Author's note: Thank you everyone for the massive support for my Dragon Prince genderbent AU. I know I promised I'll update every Tuesday and I'm sorry I broke that promise. I've just been extra busy with my pup.
And a massive thank you to my beta Yuuguregurl21 oh and another thank you to Zubeia on The Dragon Prince Wikia for the amazing work on the transcripts, without them I wouldn't get the chapter out. X)
My social media handles:
Twitter: RoseRozu1
Tumblr: RoseRozu22
Discord:RoseRozu#2428
Trigger Warning: mentions of underage marriage, periods and underage pregnancy
Runaan and Callisto are seen crouching on the branch of a tree, gazing upon the castle somewhere inside the forest.
"They'll be on the lookout for us." Runaan said with dread in his eyes.
"Five of us won't be enough. We need all six." Warned Callisto.
"We will be stronger as five." Runaan said with confidence.
Callisto looks back down to the camp where the others attend to their weapons, preparing them for their mission while Raylan examines his own blade with an unsure expression, then turns towards Andromeda pouring poison on to her knife before she sent a glare at Raylan, making him recoil slightly and decides to address Skor instead, who's currently sharpening his sword on top of a rock.
"Hey, could I borrow your sharpening thingie?" Raylan asked nervously.
"Whetstone." Skor answered back with a deadpan expression.
"Yeah, that." Raylan said with hope evident in his voice now that someone is talking to him.
"No." Skor said with anger in his tone, thus shooting down the young Elf's hopes as he turned away from them with a dejected expression before Neifion approached him and knelt beside him.
"If you want, you can borrow mine." Neifion said in a brotherly manner as he handed his whetstone to Raylan, of whom accepted it with mutuality before they heard Runaan and Callisto jumped down from the tree and approached the pair, causing Raylan to look up at his mentor.
"Come with me." Runaan said curtly as he walks away from the two as Raylan furrows his eyebrows in worry and puts away his blade, then follows the older Elf with a sense of shame in his body language and expression.
Back in Katolis, in the chambers of the children after having a bit of a cry, Calla wipes her face and enters the adjoined room.
"Ezran, sweetheart I'm sorry." Calla said with guilt, but unknown to her Bait and Ezran were listening. "I'm sure everything's going to be fine. You can call me all the names in the world and if you hate me, I will accept but I will always be your big sister. I love you Ez, and Bait too." Calla sighed when she didn't get an answer. "Okay, well, I'm going to go grab some books for our trip. We don't have much time, so I'll be back to help you pack what's left of your stuff."
Calla checks the door one more time as she turns away from it, then fixes her bag on her shoulder and leaves the room while Ezran cries into Bait as he goes inside a tunnel that's unknown to the guards and Calla.
Back inside the forest, Runaan walks in front of Raylan.
"I thought you could, Raylan, but I was wrong." Runaan said with sadness and some anger in his voice.
"You're not wrong. I can do it." Raylan pleaded while putting his hand on his chest.
"I know you've never taken a life before. I brought you because you're talented. Maybe the fastest and strongest of any of us. But it takes more than that. There's an instinct. A moment of truth. And at that moment, you hesitate." Runaan said while looking away. "I understand now that you're still just a child. Your heart isn't hard enough to do whatever it takes." said while he turned around to Raylan with a look of sadness.
"I won't hesitate again." Raylan said with an angry look.
"Yes, you will. Therefore, you are to stay here and if we're not back by sunrise, go home with Neifion." Runaan walks away and Raylan leaves his head hanging, then looks up at the castle of Katolis and the rocks surrounding it. He thinks for a while, then makes a decision.
Raylan then looks at the castle with determination in his eyes and facial expressions. "I can fix this." Raylan gets up and runs off, jumping off a couple of stones as he heads towards the castle.
After a little chat with Raylan, Runaan makes his way back to the camp before he sees Neifion leaning against a tree, his arms folded across his chest in a neutral manner.
"If you have something to say, then say it." Runaan said, not wanting to beat around the bush and gave Neifion the chance to voice his concerns about his decision to set Raylan out.
"Must you be so hard on him?" Neifion asked, having witnessed the argument between Runaan and Raylan.
"He lied to me, Neifion. It's bad enough that he had lied about killing that human but the fact that you knew about it and kept silent about it. So how can I possibly trust him after he showed mercy to the enemy?" Runaan said, voicing his opinions to the Skywing King about Raylan's actions.
"Okay, so maybe lying wasn't exactly the right course of action but it's like I said before. If Raylan had done what he was ordered to do, then someone else would point it out to the King and he would've organised a search party. Either way, they would've come across us eventually." Neifion said as he made his sentiments known to the older Assassin much to his displeasure.
"Runaan, you're asking a 15-year-old child to take the life of someone else. It's one thing to bring him on this mission to avenge Avizandum and his egg but to take the life of someone who hasn't wronged him is another." Neifion said, reminding Runaan of Raylan's age and the possibility of killing his own heart by taking someone else's life.
"Have you forgotten how many magical creatures they've killed over the centuries? How many innocents were hunted and harvested for their Dark Magic?" Runaan said, wondering if Neifion had forgotten the countless centuries of atrocities the Humans have committed due to Dark Magic while Neifion remained quiet.
"I haven't forgotten what had happened centuries ago but that was then and this is now! Not all Humans approve of Dark Magic, Runaan!" Neifion said.
"Then why should we give them the benefit of the doubt? There's nothing in them that is worth sparing!" Runaan said angrily.
