Half Moon Lies Part One:

In the oak tree, Carol slept peacefully under the twinkling stars that watched over her. Zym and Felix slept in her arms, the fox's warm tail providing a comfortable blanket for the baby dragon. When they were in her arms, she felt safe and warm.

Felix's ears flicked up; he didn't stir.

Soren and Claudia towered over Raylan, the former raising his sword over the Moonshadow elf, ready to take his life. But something stopped him.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Claudia.

"I…I can't do it," he lowered it down.

"Why not?"

"That elf was there the night the king was killed. He fought against other elves to stop them. What if this is wrong?"

Claudia scoffed. "Do you even hear yourself? He's a Moonshadow elf. His people killed the king! And he kidnapped the children! Remember why we have to kill him?"

"Noted," Soren raised his sword. "One. Two…"

Suddenly Raylan swiped his leg and knocked Soren to the ground. He and his sister stood back in shock. "How did you resist my sleep spell?" Claudia demanded.

"I used this rose to help me stay awake," Raylan smelled. "Hard to sleep with a thorn pocking into your finger. He showed his thumb poking into the stem. He tossed it aside and pulled out his butterfly blades. Soren swung his sword but didn't make an attack. "Are you gonna fight me or are you just gonna be a show-off?"

Soren got into a fighting pose. "Come on elf,"

Raylan made the first attack. He charged at Soren slashing his blades but the human fought back, slicing trees. The elf flipped over him trying to use his acrobatics to gain the upper hand but his opponent was much stronger with his slashes.

The sound of distant clanging made Felix's eyes open large. He raised his ear, holding his ears out. He heard swords clashing against each other. There was a fight going on. Felix stood up and licked Carol's face, waking her up. "What's wrong, buddy?"

There's trouble. Felix warbled as he looked out from their resting spot to the forest in front of them.

Zym yawned and stood up. He and Carol held their ears out and they heard fighting. Carol's eyes enlarged.

"Guys stay here," she ordered. "Do not leave this tree,"

Don't go. Begged Zym.

"Zym…Raylan could be in trouble. I'll be fine," she stroked him. "Keep an eye on him, Felix," she stroked him too.

I will. He promised.

The two boys watched as Carol leapt and swung on a branch and landed on the ground before dashing off.

Zym warbled in fear. Felix sat beside him. Hey. It'll be okay. She can do anything. He offered his furry tail as comfort and the dragon snuggled against it.

Soren tried to slash at Raylan but he lodged his sword into a tree. Raylan leapt but he kicked him back against the ground, pulled his sword free and tried to do a leaping stab. Quickly Raylan, lighter and more agile rolled out of the way in time. He threw his left blade like a boomerang but Soren deflected it. He grabbed it and turned his blades into pick-axes and tried to get his feet but Soren stepped on both of them. "Nice try elf but sweeping the leg is not a tactic,"

Raylan tripped off his feet and kicked his sword away. "You were saying? I heard what you guys were saying when you thought I was asleep. You know I was trying to protect the king. I'm not your enemy!"

Claudia from behind a tree cried out, "Soren!" Her call distracted Raylan long enough for her brother to get up and pushed him into a large puddle of mud. She threw goo onto his blades and when he stood up, she enchanted a spell and Raylan felt his hands burn. He dropped his weapons and blew on his hot hands.

"Any last words elf?" Soren mocked, raising his sword to make the final blow.

"Does 'hot mud' count?"

"What do you mean?"

Raylan kicked mud onto his face and his armour. He spat it out in disgust. "You'll pay for that!" he raised his sword but before he could swing, a large stone came out of nowhere and hit his hand causing him to drop it.

"Stop!" Caroline came rushing into the scene past a group of moon moths. She grabbed Soren's sword from the floor and tossed it away. "Don't hurt him! He's a friend!" She rushed to Raylan. "Raylan, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. Thanks," She offered her hands and he took them before she helped him out of the mud puddle. "Thank you,"

Though elated as she was to see her friend, Claudia was befuddled "Caroline. What are you…"

"I'm so happy to see you again Claudia!" she squealed out for joy, giving her a surprise hug which she returned.

