"That cave was so amazing, Father. I've never seen a place more beautiful before," Morrigan said to her father, as she held her hand on the red pendant. She was currently in her carriage with some privacy wards set up so nobody would listen in on her conversation. It was unlikely that anybody would do that, but better safe than sorry.

  "Ah, yes. One of the places in the Underworld where magic is born. There truly is nothing quite like it in this world," Alphegor said through the pendant. Morrigan was surprised by how crisp and clear his voice sounded. Phones usually distorted one's voice at least to some degree. But this pendant had no such distortions, instead sounding like Alphegor was right in the same carriage as Morrigan. "Did you meet the Spirit of Magic?"

  "Yes. She was very odd…" she replied, recalling the unusual woman and her ethereal form.

  "Creatures made from pure magical essence usually are odd. They do not function quite like us. They don't need to eat, they don't need to sleep. As long as there is magic around them they live on for eons. So they've seen things we can't even dream of," Alphegor explained.

  "And I thought demons had a long lifespan," Morrigan chuckled.

  "Compared to magic spirits our lifespan is merely a drop in a bucket," Alphegor chuckled as well.

  "But…" Morrigan paused, wondering whether she should tell her father about the black orb she saw. It could make him worried and he could force her to return home. But hiding things from him wouldn't be wise. He would find out sooner or later and the trouble would only be bigger then. Not to mention that Morrigan wanted to be honest with her father. "There was something strange in it."

  "Something strange?"

  "Yeah. There was this weird black orb embedded in the ceiling of the cave and it was siphoning the magic away to someplace. At least, that's what Azrael said," she admitted, there was a short pause before Alphegor spoke again.

  "I assume he destroyed it."

  "No. He couldn't. Magic attacks, physical attacks, even moving it from the place didn't work. No matter how hard he tried the orb remained undamaged and unmovable."

  "Is it still there?" Alphegor's voice sounded worried. "No, then the spirit would have never appeared if the magic was being drained out of the cave."

  "No. I managed to change it with my paint magic," she said excitedly.

  "Change it with paint magic?" He sounded surprised.

  "Yes. First I drew the cave itself with the orb as it was and then I painted over the orb, changing it into the same crystal structure that the rest of the cave was made from. It took a lot more energy than normally, but I managed to do it," she said proudly.

  "That is wonderful! I didn't know you could do that," he said.

  "Neither did I. But I am glad that I tried, otherwise I never would have learned," she said and added after a moment. "And I get to keep the painting I made of the cave. It is truly spectacular. Deziara said we should make a museum with my art in it."

  "A museum… Maybe I can get it done by the time you return," the King muttered.

  "Really? Perhaps restore the museum in the Old City?"

  "I'll see what I can do."

  "Thank you, Father."

  "Of course, little one. But be careful as you move forward. I have a feeling that this black orb won't be the only strange thing you encounter on your travels," he said, and Morrigan was relieved to hear he didn't want her to come back.

  "Of course. I'll talk to you again tomorrow evening," she said. But before she released the magic flow from the pendant, she heard a dissatisfied grumble come from the other side. Morrigan got a feeling that her father would definitely look into this matter.

  ***

  Another two nights the group spent sleeping in the wilderness of the Underworld. Despite the less than comfortable conditions, Morrigan actually slept rather well. Either she was getting used to sleeping in weird places or the exhaustion of using magic in the cave forced her body to sleep better. Another contributing factor might have been Haku's closeness.

  Instead of just sleeping on the ground, or huddled in groups like the servants and guards did, Morrigan decided to sleep huddled up to her dragon. His scales might have been hard and not the most pleasant sleeping material, however, she couldn't feel it through the sleeping bag. Instead, she felt his warmth by her side. The fact that she was sleeping next to Haku also made her feel safe because she knew that if somebody attacked them, he would be the first to notice.

  But since they were still relatively close to the cave, in a magic-filled environment, there weren't many creatures that crossed their way. In fact, they didn't meet a single demon until they finally reached a small imp town by the name of Hagmarg. The surprise came from both parties as they stared at each other.

  Morrigan, her sisters and everyone else stared at the town populated with little winged imps. They were more monster than humanoid with their small bodies, large noses and bald scalds. Imps barely wore any clothing, covering only the bare necessary minimum. Also it was difficult to tell which imp was male and which was female, only differentiating factor being the scrap of cloth around females' chests.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Imps in turn looked at the arriving royal entourage with amazement. Although they were travel-worn and could certainly use a good bath, they were still a good deal cleaner than the imps. The only thing that kept the little demons on edge was Haku. They looked at the dragon with fearful eyes while he regarded them with some disdain.

  "Welcome, welcome, welcome, dear guests, to Hagmarg," one of the imps fluttered up to them and spoke in a squeaky voice. It was odd watching him flutter up and down as he talked. Morrigan couldn't help but think that it must be exhausting, beating those little wings to stay afloat all the time. But looking around she saw that all imps were doing it, with a rare few exceptions.

  "It is a pleasure to come here. I hope you have a place in your town where me and my retinue could rest for the night," Morrigan said to the imp.

  "Of course, of course. We have many good inns, yes. While we cannot put all of you in the same inn, there should be a bed for each one of your good demons," he said, rubbing his hands together, then flew a bit closer to Morrigan and whisperer. "But please do tell us – are you perhaps our honorable Crown Princess?"

