Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

"He\'s alive… he wants to marry me." Rena continued to mutter the same handful of phrases and was almost unaware of the world moving around her.

"I\'ve never seen her like this," Natali said with a twinge of jealousy.

Lyrah gave her a sly smile but made sure it was not seen by the girl, lest Natali hit her again like she did in the arena. At the moment, Natali was working on the makeup for Rena while Mylene was working on the hair.

Lyrah, for the most part, was sitting beside her mother since she was utterly useless at putting together makeup and a dress. Getting dolled up and ready was Natali\'s thing, not hers, and whenever she had to, she was not the one to do it.

"Lyrah…" Adellia asked softly, so the others could not hear. "How long have you known about your brother?"

"Since I was about four."

A flash of concern crossed her mother\'s face. "What have you seen?" She asked cautiously.

"A lot. How about you? What have you seen?"

"More than I care to…"

Lyrah sighed and took her mother\'s hands into her own. When Adellia\'s silver eyes met hers, she spoke, "Mother… the son you thought dead may finally walk back into your life. For once, maybe focus on the present and not worry about the future. You know better than I do that living for the future means ignoring the present, and he is here. Right now."

Adellia\'s concern faded, and her expression softened until she flashed a kind, gentle smile. "You are so right, my love."

Lyrah giggled as her mother leaned in and gave her a small kiss on the forehead. "Besides Mother, now you have a daughter-in-law. Hehe, maybe more in the future."

"What was that second part?"

"Nothing."

Having chosen to ignore the new cause for panic that started to well up in her mother, she stood to leave the room and check on the party preparations. Things appeared to be going well, but as far as she could tell, the important guests either had not arrived or chose to have a meeting with one another first.

Frankly, she thought that they were discussing plans of getting rid of Lucius once and for all. After all, they tried and failed to kill him once, so no doubt some members of the nobility would try again. If they had been afraid of him before the beginning of the war, they would certainly have been more scared now.

The simple thought of it made Lyrah laugh. Their endeavors would all be for naught. Lucius was going to survive tonight, in fact he was going to survive for a while yet.

"Hmm…" Lyrah said out loud. "I have a feeling that I shouldn\'t wake Rena up at the academy tomorrow morning… or maybe I should?" She maintained a slightly mischievous grin on her face as she said that.

She wandered around the castle a bit longer before returning back to the room where everyone was doting on Rena. The girl had finished being decorated from head to toe in fine silver jewelry to accent her beautiful white dress. When Lyrah walked in, she was staring at herself in the mirror, awestruck.

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"Rena?" Adellia asked. "This is last minute, but are you sure you want this? It feels so sudden, and I don\'t know if… he\'s a Marked One. If you have children, they will be basically commoners. If they are also Marked Ones, then worse, so… are you sure? You can still back out of this if you want…"

"No." Rena\'s voice was strong and firm. "I\'ve known Lucius for most of my life. I remember seeing him occasionally around my father\'s manor since we were four or five. Then from about nine until fourteen, we were together constantly.

"Then, when we finally admitted our love, he was ripped away from me… after that, I thought my world was stolen away… nothing hurt worse until one day my everything was shattered."

"Rena, I…"

"I don\'t think anyone understood quite how lonely my life was. The only people who spent time with me were adults. I had no friends. My cousins were taught from birth to want to murder me. My father was an emotionless prick, I had no mother to speak of…

"Lucius came into my life and became my first friend. He was there under obligation of his own father\'s dying wish at first, but in private, we became such close and fast friends.

We would secretly train together after his training was over…we would stay up and talk and play… Lady Adellia, I\'ve known and loved him for most of my life; it is not sudden; if anything, it has been a long time coming." Rena finished.

Lyrah looked at her friend in a new light. Her resolve was stronger than the barrier that was shattered in the arena. She could not keep the smile off her face realizing the loyalty and desire behind Rena\'s passionate declaration. Giving in to her emotions, Lyrah wrapped the redhead in a massive hug.

"Things may get tough at times, but know that he is always with you, and you are always with him. Though times may come when you may part, your souls are one," She whispered into Rena\'s ears.

"Thank you, Lyrah." Rena returned her smile. "You were like a sister to me and now you will actually become one! I cannot wait. Natali…I…"

"Rena?"

The girl took a deep breath. "I know you love Lucius as well."

Mylene began to choke on her own spit and Adellia\'s eyes opened wide with shock. All Lyrah did was giggle at the announcement.

Rena continued, "I know you love Lucius and… I don\'t know what to do about that yet. However, I will think of something. You were as devastated as I was. I\'ve seen the depths of your feelings for him, it honestly seemed like you had known him for longer than I have.

"Gods, knowing Lyrah and how she likes to gossip, its no wonder you fell for him after the fantastical stories she no doubt shared. All I ask is that you give me time to enjoy my happiness…"

Natali shook her head. "Rena, do not fret over me. Honestly, for now, I am content knowing he is alive.

Mylene spoke up for a moment and asked, "For now?" However, no one chose to clarify what Natali might have meant by that statement.