Chapter 3 - Ruby

Adrian, the duke of Camellia, glared profusely at me. He was ready to shout for the guards and if it hadn't been for the young boy who blocked his path he probably would have.

"She's my friend. If you want to lock her up then I'll take this through father", he threatened.

H-Hey kid! It's too late for that. I didn't have a clue who his father was, but he couldn't be any match for the emperor's only brother.

Adrian scoffed at the boy, "you always have to be such a daddies boy, don't you? Who do you think my brother will believe? Me, his brother, or you, his son?"

I blinked. And then again. And then again.

"W-Wait..." I started and then like a fool I recalled how the small boy had called the older one 'Uncle'.

In shock I turned to the boy beside me, at one point he looked like an angel to me, but right now... all I could see was my executioner.

He must've noticed my thoughts because he reached for me with a worried expression. I jumped away without a second thought, regretting it when a hurt look surfaced his face.

The small, cute boy I had followed here was the- The door of the library opened and multiple footsteps were heard approaching.

"Y-Your highness, I'm sure the prince is just playing about here. You know he likes to spend time here".

At the voice addressing my father I hid away, behind an aisle. The boys straightened up, taking no notice of my disappearance.

"Father".

"Brother".

They addressed simultaneously, an invisible spark flying between them.

"What are you boys doing up here when there's a party downstairs? I'm disappointed at your lack of honourability as hosts. Are you not the faces of this country in my absence?" I heard his voice scold them.

This made me even more glad I hid away.

"Yes father. Please forgive me".

"Apologies brother. I'm at fault here".

Again, the scent of competition wafted between them. It was quite sad, considering their blood tie.

"As long as you understand. Get out now".

Eh... he's not going to stay here is he?

The sound of footsteps shuffling away and the door slamming promptly echoed around me and then a deep voice spoke again.

"Now why was he looking at this?"

I heard a finger tapping on glass and with a pounding heart realised he was looking at the map.

"He must've just been curious Sire. Children are like that", reassured what could be a chancellor, but I didn't really know.

"That child, curious? He should already know the castle grounds like the back of his hand. It seems more suspicious than that".

Butterflies entered my vision, my hands trembled uncontrollably and I felt my heart race at a frightening rate.

"It's strange..."

Please don't come here. Please don't come here. Please don't come here.

"What's that over there?" The chancellor said. Footsteps were heard, they echoed louder with each step.

Closer!- they were getting closer!

I felt my eyes threaten to role to the back of my head.

They stopped so close i had stopped breathing all together.

"This book shouldn't be in this section".

I almost cried of relief. He hasn't noticed me thank go-.

"Wahhh! T-There's a baby here!" He shouted as he came face to face with my trembling body.

Baby? Where? ... oh wait...

"A child?" I heard my father say and in the spur of the moment decided to play what I truly was. A child.

He finally appeared, brows rose as he caught sight of his daught-.

"Whose child is she?"

N-No way? Has he actually forgotten? God I really feel for Mallory...

I need to get out of here before they try to find my parents so let's act a little bit older maybe. A bit smarter, so they think I know where I am.

"I- I just wanted to read".

Both men's eyes widened in surprise. They gave each other a long mysterious stare before turning to me.

"Read? You can read?" Asked the chancellor man, a plain brown haired man.

"No... but I want to..." This is something a child would say, right?

"Hahaha" he laughed at the reply while father just smirked a bit, finding the show funny.

"I'm going back to mommy".

Alright. Let's escape!

I turned away to leave, only to feel my feet lift off the ground.

"Ahh!" I cried in panic.

Two large hands held me up by my armpits, belonging to none other than the Emperor.

"Your highness?"

"Do you really think I'd forget the face of my own child?" He stared down at me with an amused smile, "It's seems Jireal isn't the only genius of my children".

"Eh! That's the princess? What was she doing up here?" The chancellor started.

My head started to spin at my plans that didn't progress at all.

"I want to ask the same thing".

The two men stared at me curiously.

"I- I just wanted to read!"

"But you can't read". Instantly replied my father.

Who asks a kid questions like this?!

"I want to learn"... please just buy it.

"Don't you have a teacher?"

"No… I'm a girl so I'm not supposed to study", I answered.

"Where did you hear that?" They both looked sceptical at my answer, but who takes a one year old so seriously.

"I- I don't know?"

I just assumed... now that I think about it... the heroine had teachers.

"I'll talk to your mother about this".

