There was one thing Danico liked to ask people.

"What do you wish for?" 

It was an inconsequential question for most people and the randomness of the question that Danico would throw unexpectedly often left them baffled to blurt out the truth of their hearts desire.

"I wish for love," they said, with sorrowful eyes.

"I wish for peace," a mustached man said, his smile cold and false.

"I wish for glory, riches and fame," a youth boasted, a hand on his chest.

These answers can tell Danico a lot about the person. 

People wishing for love were inherently lonely people. They were the types who weren’t able to be by themselves for more than a minute. They would cling to people who mistreat them in the hopes that perhaps, that person can change and they would love them just as much as they do. 

If only their beloved could see.

See the hard work they put in the relationship to provide for them, to hide the bruises and heartache and if only they could see.

They would surely return the feelings one day, right?

To Danico, these types of people were the most pitiable. Why can’t they love themselves as much as they loved the person abusing them?

Danico will never know.

The second type who wished for peace were the ones Danico disliked the most. To him, they were nothing but a bunch of hypocrites vying for attention. The peace they yearned for was nothing but an illusion. As long as humans are around, there can be no peace in the world.

Oftentimes they were the type who would quickly grow bored and cause chaos themselves for their own entertainment once their wish was fulfilled. They’d look at you with wide innocent eyes and exclaim that they didn’t mean for their friend group, their relationship, their world, to fall apart. 

“I didn’t know that secret was supposed to stay between us!” they’d exclaim with sharp knowing eyes.

They would watch as people destroyed themselves and stay back as the chaos they caused unfolded.

Danico disliked these two faced bastards with a passion.

The third and last type of person that Danico knew of were the ones who wished for glory, riches and fame. They were the ones that Danico considered an honest type.

They were greedy and they did not care to hide it. Money made the world go round and with money they would find their happiness. They were the easiest to read in Danico’s opinion. Dangle a golden apple in front of them and they will happily dance to your tune, no matter how awful the music was.

Humans were inherently greedy creatures. It was something that all three archetypes shared. Once they’ve got a taste of their wish, they will want more and more.

They’re awful and flawed and complex, and that is what made them beautiful and fascinating to Danico. He loves and hates humanity.

It was why he wrinkled his nose at the murmurings of the people in the tavern. They were talking amongst themselves about the evil sorceress who casted a spell on a poor innocent babe on her baptism just because she wasn’t invited by the King and Queen at the celebration.

“She sounds more petty to me,” Danico said as he slid next to a seat of middle aged men, gossiping merrily. They looked at him with frowns and raised eyebrows, wondering who the bold young man was. Danico flashed them a golden coin and slid it to the middle of the table. “Bartender, your best ale for this table!” he yelled and winked at the men.

The animosity dissipated and Danico was welcomed with open arms. Men were such simple creatures.

“I’m new around here,” Danico said. “I’ve traveled from a far away land and was curious about what’s going on in the kingdom. Could the kind gentlemen help me out?”

Taverns, tea houses or the redlight district were always the first establishment Danico visited whenever he stumbled upon a new town or city. They were a place teeming with information. Most were useless gossip of whose husband was cheating on their wife or which noble lady wore the same dress twice to a ball, but it was the easiest place to meet people who were willing to tell a tale or two with a flash of a golden coin.

“Are you waiting for your companions to arrive?” asked a man with a scruffy ginger beard, chugging the fresh ale that just arrived. “Would be good to start explaining once they’re all here. That way we won’t have to tell twice.”

“Oh no,” Danico said. “I’m traveling alone.”

“A pretty young lad like you? Alone? It’s far too dangerous to be going out alone in this area!” Said an old man with a missing tooth and a crooked nose. “You’re going to die by the hands of the wildlings if you’re not careful.”

“Wildlings?” Asked Danico innocently. “I’ve never heard of those before. What are they?”

“Goodness, how far away is this country you’re from?”

“Very far,” Danico said vaguely and put another coin on the table, clearly telling them to stop asking about his background.

The trio of drunken men looked at each other in silence, communicating with each other with a simple glance. Danico marveled at their friendship.

“That’s very far indeed, if you’ve never heard of wildlings before. They are creatures of the night, shadows that lurk in the darkness who will snatch you when you least expect it and drag you into the Rose Garden.”

Danico took a sip of the ale and tried not to grimace. The bitter taste was not something he enjoyed, he wished it was more fruity. “The Rose Garden? That sounds like a lovely place to be dragged to,” he said cheekily.

The men on the table guffawed, and the third man who hadn't let out a single word the whole time and just enjoyed the free alcohol finally spoke up. “The Rose Garden is the most dangerous place to be at lad. It is a garden full of pitch black thorns. One prick from them and you’ll be gone with the wind!”

“Gone with the wind!” repeated the scruffy man with a ginger beard.

“Gone with the wind!” added the old man with the missing tooth and a crooked nose.

“Gone with the wind!” said the previously quiet man.

Danico stifled a smile. Clearly the three men were getting a little too drunk already.

“But they do say that if you pass through the forest, you will be able to find the tower that houses our slumbering princess! Should you wake her up, you will become the next king of our kingdom!”

“But not before fighting a dragon!”

Danico instantly perked up at the mention of the magical creature. “That’s not just a rumor, right? You’ve seen it, right? There’s an actual dragon in this area?” Excitement was clear to see in Danico as he leaned closer on the table with each passing word.

“Ay, everybody knows there’s a dragon beyond the Rose Garden.”

“I want to see it,” Danico said with a grin.

“Best not, lad. That dragon will eat you alive and spit out nothing but ash and bones.”

Danico shrugged, “I’m willing to risk it. Where can I find this Rose Garden?”

The three men looked at each other in grim silence. “Aye, we’re not gonna to tell you. We’d rather not have the blood of a young man on our conscience.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Danico said softly. “But you do know I can just ask or bribe other people, right? One of them is bound to crack and tell me where to find the Rose Garden.”

Once more, the three men looked at each other. The silent one shrugged and chugged another glass of ale while the man with the crooked nose shook his head in defeat. “Youth these days are full of valor.”

“Aye,” the scruffy man began. “If you truly insist on risking your life, you might as well tag along with the prince of Märchen on his journey. He is currently campaigning to slay the dragon and save the princess. You’ll find him in the town square tomorrow at noon.”

“But I heard he’s done recruiting soldiers,” the man with the crooked nose said. “And I doubt he’d let a feeble looking lad like you join. Have you ever held a sword before?”

“Oh, I’ve held a couple swords here and there. I’ve been in a couple of sword fights too,” Danico said suggestively with a coy smirk.

The men guffawed. “Aye, if the prince accepts our good friend here he will definitely turn red in rage!”

“Right, right! The prince is known to be an extreme prude after all.”

Danico grinned, the conversation was starting to lead into a grim atmosphere. Taverns were supposed to be filled with merry people dancing to the music or drunkenly swaying on their seats. If rumors were needed to start that he will seduce the prince to be a part of his campaign just to lighten the mood, then so be it.