The Dragon King's Heart

"Hey, are you all deaf?! Did you not hear me?" the noble lady shouted at them more annoyed than before. 

Laina ignored her completely. After making sure Kol was alright, she turned to leave so that they could get him a new set of clothes. Being ignored, the noble lady flew in a fit of rage. She threw the paintbrush in her hand towards them, to get their attention. 

Margaret caught it in her fingers swiftly and snapped it into two. 

"How dare you! Guards! Arrest these insolent servants at once! I will report all of you to the Crown Princess herself!" she screamed at them. 

The other nobles sniggered and laughed at the scene before them as if they were watching a comedy play. None of the guards in the ballroom moved. All of them knew who Margaret, Kol, and Laina were. 

They were not about to follow the others of the noble lady over the orders of the Crown Princess herself. Laina continued walking out towards the doors. 

"Guards! Are all of you deaf?!" the noble lady screamed again. She had completely lost her composure at this point. 

By the time Laina walked to the door and stopped at the entrance. Both of the soldiers who were standing guard immediately got onto their knees. 

"Your highness, what are your orders?" they asked in unison. 

Everyone in the ballroom gasped in shock. Thinking it was all a prank, the noble lady left her workstation and walked towards them. 

"Are all of you empty in the skull? She's not wearing the crown, she isn't even dressed in the royal garments. How could she possibly be…"

Laina could no longer remain silent. She looked over to the noble lady and snapped, "It is not the clothes or the jewelry that makes a crown princess. The same goes for the nobility."

The noble lady was speechless. 

"I have no orders, my good men, Please carry on your duties. I will return later," Laina said to the guards before leaving the ballroom. 

Laina instructed Margaret to bring Kol to get his clothes changed. She alone will proceed to the royal courtyard to see the other participants. Despite Margaret's protests, Laina insisted. 

"Very well, Your Highness," Margaret sighed, "We will be back as soon as possible."

When she guided Kol to move off in their separate ways, Kol refused to move away from Laina. He wanted to continue following her around. 

'Kol, where are you going?" Margaret called out. 

Laina turned back around to see the hybrid vampire tailing behind her. His face was covered in paint water and his shirt was badly stained. But he did not care about any of that. He only cared about her. 

"Kol, go follow Margaret so that you can get changed. You can come and look me once you're done."

Kol lifted his right hand and pointed at Laina. He said his first words.

"Protect… master"

Laina smiled, this bodyguard of hers was a special one.

"You can come back and protect me after you've changed. Your shirt is all dirty right now," she reminded him as she pointed to his shirt. 

Kol looked down at his shirt and realized what Laina was saying. He immediately began to unbutton his shirt to remove it. Laina took a few steps back, surprised by Kol's action. They were in a public space and her bodyguard was taking off his shirt right here, right now!

Seeing the situation unfold, Margaret rushed forward and smacked Kol on the back of the head.

"What on earth do you think you're doing! This is a public space! Put your shirt back on. I am so sorry princess, I will bring him to change and get him out of your hair." Margaret apologized profusely as she dragged Kol away. 

Laina watched as they went in the other direction, uncertain of how to process what she had just seen. The moment Kol tried to take his shirt off, she could see the healed scars that covered his chest. 

Laina slapped herself on the cheeks as she chided herself, "Now is not the time to think of these things! Back to work Laina, back to work!"

After giving herself a short pep talk, she continued on her way towards the royal courtyard. When Laina arrived, she was pleasantly surprised to see all the participants mingling and happily conversing with one another. 

Some of the painters were happily communicating with one another, admiring each other's works. Laina silently walked amongst them, admiring the different works that were being produced.

Though they did not have the expensive well-made tools like the nobility did, or the high-quality paints, their work was still as exquisite, if not better. A certain painting captured Laina's attention. She silently watched the painter at work from behind. 

It was of a pair of lovers in embrace under the night sky. The faces of the lovers in the portrait were well-drawn and carefully painted. It came to life through the skills of the painter. Someone came over to admire the painting next to Laina. 

"It's a work of art, is it not?" the man commented. 

"Indeed. Very realistic and moving," Laina added. 

The man smiled as he moved forward to give the painter a pat on the back, "You've got some talent, Manetti," 

The painter looked up with a smile, "You flatter me too much, Jo, your work is amazing too."

Laina could not help but smile at the exchange. As she continued to look through the other painters' works, she did not once hear any complaints from anyone. They worked hard. Just then, servants from the Royal Kitchen came by with food for everyone. 

Although it was just a simple meal of soup and bread, everyone was grateful. Some of them wolfed down the meal quickly and asked for a second helping. Jo was one of them. Manetti came up to him from behind and offered his bread to him. 

"What… I can't take yours, Manetti. You need it too," Jo refused his gesture. 

"Nonsense, Jo. Here, have it. Leave the rest of the soup for the others. I am sure they have more to feed." Manetti replied. 

Laina wanted to tell them that they need not ration. There was more than enough food to go around for everyone. She made sure of it. But what she heard next, broke her heart even more. 

She overheard some of them talking about how the recent droughts and natural disasters greatly affected parts of Kinshearth. 

The people were going hungry and she did not know. This was also one of the reasons why some of them had made the trip here. Not only were they looking for work, but they also hoped to bring back money or rations to help their families and villages through tough times.