One day, as the dark settled in and stars rose up above the countless homes of Kaiserzeit, a doorbell rang and broke the eerie silence of the night. The doorbell that broke the quietness of Kaiserzeit, belonged to Lucy Heartfilia’s house.
Quite surprised that someone would visit her house at the night and not during the day, Lucy still opened the door. There, on the doorstep, stood a messenger of the king. Whenever the king wanted Lucy to complete a secret mission, he would do it in the night so nobody other than the messenger, Lucy, and the king himself can know about the mission. Even though she was reluctant to do the evil king’s missions, she knew that the king would kill all of her zoo animals if she didn’t obey. Of course, since her love for the animals ran too deep, she obeyed without any objection.
Therefore, considering all of the past missions she had, Lucy knew that another mission was waiting for her when the messenger, who was impatiently waiting for her to invite him in, arrived tonight.
When Lucy finally realized that the messenger was becoming impatient, she opened the door wide for him. However, before she could invite him in, the messenger humphed and strode into her house as if he owned the house. Lucy, who knew that this was normal for the citizens of Kaiserzeit to be demanding and impolite, sighed heavily and scurried over to the messenger who was now sitting on Lucy’s favorite chair.
“So… what is the mission?” asked Lucy.
Chuckling at Lucy’s straightforwardness, the messenger was quite happy that he could just get this over with and leave this place.
“Eager to finish, eh?”
Lucy, being smarter than she usually let on, knew immediately that something was wrong. The messenger always wanted to go home by telling Lucy carelessly about the mission without any details, so he never stalled for time. However, right now, the messenger was not getting to the main point of his visit. He was looking at Lucy with a little nervousness, which he tried to hide. Other people might not have noticed it but Lucy being always an observant person due to her countless experience with observing animals in the zoo, and she noticed immediately that under the facade the messenger put on to look like nothing was going on, there was something dark lurking beneath.
“Well.. uhm…”, the messenger stalled for some more time. “Actually, the mission is quite different than the ones you got before. Uh… so the king’s army captured a wolf from the enemy lines. And this, this captured wolf is special. It is said that the wolf is invincible and immortal. They already tried everything they can to kill the wolf but failed… So… uh…”
At this point, Lucy’s eyes nearly bulged out of her face. With the uncomfortable messenger trying to tell Lucy her mission but unable to form any words that would make Lucy go against her own beliefs, Lucy knew what the messenger was going to say long before the messenger finally moved on to the whole point of his visit.
“The king wants me to kill the enemy wolf.”
It was not a question, but a statement. Realizing this, the messenger glanced happily at Lucy for getting the mission easily and rose up to scurry back to his more important affairs. His job as the messenger was done. Even though the idea of killing someone or something still terrified him, it was not his job; it was Lucy’s. In Kaiserzeit, everybody was on his own and small kindness was not allowed. So, since helping her is not part of his job nor his responsibility, the messenger left her there, unaided and alone, fear drowning her. Her ever-green eyes darkened with worry, her mind torn between helping the wolf or being a good obedient citizen.
And then, she made up her mind.

The next morning, birds chirped as if the secret meeting between the messenger and Lucy had never occurred. However, Lucy knew that the meeting happened. Sooner or later, the king would call for her to the palace dungeon to do her mission.
And, after a few dreadful hours, the knock came.
Scrambling up from her stupor, Lucy hurriedly ran and opened the door to find the dragon she tamed when she first decided to become a zookeeper waiting patiently outside, nudging his nose at the door.
“Hey buddy,” murmured Lucy, who was busying packing her medical kit and stroking the purring blue fluffy dragon, Plue. Plue was a rare breed, since no other dragons in history have ever been born naturally blue and fluffy. So, the dragon clan kicked Plue out reasoning that Plue was too fluffy and too blue to be a dragon. They thought dragons should look intimidating, not blue and fluffy and everything that contradicted the word intimidating. Crying like crazy, Plue nearly flooded the entire nation, since dragon tears are enormously huge. Luckily, before the citizens of Kaiserzeit drowned, Lucy came to the rescue and comforted Plue. So, from that point on, Plue was Lucy’s friend, personal guard, and served as Lucy’s one and only... transportation.
With few large wing beats, Plue lifted off and shot up towards the open sky.
