This is a story of a time that could've been a long time ago, but not of this world. It is a tale of a prince and a hero. A tale of a hero who fought with all his might and lost so much, yet also gained so much. A tale that will make you laugh (hopefully), cry (maybe) or unsure if you should laugh or cry. Though it must be said, that this is not a typical fairytale. How could you have known that someone you worshipped as a hero actually hated being a hero? Hero Prince(ss) Chapter 2 When the hero is not what you'd expect. By Shiina Ai

"I was told about this, but I didn't expect you would actually come here looking like this," the king said as Feska stood in front of him.

"Oh really, father? Did I disappoint you? After all these years, is that all you're going to say?"

"Just why did you become... this?" The king gestured at Feska with his right hand.

"Nothing I'd care to tell you, father. Now let's move on to the real issue at hand."

"Just where did that cute boy went to," the king sighed before he continued, "Well, I guess you're right. Let's talk about the demon king-"

"No father, I only came here to talk about having you leave me alone."

The king gasped in shock.

"I'm not going to get anywhere near that guy again, father. Find another hero and let me live the rest of my life in peace."

"B-but, the demon king is a menace to the human world! As a hero, it's your duty to stop him once and for all!"

"I was a hero once. I retired," Feska stated, looking rather bored with the exchange.

"But you can't retire. The kingdom needs a hero!"

"YOU need a hero, father. I've already quit. I'm done. It's no longer my business."

"My son, have you forgotten what you yourself said before that journey? Are you turning your back on your own words?"

As the king said these words, all conversation stopped. The air felt heavy and an overwhelming murderous feeling pressed against everyone present. For those in the throne hall, this overwhelming feeling made them sweat, their bodies tremble and their bladder loose. As everyone wondered if they would all die on this day, Feska's eyes, shut for years, opened slowly.

But what leaked out from the crack of her eyelids was something that should not have come out of a human's eyes. As her eyes opened fully, what could be seen from the sockets of those eyes were not the clear white eyeballs with bright blue irises the colour of the cleanest coasts. It was blue indeed, but it was as far removed from a human's eyes, the difference being akin to the distance between the sea and the moon.

Glowing inside Feska's eye sockets were twin orbs with no limit or boundary. Like twin stars, it shone with a bright light like the guiding beacon of a lighthouse. For those who saw those twin blue orbs, it instilled in them a sense of warmth but at the same time, also a sense of great fear.

For there was nothing human about those twin orbs. If one were to hold back their fear long enough to gaze into those eyes, they would see nothing but a world of chaos and destruction. A world where things were always created and destroyed. Where truth always changed and stability lasted only a fraction of a second. If the eyes could be said to be the window to the soul, then where would these twin orbs lead the observer?

"This isn't good," the prime minister said as he saw the light.

"Thank you for reminding me of that, father. As I thought, I really shouldn't have left those who heard that line alive. I guess I should turn this region into a wasteland after all," Feska said with a sigh.

Spoken by any other person, it would've been seen as a joke. Unfortunately, when the same words were spoken by the hero who defeated the demon king, the same demon king who could destroy the region, nobody knew what to think anymore. Nobody knew whether Feska really mean what she had just said.

Feska meant it as a joke, though. Probably. Maybe. She won't actually kill over a million people just because she is embarrassed, right? Actually, not even this narrator can tell for sure.

"C-calm down, my son. Ah, I know, how about I call the Sorcerer of the Red Tower and ask him to turn you into a lady for real with this message card. That's what you want, right?"

Feska stared at the message card between the king's finger. With a flash of blue light from her eyes, she incinerated the message card between the king's fingers, causing the king to withdraw his fingers in pain. It was clear she had no interest in such an offer.

"I'm not wearing this because I want to be a lady, father," Feska stated.

"T-then, how about this?" The king produced a parchment made of sheep skin. "How about this? Your own land, untouched, fertile and rich with lush forests. It's so close to Sanori, you can see your sister anytime you want."

"See my sister, you say? Would this untouched land happened to be right next to the demon territories?"

"Well..."

"Lie to me, father and I will ensure you regret it."

"It shares twenty miles border with the demon territories."

Feska's eyes shot twin beams of light, making holes in the parchment.

"Rejected."

"How about this? Huge mountainous land and lush virgin forests. It's a bit cold, but the land is huge. Truly good for a duke, won't you agree?"

"And where exactly is this land, father?"

"It's a little complicated-"

"Name of the region, father."

"Umm, Karenka."

Feska's eyebeam again burned through another parchment.

"That's right in the route of invading demons in the last war, father! You're expecting me to take care of your problems for you, aren't you?"

"Then - then do it for your late mother! You know she'd be turning in her grave if she only knew her son would let innocents suffer."

"Father... my mother is still alive. She's sitting right next to you."

To everyone in the room, this was common knowledge. It was unthinkable to them how the king could not know this. As for the king himself, he turned his head to his left.

The queen, sitting by his side, smiled before mouthing out, "My son," without a sound while pointing a finger at herself.

"Ooooh..." the king said as he struck his left palm with his right fist.

"Seriously father, if you can't remember your wives, don't keep adding them! I wonder if you even know the name of big brother's mother."

"Umm, yes. Of course I know that. Err..."

"It's Princess Ceneris, father!"

"Ah, Ceneris. Lovely woman. Very beautiful, very dignified. I wonder how she's doing."

"She died almost 10 years ago, father."

"Oh, so she's the one who died!"

"Who's big sister's mother, then?"

The king frowned. He tried hard to remember, struggled to reach that deep part of his memory that he never bothered to visit. He looked left and right, looking for a hint to the answer, until his queen patted his left hand and in the same way as before, wordlessly said with the movements of her lips, "My daughter."

"Unbelievable, father!" Feska threw her hands up in disgust.

