Rolls and Rings

Ruby and the duke begin their walk back to the carriage when the scent of food stops Ruby.

"Why did you stop walking?" Duke Stoneborne asks.

"The air smells sweeter than it did before," Ruby replies as she sniffs the air to find the source of the smell.

Duke Stoneborne looks around and notices a bread shop that is selling freshly baked cinnamon rolls. "Is that what you are smell?" The duke points over at the cinnamon rolls that are on display.

Ruby walks over to the bread shop where the lady in the front greets her.

"Good noon, Miss. I see you are interested in the cinnamon rolls. Would you like to try one?"

"Will that be okay?"

"Of course, it is!" the woman reassures as she grabs one of the sample sizes of the cinnamon rolls. "Here, make sure you hold it by the toothpick. The glazing is still hot."

Ruby takes the sample but glances at the duke first.

"Go ahead and try it since you have it," Duke Stoneborne says.

Ruby eats the sample in one bite when suddenly her face brightens up and her eyes widen.

"Father! This tastes so good! You should try it!" Ruby asks for another sample to which the lady gives her one. Ruby then lifts the sample to the duke's mouth. "Try it, Father."

-She is showing such a different expression on her face than she normally does- the duke thinks. -This is probably what Doctor Pledais was talking about. As Ruby starts experiencing more things, she's going to get louder and louder and become a wild child. Is it too late to throw her back into the mine?-

"Are you not going to try it, Father?"

"Something as small as that will do nothing but cause my fingers to get sticky."

"But I'm the one who's holding it. You just have to eat it."

Ruby pleadingly stares into the duke's eyes which makes Duke Stoneborne feel uncomfortable.

"Fine, I'll try it." Reluctantly, the duke takes the bite-size sample into his mouth. "I will purchase ten cinnamon rolls. Ready them immediately," the duke says after he wipes the corner of his lips.

"Right away, Your Grace," the lady responds before she quickly gathers the ten rolls.

"Did you like it, Father?"

"It's too sweet, but since it appeared as if you really like it, I might as well buy some for our ride back to the estate."

"Thank you, Father."

-Is this what happiness feels like?- Ruby wonders. -My chest feels really warm, and the smile that Fiona talked about showed on my face. Am I starting to experience what they call emotions?-

'Will you play with me?'

What is this voice?

'I'm so glad that you all are with me. We can have fun every day!'

Why does it sound so familiar?

A fuzzy image emerges in Ruby's mind. The colors are meshed together, but Ruby notices that there are five moving shapes.

Who are you? How do you know me?

The image begins to fade out when Ruby feels a rapid shake of her shoulders.

"Ruby! Snap out of it!"

Ruby flutters her eyes and finds Duke Stoneborne in front of her looking annoyed with a touch of worry.

"Father, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You suddenly went silent and weren't responding when I called your name."

"I started hearing a voice in my head and an image popped up. I did not mean to ignore you. This will not happen again."

The duke sighs and holds out his hand as the other is occupied with the cinnamon rolls. "You can tell me more once we get home. Let's just get to the carriage."

"Yes, Father."

---

"Welcome back, Your Grace," Raynold greets as Ruby and the duke enter the house.

"Hello, Raynold," Ruby responds, still eating one of the cinnamon rolls the duke gave her on the ride home.

-Ah!~ Ruby is still adorable even with a messy mouth!-

Raynold kneels down to Ruby and takes out a handkerchief from his pocket. "Miss Ruby, you have sugar and glaze all over your mouth. You have to make sure you wipe your mouth when you eat something messy like this."

"Okay. Thank you, Raynold."

"This is no problem at all, Miss Ruby. Did you have fun during your outing with your father?"

"It was pleasant. I got this dress at Tally's Salon. I picked out a suit at the men's store as well as got my measurements taken for my knight apprenticeship. There was an old man who gave me this bracelet. And we also got this. They call it a cinnamon roll."

"Did those men do anything weird to you while you were getting your measurements done?" Raynold asks with a bothered look in his eye.

"I don't think so. They were very polite to me."

"Then, I guess they get to live for another day."

Ruby tilts her head, confused on what Raynold meant by that.

"Ruby, let's head to my office first while lunch is still being made," Duke Stoneborne suggests. "You can tell me what you heard and saw earlier while we were at the market."

"Yes, Father."

"Did something happen to the Young Lady while you were out, Your Grace?" Raynold asks as he takes the bag of cinnamon rolls from the duke.

"She suddenly blanked out, and when she came to, she said that someone was talking to her and that an image appeared."

"Do you think it has something to do with her past?"

"I can't say for sure, but I do know that it might be a clue on telling us who she is."

As the trio arrive at the duke's office, a sharp ping sound reverberates through Ruby's ears, causing her to fall onto the floor.

"Miss Ruby! What's wrong? Are you hurting?" Raynold throws several questions as he picks up Ruby and sets her on the long chair for her to lay down.

"Did she trip over something?" the duke asks as he takes his seat at his desk.

"No, Your Grace. She just simply fell over after covering her ears."

The duke watches Ruby grimace at whatever pain that she is feeling when a glowing red light blinks from the mana bracelet that Doctor Pledais gave her.

"The bracelet seems to be reacting to something," Raynold comments as he also takes notice of the bracelet. "What kind of accessory is this?"

"It's not an accessory. It's a mana bracelet that Doctor Pledais said for her to wear at all times."

"What does it do exactly?"

"Apparently, Ruby has an overflowing amount of mana in her body. The bracelet is to help control the mana and keep her from bursting into flames."

"So why do you think it might be reacting this way?"

The duke scans his office when he sees a similar red blinking light from his glass case. He walks over to the case and retrieves the ruby crown that his excavation team discovered in one of the first ruby caves. "It seems to be reacting to this crown."

"Is that a good thing or bad thing?"

"Seems like a bad thing if it's making Ruby react in such a way."

The duke takes the crown and walks into the hallway with it since that is where Ruby hasn't been affected. As soon as he reaches the corridors, Ruby removes her hands from her ears and calms down a bit. Then, the duke re-enters the room, making Ruby cover her ears again.

"Father, the noise! It's so loud! It hurts!"

Baffled, Raynold looks at the duke then back at Ruby.

"Miss Ruby, what noise are you talking about? We don't hear anything."

"It's loud! Like the whistle the gardeners use to scare away birds."

"Raynold, remove the bracelet from Ruby's wrist," the duke commands as he steps back into the hallway.

Like he was told, Raynold carefully removes the bracelet and sets it on the small table in front of the long chair. The duke then re-enters the office. This time, Ruby doesn't react like she did earlier.

"It seems the mana bracelet and the ruby crown aren't compatible with each other," the duke states as he sets the crown on the small table next to the mana bracelet.

"But why would it do something like that?"

"I'm not sure, but Doctor Pledais might know. Send a request for the doctor to come to the estate as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Raynold swiftly leaves the office and departs on his way to Doctor Pledais's office. Ruby slowly begins to sit up on the long chair as she softly rubs her ears to get rid of the phantom ringing when she feels something warm on her fingers.

"Father, what is this red stuff coming from my ear?" Ruby asks as she shows the duke her hands.

Stunned by the sudden bleeding, the duke quickly takes the handkerchief from his desk and wipes Ruby's hands and ears.

"Go to the bathroom and wash the bloodstains from your hands and ears. It's that door there next to the bookshelves."

"Yes, Father."

-First, Doctor Pledais says that she is a dangerous child with overflowing mana. Then, Ruby says that she hears voices in her head. Now, she claims that her ears were ringing and are currently bleeding. What on earth is going on with this child?-