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Chapter Text

Dawn. The golden light of the sun slowly bathed the earth and waters below as night turned into day. Although it looked like any other day, this day was going to be different; for today, a prince was going to meet his princess, whether he wanted to or not. In the southern region of Katolis sat Katolis Castle and, within the castle walls, sitting at a desk, was Prince Callum. The young 13-year-old prince was sitting in his study, which had been a gift from his step-father the king, sketching away as he thought about what was to happen and trying to ignore the fact that he was terrified.

When his mother remarried, and to a king no less, he was happy for her. King Harrow was a good and kind man, but slowly, over the years, it became apparent he was expected to live and be a certain way.

‘A prince needs to know how to fight.’

‘A prince shouldn’t let his emotions get the better of himself.’

‘A prince does not slouch.’

Harrow had never put any pressure on him; his tutors, the courtiers, and the guards were another matter. As he grew over the years, Callum realized how important his position was. It finally hit home a year ago when he heard his parents argue. Having never heard them argue, and being a curious sort, he asked them what was wrong.

Harrow looked down at his stepson as he pondered what to tell him. Knowing this was not something that should be handled lightly, he decided to be honest with him.

“Callum,” he began as he motioned for Callum to stand in front of him and his mother. “A day ago, we received a letter from the Xadia Council proposing peace. I’ll spare you most of the details, but one of the details concerns you. Part of their condition for peace is an arranged marriage between an elf maiden and you.”

With a mask of calm, Harrow watched as the young prince’s green eyes widened in what could best be described as silent terror.

“You don’t have to do this, Callum,” Sarai added, as it looked like Callum was about to have a panic attack.

Taking a moment to calm his nerves and catch his breath, Callum softly spoke. “Wi-will this save lives?”

“Hmm?” Sarai replied, not completely hearing him.

“Will this save lives?” Callum asked a little louder.

“Most likely, it will spare hundreds of thousands of lives,” Harrow replied. In truth, it would probably spare even more than that.

“I’ll do it, then,” the prince replied.

“Are you sure,” Sarai asked, wanting her eldest to be honest with her.

“Yes,” Callum replied in a determined voice that was sprinkled with a hesitation in his eyes. “Our people need this. Too many have died pointlessly already. Tell the Xadia Council, I accept.”

The next year had been in preparation for this day, the day he would meet her. Whoever ‘her’ happened to be. In a foolish move, Callum told his parents he didn’t want to know who is was marrying. So, here he was, sketching away, paper littering the floor, as he tried to calm himself.

“Say hello to my little friend!” A voice shouted as he was suddenly blinded by a bright light.

“EZ!” Callum shouted, as his little brother laughed.

“Sorry, Callum, but you had that coming. I’ve been calling your name for the past two minutes,” Ezran replied as Callum blinked his eyes, waiting for his vision to completely return.

“Are you okay?” Ezran asked. “I know you are, but Bait was curious.”

As his sight cleared, Callum set his eyes on his younger brother. The young prince stood in front of the desk, holding his glow toad in his arms.

“Tell Bait I’m doing just fine,” Callum replied sharply. “And thanks. I might be a little nervous,” he added more calmly.

The two were silent for a few moments, before Ezran spoke again. “Callum, everything will be okay, right?”

“Sure, Ez,” he replied with a nod to his brother’s question. “The envoy from Xadia will arrive this evening, and we’ll start the proceedings towards peace, and I’ll meet who I’m going to marry, and you’ll meet your new sister-in-law.”

“Do you think they’ll like us?”

“Sure,” Callum replied, not really knowing if he was saying it for Ezran’s benefit or for his own.

Ezran nodded his head at Callum’s reply before heading out of the study, mostly likely to pilfer a few jelly tarts.

With his brother gone, Callum turned back to his drawings. Sighing to himself, he stood up and started to clean up his study.

It was a little past midday as the Xadia caravan continued its journey to Katolis Castle. As the carriage trekked slowly down the road, Runaan looked over at his former apprentice, Rayla.

“Rayla.”

The girl continued to look out the window, refusing to say anything.

“You’re going to have to talk about it eventually, Rayla,” Runaan spoke again, trying to gently prod her into talking and wishing his husband were here instead. Ethari would be better at this me, he thought.

Rayla snapped her head snapped her head towards her mentor, uncle, and surrogate father. “You want me to talk about it? Fine! Let’s talk!” The 14-year-old girl growled. “Gee, where should we start? How about the fact that I had to fight and claw my way into getting training for becoming an assassin? Oh! Or, the fact that I had to work three times harder than anyone else to prove I belonged there because I was being trained by you, my uncle, and everyone always commented how you must be going easy on your niece? And FINALLY! Less than a month until my training is complete, I get a letter from my parents telling me that the council has picked me to marry the human prince as part of the peace treaty!”

At the end of her rant, Rayla was breathing a little heavy, having poured out her anger and frustration. Normally, Runaan would not let such an outburst slide, but, given the circumstances, he let her have this one. In his opinion, it was in rather pour taste of Lain and Tiadrin to offer up their daughter after their baiting of the Sunfire council members backfired.

“You want to know the worst part?” Rayla asked after a moment as she turned her head to look outside once more. “The worst part isn’t having to marry some stupid human prince, having everyone watch my every move to point out my flaws, or be forced to attend la-di-da parties with stuck up brats. The worst part was being told about the marriage by letter. I’m their own daughter and they didn’t even bother to tell me face-to-face. Add to it, that we’ve been traveling together for a few days and not once have they come to speak with me or asked for me.”

Runaan mentally sighed as he tried to think of a way to make Rayla’s situation seem better. However, years of training and being an assassin had hardened him and his emotions somewhat, but, at the moment, however, he was all she had; so, he would have to do.

“I know you are frustrated, Rayla,” He began. “You have had to learn to live without your parents for years. Over the course of those years, you sought to forge your own path. After many struggles you were finally starting to earn the place you wanted. However, due to unexpected situations, your life is now changing in a way you could never have predicted, as your parents have called upon you to fulfill a role in the peace treaty. I know you don’t see it this way, but we all have a part to play in life; perhaps this is yours.”

When he finished, Runaan couldn’t tell if his speech had an impact on her or night. She wasn’t yelling at him, so that was a plus.

“I have heard of the prince you’re going to marry, Callum,” At this Rayla perked up a little, a slight twitch of her left ear. To others it would seem like an involuntary flick, but Runaan knew he now had her full attention. “According to my sources, he isn’t a brash person. Is often exceptionally soft spoken, known to help the castle staff, and looks after his younger brother. I hope you go in with open eyes, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I don’t think he is a harsh man. Through this marriage you are helping Xadia and the Pantarchy.”

With his speech now finished, Runaan hoped he had given Rayla some comfort and something to think over. He knew she was afraid, but Moonshadow elves were strict in showing no fear. Theirs was a culture of duty, honor, pacts, and rules. One could not allow fear to interfere with the completion of what was expected of them. Showing fear revealed weakness and weaknesses could be used by your enemy.

Rayla continued to stare out the window as she thought on what Runaan had said. She knew in part it was to comfort her, but also to remind her to be careful. Just because they said they had peace, didn’t mean there actually was peace. Not everyone would be ecstatic over this marriage, and if she were to give away a weakness it could come back to harm her. The bit about the prince, Callum, was a clue. If she was careful perhaps, she could not only have a husband, but an ally.

“Thank you,” she said a few moment later.

Runaan smiled as he looked ahead once more. Soon, a new chapter in Rayla’s life would be starting. He hoped he had prepared her for the unknown challenges that were bound to come her way.

