Chapter 3:
Smoke and Mirrors

Ever since the mirror's awakening, Vira hasn't kept her sights off it. There's an unknown library on the other side of the reflection. But who does it belong to?

Nothing has happened for nearly half an hour, so she decides to clean up the mess she caused during her tantrum.

After finishing up, Vira pulls up a chair and has it facing the front of the mirror. Then she sits down, lights a candle, and waits for whatever to happen.

At the Caldera, Calla is sitting on a bench, crying in her hands. She had learned from Claude that her stepmom is dead. That she has been killed by the Moonshadow Elf Assassins.

Raylis stayed by her side, allowing her to let it all out.

"Calla, I'm sorry. I tried to tell you the queen was dead." Raylis apologizing.

She raised her head, tears still in her angry eyes. "My stepmom. She was more than just the queen to me."

"Your stepmom. I know. I really tried, but I could never find the right way. And whenever I tried, I messed it up, and the next time was harder, until-"

"Raylis, just stop!" She screamed as she stands up, leaving Raylis stunned as Calla didn't call him by his nickname. "Please! I can't talk about this right now. Not with you. All I can think about is how am I going to tell Ezra our mother is gone."

"I'm sorry, Calla." Raylis said, which is all he knows he could say to her. "I'm really, really sorry."

He watches as Calla walk up the stairs to the domes. She returns to her room and finds a sleeping Ezra, with Bait and Zym sleeping together on top of the bed. Calla was about to wake her up, but seeing how peaceful and blissfully unaware her sister looked, she could not bear to tell her. So she decides to wait until tomorrow. She sits beside her awake throughout the night, silently crying.

Meanwhile, Raylis remains outside, sitting on a rock. Still upset over Calla finding out the hard way about her stepmom. He then spotted a saddened Claude approaching. He walked away in anger, knowing that Claude told Calla about her stepmom's death before Raylis even got the chance.

Claude enters his room and closed the door.

"So, have fun on your little date?" Sonja teased.

Claude turned around, looking quite depressed.

Sonja quickly becomes worried for him. "What's wrong? Did she break up with you?" she asked angrily, wielding her sword.

"No! Nothing happened."

"Oh." Sonja puts her sword back in her sheath. "When why are you so down on the dump-ity?"

"That is not a word, Sonja!" Claude said annoyed.

"My point is, are you okay?!" Sonja said agitatedly.

"Yeah, I'm going to be fine." Claude reassured.

"Because you're my brother, as you know. I'm always here for you to talk... or to punch someone."

"I know."

"Good. We still have to bring the princesses back with us. Whatever it takes, whatever happens. I need to know if whatever you're feeling right now won't get in the way of doing what we came here to do."

Claude shook off his sad face. "It won't. I can do it." he said determinedly.

At dawn, Ezra wakes up and sees Calla sitting besides her.

"Calla?"

"Morning, Ez."

"I had another weird dream. I was running from that giant hippo. The one made of taffy, remember?"

"Yeah, I think so." As this was going on, Bait pushed Zym off the bed to have to herself.

"Only this time, there was someone riding on his back. It was the baker lady. The one who hates me."

"She doesn't hate you. But maybe if you stopped stealing her jelly tarts, she'll start being nice to you."

"Maybe if she stops making them so good, I would feel compelled to steal them. She then said I was wanted for crimes against dessert. And to make the hippo chase me, the baker told him I was jelly-filled."

"Ez..." Calla tried to reveal that their mother's dead, but then her sister grabs her by the shoulder.

"I was a pastry fugitive, Calla! It was terrible. And the worst part was... she was right. I was delicious!" Ezra said horrified.

"Let's go for a walk."

The two head outside, and walked around the Caldera.

"So, Ezra, I wanted to talk to you about... life, and growing up and how sometimes there are changes you don't expect." Calla said, about to have an important discussion to finally reveal their mother's death.

"Is this about sandwiches again?"

"No, no, no, no. Not that. Definitely not that." Calla then clears her throat. "Ezra, for a long time, I treated you like a little kid. And that wasn't fair. You've grown up so much, and I'm really proud of you."

"Oh. Yeah." Ezra said, suddenly looking solemn.

"But when you grow up, sometimes you have to face things you're not ready for."

