United (Magics AU - Part 1)

Chapter 44 - Ruby

Even though Ruby felt like she was about to burst into tears and sob until she couldn't anymore, she held back her frantic, devastated tears and continued to keep a strong, confident composure. That was what a queen had to do, because who knew how many people were looking to her for strength and assurance? She couldn't break down now, even though there were hundreds of Shadowbeasts raging through her kingdom, The Dark Lord was sure to return and wreak havoc on the world again, and there was no possible way of winning. She had to stay strong throughout it all, and somehow, Queen Ruby was managing it. 

Despite the soul-crushing fact that her husband now bore the magic that was likely to destroy him. The terror in Ruby's heart was like nothing she'd ever felt before - she didn't know what she would do if she lost Marcus to a such a horrible fate. He hadn't even bore the magic for more than thirty or forty minutes, and Ruby felt like she had already lost Marcus years ago. Her heart was shattered into a million pieces already, so how would she be able to pick up the pieces if she really did lose her husband? 

In truth, Ruby didn't know if Marcus was stronger than the magic. She didn't know much about Dark Magic - or any magic, for that matter - but she did know that Dark Magic was far more powerful than any mortal man. She knew, she was certain, that Marcus was a determined, valiant man; but Dark Magic was evil and ruthless. It terrified her to think that Marcus, the greatest man she could have ever met and married, was likely to lose his sanity to darkness. 

And if all of that wasn't enough, Ruby was beginning to get anxious - Shintaro hadn't returned yet with the news that Thorn had called off the Shadowbeasts. Even though Kai had already claimed that there was no way Thorn would listen to Shintaro, Ruby couldn't help but hope that the Shadow would. Deep down, Ruby highly doubted it, but she wished with all her heart that there was some way out of this. 

Ruby was snapped out of her nervous thoughts when Caynen suddenly rocked back and rose swiftly to his feet. Artemis, who had been behind him, jumped back to avoid being hit in the head. When he rose up, Ruby realized just how tall he was - he looked close to a few inches over six feet, though he was probably older than Aaron.

With a jolt, Ruby realized that was who Caynen was striding purposefully toward. Aaron was on his side with his eyes closed tightly, but just before Caynen knelt down beside him, he pushed himself onto his back. Ruby inhaled sharply when she realized that his breathing was shallow and rasping, and an expression of pain was deepening the lines on his face. 

Ruby's heart leaped to her throat as Caynen grabbed Aaron's arms and pulled him into a sitting position. Aaron's head fell forward, but Caynen took Aaron's chin and tilted it back swiftly. "Take deep breaths," Caynen instructed the wheezing man. "In through your nose and out through your mouth. Slowly." 

Aaron obeyed, but he kept his eyes closed tightly, which Ruby knew was a sign of pain. She'd seen her father (it was almost confusing to call him that now, though Ruby figured she would never stop) like this - and worse than this - more times than she'd wanted to, and she'd learned to recognize when he was in more pain that he let on. 

Suddenly, halfway through a long inhale, Aaron's breath hitched and he began coughing harshly. Caynen jolted back with a frown of surprise, but he quickly flew into action again. He grabbed Aaron's arms and kept him from curling forward in his coughing fit, though Aaron's pain was keeping him from staying still. 

Terrified, Ruby grabbed Marcus's hand tightly and watched as Caynen gently laid one of his hands on Aaron's chest. Ruby, suddenly transfixed, observed Caynen's hand, which was beginning to glow slightly. She wasn't sure what the Light was going to do, because the illness that Aaron suffered from wasn't curable, even by magic. 

As everyone watched in silent worry, Aaron's coughs slowly began to fade, until he was simply breathing deeply as if he'd been running. The former king slowly peeked open his eyes and frowned down at Caynen's hand, where the glow was beginning to fade. Eventually, Aaron was breathing almost normally again, and Caynen leaned back and dropped his hand to his lap.