*Puff*
*cough*
Magnus coughed as the old man beside him started to smoke his cigar and blow out the smoke. The air made the smoke fly to his face.
"Old man, stop smoking or you will kill yourself," Magnus complained.
But the old man laughed, "Haha, this is medicine, boy. I've been smoking for years and nothing happened. Here, want a puff?"
"Sure, I'm dying anyway," Magnus muttered, shrugged, and went for it.
He had no idea how to take a puff and ended up inhaling too much directly into his lungs, *cough cough* "What's in there? It... tastes like lemon."
"Oh, my cute little granddaughter rolled it, her name is Amy. A sweet child." the old man revealed.
Magnus stared at his face, "Are you serious? Your granddaughter rolls joints for you?"
"Hey, this is medicine. It got no tobacco or weed. Anyway, what are you sulking about? Had a breakup or something? Wait, I think I've seen you somewhere. You're the... the butter of the British King, right?" The old man said.
"I AM THE KING, which world are you from? I've been constantly on the news for a year now. And no, my girlfriend didn't break up, if anything, she's the most understanding person. Who are you?" Magnus barked.
"I am Alexander. People just call me Grandpa Universe. Well, no matter what, you can't have problems worse than me. My twin sons tried to kill me to take over my company and capitalise more for money." Alexander revealed.
Magnus stared at his face, "You serious? What's the name of the company, I will get it back for you,"
Alexander smiled, the boy was always ready to help others, "No need, the company doesn't exist anymore, my sons also got punished. What about you? Why are you sulking here? Go home, cuddle with your lover, play with your family or something. Life's too short to think about tomorrow or some other problems.
"Oftentimes, people lose sight of what they already have in the race to get what they want."
"What would you do if you suddenly found you're going to die soon?" Magnus asked him.
Alexander silently looked at the sky, "I... I don't know honestly. There are so many people who depend on me. But, if there is nothing you can do, just accept it and live with it. Here, take this card, go to this building's 3rd floor. You will see your answer. I gotta go now, too much work to do. May you have all the happiness in the world, son. You deserve it."
Just like he appeared out of nowhere, he got up and left. Magnus read the business card and when he tried to ask what it was for, there was nobody. "What the... wait, how did he even see me? A wizard?"
It was already turning night. The lamps were glowing, the park was empty. He remembered he had to be back at home by dinner. But he just couldn't help looking at the business card the strange old man gave him. He wondered what the answer was that he talked about.
"Hmm, it's still an hour before the dinner," he looked at his watch.
So he decided to head to the address. Soon, he was standing in front of the building. It was a major hospital. He didn't stop and went straight to the third floor.
"Mum!"
Immediately the noise of the kids rang in his ear. There were a lot of them, some playing with toys, some stuck to their beds with machines as they watched other kids play. Some had their parents with them, talking and feeding them fruits.
"Nurse, what happened to all these kids?" He asked a woman passing by.
The woman stopped and didn't speak, just stared at his face in disbelief. "Y-your Majesty?"
"That's fine, I'm not here for official work. Can you answer my question?" he repeated.
"Y-yes... of course, sir. This is the Children's Cancer Ward. All of them are from 1 year to 16 years old here. Sadly, this room is for those with untreatable cancer or those who were too late." She informed him.
~So... all of them are on their way to die?~ he realised.
Yet he noticed giggles in the voices of many. Smiles were everpresent. Some played with toys or read comics. The parents may look sad, but the kids, their ignorance was truly bliss. Or some had just accepted their fate.
~What am I crying for? I've been alive for 21 years and will probably live until 100 if I'm careful. These ones didn't even get to enjoy their youth. I have no reason to be sad, I have already been very much blessed. With my powers, I can still change the world... and maybe do something for these children.~ he talked to himself in the head.
At this, he remembered the words of the old man. If there is nothing you can do, just accept it and live with it. ~Yes, live with it and make the best of the time I have left. If I am going to die due to this power I have, I might as well die using it for the creation of a better world.~
"Sir,"
He was disturbed by the Hospital Director who seemed to have come running at full speed. It was an old man in his 60s.
Magnus silently took out a cheque book and wrote it, "Here, use this money to feed tasty things to children that are admitted in this hospital for as long as you can. Make them happy with it. Do not use it for anything else, remember that,"
He silently left after that. The cheque was that of 1 million pounds. More than enough to last months.
Magnus returned home and headed straight to his room. Emma was there, getting ready. He just walked behind her and hugged her. "You're looking good."
She giggled, "Thanks for saying that every single day,"
"I will go and take a bath. By the way, fuck the age, let's get married this year. I don't care about anything anymore. I will do what I want, my goals are important, doing it today or tomorrow does not make any difference." he shocked her with this.
Wide-eyed, Emma turned around to face him, "A-are you serious or is this just another prank?"