"And you think that by killing an innocent child who had nothing to do with Avizandum's death and destroying his egg would make them feel the same suffering that Xadia had endured?" Neifion asked tensely, wondering if Ezran's death would give the Dragon Queen some semblance of satisfaction in making the Kingdom of Katolis endure the same pain and suffering that Xadia had felt.
Simultaneously, in the castle Calla enters the castle's library where she passes two statues before approaching a bookshelf and pulls out a book called "Lost Secrets of Xadia", much to her delight which she places onto the floor and begins reading it with a smile. Suddenly, the pages begin turning on their own, leaving Calla shocked and she stumbles backward.
"How in the…" Calla gasped as she looked down at the book but swiftly smiled as she heard giggling behind one of the bookshelves, and realised it was just Claudia. The teen in question came out and saw the book that Calla was reading.
"Your father will have a fit if he sees you reading that book."
"To be honest, he said I can't read anything concerning magic but he didn't say anything about reading Xadian culture." Calla said, "So basically, I found a loophole in Viren's 'helpful' advice." Calla said before she sarcastically quotes Viren's advice much to her distaste.
Claudia could only look at her friend in surprise and asked. "What's wrong? You're never this snappy with anyone. Did something happen?"
Seeing Claudia's expression, Calla's eyes lit up in shock. "Ah no, I-I didn't mean— Hah, I'm sorry Claudia. I didn't mean to snap at you like that, it's just… Ezran and I had a fight earlier and well, he's not talking to me." Calla stammered for a bit before she sighed in defeat and told Claudia about what happened with her and Ezran.
Claudia swiftly changed the subject. "Do you want to have a walk around castle gardens?" Claudia asked. "I have peanut butter sandwiches with some fruit."
Calla smiled albeit weakly and both girls left the library. However, Calla doesn't realise it but Claudia blushed and gently looked at her with fondness in her eyes.
"You know, I totally thought the book was haunted or something." Calla said as the two took a walk in the gardens while the guards hung back a little to give the girls some space.
"You should've seen your face, Calla. It was completely—"
"Absolutely ridiculous, right?"
"Adorable."
Claudia said, teasing Calla about her reaction earlier and was about to comment how it looked to her before Calla talks at the same pace much to the pairs' surprise.
"Uh what? Did you say 'adorable'?"
"Did I?"
Calla asks curiously, wondering if she had heard Claudia right before the older girl questioned playfully as the pair laughed it off until Claudia held up a dark glass orb and showed it to Calla.
"See this? It's called a 'Primal Stone' It uses magical energy from one of the six Primal Sources. Look." Claudia said as she explained the workings of a Primal Stone and handed it over to Calla, who took it into her hands and looked upon it in awe.
"Wow, what's in it?" Calla asked, wondering what was inside it before she felt something stirring up within her body the longer she held the stone as if it set off a spark.
"It's a storm. Like, an actual storm. Captured from the very top of Mount Kalik itself." Claudia said as she revealed the source behind the stone's power to the wowed princess before the latter handed it back to the older girl.
"It's so amazing you can get to do things like that, Clauds." Calla said as she envies Claudia's sense of freedom to learn magic.
"Nah, it's just a simple wind breath rune, watch." Claudia said as she demonstrates the spell on a much smaller scale to Calla and invokes the incantation:
"Aspiro." Claudia said as she blew a breath of air onto Calla's face while the girl closed her eyes in reflex until it was over. "Can you smell the peanut butter?" Claudia asks, wondering if Calla can smell the scent of peanut butter from the spell.
"Yeah, is that also part of the spell?" Calla asked after sniffing the air scented with the said spread for a moment, wondering if it was a part of the spell before Claudia laughed lightly.
"No, it's just what I literally ate right now." Claudia said as she held up her half-eaten lunch to Calla, making both of them laugh.
"It's incredible. You are so lucky you get to learn how to do magic, Claudia." Calla said, praising Claudia's impressive feats of learning magic unlike herself due to Viren's rules.
"Well, you're lucky that you get to learn how to do fancy things like embroidery, dancing and singing? Oh, and don't forget you're an excellent cook too!" Claudia said, sympathising with how much the younger girl wants to learn magic before she complimented Calla's other redeeming qualities that doesn't involve magic, be it Primal or Dark Magic and complimenting what a terrific chef she is.
"Thank you but if anything, I'd switch places in a heartbeat." Calla thanks Claudia's praises but voiced her opinion to the older girl, causing her eyes to light up with an idea as she taps her nose with her forefinger, chuckling in delight as she races back into the castle and down the left corridor before she retraced back and hurries down the opposite way.
"I absolutely have no idea what that was about." Mimicking Claudia's trademark, Calla slumps in confusion and voices her concerns aloud.
In another part of the castle King Harrow gazes out of the window overlooking the courtyard, until Viren approaches him.
"My king, we have not been able to find the elves. Sundown is only an hour away. Soren and the others have returned to bolster your defences." Viren declared.
"It won't be enough. I've accepted that tonight, I may pay the price for our mistakes." Harrow said with a sad smile on his face.
"I proposed that we negotiate with King Ahling of Neolandia and have Princess Calla be betrothed to his eldest son, Prince Kasef. With their army and ours, we will be able to defend Prince Ezran when the time is near." Viren said, proposing to form an arranged marriage between Calla and the Neolandian Prince much to Harrow's confusion.
