The Dragon King's Heart

"Bring me another bottle," Dante ordered Marius as he placed the empty liquor bottle on the table. 

"Your Majesty, that's your fifth bottle. I think -"

"I don't care what you think, get it for me this instant," Dante snapped. 

As reluctant as he was, Marius did as he asked. He picked out a bottle from the cabinet and brought it to Dante. But instead of handing it to his King, Marius sat down next to him and poured himself a glass too. 

Dante looked over to Marius in disbelief. When did he become so bold? 

"Did I say you can have some?" 

Marius grinned, "No, you did not. You can punish me later, my King."

Drinking alone was boring anyway, Dante welcomed the company. It had been a while since he had drunk this much. Margaret's visit had brought back memories of the past. Some, he cherished. Others, he wished to forget. 

The alcohol helped to dull his senses. It helped to make some of the memories a little less painful. 

"So… it seems like both of you are cursed," Marius attempted to break the silence with a topic of discussion. 

But he ended up making the situation more awkward than before. 

"That seems to be the case," Dante replied as he took a sip from his glass. 

To think that Laina had it too, Dante could not forgive himself. Because of him, her fate became intertwined with his. The curse had been placed on him as a punishment, it was his punishment to bear. 

Yet now, Laina was forced to suffer the consequences as well. It was unfair to her. 

"Is there no way to break the curse?" Marius asked. 

"If there was, do you think I would not have tried to break it?" Dante replied. 

Marius pondered deep in thought for a while. 

He had an idea, "Maybe it's just difficult to find it, that's all. Isn't it said that a fire phoenix's power had the ability to burn away curses? That could be worth a shot." 

Dante shook his head. He had thought of that before, but a fire phoenix's power was insufficient. The curse had been placed upon him in the Celestial Realm, by the Celestials. It is not as simple to break. 

The Dragon King chuckled to himself. The one person who might have the ability to break the curse was Laina. But in her current state, she did not have the ability or the power to do so. When he relayed this information to Marius, Marius was elated.

"That's simple! We just need to get Princess Laina stronger, right?" Marius asked. 

Dante shook his head as he smacked  Marius on the back of his head with the back of his hand. 

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Marius yelped as he rubbed the back of his head where Dante had hit him. 

"It's not that simple, you fool. Don't you know the difference between a human body and a celestial body?"

Laina currently inhibits the human body. While she was able to wield a far greater amount of power compared to a regular human, it was not infinitely powerful. In fact, if she overexerted herself, she could cause the body to deteriorate quicker. 

If her body deteriorates beyond repair, the consequences would be severe. That was why Margaret was so protective of Laina. She knew the consequences. 

"I wonder what she did to bring Laina back…" Dante muttered to himself. 

Having witnessed how Dante was willing to fight for his happiness inspired Marius. He too wanted to fight for his own happiness with Margaret. Though she still had her guard up against him, he knew she was warming up to him. 

Margaret returned to Kinshearth in the dead of night after her visit to Dracona. Once she was in the confines of her own room, she went to the cabinet and picked out a bottle of wind. Instead of pouring a glass, she drank straight from the bottle instead. 

She changed out of her clothes into her night garment and laid down in her bed. The conversations she had with Dante replayed in her mind over and over again. Margaret bit her lip as she closed her eyes. 

She had never wanted to keep Laina away from her happiness. She knew how happy Dante made her. But losing Laina broke her. Margaret remembered that day as if it was yesterday. She didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. 

Tears rolled down Margaret's cheek. She wiped them away with the back of her hand but they did not stop flowing. 

"I can't lose you again, Laina. I can't" she whispered to herself. 

Margaret finished the last of the wine as she curled up beneath her blanket. Memories of a distant past began to play in her mind. It was a peaceful time, a time when they were still in the Celestial Realm before Laina met Dante. 

They were youthful and carefree, frolicking in the garden of sun flare flowers. The bright red flowers in the shape of pinwheels reflected the light of the sun in their fullest beauty. During their free afternoons, they would visit the garden together. 

Margaret could almost smell the sweet aromatic fragrance of the flowers they used to pick. They would spend hours talking to one another as they weaved flower crowns for one another. 

"Laina," Margaret asked. 

"Hmm?"

Margaret held out her pinkie finger, "I want you to promise me."

"Promise you? Promise you what?" Laina asked curiously, uncertain as to what she was getting at.

"Promise me that no matter what happens, we will be best friends! And best friends stick together!"

Laina laughed, as she swiped away Margaret's hand, "Of course we will be, Moira! We don't need to pinky swear it!" 

"Why not?"

"Because…" Laina held Margaret's hand and placed it on her heart, "Because that's a heart-to-heart promise. Way more effective than a pinky swear."

"Really?"

"Really! A heart-to-heart promise transcends life and death! It's eternal," Laina replied with a wide smile. 

Back in the present, a single tear rolled down her cheek. 

Margaret mutters to herself as she drifts off into slumber, "Do you still remember our heart-to-heart promise…"