Chapter Four: The Last Flower
The perfectly warm, starry night and luminous half-moon were lovely, and Callum wished he could enjoy it. He was tired, and relieved when he finally touched down at the main entrance to the Storm Spire. Zym was asleep, and Callum had to shift his posture to keep him from falling to the floor as his wings disappeared.
"Hey, buddy." Callum spoke softly, reaching a hand around himself to give the prince a couple of pets. "Wakey, wakey." His large, blue eyes cracked open sleepily. He managed to climb over Callum's shoulder and into his arms, before letting out a yawn and settling back into sleep. Callum smiled as he carried the baby dragon into the spire and into to the sleeping chambers. He was surprised to find the queen still awake.
"Prince Callum, you're back." Zubeia kept her voice low, her eyes instantly drawn to her sleeping son. Callum nodded, continuing after a moment to Zym's nest and gently laying him in it. The dragon prince curled up comfortably but didn't otherwise stir. "I trust your visit was a joyous one."
"It was." Callum said, also making sure to keep his voice low. "My aunt and brother were so happy to hear the news, and Zym was mostly excited to see Ezran and Soren again. I think he tore out a patch of Soren's hair."
The queen laughed lowly, but happily. "We shall speak more in the morning; you're looking rather tired yourself. Goodnight, Prince Callum."
"Goodnight, Queen Zubeia." Callum bowed before he left, making sure to keep quiet for Zym's sake. Going from the chamber to the main room, he couldn't keep the smile from his face as he made his way through one of the doors that lined the walls. Each of the doors led to large rooms, several of which had been designated living quarters for the Dragonguard. The door he had chosen was the one that led to the only occupied quarters.
The light of the moon outside shown through the large window and lit the place up with a lovely whiteish-blue, illuminating the room. There were some basic necessities; a nightstand beside a large, luxurious bed, a wall shelf holding a few books of runes and spells and a sparse collection of other trinkets, chairs, a table, a desk, and a door leading to a washroom. The one item on the nightstand was a travle-sized portrait of two familiar Moonshadow elves, with a small elf girl, no more than six or seven, on the woman's lap. The girl was beaming with a bright smile, encased safely in her mother's arms and the man's arm was around his wife's shoulders. It was easy to tell from him where his daughter got that cocky smirk of hers. Rayla had said they had it painted a few days before they left for the guard.
Callum's heartbeat picked up as he looked to the bed. Snuggled beneath the thin covers and nestled in a fluffy pillow was Rayla, deep in a peaceful sleep. Callum removed his shoes, tossing them so that they were in the same vicinity as her boots. No longer having to sneak to stay quiet, he approached quickly and sat on the bed. For a moment, he just looked at Rayla with half-open eyes and a content smile. The moonlight spilled over her, and he swore the beams themselves had gotten caught in her hair. She was so beautiful, practically glowing in the soft light. Some days it was hard to believe that such a precious, lovely, amazing woman had honestly chosen him to give her heart to. It almost felt like an honor, a privilege, something he didn't truly deserve. All the same, he'd strive every day for the rest of his life to prove himself worthy of her.
He was reluctant to ruin this hypnotizing image, but he was tired, and his arms were starting to ache from the days of constant flight. As it turned out, flying was every bit as exhausting as walking, just with the added threat of falling to your death should you overestimate yourself. He touched Rayla's face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Her eyes opened, and they were glowing as her as her hair was. She blinked sleepily at him and smiled, lazily reaching out to touch his face.
"You're back." Her voice was thick with sleep.
"I know it's late, but I couldn't stand another night away." Callum told her, taking her hand from his face and softly kissing her fingers. Seeing her half-asleep and in this comfortable bed only heightened his own exhaustion. "Zym's in his nest, he fell asleep a couple of hours ago." He was silenced when Rayla took her hand back to bring a finger to his lips. Green eyes held lilac.
"Tomorrow. Come here."
Her hand fell from his lips and trailed down to his wrist, which she tugged to her. Callum obliged, climbing in, laying down and covering himself. The pillows felt heavenly to him, and the only thing that felt better was Rayla snuggling up to him; contact that his body had sorely missed. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. He used the last of his energy to plant a small kiss on her head before at last drifting off into a blissful sleep.
The sun had been up for a few hours. Claudia had been chided by Viren several times to keep up and tried to keep her eyes off of all of the amazing creatures and foliage. She told herself there would be time later for sight-seeing and she'd been to Xadia countless times before, but she'd never gone this far into the Moonshadow Forest. Finally, the tree root could be seen. Aaravos, attaired a black cloak allowing him to keep a low profile, smirked as he stopped at the spot where the runes lay hidden, indicating to his companions where to stop.
