Chapter 5

The room is large enough to fit two large beds with ease, the furniture is all handcrafted with a large bathroom connected to it. The marble tiles and walls shine with no evidence of dust. The tub is large enough to fit a family of five.

"Take your time and get clean. We have an audience with the king in two hours." Bruce orders, leaving the room.

"Yes sir." Samuel and Marcus respond. With a grin they both rush to get out of their dirty clothes. They toss the clothes in a basket at the entrance of the bathroom and it triggers a magical effect cleansing the clothes and repairing any damage.

It takes them a while to get out of the tub, especially as it's their first time in this kind of bath. Bruce enters the room to discover that they are still inside the bathroom. He lays out two suits for them and barges into the bathroom. Marcus and Samuel immediately get out of the bath and dry themselves. With the help of Bruce they manage to get ready just in time.

Marcus wears a black suit and tie with a lapis colored vest decorated in black designs and a white shirt. Samuel wears a black suit and tie with a myrtle colored vest decorated in black designs, similar to his brother's, and a white shirt. Bruce has a black suit and tie with a black vest decorated in white designs and a white shirt.

A grey haired old man, with a cane and well fitted butler outfit, enters the room.

"The king is waiting for your presence."

"We'll be on our way." Bruce says, as he combs the boy's hair back. The butler shuts the door and waits outside. "Don't worry, it'll end quickly. He's an old friend, just be respectful and talk only when spoken to."

They approach the throne room and the number of guards patrolling increases. They wait for the grey haired man to open the door and approach the king who sits in a comfortable looking throne, observing the new arrivals. The queen is on his right side followed by his three daughters on the left side, two of which are familiar, and two empty chairs. Eight thick pillars directed a path towards the king with four pillars on each side. A heavily armored soldier stands in front of each pillar on standby, wielding a thick halberd and a sword on their waist. The sunlight shines through the windows giving light to the room.

The king stares with cold blue eyes. He's equipped with armor that rivals his nearby soldiers, though the difference in wealth and craftsmanship is plain as day. His hair is wavy like an ocean wave while his beard is trimmed. Queen Elizabeth gazes at Bruce as he kneels in respect, which is followed by his children. Bellona gives Marcus a slight smile with a brief wave. Her outfit is much closer to what a princess would typically wear. A black sweetheart bodice with black off-the-shoulder straps and orange, red and yellow fiery prints on it, and has bright gold trim, a black satin-lace necklace with a gold pendant of their family's crest, and a small, gold tiara placed between her horns. She also has a black pleated skirt that reaches past her knees that hides part of her tail with black stockings and a pair of black boots. Marcus attempts to wave back, but he feels a slap of wind against his back.

The other girl that was familiar to him was Lady Fiona. She harbors a rose pink dress with a sweetheart bodice with a grey trim and a dark pink, grey and rosy red rosemaling on the skirt and bodice. Underneath she wears a grey long-sleeved turtleneck blouse with white petal prints on it. She has long white gloves that reach slightly past her elbow and is wearing light grey flats with gold outlines. Fiona smiles brightly as they both gaze at each other.

"Bruce, would care to explain why I haven't heard anything about your children until today?" The king questions in a stern tone.

"I've been a little busy raising them, but what I don't understand is how you could not tell me about your children?" Bruce asks. The king grins and approaches him. "Jeremy! You beautiful bastard how have you been," Bruce shouts as he hugs him.

"I've seen better days. I missed you, you know. The amount of time we spent chasing folklore and monsters, I miss it." He states, hugging Bruce back.

"Me too, buddy."

"Come now, introduce them." Jeremy asks, gesturing towards Marcus and Samuel.

"All right," Bruce says, placing his hand on Marcus' shoulder. "This is my first born, Marcus Cain." Marcus bows before speaking.

"Hello sir, I'm Marcus Cain. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, Marcus. I see, you do get your good looks from Wendy."

"This here is Samuel Cain, my second born."

"Hi." Samuel gives a slight wave before quickly bowing. "Nice to meet you," He says, glancing at Marcus for approval. Marcus gives him a quick thumbs up.

"Yep, yep both remind me of you and Wendy. They look lovely, and I bet they'll be just as strong as you in the near future."

"Maybe when they reach my age they'll have a chance."

"Girls come here." Jeremy calls for his daughters. Bellona stands rather quickly and trots to be the first to greet them. Fiona stands with elegance and walks to them with the other sister not far behind. Each one is stunning in their own way. They are similar in height and beauty, almost rivaling their mother, who is also abnormally beautiful. "Girls, introduce yourselves to our guests."

