Manus Pluma Volantis

12 - Willow Tree

"Okay. We have everything we need. Tomorrow, we preform the spell at dawn. As early as possible. Gotta give you as much time as possible with them." "Okay. Thanks, Claudia." Soren was with them, too. At this point, it was difficult for him to leave Claudia's side. Now, he was a crownguard and a Claudia-guard. He had two things to protect.

Soren laid down between the two. Claudia had agreed to stay awake so she would know when it was dawn. Soren was awake, too. He just couldn't sleep. He didn't know. Unfamiliar area, he guessed.

Claudia saw the morning sun rising on the horizon. Ez was still asleep, and he was the king. She didn't have the nerve to wake him. Soren had fallen asleep. She smiled, happy they were getting sleep. She cracked her knuckles and preformed the spell. In Askerius, Callum and Rayla felt their spirits being pulled down yo the world from which they came. Callum yelped as he was dragged down.

They opened their eyes, panting heavily. The first thing they saw was Claudia. "You..." Rayla started. Claudia desperately gestured at Ezran and Soren. Rayla found it odd that Claudia seemed so concerned about the welfare of the people she betrayed. Claudia looked at them, and stifled a chuckle. They were still in their pajamas. "Oh, I'm sorry. You didn't exactly give us time to get ready," Rayla spat.

"No, no! I know. Just kinda funny," Claudia defended. Soren stirred at the noise. "Rayla? That you?" He asked, groggily. "Wait, what?! How- when- I thought you two were dead!" "They were. But I have brought them back for a day." "How?!" "With magic!" Soren shot a glare at her. "But it's for Ez!" There was a long pause."Fine. For King Ezran.

Rayla ran up and gave Soren a hug. Soren was a little surprised. Okay, that's an understatement. He was flabbergasted. She wasn't one to give anybody hugs. Well, at least, not him. She always thought he was just a big dumb lug. At this point he was convinced this was not real. But it was. Rayla was genuinely happy to see him

Callum watched as Soren smiled his silly, surprised smile. It made him happy. He realized he was forgetting something. He ran to Ezran's side, eagerly awaiting the moment he opened his eyes. When Ez finally starting to stir, everyone was gathered around him.

He yawned, "Morning, Callum. Morning, Rayl- Wait, what?!" His face lit up as he ran toward them. He gave them a big hug. Tears were shed as they reunited that morning. Claudia watched with a smile plastered across her face. "Okay. So we had plans for today. We are going to spend as much time as possible just having fun. Anything we should know first?" Callum and Rayla glanced at eachother, then lied, "No, no. Nothing at all."

Ezran tried hard to stifle a laugh, but failed. He doubled over in laughter. ""No, no. Nothing at all?" Come on, guys! You can do better than that! Of course there's something, but you guys lied the stupidest lie I've ever heard!" Callum glared at him.

"So there is something?" Callum sighed, looking at Rayla. "Yeah. Yeah, there is something." He didn't quite know how to say it. He muttered it, but Claudia just heard the last part. "Friends? Okayyyy." "No! More than friends!" Claudia was taken aback. "Hm. Good for you." Callum was surprised that she responded so well.

Claudia pulled him aside and whispered something about meeting an earthblood elf on their way to the Storm Spire. Callum chuckled. It seemed Claudia liked an elf, too. It was a bit of a trend now. Ezran told him Amaya was dating Janai, now. Callum chuckled. A freaking trend.

A/N: I had to mention Terry somewhere in the book. I had to. This chapter was a lot of fun to write. The idea of Claudia being a friend of Ez again is just... AAAHHHHH. And Terr-Bear is too adorable not to mention.