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Description

A big thanks to Dissunder for another cool phibie adopt!

~~~~~~~

It had been many years since Syzygy Bel Veggente had last taken an apprentice. He had become something of a recluse, consumed in his magical and scientific research. While he retained his status as the court astrologer, he was something of a professor emeritus who seldom even graced the halls of the royal university.

Little did he know his life was going to be taken in a wild new direction. An incredibly gifted young princess was about to throw his life into glorious disarray. He had never expected it despite reading positive signs in all his divinations. He knew change was coming, a fated meeting. But the magnitude of that change still staggered him.

Eustacia Von Elder was not just a princess of a notable foreign kingdom. She was also the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, and a true magical prodigy. She was also a great lover of intelligent and learned men, her favorite type. She took and instant liking to the handsome and highly esteemed professor. Yet sadly, he was seldom seen at the school itself. But something about his aloof detachment was very stimulating to a woman who was used to being fawned over.

Professor Bel Veggente wanted nothing to do with any more royal attachments than he already had. But despite his best efforts, he had to admit that he found the woman fascinating. Her magical potential was as great or greater than any student he had even seen, perhaps even greater than his own. But even so, apprentices were a huge hassle, especially royal ones. They consumed too much time and resources. So, he told himself that the other mages would be more than happy to take on such a gifted student without him being needed.

Besides, he told himself, she was half his age with a gifted life of privilege and notoriety ahead of her. He was just a middle-aged researcher, starting to feel as musty as the many ancient tomes and charts he surrounded himself with daily. His glory days of youth and romance were behind him. The princess had no shortage of prestigious young gentlemen clamoring for her attention. What chance did he have?

So, he rebuffed her overtures, dismissing them as the folly of youth. But Eustacia was not so easily deterred. And she has seen it. To her eyes, she could see the weight of loneliness written clearly in the melancholy eyes of the stately gentlemen. The more she studied him, the more the thoughts of him filled her mind, and heart.

The youthful suitors that constantly vied for her hand bored her deeply. They seemed crass and utterly boorish in comparison to the professor. None of them matched her intellectual needs. She even took perverse pride in crushing their foolish attempts to impress her with typical brainless romantic efforts. Finally, for the first time in her life, she had found a man that truly excited her.

It was maddening that she couldn’t seem to get his attention despite every “fool proof" ploy her good friends suggested. But then she was not chasing a fool in the first place. She was infatuated with a learned and handsome gentleman of letters. It was clear ordinary tactics might not work. He couldn’t seem to think of her in the way she yearned for him to.

It was even more frustrating because she had seen it. Once when “awkwardly” running into him on the quad as he was heading to his research tower, she was sure she had caught a glimmer in his eyes as she helped him pick up the papers he had dropped. His dilated pupils and his quickly averted gaze betrayed his attraction far more than the professor had intended.

Her heart skipped a few beats. He was NOT immune to her whiles after all! She had almost given up hope, thinking that he was perhaps aromantic. But his reaction then was not the one of an aromantic person at all. It was the one of man trying too hard to deny his attraction, a gentleman. There was a chance! And if the was any chance, she was going to pursue it with all the determination and cleverness at her disposal. Syzygy had no idea how hot the fire his look had just lit in her heart was.

She had daringly let her hand linger on his after handing him back the last few papers before he departed. A blush? Had he just blushed? Her own heartbeat raced as she felt a reciprocal blush blooming across her amphibian cheeks. He quickly turned and strode briskly away. But she had seen it! Now she knew what she needed to do. She just had to prove to him she would be a worthy apprentice. Then, once they had more time alone together, who knew what else might blossom?

His stars and cards all kept confirming what Syzygy hardly dared believe was true. It was truly a fateful meeting. He could no longer deny the reality of the evidence plainly before his eyes. He was attracted to the lovely girl. How could he not be? But even more problematic was the fact that she truly was infatuated with him as well. But that couldn’t be right, could it? She was young, gorgeous, rich and a noble. Such romances with a commoner, even such a prominent one as himself, were highly frowned upon.

He made his mind up. For both of their sakes, he would keep his composure and not give in to his baser urges. But that very night her face appeared in a rather risqué dream that woke him with a start. The next day a dear old friend confronted him to see if the rumors were true that he was having a dalliance with a student. Bel Veggente was horrified. How had those rumors even started?

Technically, the princess was not HIS student. So, even if such a thing had been going on, there would have been no impropriety. After all, they were both adults. But the simple fact was that he had gone out of his way to barely even speak to her, much less do anything untoward. It was disturbing to discover such scandalous rumors were already going around. But his friend was worried that Syzygy might be asking for trouble if it were true.

That was a very valid worry. Professor Bel Veggente had a spotless reputation despite many possible scandalous liaisons he could have taken advantage of previously, if he had been prone to such vices. He was quite a handsome and stately phibie, he had to admit. He frequently caught ladies giving him the eye even going about town doing his shopping. But he knew very well how bad it would look if he did express his interest in such a prominent young student. No. It was far better to stay well away from her.

But Eustacia was relentless and deeply cunning. The more he resisted, the more entrenched her determination became to become his apprentice. She even used her courtly influence to pressure the university heads to make sure that such an eminent professor had to have an apprentice. Reluctantly and under protest, he set up a series of trials to pick one. But he set up the trials both academic an practical, in such a way as to try to make it increasingly difficult for anyone, much less the princess to be able to win the position.

But an opening was all she wanted! That was exactly what she had planned all along. She knew very well that he was trying to shut her out. But the apprentice trials had cracked the door, and she was going to plant her foot on the threshold and never let that door close in her face. She was supremely confident in her own abilities. All she had to do was beat out all the other candidates.

With an almost diabolical gleam in her eyes, there was no way she was going to let ANY other student have her position, have him! She set out to not only win the apprenticeship, but utterly dominate all her rivals in the process. There was a burning fierceness awakening in her heart that she didn’t even know until then was buried within herself. No one had ever challenged her so deliciously before, and she would win! She was the huntress on the prowl and nothing was going to stand in her way.

Her plan was working. With each hurdle crossed, and each rival humiliated, she could see the astonishment growing on the professor’s face, perhaps even a hint of fear at what he had aroused within her. "Yes!" she exulted. "Now you see me! You finally see me!" But Syzygy never had been in denial about her talents. But to see her sheer determination to be the one by his side, gave him the distinct impression that the jaws of inevitability were closing upon him.

After she obliterated the final test, he had to admit she had caught him. The victorious gleam in her eyes was almost dangerously predatory. She had won and she knew it. And strangely, something deep in his own heart snarled in return, recognizing its own kind. There was no way now that he could deny her the position she had pursued with such incredible diligence. But why did that send such a profound rush of exhilaration surging through his heart? He still didn’t want to accept what that meant, but he had to admit that she truly was the most gifted student he had ever met.

Maybe he would disappoint her when she realized that he couldn’t possibly be as amazing as she seemed to think he was. Maybe the wrath of the foreign king, her father, would rain down on him. Maybe he would be ostracized by all his respectable friends. The rumor mill was already racing toward overload. The whispers and sidelong glances had started. But one way or another, he was in it now.

The eminent stargazer had taken the princess as his apprentice,
and that was beginning of it all.

Description

A big thanks to Dissunder for another cool phibie adopt!