Chapter Text

Callum was dressing in his finest outfits. Well, one of his finest, as he looked himself over in the mirror. The standard colors of the kingdom, and by extension the royal family, were red velvet and gold. For royal events, and even normally, his parents and brother would wear a red top that was lightly accented with gold, along the collar, cuffs, and buttons. Callum would normally wear the same and a blue jacket, but for this event, he had requested a blue top to replace the red one. Not seeing any issue with it, and as the event was centered around Callum and his fiancée, his parents allowed it. As he looked himself over in the mirror, adjusting any perceived imperfections he saw, Callum hoped he didn’t look like too much of a dork to his fiancée. At thirteen he wished he looked older, more distinguished; maybe then he wouldn’t feel so nervous.

“Callum?” a voice called, as his door was opened with a knock, revealing his stepfather Harrow. Harrow was a tall man, with a dark complexion, whose hair was in dreadlocks with the ends capped in gold.

Upon seeing him in the mirror Callum turned around. Straightening his shoulders, he bowed slightly, both as a sign of respect and to show that he was a servant to his king.

“At ease, son,” Harrow said, stopping Callum from continuing.

“Okay,” he replied, his shoulders tense.

“I wanted to see how you’re doing,” Harrow explained. “I know today is a rather important day, so I understand if you’re nervous.”

“I know how important this is for Katolis and The Pentarchy as a whole,” the prince began as he turned back to the mirror. “I suppose I’m more nervous to meet our guests and her, than anything else.”

“Ah! Your bride, Rayla.”

Callum shot his stepdad a look in the mirror, as he didn’t want to know anything about her. The only thing he knew was her name. He didn’t know her age, height, or even what kind of elf she was.

“Our guests will be arriving at dusk, correct?” Callum asked a moment later.

“The guests from Xadia, yes. The envoys from the other kingdoms will be here soon.” Harrow replied.

Callum’s eyes widened as realization hit him. He had been so caught up with how this was impacting him, he had forgotten that it would impact the Pentarchy; of course, they would want to have a presence at the first meeting of the couple who would be marrying. Suddenly, Callum didn’t feel nervous; he was terrified.

“All right, thanks,” he replied, hastily straightening his top. “I’ll be in the library. Let me know when the guests from Xadia arrive.”

As Callum hurried out of his room, ignoring all rules of decorum and not waiting to be dismissed, Harrow wanted to remind him that he should also be there to meet the envoys from the other kingdoms, but the boy had enough on his plate already. With a sigh, Harrow rubbed the bridge of his nose and wondered, not for the first time, if this was for the best.

The Royal Library of Katolis was one of the few places, other than his study, that Callum would go to, to destress. While not the largest library among the human kingdoms, or even the largest library in Katolis, it was the largest one in the capital city. Multiple levels, hundreds of aisles and shelves, and more tomes and scrolls than any one person could read in their lifetime. All of this was watched over by one crotchety old librarian who had probably been here before the castle was even built.

“Shh!” came the hissing hush of the librarian as Callum sped past.

Not wanting to endure a lecture, he slowed his walking, but kept his destination in mind. Climbing the heavy stone steps up to the highest level, Callum made his way to a little nook off the side that housed a nice little fireplace and a huge comfortable chair. The fireplace was unlit as it was summer, so a pleasant cool breeze was blowing in from the fireplace’s chimney. Picking up a book he had been reading for the past week, Callum settled down in the chair and began to read, from where he had left off, on magical theory. While he excelled at drawing, he had to admit to a certain passion on the subject of magical theory. The book was written nearly three hundred years before the split; so for being over a thousand years old, it was in remarkably good condition.

Callum didn’t know how long he had been sitting and reading, probably longer than he should have, when he was suddenly caught by surprise from a voice right next to his ear asking, “What’re you up to, Callum?” Jumping in his seat, Callum looked to see Claudia standing next to him trying to hide her laugh at his reaction.

“Oh, hey Claudia!” he replied, a small blush on his cheeks, as he tried to straighten himself up. For years Callum had had a crush on her, but when he was told of his arranged marriage and accepted it, he tried so hard to put his feelings aside. It would have easier to tell water to not be wet.

Besides it’s not like we were in a relationship, the logical part of mind thought.

But we could have been, the emotional part countered.

But we weren’t, so get over it.

With his internal argument with himself over, Callum focused on Claudia as she said, “You should have seen the look on your face. You looked-”

“Ridiculous,” he interrupted at the same time the raven-haired girl finished her statement with, “adorable.”

Snapping to, a moment later, Callum asked, “Did you just say adorable?”

“I don’t know, did I?” Claudia replied with a soft smirk before looking down at the book he was reading and asking, “So, what are you reading?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just some old magical theory stuff,” he replied trying to get past the awkward moment.

“Water-based weather manipulation,” she read aloud as she looked at the text. “Seems a bit advanced,” Claudia continued, turning back to Callum.

“Well, I’m just reading it for fun and to pass the time,” he admitted.

“Ah, got nothing better to do until the guests from Xadia arrive?”

Though she didn’t know it, Claudia had unintentionally pushed a knife into Callum’s heart; reminding him of what was about to occur and what could never be.

“Yeah,” he replied with a nod. Bookmarking his place, Callum closed the book and set it aside. He then got up from the chair and, with a quick good-bye, headed for the door; praying a stray tear didn’t spill, as he kept himself under control.

“Do you think she is still upset?” Tiadrin asked her husband as the caravan trudged on to the human kingdom.

“Upset, isn’t the proper word,” Lain replied. “More like furious. Yes, I imagine she still is. However, she will do what is expected of her.”

When Lain and Tiadrin had proposed the subject of peace with the human kingdoms, starting with Katolis, they had also proposed offering someone noteworthy to marry the human prince. Like, Janai, Lux Aurea’s own golden princess. They recommended her not for the peace, but as a dig at their rival Sunfire council members. What they hadn’t expected, was Sunfire council member Kelisa’s acceptance and then backhanded comment; that perhaps the Moonshadow elves weren’t truly committed to their own proposal, if they weren’t willing to offer their own daughter who was closer to the prince’s age. While not the most emotional of elves, Lain and Tiadrin seethed in anger at the comment. That anger then caused them to calmly offer their own daughter, but not before commenting that they had only offered Janai to show how serious they were about the peace to the humans, but didn’t really expect her to see it through.

They knew it was a mistake to offer their daughter for an arranged marriage without talking to her, but after being publicly slighted in front of their fellow council members they had to. Lain and Tiadrin both worried for Rayla, but they knew she would fulfill her part.

Callum nervously swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched the caravan approach. Delegates from the other kingdoms had already arrived and now the Xadian Council were arriving. Unlike the delegates’ arrival, he wasn’t able to sneak off. Callum was front and center to welcome them and his fiancée to Katolis Castle.

Here we go, the boy thought as the first carriage door opened.

Chapter Text

Sarai stood with her family waiting for the Xadia Council to arrive. To her left was her husband, Harrow, and standing between them, in front, was her youngest, Ezran. Standing to her right and a little beind her was her younger sister, Amaya, with her interpreter, Gren. The final member of the Katolis Royal family was her eldest, Callum, who was standing off to their left and a bit in front of them where the King would normally stand to greet foreign delegates arriving at the castle. Tonight was a different and rare occasion. Tonight, Callum would be meeting his fiancée, who he would be marrying in two months just after he turned fourteen.

As she stood with her family, watching each of the Xadian delegates disembark from their carriages, Sarai looked at her son. Not for the first time, she wondered if this was the right thing to do.

It’s obvious he doesn’t want this, she thought. However, no matter how much the pressures of being a prince may get to him, Callum loved his family and his country. The boy was willing to do whatever he could to help. Even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness.

Sarai knew Callum would do everything he could to make this marriage work; she just hoped Rayla would too for her own sake.

