Cinder X Bella ~ Thirty-Three!

“Are you quite certain, Your Highness?” The high level Captain of the Royal Guard looked around the massive open meadow as though assassins were hiding behind the daffodils. “I know Her Majesty the Queen permitted this outing, but I’d been hoping you would be open to an escort. Only for your safety. I would even swear to tell no one of your deeds this day, even if… perhaps you have a young lady from one of the noble families meeting you out here?”

“Nothing so risqué, Captain.” Cinder could only chortle at the insinuation of impropriety. “I am merely going to be working out some frustrations and practicing my skills. Since my powers are meant for defense of the Kingdom, I simply want to keep them as private as possible.” 

The Captain raised an eyebrow, bluntly scoffing and shaking his head. “With all due respect, you've had tutors cycling in and out nearly a decade. Everyone knows you are gifted in the extreme with fire magics. Is one more person, your sworn guard, who has only your best intentions at heart, going to impact that so much?”

“You caught me.” Cinder rolled his shoulders and smiled at the man who had been guarding him since he was five years old. “I just want some alone time to blow off some smoke.”

“So…?”

“So stand back, don't make a sound, and tell no one what you see here,” Cinder finally relented, knowing he would keep hearing complaints until he gave in. 

“On my honor and position. I will only speak to you about what I see here and only when no others may overhear. May I lose the ability to speak at all if I betray your trust in this matter, Your Highness.” The man swore in return, a slight sparkle of system energy fluctuating in the air around his mouth. It was a common oath among people who had the trust of high-level nobles and statesmen. 

Also…

“That's completely unnecessary, and you know it.” Cinder shook his head as the guard settled into position, hand on the hilt of his sword and already scanning the horizon for threats. “But, have it your way.” 

Prince Cinder stood alone—at least, as alone as possible—in the meadow, the morning sun shining happily across the cheerful scene. Bees were buzzing from flower to flower, huge columns of gnats were swarming above warm spots, and all in all, it was an idyllic area. After one, final, concerned glance over at the Captain, Cinder lifted his right hand, generating a small ember which rolled back and forth between his fingers.

The flickering flame glowed brightly against his skin, licking and reflecting off of his pale fingers, even while refusing to burn him. It rolled into the palm of his hand, and he clenched his fist, furrowing his brow for a moment as he concentrated. Then, his hand sprang open… and the small spark erupted into a maelstrom of fire. 

“Abyss!” Cinder heard the guard curse and flinch somewhere behind him, but then the man was gone from his mind. 

All that remained was the freedom of the flames.

Twisting his wrist, the wild burst of plasma condensed down, then shot from his hand as a howling spike of energy. Hundreds of meters distant, a wooden target exploded into burning splinters, most of those being reduced to soot, ash, and cinders before they reached the ground. “Haa! Yes! Mother, I hope you added in a few durable versions, but I always love the surprise of an erupting target!”

Bright red flames licked the air in the distance, thick smoke curling up into the sky. Cinder clapped his hands together, pulling them apart and generating a cloud of pure heat between them. It roared like a living beast, and he watched it burn with a smile so wide it felt as though it were trying to shred his cheek muscles. His eyes flicked up, his gaze coming to rest on another distant target. Stepping forward, he shoved both hands at the dot in the distance, and the burst of heat erupted outward, spiraling forward and flaring into bright flame as it traveled. 

As it soared along, close to the ground, all life below it was snuffed out, a trail of black following along seconds after the beam had already passed over. So hot was the energy that nothing caught on fire, simply being reduced to ash and embers. He had accurately struck the target, but unlike the first, it didn’t erupt. Instead, it began to glow a cherry red, slumping in on itself and melting into a pool of glowing liquid, which smoked and warped the air above it.

Cinder stood still for a moment, panting heavily as he considered the target, his breath mingling with the sparse smoke rising into the air. “Let's see… had to be some kind of metal, I'm betting it was cast iron. I should hope Mother knows better than to waste precious metals on target practice.” 

“By the system!” The awed voice floated to Cinder's ears, and the prince grimaced in annoyance.

“Captain, if you're going to comment on every little thing I do, perhaps it would be best if you left?”

“Won't hear another peep from me, Prince Fella. Pardon my intrusion.” 

“Very well.” Cinder grunted, keeping his voice low and controlled. He took a few moments to roll up the sleeves of his tunic then spread his arms wide. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply for a few moments. When they opened once more, the iris and pupil had shifted, a pure white at the center swirling out into a perfect representation of flames swirling inside his sensory organs.

He looked around the meadow, staring at the flows of heat in the air and on the ground, choosing a thermal updraft and snapping his fingers. Fire appeared midair, following the warm air down and striking the ground before exploding into a sphere nine feet wide. Cinder raised an eyebrow, murmuring critically, “Not as fast as lightning, but we're getting there. Perhaps by the time I reach Perfection? Still, that should be very difficult to dodge…” 

After a few moments of pondering, he once more spread his arms wide, as though preparing to give the world a hug. Sparks began popping into existence around him, floating through the air almost gently. “There we go… tight control… keep them small, keep them-”

The Prince chose a dozen nearby targets, perhaps fifty meters distant. Controlling his power carefully, he aimed and—

*Whoom!* 

The sparks around him exploded into massive, blazing comets that streaked through the air all around him, each arcing through the sky before accurately slamming into their target. A dozen explosions within half a second returned a deafening roar, the instant smoke and flame blocking his view of the targets, which had certainly been obliterated.