~~~~~~~

It had been many years since Syzygy Bel Veggente had last taken an apprentice. He had become something of a recluse, consumed in his magical and scientific research. While he retained his status as the court astrologer, he was something of a professor emeritus who seldom even graced the halls of the royal university.

Little did he know his life was going to be taken in a wild new direction. An incredibly gifted young princess was about to throw his life into glorious disarray. He had never expected it despite reading positive signs in all his divinations. He knew change was coming, a fated meeting. But the magnitude of that change still staggered him.

Eustacia Von Elder was not just a princess of a notable foreign kingdom. She was also the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, and a true magical prodigy. She was also a great lover of intelligent and learned men, her favorite type. She took and instant liking to the handsome and highly esteemed professor. Yet sadly, he was seldom seen at the school itself. But something about his aloof detachment was very stimulating to a woman who was used to being fawned over.

Professor Bel Veggente wanted nothing to do with any more royal attachments than he already had. But despite his best efforts, he had to admit that he found the woman fascinating. Her magical potential was as great or greater than any student he had even seen, perhaps even greater than his own. But even so, apprentices were a huge hassle, especially royal ones. They consumed too much time and resources. So, he told himself that the other mages would be more than happy to take on such a gifted student without him being needed.

Besides, he told himself, she was half his age with a gifted life of privilege and notoriety ahead of her. He was just a middle-aged researcher, starting to feel as musty as the many ancient tomes and charts he surrounded himself with daily. His glory days of youth and romance were behind him. The princess had no shortage of prestigious young gentlemen clamoring for her attention. What chance did he have?

So, he rebuffed her overtures, dismissing them as the folly of youth. But Eustacia was not so easily deterred. And she has seen it. To her eyes, she could see the weight of loneliness written clearly in the melancholy eyes of the stately gentlemen. The more she studied him, the more the thoughts of him filled her mind, and heart.

The youthful suitors that constantly vied for her hand bored her deeply. They seemed crass and utterly boorish in comparison to the professor. None of them matched her intellectual needs. She even took perverse pride in crushing their foolish attempts to impress her with typical brainless romantic efforts. Finally, for the first time in her life, she had found a man that truly excited her.

It was maddening that she couldn’t seem to get his attention despite every “fool proof" ploy her good friends suggested. But then she was not chasing a fool in the first place. She was infatuated with a learned and handsome gentleman of letters. It was clear ordinary tactics might not work. He couldn’t seem to think of her in the way she yearned for him to.

