"I can't wait for you to meet Corvus, Rayla and Zym, you're going to love them!" Enya exclaimed as she was leading Amaya through the woods back to the cave. "And Callum, Bait and Ezran are going to be so happy to see you again!"
At the sound of the two princes names, Amaya barked and wagged her tail in excitement. She hadn't seen them or Bait in a long time, and she was very eager to see them again along with her other favorite humans. As they were walking, Amaya's ears perked up before she let out a small growl and began barking before jumping in front of Enya to keep her from walking forward.
"Whoa what's the matter old girl?" Enya asked when she heard the bushes near them rustling. She turned, expecting a Banther or even a bear to come out, but much to her relief it was just Corvus. "Oh stars you scared me! Amaya, heel!"
"Oh so that's the Amaya Gren told our squadron about." Corvus said as Amaya scooted back to Enya's side, giving him a wary look. "Oh now I see why you named her after the general, even her wary look is the same as hers!"
"It's okay girl, Corvus is a friend." Enya laughed as she knelt down to grab her dog's collar. "He won't hurt us."
"Hello there, fluffy general." Corvus greeted as he knelt down to hold his hand out to the dog and removed his gloves so she could get his scent.
Amaya carefully sniffed each hand from the back to the front before looking up at Corvus carefully before breaking out in a doggy grin, wagged her tail and gave a bark, signaling to her owner that he was alright to be around.
"Good girl!" Enya said happily and ruffled the fur on Amaya's head. "Sorry about that, she's just a little wary around humans she's not familiar with. And speaking of familiar humans, how are the kids?"
"Well Rayla didn't fight me like I expected her to, and Ezran ran off and I can't find him." Corvus responded before Enya gave a loud yell.
"You lost the king?!" She screamed, grabbing the huntsman by the front of his shirt. "You're a tracker and you lost Ezran?!"
"He ran off when I told him he was the king! I thought he knew!"
"He didn't know! Callum and I were gonna tell him ourselves and now look what happened!"
"Well good news though, I found his tracks!"
"Well where did they lead you to?"
Corvus looked at her in an uncomfortable manner. "Uh well you see...they stopped when they crossed paths with some Banther tracks. I think...I think it ate him, but Rayla said something about him being able to speak to animals?"
Enya let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good, if anything he caught a ride on a Banther, you've got nothing to worry about."
"But...how is this possible?" Corvus asked. "Rayla didn't even explain it to me so I figured you'd know and went looking for you, how's Soren by the way?"
"Paralyzed..."
Corvus flinched. "Oh..."
"He says he's fine with it, and that he can't hurt anyone anymore." Enya added and looked down at her boots, clenching her fists tightly and looking ready to start crying. "Viren was making him do something bad and...he only did it because he didn't want to disappoint him. All Soren wanted was to have his dad's approval a-and love and look where it got him! He can't walk or move anymore!"
Corvus could see that she wanted to break down in tears, seeing how she was clenching her hands so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, how her voice trembled and her eyes were already watering. Amaya whined and rubbed against Enya's leg in comfort and looked to Corvus.
"Uh...do you...need a hug or something?" He asked in hesitation. "I'm not really good at comforting people but- oof!" Enya cut him off when she threw her arms around him and began to sob loudly. Corvus awkwardly put his arms around her in a hug as he let her cry, hoping no one from the village that was torched earlier was wandering around in the woods.
"I'm terrible at this..." Corvus muttered to himself and looked to Amaya. "If Gren was here he could have done better."
The sheepdog simply cocked her head to the side and barked before putting a paw on Enya's leg and barked again.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I just didn't want to break down in front of Soren like that." Enya sniffled when she released Corvus. "Or in front of my brothers or Rayla, that would have been an embarrassment."
"I'm sure none of them would have minded, and probably would have been better at comforting you." Corvus assured her. "It's just a bit awkward for me, I've never had someone break down in front of me like that and I didn't want to make things worse."
"It's fine, I've only really broken down like this in front of Soren and Claudia like this when I thought my dad was dead." Enya said and awkwardly patted his shoulder. "We should...really look for Ezran and that Banther friend he made."
"Uh yeah..."
The two looked through the forest, calling out for Ezran and attempting to find any new banther tracks aside from the ones Corvus found that led towards the town. Neither wanted to head back in after the fiasco from earlier so they decided to try looking around the walls for any other tracks. Corvus did find some fresh looking ones leading away from the town, and eventually two sets of somewhat fresh human footprints leading out into the woods as well.
"I recognize his footprints, but who do the other ones belong to?" Corvus asked examining the ground. Amaya carefully sniffed the second set of footprints and began to bark excitedly.