"Gladly, father." Fiona responds. Her hair is still finely-textured as if it was sprayed with gold dust. It was thick, flowy, and reached her back. Flipped, wavy fringe bangs hide her forehead. She has a small, gold tiara. Not to mention eyes as blue as the azure sky. "It's an honor meeting you all" In a fluid motion, she bends her knees and bows her head. As she lifts her skirt ever so slightly, Marcus notices that she has what looks like white stocking underneath. "My name is Fiona Nova, the third princess of the Imperial Empire, daughter of King Jeremy and Queen Elizabeth, Leader of the Imperial Guardians."

"Impressive. It's not easy being a leader," Bruce responds.

"Thank you, I studied extensively on ways to benefit my home. I prefer to focus on the safety of our people, especially during these times of war." Marcus gazes with intrigue as she speaks. She is just as beautiful as the day they met. He snaps out of it when Bellona introduces herself.

"As you may know, my name is Bellona Nova, second princess of the Imperial Empire, daughter of King Jeremy and Queen Elizabeth, and Commander of the Draconic Wing."As soon as she notices Marcus admiring her, she blushes slightly in embarrassment. "It's a pleasure meeting you all again." She bows, trying to hide her face.

"Pleasure is all mine." Marcus lets out. Fiona observes them and frowns for a moment. She and Marcus make eye contact once again and she smiles, before looking at her sister, who hasn't introduced herself.

"Ana, your turn," Fiona whispers.

"R-right." She stutters. Her pretty pale face begins to blush a hot pink as she begins to speak. She has long, flowing ash grey hair with violet highlights and bright light, red eyes. "Um, nice to meet you. My name is Anastasia Nova, first princess of the Imperial Empire, daughter of King Jeremy and Queen Elizabeth." She stops speaking and tries to cover her face with her hands. Though they were dressed by a layer of white gloves that reached below her elbow. She has a white sweetheart bodice with shoulder straps and a floor-length silver white skirt made of 4 triangular panels with a pair of white heels.

"Well, now that introductions are over, let's chat a little before the party begins later tonight." Jeremy says. "Play nice all of you, wouldn't want to ban you from the party."

"Very well." Bruce responds. With that Jeremy and Bruce leave with Elizabeth following behind. The guards strive towards the king and queen not breaking formation. Anastasia leaves in a hurry after her parents are out of sight. Fiona remains beside Bellona, until she sees her parents gone. In a rush, she hugs Marcus with enough force to knock him down. Bellona shrieks in surprise and Samuel sighs before leaving the throne room and wishing Marcus good luck. Marcus can't help, but stare at the woman on top of him. Enjoying the warmth of Fiona as she sits on him.

"I'm glad you got away safely." He says, as he begins to sit up.

"It would have been more difficult if you weren't there." Bellona glances at Fiona then back at Marcus before she lifts Fiona up. Marcus stands as quickly as possible.

"How do you both know each other?" Bellona questions.

"He saved me and my soldiers when we were returning from our visit. Though we didn't talk much." Bellona has a slight blush as Fiona finishes.

"Gross, I didn't need to know that." Fiona blushes a bright red.

"Huh?"

"Nothing like that, I was just busy fighting the creature that attacked them." Marcus clarifies.

"When we met we had a sparring match and got to know each other pretty well. He even traveled with me just to bring me home." Bellona boasts, putting her arm around Marcus' shoulder. Fiona smiles and grabs both their hands, pulling them to a training hall that was empty.

"I too, want to get to know you better. Do you feel the same?" Fiona asks as she twirls farther away to create distance.

"I would love to." Marcus states stepping forward. "Bellona, feel free to step in when you want."

"What?"

"We still haven't finished our match right? Or do you not want to get closer with me?" Bellona blushes.

"I'll hop in when I'm ready."

~

A few hours later, Samuel enters his room seeing Marcus collapsed on the bed. Samuel sits besides him and lays on his back staring at the ceiling. Marcus turns to face him.

"Where did you go?"

"I walked around the city. Did you know so many people are in debt and are turning to robbing others to make ends meet." Samuel states. "I stopped quite a few of them and had them arrested, but the desperation in their eyes. I don't know, I wish I could help them in some way."

"Criminals choose to be criminals, some can be redeemed, but not everyone wants to." Marcus sits up and stretches before standing. "The only ones that can really be saved are those that haven't touched the life of crime, even in the darkest of times." Bruce enters the room and notices them chatting.