"Look boy. There are lots of things you need to consider when you're an adult. Isn't that right, prime minister?"

Without saying a word, the prime minister bowed slightly. This gesture usually symbolised agreement, but in the prime minister's head, he was actually thinking about something else. Inside, the prime minister was thinking, "Your majesty, please don't involve me. I don't want to be turned to ash."

"I'm already 16, father. In a few months, I'll be 17, which makes me wonder why I haven't received any severance gift. I've been wondering if you're expecting me to steal the throne from brother."

"Every word you say is rebellious, my son."

"Or perhaps... you were expecting me to abdicate without any benefits?"

"But I already offered you a large fief."

"You want me to be a freaking wall!"

"Prime minister, this is going nowhere. Summon him."

Him? Feska wondered this person could be. She didn't have to wait long.

"I was summoned and has arrived! Applause, please," the newcomer said as he entered the throne room.

Only a few in attendance clapped their hands. The king being one of them. The rest was too afraid of Feska to do anything.

Feska knew who that was. Even without turning her head, even without using her astral eyes, she knew who that was. The single, most shameless, most obnoxious pervert she had ever met.

"Guards, why are you allowing this crook into the throne room? Arrest this thief at once!" Feska ordered.

Nobody moved.

"Father, explain. If I don't like it, I will make you bald permanently this time."

"Hiiiiii!" the king squealed as he hid behind the throne. "Spymaster, save me!"

Spymaster? Feska wondered what the heck had happened since she left the palace.

"Greetings, Princess Feska. Meclis, spymaster extraordinaire at your service." The former bandit king said as he made an exaggerated bow with a wide sweep of his arms.

"Please stop, being called 'princess' by you gives me the chills," Feska said as she fixed him a narrow-eyed glare.

"Hahaha, please don't be shy with me, princess. After all, we journeyed to defeat the demon king together."

"Don't remind me..."

"You also flashed me your-"

The beam of light missed Meclis's head by about an inch. Meclis's smiling face froze as he imagined how easily he could've lost his head. Despite playing it cool, he almost lost his bladder. Actually, he already leaked a few drops.

"I do not miss twice, scum," Feska said while releasing killing intent towards Meclis.

"Wait, wait, wait. I have information!"

"Whatever information about the demon king is not information I'm interested in," Feska turned towards the king, who was hiding behind the queen. Feska already dismissed her former compatriot in her mind and now simply want to extract an agreement from her father, the king.

"Not the demon king! Though I do have information about that too. Wait wait, I can feel your glare. I was trying to say that guy is still alive!"

"Of course that guy is still alive, that's why they dragged me here."

"No, not the demon king," Meclis said as his voice dropped into a whisper, "THAT guy."

Feska froze hearing his words. She slowly turned her head left, facing Meclis, though it was unnecessary. Meclis could already feel Feska's supernatural attention on him again the moment he finished his words.

"Are you saying THAT guy is still alive?"

"Yes, THAT guy is still alive."

"Impossible!"

"I have seen him myself."

"You are not lying?"

"I'd never lie to you, princess."

"See, that's a lie."

"I'm not lying right now."

"Will you swear it?"

"On my dead wife's grave."

"You were never married."

"It was a matter of choice, not performance."

"Still, THAT guy is alive, huh? Kukuku..." Feska's lips turned into a crooked smile as her chuckles turned into a mirthful laugh.

"THAT guy is still alive! Hahaha, finally! This unfulfilled wish, I can finally end this! Just you wait, you bastard! You are not getting away from me again! Hahaha!"

"Umm, who are you both talking about?" the king asked in a timid voice. His question was of course, ignored.

"Let's go, bast - I mean, Meclis, my good friend! Take me to THAT guy, now!"

"Wait, you're forgetting an important matter, Feska. What about the demon king?" Meclis asked.

Feska snapped her head towards Meclis. Placing her right hand on Meclis's right shoulder, Feska looked up at Meclis's face, several inches higher. As Meclis started sweating, Feska said, "You do realize I can turn you to ash where you stand, right?"

Meclis's sweat formed big drops and dripped from his chink onto the floor. With his shirt increasingly soaked by his own sweat, he said, "It is my duty as the kingdom's spymaster and your former companion, Feska. Please have mercy."

Feska looked at Meclis, a large man, a full head taller than her, maybe more. He was sweating like a pig, his shirt started to turn sticky, his eyes started to be filled with tears, despite trying to appear brave. Feska knew he was on the verge of wetting his own pants too. Feska knew these things, not only because of her otherworldly perception, but because she purposely aimed a torrent of killing aura into Meclis with the contact of her hand on his shoulder.

The fact that Meclis still hadn't wet his pants was proof that he had a strong spirit. As expected of someone who accompanied her all the way to the demon king's castle, despite what THAT man did. Or maybe it was because after Feska went berserk and he had to stop her, he acquired a certain resistance towards Feska's killing aura.

Regardless, that wasn't Feska's problem. Meclis might have been a crook and was a scum with a strange taste, but he was her most loyal follower. Where others, such as THAT guy and that fake priestess abandoned him, he remained with her throughout the journey. Though Feska wasn't sure if it was truly loyalty or simply because he was a different kind of scum than her other followers.

"Fine, I'll handle the demon king. Now take me to THAT guy!"

*Hi everyone, it's Shiina Ai again. Sorry for being away for a long time. Truth is, I've been lacking motivation these days after the two very insulting mails I received in regards to FSL that I sold. I want to keep writing FSL, but I've not been able to complete even one chapter for months. I hope I will be able to put myself into Felicia's shoes again soon. Please wish me well.
**Your feedbacks are always very appreciated. If you like it, please say something. If you think it can be improved, then please tell me too. Thanks in advance.