The Dragon King's Heart

Laina returned to the present.

Dante was standing before her. His expression seemed conflicted. He did not know what to say to her. His mind had a thousand different thoughts. There was so much he wanted to say. So much he wanted to tell her. Yet there was so much he could not say.

In the end, it was Laina who spoke first.

"That was us?" she asked.

Dante nodded in response.

"Everything you've shown me was real? It has all happened in the past?"

"Yes."

Laina was in disbelief. How was any of this even possible? After all, she did not recall any of it happening. But deep down in her heart, there was a feeling of familiarity. She had the same feeling whenever she saw Dante, Margaret, or Titan. The fragmented memories she had once witnessed were all possibly true. 

"You've kept this from me for so long... You can't even tell me that we knew one another? That we were together?" she asked in shock. 

Dante gritted his teeth, "Ever since we first met, I have wanted to tell you the truth."

He grabbed hold of her hands and looked deep into her eyes, "I have wanted to tell you for as long as I can remember."

He recalled their first meeting in the Everfree Nation. He would have done anything to embrace her in his arms then and there. It did not matter what others would think. But alas, it could not be done. 

"But I can't."

Laina was stunned. Could none of them tell her the truth? What about Margaret, her closest confidante? She had poured her heart out to her handmaid who had become her closest friend; time and time again. Yet she had never even attempted to tell her the truth.

"Margaret knew about this too, didn't she? And yet she chose to keep silent too..." Laina slumped her shoulders in distraught. 

Realizing that this could easily turn into a misunderstanding, Dante shook his head as he attempted to defend Margaret. 

"We don't have a choice, Laina. None of us could tell you the truth."

She did not know if she should cry or laugh. The people she had held with such high regard had all been keeping a huge secret from her. When she confronted them, their reasoning was the fact that they could not tell her. Laina shook her head in disappointment. Dante tried to comfort her. 

He reached out his hand, only for it to be swiped away by Laina. 

"No..." she said as she shook her head, "Don't touch me."

Those words broke his heart. But Dante knew he could not give up. Laina deserved to know the truth. He sat closer to Laina, cupping her chin in his hand. This time, she did not move away. He could see the pain in her eyes and he desperately wanted to make it go away.

"Did you really think we never tried telling you?" he asked, "We tried multiple times, Laina. We even slipped up at times, but it never worked."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean?"

As Dante explained, they were simply unable to tell Laina about her past life. It was forbidden. Every attempt they made, Laina would not recall any of it. Each time, after they explained it to her, she would instantly forget their conversation. 

But apart from that, there was perhaps another more compelling reason. Knowing the truth would not have changed anything for them. Dante and Margaret had both searched high and low for ways to help Laina regain her memories or her powers. 

"Do you remember the time you summoned the spiral of fire in the forest? Where you blacked out?" Dante asked, "Or the most recent time in the cave while fighting the beast?"

Memories of those fights resurfaced in Laina's mind as she nodded. 

"Those are signs of your powers, powers you once had. Being able to manifest them was a sign that perhaps you can remember the past."

She could see the hesitant look in his eyes. Dante was pondering if he should tell her the next part. She held on tightly to his hands, looking at him intently with her big round eyes. 

"But each time it happens, you are drained of energy. We cannot risk over straining you," strong emotions welled up in Dante as he averted his gaze for a moment, "You could..."

Laina hung on his unfinished sentence. She did not break eye contact, "I could what?"

"I could lose you, Laina." he finally formed his sentence. He hated saying it. 

"I could lose you forever... again and I don't want that to ever happen."

She looked down for a moment. Laina did not know what to say. She curled both of her hands into fists as she shook her head. 

"There must be a way. There has to be, " she declared firmly. 

Laina looked up at Dante. He was still averting his gaze, refusing to make eye contact. She placed her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look straight into her eyes/ 

"You can't live without me, neither can I," she said softly. 

"What are you talking about Laina... don't talk like that..." Dante brushed her off but she was not about to let go.

Laina shook her head. She cupped his face in her hands. At that moment, all she wanted to do was to confess her love for him. All she had to do was mutter those three words and she too would be inflicted with the same curse. If Dante was going to die, she did not want to continue living either. 

"Dante, I lo..." 

He covered her mouth immediately, stopping her from speaking any further.

"No, my love...I know what you're trying to do. I won't let you do this."

Tears trickled down Laina's cheeks. Life was not fair to both of them. It gave her and Dante and second chance to be together and yet it was also going to pull them apart once more. Dante pulled her into his embrace, refusing to let go. Laina did not know what else to do or say.