Okay, review time, Callum thought as another delegate exited from their carriage. The Xadia Council is made up of two members from each of the six primals. Gothar and Niiga are Earth, Katra and Wuko are Ocean, Aral and Iilus are Sky, Lain and Tiadrin are Moon, Acor and Zuc are Stars, Kelisa and Furgoth are Sun. Lain and Tiadrin are the only council members from the same primal who are married to each other. Council members Gothar and Katra are married as are Niiga and Aral.

For the past three months Callum had had daily lessons to drill this information into his skull. Council members from each primal were to arrive first. Once they had arrived, the seventh carriage would be the one Rayla would disembark from. Callum was to formally greet her, then take her hand and lead her into the castle. The sound of the seventh carriage arriving snapped Callum out of his review. This was the last carriage to have anyone leave as the remaining three carriages carried only supplies. On either side of the carriage door stood six members of the Xadian Council. They were standing in a way that would have the members from each primal walk next to each other behind Rayla as she walked up to him.

As the carriage door opened the ambient noise around him seemed to fade. All Callum could hear was his own heartbeat and the noise from the carriage. Slowly, a small head of snow-white hair and two stubby dark violet horns emerged. As her head lifted and her gaze swooped toward him, Callum’s heartbeat picked up at a rapid pace. Violet eyes then met green. As she walked towards him, Callum took in her appearance, Rayla was wearing a long dark teal dress and as she walked, he could see hints of silver-sandaled feet. Her skin was a light pink and under her eyes, on each side of them, were thin triangle like markings that extended down to her cheeks. She was different; not bad, just different.

Don’t mess this up, he thought.

As Rayla turned from the carriage, having gave Runaan one last look, her gaze fell on the front of Katolis Castle, her new home, and quickly settled on the dark brown-haired prince she was to marry. Green eyes stared into violet. As she approached him, with Runaan and the council walking behind her, Rayla took in his appearance. He was wearing a long-sleeved dark blue shirt with golden trim and buttons, along with black trousers and black leather boots. Around his waist was a dark blue sash; the two ends of the sash fell on his left leg and each end had been embroidered with a golden monogram of the towers. The final piece was the silver crown atop his head. He was strange; not revolting, just strange.

I hope this goes well, she thought.

As Rayla came to a stop a few feet from him, Callum raised his hands slightly, parting them from his sides with his palms facing towards her and said, “Welcome to my home. Your journey was long, come in and partake of what I have to offer.”

Interesting, Rayla thought at Callum’s traditional Moonshadow greeting. It was a greeting from centuries past when one would welcome a former enemy into their home during peace talks. “I humbly accept and pray to dragons past to give more than take,” she replied giving the traditional response and offering her hand.

Taking Rayla’s hand in his own, Callum lead her to his family. “May I present to you my father and mother, King Harrow and Queen Sarai, along with my little brother, crown prince Ezran.”

Don’t trip, don’t trip, Rayla thought as she gracefully bowed to the royal family. She still wasn’t quite used to heels. The royals returned her bow with a bow of their own.

“You’re pretty,” Ezran declared as he shot up form his bow. His pet, Bait, growled in his hands. “Bait thinks so too,” he added. “Don’t you think so Callum?”

“Y-yes,” Callum choked out, his cheeks quickly growing scarlet. “She is quite pretty.”

“Thank you.” Rayla replied with a blush, her eyes wide with surprise. She hadn’t been expecting the compliment and was a little taken aback by it. Rayla had never been one to overly care about her looks. She and Callum moved aside to join his family in welcoming the Xadia Council.

As greetings were exchanged between the King and Queen and the Xadian Council, Rayla felt an odd sensation. One from her many years of training, the feeling of someone watching you. She knew, because of this event, dozens if not hundreds of eyes would be on her, but this was different. This was the feeling of someone who wanted you dead. Making sure not to draw attention to herself, she carefully scanned the area. Most were looking at the king or the council. A few were looking at her, but they seemed bored. And then, she saw it. A few windows up from the ground in a small tower separated from the main castle was a man staring at her. He was tall and thin with a thin greying beard and light brown hair. He wore a stiff long-sleeved formal black with gold trim and a large purple pendent. The most unsettling thing about this man though, was the look in his eyes. He looked at her as though he was looking at piece of trash, something akin to a stain on the bottom of his shoe.

Well, that was quicker than expected, Rayla thought. She knew not everyone was going to be happy with the treaty, but she didn’t think she’d be encountering hostiles so soon. I’ll have to keep my eye on him and learn everything I can about him later.

With pleasantries now out of the way, the group moved into the castle where they would have dinner in the ballroom. The Xadian Council would be announced first, then the royal family, and finally Callum and Rayla would enter together. As the Xadians were announced, Harrow and Sarai turned to Callum and Rayla for a word in private.

“Okay,” Harrow began. “Tonight, is just about introducing the two of you to each other and the both of you to the representatives of the other kingdoms. We will be finalizing the treaty tomorrow.”

“Then, Rayla will be introduced to the kingdom,” Sarai said, taking over. “These next two months will be for you both to get to know each other. We will then have the wedding and after which you’ll both tour the kingdom.”

Callum and Rayla gave affirmatives and the royal couple joined their youngest in being announced. As they awaited their turn, Callum and Rayla stood in silence each wondering how to break the ice.

“So, get arranged to be married a lot?” Callum asked, breaking the tense silence.

“Huh,” Rayla replied with an arched eyebrow as she looked over at him.

“Sorry, I was trying to make a joke.”

“It’s not a very good one.”

“I know. I was trying to think of a way to ease the tension and that was the first thing that popped into my head, so I went with it. I don’t know how this is for you, I asked them to not give me any details about you. So, I don’t know what your life was like that you had to leave behind, but I imagine this has been a stressful time for you and wanted to make this a bit more comfortable for you.”

Rayla paused for a moment, wondering if the prince’s rambling was over, before speaking. “Why didn’t you have them tell you anything about me?”

“I wanted to learn about you from you; when you’re more comfortable telling me about yourself. As part of the treaty you’ll be moving here and I know this puts you at a disadvantage when it comes to things like customs, traditions and knowing who’s who. I thought it only fair to be at a disadvantage as well, so I refused the information.”

That’s sweet, if a bit stupid, Rayla thought, her years of training coming into play. It’s foolish not to learn everything you can about a person involved in a major part of your life. Still, you have the opportunity to decide what is shared.

“I learned everything I could about you,” she relented. “Name, appearance, general family background, and other basic information.”

“Oh,” Callum replied a little stunned that she gotten so much information about him.

“I hate dresses.”

“Huh,” Callum asked, his turn to know be perplexed.

“A little something to know about me. I hate dresses. Our wedding day will probably be the last time I wear one.”

“Okay,” he replied a little slowly, surprised at she would give up something about herself so soon. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a smile. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all. Still, an extra finger is weird.

The two were interrupted by the Herald of Arms ushering them over. Getting into position, the herald announced them.

“NOW PRESENTING HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE CALLUM AND PRINCESS-TO-BE RAYLA OF SILVERGROVE!!”

The doors opened with practiced ease and the two descended the short flight of stairs as all eyes in the room were upon them. As Callum calmly guided Rayla down the stairs, the two were both panicking for different reasons on inside.

I really should have been there to greet the representatives from the other kingdoms, Callum thought. Looking across the room he could see white hair of Annika, one of the queens of Duren, and her young daughter Princess Aanya. Oh great, he continued seeing the smug face of Neolandia’s Prince Kasef. Callum had, thankfully, only met the hot-headed prince a couple of times, but each encounter grated on his nerves, with Kasef’s constant comments about being a proper prince and always looking for a fight while never willing to start one. One of these days that smug look is going to be wiped from your face and I am going to enjoy it.