"What? Viren, Calla is only fourteen years old; she's still a child. Aside from dinner parties and summit meetings, she barely knows Prince Kasef at all." Harrow said with narrowed eyes. "Would you make Claudia marry someone who she doesn't even know or love?"
"No, of course not." Viren said. "If anything, I would want her to be happy with the man she loves."
"So if Claudia can fall in love on her own terms, then why can't Calla do the same?" Harrow asked with anger.
"Claudia and Calla are different from each other." Viren said as he reminded Harrow the differences between the two girls much to Harrow's chagrin.
"Oh, for the love of Lady Justice; here we go again." Harrow mumbled glumly, having heard this same old tune every single time.
"First off, Calla is the princess, it is a well-known fact that she should marry a fellow royal for the sake of securing an alliance and strengthening the ties between kingdoms. Besides, this may help her to be more considerate, instead of speaking her mind on matters that don't concern her." Viren lectured.
"Viren, did you forget what kind of people her mother and aunt are?" Harrow asked incredulously, wondering if the years of practising Dark Magic had finally fried Viren's brain cells before Viren waved it off and placed his hand on Harrow's shoulder.
"Harrow, don't give up. Claudia and I, we're still looking for a creative solution." Viren said, sounding hopeful as he and his daughter are still looking for ways to thwart the incoming attack.
"Just call it what it is…. Dark Magic." Harrow said in a steeled tone as he looked at the Dark Mage with evident anger in his eyes.
"Yes." Viren said curtly with nervousness gracing his voice before Harrow looked away from him and back to the window, undoubtedly remembering the damages that were caused by Viren's 'creative solutions'.
"I've spent years going with these 'creative solutions' of yours and look where it's gotten me." Harrow said, now knowing the extent of Dark Magic and the havoc it caused over the years during his reign much to Viren's confusion.
"I don't understand." Viren asked curiously.
"I know you don't… Leave me." Harrow said before he dismissed Viren as the Dark Mage walks away from the King and leaves the room as he closes the door behind him, when suddenly Claudia rushes towards him, exclaiming excitedly while tapping her nose and pointing back and forth between herself and her father.
"Okay, what is that, with the nose and the finger? Not everyone speaks 'Claudia', Claudia." Viren said with confusion and annoyance, quoting about how not anyone could speak his daughter's language.
Claudia smiles confidently. "It means, I've got something."
Calla knocks on Ezran's door for the fifth, maybe sixth time.
"Ezran, we need to get going. It's almost sundown." Calla said in worry while raising her eyebrow. "Ez?" She then places her bag down and opens the pet door to check Ezran's room, finding it to be empty. "Oh, no."
She then looks around the room until she hears a knock on her door, and it was one of the guards that acted like her escort.
"Princess Calla, the king asks for you to meet him at the throne room alone."
"I will be there." Calla said while trying to remain calm but she fails to act normal and just like her emotions, the sky starts to grow all dark and swiftly looks towards the door all the while thinking to herself. 'Ez wherever you are please be safe.'
Raylan jumps through the tree tops and stops when he runs into two guards conversing with each other.
"Yesterday, the Princess had made me two eggs for breakfast and I was starving. So today, she made me four eggs and now I'm stuffed." The male guard then patted his stomach. "So, tomorrow-" The male guard was about to continue until he was cut off by his female colleague.
"Well, unfortunately, the prince and the princess will be at their holiday home for the time being, so you'll have to make do with the castle's cook." She said as she narrowed her eyes and surveyed the surrounding area.
Raylan narrows his eyes and continues his way through the trees, then hides behind a tree when two more patrolling guards pass before he continues his way towards the castle.
When he reaches the riverbank surrounding the castle, Raylan is rendered speechless before he shuts his eyes for a moment and inhales sharply to gather the courage to try his luck on climbing the wall. He pulls out his knives and jumps over rocks in the water, then slams his blades into the rock surface of the cliff until he slides down the slope before his hook caught on the rocky ledge, halting his fall. Using this method, he ascends further.
Back in the castle after a few short minutes Calla knocks on the throne room, and peeks in. "You wanted to see me?" Calla asked with nervousness.
Harrow turns around to face her and Calla walks up to her stepfather, then drops her bag on the ground and looks down sadly.
"Princess Calla." Harrow greeted but with sadness in his eyes.
"My king." Calla said as she curtsies politely.
"No, I.. Please." Harrow stuttered while gesturing to his step-daughter to raise her head. He then sighed with sadness. "Calla, I know I'm not your birth father, but I want you to know that…" He then inhales deeply as he knows in his heart this will be upsetting for Calla and Ezran too. "This isn't easy. So, the most important things, I've written down. " Harrow pulls out a sealed letter and hands it to Calla.
"A letter?" Calla takes the letter and examines the parchment with the King's seal while looking at her stepfather questionably.
"You'll understand in time. I want you to break the seal when…" Harrow sighs before continuing. "Well, you know."
"When you've been killed." Calla said with evident sadness and understanding.
"War is full of uncertainties." Harrow said while gently pulling Calla in for a hug and gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead.
Calla swiftly but gently left the hug but held Harrow's hand in hers. "Why can't you do something about it? Can't you just make peace with them?" Calla questioned with uncertainty in her eyes.
"It's not that simple." Harrow replied with much patience.
"It seems pretty simple to me. You don't want to die. I'm pretty sure the Elves and Dragons don't want to die either, so everyone agrees." Calla said, breaking off the hug as she looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Ezran, he's… He's not ready to become King."