"Amaya recognizes them, I think they belong to Claudia." Enya suggested. "Soren did say his sister was outside of the hospital so maybe she ran into Ezran."
"But what if she kidnapped him?"
"After what happened to her brother I don't think she's in the mood to kidnap a young king who can call for a Banther or any other wild animal to help him."
"Okay good point, but still a good idea to be cautious."
The two began following the trail into the woods when Amaya began barking excitedly and leapt right into the bushes. Enya though her dog found a squirrel to chase when she heard a familiar yelp followed by a laugh.
"Found him!" Enya cheered as she ran into the bushes to find Ezran on the floor being licked by Amaya.
"Stop stop! That tickles!" Ezran laughed as he tried to cover his face. "Enya help!"
"Alright girl, you heard the little king, off!" Enya scolded as she lifted Amaya right off him. "I know you miss him, but now you got him all dirty!"
"Hey you're back!" Ezran said happily as he got off the ground and hugged her waist. "Come on we gotta get back to Callum!"
"Where have you been?" Corvus asked as he followed the three of them back to the cave. "You had us all worried sick!"
"You mean he had you worried sick." Enya corrected him with a chuckle. "Once you told me Ezran caught a ride on a Banther I knew he was in good hands! Or...paws?"
"Yep! And Banthers are actually really gentle and sweet when you give them a scratch under the chin." Ezran agreed and patted Amaya's head.
"I think being able to talk to animals could be an advantage to us when we get into Xadia." Enya commented as they were getting closer to the cave. "We don't know what kind of creatures there are and if they're dangerous, but you being able to talk to them could even help. Like you can translate what they tell us."
"Yeah, that could work!" Ezran said with a grin. "And maybe if there are elves who talk to animals, they can trust us a bit more."
"Are you sure you want to be heading into Xadia, king Ezran?" Corvus asked. "Your aunt and her commander asked me to bring you and your brother back safely."
"Well then that means you'll have to stick with us." Enya replied with a shrug. "They need adult supervision, and I'm barely an adult."
"As am I!"
"Well then if we work together we can be one good functional adult!"
"Hey look, Callum is awake!" Ezran yelled pointing ahead. The two adults looked past the young king to see Callum on his feet with Rayla, Bait and Zym near her, standing at the edge of the cliff with wind blowing from him.
"Ezran, you're back!" They heard Rayla yell and ran towards them.
"Oh my gosh he's doing magic without a primal stone!" Enya gasped as the young prince turned towards them and a strong wind got blown in their direction. "And that's strong!"
"I thought humans couldn't do magic without a primal stone or a creature who had primal energy in them?" Corvus asked in surprise as he tried to brace himself to avoid getting knocked down.
"Well Callum certainly broke that rule." Enya chuckled as the wind died down and rushed forward as Ezran was hugging Rayla.
"Wait he was gone?" Callum asked and noticed Enya and Corvus. "Wait when did you get here? I thought you stayed behind to hold Soren and Claudia back."
"Told you I'd meet you three troublemakers at the border." Enya laughed as she moved past Ezran and Rayla to hug Callum tightly. "Thank goodness you're okay too! You three had me so worried!"
"Bait and Zym missed you too." Ezran giggled as the baby dragon ran forward to pounce on him and proceeded to lick his face. "I love your zappy kisses!" He laughed as little sparks flew around the dragon's mouth.
Bait stopped to crawl over to Amaya, who sniffed him a few times before licking his head and face. She seemed quite happy to see the little glow toad, who seemed just as happy to see her despite still wearing a grumpy expression on his face as he swiped the saliva away with his own long tongue. Zym gave a few yips and scampered over to the dog, quite curious about her. Amaya froze as the puppy sized dragon ran over to her and tried to lick her face, causing her to quickly run to hide behind Corvus.
"Aww Amaya, be nice. Zym's just a baby!" Ezran assured her as they moved apart and he knelt down to pet her head. "He's not going to bite you, right Zym?"
"Yep, and it's great to see you being able to use magic on your own!" ENya added.
"That's incredible prince Callum." Corvus said with a nod of agreement.
"Thanks!" Callum replied before pulling a confused face. "Uh...who are you?"
"You missed a few things while you were out." Rayla replied and pointed to the huntsman. "This is Corvus, he's on our side. And I don't know who the weird black and white dog belongs to."
"That's Amaya, she belongs to Enya." Ezran explained as the dog crept out from behind Corvus and settled herself next to Enya. "Named after our brave aunt, who you got to meet."
"Oh so that's Amaya." Rayla said walking over and bent down a bit to examine the dog. "Huh, was expecting her to look a bit...bigger and maybe fluffier."
