The Dragon King's Heart

Dante stirred awake to Titan licking his face. 

"I'm awake, I'm awake," he whispered as he opened his eyes. 

Still a little groggy from sleep it took him a while for his eyes to readjust to the light in the room. The black-out curtains blocked out most of the light, but a gap in the drawn curtains allowed a ray of warm sunlight to stream in. 

Dante turned to his side. Laina was sleeping facing him. Her eyes were closed and her hands were beside her face as she continued to sleep soundly. Titan attempted to climb over him to lick Laina's face but Dante quickly picked him up as he sat up in bed.

He carefully lifted Titan off the bed and placed him on the ground. 

"Don't wake her up, Titan, let her sleep," he whispered to him. 

The dog was huge and heavy, but he did not weigh anything to Dante. Seemingly able to understand what he said, Titan sat on the ground and leaned his head down on his paws. 

He smiled as he patted Titan on the head, "Good boy."

Dante turned over to look at Laina. A lock of her hair fell out of place, covering her face. He carefully tucked it back behind her ear, hoping not to wake her in the process. But the lock of hair tickled her on the nose. 

"Mmmm let me sleep a little more…" she mumbled in her sleep. 

Dante smiled as he continued to look at her. He stretched out his arms carefully and let out a yawn. He had spent the night making sure Laina was asleep before he himself dozed off. Seeing as the sun was up, it was time for him to leave. 

-I need to get back to Dracona before Marius finds me missing.- he reminded himself. 

Though he did not want to leave her side, he knew he had to go. If anyone found out he had spent the night here, more questions and rumors would be spread around as well. It was best if he left quietly without Laina knowing. 

"Margaret should be here soon anyway," he mumbled to himself. 

Dante lifted off the covers. He tried to leave the bed without waking Laina up. But before he could even put one foot on the ground, he felt something on his thigh. He froze as he turned back to look at Laina. 

"Where are you going… don't leave my moonkiss…" Laina mumbled as she crawled over to Dante. 

She gently rests her head on his thigh. Dante leaned down to look at Laina. She still had both of her eyes closed and her breathing was steady. She was sound asleep. He waved his hand in front of her face, hoping to see if that would get a reaction. 

She did not move. 

Looking down at Titan who was now looking up at him, he could not help but smile. 

"Looks like I won't be going anywhere for a while," he said to Titan with a smile. 

Dante carefully got back in bed and remained as still as he could. He carefully combed his fingers through her long red hair. 

"If we could remain like this forever, wouldn't that be great?" he whispered to himself. 

After some time, there was a knock on the door before the doorknob turned and it pushed open. 

"Sorry for the intrusion, Princess Laina, but I'm here to…" Margaret said as she looked up towards the bed. 

As soon as she saw the scene before her, her jaw dropped. Marius, who came in behind Margaret bumped into her as she had stopped in her tracks. When he too turned to see who was on the bed, his jaw dropped too. 

Dante placed his index finger on his lips, "Lower your voices, she's still asleep."

Dante was shirtless. Not to mention, he had his other hand on Laina's shoulder as she slept soundly. Margaret was fuming in anger. She curled her hands into fists as she charged over to Dante. Marius, who had just disenchanted himself, quickly held Margaret back as best he could. 

"What in Kingsheart do you think you're doing?! In bed with Laina! I swear to the sky above if she's even missing one strand of her hair I will end you!" Margaret threatened in a loud anger-filled whisper. 

Just then, everyone froze still. Laina slowly sat up in bed and yawned as she stretched out her arms. She rubbed her eyes as she looked in front of her. She could see the blurry image of two people standing at the foot of the bed, near the entrance of the room. 

"Good morning, Margaret," Laina greeted the handmaid as she turned to look towards the window.

She noticed the sliver of sunlight peeking through. 

"Did I oversleep?" she asked as she turned back to look at Margaret. 

As soon as Laina saw Marius, she paused for a moment. She turned to see Dante who was also seated on the bed next to her. The last thing she remembered was both of them turning in for the night. 

She had made sure to turn to face the other side, having a clear divide between Dante's side of the bed and her own. But why were they now barely a few inches apart? 

"Good morning, Laina, did you sleep well?" Dante asked with a smile. 

Laina quickly got out of bed and stood to the side, "I… I slept well."

She cleared her throat and said, "Thank you for accompanying me last night, King Dante. But I think it's time for you to leave." 

Dante folded his arm, "Oh? So soon? I was hoping that you would at least offer to eat breakfast together before we part ways." 

Laina could not believe how shameless this King was. She was even more certain that she could not be caught dead being in the same room as him right now. The rumors would spread through the palace and beyond like wildfire. 

She tried her best to maintain her composure, "I will repay your kindness another day. Right now, I need to prepare for morning court. Thank you for staying, really. But I need you to leave, now."

Dante sighed as he got out of bed. Margaret was relieved to know that the Dragon King still had his pants on. But that was the least of her worries now. Laina was right. If anyone caught sight of Dante in here, rumors will spread. 

"But how are we going to leave? We won't be able to get to the portal gate without being seen," Marius brought up a good point. 

Margaret sighed, "Leave that to me. King Dante, put on your shirt and get over here. Stand next to Marius."

Dante walked over to Laina's side and whispered into her ear, "See you soon, Crown Princess Laina."

He kissed her hand before going over to stand by Marius's side. Margaret rubbed her palms together while whispering an enchantment. A spell circle formed beneath Marius and Dante's feet.

A bright light enveloped the room. When it dissipated, the Dragon King and his confidante were nowhere to be seen.. They were transported back to Dracona in a flash.