"Mind telling us why you threw a rock at my hand?" Soren demanded, showing his red hand. "He's an elf,"

"He's my friend!" repeated the aggravated Caroline.

"He kidnapped you and your siblings! How can he be your friend?" Claudia questioned.

"No! He didn't kidnap us! We went with him by choice,"

"Why? He came to Katolis to kill your father,"

"Like I said to this dimwit before…" Raylan pointed to Soren. "I was protecting the king. He was there. He saw what I was doing,"

Caroline glared at Soren for his actions. "You really ought to be ashamed of yourself," he tried to speak back but she snapped again. "You don't get to say anything to me. Not after you held me back from seeing my dad whilst you allowed him to steal my voice and take me away from my family,"

Claudia was flabbergasted. "No. My dad wouldn't do that,"

"Clauds, I'll explain everything tomorrow. It's late and we all need some rest. Until then, no fighting each other. Agreed?"

"Agreed," said Raylan reluctantly.

"Whatever, guess we'll kill you in the morning," Soren threatened, picking up his sword and then sheathing his sword.

"You wanna kill him, you'll have to kill me first," defended Carol, daring eyes burning green.

Soren cackled. "You wanna go for another round and get kicked in the mud again?"

"Soren," hissed Claudia. "Enough," she glared at him, holding him down, angry from what Carol had mentioned about him holding her down.

Her brother fumed and wiped the mud off his face. "Yuck! Do you have any idea how gross this is?"

"Now you know how Caroline felt," Claudia crossed her arms, reminding him of his bullying. She looked at her friend. "Anywhere, where we can sleep?"

"Absolutely. Plenty of room. I'll show you. And Claudia, please can you remove the spell from Raylan's blades?" she implored; her friend was reluctant. "Trust me. He won't hurt you,"

Claudia wave her hand and Raylan's blades cooled down. He picked them up and sheathed them again. "I'm going out on patrol. Mind telling us if anyone else came with you?"

"Nope. Just the two of us," Soren simply answered. He spat out some more mud. "Just wait till I push you again in the mud elf,"

Raylan fumed. "I can handle him," Carol assured. He nodded and walked off. She led her nemesis and her bully over to a spare hut in the village. "There. You two can spend the night there,"

"Where are your siblings?" asked Claudia.

"They're in that hut sleeping," she pointed to their hut.

"And where are you sleeping? In the mud?" mocked Soren.

"Just 'shut up' already," ordered Claudia irritably. "Good night Carol. It's so good to see you again,"

"It's so good to see you too, Clauds. Thank you for coming out here to find us,"

"I'd do anything for you girl. Sorry, I brought my brother along. But don't you worry. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you at all," she pulled Soren painfully by the ear and dragged him to the hut, closing it.

Carol went back to her tree, climbed up and met the relieved licks of her boys. "It's all right guys,"

What was it? Asked Zym.

"Just Raylan meeting my friend Claudia. And my bully Soren,"

Felix growled. She stroked him soothingly. "Don't worry. He won't bother us any time soon. Well done for hearing them,"

Your hearing is amazing. Zym licked Felix's face and he wiped his face getting his saliva off him, making their person giggle.

"Come on. Let's get some rest. We'll handle him in the morning," she curled back onto her blanket again and they snuggled up close to her.

"Soren, did you really stop Caroline from trying to speak to her father?" Claudia was furious at Soren who sat down on the bed like a disobedient son being lectured by his mother.

"Step-father," he corrected.

"Stop saying that,"

"She's lying. That elf has infected her with Moonshadow madness,"

Claudia scoffed. "That's ridiculous. She would never lie like that,"

"Then why don't you believe her when she says Viren tried to steal her voice?"

Claudia just smacked her palm on her forehead. "I don't know why he would do that but it must have been for a good reason,"

"Why are you even calm with her anywhere? You said she cast a fog cloud to help the elf escape,"

"I'm tired," Claudia yawned. " We've got our work cut out for us if we wanna complete our mission. But Soren, if you do anything to hurt Caroline again or worse, I'll make sure you never become a Crownguard again,"

Soren rolled his eyes. "Is that all you see me as?"

