The Dragon King's Heart

Laina took in a deep breath. She had her eyes on the prize, the glint in her eye was clear for all to see. She was in it to win it. Laina aimed for the bottle with the golden colored paint.

She throws the rubber ring in her hands and watched its trajectory carefully. Unfortunately, it landed on a regular bottle instead, much to her disappointment. She slumped her shoulders in disappointment and let out a sigh.

"Don't worry, try again," Dante encouraged her.

Laina nodded in reply. She picked up another ring and took aim once more. Dante held on to her hand and leaned in close.

"Instead of aiming for the golden bottle, try aiming a little further back. It will help improve your accuracy," Dante suggested.

She did as he had suggested, setting her sights on a bottle further back from the gold one. She throws the ring from her hands once more with a little bit more force, hoping it would fly further.

But Laina underestimated her strength. The ring flew across the gold bottle, hitting the bottle behind it instead before falling into the cracks.

"Darn it!" Laina exclaimed in anger.

As soon as she realized how unladylike her outburst was, she quickly covered her mouth and apologized for her behavior. But Dante did not fault her. In fact, he was pleasantly amused.

"There's no need to apologize when you're true to yourself, Laina," he replied reassuringly, "After all, that's one of the things I love most about you."

Laina blushed, averting her gaze for a moment from Dante. She nudged him on the shoulder with a grin on her face. He knew how to bring a smile to her face. Getting back to their game, Laina only had three rings left.

Three rings. Three chances. She bit her lip as she thought of a suitable strategy. She carefully watched the other people who were playing around her. She noted down the strategies they were using, seeing what worked and what did not.

Looking back at the bottles, Laina bid her time and waited for the right moment. Dante did not know what she was trying to do at first. But he did not rush her either. He knew she had a plan in mind and was intrigued to see what she would do next.

Moments later, Laina grabs her last three rings and throws them in quick succession. He had not expected her to do so. After all, that meant they would have used up all their chances at one go.

He watched as the rings flew through the air towards their target, the golden bottle. The first thing did not make it far, it landed a few bottles before the target. Laina bit her lip. She still had two more rings to count on.

The second and third rings flew closer to one another. As one of it was about to land on the gold, another ring from another player pushed it out of the spot. Laina cursed beneath their breath.

They were so close!

But much to her surprise, and the surprise of everyone else, a miracle occurred. The final ring Laina had thrown landed right on the tip of the rim of the golden bottle. Dante and Laina held their breath as the ring-spun.

Laina grabbed onto Dante's arm tightly as she watched the ring spin around the rim of the bottle. After a few agonizing seconds, the ring falls and encircles the golden bottle.

"We did it!" Laina exclaimed as she hugged Dante tightly as she jumped up and down with glee.

Dante was in a daze, unsure of how to react. The smile on his face was undeniable but his mind was still processing what had happened. Before he could say anything else, Laina kissed him on the lips before continuing to jump in glee.

Even the stall keeper was impressed! He quickly rings the golden bell, announcing that the golden prize has been won.

"We have a gold winner! We have a gold winner! Congratulations, Miss! You've won our gold prize!" The stall keeper exclaimed with glee as he walked over with the prize.

He handed it over to Laina, who received the mysterious box in her hands. Everyone else at the booth was intrigued. They wondered what could possibly be in the box. There was quite a bit of speculation.

"I heard someone got a spirit beast from one of these boxes!"

"I heard they got a curse!"

"You're both wrong! It's a gemstone! I saw it with my own two eyes!"

The weight of the box was not a strong indication of what was within it. Laina tried shaking the box, but it did not give her any clues either.

"What do you think is in it, Dante?" She asked as she held it out for him to see.

But even the Dragon King had no idea.

"There's only one way to find out."

Laina looked down at the box in her hands. If she never opened it, she would never know what was in it. Revealing it was the only way to know for certain. So, she opened it.

A bright flash of light enveloped the surrounding area. When the light dissipated, Laina felt a slight weight in her hands. With her sight restored after some adjustment, she looked down at her hands.

It was a beautiful golden phoenix bracelet, encrusted with precious gemstones. Everyone was in awe. Laina felt a certain sense of familiarity with the mythical creature. As she admired the hair pin up close, she could see the details of each and every feather.

"You're so lucky, Miss!" The stall keeper praised, "The mystery box is infused with magic and sorcery that is uncommon in Gaeia. Based on the affinity of the person who wins it, it will reveal a prize that suits you best."

Laina pondered over the stall keeper's words, "Affinity? Suits me best?"

Dante knew exactly what it all meant.

"Perhaps your affinity with the Sun, the element of fire, was the reason why a phoenix bracelet presented itself to you," Dante theorized.

The phoenix, a fiery feathered creature that soared through the skies. It is said their flames can reach high temperatures, hot enough to melt even the strongest of metals with ease.

"Aren't phoenixes the nemesis of dragons?" Laina said with disappointment as they walked away from the game stall.

Dante stopped them in their tracks and turned to Laina.

"Who in Gaeia told you that?" He asked sternly.

His sudden change in tone caught her by surprise.

"What? No… no one told me. I just made an assumption. Phoenix and Dragon, Sun and Moon. Aren't they opposites?" Laina asked as she averted her gaze.

Dante wrapped his arms around Laina, bringing her close to him. He could feel the heat radiating off her body. It brought him a sense of comfort and security. For a short while, he was a little less cold.

"They are not opposites," Dante reassured her as he caressed her cheek, "They complement one another perfectly. Two halves of a perfect whole."