The Dragon King's Heart

As soon as Laina heard Margaret's hurried footsteps coming down the hallway, she knew exactly what it meant. Victoria, who sat across from her, looked over to Laina. They both put down their teacups just as Margaret rushed into the room. 

As the handmaid attempted to catch her breath, Laina looked over to her, "He's here?" 

"Yes… yes, your Highness."

Laina nodded. She turned back over to Victoria, "I won't force you if you do not wish to be there. Either way, I promise you, I will put him in his place."

Victora bit her lip. There was a moment of hesitation in her eyes. Laina knew the events that happened the night before were terrifying for her. An assassination attempt is not something anyone can get over so easily. 

It was normal for one to fear for their own safety. Victoria clenched her fist close to her heart. She knew she had to be brave. If she wanted justice for herself and for the family she had lost, she had to be strong. 

"I want to be there, Crown Princess Laina. But, I have a suggestion, a method to get him to spill the beans himself," Victoria suggested. 

"Oh? Tell me. I am all ears."

After listening intently to her plan, Laina pondered in thought for a moment. She asked Margaret for her opinion on the matter. 

"I think Miss Victoria's idea is worth a try, your Highness."

"Very well then, let's get the show on the road," Laina declared as she clapped her hands together. 

Laina got up from her seat and followed Margaret out of the room, leaving Victoria in the care of her Order of Knights. Just before she left, she gave them specific instructions to keep Victoria safe. 

"Understood, your Highness," Nyx replied. 

Laina left for the Throne Room with Margaret and Kol in tow. She made sure to straighten her outfit and fix her hair before she entered the Throne Room. Upon her signal, Margaret ordered the guards to open the doors. 

The announcer by the door sounded the trumpet as Laina entered and declared, "Announcing the arrival of Crown Princess Laina of Kinshearth!" 

Everyone who was in the Throne Room turned to look at her. All the ministers and nobles got down on their knees as she walked down the carpet towards the throne. Laina could already see King Kragen. 

He had that smirk on his face that she had grown to dislike. 

-I can't wait to wipe that smirk off his face.- she thought to herself. 

But as the Crown Princess, Laina put on a smile as she walked past him towards the throne chair. Kol, on the other hand, did not need to do so. He had his eye on the werewolf King the entire way. 

As soon as Laina took her seat on the throne chair, she declared, "All may rise."

"Thank you, your Highness," the ministers and nobles said in unison as they rose to their feet. 

King Kragen took a step forward and bowed to Laina. When he attempted to walk up the steps to get closer to Laina, Margaret and Kol stood in his way. 

Laina took out a wine red paper folding fan. It was hand-painted for her by the artists of the Yellow Villa. She opened it carefully and used it to cover her face, leaving only her eyes visible. 

"What a surprise, King Kragen. Did we not agree that we were to reconvene after two weeks? Barely a week had gone by," Laina asked. 

She darted her eyes away, pretending to look a little shy. Laina was about to put on a show for everyone to see. Hopefully, she would look convincing enough. King Kragen grinned, he did not read the tone of Laina's voice. 

For if he did, he would have sensed her faked surprise. 

"My sincerest apologies for coming unannounced, your Highness. I… simply missed you, my Luna. I could not stop myself from coming to see you. Please forgive me," he sweet-talked her in a honeyed voice. 

Margaret wanted to roll her eyes, but she made sure she did not give away any emotion. She too, could not wait for Laina to put him in her place. But something did catch Margaret's attention. 

Now that the werewolf King was standing mere inches away from her, she noticed a certain scent coming off him. There was a sense of familiarity. 

-Where and when have I smelt this scent before?- Margaret wondered to herself. 

Just as the werewolf King attempted to take another step closer to Laina, Margaret stopped him in his tracks. She looked up to him sternly. 

"This is as far as you can go, your Majesty," she declared. 

King Kragen barred his sharpened teeth, letting out a low guttural growl of annoyance. He was attempting to exert his Alpha dominance to get Margaret and Kol to step aside. 

But it had no effect on both of them. 