In the open skies, Lucy couldn’t care any less about the king and the wolf. There, flying above the skies, she was free from obligations and expectations. Giggling out of glee, Lucy directed Plue to spin and spin and spin. Plue was a little worried that Lucy might get dizzy, but Lucy made puppy-eyes at him which always worked.
Finally, the duo saw the palace and Plue skillfully glided towards a specific window, which was made so that Plue could drop Lucy off there and nobody would know that Lucy had entered the palace grounds. Beating its wings slower and slower, Plue finally came to a stop in front of the designated window.
As expected, the king and his most trustworthy soldiers were waiting inside the room, many excluding the king staring in awe at the humongous blue fluffy dragon. Some of the bravest men gathered there even fainted right on the spot, for Plue’s too much fluffiness was his main weapon against people.
Chuckling slightly at the whole situation, Lucy nodded apologetically at the king, who was already used to the fluffiness and was the only person who didn’t faint or have nose-bleeds. The king was indifferent throughout the whole situation, considering that it was normal for this to happen and it would be more bizarre for nothing to happen at all. Still, the king was disappointed that even his best men were vulnerable in front of the blue dragon who seemed so harmless, which was not true. Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving and the king who has seen what Plue was capable of, shivered in absolute fear despite the fact that he too was considered an evil king according to his own citizens.
“Follow me,” bellowed King Eckbert. No curtseys were done and no bows or preliminary talks occurred, since both knew that this was a serious matter. Flanked by the soldiers, Lucy and the king grimly went down, left, down, right, left, left, right, and down again towards the palace dungeon.

Pant pant
“Ms. Heartfilia, here is the wolf my messenger told you about. If you need any equipment or any other things, just ask the guard stationed upstairs and he will bring you the things you need. Remember, I want this enemy to be eliminated and dead, as in no heartbeat and no soul left. Is that clear, Lucy Heartfilia?”
“Of course, your excellency,” mumbled Lucy, who was unable to meet the king’s hard and expressionless face. She was a terrible liar and knew that if she made eye-contact with the king, he will immediately know that she was lying. She was definitely not going to kill the poor wolf, no matter what, even though she knew deep inside that she was terrified of the consequences if the king found out about her disloyalty and her disobedience towards him.
Luckily, the king didn’t realize that and left her to do her work.
Pant pant
Waiting until the sound of closing doors resonated throughout the dungeon, she squinted every inch of the dungeon just to be sure that nobody was there. When that was confirmed, she went inside the cell that held the wolf and began unlocking the shackles that scratched the wolf’s neck and paws. The wolf, though too weak to defend itself, was growling and yelped in surprise as the heaviness of the shackles were now gone. Confused, the wolf lowered his guard ever slightly and stared curiously at the crouching Lucy.
“Who you think you are and why are you unshackling me?” hissed the wolf.
“Look, I’m just trying to help and if the king finds out about this, I’m as good as dead so will you just zip your mouth so I can actually work here?” snapped Lucy. No matter how kind she was, she too has her breaking points. She was already nervous out of her mind and the wolf’s distrust was not helping. Realizing this, the wolf presumably stopped growling and hissing and closed his eyes, giving Lucy to do her work peacefully. Occasionally, the wolf flinched and digged its claws on the ground, since Lucy had to take care of some of the major injuries that deemed to be life-threatening.
After some agonizing and awkward hours, Lucy patched the wolf up and whistled. Immediately, through a window that happened to be open in the dark cell, Plue came in with his mighty fluffiness.
“What in the world is that?” the wolf asked, mystified at the weird-looking creature with wings.
“Well, obviously, Mr. Wolf, it’s a dragon,” replied Lucy sarcastically. “And now if you want to live, you better get on Plue, the dragon.”
“Kyle,” the wolf muttered.
“Pardon?”
“My name. It’s Kyle Knightwalker. But people call me Ky in short. Thought you should know that since I’m guessing that we’re now allies.”
Lucy, though nervous about her fate since she disobeyed the king, was always nice and polite so it was natural for her to grin and extend her hand towards the wolf and introduce herself as well.
“Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia of Kaiserzeit.”
Kyle the enemy wolf, suddenly stood up on its hind legs and took Lucy’s outstretched hand. When their hands intertwined with one another, Kyle started to transform and his appearance started to become more like a human’s.
“Pleasure to meet you, Luce. Kyle Knightwalker, of the werewolf clan, at your service.”