"Heard you got into several fights. Wanna talk about it?"

"No, I didn't get hurt, so not really a fight." Samuel sits up.

"Alright then. Marcus, would you care to explain what's going on with you and the princesses?"

"I like them both."

"Not even going to hide it?"

"What's to hide? I like them both and I think they like me, not too sure though."

"Still young and already going after women, you remind me of myself. So who will you go after?"

"I don't want to choose, and even if I did, I want them both. Is that wrong? Should I give up and choose one or none out of respect for both?"

"Being greedy isn't bad, if you want to be with them both then just do it. If they don't accept it then they can leave the relationship. The important thing is to be honest and not hide anything."

"Sam, what are your thoughts?" Marcus asks.

"Honesty, as long as you're happy I don't care. Follow your desires." Marcus sighs, and agrees with them both, now all to think about is when and how to do it.

Bellona and Fiona are alone in a room cleaning the sweat that they accumulated sparring with Marcus.

"Why are you interfering?" Fiona asks, stepping behind Bellona.

"What do you mean?" Bellona responds with her back facing Fiona as she cleans her desk area.

"With Marcus. We had a splendid time together, until you jumped in."

"I made our time together better than splendid." Bellona turns to face Fiona. "Let me give you a little lesson as the big sister. Love at first sight doesn't exist. You are just intrigued by his looks and his decision to save you."

"Don't tell me what I feel! How can you know what I feel if I don't even know!" Fiona shoves Bellona creating a gap between them. "I can't get his stupid smile out of my head. Ever since he saved me I haven't been thinking of anyone else. I don't know. I barely know him, so I know it isn't genuine love, but… something is there."

"It's just a phase." Bellona says approaching her.

"No, it isn't. You on the other hand do have a crush on him. That's why you want me out of the picture."

"Heh, so sure of yourself. I don't need you out of the picture for me to be with him. I'm confident he will choose me between the both of us."

"We'll see about that." Fiona leaves the room in a hurry.

The party has begun and dozens of guests in elegant clothing arrive at the ball room. King Jeremy brings his nephew to Marcus' and Samuel's table with Bellona at his side. Anastasia is nowhere to be found and Fiona is with the queen greeting the guests. Bruce is also nowhere to be found.

"Greetings, Marcus and Samuel. I'd like to introduce you to my nephew. He's a promising young man with a bright future." King Jeremy boasts.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Benjamin Quasar, the first Son of the Quasar family." He has a handsome fair face, with red spiky hair and yellow dragon-like eyes. He's wearing a red and yellow suit.

"Nice to meet you as well." Marcus offers his hand for a hand shake. Benjamin grasps the hand, his hands are gloved in thick fabric.

"Thanks. If you don't mind, may I ask, what rank are you?"

"Alright you kids seem to be having a fun time so I'm going to leave you to your own discussion." Jeremy says, before leaving to greet other guests. Bellona motions for Samuel to move as he sat next to Marcus' right side, but he refuses.

"Sit here." Marcus suggests, patting the chair next to him. Bellona with her reddening face does as he suggests. Benjamin sits across from him and repeats his question. "I don't know the rankings of adventurers yet." Marcus responds as he playfully arm wrestles Bellona.

"Want to have a duel to test you?" Bellona shakes her head opposing the idea. Marcus smirks at Bellona.

"Sure, what are the rules?" He can feel her dagger-like glare as he focuses on Benjamin.

"Follow me, we need a room to utilize our full strength."

"Alright. Sam wanna come?"

"No, I think I spotted something interesting." Marcus looks towards his direction and sees a group of noble children, probably his age, acting suspicious as they leave the ballroom.

"Be careful." Marcus warns. A large training room, similar to the room where he spars with Fiona and Bellona, is determined to be the battleground.

"Any abilities are allowed, let's try not to kill each other and if you surrender or lose consciousness it's your loss."

"Pretty simple." Marcus responds waving at Bellona who is leaning on the wall.

"Yeah." Benjamin says. He rushes towards Marcus with his fist near his face, similar to a boxer. Marcus dodges his strikes and counters with some of his own. Benjamin has quick reflexes that can rival Samuel, maybe a little better. Though it isn't enough to completely dodge Marcus' heavy punches. He's able to continue his pursuit attempting to land one blow. Marcus focuses on increasing his strike speed and power not wanting to drag this match out. Benjamin's eyes start to crave for more action, and a few patches of red-orange scales appear on his face. His body increases in mass slightly.