Cinder dropped his arms to the side, letting out a grunt of annoyance. “Abyss… another failure.”

“Fail-?”

“Captain!”

“What a lovely horizon.” The Royal Guard began humming softly, pretending he wasn't sweating profusely at what he was seeing. 

Choosing another of the myriad targets set in the field, Cinder narrowed his eyes and extended his arm. A single spark appeared at the tip of his finger, and a moment later, the man-shaped mannequin was immolated… 

…as well as nearly twenty feet around it.

“Why!”

A huge fireball detonated in the center of the meadow.

“Can’t!”

The air shimmered around him as twin orbs of fire were conjured in his hands before being hurled simultaneously, crisscrossing in midair before separating in the distance into two distinct targets with a spectacular display of fire and fury. 

“I!”

Flames collected around his arms, only to wash out of him as a river of destruction. All grass in front of him, for nearly a hundred meters, was reduced to ash. 

“Control this?” Sweat was trickling down his face, his breathing was heavy, and even as he railed against his lack of fine control, he relished every moment of being able to use his power as he wished. Letting out a roar, he raised his arms high, summoning a wall of fire that swept across the meadow like a tidal wave, consuming everything in its path. His ears filled with the crackle of burning grasses, water hissing as it was vaporized, and a low thunder as the air itself violently shook.

He took a deep breath, dry air racing into his lungs and almost causing him to cough. Cinder turned to the captain, his swirling eyes capturing the attention of his guard and causing him to gulp. “Well, what do you think? I've talked to tutors, mages, every scholar who might be able to weigh in.”

“I think that was downright terrifying, Your Highness,” the man replied honestly, working to keep his voice even as he did so. “Frankly, you don't even seem winded. I don't know what resource you expend when you generate your flames, but you certainly seem to be ready to keep going.”

“I have almost no limits on what I can do with fire, Captain. But that's not what I was asking.” Cinder casually waved a hand at the scorched meadow, which was mostly hidden behind a thick layer of smoke, no greenery or life to be seen within it. “Like I said, I've studied the theory of all this since I turned ten and gained the ability to commune with flame. But, no matter where I look, what book I read, what sage offers advice, I can't keep the flames in check. I want to be able to earmark a single object and send a spike of heat through it.”

The Captain glanced at the meadow, “Looks to me like you can take down pretty much whatever you want to at this point. Mastery? Perfection?”

“Merely Extensive.” The Prince let out a long-suffering sigh as his guard gulped. “That's right, only level eight with this skill. Imagine what Perfection will look like. But how am I supposed to get there if I can't keep my flames condensed to a manageable size as soon as they are more than a foot from my body?”

“Ohhh.” The Captain blinked a few times, suddenly realizing the real problem being presented to him. “So you weren't just working off anger there; that's the minimum size of your use of power when you use it?”

“I want to be able to contain a burst of flame within a spark.” Cinder held up a hand, showcasing a spark which danced above his palm, “sending it through a distant enemy without destroying everything around them. What if they are an attacker hiding in a crowd? I can't simply blast my citizens just to get the one offender.” 

“Eh…” The guard shifted his palm side-to-side. “Depending on the circumstances… and you are a prince…”

“Captain!”

“I'm joking, I'm joking! No, unfortunately I think you are already doing the right thing. Theory will only take you so far.” The royal guard looked past the prince, considering the destruction in the distance in a different light. “You gotta practice. If you don't work hard now, figuring out what doesn't work, you’ll never be able to do it. But perhaps, with enough practice and the right incentive, when the moment comes where you need to keep it in check… you will.”

“Ah. You think I should join in a border war. While I love the feeling of progressing my skills and the way my power leaps to fulfill my will, using it on people isn't something I'm in a hurry to do.” Cinder nodded with agitation. “Beyond that, their Highnesses will never approve of me going to the front lines of war.”

“Skills level up the fastest under duress, and wartime or at least combat is certain to get you there.” Seeing the prince's face, the guard could only shrug. “I'm not calling for conflict, just stating a fact. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find plenty of deeply uncomfortable situations over the next few weeks. Doesn't your birthday celebration last an entire week? Seven entire days of partying, and every young woman in the kingdom fighting for your hand.”

Cinder looked as though he’d bitten into a lemon, and the captain let out a roar of laughter. After a few moments, the prince joined in, chuckling ruefully. “Well, I guess I’d better get back to it, then?”

“Yeah, probably for the best. We're running out of time until you need to dance the night away.”

Fire swirled around the prince, twisting and weaving together as it raced toward the sky, only to loop downward and spray along the ground in a line, as though a dragon had just passed over a battle line and immolated it. Flames, both reflected and generated, showed in his eyes as he watched the world warp under his assault. 

“Yup. It’s a hard life, but someone’s gotta live it.”