Chapter Text
"Okay." Rayla took a deep breath, standing at the bottom of the spire. A long way waiting for her till the reaches to the top. She couldn't believe she was going to do this, but she's come so far, she is not going to back down now.
She took her first step up the stairs, hesitating for a second, and then continued to descend up the spire.
What is she going to say when she sees the queen? What will the queen say? Will she be mad at her for coming without any notice? And Zym. Oh she missed him. The only thing that felt right was seeing Zym again.
She continued her stride until she reached that small arched gate. 'Prepare to take your last breath.' She could already breathe fine up there, thanks to Callum. Callum… she released a sigh. In her letter she promised him she would think of him under every fool moon, but she really thought of him all the time. The guilt sat on her heart since she'd left him. She kept reminding herself that this was for the better. It was, but that didn’t change the heavy weigh in her heart. She took another deep breath and forced herself to continue.
Last time she's been here, she wasn't alone. Callum was making bad jokes about stairs and complaining every once in a while that there should be a better way of reaching up. She remembered him joking about their 'forbidden romance situation' and it triggered a small smile from her, until she remembered where she is now. What if he couldn’t forgive her? Just the thought made her heart crumple. But she couldn't think about that now. She had a mission. She needed to focus.
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It's been hours now, the sun was about to set and the sky was shaded with beautiful colors of orange in pink. Callum was right, there should be a better way of reaching to the top. She didn’t mind too much about going up the stairs, her legs were pretty strong, but this took too long.
After about thirty minutes she stopped to take a break. She set on the stairs and took out her canteen of water. There wasn’t much. She looked up and tried to figure out if she could last without water till she reach up or she should save some for later. She pondered for a few more seconds and then looked at her canteen. Damn it, she was thirsty. Her throat felt like the midnight desert. She drank it all. She could drink again when she'll be up there. It was one of the fewest moments she really appreciated water.
It took her a moment but then she realized. She recognized that boulder. She stared at it for a few more seconds just to be sure, and then looked ahead. The view was also familiar to her. That's where she and Callum collapsed. She remembered the moment she realized he was going to fall and she panicked and ran forward to catch him, but that burst of energy took all the power in her body and she fell with him. She tried to tell Ezran, but it was all blurry and it was hard to breathe, she wasn’t sure he heard her. Just before she had lost conscious, she took Callum's hand, but she couldn’t hold it, her hand could just graze his. She missed the touch of his hand. It always gave her comfort.
It was Ez eventually that saved them after learning about that spell. That smart kid… she missed him too. A lot.
She remembered waking up in Callum's arms. She hadn't acknowledge the touch of his hands until she could breathe normally again. When she looked at him he looked so relieved, and when he closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss her, she leaned in as well to catch his lips. She still didn’t understand how she could suddenly breathe again, but at that moment it didn't matter. All she could think of was that they were fine and that Callum was kissing her.
And then Ezran had spoken and she remembered they weren’t alone.
She shook her head. Oh that was embarrassing. She was so lucky she had Callum to explain, but somehow he made it even more embarrassing. He was her goofy dummy. It was embarrassing, but he was with her.
'You're doing it for him.' She reminded herself. That was the most important thing. Keeping him safe. She stood up and took a deep breath. Then she continued her way up to the top.
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How long till she reaches up? She didn’t remember it was that long. Then again, the last time she was here, she had Callum, Ezran and Zym to pass the time with. The sun has already disappeared and the crescent moon shown upon her. She was starting to get thirsty again. Maybe drinking it all wasn’t a good idea. And her legs were getting stiff and tired. She stopped and looked down and saw that they were shaking. Great. Her breathing was heavy and her heart beat fast in her chest, which was weird because she should be breathing fine. It wasn’t because of the thin air around her, it's been a while since she took a break. Maybe she should, but she was afraid that if she sat down now, she won't be able to get up again.
Suddenly there was a muffled growl. She wasn’t alone. She tried to steady her breaths and took her blades out. "Who's there?"
There was silence. Maybe she was imagining. She really did need a break. And water.
No! She'll rest later. She took another step and there it was again, this time clearer. She looked around her, but found nothing. When the voice came again she realized where it was coming from. She looked up and saw Pyrrah, the fire dragon, standing on the stairs above her, watching Rayla with a tilted head.
Rayla sighed and put her swords back in place. "Hey there." She took another breath. "Long time no see." The dragon jumped and landed with strong force in front of Rayla. Rayla took a few steps back, almost falling down the stairs, but balanced herself at the last second. The dragon approached Rayla and downed her head so she could level her eyes with hers. Then she growled again. What did she try to tell her? She wished Ezran was here. She wasn’t as talented as him.
After a few moments of silence, Pyrrah lowered herself down and glanced at her back as a gesture for Rayla to hop on and ride on her. Rayla hesitated, but then moved forward and climbed on her back. Her big wings stretched out and all of a sudden, they were up in the sky. They reached to the top in seconds and Rayla could see the spire platforms. Memories rushed in. Callum, trying to grow his wings and then being embarrassed after he realized she was there, them holding hands, Viren… consuming Zym's life force, her tackling him off the spire with her, Callum falling after her, Callum saving her, telling her he loves her.
She took a deep breath. It seemed like all she was doing the last few days was taking deep breaths. Callum taught her that. He always calmed her down when she was nerves or upset. There were times that even his sweet words weren’t enough, but taking deep breaths helped her.
Pyrrah landed at the entrance of the spire and growled again as Rayla slid down off her. At first Rayla thought it was for her, but then she saw Ibis. He looked like he had just woken up and Rayla felt bad for coming in such a late hour.
He walked towards them, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. "Pyrrah? What is it? What's going on?" When he looked up and saw Rayla, he stopped in his tracks. "Rayla? Is that you?"
Tentatively, she took a step in. "Yes. I…" She fidgeted with her fingers.
Ibis could see she was nerves and tired. "Come in." He walked to stand next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you thirsty?"
Very. "A little."
"Come. I'll bring you water."
He escorted her inside and poured her a glass of water for her. She gulped it fast and Ibis poured another glass when she was done with the first one.
"Rayla, what are you doing here?" He asked as she drank.
She finished her second glass and spoke. "I came to see the queen, I have an important message."
"The queen is asleep right now. Can it wait for tomorrow?"
She looked at him with worried eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't want to disturb her, but it's important."
It took him a while and then he spoke again. "Okay, wait here."
Ibis went in the direction of the queen's chamber and disappeared inside.
What if it was a mistake coming here? What if the queen didn’t believe her and forbid her from searching for Viren? What if she'll be angry with her for waking her up in the middle of the night? Maybe she should have just search the area? Another breath.
Ibis appeared again and her breath caught in her lungs.
"You can come in. But keep quiet. The prince is asleep."
With one last deep breath, she went inside.