Hello! Please note that Rayla is talking in her (I think) Scottish accent but I didn't want to attempt to write it that way in fear of making it confusing. Please tell me if I'm wrong. Feel free to give any constructive criticism in reviews or DM me if that's what you prefer. I hope to keep the whole story at the quality presented in the first chapter but sadly there is no guarantee. Also, let me know if I need to change something to apply to any guidelines I may have misunderstood.

Please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes but please let me know of them. I won't fix everyone the moment I know about it but will try every time I post a new chapter. I want to make it as enjoyable as I can for everyone.

World lore: same as show up to the end of season 2. They return Zym and head back home, Viren is dealt with and Aravos is nowhere to be seen.

I do not own: The Dragon Price, or any movies, music, tv shows, or video games that I may take ideas from.

Callum was nervous. Sure he had faced dragons and angry elves constantly over a couple of month period last year, but none of that compared to now. Now, some people would ask why he would be nervous? It might be because he was going to the beach… with a girl… that he liked.

"What am I doing!" Callum hissed as he grasped his head and paced the Kitchen floor in front of his Aunt, Gren, Ez, and Bait. Bait grumbled as he opened his eye from his early morning napping place on Ez's lap.

"Callum, stop worrying about this." Ez took another bite of jelly tart. One of the perks of being King is that he doesn't have to steal them anymore even if some joke that a fifth of the kingdom's budget went to the bakers. "She wouldn't have agreed to travel all the way here just to spend time alone with you unless she wants too."

"I know, I know." He replied as his pace increased. It was a good thing that the floor was made from stone or else he might make a rut.

Amaya nudges Gren and then starts signing, "Oh. I still don't see why you won't let some guards join you. It would be all too easy for… you to accidentally get sucked out to sea by the riptide." She looks at him again, frowning, and she repeats the last set of hand gestures. Now it's Gren turn to frown and looks away from her as he rubs the back of his head. "The guards would also be good at keeping other people from interrupting you."

Amaya just leans back in her chair and accepted that her distrust of elves wouldn't be shared by him and Callum was too distracted to focus on her for long enough for her to get her point across. She then looks at the plate of Jelly tarts with a raised eyebrow, shrugs, and starts eating one too. Hmm, maybe this was a good use of the budget.

Callum turns toward his aunt as she grabs the tart, "I know that you still don't trust her yet even after all the stories we've told you about her saving our lives!" Then he glances at Gren with a small smile to show him that he didn't miss his attempts to save him from his Aunts predigest. "I'm not worried about anyone finding us, by the way, Gren as it's a little off the beaten path and no one thinks too much of it."

"Then dear brother, why would you be so nervous if those aren't the reasons?" Ez asked with big innocent eyes and a slight smirk that he couldn't keep hidden. Of course, they all knew the real reason as they had seen how sad he was when he reached the castle after splitting with Rayla at the border. And how he caused some mayhem in the castle as he rushed to get each of her letters as soon as he could. And on one such letter, Rayla must have mentioned that she missed seeing Callum's art as the next letter had to be sent by three different crows thanks to all the drawing he had included. Ez even noticed him pick up the hobby of calligraphy ever since he got the first letter from Rayla only a week after he got back.

He shot his brother a frown and went back to pacing as he saw Ez shrug and chuckle. Why would Callum be nervous to bring her to the beach? Well, he wasn't since he loved it and knew Rayla would too… as long as they stayed close to the shore. No, he was nervous about finding the words he would need to use to communicate how he felt about her, to her. I'm mean, you can't just walk up to a woman and tell her, I like you. Right? That can't be right, it's just too simple for something so meaningful. And risky, possibly friendship breaking. His stomach seemed to flip at the mere thought of not even being able to be friends. Maybe this was a stupid idea and he should just forget about it and just enjoy the day with an old friend.