“L-Luce! Lucy!”
“W-?” Lucy, who was still half asleep and filled with fatigue, woke up with a start. However, before Lucy could process anything, Kyle’s hand was covering her mouth and Lucy made muffled sounds of confusement.
“Somebody’s here,” Kyle whispered, or more likely, growled quietly. After he realized that Lucy got his message, he had already switched back to his wolf form, which consisted of soft, long, and unkempt fur and pointy ears that was twitching at the slightest noise some intruder has been making from the outside of Lucy and Kyle’s secret hideout. Now that Kyle’s body was fully healed from the injuries he received in the palace dungeon, Lucy could clearly see Kyle’s silver fur that seemed to glisten whenever he moved and his lean muscles built from years of fighting and training.
“It’s beautiful,” whispered Lucy, who was unaware that she had unconsciously started to stroke the soft fur of the werewolf in front of her. Kyle stared incredulously at her for making such a comment in a situation like this and shook his head.
The duo have been on the run ever since Lucy healed Kyle and both of them had huge bounties on their heads. Countless bounty hunters have tried their best to hunt them down and eliminate them, but failed miserably for Kyle was a very skilled fighter both in his human form and his wolf form. No one got hurt, and the bounty hunters ran for their lives.
However, they weren’t so lucky this time round.
Growling and hissing, Kyle got ready to pounce on whoever came towards their secret hideout while Lucy kept whispering to Kyle to remind him not to kill the enemy but only injure so that the enemy can run away from them. Even with their lives at stake, Lucy’s kindness got activated towards her enemies.
After a few dreadful minutes, Lucy saw a dark, looming shadow of a figure standing right in front of the hideout. She waited, waited, and waited, keeping herself alert and focusing her eyes right at the entrance the enemy was coming through in. But suddenly, even though she was on high-alert, she couldn’t comprehend what had happened until the enemy was already fighting against Kyle. This alerted Lucy that the enemy they were facing was different than others who have come for them and was extremely fast and light on his feet.
Luckily, Kyle was in his wolf form, which meant that he was as quick, if not a tiny bit quicker, than his opponent. Lucy, though, could clearly see that as time dragged on, both the enemy and Kyle was exhausted and was panting really hard. Neither of them admitted that fact, and stared ruthlessly at each other as if tearing each other’s throat was their first priority right now.
The enemy, with his long, brown hair tied back at the nape of his muscular body, looked quite happy to be fighting an opponent that was worth the fight and grinned of pure madness when he was able to cut Kyle and saw blood trickling down Kyle’s soft, white fur.
Grumbling, Kyle cursed quietly under his breath and got ready to attack when he was stopped by none other than Lucy herself. Incredulous, Kyle looked at her, astonished and a little curious at what Lucy was up to now. He knew that even though Lucy was kind at heart, she had very fierce character and was a girl who shouldn’t be underestimated.
On the other hand, the enemy just c***ed his head a little, which made his hood fall down. Now with his face revealed, the attacker got distracted. This was Kyle’s chance. Baring his sharp fangs, Kyle sunk his teeth into the enemy’s stomach, causing the enemy to clench his teeth in agony. The injury the enemy had seemed very fatal to Lucy; Lucy couldn’t take it anymore.
“Jesus Christ, will both of you just- just shut up for a minute?”
For once, Lucy looked actually intimating. Flinching at the loud noise, the fighting men simultaneously turned their heads in Lucy’s direction. “What?” At the same time, both men shouted at her, then glared at one another.
Sighing, Lucy spoke, annoyed.
“It’s great to see you guys fighting so enthusiastically, but even though we are enemies, my doctor side won’t allow a person to die on me. So, would you fight after I heal the.. Uh.. Mr. Enemy?”
Hearing from Lucy that she wanted to heal him, the enemy’s golden-brown eyes widened in surprise. Raised in a world of cruelty, he never expected kindness from the one whom he tried to kill just moments ago. This unlocked something inside him and without thinking, he muttered back, “Ian. My name, Ms. Heartfilia, is Ian, Ian Erbe.”
“Hmm… Ian… Ian… H-hold on, Ian? As in… Ian the Crown Prince of Kaiserzeit?”, Lucy stuttered, “Y-you are the infamous cruel prince?!”
Chuckling under his breath, Ian, supposedly the prince, answered nonchalantly.
