You wake up from your sleep to find Rayla sitting on a rock in the moonlight. Attempting to rip her ribbon off. She even tries using her mouth to rip it off. You decide to watch her from the shadows.
Rayla: Unbind yourself! Unbind... thyself. Unbindo!
She sighs and looks over at Bait. Bait grunts in response.
Rayla: Don't judge me. So what, I'm talking to my ribbon-thing? How's that any worse than talking to a... whatever it is you are?
Bait turns a light pink in response and you can't help, but giggle.
Rayla: Oh, you're awake.
Y/n: Yeah.
You get up and walk towards the rock she's sitting on. You both stare at the castle as you hear bells ringing. Rayla looks back at the two princes to make sure they're asleep.
Viren must be leading King Harrow's funeral. It was awful of him to have it so soon.
It's now morning and you see Callum sitting in the shade, against a tree, drawing his primal stone. You approach him.
Y/n: Hey Callum.
He doesn't respond.
Y/n: Oh, okay. You seem occupied.
You sit down next to him without disturbing him. Peaking over his shoulder, you see his drawing. It was even more impressive in person. Rayla walks up to the two of us.
Rayla: Callum. Callum. Hey! [Callum looks up at Rayla] That's your name, right? Callum? Clem? Or was it Camel?
Rayla sits down on the other side of Callum.
Callum: Uh, it's Callum. I guess I was distracted trying to draw this... prima-ball.
Rayla: Primal Stone.
Callum: Right. It holds the pure essence of a primal spirit inside.
Rayla: [sighs] Primal Source?
Callum: Right.
Rayla: You do know what the Six Primal Sources are?
Y/n: Oh, I do!
Callum jumps at the sound of your voice.
Callum: When did you get here?
Y/n: I got here before Rayla. You were concentrating really hard, so I didn't want to disturb you.
His cheeks turn a light pink.
Callum: O-oh, uh, sorry.
Y/n: It's fine. Anyways...
You gesture for him to give you his sketchbook. He quickly hands it over. You take the pencil and draw all six Primal Sources.
Y/n: All magic in the world comes from the Six Primal Sources. They're the original and purest forms of magical energy. [You point to each symbol as you name them] The Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Earth, the Ocean, and... [You gesture towards his Primal Stone].
Callum: The Sky.
He picks up his Primal Stone and holds it in his hands.
Y/n: Yep.
Rayla: To cast a spell, a mage needs Primal Energy. So that wind breath spell you did? You'd usually need a storm or at least a strong breeze. But with that stone you have all the power of the Sky, any time.
Callum: Wow.
Y/n: Primal Stones are incredibly rare. They've been sought after by the most powerful arch-mages in history. And now, you have one.
I hand him the book back. He reopens the page to my drawing of the Primal Sources.
Callum: Wait, I... I've seen these before. At the Banther Lodge. There was this little cube thing and it had these exact symbols on it.
He stands up and makes hand gestures of a cube. Looking at me and Rayla.
Rayla: Uh, neat.
Callum: What if it's magic? We have to go get it.
Rayla: Wait, what? We have real problems to worry about. Ending the war. Taking the dragon egg to Xadia. Remember?
Callum starts packing his stuff, and Rayla and I both stand up. Callum still trying to convince us. He walks over to stand on a rock and point in the direction of the Banther Lodge.
Callum: Xadia's to the east, right? So is the lodge. It's on the way.
You walk over to stand next to Callum.
Y/n: I mean, I don't mind taking a little detour.
Rayla: Oh, great. I'm sure it won't be crawling with humans. Humans that are looking for you and want to kill me, and possibly Y/n! Yay!
Y/n: Oh right.
Callum: No, it's the winter lodge. It's been empty for months. Trust me. [Sighs] Look... Rayla. Princes are supposed to be good at things. Uh, sword fighting, leadership... riding horses. But I've always been kind of bad at, well, everything. So when I tried that spell. I was sure I'd end up on fire or covered in spiders... but it worked. And then you called me a mage, and that felt... right. I... I just have this feeling that cube thing could help me.