In seconds, he rushes beside Marcus. He lands a basic combo on Marcus, with his sudden burst of power. The force of each impact is similar to a Silva Ogre, maybe even more powerful. He lunges in with animal-like instincts. A gale of wind twists around Marcus' arms into a focal point in the center of his palms. Marcus steps into the strikes, enduring the damage and grabbing Benjamin's face. He shoves him against the ground while unleashing the concentrated wind as a blast and not a beam. The impact creates a crater with Benjamin laying in the center. His gloves begin to rip as scales tear through, his hands also begin to grow in size. Bellona widens her eyes as she notices what's happening.

He strikes with incredible speed stabbing Marcus' abdomen with his large claws. He growls at Marcus with blood dripping from his face and scales start to frame it. Marcus attempts to pull his claws out, but it appears they are temporarily equal in strength at least until Marcus starts to lose focus. Instead, he smashes his skull against Benjamin. They both stagger for a moment before Marcus notices Benjamin's other claw getting a layer of bright red-orange flames resonating alongside the gaps of the scales. Marcus unleashes his second wind attack, once again aiming at the head. The rage in his eyes vanishes by unconsciousness. Marcus covers his mouth with his hand and pukes an abnormal amount of blood. Bellona stares in horror. Marcus gives her a weak smile before blacking out.

Samuel follows the noble children outside the castle. They have four guards with them. The noble children continue to walk until a little girl bumps into the boy in front. The guards prepare to draw their swords, but one of the noble boys stops them. She has short red hair with black highlights. She searches vigorously for help with her amber-like eyes. The noble boy approaches the little girl, drawing his sword with a grin.

"A peasant should learn their place." He states placing his blade on her shoulder.

"Scarlet!" She shouts. The boy covers his ear before getting mad.

"You will learn to not shout in my presence." He swings down his sword. Samuel grabs the blade mid-swing and breaks it. He glares at the noble boy, who's about his age.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." Samuel throws the blade in his hand in between the noble's feet. He flinches and steps further back. "Attacking someone for such a stupid reason."

"Who do you think you are! Get him!" He orders. The guards draw their swords and approach carefully.

"Hey, little girl, everything is going to be fine. Who's Scarlet?"

"She's my sister. She wouldn't want me talking to strangers."

"That's smart, but look here we're in a bit of a pickle. I'm sure she'll understand."

"I don't like pickles."

"Neither do I." One of the guards lunges at him and Samuel counters with the first strike against the guard's face. He drops to the ground quickly and is left unconscious. "I'll look after you until your sister comes." Two of the guards attack at the same time. Samuel parries both swords into each other and throws the guards against the children. The last guard hesitates, but still engages. Samuel disarms him and slams him into the ground. "Leave, final warning." Samuel reels back his fist and coats it in crimson flames. The guards leave with the kids and make their way to the castle.

"T-thanks." The little girl says gazing at them as they run.

"What's your name?" Samuel asks, extinguishing the flames.

"Emily!" A voice shouts from a rooftop. The girl jumps towards Samuel with a kick. He steps to the side and dodges it.

"Ah, you must be Scarlet." Samuel responds looking at her red flowing hair with similar highlights to Emily, but in orange, though both have the same amber eyes. Without a response she swings at Samuel. He dodges her fist, but notices white flames forging into a dagger between her fist. The searing blade cuts Samuel's cheek. Samuel's cheerful expression fades into more seriousness. He engages with her, dodging her daggers and attempting to hit her with his fist, but her quick movement allows her to parry each strike to the side. Samuel coats his fist with his flames once more. He swings at her and she thrusts her dagger at him.

"Stop it!" Emily shouts. They halt inches from impact glaring at each other. "Scarlet, he isn't a bad guy. He was helping me against a bunch of bullies. Mister, this was just a misunderstanding."

"Alright, let's start over." Samuel states, extinguishing his flames. He offers his hand for a hand shake. "My name is Samuel." Scarlet sighs and accepts.

"My name is Scarlet." She releases the grip and hugs Emily. "Why would a noble help a commoner?"

"Oh, I just wanted to help. No special reason." Scarlet laughs.

"Look at me I'm just a knight in shining armor expecting nothing in return. Cut the act, what do you want?" Scarlet says, grabbing his suit and pulling him closer.

"First of all, I'm not wearing armor, it's a suit and I'm not a knight still not old enough to be one." Samuel says, grabbing her hand and forcing her to release her grip. "Second of all, what could I want from commoners, like you say? I have everything I could want."