"I know."

"You... know?"

"I know everyone's counting on me to teach Zym how to fly." Ezra said, misinterpreting what Calla is trying to say to Ezra, about her responsibility of teaching Zym to fly. Calla sighs in relief and goes along.

"But that's just the start. Someone's gonna have to teach her all the things she's supposed to do. Everything she's supposed to be. And she's meant to learn it all from a big, strong dragon. As well as from her own mother, the Queen of the Dragons."

The sisters look up and see Phoe-Phoe flying above them.

"But she doesn't have that. All she's got is me."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, Ez." Calla reassures. "I know it'll be tough, but no matter what, you've got us. Me and Ray, probably Bait. We're all here for you."

"Thanks, Calla. That means a lot. But I really wish mom was here too." This caught Calla by surprise. "I keep wondering what she would do. What she would say to Zym. What I was little and I wasn't listening to her, mom would say 'Ezra, you're such a handful'. So I tried to do that with Zym. 'Azymondia, you're such a handful'. But she doesn't understand. She doesn't even have hands. I guess I just miss mom. She'd know what to do, you know?"

Ezra then noticed the tears in Calla's eyes.

"Calla, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ez." Calla wipes her eyes. "I just really miss her too." She said truthfully and embraces Ezra, still not having the will to tell her mother's death to her sister.

Afterward, Calla approaches Raylis.

"I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell her."

"Calla..."

"And I understand why you didn't tell me, why you couldn't tell me. When you care about someone, it's hard to hurt them. Even when what you're telling them is the truth."

"Still, I should have told you. You had the right to know."

"I think maybe I did know. Deep down, I knew. I just hoped, if I didn't think about it, maybe somehow, it wouldn't be true. But she's gone. She's really gone." Calla once again breaks into tears with Raylis hugging her as she grieves.

Back at Castle Katolis, Vira fell asleep after waiting all night for something to happen. Upon waking up, she spots activity at the library when she noticed the fireplace is lit. "The fire." Suddenly, a mysterious woman in a star-filled cloak enters and briefly inspects her books with her equally star-filled arm before heading to the door.

"No, no!" She said, standing up from her chair. But alas, the mystery woman leaves the room again. Vira groans, wondering the identity of the woman since she is unable to make contact from the other side. "Who are you?"

Back at the Caldera, Calla and Raylis discuss about Claude and Sonja's deception.

"When Sonja said that Mom wanted us home, you knew she was lying." Calla said.

"Yeah." Raylis said.

"Maybe Sonja was also trying to protect our feelings."

"Oh, sure, she definitely seems like a thoughtful, sensitive, feelings-y, considerate kind of person."

"Yeah, you're right, that's not really her style."

"We don't have a choice anymore. We have to leave. And we have to do it now." Raylis said. "Get as far away from them as we can before they even realize we're gone."

"What? Wait a minute. They're still my friends."

"But they lied to you."

"Sonja lied to me. Claude told me the truth." Calla said, still having faith in Claude.

"Only because he felt guilty about keeping the truth from you."

"Still, we can't just leave."

"Leave?"

Calla and Raylis turned to see Claude with Sonja approaching them, overhearing their plans. "Calla?" Claude questioned.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, but we've decided." Calla confirms. "We're leaving today. This mission, taking the Dragon Princess back to Xadia, it's the most important thing we'll ever do. We can't go home with you."

"Oh." Claude said in a disappointed tone.

"Are you sure? I mean, your mom is gonna be very upset." Sonja lied.

"Sonja, shut up!" Claude scolded.

"What?! I was only-"

"Just stop it, Sonja!" Claude yelled.

"Fine! Do whatever!" So Sonja leaves it to Claude to dissuade the princesses of leaving. She kicks a tree in anger, scaring the moon moths that now fly over her head. She tries to scare them away with her sword. "Stupid moths!"

Claude chuckles nervously. "I'm sorry about her. But before you go, Calla, I have something I need to give you." His eyes drift at Raylis. "In private."

"Oh. Okay." Calla said. Obvious to Raylis giving him a "seriously?" look.

Calla follows Claude to his room. Claude allows Calla to enter first, and closes the door behind them.

"Alright. So, what's... what we're doing here?" Calla said nervously about Claude closing the door, with just the two of them alone.

