He was a very capable nymph. Fortuna could tell the instant she set eyes on him as he sat proudly beside his brother. Pharynx Elytron, oldest prince of the Hive and first heir to the throne. But all Fortuna saw as she stared at him was an image of a smiling young nymph with a red mane in a braid, a purple carapace, and pupiled eyes that melded from purple to teal.
Fortuna smiled softly, then began her job. The meeting to choose who would mentor which nymph had gone on much longer than usual, and she knew exactly why. Everyone wanted a chance to mentor one of the princes. Preferably Pharynx, the warrior drones had heard tales of how he’d already mastered shapeshifting and intimidated all the other nymphs.
However, Fortuna felt none of the other warriors were right for the nymph. If he was truly as brash and stubborn as she had heard, he would need someone calm and wise, who would not just train him, but guide him.
Most of the changelings she felt showed promise as the right mentor for the young prince had already selected nymphs, however. Athrex seemed eager to train a prince, but Fortuna knew he would corrupt Pharynx. She had put her hoof down. She would mentor Pharynx herself, and Athrex would mentor his brother, the nervous prince, Thorax.
Now, all Fortuna had to do was announce it. She waited until the two princes were the last nymphs waiting to be apprenticed, then called Pharynx up, and named herself his mentor. She knew he would enjoy it, and she knew she was right as she saw the proud smirk on his face.
Fortuna was admittedly concerned by the fact that he seemed so stoic for such a young nymph. He explained that his mother had taught him to act this way.
“Well, that won’t do. I’ll have to get him to soften up somehow…” Fortuna thought to herself as she left the armory, having seen Pharynx off.
Fortuna headed to her private room, shaking out her mane and grabbing her lesbian hoofband, slipping it on. She looked out the window of her room, seeing some warrior drones leaving for patrol.
“I’ve some time to go with them before starting to plan Pharynx’s first lesson, I believe…” Fortuna murmured, picking up her crossbow before heading outside to follow the group.
After the patrol, Fortuna hung back, heading to the nursery. She peeked in, looking for her apprentice. He was nowhere to be found, and she sighed, heading back to her room.
“That little one is going to be a bit of a hooffull, just judging by what I saw before. But I think I can handle him…” Fortuna said to herself, re-entering her room and lying down in her nest. “Yes… what I have in mind should still work. We just need something different for a first lesson.”
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“Chess.” Fortuna stated, setting the board down in front of the nymph.
“What?” Pharynx glared at the board. “But I thought you were going to show me how to use the dagger.”
“Stabbing blindly won’t get you far in a fight. You must learn to think several steps ahead. So we shall practice until you have mastered it.”
“And how does this help?” Pharynx asked, glaring at the pieces as Fortuna arranged them.
“Chess is a mental game.” Fortuna looked at him. “You want to become King, right?”
“Mother wishes it of me.”
“Well, in the old days, it was said that chess was used to prepare young royals to take the throne.” Fortuna said, and Pharynx looked at the board again.
“Okay, so how do you play?”
“Each of the pieces do different things, I’ll go over them.” Fortuna picked up a rook. “This is the rook…”
Fortuna explained the basics of what each piece did, then let Pharynx pick a side. He chose black, and Fortuna chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“White always moves first.” she told him, moving a pawn.
Pharynx huffed and slid a pawn forward as well. Fortuna continued moving her pieces, noticing Pharynx was more or less copying her movements, but with different pieces. The result was that his side of the board looked much more disorganized than hers. Fortuna chuckled, taking many of his pieces quickly.
“Checkmate.” Fortuna said at last, and Pharynx growled. She smiled at him softly. “You see Pharynx, you are now ‘in check’. This is why you must learn to think several moves ahead.”
“...Raghh!” Pharynx screamed in frustration, his horn sparking as he grabbed the board and threw it at the wall. “I hate this game!”
Fortuna picked up the board in her own golden aura. “Pharynx-discipulus.”
Pharynx stiffened up and straightened his posture. “Yes Fortuna-domina, ma’am?”
“You will not get better if you destroy the board.” Fortuna remarked. “Come, let’s try again.”
“But I lost. You proved you are clearly better than me.” Pharynx said
“But you can also improve.” Fortuna replaced the pieces. “Mistakes only make room for growth.”
Pharynx growled, but nodded. Fortuna smiled and began the game. This time, it seemed Pharynx had learned and worked out what Fortuna was doing-creating a barrier around her king. He did the same and began moving and capturing her pieces.
“Heheh, I’m winning on the second try.” he smirked at her.
“Yes, it would appear so.” Fortuna said calmly. Pharynx blinked at her.
“Why did you say it like that?” Pharynx asked, but instead of answering, Fortuna gazed at the chessboard.
“Tell me Pharynx, how many of my pawns do you have?”
“Seven.”
“And how many pawns have I got total?”
“Eight. Why does it matter?”
“Because you’ve failed to see that while you capture the pieces I attack with from the front, one of my pawns has your king from behind.”
“What?!” Pharynx watched in shock as Fortuna knocked over his king with her pawn.
“Checkmate.”
“...Stupid game.”
“Come now Pharynx, you will learn. Practice makes perfect. Come on, again. Would you like to be white this time?”
“Fine…”
They played eight more games. Finally, in the last game, Pharynx managed to beat Fortuna.
“Checkmate!” he announced, and she chuckled.
“Yes, good job Pharynx, you’ve done it!” She hugged him, and he went stiff.
“Let go.” he demanded, and she released him, smiling.
“Good job Pharynx. I think we’re done for the day. Go ahead and go back to your room.” Fortuna told him, and he nodded, leaving.
“He acts far too formal for a nymph, and I’ve never seen any nymphs his age turn down a hug…” Fortuna sighed as she put away the chessboard. “That nymph needs some serious TLC…”
Fortuna straightened up, looking in the direction Pharynx had gone. Her eyes showed sympathy and certainty. “I promise, Phary. I shall teach you how a warrior ought to act, and show you the love a nymph should have.”