Half Moon Lies Part 2

Soren was dragged into the room by Claudia. "Why would you do that Soren?!" she criticised.

"Do what?"

"Lie to them about their dad like that? It's wrong,"

"Hey. You squash innocent creatures to make pancakes," he counter-argued.

"How is that any different?" she asked.

Soren huffed and sat in a chair, placing his feet on the desk. "We tried it your way. It didn't work. It's time to..."

"Please…just give me one last chance to convince Carol,"

"You think she's gonna listen? You've seen how much she cares for that Moonshadow elf. And she's said such revolting things about dad. Let's just focus on getting Ezran and Willow back. They are king Harrow's biological children after all,"

Claudia snapped. "How can you say that Soren? The king loved her….very much. We need to remember that. And think about her siblings. That would mean more loss for them. I'm gonna talk to her. And that's final. Besides, I think I have the element,"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because when you mentioned the king, I saw the elf unsettled. He must know that he's dead and he hasn't told Carol. If I tell her, she won't trust him anymore,"

Soren smirked. "What a cunning sister you are," She frowned. "What? That was a compliment,"

As they party played in the gardens, Carol noticed the baby dragon jumping. "Whatcha doing Zym?" she asked.

I wanna learn how to fly. He flapped his wings.

"Looks like he's desperate from some flying lessons," she informed the others.

"Then let's start teaching him," answered Ezran ecstatically. "Here's how you do it Zym," he stood up and ran around in circles flapping his arms like a funky chicken, making everyone laugh.

"That is so funny," Raylan was the most jubilant of all with this act of entertainment.

Ezran felt offended. "That is just very offensive. I am trying to teach him how to fly,"

"By running around like a flightless chicken?" Willow laughed.

"Maybe we should try this," Carol whistled and the group saw a few flocks of birds flying over them.

"How do you do that?" asked Ellis curiously.

"Just a trick I know. I love being around birds. I always wonder what it's like to fly," Felix barked. She knelt beside Zym and pointed upwards. "You see that?"

Zym stared up and saw the flying birds. I do. He chirped.

"That is exactly what you've got to do. You've got to flap your wings and gain elevation,"

"Maybe try doing it off a rock," Willow suggested.

Raylan disagreed. "Probably not the best idea,"

"I think it's worth a shot," said Ezran supportively. "Can I do it, Carol?"

"Sure,"

"Uh, shouldn't she do it?" Asked Ellis. "She is the one with the connection to him after all,"

"Come on guys. We all love Zym equally. We should have our turns. You go ahead Ezran,"

Her brother bounded up some steps, Zym following behind him with Carol's encouragement. He bent to pick Zym up but he was uncertain. He looked down at Carol.

It's okay, Zym. She promised. I'll catch you. Ezran won't harm you.

Trusting her and her brother, Zym hopped into Ezran's edge and he stood at the edge of a tall rock. "Okay wings out!" he commanded. The dragonling opened them up. "And…" he prepared to throw.

"Ezran! Don't do it like that!" Carol shouted.

"Fly!" Ezran flew Zym but the baby dragon fell from the air and Carol caught him.

Willow growled at him. "That is not the way you teach a baby dragon to fly!"

Ezran cringed. "I'm so sorry," he pounded down the stairs, looking at the scared miserable dragon. "I'm so sorry," he tried to pet him but he hid behind Carol's back. He sighed. "I didn't mean to throw him like that Carol," he sniffled.

"I'm not mad at you," she assured, showing no anger at all.

"We're moving too fast with him. He's just not ready to fly yet," said Raylan, solemnly crossing his arms.

"That's not how Zym seems to feel," said Ellis, Ava barking in agreement.

Carol thought for a second. "I've got it. Be right back," she gently handed Zym over to Willow and jogged off.

"Where's she going?" asked Raylan.

"I don't know but I'm sure she has a good reason for it," said Willow encouragingly.

Soren had decided to take a walk through the woods, doing stretches with his sword. His sister had decided she'd look around the area for a while, out of "curiosity," He came to a lookout spot and peered down. To his surprise, he saw Carol with lots of rope. He narrowed his eyes and watched her carefully.

Half an hour passed and the others were still sitting down waiting for her. Ezran had tried to pet Zym but he cowered behind Willow. He sighed. "I really am sorry Zym. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I just wanted to teach you how to fly," The baby dragon still wouldn't look at him. He sighed, pressing his fists to his cheeks.