Shite! I didn’t think there’d be this many people, Rayla thought as her eyes traveled over the room. She had heard that there was a possibility that representatives from the other human kingdoms would be present, but she had thought one or two. Not all four! Along with the Xadia Council and the Royal Family of Katolis, there were King Harrow’s advisors, guards, various castle staff, and several of Katolis’s nobles; in addition to the representatives from all four human kingdoms! It was at that moment, that a small part of Rayla realized just how much was riding on this peace and, by extension, her marriage. Oh, fu-

Rayla’s thought was interrupted by King Harrow, who was standing at the other side of the room across the dance floor and in front of the Royal Family’s table, who began speaking.

“Thank you all for coming to such a momentous occasion. This is just a small piece of what the festivities will be like in two months time. I hope you will all be able to join my family and me again on that day, when my eldest marries. So please enjoy tonight, there’s plenty of food and drink for all.”

That was short, Rayla thought as the king stopped speaking. Maybe he’s saving the longer speeches for the wedding day? Rayla then took a moment to look around the room. In the middle was a large dance floor with a band playing in the center. On the far side of the room was a long table for the royal family. To the right of the royal family’s table were several tables for the Xadian Council. To the royal family table’s left, there were several tables that had different color schemes and she assumed they were the representatives from the other kingdoms. The right and left sides of the room also had tables for everyone else. The tables and the dance floor were separated by eight large stone pillars that went from the floor to the ceiling. There were four pillars on each side of the room.

With the king’s speech over, the band quickly picked back up and light, joyful, music filled the room as people started dancing once more.

“Would you like to dance?” Callum cautiously asked.

“No,” Rayla replied sharply.

“Oh,” Callum exclaimed as he lowered his gaze in shame. Idiot

“Sorry,” Rayla quickly apologized for her outburst after seeing the look on his face. “I know Moonshadow elves are supposed to be graceful, fantastic, poetic dancers, but I don’t have one lick of dancing talent in me.”

“You can’t dance either?”

“Nope,” she replied with a slight simple shrug. “Hey, wait a minute,” she continued after a moment when realization hit her. “If you can’t dance, what was your plan?”

“I was reaaally hoping you would lead,” Callum sheepishly replied.

“Not a good idea, unless you want to go crashing into the other couples dancing.”

“How about we just watch them then?” He offered, looking her in the eyes.

“Okay,” Rayla replied softly.

The young royal and royal-to-be gently wondered around the edge of the dance floor, watching as the couples danced and twirled in a flurry of colors. Every so often they would be stopped by someone offering their congratulations to the young couple. As they walked, each of them were thinking how the arranged marriage wasn’t looking so bad, at the moment, and how it could be much worse. Unfortunately, “much worse” decided to rear its ugly little head. Callum had been glancing at Rayla when he unexpectedly felt himself crashing into someone.

“Why, Step-prince, I didn’t see you there,” came the smug condescending voice he knew all too well.

As his vision quickly corrected itself from the impact, Callum turned his head to face Prince Kasef.

“Kasef,” Callum replied, wondering what ordeal it will be this time.

“That’s Prince Kasef,” the older prince replied tensely.

“Perhaps in Neolandia it is, but this doesn’t look like a barren shithole to me.”

Three things led Rayla to believe what her fiancée had just said was a mistake. First, Callum’s gripped suddenly tightened around her hand. Second, the smug smirk on this, Kasef’s, face fell as his eyes narrowed. Finally, the foreign guard accompanying Kasef had tightened his grip on his spear.

“Who are you?” Rayla asked in a cold bland tone, her eyes staring blackly at the older teen, as she interjected herself to hopefully stop this from escalating further.

“Me? I am Neolandia’s Prince Kasef,” the prince replied, shocked that an elf would dare to question him.

“Are you sure?” She asked, tilting her head in curiosity. “I thought princes were suppose to be smart. You, however, look like a common foot solider.”

“Why you-”

“A smart prince would have taken note of the archers above us.”

That stopped Prince Kasef’s advance midstep. As he contemplated Rayla’s words, she continued speaking.

“Also, a smart prince would have known it was dangerous and stupid to approach a Moonshadow elf, thinking her unarmed. Now, speak whatever it is you have to say to and then kindly leave.”

Kasef stared at her for a moment, his guard and Callum looking between the two wondering who was going to break first. Kasef broke the stare first as he stepped back slightly and said, “I merely came over to offer my congratulations, Callum,” as he turned to face Callum. “Congratulations on finally getting a woman; even if it had to be done through an arrangement.”

“Thank you, Prince Kasef. The arrangement is beneficial to us both and, hey, at least I don’t have to force a woman to be with me,” Callum replied coolly.

As Kasef’s face grew red, Rayla spoke. “Thank you. Goodbye,” she said as she pushed Callum away; Leaving a sputtering prince behind them as his guard lead them away.

“What was that about?” She asked once they were far enough away.

“Let’s sit at our table and I’ll tell you about it,” Callum replied after a moment.

The two found their way to their seats and sat down. Callum and Rayla were sitting at a small table on a raised platform to the right of the royal family’s table, placing them between Callum’s family and the Xadian Council. Callum sat closer to the elves and Rayla sat closer to the humans.

“Who was that? And why did he call you, ‘step-prince’?” Rayla asked once they had been served drinks.

“That was Prince Kasef from Neolandia. He’s most likely here as a representative of his kingdom, as he’s the crown prince,” Callum began. “He called me, step-prince, as I am not King Harrow’s biological son and therefore cannot inherit the crown. A reminder that I don’t belong here and that my younger brother stands above me.”

“It doesn’t look like it, your brother seems kind of short.”

Chuckling a little at Rayla’s comment, he continued. “Perhaps you’re right. Though our encounters have been few, Kasef has always tried to goad me into a fight every time we meet, to show the superior ability of those born of sacred royal blood compared to commoner’s blood.”

“Guy sounds like a real charmer,” Rayla said with sarcasm dripping from her voice. “So what the heck is a crown prince?”

“A crown prince or princess is the one who will take over once the current King or Queen steps down or dies,” Calllum explained.

“You mean he…”

“Yep,” Callum finished with a nod of his head. “Once King Ahling steps down, Prince Kasef becomes king.”

“Well, I’m not looking forward to that day,” Rayla replied with a slight grimace.

“Neither are we.”

“So, who’s everyone else?” She asked after swallowing some of her drink.

“You already know Neolandia, so we’ll skip them,” he began, gesturing to Neolandia’s table. “The table closest to the Royal Family’s table is the one for the Duren representatives. Who are Queen Annika and her daughter Princess Aanya. I don’t know Queen Annika or her wife Queen Neha, but my parents have spoken highly of them both. Their daughter Aanya may be young, but she has a brilliant mind and is known to find holes in strategies various courtiers bring before her mothers. She has no problem putting anyone in their place, so, a word of caution, don’t speak down to her. Next to Duren, is Lord Fugnar of Del Bar. I don’t know much about him, but apparently the man is known to have an annoying sounding voice and that is why King Florian is always sending him on various trips across the Pentarchy. After them, is Neolandia so we’ll be ending with Evenere. I think that is Lady Fraye, Queen Fareeda’s youngest sister, acting as the Evenere representative. Evenere is an island kingdom and rarely interacts with the other kingdoms. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised to see them here.”

Rayla sat quietly, sipping her chalice of wine, and listened as Callum told her who the foreign representatives were and committing their names to memory for potential future use.

