The halls were dark, torches smothered, and the stones beneath Rayla's boots made their footsteps echo through the emptiness. Prince Ezran guided them, the bright glow given off by Bait giving away his position in the darkness, not that the elves needed it either way, but human eyes were drastically weaker than their own. One palm tracing against the wall, tiny pebbles and dust and soot clung to Rayla's fingertips. Nothing more than Bait's natural glow to illuminate Ezran's path.

Rayla didn't miss when Runaan gave out orders to Kai, Hyla, and Callisto to head up to the tower and pose to strike in case their suspicions about the egg were wrong. If it turned out true, he'd send a signal and they'd retreat. They'd remember the conditions of their agreement with Ezran. The egg in exchange for his father's safety. And really, it would matter more to the Dragon Queen if they brought back her son alive then it would returning with King Harrow's head. However, if it turned out false...

Rayla gulped, flashing back to the image she'd held of Ezran with those blues eyes void of that spark she was becoming fond of, blood, his blood, falling into the stone floor. Despite her own careful steps, her heart's pounding loud enough she's surprised nobody's heard it. Loud assassins were dead assassins. Her eyes darted every so often among the walls, as if expecting something or someone to leap out at them, but none came.

Avoiding the guards was easy enough once the moon rose into the sky like a silver medallion, becoming invisible to even each other. It was odd to say the least, not being able to see your own hands and feet but after the first few minutes, she managed to adjust. The only indication they'd given Ezran to know their position was the occasional soft tap on the stone walls. Once they'd gotten inside where the moon's light couldn't reach them and they were visible again, it wasn't necessary, and with the prince's Glow Toad, he could see ahead and behind him just fine.

Still, it was bewildering how calm Ezran appeared considering the circumstances. Not even now did he seem afraid. Then again, why would he? According to him, he was familiar with the castle. Every crevice, every creaky stair, every locked door, every secret he seemed to know or had found out for himself lately. He'd grown up within these walls, with marathons of hide-and-seek and escaping from boring cotillions or state dinners. Every staircase railing had been slid down, every curtain hidden behind (or torn at least once), and she could see it in the way he moved with more certainty than the elves.

Rayla hadn't been allowed to so much as stand too close to Ezran since their discovery, but she stepped close as she dared so he was within arm's length. Her Runaan she would trust not to do anything that could hurt Ezran if it came to that. This one, she wasn't so sure of.

They walk quietly, the echo of their footsteps muted underneath and around them, lit by a cool, thrumming light reflecting off the cold stone of the passageway. They pass room after room, either Runaan or Kouru scouting quickly ahead, before returning to the passageway. With every empty room and abandoned hallway and no sign of anyone other than the guards, an ominous feeling began to weigh on her shoulders. The feeling that this was just too easy, too quiet. But Ezran walked on as if nothing's was wrong, heading from one to the next and between passages.

Finally he seemed to recognize something, and he looked over his shoulder at them before turning back into the passageway, waving them along, glowing once more. Seriously, what kind of magic was wasted on that glow? Who would bother spending that much time to construct something like that? Who does he know?

"Aha! It's this way!" he shouted, starting forward. The hallway, twisted and turned before stopping to a dead end.

"What game is this?" Runaan demanded, and Rayla almost moved before stopping herself.

Ezran only grinned back mischievously as he set Bait down.

"No game, trust me. A puzzle," he crowed, surging forward and pressing a number of different stones on the wall, mumbling under his breath. "Let's see... rock, rock, stone, rock, stone, stone, rock, stone, rock, stone..." as Rayla stared at the seemingly random pressing of—rocks? Stones? Was there a difference?

"Uh-huh... And how long did it take to figure this out?" Kouru questioned, appearing intrigued.

"Couple of months!" the boy responded cheerfully as he pressed the final combination of rock/stone, and the ground beneath them began rumbling. Rayla lowered her stance, a hand placed on the weapons at her back as the floor sunk into a set of stairs. The boy bounded down the steps. "Follow me!"

Once at the last step, Ezran pushed a statue back into place and the staircase spiraled back upward like it was never there. Leaving them in a dark room with atrocities Rayla never thought she'd ever see.

Chains and herbs hung from the ceiling, a variety of magical herbs and animal parts sitting in glass jars, bookshelves lining the walls. A table with scrolls sat in a corner with several items on it's surface Rayla doesn't recognize but knows in the pit of her stomach that they're no ordinary things for magic.

She could only stare, horrified, slack-jawed at the abominations collected in jars, lying across shelves. Horrors glare back.

"What is this place?" she whispered hoarsely. She'd spent the last couple of hours in this human's presence and gotten no sign he would be involved with something like this. What kind of creature has the ability to do something like this, something so atrocious, and still smile in the face of it?

Except Ezran wasn't smiling as he tried to look away from it, clutching his pet all the more tighter, shielding the toad's eyes from what looked to be a shriveled up member of its species.

