The Dragon King's Heart

After seeing their skills first hand, Laina was impressed. Each of them had their specialty yet they were well-rounded in the others. 

"You chose well, Margaret," Laina praised. 

"Only the best for the Crown Princess," Margaret replied. 

As the sun had begun to set on the horizon, Laina called it a day. To facilitate their training, Laina had a special section built into her quarters. From that day forward, that was where they would stay. 

In two months, they would need to be combat-ready. They would also need to take up the responsibility of protecting Laina round the clock. 

"Two months? Is that enough time?" Nyx exclaimed in surprise. 

Alum patted her on the back, "If we work hard enough aye, I think we should be alright."

Nyx grinned as she shot up her hand. She had another question to ask the crown princess. When Laina did not notice her, Nyx went straight up to them. Just as she was about to tap Laina on the shoulder, Kol appeared before her and swiped away her hand. 

"I just wanted to ask a question!" Nyx hissed at Kol.

"It's alright Kol, she wasn't trying to hurt me. She just wanted to ask a question," Laina explained to Kol. 

Only with her assurance did he step aside. 

"Your Highness, are we allowed to visit our family while we serve you?" Nyx bit her lip as she explained, "My family lives two towns away I was wondering if we would be allowed to visit them from time to time."

Laina smiled, "Of course! We can arrange for that to happen. Each of you can take turns once every two months or so to visit your family. If they want to visit you here, we can work something out as well."

"For real? Your Highness?" Another voice shot up from behind. 

"We can visit our family?" Another person exclaimed in delight. 

Laina was confused by their excitement. Family was important, why would she not allow them to visit their family? Seeing the confusion on Laina's face, Margaret quickly explained. 

If they had joined the army, they would have only been allowed to see their family once a year or none at all. While some of their family visit them from time to time, most of them don't see them for years. 

"Is that so? I never knew…" Laina pondered over it for a while. This was something she would need to work on. 

After dinner that night, Laina went into her personal vault. She had placed Dante's latest gift in there for safekeeping. When Margaret saw it, her jaw dropped. She had never seen a colossal forest deer in person before. 

"That is a huge deer," she muttered. 

Laina smiled, "It is indeed. According to some of the research I did, its body has many magical properties. Every piece of it is valuable."

"Are you planning on selling all of it, your Highness?" Margaret asked.

"I plan to only keep the deerskin and the bones. Might make something special for Dante with the deerskin," she explained her plan. 

Margaret folded her arms and muttered to herself, "He put you through so much yet you still do these things for him."

"Did you say something?" Laina asked her handmaid as she saw her mumbling to herself. 

Margaret looked up and quickly denied, "No, your Highness. I was just talking to myself."

Laina called in trappers who were highly skilled in dealing with magical beasts to assist her. She handed the deer to them so that they could work on it in their own workshop. 

When they returned to the palace sometime later, Laina met them in her private quarters. They showed her the pelt they were able to obtain from the deer. Upon seeing it in person, Laina decided to sell it for profit instead. 

"Weren't you going to use it to make something for Dante?" Margaret asked as she recalled the conversation she had with Laina about it. 

"Yes… but looking at it, I think I am better off selling it. I'll think of something else to give him," she explained. 

Laina brushed her hand on the deer pelt, "Since the artworks from The Yellow Villa are also ready, I think it's time for us to take a trip to the auction house in Everfree."

Three days later, Laina set off for Everfree Nation. Kol and Margaret went along as well, but no one else followed. Her knights were still in training, so that was all the people she was bringing. 

Upon arriving through the portal gate, they headed straight for Crystie Auction House in central Everfree. Crystie was one of the most well-known auction houses through Everfree and beyond. 

Some of the famous works of art were auctioned off in that very building. Laina had already made all of the necessary arrangements. After handing over the items to Curator Logi, he recommended they headed over to the Golden Room. 

It was a special room that catered to the Auction House's highly esteemed guests to view the auctions. 

"Thank you, but I think I would prefer to be in the auction hall itself today."

Laina, Kol, and Margaret were all disguised in regular common clothes and with good reason. She wanted to blend in and see the bidding war first hand. As soon as they entered, they decided to take their seats in the third row. 

Kol looked all around them, making sure that Laina was safe. Margaret and Laina were busy looking through the booklet that contained all the items that would be up for auction. 

"Excuse me, you're in our seats," A voice shouted at them sharply from the side. 

When Laina, Margaret, and Kol turned to their left, they saw that the voice belonged to three well-dressed middle-aged women. They were dressed in expensive pieces of clothing and custom-designed jewelry. 

"Madams, these are your seats?" Margaret asked with an arched eyebrow, "But these seats had no names on them."

"These are our seats! We have been seating here for every auction. Get off our seats and go find somewhere else to sit." The woman with the curled short hair exclaimed. 

"Yeah! You don't have the right to sit here!" The other woman added. 

"You clearly don't have the money to buy anything anyways. So stop wasting everyone's time and get out of here!" 

Margaret was fuming mad, hearing all of their insults. She wanted to stand up and give them a piece of her mind but Laina grabbed hold of her arm and shook her head. 

Laina stood up instead. She plastered a smile on her face and said, "My sincerest apologies, Madams. My friends and I will find somewhere else to sit instead."

As they moved off to find different seats, one of the women whispered to the other. 

"They're probably thieves, here to steal the antiques. Better keep a close eye on them."

"You're right. If anything goes wrong, I will inform the auctioneer, he's a friend of mine anyways."

Margaret's blood boiled as she could not help but glare at the three women who happily took their seats. 

"Your Highness, they're clearly doing this on purpose!" Margaret whispered through gritted teeth. 

Laina sighed as she shook her head, "Let them be. Let's find better seats first."

As they walked away, Laina realized Kol was not following. When she turned back, she could see him standing by the side of the chairs where they were originally seated. 

He was glaring at three women. When one of them noticed him staring at them, she started telling him off. 

"What are you looking at?!" She shouted at him, "If you keep this up, I am calling the guards!"