Callum smiled and pointed at himself first, then Rayla. "Rayla and I ride to Xadia through The Warpath and head straight for Silvergrove. There, we meet up with Ethari and ask if he would consider coming back to the castle with us." Rayla looked at him with surprise. She'd thought Callum would stay with Ethari, not the other way around. "That way, I can start learning the Moon Arcanum. Rayla has her not-dad-"

"He's my guardian!"

"Around," Callum continued as if she hadn't spoken "and I'm still here to help with council sessions. Sound good?"

Ezran cocked his head to one side, contemplating the idea. "But what about Ibis? Didn't you want to meet up with him? He's the best Sky mage we know."

"Eh," Callum shrugged. "I could still end up doing that if Rayla's not-dad doesn't want to come. Then she could come back here to help out with the council. But I can always just learn from books. There's plenty in the library thanks to Viren." They all scowl at the memory of the archmage traitor, but then their conversation turned to lighter topics and the three finished their lunch with laughter and many a shared grin.

Yes, Ezran would absolutely be mucho protective of his possible niece or nephew. Please review!