"We all know you didn't mean to scare him like that," said Raylan. "He'll get over it,"

Carol arrived back and Felix barked for joy, dashing over to her to be petted. "Look what I built," she led them to a canyon and to their astonishment they saw a zipline made out of rope attached to a tree with pegs with a wooden seat.

"What is that?" asked Raylan.

"It's a zip-line. You ride on the seat and you slide down on it. It's so much fun. Here. Watch," she kernel down and Felix climbed up onto her shoulders. She grabbed a strong stick and before Raylan could say anything she jumped with the stick above the rope, her hands holding onto it tight and everyone watched her fly across the air till she reached the other side. She landed gracefully and yelled out: "Ta-da!" to everyone.

The children clapped. Raylan was impressed. Remarkable. Zym was astounded too. Carol crossed a nearby bridge to get back to the other side and join the others.

"You built that?" asked Ellis.

"Mm-mm," she nodded. "Since Zym can't fly yet, we should at least give him the experience of what it's like to fly through the air. Willow, would you and Zym like to have the first go?"

"Sure," after Raylan gave her Zym, she sat down comfortably in the wooden seat and her sister made sure she was secured safely. "Remember to hold your wings out Zym,"

"Three. Two. One! Fly!" Carol pushed the seat and Willow screamed for joy as she flew through the air with Zym. They reached the other side.

"Zym! You were supposed to hold out your wings," she said.

My bad. He groaned.

Never mind. You can always have another go. Assured Carol. "Wanna go, Ez?"

"Yes please!"

Pulling on a wire, Carol pulled the wooden seat back to them and Ezran boarded. Once she pushed him off, he cheered for joy feeling the wind in his face. It was the most incredible feeling he had ever felt.

"Your turn Ellis,"

"Think Ava could have a go?" Ellis didn't want Ava to miss out on the fun.

"She definitely won't fit in the seat. But she can fit through these large rope hoops," she showed them some rope hoops attached to the main zipline. "Let's get you fastened girl,"

Whilst she attached Ava to the stretch of rope, Raylan felt something tingling up his spine. He looked up and saw rustling in the forest. He narrowed his eyes. He dashed off quietly.

"Okay all done," Carol turned to see if Raylan was there. He wasn't. "Where'd he go?"

"Maybe for a bathroom break?" Ellis suggested.

"He probably did. Ready?" she asked.

"Absolutely," Ellis climbed up onto Ava and the wolf looked ahead of them.

"Three. Two. One! Fly!" Carol managed to push the giant wolf off the edge and the wolf barked for the joy she and her person zoomed across the canyon and landed on the other side.

"Brilliant!" they clapped again.

Carol was about to go on when she heard Claudia walking towards her. "Hey, Clauds,"

"Wow…nice...zipline you built. It's incredible,"

"Just thought it might help teach Zym to fly. And the kids are enjoying it,"

"Where's your elf friend?"

"He's around,"

"You know why don't we have some girl time? It's been a while,"

Carol thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk things out. "Perfect," she looked across the canyon at the others.

"You guys go and have some more fun!" she called down. "I'm just gonna go talk with Claudia for a while!"

They waved and she walked off to have some girl time with Claudia.

Raylan was stalking through the woods. He knew someone was watching them. His heart jumped. Was it the cloaked mages? The human tracker who had attacked him before. Or someone else?

He heard a bush rustle. He pointed his blade. "Whoever you are, I'd come out very, very slowly,"

From out of the bushes appeared Soren. He jumped seeing the purple-eyed elf. "What are you doing here?"

"I might ask you the same thing," Raylan narrowed his eyebrows.

"None of your business," Soren tried to walk away but Raylan blocked him with his blade. "You really wanna go again?"

"Don't underestimate me. You only won last night because of your sister. In a fair fight, I would have beaten you,"

"Then I'll be happy to do one with you," Soren pulled out his blade, challenging him.

Raylan was tempted to fight back. But he remembered his promise. "I'm not fighting you," he sheathed his blades.

"What's the matter? Too scared you'll lose?" the former guard mocked.

"No. I'm just not one to be stupid to pick fights unlike you," he tried to walk away but Soren's next words made him frown.

