The Dragon King's Heart

"Are you sure this is what you want, Colette?" Laina asked with a confused expression. 

She had expected the child to ask for sweet treats, or perhaps the latest toy in the market. But that was not what Colette wanted. 

The little girl nodded her head vehemently as she exclaimed with glee in her cutesy voice, "Yes Laina, this is what I want!" 

Laina looked over to Margaret, who was also surprised by the child's request, then back at Colette with a smile. 

"Alright, if that's what you want, then your wish is my command," Laina relented. 

"Yay!" Colette exclaimed with glee as she happily pranced around the room with excitement. 

"Margaret, make the necessary preparations. And have them bring a training bow that would be suitable for Colette," Laina instructed. 

When the Crown Princess asked the little girl what she wanted to do, she declared 'hunting' without the slightest hesitation. This came as a huge surprise to everyone who witnessed the scene but no one objected to it. 

After all, if the princess herself agreed to it, who were they to protest? Little did they know, all of this was part of Colette's devious plans. 

Apart from hunting gear, Margaret packed them a picnic to enjoy afterward. Once everything was ready, they set off for the Royal Hunting Grounds near the palace. Laina took with her a small entourage of her knights and a few attendants. 

Titan, her Solar Mastiff, came along too. While Titan was friendly to most people he encountered, he did not seem to like Colette very much. Colette had also expressed fear whenever she saw the mastiff from a distance. 

Laina did not think too much of it, assuming Titan was simply wary of the young child since they had not met before. As Colette did not dare to approach Titan, she ensured there was a safe distance between them. 

A resting spot was quickly set up, as Laina got into her hunting gear. A small archery range had also been set up for Colette to practice her aiming skills with the bow. Laina patiently taught the child how to hold the bow. 

"My arms are tired," Colette whined a little as her arms began to ache from holding the training bow in position. 

"You'll get used to the strain once you get the hang of it," Laina replied. 

Colette shot her first arrow, then her second. Much to everyone's surprise, both arrows hit the bull's eye on the target. Margaret and the others cheered for her. Laina was impressed. 

"Looks like you've got quite the talent, Colette," she praised the child as she gave her a pat on the head. 

The child grinned from ear to ear. But deep down in her heart, Cordelia rolled her eyes in annoyance. Shooting targets was child's play to her. Even so, she could not reveal her talents in case someone might get suspicious. 

So, for the next three hits, Colette missed them all on purpose. Her frustration erupted into tears. She dropped the bow onto the ground and buried her face in her tiny hands.

Laina embraced Colette into her arms, patting her on the back while encouraging her. 

"Hey, it's alright. You've only just begun to learn, you'll get the hang of it eventually," she said as she wiped away the tears that rolled down Colette's cheeks. 

"But… but… I don't want to disappoint you," the child explained between sobs. 

Caught off guard, Laina did not know what to say at first. She did not expect the child to have such high regard for her opinion. Perhaps she had suggested this trip in an effort to impress her?

"Colette, you silly child! You don't have to worry about impressing me! I just want you to have fun, that's all," trying to divert the child's attention on the matter, Laina suggested, "How about we go for a hunt? Maybe we'll get to see some cool animals! What do you say?"

Colette looked up at Laina, with snot in her nose. 

"Animals? We'll get to see animals?" She asked innocently. 

Laina nodded, "Of course we will! If we're lucky, we might even get to see a tree deer!"

A tree deer is often mistaken for a regular deer. While they mostly looked the same, a tree deer's antlers change with the season. It is said that their antlers make great staffs and arrows.

Their reclusive nature meant they are difficult to spot, making them difficult to hunt. Sometimes, all they needed was a bit of luck. A horse was saddled and brought to Laina for her to use on the hunt. 

She got up on the horse and picked Colette off the ground, placing the child in front of her. Margaret and Kol accompanied her on the hunt, while the rest remained at the rest spot. 

Titan and two other hunting dogs joined them to help scout suitable prey. Within minutes of entering the dense forest cover, Titan found tracks of an animal. He also caught the scent of prey. 

"Good work, Titan!" Laina praised him as she fed him a small handful of treats. 

Titan happily wagged his tail as he continued down the path, directing them to where the prey was. Colette was looking all around the forest. A grin formed across her face as they came up upon a clearing. 

It was at this point that Titan and the two hunting dogs stopped in their tracks, sniffing the ground to find the scent of the prey they were looking for. All of them got off their horses to scan the area. 

As soon as Laina placed Colette down on the ground, she looked around to see if she could see the prey. But there was nothing around them. 

"Maybe it's further up," Kol suggested. 

Titan and the hunting dogs sniffed down a path, leading away from the clearing in a different direction. 

"Looks like it is further away, let's get back on the trail then," Laina suggested. 

Colette bit her lip, her initial expression of excitement and anticipation turned into annoyance. She knew she could not allow this golden opportunity to slip away so easily, especially when it was within reach. 

She knew she had to do something. 

Colette looked in the direction of the clearing where she had laid her traps. An idea popped into her mind. While no one was looking, she whispered a spell beneath her breath and cast it in the distance.

Just as Laina was about to lift Colette back up onto the back of the horse, they heard the rustling of leaves; followed by fast-moving shadows passing by the forest clearing. 

"They're over there!" Colette exclaimed with childish glee as she ran in that direction. 

Before Laina could react, Colette was already running off on her own. 

"No! Colette, come back! It's too dangerous!" Laina exclaimed as she gave chase. 

The young child ran into the clearing. She carefully avoided the traps she had set. But Laina was not so lucky. She had no idea that she had fallen straight into a trap.