The Prince Of Magic

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His musing came to a halt when the old magician opened the discussion with a question.

"Now, why have you called, enkel?" Zelretch asked with a raised brow.

With all eyes on him, Hadrian sighed before he leaned back in the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest as he directed his gaze at the old magician.

"This morning, I woke up from a dream." The young mage stated.

With the exception of Charles, who was made aware of it before they entered the room, more than one pair of brows lifted up as they all absorbed his words.

"Okaaay…?" Nicolas trailed off, looking bemused.

Beside him, Penerelle tilted her head to the side, wearing a curious expression similar to her husband's.

Noticing the looks of curiosity on their faces, Hadrian knew he had to elaborate on his vague statement.

"I woke up from a dream that I'm not sure of." He said, sending the old magician a knowing glance.

Unfortunately, the wizard didn't catch the glance as he was more busy looking to the side whilst he scratched his bearded chin in thought, causing the young mage to sigh at the bad timing and the man's lack of attention to small gestures. Then again, the man was not exactly known for being attentive to his surroundings given his attention span was akin to a gold fish most of the time.

"Err… could you elaborate more on that, lad?" Nicolas asked, looking a bit confused.

Deciding to humor the man, Hadrian did so after a taking deep breath.

"The dream I had didn't feel like one is what I'm trying to say." Hadrian said calmly.

"Ah, so that's what you mean!" The old magician exclaimed, grinning.

*SLAP*

Four pair of hands moved to slap their respective owners' faces, causing the Flamel couple to blink in surprise as they saw Hadrian, Charles, Yuuki and Yuuri do face-palms.

The source of their irritation merely laughed off their reactions.

"Opa…" Hadrian mumbled aloud, face still hidden by his hand.

"Umm…" Penerelle looked bemused, similar to her husband, who was glancing between his friend and the young mage with a small smile.

"Don't worry, this is normal." Zelretch reassured the Flamel couple with his usual grin, unmoved by the annoyed glare that came from his grandson.

The old magician turned his gaze to the young mage, his grin fading a little, making way for a more calm and solemn façade as he continued.

"Now, the dream you mentioned, describe it for me." The statement was more akin to a command.

Breathing through his nose, Hadrian began to describe them his dream, from start to finish.

He described the scenes with as much detail as he could remember from it, which was surprisingly a bit difficult on his part. He might have photographic memory, but memorizing scenes from a hazy dream in his head was a chore for him. Also, to be fair, his photographic memory only applies on scenes that happened in real life, not the ones in his dreams.

The automaton did a great job in recording the scenes from his dream, despite the lack of quality.

His grandfather and the Flamel couple were mostly quiet, content in listening to his story and questioning him from time to time.

Hadrian answered their inquiries to the best of his ability, but he tried not to go off topic whenever the Flamels asked for him to explain on some things that they were not familiar with.

"… And then, there was nothing." He finished with a sigh, leaning back in the sofa after a few minutes went by.

A comfortable silence hung upon them as the elders in the room looked thoughtful.

The homunculi maids used that moment to refill their cups and plates with their respective favorites, to which Hadrian and the others thanked the twin maids for their thoughtful gestures.

His grandfather, on the other hand, looked a bit jealous that he was the only one not being served with a drink and pastries, considering as he was on video call and on a different dimension.

Feeling a bit mischievous, Hadrian waved a hand towards a newly refilled cup of tea and a small plate with two chocolate croissants on it.

Wordlessly, he used telekinesis on the antique saucer beneath the cup and the plate itself, placing the two objects in front of the PT II, which showed his grandfather's unamused expression when he noticed what his grandson was trying to do.

Hearing the muffled giggles from the twin maids and the snort of amus.e.m.e.nt from Charles gave Hadrian the hint that they knew what his intentions were.

"Very funny, enkel…" Zelretch drawled.

"It's the thought that counts, opa." Hadrian refuted calmly, smiling as he enjoyed the scent of his freshly brewed honey lemon tea.

For some reason, the tea tasted great on his tongue. Perhaps it was the sweet taste of revenge for embarrassing him earlier.

Shaking his head, the old magician merely chuckled at his grandson's response.

Unknown to them, the Flamel couple looked surprised by Hadrian's brief demonstration of telekinesis.

After all, in their world, casting a spell without chanting it out loud was rare, even rarer for a wizard or witch to do so at a young age and with the ease that the young mage had exuded when doing so. They had observed the young man closely during his exercises before, but to witness such a feat in person was a different experience in their opinion.

In that moment, the ancient couple was starting to see the reason why their mutual friend, Zelretch, was so confident in his grandson's capabilities and not just him being a doting grandfather.

The two can only wonder what other abilities that the young mage might display in the future.

"Anyways, back on topic, while the first part of your dream was interesting, I am far more interested in what occurred before the end of it. You mentioned that the dream ended after you met the eyes of that creature, yes?" Zelretch asked, bringing attention upon him.

"Yes, and then I woke up from there." Hadrian confirmed with a slight nod.

"What did you felt when your eyes met with it?" Zelretch asked next, crimson eyes squinting as he observed his grandson's face.

Taking a moment to consider the question, Hadrian answered.

"Everything felt… hazy. I just felt tired for some reason." The young mage said with a thoughtful look.

"And when you woke up? How'd you feel?"

Pausing, Hadrian blinked a few times in thought before he turned to answer.

"Nothing, I guess." Hadrian said slowly, brows furrowed in slight uncertainty.

"You sure?" Zelretch asked, lifting a skeptical brow.

"Well, no. I feel… energized? Like my body suddenly felt lighter after waking up." Hadrian amended.

"Hmm… I see." After a short pause, the old magician clicked his tongue, a small frown on his face as he continued. "Well, based on your descriptions, I can only assume who you just made eye contact in that dream of yours. That is, if it can even be called as one given what you just told me and what I know about it."

Blinking in surprise, Hadrian became quiet as he discerned his grandfather's words before returning his gaze back to the latter.

"You know who it is?" He asked, curious.

The old magician scoffed as he looked to the side before redirecting his gaze back to the front.

"I wouldn't forget it even if I want to." Zelretch said with a drawl, though his displeasure was not directed at any of them.

"Who was it that master saw then?" Charles asked, cutting into the conversation for the first time since.

As if he heard something amusing, the old magician let out a loud chuckle that caught everyone's attention.

"Why, of course. I'll bet all of my wealth on who it is." Pausing for a moment, Zelretch tilted his head to the side as he took in their inquisitive expressions before a mischievous grin spread on his lips. "It's none other than one of my fellow bloodsuckers, knight." Then, he turned his grin to his grandson, who looked dumbfounded. "Congratulations, enkel, you just got the approval of one of the most temperamental beings to have ever descended in our world. Usually, it's always a bad thing to get an alien's attention, especially someone like him, but I suppose he took a liking to you when you did a small tour in his nest."

Blinking, Hadrian's mouth opened slightly as the realization dawned on him.

The reaction didn't go unnoticed as the old magician laughed out loud before continuing.

"Take pride, enkel, it's not every day you survive an encounter and get accepted by the Spider at the same time."

The word shock could not be more accurate to describe what Hadrian was feeling right now.

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