Claudia chose to remain speechless. She went to one of the beds and lay down, closing her eyes instantly.

Raylan finished his patrol and decided it was time to retreat to bed. He wanted to head to his hut but something held him back. He walked through the trees back over to Carol's tree. He climbed up quietly and he just saw her and the boys sleeping. He smiled. Felix's eyes opened. He held a handout to assure him, everything was all right.

Trusting him, Felix closed his eyes again. Raylan climbed up onto one of the top branches and lay against another, looking down at Carol. She was so pretty when she slept. He looked up at the half-moon in the night sky and just sat there silently.

The next thing Raylan felt that morning was a loud bash and he was woken up by his body slamming against the hard surface of the wood. He woke up and realised he was in Carol's blanket bed.

"I'm right here,"

He turned his head and saw Carol sitting on the branch with Zym on her shoulders and Felix on her lap, a smirk painted on her face by her lips. "I woke up and I saw you sleeping. Was tempted to wake you but I thought why not see you wake yourself up?"

Raylan fumed. "Oh ha-ha," he walked over and sat beside her. "Payback for the grub trick?"

"Yep. Totally. Why were you sleeping up there anyway? Would you have preferred a bed?"

"I wanted to keep an eye on you. And Zym," Felix barked. "And Felix too," Raylan stroked his head. "We need to leave now. Let's get the others and get out of here,"

"We can't just run off. If they found us, they can do it. I know we can't trust Soren but I think we should try and reach out to Claudia. She'll understand,"

"I don't think that's a good idea,"

"We've been friends since we were little. But if it makes you feel better, we'll keep Zym out of sight,"

"Deal," he agreed.

Zym, I need you to stay here in this tree until it's safe. Carol implored through their connection.

No. Please. He begged. Don't go.

Don't worry. I'm not gonna leave you here alone. Felix will stay with you. She looked at her fox. "Can you keep an eye on him please?"

Of course. He licked her cheek.

"If Soren comes near here, stay out of sight you two,"

Willow and Ezran woke up, yawning. Bait stretched his legs. "What a night," the sister said.

"Dream anything?" Ezran's immediately regretted that question when she fumed at him. "Sorry. Sorry I keep asking you. I'm just afraid something might happen and with you being able to see things, I thought it would be easy to prevent them from happening,"

"And I told you if it was something very awful I would tell you. Now come. Let's get the others. We've got a long journey ahead of us,"

They opened the door and to their surprise, they saw Claudia and Soren outside.

"Guys! I'm so glad you're here!" Claudia pulled them into a surprise hug.

"Claudia? What are you doing here?" asked Ezran.

"We came here searching for your guys,"

After she let go, Willow frowned at Soren and kicked him in the leg. "Ow!" he wailed. "What was that for?"

"For humiliating our sister and causing her to run away," she crossed her arms.

Soren rubbed his leg. "Okay. Now that we've found you and your sister, it's time to take you guys back to where you belong,"

"I'm afraid we can't Soren. We've got an important mission to do," said Ezran.

He crossed his arms. "What kind of business?"

"None of your business," answered a voice behind him. It was Raylan who had said that. Soren turned around and saw him and a fuming Caroline glaring at him.

"Where's your fox pal?" Soren knew it was rare to see Carol without her best friend.

"He's around,"

"Scared of me?"

"Stop it, Soren," hissed Claudia. "Just don't speak to her. Now come on guys! I've got breakfast ready for you,"

"Really?" asked Willow, surprised.

"Absolutely," they gathered at the table in the gardens and Ava and Ellis joined them. They were happy to meet Claudia but displeased to meet Soren. Willow had told Ellis what a bully he was to Carol so Ava growled at him. The dark mage handed out plates of pancakes.

Carol licked her lips. Pancakes were her favourite breakfast meal. She took a bite. "Mm-mm. Yummy Clauds. Go on Raylan, have a taste,"

Raylan took a nibble. "Yummy. That is absolutely delicious,"

"how do you get them so light?" asked Ellis.

