Once upon a time in the middle of spring, when the field was full of fresh green grass, a queen sat sewing, and the curtains where she was sitting was made of fine white silk. And while she was sewing and looking out of the window, she pricked her finger with the needle, and drops of blood fell from her finger onto the white curtains, spreading until the droplets of blood turned into a fine pink colour. And while she was looking at the pink spots in the curtains, she thought, would I ever have a child with hair as green as the grass outside, lips as pink as the droplets of blood, and skin as fair as the white silk curtains?

Soon after that she had a little son, with skin as white as the curtains, lips as pink as the spots of blood, and hair as green as the spring grass. This child was named Midorima, in honour of his beautiful soft green hair, but everybody just called him "grass green". And just when the child turned five, the queen died.

After a year had passed the king took to himself a new wife called queen Momoi, that was a beautiful woman. Although her face was beautiful, her mind was not so, and she could not bear that anyone surpass her beauty. She had a wonderful looking-glass that talked, and when she looked into it, she said,

"Looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?"
The looking-glass answered,
"Thou, o queen, art the fairest of all."
Then she was satisfied, for she knew that the looking-glass spoke the truth.

But as time went by, Midorima, or Grass-Green, grew more and more beautiful, and by the time that he turned fourteen, his beauty even surpassed that of the evil queen's. And here I might also add that his brain was much bigger than that pea-sized brain of the queen, only full of jealousy. His heart, full of kindness and care for others, was also much bigger than that dust-sized evil heart that the queen had.

One day, the queen asked the glass again,
"Looking-glass, looking-glass, on the wall,
Who in this land is the fairest of all?"
It answered,
"You are fairer than all who are here, lady queen.
But more beautiful still is Grass green."

Then queen Momoi was shocked, and her fair white skin turned purple with envy. Why, the young prince was a boy, and this mirror was saying that he was more beautiful that she, the queen! Yet she had to admit it true when she looked at his full pink lips, his beautiful white skin with a tint of pink, and most of all, his shining emerald green eyes and that soft, silky green hair. From that time, when she looked at the oh-so-beautiful prince, her envy just grew more and more. Finally, on Midorima's birthday when he turned fifteen, she called the huntsman into her room.

Then she stared long and hard at the huntsman, until the huntsman, his brown tanned skin glistening with sweat under her furious glare, asked,
" O my queen, what are your orders for me?"

"Take the child away into the forest, right now. I will no longer have him in my sight. Kill him, and bring me back his fresh bleeding heart as a token."

The huntsman obeyed, but hesitated, as he, like many other people(men and women alike, I might add) was enchanted by the prince's beauty, far surpassing any other women, and his kind heart, and his intelligence. The huntsman could still remember the prince waving a little hand at him when he was little, the prince helping a poor beggar on their rare trips outside, the prince figuring out a hard problem that none other in the kingdom could solve. To kill such a human being that is as close to being perfect as possible is something that only a barbarian might do, the huntsman decided. But the prince was not to suffer from the queen's grasps any longer. So he took the prince deep into the forest, and when he decided that they were far enough to avoid the evil magic of the queen, he kneeled and said,

"Forgive me, my prince, for I am supposed to be here to follow out the evil queen's orders. The queen has ordered me that I put my knife through your heart and bring it back to her, fresh." The huntsman looked up, to see the prince's reaction. He would see if this prince was really worth saving.

"What are you doing, then? I know enough to see that your head will be hanging outside the castle walls if you go back in empty hands. If you want my permission, I hereby give you full permission to take my heart out and bring it back to the queen."

The huntsman stared, and stared, and only then could he see how much the prince cared for others. He put down his knife, and said,

"Run, my prince, as far as you can. I am truly sorry that you have to get out of your beloved home. I want you to know that I would rather give my own heart to the queen than hand yours over. Run, prince, and fast! Make haste. I do not know when the queen will catch up to you."

The prince nodded, and started running. But then he looked back, and asked,

"What is your name? The very least I can do is remember the name of my savior."

The huntsman smiled, and called the prince over. When they were close enough, the huntsman whispered,

"My name, prince, is Aomine Daiki, the letter Ao being there due to my blue hair. I would like it if you remembered me, even after you died."

Midorima nodded. Then suddenly, he took off a brooch from his shirt and gave it to the huntsman, along with several gold coins.

"I will forever remember you as my savior. Now, I want you to listen carefully, for I will repay you with this; as soon as you get back to town, go to the butchers, and ask for a pig's heart there. Give the money to him to shut his mouth, and bring the heart back to the queen. And I want you to keep the brooch, because I won't need it anymore." After saying that, he immediately started running again, deep into the forest, and the huntsman didn't go back until long after he was out of sight. Then he let out an inaudible sigh.

"...Why do you have to be so kind?"

Fingering the brooch, the huntsman started walking in the direction of the castle, telling himself that he would have to get out as soon as he gave the queen the heart.