Erzan patted his horse's neck for the third time in five minutes, trying to calm him down. Or course, his mount's restlessness was entirely his own fault. He was getting more impatient and even more excited the longer he waited for the gate to open. Tapping his toes in the stirrups was the only squirming he was allowed to do with Opeli watching him and giving him disapproving looks if he so much as slouched, but the motion kept transmitting his restless energy to his horse, thus the need for constant soothing.
Finally, a small door near the main gate opened and the king recognized Marco leading in his horse. "Your Highness," the soldier started, "The prince, the elf Rayla, and their companion are waiting for you outside the gates."
"Okay, let them in," he said, trying hard to keep his voice level. I must be king-y, he thought, and kept his rigid posture as he felt Opeli's eyes on him. One of the guards passed the message to those in the tower and slowly, the great structure of wood and iron bands creaked open. As soon as they were halfway, Ezran gently nudged his horse and the party walked forward towards the opening doors to meet the incoming trio right under the gate posts. He knew there was a reason for that, but Callum probably knew it better than he did. He was always way more into history than Ezran.
As if summoned by his brother's thoughts, Callum appeared. He was the first to meet them, riding at a trot and waving with one hand. Watching from the corner of his eye, Ezran saw Opeli smile and look away, which was as good as giving him permission to stop being majestic for five minutes. He quickly stopped his horse and dismounted as his brother did the same. But when Ezran looked back at the prince, he noticed Callum hadn't gotten the message of we-can-be-normal-right-now. He bowed from the waist and said, "Greetings, my King. I have brought an elven ambassador from the Moonshadow elves to increase our knowledge of-"
A small boy-shaped missile cut him off as Ezran wound his arms around Callum's middle and buried his face into his stomach. "Hello in there," he said with a smile. "My name is Ezran, I'm your uncle. I can't wait to meet you for real, but this is okay too." Then he looked up at his furiously blushing brother and smiled at him too. "I'm glad you're back. Did you bring Ethari and Rayla?" Then he released his grip a bit and leaned back with puzzlement. "Why are you blushing?"
Callum grabbed the pint-sized royal by the shoulders and pushed him an arm's length away. "It's nothing, I'm fine," he stammered out without looking at Ezran. "There's just…people watching."
The young king rolled his eyes. "It's fine, they just think I'm hugging you. I did miss you a lot." This finally makes Callum smile and he hugs his shorter brother back. The sound of a throat clearing behind Ezran breaks the brothers apart and Opeli, looking faintly apologetic, nods towards the approaching elves coming towards the gates from behind Callum. Ezran fully disentangles himself from the short reunion and bows his head to the two still-mounted elves. "Greetings, Ethari of the Moonshadow elves. We are honored to have you as our guest for the foreseeable future. Oh, and," he adds, smiling brightly, "it's good to have you back Rayla."
Surprisingly formal for her, Rayla puts a hand over her heart and bows from the waist. "King Ezran, we are honored by your hospitality." Then she gives her father-figure a meaningful glance.
He quickly bows as well. "Yes, it is an honor. I hope I can help our two worlds understand each other better."
This seems to satisfy Opeli, because she nods at the two foreigners and gestures to the open gates. "Please, let us continue to the castle to get you settled in the quarters prepared for you. Perhaps then we can open discussion with the rest of the council." Ethari agreed that was a wonderful idea, so the brothers mounted up again and the party proceeded into the city.
Riding up to the castle was more colorful than Ethari expected. Crowds lined the streets, waving colorful banners and cheering as the party passed them. The Speaker King seemed to enjoy all the attention, waving nonstop at his people, and they responded in kind. Callum, riding next to his brother, waved too, if a little less enthusiastically. Then someone in the crowd, a small child from the voice, shouted, "Do Magic, do magic!"
The demand made a grin crack the prince's face and he quickly drew one of the simpler Sky magic runes. He yelled "Aspiro!" and sent a stream of wind right up into the sky between the rows of houses. The cheering reached a roar in response to the display and the brothers grinned together at their people. Privately, Ethari wondered at all of Callum's worrying. With the amount of love just in this city, news of a new royal will be welcomed. He started to wave as well, but the woman who'd mentioned going into the city shot him a disapproving look. He put his hand back down and looked at Rayla for guidance. But surprisingly, she was waving at the crowd almost as hard as Ezran, sending bunches of little girls into giggles. He made a mental note to talk to his charge later about it.
A flash of darker brown caught his eye and he looked at the crowd again. Behind the lines of children and smiling adults, he could see a few people walking away, even some looking at him with most unpleasant expression. They were vastly outnumbered by the jubilant crowd, but they were still present. Perhaps Callum had been right to worry, though probably not the amount he did.
Finally, they reached the smaller but no less sturdy gate leading into the castle proper. Solid stone and strong walls contrasted with the woodland dwellings of grace he'd lived in all his life, but he could still see a measure of beauty in the home of Katolis's royal family. Once inside, the party fully dismounted and the older woman bowed before leaving to go inside. Ezran breathed in relief. "Okay, we're free for a while. There's a council meeting in a few hours, after lunch, but we're free until then. You," he grabbed his brother's hand, "are coming with me and telling me everything." Smiling, he added to Rayla. "Maybe you can show Ethari where your other dad is?" With that all thoughts of anything other than reunion fled the elf's mind as a grinning Rayla led him inside the castle.
Ugh, this blasted story is giving me so much trouble! I have it all outlined with all this fantastic worldbuilding, but these little interpersonal details and conversations keep hitting me where it hurts! This chapter was supposed to have a council meeting somewhere in it, but I just sort of gave up and put details about their entrance into the city instead. That said, what do you guys think?
