The King's Beloved

~ [Music Recommendation: "Heaven" by Roy Kim (instrumental only) - available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this scene XD ~ 0////0

"Chickeeeeeen," Luna drooled in front of the stall that sold crispy fried chickens. They were divided per part and looked scrumptiously delicious. Her eyes shimmered in delight and excitement. Still looking at the cooked chickens, she tugged Ducis' sleeves and begged, "I want thooooose. Give me money, dragon."

Ducis irked. "Ugh, how shameless can you be, midget?"

"Argh, I'm not a mid - hmf! Fine, I'll forgive you for now, but I want those chickens!" Luna demanded. Realizing she shouldn't be acting that way, she clapped her hands together and acted cutely, "Pleeease? Pretty please? I don't have money".

"Urgh, this stupid … sigh … fine. It's not like there's anything I can do since we've been deserted," Ducis was about to complain, but he thought it's useless, so he just agreed. With a listless expression and monotonous tone, he asked the food vendor, "What currency do you use and may I take a look at it?"

"A customer! Of course," the vendor replied, and he showed them a gold coin. "Here, we use gold plated coins for our currency".

"Thank you," Ducis politely replied, "And how much are those?"

"Just 1 gold coin per piece! How many would you like?"

Ducis was about to ask Luna, but she was already picking the parts that she liked - which were all chicken legs. Her eyes continued to twinkle as she picked the chickens with a food tong, and dropped them inside a paper food box.

Luna looked back at him, noticing he was staring at her. "What? I'm just picking the chickens".

"Yes, yes, go ahead," Ducis replied, pressing his temples with his fingers. "How can this fairy eat so much and still be so thin?"

"Here! I'm done picking!" Luna gave the box to Ducis.

"How much is all this?" Ducis turned to the vendor.

"That's 20 gold coins. Thank you very much for your patronage!"

And Ducis used his magic to conjure a pouch with gold coins, counted 20 pieces from it and gave it to the vendor after thanking him.

"Uhhhhmm! This is so delicious!" Luna began wolfing down the chicken. "I need a drink to pair with this," she thought, then saw a stall in front of a lounge bar. She pointed her finger in its direction. "There! Let's go there next!"

Luna hopped and hummed merrily as she walked towards her next target while still eating the chicken. Seeing her like this, Ducis thought, "They're both energetic … but she's still different from Flora". 

Then, his expression turned glum, "I wonder what will happen … when Flora's core fully awakens inside her? Will she become Flora? Or will she stay as Luna? Which side of her would remain?"

"How much is this mister?" Luna asked the seller that looked like a bartender. The stall must have been an extension of the bar.

"We're having a promo today, miss! It's only 1 gold for two drinks".

"Sweet! Give me two!"

"Which drink would you like? We have fruit shakes, coffee, tea, a wide variety of wines and alcohol, and carbonated drinks if you want".

"Hmmm … I want it all!"

Ducis caught up with her and tapped her head lightly. "You can't possibly drink all of it. Just choose one and stick with it".

"Ouch!" Luna bawled her eyes, "But I want to taste all of it".

"Even the wine?"

"Yesh! Sniff … sniff".

Ducis sighed. He then asked the seller, "What's the alcohol content of your wine?"

"It's not that high, sir! Just very little, not enough to make anyone tipsy. We have stronger ones if you'd like."

"I want wine that's perfect for fried chickens!" Luna interrupted.

"Then sparkling wine it is! What will be your other drink?"

"Ahm … ahm …," Luna peeked at Ducis and asked like a cute kitty, "D-do you want drinks? Or can I have both? He said they have a promo of 1 gold for 2 drinks". Her cutesy acts were too obvious for Ducis.

"Your intention reeks out, stop it. Just say what you want like you always do. Acting cutely doesn't help. It's disgusting," Ducis blatantly told her as he averted his eyes and looked away from Luna. Though one could see a hint of red blush from his ears. "Ugh, this is stupid," he thought in his mind.

"Tsk! Fine," Luna squinted and turned back to the seller, "I'll take a mango fruit shake as the second drink, please".

"Sure! Kindly have a seat while we prepare it".

And so, Luna and Ducis sat side by side on the chairs outside the bar. Luna placed her box of chicken on the table and continued eating.

