Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Rubellia looked around the large building that she had recently learned to call home. It was filled with décor from a nation and culture completely unfamiliar to her, but she had grown used to it day by day.

The moment she arrived here, her world was turned on its head once again. There had been many times in her life that things took a sudden change. Not all of them were good. She still remembered the night that her late husband, Wayne, walked into their home with an infant in his hand.

The baby had been no more than a few days or even a week old at that point, but he was opening his eyes and greeting Rubellia. When the child was passed to her it was the most gorgeous pair of silver eyes that she had ever witnessed.

Never before had Rubellia witnessed someone with eyes as beautiful as the baby that she had been passed. Yet, she knew that despite their beauty, the reason he was given up was because of the curse laid on him that showed itself on his left hand.

As the child grew, it became clear that he wasn't completely human either. From what they gathered, he was some mixture of human and beastman. After several traumatic incidents, finishing with the trial in the forest, one of his mesmerizing eyes had turned a deep gold color.

That was where her son was today. Sometimes she would think back to the day he was brought home and when that happened, she would feel a sense of nostalgia for his original eye colors. However, she could not deny that her son had grown into quite the handsome man.

Despite his physical scars, she knew that the boy she raised had become quite the looker. Many of the servant staff and diplomats of all persuasions were smitten with him. The strangeness of his eyes helped add to the mysterious and brooding aura he had.

Rubellia laughed to herself as she realized that one of those people infatuated with him was the beautiful and perfect Rena, formerly the lady of House Petra.

Rubellia could not help but laugh at the humor behind the noble lady falling for the 'bad boy' bodyguard turned prince… Well not that Lucius was a prince, he was simply a noble… but it still sounded like one of the lascivious novels the maids would exchange with one another.

"Lady Rubellia," One of the servant girls walked up to her with a look of concern. "Please, do not sully your hands by helping with the cleaning. Leave it to the staff, please."

That was the first time anyone had asked her to not clean something. It was also the first time someone acted so deferentially to her and it made her burst out laughing, which shocked the poor girl.

"Sorry, sorry." Rubellia said. "I am no Lady. I am a humble maid who used to work in service to a noble. I am no better in rank than you are, sweetie."

"I beg your pardon Lady Rubellia… but while you may not carry noble blood or title, you are still the one that Lord Kane calls his mother." The servant explained. "It would be impertinent to treat you with any less respect than we do the Lord and Lady."

Though she knew it very well, it still shocked her to once again be reminded of her son's position. Apparently he was the long lost son of the Oracle of Arcadios and the heir to a forgotten and mysterious noble family.

"Hmm… to think my little Lucius would become such a man one day." She mused. "You know, when he was a little boy, he was so obsessed with watching his father train and coming to the lord's manor with me for my duties… He was once afraid of being seen by a girl with red hair hiding amongst the flowers…"

"Was that…"

Rubellia giggled. "Yes, it was the first time he saw Lady Petra… I mean Rena. I told him not to get caught wandering around and he ran like a scared animal when she saw him. Of course I had to warn him to be more careful, but to think… all these years later…"

The servant quickly passed Rubellia a handkerchief to wipe her nose with. Other servants quickly surrounded the former maid and offered words of comfort. Many of them were also mothers and some of them had sons of their own. Because of that, they were able to sympathize with Rubellia's feelings knowing that one day their own children would leave the nest as hers had.

Having gotten all of the tears out of her system, Rubellia moved on to talking with the other women about Lucius as a child as well as Lady Rena. They seemed to have a lot of questions about the two of them. Most of them revolved around their young love life.

Rubellia was not privy to much, but she was aware of their young love blossoming. Though she was sure that Lucius was not aware of it at the time, Rubellia was convinced that Rena understood her own feelings right from the beginning.

Tales of the two's childhood interactions, at least those she was aware of, made the girls among the staff swoon and giggle at young love as well as the many attempts Rena made at showing Lucius her affection. The boy was more stupid back then and did not notice her actions for what they were.

Rubellia smirked to herself at his growth. Apparently, years of being pined for by a woman made him understand some of Rena's actions when she was younger. Whenever Natali was around, he seemed slightly uncomfortable, which meant he was likely aware of how she felt. Of course, it was obvious to everyone, so she probably would have slapped her son if he didn't already know.

Suddenly the door to the embassy was thrown open. Kalliope and Lyrah charged in followed by a number of embassy guards who were hot on their tails. They slammed and barricaded the door. No one looked injured, but Lyrah, who was not used to physical effort, was visibly heaving and gasping for breath.

"What happened?" Rubellia questioned. She felt her chest tense as she clenched her fist over her heart.

"The road outside of the academy. Suddenly people just… changed. Everything was normal, but then…" Lyrah started.

"The academy is under attack. A bunch of strange people in robes and masks have blockaded the streets. Guards are having a hard time communicating between each other due to pockets of confusion throughout the city."