Abuse of Magic 99 Chapter 99 William Returns!

William arrived at dusk. He had pushed hard to make it with the whole caravan only one day after the messenger. His train was huge.

As Joseph ran out to meet them, he could see wagon after wagon full of food. He must have picked up all the harvest taxes on his way as well. With all the people William brought Joseph had estimated almost 50,000 people were going to be moving now.

A figure separated itself from the crowd of newcomers, and started running towards him.

"MOM!"

"JOSEPH!"

They barreled into each other with a huge hug.

"Mom, I've missed you!"

"Oh, Joseph!"

Daniel and the others looked stunned. They seemed to have forgotten that he wasn't even 8 yet.

William was right behind her, and was pulled into the hug, too.

"Dad." Joseph sniffed a little. "I tried so hard to do everything right. I had the city and the towns, and the people were working."

"Shh. Joseph, you have done a wonderful job, and I am very proud of you! The king being killed isn't your fault."

Sniffing again, he gave his dad a nod. He had wanted them to be so proud of him when they saw the city.

Joseph heard Daniel muttering to another one of the council members.

"With how he normally acts, I had forgotten about the fact he is just a boy. We should be ashamed of ourselves for putting so much on him."

"It's hard not to. He's been too good at everything."

"Oh!" Joseph squirmed to be let down. "Mom, this is Stella. She is my best friend. Stella, this is mom. She is my best mom!"

He smiled brighter than he thought he would be able to. William and Stella understood just how much that statement meant but his mom just laughed.

"It looks like everyone you brought needs rest, but we should be ready to leave first thing in the morning. If you come with me, I can fill you in on the details. Stella, would you please take mom to the estate? She can try and get some rest. I'm sure the trip was crazy for her. Take any maids and servants she may have as well. We'll join you as soon as we're done."

The bags under his mom's eyes were testimony to her exhaustion. A trip to town and back used to exhaust her, so Joseph could only imagine how tired she must be.

"We'll catch up soon," his mother said as she left with Stella.

The last few days had been especially hard on them all, as they scattered to try and get some rest.

Seeing his father, made everyone feel more relieved. Joseph couldn't blame them, he made him breathe easier, too. He had been in charge for months, but filling his dad in took only about an hour, even with everyone coming to interrupt and ask for new directions. Joseph couldn't even imagine what he had to buy from the system to pull that trip off.

Stella was back, after only ten minutes, and looked somewhat drained. Once his dad fully took over, Joseph turned to her, to check on her.

"Stella, what's wrong?"

"Your mother is…intense. Very concerned for your well-being."

Joseph hung his head in shame. He should have seen that coming. He was away from his mother for almost a year, and the first thing he does, was introduce her to a girl that he kept by his side all the time. He owed Stella a lot.

As some of the tension began to drain away, his eyes became heavy. He hadn't realized how exhausted he was. Restoring his fatigue with mana was better than coffee, but still not a replacement for sleep. He'd been awake for over 40 hours now.

Daniel turned to his father.

"Master William. Excuse me."

William turned to him.

"Speak quickly."

"Your son did not sleep last night, in order to keep issuing orders. I think now would…" he didn't get a chance to finish as William turned on him.

"Joseph."

Joseph looked up at him, trying to get his eyes to obey. Why was it so hard to get his father's image to stay in focus?

"Son, go to bed. You can leave this to me for a few hours at least. We will finish talking in the morning."

Joseph gave his dad a hug. He missed him a lot!

"Stella, I trust him to you."

"Yes, Master William!"

She straightened in pride and turned to grab Joseph by the arm as he slid out of his dad's arms. The trip back to his room was quicker then he thought it should have been. Was she dragging him or carrying him?

Once they arrived, Stella turned to him, pushing him gently onto his bed and taking off his shoes.

"Is it what you were hoping for?"

Joseph sighed. He was so tired, it hurt to think.

"I wanted it to be calmer, not so crazy, but yes, it is so good to see everyone. If I can see Miss Selena tomorrow, it will be good enough. I haven't gotten to practice magic since dad's letter arrived, but the AMCC is still chugging along in the back ground. I was hoping to impress dad and Selena with FLAMING ARMOR and ESSENTIAL FLAME. My base FIRE also advanced to intermediate. None of that is obviously happening tonight."

She gave a laugh as she gently pushed him down and pulled his blanket up.

"Master Joseph, you are the only person I know you can be worried about getting behind on your studies in the middle of an emergency that could have countless people killed."

"Does that make me special?" he mumbled as he started to drift off to sleep.

"Yes, Master Joseph. That makes you very special, and precious, too!"

Chapter end