It was late evening. Alphegor had been gone for two days, giving Rosa some time alone each evening. Gunna initially offered to remain by Rosa's side until she fell asleep, but she managed to convince the nanny that there was no need. She couldn't leave without guards noticing anyway. Gunna, being kind and a bit gullible, agreed and now Rosa's evenings were completely free and unsupervised.

The moment the dwarf woman was gone, Rosa became a shadow and slipped out of the room beneath the crack underneath the door. The two demon guards stationed by the door were none the wiser that she had crept outside. As Rosa learned over the years, you can see somebody's shadow form only if you were actively looking for it. But the guards wouldn't have expected Rosa to slip out.

So after creeping her way to the study room, she took some of the art supplies there and made her way back. While Gunna had brought some to her, they were child supplies, charcoal, erasers and the coloring sticks. Rosa wanted to do something with actual paints, so she also needed brushes, a palette and a container for water.

Another neat trick Rosa learned in her magic lessons with Azrael was the ability to turn physical things into shadows as well. It wasn't really a difficult skill to master, since even that first time she blended into the shadows, she had pulled her clothes along with her without even thinking about it. As long as she held the object in her hands when she became a shadow, she could take it along.

And so after a few sneaky trips to the study room and back, she had everything she needed to make her first masterpiece. Rosa propped the large canvas against Alphegor's desk. Well, it was the smallest canvas she could find, but it still felt large when compared to her. Then she set out all the supplies and admired her work station. Her heart beat with excitement.

"What should I paint first?" she muttered quietly to herself as her eyes shot from one bright color to the next.

"A waterfall hidden in a deep, lush jungle? Or perhaps the moon illuminating a calm countryside? Or perhaps a whale swimming near the surface of the ocean?" Rosa was brimming with inspiration, her smile growing wider and wider on her face.

"Wait, I know!" She grabbed the yellow and white paint and began mixing it together. She could already see in her mind what she wanted to create. Her brush strokes weren't as confident as they were before, but Rosa was confident she could create her vision.

She was about to put down her brush, then faltered and put it down, picking up charcoal instead.

"There's no need to rush. I have plenty of time, so I can take it slow," she muttered to herself in English. The language almost felt foreign on her tongue, however, now was the best time to remember her roots. She hadn't had any chance to speak it with Alphegor around.

"Baby steps," she said, and began drawing up a sketch of her canvas while quietly talking herself through it in English. The process was difficult as her hands had trouble reaching the top of the canvas, and she wasn't used to moving around so much in her drawing process. Two hours later, Rosa finished laying down her base and the poor eraser was half its original size.

"That should be enough for today. I better put these away," Rosa muttered and stashed all the supplies in the deep recesses of Alphegor's wardrobe. Nobody would dare to open it with the King gone, and the maids had no reason to clean already spotless clothes.

***

For the next week, each evening Rosa would continue to secretly work on her painting. She didn't pay much attention to what was going on during the day, instead constantly thinking of ways of how to improve her work.

If she had her way, she'd be painting all day long, but there was no good excuse to get away from her usual lessons. Not to mention that she did want to spend some time with Haku and Deziara. It helped her mind to rewind and relax.

"Are you alright, Morri?" Deziara asked after Rosa tripped over Haku's tail for the fifth time that day. While the dragon's body wasn't too large, he had an amazingly long tail that swayed behind him like an uncontrollable whip.

"Yes, I'm alright," Rosa wiped the dirt off her skirt absentmindedly as she was pondering the best way to finish the painting.

"You seem… weird lately," her sister remarked as she helped to clear off the remaining dust.

"Do I?" Rosa snapped out of her thoughts.

If Deziara has noticed me acting strange, then somebody else must have noticed something too. Have I been careless because Alphegor is not around?

"Yeah. You seem to be bumping into a lot of things."

"Oh… I.. I'm just thinking about a lot of… stuff…" Rosa stamerred, her mind not gracing her with an eloquent answer. Deziara arched her eyebrow.

"What does a squirt like you have to think about?" She placed her hands on her hips, and looked down on Rosa in a snobbish, rich-kid kind of way. Then suddenly her bravado dropped, and a wide grin spread on her face. "Oh, I get it. You just really miss Father, don't you?"

"What? I… Yeah," Rosa nodded.

It's not really true, but not a complete lie either. A safe answer.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I knew it! Well, it's completely normal. I miss him a little bit too," Deziara smiled and ruffled Rosa's hair, completely messing up Gunna's neat braid. Rosa pushed her hand away, trying to salvage whatever she could of her hair. "How about you come and eat dinner with me and mother?"

"You and Lady Lily?" Rosa asked, making sure that she heard Deziara correctly.

A child from another woman eating together with a concubine, no, a consort, is completely unheard of. The logical conclusion would be that they're trying to poison me.

"Yes, come on! It'll be fun," Deziara began pulling Rosa towards the castle entrance.

"Wait, wait, what about Haku?" she pointed towards the dragon, who looked at them with sad puppy eyes.

"Ah… Right… He's not allowed in the castle anymore," the girl slumped.