"Calla, I wished things could be different but it isn't." Harrow exclaimed. "There are centuries of history. Generations of wrongs and crimes, and on both sides. I am responsible for some of those wrongs. I have done terrible things, things which I thought were necessary and now, I don't know. But I do know I will pay the price for the choices I made."
"But there has to be another way to make it right." Calla said.
"It's too late. What is done cannot be undone." Harrow said, with absolute resolution.
"But you're the King!" Calla argued back. "You can do anything!"
"The greatest illusion of childhood is that adults have all the power and the freedom in the world but the truth is the exact opposite." Harrow chuckled at Calla's proclamation, sighing tiredly as he told her the supposed authority as an adult before he looked into her eyes with a gentle expression. "A child is much freer than a King."
Calla shuts her eyes for a moment and looks back at him, holding up the letter. "I'm going to give this back to you this weekend, okay? I'm not going to have to open this." Calla said, determined to find a way to save her stepfather.
"Please, take care of your brother." Harrow said as he turned away from her, having resigned himself to his fate as Calla frowned and walked towards her bag and placed the letter inside. Calla turns around as Harrow walks up to her with a saddened expression and after a brief moment of silent understanding, they hug tightly, knowing that this will be the first and final time they'll ever see each other alive.
Harrow silently shed a tear and smiled in content, knowing that Calla and Ezran will be safe whereas Calla sobbed quietly into his chest and let her grief flow like a river as it begins to rain outside, engulfing the capital in a rainstorm of tears.
After the sudden rainfall, Raylan finally reaches the top of the cliff and slumps over the castle wall, panting in exhaustion. He manages to pull himself onto the wall floor with a grunt and allows himself to gasp for air on the ground, before pushing himself back up. He gazes over the forest with a determined look on his face.
"You're wrong about me." Raylan says as he puts his blades away. "I can do this. I will do this." Ryan said with determination, as he places his hood up and proceeds into the castle, unaware that he'll bump into the King's daughter along the way.
After the meeting with her stepfather, Calla had dismissed her guards and proceeded her way back to her room down the corridor, sighed heavily as she walked past a secluded hallway before a shadowed figure moved swiftly and alerted the young princess.
"Ez? Ezran, is that you?" Calla asked, wondering if her younger brother had finally come out of hiding as she walked down the hallway.
"Hello?" Calla asked, calling out for Ezran and Bait or whoever is hiding as she walks down the quiet corridor as Raylan hides behind a wall and trails after the unsuspecting Calla as she walks past by a suit of armour while Raylan silently creeps up with his blades at the ready.
Hearing a slight change in movement, Calla smiled lightly, thinking Ezran has forgiven her and is trying to cheer her up; which did the trick.
"You know you can't sneak up on me—?!" Calla said as she turned around to face her not-so-sneaky little brother, only to be taken back by a hooded Raylan.
Raylan uncovers his hood and reveals his face, looking menacing at the startled Calla.
"Uh, you're not who I thought— You're one of those, with the pointy—" Calla stammered as she took a couple steps back.
"Oh, you don't like my ears?" Raylan asks teasingly as he gives Calla a fanged grin.
"Yes. I mean, no! I-I mean the sharp pointy—" Calla breathed in relief before she stammered again, fumbling with her choice of words before Raylan pulled out his blades as it instantly shuts her up. "Swords."
"Yeah, that's far enough." Raylan said as he pointed his blades at the Human princess and fell into fighting mode. "I'm looking for someone. So, if you want to keep your pretty little head, tell me what I need to know."
"Oh! Um, did you check behind there?" Knowing what the assassin before her is talking about, Calla asks in a curiously fashion as she points toward the wall where a ivory-white tapestry hangs, causing Raylan to look away from her temporarily and look at what she was pointing at before Calla suddenly grabs it by the hem and pulls it over Raylan.
"Ah!" Raylan yelped in surprise as the weight of the tapestry dragged him down to the floor. Seeing her chance to escape, Calla runs away from the Elf and down to the corridor as she trips lightly over her feet before Raylan stabs through the cloth and with a twirl, he rips it apart and goes after the fleeing princess.
Running for her life, Calla sped down the corridor as she took a suit of armour down to the floor, hoping that it'll slow her attacker down but to no avail as Raylan jumped onto the wall and continued his chase.
Calla rushes up the stairs and out onto the battlements, running down the walkway as she sees two guards ahead of her and stops to catch her breath. "He's right behind me!"
Calla said, pointing towards the other side of the walkway as Raylan emerged from the doorway and prompted the two guards to brandish their swords.
Seeing this, Raylan brandished his twin butterfly knives and switched the mechanism from blades to hooks as he surged forth, dodging the guards' attacks as he leapt over the dumbfounded soldiers and knocked them to the ground while he smirks in accomplishment.
"Oh wow, you've swept the leg!" Calla said, happy at the fact that someone has proven 'sweeping the leg' can be an attack move in sword-fighting and had unknowingly proved Soren wrong.
"Wait, what?" Snapped out of his reverie, Raylan turns around and looks at the girl in confusion before Calla snaps out of her reverie "Oh, uh, nothing." Calla said as she awkwardly stepped to the side and continued running away until Raylan snapped out of it and ran after her, chasing her up the spiral staircase leading to Viren's study.
