The Dragon King's Heart

Since she was back, Laina occupied her time and mind with her royal duties. In her absence, Margaret had done everything she could to ensure things ran smoothly. 

"Well done, Margaret," Laina praised after hearing her handmaid's report of Kinshearth, "Looks like the kingdom can run hands-free without me."

"You over flatter me, Your Highness. I am merely doing what needs to be done," Margaret replied with a smile.

For the rest of the day, Laina dove deep into her work. With the success of the Yellow Villa as well as a few other ventures, the kingdom's income grew higher and higher with each passing day. 

Soon, Laina knew they would be able to clear all of Kinshearth's debts. Hopefully, that could be achieved before she ascended the throne as Queen. Margaret noticed that the princess was fully focused on her work. 

It was as if she was trying to keep herself distracted. While Laina was busy looking through one of the policies she had to review, Margaret pulled Kol aside. Having spent so much time with Laina, the handmaid knew the princess well. 

So, it was no surprise she made an excellent guess as to why Laina was trying to distract herself. 

"Did the crown princess try to contact King Dante during the trip?" Margaret whispered. 

Kol nodded, "She did."

"And?"

"But he did not respond," Kol looked back to Laina then back at Margaret, "Not once."

Margaret gritted her teeth as she tightened her fists. If the Dragon King were to appear now, she would give him a piece of her mind. First, he gifted Laina the pendant that allowed them to communicate no matter how far apart they were. 

Then, he does not respond. 

What was he trying to do?

Though her bodyguard and handmaid had kept their voices low to avoid her from hearing, Laina still heard every word they said. As she flipped the page, she continued to listen in on their conversation. 

"Where in the world could he be? Is that thing faulty? Or is this all a joke to him?" Margaret badmouthed Dante in a hushed tone of voice. 

Laina cleared her throat, startling Kol and Margaret, "You know I can hear the both of you, right?"

Margaret felt as a droplet of sweat trickled down her forehead, "Are we too loud, your Highness? My apologies, I was just checking with Kol on how your trip to Wolfenheim went."

"Oh is that it?" Laina asked, playing along. 

"Yes, yes it is. How was the Temple of the Moon?" Margaret continued. 

Laina smiled, she would much rather talk about that than about Dante right now. She wanted to push that to the back of her mind. 

"It was beautiful. I would love to visit there again. Although there were a few things that came off as strange when I was there."

Intrigued, Margaret walked back over to Laina's side and continued their conversation. She poured Laina a fresh cup of hot tea. 

"What about it was strange?" 

Laina remarked how weird it was when the High Priestess and the Moon Goddess called her 'child of the sun'. 

"They referred to you as a 'child of the sun'?" Margaret echoed her words in surprise. 

"I was surprised too! High Priestess Shylla explained that it was because I had an affinity with the sun, who knew?" 

Margaret could hear her heart palpitating in her ears. At that moment, she did not know what to say. When she finally regained her composure, she quickly asked for further clarification. 

"What did she mean by affinity to the sun? Did they say anything else?" 

Laina pondered for a moment, "I assumed she meant that my forte is in fire magic. I thought they called me that since I'm human and all. They called Kol a half-breed as well."

Seeing how casually Laina responded to her questions, Margaret heaved a sigh of relief. But her out-of-character expression raised Laina's suspicion. 

"Is there something you're not telling me, Margaret?" Laina narrowed her eyes at her handmaid as she asked. 

Caught off guard, Margaret slowly turned to look up at Laina. She blinked a couple of times, trying to get her thoughts in order. Realizing the long silence between them, the handmaid flustered. 

"No, of course not, Laina. Why would I be keeping anything from you? I don't have anything I am keeping from you! I… I really don't!" 

The handmaid's flustered expression and candid reply brought a smile to her face. She had not expected Margaret to respond in this manner. But it does make Laina wonder, could she really be hiding something from her. 

"I was merely joking! Your reply though, does make me wonder if you are indeed keeping something from me," Laina folded her arms and tapped her chin as she wondered. 

A thought came through her mind. 

"Could it be that you have a secret lover I don't know about?" 

