Demon Queen Wants to Paint

Morrigan stood in front of the large Demon Castle – its magnificent walls stretching high up into the darkness of the Underworld while the light from its windows brought life to an otherwise desolate-looking place. Alphegor, her father, held her tiny hand and carefully assessed the structure from its foundation all the way up to its peaks. Seeing that everything was just as it should be, Morrigan gave a curt nod.

Behind them sat a tired and dejected Azrael, his eyes downcast and sunken. His magic reserves were completely exhausted after creating the portal back to Doppelta. While he had already complained that the portal required a lot of energy, Morrigan had not expected that her usually energetic magic teacher would be so drained.

"Finally! We're back," Alphegor announced in his loud booming voice, sending the message to all castle inhabitants. In a few moments, the whole castle seemed to rouse, excited chattering coming from the windows as the demons came to look at their King. 

"We're back," Morrigan confirmed with a smile and admired the castle. It was dark, it was gloomy, but it still felt like the building was welcoming her back as more and more castle lights sprung to life.

"I'm going to rest in my room," Azrael announced, and was about to turn into a shadow, when Alphegor turned towards him and glared, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"I don't think so," the King announced and with a wave of his hand dark tendrils grabbed Azrael and tightened around him, making him unable to move a muscle. "You tried to get rid of Morrigan and your oath to her."

Azrael chuckled awkwardly and a bead of sweat rolled down his face, "She looked a bit miserable here in the Underworld, so I figured it might be better if she lived with her own kind."

"She is with her own kind!" Alphegor snarled, and the dark tendrils began to sink into the ground, dragging Azrael along with them.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was wrong!" Azrael squirmed and wriggled, trying to break free of his bonds. He looked so miserable, that Rosa started feeling bad for him and tugged Alphegor on his sleeve.

"Please, don't be too harsh on him, Father. I know he wanted to get rid of me, but he didn't cause me any harm in the end," she said, and the tendrils slowed down a little. "He has also helped me many times in the past."

"Your Majesty, you have finally returned," Lucius materialized out of a shadow right next to them and greeted Alphegor with a deep bow.

"Nice to see you, Lucius," the King gave him a curt nod. The Prime Minister straightened, and Morrigan saw how his eyes darted from Alphegor to her and finally to Azrael.

"Your Majesty, I am glad to see you return, but may I inquire about the current situation and the reason you were gone for so long?" Lucius asked with his head slightly inclined, to show reverence towards Alphegor.

"So long? I was merely gone for a week Lucius," the King laughed, but Morrigan understood what the old demon was talking about. When she returned to Earth, only two weeks had passed although in Doppelta she had already celebrated her fourth birthday.

"No, Father," she shook her head and pulled on his sleeve for him to bend down. He obliged, and she whispered in his ear. "Only two weeks passed on Earth during the whole time I spent in Doppelta. That means that while we were on Earth approximately two years would have passed here."

The King appeared startled at first, but then he nodded solemnly and straightened.

"Your Majesty?" Lucius inquired nervously.

"I apologize for the wait, Lucius. Give a short report on the most important events."

"At once, Your Majesty," Lucius opened his mouth but then a loud cry resounded from the Demon Castle entrance. Morrigan looked towards it and saw Deziara running towards them at full speed. She had grown taller, beginning to resemble a teenager.

"Father, Morri!" She called from across the yard as tears fell down from her face in a steady stream.

"Deziara," Morrigan called and ran towards her sister. The two girls collided into a bear hug, at which point Deziara began crying even louder.

"Where did you disappear for so long? I thought I would never see you again," she said through tears and then looked down at Morrigan. "But… You haven't grown at all. What happened?"

"I shall explain everything later," Alphegor went up to both girls and placed a hand on Deziara's head.

"Father…" A new set of tears erupted as Deziara launched herself at Alphegor, who hugged her while gently rubbing her back.

"I told you, I'd bring Morrigan back," he said, and Deziara nodded as she hiccuped and sobbed into his chest.

It's nice to see him care for Deziara at least. Perhaps, he'll be nicer towards our other sisters too.

"Yes! I am so happy you have returned," Deziara hiccuped while Alphegor pulled a napkin from within his coat pocket and wiped away her tears. 

"I'm sorry, sister," Morrigan muttered, taking hold of Deziara's hand. But the girl shook her head and pulled her into another hug.

"As long as you are back, it is alright," she said. More and more demons came running out of the castle, and Morrigan recognized her other sisters and concubines among them. The younger girls were bolder and came up to Rosa and Alphegor, greeting them excitedly. 

Meanwhile, older girls and concubines looked more reserved. They were staring at Alphegor, trying to catch his attention by waving their hands or smiling at him. But the King greeted the younger girls who came up to Morrigan first.

"It's nice to see you back, younger sister!"

"We missed you and Father both."

"Let's celebrate your return."

Morrigan was pleasantly surprised that other half-sisters besides Deziara would miss her. Their mothers might have put them up to this, but their reactions seemed genuine.

For now, I shall accept their greetings. No need to be suspicious of everyone the moment I get back.

"Lady Morrigan!" came a voice from behind the gathered crowd of demons. Morrigan tried to peer over it to find the source, but everyone was so much taller than her.

"Gunna?" she called out, and the demons slowly parted, allowing Morrigan through. Surely enough, there stood her loyal nanny, her eyes red and tired, her stocky hands trembling while her beard and hair looked somewhat disheveled and messy.

"Lady Morrigan!" the dwarf woman exclaimed and opened her hands wide for a hug. Without any hesitation, Morrigan ran up to her nanny and threw her arms around her. She felt thinner than she remembered.

"Gunna, have you lost some weight?" 