"Um, Viren, Claudia, anybody?!" Calla asks frightfully, looking around the study for any signs of Viren or Claudia before Raylan finally caught up with her and pushed her to the ground, sending her further into the study and into the table as the impact caused her to lose her stepfather's letter in the process.
"Ah…" Calla hissed in pain as she rubs her head to get rid of the aching pain before she looks up to see Raylan standing in the doorway, his twin butterfly blades drawn.
"You don't have to die." Raylan said as he entered the study, ready to interrogate the scared princess before him about his intended target. But unaware to the two teens, Raylan's absence was immediately discovered by Ram of whom immediately relayed this to Runaan and the others. If one were to say that the seasoned assassin was furious at the young elfling's disobedience would be an understatement... He was downright livid.
"Why did I ever let him out of my sight? I can't even conduct strategies for a few seconds without him going off willy-nilly!"
"Well, that's what happens when raising a teenager of all people. In all seriousness, you should've known that he was going to run off like that."
Runaan said, angered at the fact that his ward had disobeyed for a second time before Neifion chimed in a calm manner tinged with a sense of humour before he reminded Runaan that despite Raylan's skills, it didn't changed the fact that he was still a teenager with a thirst to prove his worth much to Runaan's exasperation.
"What are we going to do now?"
"If he fails again, he'll give away our position and compromise the mission even further!"
"We should've killed him for his failure the first time around!"
Callisto, Skor, Andromeda and Ram voiced their displeasure at Raylan's actions and were about to vote to execute the latter before a powerful gust of cold air suddenly took all four of them by surprise, encasing them in an ice block.
"And that's only a mere taste of what I'll do to you four if I so much hear another peep about lynching the poor lad!" Neifion said, retracting his hand from casting the spell, *'Aspiro Frigis', and giving the assassins a warning should any harm befall Raylan before he turns over to Runaan of whom has been quiet the whole time.
"Well, what do you want to do? Do you want to continue as planned or go in and save your ward's willowy butt from getting himself killed? 'Cause either way, the choice is yours to make and nobody else's, mate."
Neifion asked, offering 'Option A' or 'Option B' to Runaan in regards to the recent developments before Runaan sighed in resignation as the second choice would save not only everyone's lives, including Raylan's, but also spare the poor boy from being 'Ghosted' by the Silvergrove like his parents were when they fled their post 4 months ago.
"All right then, 'Option B' it is. Runaan and I will go after Raylan and bring him back, you lot stay here and... 'Chillax' for a bit."
"Oh gee, a real comedian."
Runaan breathed softly as he looked at Neifion with renewed vigour to which he silently agreed till he looked over to the others, instructing them to stay put and 'chillax' for a bit... Literally speaking much to their exasperation.
"Okay, on that cheery note, we'll be back in a jiff." Neifion said cheerfully as he and Runaan walked over to Raylan's spot before they stopped momentarily.
"So, how are we going to get inside? Raylan already had a full head-start on us and it'll be nightfall by the time we get there by foot."
Neifion looked around the small clearing as Runaan asked curiously, wondering how they're going to catch up to Raylan due to the boy's head-start and how they'll never make it in time before nightfall.
"Well, it's a good thing that we're not going there by foot. We'll get there by using Sky magic."
"And how are we going to do that?"
Neifion told the Moonshadow Elf otherwise and informed him that they'll get to the castle through the use of Sky magic much to Runaan's growing confusion.
"Oh, ye of little faith, my dual-wielding Moonshadow friend. It just so happens that I have the perfect spell in mind. A little fact I kept in my tunic for a day like this." Neifion lightly chastised him and explained that he has a spell in mind, one in which is worth Runaan's time.
"Hold on tight." Neifion gives Runaan fair warning before he takes a hold of his *Sky Jade pendant, a gift from his beloved husband, Ciel; crushing it like Runaan did with his Moon Opal when hiding from the Crownguard earlier today as he brings his closed fist to his lips and utter the words…
"*Floreo Venti."
Neifion blew upon the crushed remains as they activate the spell and transforms the pair into a cluster of multi-colored flower petals before the said cluster travelled towards Katolis Castle in a gust of wind, startling the birds perched in the trees and the soldiers keeping a look out for the group until they reached their destination and landed on the castle's battlement, the very same one where Raylan was before he went inside.
"Now, are we just going to stand here and talk all day or can we just crack on?" Neifion asks curiously as Runaan snaps himself out of it and follows the Skywing Warrior into the castle in hopes of finding the wayward Moonshadow Elfling known as Raylan.
The pair soon made their way down the castle's corridors and out towards another battlement where they saw two castle guards laying on the stone pavement, having been rendered unconscious by Raylan beforehand.
"Yep, he's definitely your protege all right." Neifion said as he and Runaan quietly tip-toed over the downed guards and made their way up to the tower which houses Lord Viren's study before Neifion stops himself along with Runaan as they secretly watch from the doorway and listen to the conversation between Raylan and the King's stepdaughter, Princess Calla.
"There are only two targets tonight."
"Two? What do you mean?"
"I'm here for the King. And I'm also here for his son, Prince Ezran."
Raylan said as he slowly approached the cornered princess and stated his purpose in assassinating King Harrow and his only son, Ezran much to Calla's shock as well as Runaan's and Neifion's surprise.
"B-but you can't, that's not fair! Why would you want to hurt someone who's done nothing wrong?!"
"The Humans cut down the King of the Dragons and destroyed his only egg, the Dragon Prince!"
