Still Here

Will You?

Slowly, Rayla opened her eyes. Immediately, she was worried about Ezran. Then she was worried about Callum. She calmed down when she saw her big, dumb human asleep next to her. A steady line of drool rolled down his cheek. "Awww," she sighed, wiping it away with her sleeve. She rolled up her blanket and stuffed it in her bag. She also grabbed a bottle of water. She was gathering her things when Callum started mumbling in his sleep.

Something about a beautiful, talented woman. Then he uttered something that she didn't catch. Thank goodness. He was dreaming about proposing. This time, in his dream, she said yes. Callum took that as a sign that his confidence was clearly building. When he woke, Rayla smiled at him. "What?" "Oh, nothing. Just something about a beautiful, talented woman." Shoot. "Er... You didn't happen to catch... anything else, did you?" "No, why?" Callum sighed. "No reason. Just... stuff." "Okayyyy," she mumbled.

They continued on the road. By the speed they were traveling, they wouldn't make it close to the Adoraburr Meadow by sundown. They picked up the pace, urging their mounts with all they had. Rayla had her old moon mount. Callum just brought a horse.

At noon, Callum measured their location on a map. "Uhhhhhh.... Yeah! We should make it there by sundown!" he announced. Rayla nodded. "Let's take a break." Rayla followed Callum over to... wherever he was going. She was just happy to be by his side. They sat down in the shade. Callum offered her a jelly tart, but she declined. Callum was immediately worried about her. She loved jelly tarts. "What's the matter? Are you feeling sick? We can go home," he suggested. "No! No, no. This is nice. I'm just... not hungry." Callum thought that was a bit odd. "Okay. Well, we gotta go, so..." "Yeah, alright. I'm coming."

They continued to dash toward Adoraburr Meadow. When they entered the moonshadow forest, Callum could see a sense of... a sense of "home" wash over Rayla. She was a moonshadow elf, after all. Finally, finally, they could see the tall grass in the distance. The sun was just setting on the horizon.

They stopped for dinner. Callum took a breath. Tonight's the night. Rayla looked through the picnic basket with the same thought rolling through her head. They laid out the picnic spread. "Hey, Rayla? I want you to know that... you have always been... Er... Well, the best. And um... you're the most beautiful, most talented woman I know. And so... I want- I need to know," He knelt down. Rayla's hands came up to cover her mouth. "Will you marry me?" Rayla shed happy tears as she struggled to utter her response. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you, you idiot!" She pulled him into a tight hug.

Callum was awestruck. He slipped the ring on her finger. For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Then it slowly changed back to normal. "She said yes!" he yelled to the people that weren't there. It was just him and Rayla. Him and his fiancé. She pulled him in and kissed him. After what felt like hours, Rayla pulled away. "I love you so, so much, Rayla." A few moments passed before she responded. "I love you too, Callum."

"Oh! By the way, I was going to ask you a question, but," Callum interrupted her. "So, ask!" She sighed. "But you beat me to it." She gave him the ring. A shining gold wedding band. Callum looked at Rayla with a loving smile. "Would it be okay to say yes?" he asked. Rayla smiled. She slid the wedding band on his finger. Then she pulled him into another kiss.