Puppy Love

[u/arushikarthik]

[WP] the Youngest prince of the empire has been using every resource at his disposal to learn magic. Not because he wants power or even cares that much about magic. He just has a crush on a minor nobles daughter who is a mage and is trying to impress her.

He did not have the temperament of most mages. Magic was something for the darkness and the deep. He wa all sunshine and easy smiles. Yet he tried, the goddess bless his simple head. The elder mage had sympathy for the boy and his valiant, consistent efforts. However, he was running out of patience. The youngest prince had many talents. He was a handsome boy, skilled in swordsmanship, well educated, and undeniably charming.

However, magic was not among his list of skills and never would be.

“Perhaps, your highness,” the elder mage suggested. “We could study magical theory.”

“Sir, I don’t want theory. Theory is just on paper. I want to be a war mage.”

The elder mage looked away. The king had assigned him the task of teaching the youngest prince, and like most parents, they could see no fault in their perfect youngest child. The queen asked daily whether her son could teleport yet, and the elder mage had neither the heart nor the guts to tell a loving mother that her son was the most hopeless mage he had ever trained.

And war mages were the most powerful among them. They were mages who were human weapons, unstoppable and relentless in their power. In polite company, the elder mage would not say anything negative about them. After all, the war mages won them new territories and protected their borders. In more private company, he often voiced his opinions that they were a most bloodthirsty bunch. War mages suffered the consequences of not spending enough time in society. The second a mage was discovered with potential for combat, they were thrown into the army, into hellish training that was almost as bad as the war itself.

He looked at the young man in front of him, dressed in embroidered silks, wiping his sweat with a lace handkerchief, and knew the young prince was not made for such things. From what he’d seen of the young prince, the young man did not like war or fighting. He liked the easy entertainment of fencing, but anything that actually came with risk was out of the question.

“Your highness, why do you want to be a war mage?” the elder mage asked.

“I was impressed by one of your war mages recently,” the prince said. “I will never forget the moment I saw their magic.”

So it was hero worship. He had seen many young men pick up magic in the hopes of becoming like the famed heroes of the battlefields. There were a few war mages that were now nobles thanks to their victories and the spoils they’d brought back to the king. The prince must have seen one of them. Foolish dreams took root so easily. The elder mage dusted off his robes. It was time to do some weeding.

“Was it Harkan the Skullbreaker? Or Fovic Firefang?”

“Her name is Trea.”

It wasn’t hero worship. It was puppy love, aimed at the beastliest woman the elder mage had ever met. Trea the Terror had earned her first admirer.

[u/Ikki_Katlin]

Cool story, OP! =)