The Dragon King's Heart

Not wanting to leave her alone on the balcony, Victoria stayed by her side. She kept an eye out for Dante, hoping he would return soon. Laina leaned forward on the balcony, looking out into the royal garden. A gust of wind and the smell of rain made her look up at the sky.

"Those are some heavy-looking clouds," she commented as she observed them carefully.

An uneasy feeling manifested in Laina's heart but she paid it no mind. She had a lot on her mind. Now that her coronation is complete, Laina was Queen of Kinshearth. With her new responsibilities, she knew it meant she would have less time to spend with Dante.

"What's on your mind, Your Majesty?" Victoria asked as she stood by her side, watching the clouds.

There were so many things on her mind, she did not quite know what to say. The clouds did not seem to budge either. As thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, she let out a sigh.

"There are so many things to worry about. But do you know what is the one thing I can't stop thinking about?"

Victoria shook her head, "What is it?"

Laina hated to admit it, "Dante."

She worried for him, worried if they would ever find a solution to lift the curse. How long more did they have with one another? Did she have to prepare herself for the worse? Victoria knew about the curse. She too had tried to help them find a solution.

But unfortunately, none of the materials they had was able to provide any information on lifting it.

"That's how you know you love someone," Victoria explained, "When you can't keep them out of your mind. You worry for them."

Victoria glanced over, looking into the ballroom. To her relief, she saw Dante hurrying over to them. He was right on time.

To end off their conversation, the Werewolf Queen advised Laina, "The love and understanding you have for one another, will tide you both through even the worst storms. Having faith in one another is what's most important."

She signaled to Laina to look in the direction she was looking at. As soon as she did, she saw Dante coming into view. At that moment, Laina felt as if the world came to a stop. All she had eyes for was Dante.

As he came up to her, she instinctively held out her hands and Dante caught onto them. No matter how hard she tried, she could not take her eyes off him. Little did she know, Dante felt the exact same way at that moment. Perhaps it was what was to come that made him cherish this moment so much.

Laina could feel the sweat on his palms. He must be nervous, she thought to himself. But she did not know why. She attempted to search for an answer in his eyes but could not quite find it.

Dante, on the other hand, gripped Laina's hands tightly. He could feel the warmth through her skin. He desperately wanted to hold on to it for as long as he could. Who knew when was the next time they would be reunited?

"Laina, there's something I want to tell you."  his voice was filled with urgency.

She sensed it. He was trying so hard to maintain his calm, hoping she would not notice. But Laina could not help it. If something was wrong, she wanted to know immediately.

"What is it, moon kiss? Is something wrong?" she tightened her grip on his hands, worried he would disappear before her eyes.

Dante stopped for a moment. He lifted his hand to caress her cheek. He did not know what to say to calm her nerves. Perhaps it was best for him to do what he had originally intended. That way, he would have no regrets.

He got down on one knee. His eyes never left hers. He could hear the thunder rumbling in the background, but Dante paid it no mind. In the ballroom, Margaret and the others noticed Laina had been out on the balcony for some time. Queen Victoria came over to inform them of what was about to happen on the balcony.

Immediately, they went over to take a look. All of them peeked from each side of the balcony. They kept themselves carefully hidden, so as not to disturb the couple. Marius was sweating, as he watched the scene play out before him.

"Come on, Dante. You don't have much time," he muttered beneath his breath as his palms began to sweat.

Margaret noticed the storm brewing in the distance too. It was getting closer and closer with each passing second. She also realized there was something amiss about it. Before she could ask Marius if he knew anything about it, she turned to see his expression.

The look on his face said it all.

"Dante... what are you-"

"Laina, I have never stopped loving you. I will never stop loving you. No matter what the future brings, you will always have a place in my heart."

He reached into his pocket and took out the small box. Laina gasped, her heart was pounding in her chest. She knew what this meant. Dante carefully opened the small wooden box, revealing a beautiful handcrafted ring.

Dante crafted it himself. At first glance, the ring did not look very unique. But upon closer inspection, it was more than meets the eye. Crafted by hand and magic, Dante used a midnight blue diamond and a sun fire diamond to sculpt it.

The result was a ring made of diamonds, in the shape of a dragon and phoenix, united as one.

Laina was overwhelmed with emotions. She did not know what else to say. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Laina, will you marry me?"

"Yes, absolutely. Yes!" she exclaimed with glee and tears in her eyes.

Dante smiled brightly. He carefully removed the ring from the box and fitted it onto her right ring finger. It was a perfect fit. As soon as he got up on his feet, he pulled Laina into his embrace.

He hugged her tightly, and she reciprocated the hug. Neither of them was willing to let the other go.

CRASH!

A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky above. Everyone shielded their eyes from the blinding light. Their ears were ringing from the crash of thunder.. Laina was in a state of shock as she fell to the ground.