"So your Uncle started out as a thief?" Cole asked as Roy looked up from his phone. He switched it off before nodding at his friend.
His entire Squad was inside his ship on their way back to Kovia so he could drop them off at their homes. They were all fed and had listened to countless of stories about his small misadventures with Jia. He also told his uncle about his own adventures with his Squad back at the Academy. His Uncle had laughed, asked questions when needed and made conversation with his friends but he never made one more mention of his past.
Roy always felt that his uncle was proud of his life and accomplishments more than his time as an orphan in Kovia. That`s why he tried to avoid going there more often than expected.
"Technically, he was an orphan who wanted to feed him and his friends but yeah, he became a thief to survive," Roy admitted.
"How did he get from Obsidian necklaces to Uniformed Commander?" Dylan asked.
"His story is…kind of sad. Like Jia said, it was dramatic, romantic with a hint of action," Roy answered truthfully.
"Tell us, man. Please?" Cole urged him.
Roy pursed his lips and scanned their faces individually. He then sighed and nodded as his friends cheered, "Alright settle down. So…most of the news companies and intelligence organizations don`t know much about Marcellus because he liked his privacy. I mean, for a while, he convinced everyone that his name was Mars instead of Marcellus."
"Yeah, I remember hearing about that." Tristan spoke up.
Roy ran a hand over his mouth, "He needed his new identity secure so he could make a comeback without his enemies finding out that he was still alive."
"You mean he was dead?" Dylan asked with an arched brow.
Roy put his hand out and tilted it from side to side, "Not technically."
Dylan stared at him deadpanned, "Alright, start from the beginning."
"Uncle was left on the door step of an Orphanage in Kovia with nothing but the clothes on his back. For a while, he grew up there and befriended other orphans. "Roy recounted," Brad, Nikolai and Dalton. Dalton was his best friend there. But there were problems. The Orphanage they lived in didn`t have a lot of funding and most of the time, the older kids had to sacrifice their food so the younger ones could eat."
"Goddess, that`s horrible," Mike mumbled. Dylan and Tristan looked away as Chase rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"It was," he nodded sadly," Some days it was bearable but most of the time, it was just too much. During those days, the boys would sneak out to go and steal food. They could only go two at a time so the others had to stay and cover for them. And it worked for a while."
"But something changed?" Tristan asked.
Roy pointed at him in confirmation," One day, he and Dalton were out trying their luck at this bakery and they were caught by the baker himself. They were thrown out and about to be beaten when this…this little girl ordered her bodyguard to stop him. Uncle Marcellus said that as soon as he saw her clothes and headband, he wanted to run. A Noble Lady was there and someone like him wasn`t even supposed to be speaking to her."
"That was your aunt Marina?" Chase questioned him.
"Yeah." Roy confirmed with a happy grin.
"How old were they?"
"She was about seven and Marcellus was past ten years old."
Chase leaned back in his seat with shock, "So they were really young when they met?"
"Yep." Roy answered, making sure to stretch the sound of the 'p'," Anyway, Dalton bolted but Marina stopped Marcellus before he could leave. She found out why he got in trouble and offered to give him food but he refused. So she had her bodyguard suggest that he give her a tour of the city and in return, she would give him her food."
"And he did."
Roy smiled sadly, "Yeah. So from then on, Marina and her bodyguard visited him constantly at the Orphanage with food. Marcellus got comfortable enough to talk directly to Marina and they became close. He even promised to build her a castle and a Green House to protect her."
Tristan leaned forward, "Why?"
"As Marina got older, a lot of suitors came to match with her. But she refused and took the Vow of Choice. It simply means that she`ll fight against the suitors and whoever beats her, she`ll marry him. No questions asked."
Tristan blinked at his friend, "Is that what`s happening with Jia right now?"
The grey-eyed Lord shook his head, "Even if it was, I wouldn`t know. Only my grandparents and her dad know. Jia hasn`t made any mention of it but she is of the right age for suitor talks. Marina was even younger when men came flocking for her."
"So what happened next?" Mike queried.
Roy frowned slightly, "Things turned ugly after her tenth birthday. A fire had destroyed the orphanage that Marcellus was in. Marina heard that he had gone back in with two other boys to recuse their friend and they hadn`t escaped."
"But he`s alive."
"Yeah, he got out but…he was badly injured. As was his friends. They all have burn marks That`s why their uniform covers them form their neck to their gloves and boots. That`s why Uncle Marcellus likes wearing long clothes. He doesn`t like to show his burns."
"So what happened to him?" Chase questioned.
"He and his friends had escaped to the border and crossed over to Azazel. There, an old General took pity on them and aided them with his friends. They were old veterans who were living out their last days in peace when they found the boys half way through death and fighting to live. They nursed them back to health and took them in. Marcellus tried to go back but he heard that Marina was fighting against Suitors and had made peace with that fact that he was dead but the General made him wait. Told him that he wasn`t ready to go and get her."
"So is that when he decided to start his company?"