Calla asked, shocked at the fact the Queen of the Dragons would place a hit on a child that hasn't done anything wrong in his whole life before Raylan argued that Harrow and Viren had slain the King of the Dragons and destroyed his unhatched egg as he points his blade towards Calla, anger becoming more evident in his eyes.
"Justice will not be denied!"
"I see. Well then, you've found me."
Raylan said with hardened resolution gracing his voice like a true assassin much to the worried Runaan and Neifion as they continued to watch the scene unfold before Calla's voice brought them back to reality, they saw her looking down sadly before she raised her head up high with serious determination.
"I am Prince Ezran."
Hearing that, Runaan and Neifion looked at each other in shock and horror. But for Neifion, he saw an image of his late older brother and a newborn babe in his arms, seeing the stark resemblance between the two.
Meanwhile, unaware that the castle has been breached, King Harrow is being equipped with armour for the upcoming fight by his guards, when the door opens and Viren walks in, carrying a yellow basket.
"Not for a great day for a picnic, Viren." Harrow said as saw the basket.
"On that, we agree." Viren says as he walks up to Harrow. "Moonshadow Elves are dangerous, elite fighters. Under a full moon, they become nearly invisible, and they can penetrate any defence. Nothing in the five kingdoms can stop them."
"I know this." Harrow growled.
"They will find you. And they will kill you." Viren sain, hoping that his warning would knock some sense into his old friend.
"Not helping, Viren." Harrow said, enunciating how unhelpful the Dark Mage is.
"But it doesn't have to be you. In the black sands of the Midnight Desert dwells a mysterious snake called a Soulfang Serpent." Viren holds the basket forward, in which hissing can be heard.
"The Soulfang has an unusual diet. Its bite drains and consumes the spirit of its prey. On our last journey into Xadia, I acquired a rather unique specimen" Viren sets it down on the floor, he opens the basket's lid and lifts the snake with his staff, revealing a two-headed soulfang serpent.
"Two heads, two bites, two souls held at once. And through magic, I can switch your spirit with another. The Moonshadow Elves will find the king's body, but your spirit will survive."
Viren said, proposing the 'creative solution' to Harrow as the latter looked at the Dark Mage with a hardened gaze.
"I have to do this. I'm sorry. I don't want to, but I have to."
Unaware of the intense meeting between Harrow and Viren, Raylan walks toward the frightened Calla as she scoots away from the menacing Moonshadow Elf until her back hits the wall while Raylan offers his apologies in advance much to his displeasure.
"But why? You know this is wrong."
"An Assassin doesn't decide right or wrong. Only life and death."
Calla asked, knowing that he knows how wrong this is as she hopes to change her would-be killer's mind before Raylan reiterates that assassins do not question the morality of the situation, only to act as judge, jury and executioner.
"That's very clever, but come on, really? How does this solve anything?" Calla asked, wondering if doing all of this will resolve the killings of the Dragon King and his egg.
"This is justice. Humans attacked us unprovoked." Raylan said, declaring that the Humans have attacked Xadia in an unprovoked assault.
"So it's okay for you guys to do the same thing too?" Calla asked him curiously, hoping to talk some sense into him.
"Well, no; it's not the same thing because we're attacking you… Provoked." Raylan retracted his blade for a moment before he pointed his blade at her again, emphasising his point as he argued back.
"Then basically, it's a cycle." Calla said in finality, as she remembers the day her mother died by the Dragon King's hands nine years ago along how Harrow and Viren retaliated against the fallen dragon four months ago, still unaware that they were being watched by Runaan and Neifion from behind the doorway as they let her words sink in, not noticing that her hair was moving like the wind and her eyes glowed slightly. "If I die by your hands, the humans will get their revenge as well. It will never end."
"Psst, Calla." Suddenly, a small voice snapped the two teens out of their conversation as they looked towards a painting of a shepherdess holding a big woolly sheep in her arms.
"Psst, Calla!" The whisper tried again, only this time; a little louder for Calla, Raylan, Runaan and Neifion to hear.
"Ssh, go away." Calla hushed the small voice and tried to send it on its merry way, not wanting her deception to be revealed to Raylan much to the latter's confusion as well as Neifion and Runaan's.
"I found something." The whisper said, trying to tell Calla about what he discovered, not knowing that his sister is being held at knife-point by Raylan.
"Are you talkin' to that painting?" Raylan asked while still pointing his blade at Calla with a narrowed expression.
"Uh, what? No. I mean, why would I do that?" Calla asks, playing dumb as she chuckles lightly before she readdressed the 'talking painting' in a more serious tone, knowing exactly who the mysterious whisper is. "'Cause, it's not the best time!"
"You mean because you're with a boy?" The whisper asked curiously before Raylan narrowed his eyes at Calla as he took a step towards the painting and opened it wide open, revealing Ezran and Bait.
"Uh… Jelly Tart?" Ezran drawls lightly before he holds up his favourite treat, offering the last of the jelly tart stash that Calla got for him earlier to Raylan much to everyone's confusion.
"Kid, get out of here!" Calla sprang up to her feet, ordering Ezran to leave the study before the little boy looked at the older girl in confusion and unintentionally revealed her lie to Raylan, Runaan and Neifion.
"Calla, what's going on?" Ezran asks, wondering what was happening before Raylan butts in, cutting the younger boy off.
"'Calla'? I thought you were Prince Ezran?" Raylan asks, wondering why this kid would call his target 'Calla' before his eyes widened in surprise, getting a better look at Calla now.
