Magic Kingship

That one day where I became a Magic King candidate part 2

The hall grew quiet, as three of the four people present observed the black-haired beauty, as if she grew another head.

The receptionist and the executive's eyes soon fell on Kay, who was with a serious face up till now. The fat man soon grew angrier, as he thought the woman was mocking him.

"Mistress, I never saw that man's face in any noble family. You wanted potential, and my son is one of the most talented mages of his generation! What could a commoner such as him have that my son doesn't?" The man said, breathing erraticaly. He knew far too well that he can't lose composure in front of this woman. His entire family treasures and history could be wiped out in a whim if so she desire.

However, he was a prideful man. And among the things he took more pride in, was his son. He was a prodigy and worked harder than any other child in his classes. So having that woman saying that she didn't want to met his son, and only came here to talk to a commoned... it angered him.

He was Ashira Rikiein, one of the most powerful man alive, and he will not tolerate being ignored. His anger, however was quelled by the fierce look of that woman.

She then looked back at the commoner, only to become confused by the look on his face. His eyes were annoyed, but at the same time, they held tiredness and melancholy.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Kay asked, after a minute of silence. His face contorting in anger. "I'm literally a no one… worst than that… I can't do a single modern spell! And you think that I, out of all people in this room, would fit for Magic King?"

Everyone was shocked by this statement. Everyone, even kids, knew how to execute a spell. It came as naturally as breathing in some cases, and in other, the child would need help, but still, it was unnatural to have an adult unable of magic.

While Ashira smiled, expecting that the woman would then come back to her senses and beg to his son to be the her king candidate, what transpire could be only described as something completely unnatural.

The woman smiled, and with a voice that was equivalent to a teacher talking to a preschooler, she said something that Kay never considered.

"If you become the Magic King, you'll be able to change the law… and use your unique magic would be only a consequence." She said, with a smile on her face and patience on her eyes, while Kay's widened

"But… how? How would I become king?" Kay asked, and Ashira decided to stop that talk.

"He isn't even aware of his surroundings! How can he be enough!" He was about to say something about nobility and blood, when the black-haired woman began walking towards the boy. Taking his right arm and pulling it closer to her chest, she said, with a gracious smile.

"Let's not talk about this here…" After she finished her sentence, a magic circle glowed on below they're feet and with it, they were out of that place.

After the bright light that took them out of that place, Kay closed his eyes because of the strong glare of the magic circle. He continued with his eyes closed, until that strange woman touched his shoulder and said, with a melodious voice.

"You can open your eyes now, Kay."

The young man glanced at his new surroundings, trying to regain his bearings. It was the first time he was transported, and like all first times, it came with a feeling. A nauseating feeling that took a majority of his will to not thrown up on the spot.

"Impressive. All of the other candidates I came across puked on they're first try. Perhaps, this will be the first time I actually win this game." She said, happily. Over the pain his stomach was in, and with his body protesting, Kay moved towards one of the chairs on the room.

Now that he looked around the place, he noticed a few things. First, he didn't knew where he was, only that it was the room of a girl, if the panties and bras laying around where any indication. Second, based on the furniture of the place (the bed, cabinets, table, and mirrors) it had to be a pretty rich girl who lived there.

And third, but not least, the familiarity that the woman in front of him held with this place. She opened the drawers of the wardrobe and knew exactly were to find her things even a midst this chaos. This lead to three conclusions.

This was her room, she was rich as hell, and held a distaste towards order. After she found what she was looking, she turned towards the young man. Walking towards another door, she opened it, reveling an open bathroom.

She entered, and after half a minute or so, she emerged out of it, with a glass of water and a smile on her lips. She went towards Kay and gave him a pill.

"Swallow. It will help with the nausea." She said, giving him the glass, full of water. Doing as he was told, Kay widened his eyes as the effects were immediate. The nausea passed and he even felt more refreshed than he ever.

"I see you're better… that's good. We don't have much time to prepare you." The woman said, making Kay remember the reason he was there.

"So… what was that of me becoming the Magic King?" The youngster asked, genuinely interested.

The woman in front of him smiled, and puffing up her chest, she began the explanation Kay so desperately wanted.

"Can you remember the last name of the Magic Kings?" Knowing that the answer would be a no, she continued. "The reason for that is simple, there is no royal family in our kingdom."