"This is really yummy! Do you want some, Ducis?"

"Wow, you're calling me by my name. What an amazing thing food can do," Ducis replied sarcastically.

"Can you stop being sour for a moment? Don't ruin my mood while I'm eating my favorite chicken! I'm finally having some leg parts!"

Ducis noticed that some sauce got into the side of Luna's lips. He raised his hand to wipe it off, but when he realized what he was trying to do, he immediately stopped.

"W-what the! What was I thinking?" Ducis asked himself in surprise. "Ugh, must be a habit with Flora. She was a messy eater, too". He sighed when he remembered. "I'm confused. Are they the same person or not?"

Luna noticed Ducis' brows knitting again. She felt her heart sting upon seeing his expression. 

"Ahm … are you okay?" Luna gulped before asking.

"Huh? Ah, I'm fine. I just thought of something".

"What is it?"

Ducis sighed. "I'm just confused about something".

"Spill it already! I hate dilly-dallying".

"You're core -"

"- Here's your drinks! Enjoy!" a waiter arrived and served them the drinks they ordered.

"Wow! Thank you!" Luna got distracted in an instant and quickly gulped the sparkling wine. "Ahhhh! That hit the spot! Chicken and wine is the best! Hic!"

Ducis' eyes widened. "Hey! Don't tell me you're drunk already?"

"What drunk? Hic! … I'm not," Luna replied with her face flushed red - she was drunk!

"Seriously? In an instant?" 

"Now I want some desserts to go with my chickens. Hic! Buy me!"

"Ugh, of all the time to be drunk," Ducis hit his face with his palm. "If you can't handle alcohol, why would you even drink?"

Dun! Dun! Dun! Dun!

Suddenly, the sound of the drums and trumpets could be heard from afar. A parade started, and a group of performers could be seen dancing, singing, and doing different sorts of magical tricks. Some of the girls were handing out flyers to everyone in town. 

A man that looked like their leader shouted, "Come and watch the bittersweet love story of a Fairy and a Dragon! Tomorrow night at the Ventus Coliseum!". 

One of the girls handing out flyers approached Luna and Ducis.

"Hi! Come watch with us tomorrow!" the girl greeted as she handed out a piece of paper to them. It contained the teasers and other details regarding the show. "This play is perfect for couples like you two. A great songstress will come and perform, too. You'll definitely love it! Don't forget to buy your tickets at the ticket booth in the Ventus Coliseum! See you there!"

Ducis sighed again as he looked at the flyer.

"What perfect timing …"

"Hic! A theatrical play … I want to watch … hic!" Luna hiccuped.

"We don't have time for that".

Hearing his response, Luna cried like a child.

"Waaaaaaaa! I want to watch! I want to watch!" Luna threw a fit.

"Hey! Stop that!" Ducis quickly covered her mouth. "I'm really getting annoyed now. Stop with your drunkenness".

"No! No! No! I want to watch!"

"Fine! I'll buy some tickets, just stop. Argh, you're annoying".

"You promise?"

"Yeah, whatever. I'll buy later".

"Yay!" Luna sprung from her seat and hugged Ducis' arms. "Thank you!"

Ducis blushed. He felt Luna's… pretty big chests pressed on his arm. He immediately turned frantic.

"Argh, don't touch me, midget! Let go!"

But Luna was so drunk, she kept on rubbing her face on Ducis' arm while she hugged it.

"Ducis is the best!"

"Ugh, you're such a handful".

"Ducis," Luna suddenly whispered, trying to be secretive. "I want to tell you something".

"What now?"

Then, Luna pulled Ducis near and whispered in his ears.

"I liked your kiss".

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

Ducis' heart almost leaped out of his chest. His face turned so red, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

"W-what …" Ducis stuttered. "What are you saying, you mid -"

But Luna wasn't listening to him. She caressed his cheeks gently, her smile didn't leave her face. Sliding her fingers from Ducis' cheeks, to the back of his head, dragging his smooth hair in the process, Luna pulled Ducis' face closer to hers and … kissed him.

The crowd near them saw that they were being lovey-dovey and clapped their hands in amusement. Some girls gasped and giggled, and the men shouted their congratulations.