"You lied to me!" Raylan said, angered at the fact that he's been had.
"Okay, seriously! How is that any worse than trying to kill someone?!" Calla asks incredulously as she places her hands on her hips, wondering how lying to someone was worse than trying to kill them for almost 6 minutes.
"Well, when she puts it like that, she's got a point." Neifion whispered to Runaan before they decided to make their presence known to the quartet until Ezran chomped on the last jelly tart and held up Bait.
"Have you met Bait? Say hello to my little friend!" Ezran asks before he holds up his pet toad as he glowed brightly while Calla, Neifion and Runaan shielded themselves from the unsuspecting flash of light while Raylan was forced to endure Bait's attack head-on.
"Ah!" Raylan yelped in pain as he drops his weapons and pressed his hands to his eyes, rubbing them in order to get rid of the blindness while Ezran grabs Calla's hand and guides her into the secret passageway, closing the portrait door behind him but not noticing that he left behind a jelly handprint on the frame.
"Gahh…" Raylan groaned in pain as he squinted his eyes to help him adjust to the light before he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up and see an unamused Runaan.
"I'm in trouble, am I?" Raylan asks curiously, no longer squinting his eyes.
"Oh yes, most definitely." Runaan said curtly before he sighed silently and helped Raylan before Neifion inspects the portrait from every angle before his fingers caught on the small handprint and saw bits of jelly on his fingertips much to his curiosity until he tastes the unknown substance himself and shudders, his wings ruffling in reflex.
"Wow, it's amazing how a little kid can eat something with such a tart flavour." Neifion said, commentating Ezran's palette much to Runaan's and Raylan's confusion.
"Like what?" They ask curiously while Neifion opens the portrait, revealing a secret passageway.
"Persimmon." Neifion said before Raylan sighed irritably and walked down the corridor along with Runaan and Neifion in tow.
Meanwhile, the meeting between the King and the High Mage in the throne room continues, unaware that the castle has been infiltrated by Elves.
"No. I won't run or hide inside the body of another while someone else dies, paying for the choices I've made." Harrow said, declining Viren's offer of escape as well as refusing to let another person get killed in his place.
"200 men and women are ready to lay down their lives for you tonight and yet you let a single soldier sacrifice their life for you?" Viren said, shocked at the fact that Harrow refused to be saved.
"It's not the same, Viren. I would rather die as a King than to live on as a coward." Harrow said, determined to die as who he is, rather than to keep on living in another's body.
"Ah, I see. So, that's what this is all about." Viren said, knowing the real reason behind Harrow's decision, prompting the King to glance over his shoulder and give the High Mage a quisling look.
"No, I already told you what the problem is" Harrow said, sounding increasingly irritable by Viren's blindness to the truth as he turned around angrily "It's Dark Magic."
"Yes, it's clever, practical, brilliant and it will save your life and many, many others as well!" Viren exclaimed, having heard this conversation over a million times and stressing out the importance of the practice to his stubborn life-long friend.
"It's a shortcut! We may not pay right now but we will pay the blood price eventually! What do you think got us here in the first place? Dark Magic!" Harrow stresses how it was too much of a shortcut and stressed how many lives will be lost if it left unchecked.
"You're being stubborn and ungrateful!" Viren said, accusing Harrow for being hardheaded and the alleged ungratefulness.
"Should I be grateful that you destroyed that dragon's egg? Thank you for starting this unwinnable war? Thank you for angering the Elves and the Dragons so much that tonight they're here for my life?!" Harrow sarcastically asked if he should be grateful for the High Mage destroying Thunder's unhatched egg, starting the inevitable war and angering the magical beings of Xadia up to the point that the Dragon Queen has dispatched assassins to kill him and Ezran as an act of avenging the death of her mate and the destruction of her unborn offspring as growing anger graced his voice with every note.
The King and the High Mage argued back and forth about whether destroying the unhatched Dragon Prince was necessary until Viren crossed the line. "What is done cannot be undone. I am offering you a path forward!" Viren said as Harrow turns away from him wordlessly and sits down on a nearby chest, running his hand across his face in exhaustion.
"Harrow, your discomfort is understandable. You don't feel right about trading your life with another's but know this." Viren said, seemingly understanding Harrow's reluctance in sacrificing another person's life just to save his own before Viren gestures over to the guards nearby "Every one of these men and women would gladly give their life to save yours." Viren voiced the guards' sense of honour and loyalty to the crown, not seeing them exchange concerned looks with each other before Harrow looked up in thought.
"What about you, Viren? Would you also trade your life for mine?" Harrow asks curiously, wondering if Viren has the same honour and loyalty like the guards and the soldiers as Viren stammers a little before sighing, practically confirming the King's suspicions. "Get out." Harrow sternly ordered Viren to leave in which the High Mage complied silently.
Meanwhile, Calla and Ezran continue to run away from the assassin, rushing down the secret corridors in a hurry as Ezran hugs Bait to his chest along the way before they hear Raylan's calling out to them from behind.
"You're only making this worse!" Raylan hollered out to the fleeing siblings before he heard Calla's response from up ahead. "Worse how?" She asks incredulously, seemingly on the verge of having a panic attack.
"He does not mean that!" Neifion chimed in, hoping to diffuse the situation that was spiralling out of control before Runaan made his input.
"Actually, he really does mean that." Runaan said, knowing that resistance is futile much to Neifion's dismay.