Ez noticed his pace slow and saw the resignation in his eyes. Ez put down the jelly tart he was about to finish and wiped his hands. He then got up placing the slightly grouchy Bait on his seat and walked up to grab Callum arm right above the elbow to turn and face him. "Callum, it's going to be ok. She going to think today was a great day no matter what happens. So relax and make sure you enjoy it too and don't be afraid to say what you want too. I've seen the letters that she send us and the letters for you always seem to be a lot longer than mine." Ez lets go of his arm and gives him a hug which Callum slowly returns after taking a deep breath.

"Thanks, Ez. I really hope you're right and I don't know what I'd do without you!" as Callum smiled for the first time today.

Amaya had almost sneered as she is forced to think about the imminent relationship between her sweet nephew and that retched elf. Even she knew what would happen if he told the elf how he felt and for the first time, she hoped that he would chicken out, even if she felt guilty about it. Gren was more open about the idea of living in a world where elves and humans could live in peace with each other and smiled at the expression of love coming from the young brothers. The future couple might even help the negotiation along!

Ez made sure to wait for Callum to let go first and once he did, they both sat down to eat a jelly tart. The conversation turned to business like how the kingdom was doing now that the military had been reduced by over half though everyone could see Callum glancing at the grandfather clock on the wall every couple of minutes. (By the way, it's doing very well! Thanks for asking.)

Rayla felt like she was flying as she moved through the trees on the way to the human kingdom. She was going to get to see him again! Oh, and Ez and Bait. She probably should feel guilty about that but she's too excited to care. He wanted to spend time with her, just the two of them. Or maybe it's just the two of them because Ezran is a King now and he just has some Kingly tasks to take care of. She tried to push those thoughts away as she spotted a small village just up ahead. 'I could stop for a little snack. I'm got plenty of time to still make it to the castle by noon.' she thought as she stopped on a branch and checked to see where the sun was. Then she looked up and down the road that she was traveling next too to make sure she didn't startle anyone when she dropped out of the tree. Thankfully no one was around and she gracefully landed on the side of the road. Even better, with the improved relations between humans and elves, she didn't need to hide. Sure she will probably still get looks from people but from the way that Ez and Callum had explained it. There was a new law for all the human kingdoms about treating elves like they would treat their fellow humans and that any grudges from the war were to be dropped in hopes of a possible future where everyone could live in harmony. Yea, like all humans would agree to that, but a declaration from the King should do enough to keep her safe.

As she walked into the crowded market she noticed that everyone gave her a good six inches distance but no one made a move against her. Of course, she was fine with that as she wandered through all the different shops selling everything from human fruits, meats, trinkets, and even a shop selling paper and ink. She giggled as she wondered how many times Callum had visited this shop. She continued on a little more and even bought two oranges for them to share later. Thankfully, Callum had explained how trading and money work for the humans and she brought a chunk of gold that she had cut into one inch cubes and told that she shouldn't accept let than 10 things of fruit, a pound of meat, three small or one larger trinket even if she was treated badly because she was an elf. Sure she gave the farmer a great price with one of the gold cubes for just two pieces of fruit. Oh well, Xadia had enough gold and the worst that happens is that relations improve.

With the fruit bought and stored in her small bag next to her swimsuit, she continues out the other side of the town jumping back into the trees once she was away from anyone to move faster. Within the next 30 min, she was at the base of the road leading up to the bridge that leads to the castle. She thought back to the climb she made to get into the castle last time and chuckled at the now distant memory. As she started the climb she saw a slow-moving cart filled with fruit and other goods that appeared to a little unstable. This turned out to be correct as when the cart hit the next bump an apple jumped out of the cart which she was able to catch before it hit the ground. 'I may as well make sure they don't lose anything else on the way up. Not like there will be anything else that happens while climbing this hill.' Slowly, she made her way up the hill collecting the 3 apples and 2 oranges that liked to jump out of their crate until they finally made it to the top of the hill. Once she thought nothing more would jump out she approached the front. "Excuse me, I notice some of your fruit was falling out and made sure to grab it. Would you like me to put them back in their crates or is there a better place to put them so they don't fall out?"

"Oh, that was very kind of you to do. I think it would be okay to place them back in their crate now that the rest of the way is flat." The old, kind farmer stopped the cart and hopped down to help her place them back in the crates since he could see she had her hands full. "I appreciate your help, can I give you a ride across the bridge as thanks?"

