An Empty Throne Part 2
After three waterfalls and a mile of mighty rapids, the boat with the three humans, a petrified pale-green elf and two animal companions splash-crashed onto a peaceful lake of calm water. The children laughed for joy. Pulling out the oar, Caroline with her wet hair steadied them. Her enjoyment died out when she saw Raylan instantly leaning over the ledge and vomited like crazy. "Are you okay?"
The sea-sick elf groaned. "I have never felt worse about water," gagging again, he retched over the rim again. "Just please take me back to land,"
She prepared to take them back when Ezran suddenly spoke up. "Guys, where are Felix and Bait?"
"Oh no," Carol looked around in shock. "Felix! Bait!"
"There they are!" Willow pointed outwards and saw Bait and Felix splashing around the water. "Come on guys!"
"Get out of the water Bait!" Ezran called out. "Do your froggy paddles,"
Felix and Bait did froggy paddles until they safely reached the boat. Ezran and Carol fished them out.
"You okay?" Carol cuddled her companion close as he shivered.
"You know you're not supposed to be in the water," Ezran berated his glow toad.
"He probably fell in," said Willow. "That was the best ride ever! Scary! But fun!"
"Can we please just get to shore?" begged Raylan like a child.
"All right! All right!" Caroline snapped, getting irritated. She rowed the boat towards shore. "Why didn't you tell us you couldn't swim?"
"I don't want to talk about it," the petrified elf groaned.
"Uh, Carol…" Willow spoke up. "Why is your cube glowing?"
Carol looked at the cube on the floor. The Ocean Rune was glowing and pulsating. "Mm. Never seen that glow before,"
"Why is it doing that?" asked Ezran.
Felix peered over the rim and suddenly barked.
"What is it, Felix?" Carol peered down and saw a giant creature deep below the water. It was shooting straight up at up. "Incoming!"
Before the group could react, a giant fish with giant teeth shot right from under the boat. The group went flying in different directions. Raylan landed on the shore with the bags containing the supplies and the egg. He landed with a tumble. "Oh, land. I've missed you," he kissed the soil. "I'm never leaving you," He suddenly realised the others handed landed with him. "Guys," he stood up and looked at the lake. "Guys!"
Ezran and Willow near each other coughed out water and they stayed afloat. But they saw their sister missing. "Carol!" They cried out.
"I'm over here!" her voice called over the wavy waters. They looked ahead and saw her afloat, her hair unplaited and all wet. She turned around and tried to find Felix and Bait. She saw them upheld. "I'm gonna get Bait and Felix! Hang on guys!" she swam as fast as she could towards them.
Onshore, Raylan looked out worriedly, frozen. He wanted to help but he was so afraid of being in the water again. He eyed Carol swimming up to the animals. Suddenly he saw the giant fish creature splashing around towards them. He cupped his hands over his lips. "Guys! Carol needs help!"
Over the roaring of the splashing waves, Ezran and Willow could barely hear him. "What?" Willow cried out.
"Carol needs help!"
"Carol sneezed kelp'?" questioned the ten-year-old in confusion.
"I think he said Carol's knees smell," Ezran misinterpreted.
She frowned. "Well, that's just mean,"
Raylan growled in frustration, peering out again towards Carol. She reached the fox and glow toad when all of a sudden the fish creature leapt out of the water. Its waves sent Carol with the animals washing back. Then it flipped its tail and they landed on its face right near its red eye. Carol was scared; she was useless without her primal stone. She clung to Felix and Bait protectively. The fish started shaking its head around. She tried grabbing onto a tendril but it flicked them all off its head and back into the water.
The elf watching her in fear looked fearfully at the water and swallowed his phobia; he had to be brave. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and out.
You are never truly afraid of something as long as you find a reason to face it. Runaan's voice echoed in his head. You must master the fear.
"Goodbye sweet land," bid Raylan. He leapt up the branches of a tall tree and walked along the longest arm. To his luck, there was a log just floating down below. He leapt down and landed gracefully on the wood but nearly slipped till he regained his balance. He took a deep breath in and out, ignoring the jiggly feelings in his stomach. "Okay. Do it Raylan. Do it for Carol and the companions," he stood up, pulling out his blades as he saw the fish about to tower over them.
