The Dragon King's Heart

As soon as the servants left, Marius rematerialized himself. He had stifled his laughter for as long as he could. He burst out in laughter, clutching his stomach as it had begun to hurt from the laughter. 

Margaret furrowed her eyebrows, as she gripped her pen tightly. 

"Is it really that funny?" she asked sarcastically. 

"It… it was too funny," Marius said in between gasps of air and laughter, "You should have seen the look on their faces when they walked in."

When he realized Margaret had not joined in the laughter, Marius quickly simmered down. He placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned in close. He tilted his head to look at her, realizing she was attempting to stifle a smile. 

He gently poked her on the cheek as he whispered, "Come on, Lady Margaret, you can't deny that was pretty funny."

He gave her the widest, silliest smile he could muster. That broke down Margaret's stern demeanor almost immediately. She covered her mouth as she laughed. Marius joined in too. After sharing a good laugh together, Margaret got up from her seat and walked over to the table where the breakfast items had already been set up. 

Two sets of cups were set up for her as she had ordered two types of drinks, so each of them had a cup to themselves. The aromatic fragrance of the breakfast platter made both of their mouths water. 

Since Margaret had requested a bigger portion, there was more than enough food for the both of them. The first item Margaret goes for was a hazelnut chocolate-filled pastry with a crispy exterior. The soft buttery, flaky, pastry paired well with the sweet hazelnut chocolate filling. 

"Mmmmm," she indulged as she took a second bite. 

Marius looked over with envy, jealous of how good the pastry was. He leaned in and took a bite of Margaret's pastry, just as she was about to take another bite. 

"Hey!" Margaret exclaimed as she playfully hit Marius on his arm. 

The evil grin of delight on his face was more like a look of pride. 

"Mmmmm, it's good," Marius added as he licked his lips, "But you know what's even sweeter?"

"What?"

"Your lips."

Margaret's eyebrow twitched as she placed her hand on her forehead, shaking her head slightly as she did so. 

"You've clearly spent too much time with that Dragon King of yours. You're beginning to mimic his shameless flattery techniques, Marius," she let out a sigh, "I am disappointed in you."

Disappointed? That word broke Marius's heart. He had failed to be funny! He could see the disapproving look Margaret was giving him. How could he let this happen? Marius dropped his fork and grasped her hands dramatically. 

"I promise you, my lady, I will work harder to deliver cringe-worthy, shameless banter that would bring a smile to your face," Marius promised. 

Margaret could not help but giggle at the way Marius had reacted. Seeing her giggle, Marius lightened up too. His plan worked! The couple had a wonderful breakfast together. 

But all good things have to come to an end. Halfway through their meal, a knock on the door startled them both. Marius cloaked himself immediately while Margaret attempted to play it cool. 

A messenger entered the room hastily, "Lady Margaret! Lady Margaret, the noble families of the High Court are here to see her Highness!"

Margaret nearly dropped the fork in her hands, "What did you say?"

"I…I…" the messenger was quaking in fear from Margaret's authoritative tone of voice. 

Realizing she startled the poor messenger, she quickly apologized before continuing, "I didn't mean to scare you. Please repeat what you had said previously. The noble families of the High Court are here to see Crown Princess Laina, is that right?"

"Yes, milady!" The messenger replied with vigor. 

Margaret bit her lip. This was terrible! Laina was not in the castle and the noble families had turned up to seek an audience with her? Under normal circumstances, if they were merely regular guests, Margaret could easily turn them away or attend to them herself. 

In Kinshearth, there were different classes amongst the nobility. The High Court was the highest of those classes, with great influence across Kinshearth and some say even beyond their Kingdom. 

They were known for their snobbish attitude and they placed great importance on tradition. Needless to say, if Laina was not here to welcome them herself, they would most certainly not be pleased. 

The High Court also included Laina's cousin, Lord Ethan, the current head of the family while Laina was in power. He was just a few years younger than Laina. Ever since birth, he had been groomed to take on the leadership role in the family. 

"Is Lord Ethan amongst them?" Margaret asked the messenger. 

He nodded in response. 

Margaret let out a sigh. She needed time to come up with a solution. First, she informed the messenger to bring the nobles to the Drawing Room to wait. 

"Make sure all of their needs are met. Get the Royal Kitchen to prepare all their favorite food items," she instructed. 

Moments after the messenger ran off, Kol entered the room. Word traveled fast within the palace walls. He heard about the arrival of the High Court. Knowing Margaret would need all the help she could get, he came to her aid. 

But even with him here, Margaret was not certain what she should do. Marius revealed himself to them once more, seeing as there were no strangers in the room. Kol remained unfazed, he had already sensed Marius's presence the moment he entered the room. 

"I say you greet them politely, tell them Laina is away, and they can come back to visit her when she returns," Marius suggested. 

Kol shook his head, "That won't work, they would be enraged, thinking we're sending them away. Our best option is to stall them while we get Laina back."

Margaret was hesitant. Laina had been gone for longer than she had previously planned but it was not every day that the Crown Princess of Kinshearth took a break. While she still had her reservations about Laina and Dante being together, she knew how happy Laina was when she was with him. 

She could not bear to cut short the time they were spending together. Marius seemingly understood what went through her mind just by looking at her worried expression. 

He placed his hand on her shoulder to get her attention, "I will go to Starfrost Mansion to bring Laina back. In the meantime, you can do your best to pacify the High Court, alright?"

"But… but…"

"It's alright. Dante will understand and so will Laina. Honestly, do you think this would be the only alone time those two will have?" Marius reassured her. 

She knew he was right. If there was another solution to the problem at hand, they would have already used it. This was the only way. 

"Alright, let's do this."