United (Magics AU - Part 1)

Chapter 2 - Marcus

Marcus readily agreed that Ruby was doing a good job of keeping her stress in check, but he personally thought he was doing it better than she was. He didn't intent to make it sound rude - even though he only told that to himself, he didn't want to insult Ruby in any way - but he was sure that no one around him guessed he was having trouble keeping his thoughts in line because of how stressed and overworked he was. He could hardly put together two sentences about the issue even in his head, let alone out loud. For the past few nights, he'd been laying awake beside his wife, staring up aimlessly at the ceiling towering above him. If he were to open up and talk about how worried, anxious, and troubled he was, he was afraid he would break down in the middle of it and not be able to speak anymore. 

But no one was able to tell - and he intended to keep it that way. Marcus was the king of Ariel, and although the queen was the more responsible ruler - the one who made all the announcement, dealt with all the important things, and held more power - he didn't want to show any weakness to his subjects, because he was the king. He was the one who was the backbone of the kingdom, so he couldn't afford to break under the pressure - not in front of everyone. 

So the only times he allowed his stressful thoughts to break through his actions was when he was alone, which happened to be a lot more often now. Since Ruby was busy speaking to the unkempt families, trying to figure out how to catch the culprit, and trying to manage her own problems, he was the one sitting with the more minor things, like paperwork that he didn't even care to read all the way through. 

When he was by himself, he would finally let himself crumble under the weight, but not totally give in. If he was sitting at a desk, a habit he had was pressing his hands against his face and breathing deeply until he could rise above the pressure weighing him down. When he laid awake in bed, he stared at the ceiling with clenched teeth until his jaw was sore or he fell asleep - but he never came up with a solution to catching the abductor. 

Right now happened to be one of those times he was in bed, unaware of the headache that was beginning to grind through his temples because of how hard he was frowning. Ruby was asleep beside him, but he knew that she would rise soon - it was nearly seven in the morning, and Marcus hadn't slept at all yet. 

Three hours ago, he'd given up trying and let his mind buzz around the endless possibilities of what could happen next. 

A sharp, abrupt knock on the door startled Marcus badly enough that he nearly slid off the bed in his frightened scramble. Ruby made a tired sound beside him as he struggled to right his breathing and threw the blankets away from his legs. 

"What was that?" Ruby muttered groggily, rolling over to face Marcus as he sat up. 

"There's someone at the door, that's all," he told her calmly, forcibly keeping the weariness out of his voice. Though he wasn't exactly exhausted right now, he knew the sleepless night would catch up to him later. 

"Oh," Ruby murmured. Then, more alertly, "OH." She threw her own side of covers away from her body, sitting up sharply and hurrying to the walk-in bathroom their bedroom had. She quickly fumbled for a brush and yanked it through her hair, then rushed back to the room and grabbed a plain over-shirt to cover her undershirt. 

"One moment," Marcus called bemusedly to the person at the door, watching his wife fumble to make herself look more presentable. Marcus himself didn't really care how he looked, but he decided to throw on a thick sweatshirt and at least ruffle his hair into place first. 

The knock came again, this time somehow sounding more urgent. Marcus crossed the room and opened the door, listening to Ruby quickly position herself slightly behind him with her queenly manner.