Ezran and Willow had nearly reached the shore when they saw their sister about to be eaten. They gasped, unable to scream out her name.
Carol prepared to be eaten. The fish opened its mouth but before it could eat her up, Raylan leapt out of the blue and stabbed his blades through his scales. It roared in pain and it splashed its head, sending a wave that sent Carol and the companions washing ashore along with Ezran and Willow. They washed up on a sand bed coughing out water.
"Carol!" her siblings flew up to her and threw their arms around her.
"Are you okay?" Ezran asked.
"I'm fine. And so are Bait and Felix thanks to Raylan," she stroked their heads. "Wait. Raylan!" she stood up and watched in shock as he clung to the fish with his blades in its scales for dear life. It tried to throw him off and he was nearly slipping. "I've got a plan!" she rushed to her knapsack and pulled out the primal stone. Concentrating, she drew the lightning spell into the air. "Raylan!" She screamed as loud as she could. "You gotta jump!"
Raylan managed to hear her. He saw the spell about to be cast. "You don't know how to.."
"Just jump!" she shouted.
Raylan growled. "Hope this works," he pressed his feet against the fish's body and pulled himself free. As the fish shook its body, he leapt high into her air.
"Fulminus!" Carol pierce her lightning-powered hand into the water and the electricity travelled right up to the fish in a flash of zaps it was electrocuted and it splashed into the water. It sank underwater. The children watched Raylan splash into the water. As he splashed into the water, he tried to swim but he had splashed too much under the surface and he felt himself being pulled under water.
"Oh no! I forgot! Raylan can't swim! Stay here!" Pulling off her cloak, Carol dived into the water, taking in a deep breath. He saw the fish and Raylan sinking far below. Kicking her legs and moving her arms, she dived as fast as she could. Overcoming the ear pressure, she managed to reach Raylan and hoisting an arm under his arm bits carried him up to the surface. She gasped for air as she felt her face erupt from the water but Raylan remained unconscious. She swam to the shore and Ezran and Willow walked mid-way in to help her pull Raylan onto the sand. She knelt beside him. "OH no. Come on Raylan," she pressed her hands over his chest. It did little success. "Come on! Just wake up!"
"Do CPR," Ezran suggested.
"Yuck! No way!" refused the mage.
"What else can you do?" asked Willow.
"Why don't one of you two do it?"
"No way!" they refused.
Caroline suddenly got a plan. "You might wanna stand back," the siblings and the companions did that and watched anxiously as she drew Fulminus with her primal stone.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ez asked uncertainty.
"It has to. Here goes," she zapped Raylan's body with the lightning and in an instant, he sat up, his hair standing straight again like this morning. He coughed and coughed out the water from his lungs. "It's okay," she said. "It's all right,"
"Why'd you zap me like that?" he snapped.
"I revived you," she answered back.
"You should have done CPR," Ezran remarked. "A little mouth-to-mouth wouldn't have hurt,"
"What's mouth-to-mouth?" Raylan asked him in confusion.
"It's when you press your mouth over someone else's mouth sort of like a kiss and you blow air into them," Willow explained.
"Yuck!" squealed Raylan. "If you did that, you'd be feeling a fist to your face," he warned Carol.
"Glad I didn't," she remarked sarcastically. "And I didn't want to,"
Raylan huffed and stood looking at the water and crossing his arms in embarrassment. All his life he had been taught to overcome his fears but this was the closest he had ever come to drowning. He felt pale like a ghost and wanted to hide his colours.
Willow crossed her arms. "Hey, don't you have something you want to say?"
"Willow, it's not…" Carol tried to say, sensing Raylan was taking a moment to hold himself together.