“Now, that does it for foreign nobility here,” Callum continued as he shifted the conversation to domestic nobility. “That lady there, in the dark red dress with the green scarf, is Baroness Tolya. She’s mostly fine so long as no one says anything against her son. Luckily, her son just turned 2. Speaking with her, in the grey suit, is Lord Umbra. I think he’s trying to arrange a marriage between his daughter and Duke Colten’s son. Duke Colten is the man dressed in the light blue suit at the other end of the room. If you’re curious about his bored expression, he’s wanting to return to his northern territory as soon as possible. Normally, to get him to the capital, he must be officially summoned here as he would never show up if politely asked. See the enthusiastic couple in green dancing? That’s Lord and Lady Fitizpuk and they will find any excuse to dance despite their advance age. See the tsungi horn player with the band? That’s Duchess Ula. Supposedly, she started playing as a way to rebel against her parents and became one of the best tsungi horn musicians.”

“Who is that?” Rayla asked, interrupting Callum, as she subtly pointed to a figure arriving on the stairs.

Looking at where she was gesturing, Callum saw Lord Viren and his daughter Claudia walking down the stairs.

“That’s Lord Viren, my father’s high mage, and his daughter, Claudia.”

Rayla’s interest was piqued. She had asked about the man, but not the girl beside him. Looking over at Callum, she asked, “Was there something between you and this Claudia?”

Callum took a moment to gather his thoughts before replying. “When I first became a prince, I was a bit overwhelmed by the sudden changes in my life. Claudia was a friend and helped make the transition easier. I thought at one point there might be something between us, but I think Claudia only ever saw me as a little brother.”

“Oh,” Rayla replied quietly, Callum had given her plenty to think about.

“Did you leave anyone?”

“Huh?”

“Back in Silvergrove, did you leave anyone behind?” Callum clarified.

“Well, there’s my family, but my parents and I don’t talk much. I didn’t have anyone special, but I did have a future career,” Rayla replied. “I had nearly completed my training to be an assassin when I was told I was getting married.”

“An assassin?” Callum asked in surprise.

Rayla nodded her head slightly before replying. “Among Moonshadow Elves, all fighting styles and disciplines are taught, but none are more revered than the assassin. Only the absolute best become one, after years of training and hard work.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Rayla replied with a shrug. “But thanks anyway,” she added as she was grateful for his words.

The young couple continued to talk and got to know each other a little better. Soon, food was brought out and everything was going fine as everyone happily ate. Then, however, things went a bit sideways.

It was subtle at first, the light from the candles and torches growing dimmer, an unknown sense of unease amongst some of the guest. It all came to a head though when a sudden cry was let out.

“What is this?!”
Callum and Rayla both looked at where the voice had come from and saw Baroness Tolya staring at her wine, which was floating in the air a good foot above her chalice. Looking around the ballroom, they saw other people experiencing the same thing. Drinks, bits of food, even the odd piece of silverware were all going up into the air.

Callum looked over at his parents to see if they had any sort of explanation, but they seemed as clueless as he was.

“Callum, look,” Rayla exclaimed nudging him in his side, before pointing.

Looking at where she was pointing, the young prince’s eyes widened in surprise. In the middle of the room, right where the band had been playing moments before, Callum was looking at himself. Or, rather, a reflection of himself in a mirrored bubble. Others must have noticed it too, because Callum could see others guesting and pointing to it. For a few moments the bubble just stayed in place, then it moved.

A loud ‘huuroom’ kind of noise erupted from the bubble and filled the ballroom. The bubble began to rapidly expand, growing nearly seven feet in height, as its surface simmered and rippled while a torrent of winds blew from out of the bubble. The light dimmed even further as the bubble seemed to produce its own otherworldly light.

It was quiet at first, being drowned out by the wind, but Callum could hear voices of some sort coming from the bubble.

“RAYLA!!” A voice cried from the bubble as clear as day.

If Callum thought things were weird now, what happened next was to make everything else look normal. After the shout, the bubble stilled as a body came flying out and landed on the floor.

The unknown figure slowly raised its head and upper body from the ground. It had snow white hair and dark violet horns. One was long and graceful, the other appeared to have been broken off. As he looked at her eyes, Callum gasped in surprise. “Rayla?” he asked as his eyes stared into her pools of violet. That was impossible. Rayla was sitting right next to him and this woman was clearly at least twenty years older than her.

What truly gave Callum pause was what was atop her head. Resting on her head wasn’t a princess’s crown. Instead, the mysterious figure, who looked like Rayla, was wearing the Queen’s Crown of Katolis.

“Callum!!” the woman shouted.

Only, she wasn’t looking at him. She was continuing to look at the bubble.

Chapter Text

Although she was screaming, no sound could escape her throat as reality itself was bent and twisted around her. For years they had been fighting Aaravos and now, after so long, it was time to put him back in his prison; a stronger prison this time. This prison would not allow him the luxury of books, food, sunlight, night, or even sleep. There was nothing in this pocket dimension prison her husband, Callum, had created. After connecting to all six primal sources, Callum had continued to develop his magic even further, going beyond what elves thought was possible. A tweak here, a twist there, he would constantly poke and prod his magic to see what could be done. And in the end? It worked better than anyone could have ever expected.

Callum developed new, powerful, disciplines of magic. He called them disciplines and one needed an understanding of the primal source first. He developed disciplines in true healing, life and death, gravity, pocket dimensions, and time. Though these disciplines were powerful, they were also limited. Such as his pocket dimensions, which were great for stuffing items other than food. Any time Callum tried to store food, it would immediately come back rotten. Time was another limited discipline. First, Callum could only travel back one day. Second, once in the past, he could only travel forward in time up to the point he traveled backwards. Third, there was no traveling forward in time. When he began tinkering with the possibility of time travel, it soon became an obsession, and a dangerous one at that. It all finally came to a head when Callum had put himself in a coma for a week trying to go further than a day back in time.

“What does it matter, Rayla?” Callum shouted, frustrated his wife couldn’t see what he was trying to accomplish. “I’m still here, this was nothing more than a temporary setback.”

Though she loved her husband, Rayla wasn’t in a loving mood at the moment. Being the faster and more agile of the two, she moved before he could react and swept Callum’s legs out from under him.

“Enough!” she shouted as she pinned her husband’s left shoulder down with her right bare foot. As the fire in their bedchamber fireplace cracked and popped, Rayla bent down at the waist and continued. “Callum, I am your wife and I love you, but this has got to stop! You are going to end up killing yourself. I know how much this means to you, I know better than anyone! But, it’s time to stop this.”

“I have to continue this!”

“Why?”

“Because he was a child!!” He roared back and just like that, the dam had burst.

Removing her foot, Rayla sat on Callum’s lap as he sat up, and wrapped her arms around her husband as he cried. Callum hadn’t cried since Ezran’s passing, and it honestly worried her a little.

“My mother was a warrior first and foremost,” he began through the tears. “Harrow had been expecting the elves to retaliate for months when the assassins came. Both of them were prepared and ready for the possibility of death. But Ezran? He was a kid. Hell, he hadn’t even gone on a date yet.”

Rayla continued to hold him close that night as Callum continued to cry. At some point the royal couple fell asleep in the early hours of the morning. Later, Callum destroyed all his work in regards to time magic, saying it was too dangerous to let it fall into the wrong hands.

Callum eventually returned to time magic in an effort to figure out a way to imprison Aaravos, as killing him seemed to be out of the question. By combining time and dimensional magic together, Callum was, theoretically, able to create a prison that would trap Aaravos forever in a single perceived “moment” of time. What they hadn’t counted on was how wide the area of effect would be and, to their shock and horror, Rayla and Callum were sucked in.

Wait, what’s this? She thought. As this prison removed sight, sound, smell, and taste, the only one left was touch; which was rather useless when you were floating in an empty void of nothingness. A way out?

