Chapter 19: Time to say goodbye
Klaus dragged Egor home, and he hung limply on his shoulder and said something incoherently. When Klaus returned to the bar, he saw the guy completely drunk. His head rested on his folded arms on the table, and Mia was gently stroking his hair. The company at their table had noticeably increased, and Klaus did not know any of the new arrivals. He sat down on the other side of Mia and poured himself a whiskey.
"When did he manage to get so drunk?" he asked the girl.
"As soon as you left, he got carried away," she shrugged. "It was a shame you left him here. You know, you are a cruel person."
"Me?" Klaus was surprised. "I told him I would come soon. He is not a little child who cannot be left unattended. I see that things are getting better for you," he grinned, pointing with his chin at the hand still stroking Egor's head.
"It's not like that. I tried to calm him down, but he fell asleep. In fact, I don't have a chance," Mia smiled sadly.
"He just doesn't understand his happiness. I'm sure everything will work out for you."
"No," the girl answered categorically. "He's already hopelessly in love."
"Wow! Did he tell you that?"
"He didn't even have to be told. It's obvious."
"Well, in any case, you tried," the young man shrugged.
"You know, you really are a complete arse."
"Are you resorting to insults? Don't blame me for your problems. I can't make him love you, and anyway, what's good about that feeling."
"Oh, Klaus. Take him home." Clara gave us tomorrow off.
"Thank you for looking after him. In any case, good luck to you. I would be glad if a girl like you looked after him."
Mia only nodded in response. The prince grabbed the weakly resisting Egor and dragged him to the exit.
"Hey, get lost" the fair-haired man tried to push the prince away.
"Calm down, it's me, Klaus. You've had enough of drinking. The old woman will be shocked when she takes you away."
"Klaus? I thought you weren't coming."
"How could I leave you," the prince grinned and grabbed Egor's already completely relaxed body more comfortably.
Egor opened his eyes from the bright sun that filled the room from behind the open curtains. "I forgot to draw them" - came the first thought. Then he realized that he was not lying on the floor, as usual, but on his bed. Slowly he opened his eyes, his head was splitting into two parts, and a desert formed in his mouth. Egor had never been so drunk before. He never drank alcohol, except for a couple of sips when circumstances required it.
He sat up and looked at the floor where his bed was usually laid out. Everything was tidied up, or rather, not even sorted out. Klaus was nowhere to be found. "I overslept! He left. Without saying goodbye" - panic overtook Egor, interrupting both his headache and the cramps in his stomach. He abruptly got out of bed, everything swam before his eyes, but he pulled himself together, pulled up his pants and left the bedroom. Muffled voices could be heard in the kitchen. A pleasant and familiar atmosphere. Klaus was still there. Egor exhaled with relief and trudged to the bathroom.
"Woke up," Klaus grinned. "How's your head?
"Very funny," Egor answered sarcastically, pouring himself some coffee and looking for a headache pill in the medicine cabinet.
"I think alcohol and you are incompatible things," Klaus continued. "I barely dragged you home and put you to bed. You know, you are unusually violent," the guy grinned.
Egor blushed. He didn't remember anything after he passed out at the table in the bar, and even before that moment the events seemed very vague in his head. After Klaus left the bar with Sasha, it was as if he had been replaced. He poured alcohol into himself and, it seemed, even complained about life to Mia, who practically confessed her love to him. And he... He only thought about himself then.
Egor clearly remembered only the girl's advice, which, as she said, Klaus gave her - "If you want something - achieve it, take it, steal it, win it back." It's easy to say when you yourself do not fully understand what exactly you want. He brushed off his thoughts and looked at Klaus.
"So, boys. I'm going to the store. I need to buy a few things." - Pouoka said, getting up from the table.
Egor silently watched his grandmother.
"You slept on the floor?" Egor suddenly asked.
"What do you mean!" the prince was indignant. "I didn't make your bed. Too many problems, I just put you with me, but you didn't let me sleep all night. Where did you get so much energy after drinking?"
"Did I do something?" the guy asked in fear.
"What could you have done?" Klaus was surprised. "You just spun around like an awl and laid your limbs on top of me."
Egor exhaled. He himself didn't know what to expect from himself in a fit of alcoholic intoxication, but he was glad that he didn't show his doubts about Klaus in any way.
"You know, I've been wanting to ask for a long time," the fair-haired man suddenly remembered. "That day, when I woke up after the possession and entered that room, I saw something like ball lightning in your hand. How did you make it?"
"Oh, that... Remember when that man in the parking lot hit me with a stun gun?" Egor nodded in agreement "well, that's when I felt a slight presence of magic. When I was chained to the wall, the only thing that came to mind was electricity. The wire from the lamp was within reach of my hand, and I took the risk."
"Are you crazy?"Eegor was indignant "what if you were electrocuted!"
"Well, it wasn't," Klaus shrugged. "I'm a lightning mage. Do you think I can be finished off so easily with an electric discharge? The problem was that I used up all those grains of magic in one go. That's probably why I lost consciousness."
"Well, yeah, and the hole in your side has nothing to do with it!"
