Patry slowly woke up. As he did, he immediately winced, his whole body was aching like crazy! As he tried to move the pain intensified, causing him to groan out loud. "Patry? Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked. The teenage Elf flinched as the sound increased the pain in his head to a searing migraine, making him choke on his own gasp. "Are you okay?" the voice asked again, this time louder and with more worry than before. "Ssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh!" the Light Mage hissed, clenching his eyes shut as tight as he could to block out the stabbing pain, but nothing seemed to help. Suddenly a gentle, cool hand touched his forehead, "what do you need?" the voice from before whispered. "S-silence. A-and, dark.'S too bright" Patry moaned. The hand vanished from his head, and he heard hurried steps moving away from him. All the pained Elf could do was gasp quietly for air, praying that the light would disappear soon and grant him relief.
Eventually the light vanished from his tightly clenched eyelids, allowing the teenager to gasp in relief as the pain began to subside. Soon the person was back by his side, "better?" he whispered. Patry whimpered, trying to relax. Suddenly the gentle hand was back, stroking his head and helping reduce the pain more. After a few minutes of this the hand moved away again. A moment later, he was being gently lifted. Patry moaned again, "I know, but some water will help" the voice whispered, a voice which he was starting to recognise. When the cup was placed at his mouth, and cool water touched his lips, the Elf suddenly realised how thirsty he was. The cup was tilted to make sure he drank only in small sips, but already the water was helping, reducing his migraine. When the water was gone, Patry sighed in relief. "Get some more rest, okay? We can talk more once you've recovered" the voice said, the gentle hand once more stroking his head. Sighing in exhaustion, the Light Mage slowly slipped into unconsciousness once more.
Black Clover
Julius sighed deeply, as Patry fell deeply asleep once more. He only hoped William hadn't been affected as badly. Thankfully nothing seemed badly damaged, the teenage Elf just had a massive headache. The other two children that had been with Patry were also still recovering. The blond man clenched his eyes tightly, why did this always have to happen? Why was it always his boys that had to suffer? Deciding to go for a walk in the hopes that it would clear his head, the Magic Knight Captain stood and left the room. The Doctor treating Patry had been paid off to ensure the Elf's secrecy. Honestly, he didn't like using such methods so much, however, both Patry and William were precious to him, and after everything the two of them had been through, Julius would take no chances with their safety.
As he walked through the hospital, he wondered how the two children Patry had saved were doing. "Maybe I should check on them for him. I'm sure he'll start to worry about them soon". Julius's hand brushed up against his pocket, the crinkle of the paper reminding him of what he had decided on. When the boys had recovered enough, he would talk to them about it, but not now. Reaching the room where the children had been placed, Julius opened the door and looked inside. He was surprised to find both of them awake and looking around. Stepping into the room, two intense and fearful gazes immediately locked onto him. The blond man raised his hands in a gesture of peace, "easy, I'm not an enemy. I just wanted to see how you were both doing" Julius explained. The boy was the one who spoke, "where are we?" he asked, clenching his fists tightly. It was an attempt to stay calm most likely. "You are in a Hospital room, in the Clover Kingdom. I brought you back here along with my Ward Patry" the Time Mage explained calmly.
"Patry? W-was he that boy? The one who tried t-to protect us?" the girl asked shyly, stuttering only slightly. Julius smiled reassuringly at the girl, "that's right. So he tried to protect you huh? Who was he protecting you from?" he asked. Both children shuddered, their dull gazes showing pure terror. The Magic Knight Captain sensed the change in the room, 'maybe I should try asking about something else' he thought. "My name is Julius Novacrono. What are your names?" he asked. The two children looked at each other and nodded. They then turned back to him, "my name is Mars" the boy said simply.
"I'm Fana. Thank you for saving us from that man. He's been chasing us for months" the pink-haired girl explained. The adult raised an eyebrow incredulously, "months? Why?" Julius asked worriedly. The idea that someone would go so far to catch two kids- "because we deserted the Diamond Kingdom. We were training to be members of their army, but we just- c-couldn't take it anymore" Mars replied, beginning to shake. Fana curled up into a ball, "after we found out what our final test would be, we had to run, or we'd be forced to-" the pink-haired girl began to sob quietly.