It was even more frustrating because she had seen it. Once when “awkwardly” running into him on the quad as he was heading to his research tower, she was sure she had caught a glimmer in his eyes as she helped him pick up the papers he had dropped. His dilated pupils and his quickly averted gaze betrayed his attraction far more than the professor had intended.

Her heart skipped a few beats. He was NOT immune to her whiles after all! She had almost given up hope, thinking that he was perhaps aromantic. But his reaction then was not the one of an aromantic person at all. It was the one of man trying too hard to deny his attraction, a gentleman. There was a chance! And if the was any chance, she was going to pursue it with all the determination and cleverness at her disposal. Syzygy had no idea how hot the fire his look had just lit in her heart was.

She had daringly let her hand linger on his after handing him back the last few papers before he departed. A blush? Had he just blushed? Her own heartbeat raced as she felt a reciprocal blush blooming across her amphibian cheeks. He quickly turned and strode briskly away. But she had seen it! Now she knew what she needed to do. She just had to prove to him she would be a worthy apprentice. Then, once they had more time alone together, who knew what else might blossom?

His stars and cards all kept confirming what Syzygy hardly dared believe was true. It was truly a fateful meeting. He could no longer deny the reality of the evidence plainly before his eyes. He was attracted to the lovely girl. How could he not be? But even more problematic was the fact that she truly was infatuated with him as well. But that couldn’t be right, could it? She was young, gorgeous, rich and a noble. Such romances with a commoner, even such a prominent one as himself, were highly frowned upon.

He made his mind up. For both of their sakes, he would keep his composure and not give in to his baser urges. But that very night her face appeared in a rather risqué dream that woke him with a start. The next day a dear old friend confronted him to see if the rumors were true that he was having a dalliance with a student. Bel Veggente was horrified. How had those rumors even started?

Technically, the princess was not HIS student. So, even if such a thing had been going on, there would have been no impropriety. After all, they were both adults. But the simple fact was that he had gone out of his way to barely even speak to her, much less do anything untoward. It was disturbing to discover such scandalous rumors were already going around. But his friend was worried that Syzygy might be asking for trouble if it were true.

That was a very valid worry. Professor Bel Veggente had a spotless reputation despite many possible scandalous liaisons he could have taken advantage of previously, if he had been prone to such vices. He was quite a handsome and stately phibie, he had to admit. He frequently caught ladies giving him the eye even going about town doing his shopping. But he knew very well how bad it would look if he did express his interest in such a prominent young student. No. It was far better to stay well away from her.

But Eustacia was relentless and deeply cunning. The more he resisted, the more entrenched her determination became to become his apprentice. She even used her courtly influence to pressure the university heads to make sure that such an eminent professor had to have an apprentice. Reluctantly and under protest, he set up a series of trials to pick one. But he set up the trials both academic an practical, in such a way as to try to make it increasingly difficult for anyone, much less the princess to be able to win the position.

But an opening was all she wanted! That was exactly what she had planned all along. She knew very well that he was trying to shut her out. But the apprentice trials had cracked the door, and she was going to plant her foot on the threshold and never let that door close in her face. She was supremely confident in her own abilities. All she had to do was beat out all the other candidates.

With an almost diabolical gleam in her eyes, there was no way she was going to let ANY other student have her position, have him! She set out to not only win the apprenticeship, but utterly dominate all her rivals in the process. There was a burning fierceness awakening in her heart that she didn’t even know until then was buried within herself. No one had ever challenged her so deliciously before, and she would win! She was the huntress on the prowl and nothing was going to stand in her way.

Her plan was working. With each hurdle crossed, and each rival humiliated, she could see the astonishment growing on the professor’s face, perhaps even a hint of fear at what he had aroused within her. "Yes!" she exulted. "Now you see me! You finally see me!" But Syzygy never had been in denial about her talents. But to see her sheer determination to be the one by his side, gave him the distinct impression that the jaws of inevitability were closing upon him.

After she obliterated the final test, he had to admit she had caught him. The victorious gleam in her eyes was almost dangerously predatory. She had won and she knew it. And strangely, something deep in his own heart snarled in return, recognizing its own kind. There was no way now that he could deny her the position she had pursued with such incredible diligence. But why did that send such a profound rush of exhilaration surging through his heart? He still didn’t want to accept what that meant, but he had to admit that she truly was the most gifted student he had ever met.

Maybe he would disappoint her when she realized that he couldn’t possibly be as amazing as she seemed to think he was. Maybe the wrath of the foreign king, her father, would rain down on him. Maybe he would be ostracized by all his respectable friends. The rumor mill was already racing toward overload. The whispers and sidelong glances had started. But one way or another, he was in it now.

The eminent stargazer had taken the princess as his apprentice,
and that was beginning of it all.