#and timeskip claudia

[what-bot]

Tron Uprising 🤝 The Dragon Prince -> “You’re SURE this is a kids’ show? After they showed us THAT?”

[stuck-in-jelly]

Terry and Soren are gonna become best bros and Claudia is NOT gonna be happy about it

[raayllum]

for snake boy callum 2.0 week day 2, snakes + stars

It takes time, but eventually Callum is pieced together enough, and Ezran can't evade enough, that Soren sits them down to have a conversation on castle security. About assassinations.

One of the guards who'd stuck around through everything—had deserted Viren's army, had fought in the tower with Soren and survived the night, had sworn true service to Harrow's heir—sits with them. A familiar face as any, but Callum still eyes her warily.

She's not his family, and she's not even Soren, and...

"There are enchantments I can set around the castle," Callum says. Sky spells are sound like alarms when sound pings off. Sun spells he can craft with help from Aunt Amaya's resources for lights and morse code, shadow traps and truth crystals, just to make sure everyone is being honest.

"Won't some elves maybe know how to undo them, though?" Ezran inquires. He's sitting in a regular chair and his feet can't touch the floor.

He's so tiny, still, and while Callum has seen first hand how capable his brother is, how much he shouldn't be underestimated—He's strong and brave, he'll get it, he'll save the egg!—Callum shakes his head.

He hates the circumstances that led them here. The assassination, the murder, and there's peace now, but their family—and the silver lining of it all isn't even here, now, and—

"It's not elves we have to worry about now, Ez," Callum says darkly. "The other human kingdoms aren't happy with you or Aanya. Even our own is..."

"At least we do not have to worry about more Moonshadow elf assassins," the guard says with a tiny, joking smile, not seeing the warning signs Soren makes with his hands, and it takes all of Callum's self control not to demand she be thrown out of the room.

In the end, he sulks and studies in his new office. Viren'd had a primal stone too once upon a time. There has to be something in his notes, loathe as Callum is go through them of course, that could be a worthwhile measure to implement. Or maintain.

Not that any of them were enough to protect his father from Moonshadow assassins in the end, but... Ez will be different. He has to be different.

Eventually, he turns to a book that's propped half open in the corner of a bookshelf he hasn't really explored yet. The sketch of a soulfang serpent pokes out, and Callum goes and pulls it from the shelf, cracking the tome open.

It hits like a blow to the chest, to be reminded of the Midnight Desert after—he focuses on the eery green glow of their eyes, the shimmering grey of their scales. They look nothing like dark magic chains at least. A passage is circled about their connection to the Moon arcanum and souls (that's almost enough to make him put the book away) and Viren's cramped handwriting: Two head — switch?

I'd switch places in a second, he'd said to Claudia that day in the library, and she'd run off with an excited gleam in her eye.

It curdles his stomach now to wonder what it was, but... They'd found a basket with snake feces in it in King Harrow's room afterwards. Opeli had shown them the court records once she'd thought they could bear it.

Maybe Viren had...

But it's awful, from the sound of it. Wearing someone else's face, your soul in a stranger's body. It's not as though Katolis doesn't have surgeries—there's the baker's son who'd needed a new kidney, a few years back—but to take a wholly healthy body and... It's the worst kind of dark magic.

Ez finds him out on one of the balconies later, feet slipping just like Callum's had on the climb up. (He can't quite manage to summon his wings again, yet, but... he's working on it.) Callum grabs his hand to help haul him all the way up. It's a moonless night, clouds obscuring the slim crescent that is there. Stars twinkle in between.

"I'm not going to get assassinated, you know," Ezran says, nudging him in the shoulder.

Callum exhales. "I know," he says, because he won't let it happen. "I just..." Tears build, cold on his face in the mid-autumn air. "You're all I have left, Ez."

"She'll come back."

Callum looks away and wipes at his nose with his scarf, sighing when Ezran wraps an arm around his shoulder. He's the big brother, he's supposed to be comforting Ezran, not the other way around.

"I saw the notes you left," Ez continues quietly. "Well, the ones Viren left, I guess. About the soul fang serpent." He runs his fingers over one hand thoughtfully. "D'you think Dad...?"

"I don't know," Callum says. "But—there's no way Dad would've agreed, even if he was given that kind of deal."

