Love Beneath the Moon

Chapter 1: Peace Talks

It had been a month since Rayla, Callum, and Ezren had returned Zym to his mother and averted all out war between Xadia and Katolis. Now all that was left was to negotiate a peace treaty. The elves were coming to Katolis to discuss the treaty and Callum and Ezren could hardly wait. They had received a message arrow from Runaan stating that he and Rayla would be among the elves coming to the castle.

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"They're almost here," Ezren said excitedly.

He and Callum were in the tallest tower of the castle and had just spotted the delegation party from Xadia. Callum stood next to his half-brother. He was just as excited about the elves' arrival as Ezren was; he was just better at hiding it. After a month they were going to be reunited with Rayla. The three had become good friends during their journey to return Zym to his mother. But Rayla and Callum's relationship was vastly different from Rayla and Ezren's. Callum and Rayla had fallen in love and Callum had asked Ryala to marry him when peace was officially made.

Both princes made their way down to the throne room. Like Rayla, they wouldn't be taking part in the peace talks. Rayla had simply come at Runaan's insistence so she could spend time with her two friends. However, they were expected to be there to greet the delegates. Elves from each of the six regions within Xadia were there as well as representatives and nobles from each of the five kingdoms. As soon as the formalities were over, Callum, Rayla, and Ezren were excused until dinner.

The two princes lead Rayla to the room that she would be using during the peace talks. Unlike the rest of the delegates from Xadia, Rayla wasn't staying in the guest wing; her room was right across from the princes' room. While the servants had done up the rooms in the guest wing, Callum and Ezren had made up Rayla's room themselves. The sheets, comforter, and drapes were white with purple accents and the furniture was made of light wood. The wardrobe was filled with dresses, gowns, and other clothes and a gilded, full length mirror stood nearby while white lilies in purple vases were on every flat surface.

"It's beautiful," Rayla said looking around the room.

"We decorated it ourselves just for you," Ezren said. "Our room is just across the hall."

A tea table stood near the middle of the room and was set up for tea for three with a plate of twelve jelly tarts (grape, strawberry, persimmon, and a new flavor the baker was trying out for the Xadian delegates: moon berry). The three friends had tea and caught each other up on the events of the past month. Rayla told Callum and Ezren that she had visited Zym and his mother shortly before leaving for Katolis and that the Dragon Prince was doing fine while the princes told Rayla that they had Varden's secret chambers and everything in it destroyed and the few creatures he was holding (both magical and non-magical) were set free.

All too soon it was time to get ready for the welcome banquet. Ezren and Callum left Rayla so she could get cleaned up and change in to one of the gowns that they had commissioned the royal seamstress to make for her. (It had been a difficult task since neither prince knew Rayla's measurements but the seamstress's assistant looked to be roughly the same size so she had been a stand in for the fittings. The seamstress had told them that, if something wasn't right with anything, to send word and either she or her assistant would come to make any last minute adjustments that were needed.)

"Are you ready, Rayla?" Ezra asked from where he and Callum waited outside her door.

Rayla came out of her room wearing a sleeveless teal gown with a flowing skirt and a beaded top. Her snow white hair was curled and worn down with a beaded headband just in front of her horns and she had on silver and opal jewelry and a pair of silver kitten heels. She had also put on some of the makeup and perfume that was on the makeup table in her room.