Julius felt a tug at his heart, how could anyone do this to children?! He began to hate the Diamond Kingdom intensely, moreso for what they'd done to Patry as well. The adult moved over to comfort the crying girl, but Fana's reaction stunned him. The second she caught sight of him, Fana flinched harshly, curling up into a tight ball on the bed, pushed as close to the wall as she could be. Her eyes were wild and terrified, "NO PLEASE! I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO CRY! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME, I'M SORRY!" the girl wailed, trembling in pure terror. Julius was frozen in horror as the child, who was only a little younger than William broke down on the bed, wailing in utter fear, having a panic attack right in front of him. "Fana!" Mars cried, rushing out of bed and over to his friend, "it's okay! We're safe here! Fana it's okay!" the light-purple-haired boy tried to soothe her panic, hugging Fana close. As he watched all of this, Julius couldn't help but feel his burning hatred for the Diamond Kingdom grow stronger.
Eventually, the young girl fell into an exhausted slumber, and the Time Mage excused himself. He had a lot to think about right now.
Black Clover
After several days, Patry was well enough for him to visit longer. Julius went to the Hospital as fast as he could, and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. William looked up upon hearing the door open, and when he saw him he beamed brightly, "Julius! You're back!" he exclaimed happily. "William, I'm so glad that you're alright too! How's your head feeling? And how is Patry feeling? Any better?" the blond man asked, moving to sit down at the young Magic Knight's bedside. "Well, I only really got a shallow version of that man's Spell, because the sound was filtered through Patry's ears, but I know that he's sleeping right now, trying to recover more. Since I didn't get hit directly, I have a bit of a headache, but it's nothing too bad." William explained. "I'm so glad that you're okay William, you and Patry. Really. You both mean so much to me. I understand that Patry is recovering, but could you wake him up for just a few minutes? I have something important to talk about with you both" Julius replied.
The Time Mage looked so serious that William decided to comply, 'Patry? Hey Patry, can you wake up for a moment?' the scarred boy asked gently. "Hm? Urgh, William, what is it? I'm trying to sleep," the Elf moaned, "damn, my head is still pounding!". 'I know, but Julius said that he wants to talk to the two of us about something important. I promise, you can go back to sleep when he's finished, okay?' the World Tree Mage explained. Patry sighed, "alright, you win" the Light Mage muttered, paying attention to their Caretaker. William nodded at the blond man, "okay, he's listening" he said. Julius nodded with a smile. "Alright. Thank you Patry, for agreeing to listen to this. I know that the last few years have been a bit- hard, for all of us. But you have both worked so hard to get to where you are now, and I couldn't be happier or prouder of you," he began, making William smile. "You've both grown up so much, and I was honoured and delighted to be able to watch that growth. Despite being the head of the Novacrono Family, I've never thought much about finding a finace. And I'd never even thought about having children at all until you two came into my life. Both you and Patry are my joy, and I have grown to love you both so much," Julius paused, allowing all of this to sink in for the boys. William was tearing up, "Julius-" he muttered, trying to keep himself from crying.
"I never want to see you get hurt again, and I want to be there for you both, as more than simply your Caretaker or your Captain. So, if you would like it, I thought that maybe-" the Time Mage pulled out the adoption forms from his pocket, making William begin to cry, "you would like me to adopt you both?" Julius asked softly. William continued to sob, covering his mouth with his hand as tears streamed down his cheeks. "It completely up to the two of you. Feel free to discuss this between yourselves. I'll be waiting for your response, but please, don't rush things. Think carefully, and I'll-" the blond man continued, before William instantly cried: "yes! Yes, we want you to adopt us! We don't even have to think about it!" he smiled through his tears, holding his hand to his chest, "I can't believe this! You've done so much for us already, this is too much!" he sobbed, burying his face into his hands as he cried. Julius wrapped his arms around the boy, "nothing is too much for someone who deserves happiness William. And you and Patry definitely deserve happiness" he replied, as he gently hugged the teen.
Black Clover
After calming down, both boys signed the adoption papers and Julius smiled, "welcome to the family boys. You are now officially William and Patry Novacrono" he said with a beaming smile. Patry sniffed, wiping his eyes, as he had been crying to, "thank you so much for everything- Dad" he replied happily.
To Be Continued