The Dragon King's Heart

Laina interlocked her hands together. She tucked a loose lock of her hair behind her ear as she looked up at the ticking clock in her room. She bit her lip. As she let out a breath of air, she got up from her seat and walked towards the door. 

Margaret had asked for permission to spend some time with Marius, which the Crown Princess happily obliged. She was happy to see Margaret's relationship with Marius blossoming. 

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?" her handmaid asked her nervously as she held onto her hands. 

"I'll be fine," Laina had reassured her, while her heart pounded in her chest, "What could possibly go wrong?"

The Crown Princess confidently left the room and headed towards the Royal Gardens. As per their agreement, they were going to rendezvous in the cover of darkness amongst the flowers. She felt as if she was an assassin, sneaking through the castle as she went. 

"This is no way a princess should be," Laina muttered to herself. 

Tonight, she was not dressed in her usual finery. In fact, she was dressed in common clothes. The Crown Princess was disguised as a commoner. As per her request, Dante would be dressed similarly. 

As she got closer to their meeting spot, her heart sank a little. There was no one there. Perhaps he was too busy and could not make it? Laina shook her head. 

"He would have told me if he couldn't make it," she said to herself, "Have faith, Laina, have faith."

As soon as she reached the clearing, Laina straightened her back and dusted off her clothes. For the evening, she had chosen a simple white blouse, wine red vest, a pair of fitted black pants, and a pair of ankle-high leather boots. 

It was the perfect outfit for her to move around in, especially under the cover of darkness. She had even tied her hair up in a simple ponytail. As she looked down at the outfit she was wearing, a smile formed on Laina's face. 

She looked up into the sky and let out an audible sigh. It was times like this when Laina wished she was not a royal, but a regular citizen. There wouldn't be a kingdom for her to run, she would have all the time in the world. 

Laina leaned her back against the trunk of a nearby tree. While she was still deep in her thoughts, she did not realize there was a figure walking towards her. It was not until when his shadow overcast her that she took notice.

She looked up at him with a smile on her face. 

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss," Dante apologized with a grin. 

He took a step back, basking under the moonlight. She could see the outfit he had chosen for their evening. Laina could not take her eyes off him at that moment. Her eyes glistened as she looked at him from head to toe. 

Has Dante always looked this good?

"Does my lady like my outfit of choice this evening?" he asked with a smile. 

"You have good tastes, sir," Laina replied as she circled him. 

"So, are we just going to stand here all night?" 

Laina chuckled as she locked arms with Dante, taking him out of the garden towards the castle walls. They made their way out of the castle and into the capital city. The bright lamp lights lit up the cobblestone streets.

Due to the ongoing festivities, the streets were filled with festival-goers having a good time. The town square market was especially crowded with merchants selling their feline-themed wares to passing customers. 

"I hope you like the surprise I have installed for us," Laina said to him as they walked through the streets. 

"Whatever you have for me, I am sure I will love it," Dante replied. 

Laina had thought about it for some time. She saw how busy Dante was and knew he most certainly did not have the time to truly enjoy the festival. While the festival within the castle was nice, it could not match the atmosphere of the celebrations in the town square. 

As such, Laina invited Dante in secret to attend the festival in disguise. Not only would they be able to enjoy themselves without the watchful eyes of guards and the nobility, but they were also able to spend some much-needed quality time together. 

She had spent the remainder of her afternoon planning this. She hoped it would all go well without a hitch. The aromatic fragrance of the food street piqued their interest. Laina had refrained from eating much for this very moment. 

Dante, on the other hand, had not had dinner because he had been busy attending to the guests and nobles who had come to attend the festival. In order to keep his evening free for Laina, he had to work extra hard. 

All of his hard work was worth it to see the smile upon her face. 

"Fish cake skewers! Get your cat-shaped fish cake skewers here!" a stall keeper enticed the crowd as they walked by. 

Laina had never heard of such a dish before so she pulled Dante over to take a closer look. She was holding onto his hand, realizing how cold it felt. He never had the warmest of hands, but was his hands colder than before?

Dante enjoyed the warmth from Laina's hand. Ever since the curse activated, he had been feeling unnaturally cold. It had never happened before in the past. Hence, he chose to wear more layers of clothing, even in the heat of summer. 

When they got to the front of the stall, the stall keeper hollered to Laina, inviting her to give the skewers a try. 

"What would you recommend us to try?" Laina asked as she looked at all the available options. 

The skewers were all barbequed over a charcoal fire, giving them an extra layer of smokey flavor. She was already salivating as she looked at them. 

"I would highly recommend our festival special Neko Skewers! They are cat-shaped fish cake skewers with smoked cheese in the center. It is a crowd favorite and we're almost sold out."

"I'll take two please!" Laina immediately replied upon hearing the limited availability. 

After making payment, she holds one up to Dante so that he could take a bite. The fishcakes were hot off the grill station. Hot steamed escaped their mouths as they took a bite of the fishcake. 

The savory flavors paired well with one another. Laina was careful while she ate, careful to not let the melted cheese burn her tongue. She was impressed by the flavor of the seafood skewer. 

"This is really good," she said with her mouthful.