Calling on her many years of willpower, Rayla forced her body to move as she grabbed what she hoped was Callum’s body to force him toward the weakened spot. They had to get out and they had to do it before Aaravos. If he were to gain freedom before them, they would be trapped forever.

Moving closer, to where she perceived the weakness to be, Rayla pushed against it; pressing her very being towards the spot. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, her mind roared as she gave it all she had.

“RAYLA!!”

She swore that was Callum’s voice, but there wasn’t any time to think about that as the very next motion of the movement of time had Rayla hurtling through the air. As her senses flooded back to her and overwhelmed her. Rayla’s only thought was, mustn't land on my back. She changed her position in the air, as she felt gravity pulling her down, to have her body land face first on the stone floor.

“Uff,” Rayla groaned as her body impacted the floor, knocking the wind out of her. Move, Rayla. Move! Now wasn’t the time to be lying down. She had to help Callum and make sure that blight Aaravos stayed trapped in his hellish prison. Slowly, she raised her head, the weight of her crown feeling heavier than ever, and looked to the dimensional break point she had been thrown out of.

“CALLUM!” She screamed as she forced her body to move.

Getting up on shaky legs, Rayla made her way to the break point and pounded on its iron-hard mirrored surface, begging in her mind for the safe return of her husband. Callum, we need you. I cannot do this without you.

Fate must have heard her desperate plea. At that moment, an arm appeared from the break, an arm she knew so well she could tell you everything about it. Grabbing hold of Callum’s left arm, Rayla pulled for all she was worth. It was slow but steady work as Callum began to emerge from the break.

“Aaravos,” Callum choked out once his head was free. Rayla could see what he was talking about. The Startouch elf had the back of Callum’s shirt in his grasp. Thinking quickly, Rayla grabbed one of her throwing knives, from a holster on her thigh, and stabbed the offending hand full force.

Just die already, she thought.

The pain was enough for Aaravos to release Callum’s shirt. With that, Ryala pulled Callum completely out of the break point and reached behind her back to unsheathe one of her butterfly daggers. Striking mercilessly, she severed half of Aarvos’s hand and forced the Startouch elf to pull, what remained of his hand, back into the prison.

With Callum and his wife now free the mage king raised his hand and spear-staff and cried out, “Occludo!” to force the dimensional break point to close and seal Aaravos inside. The bubble shimmered for a second before becoming completely still and quietly imploding on itself.

With the dimensional break sealed, the two began to relax and checked each other over at a glance for any permanent wounds. As they did so, Rayla and Callum began to take note of their surroundings and realized something was wrong. What the hell, the couple thought as one, as they looked around. When they had started their fight with Aaravos the banquet hall was empty, but now the hall was filled with nearly two hundred and they were quickly being surrounded by guards who were leveling their spears at them.

Callum and Rayla were staring wide-eyed at the apparent sight of their own older selves. Which was impossible. With the strange bubble gone and the light returning to normal, they were able to see the two better. The moonshadow elf “Rayla”, stood tall at probably seven feet. Her hair was long, going past her ass, and white with a long braid starting at her left ear and going down to past her elbow, her horns were also large and curved back. Actually, it was just the one horn. Her left horn appeared to have been broken a little more than halfway off. At the base of her horns were silver cuffs, each with a bright blue sapphire, the symbol of marriage amongst moonshadow elves. In front of her forehead a small silver ornament in the shape of the moon floated freely. She also had cuff earrings, one on her left and two on her right. This Rayla’s clothes were also quite odd, seemingly a mix of both elf and human. She wore a sleeveless dark teal top with a high collar around her neck. She had on a modified set of pauldrons; full armor on her left shoulder with a gardbrace, rerebrace, and besagew each had intricate moonshadow design elements in them. The besagew was of the Katolis’ Towers. The armor on her right shoulder, was just the pauldron. This made the intricate and complex moon tattoo on her right shoulder visible. The woman’s arms were covered in fingerless black leather gloves that went up to her elbows. The gloves also seemed to have some armor sewn in under the fabric with how they bulged out a little. From her left shoulder across her body to her right hip was a dark red sash that was tied at her hip. Around her waist was a series of belts, the largest another dark red sash. The sash was tied at her left hip with the extra fabric falling past her knees; each end of the sash was tied to a deadly-looking kunai. The second belt looked remarkably like Rayla’s own assassin belt. It even has the crescent moon buckle. Unlike Rayla, this “Rayla’s” was slightly larger and had a short skeggox axe in its belt holster. The final belt was just below the first two and hung around her hips and held several pouches. It appeared to be a common black leather belt, a couple of inches thick, and its buckle bore the insignia of the royal house of Katolis. Below the belts, the woman wore a long dark red skirt with patterns having been sewn into the skirt in teal. The skirt was slitted up to her hips on both sides revealing quite a bit of leg. Finally, she wore a pair of knee high black leather boots. The top of the boots had armor over her knees; as well as armor over her shins and ankles. The design of the armor was clearly Katolian, but the material looked elvish.

Wow, Callum could only think as he looked at this woman, who looked like an older version of Rayla. If Rayla, the Rayla next to him, was going to look like this in a few years than he was incredibly lucky. Now, as beautiful as this mysterious Rayla was, Callum was still weary of her. For as beautiful as she looked, she looked far deadlier.

Next to Callum, Rayla was having some similar thoughts about the woman. Whoa, she thought. Rayla was a tomboy, she knew she was one and anyone who knew her, knew she was one. Despite this, she had been a little self-conscious about her body and wondered if she would ever develop a more feminine figure. A figure like the unknown woman had. The woman was tall, graceful, full figured, and deadly, Rayla thought. Due to her years of training under Runaan and having nearly finished her assassin’s training, Rayla had started to develop a sixth sense of warning for when someone was far too strong for her to confront and this woman had ‘dangerous’ rolling off of her in waves.

The two shifted their gaze to the newest arrival in the room, the man referred to as “Callum,” and was slightly perplexed at what they saw.

Short, was the first thought that came to their minds with Callum hoping this wasn’t his future. While the lady was tall, this man was short. He was barely taller than Callum’s own current height of five feet four and a half inches tall. At best guess, he was five nine. Other than his shortness, this Callum was just as strangely dressed as the woman next to him. His dark brown hair was neck length, and atop his head was the same crown King Harrow wore at this very moment. Over his shoulders, around his neck, and along his upper back was what looked like the pelt of a banther. Under the pelt were pauldrons, and the right side of the armor had an ornament of a mythical dragon’s head. He wore a dark red robe the same shade of the Katolis royal family’s clothing. Around his wrists were black leather wrist guards. He wore what looked like a moonshadow crafted chest guard. Around his waist was a large dark blue leather belt that had a dragon’s head as the buckle. The man wore a larger pelt of banther fur around his legs like a skirt which obscured his large black leather boots, but not enough to hide the bit of solleret armor he had over the upper half of his feet.

What was truly unusual about this Callum wasn’t his clothes, but what he held in his hand. Is that mom’s spear? Callum thought as he looked at this other Callum. In the man’s left hand was what appeared to be Queen Sarai’s spear. The spear looked the same at the spearhead and shaft, but the shoe was vastly different. Instead of the normal tip, there was a medium sized iron ring. In the center of that ring, hovering in place, was a glowing cube covered in symbols. Callum didn’t know what this object was, but the other him was holding the spear like a mage’s staff. But that’s impossible.

The young prince and princess-to-be continued to watch as guards circled around them, leveling their spears at the strange intruders.

Captain Lucus, of the Crownguard, was less than six months away from retirement. These last few months were supposed to be some of the easiest of his entire career. The only big thing was Prince Callum’s marriage to an elf. After that, he would spend a couple of months training his replacement, Lord Viren’s boy Soren, on management of the Crownguard. Then, it was a nice quiet retirement to his family’s estate. Nothing was ever said about strangers appearing out of thin air, he thought. Stepping forward to address the two, the captain stopped as an unknown force grabbed him and squeezed his entire body as it was lifted into the air.