"The trick is separating the eggs and beating the whites into a stiff meringue. And just a hint of Dark Magic," Instantly the royal children and Raylan pushed away their plates. "Now that we know you guys are safe…it's time to take you all back home,"

"Sorry Clauds but we have a mission to complete," said Carol.

"What kind of mission?" interrogated Soren.

"As if we're gonna answer you after you attacked me when you knew I was defending King Harrow from the assassins, my people," reminded Raylan bitterly. "And after what you did to Caroline?"

"Where's the egg, Caroline?" asked Claudia.

"The egg's gone," Carol said. It was true. Partially.

"Where is it now?" Soren asked. Still, she refused to answer. "You think the king will be pleased to learn you've lost the most powerful weapon?"

She slammed her hand on the table. "It's not a weapon! Your father made the mistake of stealing it and killing the king of the dragons! He provoked that attack!"

"Caroline, dad would never commit treason like that," Claudia refused to believe her words. "He was probably doing what was best for humanity,"

Before Carol could try to reason, Soren spoke up first. "You see Clauds, this is exactly why you shouldn't be friends with her. She's crazy! She makes people think they should do what she thinks is right!"

Willow and Ezran frowned. Raylan glared. Ava yapped at him, making him jump. Carol fumed and stood up.

In their tree-top hideout, Zym could feel Carol's burning hatred and offended feelings. He read her thoughts. He growled. Felix flicked his ears at him. Don't Zym. He implored. Don't expose yourself or this mission will become harder.

"What is your problem with me, Soren? What have I ever done to you? Why do you make it your goal to make my life miserable?" Carol had wanted to shout those questions at him for years.

"I'm gonna ask you again Carol. Where is the egg?"

"As if I'm gonna answer to you," she crossed her arms.

"Look here step-princess…" he pointed his finger at her.

"Stop calling her that!" shouted Willow.

Caroline swiped his finger away. "Are you threatening me?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "I will if you force me to,"

"Soren, will you just stop it?" Ezran begged. But Soren wouldn't back down. Before Raylan could come to Carol's defence, Zym appeared out of nowhere, leapt up and bit his finger causing him to cry out in pain.

"Zym let go!" Carol shouted.

Zym let go and she picked him up, cradling him protectively. Felix came out from the bushes. Sorry. He apologised. I tried to stop him.

"It hatched?" breathed a shocked Claudia. "He's so cute," she sent beaming eyes at the hatchling. "Aren't you the sweetest little…"

Raylan blocked her. "Hold it right there missy. What happened to, 'It's not an egg. It's a powerful weapon'"?

Claudia realised he was right. "Still true. Someday, it could bring death and destruction raining down on all of us,"

"Claudia, he wouldn't do that," said Carol. "He's nothing like that," Zym purred as she held him gently. He was touched.

"He is still such a widdle…" Claudia tried to pet him but Raylan smacked his hand.

"That baby dragon is going back to Xadia to be returned to his mother,"

"This is why we can't go home," said Carol. "This mission is too important,"

Soren growled at the baby dragon for biting him. "Look here baby dragon…"

"His name is Zym," his surrogate mother defended. "And you're to keep your filthy hands away from you,"

"You really think you can keep a dangerous creature as a pet?"

"Did you just call him a pet?" she criticised. "For the record, he is not a pet. He is a loveable companion like Felix," she placed Zym down and all the animal companions played with each other.

"You all need to come home," Soren said again. "Because your dad misses you all. He wants you back,"

Raylan quivered a little. Claudia's eyes enlarged. Carol noticed Raylan's reaction but shrugged it off. "No. He told me before we left that it was our duty to take Zym back," She crossed his arms.

"Nice try missy," Soren taunted.

"You back off," Raylan warned. "It was their father's wish for them to complete this quest,"

"And why would you be speaking the truth?"

"Because I was there when it happened. And he entrusted me to look after them,"

Soren wouldn't believe him for one second. "And why would he do that?"