"Well now you got to see the great and fearless Amaya." Enya laughed as the sheep dog sniffed Rayla's boots in curiosity. "And I think she likes you."
"I've always been on the same side." Corvus pointed out and gestured to Ezran. "I serve the young king."
"What?" Callum asked in surprise and looked to his little brother.
"I know about dad." Ezran admitted and looked down sadly.
Callum walked over to his brother and knelt down in front of him. "I...I don't know what to say." He admitted. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, I tried to but I just...couldn't."
Ezran looked at his brother with tears in his eyes before throwing himself forward and wrapping his arms around his neck to hug him tightly. Enya smiled to herself as she watched the brothers hug tightly.
"Hey Zym leave Amaya alone!" Rayla scolded when the little dragon tried to chase after the sheepdog, yipping and attempting to grab her tail.
"Guess someone's never seen a dog like that, and I don't think he acted like that around Ava." Enya chuckled as her dog leapt between the princes with her tail tucked between her legs to avoid Zym.
"Someone's gotta carry him to keep him from biting her tail." Corvus muttered.
"I nominate you then." Enya commented and patted his shoulder.
"Wait WHAT?!"
⚔️⚔️⚔️
"Alright who's ready to leave this old town behind and head into Xadia?" Enya asked as she stretched her arms.
"Ready and prepared to go." Corvus replied as he got to his feet to stretch and turned to Rayla and Callum. "You kids ready?"
"The sooner we get to Xadia, the sooner we can deliver Zym to his mother." Rayla said with a nod and looked to Callum. "And the sooner we do that, the sooner you two can head back to your kingdom and Ez can take his place as king."
"And the sooner we do that, the sooner you can kick Viren off the council." Enya added as Zym ran up to her, whining to be picked up and she bent down to scoop her up into his arms. "Aww, I'm gonna really miss you too, ya little sparky lizard. But don't worry, once we get you back to your mama and we end the war between Xadia and the human kingdoms, we'll try to visit. And every time you visit I'm gonna probably spoil you the way everyone in Katolis spoils Amaya."
"What, you going to overstuff him with treats?" Rayla asked jokingly.
"Eh, probably. But he's a growing big boy and a few pieces of meat won't hurt him."
"Well everything's packed and everyone's healthy. And we're just a few hours away from the border of Xadia."
"Packed and ready!" Callum announced as he slung his bag over one shoulder. Zym immediately slipped out of Enya's arms and ran over to Callum. The young prince bent down to give the dragon a pat on the head. "Let's do this."
"Callum, when you told me assassins were coming for dad, I ran away and hid in the walls." Ezran said walking back over to his brother, looking sad.
"With a healthy stash of jelly tarts as I recall." Callum added and Enya gave a small laugh.
"Yeah, and I was sure I heard you in the walls when I was doing my deliveries and collecting stuff that needed to be mended." She added before putting on a serious face and cleared her throat. "Sorry, continue Ez."
"Yeah, and when I found out dad died, I ran away again." Ezran continued. "I've been running away my whole life, but I can't runaway from growing up."
"Now that you're king Ezran now, are you going to be saying wise things like that?" Callum asked as he stood up to walk over to his brother and placed an arm around him before giving him a warm smile that fell when he saw the serious and sad expression his brother had.
"When you grow up, you have to face things you're not ready for."
"Wait what?"
"I'm not going with you to Xadia, I have to face my responsibility." Ezran responded, pulling away from his brother. "Now that I'm king, I have to go home." Maybe I can help the world better from a throne. I can do whatever I can to stop the war."
"Ezran returning Zym to his mother is the world's best hope." Rayla pointed out.
"I know, and you guys will do that." Ezran said turning to face them as Enya and Corvus walked over to the group. "You'll find his mom, and Zym will take his rightful place in Xadia, just like I have to take mine."
"Ezran," Callum said softly and Ezran looked at his brother sadly.
"I wish I can go with you, but I can't. You and Rayla will have to do this without me."
"I'll travel with the king, keep him safe." Corvus volunteered and turned to Enya. "Will you come with us, or accompany prince Callum and Rayla to Xadia?"
"I..." Enya looked at Callum and Rayla in hesitation before glancing at Ezran and Corvus. "I think...it'd be best if I went with you two back to Katolis, I might slow the three of them down. Besides, someone's gotta keep an eye on you and the young king as well."
"Are you sure?" Rayla asked.
"I'll miss you Rayla, but I know I'll see you again." Ezran promised as he and Rayla moved forward to hug each other. "I promise."
"You better, I know where you live." Rayla said ruffling his fluffy hair.
"As soon as Zym is home, I'll come back to help you>" Callum said and hugged his brother when Rayla released him. "I love you."
