Strong Together (Rayla x Callum)

Ambush

Yesterday Rayla finally crossed back into Xadia. She felt happier to be back to where she was from, but the thought of her home made her heart sink. Being banished was hard for her. Even though she knew returning Zym to his mom was the right choice, the thought of her leaving her group and Runaan behind made her guilty.

But that didn't matter now. She needed to find Viren and stop him before it was too late. If she didn't then everything she worked for, everything she trained for, would be all for nothing.

Yesterday she spent most of the day trying to get past the crazy, blind dragon again. It wasn't as hard as last time because she didn't have others to keep up with. So sneaking past him was like second nature for her.

Today she will be traveling past her home. She is not looking forward to it but at least she won't have to go inside.

"I wonder how Ethari is doing," she said to herself.

She has not seen him since she and Callum traveled here with Zym. She misses Ethari a lot and wishes she could go back home.

...

Soon enough she reached the border of her home. She looked down to see the open land where it stands, but it's covered by an illusion.

Sometimes her mind wanders to the past. She remembers the meadow she played in with the adoraburrs. She even remembers Runaan teaching her to fight with sticks near their house. But she will never forget the memory of her parents leaving.

Flashback

"But I wanna go," baby Rayla cried to her mom.

Her mom looked down at her eyes and gave her a warm smile. Tiadrin grabbed her daughter's hand and squeezed it.

"I know sweetheart, but you need to stay here. The village needs you more than you know," she said while getting down on her knees to be at Rayla's height.

"You will grow up to be so brave and strong. You will be a warrior just like me. But most of all, you will be a beautiful young woman and I am already so proud of you," Tiadrin finished.

Baby Rayla stared down at the ground trying not to cry. Then she saw her mom grab something from her pocket.

"Here this is a gift for you," she told her while placing it in her hand.

It was a little silver full moon that glistened in the sunlight. She noticed a pretty blue gem close to the middle of it.

"It's a little big now but when you grow older you can wear it. It is a constant reminder that we will always be there for you." She leaned in and kissed Rayla on the forehead.

"I love you so much, Rayla."

...

"I love you too, mom," she whispered to herself as she took one more look at her home before setting out again.

...

As the sun started to dip, there were only a few rays of light piercing through the trees. Rayla's pace started to slow down as the light began to fade from the sky. She needed to make camp soon before she got too sleepy.

She soon found a good spot to set up for the night and went to go find some logs for a fire. She started to travel east from the Silvergrove to avoid the midnight desert. During the night she knew it would be cold, so she decided to make a fire. Once she got enough logs she grabbed two small stones in each hand.

She remembers when Runaan taught her to make a fire like this. It was one of the things she needed to learn as an assassin. When you're in the woods you never know where you will end up, so having these skills can help your odds.

She started hitting one stone on the other to start small sparks. When she hit it just right, a piece caught on fire. She quickly leaned over and blew on it. Soon enough she had a good sized flame in front of her.

"Being in the woods is sure hard on your own," Rayla said as part of her hoped the woods would answer back. But it never did. She sighed and stared at the blazing flame.

Her mind started to wander and the feeling of regret and guilt came back to taunt her. This time she let her thoughts run freely, even though it was hard to face them. Sadness soon came rushing over her, like the changing winds in the night.

The night she left she felt guilty. She didn't want to leave Callum but she knew she had to. Her stomach aches when she is missing him. I wish you were here Callum, she thought to herself, maybe everything would be better if you were.

She missed everything about him. His dorkiness always made her laugh. His kindness always made her smile. His warm hugs always made her feel comfortable and safe. His soft kiss would always feel right. When she left, all those feelings and things that made her happy have slipped away. She fears that she will never feel happy again. But worst of all, she fears that she will never see Callum again.

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she was lost in thought. She closed her eyes as they continued to fall. When her eyes grew heavy she soon fell asleep.

...

Rayla was jerked awake at the sound of something snapping. She looked around with caution, trying to skim the trees in the dark woods. She pulled out her blades and stood up in a ready position.

"Who's there," she shouted. "Show yourself, before I do something you'll regret!"

In an instant, someone jumped from a bush, slammed her gut, and knocked her to the ground. Rayla sprang to her feet, trying to ignore the shot of pain in her stomach.

The stranger stood in front of her, wearing a mask to cover his face. The mask was black and white and had weird patterns on it, but a familiar moon shape on it caught her eye.

"Who are you," she demanded. Then something smacked her in the back of the head and everything went black.

Authors note: I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think! And just a reminder, I will be posting 2 chapters daily until this story is complete.