A/N: Who would've thought that the cure for my writing block that I've been nursing for more than a year is by writing from a different fandom?

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Being a child king has its perks and disadvantages.

You may be able to get whatever you want and command anyone to follow your biddings, that doesn't mean there will be no opposition.

Ever since he assumed the throne at the age of ten - though he abdicated few days after to spare Katolis from a civil war, only to be hailed again after the infamous battle in the Storm Spire - Ezran's life has been placed under scrutiny not only by the Pentarchy but also by the elven kingdoms in Xadia, something that he finds ridiculously unfair.

He wasn't the only child ruler out there that has no regent. Queen Aanya took over the throne at the age of eight, no regent, and has participated in the battle against Viren's army in the Storm Spire, but never once she faced harsh criticism from other kingdoms like him.

Ah, it must be because of my bond to Zym.

The Dragon Prince, who was once considered a threat to humans and a source of unlimited power, became a symbol of miracle and peace. If not for Zym and his reunion with his mother Queen Zubeia, the war between the Human Kingdoms and Xadia will never end.

"I miss you guys so much," he muttered as he wrote down the words on the parchment paper. "And I can't wait to see you in Katolis next week."

Dipping his quill on the ink, he added: "P.S. Please avoid getting mushy in front of Zym. You have no idea how many incriminating images he projected to my innocent brain."

He can only imagine their flustered faces once they receive his letter.

A loud knock broke his reverie.

"Come in."

His bedroom door swung open, revealing Soren in his usual Crownguard armor. "Ez? It's past your bedtime. Opeli might kill us both if you're going to be late in your weekly council's meeting again."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." the young king scowled as he rolled the parchment paper and sealed it with a King's seal. "After I drop this to the Crow Lord, okay?"

"I can do that for you if you want." he offered.

"Ooh, that would be great!" Ezran hopped from his chair then handed the letter over to Soren, who immediately tucked it in his sleeve. "That letter is going to the Storm Spire."

"For your brother, huh?" the blond smirked. "Are Callum and Rayla gonna be here for the harvest festival?"

"I threatened him that I'm going to burn all of his board game collections if they ditch me next week."

"Not stripping his Prince title? Or at least booting him as your next in line heir?"

"Nah. He'd rather live his life as a mage than to be royalty."

"Fair point." Soren nodded in understanding, then tapped his sleeve."I'll make sure that he'll get this first thing in the morning."

"Awesome!" the young king grinned toothily then yawned, which earned a chuckle. "Good night, Soren."

"Sleep well, Your Highness." the Crownguard bowed then closed the door.

Ezran squinted his eyes then broke another yawn. He hasn't got any decent sleep for the past weeks due to the festival preparations, and there were cases where his duty calls outside his working hours. Who would've thought festivals are not always about food and games?

"C'mon Bait, it's bedtime," he muttered as he walked groggily towards his huge bed, then stopped when he heard a slight bustle near his window. "Bait?"

He swore he closed the window.

Before he could react, a large shadow loomed behind him and turned everything to blank.

.

.

.

"Stop it, Zym. Playtime's over." Rayla admonished as she dragged a whimpering baby dragon back to the lair. "It's past your bedtime."

Zym whined childishly with a zap.

"No means no."

He whined again.

"Azymondias." Queen Zubeia's stern voice reverberated along the corridor. "What did I tell you about playing after bedtime?"

Zym turned to Rayla with his best Baby Eyes look, but the elven Dragonguard remained unperturbed.

"Azymondias!" the queen yelled again.

The baby dragon whimpered, then waddled towards his mother with sagged wings.

"Good night, Zym." Rayla blew him a kiss. "Good night too, your Highness."

"Good night, Rayla." the queen sighed with mirth. "And good luck with your mage."

My mage, huh? the Moonshadow elf frowned at the thought of removing Callum whom she swore was currently buried in the library with books.

She may be in love with her cute nerdy boyfriend, but her cute nerdy boyfriend was a huge pain in the ass these days.

Sometimes she has to fight tooth and nails to remove him from whatever project he was trying to engorge, not to mention forcing him to stop from overwork.

If her seduction plan failed, she might resort to using a brute force with her weapon's hilt and knocking him unconscious.

She was about to leave the lair when Zym suddenly cried in pain.

"Zym?!"

Rayla stopped dead in her tracks when the young dragon began to convulse violently and shot several lightning bolts across the room. One of them hit her squarely in the chest, which assaulted her mentally with several images of Ezran and his current situation.

Ezran in his sleeping garments.

Ezran talking to Soren and bidding him goodnight.

Ezran approaching an open window.

Ezran with a dark figure standing behind him, holding a sharp blade above his head.

All the blood drained out from Rayla's face when the last projected scene was the glinted blade and Ezran's horrified scream.

Oh no.

.

.

.

He promised Rayla that he'd be back in their quarters once the first candle was out.

He's on his third candle and still not in their quarters yet.

She'll probably kill me, Callum thought as he turned another page of the book and scribbled something on his notes.

He was researching more about magical fireworks, something that Ibis offhandedly mentioned weeks ago.

The Skywing mage said that Fulminis has lots of variations, like how adding -frigis in Aspiro can turn a whirlwind rune into ice, and one of them is shooting lightning but with colors.

Ever since then, Callum has been camping in the Spire's library to learn more about how to shoot magical fireworks in different colors and patterns to the sky.

He still hasn't figured out some magical pyrotechnics yet, and with only a few remaining days before the harvest festival, he knew that he was running out of time.

It's his surprise gift for Ezran, and Rayla was onboard to his plans, but his beautiful, stubborn girlfriend refused to bargain his sleeping hours for the sake of his project. She also banned him from making hot brown morning potion after sundown, even threatened everyone in the Spire - including poor Zym - if they smuggled him some brown beans behind her back.

You and I both know about your obsessive-compulsive behavior towards learning new kinds of stuff, Rayla scolded him the first time he attempted to pull an allnighter. I'm not mothering you, okay? I'm doing this because I love you.

Sometimes he hates how Rayla knows his weaknesses.

The young prince decided to call it a night.

He was sorting out the books that he borrowed when he heard a loud crash under his table. He crouched down to inspect, then groaned in defeat when he saw his shattered water glass and the mess that seeped in the carpet.

"What a way to call it a night," he grumbled as he fetched a broom and a dustpan from a nearby cleaning closet.

He was about to pick one of the large shards and drop it to the bin when the library door opened, revealing a disheveled Rayla.

"Callum, it's Ez. He's -"

Before she could finish her sentence, Callum immediately ran outside.