The Dragon King's Heart

In the Prism Sanctuary, Margaret and Marius marveled at the flowers that surrounded them. Everywhere they turned there were flowers in full bloom. 

"I can't believe it! These actually thrive here," Margaret exclaimed with glee as she took a closer look at some of the flowers. 

The Prism Sanctuary housed rare plants, not commonly found on Gaeia or the region. Some were even said to be from the Celestial Realm, cultivated by the Flower Goddess herself. 

Marius grinned as he saw how happy Margaret was. He gave himself a pat on the back. 

-You did right, Marius, you did right.- he praised himself. 

As they continued to explore the sanctuary, they began to chat. From one topic to another, Margaret began to feel more comfortable with Marius. She had once found him to be annoying, but now, the annoyance seemed to have turned into a cute quirk of his. 

Just then, Margaret's stomach began to growl. It was audible to both of them. Margaret blushed in embarrassment while Marius laughed. 

"Good thing I came prepared for the hungry monster in your belly," Marius teased as he materialized a picnic basket in his hands. 

"Hey! Who are you calling a hungry monster?!" Margaret nudged Marius on his arm as she asked. 

Marius pointed to her belly as he continued to tease her, "Was that growl not from the hungry belly monster?" 

They quickly found a clearing and began to set up the picnic mat Marius had brought with him. As he laid out the food he had brought, he could see Margaret's eye lighting up. 

Once everything was on display, Marius popped open the bottle of champagne he had brought and poured them each a glass. 

"Drinking in the middle of the day?" Margaret asked in disbelief as she took a sip from the champagne flute, "How well can you hold your liquor, Marius?" 

He grinned as he took a sip from his glass, "I like to believe I can hold it pretty well. Plus, we're off duty are we not? You need not worry about your princess and I need not worry about my king. 

Well, at least for a short while."

She chuckled at his response, "I don't think I can ever stop worrying about Laina."

He could sense the sadness in her response. 

"Wouldn't it be easier if she regained her memories?" He asked. 

Margaret bit her lip. She took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. If Laina regained her memories, would she be able to accept what had happened? Would she hate her for bringing her back? 

What about the curse that plagued both her and Dante? There was another thing Margaret feared. It could easily cause Laina to perish forever. 

"It could end up a lot worse," Margaret finally replied absentmindedly. 

Before Marius could probe any further, a sudden gust of wind caught his attention. As he looked up in the sky, he realized a blanket of grey clouds had covered the sun. The sunshine they had been enjoying disappeared without them realizing it. 

But that was not all. 

As he looked around them, Marius gasped in shock. Everything seemed to have come to a standstill. Margaret took notice of his silence. When she looked up around them, she realized what had happened too. 

Margaret stood up and looked all around. Marius stood close to her. Though he was uncertain as to what was going on, he felt the need to protect her. 

"No… damn it!" Margaret cursed beneath her breath. 

"Margaret, what's wrong?" Marius asked out of concern. 

Margaret let out a sigh. She had been too careless. She should not have shapeshifted into her Luxaven form earlier. Doing so had given her position away. Seeing that time seemed to have stopped, the dark clouds covering the sky, Margaret gritted her teeth. 

"Marius, you need to leave, now," Margaret said as she took a step forward. 

The wind blew around her, blowing her hair in the wind. The smile she had earlier was no longer there. All that was left was a look of sorrow. 

"Leave? Yes, we should leave together. Something's not right, let's go," he replied absentmindedly as he took Margaret by the hand to get out of there. 

Margaret removed her hand from his grasp and took a step back. Marius turned back, confused as to what was going on. 

"Margaret, what's wrong?" Marius asked. 

He replayed their conversation in his mind, worried that he had said something wrong to upset her. Then, he realized what she was saying. 

"Why are you asking me to leave? What's going on?"

Before she could explain it to him, a bolt of lightning struck close to them. Instinctively, Marius took to his dragon form. He unfurled his wings and covered Margaret to protect her. 

He shielded them from the bolt of lightning. 

"Marius!" Margaret called out to him, surprised by his actions. 

Before she could say anything else, the second bolt of lightning struck down on their location. Marius took a direct hit. Lucky for him, his dragon scales absorbed the energy from the lightning, reducing the damage caused to his body. 

A lone figure appeared before them. He was wearing a black hooded cloak, hovering above the ground. In his hand, was a blackened wood staff with a bright red ruby set in place. 

Marius and Margaret looked over to the lone figure. She knew she could not let Marius protect her so recklessly. As she took a step forward, Marius took back to his human form and grabbed hold of her arm. 

"Margaret, where are you going?" He asked. 

"Marius, I… I can't let you protect me like this. This is something I need to face," she averted her eyes from his gaze, "This is something I need to face alone."

"No."

"No?" She echoed his words. 

Marius did not know what came over him. But at that moment, he knew he had to protect her with everything he had. Marius held on tightly to Margaret's hands. 

"Whatever it may be, share your burden with me," he declared.