Dragon Prince AU: A New Fate

Chapter Five: General Amaya

King Harrow paced his office manically, looking haggard. Deep, dark bags shadowed the underside of his eyes and his normal pristine crimson tunic was wrinkled and dirtied. His hair had mostly fallen out of the updo and was tousled from all the times he had carded his hair through the braids. He did not wear his crown.
His office was a mess, papers that he hadn't bothered to read and considered stacked high on his desk and some of the piles had listed over to splay onto the floor. But frankly, Harrow wasn't really interested in crop finances and building requests within his city. All of those mundane kingly duties had been pushed to the side in the wake of the tragedy that had happened and Viren had offered to take care of the more urgent matters whilst Harrow organized search parties and worked with his guards to figure out what had exactly happened.
The king was only given a short few minutes to grieve when yet another knock sounded at his door, this one much more panicked. Harrow had barely given permission to enter before a young lanky guard who's armor fits awkwardly practically ran into his office. "Sir, General Amaya is here, she is on her—" But the poor boy wasn't given the chance to finish as an imposing figure stalks past him and practically shoves the lanky boy to the side.
Amaya storms into his office, Commander Gren a step behind her. "Where. Is. He?" Her face stormy and if Harrow was a lesser man he would have been cowering under her fiery gaze. Gren swiftly translates, his voice nervous. The boy has only just been assigned as Amaya's translator if he is not mistaken, but Harrow does not need him to understand his sister in law at that moment. Her words are very clear even with Harrow's limited knowledge of sign.
"Amaya..." Harrow sighed, his voice tired.
Her gaze flickers to his mouth a moment as she reads his speech, but does not allow him to explain as she stalks closer like with an aura that is more like a jungle cat than a general. "Where is Callum?" Her hand movements sharp and her face hard as stone.
King Harrow turned to face his sister in law before giving her a distressing look. "I lost Callum.''
"Wait how did you lose Callum? There was no way he could've gotten into Xadia without passing through us," Amaya signed with her hands shaking her head as Gren translated for her trying to understand how Callum could've gotten past them.
"Because Callum was a mage." Everyone turned to the voice to see Viren standing there still using his staff to support his weight as he slowly limped towards them standing next to the king "I don't know how he..." But he didn't finish when a gloved fist came by and cracked him in the side of the jaw sending him crashing into the side of the crowd. Harrow turned to grab General Amaya attempting to stop her from injuring Viren anymore.
Harrow struggled with Amaya in his grasp dragging her over to the side with Commander Gren attempting to calm her down as she fought him in his grasp pushing him off her Amaya looked at King Harrow in the eye with aggressive breathing gesturing with her hands. "You allowed Viren to teach Callum dark magic?" Gren tried to keep the words civil.
Harrow shook his head grabbing Amaya by the shoulders, looking at her and getting her attention. "Callum wasn't a dark mage, he was a normal primal mage. We don't know how he became or taught him, but Viren didn't teach him at all. Callum had a big secret and he stopped us from killing Avizandum."
"Wait... You left Callum behind to die?" Amaya gestured with her hands, her face going red with apoplectic rage, making King Harrow gulped with fear. "When Callum stopped us by freezing the Dragon King in ice, we didn't know it was him at the time." He saw Amaya's hands form fists, the faint sound of fingers and knuckles cracking inside the gloves began to worry him. "He was on top of the frozen Dragon King, but he didn't notice Viren conjure up a spell and strike Callum." Harrow knew he had to be careful of what he'll say to the general. General Amaya was eyeing Viren deciding on how she was going to hurt the dark mage. "Callum had left a note behind for me and Ezran. He told me that Sarai would've wanted this, and he was right." Amaya sadly smirked, with a nod she accepted the king's words before walking away fighting back her tears.
Viren looked on, trying to understand how did Callum learn to fly as he massaged his jaw and wiping the blood from his mouth. The sudden sound of a shield being thrown against a wall caught Viren's attention as an enraged Amaya stormed off and began to punch a wall relentlessly.
The entire way to his quarters his mind is firmly locked on Callum. On where he is, what happened, if he is safe. Underneath those unrelenting questions is a constant mantra of "please, please, please, be okay." He thinks it would be better if only he knew where his son was. The unknown and the constant hope that maybe his guards will run to him any moment exclaiming they have found Calum alive and is practically killing him. All he wants to do at that moment is to pull the kid to his chest and never let him go, he yearns to see his son again.
He is slowly coming to the realization that there is a very real possibility he will not be able to see his son grow up. It has been two days now. There has been no ransom for the prince, there has been no sign, and hope is quickly running out. If Callum was going to be found they would have found him already, Harrow knows logically. But he can't just give up. He will not. Not until his son is safe or he at least knows how and why the child was taken from him.
Eventually, they do part, Gren respectively looking away as Harrow spoke hollowly. "Do you have any idea how to find him?"
"I am going to travel to Lux Aurea to question the Sunfire Elves," Amaya said, her face stony.
Harrow blanched. "What? Amaya, no! It's far too dangerous."
"The Sunfire elves are prideful people," Amaya signed to him. "They will not kill me if a surrender myself to them."
"They may not kill you but they will not allow you to return to Katolis!" Harrow argued.
"I cannot do nothing, Harrow," Amaya signed determinedly. The two glare at each other long and hard, but something in her gaze makes something within Harrow give in and he understood. If he could leave and question Xadia, he would. But as much as he is a father he is also a king and he despises that he has to choose between his family and his people like this.
After a long long moment, King Harrow pulled back his shoulders. "As your king, I order you to return home safely." Amaya gives him a genuine smile and pulls him into a hug. Harrow almost doesn't want to let her go.
From there they all begin to plan, Harrow writes a formal letter to the Queen of Lux Aurea for Amaya to take with. The general plans to head to the Border with Commander Gren and wait for a patrol of Sunfire elves to find her and from there she will learn if Xadia has Callum. Harrow knows it is a fool's plan but they are desperate and logically he knows he cannot stop Amaya when she has put her mind to something.
"Please be safe," he signed to her as she is getting ready to leave.
His sister in law smiles at him and raises her hand to sign. "I should be telling you the same thing!"
He gives her a watery smile and walked with her the entire way to the courtyard and helps her tack up her and Gren's horses while the commander runs to their rooms to get the rest of their supplies. They work in companionable silence and Harrow doesn't think there is any more he can say and Gren returns all too soon with their bags and everything seems to be happening so quickly and Harrow gives Amaya one last hug before she mounted her horse and rode away with her legion with the plan sharp in mind.