“I’m quite honored for the famous Ms. Heartfilia to know me. However, I wouldn’t describe myself as ‘cruel’, per say… I’m a gentleman in disguise, if you get to know me better.”
At that, Kyle snorted. Ian glared at him but complied as Lucy commanded him to lie on his back. Then, with her long, delicate, fingers, Lucy began to stitch the prince back up. When that was done, Ian insisted on joining them. He knew that they were against his own father; but he couldn’t care much less. It wasn’t like they despised each other; it was just that when Lucy unlocked something inside him, he realized that what his father was doing was wrong and someone needed to overthrow him.
As Ian snapped back to the present and saw Kyle and Lucy arguing about who would get to eat more food, he chuckled and joined in the stupid conversation.
Maybe… just maybe kindness isn’t as bad as my father claimed it to be…

“Okay, here is the plan,” Lucy whispered.
“Tell us,” Kyle and Ian answered, both whispering like Lucy.
Smiling a mischievously, Lucy wrapped her arms around the two boys’ heads and drew them together so they would be able to hear her even if she was whispering right under her breath.
“Boys, we have a showdown to make.”
After that mysterious saying, Lucy grinned from ear to ear and jumped up from her seating position. Tilting their heads, Kyle and Ian glanced confusedly at one another. They were enemies before, but were now best friends. It seemed that they had similar interests and whenever they felt like it, they ganged up on Lucy to tease her too. Therefore, Lucy was able to leave them by themselves without worrying whether or not they will fight again. When she returned, she found the boys chuckling over some jokes each other had come up with.
Putting her hands on her hips, she sighed at the boys who seemed to be never maturing. She counted to three and then continued to count in her head until Ian saw her first.
“Hey, Lucy,” he said, while staring her her right hand. “What have you got there?”
“Well, obviously, it’s a rope. We’ll need that to climb the palace and into the king’s quarters,” replied Lucy and rolled her eyes. “Sooner or later someone is going to either capture or kill us. Well, maybe not you Ian, since he is your father after all, but not Kyle and I. When we get caught, we will die. So, before that happens, we need to strike them first before they strike us.”
Kyle, who remained quiet the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
“Let’s go to the markets. Grab a cloak each from Lucy’s house and then go shopping.”
“Shopping for what though?” asked Ian. Lucy nodded her head in agreement. “Why do we need to go shopping when the king is trying to murder us?”
“Well,” answered Kyle, with a glint of something in his sky blue eyes that suggested that he was up to something no good, “what do you need in order to fight?”
A knowing look dawned on Ian’s face. Then, as if they share a secret, he excitedly turned to incredulous Kyle who was astonished that Lucy still didn’t get it and whispered in an enchanted voice.
“My favorite shopping item... weapons.”

Dark settled in and the creatures of night started to emerge from their shelters, scurrying on and about. Using the cover of the night, Lucy and the boys made it to the palace walls.
Lucy, who was reaching into her hidden pocket to find the rope they needed in order to climb the steep wall, gasped in surprise and her face got pale.
“What is it,” whisper shouted Ian. Kyle, who was about to ask the same question, glared dangerously at Ian for beating him to it.
“The rope. Oh god, I think I dropped the rope somewhere on our way here.”
“W-wh-wha..” Shocked, Ian was left speechless and couldn’t form any words. Kyle, on the other hand,  sat down on the dirt and placed his chin on his fist while resting his elbow on  his knee.
“Plue. We could use Plue, you know,” muttered Kyle. At this, Ian and Lucy whipped their heads around to look at Kyle more closely.
“W-what?” he asked, self-conscious.
“Ky, I never thought I would be saying this to you, but you are a genius,” replied Lucy, with Ian nodding his head in agreement. “I never thought that Kyle of all people would think of a great idea.”
“Oi! Werewolves are fighters, not thinkers. Don’t judge…” retorted Kyle, who was sheepishly running his hand which was calloused from all the fighting he had done through his unkempt silver hair.
“Ha! As if wolves think at all,” teased Ian.
“First of all, I’m a werewolf. Second of all, I do think. Just.. not much,” stated Kyle, a little offended.
“Same thing. You  don’t think much and you also don’t even try to think.”
“You -”
And there goes the two immature boys, thought Lucy. Sighing, she whistled to call Plue.
“Hey, did you hear that?” asked a guard who was patrolling the place.
