The Assassin and Her Prince

Chapter Four

Chapter four

Soren has to physically drag his sister away from the library to get her to help search for the Princes. Stupid bookworm, he thinks. She pounds her fists on his back as he carries her fireman-style down the hallway, her protests falling on deaf ears.

"So, do you have any idea where they could be?" he asks, once he has set her down.

Pursing her lips in a way that makes Soren wish he'd left her alone, she wracks her brain, trying to think like her childhood friends.

"I have one idea, but you're not going to like it."

-TDP-

"Why would they be in dad's study?" the condescension in Soren's tone doing nothing to improve her mood. "Besides, I've searched this place twice already," he says, trying to disguise his desire to leave. Being in here makes him uncomfortable and he tugs at his collar tying to relieve the lump of emotion in his throat.

Then, Claudia pulls open the huge, gold-framed painting fixed to the wall, revealing the stone passage behind. Soren's rare silence is enough to let her know that he's impressed.

He's hesitant to follow her as she slips inside, but curiosity gets the better of him and he lets her lead him through the dim corridors. By the time they arrive at a dead-end, his patience is already wearing thin.

"Great. Dad had a secret tunnel. We both know he kept a lot of secrets, but I don't see how this helps us find Callum and Ezran," he remarks wryly, the stress making him antsy.

"You will," she tells him cryptically, turning to the cobblestone wall, covered in ominous red stains.

She then proceeds to push the stained bricks in some sort of pattern, muttering something about rocks and stones under her breath. Once she inputs the correct combination, the floor shifts and rotates, exposing the entrance to their father's secret laboratory.

In spite of his previous scepticism, Soren knows the boys are inside. A lone candle casts a warm glow up into the passage, yet no sound indicates their presence. Leaving Claudia to take the lead again, he watches her disappear into the mysterious room and signal for him to follow, one slender finger pressed to her lips.

They find Cal and Ez sprawled out on the floor, fast asleep. Callum's hand rests on his bare stomach, where his shirt has ridden up in his sleep, revealing toned abs that make even Soren jealous. What had happened to the puny kid who thought 'sweeping the leg' was a legitimate sword fighting technique? Ezran, on the other hand, is drooling on an unfortunate glow toad that he's using as a pillow.

Claudia sports a mischievous grin that Soren knows can only mean trouble as she does her signature nose tap conspiratorially. At least this time he isn't her victim. Using her index finger, she draws a magical rune with light, summoning a flood of water. It stays suspended mid-air until she utters the trigger word in the ancient draconic tongue and gravity kicks in, soaking the unsuspecting bodies below.

"whawassat?" yelps Cal, disorientated and not yet fully alert.

Sitting up too quickly, the princes knock heads with a hollow thump, recoiling in pain. Finally registering the situation, they turn their furious glares to the older siblings who are trying in vain to stifle their laughter.

"What time is it?" mumbles Ez, still half asleep, rubbing his forehead where a purple bruise was forming.

"Time to leave," Soren says, barely containing his obvious amusement at the others' expense. "The entire staff, crown guard included, are looking for you," realising the implications, he's suddenly uncharacteristically serious. "If you aren't there to welcome the elves, it could be taken as a serious insult!"

Schooling her features so her face reflects the severity of the issue at hand, Claudia helps the boys dry off using her wind magic. Like a mother hen, she attempts to fix Ez's unruly hair; the spell doing nothing to help his bedhead. Defeated, she abandons her efforts and hastily escorts the still-soaked princes and hysterical crown guard towards the exit.

-TDP-

Rayla knew their arrival would be an important moment, crucial to the journey towards peace, but nothing could have prepared her for the ceremony that awaits them at the palace.

For the last couple of miles, the elven party has been joined by human chaperones, who, while superfluous to requirement, accompany them as a gesture of peace. As they near the bridge leading to the front gates, ushers welcome them and lead them inside the castle grounds. Assembled inside the foyer, servants, officials and the entire high council stand by, ready to formally greet each of the elven diplomats, all decked out in the finest traditional robes of Katolis. Where their monarch would have stood, stands General Amaya, equally as intimidating as the first time they met, despite the lack of armour. To her right, Commander Gren and on her left, Callum and Ezran. Returning their goofy grins with a smile, brighter than she thought she was capable of, she takes in their dishevelled appearances. Looking as though they had recently lost a fight with a storm, both boys have windswept hair stubbornly sticking up at odd angles, each failing in his attempts to smooth it down, panting as if they had sprinted to the welcoming and attempting to surreptitiously wring out the corners of their soaked shirts. Biting back her laughter at the young princes' antics, she is struck with a sudden epiphany; whatever the summit may bring, Rayla is glad to be reunited with her friends.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that chapter and if you did, don't be a silent reader! Thanks to my beta midnightpansy!

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