"Thank you," said Raylan simply, his back turned. They took a moment to relax and dry up. Caroline blew Aspiro over her siblings and they dried up in seconds. Ezran's large hair flew over the place making his sister laugh; he didn't find it funny. His elder sister helped him put it back in place. Before she blew Aspiro on herself. She brushed her hair and Willow asked her if she could braid it and she said 'yes'. Once her hair was back to dangling over her left shoulder again, Ezran placed a rose behind her right ear and they marvelled. Carol kissed him on the cheek. "Do you want me to blow Aspiro on you?" she offered to Raylan.
"No thanks," he squeezed the water out of his white hair and braided his side braids back in place.
"Why didn't you tell us you couldn't swim? Why did you keep your phobia a secret?"
"Moonshadow elves aren't supposed to show fear," he simply answered, back still turned.
"That's just sad," Ezran responded sympathetically. "Still, thanks for saving our sister and Bait and Felix. Without you…they would have been.." he covered Bait's ears or what he thought were ears on Bait's head. "Fish food," the glow toad grumbled.
"Everyone is scared of something. There's nothing wrong with being afraid," Carol consulted. "We wouldn't have judged you,"
Raylan looked at his reflection in the water. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I guess I was afraid of being afraid. The truth is I'm afraid of being judged so harshly,"
"Why would you think that?" asked Willow.
Raylan slumped on the ground looking at his reflection in the water. "Because that's what happened to my parents,"
The children became curious. "What do you mean?" asked Carol.
"My parents were part of an elite force, the Dragon Guard, eight elven warriors swore to protect the egg of the Dragon Prince. Strom dragons can only lay an egg every thousand years. And that egg is so rare and precious," he looked at the glowing egg all nice and dry in its rucksack, then turned away again. "When your kingdom's high mage came, killed the Dragon King and took the Dragon Prince, everyone in my home said it was because of the Dragon Guard, my parents failing in their duty. They said they all ran and fled. I know my parents would never do that but everyone just judged them so harshly without a second thought,"
Carol felt deep sorrow for him. "What do you think happened to them?"
"I don't know. But all I do know is that they would never do that. But it's made me so angry that instead of finding out what happened to them, my people conceitedly deemed them as cowards. I'm so ashamed of what happened," Raylan shed a tear. "Since that day, I made it my goal to restore my family's honour, to prove to my people that we're not cowards. When I first came here, I wanted revenge for how humans dishonoured my family but the moment you showed me that egg…" as he spoke, he stood up and faced the children. "…everything changed. This is now a journey of redemption," he wiped away another tear and a smile was brought on the children.
Carol side-hugged her siblings. "We're all in this together," she swore. "And when we return this egg, we'll find out what happened to your parents and your family's honour will be restored,"
Raylan was touched. "Thanks. And Carol, sorry for trying to stop you from learning magic. You used it to revive me and I won't forget that. I am really grateful to you for saving my life,
"Thanks for saving our lives," she said. "Shall we hit the road?" she asked gesturing to the path ahead of them.
"What, don't you wanna take the boat?" Raylan offered, seeing the upturned boat drifting towards them.
Sharing a look of agreement with Ez and Willow, Carol stepped over and gently pushed the boat away. "Nope. We'll go on foot. You've had enough water fun for one day,"
"Thanks," he said gratefully. He had told them this fear and they hadn't judged him for it. He had never met any human-like these children, especially Caroline. The team picked up their bags and they made their way through the forest. The sun was setting and it would be night soon. As they walked, Carol peered around in curiosity, narrowing her eyes. Observing her, Raylan felt a painful squeeze from his wrists. He looked at his wristbands tightening themselves around his hands. He could see purple spreading.
Carol noticed something was wrong. "Are you okay?"
Raylan hid them behind his back. "I'm fine,"
"Why are you cringing like that?"
"I'm not,"
"Why are you hiding your wristbands?"
"I'm just walking like this," he lied. "They're just a decorative accessory. It's a Moonshadow elf thing," Carol moved their lips. "Oh look!" he pointed ahead. "We can spend the night there," he scurried ahead and the three followed him to a giant tree with giant roots near the riverbank. They could sleep underneath them for shelter and some delicious apples were growing on the tree.
"This is perfect!" cheered Willow, instantly dashing over to pick up some apples.
Raylan noticed Carol eying it intently. "You okay?"