"Because like you already know he fought his people to save us," Carol defended bravely. "We're gonna complete this quest. And you can't stop us,"

Before Soren could speak again, Claudia grabbed him by the ear and pulled him away out of sight.

Carol glared softly at Zym. "I told you to stay hidden,"

Sorry. He apologised. I felt your anger and pain and I thought you were in trouble.

Carol picked him up and he licked her cheek before Raylan scratched his face. She then placed him down for her siblings and Ellis to play with.

"Don't let what that bully said to get to you," Ellis consulted.

"Thanks, guys,"

"So Zym can feel what you're feeling as well," said Ezran. He understood Zym's chirping.

Willow was amazed. "Your bond with him is so strong,"

"Guys…why don't you all go play and Zym?" Carol offered. "Raylan and I need to discuss some things,"

"We can trust Claudia right?" asked Willow.

"Absolutely," whilst Carol was positive, Raylan was very sceptical.

The kids went off to play with the creatures whilst the duo decided to take a walk around the gardens to discuss what to do about the unexpected visitors.

"Is he always like this? Rude? Mean? Self-centred?" listed Raylan.

"Doesn't care about how his actions or words hurt people?" Carol finished. "Try putting up with him for eight years," She grumbled. They walked along some pathways. "We used to be friends once. But then when I turned eight, he started mistreating me like everyone else. I don't know whether it was because he agreed with them that I was an embarrassment to my dad or the fact that he didn't have any other friends because he was hanging out with me,"

Raylan looked at her sympathetically. "I know how you feel Cary," She flicked her head at him. "I know how bad it hurts when someone that's supposed to have your back completely lets you down. Prince Marcus of the Moonshadow elves and I used to be friends. He was the only one who didn't make fun of me for my phobia of water or make me feel like my parents didn't love me when they left me to join the Dragon guard. Every day in the Silvergrove where I live, we'd play and practice fighting together. But then that all changed four months ago when the egg was stolen and everyone accused my parents of being cowards. His father Lord Moono told him to stay away from me, claiming I would be a bad influence on him. Like everyone else, he didn't care how I'd feel about how they viewed my parents. And Marcus did just that. He never talked to me again no matter how hard I tried and he betrayed our friendship. He was the only friend I ever had,"

Carol blinked, seeing how very similar they were. She placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "I'm sorry Raylan. You know you did just call me Cary,"

Raylan realised he hadn't called her Carol. "I'm sorry. I don't why I…"

"I like it. Since my siblings call me Carol, you can call me Cary. How would you like to be called 'Ray'?"

Raylan scratched his chin. "I like it. I used to be called Ray-Ray once but I like it,"

"It's settled then, Ray,"

He chuckled, making her chuckle back. "So…what are we gonna do about Soren and Claudia?"

"I have to try and convince Claudia to support our quest,"

"But you heard what she said. She doesn't believe anything you said about her father. She's still loyal to him,"

"I don't blame her for being doubtful. Just please give me a chance to try and persuade,"

"We don't have time to persuade her about anything. We need to get to Xadia as soon as possible,"

"We can't leave now. Not until we solve this problem. All I'm asking for is at least one night to try and convince her to join us,"

Ray sighed. "Okay. One more night,"

"Thanks," she was touched he was going to let her try and convince her friend to support them. "If it doesn't work, we'll leave without them knowing,"

"I understand how much Claudia means to you. I truly do. But please, promise me you won't tell her about your connection to Zym,"

"I won't," she promised. "Ray – what happened back there?"

"What?"

"When Soren mentioned my dad, you seemed a little…shaken,"

"It's nothing Cary. I'm just really mad at him for the way he spoke to you like that. Let's just go and re-join the others and then when Claudia comes out again, you can try and talk to her,"

Ignoring that gut feeling in her throat, Carol agreed and followed him down the steps to rejoin the rest of their party.

Another chapter is done. I hope you all enjoyed it. What did you all think of the new pieces of dialogue I added? Please send reviews and let me know what you all thought. Thank you all so much for your support. It truly means a lot. See you all soon.