Rayla is visibly moved by Callum's heartfelt speech.
Ezran: Callum? [Yawns] I had a weird dream.
Callum walks over to Ezran, but before he can say anything I stop him by kneeling down next to Ezran.
Y/n: Could you tell us what you dreamt about?
Ezran: Sure. There was this giant pink hippopotamus and I pulled its ear off. Because it was made of taffy.
Callum: Oh...
Ezran: Then I tried to thank the hippo for the taffy, but he couldn't hear me, because I was eating his ears.
Rayla: Hey, sad prince. [Sighs] Let's go get your cube.
Callum walks over to Rayla.
Callum: Really?
Rayla: Yes. Just please, no more detours, all right? Or heartfelt speeches.
You giggle at this, and Rayla and Callum both smile at you. Ezran picks up the egg and we make our way to the Banther Lodge. You walk up to Callum.
Y/n: Hey, Callum?
Callum: Yeah?
Y/n: My clothes are kinda falling apart. I was hoping I could borrow any clothes that you left in the Banther Lodge.
Callum: H-huh? Uh, sure...
His cheeks turn a dark red.
Y/n: Thanks Callum.
You skip further ahead and focus on the road.
Ezran: Hey guys? Can we--
Rayla: We're not stopping yet.
You fall further back and walk next to Rayla.
Ezran: But I'm--
Rayla: No snacks.
Ezran: I was gonna say thirsty.
Rayla: Fine. Drink this.
Rayla pulls out a vial of Moonberry juice, and you interrupt Callum before he can say anything.
Y/n: Ooo, Moonberry juice. Don't worry, it tastes pretty good.
Callum looks at the ground, while Ezran takes the bottle and drinks some of the juice. We keep walking to the Banther Lodge and arrive soon after. Rayla stops us, and signal for us to be quiet.
Callum: See? No winter, no humans at the winter lodge.
Rayla: Let's just make this quick. Tell me where the thing is, and I'll be in and out.
Callum draws a picture of the game room and hands it to Rayla. He also draws a separate picture and tells you where to find some clothes. You and Rayla both run to the Banther Lodge. She takes time to look around, while you, surprisingly, jump up to the open window. You decide not to question the sudden change in your skills, and focus on what you need to do. You both slip in and go your different ways. You quickly find the bedroom Callum drew, and look through the closet. You found a simple outfit that had long sleeves, pants, a scarf, and a hood. You found a pair of boots next to the bed that fit surprisingly well. The long sleeves would hide your scars and the hood would hide your unusual hair. You quickly changed and hid the clothes you used to wear under the bed. You sneak out of the room, and to the support beams on the ceiling.
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: Someone's here.
Callum: What? No, no. No one here but us and all your [shouting] human troops!
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: Callum, you know it doesn't help to yell. And why are you saying "human troops" like that?
Callum: Uh, what do you mean? That's how I always say [shouting] "heavily-armed human troops!" [laughs nervously].
General Amaya and Gren start walking towards the stairs. Callum looks up and spots Rayla whose on the support beam across from you. He also sees you on the other side. He gives both of you a shrug and a nervous grin. Rayla gives him a scowl, while you mouth the words "we can manage". He runs up behind General Amaya and knocks on the back of her shield. She makes a hand sign.
Callum: Uh, Ezran has something to tell you.
Ezran: Um, I... skipped breakfast. I'm sorry.
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
While she's turned around I signal for Rayla to come over to the side I'm on, she rushes over and to the game room.
Y/n [whispers]: I'll keep an eye on the princes. You go get the cube.
She nods then runs off. You turn back to where the princes are. General Amaya looks for food in the cabinets, and finds a stale loaf of bread. You're to far away to clearly hear anything, but you remember the gist of it. In short, Callum realized that he lost the letter his father gave him.
After that "breakfast" you see the boys are all alone without any guards around, so you sneak your way over to them and silently jump down. You have no idea how you're suddenly so stealthy, but grateful. Before Callum and Ezran can scream you cover their mouths. You let go after a few seconds.
Callum: [sighs] This is all my fault. We should have never come here.