Carol didn't answer. She eyed the tree with deep recognition. "I know this place," She felt Felix nuzzling her legs beside her. She knelt and stroked his head. "You recognise it too?" he barked and licked her cheek making her giggle.
"What are you talking about?" asked Ezran.
"This is where I met Felix. All alone and without a family," she explained. Felix crooned in misery remember how alone he was as a cub before his person took him and raised him with unconditional care.
"How did you find him here?" her brother asked. "So far away from home?"
She pursed her lips. "I don't want to talk about it," she gently declined. "It happened when I was eight so it was quite a long time ago. We should make camp,"
"I'll go find some firewood," Raylan walked off and in ten minutes came back with plenty of large twigs. They gathered around the arranged firewood. He reached into his knapsack and sipped some moonberry juice and offered some to the children who eagerly sipped a few litres each. He then pulled out some steel and after a few scrapes with one of his blades, the lit the fire and it sparked brightly. They warmed up and wrapped themselves in their capes. As they sat peacefully, Carol flicked her head again at the egg glowing in the knapsack against the tree, wondering if she might hear that voice again. Nothing at all.
"You okay?" Raylan asked. She nodded. "Thank you for not judging me," he spoke wholeheartedly to the group.
"Why would we judge you?" asked Ezran. "There are worse things than having a phobia of water,"
"You guys are the only ones aside from my family who don't mock me for it," Raylan wrapped his arms around his legs. "Growing up in my home, I didn't have many friends. When I nearly drowned as a kid, everyone made fun of me for it. They said I wasn't capable of being a warrior if I was scared of water,"
"Being a warrior is about having fears," said Carol wisely. "And having fears is about being brave. Otherwise, why would we need to be brave?"
Raylan eyed her admirably. "You sound very wise. You must have a lot of wisdom to say something so prudent as that,"
"She is very wise. Ezran and I didn't like our teachers when we grew up," spoke up Willow. "She taught us how to read and write and everything. She's practically read every book in the library,"
Caroline felt embarrassed. "Guys…there's really no need…"
"And she's so smart and cunning," Ezran kept up the description ignoring how uncomfortable their elder sister was becoming. "And she's getting so good at magic,"
Bait whacked his tail into his knee. "What?" the glow toad pointed at Caroline shrivelled up in awkwardness. "Oh sorry,"
"That's okay," she assured quickly. She stared up at the half-moon. "I think we'd better get some sleep,"
Raylan yawned and stretched her arms. I'll take…" he was interrupted.
"Let me take first watch," Carol insisted. "You've had a rough day and you could use some rest,"
Raylan was glad to be relieved of night-watch duties but he was more gratified by her kindness despite his lash-out the other night. He observed her humming with her beautiful voice as she tucked Ezran and Willow into bed. They fell asleep instantly and Felix curled up in a ball with Bait warmly tucked under his tail.
"That's beautiful humming," he complimented.
Caroline blushed a bit. "Thanks,"
"Do you sing?"
"Only when my family are around. I don't like singing around other people,"
"Why? They would love your singing voice,"
Carol leaned against the tree truck. "I don't think so,"
"Why not?"
"I don't want to talk about it. It's too painful. Anyways you should get some sleep. I'll wake you up when it's your turn," she pulled on her dried-up, warm cloak and clipped it around her shoulders again.
Raylan could sense something was aching her deep inside. Was this to do with why she ran away? He stood up earning her attention. "I'm sorry I lashed out at you the other night,"
"It's okay. I should have known better," she apologised. "You just get some sleep Raylan. You've had a rough day on the water and we've still got a long way to go,"
Respecting her wishes, he nodded and bid 'goodnight'. He crawled under the roots, pulling his cape over him and he fell asleep in an instant.
Caroline climbed up onto the roots and sat down, staring up at the moon. Oh, mum. I hope you're proud of us. If only you knew what we were doing. The stars glistened and she watched the moon watch over her and her party as the night passed.
Another episode is done now. Please send reviews and ideas for Caroline and Raylan's relationship. I would love to hear them. See you all soon. Hope you all enjoyed it.