The Dragon King's Heart

Laina could hear whispers all around her. She opened her eyes and gasped in shock as she sat up. For a brief moment, she could not recall what had happened. But as time passed, the memories flooded back to her. 

She turned to look around her, her eyebrows furrowed as she stared in confusion. She was not in the palace or in the garden. Laina looked down at her abdomen, there was no wound there either. 

"Where am I?" she muttered to herself as she turned to look around. 

She was in a wide open space, surrounded by floating panels. In each one of these floating panels was a memory playing on loop. Upon careful examination, Laina realised these memories were not hers. 

One of these panels caught her interest, so she went up to take a closer look. Laina reached her hand out to touch it. Bright light consumed her whole. When she reopened her eyes, she was transported into the memory itself. 

"Whose memories are these?" Laina wondered to herself as she continued to examine her surroundings. 

She had never been here before and yet there was a sense of familiarity. She was in a grand hall with a throne at the end. Laina walked down the aisle as she noticed a crowd of people who were gathered up front. 

Laina could not quite hear what the people were talking about but when she finally waded through them to get to the front she was stunned. Standing at the foot of the throne were two young individuals with familiar faces. 

She walked around to see the face of the young man, dressed in finery who stood before the alluring beauty before him. Laina stopped in her tracks with her mouth agape. 

"Dante…" the young man before her was Dante!

These were his memories and it looks to be memories of a distant past. 

"It's an honor to meet you, your Highness," Dante greeted the young woman who covered her face with a folding fan. 

She was also wearing a veil that covered her face, so Laina could not tell who it was. The veil wearing young woman bowed respectfully and reciprocated his greeting. 

"The honor is mine. You've come a long way, Prince Dante. Please allow me to guide you to Rosetta Hall where we can partake in some refreshments."

"That voice... " Laina looked on in disbelief as the crowd parted a clear path for the two young royals to walk. 

"That's my voice… but how…"

Before Laina could question any further, the memory dissipated before her eyes. She was taken back to the hall with memory panels surrounding her. These were all of Dante's memories. She looked through all of them, pacing down the hall as she viewed each of them. 

Some memories were fairly recent, others seemed foreign to her. But one thing's for certain. These were memories that he cherished. Laina brought her hand up over her chest. She could feel her heart racing. 

As she continued to view the memory panels, one of them caught her eye. She knew this scene all too well. The background, the people in it, Laina knew what memory this was. As soon as she touched the panel, she was transported into it. 

She watched from the sidelines with a smile on her face. It was during their time in Starfrost Mansion. Dante had just finished giving her a tour of the gallery. They returned to their room for dinner. 

Dante was telling her about a life he pictured them having, a life without royal duties. They could just be regular people, living ordinary lives. As she heard him speak, she could feel her emotions stirring within her. 

"Do you know how much I wanted to kiss you at that moment?" Laina whispered to herself as she looked on. 

She wanted to profess her love for him. They shared a beautiful moment together, but she was one step behind. Dante bit her to it. That night, she was so intoxicated with love that she had forgotten something that happened after. 

It was the first time she noticed Dante's hands were cold, colder than usual. When she asked him what was wrong, he brushed it off and carried her off to bed before heading into the bathroom. 

Laina clutched her stomach. 

She was worried something was wrong, but she chose to trust Dante so she did not pry any further. As she watched him walk into the bathroom, her legs moved on their own. Laina walked over to the bathroom and peered in. 

Laina bit her lip, she knew it was wrong to pry into his memories like this. But curiosity was killing her. She wanted to know. She peeked through the gap in the bathroom door and watched as Dante unbuttoned his shirt. 

"Maybe this is a bad-" before she could even finish her sentence, Laina covered her mouth as she gasped in shock. 

From Dante's reflection in the mirror, she could see the dark-colored veins on the left side of his chest. The veins spiraled outwards like vines. Laina reached out her hand, only to shrug it back as Dante gritted his teeth and placed both hands on the basin. 

He looked as if he was in pain and it broke her heart. 

How long had this been going on? 

Was this the reason why his hands had been so cold?

She had so many questions spiraling through her mind. She had to ask Dante about this. It looked like a curse, but it was unlike anything she had seen before. 

"No one can know about this," Dante said to himself as he looked in the mirror. 

Laina bit her lip. He did not want her to worry, so he intentionally kept it a secret from her. 

"But why?" Laina whispered to herself. 

As she returned to the space with the memory panels, Laina no longer wanted to look at any of them. She sat down on the ground and brought her knees to her chest. She replayed all of the memories she had with Dante leading up to the present. 

Laina buried her head in her arms, "How could I have not noticed any of this?" 

Each time she noticed something was wrong with Dante, he brushed it off. He diverted the topic. He did it so that she would not worry. When it came to Colette, she was at a loss. Never in a million years did she expect things to turn out this way. 

Why did she not trust him when he asked her to? 

Did she not have enough faith in him?

No, that's not it. She could not believe the sweet child she had taken under her wing was out to get her. But there was definitely more than meets the eye. How did Dante even know this was going to happen.?

She had so many questions swirling in her mind.