A False Reality ||The Dragon Prince||

Chapter 8

Callum exited the throne room. King Harrow, his step-dad, had informed him that tomorrow he would start learning dark magic. Apparently Claudia had pulled a few strings and now he was going to become a mage he. They would be training together, just him and Claudia. He couldn't wait, he'd had a crush on Claudia for years and maybe this was his chance to impress her. The face of the mysterious elf popped into his mind. Callum shook his head to clear his thoughts of her cute face. Why couldn't he seem to forget her? As Callum turned a corner he ran smack dab into Ezran. Who had been running at a full sprint, resulting in them both crashing into the ground.

"Woah, slow down there Ez," Callum said while rubbing his head.

"Callum," Ezran said, still panting from the run, "You need to see something."

"See what?" Callum said as he stood up and then bent down to give Ezran a hand.

"I've found someone," Ezran said as he started to drag Callum down the hall.

"Found who exactly?" Callum asked as he let Ezran lead him.

"The girl in your sketch," Ezran said as you picked up speed, "The elf."

Callum followed Ezran and Bait down the hallway and into the tunnels that lead to places throughout the palace. If Ezran had found the elf Callum had seen in his dream, then Callum had to see her. He couldn't explain why he felt so drawn to her. It was almost like he had known her in a different life but that was an absurd thought. He had never actually met an elf. He'd only heard stories: horrible, awful stories.

Up ahead Ezran took a left saying, "This passage wasn't here a few days ago and it leads..."

"To the elf," Callum finished the sentence for him.

"Yep," Ezran agreed, "To the elf."

They continued in silence, both of them lost in thought. Callum was surprisingly nervous about meeting the nameless elf. Ezran had mentioned that her cellmate was an adorable baby dragon. That and her presence in his dreams made him curious. But Callum was also afraid that he wouldn't like the answer the elf gave him. Callum bumped into Ezran, who had stopped just shy of entering a circular room with a hole in the middle covered with bars. Ezran gave Callum a knowing look and a brief nod of his head before entering the room. Callum entered right behind Ezran, he could hear the elf in the cell below. It sounded like she was singing a lullaby. Callum suddenly felt nervous and his hands became clammy. He gathered his courage and walked towards the hole in the center. As he looked down he saw the elf cradling and rocking the baby dragon. She must have sensed him looking down at her because she stopped singing and looked up. Their eyes met and Callum suddenly couldn't breathe. This was definitely the elf he had seen in his dreams but she was even more gorgeous in person. Her eyes were slightly red which hinted towards recent tears. He wondered why she had been crying.

"Callum?" She asked hopefully. She set down the baby dragon and stood up.

"Um..." Callum cleared his throat. Had he always been this awkward around cute girls? "Yeah, I'm Callum and who might you be?" The elf stared at him a sudden sadness had crossed over her face.

"You don't remember me." She said as the look of sadness deepened. That wasn't entirely true, he had dreamed about her, but there was no way he was telling her that. "I don't know what I was expecting but at least you're safe." The elf said as she sank back down to the floor.

"I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name?" Callum said trying to disguise how desperately he wanted to learn her name.

"Oh yeah," The beautiful Elvin girl said, "My name is Rayla." Rayla, her name was Rayla. The name sounded so familiar and right.

"What are you doing here?" Ezran said as he approached the hole. Rayla sighed and seemed to be considering her options. Finally, she opened her mouth and said, "You might want to sit down, I have a lot to tell you." Callum and Ezran exchanged hesitant glances. Rayla scuffed from down below and said in her cute accent, "What do you think I'll do to you, I'm chained up." Callum and Ezran gave each other a curious look. They were both intrigued and so with a nod they both sat down. Rayla smiled at them and began her story.