"I have something for you." Claude said as he heads to his bag on one of the beds. "Something you dropped." He pulls out the letter from Queen Hera that Calla left in the castle, still sealed and unopened.

"That's my letter. From her. You didn't open it?"

"Why would I do that? It's for you." Claude said, giving the letter to Calla. "Although, I could have opened it and easily re-sealed it with magic."

"Did you?!"

"Did I? The world may never know." Claude said mysteriously. He sees how concerned Calla is with the letter. "I mean, no, no."

Calla just stares at the letter in her hand. "So, are you gonna open it?" he asked.

"No. I don't think I'm ready to read it yet." Calla puts the letter in her pocket. "But thank you, Claude."

"You're welcome. So, I guess this is goodbye." Claude said, seemingly accepting her decision to leave.

Calla gives Claude a hug, which he returns.

Back in the princesses' room, Ezra is trying to get Zym into her backpack. But the young hatchling looks afraid to get inside.

"Zym, come on. You loved it in there as an egg." Ezra manage to put her in. "Ray, look! She can't fly yet, but she should be safe in-"

Ezra finds her backpack empty, much to Raylis' amusement. The little dragon popped up from one of the beds.

"Hey, how'd you-" Bait then hopes into the bag. "Bait, you're not helping!" Ezra scolded. Bait growls back. Ezra drops the glow toad, determined to get Zym inside.

Calla returns to the room to help pack up for their journey.

"Let me guess. Once I was gone, he tried to manipulate you and convince you to go back home again."

"No, he didn't. Actually, Claude understands perfectly how important it is to get Zym back to Xadia."

"Oh." Raylis didn't expect that. "That's... surprising. But good."

"Yep. In fact, he understands it so much that he and Sonja want to come with us." Calla said happily.

"What?! That's the worst possible plan!"

"How?! How is it bad? They're offering to help."

"Or, it's a trap."

"Oh gods, this again!" Calla said exasperatedly as she continues packing up.

Raylis sighs at Calla's insistence of not seeing the worst in the siblings. "Calla, look, I know you trust them. But if we let them come with us, by the time we know the truth, it'll be too late."

Calla shakes her head.

"Do you understand? We'll lose everything."

"So then what are we supposed to do? How can we figure out if it's help or a trap?"

After Calla walks off in a huff, Raylis has an idea in mind.

Lujann is peacefully meditating in his temple with the moon moths flying around him. But then, Raylis disrespectfully interrupts the moon mage by banging on his moon-shaped gong with his swords.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry. Were you meditating or something?" Raylis quipped.

"I was."

Raylis bangs two more times. "So, you're done. Good." He walks up to the moon mage who faces the young elf. "We're leaving. And the other humans, they're coming with us."

"And you're unhappy with that?"

"Calla trusts them, but I know they're hiding something."

"You see, to every truth,, there is a dark, shadowed side. Consider the half moon-"

"You already did this."

"Oh. Did I?"

"Yes." Raylis then crosses his arms. "And like I said before, lying and hiding the truth are the same thing. Don't try to get me to change my mind."

"Hmm. Well, that's all I really have. Unless you're in need of a spooky monster or fake food."

"Actually, there is something you can do for me."

Raylis and Lujann meet up with Sonja, Claude, Ellis, and Aron all ready to leave.

"Where are Calla and Ezra?" Claude asked Raylis.

"They'll be here soon. Ezra's still packing up her dragon." Raylis answered.

"It has been a pleasure to have you all here. I truly have enjoyed you all sneaking past my defenses and desecrating this sacred place these past few days. It would be lonely. Quiet... but lonely without you."

"I'm gonna miss you." Ellis said.

"Ellis, you will always be welcome here." Lujann said as he went up to give the boy a hug. Aron then barks. "And you too, little one. You don't really need the illusion, but I hope it serves as a reminder that someone is always looking out for you." Lujann returns the moonstone collar to Aron that reactivates the illusion of his restored front paw.

Calla and Ezra has arrived.

"Okay, everyone's here now." Raylis said. But then, Lujann grabbed his arm with a concerned look on his face.

