Breaking the Chains - The Dragon Prince fanfic

Spirited Away

"You looked like a piece of cow droppings," Rayla greeted as she approached Soren sitting all by himself under an old tree. The darkness of his eye bags was prominent against his pale, unshaven face.

"I was so busy reviewing my notes to notice the time," the Crownguard responded, sipping his fourth cup of hot brown morning potion. "Going somewhere?"

"I was planning to invite you for a short spar before I head out to the main square, but it seems that you're not in your top shape."

"Psh, what are you talking about?" he slammed his empty steel cup on the stone bench then stood up. "I may have a lack of sleep, but not a lack of strength. Besides, I need a good warm-up to start my day right."

"Yeah, right." she deadpanned, not buying his words.

"So, are we going to use wooden swords or our real weapons?"

"If you insist," the elf walked towards a pile of wooden swords used for training recruits, then thrust one to Soren's direction who fumbled to catch it.

"Don't blame me if I end up owning your ass in less than three minutes," she said, noting the blond's stiff posture as he prepared his stance.

He scoffed at her taunts. "Don't you dare run to Callum and cry if I made you eat your own words."

"We'll see about that."

It was fairly an early morning so there were no royal guards present in the courtyard to witness their sparring session. Most of them have just retired from their night shifts, while those who were about to fill their place in the morning were probably with their team leaders for their daily briefings.

True to Rayla's words, she beat him within two minutes.

"Get some sleep, Soren." The elf extended her arm to her defeated opponent who was sprawling to the ground, only to withdraw it when he brushed her off.

"I can't. I still haven't found the answer that we've been looking for," he muttered while remaining unmoved from his spot, his clear blue eyes were fixated to the cloudy skies. "The longer we delay this, the riskier it will be for Ez. And I can't allow that to happen."

"Have you tried looking from a different angle?"

"Different angle?"

She slid on the ground with crossed legs, her wooden sword placed on her lap. "Maybe the royal household staff are innocent."

"You said it was an inside job last night."

"I did, but that doesn't mean someone has to be a kitchen boy, a rookie soldier, or a cleaning maid to know the ins and outs of the castle," she explained. "Anyone who can enter the castle without being scrutinized by the guards can be our suspect."

Soren scrunched his face at the idea. "You mean they're one of the guests?"

"Probably a guest," she said. "Or a politician."

This made the Crownguard sit bolt up straight, his mouth gaped like a fish out of the pond as he gave her an incredulous look. "W-What?!"

"They know the ins and outs of the castle," the elf jeered. "And they know the King's schedule way better than any of the castle staff."

Her companion shifted his gaze towards the wing that connects to the throne room. "And Callum...?"

"He knows, and is fully aware of the consequences."

Soren looked at her with a jerked brow. "And you're okay with it?"

"No," she muttered bitterly with downcast eyes, her knuckles turned white as she gripped her wooden sword tightly. "I don't like leaving him alone in a pit of danger, or him doing stuff he hated the most with a bunch of wolves ready to maim him at any opportunity given."