The Dragon King's Heart

After a few weeks, things in Kinshearth returned to normal. Laina fully recovered from her ordeal and was back in court managing the affairs of her kingdom. With things progressing smoothly, Laina was able to take a breather from time to time.

Whenever she had a bit of time to herself, she subconsciously touched the pendant she wore around her neck. She wanted to contact Dante. But before she found out what was going on, she forbade herself from doing so.

She was afraid of what she might do or say should she see or hear his voice. Hence, for the time being, she resorted to sending him written letters to maintain their communication with one another.

Her actions have caused gossip to spread throughout Kinshearth. Many of the common folk wondered if the relationship between the Crown Princess and the Dragon King were on the rocks.

Even the ministers grew worried. But no one dared to ask the Crown Princess if these rumors were true. Margaret informed her about the gossip that was spreading amongst the common folk.

"Is that so?" Laina asked as she continued perusing through the documents.

"Indeed. Some believe that you have taken another lover," Margaret continued as she poured Laina a fresh cup of tea.

Laina chuckled as she continued to work on her papers.

That evening, a letter from Wolfenheim arrived for Laina. After her dinner with the ministers, Laina retired to her quarters. She opened the letter as she sat down on the sofa with Titan resting on her lap.

"An invitation? How interesting," Laina mumbled to herself as she continued reading its contents.

Queen Victoria, who had become a close friend to Laina, was inviting her to Wolfenheim for a casual visit. The rare rossettin flowers were about to be in bloom, hence the Queen of Wolfenheim had extended an invitation to Laina.

At first, Laina was not certain if she should accept the invitation. Things were going smoothly in Kinshearth but she was not certain if going on a trip now would be a good time.

"Perhaps I should sleep on this," she said to herself as she placed the invitation down on the table.

But before she could stand, something clicked in Laina's mind. Since her recovery from the assassination attempt, Laina had been trying to find any information she could on curses in hopes of finding what Dante was inflicted with.

But none of the books she found had any useful information regarding it. The Royal Kinshearth Archives was home to one of the largest collections of books and texts in all of Gaeia.

If no information could be found in there, it likely would not be found anywhere else. Laina even accessed the secret library that was only open to members of the royal family. But her efforts were fruitless.

"Perhaps… perhaps the Moon Goddess might know a thing or two?" Laina wondered.

The Moon Goddess seemed to have come from a world beyond Gaeia, perhaps she would have the information Laina needed. While the purpose of the trip was still to visit the Werewolf Queen, who was to say Laina could not take some time to fulfill her own objective too.

Laina clapped her hands together in triumph, "It's settled then, a trip to Wolfenheim!"

Titan barked brightly, wagging his tail as he looked straight at Laina. It was as if he was begging to go along. Laina cupped his soft furry face in her hands.

"Do you want to come along too, Titan?"  she asked her solar mastiff.

Titan barked in response before licking her on the face. Laina chuckled as she leaned back in the sofa. Titan climbed all over her playfully.

"Alright alright! I take that as a yes," Laina admit in defeat.

Since she would be gone for some time, this was the perfect opportunity for her to do so as Margaret would have to remain in Kinshearth to manage things in Laina's absence. Kol and Florin would follow her to Wolfenheim for protection.

Also, to make things a little easier, Laina would travel to Wolfenheim in secret. Since it was not a formal visit, she did not need to bring an entourage with her.

Though Margaret was against the idea at first, she could not convince Laina otherwise either. All the handmaid could do was to wish her safe travels as she took off with Kol, Florin, and Titan by her side.

"Please take good care of her!" Margaret instructed Kol and Florin right before they left.

"She is in safe hands, Lady Margaret. Rest assured," Florin replied.

With that, they embarked on their trip to Wolfenheim. Since the two monarchs of both kingdoms were close friends, trade routes and portals between both kingdoms were established.

This allowed travel time to be cut short significantly. As soon as Laina arrived in Wolfenheim, she headed straight to the castle. It had been quite a while since her last visit to the werewolf kingdom.

Though she was not quite certain what changed, Laina could sense that the atmosphere was slightly different. It was a positive change. Upon her arrival at the castle, Laina and her bodyguards were taken to the Drawing Room where they waited for Queen Victoria.

At first, Laina was worried that Florin and Kol would be treated differently since they were vampires. But that was not the case. They were not met with any animosity, which was a pleasant surprise.

"I must say, I am quite surprised," Laina commented about the situation, "Especially after what you've told me about the tension between Sanguim and Wolfenheim."

"As was I," Florin confessed, "This is definitely different from what I was being told. In fact, while we were out on the streets, I noticed there were vampire merchants tending to their own stalls."

"Did you?" Laina gasped in surprise at his discovery, "Perhaps times are changing for the better."

A knock on the door caught all of their attention. Moments later, the door swung open as an announcer announced Queen Victoria's arrival.

"Princess Laina, it's great to see you again," Queen Victoria greeted Laina with a warm hug.

"Likewise, your Majesty," Laina reciprocated.

After introducing her two bodyguards, and Titan to Queen Victoria, the werewolf queen suggested they move to a different location to chat. She wanted to invite them to her private quarters.

"Your Majesty! You cannot invite guests to your private chambers! Especially-" before the attending advisor could finish speaking, Victoria stopped her.

"Thank you for your concerns, but these are my guests. I would like to further our discussion in my private quarters and that is final."

"But your Majesty, this violates the traditions-"

"My word is final," Victoria snapped in a harsh tone.

She was using her Alpha voice as she did. Immediately, the attending advisor held her tongue and bowed her head low.

"As your wish, my Queen."