The moment Laina said that Margaret's face turned beet red. It was exciting to see that it was not just her who would become shy about something like this. The crown princess pointed at her handmaid with a wide grin across her face. 

"Hah! I knew it! Come on, spill the beans. Who is it?" Laina ordered. 

Margaret shook her head vehemently. How did this conversation go from Laina to her? 

"No, your Highness, I don't have a secret lover!" She quickly replied, claiming her innocence. 

But there was one thing she could not deny. The moment Laina mentioned 'secret lover', Marius's face surfaced in her mind. That was the reason she blushed. That annoying close confidante of King Dante had been teasing her non-stop since the beginning. 

Were his annoying tactics working?

Latching on to the topic, Laina was not about to let her off so easily, "So not a secret lover, but an official lover? Now I need to know even more than before!" 

Before the Crown Princess could probe any further, a knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Margaret was secretly relieved. 

But as she walked over to open the door, Laina said, "Don't think you can get away with this, we will discuss it later."

At least she was safe for the time being. 

On the other side of the door, it was Grand General Tobias. He quickly walked into the room and greeted Laina. 

"Tobias, is something the matter?" Laina asked. 

It was not every day that her general would come and visit her in person. Especially outside of a court session and after the dressing down she had given him. 

"Ah, yes your Highness. I have been informed that we have a guest living in your quarters, is that true?"

It had been less than a day and Tobias had already been informed. Laina began to wonder if he had someone inside her private living quarters who was feeding him information. 

"Where did you hear this from?" Laina asked. 

<Writing Prompt #3 - 10 Days To Live>

10 days left. 

Emett looked beyond the horizon.

The world was covered in layers of red dust. There were barely any signs of life left. Those who had the chance to leave were already gone. Those who remained only had a limited amount of time left. As he watched far out into the distance, Emett tore open the wrapper of a twinkie and took a bite. 

The sweet pastry with a cream filling was his special treat to himself. 

"Happy birthday to you, Emett," he muttered to himself as he took another bite. 

9 days left. 

He hid behind a fallen bookshelf. Emett's heart was palpitating in his chest. He could hear the guttural gurgle of the creature as it made its way towards him. Emett cursed his own sweet tooth for his present situation. 

If it was not for his sudden cravings of the delectable chocolate candy coated in the colours of the rainbow, he would not be hiding behind this bookshelf with her heart in his throat. After pep-talking himself for a good few minutes, Emett tightened his grip on his metal baseball bat. 

He yelled at the top of his lungs, "FOR THE RAINBOW CHOCOLATE PIECES!"

7 days left. 

Emett woke up in a daze. It was the horrid stench that woke him up. He looked around frantically. Once he was certain there were no others around, he let out a sigh of relief. He got up on his feet and dusted off his clothes. 

He looked over to the slumped body of the creature, now covered in flies. He remained expressionless for a moment. Emett closed his eyes and said a short prayer. After a moment of silence, he walked over to the shelf and grabbed every packet of chocolate it could see. 

5 days left.

Emett grimaced in pain as he looked at himself in the dusty mirror. Blood seeped out of the wound across his stomach. He reached out for the bottle of alcohol. His hand was trembling. 

"Steady... steady..." he muttered to himself as he shakily brought the bottle of alcohol close to the wound. 

He tilted it and allowed the liquid to pour onto his wound. He cursed and swear as he held on through the pain. He was a brave boy that day. 

2 days left. 

It felt as if his entire body was on fire. 

But at least, he had a nice comfy bed to lie on. Although, it could be better. Every muscle in his body ached. Emett gritted his teeth as he turned his body a little to the side to reach for the water bottle. 

Atleast, he had all the food and water he needed. 

It won't be long. 

1 hour left. 

Emett was dazed. He could barely see straight. He squinted his eyes so that they could focus on the clock he had set up. There was only an hour left. A small smile formed on his lips. He reached over to the mobile device on his side. 

He switched it on.

Once it was functional, he scrolled through it quickly and clicked on the music option. He clicked on the playlist <On The Road> and pressed play. Emett placed the device by his side as soft music begun to plan. 

He laid back down and closed his eyes with a smile upon his face.