Disclaimer: I love writing rayllum fiction, but none of it edited/polished up. Bear this in mind while reading; Iâve tried my best. I donât have the time to pour into this a lot of time since Iâm focusing seriously on finishing my own fantasy series.Â
But I hope you enjoy these little fictional whims and quick snippets! <3Â
This is a fanfic pieced based on theories from those postcard "spoilers". I doubt this actually happens, but the spoiler postcard shots from the writers inspired this ficlet! Enjoy <3
âWell, this place isââ
ââspooky?â Callum finished.
âI was going to say âcheerfulâ, âwelcomingâ, something optimistic,â Rayla quipped, shrugging indifferently; Stella chittered nervously in her ear, âbut âspookyâ works, too.â
âLetâs just find that ruinous pool, free your family, and get out of here,â Callum shivered, his breath coming out in a mist as he huffed.Â
They slipped from shadow to shadow, past moldering headstones and monuments of stone that had begun decaying centuries ago. The place was in such disarray, the two of them were surprised anything was left of it at all. After a few minutes of disquiet, Callum took Raylaâs hand and pressed it anxiously. She didnât know whether it was to reassure her, for his own comfort, or some combination of the two.Â
The warmth that came from Callumâs hand was startling but welcome; Rayla hadnât realized how cold the haunted place was. She slipped her fingers through his; the first shy, hopeful smile in a while flitted across lips.
They threaded an uncertain, clumsy path through the long grass and uneven ground, walking around abandoned bits of stone or tumbled pillars. After a while of searching, Callum pulled up short as a pool with stone arches stretching across its circumference rose before them. Somehow, miraculously, the pool was the only thing that seemed not to have been fallen apart in the graveyard.
Moonlight flickered off the carved arches, filling the deeply etched runes with silver and shadow. It was less frightening than the graveyard around them, but it still managed to be foreboding and ominous.
âThis is it,â Rayla said holding up the slip of paper, âthe runes on the arches match the writing and everything.â
âAre you sure you want to do this, Rayla?â Callum asked. His look was doubtful, perhaps even afraid.Â
âIâm sure,â she nodded.
Rayla slipped Stella from her shoulders and into Callumâs hands. The wee monkey sprang up his arm and perched on his shoulder, her big eyes peering nervously at Rayla, while Callum busied himself with lighting the lantern with the spell the Elf-huntress had given them. But while she watched, Rayla tried burying her own fears, doubts, and worries about what they were doing; the uncertainty Callum had expressed the entire journey there made it harder to see this through. She suppressed a sigh, if only not to alert Callum to how she felt. Rayla steeled herself and clenched her hands while Callum drew the rune and lit the lantern. It was a special light that would allow Rayla to find her way back from the dark, in-between world she was venturing into.
Callum stood up and held the lantern up, looking at it then at the moon overhead.
âThe lanternâs lit and the moon is full, soâit should go wellâor, at least to plan. I hope.â
Rayla nodded, her heart pounding. She clenched and unclenched her hands nervously before taking the three cursed coins from her pocket and gripping them tightly. They turned and faced the pool. The wind skimmed the surface, and ripples rose across it, distorting the reflection of the moon. Rayla shivered visibly, and Callum laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
âOkay,â Callum said after a while; he took a deep breath to steady himself and hung the lantern from a hook in one of the arches. âIf that huntress wasnât lying to you, thenâthen this will help you find your way backââÂ
Callum broke off, unable to finish. He never looked from the lantern to Rayla. Rayla could only guess that it would be too much if he actually looked at her. Itwas clear how torn Callum felt about what they were doing. He wanted to help Rayla, but he also wanted her safe. A moment of quiet passed between them; the only sound was the shrill but low squeak of the lantern swinging in the wind.Â
ââI hate this so much, Rayla,â the confession tumbling out without warning. Callum still refused to look at her.Â
âIâI know you hate it,â she admitted, looking away as guilt flooded her. His expression was heart wrenching.
âI know you have to see this through, and Iâm not angry,â he went on, âbutââ
ââthank you, Callum,â Rayla told him, placing a hand on his arm. She smiled gratefully, and he finally met her glance.
âJustâcome back, okay?â he said, meaningfully. âI know weâve been through a lot, and thereâs a mess hanging over us, butâbut I want you to come back, Rayla. I really do.â
âI will come back, Callum,â she promised earnestly; her hand never left his arm.Â
Rayla ached to reassure him just how much she meant to come back to him, how she wanted it just as much as he did. But her promise must have sparked something like hope in Callum because he smiled for the first time since theyâd entered that horrible graveyard. And in the chill and in the abysmal dark, the shared hope warmed her. He believed her, and somehow it steadied the turmoil inside her and made her a little braver.
She made a motion to step into the pool, but Callum stopped her by grabbing her arms firmly but gently. He stooped in to kiss her sweetly. The gesture surprised Rayla, but she responded to it, resting her brow to his after. A forlorn smile tugged at her lips; Callum had made it harder to leave and do what they need to.
