Wayfinding | Aaravos x Reader |

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 17: SHADOW OF THE MOON

You never slept deeply. Some humans envied those with your condition but, it was a haunting gift. There were times when you could barely tell apart reality, dreams, and the peculiar limbo between. Waking up alone in a forest in the back of a merchant's cart felt like one of those instances. Fortunately for you, you caught a few words from Smith's instructions to the Prince. They were in search of an uninhibited shelter nearby. Finally gaining full consciousness, you thought to pursue them and discourage their attempts to protect you. But as your eyes travelled the landscape, you neglected your agenda.

The stars were heavy that night. It was as if they felt the tightness in your chest and wished to unburden you with their lucent embrace. The woodland winds moaned too, accompanying the underbrush as they all consoled you. It was in that moment you discovered that your greatest fear was being alone. And that same fear was what fabricated your every objective in life - to impress, to be, to guard and to trust blindly. If all of that was taken from you, you swore to be one with Mother Earth again.

"But you are not alone."

Your breath hitched.

"You are never alone."

Your wrath had subsided, but you were reluctant to accept defeat. "I thought I made it clear that I didn't want anything to do with you."

"Clarity is subjective - the same could be said for our last exchange. Besides, I'm under the impression that my presence is not entirely unbidden."

The boorish man - or whatever he was - was right. As much as you'd like to be prideful and reject the deduction, the fact was that you screamed his name in the time of crisis. None other. "Maybe," you mumbled. "The thing is . . . I think I'm branded by a curse of some sort. Destiny keeps tearing people from my arms and I can't do anything about it. And strange as it is, I found comfort in you. You - the only part of my life that makes no sense. I mean, I would worry so many people if they found out that a man was living inside my head." Your light-heartedness rewarded you with a charming laugh from your guardian. The bass in his voice remained unaltered though. Your lips curled, but only briefly. "With the way things were going . . . I thought . . . that you would maybe-"

"Do you see the moon?"

Your expression was sullied. You tilted your face to the Heavens and studied it. "No . . . it must be a new moon."

"How can you be sure that the moon is not missing?"

The deepened pace of his speech should have enchanted you. But instead you grimaced. "What are you even talking about?"

"Well? The question remains unanswered."

"Because it's - it's just always there!"

"What is she going on about?" A voice asked from behind you. As you whipped your head around, the lads froze in their spot with their eyes gaping.

"She was awake the entire time?" The high-blood whispered with his lips contorted towards his companion. Both their stares remained on you. "She's lost her marbles . . ."

"I suppose you're right, sire."

"I don't remember hitting her head. Did you?"

"Oh no, sire-"

"You do realize I'm literally here, right?" You retorted, watching the boys trade a flabbergasted look before refocusing on you. They nodded animatedly and in unison. "Um, how much of that did you hear?"

"The lot of it," Uzner replied hastily. "So . . . you've got a . . . man living in your head, eh?"

"Oh, not really. Just, um, when I get stressed and upset I imagine pa's voice in my head to reassure me."

"Right . . . so there's no . . . like demon inside or-"

"Nope. No. None of that," you said, leaping out of the vessel. You noticed that the males had taken a paranoid step out of your pathway. You scoffed and continued down the winded clearing before a realization struck you. "Hold on a second. This is . . . is this your hideout?"

Harrow, who was previously muttering nonsense to Smith, chimed in with a beam that outshone the sun. "Yes it is, four-eyes."

"It's quite beautiful-"

"And it's not even the best part. C'mon!" Uzner shouted. Before you knew it, the honey-skinned boy seized your sleeve and hauled you like a rag-doll. The Prince chuckled to himself and chased the draft to ultimately match his footsteps with yours.

While racing, guffawing, and purposely tripping one another over, you managed to take a gander at the sable canvas that blanketed over you. You searched for the moon again to find that it was truly absent. A smile formed on your lips.

He was there. Always.

A celebratory howl escaped the noble as you folks reached a rocky cliff. Hopelessly free, the forger followed and nudged you to do the same. But you were out of breath. It was not only because you ran for the first time after some shameless unathletic years, but it was because of the sight that laid before you. The overhang extended above a luscious meadow with something the likes of a young waterfall on the east. The sky seemed ginormous from where you stood. Yet, that wasn't what caught you off guard. "Is that . . . Katolis?"

"Aye - you could fit the entire kingdom between your fingertips," Uzner added with a chuckle. He demonstrated the illusion with his digits. "What do you think?"

"I think it's wonderful . . ." you started before detaching yourself from the line. "But this is all beyond me-"

"This is only temporary, (Y/n). It's okay," Harrow intervened.

"The shelter, you mean?"

"Yes-"

"What's the deal with the kidnapping then?"

"Oh . . . um, well," Smith grimaced. "We knew you wouldn't comply if we asked nicely and also, you would be able to kick both our arses at once. But in all seriousness, we thought we could make it look like you ran away so dad and all the others wouldn't come looking for you."

"But what about ma? She would go through all of you to find me-"

"Well, that's where our quest begins!" The Prince grinned. "We're going to hunt her down and persuade her to leave you alone."

Your jaw was gaping by the end of the proposal, but both the males surely thought they were clever. "You - my friends - are the ones that lost your marbles. Do you really think that'll work?"

"Listen, I thought the same at first. But dad said there was another elf - a male - that sincerely cared for you. He doesn't want any harm to come your way. If we use him as a passage to your ma, this will work just fine!"

"I understand - and trust me, I don't mean to discourage you. But we're nothing but a couple of kids, how are we supposed to track someone that's trained in hiding and-"

"Fortunately for you-" there was a beat - a moment where the three of you realized how doomed you were when a fourth voice joined the conversation. "Tracking me won't be necessary."

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(A/N)

Curious - what character from The Dragon Prince do you vibe with the most?

Also I finally figured out that Tylerjaay is the artist of this book's cover! It took me a while to hunt down their name but alas - 😩 that being said, now that I've trifled with art myself and learned the importance of crediting creators, I'm going to be taking down third-party artwork and replacing it. Thanks everyone for helping me with learn from this!!

Also also I cannot thank you all enough for your love and support for this story! I'm dedicating this chapter to a very lovely reader who made my day xx

Much love,

Massive Times