Okay, that was something Kay didn't knew. Nor expected. It was so obvious, but for some reason, he didn't held the will to question something so simple as to why, since the first one, the kings of his country, of Amynistrad, seemed like they held no family attachments towards none except they're spouses or they're offspring.

"Everytime a king needs to be elected, we don't diadem the prince. Instead, we just do a Battle Royale between 21 participants that we, the Arcana, select." Sitting across the youngster, the girl took out a deck of Tarot cards, her smile ever present. She began placing the cards face down, as to not let the boy see. Then, she shuffled the cards in the table, while continuing the explanation.

"You see, there is twenty one of us Arcana. We go between the cities of Amynistrad in search of those who magic and personality represents us the best. An example would be this one." After she was done with the shuffling, she arranged the cards neatly. Then, the black-haired beauty flipped one of the cards, making Kay look and advert his gaze as fast as he understand what card it was. In the card, a skull with a scythe looked at his eyes with blazing red orbs of its own.

The card of the death.

"The death! While many believe that it means the physical death, it is a common Mistake. The death speaks of cycles, not just the end of it, but also the beginning."

'Yeah, I can see how neutral this card is with it's sharp scythe and it's scarlet eyes.' Kay though sarcastically, but decided to bit his tongue, and just hear what she was saying.

"Well, while I'm explaining this to you, I'm also reading your luck. You see, the death card is flipped in an advice position, and thus, it wants you to detach from your daily routine. If so, you may get a good chance at doing something meaningful."

"I didn't came here for you to read my luck." Kay said, annoyed. He hated to lose his time, and what that woman was doing was exactly it.

"Calm down, would you? If you want to know more, at least let me see if you're worthy of my time." She said, and flipped another card. It was the Arcana 15, the Devil. "The Devil, and it is not reversed. A good thing, for you at least. Since it is in advice, you have to express your true feelings, those feelings that you so desperately tries to hide… now let's see what do you want?" She took another Tarot card, and Kay looked at it with expectation in his eyes.

Truth be told, she wasn't wrong, not in the least. He was annoyed, frustrated even. He lacked of something that made everyone unique, his work sucked, he wasn't going there to work, but to beg for his job back. He was deemed useless because he didn't had a way to use magic like the others.

He just wanted to be ordinary, to have something everyone around him had, and the only way to have this seemed to be with this woman. However, what she was asking for him was to become extraordinary, something that he, who desires nothing but blend in around others and live a happy and common life, despises the most.

He was divided, it was the end of a circle, he knew that. The look on that fat man face was not of someone who took it lightly that he was selected instead of his son.

It was also truth that he had many feelings boiling up inside. He knew that he couldn't come back, but he didn't wan the change to be so big…

Steeling himself, he decided to trust in the next card. He didn't believe in Tarot or anything, however, when someone don't know what to do, that person usually let others decide for him or her.

Such was the case here. He didn't know what to do, and even if this was a scam, he was convicted of one thing. Even if he couldn't trust in that woman, he would trust in those Tarot cards… this was what his intuition was telling him.

"The final card is… Arcana 0, the fool, in reversed position." The woman said with a smile, it was like she was happy to see such a card. "The fool in reverse represents someone who is encountering an unfinished side of themselves. A part that you so desperately hides in the shadow of ignorance and immaturity. It is something that is holding you back, something that hinders you to be who you really are… Am I correct?"

Kay nodded, and then asked the question he always made himself, since the day he first learn that his Unique Magic was Runecraft. A question that he knew no one would bother answering for him, and now he asked a total stranger with a deck of tarot.

"What should I do, then?"

The woman smiled with his question. Not the gentle smile, but a victorious smirk that seemed like she was holding it since she was born.

"Release yourself from what your brain tells you to do. Release yourself from the clutches that hold you back, and stop using logic to answer your problems, because what hadn't worked up till now, won't work for now on. Use your instincts, it is the beginning of a new circle in your live, one where you can live as much as you like and be who you truly are… I won't give you the answer, just the method to reach it. In other words, follow your feelings."

Kay thought about what the black-haired beauty said, but shook his head. She was right, after all. Now wasn't the time to think, no… it was the time to act.

"I'm in… as long as you teach me how to use my Runecraft." He said, smiling, a gesture which the woman answered in kind. "My name is Kay Rosebury, glad to learn under your wing."

"My name is Zera Fool, the zero Arcana… and I hope to see dedication towards your studies, my precious little student."

And it was like that, in that exact moment, that Kay Rosebury's fate changed towards something more… something beyond that of an ordinary man.