Ace grinned, setting the end of his staff on the ground again. Another round won- not that that was surprising. Ace hadn't remembered much of anything in the past few years, but fighting came almost as naturally as breathing to him. He didn't question it. It kept him going after all.
A hand clapped on his back. "Good job, Ace!" Vista congratulated. "Keep it up and you'll be a Commander in no time."
"Give it time, Vista," Jozu said. "He still has years to go."
Ace shrugged. "You never know. I might just break your guys' record."
"I don't know about that! Becoming a Commander at seventeen is quite the accomplishment, you know."
Ace was glad that Jozu and Vista had become Commanders so early despite his teasing. They let him train more than the old Commanders would- though "train" was a loose term. Not that they were weak, of course, but rather Ace was apparently freakishly strong.
Who knew?
"So who's next?" Ace asked, but when he turned around, no one had bothered to step up. He could've sworn that the crowd looked thinner as well…
"Let them be for now, Ace. Marco's probably waiting for you."
The bell chimed as if responding to Jozu's words and Ace laughed nervously. He hadn't realized what time it was. "Gotta go!" He dropped his staff as he ran towards the castle. Marco would scold him if he brought it into the library again. At least Marco wouldn't comment on his smell like Izo would- though Ace already knew what he would say when he arrived.
"Late again, yoi," Marco said, smiling in amusement at Ace, who was panting heavily from his run. "And you need a bath."
"You usually don't complain about smell."
"No, I don't, but you have dirt all over your face again, yoi." He stood up, holding a cloth in his hand. "Hold still."
"Oi," Ace muttered as Marco wiped his face clean. "Why do you even have that?"
"Well, if you'd stop tracking dirt into the library, I wouldn't."
Ace glanced at the carpet, which had more than a few muddy footprints embedded into its plush, deep red. "Fair enough." He would have to apologize to the servants later, even if the mess could be cleaned in a snap with magic.
"Ready to start now?" Marco asked, pulling a chair out for Ace. The book was already opened up.
"Yep!"
Ace was glad that Marco started to tutor him. Originally, he would sit in the library while Marco himself was learning, but Marco's teacher was just so boring! After several attempts to make things more interesting, the teacher had banned him from the library- so long as he was in there. Marco didn't mind at least, even if Ace was messy.
"Er- Marco? How would you say this word?"
"Conflagration."
If you asked Ace a year ago how he was, he never would have guessed that he would have been able to settle into a rhythm, and yet, here he was. And absolutely he was content.
Pops hadn't come down for dinner yet, and usually, he was the first one to arrive so he could wait for all his sons. The table was silent, and no one had touched their food yet (though Ace was tempted to, as his stomach growled).
"Do you know what happened, Marco?" Ace asked.
"Pops isn't sick, is he?" Along with Izo, everyone began to chatter, voicing their concerns for their father.
They didn't quiet down until Marco stood up. "We need to give Pops some time alone." He was unable to say anything else once they cried out for an explanation.
"Why? What happened?"
"Just tell us what's wrong!"
"Let's go up to him!"
"Stop!" Marco yelled before anyone could stand up out of their seats. He sighed. "A messenger came for him this afternoon," he said, getting quieter with every word. "King Roger is dead."
It seemed as if everyone became still in that moment, but Ace didn't understand.
He tapped Marco's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but who is that?"
Marco's eyes were downcast as he turned towards Ace. "Roger was a good friend of Pops, They haven't actually communicated in a long time, but Pops would always tell us stories about him from their younger days. You could tell how close they were," Marco whispered. "And now they won't ever get to talk again."
If Ace had ever experienced a death in his life, he didn't remember, so he didn't know what grief felt like either. Yet something made his heart sink, even if he could only imagine what Pops felt like right now. And on top of it all, he was alone right now.
"I…" He swallowed, hesitating for a moment. "I'm going to go see him!"
"Wait, Ace!" Marco reached out to grab his arm, but Ace dashed away towards Whitebeard's room, though he took a slight detour to grab something from Marco's room.
When he reached Pops's room, he thought about turning around and leaving him alone, but he quickly wiped his reservations away and burst through the door.
