Jewels and Fire

After morning sword practice with the knights, Ruby and the duke arrive in front of Doctor Pledais's office.

"Doctor Pledais, we need your expertise," the duke announces as he and Ruby enter the office.

From a small corner in the room, the doctor pops out from behind some boxes. "Ah~ Good morning, Your Grace. What brings you here to meet with me personally? I would have come by the estate if you contacted me."

"Ruby wanted to see the marketplace again, so I was going to take her after we finished here," the duke explains as he places a hand behind Ruby's back.

"I see you have started growing a soft spot for Lady Ruby," Doctor Pledais teases, walking over to the pair.

"You must be losing your mind. I am not growing soft. It will be bothersome and distracting if I have a saddened child causing a scene."

Doctor Pledais chuckles at the duke's answer. "If that is what you claim, then it must be true. What brought you here today?"

Duke Stoneborne moves Ruby in front of him. "Ruby can apparently see fairies. The fairy that is with her claims that Ruby is a jeweled child from the children's story."

Surprised, the doctor simply stares at Ruby and observes her. "I just saw her the other day. What happened for her to be able to see fairies?"

"I was having my tea break yesterday when I noticed a red glowing light," Ruby starts. "When I touched it, it turned into a fairy named Rouge."

"Wait, the fairy spoke to you, Lady Ruby?"

"Yes, he did," Ruby nods.

The doctor looks up at Duke Stoneborne flabbergasted. "It looks like this will be a long conversation. Please have a seat in the meeting room while I make some tea."

Ruby and the duke head over to the separate room that the doctor pointed to and take their seats. Soon after, Doctor Pledais follows with a tray carrying the tea and three cups.

"Lady Ruby, can you tell me what the fairy has said to you?" the doctor asks as he pours her a cup of tea.

"The fairy didn't say much when we first met. He was just asking how I managed to turn him into his human form, but when he flew into my hair, he started saying how I was one of those children."

"Can you ask the fairy what he saw that made him say that?"

Ruby glances over to her left where Rouge is sitting on her shoulder. "What did you see in my hair that made you say that I was a jeweled child?"

"It wasn't what I saw in your hair, silly," Rouge comments, patting Ruby's shoulder. "I saw a brilliantly red sigil glow on the nape of your neck that had the shape of a flame."

"He says that it's not my hair. He saw a red sigil that had the shape of a flame on the nape of my neck," Ruby relays to the doctor.

"That's impossible," Duke Stoneborne interjects again like yesterday. "The maids wash you every day. They would have told me if they saw any marks on you."

"And yet here you are with a child that you found in a cave with unknown origins that can see and speak to fairies," Doctor Pledais comments with a raised eyebrow. "I would say that impossible isn't a term in your dictionary anymore ever since you met this child." The doctor faces Ruby then asks, "Lady Ruby, may I have a look at your neck?"

Ruby glances over at the duke for confirmation to which he nods and motions for her to turn around. Doctor Pledais moves Ruby's hair to the side, revealing an empty nape.

"I'm not seeing anything, but that doesn't mean that it's not there," the doctor says. "Lady Ruby, do you mind asking the fairy if he can do what he did last time when he saw the mark?"

"I have a name, you know," Rouge grumbles as he flies over to Ruby's neck.

"He says that he doesn't like it when you just call him fairy and not his name," Ruby responds to the doctor.

The doctor tries to say something but gets distracted when Rouge touches Ruby's neck, triggering the red mark to glow and reveal the symbol of fire. "Your Grace, you must see this." Duke Stoneborne walks over to Doctor Pledais's side and takes notice of the flame symbol on Ruby's neck. "Your Grace, Lady Ruby is more than just a jeweled child. She is a child of fire itself."

"What does this all mean, Doctor?" the duke asks, confused by what's going on.

Doctor Pledais lowers Ruby's hair, then Rouge flies around her to fix it, slightly frightening the doctor as all he and the duke can see is Ruby's hair moving around by itself.

