Forgotten Memories ||The Dragon Prince||

Chapter 6: Abandoned

[Rayla]

"Look Rayla! There you are!" Callum cried, "You're so adorable."

Rayla looked over and saw her younger self standing next to the exit of Silvergrove trying her best to look composed. Rayla instantly knew what was going to happen in this memory and she felt herself getting mad. She didn't want to relive this memory; she had tried to forget it for a reason.

"Okay here's what we're going to do," Rayla said, "Let's both just close our eyes and plug our ears until this whole thing blows over."

"But we already saw one of mine-"

"Callum I've been trying to forget this memory for years and I don't want to see it!"

"Well we have to see the future, so come on!" Callum said as he dragged Rayla closer to her younger self. As they approached so did two other figures and Rayla looked away not wanting to watch.

"Rayla those are your parents!" Callum said excitedly, "They're coming this way."

"Yeah, I know..." Rayla said glancing at her younger self who was trying to put on a brave face. 

Soon Tiadrin and Lain reached the exit.

"Rayla?" Lain asked as he noticed his daughter, "Aren't you supposed to be at Ethari's workshop?"

"Yeah, but I needed to see you guys one more time!" The young Rayla cried as she ran to her father and wrapped him in a hug, "Please don't go!"

"Oh Rayla," Lain said as he stroked her hair, "I know you don't want us to go, but this is a huge honor for our family."

"It'll be worth it Rayla," Tiadrin said as Rayla hugged her too, "Someday you'll be a great warrior and then you'll understand why we're doing this."

"I'll be all by myself!" The young Rayla cried burying her face in her mother's shoulder.

"You won't be by yourself. You have Runaan and Ethari to take care of you while we're gone," Tiadrin said as she extracted herself from the hug, "But we need to be on our way Rayla."

"Don't leave me!" Young Rayla pleaded.

"We have to it's our duty," Lain said, "Remember what I always say?"

"My heart for Xadia," The young girl mumbled.

"See you get it!" Tiadrin said, "We're doing this for Xadia."

"Now remember to be strong, brave, and to not show any weakness," Lain said ruffling young Rayla's hair, "That's how you'll get to be a great warrior like us!"

"Goodbye, Rayla," Tiadrin said placing a kiss on Rayla's forehead, "Be strong for us. Make us proud."

"I will," Young Rayla said, "I'll be the best warrior ever."

"That's my girl!" Lain said as he and Tiadrin exited the grove, leaving their daughter behind.

As soon as her parents disappeared the little girl turned around and ran away from the exit. Rayla watched her younger self run away and she felt her heartbreak all over again. Rayla had wanted so badly to make her parents proud that she had devoted all her time to training. She had thought that maybe if she trained hard enough and became the best warrior then her parents would be proud of her and come back. But they hadn't come back, even after she became the best.

"Rayla... are you okay?" Callum asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Rayla spat, "Now where is that dumb portal?"

"Maybe we aren't done with this memory?" Callum suggested.

"What do you mean?" Rayla asked as the scenery around her suddenly changed and she found herself standing in her old room.

"That was weird," Callum said, "Where are we?"

"My room..." Rayla said, shocked, "Why are we here?"

Suddenly the door opened and in flew the younger Rayla. She closed the door then scrambled unto her bed and started crying softly to herself.

"What's going on?" Callum asked with concern, "Why are you crying?" 

"It hurt when my parents left," Rayla said, unable to conceal her feelings anymore, and she felt a single tear roll down her face, "I get why they left now, but back then I assumed they left because of me..."

"They left out of responsibility, not because of you," Callum said placing a hand on her shoulder.

Rayla wrenched herself from his comforting grip as all the anger, pain, and sorrow she had suppressed for years emerged.

"But what about their responsibility to me! I was five years old and they were all I had. They were my parents. They were supposed to care for me, teach me how to fight, pick me up when I fell, tuck me into bed at night, and be there for me. Not hundreds of miles away guarding someone else's child!" Rayla yelled, tears starting to fall freely, "They were my whole world and they just pawned me off to their friends. Xadia might have needed them, but I needed them too!"

Rayla sunk to her knees and gazed at her younger self who was crumpled in a heap on her bed sobbing as well, "I wasn't enough for them to stay. All I was to them was a burden."

She felt Callum's arms wrap around her and this time she let herself be held.

"Rayla, I'm so sorry," Callum said, "I want you to know that you are enough for me and you always will be."

Rayla closed her eyes and let the rest of her tears fall, "Thank you Callum, and you'll always be enough for me."

Callum laid a kiss on the top of Rayla's head and they sat there in Rayla's memory listening to the heartbreaking sobs of a little girl who's world had just been shattered. 

After Rayla's younger self had cried herself to sleep another portal appeared. Callum stood up and then helped Rayla up.

"You ready?" Callum asked.

"Give me a second," Rayla said as she approached her younger self. She cupped her younger self's face in her hand, "It'll get better. I promise. Someday you'll find where you belong and you won't be lonely anymore. You'll be accepted and loved. And just so you know, you've always been good enough, you just didn't know it yet. "

Rayla placed a motherly kiss on top of young Rayla's head and then turned back to Callum. She knew that her younger self couldn't have heard what she said but Rayla had still needed to tell her those things, "Now I'm ready."

"Rayla," Callum said hugging her, "I want you to know that I'll always love you."

"I love you too," Rayla said returning the hug, "I finally found where I belonged when I met you."

"I found my place too," Callum said, "My place will always be by your side."

"As will mine," Rayla said pulling back enough to smile at him, "Now are you ready to keep going?"

"Yep," Callum said as he held Rayla's hand and started towards the portal.

"Here we go again," Rayla mumbled as they were once again engulfed by the bright light when they entered the portal.