âIf you get lost in thereâif something goes wrong, justâremember to look for the light,â Callum reminded her. His fingertips tightened into her arms anxiously. âItâll bring you back to me.â
Rayla grasped her heart gently and smiled at him. âI will come back to you, Callum. Always.â
One of Callumâs hand lingered on her arm even while Rayla stepped into the icy shallow of the ancient, stone pool. His hand didnât pull away until she was too far for him to reach. Rayla lowered herself slowly into the awful shallows until she floated on her back, her hand tightening once more around the coins.
âAch, I hate the water,â she muttered, but Callum was already drawing a series of runes in the air, grimly reciting the incantation after he had finished.Â
A dim light flashed and then sparked, dissipating overhead and falling around Raylaâs floating figure; the thousands of pinpoints of light disappeared in the icy waters. The last words Rayla heard as she slipped into a bewildering, murky darkness and Callum seized her hand: âIâll be right hereââ
Rayla had found them: her father and her mother. The way had been dark and frightening; a memory that would haunt her dreams until the day she died. Rayla had wandered further into that strange place in betwixt the world of the living and the dead. Sheâd gone deeper and deeper, further into the black, swirling waters until sheâd finally found her family.
It was them, but it wasnât. They were ghost like, frail, and empty shadows of who they had been. Whatever curse Viren had used to draw their souls into the coins had all but destroyed them. But they had recognized Rayla, smiling gently but sadly as she sprang into their outstretched arms and held them close.
âItâs been so long!â she sobbed. âI canât believe I found you!â
âBut how did you find us?â Lain asked her, pulling back and smiling at her in disbelief.
âI donât have time for that,â Rayla said. She looked at them both, already guessing the answer. They already looked too far gone. âYouâyou canât come back with me, can you?â
âItâs too late,â Tiadrin told her. âIn a few days, weâll be gone tooââ
ââtoo? You mean Runaan isâ?â
âYou came too late to say goodbye, Rayla,â Tiadrin answered sadly. âHeâs gone.â
âBut that doesnât matter now,â Lain said urgently. âWeâre happy to see you, Rayla, but you canât stay. You have to go, or youâll die here.â
âI know, but I had to come and say goodbye.â
âWeâre glad you came,â Tiadrin said, kissing Raylaâs cheek and holding her close. âWeâve missed you so.â
âDo you know how to find your way back?â asked Lain, and Rayla nodded.
âBut canât I stay, even for a little bit?â Rayla asked.
Tiadrin and Lain exchanged unhappy looks before turning to Rayla again. Grief pierced her. She didnât have to hear the answer; she already knew.
âWe wish you could,â Tiadrin told her, âbut you donât have much time. You have to leaveânowâbefore our fate becomes yours.â
âCan you find your way back?â Lain repeated.
âCallumâs waiting for me. I have to go back to him,â Rayla wept. âI have to. I donât want to leave you here, but I promised him. I canât hurt him againââ
ââwe know, dear heart,â Lain replied, cupping her face. âWe want you to go backâto live. Weâre so proud of you.â
âWe love you, Rayla,â her mother whispered, âweâll always love you.â
âI love you, tooâso much.â
And the darkness had separated Rayla from her parents, her last glimpse of them etched deeply into her heart. But as soon as they had gone, Rayla found herself lost in a bleak place. Near total dark eclipsed her.Â
The cold dark filled her soul, dragging Rayla deeper, further into the grim despair of that awful place. Even though sheâd seen her family for a final time, Rayla was panicked with the thought it might have been a mistake going there. She looked frantically for Callumâs light, but everywhere she looked, there was only darkness.Â
For the first time since she and Callum had entered the graveyard, she felt despair opening hopelessly beneath her, pulling her in to consume her.Â
âCallum, where are you?â
Her cries were shrill and frantic in the dark. No-one answered.
âCallum, please! I know I messed up, but IâI canât find you. Where are you? Please, help me.â
No-one answered her, and the silence invoked the first time sheâd realized sheâd been ghosted by her people.Â
Maybe the silence was the answer. Maybe Callum had heard her but wasnât answering becauseâbecause sheâd already left him once, and sheâd left him again. Maybe her promise to come back wasnât enough.
Would he leave her there? Or maybe heâd already left. Maybe sheâd spent too long in that place, and the sun had long since risen. Maybe days had passed, or years; it was impossible to tell how much time was passing in the real world. Maybe Rayla would lay in that pool forever, a soulless body and a bodyless soul wandering the black mists of a strange netherworld.Â
If Callum had left her there, heâd be right to do so; she didnât blame him. Not after what sheâd done. She could only imagine what he must think, and more than anything, Rayla wished she could tell him how hard she was tryingâor had triedâto come back. She didnât want him to think the worst of herâ Callum would never know how hard and impossible it was for her, floating there in the black waters of the abyss. Fighting, struggling, clawing her way through a black curtain of nothingness to find the light heâd lit for her.