"Do you love me?" He asked her.
She nodded strongly, "I've been screaming that for years and you still ask?"
He knelt down, "Then let's get married. I see no other girl ever come as close to me as you have. You are the best, even better than what I deserve, the one who agreed to be with me despite knowing all my shortcomings. To keep you waiting is a crime I don't want to commit.
"I know, this is not a very romantic style. But I will make up for all this with a wedding so grand the world will talk about it for decades to come. So, Emma Vanity, are you okay with becoming a Pendragon?"
He extended a ring to her, made out of a diamond made from carbon extracted from the moon.
She looked him in the eyes. Already seeing it clear that something must have happened today that made him so emotional. "I hope you won't regret it,"
She too knelt down and kissed his lips. "Yes, I will marry you. Now put the damn ring on before I start sobbing and destroy my makeup."
"To hell with the makeup," He put the ring on her finger and slammed his lips on her, pinning her down. She too, let herself go in the heat of the moment and forgot about the dinner or her dress. Magic can fix all that.
Magnus didn't take it too far, just normal kissing and touching. 15 minutes later, he lifted her up and helped her fix the dress.
"What's gotten into you tonight?" she asked him.
He smiled warmly and replied, "Nothing. I just learnt to value what I have. Wait for me, I will get ready, we will go downstairs and announce our decision."
She stared at his back as he went to the bathroom. For some reason, today it seemed as if there was much more weight on those shoulders. ~I will share the weight with you. Just a bit more... I will not be so weak then.~
...
He wore a normal white shirt and black pants and went with Emma. She kept looking at his face.
"What? Am I looking extra handsome today?" He asked.
"No, but there's something different about you. You look... More confident today?" She said.
"Nope, I'm not extra confident. I'm just extra firm."
Soon, they arrive at the dinner table. The elfs were helping set it up. Food was already cooked by Grace. She didn't have to as they had a big muggle cooking staff, but she said she didn't want to leave her roots.
Seeing everyone was there, he coughed, "Everyone, I want to announce something."
They turned to face him. Ragnar noticed the blush on Emma's face and knew what was coming.
"I'm turning 22 in a few days. Emma will be 22 in September. So, we have decided to get married in October." He dropped the bomb.
For a solid 10 seconds, they were silent. Then the first one to jump and hug them was Grace.
"THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" She exclaimed excitedly and bombarded the two with kisses on cheeks.
*Puff*
*cough*
Magnus coughed as the old man beside him started to smoke his cigar and blow out the smoke. The air made the smoke fly to his face.
"Old man, stop smoking or you will kill yourself," Magnus complained.
But the old man laughed, "Haha, this is medicine, boy. I've been smoking for years and nothing happened. Here, want a puff?"
"Sure, I'm dying anyway," Magnus muttered, shrugged, and went for it.
He had no idea how to take a puff and ended up inhaling too much directly into his lungs, *cough cough* "What's in there? It... tastes like lemon."
"Oh, my cute little granddaughter rolled it, her name is Amy. A sweet child." the old man revealed.
Magnus stared at his face, "Are you serious? Your granddaughter rolls joints for you?"
"Hey, this is medicine. It got no tobacco or weed. Anyway, what are you sulking about? Had a breakup or something? Wait, I think I've seen you somewhere. You're the... the butter of the British King, right?" The old man said.
"I AM THE KING, which world are you from? I've been constantly on the news for a year now. And no, my girlfriend didn't break up, if anything, she's the most understanding person. Who are you?" Magnus barked.
"I am Alexander. People just call me Grandpa Universe. Well, no matter what, you can't have problems worse than me. My twin sons tried to kill me to take over my company and capitalise more for money." Alexander revealed.
Magnus stared at his face, "You serious? What's the name of the company, I will get it back for you,"
Alexander smiled, the boy was always ready to help others, "No need, the company doesn't exist anymore, my sons also got punished. What about you? Why are you sulking here? Go home, cuddle with your lover, play with your family or something. Life's too short to think about tomorrow or some other problems.
"Oftentimes, people lose sight of what they already have in the race to get what they want."
"What would you do if you suddenly found you're going to die soon?" Magnus asked him.
Alexander silently looked at the sky, "I... I don't know honestly. There are so many people who depend on me. But, if there is nothing you can do, just accept it and live with it. Here, take this card, go to this building's 3rd floor. You will see your answer. I gotta go now, too much work to do. May you have all the happiness in the world, son. You deserve it."
Just like he appeared out of nowhere, he got up and left. Magnus read the business card and when he tried to ask what it was for, there was nobody. "What the... wait, how did he even see me? A wizard?"
It was already turning night. The lamps were glowing, the park was empty. He remembered he had to be back at home by dinner. But he just couldn't help looking at the business card the strange old man gave him. He wondered what the answer was that he talked about.