Viren held the corrupted Scepter of Radiance, now a Scepter of Darkness, infused with dark magic; Aavaros had said it was crucial for this mission, as was the little purple fuzzball Claudia had in that jar which was in her grasp. She didn't know how it had lasted this long without food or fresh air, but it was going nuts now, tackling the sides of the jar to escape. Claudia didn't like it, but if it really was necessary…
Viren planted the staff in the spot where Aaravos indicated. He held out his hand expectantly and Claudia hesitated before opening the small jar, dumping the creature in his waiting hand, which he closed quickly – the little creature immediately tried to escape. Claudia's heart twisted for the cute thing, but only for a second. It was all for the good of humanity. The creature let out a loud squeal for such a tiny thing, which was cut off abruptly when Viren tightened his grip. The magic seeped through his fingers, and he gripped his own staff with the hand that had taken the small life, the squashed fuzzy thing falling to the ground without a sound. The power seeped into the staff as Viren spoke.
"Cigam ruoy laever." A pulse of power revealed the runes, and the three witnessed the illusion over the village lift.
The villages of the Moonshadow elves - for there were several distinct tribes littered throughout the vast forest - were something that no human alive had ever seen or found. Even other elves could only tell you 'somewhere in the Moonshadow Forest'. The Moonshadow elves were a private, reclusive people who didn't mingle too much with other creatures. More often than not, meeting one of these elves was considered a death sentence because the only times they tended to leave the safety of the villages were on assassination missions, and a Moonshadow elf never missed it's target. Of course no one would be able to find out where they lived.
The village though, was beautiful, with houses and buildings built into small cliffs and large trees like something out of a children's storybook. Oh how Claudia wished to check everything out, not just because this as an incredible discovery in the first place, but even she could feel this place teeming with magic. She stayed put though, after catching her father's more practical gaze. They were on a mission right now, and now she she knew where the village was she could always come back later anyway.
"Finally." Aaravos hissed, his eyes sparkling with a strange hunger. "The elusive Silvergrove."
The elves noticed them at once. Before anything can be said, they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of the elves, daylight or not. Viren and Claudia struggled and protested but Aaravos didn't make a move as he was subdued, not even blinking. Soon they were bounded a strange sort of slim but strong silver rope with at least fifty Moonshadow elves and weapons pointed at them, ready to fire. A few mothers were quickly shooing their children inside, keeping vigilant eyes on the intruders. There were words floating around.
"The illusion failed?"
"How did you find this place, humans?"
"Someone, send a message to the Dragon Queen."
As if that last statement was some kind of trigger word, Aaravos's eyes lit up and a second later, the elf who had said it was lifted into the air. Everyone, Viren and Claudia included, stared in horror at the wide-eyed elf as he gasped and choked, flailed his legs and scrabbled at his throat. His face grew as blue as the markings on his face before he went totally limp and dropped like a stone. He didn't move.
"I have the slightest suspicion," Aaravos said in something resembling a purr. "that such a move would be unwise of you."
"Who are you?" another elf asked.
"Unimportant." Aaravos said, the smile never leaving his face.
"Who. Are. You?" The elf hissed slowly, grabbing Viren and pressing a glowing silver dagger to his throat.
"Do you know Callum?" Claudia had been in a panic. Seeing her father at the end of an elf's weapon had scared her to death, and it was all she could think of. It would only later occurre to her that she might have put Callum's life in danger.
"Callum?" By a stroke of luck, a single elf seemed to hear. This oddity captured the attention of all the elves, and they parted a path for a dark-skinned male elf with eyes that seemed far too kind for his large muscles. He approached the humans but had the sense to not get too close. If not for the stunned look on his face, he would have been quite intimidating. His eyes looked at Claudia almost pleadingly. "Are you a friend of Rayla's?"
Claudia let out of breath of relief, at last recognizing the name. If this elf knew Callum, chances were he and that Rayla girl were close. Maybe she can use that. "Yeah! Yeah, Rayla. She…uh…she has a message for you."
"Rayla has been banished!" another elf announced. "The rebellious child of cowards who aligns herself with the enemy! She might have saved the Dragon Prince, but in doing so she disgraced herself by running around with humans. Fighting alongside them as equals, so the Sunfire elves say! The old archdragon Sol Regem claimed she even referred to one as a friend and called it noble and kind. Disgusting. She may have gained the favor of the Dragon Queen, but she will never be welcome back here."
A chorus of agreement rose up, the elves all scowling and growling, save for the elf who had recognized Callum's name, who just looked pained. "Ethari, she cost you your husband." another elf told him. "How can you still care about her?"
"I raised her, Lykis." he whispered, sounding almost on the verge of tears. "Runaan and I, she…she was our little girl."
"She's gone, Ethari." Lykis said. "She's a traitor to us, she cost us five seasoned assassins with her cowardice. And now she's getting friendly with humans."
