Chapter Text
“Look out below!” Ez yelled as he let go of the rope.
He and Callum were taking turns swinging on an old rope tied to a tree branch overhanging the river. The game was to see who could land the farthest out into the water after they let go. Callum claimed he was winning but Ezran disagreed.
Rayla was glad Ez finally got some time off being a king so he could be a kid. It’d taken a while but Opeli finally managed to get him a whole day off. Barius had prepared them a delicious feast for a picnic lunch, which Soren had lugged to the river. She’d lugged the horseshoes for a game where you throw them at a stake in the ground and try to get a ‘ringer’.
The four of them had played this game for a while before Ez and Callum changed into swim shorts to go play in the river. She and Soren kept an eye on them while finishing yet another game.
Soren’s second horseshoe flew gracefully through the air, hit the metal stake, then spun off.
“Damn it!” he cried. “I thought that was a ringer for sure.”
“Move somewhere else to complain,” she said, playfully shoving him out of the way. “It’s my turn now.” Initially, Soren won all the games. As she expected, the weight of the horseshoes took a bit getting used to, but now Rayla was on the verge of beating him for the third straight time.
Her first throw soared towards the stake, flipping gracefully to also hit the stake and spin off, although it landed closer to the stake than either of Soren’s. “Damn!” Soren exclaimed. “But I’m still ahead.”
She mentally adjusted the range then threw the second one. It hit the ground in front of the stake and slid to encircle it. A perfect ringer. “Noooo!” Soren cried.
“Four more points for me,” she said. “I think that means I win this round too.”
“I can’t believe how fast you learned this game,” Soren replied picking up the horseshoes, sounding both awed and disappointed.
“I had a great teacher,” Rayla said, hoping to cheer him up. “And I’m sure your armor doesn’t help your game either.”
Soren brightened. “Yeah! That’s explains it. My Crownguard armor is throwing me off. If I was wearing the elf outfit you’re wearing, then I could beat you.”
“I think you’re much too big and strong to fit in my clothes,” Rayla teased.
“Yes,” Soren said proudly, flexing his arms for effect. “Yes, I am.”
Rayla rolled her eyes. “Another game?” she asked.
“Nah. I’m gonna wait until I don’t have this armor on before any rematch with you,” Soren said sitting down on the grass overlooking the river. “I’ll just stay her and keep and eye on the boys.”
Rayla snickered thinking about Callum and his boys, even though she’d never actually seen them. “I’ll watch the boys with you,” she said, lowering herself next next to Soren.
Soren turned to look at her. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothin’,” Rayla replied, trying to suppress a giggle.
“Why aren’t you going swimming with boys?” Soren asked, his gaze moving to her neck. “Is there another hickey you need to hide from Ez?”
Rayla sighed. “No Soren. There aren’t any hickeys.”
Soren seemed disappointed as he resumed watching Ez and Callum. “I can’t believe Opeli was so chill about it. I thought she’d freak.”
Rayla turned back to the river to see Callum launch himself off the rope into the river with a huge splash, earning peals of laughter from Ez. “Me too. Not that you were any help.”
“Hey, I was just having some fun. Opeli was gonna figure it out anyway. Nothing gets by her. At least she let you off easy.”
Soren was right. If Opeli hadn’t figured it out then, she’d have caught on later. Although, Rayla still didn’t appreciate his teasing at the time.
“She didn’t let us off easy,” she corrected him. “Her punishment was that Callum and I had to explain the hickey to Ez that night.”
“Oooofff!” he said wincing. “That’s harsh. I take back Opeli being chill.” Soren sat thinking for a moment. “Then why aren’t you swimming with the boys? I can guard them both if you want. You’d probably beat them both at that rope swingy thing.”
“I don’t like swimmin’,” she answered, trying to sound very matter of fact.
“Is this a Moonshadow elf thing.”
“No. It’s a me thing. I just don’t like it.”
Soren sat up straight and turned to her with a big smile on his face. “That’s probably because no one’s every taught the right way. I’m a great swimmer. I taught Callum and Ez how to swim. I can teach you too.”
