Chapter 19: An Invitation For You
Countess Victoria and everyone who were there gasped in shock by Dante's gesture and words. Their King had almost never been seen in close contact with a woman before this. Laina could see all of their eyes on her.
They were whispering amongst themselves, wondering who she was. All of a sudden, Laina felt out of place. Everyone around her was a dragon, she was not. Not to mention, their stares and whispering made her feel uncomfortable.
The Countess was shocked by how things unfolded. She tried to apologize to the King profusely but he would not hear any of it. Instead, he ignored her completely and turned to examine Laina.
"Are you alright? Did you get hurt?" he asked with a look of concern.
Laina was surprised by the change in his mannerisms. One moment he was cold and harsh yet to her, he was warm and affectionate. Something about it felt familiar to her but she could not figure out what it was.
Dante cupped her chin, tilting her head from side to side to check for injuries or wounds. His action caused her to blush. She quickly took a step back and brushed his hand away. It was not proper for an unmarried princess to walk so closely to a King.
"Thank you for your concern, King Dante. I am fine," Laina quickly replied.
Feeling as if she had made a mistake coming down to the beach, she excused herself and quickly walked away. Titan looked up at Dante for a quick moment before he scurried off to catch up with Laina as she walked off into the distance.
With the commotion over, the crowd dissipated. Dante looked over to see Laina's back view, slowly disappearing into the distance. He wanted to give chase but he did not want to look desperate.
Marius, who was with him, was amused by Dante's indecision to follow Laina or not. The King had never thought twice when it came to battle tactics or negotiation. Yet at this moment, looking Laina leave his side, he was hesitating and crippled by indecision.
He could not bear to see this go on for any longer. Marius nudged Dante and whispered to him, "Go after her."
It was as if he had heard the voice of his heart. Dante immediately went off to catch up with her.
Duchess Ophelia, who had watched the entire scene play out from the sidelines was smiling to herself. This development proved to be more exciting than she had originally anticipated. She knew this mysterious young woman was someone special.
But she did not expect her to be this special. Shara, on the other hand, was dying to know what the Duchess thought of the events that transpired.
"Milady, who do you think that woman was?" Shara asked with anticipation.
Ophelia smiled as she replied, "I don't know for certain. But whoever she may be, she is not as simple as she looks."
The handmaiden was confused. She was clearly not as smart as the Duchess. Shara could not see what Ophelia had seen. Seeing the confused look on her hand maiden's face, the duchess could not help but laugh.
"No normal woman would have such reflexes as to catch someone's hand like that. That's one. That dog that trailed her is no normal mutt either. And, the nail in the coffin..." she paused for suspense as she took a sip of her champagne.
"Our King graced us with his presence and openly admitted her to be his guest. Now that is truly intriguing."
This was someone to watch, someone to take notice of. Duchess Ophelia was excited to see how things would play out. She was also dying to find out who that mysterious young woman was.
"Milady, you're truly brilliant," Shara praised her mistress.
"It's called being observant, Shara. You'll understand it eventually," she said in response.
Back in the castle, Laina was walking down the hallways of the castle. But it soon dawned upon her, that she did not know where she was going. After all, she had leaped out of the window to get to the beach.
Every hallway she walked into looked almost identical to the next. How was she going to find her way back to her room?
"Maybe I should just take this opportunity to leave," she muttered to herself as the idea surfaced in her mind.
Just as she turned to retrace her steps to leave the castle grounds, she noticed a pair of familiar feet not too far ahead from her. When she traced her eyes upwards, she was stunned to see that it was Dante.
Laina gulped as she took a few steps back.
"Princess Laina, what were you doing at the beach?" he asked her with a smile.
She was caught red-handed. Laina did not know how to respond.
When she tried to form whatever words she could, she stuttered, "Well... I… I umm wanted to… to… to bring Titan out for a walk. Yes, a walk."
She remembered why she had wanted to go to the beach. It was not to escape but to play in the water with her dog.
"Right.." Dante replied.
He had this whole conversation planned out but looking at how flustered Laina looked as she was trying to form a reply, he forgot. The awkward silence between them was growing ever more obvious. Dante did not know what else to say and neither did Laina.
Seeing the both of them in a standstill even made Marius uncomfortable.
"Well, glad that was cleared up. Princess, allow me to escort you and Titan over here back to the room," Marius said as he walked over to Laina.
He paused for a moment and continued, "Oh before I forget. My King, I believe there was something you wanted to ask the princess?"
Marius hinted at Dante. For a moment, the Dragon King could not recall what his right-hand man was referring to. There was just a blank look upon his face.
Marius bit his lip as he tried to probe him, "Something about dinner?"
"Ah yes," Dante turned to Laina, "I would like to invite you to a dinner party later tonight."
She could not believe her ears. He was asking for her permission?
"A dinner party?" Laina echoed his words.
She looked down at the outfit she was wearing.
"But I don't have anything appropriate to wear…" she commented.
Dante smiled, "I take that as a yes on the invite. Don't worry about attire, I will have it send to your room."
He turned to Marius, "Marius, escort the princess back to her room. I have some matters to attend to."
Dante lifted Laina's hand and gently kissed it. He looked up at her with a coy smile.
"I will see you tonight, Princess."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ValestriaMoon
ValestriaMoon Ooooh a dinner party? Sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun!
New Book Alert!
Please check out my latest book <The King's Cursed Bride>!