Shoot, we got discovered, thought Lucy while panicking immensely on the inside. My whistle was too loud! “Plue, please come quickly.. Plue…”
ROOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR
“Plue!” screamed Lucy with absolute joy. Kyle, on the other hand, seemed a little disappointed on the fact that he won’t get to fight the palace guards. Ian and Lucy, who stared incredulously at Kyle for… well, being Kyle. Even when all of them settled on Plue’s fluffy back, Kyle asked Lucy with glee, “Can I at least fight some of them? Please?”
“But what if they are actually nice people?” Inquired Ian.
“Princling, you don’t know how the world works around here. I’ll kill them first, and if it turns out that they are friendly, I’ll apologize.”
Ian gaped at Kyle and struggled to find words. Lucy, who was used to this kind of talk with Kyle, placed her hands on Ian’s broad shoulder and her eyes said it all: It’s not worth it.
Ian shrugged and before he knew it, Plue was already leaning on the window inside the  king’s, or rather his father’s, quarters.
When they all scrambled off from Plue’s back, Lucy quickly muttered something in Plue’s ear. Plue slowly nodded its head and with a few more beats,, Plue shot towards the ground where palace guards were trying to shoot arrows at him.
Meanwhile, Lucy, Kyle, and Ian were have a showdown with the king of Kaiserzeit, King Eckbert.
King Eckbert, “Well, well, well, what have we got here? One animal doctor, a prince, and a werewolf. What an interesting combination.”
“Father-” Ian, who was shifting from one foot to another and looking down at his foot, was suddenly engulfed in a white-hot rage. He couldn’t believe that his people actually thought his father as evil or cruel. Crying a battle-cry, he launched himself in a fierce battle with his father, the king. The king had mysteriously taken out a sword that was hidden from the rebelling trio, and counterattacked his only son without hesitation.
Hurt, Ian growled under his breath. “Do you feel any compassion towards me? Any fatherly love for me at all?”
King Eckbert shook his head, laughing like a maniac. “Lad, I don’t care if you are my only son or not. If you oppose my ways of ruling Kaiserzeit, then remember this,” he whispered in Ian’s ear while their swords were still clashing against one another. “You will die on my hands.”
Gritting his teeth, Ian growled loudly once more and clenched his hand on the gleaming sword more tightly. Then, as he took slow, deep breaths, he realized that the room was utterly quiet except for their sounds of him and his father fighting. Performing a somersault to shy away from his father’s sword, he turned ever slightly to see that Lucy and Kyle were still there, safe and sound. As this realization hit him, relief flooded Ian as he backstepped and viciously began to attack his father once again.
Meanwhile, Lucy, who was not a fan of fighting, stepped forward to intervene. However, something stopped her from doing so. Confused, she looked down to see Kyle’s hands in front of her, preventing her to step forward. Lucy thought that this action was done because  Kyle wanted himself to  join in the fight, not Lucy. BUt Lucy was wrong. Staring into Kyle’s face, all she found there was not humor nor excitement, but solemness. Realizing this, Lucy inspected his face more closely and his stoic face told her everything: Kyle was not joining the fight.
“It’s not my fight. It’s Ian’s. He has a score to settle with his father; we shall not interfere,” told Kyle, without even glancing at Lucy. Lucy, who never got why people fight among each other, just nodded and stepped back for she trusted Kyle; if he said to not intervene, then she wouldn’t intervene.

“Your majesty!”
“Your highness, are you alright?”
“Your excellency, please unlock the door! Help has arrived!”
The loud banging of the door resonated throughout the entire room, startling all of them inside it. Kyle muttered something unintelligible under his breath and swirled around to face Lucy.
“Call Plue. By the footsteps and the voices I hear, there are too many. We won’t stand a chance.”
Lucy gaped at Kyle, who never retreated in a fight. Once he was in a fight or was about to face a fight, he never ran away from it. Understanding dawned on Kyle’s face as he gazed at Lucy’s expression and knew what she was thinking. Then, before Kyle could utter a single word to explain what he meant, a deafening noise interrupted them.
Alarmed, Ian and King Eckbert ceased to fight and covered their ears with their hands. However, when Lucy inspected the king more closely, she realized that he was shaking. Shaking of fear. No, that wasn’t right, he was shaking from absolute terror. Even the banging on the door came to a sudden halt. King Eckbert opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, unable to form any words. When he finally was able to speak again, he  declared dramatically with terror reflected in his ocean-blue eyes.
