The Dragon King's Heart

Grand General Tobias and Royal Chancellor paced nervously in the Drawing Room. They had requested an audience with Crown Princess Laina. People of all backgrounds have arrived at the palace for the competition.

"The Royal Treasury is already in shambles and she wants to host this… this art competition?! Has the princess lost her mind?" Lucinda sighed. 

"We should have stopped the plans when we had the chance. Now, we can only hope for an explanation," Tobias remarked. 

Laina entered the room. Before the General and Chancellor could get on their knees to pay her their respects, Laina stopped them from doing so. 

"Spare the formalities, Tobias, Lucinda. We simply do not have the time. Margaret informed me that you wish to speak to me, hence I am here. Speak quickly, there is much still waiting to be done."

She walked over to take a seat on the sofa. Kol, her new personal bodyguard followed closely behind and stood beside her. He had his eyes on the General and Chancellor, watching their every move. 

"We are concerned, your Highness."

"Concerned? Whatever for? Things are going smoothly…"

"But what is it all for, your Highness? Pardon our lack of vision but what our Kingdom is already in a lot of debt, what good will the art competition do?" Lucinda asked. 

Tobias backed her up, "Not to mention, the cost of sustaining these people."

Laina stood up from her seat. She turned to the both of them and asked, "So that's what you're concerned about? Do you think I spent days planning just to waste it all away?"

"No… your highness-"

The Crown Princess folded her arms and sighed. She had hoped her subjects would have more faith in her. But it seems, they just saw her as a princess who wanted to play. That is something she will work endlessly to change. 

"First of all, the money will come from my personal vault, so don't worry about that. The art competition is an investment I am working on. All I need from the both of you, is your understanding and support," she reached out to them as best she could. 

But Laina could see it in their eyes. Without proof that her plans had worked, they would never believe in her vision. They would not trust her to lead. Their lack of faith only spurred her on. She will not give up. 

Laina left the Drawing Room without saying anything else. Kol and Margaret followed closely behind in silence. To keep her mind off things, Laina decided to visit the people who have come for the competition. 

The ballrooms that once held countless parties had turned into an art gallery. People from all over Kinshearth came to show their talents. Laina went to the Petunia Ballroom, where the painters have been situated. 

Not wanting her presence to cause any disturbance, Laina disguised herself. She did not wear her tiara and chose a less regal outfit to wear. Upon entering the Ballroom, she looked like a servant more than a princess. 

No one cared to give her a second look. Laina grinned, that was exactly what she wanted. She moved through the different stations, each belonging to an artist. 

"Something isn't right," Laina whispered to Margaret as they made their round through the ballroom. 

Everyone in the ballroom was dressed in finery, they had the best supplies and even had servants helping them. How was this possible? Even Margaret noticed it was amiss. The competition was for everyone. 

Yet all those who were in this ballroom were nobility, rich upper class. Where were the common folk? Had none of them turned up for the competition?

"Can you believe they wanted those peasants to paint here, with us?" one of the nobles haughtily commented as he moved his paintbrush across his canvas. 

A noble lady laughed in response, "Exactly! How can they ever compare to us?" 

Laina gritted her teeth in anger. Looking at the amount of space available, there was more than enough room for at least another fifty workstations! 

"Margaret, where are the other participants?" Laina asked. 

"According to my records," she flipped through the materials she had in her hands, "One of the royal courtyards had been cleared to accommodate them."

Laina took in a deep breath. She tried to calm her nerves so that she could deal with the situation calmly. Just then, there was a tap on her shoulder. Laina turned to see the noble lady from before holding a pail of dirty paint water. 

"You there, go get me a new clean pail of water," she ordered. 

Laina did not move, nor did she reply. 

Annoyed, the noble lady asked again, "Are you deaf? I said, go get me a clean pail of water."

"Oh I heard you the first time," Laina snapped back. 

Insulted by the way Laina responded to her, the noble lady gritted her teeth in anger. From the side, she could see the nobleman whom she spoke to earlier laughing at her. 

"I didn't know servants in the palace could be so ill-mannered! Perhaps this will teach you a lesson."

The noble lady raised the pail of dirty paint water and splashed it in Laina's direction. Everything happened so quickly, they barely had any time to react. Seeing that Laina was being attacked, Kol leaped into action. 

He stood guard in front of Laina, blocking her from being splashed with the dirty water. The coloured water splashed all over Kol's body. Everyone gasped in shock by the sudden turn of events. 

Even Margaret was not quick enough to stop this from happening. The noble lady threw the pail onto the ground. 

"Pick it up, and get me my clean water," she said haughtily before sitting back down to continue painting. 

No one else came up to say anything. They witnessed it first hand, but they chose to remain silent. Laina gritted her teeth, she wanted to teach the lady a lesson. But she knew she had to remain calm. 

Margaret watched on in anger, she too wanted to react. But she could not, she waited for Laina's command. Kol, on the other hand, stood there blankly. He wanted to take a step forward and confront the noble lady. 

The noble lady attempted to humiliate his master, he was not about to let this go so easily. But Laina grabbed onto his wrist. She turned him around and checked on him. 

"Kol, are you alright?" she asked. Laina's voice was filled with concern as she checked on him. 

Kol nodded, he did not say anything else.

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