"No!" Both men jolted at my shout.

"What's the matter?" Father asked.

"I don't want to study yet... "

"Haha" the rumbling of my fathers chest as he laughed vibrates against me. He looked at me with entertained eyes, "you're a funny child. Where did you get such genes?"

I stared back at him in wonder. It went on for a bit too long and I only realised when he furrowed his brows.

"What are you staring at?"

"Why are you acting like a dad?" The words left my mouth unconsciously. I was so utterly confused at his behaviour, having expected a cold exterior from him.

The chancellors face visibly paled and the king stared back at me with an unidentifiable expression.

"I'm a father, am I not?"

"Yes. You are. But you don't act like it. You haven't for the past year since I was born. And even Victor can't recognise your face" the words spilt from my mouth one after the other. If I had to be honest the small dialogue I remembered from the book about Victor frustrated me now that I saw it right before me.

It didn't make sense for this man to treat the child of the Empress like his kid, but ignore all the other ones. It was painful to see.

"You speak a lot for such a young one. Must have got that from your mother".

It was all he said to me, who was exposing his faults. That was it.

Just as I labelled him a dick, a look passed his face. Something that could vaguely be called regret, that made me think that maybe he did have a shred of humanity.

He placed me down on the ground and turned to the chancellor man, "we should get going now", was all he said as he turned away and strode out the library in long graceful steps.

The man glanced at me in a look that seemed to blame me for his bad mood. I shrugged at the sight of it.

"Come on now. I don't suppose you can open the door to this place yourself?" He sighed, walking over to the door, holding it open so my slow, small stature could pass through. "Do you know the way back?"

"Yep!" I said to the man.

He paused for a second, crouching down to level with me, "your father loves you and Victor very much. He just struggles to show it, it's up to you guys to take the first step with him, but after that the walls will crack and he'll reach out".

He left straight after that, leaving me to stare after him with a look of dawning understanding.

Why do the people here talk to little kids like they're grown adults?

I somehow managed to get to the gardens safely and headed to the spot where the crow had left me.

"Crow! Caw caw!? I'm here now!" I called out. There's was no sign of him in the sky or on the ground.

It was only when I looked beneath a nearby bush when I did see him. He was curled together, feathers puffed out of his breast and nestled in it was his head. I watched him in interest, sitting down and catching a break while I did so.

Why was this crow all alone? Where were the rest of the murder?

"You're alone, like me".

Wait... their was a character like this in the book, wasn't there?

Ruby, a government spy who was from a special clan that could transform into large crow-like birds. They were wiped out in a government planned massacre and the youngest one, who happened to be Ruby, was taken in for conditioning to be a spy.

He was ostracised by a lot of members and was constantly beaten and neglected. They would kick him out, leaving him to fend for himself.

It was one cold winter day when he had gotten really sick and was thrown out. The heroine, who was also living on the streets took him to a shelter and nursed him back to health. After that he had met her a few more times and soon they became childhood friends.

She accepted him despite his lineage and for that he had fallen deeply in love. His story was one that had been near to my heart.

"Ruby" I sighed dreamily while staring at the bird. As if he had heard me he opened a crimson red eyes and glanced me, his head slowly raised and his feathers calmed. "Good morning. Can you take me home?"

He stood up, still staring at me silently and then nodded. He ruffled his feathers and began his march.

This time I kept an eye on my surroundings, taking note of every turn.

"Hey crow? Have you left the castle before?" I suddenly realised I might not even need a map at all.

The crow stopped for a second and let out a loud 'caw' before he carried on. Not knowing if that was a yes or no, I persisted more.

"I'll take that as a yes. Can you take me there?" I sped up, trying to keep up with its fast legs.

Another caw sounded out.

"Come on- Eh kyaa!" I tumbled face forward onto the grassy ground. I groaned as I lifted my head and stared at feet. Normal human feet.

Gazing up from there I stared at a boy, a human boy. He was young, about five maybe with raven hair and crimson eyes, his skin was the colour of ivory. And he was covered in a black robe.

"I only came here to visit and I've already stayed longer than I'm supposed to because you said to wait. I have a life to live too!" The boy argued to an argument I didn't know I had with him.

"W-Who are you?"

The boy flinched at my question, his eyes widened as he lifted his hands.

"Oh no! I did it again! Mom is going to be mad!"

"W-what did you do?"

"I- I wasn't supposed to! You- You're not allowed to tell anyone this!"