“The dragon’s wrath is upon us.”
As if one cue, a roar resounded again and as Lucy gaped at her pet, Plue shot up from the ground below and soared through the open sky, circling once and then swooping down to suspend right in front of the window of the king’s quarters.
Ian and Kyle, who have never seen Plue in his battle-form, marveled over his scaled back. All of the fluffiness disappeared, replaced with a tough, shiny scale. His size also grew exceedingly; before, he was just the size of a car. Now, he was as big as a duke’s mansion. The eyes that used to have friendliness in them was gone, with a dangerous glint at its place.
Lucy, who was the only person used to this side of Plue, grabbed hold of Plue’s sturdy neck, swung her leg over, and sat comfortably on the dragon. Then, she extended her hand over to Kyle to help him settle into Plue’s back. However, Kyle shook his head while smiling tightly.
“I never run away from a fight. Never.”
Realization dawned on Lucy’s face as her mind registered on what he said.
“You want me, and only me, to run,” Lucy stated. “You know that I’m not a coward. I’ll fight with you.”
“No, Lucy,” said Kyle, “I understand that you are neither weak nor cowardly. But just this once, leave it to me and Ian.”
Lucy opened her mouth to protest, and list more than a thousand reasons to argue with Kyle. However, her efforts were blocked  as Kyle put his index finger on her lips and leaned in.
“You have been the only kind person I’ve ever met in this country. You saved me from my death, and Ian from the evil. Now, it is our turn to save you. Please, Lucy,” begged Kyle.
Lucy, who was always so confident in herself, was left speechless. The words Kyle spoke shattered all the thousands of counterarguments she could have said, and without any hesitation, she nodded her head.
“Fine,” whispered Lucy. She then brushed his index finger away from her mouth and leaned close to Kyle. So close that her mouth nearly touched his ear.
“Be safe, Kyle. And Ian too. Tell him that, will you?”
Kyle nodded his head. Then, a grin began to spread on his face.
“Believe in us, Lucy, like we have believed in you.”

“You didn’t have to do that, Kyle,” said Ian.
“Oh, I didn’t do it for you, I did it for me! I wanted to fight too, you know,” muttered Kyle.
Ian, who was about to say something, stopped himself and shook his head.
“Whatever you say Kyle. Whatever you say,” muttered Ian. Then, he began to crack a smile and readjusted his grip on his sword.
“Ready to fight, man?”
Kyle, who looked incredulously at Ian for asking such an obvious question,  burst into laughter and turned to his wolf form.
“As ready as I can ever be.”
And there they went, throwing themselves into the abyss of guards that just broke the door and swarmed around the duo like countless bees. Swords clashed, bodies crumbled, and Kyle and Ian stood their ground, back-to-back against each other. One guard crumbled to the ground after another, and when the last of the guards tumbled to the ground, only the king was left there standing.
Kyle and Ian both had minor injuries, none of them serious. However, the king had numerous cuts and lost too much blood from a long gash on his shoulder. Panting and gasping for air, the mighty king’s knees buckled and he knelt on the blood-stained floor.
Kyle winced at the sight, for the king’s numerous injuries were not a pretty sight to see. However, Kyle couldn’t help but feel a grudging respect towards the king as he stared defiantly at him and Ian, even though he knew that he lost.
“Kill me,” rasped King Eckbert.
Ian hesitated a bit but after a while, his face changed to determination. His eyes were devoid of any emotion, never betraying a single thing he was currently feeling at the time. Raising the sword he held, Ian took a deep breath and threw it forward… aiming at his own father’s chest. The king closed his eyes, expecting the impact that would soon end his life.
THUD
But the impact never came.
Curious, King Eckbert inched his eyes open. There, Kyle and Ian sat, tending to each other’s wounds. They seemed oblivious to the fact that King Eckbert was still very much alive, and kept talking to themselves. When the king finally realized that this wasn’t some trick, he slowly turned his head to see Ian’s sword that was supposed to end his life embedded in the wall behind him. This made him more confused.
“I’m not like you and I will never become like you either.”
The always stoic faced king then felt something stirring in his heart. He turned his head back at his only son, only to find him staring back at him; not with hate or disgust, but with love and compassion.