"Oh dear child, I was so worried about you that I could barely sleep. I feared I might never see you again," Gunna said, tears flowing down into her beard.

"I'm sorry, Gunna. I didn't think it would make you so worried…"

"It's not your fault, Lady Morrigan. As long as you are back safe and sound, that is all that matters," the dwarf woman said and ran her large, gentle hand over Morrigan's hair. The girl nodded, barely able to hold back her own tears.

I never should have run away. To think that Gunna would be so worried about me as to lose weight. 

"I'm still sorry, Gunna," Morrigan said and noticed a distinct murmur coming from the nearby demoness. Peeking over her shoulder she saw concubines and some of her older sister's sneering or even laughing quietly. 

Are they making fun of me because I am so attached to Gunna? Fine, let them. We'll see what Father will say about that.

"Aren't you all forgetting somebody?" Azrael whined, still snugly contained within Alphegor's dark tendrils.

"I think I heard a doggy bark," Lady Lily said as she approached the group, smiling at Morrigan. Unlike other concubines who just gave her the obligatory, polite smile, Lady Lily appeared genuinely happy to see Morrigan.

"It's nice to see you again, Lady Lily," Morrigan greeted her with a small curtsy, and the demoness curtsied in return.

"Indeed it is, child. Deziara missed you dearly. Talked about your every day, hoping that you and His Majesty would return," Lady Lily said and affectionately patted Deziara who had joined to stand next to her mother.

"Mom! You're not supposed to tell her that," the demon girl blushed and pulled on her mother's hand in mock anger.

"Sorry, sorry. I am not so young anymore. Must have slipped my memory," Lady Lily chuckled, and both girls laughed alongside her.

"Princess Morrigan! You have returned," a voice called out from behind the crowd. A cold shiver ran through Morrigan's spine, and she took a step back.

Asdeus… Will she try to act as if she had missed me greatly to get on Alphegor's good side? There's no way I am letting her get away with that.

The demons parted to let the demoness through, her signature heels clattering against the stone walkway as she hurried toward Morrigan. Fake tears were streaming down her face, and her face almost convinced Morrigan that she had missed her. Almost.

Morrigan deliberately took a few steps back, glaring at Asdeus. The demoness' gaze remained a perfect mask of worry, but Alphegor had already picked up on Morrigan's distress and in a few swift strides closed the distance between them.

"What's wrong, Morrigan?" he asked, his eyes darting from Morrigan to Asdeus, analyzing and trying to understand what was happening. Asdeus, however, had no intention of letting her speak and rushed forward, making her act even more dramatic.

"I am so relieved to see you both return safely! I was so worried when I heard that Princess Morrigan had disappeared that I could barely sleep," she cried, reaching one of her hands towards Morrigan. But Morrigan quickly ducked behind her father's leg, safely out of reach.

Haven't slept? Yeah, right. Gunna is the one who couldn't sleep. You look like you had the best sleep in the world – your skin is almost glowing.

"Lies!" Morrigan muttered and saw how Asdeus's mask slipped just for a split second, glaring at the girl.

"What do you mean, Morrigan?" Alphegor asked as he put his hand around her shoulders, protecting her from the demoness.

"Your Majesty–"

"Silence!" Alphegor commanded, and Asdeus took several steps back, her previous facade completely broken.

Time for retribution!

"Father, Asdeus tortured me!" Morrigan announced loud enough for the whole Underworld to hear. The gathered crowd of demons gasped as one and began muttering among themselves. The demoness stared around herself helplessly, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"I-I would never!" she tried to defend herself, waving her hands in the air, "I… Princess Morrigan is… She's not…"

"Silence!" Alphegor ordered and the whole gathering of demons instantly quieted, looking at their King. His eyes had turned red in anger, there was a storm brewing within him. 

It doesn't matter what Asdeus says now. Even if she were to scream that I am a human, nobody would believe it. It would seem like nothing more than a desperate attempt to save herself.

"Explain how did she torture you, Morrigan?" Alphegor asked, his eyes never moving away from Asdeus. The demoness stepped back, looking like she was about to cry, for real this time.

"Your Majesty… I…"

"If you do not let Morrigan speak, then I shall pull out your tongue where you stand," Alphegor's eyes were filled with rage, and Asdeus froze on the spot, her mouth half open.

"Father, she would cut on my skin with her nail each time I wrote a letter wrong. She'd force me to write a single character multiple times and for each wrong one she would use some magic to make me feel pain," Morrigan said, and the surrounding demons gasped again.

"She tortured the Princess?"

"What are those barbaric teaching methods?"

"Had she been doing that to my child as well?"

The glares intensified, and Asdeus' hand began to shake.

"No, it's not true… I would never do that to a demon child. She is… " Asdeus tried to salvage the situation, but there was nobody in the crowd who would believe her. Even the concubines who had always treated Morrigan with animosity looked shocked. 

"What else did she do, Morrigan?" Alphegor's voice sounded like a low rumble, and Morrigan felt the ground beneath shake. The other demons noticed it too, looking around in confusion for the source. 

What is going on? Who… Wait… Is Father doing that?

Morrigan looked into Alphegor's face, and then jumped back. The anger that contorted his expression could not be described in words. It was like he was the god of rage, his fists clenched so hard that blood began dripping from his hands while his gaze was solely focused on Asdeus.

Alphegor took a step closer to her, and Asdeus shook her head, tears streaming down her eyes. She fell as she stumbled back, but the woman did not fall onto the ground. A portal opened behind her and she fell straight into it.

"You'll pay for this, cockroach!" Asdeus yelled at Morrigan as the portal closed behind her.

"Find her at once!" Alphegor ordered, and a dozen demon guards rushed out of the Demon Castle yard to search for Asdeus.