Laina had been pacing around the room for a few minutes, thinking of her next course of action. Seeing as Margaret was not in the room, she wondered where her handmaiden had gone.

“If she went out to get something, she should be returning soon. I should probably just wait for her here,” Laina muttered to herself.

She looked down at Titan, who paced the room with her. She led him over to the sofa and sat down. She gently tapped her hand on the empty sofa space next to her. Titan immediately knew what she meant.

He leaped up onto the chair and laid down his paws. He gently rested his head on her lap, allowing her to stroke his fur. Laina laid her head down upon Titan’s back. His soft warm fur enveloped her like a soft fur blanket.

“You, my boy, have such soft fur,” she chimed as she stroked him.

Just then, a spell circle began to form on the carpeted floor, in between the bed frame and the sofa. Laina got up from her seat and leaned over the back of the sofa to see what was going on.

She did not sense any ill intent or danger from the spell circle so Laina did not feel the need to raise any form of weapon to defend herself. Titan also sat up, placing his paws over the back of the sofa to see.

Margaret slowly appeared from out of the spell circle and as soon as she opened her eyes, she was greeted with a warm hug from Laina.

“Margaret! Am I glad to see you!” Laina exclaimed with glee.

But what the crown princess did not expect, was what her handmaiden did next. Margaret pulled Laina into her embrace, hugging her tightly. The crown princess was surprised by Margaret’s gesture.

Words need not be exchanged to understand her emotions.

“I’m sorry if I scared you, Margaret. I didn’t mean to go missing. I woke up the next day and the next thing I knew I was…” Laina quickly tried to explain herself but Margaret was not listening.

“I almost thought I lost you again,” she whispered beneath her breath.

Laina did not hear what she had said clearly. But she gently rubbed Margaret on the back, “It’s alright. I am back now, and in one piece too. So don’t worry, alright?”

Margaret looked up at her. The emotions the handmaiden had quickly turned from worry to anger. She placed both her hands on Laina’s shoulders and shook her.

“Don’t you ever play missing again! You hear me?! Do you know how much trouble you could have been in? How much trouble I would be in if you really went missing?!” Margaret exclaimed in anger.

She tried to keep her voice down a little, afraid that there might be others eavesdropping on the outside. The handmaiden did not give her princess a chance to rebut or defend herself either.

“How am I supposed to go back to Kinshearth without you? They would have beheaded me on the spot and I would have to count myself lucky that they did not choose to torture me first,” she spouted.

Laina stood there, uncertain of how to react to Margaret’s outburst. She could see it in her eyes that she genuinely cared for her, beyond the line of duty. Laina closed the distance between them.

She gently patted Margaret on the back with a warm smile upon her face, “Do you feel better after letting it all out?”

Margaret looked at Laina. For a moment, she thought she saw themselves in the distant past. Laina had always been there for her. Now, it was her turn to repay her kindness.

-I will protect you with everything I have.- she thought to herself.

Returning to her senses, Margaret simply nodded and backed away from Laina. She wiped away the water in her eyes with the back of her hand. Margaret then proceeded to check Laina from top to bottom.

“What are you doing?” Laina asked as Margaret lifted her sleeves and inspected her arms.

“I want to see if that Dragon King did anything to you. If he so much as hurt a strand of your hair I will…”

“You will what?”

She looked up at Laina, tongue-tied for a moment. What would she do if she found out Dante harmed her? A thousand different torture methods circled in her mind. She was never going to let him harm her. Never.

Margaret cleared her throat before formulating a reply, “I… I will mince him with my dual swords.”

Laina teased, “Are you sure that’s all?”

“Of course not! How can I let him off so easily? After that, I will fry him in oil, no one messes with you or me!” Margaret exclaimed with pride.

The crown princess could not help but admire the loyalty of her handmaiden. She was so brave and courageous, she was willing to risk her own life to kill and torture the dragon king should anything happen to her.

-That is something you don’t find every day.- Laina thought to herself.

Laina held onto Margaret’s hands in her own and reassured her, “Don’t worry, he did not do anything to me.”

The handmaiden did not buy it, “Nothing at all?”

“Nothing at all,” Laina assured her again as she recounted what had happened in a summary, “I fell asleep so he decided to take me back to rest. Then he asked me out to dinner which I agreed to but nothing happened.”

She carefully left out a few important details. Such as Dante and her having a moment during the dinner and him entering her room all drunk and enchanted under a spell.

Thinking about it made her wonder if he was awake by now. She also wondered if he remembered anything from the night before. Thinking about it brought a smile to Laina’s face immediately.

Margaret grasped Laina’s hand and asked inquisitively, “There’s something you’re not telling me, aren’t you?”

As the handmaiden narrowed her eyes, Laina laughed awkwardly while taking a few steps back. She tried to claim her innocence.

“What… no I am not keeping anything from you, honest!”

But Margaret was not buying it. She had seen Laina smile like that before. Whenever she had that smile on her face, it meant that she was thinking of a memory she cherished. A memory she shared with a person she loves.

Before she could interrogate Laina any further, something caught Margaret’s attention. When the handmaiden looked down, she saw a familiar face. Laina, taking advantage of the situation, quickly lifted Titan into her arms.

“Oh yes! And how can I forget this cutie! His name is Titan!”

Margaret looked at the dog. Naturally, she held out her hand.. Titan instinctively sniffed her hand for a few moments before licking it.