"My apologies, King Kragen, my subjects are worried about my safety, that's all," Laina replied with a smile. 

"So, apart from coming here to see me, is there another reason?" She asked as she looked over to him with a glint in her eyes. 

King Kragen immediately softened his features and gave Laina a smile. He wondered how much she knew. He had to play his cards right if he wanted things to proceed smoothly. 

But if all else fails, he was unafraid to use force. At the end of the day, Kragen always gets his way. 

"I have received news that you have someone in your midst who's whispering lies to you about me, Your Highness. I am here to dispel these falsehoods. I would also like for you to hand them over to me," King Kragen explained. 

The ministers and nobles were all whispering to one another, upon hearing King Kragen's claim. General Tobias stepped forward, with an expression of shock. He looked up to Laina. 

"Your Highness, if what King Kragen says is true, we need to find this person at once."

The other ministers agreed with the general. King Kragen smiled, the situation was working in his favor. Laina, on the other hand, could not help but sigh. Her court was so easy to sway. 

If it was not for her leadership, Kinshearth might have already been reduced to dust. But then again, could she truly blame them? They were still blissfully unaware of the truth. 

<Writing Prompt #12 - An impulse buy that led to war>

"You did what?!" the king exclaimed at the top of his lungs. 

The royal family was having a fairly normal dinner in the Roselia Dining Hall until the Queen explained what she and their youngest princess, Ana, had done today. 

"Oh what are you fussing about, dear?" the Queen laughed it off as she wiped her sauce off her lips with a napkin, "It wasn't expensive, just a few thousand crowns."

The King put down his cutlery as he rubbed his temples. How he wished all of this was just a joke his Queen was playing on him. But having seen the actual item they had purchased, he was at a loss for words. 

Seeing how her husband was reacting, the Queen was in disbelief. Their Kingdom was one of the richest in all of the land. The amount she had spent, while extravagant, was nothing compared to what they spent weekly on jewelry alone! 

Why was her husband so distraught?

While they had often joked that they should watch their expenses in case a war breaks out, the Queen did not see this as anything to worry about. 

"What are you so worried about, Your Majesty?" she asked out of great concern as she placed her hand on her husband's.

When he finally could muster a few words to say, he asked, "Where. Where did you purchase it from?"

"The market…"

The King shook his head, "No, I banned the sale of dragon eggs over a decade ago, it's not possible. Where did you procure it from?"

"A… a foreign merchant sold it to us. Ana saw it and liked it very much. She wanted to keep it, you know how much she wanted her own dragon so I-"

"So you thought it would be great to get her one?"

"Yes…"

The King felt as if he was about to lose his calm. He took in a deep breath and let it all out. Everyone else who sat at the table remained silent as they watched the chaos unfold. Little Princess Ana, saw how upset her father was and began to cry. 

The Queen quickly walked over to her crying daughter and scooped her up into her arms. 

"There there, it's alright, it's alright," she attempted to coo her daughter. 

"No… this is not alright. This is terrible," the King muttered to himself. 

But the Queen had heard it. She flew into a rage, "What on earth is the matter?! I just got her a present, that was all!" 

"No it's not." a calm voice cuts through the conversation. 

It was the crown prince.

He looked up at the Queen. After his mother, the previous Queen, had passed on due to poor health, the King remarried the present Queen. Together, they had little princess Ana whom they doted on very much. 

Out of all five royal siblings, it was clear since the day she was born, little Princess Ana was the favorite child. 

"I'm having a conversation with the King," the Queen said coldly as she glared at the Crown Prince, "You are a child and you have no right to cut into the conversation!" 

The crown prince gritted his teeth, "Do you know what you have done?!" 

"Son, enough," the King sighed.

"No, father. She needs to hear it," the crown prince spoke up as he looked at the Queen, "We're in the midst of forging an alliance with the Dragons. If word gets out that we, the royals, purchased and are attempting to raise a dragon of our own, do you know what that means?" 

The Queen was speechless. She did not understand nor did she know what to say in response. 

"It means we're betraying their trust. If word gets out, it's going to be war."