"Oh, a bit more than that, I'm afraid." came Aaravos's voice. He was leaning on a tree a good distance away from the crowd, to the shock of both said crowd and his companions. The Aaravos at the mercy of the elves was run through with a spear, staying still. The illusion dissipated, the moonmoths fluttering away above them. All eyes went to Aaravos, who shook his head and gave a series of condescending tisks.
"You Moonshadow elves pride yourselves on strength and loyalty, and you've still gone so soft. Are you so sure of your abilities that you forget you yourselves can still be fooled?" A small bunch of outraged Moonshadow elves charged him, weapons at the ready. Aaravos's eyes flashed and he pulsed with power, the shockwave of lightening zapping the charging elves, who fell. Some of them groaned in pain. "But this is all beside the point. The point is this; going back to your account of this elf getting friendly with humans, I'm afraid it's more than that."
"What do you mean?" an elf asked, raising her sword defensively as a few of her comrades bolted forward not at Aaravos, but to the injured elves, pulling them up and leading them away. The two humans were forgotten by those who weren't restraining them, all eyes on this mysterious, dangerous figure. He began drawing a rune in the air.
"Aspectu Ola" Aaravos yelled, and a pulse engulfed the village. Again, Aaravos, Viren and Claudia found themselves on the astral plain, this time along with every Moonshadow elf in the village, many of which were surprised and looking over themselves and others. "Observe."
They were in a room at the Storm Spire; the living quarters for the Dragonguard. All eyes were on the luxurious bed as its occupants began stirring. In that moment, Viren, Claudia and the elves were all kindred spirits as they watched in disgust.
Somehow, Rayla was visible to her fellow Moonshadow elves. She was laying on her side, smiling and whispering to her partner. And her partner was a human boy who only Claudia, Viren and Ethari could put a name to. He stroked her face and played with her hair before engaging her in a deep, romantic kiss. She melted into it shamelessly, blissfully unaware of their audience. When she got up, climbing over the human, he sat up and grabbed her while she was straddling him. He held her in his lap and kissed her again, their foreheads connected and their eyes shining with love.
As quickly as it came, the vision disappeared, and elves and humans were back in the Silvergrove. There was silence. Another elf seemed to regain his wits and made his way to a pond near a huge tree; plucking out something that seemed out of place. It looked like a metal flower. He looked at the flower with a scowl before he closed his fist, crushing the weak metal and breaking the crystal in the center. He turned to his people and announced.
"Rayla brings shame not only to herself, but to all of us. She has been corrupted by the humans and now flaunts this blasphemy in front of the Dragon Queen herself. Even Lain and Tiadrin, cowards as they were, should be ashamed. I motion that we reverse her ghosting, to track her down and –"
"No." All eyes turned to Ethari, whose angry eyes were on the speaking elf.
"No?" the elf challenged.
"Rayla's only crime is loving too much." Ethari protested. "Isn't it punishment enough that she can't come back?"
"She's an embarrassment to us." another elf spoke up. "She needs to be taken care of."
"She loves the boy! She doesn't deserve the heartbreak!" Ethari defended.
"It's sickening!" another elf yelled from deeper in the crowd.
"She doesn't deserve to be where she is, she's a traitor now to all of elf-kind! All of Xadia!" still another interrupted.
The chaos the Moonshadow elves were in was a fine distraction, and Aaravos eyed the pond the flower had been plucked from. He picked up the Scepter of Darkness which had laid discarded on the ground when the elves first overtook the three. He approached the pond completely unchallenged. He found it both much easier and painfully boring as he lifted the staff and lowered the black head until it was submerged in the water. The blackness flowed through the water, spreading like ink or blood, and when Aaravos took the staff from the water, the black had become a fluctuating dark red. The pool was entirely black.
"The Moon Pool!" A voice cried, and at once the murmur of arguing stopped.
Several elves charged and were again subdued by a strong Fulminous jolt. Aaravos looked through the crowd in disgust. "So wrapped up in yourselves, the moon magic was that easy to acquire. And you're meant to be a race of fearless warriors. Pathetic."
No one moved. They just stared, horrified by the sheer possibilities. No one noticed Ethari slip away.
"Who are you?" an elf asked again.
"All you need to know is that I owe this Rayla a sincere thank you. Without her, I never would have found this place." Aaravos grinned as the anger at the young elf reemerged on a few of their faces. "Unfortunately, the price on her head has already been promised to one of my companions, and that cannot go unheeded."
These were Aaravos's final words as he used the corrupted staff, now teeming with moon magic as well as that of the sun, unleashing a burst of blinding energy. Above them, the shadow hawk flew away from the woods, unnoticed, carrying a message and a small cloth bag.
Author's Notes: So, I saw Claudia capture that adoraburr and I thought, if you're going to use that sweet little thing for a spell, it had better be plot relevant. You can't make us fall in love with those cute little fluffballs and then turn around and kill one for nothing. Also, 'Ola' is Greek for 'All.' Review.