The Dragon Prince - Book 1: Cold War

Ramblings

Callum

The night was cool and quiet save for crickets who chirped their natural symphony. His teacher's garden was normally filled with the exotic scent of flowers, but at night Callum could only smell the still waters from the pond and night-blooming succulents with the scent of freshly cut cucumber.

Rayla lead Callum by the hand under the ash tree at the centre of the garden. Feeling a slight tremble in her hand, he welcomed moments of tenderness in Rayla, moments she did not often share. He was still parsing the words she made at the dinner table, 'Callum' she had said, 'I love you.' Did she really mean it? Did he feel the same way?

Rayla sat on the soft ground nestled between the tree's trunk and an ancient taproot. Callum sat next to her and they released their entwined hands. The bluish light of the half-moon cast dim shadows under the shade of the tree but Callum could see the strain on Rayla's face. The bottoms of her eyes crinkled and her mouth was pursed tight. He knew his best friend by now to know he would be the one that had to break their communication stalemate.

    "So, um... where did that come from?"

    "What?" she asked, still looking down.

    "What you said just now, that you loved me... did you really mean that?"

Rayla picked up a thick piece of grass and began peeling the blade apart. She looked up at Callum with wide eyes, opened her mouth, then sighed, looking away. Callum reached for her hand again but she pulled it away.

    "Callum, you need to tell me right now how serious you are about learnin' magic," she said, giving him a hard look.

    The young prince swallowed, unsure of what she was getting at, "very serious," he replied. "But Rayla, not so serious as to jeopardize our friendship. I guess I'm really confused right now. Can you tell me what's on your mind?"

The young elf sighed looking away again and he could tell that she was still torn about something. He wondered if it had anything to do with the argument she had with her uncle earlier. Callum shook his head thinking if driving a wedge in their friendship was another game his teacher was playing. He scoffed so loud that for a brief moment the crickets stopped chirping.

    Rayla took his outburst personally and stood-up, her face bright red with embarrassment. "Forget it," she said, "thank you for making me dinner."

Callum jumped up, grabbing her hand but this time she didn't pull it away. She tugged lightly at his grasp but still faced towards the unbearably warm light of Zelmai's lodge.

    He was convinced now that she wasn't acting on her own accord, "did Zelmai say something to you? Is this another game?"

Rayla tugged her arm away from Callum's light grip, letting her fingers caress the inside of his palm. She said the words "good night" so quietly Callum barely heard it. The young man stood there shocked and befuddled, wondering how they had gone from a pleasant dinner to this strange new tension. They had arguments before but this felt different somehow, like something in their relationship changed. He recalled the feeling of watching Rayla lying motionless on the same ground he now stood. How relieved he felt when he brought her back from the death's realm. How much love he had felt for her simply by holding her hand until she fell into the deep rhythm of sleep.

    Barely above the sound of whisper, he uttered, "Rayla... I-I love you too."

Rayla stopped walking. She turned, and Callum saw her chin was quivering and pulled tight as if holding back a sob. Her eyes were watery and red. Empathy grew in his heart and his throat tightened. Rayla walked back to him, holding out her arms as Callum mirrored her, then the best friends embraced. They held one another tightly listening to the random staccato-beat of crickets and the very distant sounds of Sunfire Elf music from the village square. Rayla maneuvered her horns away from his face and leaned her cheek against his chest.