Anise blinked at him owlishly for a long moment before remembering what she was there to do. "Oh!" She quickly reached into the basket for the last wreath of flowers.

He bent his head low to her, his dark red hair reminding Anise again of blood.

She tried to drape it over his head like she had the others... But he was much larger than the other knights, and his high ponytail complicated matters. 

The flower wreath simply wouldn't go further than the top of his head.

Sir Linden Dathis, the terrifying Beast of War, was wearing a flower crown.

Anise laughed.

She couldn't help it. This massive man, strong and scarred, clad in dark armor atop a black horse... had flowers in his hair. 

The knight stared at her, his lips parting, brows furrowing...

"I'm sorry!" She braced herself for his anger. "F-forgive me..."

Her eyes squeezed shut, but... He didn't strike her, or even raise his voice. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes.

Sir Linden had taken the crown from his head and wound it around his wrist instead. 

"Oh... That suits you better," she said awkwardly. 

"Thank you, my lady."

His low voice rumbled at her, then he flicked the reins and sped off to the hunt. 

"By the gods," Violet threw her arms around Anise, trembling. "I thought he was going to kill you!"

"He wouldn't kill her. Don't be ridiculous." Kalina sighed.

"I can't believe you laughed at him!"

"I wasn't laughing at him! He just... It was..."

"You laughed at him." Kalina said flatly.

Anise snatched up the basket and brushed petals off her skirts. "W-well... at least it's over..."

"And now we wait..." Violet sighed. "But at least there's cake! Let's go get some before it's gone..."

Kalina and Violet stepped down off the stage and walked towards the crowd of ladies milling around or sitting for cake and tea at the colorful tables.

Walking slowly, Anise fell behind. She returned the basket to the servants, then sat under a tree to catch her breath. 

I can't believe I laughed at him either...

Baron Melliere had announced a monster hunt. His knights would scour the countryside and kill as many monsters as they could find. Events like these were often held to cull the monster population in the area, but this one had an usual prize: the Baron agreed to reward the knight with "whatever he desires most."

The rumors surrounding the event spoke the truth of it: the Baron was giving Sir Lawrence a way to win the hand of his eldest daughter, Kalina, in marriage. Ordinarily, a knight of his station would have no hope of ever marrying a future Baroness. He had no right to approach her, and it might damage Kalina's reputation to be marrying beneath her station. 

However, an event like this hunt... The story would be different. Sir Lawrence would appear as the dashing, noble knight who slew the greatest monster in the land, who stood before the Baron and announced what he desired most... was Kalina. 

It turned the social difficulty of their relationship into a grand romantic story. 

No one doubted Sir Lawrence would win. He was the greatest swordsman in the realm and a formidable force in battle. 

And besides that... the other knights understood the purpose of the hunt. They made way for him to take on the largest and deadliest monsters. None would dare show up with a better prize.

As the sun began to fall, the horns sounded, announcing the end of the hunt was near.

One by one, the knights returned to the estate. Each brought cartfulls of dead monsters.

"All of these were lurking just outside our gates?" Violet gasped with wide eyes. "There are so many of them..."

"Before a hunt like this, they spread monster pheromones on the trees to lure them out of their lairs." Kalina spoke to her sister but kept her eyes on the gate, watching as each knight returned. "It's not like you would see this many just taking a walk."

"Sir Lawrence is back from the hunt!" The call rang out and the crowd hurried towards the gate.

Kalina walked calmly, head high, aware that every eye not searching for her husband-to-be was watching her. Violet and Anise stood behind her like handmaidens, trying to maintain her pace.

The crowd parted around them, making way for Kalina to see...

The mangled body of a golem.

"Ew, is that just... a bunch of mud?" Violet asked.

Sir Lawrence was fresh from the field, his armor splattered with gore, sweat dripping from his hair. He put one boot on the thing's body and smiled like the sun as the three sisters approached.

Kalina carefully kept her eyes on him... and not on the creature's corpse.

"My lady," Sir Lawrence gave a bow with a flourish, in high spirits. "I think you will find this beast to be the largest and deadliest thing slain today." 

Anise frowned as she looked down at the man-shaped clump of earth and foliage that made up the golem. From her studies, she knew the golems on her father's land were mostly peaceful, and only fought to protect the places in the forest they had chosen to be their home. They were creatures of nature, tending to the plants and animals, and protecting them from harm. 

Perhaps that's how he assured his victory... Instead of hoping a large monster would appear, he went out into the forest and goaded this one to attack.

She felt a pang of sadness for the beast. It was dangerous, yes... But so were bears if people didn't leave them alone.

Keeping her thoughts to herself, she watched as Kalina and Sir Lawrence gazed at one another. 

"Well now..." Her father's voice made everyone turn to see the Baron striding across the lawn. "That's the biggest monster I've seen today."

"We slew a dozen smaller beasts along the way, sir," the knight gestured to the cart, which contained quite a few other bodies, but nothing quite as large as the golem.

"Indeed! Have all the knights made it back yet?"

"Not all, my lord."

"Still... I doubt any could bring a prize that possibly matches this..."

"Thank you, sir."

"I would shake your hand, but... I think you might need to wash up before the final ceremonies."

"Of course, sir." 

Violet quietly squeed with glee and clutched onto Anise's arm. "He did it! This is really happening!" 

Suddenly, there was a cry from the gate. "By the gods! What is that?!"

Everyone turned to look. 

Someone was bringing the body of a great beast, bigger than a carriage, barely able to fit on the cart it was hauled on. The wheels groaned beneath the weight of it.

"It smells awful..." Violet covered her mouth with her sleeve.

Anise gaped at the mound of feathers and reptilian flesh. "It's a cockatrice," she murmured. 

"What?!" Sir Lawrence looked annoyed. "There's no way someone found a cockatrice around here, let alone was able to kill it."

And yet, there it was, its bloody carcass splayed out on the cart...

...pulled by Sir Linden's big, dark horse.