"Look, Pops!" Ace stood proud and tall, fists on his hips. "I have a mustache!"
The ink was still a bit wet on his skin of course, so the mustache he drawn on using Marco's ink pot was smudged, but the newly added facial feature was still clear.
Pops stared at him in silence for so long that Ace thought he had done something wrong. He bit his lip, about to turn around and leave, but in the next moment, Pops laughed like he always did, wiping the corners of his eyes.
"You look good son!" he complimented through his chortles, yet his laugh eventually quieted down when Ace began to speak.
"Are you alright, Pops?" Ace asked. Though he was serious, he didn't have the heart to wipe the mustache away.
"I'm not much of a mourner, son," he said. "I will be better in time."
"Okay." Ace didn't know what else to say, and the room was quiet. He was suddenly subconscious of the ink on his face, and he blushed. "Um- I can go-"
"Nonsense, son." Whitebeard patted a space on the bed, gesturing for Ace to sit. "Come here. Let me tell you a story."
Ace smiled again. "Thanks, Pops."
His siblings would yell at him for not including them in his attempt to cheer up Pops, but that didn't matter to Ace. He was able to make Pops laugh, and that was enough for him.
In his time here so far, Ace had never been in this room. He just couldn't help himself. Who wouldn't be fascinated with magic?
Ace thought it was silly that the magic training area was kept separate. It's not like anyone was going to get hurt, though things had been like that since the founding of the kingdom. He doubted anyone would get mad at him for sneaking in here, but it would be embarrassing to be kicked out.
Though it was nighttime, moonlight shined in through the glass, dome ceiling. He gasped at the sight of the room illuminated by those shining beams, showcasing the wide open training room. There was a set of doors at the other end: the magic archives. The large communications crystal out front of it practically lit his way forward. He ran towards it, footsteps echoing as his feet hit the floor.
Just as he would about to reach the archives, a figure behind the ornately carved post holding the crystal moved.
"Gah!" Ace gasped, stopping in his tracks.
Marco raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing in here at this hour?"
Ace thought about shooting the question right back at him, but since Marco was a magic user, he had more reason to be in the magic hall than Ace did. "N-nothing." His face felt hot.
"Sure," Marco said, but Ace could hear his quiet sigh afterwards. "Come with me." Suddenly, Marco took his hand, leading him to the center of the room. They laid down in the center, right under the dome.
"Beautiful, right?" Marco asked. The moon and the stars of the night sky shone their light through the sky dome, reflecting off the hall's floor and illuminating the room in a soft glow.
"Yeah," Ace agreed, voice quiet. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. He wished that he had come here sooner.
Marco squeezed his hand again, and Ace looked over at him. "Be honest with me, Ace."
Marco didn't even need to ask again, but Ace struggled to find the words. Mere stutters came out.
"It's fine if you're curious, yoi."
"Y-yeah," Ace finally admitted. Who could blame him? He hadn't seen too much magic, but it was just fascinating! The way that they could just speed up healing, or clean a mess with in a snap. But Ace's real interest lied in its other uses.
He had seen Jozu use his magic to knock the lights out of his enemies, and Pops almost used his magic to protect him (but Ace still felt the power). He wanted to see more. There haven't been many major attacks, and therefore, few chances for him to see magic in action. "I just wanted to see."
"More magic? You'll get a chance."
"I know. I just couldn't help myself."
"I could show you."
Ace sat up, looking at Marco with wide eyes. "You could?" He knew Marco was a magic user, but no one ever talked of it too much. He opened his mouth to question further, but before he could say anything, a flash of blue overtook his senses and suddenly, there was a magnificent bird right in front of him.
Ace read about birds like him in books with Marco, but he didn't think he would ever see one.
"A Phoenix…"
Marco bowed his head down, and Ace realized that he had been reaching out unconsciously, fingers dancing in the air. He reached out to try to grab Marco's feathers, but fire swirled around his fingers and slipped through.
It was over in the next instant when Marco reverted to his normal form, and Ace's hand felt more empty than ever.
"I should take you flying sometime."
Ace took a moment to process Marco's words, but when he finally did, he nodded. "I'd like that."