The Dragon King's Heart

"How is it so spicy!" he yelled as he reached for a glass of water. 

He gulped in all down in seconds then poured himself another glass. Laina was shocked and so was everyone else. Margaret gulped, she knew this might happen. 

She could see Marius's reaction upset Laina so she kicked his leg to try and get him to calm down. But the spicy flavor was too much for him to handle.

"Spicy? But I..." Laina reached out to take a slice of the rolled omelet to try. 

Dante wanted to stop her, but it was too late. But to their surprise, she did not spit it out. 

"Is it too spicy? I thought it was just nice..." Laina looked over to the chicken Dante had tried. 

She picked up a piece to try but when she brought it close to her mouth, Dante swiped it away. The piece of chicken fell onto the table. 

"What's gotten into you, Dante? Is everything alright?" Laina asked in confusion. 

"Laina-" Before he could defend himself, Laina picked up another piece to try. 

As soon as she placed it in on her mouth, Dante knew he was done for. Laina chewed the piece of meat for some time. Her expression soon turned into one of disappointment as she swallowed it. Kol and Florin both took a bite of chicken too. 

"I...I'm sorry everyone, I..." Laina felt so ashamed and humiliated. 

She was the Crown Princess of Kinshearth and yet she could not even cook a simple meal! Perhaps this was why she could not even keep her kingdom. Laina got up from her seat. She was about to leave the table when Dante grabbed onto her wrist. 

He gently pulled her towards him and got her to sit back down. He did not say anything at first. Dante simply gave Laina a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

"It's not your fault, my love. I'll prepare something for everyone," he said before he turned to enter the kitchen. 

"But-" Laina did not have a chance to protest, as Dante placed a finger on her lips. 

"Don't worry. I'll manage."

Laina buried her face in her hands. Margaret, seeing as she was so upset, came over to comfort her. Everyone else helped to console her too. 

"Don't worry, Laina, I don't know how to cook either. It's alright to not know how to do something," Florin added. 

Kol chimed in too, "Florin is right. You're so talented in other areas, this is just one you need to work on, that's all."

"Sorry about my reaction, Laina. I didn't mean to..." Marius apologized. 

Laina shook her head, now she felt bad!

"No, please don't apologize, Marius! It was my fault for adding too much chili into the eggs. I thought it would give it a unique taste.

But I guess... I put a little too much. It tasted fine to me so I thought it was the right amount."

Margaret chuckled as she looked over to Marius, "I guess it's just that Marius does not have a high spice tolerance, that's all. Your omelet helped him build it, even if it was just a little."

"Hey! That's not true!" Marius protested, "I have a good spice tolerance."

Margaret laughed, "You could not even take the spiciness of the omelet, are you sure you have any spice tolerance, to begin with?"

Marius clenched his jaw as he continued to defend himself, "Why don't you try it then?"

Margaret grinned. She was not about to back down from a challenge. 

"So what if I can? What's at stake here?" Margaret asked as she folded her arms. 

Laina, seeing as the situation was taking a turn, attempted to diffuse the situation, "Margaret you don't have to eat it..."

Margaret chuckled, "Don't worry. I'm sure I can handle it."

Without hesitation, she took a big bite of rolled omelet. Marius watched in anticipation, thinking she would not be able to take the spiciness. Kol and Florin looked on in anticipation too. 

But much to their surprise, Margaret did not even bat an eyelid. She ate it with glee and even swallowed it. Marius's jaw was almost on the ground. How was this possible?

"I think it was pretty good actually," Margaret added as she pats Laina on the back, "I think a little more wouldn't hurt either."

"But... but..." Marius could not believe it, "I call bluff!" 

"Bluff? Why and how would I have been able to pull that off?' she asked with a chuckle. 

As things grew out of proportion, everyone had a good laugh. Eventually, Laina felt a lot better too. Her mouth was beginning to water too, as the aromatic fragrance of Dante's cooking wafted through the air. 

Laina could not help but peek into the kitchen to see what Dante was doing. She never knew he could cook. Laina entered the kitchen to take a look. She was amazed by his skills. Dante was so focused, he did not notice Laina entering the kitchen. 

Sweat trickled down his brow as he worked on preparing the food for everyone. He even rolled up his sleeves. Laina could see the veins on his arms, but she did not say a word. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and helped Dante wipe the sweat off his forehead. 

When Dante realized Laina was by his side, he jumped a little. 

"Sorry, I did not mean to scare you," Laina quickly apologized, "You were so focused I did not want to break your concentration."

Dante quickly cast a spell to hide the darkened veins on his arm. He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. 

"Thank you." 

Laina grew curious as to what Dante was doing. She watched him intently, noting them down in her mind so that she could practice on her own in the future. As the meat sizzled in the pan, Dante looked over to see Laina fully concentrated on what he was doing. 

When their eyes met, Laina averted her gaze immediately. She was blushing beet red. 

"Would you like to give it a try?" Dante offered.

"Really?" Laina asked, "Aren't you afraid I might ruin it?"

He chuckled in response, "Well, that's how you learn, right?"

Dante guided Laina's hand to the handle of the pan and placed the spatula in her other free hand. 

"Besides, with me as your guide, you have nothing to worry about."