While Kouru seemed to be trying to tear his eyes away from a set of elven horns aligned on one of the shelves, Runaan caught Rayla's expression. "Do you still believe humans are worth saving?" he snarled under his breath as he passed her. More words than he'd spoken to her since their reunion, but they still made her stomach churn and bile rise in her throat.

"This is where they might be keeping the egg?" muttered Kouru, his voice a mix of horror and disdain. He turned his head to Ezran. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure," the boy admitted, running up to a curtained pedestal. "The only one who uses magic is Claudia and her dad. But... Claudia wouldn't do anything like this, she's my friend. I know she wouldn't." He frowned at the thought, then placed a hand atop the fabric. "Don't worry, it's alive, I can hear it! Look— here!" he turns to them, face pleading.

The boy pulls off the curtain and Rayla's entire world stops.

She wouldn't believe Ezran would lie. He was too young to be corrupted into the humans Runaan had run into during his time. Yet it wouldn't be far-fetched if he was mistaken. After all, he'd never seen the Dragon Prince's egg before. Seeing it now, though, took her breath away.

This, this was an egg, this was the egg. Here was the very thing everyone had thought was destroyed months ago, it was the reason they'd been sent, why she'd been sent, why she'd been ordered to kill—

This can't be.

And yet the egg remained, defying and shattering her beliefs with every pulse of thrumming light. Even Runaan's stoic face broke down into one of disbelief and a tenderness she'd never seen before. If she didn't know better, she'd think he might just start crying. "It's beautiful," he whispered, raw, aching.

Ezran extended his ear towards the egg, then turned to meet Runaan's gaze. "He needs to go home," he pleaded, suddenly seeming to be a far distance, pleading to what— to understand? To accept? "He wants his mother."

Rayla barely acknowledges him as her stomach, previously calmed over the course of their journey and conversation rebels once again. This was all for nothing. The mission needed to be called off.

There was no reason for the prince to die.

The dim light of the lair casted shadows everywhere, the strange objects and creatures in jars only made more terrifying by the bright glow of the egg, making everything darker by comparison.

Ezran already began taking it down, putting it safely into his pack. Runaan stopped him with a look, sharp and intense. "Give it to me."

The boy contemplated for a moment, a moment too long. Maybe he was less naive than she thought and knew that the egg may or may not be the only reason he was still alive. Looking from the colorful and speckled egg back to Runaan's face, Ezran glanced over his shoulder at Rayla's desperate expression, before his face set with resolve. He picked it out of his bag and held it out to the elf when a unfamiliar voice rang out.

"Ezran, don't give him the egg." Rayla whirled around, blades out to see a girl with black hair, wearing all black, and wielding a...primal stone?

"Claudia?" Ezran asked, turning towards her, away from Runaan whose blades were already out.

"Ezran!" She sounded relieved and gave him a quick once-over before seemingly deciding he was unscathed. "Everything's going to be alright," she said in a steady voice. "I'll keep you safe, just walk towards me slowly. I'll protect you from the elves. If they take so much as one step..."

"But I don't need protecting, Claudia. I wanted to go with them," Ezran said, taking a step forward but also hugging the egg as he would with Bait. As if he'd already bonded with it. "And the egg needs to go back to his mother."

Another figure stepped out of the shadows to be beside the mage. He held his hands up, but Rayla recognized him as the older prince from the portrait. Callum extended one hand out, regarding the elves like...like wild animals, Rayla realized. "I don't know what the elves told you, but it's going to be okay. Just give her the egg."

This time, Ezran's eyes filled with confusion. "But Callum, they didn't tell me anything. The egg shouldn't be here."

"They're lying, Ezran," Claudia exclaimed, her eyes trained on Runaan as her fingers were poised to sketch a rune. If she decided to cast a spell, would they be fast enough to get to her first? "Moonshadow elves are horrible, evil bloodthirsty manipulators-"

"Can I just throw a knife at her?" Kouru grumbled, rolling his eyes. "It'd shut her up quick."

"-and whatever they told you is a lie."

"Then why is the egg here?" demanded Rayla. "Why is it here being subjected to your dark magic?"

"My father saved it!"

"Saved it? From what?"

"Ezran, you have to understand," Callum went on, his attention centered on his brother, barely acknowledging the other elves. "Lord Viren took it, but it was to protect us. From Xadia because he knew the elves and dragons would use it against us. He-he's always done what's best. Why would he lie to us now?"

"I don't know what these bloodthirsty monsters told you, but you don't understand what kind of powerful weapon it is."

There was a long pause.

"A what?" Kouru lowered his weapon for what seemed to be the sole purpose of giving them a completely dumbstruck look. For once, Runaan was actually glad he opened that mouth of his. "I can't even make my breakfast out of this thing! What kind of weapon are we supposed to be making out of it?!"