The magic was awful. It wasn't precise enough. If the spell could swap souls and bodies, maybe—let the corpse fall and then put you back in, heal up the wounds—let you be yourself, and the other person's soul and body would be severed but buried, then—

Callum pushes those thoughts away. No. No, even if Harrow could've kept his body, even if he could've kept his face, it still wouldn't be fair to whosever soul died on that blade. Not fair to the family, or husk left behind, or...

Callum buries his fingers in his hair and breathes through his nose, in and out. Ezran rests his head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're High Mage now," his little brother says, stifling a yawn. "I wouldn't know how to handle all this magic stuff without you."

Someone had to make these kinds of decisions, Callum reminds himself. Or at least consider the possibilities, the paths spreading out before them, even if they weren't all going to be—shouldn't be taken.

He has to be more than Ezran's high mage. There are humans, and dark mages, and someone has to know what they might be up against from the Pentarchy. Ezran needs a shield, from whatever he can still be shielded from.

And that person is him.

"Hm." Callum kisses him on the forehead once Ezran he's asleep, then shifts and picks him up.

Ez is getting heavy for this, but—Callum manages to make his way down, carrying him all the while. He passes Ezran off to Soren in the hall, the king snoozing as the crownguard hefts him up and then heads down the hall to the king's tower.

Callum hauls tome after tome off the shelves after, full of dark magic—grotesque images and wicked spells—carrying them up to his spot on the balcony, a primal flame in his hand as he begins to read. The stars have nearly blinked out by the time he stops and goes to bed.

He had to know what his brother's enemies could be capable of if he wanted to be able to stop them, after all.

(Later, he will know what he's capable of, too.)

[wormsical]

I'm on TDP s4e5 and oh my god is it just me or did this show get noticeably worse like what's up

[machiavxlli]

Claudia slept that evening, her dreams filled with images of the family she wanted. The dreams turned into nightmares, fire engulfed everything while she heard someone's maniacal laughter in the wind. The last thing she hears before waking up is the harrowing screech of a baby.

---

TIMESKIP - Two weeks later...

Claudia stared into the lake, blue eyes rimmed red from tears. Two weeks had passed, and Claudia had heard nothing from Axis. The last week had been strenuous, and emotionally tiresome for the princess. Her father, in his infinite glory, had decided to arrange suitors for her. It's about time you married, Claudia. He had said, while her brother gave her a sympathetic stare. One particular suitor, a man by the name of James, was eager. While the king was happy to indulge the prince with his antics, Claudia got a bad feeling about him. It was like a cat sensing danger, all the hairs standing up and hissing. Claudia spent time in her galleries, continued on with her duties as princess, she did anything to her mind of everything happening around her.

James was tall, broad shouldered and had the darkest hair she had ever seen. His eyes though, his eyes were a piercing blue. To Claudia, he looked like a snake. The princess protested the union, on grounds that James was not suitable for the kingdom, and her father answered her argument with a swift slap to the face. His rings cut her, her lips bled and a bruise formed on her cheek.

Claudia ran and ran, until she was far away. She was careful not to fall, should she hurt her baby. Truthfully, her child was the only thing keeping her happy in this time. And now, here she was. Deep in the woods, in front of a lake that glittered in the sun light. The princess sat under a tree, back against the log. Her life was spelled out for her. She would marry a man she did not love and that gave her the creeps, her child would be taken from her and war would surely ensue. Tears fell down her cheeks, but no sound came out.

Unknowingly, she had passed the threshold and was now in fae lands, though it looked like any normal forest.

Unhappy, yet patient enough. And holding a simple request to replace the impossible one.... beautiful, beautiful Claudia. Axis' smile to her was anything but ordinary or purely human. Despite the glamour hiding his beast-like features, and his generally controlled behavior, his grin hinted something feral, his canines a touch too sharp. There was something foreign in his genuine expression.

But he was just that: real in his happiness. His bliss. Their bliss.

A youngling. A child.

What a wild turn of fate for Axis, the fae known to be impulsive and wild among his own kin, to be the one blessed with such a precious gift. What a fortunate turn to have something so lovely.

Maybe it was just so because Claudia hadn't seen him be as violent and temperamental as he could be.

And for the Earth underneath his feet and the Nymphs of the forest, he hoped she'd never see that.

"I will bring you the most delicious strawberries I find, my dear" he promised. "And about your brother, rest assured" after all, Axis knew the man not to harbor direct hostile intentions towards his kin. At least not coming from his own mind.