"Something the step-princess said to you?"

Raylan fumed. "Why are you so horrible to her? I know you both used to be friends. And you've been nothing but a great big bully to her for the past eight years. What has she ever done to you?"

Soren was quite affected by his question. "That is none of your business, elf,"

"It is. Because she's my friend…" he marched on him. "And when my friends get pushed around or insulted by bullies like you…I tend to have their back," he poked a finger at his chin.

"You don't know anything about my life Ray-elf…"

"Raylan," he corrected bitterly.

"Raylan, whatever you are…my life is a very complex emotional rollercoaster where I have to work hard every day to earn my keep,"

"And that gives you an excuse to be horrible to Caroline?"

"She doesn't have to work hard to earn the privilege. She can get and do whatever she wants. And that is so unfair for other commoners like her,"

"Let me make this clear to you, Soren. She is the sweetest person I have ever met. And if you ever act or talk shamefully to her again, you're gonna have what's coming for you,"

After giving each other a strong glare like they were in a staring contest, the elf walked off leaving Soren to look disdainfully out at him.

Claudia and Caroline were walking up towards Lujanne's castle. The former tried to start the conversation but her close friend spoke first. "So…what exactly happened on your journey to get here?"

"Well…we took a stop at the Banther Lodge and we found this cube…and we kind of got attacked by my aunt's troops. And then we had a rough ride down the river. Raylan was sicker than Ezran eating too many jelly tarts. We had quite a winter hike through the mountains and I had to use ice skating and my primal stone to save Willow from some angry wolves. The egg fell through the ice and it was dying. So we came up here to find a miracle healer but instead, we found an illusionist,"

"Wow, sounds like you've had the adventure you've been wishing for your whole life,"

Carol chuckled a little.

"How has it been using your primal stone?" she asked.

"It was great,"

"Carol…" Claudia stopped walking, noticing her discomfort. "What's wrong?"

"I used it to make a storm. To save Zym. But it got broken,"

Claudia gave her a tight hug. "I'm sorry Carol. I know how much it meant to you. But don't worry…that doesn't mean you can't do magic," she let go and reached into her bag pulling out a special book. "You can use dark magic,"

Before Carol could answer, they heard the loud exclaims of "Such an atrocity!" from Lujanne who approached them, surprised to see a dark mage amidst her home.

"Oh…Lujanne this is Claudia, Claudia, Lujanne, she lives here. She's a moon illusionist,"

"Wow! An actual moon mage," Claudia grabbed Lujanne's face much to her discomfort. "Are you an illusion?"

"No. I'm real," her squeezed lips managed to squeeze out.

"That's exactly what an illusion would say,"

"Nope Clauds. She's real. And you're making her uncomfortable," Carol said.

Claudia let go. "Oh sorry,"

"Carol…you can show your friend around but do not let her touch anything please,' Lujanne implored before walking off.

"Let's go exploring," Claudia ecstatically pulled her friend through the ancient doors of stone and they saw walls of moon magic runes etched in blue. Moon months floated around the air and there was a drum shaped like a moon at the front near a pedestal. "It's beautiful,"

"It sure is," she agreed.

"So, tell me more about Raylan?" she insisted.

"Well…he's kind and daring and he's never afraid to put his life on the line for his friends. He's saved my life and my sibling's countless times. My father was wise to trust him to look after us and I know he would never hurt us in any way," She noticed something was different about Claudia. "What is it?"

"Carol…you can't trust him,"

"Clauds…the day after I ran away, he had the chance to kill me. But he didn't. He spared my life. And that's not all. He fought against the leader of the assassins to save my life. And when his assassin's bindings were killing his hands because he refused to kill Ezran and Willow, he was willing to lose them rather than kill my family. This proves that everything we know about elves isn't true. He's our friend. And…he can be your friend too,"

"He's hiding something from you,"

"He already told me his secrets,"

Claudia rubbed her forearm, nervously.

"What's wrong?"

Before Claudia could move her lips, they heard the door opening and they turned their heads to see Raylan entering.

"Hey girls," he waved casually.

"Hey Ray," Carol waved.

Raylan suddenly noticed something was off about Claudia. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No. Nothing at all. I need to go and check on Soren," the dark mage dashed off out of the room.

Raylan walked up to Carol. "So.., how did talking with her go?"