Callum narrowed his eyes. "Listen, I don't know what game you're playing here, but you took my little brother and I know you're here to kill the king, so excuse me but I'm not buying any of your acts. You know it's a powerful weapon you can use against us."

Kouru blinked twice, pinched the bridge of his nose and echoed Rayla's thoughts. "...the egg?" He then took a look around at everyone present to see if any of them actually believed such nonsense. "Oh, come on, you would have to be absolute geniuses to discover a way to make a weapon of war out of an egg."

"Claudia, it's not a weapon, it's a baby dragon. It has to go home," Ezran pleaded, looking like he was about to walk forward toward them but thought better of it. As if he was suddenly unsure. "Can't you see that?" When he got no response from her, he turned to his brother with wide eyes of blue. "Callum?" Even Rayla couldn't miss the hurt edging in his voice.

"You'll understand when you're older, Ezran, but you've got to understand that this is what's best," insisted Callum, pleading also. "This way no one gets hurt."

"Except its mother who thinks her baby is dead." Ezran pointed out, backing away, and Callum's face fell.

Claudia turned to him and gave him a look.

"Ezran, please give me the egg."

As they talked, Rayla calculated their chances. They weren't good. A mage who could kill them before they could make it a few steps and a prince who might have soldiers waiting for them just around the corner. Not to mention, they had to protect the prince and the egg-

The egg.

Doubtless, Ezran would pick his own brother and his friend over a couple of elves (bloodthirsty monsters, Claudia had called them-was that how humans saw them?) he'd known-what, a few hours? She had forgotten for a moment that he was human, after all? If he had heard all the stories or beliefs these humans seemed to have, he might just believe their lies, and then the egg would be gone again. Experimented again on with humans' wretched dark magic. That couldn't happen.

"No."

That single word drew the shock of everyone in the room. Even Runaan seemed to freeze a moment as Ezran's response registered.

"Ezran, please. If anyone ever found out, it could spell disaster for Katolis," Claudia said,

Ezran knew Claudia's heart was in the right place but he was hesitant to give her the egg. He knew his brother had already made up his mind, but... He couldn't let the egg be harmed and he had a sinking feeling that was all that would happen if it was left here.

A stone sunk into his belly. Claudia was still his friend. He didn't want to see her hurt or dead. Ezran thought of Callum dead and something panicked inside his brain. But the same happened whenever he thought of Rayla and her friends dead because of him. Because he led them here.

That being said, he was already well into panic territory.

"Callum." Ezran said, looking at him pleadingly.

That made his brother pause. Then his eyes hardened. "Ezran. Come here." But though his mouth said otherwise, Callum shared a look with Ezran and in that single gaze, he conveyed a simple message. Run.

"Okay..." Ezran said slowly. "But first I should introduce you." He clutched the egg and looked at Bait. "Say hello to my little friend." Once the words were uttered, Ezran shut his eyes and turned away before Bait glowed bright enough to blind everyone in a sudden burst of light .

Ezran bolted down a passageway with Bait, grabbing Rayla's hand as she clutched her closed eyes. "Come on!"

"Warning next time!" shouted Kouru, smacking into a wall as he blinked rapidly until Runaan grabbed him by one of his horns and yanked him along as they fled.

"Ezran, come back!" Claudia yelled, blinking and rubbing her eyes to clear the spots dancing before them while her vision blurred.

She turned to Callum. "I promise not to hit Ez." As she drew a rune of lightning, Callum's eyes widened. With her vision still unclear, even if she wasn't aiming properly, she could strike him with whatever spell she'd come up with. She was about to cast when Callum knocked the Primal source out of her hand.

"Callum! What are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry, it was an accident," he lied. "I can barely see anything."

"Well, they must have him under some sort of spell!" Claudia scrambled up, blinking furiously until the spots faded and grabbed some ingredients. "But don't worry, Callum, I've got this."

Magic was unpredictable to say the least, it was the reason it couldn't win a war: It was unreliable and often misused. But magic could win a battle. After all, the Dragon King had been killed with but one mage on Katolis' side.

☪️☪️☪️

As Ezran led them through the tunnels, Rayla couldn't help but notice the sound of sniffling. She walked ahead to be side-by-side with Ezran and caught him rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Ezran didn't say anything for a long while, then finally, he looked up at her with his eyes red. He wasn't smiling now, nor was there that familiar glow. "I thought they would believe in me," he said. "I thought...I didn't think they would..." He sniffed again and rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, but she didn't dare touch him with Runaan present. "I'm sorry. I really thought they'd understand."

To her surprise, it was Kouru who spoke up, although she wasn't sure if his words were meant to be comfort or advice. He had his own unique way of sounding like he didn't particularly like his current task but would also willingly smash your head in if you dared stand in his way."That's just how humans are, little prince. You'll get used to it someday. Everyone does."