Chapter 30: A Happy Ending

Chapter 30: A Happy Ending

A few days passed by and our unwanted guests were finally leaving, right now we were all on the dock standing by the ship. 

"Well, as much as you'll miss us, we need to head back to our people. Hopefully they won't hang us immediately for abandoning them." 

King Del looked a bit too motivated to get back despite what he said. I could see why considering that our deal has finally come to a conclusion. 

While I was negotiating everything from an economic standpoint, my mother was negotiating things on the military side. I couldn't promise anything, nor could I speak on my grandfather's behalf on this type of thing but she certainly could.

"I'm glad things have worked out for you. It's a shame your other business partners will be excluded from our dealings but we'll make sure to take good care of them."

King Del's mood went down for a second but he had to admit that it wasn't the worst thing to happen to his country. Despite the feelings between the two kings they still had something in common.

"We only got this deal because of Isabella, didn't we?"

Despite what he may think, all of this was part of my own judgment. I believed this was the best course of action, we take all the profit and we help them rebuild. It's a win-win, the only people who lose are the surrounding countries and their merchant guilds, but he didn't care about that. It was best to ignore that.

It's crazy how much King Del's country rakes in money. Now it's mostly all ours.

"Thank your mother for me. Without her I doubt we would be able to repel those disgusting inbreds."

"I'll send her your regards."

King Del and his daughters all stepped on the ship they came from. The only one that stayed was Number 1, "Thank you for helping my people. I was wrong about you."

I look at her briefly until she walks away, I couldn't help but speak up though.

"No, you weren't. Your instincts were right."

I walked away without saying anything else, thinking that things were over until I heard someone run up behind me. I turned around and Number 1 kissed me on the cheek.

I looked at her slightly shocked, "My name is Camila, not Number 1."

She chuckled as I looked at her in shock. I smiled back at her and said my goodbye to Camila. I looked behind me at my bodyguard and wondered if she had anything to say or if she would react in any way but Alora stayed stone cold the whole time.

Camila saw this and said her goodbye to Alora as well. She gave her a hug and whispered in her ear quite enough where I couldn't hear it.

Then they left, and I was alone with a person who was supposed to be my fiance. I looked back at her wanting to say something but I didn't have anything I could say. I didn't know what to say, so I decided not to say anything at all.

Instead I walked back to the manor with little going on in my mind, I didn't know what to do. Should I train? Nah. I could always distract myself in other ways.

With these thoughts running through my mind I found myself at the manor in no time. I was going to lay down today and listen to my record player while I got shit faced drunk, but when I got back home there was someone waiting for me.

"You."

"That was rude. What did I do?"

It was my grandfather the king, probably here to grade me or something. I'm not in the mood so I walk away, but before I could, a second voice spoke up. 

"Do not be rude to his majesty. When he wants to talk to you, you listen."

I turned around in confusion and it was only now did I realize where those words came from. Alora had snapped at me.

______________

Kings POV

What the? When did this happen? Last time I saw her she didn't seem so… problematic. 

"Alora dear. Go away." Better yet, I think you need to cool off. How about the beach?

I opened a portal under her and heard a slight splash and a scream following after that. Fortunately the waters around here are pretty safe.

"What did you do?! Where did you take her?!"

"It's fine, she just looked like she needed to clear her head a little so she's taking a bit of a swim… Never mind her, how are you doing? You look like shit."

I'm such a great Grandpa. 

"I'm fine, I just need a drink."

I narrowed my eyes on hearing that, I don't like it when he walks away like this. It's such a cowardly move.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Jessup looked back at me, but this time he looked angry. Good, get angry. Sadness means you give up, but anger… anger is a part of living.

"Who do you think you are, you egotistical Psychopath! I have every right to walk away, I have every right to be happy!"

"You want to be happy? Hahaha! That's it? Boy, if you think another person can make you happy then you must be stupid."

I've always known this. If you put your love in another person theyll only leave you to suffer, "It's best to give up on her. People are replaceable. They're born, they die, and repeat. You'll get over it sooner or later."

"Just like you gave up on Isabella? Was she replaceable? Wasn't the whole point of this to save her country and family?"

Isabella…? 

"Isabella? That's right, It's been so long since I thought about her."

Just like Ava…

For the first time in a while I looked at another person seriously, and I sighed out loud.

"You're right. Sometimes I forget I'm human too. C'mon, let's get something to drink."

_______________________

Jessups POV

I looked at the old fart confused, he never drinks. After pondering whether I should go or not I decided to just follow. Who am I to turn down drinking?

I went downstairs and instead of making some exotic drink I just took a whole bottle of bourbon and poured it straight on ice, and handed the old man his.

He pulled out a cigar, and asked me if I wanted to try. I'm still a teenager, should I be smoking? Well I shouldn't be drinking that's for sure, what's adding one more bad habit to the list. I was about to light it with magic before I was stopped.

"Do you know how to smoke cigars?"

"It's just a big cigarette right?"

The old man looked offended at that, "Kids shouldnt smoke."

