Callum doesn't know what to do right now. The Dragon Queen's egg is alive and Viren had it, no scratch that, he hid the egg from Harrow and was going to use it for dark magic purposes. Callum was is mad. Viren caused so much pain for him, his kingdom! Just for a stupid egg. If Viren just left the egg alone, Ezran would be alive. It was a death for a death he assumed, if Viren left the egg alone, the queen wouldn't have sent the elves after Ezran, only Harrow.
Don't get him wrong, he cared about Harrow a lot, but he just didn't have that connection he did with him that he did with Ezran. Harrow might have been his stepfather, but he was also king, and by that logic, Callum used to be below him. Because Callum wasn't a true prince, it caused him to drop even further down that list. He cared for Harrow, but he never saw him as his father, just a figure who raised him, a king who was burdened by his presence.
Harrow was not his father, just a person who had to care for him because his mother wouldn't leave Callum. Callum knew Harrow cared, that Harrow tried to be there, but in the end, Harrow was just his king and Callum was below him.
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One good thing came out of Viren taking the egg, he could lock him up and throw away the key with minimal questions on why he did such a thing.
He had been quick to ask Claudia about her opinion on being a high mage, to which she had stated it would be a dream. She was soon placed in her father's old rank and was given access to any books she deemed needed to speed up her learning of magic.
Today needed to go smoothly, the queen of Duren was visiting for a meeting. Queen Aanya is the youngest ruler in history, but she has proven to be one of the smartest, but even smart people have their weaknesses. During his time as a prince, Callum had made multiple visits to the kingdom of Duren because of political meetings, and each time he was able to observe what made Aanya soft.
She would likely feel sympathy for him because she too lost her parents, even if they were under different circumstances. Another reason she would be more flexible with him is because of Duren's past with Katolis. The last queens of Duren had come for help from Katolis when their kingdom was in famine, and Katolis helped, saving Duren at the cost of the lives of the queens and Callum's mother, Sarai. All three of them died to Avizandum, the last king of dragons.
They were also both quite young, but she was younger. She may be smart, but she is easily manipulated if you can sympathize with her.
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The meeting was going quite well, Queen Aanya was happy to keep open trade routes and give political advice (not that he asked for it). She was quite sweet once you got to know her, but she asked too many questions about the elves that killed his father, and what happened to them. Nothing he couldn't fix though.
He slowly changed the topic back to trade and she had noticed, he was sure of it. She brought it up at the end of the meeting, trying to press him about the matter. He had once again diverted the topic, offering to show her around the palace. She was suspicious but she dropped the topic.
He had shown many people around the palace when he was younger, but this time he was careful. He was sure to avoid letting her know where the secret tunnels were, he avoided the tower like the plague, and he was sure to divert any questions about the elves.
Aanya was suspicious, he could tell. She held herself in a defensive position, kept track of any and all escape routes, and strung together her sentences so carefully it was as if she was trying to calm a wild animal.
Eventually, he knew she would be straightforward with her questions, but he was trying to enjoy the calmness of showing someone around again. The gardens were getting close, and he knew it would distract her. They both shared an unusual love for plants and animals, it was why they both were against dark magic, even if they didn't show it.
It was the main reason they got along so well, they both shared a large love for the creatures and other living things in this world. They both knew this, so when Callum was reluctant to share what happened with real Moonshadow elves, she knew something was amiss.
If it was her who had seen the elves, she would be going into every detail she could pick up, and Callum normally would too. When he didn't, it came as a surprise to the young queen and made her worry, that worry turned into suspicion, and that suspicion turned into fear. She feared what the king would do, and how much he changed.
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The garden was peaceful, it was quiet and you could hear the water from the nearby lake. The bugs in the area never bothered anyone and the occasional deer would pop up somewhere, whether it was noticeable or not. It was also the only place servants were not allowed to care for, the royal family enjoyed taking care of the flowers and they enjoyed knowing the flowers were alive because of them, it used to be a calming area for Callum, but right now it seemed like a war zone.
Aanya was more reserved than usual and Callum was more closed off, neither wanting the rile up the other for the time being. Originally, Callum brought the young queen here to get her to loosen up, but now it was just to put some space between the two youthful monarchs.
Aanya was the first to try and make conversation, saying things like, "How had your day been?" and "Anything changed while I was in Duren?" and other casual things of the sort. He only responded with "Fine."'s and "Not much"'s, nothing that let the queen know much. It was childish, and they both knew it, but how could they make casual conversation when 6 elves went 'Missing' in the kingdom of Katolis, most likely by order of the king who was only a few feet away from her? How could she act normal when her only friend had changed so much?
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The dungeon was actually quite nice when it lacked humans, though it still was not as comfortable as Silvergrove, her home. Her home was surrounded by the forest, making it quite a good spot to find adventure. The creatures of the forest were kind and it was fun to play by the river. She had to stop once she started training to become an assassin.
She missed running into felids full of adoraburrs and occasionally finding sun's tears to bring back to Ethari, which he always appreciated. Assassin training was tiring, but it was worth it, she had thought. That was no longer the case, seeing as though it got her trapped with no chance to escape.
Her last moments were going to be filled with this boring room, she knew it. She had already given up, the others, not so much. Runnan was still out from the torture but the others kept trying to escape, to go home and get back up, to be able to see their families again. Rayla would admit she missed Ethari, but she knew she wouldn't see him again, she assumed Runnan felt the same.
She wanted to go home, she really did, but she knew they couldn't, that they would be trapped here until the humans got bored of them and killed them, or they died from sleep deprivation. She hoped the humans would let them go in the beginning, but that hope was destroyed when Runnan came back, she knew now that the humans were worse than she had thought.
Maybe it could have been different, she could have left the young prince alive, she could have fled, and she could have never gone on the mission in the first place. All she knew is that this is where she was going to be for the rest of her days, and a question had faded from her head, proven impossible.
When could they just go home?
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The New King
FanfictionWhat would happen if the Elves completed their mission? How would Callum react to losing the only family he had left?