"Right, and I'm a princess of a fallen kingdom." Scarlet states in a sarcastic voice pulling out bread from a satchel and handing it to Emily. Samuel notices that their stomachs growl for a moment, but they don't react to it.

"Maybe, I don't know much about you." He says with a grin.

"Oh, haha. Making fun of me." Samuel grabs her hand and starts to lead her around the streets. "Hey, what are you doing?" Scarlet argues. "Unhand me you stupid beast."

"Rawr!" Samuel shouts while laughing. "I'm taking you both out for lunch." Scarlet stops resisting once she notices Emily struggling to chew the hard bread. Samuel enters a tavern with them. He lets them order their food before ordering for himself. They wait in silence, staring at the table growing with more discomfort as the other customers eat and drink. A full plate of good looking food arrives for each of them. Without a second thought Scarlet and Emily begin eating as if they hadn't had a good meal in a while. Samuel takes a few bites as he glances at them. A genuine smile paints his face as they stuff their faces. Scarlet finishes and glances at Samuel who is almost done as he didn't get a portion as big as theirs.

"That was good. We hadn't had a proper meal in days, mostly just leftovers or things that I can steal." Scarlet says, as she wipes her mouth. Even though she rushed, she didn't drop a piece.

"Why? Where are your parents?" Samuel asks. Emily stops eating and stares at her plate fidgeting with her hands. Scarlet hugs her before speaking.

"They're gone. It's been a month since the beast-folk attacked us."

"That long!"

"Yeah, now we wander around, trying to stay alive to not let our parents' death be meaningless."

"That sucks. You shouldn't have to go through something like this."

"Can we not talk about this anymore?"

"Oh of course, finish your meal." After Emily finishes the two girls wait outside the tavern for Samuel.

"Thanks." Scarlet says. "That was very kind of you."

"Don't mention it. Have a great day." Samuel says before walking away.

"Wait!" Scarlet grabs his sleeve. "That's it? Not going to ask for anything in return?" Samuel shrugs.

"Even if I wanted something you would decline."

"What is it? I'll do my best to uphold it."

"Curiosity killed the cat." Samuel says.

"Huh?" Samuel turns to face Scarlet.

"My brother once told me that. Are you sure you want to know?" Scarlet walks up to him inches from his face and nods.

"Come live with me."

"Wha-"

"I know it may sound ridiculous or sudden, but it's obvious from those ragged clothes that you have nowhere else to go to get back on your feet."

"Pervert." Scarlet mumbles, as her face blushes a light red. "That's something you do with someone you like."

"I like you, but I'm leaving soon. So if you don't come with me the chances of us meeting each other again is close to none. I don't have any bad intentions. I just feel comfortable being around you since you're honest. Kinda like a puppy with a dragon."

"What?"

"Mmm? Did I say it wrong?" Scarlet sighs and gives a slight smile.

"Fine, but only for a little while. We are still looking for someone."

"Great, before we continue. I need to buy you both new clothes."

"What?" Samuel returns to the castle with Scarlet and Emily. Both of them wear long dresses that match their hair color. Bruce notices Samuel arriving with the girls and approaches him.

"Where have you been?"

"With friends. Why?"

"We're leaving as soon as your brother wakes up."

"What happened? Is he hurt?"

"Yes, but that's not the reason. You caused trouble with a few nobles here and he almost killed the king's nephew. We are being let go with a warning, but we have to leave today."

"Dad. These are my friends." Samuel presents the sisters. "I was wondering if they can live with us for the time being." Bruce looks at them waiting in silence.

"Did we do something wrong?" Scarlet whispers next to Samuel's ear.

"Oops, my bad. He's waiting for you guys to introduce yourselves." Bruce chuckles before nodding in agreement.

"Oh um, well my name is Scarlet Sophia Solar." Bruce continues to observe. "And um, I'm 11 years old." Scarlet says before grabbing Samuel's arm. "I don't know what else to say." She whispers.

"I'm Emily Solar and I want to be a scholar when I grow up." Bruce sighs.

"Sure, have fun at the party in the meantime. We are leaving soon." As soon as Marcus wakes up Bruce lifts him over his shoulder. Marcus doesn't struggle or question Bruce. Bruce lays Marcus down in their room ordering him to get ready. After a few minutes he enters again with Samuel and the two girls. Marcus glances at them with curiosity. Samuel introduces them as he gets ready. They exit the castle without much commotion or goodbyes.