"Mind what I've said about the half moon." Lujann said. Raylis then noticed the moon mage was glancing at Calla. Confused, Raylis turned back to Lujann, only to find that he disappeared. "Uh, okay... we can all hit the road." Raylis said, feeling a little uneasy about what Lujann meant.

"Alright. Time to go to the magical land and do whatever." Sonja said.

They all head down the same path as before. The sun is setting as they walk further down the mountain. While the original group stays ahead in their journey, Claude and Sonja stay behind to talk privately.

"So, you're ready to do this the Sonja way?" Sonja asked eagerly.

"Yes, there's no other way." Claude sighs, hate having to do this.

"Good. Then when it's time to strike, I'll give the signal." Sonja informed.

"What's the signal?"

"The signal is me attacking the elf."

Claude groans, because it's not really a signal.

Raylis, who's ahead of everyone, stops and turns to the others while Ellis and Aron walk past him. "It's going to be a long journey. Let me just go around this bush-corner and see if I can find some berries or something."

Sonja finally has an opportunity to attack Raylis. She nods to Claude and follows him. Raylis found a bush with some red berries, so he kneels down and starts picking. He was about to snack on one when he sense Sonja behind him as he expected. He rolls away just as she was about to swing her sword at him, instead he sliced the berry bush in half.

Raylis draws out his blades. "Oh no, it's a trap." he snarked.

"Yep." Sonja admitted.

"But why? I thought we were friends." Raylis quipped.

"Sorry, but no. I don't make friends with kidnapping elf scum."

"I'm just a nice gal and people get the wrong idea sometimes."

"You don't speak sarcasm, do you?" Raylis said.

"No I do not." Sonja replied obliviously. Then goes to the offense.

"I told you. I didn't kidnap them."

"Like I'm supposed to believe an elf."

Claude conjures up a spell that suddenly traps the unprotected princesses. "Meht dnib leets gnirehtils." (1) The snake chains around his arm come to life and slithers towards the princesses.

This scares Aron and runs away. "Wait, Aron! Come back!" Ellis yelled while still riding him.

The snakes completely ensnares the princesses and turn into regular chains. Immobile, they fall to the ground, making Ezra drop Zym. The hatchling then saw Claude coming after her with a sack. She runs for it and tries to fly away, but the young dark mage manage to get in ahead of her. "I got you now, you little monster." Claude said before bagging Zym.

Vira finds the mysterious woman again returning to the Library. The woman suddenly looks toward her and approaches the mirror. Thinking that she sees her, Vira attempts to make contact but then the woman adjust her cloak before leaving.

"You can't see me." Vira realized. "On your side... It's just an ordinary mirror."

The sword fight between Raylis and Sonja continues until the latter forces Raylis to seek higher ground in a tree.

"What? You're running away?" Sonja mocked. "Hey! Do either of the tiny princesses want to fight? This elf is a coward."

Claude walks back to the ensnared princesses with the Dragon Princess in the sack. "I'm sorry. I know this feels like a betrayal, but I just can't let you go. I have to do what's right. I have to take you back home. I hope you'll understand that." he said apologatically.

The princesses are quiet.

"Come on, Calla, please don't give me the silent treatment! I didn't want it to come to this, but you left me no choice! Say something! Say you hate me! Say anything!"

The princesses remain frozen in their places. This makes Claude suspicious, he waved his hand in front of Calla, who doesn't seem to respond to it. Panicked, Claude realize that they have been set up. "Sonja, something's wrong! This is a trick!"

Overhearing this, Raylis said. "A trick? Us? No."

After a few seconds, Sonja realized something. "Sarcasm!"

"Right."

"What did you do, elf?" Sonja said, pointing her sword at him.

"I can't wait to see the look of your stupid, ugly face when you see this. Ellis, show them!" Raylis signals Ellis, who jumps from the bushes.

"Here's your moment, Aron. Moonstone collar trick." Ellis said as he removes the Moonstone Collar from Aron, causing Calla and Ezra to disappear in front of Claude.

"They're... illusions."

"What? You're saying they're not real?" Sonja said.

"That's what 'illusions' means, Sonja." Claude said annoyed.

Ellis laughs, and he and Aron howl at the sky. Furious, Sonja tries to attack them, but the boy and wolf duo got away. "Neener, neener, neener! You can't hit me!" Ellis taunted, and they quickly moved away just as Sonja was about to strike at them again.