The fae placed a soft, tender kiss on her forehead.

"I have absolutely no intentions of harming him. I'll bring your strawberries, yes?".

But he did not wait for an answer. Another kiss, one on her soft, sweet lips, and then he was glamouring himself fully to become one with the air, breezing away through the window. He simply could not give her another opportunity to question things he couldn't answer, or to ask him for promises that maybe he couldn't make.

Later that day, a wooden plate appeared by her window, holding the most perfectly red and succulent strawberries. Eerie and enchanting, they were clearly a gift from the fae lands.

[hazieash]

Here is my fan design for 7-year timeskip Claudia! I included some of my favorite items from the Xadia game, implying she has been to the Moonshadow Forest, the Far Reaches, and the Blacksteel Sanctum. She also has a red feather, perhaps from Redfeather herself? (Someone Rayla met in Scumport in the reflections short stories). I gave her Human Aaravos’s belt, implying she went to find the husk body. She also painted Aaravos’s Star markings on her face. And finally, the dragon scale pendant is now fused with her body so no one can take that power from her.

[knuffi516]

The question is also where Claudia lives during the timeskip.

Before arc 2, she lived in a cave in the Storm Spire. Now, she either lives in a ruin in Katolis or she returned to the old cave. Or, maybe, Claudia found Aaravos' old hut.

[thejosiebird]

I really am hoping that Leola might come back in season 7. Not just because she’s an autistic cutie who didn’t deserve what happened to her, but also because think of the potential her character could have! Especially if arc three gets green lit and we get another time skip?!

Leola could still be adjusting to a world that’s changed in the last thousand years, she’s also still coming to grips with the fact that she was freaking dead for that whole time, and that her father lost himself in his grief and became someone she wouldn’t even recognize.

And unlike Claudia, who follows in her father’s footsteps, Leola is afraid of, and trying her absolute damndest to avoid going down the same path her father did. And whereas Aaravos excelled at creating rifts between entire nations, Leola works towards building bridges between people. Hell, she might have already gotten a head start on doing just that if she hadn’t been executed for trying to help humans! Aaravos said so himself that she befriended people regardless of their race of species.

And think of the intersections Leola could have with the main cast members as well!!! She could be like a little sister to Callum and Ezran, and be the mischievous youngest sibling using her magic to try and help them keep in touch with their inner children. Same with queen Aanya. If she can’t take their royal duties away from them, she figures she can at least make them easier to handle with harmless shenanigans. And if she ever comes in contact with Claudia (assuming she lives to see the timeskip) I could see Leola trying to guide her towards a path of healing and recovery from the dark path she’s followed up to that point, if that’s even possible. Even if it’s not, Leola strikes me as the type of person that would try to help Claudia at least, even after learning about her history with the Katolis royal family and how it fell apart.

Like I said, Leola’s character has some juicy potential if she’s revived next season. Here’s hoping!🤞🏼

[sturniolobsessed]

CHAMPAGNE AND SUNSHINE - M.STURNIOLO

Warnings : smut!, established relationship, p in v, physical touch, kissing, use of alcohol, use of pet names, shower sex, bedroom sex, teasing, driving kink, oral (male receiving)

Summary : after a bougie date with Matt, you head home and have some extra fun to round off the night

Authors note : I have a feeling that I’m gonna love writing this one (b4 I write)

Creds to @claudia-sturns for the idea

This fic is based completely off the song “champagne and sunshine” by PLVTINUM

Pink is y/n

Blue is Matt

Bold is song lyrics

Italics is thoughts

________________________________________

Matt’s POV

As me and y/n lay under the warm sun, hand in hand, I had never felt more at home

I looked over to her with a smile on my face and blush on my cheeks

She has tanned skin and light eyes, oh my she’s so damn fine

I wonder everyday how this beautiful goddess of a woman is my girlfriend

She got that rich girl, LA vibe and I love it, it means I get to spoil her more

I see her turn to look at me, her eyes being illuminated by the sun, and she has the cutest smile

She leans in to press her lips to mine and I instantly let her, leaning in the rest of the way and connecting our lips softly

“You make the best dates, my love.”

“Thank you, darling. Do you want me to pour you some champagne?”

“Please.”

I smile and lean over to the picnic basket, grabbing the bottle of expensive champagne

I pour us both glasses and I hand her one of them

“Cheers.”