Chapter 20: Arriving In Style
Upon returning to the room, Laina could feel the burning sensation on her cheeks. She paced around the room from one end to the other, biting her nail as she did. Titan followed by her side until he got tired.
He wandered off to the side and laid down to rest while watching his mistress pacing back and forth.
-What just happened…- Laina asked herself.
She was trying to process everything that had just happened in the last two hours or so. What was meant to be a simple trip to the beach, turned into an altercation. Then, King Dante appeared and pulled her into his embrace.
Then, he asked her out to dinner. She agreed to eat dinner with him. Laina slapped both of her cheeks.
"Laina, Laina, Laina, what on earth are you doing!"
She should be trying to find a way to get back to Kinshearth, not spend even more time here. Laina wondered if Margaret had already sent out soldiers to find her. She wished there was a way she could contact Margaret to let her know she was safe.
But no one would know where to go to find her. She had disappeared without a trace, no clues left behind. Laina walked out onto the balcony for some fresh air. She turned her attention away from the beach to admire the inner workings of the city down below.
She admired the many different buildings that surrounded the castle. Everything seemed compact, right next to one another. But in the bustling city down below, there were small pockets of nature.
Parks and gardens filled with greenery and flowers dotted the entire city.
"What an interesting city indeed," she lamented. It was a pity she would not get the chance to explore it.
Just then, a knock on the door brought Laina out of her thoughts and back to the present.
"Come in."
A few moments later, the door opened, and in walked two maids and a seamstress. They bowed deeply upon meeting Laina and explained that they had been sent by King Dante. Three more servants wheeled a large wardrobe and two trunk chests, into the room before taking their leave.
None of them dared to meet the Princess at eye level. After the servants left, leaving behind the maids and the seamstress, they began to rearrange the main floor space of the room. Within minutes, they made a makeshift dressing studio.
"Your highness, if you could just step onto this platform for me," the seamstress asked politely as she guided Laina to the raised platform in front of the folded screen mirrors.
Laina followed her instructions and stepped up onto the platform. The maids opened the wardrobe and trunk chests while the seamstress looked through the various dresses.
"The King mentioned that it would be a dinner party, is that correct?" the seamstress asked.
"Yes… yes it is," Laina replied.
"It is short notice, but I think we've got a few good options here."
After an hour of picking cloth patterns and dress patterns, they finally agreed on something suitable. But Laina was confused. Who could make a dress from scratch in less than a day? It would take some magic for that to happen.
The seamstress took Laina's measurements and quickly wrote them down on a piece of paper. Once she had all the information she needed, the seamstress got to work. From her waist belt, she picked up a wand.
As she waved it in the air, the wand began to emit a soft glow of light. Cloth, scissors and threads all came to life, moving across the room according to the seamstress's command. Laina laid down on the day bed as she watched the seamstress work.
One of the maids left the room and returned with a piping hot pot of tea and biscuits for Laina. Soon, a beautifully tailored dress was revealed before Laina. She put down the cup of tea and walked over to admire the dress.
"What do you think?" the seamstress asked eagerly.
Laina smiled, "It's perfect. You have some amazing skills."
"I'm glad you love it, your highness. Thank you for your praise. My work here is done, I will send in the jeweler and the shoemaker."
By the time Laina's outfit for the dinner party was complete, she was just in time. Marius knocked on her door, just as she put on the earrings.
"Come in," she called out.
Marius entered the room and bowed to her respectfully, "Princess Laina, I am here on the orders of King Dante to escort you to the dinner party."
When he looked up at Laina, he was momentarily mesmerized by her beauty. The dress accentuated her curvy figure, hugging her in all the right places. The jewelry added a touch of class to her outfit.
Laina put out her hand and Marius received it. Together, they exit the room and proceeded down the hall. This time, Titan remained in the room. As they walked down the hallway, Marius started to chat with Laina.
"How are you liking the castle so far, Princess Laina?" he asked.
"It's beautiful and huge. I don't think the Kinshearth Castle is this huge," Laina commented as she looked all around.
"I must say, for a kidnapped princess, you seem to be adapting well," he jest.
She laughed, "Well I think it is wise to make the best out of the situation, don't you agree? I am not the soft-spoken innocent type princess, you know. You won't find me crying in a corner, that's for sure."
Marius smiled upon hearing her reply. From their conversation, the way she dressed and carried herself, he knew she had not changed one bit. She was still the same person he knew.
"I can assure you, Dante… King Dante does not mean you any harm. He just… has an interesting way of expressing his emotions. Especially towards you," he replied.
Before Laina could speak, they arrived before a huge pair of oak wood doors. It was guarded by two royal guards, one on each side. Standing next to them, was a butler, dressed in a swallowtail suit.
Upon their arrival, the guards saluted them. With Marius's signal, the guards pushed open the door to allow them to enter. The butler guided them into the hall and announced Laina's arrival.
"Your Majesty, Crown Princess Laina has arrived."
Laina had expected to see a dining hall filled with nobility already seated by the table, or mingling amongst one another. But what she saw was a mostly empty dining hall. Apart from her, Marius, and the butler, there was only one other person.
King Dante, himself.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ValestriaMoon
ValestriaMoon
XD did you see this coming? Be truthful and let me know in the comments~
New Book Alert!
Please check out my latest book <The King's Cursed Bride>!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
1 Power
stone You may also Like
Paragraph comment