The Dragon King's Heart

Victoria's lips quivered, her legs had grown weak. She wanted to try and stand but she could not. Everything she had once known was gone. All of it had been reduced to ashes. 

Laina looked on in shock. It was clear from the ruins that the town had been destroyed in a fire. Though the smokey smell of burnt wood no longer lingered in the air, the blackened collapsed structures were clear for all to see. 

Kol remained expressionless, although his eyes conveyed a sadness only someone who had experienced the same loss would have. Memories of a time long forgotten resurfaced in his mind as he looked over to Victoria. 

He knew she was experiencing the same thing he had experienced so many years ago. It hurts to lose the things you once held so dear. It is terrifying to see the last glimmer of hope you have to vanish before your eyes. 

"Everything's… gone…" Victoria murmured as her tears continued to flow. 

Laina crouched down and offered Victoria a hug. They shared a warm embrace as Victoria let out her emotions, crying profusely in Laina's arms. Through her heart-wrenching cries, Laina could feel her sorrow. 

The Crown Princess gritted her teeth, trying to hold her own tears. Another emotion burnt fiercely in her heart. 

"I promise you, Victoria. I will not let him get away with this," Laina vowed. 

"Why… why did he have to… have to destroy everything? I went willingly, I went willingly…" Victoria dry heaved between her tears as she tried to process everything. 

A new flame sparked in her heart, replacing the sorrow she had felt. The pain fuelled her heart, allowing the flame of anger to burn brightly. Victoria slowly stood up. She nearly tripped but she regained her footing. 

She ran into the ruins of the town, Laina and Kol followed suit. Victoria looked around, from side to side. It was difficult to see anything under the cover of the night. Laina summoned spheres of fire to light their way, providing the much-needed light. 

"That monster used my family, my town to threaten me into doing his bidding," she seethed in anger with every word, "I was a fool to believe him. I was so naive to trust him when he was the one who kidnaped me in the first place!" 

Following the familiar path, Victoria came upon a set of ruins that was once her home. Her parents, the kind-hearted couple who took her in, owned a small bakery in their town. 

Fresh dough would be kneaded and piping hot bread would be available for sale as soon as their doors opened for business. She could still hear the joy-filled laughter echoing in the wind as she stepped into what was left of the building. 

So much time had passed, what might have remained for their ashes were no more. Their remains had long returned to dust. 

"I have nothing left," she lamented as she looked on with hollow eyes. 

Despair was all that was left. Victoria was alone in this world. She had no one. She rejected Kragen as her mate. Without her family, she had no reason to live on. Laina placed her hand on Victoria's shoulder. 

"You are their living memory. You must live on, for their sake," Laina reminded. 

Victoria scoffed, "But they're dead."

"Live on. Live the life they could have had. To join them, would be to spit in their face. Their deaths would truly have been for naught."

Though Laina's words may sound harsh, Victoria knew the princess was right. She could choose to join them in the land of the dead, but they would not have wanted that. 

They would have wanted her to live on with her head held high. She was the last living member of her township. She also had to avenge their deaths. 

"You're right, thank you, Laina," Victoria thanked her for her enlightening words of encouragement. 

Knowing she could not bear to stay here on her own, Victoria knew it would be best to continue traveling with Laina. Wolfenheim was where she had spent her childhood. But in the recent few, it had brought her nothing but pain and nightmares. 

A change of scenery would benefit her. 

But before she left, Victoria ventured into what used to be the backyard of her home. Based on memory and smell, she found the spot she was looking for and began to dig up the soil with her bare hands. 

Laina and Kol came forward to help. 

"What are you looking for?" Laina could not help but ask as she continued to dig out lumps of soil. 

"When my parents found me, there was a trinket that was left with me. I buried it here years ago. Never got the chance to bring it with me when I was taken to the Capital," Victoria explained. 

After some time, they felt a hard surface in the soil. It was a small wooden box, carefully placed into the soil Victoria pulled it out of the earth and dusted off the loose soil and gravel. 

She flicked open the latch and opened the lid. In the small wooden box, was a stunning oval-shaped moonstone brooch. It emitted a soft glow, glistening under the moonlight. 

Laina gasped in amazement. She had seen many moonstones in her time, but she had hardly ever seen any of this size and glimmer. There was something extremely familiar about it as well. 

Although Laina could not quite recall where she had seen something similar before. Perhaps it was an illustration from a book she had read? She could not be certain. 

"Is it alright if I take a closer look? I promise to be careful with it," Laina asked. 

She was mesmerized by the beauty of the moonstone. Kol felt something was unique about the gemstone, but he was not unsure what it was. Victoria handed Laina the box with the brooch in it. 

"It's beautiful is it not?" She commented as Laina received it from her and took a closer look. 

Laina held it up. Under direct moonlight, the moonstone shone even brighter than before. There was something about it that Laina could not quite understand. 

"Moonstones can be used to store energy and power. Some witches use it to store magic energy so that they could draw upon it when needed. I've never seen such a large moonstone, let alone one of this clarity. 

It is most certainly of great value," Laina commented as she returned it to Victoria's care. 

"Does it? I never knew," Victoria replied as she continued to admire the beautiful stone, "I don't know about power, but it does hold great sentimental value to me. It's the only thing I have left of my birth parents."

Seeing the look of sadness and longing in Victoria's eyes, Laina placed her hand on hers, "Perhaps that moonstone of yours holds more clues to your birth parents than you might think. Perhaps if we found an enchanter, they might be able to provide us with more information."

Victoria brightened up, "You would do that, for me?"

"Of course, it's no trouble at all," Laina replied with confidence. 

<Writing Prompt #1 - A butterfly on a sunflower> 

Dedicated to ClaraJBong 

There was once a legend of old. If you were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Flutterheart Butterfly, you would be blessed with good luck. Every Spring, the young children of the Grove would request their parents to bring them to the Garden of the Sun to hunt for the Flutterheart Butterfly. 

Elisa was just like any other child. She too was curious. She too wished to catch a glimpse of this mysterious butterfly that blessed one with good luck. But she did not wish to do so for herself, she wanted it for her grandfather who was bedridden and ill. 

Elisa did not remember a time when he was well. But she had heard the stories of how he used to love sitting on a bench in the garden and watch the butterflies flutter by during Spring. So, the little girl begged her mother to bring her there. 

On a sunny afternoon, the mother and daughter entered the garden, dressed in white dresses. They picked a spot with a bit of shade to set up their picnic mat. Elisa put on her hand-woven straw hat as she carried a small glass bottle in her hands. As her mother prepared some sandwiches, she wandered off in search of the Flutterheart Butterfly.

But Elisa had never seen the butterfly before, nor did she know how it looked like. She decided to try her luck in her favorite flower field, the Sunflower patch. The bright yellow petals reflected the sunlight, bathing the land in gold and yellow. 

Elisa smiled sweetly as she waddled through the Sunflower patch. She looked high and low for the special butterfly. Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew Elisa's straw hat into the sky. She drops the glass bottle as she chased after her hat. 

After being swept up in the wind for a few seconds, the hat lands safely next to a single stalk of sunflower. Elisa ran up to it and picked up her hat. As she wore it back on, she looked over to the stalk of sunflower before her. tiptoed as she noticed the wing of a butterfly, resting in the heart of the sunflower. 

The little girl gasped in delight as a wide smile appeared upon her face. Nestled in the heart of the flower, was a pretty little butterfly. Its wings were translucent, like rainbow-colored stain glass, glistening under the rays of sunlight.