The first time he heard it, he had the man
killed.
The second time he heard it, he began to think hard.
The third time he heard it, he realized that it may actually be true.
The Dragon Prince had been dating the beautiful Princess Erottiq for a month, but people were talking. She was very open and friendly to the people in her father's kingdom, but she apparently was very attached to the stablemaster. Word around the Prince's domain was that she was having an affair. A friend's cousin's brother had personally seen her kissing the stablemaster.
Although the two kingdoms were at peace, there were some who felt the Prince should conquer the tame lands to the south. Rumors were started, tempers flared. The Prince assembled his ministers, and they all recommended force to restore his honor.
The horns of war sounded. Men kissed their wives as they set off for battle. The feared DragonKnights mounted their beasts, led by the Prince himself, and flew off toward the unsuspecting kingdom of his traitorous girlfriend.
When they arrived, no army opposed them. The DragonKnights flew to the castle proper and dismounted. The royal stables were down by the lower gates, and the Prince with his host strode to the front door.
In the doorway stood the beautiful Princess - kissing the stablemaster. The Prince stopped, confused, as he absorbed what he saw. The stablemaster was nearly eighty years old, bent over from many years of hard work. The princess' back was toward the invaders, and she said aloud, "Thank you so much, Uncle, for the lesson. My adoring Prince shall be proud of me when he learns that I have been taught the skill of Dragon riding."
She turned gaily, and stopped a foot from the Prince himself. She looked around, looked into his eyes and said, "I fear that you are planning an aerodynamic mythological coup. I pray this does not interfere with our dinner plans."
"No," he replied, his heart rejoicing at his bride to be. "You have taught me that a ruler must trust those he loves, and not those who would usurp his power." Turning to his men, he ordered them to assemble his ministers in the dungeon and to prepare for a wedding.
The southern kingdom did get conquered, but not by a coup.
Challenge by arcanamundi