"Where are the real princesses?" Sonja demanded.

On cue, the real Calla and Ezra emerge riding Lujann's Moon Phoenix, Phoe-Phoe, and grabs Raylis to escape.

"Claude, they're getting away!" Sonja yelled.

"No, they're not. Nwod meht gard, psarg gnihtirw." (2) Claude casts a grasping spell that manages to gradually pull Phoe-Phoe back to the ground, in the form of a transparent glowing tentacle.

"Claude, please don't do this!" Calla begged.

"You will come home with us, Calla." Claude said determinedly. "I promised mom."

The princesses brace themselves. But suddenly a chain is thrown around Claude's arm. To Ray's surprise, it was their pursuer Raptora.

"Stop! Let them go!" Raptora demanded. She then pulls Claude's arm away, causing him to fall to the ground, and interrupted his spell which allows the moon phoenix to escape.

"What are you doing?" Claude said to Raptora.

"Protecting them from you!" Raptora replied. However, she ends up getting knocked out by Sonja with a rock.

"Big mistake, sister." Sonja smirked.

She and Claude looks on as the moon phoenix off to Xadia, carrying with them his friends and the elf. Calla back at Claude, and the two briefly stare at each other, disheartened by the turn of events. Realizing that Raylis was right about her so-called friends, Calla looks away. While Claude continues looking on, knowing that he has betrayed his friends, betrayed Calla, and failed in their mission to bring them home safely. "Calla..."

"Bye, guys! I'm gonna miss you! Never forget about me! Never, ever, ever, ever, ever!" Ellis called out and Aron barked, before the wolf returns them both to the village.

Raylis climbs up on top of Phoe-Phoe and sits between the princesses. "We got em! I was right." He said in satisfaction.

"Yeah, you were right." Calla said sadly.

"I wish I wasn't. I'm sorry it happened." Raylis said sympathetically.

Throughout the night, Vira continues to observe the woman studying a book. Suddenly, the woman darkens the library by snuffing out all the fire, appearing to perform the same actions Vira did before the mirror finally glowed, while seemingly staring at her direction. The library's image disappears and, for a brief moment, Vira's reflection is only seen; until the woman's hand reaches out to touch her side of the mirror. A hand with four fingers...

Sonja and Claude tied up Raptora.

"You know you're gonna pay for this, traitor." Sonja deemed.

"Traitor? General Amayus sent me to protect the princesses of Katolis, and you just tried to kidnap them." Raptora explained.

"Everyone who votes 'Raptora is a traitor' raise their hand." Sonja said as she raised her hand. She then coughs to Claude, who rolls his eyes and raised his hand. "Two against one, traitor." She then gagged her so they won't hear her objections.

"Great! Now what do we do? We betrayed our friends, and it was all for nothing." Claude said.

"It wasn't for nothing. Look." Sonja noticed that the sack Claude used to trap Zym is still moving.

"The dragon! We still have the dragon!" Claude said in relief.

"I can finally cuddle the wittle dwagon!" Sonja runs up to the sack. "I'm sorry, girl. But you coming with us-" Instead of unveiling the Dragon Princess, she finds that it was also an illusion and filled with Moon moths. "Aaaaaaah! I hate the Moon!"

The moon phoenix continues flying towards Xadia with the traveling companions on his back.

"It's okay, Zym. It's safe to come out now." Ezra tells Zym to come out of hiding from her backpack, but Zym becomes frightened once she realizes she is high up in the Sky. "We're up in the sky! Wanna see how flying feels? Come on, spread your wings." Ezra reassures Zym by lifting her up so she can spread out her wings to feel the winds, which the dragonling did as she happily enjoys it. Raylis and Ezra are happy to see the Dragon Princess enjoying herself. Then Raylis looked back to see Calla looking on, still upset over Claude's betrayal. But Raylis manages to bring a smile into Calla's face by gesturing her to cherish the moment with Ezra and Zym happily bonding, as Phoe-Phoe flies them throughout the night sky.

Author's Notes:

"Down in the dumpity" is a reference to the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episode "World Wide Wabbit".

Translations:
(1): "Slithering steel bind them."
(2): "Writhing grasp, drag them down."