“You dare?” Callum growled darkly as he stared down the unknown assailants, who had poorly disguised themselves in the armor of the old Crownguard. “I will flay your skin from your flesh and send you back to whatever hole you crawled out of for daring to think you could attack me in my own home.”

“I don’t know who you think you are,” a voice from behind the Crownguards spoke as it approached them. A voice Callum knew well and that should be dead. “But this isn’t your home,” Viren said as he came to a stop slightly behind the Crownguard captain’s left.

“Viren!” Callum exclaimed in surprise with venom dripping from his mouth as his eyes narrowed. The mage king sent the assailants flying back, caring not as the people around them screamed, giving all of his attention to the most hated enemy of his kingdom.

“Ah, so you’ve heard of me?” Viren preened like the arrogant rat he was. “Then you’ll want to surrender-”. As the dark mage activated his cane’s staff mode, Callum threw up his hand and sent a massive arc of lightning at Viren. The force of the blast sent Viren flying back where he crashed into the stone pillar.

“You should have stayed dead after the third time we killed you, Viren,” Callum said, stabbing his staff into the stone floor. He then turned to the downed dark mage.

“This time, I’ll incinerate your head,” Callum continued as he approached. Opening his hands, whips of fire slowly emerged, hissing and crackling as they descended to the floor and trailed a few feet behind him.

Stopping a few feet from Viren, Callum looked down at the man responsible for so much pain and suffering with cold, merciless, dead green eyes. Sending his own children to kill their friends, orchestrating the murders of foreign monarchs, maneuvering his brother off the throne, harvesting Xadia citizens, orchestrating his brother’s murder and the invasion of Katolis, killing his daughter-in-law and grandchild. Doing all of this and more, all while playing the victim. Claiming that it was for the betterment of humans, so they could never be put under the heel of elves again. Such. Utter. Patheticness. Callum snapped his arms back, the fire whips coiling for a quick and deadly end, before swinging his arms forward to end Viren. Callum, having long since stopped caring about the man’s reasons, just wanted to wipe the filth away and move on with his day.

“CALLUM, STOP!!!”

As Callum threw their assailants, Rayla watched them go sailing as she drew her blades and flicked them open with movements so practiced she could do it, and had done it, in her sleep. Wrapping her hands around the familiar grips of her daggers, she paused as she saw something she never expected to see. Rayla, wife of the first human mage, Callum, and Queen of Katolis, was staring at herself sitting next to her husband.

What the hell, the queen thought. As she looked around the two, more questions began to fill her mind. That’s Harrow, Sarai, Runaan, Mom, Dad, Ezran! This wasn’t making any sense! Queen Sarai died a few months after Ezran turned one. Harrow was killed by Runaan’s assassins. Her parents and Runaan were still trapped in Viren’s coins. Ezran… Ezran died in Callum’s arms. Noooo, no, no, no, Rayla thought. Something was wrong here, what she was looking at couldn’t be. At that moment, she was brought out of her thinking when she saw the whip of her husband’s flame. I have to stop him! If this was real, then this wasn’t their world.

“CALLUM, STOP!!!” She cried desperately, hoping her words would reach him. She knew her husband had a special, almost obsessive, hatred towards the dark mage; one, that she was now going to have to ask him to hold back on.

The flames died instantly, not even a hint of smoke remained in the air. Callum turned from Viren’s unconscious body towards her. His face wasn’t contorted into a look of anger and betrayal, but was one of concern and worry. With years of marriage between them, she understood his unasked question. What’s wrong?

Callum looked towards his wife; she knew how deeply his hatred for this man ran. With her own nearly matching his, he knew she had a good reason for stopping him. Not replying in words, she merely raised her hand and pointed. Following her finger the man’s eyes widened at what he saw. Is that me, he thought as he looked at a younger him sitting next to an equally young Rayla. Looking around the two, more questions began to fill his mind. Mom? Dad? He thought, as he saw the stupefied expressions of his long dead parents, just before his gaze fell to who was sitting between them. Ezran. The last time he saw his brother he was holding the dying boy in his arms as he screamed for help, Claudia’s cruel laughter echoing in his mind like a memory that wouldn’t stay forgotten. Callum’s eyes hardened at that. If this is someone’s idea of a joke, I’m going to introduce them to so much pain, the mage thought as he raised his hands. Calling on his magic, he began to scribe ancient dragonic runes in the air.

“Fallaciae revelare,” he called out in a booming voice. A violet-colored orb of light exploded out from the runes and filled the room. As the light washed over everyone, nothing happened. Callum looked at the figures of his dead family and the young versions of himself and his wife. For a moment the mage king wondered if he got it wrong, but then saw Viren’s illusion had dropped, revealing his ashen gray dead like skin.

They’re real, he thought as the ramifications of what this meant began to become clearer to him.

Callum’s light green eyes locked onto the dark green eyes of his stepfather; eyes that had long since passed from the world, his world. The last time he looked into those eyes, they had been filled with so much regret. With a slow calming breath, Callum said what he had longed to say to Harrow for decades.

“Dad.”

Chapter Text

The past few minutes had been unlike any Harrow had ever experienced or expected to experience. The evening had started out so well, too. The Xadia Council had arrived without incident and the banquet seemed like it was going splendidly. While keeping his distance he watched as Callum and Rayla talked; hoping they were getting to know each other.

Then, everything changed.

The torches dimmed as a mirror-like sphere appeared in the middle of his banquet hall. From that sphere emerged a female Moonshadow elf, who pulled out a human male she called Callum.

What is going on here? Harrow thought as the guards surrounded the two strangers. More questions quickly erupted as he watched the man push his guards back. The viciousness with which this stranger attacked Viren was unlike anything Harrow would have ever expected from his stepson. Just as the man was about to kill Viren, the woman called out his name and he stopped. It was then that she gestured over to them and the man looked at them.

Surprise seemed to fill the man’s face for a moment before it quickly turned to anger. He then quickly drew some runes in the air and cast a spell. A spell that Harrow thought was going to harm his family; but nothing happened, other than Viren’s skin becoming an ash like gray. The strangers seemed surprised by this and now the man was looking at Harrow with eyes full of sadness.

“Dad.”

One simple word, that’s all it was. Just one word, but it held so much impact.

What happened to you? Sarai wondered as she looked at the man who bore far more than just a passing resemblance to her eldest son. He may be oddly dressed, but he still looked like Callum. His voice was a bit more worn, but it still sounded like Callum. This man, however, didn’t act like Callum. Sarai didn’t know what had happened; just that if this man truly was her son, in any way, something bad must have happened to him.

With all the various unknowns happening at the moment, one would expect a question or two to be asked. However, such questions were never asked. At the start of the commotion, a pair of guards had left to get more guards, not knowing what was about to happen. Upon their return, the group saw their fellow guards on the ground; even the castle’s high mage had been knocked out. With a loud and sudden yell, the group of seven charged at the strangers, their spears at the ready.

Shit, Rayla thought as the yell brought her out of her thoughts. She had allowed herself to get distracted too easily. Such distractions could kill you. Reaching behind her, the queen grasped the familiar hilts of her butterfly daggers and began to pull them out as she spun. Spinning left to right while ducking left to avoid the first two spears, Rayla flicked her blades open. The left struck down while the right struck up. Rayla always made sure to keep her blades sharp, so it was no surprise to her when they cut through the shaft of the guards’ spears. As the guards looked on in shock, Rayla capitalized on the moment, punching them both hard in the face; not too hard, but enough to knock them out.