“Cheers baby, to us.”

“To us.”

We clink our glasses together before taking a sip

I gaze over at my girlfriend, love in my eyes

“Come sit on my lap.”

She flashes me that gorgeous smile of hers before sliding over onto my lap

I put my hands on her thighs to hold her in place

I lean in closer, kissing on her neck while we laying under sunlight

[Timeskip]

Y/n’s POV

After long hours of kissing, drinking champagne and tanning under the sun, me and Matt head home

He starts to pack away all of the foods, drinks and the picnic blanket away into the basket

I stand up, dusting myself off and helping Matt to his feet

I feel his hand slip into mine, our fingers intertwining sweetly as we make our way over to the car

“Baby?”

“Yes, gorgeous?”

“Can I drive?”

He doesn’t reply but he simply gives me a look that tells me “no”

“Oh come onnn… please?”

I give him the puppy dog eyes, tilting my head to the side and taking both of his hands in mine

“Ugh fine! I can’t say no to that cute ass face.”

I smile and he places a little peck upon the top of my nose, grabbing my waist a little

Matt’s POV

I finally give in and let y/n drive, putting the picnic basket in the back seat and then getting into the passenger seat myself

I’m not used to sitting in the passenger seat because I’m always driving

Between me and my triplet brothers, Nick and Chris, I am the only one who can drive

It’s always, me in the drivers seat, Chris in the passenger seat and Nick in the back

But this time, I have to settle for passenger seat.. but I’ll do it cause I know she loves to drive

Anyway, I hop in the car next to her and let my head fall back onto the headrest, closing my eyes

She starts up the car and I peel my eyes open, watching as her delicate fingers steer the wheel

And how when she looks back to reverse, the light shines so beautifully on her tanned face

Also the way that her mouth falls so delicately open when she’s concentrating on the road

She looks so utterly perfect right now and I can’t help to think some dirty thoughts

“What would those fingers feel like around my dick?”

“What would that mouth taste like after she’s sucked my cock?”

I feel myself harden within my trousers, a large tent forming under my jeans

Y/n’s POV

As we are about 5 minutes from home, I gaze over to Matt and I see him writhing within his seat

“You alright, baby?”

“Yeah… just a little uncomfortable..”

I look evidently confused until I clock on, glancing down towards his crotch

“Oh baby, what’s got you going?”

“You..”

I smirk, placing my hand on his thigh to tease him

I decide to put my foot down a little, speeding up a couple notches so we can get home a little quicker

He starts to squirm more and I let my hand slide up and down his thigh

His head falls back against the headrest again, his eyes screwing shut

[Timeskip]

Matt’s POV

We finally reach the front door and I get out the car as quick as possible, racing to the house

Y/n follows behind me as well, leaving everything in the car

I quickly unlock the house and run up the stairs, kicking the door closed behind me

I reach my room and grab y/n by the waist, picking her up into my arms and kissing her aggressively

Our lips clash together harmonically, both of our eyes closing as my tongue gently slips into her mouth

“You’re so hot, baby.”

“Says you.”

She jumps down and undoes my jeans, lips still on mine

I giggle as she pulls me down to the floor, both of us falling with a crash

We both help each other get undressed, still with our lips still pressed firmly together

Once we are both undressed, I press her down onto the floor and spread her legs with my knee

“You ready?”

She nods and I lean down to kiss her on the forehead before I slide myself into her

Y/n’s POV

I feel Matt’s lips press to forehead and then his dick slowly slide inside my tight hole

His thrusts immediately start, not giving me any time to adjust to his size

“So fucking tight.”

I let out a loud moan as he speeds up his pace, his hand around my neck to hold me down

I arch my back as the pleasure slowly takes over my body

His thrusts slowly get faster and I can tell he is close

I clench around his dick, letting him know that I am close too

“You gonna cum?”

I nod, my eyes rolling back in my head and a loud moan escapes my lips

“Words baby.”

“Y-yes.. I’m s-so close.”

“Cum with me baby.”

And with that, I finish all over his dick as his warm cum shoots inside of me

His thrusts slow down as he helps me ride out my high before he pulls out

“Good girl, took it so well.”