"Yeah. The boys were trained by the best soldiers in the Army of Azazeal and they started a small business of sorts. Doing simple rescues and guarding details. "Roy revealed, he then smiled to himself, "The old General used his old contacts to help them and soon, they had money to keep them going. One day, Marcellus went exploring an old area when he came across some castle ruins from a long time ago. That was where he decided to build his base of operations and his home."
Tristan tilted his head, "So they eventually bought the castle and began recruiting?"
"Yes. It was slow but it paid off because very soon, they had created a reputation for being the best of the best. When he was about twenty-seven, he learned that my father was kidnapped and being held hostage. He sent Dalton to see her and- "
Cole held up his hand and interrupted his friend, "Wait, so he never forgot about her? Never moved on to another chick even during that time when she didn`t know that was alive?"
"No, even when they were apart. He never forgot her. "Roy answered and he watched with amazement as his playboy teammate squirmed in his seat while Mike snickered." I heard from Uncle Dalton that he never hooked up with any other woman. He wanted to wait for Marina because he knew that she was keeping her Vow."
The young Lord shift his gaze to his other friends and wasn`t surprised to see Tristan and Dylan unaffected. Chase was nodding in agreement and Mike was just enjoying how Cole looked uncomfortable for being the group`s number playboy. Of course, they were all playboys but some were more adventurous' than others.
If there ever was a list of most playboy trait to least; Cole would have been at the top and Mike would be at the bottom. The others would just call in between.
Cole, in a hurry to change the subject, spoke up, "How did he know?"
"Dalton was keeping an eye on her. He would secretly go to watch her battles. He takes photos of her and brings it back to Marcellus." Roy answered with a shrug.
Chase waved his hand at Roy, "Back to the story, please. Your dad was kidnapped and Dalton went over their house."
Roy conceded, "He went to make the agreement and sign everything. Two days later, Dad was safely brought home and Marina was told of the price of her brother`s rescue."
"He asked to marry her?" Chase asked once again.
"Yes, but he said that he`ll honor her terms and fight her."
"So they fought and he won?"
Tristan snorted, "Obviously he won, they were married and Jia `s here, isn`t she? So she did lose."
"Just confirming!" Chase said with a glare aimed at him friend.
Tristan narrowed his eyes at his friend, "And in what logical mind of yours, did you see her winning and she breaks her Vow later to marry him without a fight?"
"Things can happen alright, just checking!"
"Guys!" Mike yelled at the two Knight.
The boys muttered apologizes before Roy continued with the story," So she lost and he told her family to send her over to his home. He wanted to talk to her. When she went there, she discovered the Green House that he had built. It was a secret that she had only told Marcellus. That`s when she discovered that the man who had defeated her was the boy that she thought had died."
Mike rubbed his forehead as he felt a headache was slowly forming form the series of events, "That`s a lot of things. And she`s gone? After all they`ve gone through?"
Roy nodded solemnly, "I know, it always seemed unfair to me too. I feel bad for Jia every time she sees happy families and she doesn't have her mother."
Chase, Mike and Cole nodded in agreement while Dylan simple sat still.
"At least she had both parents at one point in her life." Tristan whispered to himself.
After that, the Knights asked other questioned about the Commander but Roy only answered those that he felt he could.
"The rest is up to Jia to tell you, it`s her father," Roy reminded them.
After dropping them off, Roy returned home in time for Boxing Day dinner which was to be hosted by his family again.
He called Jia just before the party started and was surprised to see Ruby and Jacqueline answer the phone.
"What are you two trouble makers up to with Jia`s phone?" Roy asked the twins and they grinned at him.
"Checking for pictures," Ruby answered.
"She doesn`t have any," Jacqueline added. They both then pouted at him.
Roy chuckled and shook his head, "She might have just locked them."
"How we get them?" Jacqueline asked.
"Password Spell."
Both twins pouted at him before he heard a shuffle in the background before the girls disappeared and his lightning wielding cousin appear, "You are aware of who had your phone right?"
"Of course," Jia answered before she rubbed her forehead," It`s getting boring here and their parents want me to entertain them but I`m exhausted."
"Then just go to bed, they`ll understand," Roy suggested.
Jia groaned and rubbed her left eye before pouting, "I can`t. Boxing Day Dinner with the Family again and then I have book an appointment with a party planner to prepare for my birthday party."
"I forgot, it`s next month. "Roy apologized, "What are your plans?"
Jia tapped her chin thoughtfully, "It`s just after the second week of school so I was thinking I could celebrate with the family then you and me and our friends can go to a weekend resort."
Roy frowned, "Really? Will your dad agree to it?"
"He will. I`ll tell him protection will be provided by your squad."
"You know, Cole and Zoey will be busy with each other and not guard duty."
Jia chuckled, "I know, but the others won`t. That includes you."
"Of course I would, why would I?" Roy asked her.
The white haired sorceress rolled her eyes, "Hello! Asking out Fiona, remember?"
"I thought you forgot." Roy said sheepishly. His cousin grinned at him, "Never."