"I just talked about our adventures. But I didn't mention my connection to Zym,"

Raylan went 'phew'. But he noticed something about Carol. "What's wrong?"

"Claudia thinks you're hiding something from me,"

Raylan held his breath; had she found out the dark truth?

"But I told her you had told us everything and about everything you did to protect us all this way. I just don't know how I can get through to her. I wish I knew a way to convince her to not trust Viren without hurting her," she stopped speaking when something was off about him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm gonna check on the others," he sped off quickly. Carol furrowed her eyebrows a little. What had gotten into him? She decided to make her way to the zipline. She saw Felix waiting for her. "Hey boy.." he yipped and she stroked him. "Wanna go for another ride?" her fox barked 'yes'. She made sure the peg was stable but after she grabbed a stick for the zip wire again something shook the nearby bushes. Felix barked and shot off to try and see who was nearby.

But from out of the bushes appeared Zym. Gotcha! He beamed.

"Cheeky," Carol teased. "Are you hiding from the others?"

Just thought I might play a joke on them.

"You guys wanna have a zip-line down together?"

Yes. Please. They answered. They went back to her zip-wire and she sat on the seat and they sat on her lap. From behind a tree, Soren's eyes narrowed and he smirked. "Three. Two. One. Fly!" they shot across the air again.

Raylan was walking in circles on a higher cliff, wondering what to do. What if Claudia was trying to expose his secret? He heard screams of joy and he saw Carol, Felix and Zym flying across the air on the zip-wire. He noticed the rope was a bit loose. He saw the peg attached to the tree, loose. "Carol!" he cried out. "The peg!"

Suddenly the peg attached to the tree came loose. The zip wire broke and Carol, Zym and Felix were sent hurling into the canyon below, squealing in fear. She grabbed her companions holding them close, hoping her body would ensure they'd live.

Raylan pulled out his rope hook and lassoed it to a tall tree standing over the cliff, then he jumped, diving after his friends, reaching out to them. "Grab my hand! "Reaching up a hand, Carol clasped it and he swung them all back onto the cliff and they landed with a tumble.

He sat up. "You okay?"

Carol hyperventilating threw her arms around him and he hugged her close. "It's okay," he rubbed her back. "It's all right,"

She pulled back. "Thank you," she breathed.

Zym was beyond petrified. Felix licked his face to comfort him and he nuzzled into his chest. "It's all right guys. We're safe," she hugged them.

"Carol!" cried out three voices.

The two turned around and they saw the three kids riding Ava bounding over to them. Ezran and Willow threw their arms around their sister.

"We heard your screams and we thought something happened to you," Willow wouldn't let go of her.

Ezran let go to give her some air. "What happened?"

"The zip-wire broke," Raylan stood up and walked back over to the tree where the peg was. "The peg came loose,"

"That's impossible. I checked it and it was completely stable before," said Carol.

"Carol!" Claudia screamed rung the air and she came dashing over. "What happened? I heard you scream! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. The zip-line broke but Raylan managed to save me in time," she panted.

"Thank goodness," she breathed out in relief.

"Wait a minute. Where's Soren?" Willow pressed her fists to her waist.

"There's no way Soren would do something like this," denied Claudia. "He may bully Caroline but he wouldn't do something like this,"

"That's right! I wouldn't!" Soren emerged out of nowhere. "It's obvious the step-princess shouldn't have built this mechanism or whatever," Willow growled and kicked him in the leg, making him cry out in pain. "Again, with the leg?!"

"Where were you if I may ask?" Raylan questioned, his spine-tingling.

"I was taking a stroll through the woods. Then I heard Carol's childish screams…" Felix growled hearing him talk like that. "And I came here and here we all are. And where you were if I may ask elf?"

"I was just looking about the grounds,"

"For what?"

"I don't know. Danger?"

"Guys…let's just go inside," Claudia suggested. She helped Carol up and escorted her away, the others followed them. Soren and Raylan sent glares at each other again before Soren stalked off.

Raylan was left alone, pondering on his dark thoughts. He needed guidance.

Night came to pass and the kids were getting very tired. The Moonshadow warrior walked up to the moon palace again and found Lujanne meditating on the pedestal. "Hey, Lujanne…I need your help,"

"If it's wisdom you seek, I shall do my best to fake it," she jested; her guest wasn't amused. "Sorry, just an old illusionist joke. So, how can I help you again Raylan?"