“Why?” he asked.
“I was like you. But I am not like you now. A person taught me that the greatest thing in the world is neither  wealth nor status. It is kindness, something I lacked until I met her.”
“Her being that zookeeper, yes?”
“Well, yes. Even though the citizens of Kaiserzeit have greatly suffered because of you, I cannot bear to kill you. I have learned that in a world full of people who couldn’t care less, I need to become the one person who couldn’t care more.”
At this, something that was stirring in the king’s hardened heart started to grow larger and larger and larger until there was a lump in his throat. He tried to make the lump disappear, but every time he tried to do that, the lump grew larger and larger until he couldn’t take it anymore.
Letting out a wail, he started to weep. He couldn’t care less that before him stood his son and the enemy werewolf. At that single moment, there was only him and him alone. He wept and wept and wept, crying his heart out. Never in his life before had he cried this much, especially in front of a company. But all that meant nothing to the king, now kneeling and hiccuping. His wails and quieted down to sobbing, which later quieted down to just sniffing. Then, he took out a handkerchief, blew his nose, and shakily stood up.
“I- Ian, my son… I now realize how foolish I was, banning kindness throughout my country. That was the worst mistake I have ever made, so I have decided that I’m not that qualified of a leader,” murmured King Eckbert. Ian, who couldn’t believe his own ears, knew what was coming.
“Son, the throne is yours. I officially retire from all this politics.”
Hearing this, Kyle and Ian had different reactions. Kyle grinned from ear to ear and looked at Ian as if to say: I told you he would say that while Ian’s ocean blue eyes watered and silent tears started to streak down. He knew that his father wouldn’t change his mind, for he was always a stubborn man, so he curtly nodded his head and accepted it.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
It has been a few weeks since the coronation of Prince Ian, now a king. Much has changed, and much more still needed changing. Ian had gotten close to Kyle and wanted him as his chief advisor, which Kyle politely declined, reasoning that he was not one of them.
“I must return to my home country, where I have a life to continue. There, I will try to convince our queen to forget all the past hatred and start anew. You, on the other hand, will remain here and get adjusted to the fact that you are the king now.”
“I know. Though we may part ways, always remember to pass on what we have learned from the kind-hearted Lucy: be kind to others,” reminded Ian, now known as King Ian.
“I will. Farewell dear friend, and be well,” said Kyle, while adding, “we will cross paths again, King of Kaiserzeit.”
“So we shall,” agreed Ian.

Sun shone brightly as a woman in her early twenties hopped around in the crowded market area. Singing a lullaby, she whistled and out of nowhere, a blue fluffy dragon rushed to the woman, avoiding the people who came to either buy or sell their items.
Suddenly, the dragon began to sniff and with its strong wings, flew to whatever food that attracted him. The woman sighed and pushed past all the people to find her pet sitting on a box of apples, waiting for her patiently. The merchant chuckled as the dragon and the woman had a staring contest and when the dragon won, the woman sighed once again and walked up to the merchant.
“How much is the apple, sir,” asked a woman with her curly brown hair tied into a ponytail.
“Well, I have more than enough food to survive this winter so I’ll give it to you for free,” answered the chubby merchant.
“Why, thank you. Though you didn’t really have to do that,” answered the woman.
“Nah, it’s nothing. Ever since King Ian became the king, the world’s become such a better place now.”
“Really, sir. Well, thank you again for the free apple. I should get going,” replied the woman.
“Sure thing. Tell me your name though before you leave, young lady.”
The woman, who was chuckling at her dragon’s cuteness, looked up to meet the merchant’s friendly gaze.
“Lucy. My name is Lucy, Lucy Heartfilia,” said the now identified woman, Lucy. Then, her dragon squealed again and flew over to a wall, where a poster was present. Giving the merchant an apologetic smile, Lucy waved at the merchant and ran to catch up with her dear pet, Plue.
“Hey, buddy. What are you up to now, you mischievous boy?” inquired Lucy. Plue didn’t answer, which was unusual for him. Whenever Lucy asked something, Plue always answered. Therefore, Lucy leaned in more to see what attracted Plue’s attention so much that he even ignored her. Lucy slowly read what was written on the poster and as her eyes scanned the words, she started to smile.
There, in huge black letters, were the three words:

KINDNESS IS CONTAGIOUS