As the first two fell, a third guard charged at her. Rayla blocked his spear to her left with her daggers and delivered a devastating kick to his left cheek with her right foot. The guard was pushed back into one of his comrades as he lost consciousness. At this point, the remaining guards perceived her as the biggest threat and focused their efforts on her. Two guards attacked from either side. Amateurs, Rayla thought as she forced the tips of their spears away from her; the left in front and the right behind her. Thinking she was trapped, a third guard charged at her from the front. Moving quickly, Rayla dropped her daggers and grabbed the spear that was to her left with both hands and swung both it and the guard holding the spear into his charging comrade. Not stopping however, Rayla saw the swing all the way through and slammed the two guards into the third guard who had been holding the spear she had sent behind her.

Rayla watched as the three fell to the floor. However, this was all the distraction the final guard needed. Having pushed his unconscious friend off after he had been kicked into him, the last guard leveled his spear and, with a yell, was about to plunge the sharpened tip into the unknown woman’s back.

Hearing the yell, Rayla scrambled to get her back out of the way. A strike never came, though; as she twisted around, she saw that the guard was being held in the air with Callum’s magic.

“That wasn’t a smart move,” Callum said, now looking away from Harrow and looking at the guard.

“ENOUGH!!” roared Harrow, now standing from his seat. This is going to require a lot of damage control he thought before speaking again. “I don’t know who the two of you are, but please refrain from attacking my citizens. Guardsmen, I will leave your disciplining to the queen for attacking two strangers to our kingdom without knowing the full details of who they are and what their purpose here is.”

Seeing that the situation wouldn’t be escalating any further, and that Rayla had her blades back, Callum released the guard.

“Who are you?” Sarai asked the two of them.

“I think you know the answer or, at least, part of it,” Callum replied. “The whole answer is rather long and complex; perhaps we should retire to the king’s study? Such conversation would bore a banquet hall full of guests.”

“Of course,” Harrow agreed.

As Harrow, Sarai, the princes, and Rayla stood up from their seats, the mysterious woman spoke, “You may want to invite the Moonshadow elves Lain, Tiadrin, and Runaan to join as well.”

With a nod at the woman’s suggestion, Harrow scanned the Xadia side of the room and saw the three mentioned elves now standing up.

“Your majesty, are you sure this is wise?” the remaining guardsman asked.

“Do you see that spear you are holding, guardsman?” the male stranger asked before Harrow could reply. “The one you nearly ran my child and wife through with?”

With a flick of his wrist and fingers the spear was turned to dust. “Now imagine that was you, instead of that spear.”

The implication of the man’s statement caused a small bead of sweat to appear on the back of Harrow’s neck. This man, whoever he truly was, was powerful.

“Believe me, Marcos. I went extremely easy on you,” the man replied, as Marcos looked up from the pile of dust that had been his spear.

“You know me?” Marcos asked.

“Of course,” the stranger replied with a shrug. “I presided over your wedding to Lux Aurea’s Golden Knight, Sabah.”

Who’s Sabah? Marcos wondered as the man left. WAIT! Did he say I nearly ran a child through with my spear?

About twenty minutes later, a small group was seated in the sitting area of King Harrow’s study. The study was where the king did most of his work. While he would meet citizens and foreign dignitaries in the throne room, here was where he worked on the day-to-day running of the kingdom. The sitting area comprised two long couches, a small table between them and a leather loveseat at one end of the table next to the wall. On the couch to the loveseat’s right sat King Harrow, Prince Ezran, Tiadrin, and Lain. On the couch to the loveseat’s left sat Queen Sarai, Prince Callum, Rayla, and Runaan. The loveseat is where the two strangers sat. The group of eight watched them as the woman called ‘Rayla’ untied the sash around her chest and carefully grasped a bundle behind her.

“Check on her, Callum,” she told the man as she handed the bundle to him very carefully.

The man took the bundle and revealed a sleeping baby after he had unwrapped some of the cloth.

“Who are you?” Tiadrin asked perhaps a touch more aggressively then she meat to. Sure, she was a Moonshadow elf, but even her patience had limits.

I wonder if Mom is like that? Rayla thought before looking away from her husband and daughter. “If it isn’t obvious to everyone at this point, allow me to introduce myself,” She said in a calm clear manner. “I am Queen Rayla of Katolis and this is my husband, King Callum, and my daughter, Princess Sarai.”

“So, you are Callum and Rayla? The same as them?” Harrow asks, gesturing across the table to the younger Callum and Rayla.

“No,” Queen Rayla replied with a shake of her head. “We are from a different world; an alternate dimension, if you will.”

“Another world?” Queen Sarai inquired.

“Have you ever heard of the Multiverse Theory?” King Callum asked. Having finished checking the shields around his daughter and unlocking the stasis he had her under, his little princess was sleeping peacefully in his arms as he looked at the small group. Seeing their confused looks, the mage king further elaborated. “To put it very simply, imagine you are walking down a path and come to a fork in the road. Which path do you take? Whichever path you take, the multiverse theory hypothesizes that there is a universe entirely like your own, BUT in this universe you choose the opposite path. There’s a universe where you decided not to go for a walk that day and another where you don’t even exist.”

“What happened in your universe?” Queen Sarai asked, very curious to know more about this strange version of her son.

King Callum clammed up a little at her question. Even after so long, his mother’s death was still hard for him to talk about.

“There was a famine,” Queen Rayla began. “And it was getting worse. Katolis and Duren were both affected, but Duren was getting the brunt of it. The Queens of Duren came to Katolis and begged King Harrow for help. After many days of research, the kingdom’s high mage, Viren, came up with a solution. By using the heart of a Magma Titan he could wield dark magic strong enough to make the lands in both kingdoms fertile a dozen times over. Even though she was against it, believing dark magic to be a shortcut with a high price, Queen Sarai accompanied her husband anyway. In order to get the heart of a Magma Titan, they had to cross the border just inside of Xadia. Getting the heart was easy enough for them and though no one died there were some injured. However, it was the journey back that became much much worse. The border that separated Xadia from the human kingdoms was watched over jealously by Avizandum, the Dragon King.”

“A dragon king?” Runaan interrupted.

“Yes,” Rayla replied, surprised at the wide-eyed looks on the other elves. “Who is the current Dragon King?”

“No one,” Lain replied. “There hasn’t been a dragon king in a little over a thousand years.”

“Well, there’s one difference between our worlds,” Rayla replied, surprised at what she had just been told. “Avizandum attacked the retreating party without mercy. The Queens of Duren and Queen Sarai died that day. Callum was six and Ezran was a few months from turning two. For the next eight years King Harrow waged a war campaign with the sole goal being the death of Avizandum, and he achieved it using a weapon made of the foulest of dark magics, and the humans destroyed his heir, the egg of the Dragon Prince. Only it wasn’t as it seemed. Five months after Avizandum fell, the Dragon Queen, Zubeia, ordered an assassin squad of Moonshadow elves to kill the human who had killed her mate, and to kill his firstborn as her child had been killed.”

The story wasn’t painting a happy picture for the royal pair. Queen Sarai was slightly pale, discovering that she, another version of herself, hadn’t lived past her youngest son’s second birthday. Harrow was also silent at the thought of death coming for him.

“I was on that squad; we were led by Runaan. I met Callum when I snuck into the castle to find Ezran and kill him. Instead, Callum pretended to be Ezran and lead me on a chase throughout the castle. The real Ezran found us and led us to a secret room under the castle where we found the egg of the dragon prince. The three of us and Ezran’s pet glow toad, Bait, traveled across Katolis and Xadia to return the prince to his mother and stop another cycle of hate and killing.”

With her explanation finished, Queen Rayla looked at the assembled group and asked, “Questions?”