Matt’s POV

I pull out of her and I lean down to kiss her soft lips, whispering praise in her ear

“Come on, love. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

I pick her up off the floor, her legs shaking after her euphoric orgasm

Carrying her to the bathroom, her arms link around my neck and she starts kissing my neck again

I feel her sucking on my skin, clearly trying to give me a hickey

“Baby.. please.”

“What?”

“I can’t be arsed to hide a hickey.”

“Then don’t.”

She winks at me and I feel her legs stop shaking as I hold her, walking to the bathroom

I roll my eyes playfully and her lips let go of my neck, making a dark bruise on the skin

I accidentally glance at the mirror and I catch a view of the massive hickey she’s given me

“Y/nnnn..”

“Sorry.”

She giggles and hops in the shower, pulling me in with her

The hot water hits our sensitive skin and I can’t help stare at her beautiful body, her tits staring me right in the face

She lets her arms link around my neck again, her body pressing up against mine

“Round 2?”

I look down into her eyes and I see a hint of lust, along with love and care

“I’m really sensitive right now, love.”

“Pleaseeee?”

I don’t have time to disagree before she is on her knees in front of me, her hands wrapped around my cock

“No more- no more.”

“Come on Matty, you can do it.”

My eyes softly close as I feel her lips wrap around my dick, my tip hitting the back of her throat

I let out a loud moan as I feel her head bob up and down, her eyes still focused on mine

I finish a lot quicker this time because I am already sensitive, my cum shooting down her throat

She pulls her mouth away and looks at me with a smirk, swallowing it all

I place my hand on her face, gently stroking her cheek as she wipes her mouth

“Let’s get you cleaned up, ey?”

She winks at me and pressed another long kiss to my lips before helping me clean off my body

________________________________________

Taglist : @astrolynnworld @mangoposts

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Wait you wrote some of the Dragon Prince's Reflections short stories? That's awesome, congratulations! What was that like and how much lore did the showrunners give you access to, or were you allowed to make your own additions to canon? 😃 Which ones did you work on if I can ask? Thanks!

Oop, this question came in while I was answering another one! I just went over which Reflections stories were my work here! tldr, most of the first volume and one in the second volume.

I worked with Devon on ideas to pitch, and then on crafting and polishing the ones that got approval. I only needed to know a little bit of lore from upcoming seasons in order to write the stories, but with the timeskip between S3 and S4, I necessarily had to know a few things, like "so it's been two years."

I did get a couple of references to look at, such as the design of the soul candle for "The Queen's Soul," since that was an asset they'd already created for the show. And I did get to watch an early version of the first episode of S4, for character/design/location/etc reasons. A picture is worth 1000 words, etc. But most of my stories were just little bubbles stuck on the side of the main plot bubble - as the Reflections series was originally pitched to be! It's full of treats and foreshadowy lil clues, but in the end it's just fun supplemental material for the extra nerdy to indulge in! So there was some freedom in pitching and writing, as long as it held to theme, and we had a lot of fun bringing these little moments to life.

Crackledrake is my favorite short story because I got to add the cute little ritual to Sunfire canon and created the lore behind it. It's inspired by the real-world tradition of snapdragon, so you can see I was super inventive with its TDP name there! I gave Janai and Amaya their own Xadian fruits and nuts, though, as they deserve. I can't say I did so with a straight face, though. My face was extremely gay about it, actually.

Rise Again was another of my pitches that got accepted, and writing it really helped me connect with Claudia in a way I hadn't before. I've felt differently about her ever since, and that wouldn't've happened if I hadn't gotten to spend time with her and give her Burnt Biscuit.

I think Changing of the Guard was already in the pitch lineup, but I was really excited to get to write for Soren and Corvus. I always enjoy when opposite personalities try to come together! I tried my best to add some angst into Corvus' backstory, but I had to trim it for length so he remains mysterious. But King Ezran's Belly Full of Jelly tart-eating contest is a thing I've put into the world, and I'm genuinely pleased with that. And then there's all the *waves Sorvus flag*. I just think they're neat! (and you're welcome)

[sunfire-shield]

