Together With You -Rayllum-

Chapter 25

The morning soon came and Callum was fixing up his stuff with the help of Ethari.

"Are you really going to give up just like that?" The blacksmith threw his book at him.

Catching it, Callum attached it to his belt.

"Yes. It's obvious Rayla dosen't want me here. It's better if I leave." He said closing his bag.

"You travelled all this way by yourself. You risked everything just so you can try and bring her back. May I know the reason?"

The mage froze. He didn't know the reason actually. His body just told him to go.

"I-I... don't know..." he admitted, head hung low.

The older man sighed.

"Well I suppose that was predictable..." He mumbled.

"Here." Ethari tossed him a covered sword. Callum stumbled to catch it. He raised a brow at the weapon.

"It's a sword. Custom made for you. Use it well during your travel back to your kingdom."

Callum examined it. The cover was brown leather. It looked like a sword but something was off about it.

Noticing his confusion, Ethari explained.

"It is the shape of a samurai sword but has the sharpness and ability of the knives of the assassins. I have observed how you use a sword and I designed this one to fit your style."

Callum stared at it in awe and stuck it to his belt. "Thank you, Ethari."

They gave each other warm smiles before Callum put on his bag.

Giving Ethari one last thankful glance, he walked forward and disappeared into the bushes, starting his journey back to Katolis.
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As Ethari entered his house, he couldn't help but feel bad for the young mage.

He knocked on Rayla's door and he received a muffled 'come in'.

He opened the door and saw Rayla sprawled out on the bed looking dishelved.

It's obvious she has not been resting.

"Rayla, are you alright?" He came closer as the door shut behind him.

She replied with a yes but Ethari knew her well enough to know that that was not true.

He sat on the bed and helped her sit up. "That's a lie. So tell me what's wrong."

Gulping back tears, she turned away. She didn't want Ethari to see her so vulnerable. Especially since she was trained to look tough in front of him.

"You don't have to act strong. You can let it out. I will help you." He put a comforting hand on her back.

Unable to hold back her tears, she let it flow. It streamed down her face slowly but the more she let out the more tears came.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. It's okay..." Ethari whispered in an attempt to sooth her.
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After what seemed to be hours of endless crying, Rayla finally calmed down.

"Why does my life have to be so complicated?" She mumbled out, her head resting against Ethari's chest as his hand rubbed comfortingly on her arm.

"I don't know. That's how life is I guess. I remember when you first said you wanted to be an assassin." He looked down at her.

"Runaan was not having it. He kept you from every knife you saw." He snorted at the memory which made Rayla laugh too.

"Funny. I can't believe it was my dream job. I can't even kill anyone..." Her voice turned into a hush.