The Prince Of Magic

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Bright emerald eyes blinked as Hadrian met the blue-eyed gaze of a young child, standing near his seat.

The child in question seemed to be a bit younger than the vessel he was occupying, probably about three years younger.

Said child was a little girl, with a smooth, fair complexion and long wavy silver blonde hair. The little girl was attired in a white dress with a dark brown coat and boots to keep her warm. Her vibrant sapphire eyes looked at the young mage with innocent curiosity and obvious fascination.

The way her gaze split between him and his familiars informed Hadrian of what brought her to his group's table.

Sensing the little girl's shyness from her demeanor alone, Hadrian took the initiative.

"Hello." He greeted with a small smile, mindful to speak in French considering the girl's European features.

The little girl perked up, smiling widely as it was clear that she understood the language he spoke in.

"Hello!" She responded, hands tying behind her back as she smiled up at him.

It was a good thing that he had the automaton at his side to help him understand her.

Otherwise, he would make a fool of himself in trying to speak to her.

When greetings were said and done, the silver-blonde haired child seemed to fold on herself, reverting to her previous shy demeanor.

"Umm…" She mumbled, causing Hadrian to tilt his head as he waited for her to continue.

Idly, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed how his retainers quieted down, turning their curious gazes to him as they watched him interact with the small girl.

For some reason, some of them frowned, looking confused and a bit suspicious.

Their somewhat tensed gazes turned to the small girl standing beside his chair. They looked at her in a way as if they don't know what to make of the child.

Then, Hadrian realized the issue when the automaton sent him a notice in his mind.

[… Notice …]

[… A passive magic has been nullified …]

Blinking twice, the young mage quickly asked.

'From who?'

A familiar chime rang and the automaton responded.

[… Response …]

[… The individual next to you …]

Bright emerald eyes widened slightly as he turned to the small child, who seemed to have gathered enough of her courage to speak up again.

"Umm… can I …" She trailed off, mumbling the last part.

Restraining the urge to lean in, Hadrian simply waited for the little girl to speak up.

He didn't want to scare the poor girl away by invading her personal space.

After all, he was complete a stranger to her, despite the fact that she was the one who came up to him in the first place.

Furthermore, his mind was somewhat busy in trying to discern what the little girl was next to him.

She was obviously a human, one born with magic, but his instincts were telling him that she was not similar to an average witch.

Upon close observation, Hadrian's acute sense in magic was informing him of what was not normal with the little child.

From her hair and down to her feet, the small girl seemed to be radiating magic. Not in the sense that it was permeating from her, but circulating within her body, just beneath her skin to be specific. It was a subtle thing, weak but present nevertheless. The way her silver blonde hair glinted against the light and the slight glow of her fair skin were not characteristic an ordinary witch would possess.

His internal musing came to a halt when he noticed the little girl spoke again.

"Can I play with them?" She finally asked, bright blue eyes wide and staring up at him as she pointed a finger to his right.

Blinking, Hadrian slowly followed the direction she was pointing at and met the bewildered gazes of his familiars.

"Kyu?"

"Fou?"

The two fluffy familiars cooed questioningly in unison. Fou tilted her head, her long rabbit-like ears twitching in response in the same manner as Ryu's.

"Kiii!"

A high pitch scream caused Hadrian to turn back to the child beside him, who turned out to be the one who screamed and cut herself off, considering the way she had her hands on her mouth.

While amused at her gleeful reaction to his familiars, Hadrian felt it would unwise to simply let the young girl do as she pleases.

It's not that he does not like her or anything. Rather, he was more concerned that his familiars might bite her or something.

As adorable the girl might be, she was still a stranger to him, even more so to his familiars.

Also, the last time someone reached out to grab his familiars, they got bit as a result.

Case in point, Flat's unfortunate experience in the past for trying to cuddle Ryu. The poor fool got his hand bitten by Ryu, who nearly tear it out if not for Hadrian's interference.

The troublesome blonde was too curious for his own good, and so he didn't expected for the equally curious familiar to respond in such a manner.

Ryu had small appendages that act as his arms and legs, but due to their small size, the familiar opted to use his mouth to inspect things in front of him, often biting them like a shark would whenever they are curious of something.

Unfortunately, Ryu also has a pair of sharp teeth that he keeps sheathed in his gums, rendering him toothless and harmless from those that were unaware of it.

Fearing that the little girl might make repeat the same mistake others before her had done, Hadrian was about to let her down gently when someone walked up behind her.