He yanked the cigar out of my hands and put it back in his storage space. Kids shouldn't drink either. I have no idea how you and mom are okay with this.

I swished my drink around a little and took a few sips without saying anything. Suddenly the old man spoke up while holding his drink.

"I'm married, you know. Her name is Ava, she's Amelia's mother."

I had heard of the famous unknown queen but I never knew her name.

Wait, doesn't that make her the crown princess? This kingdom does not do that so maybe not, but I honestly thought my mother was the daughter of this elusive queen I had only heard of and never seen.

"What happened to her?"

I looked at him curious, wondering if she was dead or something.

Instead he just shrugged, "She left."

That was probably the shortest reply I've ever heard from him.

"Why would she do that?"

The old guy finished his cup and grabbed another one before explaining, "She wanted to explore the world, and she wanted me to go with her. I chose to stay here. Back then, I wanted to protect my people. I wanted to build something. She wanted to walk away. She left me and Amelia after she turned 16."

"The mark of a progenitor. It commands a person to fulfill its purpose. If I were the Hero Progenitor then things might have been different, but this was the path I chose."

I didn't know what to say, he wasn't crying. He wasn't angry, he wasn't anything. He just sat there drinking. Then he looked at me and I saw something in his eyes.

It was the eyes of a person that hadn't given up. His eyes held power, he had eyes that belonged to a king. 

"In this world… It's not impossible to be happy. You can still be happy. You don't have to follow my path, travel the world and find your own. Get married, have kids and just live. Forget about that silly mission. Be happy."

I looked at him for a second, I didn't know what to say.

"The world is full of suffering, but you have to overcome it, or you can walk away from that entirely. Travel the world after you get stronger, maybe you'll figure something out."

I looked back on both my lives, thinking about everything I had been through and honestly his choices were appealing but I had to know something.

"Why did you want to be king? Why didn't you walk away?"

My grandfather took a long deep breath and spoke in a heavy voice. 

"Because I didn't want to become a slave."

He continued, "That is why I chose to be king. I had the power to be free. So I took it. I chose this path because… I wanted to be free. I abandoned love and mistook freedom for happiness, but it isn't. It's just meaningless. It's without purpose."

"What do you think I should do?"

"For starters, you figure it out yourself. Don't rely on others to make you happy, or to make your choices for you. What do YOU want?"

What do I want? I want to be happy, but how can I do that? By staying around doing nothing? By serving the country? But he doesn't need me to do that. He has plenty of nameless faces for that…

"What about now? You're king right? That should be good enough. You got what you wanted."

The king chuckled at my questions, "I want everything. This? This is nothing."

Isn't that a bit greedy? You can't have everything. Nobody can.

"I just want a happy ending."

The king sighed, it seems like he doesn't like my answer.

"You need to work for that kid, life doesn't hand you lemonade without you squeezing a few lemons. For now, we'll up your training… and Rosary? What about that?"

I thought about his question for a minute. I could figure out my life path in a much safer environment but something about that place was calling me. I had a feeling I would find meaning there.

"I'll go. I want to travel. Just as you said. Hopefully I'll figure things out on my own."

The king looked at me through the corner of his eye before getting back to his drink.

"That's it?"

"What, you want an applause? A slow clap for figuring out something every teenager should know about? Aren't you too old for this?"

I thought we were having a moment. I sat there drinking for a few minutes until I thought of something.

"I'll try to look for Ava too while I'm at it."

He raised an eyebrow to my statement, "On a single continent? What are you, stupid? There's no guarantee she even went in that direction. Leave these things to me and your aunt."

"I thought you said people were 'replaceable' and to give up on other people."

The king chuckled and gave a big smile at that, "Don't listen to that guy. He doesn't know what he's talking about, but seriously. Don't worry about it… I've actually been seeing someone anyway."

I looked at him in shock. I was completely flabbergasted!

"Why? I thought you still loved Ava? Well 40 years is a long time she's probably forgotten all about you- Ack! The hell!" The old man slapped me on the back of the head while I wasn't paying attention.

"She hasn't forgotten about me. It's the exact opposite actually. Ava is immortal, she's a Demigod and an Ancient dragon afterall, to her… 40 years is like a couple of days. She's most likely still angry about our last argument."

What?! She must be crazy strong, but wait, "Aren't you also immortal? How is that a problem?

The king gave a rueful smile, "There are different types of immortals. I'm the 'not aging' kind, she's the 'time flows differently for me' kind of immortal. To me 40 years is 40 years but to her and Dredan? 40 years is something to laugh at. It's barely noticeable."

I look back at him and didn't really react much to this, but this has to be hard on him. I can't imagine having to live my life like that. It's no wonder he married another immortal, so is this lucky lady also... 

"So who is this lucky lady?"

"You already know her. It's Elizah, I'm planning to marry her."

Oh, wow… I continued sipping on my drink, and I felt like I was hearing things. Did he say he was going to marry Lady Elizah… The maid? Wait what?

"WHAT?!?!"