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Callum paced back and forth in front of the door that separated his sleeping quarters from the room adjacent; a room that was once occupied by a young Prince Ezran before he was upgraded to the king’s suite. Now it was Rayla taking up occupancy, separated from Callum by nothing more than the intricately carved wooden door.
So many thoughts rushed through his mind that it was hard for Callum to figure out exactly what it was he wanted to say. He had finally found the resolve to initiate a proper one-on-one conversation with Rayla, but now he found his words were all jumbled up in his head. Callum continued to pace, wanting so badly to knock on her door, but also fearing that he might not be able to properly communicate everything that was on his mind.
It had been less than two days since they escaped Umber Tor, barely, with their lives. Callum mused on the events of the last few weeks leading up to their close call with the earth dragon. He had been so cold to Rayla since her return, her two year absence having done quite a number on his heart. Subconsciously, he ran his fingers across his chest as he thought about the pain she caused when she left, and more importantly - stayed away without so much as a letter.
And yet…he realized just how much a near death experience could really put things into perspective. Before entering Rex Igneous’ lair, Callum had a hard time imagining a scenario where he could ever forgive Rayla. After everything that happened between them, for her to choose to lie to his face and leave in the dead of night, choose to let him wonder whether she was alive or dead for two whole years…it seemed like her actions were unforgivable, no matter how sincerely sorry she seemed each of the dozens of time she’d apologized. But for those few moments at Umber Tor where he thought he lost her - really lost her - Callum realized he’d do anything for another minute with Rayla. He realized that no matter what happened, he still cared deeply for her, still wanted her in his life. For those few moments, Callum swore he’d do anything to see her again.
And then she appeared. Rather than going after Viren, the person she had given up everything for to find - Rayla chose to come back to them. Back to him. Callum couldn’t remember a time he had ever been so relieved or so happy as when he heard her voice and saw her hand sticking out of the rubble around the collapsed lair. He knew that it would take time and work, but that things between them were going to get better.
But first they had to talk. After the group escaped, they came immediately back to Katolis, but there hadn’t been a single calm moment since. Callum and Rayla hadn’t even been alone together since they arrived; there were hours spent each getting examined and patched up by the royal hospital, followed by endless recaps of the events to Opeli, then the rest of the council, and the head of the royal Army. After a criminally short rest, they came up with their next steps - Ezran, Soren and Corvus to rally the dragons, with Callum and Rayla to remain behind doing research. This evening was truly the first opportunity Callum had to properly talk with Rayla, and he didn’t want to waste it.
Bait grunted from the foot of the bed; all of Callum’s pacing across the plush carpet was keeping him awake. Callum gave an apologetic sigh and looked out the window. The moon was quickly rising, and even though he knew Rayla was typically a night person - or rather, elf - the last 48 hours had been exhausting for everyone. She was surely going to sleep soon, if she wasn’t already.
Taking a deep breath, Callum gave a soft knock on the door. If she was indeed asleep already, he didn’t want to wake her. A moment passed, and Callum held his breath. On one hand, this conversation was long overdue; on the other, he still had no idea what exactly he was going to say, so maybe it would be better if it waited until…
Too late. The door handle clicked, and soon Rayla’s face appeared in the crack of the open door.
“Callum,” she said in a soft voice, giving an equally soft smile. “I was afraid I was just hearing things.” She opened the door wider so they were properly standing in front of one another. “Everything okay?”
He couldn’t stop the goofy smile that was growing on his face. Rayla had indeed prepared for bed - her long hair typically kept up in a tight bun was let down, cascading around her shoulders, so much longer than it had been when she left. With her armor and weapons removed, her slender frame was visible in her sleep clothes. It had been a long time since Callum had seen her actually relax and get comfortable - they had spent each of their previous nights out in the wilderness, having to be ready to run at a moment’s notice. It was nice to see this softer side of her.
“Uh, yeah, everything’s fine. I was just hoping we could maybe…talk for a few minutes.” He felt shy suddenly and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, while playing with the door handle with the other.
Rayla’s eyes grew large as a mix of hope and apprehension crossed her face. “Of course,” she said, barely above a whisper. Callum saw the look and immediately realized he had to clarify what he meant.
“Oh, I mean…there are just some things I’d like to say, if that’s okay.” She nodded, and he continued. “I’m not ready to talk about…everything. Not yet.” Rayla blinked but didn’t interrupt. “What I mean is…I’m still working through some stuff. When you left, it really hurt. That’s putting it mildly…I haven’t even fully processed how much it’s affected me, and I need more time to figure out exactly how I feel about…all of that,” he finished lamely, unsure of how else to put it.
Rayla looked away, her cheeks growing pink in shame. “I understand,” she said in a quiet voice.
“But Rayla,” he continued, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder, waiting for her to meet his gaze before continuing. “I still care about you. I want you to know that. And after what happened at Umber Tor…I mean, you were right. Viren is alive.” Callum paused, a dark look coming over his face. “I didn’t believe you after you came out of the Moon Nexus, Rayla. You said Viren was back, and I believed that you believed it, but…” He took a deep breath. “I should have trusted you more. Maybe if I did….” You wouldn’t have left without me.. “...things would have been different.”
A moment passed in silence between them before Callum continued. “What I’m trying to say is, Rayla…I know I haven’t been exactly cordial since you returned. But the point is…you did return. And you’ve had our backs ever since. In fact, you always have. I may not be ready to forgive and forget everything that happened, but I know that everything you’ve done has been because you truly thought it was best for everyone. I may not like what you did, but I can at least respect that much. And after everything we’ve been through together…after you came back again, at Umber Tor…I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can trust you. That we can trust you. Which is good, because…well we don’t really have time for anything else.”
He gave an awkward chuckle for half a second before being cut off by Rayla throwing her full weight at him, nearly knocking him over as she gave him a hug. Callum froze for a moment while he processed what was happening, then returned the hug with interest. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, and yet still didn't feel like quite long enough. When Bait snorted once again, they pulled away, each not so subtly wiping away tears that had snuck into their eyes.
“Thank you for saying that, Callum. That means a lot to me. I know I can’t go back in time and change things, but I hope you know I’ll do everything I can to keep proving you can trust me. I won’t leave you, not again.”
He smiled at her and gave a small nod. “We should probably get some sleep,” he said reluctantly at the same time Rayla let out a huge yawn.
“Probably so…goodnight, Callum,” she replied before shutting the door, feeling lighter than she had in months.