An unnamed knight that was nicknamed the Golden Rider, was the hero of Iwatobi. He was more of a silent hero, though. He was never awarded with medals or was sent out to war or had a cent to his name. What he did, though, was help the people in the Kingdom's villages and not just the upper class men. Fires, robberies and just to put food on their plates was his top priorities.

He wasn't a self-declared knight, either. He used to be the king's one and only trustworthy knight. But the king's mind became ill. Very ill and very untrustworthy. He asked his knight to turn against his own people and kill them all one for one. The knight refused. And because of this refusal, he was banished from the castle. But that did not stop him to protect his people from the ill king.

But one day, the knight met the king's wife. The two fell madly in love but kept it a secret from the ill king. Then one day, the queen told the knight that she was carrying his child and the knight declared that he and her would run away from the king. But, the day before the two ran away, the knight disappeared. The queen was so upset that she wouldn't dare look at his child and gave him away before the ill king ever noticed. Even if the son had a curse.

"What was his curse? What was his curse?"the boy insisted, shaking his sister's arm. The brunette chuckled at the younger's excitement even if he knew the answer already. But she was just as excited even if she memorised the story by heart. It was her childhood favourite, after all. "He could turn into a strong, tall and built wolf. Most people would say it's a curse, but it's actually a great gift for he could protect an entire kingdom with his strength and gentle heart." Like his father, the child disappeared and no one bothered to find him. But some say that the child is somewhere out there, turning into a gentle beast that protects the people to carry on his lost father's legacy.

"Makoto,"a beckoning voice bellowed. The brunette quickly shut the book and her brother hurried her to climb under his bed. The servant threw the door wide open and shot her head sharply to the young royal. "Prince Ren, have you seen your sister anywhere?" The younger shook his head and the servant sighed. "Her mother is looking for her, if you see her tell her to come to the Art's room immediately." The boy nodded as the servant clicked the door behind her.

The boy crept to the corner of his bed and stuck his head under the mattress. "Mom's gonna kill you,"he grinned and Makoto sighed. "Yeah, she's been doing that a lot recently."

The arranged marriage has gone from years of waiting to a few months and Makoto and Haruka's parents were more eager than they were. Makoto still saw Haruka to be her greatest childhood friend, but the thought of a husband was still far from her mind. And she knew that his heart belonged to another, even if he didn't say it. She could see it in the way he would looked at the other and she was envious. She was never truly in love and she slowly stopped believing if she ever will be. When she mentioned this to her mother, it made the queen sigh in tiresome effort.

"Now, Makoto, you know that being a princess isn't just about doing whatever you please. It's also about-" "-responsibility, I know,"the princess sighed as the servant sewed the pieces together in a tight grip. Her mother walked around her and then caressed the girl's cheek. "Makoto, I know this must be hard for you, but the kingdom comes first. We're not expecting you to fall madly in love with Haruka, but we do expect you to do your duty for your kingdom,"she swat the non-existent dust off her shoulder. "And besides, Haruka is like a prince charming. I'm sure he'll be a perfect husband for you."

Makoto rolled her eyes and she smoothed the dress over her hips. "But..but I don't want to have a prince charming,"she slipped and covered her mouth when her mother looked at her with a questioning expression. "What? Who wouldn't want a prince charming?"the servant asked, trying to distract the queen from a ripped fabric. "Well, um,"Makoto started, but didn't know what to say. She always wanted to say this, but didn't exactly know how to put it in words.

"A prince charming seems so cliché and overdone to me. I want someone who isn't obvious for a fairy tale romance,"she glanced at her mother that furrowed her brow at her. "I want..I want a big bad wolf to be the princess's love for once,"she spilled and felt her face heat up in embarrassment as the servants giggled and felt worse when her mother scolded them. Her mother told her she should stop reading her brother little childish stories and when she wanted to speak up, her mother dismissed her to her room.

Makoto might have grown up to be a loyal princess to her kingdom, but she wondered sometimes why she even bothered. Her little sister, Ran, seemed more eager for a marriage than she was and she was the same age Makoto was when she was arranged to wed. It was unfair, Makoto would think. But she was an adult now, she had responsibilities. There wasn't time for childhood fantasies...or was there..?

It was getting dark and the princess told herself that she wasn't going to skip it tonight. She told herself that this was her one day and she was going to take it before her father changed his mind. Makoto pursed her lips as she felt the walls as she stepped down the stairs. She felt for the "borrowed" keys and unlocked the door slowly. She glanced around as she slid out the door and cautiously tip toed to the stables. She hushed the bold creatures and caressed the tallest one's hair and smiled up at the horse.

She reminded herself that the horse was sensitive and kept brushing it's hair with her fingers. She felt her heart fell as she stepped on a piece of salt lick. She reached out to grab the horse's hair but the creature ran from fright and she fell back fast. She shut her eyes tight and prayed that her head wouldn't bleed too much against the unclean grass. But she took a breath when she felt steady and was confused by the feeling of air beneath her and not a hard damp ground.

She took a moment to rise her head up to the strange support and felt her heart race as she looked into a bright red pair of eyes. "Hey,"the voice was deep and husky and Makoto didn't understand why her face felt hot. She couldn't believe who was smiling down at her and only believed that it must have been an illusion from the concussion she got from falling on her skull. "Y'know, princesses shouldn't be out this late,"he flashed his teeth and Makoto felt her heart racing faster, "dragons might come out and gobble you up."