"Tell anyone what?" I asked incredulously.

In fear he glanced around and then grabbed my small frame and pulled me between a gap in the hedges. He held a finger up to shush me as footsteps approached.

"Sire! The bird was sighted around there! It's definitely one of those things as you said. The size was abnormal!" A loud voice sounded out nearby.

They're looking for crow... what do they mean by one of those things? Is crow like Ruby? In sudden realisation I turned to the boy in shock.

This boy... This boy is the crow! Oh no wonder... but that meant- a gun shot sounded out, blasting my ear drums-

The boy beside me shuddered, his Ivory face now grey and ashy. His breathing was uneven and exhausted.

"That was just a normal bird you nincompoop!"

An echo of sorry was heard, but at that point we had heard too much. I turned to the shuddering boy.

"Come with me. I'll take you to somewhere safe" I whispered, but he wasn't having it. He glared at me through red-rimmed eyes.

"No. You'll kill me. I know you humans are all evil".

"Look at the size of me. Do I look dangerous?" I deadpanned at him. I managed to win him over and soon we crawled between dead, abandoned and unfortunate flower hedges. Closer to returning safely home.

The kitchen door was so slightly open that at first I cursed because it looked closed. It surprised the boy beside me who had never seen a baby curse so animatedly before, at least I think he hasn't.

Opening the creaking door without being noticed we stumbled in. I turned to him.

"You need to turn into a crow so I can try to drag you in this sack to my room".

"Don't be ridiculous".

It didn't after a few moment because I was indeed doing as I said I would, dragging a bird the size of myself in a sack to my room. The maids were gone, leisurely enjoying the spring air on there rare moments of freedom. I had fully anticipated this when I had made my plans, not because I knew I would be dragging a crow around, but because I could grab food after my "successful" mission.

Well... none of that happened and now I'm here. Staring down a crow in my dusty room. Mother didn't care for it much so the maids were never scolded if it was left to itself, and with a mansion to clean they rarely got a chance to either scrub the place clean.

I had never actually seen them do it...

"Do you really live in this big house?" The boy asked as he explored the dusty room like it was a luxurious ballroom. He looked through boxes of toys that had been from decades ago, crawling with spiders and termites.

"Yep. I am Mallory Blackburn. I may look like this, but I'm actually a princess" I was kind of glad his mind was off the knights who hunted for him. I can't imagine what that does to a child's mental health.

"Wow. So you are", his stomach grumbled just as the words left his mouth. I was also pretty hungry.

"Stay here. I'll grab some food".

And with that I raced off ready to grab at the buttery biscuits and the sweet croissants filled with creams and chocolate. With my watering mouth I grabbed a large amount and rushed back ready to dig in with the boy.

With our stomachs full and crumbles of bread and biscuits scattered across our faces we fell into a deep silence. The shouts of soldiers were the only interruption along with jumps from the small boy that resulted from it.

"Mother won't be back until midnight, the lights will all be off at the mansion because the maids won't return either. You should be able to leave safely if you're careful enough" I analysed.

"Do you think so?" He nervously asked, glancing at the long window.

He trembled, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to calm himself.

"My mother told me not to leave and my dad did too, but I left anyway and now-now I- I'm so scared" his eyes started dripping tears, his arm shaking as he started balling.

"H-Hey now, there's no need to cry. When the sun goes down you can go see them. They'll be waiting for you to return safely so you need to make sure you do, okay? Promise me you'll be really careful on your way" I rubbed his shivering back in circle motions. He rubbed off his tears and nodded slowly to me.

"I promise".

"Good. Until then let's get to know each other a bit more. I'm Mallory, what's your name?"

"Luka. My name is Luka. I'm a prince".

"A-A prince? Really?"

"My Dads the king of my species".

Luka... that was a familiar name. I mean I knew a few of them, but something a bit more... personal to the storyline. What was it?

"Earlier, you said something about Ruby. Do you know him?" He asked.

"Ruby? You know Ruby?" I leaned closer to the boy with wide owl-like eyes.

"He's my best-friend!"

Oh... oh god...

The friend.

The friend who dies so Ruby has that sad backstory about his one friend who died at the hands of the Royal knights and thus sprouted a deep hatred for royalty.

His friend had left one day saying he really wanted to see the outside world and was captured and killed by the royal knights who managed to pin down their clans location because of him. Which lead to their massacre.

Is it too soon to say he won't die at the hands of the knights...?