"It's alright. You can go eat. I'll stay with Haku," Rosa tried to wriggle herself out of the situation, but Deziara stubbornly shook her head. Once she had decided on something it was nearly impossible to talk her out of it.

"It's still time until dinner, so we can play with Haku a bit more and then go," The dragon instantly perked up at these words, circling around both girls.

I need to find an excuse not to go. Even if Lady Lily is the least threatening of all four consorts, I'd still rather not give her such a golden opportunity. But what could I do to change Deziara's mind?

An idea struck Rosa, but she would have to execute it subtly, otherwise Deziara might feel slighted. It felt a bit silly, trying to be merciful to her older sister's feelings, but Rosa had grown quite attached to the little firecracker.

Rosa waited for a moment when Haku had distracted Deziara with his tiny wing flaps, and then whispered quietly.

"Azrael."

Nothing happened.

Damn, he usually came right away when I called him, but maybe he can't hear me unless my voice is loud enough.

"Azrael," she tried again when Haku was being especially rowdy, sniffing Deziara's armpits thus making the little demon girl giggle and squirm.

This time a dark shadow appeared in front of Rosa, and an annoyed looking Azrael rose out of it. Deziara and Haku both froze the moment they saw the demon, jumping back a step.

"What are you doing here?" the girl pointed an accusatory finger at the demon. He arched his eyebrow, and looked at Rosa as if trying to understand why exactly had she summoned him.

"To check what are you two troublemakers up to, obviously," he replied and bent down to peer at Deziara with a suspicious glance.

"We're not doing anything. Just playing with Haku which should be what you're doing."

"My job is not to play with the dragon, it's to make sure it doesn't cause another fire in the castle," at this Azrael glared at the little, scaly creature, who lowered its head guiltily.

"Hey, that was an accident! Wasn't it, Haku?" Deziara protectively patted the dragon's head, who melted into her embrace and wagged his tail.

"Whatever. If you aren't planning on sneaking the dragon into the castle, I don't care what you do," Azrael waved his hand and was about to disappear into the shadows, before Rosa grabbed his pant leg desperately.

The demon looked a bit surprised, while Deziara appeared like Rosa had completely betrayed her.

"Morri, let him go! We don't need him to join our dinner," the girl protested.

Oh, thank God, that she's still a child that knows nothing about being subtle. If I'm lucky, Azrael will forbid me from going.

"What dinner?" he asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

"That doesn't concern you. You're not invited."

"Morrigan," Azrael turned to her for explanation.

"Don't tell him anything, Morri!"

Caught between a rock and a hard place. What can I even say so as to not make Deziara angry with me but at the same time warn Azrael about the doomsday dinner?

"We're just going to eat together," Rosa replied, hoping that the demon will catch on.

"Eat together?" Azrael asked, and Rosa could see how his mind slowly pieced together the puzzle she had laid out. "I'll join too."

"No! It'll be just me, Morri and mommy," Deziara objected, and stomped her foot angrily on the ground.

"Princess, I think you're forgetting that Morrigan cannot attend dinner together with you and your 'mommy alone'. If she's to go, then she needs a caretaker with her," Azrael explained in a surprisingly calm and patient manner.

There's this sneaky grin on his face. Is he plotting something?

"She has two guards following her at all times!" Deziara objected and pointed towards the two bulky demon men standing some ways away, trying to blend in with the dark garden hedges. Unfortunately, they were so bulky that they stood out like a sore thumb.

"Guards are a completely different matter. She needs an actual supervisor to go with her," Azrael smirked, and pointed at himself with his thumb.

"No!" Rosa and Deziara objected at the same time.

I'm not sure what he is trying to accomplish, but there must be something in it for him if he's going willingly. Perhaps he wants something from Lady Lily? In either case, it smells like trouble.

"Sorry, but if you want to have dinner together, then I have to come along as well."

For a moment, Rosa considered asking for Gunna or Faenor as her escort. But if something were to happen, neither of them could really do anything.

"Then I'll just eat on my own like always," Rosa said.

"No! I don't want to leave you alone when Father is gone. It must be lonely to always be on your own. Besides…" Deziara's voice grew more quiet, and she fidgeted a bit awkwardly, her cheeks growing red. "I've always wanted to eat together with my sisters… But nobody ever wanted to eat with me."

Rosa could feel her heart clench.

This child only ever wanted to get along with her sisters. To spend some time together with them. But all the concubines are so busy trying to appeal themselves and their daughters to Alphegor that they can only ever see each other as enemies.

"Let's go to that dinner," Rosa choked out.

What's the worst that could happen? Well, Lady Lily could try poisoning me, but Azrael would stop that from happening, right? He's bound by the oath.

"Splendid. Let's hurry up then," Azrael smiled pleasantly and with a shrill whistle ordered Haku to retreat to his house. The dragon huffed out a smoke of displeasure, and then lumbered away.

"I don't want YOU to come," Deziara protested and made shooing motions at Azrael.

"Sorry, but if you wish to dine with your sister, then I'm coming along," he said with a smile.

He is definitely plotting something.