Maybe she could just decline politely and he’d leave it alone. “Soren, it’s fine. I –”
“Sometime when we’re both off duty, we can come back here in swim clothes and I can show you how do to all the different strokes. There’s the –”
“I don’t like the water.”
“No one likes getting their face wet at first. We’ll start with the strokes where your face never goes in the water. I’ll hold you up as you practice, then slowly lower you as –”
“Soren!” she exclaimed, as he looked at her questioningly. “Please stop. I don’t like swimmin’ because I’m scared of the water.” There. She did it. She admitted she was afraid of something, to Soren no less.
Soren sat for a moment, apparently deep in thought. “Huh,” he said finally, “I didn’t think anything scared you.”
She braced herself for some teasing jabs. “But it’s okay to be scared of things,” he continued. “You just have to face them so that they don’t scare you anymore. At least not so much that they keep you from doing stuff.”
That was surprisingly deep, especially for Soren, but she still didn’t want to go swimming. “I’m okay the way I am. I don’t need to know how to swim.”
“How do you know that?” Soren asked. “What if Callum got knocked out and was drowning. You’d feel really bad if you couldn’t save him. Crownguards need to be ready for anything.”
He did have a point. Not being able to swim was just tempting fate to create a crisis involving water. “Okay… I’ll think about it,” she said.
“Super! I’ll see if I can get us some time off together. Ol’ Soren will have you swimming like Bait in no time. You’ll see.”
Rayla was certain she’d regret this. At least she didn’t need to go swimming now but maybe Soren would want to.
“Why don’t you go swimmin’ with the boys and I’ll stand guard. You can show off your swimmin’ skills,” Rayla said with a smirk.
He grinned at her. “Sorry, you’re gonna have to wait to see me cut through that water like a hot knife through butter. You’ll swear I’m part fish. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I’m Ez’s Crownguard and I’m on duty so I’m not taking any chances. I’m staying in armor, ready to protect him. Like I said, ready for anything.”
Soren could be dense and goofy at times but Rayla admired his dedication to Ez. She made a mental note not to suggest any more distractions while he was on duty.
Callum stepped out of the water but instead of heading for the rope again he started up the grassy slope toward Rayla and Soren.
“I’m done for today,” Callum called back to Ez. “I’m getting cold.”
“I’m n-n-not c-c-cold,” Ez said, his chattering teeth not making him sound very convincing.
Callum shook his head, water dripping from his hair. “He’s not old enough to feel cold yet.” He joked to Rayla and Soren.
Soren stood up. “One more swing and then we’re heading back,” he hollered to Ez.
“Awwww!” Ez protested. “B-b-bait’s not c-c-cold.”
“He’s an amphibian!” Callum countered. “He doesn’t count.”
Callum stepped over to his pile of clothes, pulled out a towel and started to dry off his bare top half, ignoring his swim shorts which were sending rivulets down his legs.
“You’ve got chilly bumps all over,” Rayla said to Callum. “Is the river that cold?”
“It wasn’t bad when the sun was up, but now the air feels really cold, especially with these wet shorts.” He slung the towel over his shoulder and picked up his clothes. “I’m going to change. Be right back,” he said then he headed towards a tall patch of bushes further up slope from the river.
“I’ll go get Ez,” Soren said to Rayla, picking up Ez’s towel. “Opeli won’t be happy if I let him catch a cold.”
Rayla snorted at the thought of Soren explaining to Opeli that Ez was sick and unable to attend his meetings. Good to know Opeli even scared Soren.
She watched as Soren trudge down to the riverbank. “That’s the last one,” Soren called to Ez who was grabbing the rope. “Then you need to get out.”
“AAAAAAAAH!!!”
The blood curdling scream a short distance away cut short her amusement at Soren trying to be responsible.
Callum!, was her only thought as she unsheathed her blades and sprinted to the source of the scream. She didn’t think there were any dangerous animals this close to the castle so it must be humans, maybe assassins. If so, they were about to see what a pro could do.