The Dragon King's Heart

She pointed to the cluster of identical yellow flowers to their right. 

"Sunflowers," Margaret replied. 

They walked over to see the neat rows of fully bloomed sunflowers. Its bright yellow petals brought a smile to Margaret's face. She reached out her hand and gently touched the petals. 

"Why sunflowers?" He asked, curious to know what they meant to her. 

She turned to face him as she explained, "Because they represent loyalty. See the way they always face towards the sun? Absorbing its light for nutrients, they admire the sun. That's what I like about them."

With their first question out of the way, it was time to move on to the next. Having won the first round, she was feeling a little confident. If Marius got this question wrong, he would lose to her. 

She could not wait to order him around as her personal slave. 

"The second question shall be… what is my favorite weapon?"

"Margaret, how badly do you want me to win right now?" He teased before replying, "Your favorite weapon of choice is dual-wielding swords. You especially love using the pair your best friend gifted to you."

Seeing her darkened expression, Marius knew he got the answer right. She cursed beneath her breath as she realized how easy of a question it was for him to answer. He had seen her use her dual wield swords before, it was an educated guess. 

But there was something she did not understand how he knew; how did he know her favorite was the pair of swords her best friend had given to her? Not many, almost no one knew of this. 

"Maybe Dante told him," she muttered to herself. 

Now their scores were one to one. Both of them still had a fair shot at winning. It was down to the final question. Silence hung in the air between them as Margaret thought long and hard about what it should be. 

She did not want to let him win, especially when it means she would have to go out on a date with him. This was the final question. Margaret knew she had to give him a difficult one. Despite seeing how serious she looked, Marius was not affected by it at all. 

Either way, he would come out of the bet a winner. If he got to bring her out on a date, he fulfilled his objective. If he became her slave of a month, he had the perfect opportunity to get closer to her. 

"So, what's the final question?" he asked eagerly. 

"Let me think, will you?" she replied snappily. 

While looking at the other patrons in the garden, Margaret realized she could not think of any question to ask. Her mind was blank. She purposefully hid her gaze from Marius, knowing full well he would be able to see it in her eyes. 

"If you can't think of a final question in the next twenty seconds, I will consider it a win for me," Marius declared as he grew increasingly impatient. 

Margaret protested immediately, "What? Hey! That's not fair!"

"Alright. Since you can't think of a question, let's reverse it then."

"Reverse it?"

"You have to answer a question I come up with. If you answer it correctly, you win. If not, you lose," Marius suggested with a grin. 

She folded her arms and shook her head vehemently, "That's just playing to your favor. That won't be fair."

Marius nodded seemingly agreeing with her but then, he declared, "Fine, then let's get strangers to decide for us then." 

Before Margaret could even grasp what he meant, Marius approached a young couple nearby. After briefly explaining the bet he had with Margaret, he asked for their help in coming up with the final question. 

The same question would be given to both Margaret and Marius. Based on their answers, the crowd will decide who wins. Marius got up on a bench and called out to the people in the park, asking them to come forward to participate. 

Margaret blushed beet red as all the attention in the garden was now focused on her and Marius. She wanted to run away and hide in a hole, but there was nowhere to hide. 

"Alright, so what shall the question be?" Marius asked the couple he had approached. 

The couple whispered to one another for a few seconds before coming to an agreement. 

"The question is if there was one place you could go right now, where would it be and why?" the lady asked the question. 

"It can be anywhere!" the man added. 

Marius looked over to Margaret, smiling softly as he watched her give her reply. 

"I would pick a small cabin in the mountains, where there is peace and quiet. And away from everything else in the world." Margaret replied. 

-Although, right now, I just want to dig a hole in the ground and hide in there.- she thought to herself as she looked over to Marius. 

The crowd liked her answer. It was a romantic setting, two lovers huddled in a cabin with the fireplace crackling in the background. The powdered snow flurries outside the window. 

"That is such a lovely answer," the lady said to Margaret before she turned to Marius, "What about you?"

Marius smiled as he stepped forward to give his answer, "I would go with a cozy home on the cliffs overlooking the ocean with a picturesque view of the sunset every day."

He turned to Margaret and lifted her hand, never breaking eye contact the entire time. Margaret was entranced by his eyes, she could not take her eyes off him. Marius kissed the back of her hand. 

"Because that day on the cliff overlooking the ocean, with the sunset in the background, was the day I first fell hopelessly in love with you. I want to relive that moment for the rest of my life, with you by my side.

As soon as Marius finished his answer, the crowd that had gathered around them agreed that his answer was clearly the winner. All the women who were in the crowd were swooning over how romantic Marius was. 

Margaret could not react. At that moment, all she could do was stare blankly at Marius. She recalled the day he was referring to. Her cheeks flushed red as her heartbeat increased. As the crowd dispersed, Marius noticed Margaret was still in some form of a trance. 

Her feet were rooted to the ground. Worried, he tapped her on the shoulder and asked if she was alright. He even waved his hand in front of her face to get her attention. After a few moments, she came back to her senses. 

"I lost…" she muttered. 

Marius scratched the back of his head as he replied, "That means you have to go out on a date with me."

Though she had lost, she was not upset. Maybe deep down in her heart, she was even a little bit happy. Putting the thoughts behind her, she looked up at Marius with a devilish grin. Marius could feel a cold shiver down his spine. 

She punched him on his arm. 

"You cheated on that last question! It does not count," she protested.