"Your Grace, I have done hundreds of researches in my time and heard many theories regarding magic and nature. There was a theory that a colleague of mine came up with when we were still in our academy years where nature itself created children to look after and protect its counterparts from those who wish to harm it. He was never able to get his research past the theory stage as it was impossible to try and study such a phenomenon just on speculation."

"I didn't come here for a long winded story telling, Doctor," Duke Stoneborne reminds as he takes his seat next to his daughter. "What is going on with Ruby?"

"What I'm trying to get at is what Lady Ruby really is. She appears to be a child of fire and rubies. Going off of the idea that Lady Ruby is a jeweled child from the story, the actual ruby jewel that she was created from must have gone through several hundred if not thousands of years of heating from fire before she was found by the forest fairy. Since she was created through the forest fairy's desire for friends, she is able to see and communicate with other fairies as well."

The duke smiles to himself as the thought of Ruby becoming extremely useful than she already was floats inside his head. "Thank you for your insight, Doctor Pledais," the duke says as he stands up from the chair. "I will take what you have said to mind as I come to terms with Ruby's growth."

Doctor Pledais quickly stands as well and rushes over to the door so that he can open it for the duke and Ruby. "It is always a pleasure to help you, Your Grace. If you ever need me, my door is open to you."

Duke Stoneborne and Ruby leave the doctor's office. Just as her luck will have it, Ruby smells the scent of freshly made bread. "Father, can we get the bread from that stall?" Ruby asks as she points to the bread stall that just set out a new batch of bread.

"Yes, we can go," he answers but not before Ruby grabs his hand and starts running to the stall. "Ruby, slow down. You're going to trip over your feet with how fast you're running, and the crown is going to fall off." The duke's warnings go unheard as Ruby continues her path to the bread stall.

"Hello, Your Grace. Can I help you with something?" the stall woman asks as she finishes placing the bread on the display.

"How many do you want, Ruby?"

Ruby scans over the bread, practically drooling. "Can I have six, Father?"

"I'll get twelve pieces of bread," the duke answers the stall woman who is standing in shock after Ruby calls him "Father". "Is there something wrong?"

"Ah! No, my apologies, Your Grace. I was just surprised that you have a child. I heard people talking about seeing you with a child the other day, but I didn't think it was true."

Duke Stoneborne glances down at Ruby who is still salivating at the sight of the bread. "Is having a child something to be surprised about?"

The stall woman proceeds to bag the twelve pieces of bread as she explains, "If I may be frank, it's just that no one has ever seen a woman step foot into your estate without running out crying, Your Grace. A child is the last thing us commoners would have seen by your side. However, it seems that you are a good father, Your Grace. You seem to care greatly for your daughter if you are willing to come down to the commoners' market place just for some bread that your daughter wanted that you could have bought in a higher class bakery."

The duke takes Ruby's hand after paying for the bread. "You can take it how you see it. Come on now, Ruby. We have to get home before your afternoon classes start."

"Have a safe trip home, Your Grace and Princess Ruby," the woman calls out as Ruby and the duke head for the carriage.

"Father, I have a question," Ruby mentions on the ride home.

"What is it?"

"Why do people call me 'Princess'? From what I learned in class, 'Princess' is the title that is given to the king's or emperor's daughters, but you are a duke."

Duke Stoneborne reaches into the bag of bread and hands Ruby a piece since he notices her staring at it. "It's because the king and I are related. The king is my nephew because his mother, the previous queen and ruler, was my sister. Since you are a child that is related to royalty through me, you are referred to as 'Princess' along with your title of 'Lady'."

"But what about the king's children? Won't they be offended if I am referred to as 'Princess' since I'm not a direct descendent of the king?"

The duke scoffs at Ruby's needless worry. "The feelings of those that aren't in the Stoneborne Family are pointless. Remember, Ruby, you are a Stoneborne, now. You are the most important woman in the country just under the queen. You don't have to worry about other people's feelings, especially if they are insignificant."

"Your Grace, it seems that men from the diamond mines are waiting outside the gates. It appears that they have a child with them," the carriage driver announces.

"What?"