I think a fascinating part of Terry’s character is how isolated he was implied to be when he met Claudia. Like, there are a lot of clues as to how separate Terry already was from the Earthblood elves, such as the way that, when they’re hiking through the Drakewood, Terry identifies it as being close to where he grew up, and the first thing he starts talking about his struggles growing up, and the fact that his community didn’t respect his gender identity. This seems to be the only case of a queer character feeling ostracised from his community for his queer identity. Like, the scene is superficially similar to when Astrid comments that “my star was never hidden, even if others couldn’t see it”, it never feels like the Celestial elves rejected her, just that for a while they couldn’t see (pun unintended), and that’s been cleared up now. She has a positive relationship with her people and culture right up until the whole “we have information that could prevent the end of the world but won’t divulge it” thing. Instead we find Terry living in the wilds, and he shows no interest in rejoining his people, unlike how Rayla longs for her homeland during her period of exile. Our brief experience of the Drake Riders also highlights how different Terry is from the peak standard his culture has (I think the Drake Riders are a distinct group among Earth blood elves but still, we can extrapolate), and this further demonstrates how Terry was feeling more and more isolated from his culture and community. And then, he meets, befriends and dates the elf hating human dark mage Claudia

Now, Claudia is also extremely isolated when she meets Terry, albeit in different ways and for quite different reasons: geographically, she is very separate from the community and culture she grew up with by the fact she’s hiding out deep in Xadia with only her father’s corpse and the disembodied spirit of a vengeful Startouch elf speaking through a worm for company, but she’s also isolated ideologically because she’s doggedly hung on to the us vs them tribalism and bigotry that her society, under King Ezran, is actively attempting to move away from. This creates rifts that are difficult to bridge when she reunites with other characters from her past, such as her brother. Now, while we’re not shown Claudia and Terry’s meeting, the social isolation these characters are experiencing is a compelling reason why they might bond to each other in the first place, especially in the reasonably stable period of time that is the timeskip where it is easier for them to focus on the things they have in common, such as their goofy senses of humour and dogged loyalty, and they can support each other through their loneliness. A friend I was discussing this with irl described it like they have “bonded to each other in the place of other community”, which I thought was a great way of wording it

Anyway I just think their whole relationship and the implied ins and outs of why/how they bonded in the first place is really interesting to speculate on and a real highlight of arc2 for me

[pikslasrce]

kirsten dunst you are saving this productionnnn

a hyperfixation will take you to dark places that you didnt think youd venture to again <- is about to REwatch iwtv (1994) bc she finally read the book so she wants to compare the two

[firefly-suite]

it's pretty funny to me that claudia almost certainly has the most changes to her character design, with each spell transformation, the corruption on her face and the timeskip design change yadadada

bUT obviously, claudia's hair gets whiter and whiter throughout the show but i noticed that in the last scene, of her standing under the stars in the title sequence, when she takes her hood off and says 'seven years' and then , her hair is actually the same as prior to the final battle.

i'm presuming this might be an animation error, largely because it's in the same shot as the title sequence wherein beforehand she had the larger dark streak. someone pointed it out how the scale seems to decorrupt her but other than these, i can't think why her hair would go back to being black, especially as callum got a white streak for doing half of a single spell.

anyway i just had some thoughts haha

"draconis praesidium"

"seven years..."

[raayllum]

do you think claudia celebrated viren’s birthday (if only in her head) during the two years he was dead

[js589]

💘 fake relationship / mutual pining / dared to kiss rayllum? 👀

I finally finished it! Been dealing with sick kiddos, so not much time to write. 😓

This takes place in a continuity where Harrow, for whatever reason (probably Sarai's influence, let's be honest) reached out and started peace talks with the Moonshadow elves... and it kinda worked! He and Sarai are still very much alive. There's definitely still very tentative trust on all sides, but one of the things they decided on, for whatever reason (read: I think bodyguard romance is cute) is that they'd do a kind of guard exchange and see if they could find someone the princes vibed with.

I am gonna say they're more their post-timeskip ages here because I don't see the Moonshadow elves sending a 15-year-old, even a prodigy, but they sent her as an assassin in canon, so 🤷🏼‍♀️

(ask game can be found here)

-----------

What am I even doing?

Rayla marveled at the idiocy that had led her to this point. Most of it hadn't been hers.

Most of it.

It was usually Soren or Callum who started trouble. When it wasn't them, it was Ezran, except on one memorable occasion when the Crow Master had excitedly demanded a demonstration of her abilities. Rayla had—stupidly—obliged, stepped into moonlight... And every single bird in the loft had lost its mind, including Seluna, the crescent hawk that Rayla used to communicate with her family back home. (Her father had returned her next communication saying that Seluna was bred for speed rather than intelligence, and it showed.)