"Runaan, you are not helping!" Neifion said before the three elves heard Ezran's voice from up ahead.
"This way, hurry!" They heard him cry out as it prompted the three of them to speed up their pace.
Following Ezran's lead, Calla lightly skid to a halt and followed her little brother, only to stop at the end of the hallway.
"We're trapped. Now what?" Calla said as she looked down at Ezran for a plan while he walked up to the wall.
"Time for a puzzle." Ezran said, feeling confident as he turned back to the wall and pressed the polished stones and rock in an orderly fashion.
"Rock, rock, stone, rock, stone, stone, rock, stone, rock." Ezran said, trying to remember the order of the said keys before he finished quickly, causing the mechanism to unveil a hidden spiral staircase from under their feet, surprising Calla.
"Ezran, how long have you known about this?" Calla asks in a motherly tone, wondering how a 10-year-old boy had managed to find a secret passageway from underneath the castle.
"Uh, for about a month now?" Ezran drawled momentarily, pulling his signature trump card before he answered Calla's question sheepishly as he hoped that it would get him out of trouble with his older sister.
"We'll talk about this later." Knowing that the situation isn't the best time to find out, Calla proposed to have a talk with Ezran on a later date as the two siblings walked down the spiral stair and into the hidden chamber, prompting Ezran to pull the level nearby as it retracts itself back to the ceiling.
"Now, you're sure that they won't be able to follow us down here?" Calla asks, wondering if the hidden chamber is enough to hide them from the pursuing Elves.
"No way. It took me, like, a month to figure out that combination." Ezran reassures his fidgety sister, feeling confident enough to doubt the Elves' ability to decipher the said combination before the ceiling rumbles, startling the trio as they see the staircase spiral down to the ground while Raylan, Runaan and Neifion stands at the edge of the stairway.
"Huh? But wait, how did you—?" Astounded, Ezran can only stammer lightly and wonders how a Moonshadow Elf who was a year older than his sister, almost 4 or 5 years his senior, was able to figure out the combination so quickly whereas he was able to figure it out a month ago.
"I just press all the stones with the jelly handprints." Raylan said smugly, smirking as he waves his hands and points out that he used Ezran's jelly tart obsession to his advantage much to Ezran's dismay as he facepalmed in defeat, leaving behind a persimmon-flavoured jelly tart handprint on his forehead.
"Maybe we ought to curb your jelly tart intake to 1 a day, Ez." Calla mumbled as she took out a handkerchief and wiped the handprint away from Ezran's forehead
"Yeah, you're probably right, Sis." Ezran sighed in resignation, feeling betrayed by his inherited sweet tooth. The three elves soon made their way into the hidden chambers and looked around, their eyes began to wander about in the room; seeing small animals stuffed inside strange jars and skulls of magical creatures.
"What the Hell is this place?" Raylan asked, feeling repulsed.
"Eh, I've seen even creeper places than this back home and I think that the only live thing I'm seeing so far is an Emberback Spider and it seems… Mildly agitated." Neifion said, voicing out his opinion before he looked over to the workbench and saw a trapped Emberback Spider inside a jar, becoming agitated at the fact that its rest was disturbed.
"I knew it. There's nothing in Humans worth sparing. Time's up." Runaan said, seeing the contents of the room had confirmed his belief about the Humans as he drew his bowblade and pointed it towards Calla and Ezran, prompting them to back away in fear.
"The Humans destroyed the egg of the Dragon Prince. There must be Justice." Runaan said, as he and Raylan readied themselves to avenge the inhumane death of the Dragon Prince by ending Ezran's life, causing Calla to grab a broom nearby, wielding it like a staff and stand in front of Ezran; determined to protect him.
"You'll have to get past me first!" Calla said bravely as she stood her ground, daring the Moonshadow Elves to come any closer to her little brother.
"Oh really?" Raylan asks as he brandishes his blade and begins to move in on the siblings before Ezran stops them. "Wait! You guys need to see something." He said as he nodded his head over to a clothed object behind him and his sister.
"I'm not fallin' for that flashin' frog trick again!" Raylan said, not wanting to fall for the same trick twice as Bait growled at him and turned red in annoyance for being called a 'flashing frog'.
"He's a Glow Toad. And no, this isn't a trick this time; just please?" Ezran said and pleaded with them, hoping for the Elves to at least see what Ezran had found earlier.
"He's got a point, Runaan. If they wanted to, they could've called for the guards the moment we chased them down here." Neifion said as he broke the ice by pointing out how Calla and Ezran would have screamed for help but they didn't, prompting Runaan to mulled over the Skywing Elf's words and after a brief moment of silence.
"All right. Uncover it, slowly." Runaan said, accepting Ezran's offer and demanded to see what was so important that he would risk a cease-fire much to Raylan's surprise.
"I hear something, something alive." Ezran said, claiming that he can hear something alive as he uncovers the object in question, revealing it to be the egg of the Dragon Prince.
Seeing the egg had stunned everyone inside the hidden chamber, any feeling of animosity had vanished that the cause behind the inevitable war was standing before them, alive and intact.
"It… It can't be." Raylan can only breathe out a few syllables, too shocked to say anything about the recent change in events.
"The egg… It wasn't destroyed." Calla said, shocked at the fact that the egg of the Dragon Prince, the reason behind the Dragon Queen's orders upon her stepfather's and younger brother's deaths, wasn't destroyed according to popular belief. They all stared at the egg in silence and in hope.