The Dragon King's Heart

She shook her head, "We promised them, moon kiss. We can enjoy our fun... after. There's still plenty of time."

Unable to object any further, Dante obliged. As soon as he pulled away, she already missed his touch and his presence. When he walked up to the door, Laina followed swiftly, hooking onto his arm as they made their way out of the room. 

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Florin teased them both as they came down the stairs.

Kol chuckled at the side as he walked over to Florin. Laina and Dante blushed a little as they mumbled their apologies while joining them in the living room. They had prepared hot cocoa for everyone to enjoy. A quick sweep of the room and it was clear to see that Dante and Laina were not the latest to arrive.

"Oh no," Laina's expression grew dark as she grasped onto Dante's wrist tightly, "Is Margaret upset with me?"

She was worried that perhaps since Laina did not show up for their Log Day celebrations, Margaret got mad at her. It had been a while since they had last celebrated Log Day together so she knew how important it was to her. Before Dante could reply, all of them heard pounding footsteps coming down the stairs. 

All of them turned to see Margaret and Marius rushing down the stairs. Florin and Kol exchanged a glance and a chuckle when they saw what the two of them were wearing. The couple was dressed in bathrobes.

Margaret came up to a shocked Laina, apologizing profusely, "I'm so sorry Laina! Marius and I were..." 

She stopped short of completing her sentence before correcting herself, "We lost track of time..."

Realizing everyone was looking at the both of them, Margaret's cheeks turned beet red. She was embarrassed. Laina, on the other hand, finally realized what had happened. Dante drew her out of her thoughts as he whispered audibly into her ear.

"Perhaps we should have stayed in bed a little longer too."

Laina could not stifle her laughter any longer. She apologized profusely as much as she could as Margaret was so embarrassed she could not even defend herself. Marius and Margaret went back upstairs to get changed while the others got to work on the preparations. 

When she came back down, Margaret headed straight for the kitchen. She apologized to Laina again for what happened earlier as she helped her with the preparation in the kitchen. 

"Don't worry about it," Laina said as she continued marinating the meats, "Why don't you go and join the rest in the living room? Dante and I can take care of things in here."

"But... but..." Margaret wanted to protest. She wanted to help them with the cooking but Laina pushed her out of the kitchen. 

Before she let her go, Laina whispered in her ear, "I think you deserve a break, after all, that fun you had earlier."

Margaret's cheek blushed red once more as she was about to turn around and defend herself. But Laina simply gave her a wink and hurried back into the kitchen with Dante. Marius came over to see if he could lend a helping hand, only to get his on the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" he yelped as he rubbed his arm where Margaret hit him. 

She pouted as she folded her arms, "This is all your fault!"

With that, she stormed into the living room and plopped herself down on the sofa. Marius turned to Dante with a look of confusion, like a puppy who accidentally broke a vase. Dante simply shrugged his shoulders as he continued to stir the bubbling pot on the stove.

"How's the gravy coming along?" Laina asked as she continued to dice the vegetables on the chopping board. 

He snuck a quick taste of the gravy before adding another round of seasoning, "Almost ready. I think it just needs a little more salt."

Dante peered over to Laina, carefully watching her. He could not help but smile, seeing how hard she was working. When their eyes met, Laina felt a little awkward.

"Is something wrong?" she asked as she tucked a loose lock of her hair behind her ear. 

He shook his head as he came over to her and kissed her on the forehead. It was moments like this that Dante truly enjoyed. If only there were more of them. By the time the food was ready, everyone was ready to eat. The table and dining area were immaculately decorated with lights, garlands, and candles. 

Each dish that was served looked better than the last. All of them were salivating at the sight of the aromatic dishes that lined the table. Everyone quickly took their seats as drinks were served. Dante and Laina went on to introduce each dish that they ad prepared.

There was a little something for everyone. They prepared an appetizer charcuterie board piled with a selection of cheese, dried fruits, fresh fruits, smoked meats, and crackers. For the main course, they had well-seasoned roast beef with sides of baked baby potatoes, grilled vegetables, and cranberry sauce. 

Other side dishes included grilled chicken and pork skewers with a peanut sticky sauce, a seafood platter, and creamy tomato soup. Last but not least, for dessert, Laina and Dante together prepared an ice-cold lemon sherbet and chocolate-coated strawberries.

"Everything looks amazing!" Margaret exclaimed, Kol and Florin agreed with her.

"Laina did most of the cooking, I supervised," Dante added, giving her the credit.

She nudged him, "You're one to talk. It's the other way around. I just helped a little here and there."

"Where do we even begin?" Marius looked on at the dishes excitedly.

Laina raised her glass of champagne as she stood up from her seat, "I think we should start off with a toast. I'm thankful for everyone who's gathered here today. I hope that every year will be better than the last."

"Here, here!" everyone echoed as she clunked their glasses together.

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