It was once peaceful in this kingdom. But then, during an age of steam, where the latest and greatest of technology were cogs and steamwork, the world had met their greatest enemy.

Doctor Ivo Robotnik, the world's greatest scientist, had come forth from his humble home to reveal to the world that he had something more sinister than a steam-powered utility. His latest creations were steam-powered robot minions, hundreds. Perhaps thousands, even. They had furnaces in their chests where coal roasted, operated by captured woodland animals, and under a hypnotic trance installed within the machine itself. On Ivo's conquest, they began taking over the kingdom's colonies. They were so fast, and there were so many, so the infantry were barely keeping control.

It was almost the end of his oceanic campaign, but then from the wild came a hero. A young, brash-

"Was he a knight in shining armor, daddy?"

The father looked up from the storybook he was reading to her daughter. Oh, how she loved to ask that question every time a story came up involving their kingdom. But she was just a little girl, six years old, (to become seven the next day) so it was to be expected.

"No, he was not."

"... Oh."

"He was an underdog, actually. He hailed from a tiny island. One of the empire's smallest colonies, as a matter of fact. He was drafted into the army at the age of thirteen to fight against a revolution that was happening at the time. The leader of this rebellion was a brilliant inventor, a genius, and had dreams of taking down the nation, to form his own nation of steam, bronze, and smoke."

"Ooooh."

The hero was a young, brash boy, fresh from a tiny island which nothing happened. On the outside, he was glad to get away from it, and into the world that he assumed "actually mattered," although inside himself, he really missed his friends and family at home. He was a heads and tails man; on the heads side, smiles, rambunctious and daring, and on the tails, distant, collected, and observant. Both these sides would come into play on his quest, although he's very famous for his heads side.

It started off with this boy, not too long after he was drafted, getting posted on an island a few miles away, and was not much larger than his home. It was not nearly enough to contain all his need for adventure. He almost had the island mapped inside his skull when the leader of the revolution swept across the sea at night.

When the scourge came, he kidnapped the native animals, the flickies, and put them into the machines. Hypnotized within the machine, the flickies could do nothing but succumb to their new leader's orders.

And that, as the hero would say, was no good.

When the hero awoke, the world around him was in disarray. His fellows were nowhere to be seen, and he was, for the most part, on his own. After liberating flickies on the island and defeating the mad doctor in combat once, the rebel flew away in his state of the art flying machine, that functioned not much differently than a modern day helicopter. The hero had to give chase. Despite being all alone, he took the boat he arrived on the scene, battling the swine wherever he dare tread, and pushing them off the island. Finally, he drove into his metal fortress, and defeated the dreaded fiend. And he did it all within a day!

For his work, he won many awards, as well as the heart of the princess in the castle back in the capitol! All he did was rewarded fairly for defeating the heinous revolutionary known as Doctor Ivo Robotnik.

Ah, but this was not the last time this doctor was heard from again. He came back very soon, with an equally large force. But the hero also had gained a friend; a genius friend, as a matter of fact. One that rivaled the wit of the revolutionary himself. With their combined efforts, they continued to dismantle the plunders of the evil Robotnik, continued to gather more friends and rivals, and the hero still continued to weigh heavy on the heart of the princess.

Then, one day, the day after the doctor had been crippled in a large scale attack and relentless assault from the hero and his allies, she decided she couldn't take it anymore; she had to be with him. Now, the princess had much power through her parents, as they loved her so much. So, when she told them she wanted to meet with this hero, it was arranged. The hero's charisma glimmered like the emeralds he's used time after time, and his eyes shared the same gleam in their meeting, and it was then she knew her love was true. She told her parents she wanted to marry him. When the news was relayed to the hero, however, he was... less than pleased. The-

"Why?"

The father relaxed his elbows, letting the book plomp onto his lap with his hands still keeping the book open as he looked at her daughter. "Dear, it says why in the next sentence. Listen quietly, and I'll tell you why."

The girl snuggled up underneath her blanket, eyes beading at him. The father chuckled, wondering what made young girls so different from young boys for a brief moment before bringing the book back up to read.

The boy had things he wanted to do with his life. Places to see, people to meet, he wanted to do things most people don't do, and he couldn't do that on a throne. And on top of that, he didn't love the princess, or at least not in the way she loved him. This did not stop the princess from trying to get him to love her, and ordering him to take her on dates was one of her favorites. The boy did not appreciate her efforts; although he liked her as a person, he did not see in her the soul mate he wanted.

And then, one day, the hero left; saying he was looking for the things in life that he wished he could find. Desperately, she sent out soldiers to try to catch him, but to no avail. The hero of the world was never seen again. Many say he found what he was looking for, whether it be things like the fountain of youth, love, or whatelse, and lived quietly under a different alias. Others say he died trying. But the hero will always be remembered by the kingdom for his service to the queen and country.

"That was sad." The girl pouted.

The father shut the book. "Yes, yes, pity... but this is a special story, because it's true."

"Really?" The child gasped.

"Haha, yes, yes. It happened about two hundred years ago. Now..." He yawned, picking the buck up, stretching his limbs away from his torso and leaning back in his chair, causing a few audible cracks. Promptly after these cracks, he slumped into a slouched position on the chair. "... my eyes are getting heavy. You have a big day tomorrow, darling. You turn seven tomorrow, and you don't want to be dozing off on your birthday, right?"

"No." She answered, faking weariness. The father could see through it, yet was too tired to attempt to call her out on it.

"Good, sleep well, dearest." The father bid quietly. He placed the book on the chair, and turned to the candle. He looked over to the candle, and rid it of the gentle fire with his breath. He slowly made his way over to the doorway, and finally shut the door.

As soon as the footsteps stopped, the daughter reached over and snatched the book. The darkness hiding its contents, she looked over to the candle, and set it afire with her breath. Able to read, she began searching the book fruitlessly for even implications of the hero liking the princess like that.

"Blaaaaaze." Her father's call almost caused her to set the book afire.