The Dragon King's Heart

"Nothing you say will change my decision," Dante replied stubbornly.

He got up from his seat and said, "Since there's nothing else for me here, I will take my leave."

He did not wait for his mother to reply. He knew what she would say and he did not want to hear any of it. Even as she called out his name multiple times, he did not look back. As he buttoned his suit jacket at the door, Marius quickly joined him as they made their way towards the portal gate. 

He had stayed here long enough, he did not want to be here for one moment longer. Marius glanced behind them as they walked. He could see Empress Cecilia coming after them. 

"Don't mind her, we're going back to Dracona immediately. We've already spent too much time here," Dante snapped as he noticed Marius looking behind. 

He bit his lip as he asked, "My King, shouldn't we at least-"

"No," Dante did not say anything else and kept on walking. 

Marius knew better than to question him any further so he simply tailed behind him quietly as they continued to the portal gate. 

Empress Cecilia chased after Dante from a distance. Knowing she could not change his mind, she gritted her teeth in anger as she cursed beneath her breath. She rubbed her temples with her fingers and tried to calm herself down. 

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her fists tightly. 

"That wench! Driving a wedge between my son and me. I will not let you have it so easy!" she cursed. 

Dante and Marius carefully made it through the portal. It brought them back to Dracona, in Dante's private quarters in the castle. He turned to his dressing table and swiped the necklace he had placed there. 

The pendant did not work where he had gone, so he had left it in his room for safekeeping. Dante knew if his mother saw it, he would not hear the end of it. As soon as he put it on, Dante sensed that Laina had attempted to contact him multiple times. 

He needed to see her as soon as possible. 

Marius quickly stopped Dante in his tracks, "Whoa whoa whoa, Dante… ah I mean your Majesty, where do you think you're going?" 

"Do I need to report to you where I'm going?" Dante barked, annoyed by Marius's question. 

Marius cleared his throat as he sighed internally. If he knew it was so difficult being Dante's close confidante, he would not have volunteered to take up his position. Dante was a hard man to keep track of. 

"Normally, no. But, we do have some matters we urgently need to take care of Dracona. We've already been away for who knows how long and that matter needs to be taken care of as soon as possible," Marius explained as sweat trickled down his forehead. 

He knew Dante's temper better than anyone else, at least right now. He closed his eyes as he waited to receive his King's wrath. But what he got in return was merely silence, followed by a sigh of annoyance. 

"Well then, let's just get it over and done with," Dante replied as he glared at Marius, "What needs to be done?"

Marius explained that there had been reports of a colossal beast rampaging the east of Dracona. At first, the beast was only spotted deep in the forests, away from the Dracona citizens.

But more recently, there were reports of villages being trampled and torn apart. Marius received the latest intel, while they were away, that an entire town had almost been destroyed by the colossal beast. 

Hearing the report, Dante cracked his knuckles, "Well then, let's get on to it." 

Based on the information gathered, the colossal beast was last spotted in Rugdwell Lake. Royal soldiers had been deployed to deal with the threat but they were unsuccessful. It was rare for such a case to be recorded, hence Dante's presence had been requested to appease the people and eliminate the beast. 

Seeing that the town had been ravaged by the creature, Dante called for resources to be sent to them to assist with rebuilding. 

"I will head over there now to assess the situation while you get everything else in order. Also, find out how long we've been away," Dante instructed Marius before heading off. 

"Wait, your Majesty! Where-" Before Marius could even continue his sentence, Dante had taken to his dragon hybrid form. 

He unfurled his wings and took to the sky towards Rugdwell. Marius sighed as he shook his head. 

"Why, why did I agree to this," he asked himself as he got to work. 

In his dragon hybrid form, Dante was able to fly at speeds that regular folk cannot comprehend. Within an hour, he arrived at Rugdwell. Realizing he was still dressed in his royal garments, he quickly changed into a simpler set of garments that were more suited for battle and travel. 

Upon seeing the damage that had occurred to the town, Dante was surprised. The colossal beast was unlike most of the others he had encountered before. It could be a crowned colossal beast. 

After accessing the town, he went off to the lake. As soon as he closed upon it, he could sense the aura of the beast. First, Dante investigated the surrounding area. The beast was attempting to elude his senses but he knew exactly where it was. 

It was hiding in the depths of the lake. 

Dante walked up to the edge of the water. He could not see anything, as the water was murky and muddy. But he knew the creature was in there. Bubbles began to form on the surface. Dante quickly backed away from the side of the lake. 

Seconds later a creature burst forth from the water and let out an ear-piercing roar. The surrounding trees rustled at the might of roar. As the creature set foot on dry land, the ground reverberated. 

Dante had leaped away to safety in the nick of time. The beast almost got him. He was not pleased. Just as he was about to draw his weapon, the pendant around his neck emitted a soft glow. 

Laina was attempting to contact him!

<Writing Prompt #6 - A merman coming ashore for the first time>

Swimming through the rainbow reef was something Lucas did every day without fail. It was difficult for him to get away from the guards his father had assigned to protect him.

But he knew once he was able to get through the rainbow reef, he was safe. As he swam, he looked up towards the surface of the water. He could see the sun through the water, shining down upon him. 

How much he yearned to swim up to the surface, maybe even touch the hot sand where the waves washed ashore. 

"Lucas! We do not mingle with land-dwellers!" His father's nagging rang in his mind. 

He rolled his eyes as he continued to swim through the water, gracefully moving his tail fin as he went. Multi-colored fish of all kinds swam by him, providing him cover as he entered a cave. 

The cave had access to a small sand-covered beach, hidden away from the land dwellers and sea dwellers. As far as Lucas knows, only he knew where this place was.

The closer he got to the surface of the water, the more excited he became. 

"This is it. This is the day!" He muttered to himself, hoping it would boost his confidence. 

Generations of mermaids and mermen of the Atlantian had the ability to walk on land. However, since the sinking of Atlantian into the ocean, their ruler had established a rule, never would they walk on land ever again. 

Most of them followed the King's order with no hesitation, but stories of those brave enough to give it a try spread like the flood. Lucas had been intrigued ever since he heard the tale of the mermaid who went on land to explore. 

She returned years later with many wonderful stories. Some said she had simply gone mad from eating too much smoked kelpweed while others vouched for her sanity. 

Lucas had heard many of her stories and had been fascinated by them ever since. Naturally adventurous and curious, he wanted to know what was beyond the seawater he had lived in all his life. 

Taking in a deep breath of air through the gills on his neck, Lucas swam up to the surface. When he came into contact with air, he was surprised. The gills he had on his neck closed up immediately, yet he was still able to breathe. 

That was when he realized he was breathing through his nose. An organ in his chest, that he never knew of seemed to start functioning on its own. Now half of his body was out of water. 

"This certainly is strange," he muttered to himself. 

Lucas gasped in shock as he brought his hands up to cover his mouth. Even his voice sounded different in water and on land. He used his hands to crawl out of the water. 

The grains of sand stuck to his skin as he was still wet from seawater. As his lower torso was out of the water, his beautiful scales and tail slowly disappeared. Lucas watched on in shock and amazement as his tail turned into a pair of flippers. 

"Are these… feet?" He wondered as he wriggled his new legs and toes. 

His glistening color-shifting scales became a pair of pants he wore that stopped short of his waist. 

Now, it was time for the ultimate test. Lucas held onto a nearby rock formation for support as he slowly got up on his feet. At first, he kept moving both feet together, as if they were still one tail fin. 

Then, he realized he could move both feet separately, allowing him to stand up with greater ease. As he finally got up on his new feet, Lucas was brimming with excitement. 

Now, his land adventure begins!