"I feel like I've been keeping a secret for too long from Caroline. And I feel like if I keep it a secret from her any longer, I could lose her trust,"

"Look at the moon," Lujanne glanced at the half-moon shining through them from the glass roofs. "Light only falls on half its face right now, but that doesn't mean the other half isn't there. It's the same with you. There are parts you keep hidden,"

"If I want her to trust me, don't I have to stop hiding the truth?"

"Real trust is about accepting even the dark parts we will never know,"

He shook his head. "No. No, I don't think that's right. Lying and hiding the truth can't be that different. Strong relationships need honesty, the full truth,"

The Guardian chuckled. "Now you sound like my first three husbands,"

Raylan reminded uncertainly. "If I tell her, I could really hurt her. And she's already suffered a loss in her life. How could I prolong her pain like that?"

"Sometimes one must know the true reality of something no matter how painful it may seem," Lujanne advised.

Raylan finally came to his decision. "I can't keep it from her. It may hurt but have to tell her what happened to her dad," he walked off.

"Glad my wisdom helped,"

"No. It didn't. It was wrong,"

"Was it? Or was it just differently true?"

Raylan stopped walking off, realising what she meant. He playfully rolled his eyes and walked off.

Ezran and Willow were in bed. Carol came to check on them. They had been scared after what had nearly happened to her today. No matter how many times she had told them she was all right, to them it was the closest thing they had ever got to losing her again. After closing the hut, she walked off to some nearby ruins and sat down with Felix and Zym beside her, staring up at the half-moon. She wondered what was going back in Katolis right now. What her dad was doing? What Caldor was doing? What Viren was doing? Remember the dark mage who had stolen her voice temporarily made her feel...afraid. The way he had acted on her was so scary. This was not the mage who had been loyal to her family for years. Who was he really?

Footsteps approached her. She turned her head and saw it was Claudia. "Hey, Clauds. Wanna stargaze with me?"

"Sure," Claudia sat beside her. They looked up at the stars together, reminiscing their times as kids when they used to camp in the woods together. "They sure look beautiful,"

"They sure do,"

"Carol…what do you think will happen when you bring this egg back to Xadia?"

"Peace can finally be brought between our lands. We don't have to leave in fear of one another,"

"But what about all the lives taken?"

Carol pursed her lips, reflecting on her pain. "More pain comes with the more battles we face, the more conflicts we get into. This baby dragon is a miracle," she stroked a sleeping Zym. "This is a chance to finally stop this bloodshed once and for all. It's what my dad wants. And I will not let him down,"

"Can we take a walk?"

Surprised a little, she nodded and placed Zym gently down and Felix covered him with his bushy tail like a blanket. The girls walked to a shimmering lake of white, reflecting the moon's abominable gaze. "Isn't that just beautiful," Carol admired the miraculous view, wishing she could paint it. She made a mental sketch in her mind to use in her diary the next day.

"Yes. It is," agreed Claudia. She wanted to take this moment to just chill out but the pressing matters of her important mission crushed her shoulders.

Carol could sense how conflicted she had been all day. "Clauds, I know you love your father, but you can't…"

"There's something I need to tell you," Claudia's tone was too desperate. Unable to resist her wet eyes, Carol closed her lips and listened.

Raylan searched all over the Nexus for Carol. Still nothing. He then saw Felix and a sleeping Zym. Felix saw him and flicked his ears. He bent down and stroked his head. "Hey boy, can you tell me where I can find Carol?" The fox twisted his head left and the elf could see Carol coming slowly towards them. Her face was covered by the shadows of the ruins.

"Ah. There you are. I've been looking all over for you. I need to tell you something,"

"You don't need to," her voice was broken.

Raylan felt his heart twist. "Cary…"

"I know what happened…" she walked out of the shadow of the ruins and into the light. "He's gone," her tears glistened in the light but she hid her face with her feeble hands.

Raylan was shocked. "Oh no,"

Oh, dear. Carol had just learnt the shocking truth. What will happen now? We'll just have to wait and find out. Thank you all very much for your support. Dear Guest, thank you for sharing the idea of a crossover between dragon prince and Raya and the Last Dragon. I'll have a think about it but I'm writing some other stories too. See you all next week.