"I received many wounds and always recovered quickly. In your world, I became a complete weakling," Klaus sighed. "Still, it is very careless to spend all the magic without the possibility of recovery. This was the reason for my prolonged coma, but now I am full of strength and ready to return," Klaus smiled.
Return. Exactly. Today Klaus will leave and they will not meet again. His chest tightened, his breathing was blocked. He wanted to say something, but he could not, so he just took a sip of coffee and changed the subject.
"How did the farewell to your well-wisher go?" Egor asked as indifferently as possible.
"You know, better than I expected," Klaus grinned, and Egor winced from the treacherous pictures that his imagination drew.
Here they are kissing, here Klaus is undressing, here the man is touching the hard, sinewy body of the prince, stretching the belt of his pants. That's it. Enough. Egor shakes his head.
"I see," was all he answered.
"And how was your evening with Mia, well, before you got completely drunk?"
"With Mia?" Egor was surprised at first. - Oh... well, you know, she's cool and all that, but I somehow...," Egor finally dismounted, but Klaus nodded understandingly.
At this point, their conversation was exhausted, and an awkward silence set in, which would accompany the young people until the moment of parting.
Pouoka came a few hours later with full bags of dried meat, cigarettes and other little things that she considered simply necessary for Klaus. The old lady also took care of the clothes, which she had previously ordered from a costume designer she knew. The woman had made costumes for theaters, films, and cosplayers, so she wasn't surprised when Pouoka asked her to sew leather pants, high boots, shirts, and a rough jacket that served as light armor for the warriors of Isorobia.
She helped carefully pack the belongings into a travel bag.
"You are very thoughtful! I didn't even think that the clothes of this world would look strange in my homeland!" the prince was surprised by the parting gift. "Unusually comfortable boots," Klaus added, looking at himself in the mirror.
"Take this too," she handed him a make-up cream that completely matched the prince's skin color. He looked at her in surprise "this will help hide the tattoos. Or did you decide to immediately announce to everyone that you were back?"
"I was thinking about a hat or a hood, but I like your idea much more!"
Egor watched with detachment as the final preparations were coming to an end. It all seemed completely unreal to him. Maybe it was because of the remaining traces of a hangover, or maybe the young man did not want to admit the fact that Klaus was really leaving him. The doorbell rang. Pouoka and Klaus were busy, so Egor opened the door. Professor Skotsky was standing on the threshold.
"Good evening, young man. Has your brother left yet?"
"No, should I invite him here?"
"No need, just give him this, but only when he already... gets on the train or however he plans to get there." The neighbor held out a white envelope.
"Okay, I'll give it to him."
"Just not before you finally say goodbye. He shouldn't read it ahead of time, - the professor clarified, his dull blue eyes flashing."
"Okay, Egor said uncertainly. He wanted to ask what was in the envelope and why he wanted to give something to the prince, although he had only crossed paths with him a few times, but he didn't have time. The neighbor had already disappeared behind the door of his own apartment.
About an hour later, they were already standing at the portal. Klaus was fully dressed in the fashion of his world. A katana hung from his belt, and his tattoos were hidden by a thick layer of foundation. Pouoka put her large bag on the ground (Egor didn't know why she had brought it, but he didn't want to ask now) and took a small blue-pearl ball from her grandson.
"Ready?" she asked Klaus. He nodded.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me. It was a real stroke of luck to meet a compatriot in a completely different world." The prince said.
"Stop it," the old woman stopped him with a slight smile "otherwise I'll fall apart from your snot. Be yourself to the end, you bugger, otherwise I won't be able to let you go."
Klaus gave in to some momentary weakness and hugged the old woman tightly, and then extended his hand to Egor, but he, without thinking, threw himself on the prince's neck, squeezed him tightly and breathed in the familiar scent for the last time. Klaus hesitantly patted him on the shoulder and stepped back.
"And here's another one," Egor held out the envelope. "You'll read it on the other side."
"Good luck to you," he smiled, while Pouoka picked up the ball and pumped all the magic into herself, and then extended her hands and, as if by magic, a bright white portal opened in front of her.
"Take care of yourself, Klaus Deffender," she said. "And change this rotten country. I think you will definitely succeed."
Klaus nodded and took a step into the blinding light, and then everything disappeared. Both the light and the prince.
"Grandma," a treacherous tear ran down Egor's cheek. The old woman approached her grandson and stroked his head.
"I was ready to say goodbye to you too. I was sure that you would follow him."
With tear-clouded eyes, the grandson looked at this old woman who raised him. Who was his family.
"And what about you?"
"And what about me? That arrogant guy left me a fortune! Do you think I'm so old that I can't cope alone?"
"No, Grandma, I don't think so. Then can you?" The grandson's eyes sparkled and immediately went out when he saw the old woman lower her head and shake it negatively.
"I can't open the portal twice with such a supply of magic. Yes, if I were younger, I would try, lie unconscious for a couple of hours and come to, but now I'm not sure that I won't collapse before I open it."
Egor rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a blue-pearl ball.
"And with this stimulator, will you be able to?"
"Where did you get it?" Grandma was surprised.
"That day when Klaus almost died, I took this ball from the puppeteer. I tried to find more, but there was only one in the room."
"Then you should change your clothes," she smiled, opening her bag. "I told you that I was ready to let you go."