Force of Magic

Frayed Bonds

Chapter 25

A/N: hello everyone, welcome back. Good to see y'all again. Remember, the OCs of this story belong to Mandalore the Survivor and Gabeherdon308; I'm just the writer who has permission to use their characters in this story.

"I am here to serve the king," Corvis said as he knelt down, "King Ezran."

Rayla and Trezac's eyes went wide and they both shared a glance as the younger boy took a confused step back, holding up his hands, "I'm not the king. My dad..." Ezran trailed off and they could see him piecing things together, "wait...That's not what you're saying. He isn't..." Ezran looked to Ralya and Trezac, blue eyes welling up with tears as he saw their faces. "No...no, no, no!"

"Ezran, it's going to be ok," Rayla spoke gently stepping forwards.

"You knew?!" the boy snapped whirling on her, betrayal flashing in his eyes. "I'm an idiot! I should've figured it out! When we met you, had two of those assassiny ribbon things; but one of them came off that night!"

Rayla lowered her head, giving a small nod, "That's right. That must've been when he fell."

"Fell?" Ezran repeated.

"Yes."

"Fell? He didn't fall Rayla! He didn't trip and land on the ground! He got killed!" Ezran snapped. His gaze snapped to Trezac, "And how long did you know about this?!"

Trezac glanced away, feeling more guilt than he had before. "A while," he murmured.

"And you didn't think to tell me?!"

"I didn't want to hurt you," he answered.

"Just like you didn't want to hurt those guards?" he retorted making Trezac flinch. Ezran glared at them both before his eyes widened and he looked to his brother, "Callum...does he know yet?"

"He knows," Rayla answered.

Ezran scowled, his small fists clenching tighter. "I'm going for a walk."

"I can't let you go alone," Corvis said stepping in front of the boy.

Ezran held up his head, meeting the man's eyes, "If I am the king, then you have to let me go."

Corvis stood down, stepping aside to let the boy pass, before Rayla stood up and walked towards him, "You're not my king. But you are my friend, and I'm coming with you."

"Rayla please, just let me be alone," he said running away.

The elven assassin took a step after him when a hand rested on her shoulder and she saw Trezac looking solemn, "Let him go, he needs time to process."

"Yeah," Rayla grumbled shoving him away, "can't say I blame him."

-.-

Claudia peered into the room her brother lied in, bracing herself for the news she'd have to give him. the doctor confirmed her worst fears, Soren was paralyzed; Trezac, someone she once considered a friend, paralyzed her brother.

With a soft sigh, she brushed the curtain aside walking in and patting his shoulder, "Hey Sor-Sor," she greeted sitting down in the chair beside his bed. "All the people in town are talking about you. about how you faced the dragon and saved the town. Everyone's calling you a hero."

Instead of seeming happier by the news, Soren's face soured as he scoffed, "Saved the town? I saved them from a problem I caused, is that what heroes do?"

Claudia glanced away, this wasn't going as she expected. She wanted to cheer Soren up before breaking the news, but she only seemed to be making things worse. "So...I, uh, I talked to the doctor, and I guess they did some tests—"