"I love you too." Ezran replied and hugged his brother tightly.
He heard a small whine and looked down to find Zym with his little paws on his legs looking up at him sadly. Ezran smiled and knelt down to hold Zym's head.
"I'm so proud of you little guy, you're gonna grow up to be so strong and good. I'm sorry I couldn't help you learn to fly, but I know you'll get it soon." Ezran said to the young dragon and hugged him tightly. He soon released Zym and picked up Bait before following Enya, Corvus and Amaya down the slope leading down to the forest.
Enya could hear Zym crying and letting out whines, she turned to see Ezran stop to kneel next to the dragon and say something to him before getting up and hurrying forward to catch up with her and Corvus. As they walked on she could hear the little dragon's heartbreaking cries as they moved farther and farther from him. Even Bait sounded upset at the sound of Zym's crying, and Amaya kept whining and glancing back before placing herself behind Ezran and nudged his legs to move him forward.
"They'll be fine, right?" Corvus asked Enya as they walked down the mountain.
"Well Rayla has kept them alive this long, and she knows Xadia better too. So yeah, they will be fine." She replied, giving him a small smile and took Ezran's hand. "And don't you worry Ezran, they'll be okay without us and we'll see them after you're settled into your role of being a king."
⚔️⚔️⚔️
"Do...do you think the kingdom will like having a child ruler?" Ezran asked her. "You mentioned that Soren told you at one point that his dad did not like the idea of kids having to rule."
"Well Duren seems to be just fine with their queen, who's also your age. Besides, if we hear anyone complaining about having you as a king, Corvus and I will kick their butts."
"We'll have to send a message out to the general to let her know what's going on once we are back in Katolis." Corvus added. "You said Gren was imprisoned, where exactly?"
"In that creepy dungeon Viren has hidden behind a painting that Amaya discovered by accident. Poor man didn't have food or water when I found him and I gave him some jerky that i had in my apron pockets that are normally saved for Amaya if she behaves and does something on command."
"Oh I think I know where it is!" Ezran piped up. "It's where we found Zym when he was still an egg!"
"That place was filled with gross stuff on the walls, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have nightmares on it!" Enya said with a sudder. "Ugh I can't wait till we get home."
They had been walking for quite a while, the sun was already setting and were pretty far from the village. Earlier Corvus made a slight detour just to retrieve Enya's bag that was in the hospital but they found it outside the village covered in mud and her spare clothes torn and muddied as well and most of her needles in the sewing kit were bent and the spools of thread were missing their thread.
"Uh...are you okay, Enya?" Corvus asked as he and Ezran watched her grip the ruined bag tightly till her knuckles were turning white.
"I haven't seen her look that angry since she found Soren and Claudia were going to stay with us in Lujanne's home." Ezran commented quietly to the huntsman as Enya looked over at them with a strained smile.
"I'm perfectly fine, we have my bag and that's all that matters!" Enya said in such a cheerful voice that sounded a bit strained. "Come on, let's get home before I storm into the town and attack someone who needs to be taught a lesson."
"And here I thought you'd lose your temper." Corvus muttered to himself.
"I'm not going to lose my cool over someone like him, especially in front of a child." Enya replied and patted Ezran's head before he handed her Bait to hold. "We must set good examples of behavior for him."
"Like...not throw your fork at someone's head?" Ezran asked, recalling what Enya did a few days ago when Soren tried to jokingly snatch some of her fruit she had found and cut up for everyone. He'd never seen anyone throw a fork like that with such accuracy that even Rayla looked impressed, and it was a good thing it embedded itself in the trees behind Soren.
"Eh...yeah... something like that." Corvus said with a nod.
As they walked, Enya heard Ezran stop and yell something. She turned in time to see him clambering onto Corvus' shoulders and commanded him to start running and flapped his arms wildly.
"What in the world?" The tailor muttered to herself as Corvus began to run with Ezran yelling "you can do it!" over and over before he began whooping and cheering wildly.
"If I may be so bold... you're one weird king, king Ezran." Corvus said as Enya came running to them with Bait still in her arms and Amaya at her heels panting in exhaustion.
"I'd ask for an explanation of what happened but I'm too afraid to ask." Enya said placing Bait on her shoulder and helping Ezran off Corvus. "Unless you still want to try explaining to us."
"I'll tell you guys on the way, but I'm not even sure what happened either." Ezran replied with a shrug before taking both their hands. "But we have plenty of time to hear it and to try and figure out what happened!"
"So...are you going to explain?"
"Well, it all started when I heard Zym's cries in my head..."
⚔️ [End of Book 2: Sky] ⚔️