#this was one of my other favs of the intro prompts batch

[kradogsrats]

Prompt from @dragonprincedrabbles: Ezran + Queen Aditi, No Time Like the Present

G, ~1K words

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The night that Queen Janai officially becomes Aunt Janai, Ezran went to bed very, very late. He'd stuffed himself full of spicy Sunfire cuisine and rich Katolian sweets, all of it so delicious that every time he cleared his plate, he couldn't keep from trying just a little more—not to mention that he might have single-handedly put a visible dent in the mountain of jelly tarts Aunt Amaya had insisted on to honor his mom. He'd also danced until he was completely exhausted, whirled around the floor more times than he could count by Aunt Amaya and Aunt Janai, and then by Callum and Rayla, and by a half-dozen others after, and that was only the beginning. By the time he and Soren finally managed to wheedle Corvus into a dance, the party was really in full swing, and he'd dived right back in.

So in the wee hours of the morning, tired and full and—for just one night, even in the face of Aaravos maybe ending the world—happy, Ezran fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he slept before the space behind his eyes began to lighten, as if the sun crept across his sleeping face. He rolled over to escape the intruding light, but it did not dim—instead growing brighter and brighter. He could make out a figure striding toward him, not silhouetted against the brilliant light but made from it, part of it. The light continued to brighten, and for a moment the figure became too bright to look at, forcing Ezran to squeeze his eyes shut and raise a hand to block out the glare.

When he cautiously opened his eyes again, an elf stood before him, dressed in the manner of Sunfire royalty. Her brown skin was a shade darker than his own, and the thick braids of her hair glowed like embers, auburn shifting into gold where light shone through the strands. The golden armor layered over her blood-red tabard shone no less for being battle-worn, cleaned and polished with attentive care. A crown sat on her brow like a sunrise, and a crystal-topped scepter hung from her hand like a ray of light piercing some shadowy place. Something about her face was familiar, in the strong point of her chin and the almond shape of her golden eyes.

"Finally, we are able to meet—I was beginning to think dawn would greet your revels, first." Her lilting voice carried a warm note of humor, and her eyes crinkled slightly when she smiled. Ezran couldn't help but smile back.

"I... apologize for my lateness?" he offered, raising his hands in a sheepish shrug. "I didn't realize I had an appointment."

"I have waited a long time to speak with you, orphan king," she said, still smiling. "Long enough that having waited a few hours more matters little. With my daughter's daughter's daughter and your own blood-kin bound by love in the light of the Sun, I may now greet you properly—as my nephew. I am Queen Aditi."

Aditi. The beloved, long-ago Sunfire queen, a guiding light to elves and dragons alike. So powerful and wise that she was called to divine the true dragon monarch when the throne stood empty—then vanished, just as Aaravos's plans threatened to come to fruition.

"Your Majesty," Ezran said politely, placing his hand over his heart and inclining his head in respect.

She laughed, a low, rich chuckle. "Please, we are family, now—there is no need for such things."

"Would it be 'auntie,' then?" he asked impishly. Despite her imposing appearance, he liked her. "Auntie Aditi?"

"I admit, I like the sound of that." Her smile didn't fade, but a flicker of sadness passed through her golden eyes. "I saw so little of my daughter's life—I would have liked to know her children, and their children."

"Then why not talk with Janai?" Ezran asked. "She leads your people now, and I know she'd welcome your counsel." He winced at his own clumsy words, waving his hands. "Not that I don't! I'm just—why me?"

"Janai may doubt her footsteps, but they are guided by her heart, and that is truer than any counsel I could offer. Given the chance, she will become a great queen—far greater than I." Aditi's expression turned grave. "That she will have that chance is what I am here to ensure."

"I don't understand."

"Your path has been set to cross with with a great darkness. The choices you make in facing it will shape the future of both our peoples."

Ezran swallowed hard. "Aaravos."

"Yes... and no. He is the point on which this age will turn, for good or ill, but you are called from beyond. Yours is the flame that can forge the ruins of a fallen star into the brilliant sun that dawns on a new world. The future must be different than the past, or all will be lost—but you already know that." She tapped his crown lightly with the crystal of her scepter. "Just as you already know a thing or two about forging peace and hope from violence and pain."

Ezran lifted the crown off his head to look at it, running his fingers along the smooth edges of the steel. His father's sword, now his own burden of blood and history to carry—or to release. "Will I make the right choices?"

"I can only tell you this: do not be afraid to show mercy, but defend what you love without regret. Understand the need for sacrifice, but cleave hard to what you know you will not give up. Most of all, what others see by the shadow of Moonlight, you must choose to see in the full light of the Sun—even if it means your eyes no longer meet."

She touched a hand to his cheek, warm and soft. Despite all the regal pride of her appearance, she radiated the affection of a mother and a sister in one. "You are strong, brave, and wise. You will feel all the darkest sorrows of love and all the brightest joys of loss, and your light will not be dimmed. When the time is right, that light will be what leads the whole world."

"How?" he asked. He didn't feel particularly strong, or brave, or wise—just small, and worried, and confused. "When?"

"I have found," she said, her grin blazing so bright that Ezran had to shut his eyes again, "that when it comes to forging the future—there is no time like the present."

He woke to the first fingers of dawn creeping across the floor of his tent, and the ghost of a warm hand on his cheek.