Hours passed, and no answer came to Rayla. She was alone. Maybe after all this time, she would die alone: unable to find her way to Callum or back to her parents.
A sob burned in her throat, and Rayla curled into herself, drawing her arms in and her knees up to her chest. Tears spilled into the cold waters around her as Rayla wrapped her arms around herselfâa last, frail attempt in seeking comfort.
âCallum, Iâm so sorry,â she cried out into the dark. âI just want to come back to you. I donât want you to think I left you again. Iâm so sorry. Iâm sorry for everything. I want to come back, to make it right. But I canât. Iâm so lost, and I canât find youâI love you, Callum.â
Her breath caught; she clenched her jaw, aching for the familiar warmth of Callumâs presence. Heâd been the only one who really understood her. And sheâd left him.
Almost, the darkness seized Raylaâs mind for its own as she began yielding to the temptation to just give in to despair. She was going to die, and Callum would believe the worstâ
âbut then a whisper drifted to her in reply, interrupting the spiral of despairing thoughts: kind, warm, and dreamlike: âIâm here, Rayla. Iâm right here.â
Was it Callum, or someone else? Maybe it was the abyss tormenting her for being a failure? It was familiar, whatever else.
âLook for the lantern, Rayla; itâs litâyou have to find your way back. Rayla, you have toâplease. Come back.â
It was the first prick of hope to touch her heart since going down into the darkness, and Rayla could remember everything she loved the best about Callum: his warmth, his loyalty, and his ability to see the best in her, even when she was a mess. Sheâd been stupid for thinking heâd believe the worst. He never would, no matter how much sheâd messed up. Not Callum.Â
Heâd be heartbroken and miserable, so lonely going home without her, but Callum was too kind to think Rayla wouldâve given up trying to get back. He would know that sheâd tried to come backâthat sheâd tried everything and the evil place was more than she could navigate alone.
Something warm and tangible brushed her hand and began tugging at her, drawing Rayla around and away from the darkâtowards itself, towards a dim, flickering light. It seemed so far awayâso impossibly distant. But the familiar voice began calling her name again. It was urgent and frantic, this time; it filled her with life, and she began to breathe once more.
Rayla threw herself desperately towards the light, clinging to the hand that was pulling her back to itself. The light grew and banished the shadows surrounding her.
Without warning, Rayla found herself awake and sitting upright in a gasping, shuddering panic. She thrashed wildly in the shallow water, searching for something to cling to, but Callum was already dragging her from the water.
Rayla fell to her knees on solid ground, choking and gasping for air; Callum threw a blanket around her shoulders and began rubbing her arms quickly to encourage warmth back into her.
âAre you okay?â he asked urgently; Rayla nodded, still unable to catch her breath. âDid you find them? Can they come back?â
Rayla looked up at him for the first time, but Callum must have seen the answer in her eyes. His mouth began to open, and his face softened as he shared the ache of her loss.
âI found them, butââ she stopped and looked away, grief piercing her for the first time now that panic was ebbing. âI had to let go, Callum. I had to say goodbye, or I was never going to find my way back. Iâd never make it back to youââ
ââRayla,â he murmured.
âI almost lost myself in there, Callumâ Rayla confessed; her eyes were fixed now on the horrible pool that had nearly claimed her soul. She didnât know whether it was shame or fear she felt, but she couldnât bear looking at Callum just then. If she did, he would see how deeply she was hurting. âI saw my parentsâRunaan was already gone. I talked to them, for a bit; but it wasnât long before IÂ knewâ I could never bring them back, not without it being terrible or unnatural.â
âIt must have been hard for you, letting go?â he questioned as gently as possible.Â
âIt was, but it was harder thinking I couldnât find my way back. And I had to come back, Callum. I had to. When I was there, I realized somethingââ she looked at him, a sob catching in her throat ââI never want to lose you the way I lost them. They were already gone, but youâre not. Youâre here; youâre alive andârealâ Youâre real, Callum, not just some ghost in my head that I spent chasing for two yearsâ Iâm so sorry I left you, that I ruined what we had. If itâs not too late, then Iâll do anything to make it right, Callum. I swear it.â
Broken sobs racked Raylaâs body, but she held Callumâs gaze. He looked shaken and wretched, both hurting for her as well as unnerved by the thought heâd almost lost her again, but this time for good.
âYou didnât ruin it, Rayla,â Callum told her earnestly. He seized her face suddenly but gently, stoking her jawline with both his thumbs. There were tears in his eyes too. âItâit hurt, but you came back, both times. Youâre here. Thatâs all I wantââÂ
Callumâs arms wrapped around her, pulling Rayla into himself before she could reply, and she let him. She hid her face in his shoulder and sobbed violently, clinging to him.Â
âIâm sorry you lost them, Rayla,â he murmured, âYou know I hated that you wanted to do this, but I didnât wantââ
ââI know, Callum,â she whispered. âI know.â
âIâm so glad youâre back,â he grit out, sobbing and holding her so tight it hurt.
âI am too. Iâm never leaving you again, Callum. Never.â
