People ran and screamed as the beast pursued the villagers. The woman it was chasing tripped over one of the roots form a tree, her pregnant stomach making it hard to get up, and the large basilisk was about to deliver a final blow.

And then he appeared.

Like a bolt of lightning in the foulest autumn storm, the prince, Hans, held his sword up high, parrying his steel with the giant snake's fang.

He held his position while the thing retreated, him making sure not to look the monster in the eyes, lest he be turned to stone like half the village.

As it slithered backwards, then began a snap in his direction, Hans quickly ducked, and the moment its mouth was above him, he thrusted his sword into the creature. The velocity of its strike ensured Hans split it in half all the way down to the middle without the prince even moving, the creature falling dead before the woman's feet.

"HAIL, PRINCE HANS!" cried a man who watched on.

"HAIL! PRINCE HANS OF THE SOUTHERN ISLES!" cried the entire village in triumph and thanks. In the six months that he'd been touring these tropical islands, Hans had made a reputation for himself. A monster slayer like no other, Hans had rescued village after village, slew beast after beast. He was a hero like those in ancient legends, only he was standing in front of this beautiful village today.

"Please, your majesty," said the town's elder mayor, "will you not stay for a feast in your name?"

"I'd be honored, but not in my name, in honor of those who lost their lives, and in celebration of those who survived."

The mayor smiled while the village began to quickly set up for the event tomorrow evening, while Hans used his sword to stab the Basilisk in the eyes, ensuring none could be turned to stone upon staring at its corpse.

The marvelous feast was attended by all in the village, and Hans sat right next to the mayor, the two discussing news travelling between the islands.

And then he spotted her.

Hans looked across the village square to see a woman with dirty blonde hair dancing in the fire place. Even from this distance, her gaze from those gorgeous hazel eyes penetrated him like the monster he'd fought earlier yesterday.

"Who is that?" asked Hans to the mayor.

The mayor looked at the girl Hans was staring at. "I'm not really sure. She's some maiden from another land. Far from here, I'm pretty sure."

"Do you know her name?"

"Go ask her," said the mayor laughing while he pushed Hans in her direction. Hans went with the flow and approached the dancing girl in fancy clothing.

The girl looked at Hans and smiled, holding out her hand, him responding with laying a kiss on it.

"Gretta," said the girl as a straight-forward greeting.

Hans blushed while he tried to respond. "Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."

"Oh my," she said, curtseying with her dress, with Hans putting his hands up to assure her it wasn't needed. "Your majesty, I've heard so much about you."

"Oh really? What have you heard?"

"All I know is that you're the son of a king, and you've slain, what, a hundred monsters on some grand adventure you fancy yourself having?"

"Thirty-seven. And to be fair, ten of them were murderers."

"Then why count them as monster?" she said, continuing her dance.

Hans followed in her footsteps. "Aren't murderers the same as monsters?"

The two continued their little routine of dance and chat for some time.

"So, what are you doing here?" asked Hans.

"I was a lady-in-waiting in a kingdom called Corona, but I soon found myself wanting to get away from there. So I came here on my own on my own little adventure. Though I haven't slain any monsters."


It was the next morning when Hans and Gretta chose to take their leave, saying goodbye to everyone in the village.

The mounted their horses and trotted off, continuing their little discussions. Then a month passed by, and Hans decided it had been long enough since he was home, so invited her on the first ship they could find back to the Central Island.