The Dragon King's Heart

The sky was lightening up as Dante stirred awake in bed. As his vision began to refocus, a smile appeared across his face. It had been a while since he had such a well-rested night.

With Laina by his side, he had no worries to keep him up. He looked over to her sleeping form, huddled close to his chest. He could feel the warmth radiating from her body. He leaned in closely, careful not to wake her up.

He wanted to be here when she woke up. But he made a promise and he intended on keeping it. Dante sat up in bed and stretched out his arms. As he looked over to Laina's dressing table, he noticed the blood rose in the vase.

A smile appeared across his face.

He had not expected her to cherish it this well. He got out of bed carefully and walked over to the vase. He picked up the blood rose and spun it in his fingers. The rose still looked fresh. As fresh as the day he had picked it from the garden.

"Watch over her while I'm gone," he whispered to the rose before placing it on the pillow next to Laina.

He walked over to Laina's side of the bed, carefully leaned in, and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Just as he straightened his back, ready to leave, he realized something was holding him back.

When he looked down, he saw Laina's hand holding his wrist tightly refusing to let go.

Her mouth was moving, but her eyes were still closed.

"Don't… don't go…," she mumbled as her eyes moved beneath her eyelids, "Stay with me…"

Dante crouched down by her side. He lifted her hand to his mouth, gently kissing the back of her hand.

"I will always be in your heart," he whispered to her as he ran his free hand through her hair.

He carefully placed Laina's hand back underneath the covers, as she continued to sleep. Dante turned to look around the room. He made sure he did not leave any traces of his time with Laina, apart from the rose.

He cleaned one of the champagne flutes, to make it look as if Laina had been drinking alone. Realizing he was still in the silk pajamas Laina had gifted him, he changed out of them into his regular clothes.

He kept her gift safely in his own personal storage. Titan, Laina's Solar Mastiff, stirred away and happily came over to Dante's side.

He crouched down to pet the dog, "Aren't you a happy one? It feels good to have her back, doesn't it?"

Titan excitedly wagged his tail, as he licked Dante's hand.

With everything settled, the sun was already beginning to make its debut. It was time for him to leave. After taking one final look at Laina, Dante takes his leave.

When the sun rose above the horizon, Margaret knocked before entering the room to wake Laina up.

"Your Highness, it's time to wake up," Margaret called out.

She noticed that the blood rose had been moved from its vase but did not think too much of it. Laina stirred awake soon after letting out a yawn as she rubbed her eyes.

"Let me… let me sleep a little more," Laina mumbled as she turned to her side.

When she smelled the sweet scent of the blood rose, she opened her eyes slowly. Seeing the rose that had been placed on the pillow, Laina began to recall what had happened the night before.

At first, she had assumed it was merely a dream. She had a long day, but she remembered everything else in a dream-like sequence after she stepped into her bath.

She picked up the rose with a smile on her face. This was a clear sign that the events of the night before were real. Margaret and another servant cleared away the dinner cutlery and silverware from the night before.

"Did you sleep well, your Highness?" Margaret asked as Laina got out of bed to get changed.

"I did, I slept very well," she replied with a smile.

Laina walked into her wardrobe to pick out what she was going to wear for the day. As she ran her hand through the different options, she chanced upon the special nook where she had kept Dante's present.

When she noticed it was not there, she had more proof that what happened the night before was not just a dream. As Laina changed out of her sleepwear, Kol arrived, reporting for his duty.

The moment he entered the room, he noticed that someone else's presence lingered in the room. When Laina came out, fully dressed, he was inspecting the room from top to bottom.

"Good morning Kol," Laina greeted him as she walked over to take her breakfast at the table.

Titan was circling at her feet excitedly, so she crouched down to pet him before she took her seat.

"Good morning, Your Highness," he reciprocated her greeting as he continued his inspection.

Margaret realized what Kol was doing and with the lack of her powers, she was less susceptible to her surroundings. After the servants left, leaving Laina, Margaret, and Kol alone, Kol could not help but ask.

"Was someone here the night before?" Kol asked innocently.

Laina nearly bit the side of her cheek the moment she heard Kol's question.

"Someone?" She echoed his words with a mouthful of toast, "No, I don't think so…"

"But…"

Laina quickly diverted the topic of discussion to something else instead. She turned to Margaret and asked how Colette was doing.

"Oh, the girl is well. She was asking about you before she went to bed last night. She is such a precious child," Margaret replied with a smile.

"How sweet. Is she awake yet?"

"I believe so."

"Make sure she has everything she needs."

"As you wish, your Highness."

On the other side of Laina's quarters, Colette was enjoying the royal treatment in the room Laina had arranged for her. She was served a stack of blueberry pancakes with a side of honeycomb.

As she took a bite of pancakes, a smile appeared across her face. It had been a while since she's had such a hearty breakfast.

-I should have just done this earlier!- she exclaimed to herself as she continued chewing on her breakfast.

But this was merely the beginning of her plan. Infiltrating the Kinshearth Palace was just the first step. Next, was to gain Laina's complete trust.

-Just you wait, princess, I will bring you down from within.- she thought to herself as her wide mischievous grin appeared on her face.

As if on cue, Colette dramatically drops her fork and knife, sending them crashing onto the ground. The maid who was in the room gasped in horror as she witnessed Colette choking on her breakfast.

She immediately rushed out of the room to call for help.

A messenger quickly informed Laina as the situation unfolded.

"She's what?!" Laina exclaimed as she jolted out of her seat.

She immediately rushed to where Colette was, with the messenger leading the way. When she got there, Colette was on the ground. Her face was turning purple as she looked up at Laina with tears in her eyes.

She reached her hand out to Laina, trying to seek help.

"Why didn't anyone do anything?!" Laina shouted as she rushed to Colette's side.

Laina picked Colette up in her arms and laid her face down on her lap. She gave her a few back blows, successfully unclogging her windpipe. The piece of pancake that was stuck in her throat flew through the air and onto the ground.

Finally, Colette could breathe again. She began to take huge gasps of air.

Laina gently rubbed her back, "There there, you're alright now. You're alright now."

Colette turned back around and hugged Laina tightly with her small hands around her neck.

"Lai… Laina!" She cried as she buried her tears stricken face in Laina's chest.

"I'm here, I'm here," Laina consoled the poor child.