  "That is right," she confirmed and the imp flew high up and did a loop before flying back down to her level, laughing excitedly. Or at least Morrigan thought that's what imp laughter sounded like. It reminded her more of creepy cackling, but she decided to keep an open mind.

  "Wonderful, oh what a wonderful day it is for us! We shall make a feast and celebrate. Everyone, the Crown Princess has come to grace us with her presence," the imp turned and with an amplified voice announced to the whole city. It wasn't as strong as Alphegor's or Morrigan's voice amplification magic, but every imp in the city seemed to have heard him. Windows opened and doors unlocked as imps from all corners came out and began bustling around Morrigan and her retinue.

  "Order, order! Keep a distance from the princess," the guards created a sort of perimeter around Morrigan, trying to keep the excited imps at bay.

  "The magnificent Princess has graced us with her presence!"

  "Everyone prepare the feast for the Princess!"

  "May the darkness bless the Princess!"

  The imps hustled and bustled around Morrigan excitedly, ignoring her guards completely, by fluttering around them. It was quite the mayhem as the demon guards began chasing some of the more daring imps around.

  I need to calm them down before this gets out of hand.

  "Kind imps, I would like to rest and clean myself after the long journey. After I have done that I shall come and enjoy the feast together with you," she announced in a loud, clear voice. The imps paused and stared at her for a moment, then erupted into cheers.

  "We shall start preparations right away, dear Princess!" The imp that approached her first announced and then every imp rushed each in every direction, while some began dragging the servants along with them. The only one they didn't touch was Haku, who growled angrily at any imp that dared to flutter too close to him.

  "Is there a place where my dragon could rest for the night?" she asked while pointing at Haku. The imp appeared a bit scared of the dragon, but it was hard to tell. With their sharp teeth, she couldn't read their expressions very well.

  "Of course, of course. If the dragon were to follow us," the imp pointed to some location, eyeing Haku suspiciously. However, Haku growled angrily at him, releasing a dissatisfied plume of smoke.

  "Wow, Haku! Calm down, buddy," Galandir patted the dragon on his side in an attempt to appease him. Haku drew back a little bit but Morrigan could still sense his displeasure.

  "It's alright, Haku. We're staying here only for a day," she said to her friend. Haku whined at her miserably. She could feel that he was anxious but she couldn't understand why.

  I better be careful. Haku wouldn't act this way for no reason.

  "Follow them for now. I promise everything will be alright," she said to him, while gently caressing his nozzle. He cooed at her and then together with Galandir reluctantly followed after the imp.

  As soon as they were out of sight, a swarm of imp women swarmed around each of the princesses, leading them to a different inn. Morrigan had wanted to speak to her sisters, but they were separated so fast, she couldn't say a word. Azrael, however, took none of the imps' advances and followed Morrigan, swatting any protesting imps away like flies.

  "I'm coming with you, Princess," he said nonchalantly.

  "No, no, no! Men cannot come where the Princess is going," the imp women protested.

  "Shut it, you little vermin. You have no right to command me," Azrael growled at them, his purple eyes lighting up from magic.

  "Calm down, Azrael. They're not doing anything bad," Morrigan said.

  "Not yet," Azrael grumbled and followed along the Morrigan and imp women into the inn.

  "But really, how do you think this is going to work? I want to take a bath," Morrigan grumbled.

  "I'm also going to take a bath," a wide grin grew on Azrael's face, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

  "No. You. Are. Not!" she glared at Azrael. He didn't appear bothered by it, merely swinging his hand behind his head.

  "I'm joking, I'm joking. I'll just wait outside until you're done," he said, and in turn, glared at the little imp woman. They grumbled at him the whole time but none of them dared to speak up against Azrael anymore.

  "Don't you have anything better to do than listening in on how I bathe?" she grumbled.

  "Nope," he grinned, and she barely restrained the urge to launch a fireball in his face. Instead of relaxing, she'd have Azrael sitting by the door all the time. Great. She'd have skipped the bath altogether but she felt dirty and sweaty. Bath was absolutely necessary.

  "Please, relax, dear Princess. We shall take care of everything," the imp women cooed as they led Morrigan inside the luxurious bathroom. She had expected some metallic tub at best but instead was greeted by a beautiful white, tiled bathroom with a giant bathtub that could be compared to a small pool. There were flower petals floating in the water and the scent in the air was also distinctly floral.

  "Wow, this is quite fancy," she noted. The imp woman wasted no time undressing her and pushing her towards the bathtub, leaving Morrigan's protesting maids behind.

  "Of course. Only the best for our dearest Princess," they cooed, motioning Morrigan to get into the water. She was a bit apprehensive at first, still not being fully comfortable with larger bodies of water. But as she dipped her toe in the blissfully warm water, her fear disappeared and she stepped into the bath. It felt absolutely heavenly for her tired body.

  "That's right, dearest Princess. You relax and enjoy your bath," the imps cackled. Morrigan thought it was strange, but the bath was so relaxing and comforting that she didn't pay any attention to it.

  "Princess, are you alright?" came Azrael's worried voice.

  "I am fine," Morrigan replied in a daze. Her eyelids felt so, so heavy and everything around her was so warm and comfortable. She didn't want to think about Azrael at that moment. She just wanted to relax.

  "Princess!" Azrael's voice sounded more worried, but she ignored it. It was time for some much deserved relaxation.