Rayla thought about it for a second and ending up agreeing as she didn't know if it would be considered rude to decline. Plus it seemed like there was a little bit of a line to get into the gate so it would be no faster if she were to try to rush in. "Uh sure. If you are okay with it."

As they walk back to the front of the cart, "Of course. It would be great to have someone to talk to while I wait to get in miss…"

"It's Rayla. And you are?"

"George," as he reaches out to shake hands, which she returns. He then climbs up and sits on the far side of the bench, patting the right seat on the side closest to her. As she climbs up to sit, "So what is someone like you doing here?"

She finishes sitting down to give herself a moment to gather her thoughts and tucked her hair behind her right ear as she said, "Ah… I'm visiting a friend who lives in the castle." She's nervous as she doesn't know what this human will think of her going to visit the prince and King.

"Oh? And what's would this young noble look like?"

"How, I mean why do you think they are a guy."

he looks over at her with a little smirk and a raised brow. "You don't get to be my age without knowing how to read people, and you didn't say they work here implying that they are permanent residents in the castle itself, but not part of the help." He looks back forward as his smile grows and continues, "Plus I know of only two people in the castle that have spent enough time with certain elves to trust them enough to invite them into the heart of the human Kingdoms."

She blushes at the realization of just how easy it was to see through her. "Fine, I'm here to see the prince and King."

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me. It's actually good to hear about friendship spanning the races." There was a slight pause as he waited to see if she had anything else to say.

Rayla had talked enough about that with the other elves when she started packing to visit a human in another kingdom… or when she got a letter… or sent a letter… or had someone see all the human drawings, including some of her, that are hanging in her room…

"So, how often do you visit the Castle?" As she aimed for a safer topic.

"I make one just about every other week. Most of the times it's for deliveries but sometimes there are events that are held in the castle like the when each of the princes returned, when peace was officially declared, and when most of the arm came back from the breach to return to normal life."

The conversation continued as they asked each other about their lives until they made it to the front gate.

"Hey George. Here for another delivery?"

"Yea John, and also to visit the prince." At this Rayla blush but all she could do was sit there with a straight back.

"That guy? He's been such a pain lately. When he got back he kept to himself but then he seemed to go crazy over a stupid letter. The other Guards and I even joked about tearing the letters up just to stop him from causing chaos. Now he just antsy and no one can get him to relax. It's stressing us out." Then he pauses and remembers that he's working. "Sorry for ranting there. And I was told that the elf that was arriving today was going to see the King, not the Prince?"

"I'm sure she will be seeing both of them."

"Alright, head on in. One of the Guards at the door for the castle will show her around. Make sure to say hi before you leave George."

Rayla relaxed as they got through the gate.

"Well, I believe this is where we split Rayla. I hope that you have a great time with the prince but don't forget to say hi to the King as well.

"I will. Not like there will be much of a choice with someone taking me to see the king."

"True, True," he answers as she hops down and heads to the other side of the courtyard.

As she approaches the door, moving through the significantly less busy courtyard, she notices the three guards hanging out by the door making sure to not close the circle so that people could approach them if the wanted. They noticed her approach and they quickly snapped into their places. One went to the left of the door, one to the right, and one stood 3 feet in front of the door on the right side looking perpendicular to the other two. Then they all lifted their spears in their left hand and pounded them on the ground.

"Recognize one of the Protectors of the Dragon Prince, Rayla!" They all pounded their right fist to the chest and held it for three seconds and then returned to standing positions. The one not next to the door then said, "If you will follow me I will take you to see the King." Once she nodded the two by the door opened the door as the third one entered. She followed his slightly slower pace as he made his way through the castle. She thought she could pick up the noise of someone running but tried not to think too much of it. Finally, he paused in front of another set of doors with a pair of guards as well.

"Rayla of the Protectors of the Dragon Prince is here to see the King." The two new guards repeated the same move as the others did, pounding their fist to their chest and then opened the door to the throne room.

Well, there is the first chapter. I hope you enjoy it.