"Hmm, it's still an hour before the dinner," he looked at his watch.
So he decided to head to the address. Soon, he was standing in front of the building. It was a major hospital. He didn't stop and went straight to the third floor.
"Mum!"
Immediately the noise of the kids rang in his ear. There were a lot of them, some playing with toys, some stuck to their beds with machines as they watched other kids play. Some had their parents with them, talking and feeding them fruits.
"Nurse, what happened to all these kids?" He asked a woman passing by.
The woman stopped and didn't speak, just stared at his face in disbelief. "Y-your Majesty?"
"That's fine, I'm not here for official work. Can you answer my question?" he repeated.
"Y-yes... of course, sir. This is the Children's Cancer Ward. All of them are from 1 year to 16 years old here. Sadly, this room is for those with untreatable cancer or those who were too late." She informed him.
~So... all of them are on their way to die?~ he realised.
Yet he noticed giggles in the voices of many. Smiles were everpresent. Some played with toys or read comics. The parents may look sad, but the kids, their ignorance was truly bliss. Or some had just accepted their fate.
~What am I crying for? I've been alive for 21 years and will probably live until 100 if I'm careful. These ones didn't even get to enjoy their youth. I have no reason to be sad, I have already been very much blessed. With my powers, I can still change the world... and maybe do something for these children.~ he talked to himself in the head.
At this, he remembered the words of the old man. If there is nothing you can do, just accept it and live with it. ~Yes, live with it and make the best of the time I have left. If I am going to die due to this power I have, I might as well die using it for the creation of a better world.~
"Sir,"
He was disturbed by the Hospital Director who seemed to have come running at full speed. It was an old man in his 60s.
Magnus silently took out a cheque book and wrote it, "Here, use this money to feed tasty things to children that are admitted in this hospital for as long as you can. Make them happy with it. Do not use it for anything else, remember that,"
He silently left after that. The cheque was that of 1 million pounds. More than enough to last months.
Magnus returned home and headed straight to his room. Emma was there, getting ready. He just walked behind her and hugged her. "You're looking good."
She giggled, "Thanks for saying that every single day,"
"I will go and take a bath. By the way, fuck the age, let's get married this year. I don't care about anything anymore. I will do what I want, my goals are important, doing it today or tomorrow does not make any difference." he shocked her with this.
Wide-eyed, Emma turned around to face him, "A-are you serious or is this just another prank?"
"Do you love me?" He asked her.
She nodded strongly, "I've been screaming that for years and you still ask?"
He knelt down, "Then let's get married. I see no other girl ever come as close to me as you have. You are the best, even better than what I deserve, the one who agreed to be with me despite knowing all my shortcomings. To keep you waiting is a crime I don't want to commit.
"I know, this is not a very romantic style. But I will make up for all this with a wedding so grand the world will talk about it for decades to come. So, Emma Vanity, are you okay with becoming a Pendragon?"
He extended a ring to her, made out of a diamond made from carbon extracted from the moon.
She looked him in the eyes. Already seeing it clear that something must have happened today that made him so emotional. "I hope you won't regret it,"
She too knelt down and kissed his lips. "Yes, I will marry you. Now put the damn ring on before I start sobbing and destroy my makeup."
"To hell with the makeup," He put the ring on her finger and slammed his lips on her, pinning her down. She too, let herself go in the heat of the moment and forgot about the dinner or her dress. Magic can fix all that.
Magnus didn't take it too far, just normal kissing and touching. 15 minutes later, he lifted her up and helped her fix the dress.
"What's gotten into you tonight?" she asked him.
He smiled warmly and replied, "Nothing. I just learnt to value what I have. Wait for me, I will get ready, we will go downstairs and announce our decision."
She stared at his back as he went to the bathroom. For some reason, today it seemed as if there was much more weight on those shoulders. ~I will share the weight with you. Just a bit more... I will not be so weak then.~
...
He wore a normal white shirt and black pants and went with Emma. She kept looking at his face.
"What? Am I looking extra handsome today?" He asked.
"No, but there's something different about you. You look... More confident today?" She said.
"Nope, I'm not extra confident. I'm just extra firm."
Soon, they arrive at the dinner table. The elfs were helping set it up. Food was already cooked by Grace. She didn't have to as they had a big muggle cooking staff, but she said she didn't want to leave her roots.
Seeing everyone was there, he coughed, "Everyone, I want to announce something."
They turned to face him. Ragnar noticed the blush on Emma's face and knew what was coming.
"I'm turning 22 in a few days. Emma will be 22 in September. So, we have decided to get married in October." He dropped the bomb.
For a solid 10 seconds, they were silent. Then the first one to jump and hug them was Grace.
"THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" She exclaimed excitedly and bombarded the two with kisses on cheeks.
