Breaking the Chains - The Dragon Prince fanfic

Means and Motives

"So, a Moonshadow assassin huh?" Ezran muttered despondently after his brother finished his explanation.

They were having a closed-door meeting in his room together with Corvus, Soren, and Opeli. Callum and Rayla agreed to let the three be included in their plans since they were trustworthy enough to keep it as a secret and powerful enough to take some damage control in case there will be a public outcry.

"Do you think this person is from the Silvergrove?"

The mage prince looked at his elven girlfriend briefly before he answered Corvus' question. "Rayla wasn't sure if he's from Silvergrove or not, that's why we're going to send Ethari a copy of our culprit's sketch to see if he can provide us more clues."

"How about other Moonshadow elves' territories? I'm sure the Silvergrove is not the only Moonshadow village in Xadia."

"We don't have any connections with other Moonshadow communities like what we have with Silvergrove," he responded promptly. "And if we inform Queen Zubeia about this, she can disseminate it to other elven territories faster than doing it our own way - which involves tons of paperwork and diplomatic meetups. I don't think Ez will be happy to do those mundane things."

"I don't." was his brother's stern reply.

"I fear that this assassination attempt might cause some rift between humans and elves again." Opeli pinched the bridge of her nose with a deep sigh. "We've managed to unite Xadia and the Pentarchy after we returned the Dragon Prince to his mother, and while we have a peace treaty now, that doesn't mean everyone agrees with it. You can't simply erase prejudices that have been transferred for generations in just a matter of two years."

"But hiding the truth from the public will do us no good," Ezran folded his hands to his lap. "Sooner or later the truth will come out, and I don't want everyone to assume that I'm giving Rayla a preferential treatment by hiding the culprit's race."

"But why a Moonshadow of all elven races?"

"Maybe it's just a coincidence," Callum shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm guessing that someone paid a mercenary to do the job - and who do you think is the best person to hire other than a Moonshadow assassin?"

"What do you think about this, Rayla?"

"We take a life, but we don't take it lightly," the elf answered as she recited the mantra that she learned from Runaan. "Aside from our stealth, we do not take someone's life for nothing. We kill for honor. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

"But I never killed anyone." the young King scowled as if offended.

"Maybe..." Soren rubbed the bottom of his chin with contemplation. "Maybe this Moonshadow guy was being threatened? You know, like being blackmailed or something?"

All eyes in the room bored into Rayla as she hummed at his implication. "That doesn't sound impossible. I mean, I am willing to bind myself to kill anyone in exchange for Callum's life."

She smiled when a familiar hand reached out to her with a gentle squeeze. "A Moonshadow assassin does not take a life lightly. But if taking an innocent life can save the lives of people you care for, then so be it."

"And then you use one of your limbs as collateral."

"Aye."

The Crownguard grimaced with disgust. "Moonshadow culture is not only morbid, but it also follows a twisted logic."

"Hate to admit it but it is," she chuckled lightly. "That's why my village ghosted me."

Callum clapped his hand. "Okay, that's enough with these depressing stories. Let's go back to our culprit's means."