Much as Rayla would have liked to blame anyone else, it truly was her own fault for developing a crush on a prince (not by blood, not that that seemed to matter) of Katolis. This whole guard exchange had been a stupid idea, not that she'd ever tell King Harrow that. Sure, fostering trust after so many generations of animosity was all well and good, but an elf even thinking about romance with a human prince? She'd be sent back home, and she wasn't sure she'd be all in one piece. There was no way for her to get a different assignment either. No; she'd been sent specifically because the princes seemed to elude every other guard they were given, and King Harrow and Queen Sarai had thought that a bodyguard closer to their age might develop a better rapport.

Well, it had worked quite well. Too well, where Callum was concerned. Even Soren had noticed. Perhaps it was his responsibility to notice when someone was trying to get too close, but if his goal was to prevent that, this certainly wasn't a good way to address it. If Soren were anyone else, Rayla would suspect an underhanded, brilliant plot to get her sent back to the Silvergrove for good. As it was, she suspected he missed being able to torment his sister, who was currently studying magic in Xadia. Would he have dared his sister to kiss Callum like he had dared Rayla? Claudia would probably have had the nerve to on her own, if she was anything like Soren.

Hurried footsteps at the other end of the hall pulled her attention from her thoughts.

"Rayla! Rayla, I figured it out!" Callum was beaming.

He was always on about something these days. He'd wanted to go study magic instead of Claudia, but he'd been deemed both too inexperienced and too much of a target. Even the peace with the Moonshadow elves was tenuous. He'd settled for pestering Rayla to explain it to him instead. She hadn't considered herself to be any kind of teacher, and she'd sighed more than once that she'd been brought in as a guard and not a governess, but Callum was persistent.

She had to admit he was also bright. He'd been able to piece together what Rayla said with what he'd learned from letters Claudia had sent and the scant few books in the library that had anything useful to say, and while he hadn't been successful at forging a connection on his own, he'd been able to use the materials Xadia was willing to trade to the human kingdoms—mostly rocks and a few plants—in ways Rayla hadn't thought of before.

He'd been working on several projects recently. One of them must have worked out. If nothing else, it was bound to be interesting.

Rayla blinked, remembering she was actually supposed to ask. "Figured... what out?"

Callum grabbed her arm and dragged her over to a window. "Look!" He stepped into the moonlight and sketched a rune in the air. "Vitreus."

He didn't go completely invisible, but if someone wasn't looking carefully, they wouldn't see him.

Rayla was already imagining the myriad ways this could go wrong.

"It doesn't really work if I'm not in moonlight—" Callum stepped forward and he mostly reappeared, but slightly blurry "—but I can do something that you can do!"

Rayla wanted to point out that he'd already capably performed several small spells beyond any ability she had, but that wasn't the point. Callum's infectious enthusiasm had her smiling back at him, anyway.

It had her heart pounding, too.

Maybe if she just did it now, when the time felt right, he'd never know it was a dare? She wanted to do it anyway—Soren was annoyingly right about that—so it wasn't as though she was doing it out of malice...

Nobody had to see them, she realized. Rayla yanked Callum back into the moonlight, waiting only just long enough to be sure he'd disappeared again before she leaned in and pressed her lips against his for just a moment. She drew back quickly, careful to stay in the light of the moon.

"Did you just... Was that..." Callum blinked. "Rayla, did you mean that? Like, did you mean that?"

She should have shoved him back out of the moonlight so she could see him clearly. She thought his voice was hopeful, but she couldn't be sure she wasn't just imagining it. He had taken her hands in his, though, which seemed to be a good sign. "Yeah, I did," she said quietly.

Callum sighed, and Rayla could hear his grin in his voice. "Oh, that's a relief, because Soren told me I should if I wanted to but I didn't think you actually wanted to and—" he was cut off as Rayla pulled him back in for another kiss.

After a long and rather pleasant moment, she drew back just far enough to speak. "Right now, less talk and more kissing."

She was glad Callum had never been particularly picky about his status or title. She was ordering a prince to kiss her!

He was, apparently, entirely willing to oblige. If only I'd known.

Well, she knew now. There were certainly still bound to be hurdles, but this, at least, was simple enough, and for the moment, Rayla was content with it.

[bestbudgiefammm]

Timeskip Claudia designs!!