Y/n: It's okay Callum, everyone makes mistakes.
Ezran: We did find Aunt Amaya. Maybe we should tell her, Callum.
Y/n: I don't think that's a good idea. She grew really suspicious at the sight of an open window, and almost caught us.
Callum: Y/n's right. And what would we even tell her.
Ezran: About the egg... and Y/n, and Rayla.
Callum: We can't. Didn't you hear what she said? How she talked about elves?
Y/n: I've got a feeling it was nothing nice.
Callum: Yeah, to Aunt Amaya, elves are monsters.
Ezran: But if we just explain everything--
Bait throws up one of the toys.
Callum: It won't work. Humans and elves don't trust each other.
Y/n: Well, except for us. You do trust Rayla, don't you?
Callum: We need to get this egg back to Xadia. We have to find Rayla and get out of here.
Callum walks away and I hop back onto the support beams. Waiting for General Amaya to go to the game room. Not long after, General Amaya walks to the game room and I follow, pulling my hood over my head. I stop at the last support beam waiting for her to walk in. She does and I hop down and sneak into the room. General Amaya attacks Rayla with her shield, but she dodges. Rayla notices me from behind one of the bookshelves and throws me the cube. I nod my head and run off to find the princes. Gren walks into the room a few seconds after I get onto the support beams. I go out the window I came in and wait on the roof.
You see the princes, Bait, and Rayla run outside so you hop down and join them. You all make it to the bridge by the lake before you're surrounded.
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: Stop right there, elf, and who are you?
You throw off your hood and raise your hands to show that you have five fingers despite your unusual hair color.
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: Are you with that elf?
Callum: What no they're with us. They're our... forest friend! They live in the forest. Here. [laughs nervously].
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: Callum, Ezran, come here. I don't trust your friend.
Ezran: Callum, we should just tell her.
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: Boys, get away from them.
Callum: Wait!
Y/n: Callum don't!
It was too late. He was already hand signing to General Amaya.
Rayla: What are you saying?
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: He says, if we don't let you go, you'll kill all three of them and drink their blood.
Rayla's expression quickly changed to one of betrayal.
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: That you are a monster.
Rayla looks completely mortified, but Callum ignores her pain.
Callum: Right, so you have to let us go.
Gren [speaking for Aunt Amaya]: a it's okay, Callum. I've slain monsters before. And I will rescue your forest friend. Do it. Take her out.
The guards surrounding us all aim at Rayla and fire. She cuts the first arrow in half, but the second rips her braid off. You thought about taking the braid, but it becomes an important part of the storyline, so you leave it alone. Before they can fire again, Rayla gets an idea. She grabs both of the princes and puts her blades against their throats.
Rayla: Go ahead, take another shot. But read my lips. The next time I swing my blade, I'll end both of them in half a second. And the forest friend in one.
General Amaya contemplates this for a moment, but decides to let us go. All four of us walk to the boat by the river and row away.
Callum [sighs]: That worked. I can't believe it.
Rayla: I can't believe you're such a jerk.
Callum: What? What's wrong?
Y/n: You called her a blood thirsty monster. I don't know about you, but I'd feel pretty hurt by that.
Callum: But I don't actually believe any of that. I was just trying to scare her. I thought she'd back down.
Rayla: Oh, that went well. They tried to kill me.
Y/n: Hey guys. Let's just calm down.
Callum: You're right. I'm sorry. That's not what I meant to happen.
Rayla: Well it did.
You hand Callum the cube.
Callum: You guys found it?
Y/n: Rayla was the one who did all the finding.
Rayla: It's a toy. Probably a piece from a children's game.
Y/n: We don't know that. It could be more.
Rayla: I hope it was worth it to you, putting everyone's lives in danger.
Callum lifts up the cube and drops it. It lands next to the Primal Stone with the sky symbol facing it. The sky symbol glows because of this, and Callum, Ezran, and I look at it in curiosity. Wondering what exactly this cube really is.
Word Count- 2433
*Author Note*
- This was a long chapter. I'll be doing each episode as one chapter, so some might be longer than others. Again, completely open to constructive criticism 💚