"Ah, Gabrielle! There you are!" A female voice said in relief.

Turning his gaze upwards, Hadrian saw a young woman with similar hair color and facial features as the little girl.

She wore a gray designer coat, white blouse, a pair of black slim fit jeans and high-heeled boots.

She has a similar fair complexion as the little girl, same blue eyes and hair color. Although, her hair was not as wavy, hers was straight and set into a mid-high pony tail, which gave her a neat but relaxed outlook.

The young woman seemed to be two or three years older than Hadrian, given her height being a few inches taller than him.

Glancing between her and the little girl, Hadrian quickly assumed that the two were siblings.

True enough, his assumption was proven correct when the older girl stopped in front of the little girl, kneeling in front of her.

"Don't run off like that again, Gabby. It's not safe." She chided gently, her bright blue eyes soft and caring.

The little girl, Gabrielle, pouted.

"Sorry, Fleur…"

The older blonde, Fleur, sighed, then she stood before placing her hands on the little blonde's shoulders.

"As long as you understand." She smiled, pleased that her words seemed to cheer up her younger sibling.

Then, as if it dawned on her suddenly, Fleur's gaze turned upwards and met Hadrian's.

The older blonde looked startled, blinking even as Hadrian merely raised an eyebrow at her.

"May I help you, miss…?" Hadrian asked, trailing off on purpose to leave the young woman a choice to introduce herself or not.

"Ah! Sorry, I'm Fleur. Fleur Delacour. This little rascal in front of me is Gabrielle, my sister." She said, gesturing to herself and then to her little sibling.

Gabrielle pouted, her lips slightly downturned.

Although, it was more of a display than a genuine reaction, seeing as Hadrian can feel that the little girl was pleased that her sister was with her.

Smiling faintly at their close bond, Hadrian turned back to Fleur, who seemed to be staring at him with a strange expression.

"My name is Hadrian." The young mage said with a slight nod.

Usually, he would introduce himself and offer a handshake to the other person.

But, in this case, Hadrian opted not to.

While Fleur appeared relaxed and genuine towards, there seemed to be a tension around her shoulders, as if she was on guard as she stood before him. The way her hands gripped the shoulders of her little sibling told him of her current emotions.

Fleur was uncomfortable in his presence.

At least, that was the feeling that Hadrian could get from her.

It was either that, or the older girl (physically wise) was just not used to being around guys.

Although, there was another emotion that was buried in the midst of discomfort, one such as curiosity.

Said curiosity was directed towards him, for some unknown reason.

Still, for the older girl's sake, Hadrian had decided to cut their interaction short by going straight to the point.

Turning to Gabrielle, the young mage spoke.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you play with them." Hadrian said, making sure that his tone was gentle so as not to make her upset.

With the corner of her lips in a slight downturn, Gabrielle stared up at him with glistening blue eyes and a pleading expression.

"But why?" She asked in a way that most children at her age would.

Recalling the way his little sister in another life would look at him, Hadrian's smile widens slightly, green eyes softening at the memory.

"It's because it's dangerous." Hadrian stated, smiling as he continued when the two siblings looked confused. "Haha, these two may look cute and harmless, but that's a lie. Especially this one over here."

Hadrian rubbed the top of Ryu's head, who cooed at the pleasant ministrations on his head.

Turning to the silver-blonde haired siblings, Hadrian smiled at their curious and amazed expressions.

"Anyways, I think you two should go. Someone seems to be waiting for you two downstairs." The young mage advised gently, giving the two sisters a mysterious smile.

For a moment, Fleur looked confused, then she gasped as she realized something.

"Ah, yes! Gabby, we must go. Mama is waiting for us down the stairs." She said, meeting her younger sibling's gaze.

"Uh, but –"

"Non, Gabby. You've already ran off without permission and made maman and I worry for you. We have to go home now. Come." She urged, holding onto her little sister's hand.

"Ah then, goodbye, Hadrian!" Gabrielle bid as she was pulled along to her sister's pace.

Waving a hand to her, Hadrian turned his attention back to the front with a sigh before stopping as he took in the sight of his retainers staring at him with furrowed brows.

Curiously enough, all of them wore strange expressions, as if he was a strange creature on display.

The mere comparison was not one that Hadrian enjoyed.

"What?" The young mage asked after a few moments of silence.

When no one responded and retainers turned to each other with hesitant expressions instead, Hadrian can only sigh to himself and wonder what he did to earn such odd looks from them.

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