The Dragon King's Heart

"Ow! What are your abs made out of?! Steel?" She exclaimed as she winced in pain. 

"Diamonds, my dear, they are made out of diamonds."

Laina pouted as she folded her arms, trying to explain herself, "I… I just felt that the child was so pitiful without a family and all. So I decided to take her in. Who wants to start a family with such a shameless man like you anyways."

Her off-hand remark shot right through Dante's heart. Margaret covered her mouth with both of her hands, trying desperately to stifle the laughter that was ready to burst out of her. 

Though his ego was a little hurt, he still did his best to butter her up again. 

"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you, you poor little thing," he coaxed her, "How about you introduce me to this adopted daughter of ours?"

On the other side, Colette had been resting in her room ever since they returned from the forest. She was in bed, looking at her bandaged arm with a wide smile on her face. 

She did not care to hide her true nature, despite there being a palace maid in the room with her. Though her plan did not go smoothly, Colette was still able to get a satisfying result. 

But trouble was on the horizon for her. 

As soon as she sensed the Dragon King's presence in the palace, she entered a state of panic. At first, she convinced herself that she was safe. She expected Dante to come looking for Laina as soon as he found out she was injured. 

But she certainly was not expecting for him to come looking for her. Her plan, her disguise was a flawless plan! There was no way he could sniff her out. But knowing the extent of his abilities, she was not about to let her guard down either. 

As she sensed Dante getting closer and closer, Colette devised a plan to keep her identity under tighter wraps. She layered more protection spells on herself, suppressing all signs of her own aura. 

She might have been able to fool Laina and Margaret with her disguise, but she knew Dante would be able to recognize her with just one look. 

"Ahah! I got it!" She whispered to herself with delight. 

First, she called over the palace maid who tended to her. She told her that she was very sleepy and would like to rest. Should anyone visit her, she instructed The Maid to turn them away. Even if it was the princess. 

The maid understood. 

Her plan was put into motion in the nick of time as moments later, there was a knock on the door. The palace maid went to answer it. Indeed, it was Laina and Dante at the door. 

The maid informed Laina that Colette was asleep and recuperating. 

"Miss Colette told me to inform you not to worry about her well-being, your Highness," the maid said, "She is alright."

Laina clenched the hem of her dress. A thought crossed her mind. Maybe Colette was afraid of her after the accident in the forest. As she recalled, the fire Laina created burned the child's arm. 

She turned to Dante with a worried look on her face, "I must have scared her with teh fire."

She gripped on the sleeve of his suit tightly, "She got hurt because of my fire, that must be why she does not want to see me."

Colette overheard everything from within the room. It was an unexpected development, but it worked perfectly in her favor! When Laina tried to convince The Maid to let her in just to check on Colette, the young child pretended to scream in her sleep. 

"No! No! Please don't hurt me! Please! Help! Help!" Colette yelled as she tossed and turned. 

Hearing the screams of the child hardened her heart. Dante placed her hand around her shoulder to comfort her, "She's just a child. She probably just needs some time to recuperate. In time, she would forget about all of this."

"But… I…" Laina let out a sigh. She knew Dante was right. 

Admitting defeat, she turned to leave with Dante. But before she left, she instructed the maid to ensure that Colette had everything she needed. Dante noticed how upset Laina was by the entire ordeal. 

While she was not weak by any means, he still wanted her to recuperate away from the dangers, away from the gossip and rumors. Knowing all the recent threats were likely Cordelia's doing, Kinshearth was not a safe place for Laina to be while she recuperated. 

So, he suggested taking her somewhere else instead. 

"I have a nice quiet mansion up in the snow-capped Ixi Mountains. We can spend some time there while you recuperate," he suggested. 

"Snow-capped mountains? That sounds so cold! Are you sure your purpose of bringing me there is to recuperate? Or do you have an ulterior motive you're hiding, your Majesty?" Laina asked as she pointed a finger at his chest. 

Dante pretended to have a look of shock on his face as if he had been caught. 

"My my, the Crown Princess saw through my ruse. Indeed, all I want to do…" Dante wrapped his arms around Laina's waist and leaned in close as he whispered in her ear, "Is warm you up in the cold winter."

Was there another word that could describe his behavior? 

Laina grinned as she teased him back, "Are you sure you're enough to warm me up?" I think I might end up catching a cold or freeze."

Seeing that she was playing along with him, Dante was amused. He was not about to lose to Laina this time round!

"Well, if the Dragon King can't warm the Crown Princess up, there's always the thermal baths. I'm sure a hot bath would help you recuperate and warm you right up. Plus…" he ran his hand through a lock of her hair as he said, "We did not exactly finish what we started in the bathtub the other night."

She lost. Laina thought she could beat him at his own game but she was wrong. Although Dante's plan was tempting, she still hesitated. She was supposed to be on break from her royal affairs, but taking a trip out of the Kingdom was different. 

Would things be alright in her absence? While she continued to weigh the options she had, Dante was already on the move. He penned a quick message for Margaret to find. 

Then, he scooped Laina up in his arms once more. 

"Dante? Dante! Put me down this instant! What are you doing!" She exclaimed as she struggled in his arms. 

"Isn't it obvious? I'm kidnapping you."