A Tale of a Little Prince

Once upon a time, there was a little prince from a faraway kingdom.

He was a sleepy little prince. He was good, and kind, and soft, and beloved by the whole kingdom. He was also a magic prince. He was not very strong, however, and so, on his 20th year, it was decided that he should be sent off to a magic school so that he could hone his skills.

To protect the little prince, his parents sent a bodyguard with him. The strongest and bravest man they had. A noble commander, with one eye, a bright grin, and an old soul. The prince and the commander were given a mysterious device each so that the prince could call for the commander's aid at all times if he should need it, and the commander swore that he would always answer the call in mere moments.

So it had been decided, and so it was. The little prince was sent to magic school in a different realm, with his trusted bodyguard. And true to his word, whenever the little prince called for aid, the commander was sure to show up in mere moments.

This was all fine at first. The little prince was happy at the new school and did his best to become stronger and stronger. But the longer he stayed, the more weary he got. He did not feel like he was improving. And even when he did, he did not feel like he was improving in a way where he could be useful.

"How long will you be around to protect me?" The little prince asked the commander.

"Until you can defend yourself! When you are strong enough, I won't need to protect you anymore!" The commander replied with a grin.

"What if I never become stronger? What if I can never defend myself?" The little prince asked the commander.

"Then I'll be there to protect you always." The commander replied with a smile.

"Always? What will you do then?" The little prince asked the commander.

"I will be here. To protect you." The commander replied calmly.

This did not stop the weariness the little prince felt. Who was he to keep the commander here? The commander with his one, lonely eye. With his bright, worn grin. With his old, tired soul. As much as the commander tried to hide it, the little prince knew that he desired to be elsewhere. To be free and do as he pleased. And so the little prince kept on trying to get stronger. Both for his own sake and for his bodyguard's sake.

One day when the little prince was out walking, the ground began to rumble. The little prince barely had time to react, before he found himself in the middle of a creacher stampede. He reached to grab his device when he noticed his bodyguard, the commander, was already there. He was wrangling the creachers. And the little prince could not bring himself to call him. For the commander seemed like he was where he meant to be, right in this moment.

So the little prince simply attempted to get out of the way to safety, away from the creachers. He was almost free when he spotted a cakebun, and a Caper flying around her. The little prince felt called to this creacher. A soft, helpless being at the mercy of the situation. He felt with the poor thing.

So he decided to tame it.

So it decided to stay with him.

So they decided to be stronger together.