Strong Together (Rayla x Callum)

Unkept Promises

Little rays of light pierced into the room and onto Callum's face. He squinted and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

Then he remembered it was the most important day of his life, and he would be spending it with the most important person in his life!

He then sat up in bed and looked over to where Rayla's bed was.

She's gone. That's weird. Maybe she just got up to patrol again before we head out. Then again it's not like her to get up without saying hi, he thought.

           Callum sprung out of bed to go find her, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a rolled up letter on Rayla's pillow. He stopped dead in his tracks just looking at it. No she didn't. He slowly walked over to her bed and picked up the letter.

            Callum just sat on her bed and stared at the rolled up letter in his hands for a few moments before untying the ribbon that held it together. In the tie he noticed she slipped the blue feather they got from little Phoe Phoe. He took a deep breath and opened the letter.

Dear Callum,

I'm sorry. I know I promised you that we would do it together but I couldn't risk losing you. This mission is dangerous and I did not want to drag you into it. You're all I have left in this world and I don't want to lose you too. Please don't follow me, I can't see you get hurt. I'll be back as soon as I can.

I love you Callum.

From, Rayla

A tear landed on the paper as Callum read the last word. His eyes felt like they were burning as tears ran down his face. He felt like his heart was ripped from his chest and shattered into a thousand pieces. He dropped the letter and it sank to the ground. He covered his eyes and started to sob.

"How could she do this to me? She promised we would do this together. I can't believe I didn't see this coming. I-I trusted her." Callum choked as tears continued to fall.

"You did trust her, didn't you? Hmm...big mistake," a mysterious voice in Callum's head began to say.

"No, it wasn't a mistake! I can trust her, and I know all she wanted to do was protect me," Callum argued with the voice. This voice has been with Callum for as long as he can remember, but it never really bothered him, until now.

"But she broke her word. She promised you and now she is gone. We can't trust her anymore. She doesn't love you," the voice snickered in Callum's mind.

"No! I'm not going to believe it! Leave me alone," Callum yelled at the voice. He put his hands on his head trying to get a hold of himself. He doesn't want to believe these lies, he knows Rayla would never try to hurt him on purpose. Just then, someone knocks on his door, and Callum hears the sweet voice of his younger brother.

"Callum? Rayla? Are you guys awake yet," Ezran asked against the door.

Callum felt his heart sink as he heard Ezran say Rayla's name too. He must not know she is gone yet. When Callum got enough courage, he opened the door and gave Ezran a consuming hug. This scared Ezran half to death, but he hugged Callum back. Tears start running down Callum's face once more.

"Callum, what's wrong? Where is Rayla," Ezran asked both confused and worried.

When Callum pulled away from the hug Ezran saw his sad, puffy eyes. Ezran must have known what Callum was thinking when he asked this question.

"Is she coming back," he asked Callum.

Callum gave his brother a little sad smile. He didn't want his brother to end up sad like he was so he tried to gather himself the best he could.

"I hope so Ez," Callum finally said, trying to sound hopeful.

But deep down Callum is losing hope. He knows that Rayla still loves him and he loves her too. But he just can't help but feel this sinking pain of her being in grave danger.

Ezran smiled back at his brother, wishing he could do more. "Well we made some cake for you if that helps," Ezran said, trying to brighten the mood.

Callum didn't feel like eating. He wanted to go crawl into a hole and not speak to anyone. But he didn't want to be ungrateful to his brother, so he accepted the offer. Then Callum put one arm around him as they went to find Lujanne and Soren.

...

The cake did not seem to satisfy him one bit, even though Lujanne said it was not grubs. Callum was very grateful that they did this for him, but he was still upset. So he continued to put on a fake smile just to keep his little brother happy.

While the others were talking to each other at the table, Callum's mind wandered a bit. He wishes dearly that Rayla was still here. He also hopes that she is safe and not in danger. He knew that danger would come to her soon so he needed to find her.

When they were all done with cake, Callum went to talk with Ezran.

"I know why you wanted to talk," Ezran said as they began walking. "I miss her too, Callum, and I really want to find her." Callum smiled down at Ezran and turned to face him.

"I do too Ez, but you need to return home. The kingdom needs you more than me right now," Callum said. Ezran looked down to the ground.

"But, I need you too," Ezran mumbled. Callum pulled his brother into a hug and held him tight.

"I know you do, and I will be back as soon as I can. I just really need to do this." He tilted his brother's chin up so they were face to face. "I am really proud of you, know that."

Ezran gave him a half smile with tears filling in his eyes. "I know."

...

Callum said goodbye to Lujanne and Soren as well. Lujanne packed him some food in a bag before he set out. Callum knew he must find Rayla as quickly as he could. Before Viren found her first.