ᴘʀᴇsᴛɪᴅɪɢɪᴛᴏɴɪᴜᴍ!

he nodded, gesturing for her to follow as he fell into an easy pace walking along the sidewalk. “i often have a similar problem. are you new?” even longtime residence had a hard time navigating every now and then but with new isle inhabitants always coming over, it was a likely option.

unless he was tending to his shop, it was rare that malachai found himself apart from matilda. although he would deny it, he felt a shift between them and it unsettled him to his core. tonight, however, was a night of fun and romance, he wanted to enjoy every moment of it. “astrid,” he greeted the younger with a warm smile. she visited his shop often and he had grown fond of the girl’s company. “speak for yourself. you look stunning, astrid.”

“disappointment only means that you had something worth believing in. not so bad when you put it that way, right?” a smile returned to his lips as he took a sip from his beer. he was grateful that he had gone this long in conversation without needing to repeat himself, especially since he was more off balance usual. “once.” he shrugged although he knew that one letter by heart and not even his faulty memory could take that from him. “she asked after my father and cursed him in the same breath. i suppose my mother is a talented woman.”

“When people judge too quickly, especially when it comes to the use of magic.”

“nothing wrong with that.” malachai opened his bottle, taking a seat across from nicholai. keeping people in the know about his memory problems made conversations less awkward when he repeated himself and asked the same questions over and over again. “no... she said nothing to me before she left but it’s okay. i believe i came on too strongly so i’ll give her some time before i start sending letters as i have with our mother.” everyone was telling him it was a mistake to try to contact his mother considering who the woman was but nothing concerning family could ever be a mistake.

the wizard chuckled at the obvious choice, pocketing the note and gesturing for the other male to follow him to a set of stairs in the back. the shop itself was an eclectic organization of various antiques, oddities, toys, and the occasional magical item if he knew a customer well enough. “i believe those two words are one of the most common lies we say everyday,” he glanced back at nicholai. “but i won’t pry. make yourself comfortable.” he gestured to the living room before disappearing into the kitchen, returning a moment later with two bottles in hand. “there’s plenty more. i only drink when i have someone over since alcohol is not the best medicine for my forgetfulness.”

the wizard knew little of nic’s relationship with his sister but he knew it had been deep. a depth that must have caused great pain if the news of katherine leaving was to be believed. he had no idea why she would return and it had shaken malachai, desperate as he was to get to know the other half of his family but she owed him no explanations and he would never ask even if she returned. “no reason needed for a visit. would you like something to drink? i can prepare tea or coffee. there’s beer as well if you feel inclined to it.” the shop was empty and having a nice chat sounded better than worry of the forsaken note in his hand. “my memory’s has been more off than usual lately but otherwise i’ve been okay. what about you?”

     unsteady fingers scrubbed through his hair as he kept rereading one of his many sticky note reminders. due to his terrible memory, he wrote down anything that was of utmost important but lately he seemed more off than usual. this note made no sense to him and he had no recollection of writing it but it was his handwriting. running around his shop to piece it together with the others was also proving fruitless. “apologies, i will be with you in a moment if you need any assistance.” he called out to whoever had entered, glancing up and pausing in his actions when he was greeted with a familiar face. “nicholai. sorry, mate. i’m a mess right now.”

    flipping through the pages of one of many dusty books in his shop, malachai glanced over to the door when the chimes signaled that someone had entered. “astrid. what’re you here for today, darling?” the younger had become a frequent visitor in his shop. enough so that he even called her a friend and he had invited her upstairs to his apartment above the shop for coffee or tea, whichever they were in the mood for on the given day.

❤ 356 LIKES ✐ 54 COMMENTS

malachai breathed a sigh of relief when the prince left, grumbling but at least the situation hadn’t turned nasty. “i’m sure you could have. i just wanted to do my good deed for the day,” he explained with a soft smile as he turned back to the pirate. “but really, they may have change to spare but you shouldn’t be stealing.”