Chapter Text
Ezran had very few memories of his mom.
No one blamed it for him, he didn’t blame himself for not having more, because he had been young when she died. But he only really knew mom by callum.
Callum could go on for hours about her, things they did before she died, her constant jokes, even the way she scolded Callum for trying to trip a guard when he first arrived i the castle. Their dad had been a close second.
Ezran had a few memories, most only fuzzy and faint, but each had a safe, warm feel to them. Like he was protected, and like she wasn’t going to let him go. He remembered things like how she laughed when Ezran reached up and tugged on a loose strand of hair.
She died before he could make any real memories with her.
But every once in awhile, he would have a dream. Usually the dream surfaced when he was upset.He would fall asleep and the dream would play out. When he awoke, he felt a little better. Maybe because he finally got to see his mom in it.
The dream resurfaced the night on the Cursed Caldera.
Lujanne had let them sleep in the tree for the night, Ava and Zym were curled up against one another, Ellis rested against Ava’s side. Callum was opposite them in the tree, sleeping on his notebook. He had tried to make sure Ezran was asleep, but fell asleep himself. Rayla slept by the mouth of the cave, Lujanne was gone. Ezran was the only one awake.
He looked around with a small frown, holding bait closer to him, despite the glow toads grumble. He was used to being alone, He had always been an outcast, but for some reason, being alone tonight felt terrible.
He sighed and laid back, hugging bait. He drifted off almost immediately.
The dream always started with Ezran on his back, looking up at the night sky, to a full moon. He never knew why he started there, but he always did.
The grass he laid on was dark green because it was dark, but it looked alive. Very much alive. The moon overhead turned the night sky an electric blue and outshone the stars around it. Ezran could only stare.
A light behind him caught his attention. He sat up and turned towards it. The light was from inside the doorway, a candle. Slowly, he got up and walked towards it. He walked a path the grass seemed to make until he stood just outside the stone entrance. He looked up at the top, where the uneven towers, the symbol of Katolis, seemed to almost glow as bright as the flame.
Ezran stared at it for a moment before walking through the doorway.
Everything flashed, like bait did when Ezran cued him to. He closed his eyes and shielded them with an arm until the flash was gone, and he was in his parents’ room. In the lodge.
His mother would always sit alone on the bed, reading while also braiding her dark hair back. Her crown would sit on her head, and her clothes always matched the bed sheets, red as a rose. Ezran would always shout and rush forward, and his mother would laugh and pick him up, onto the bed. She would hug him and ask what he was doing, and Ezran would always jokingly say “Talking to you.”
Then he would ask where dad was, and His mom would just hum and say “He’s not here yet.”
Not this time.
His mother wasn’t in the bedroom. No one was.
It was empty.
Ezran wandered out, to the main room. But while a fire was lit, no one was there. Ezran sat on the floor in front of the fire for awhile, soaking in the warmth and playing with a toy elf. He waited for something to happen, but nothing.
Shortly after realizing, Ezran sighed and stood, then made his way outside, coming face to face with his mother. Her hair was braided back like it always was, but she wore no crown. Nor did she was a red dress. Instead it was blue with roses on it, near the edge. A more common dress.
She smiled. “What are you doing?” She asked, getting on her knees and pulling him into a hug. Ezran hugged back, grabbing onto her shoulders and sticking his face into her hair. She ran her fingers through his.
“Talking to you.” He felt tears well in his eyes. He didn’t know why. He didn’t cry often, and never in one of these dreams. Still, he smiled, even if it felt like it would bring him closer to tears. “Where’s dad?”
“Right here.”
Ezran turned, eyes going wide when he found his dad standing just outside the doorway of the lodge, a hand placed on the wood. He didn’t wear his crown either, or the usual red. Instead he wore blue, like Ezran’s mom, that was a little less refined than the usual clothes his father wore.
His dad smiled sadly and got onto one knee, holding his arms out. Ezran rushed into them desperately. His father embraced him.
Before Ezran knew it, he was crying into his dad’s shoulder, and his dad was trying to comfort him with quiet shushes and soft hands on his back. Finally, he stopped and his dad broke the hug so he could hold onto Ezran’s arms.
“Ezran, I need you to do a favor for me,” His dad said, stroking Ezran’s arms gently.
“Yeah?”
His dad said, very carefully “Keep Azymondias safe. Return him to his mother. End this war.”
“Why can’t you?” Ezran asked. His dad only chuckled sadly.
“I don’t have your hope.” He paused, then hugged Ezran again and said “You will be the king next, Ezran. Bring us into a new era.”
Ezran froze, then looked up as his father as Harrow’s touch began fading. “What?” He asked, looking up at his dad with almost horror. So confused.
His dad only smiled. “I have faith in you. My son.” Ezran barely heard the last part as everything around him began fading to gold dust. Sarai offered a sad smile of her own before disappearing with the rest of their surroundings
“No, wait!” Ezran shouted as everything turned to black.
Then he woke up, back to the tree, the 2 humans and the elf.