Haku's mouth opened wider and fire streamed out of it in a steady current… above his head. Morrigan watched as the fire turned into little motes of flame that gently flowed down and then dissipated in the air. Before she could realize what was going on, Haku leapt up to her and licked her face enthusiastically. His tongue was a bit rough, but not as rough as a cat's tongue. It forked a little at the tip and resembled a snake's tongue.

"Yes, I missed you too, Haku," she giggled and gave him a hearty scratch under the chin. Haku purred with delight, leaning into her touch. His tail wagged from side to side, sending the chewed-up pieces of wood flying all over the stable.

"Why don't we go out for a flight? I bet it's been a while since you've done that."

The dragon jumped up and down and then grabbed Morrigan by her scruff. She was a bit surprised by the sudden maneuver but relaxed as Haku gingerly set her down on his back. Sitting on top of him, she realized just how much larger he was than before. Her little body didn't cover his whole back anymore, leaving a large enough space for another fully grown demon to fit.

"You've really grown, Haku. It's a shame I've remained the same," Morrigan said, regretting her escape from home even more.

I was so paranoid and foolish. I should have just believed in my father. He never had given me any reason not to trust him.

As Haku leapt forward, rushing out of the stable, Morrigan's breath hitched and she began sliding backward. She frantically tried to hold onto him, but his scales were smooth, and she didn't have anything to grab onto. Thankfully, she reached the part where his wings grew out of his back and stopped.

"I think we're going to have to build you a saddle. Let's take it slow this time," She gently patted Haku's neck, and the dragon nodded in response, one of his green eyes looking at her. Morrigan was always amazed by how intelligent the dragon seemed, but he appeared to have matured even more while she was away.

Haku slowed his pace to a trot, and Morrigan found a nook under his wings on which to support her legs. Then she wrapped her hands around him as best as she could and nodded, "Ready when you are!"

The dragon got a running start and began flapping his wings, slowly gaining altitude. Morrigan glanced down and saw how the ground grew further and further away. But she wasn't scared. The steady beating of Haku's wings and the warmth that radiated through his scales calmed her.

"I truly missed you, Haku. I promise that no matter where I go, you'll come with me," she said quietly. Morrigan was sure that her scaled friend wouldn't even be able to hear her, but a low hum escaped from him. She smiled and they rose higher and higher, going over the peaks of the Demon Castle.

Darkness engulfed them from all sides, and Morrigan felt saddened that Haku wasn't able to fly in the sky like a dragon really should.

"You know, while I was gone I went to a place where you could fly endlessly up and not worry about hitting anything. A place where there are no limits."

Haku didn't make any noise but she could feel that he was wholly focused on her. Taking it as a good sign, she continued, "I'm really sorry that I left you alone here for so long. I'm sure it was horrible for you as even Azrael who was supposed to care for you was away looking for me."

The dragon let out a small puff of smoke that mercilessly hit Morrigan's nostrils.

"I deserved that. I know this will sound like nothing more than an excuse, but I was really scared at the time. I thought my father wouldn't acknowledge me and would abandon me, just like I was once abandoned before. But it wasn't true and now I just feel foolish about it."

Haku huffed as his mouth lit up with flames. They traveled slowly out of his mouth like little flower petals and swirled around them as they flew.

"That is amazing, Haku! How did you do that?" She watched as the fire danced around them in awe. "If I could control fire as well as you, then all those nasty rumors about me being dangerous and unfit to be Crown Princess would stop. Or least calm down a little."

The dragon cried out cheerfully and then looked at her intently. She looked into his eyes trying to understand what he was trying to convey. There was a nagging sensation in her mind – like a gentle tingle.

"You'll teach me?"

What surprised her wasn't his willingness to do so – she had expected as much. No, it was the fact that she understood him in a weird, almost telepathic sort of way.

Is this a draconic ability or mine?

***

"Princess Morrigan has gone insane."

"What do you mean insane? She's merely four years old. Children her age do a lot of strange things."

"You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"She is studying fire magic from that dragon of hers."

"What? Surely, you jest. The dragon is her pet – she's probably just playing with it."

"No, I've seen it with my own eyes. She goes to the castle backyard every day and talks with the dragon."

"That is a bit odd, but she's still just a child…"

Morrigan couldn't listen to the maids yapping anymore and decided to emerge from behind the bookshelves where she had been reading a book about fire magic. Once the maids saw her, their faces went as pale as sheets.

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"What a nice day it is," Morrigan said to them and looked them directly in the eyes. Both of them trembled and bowed their heads low. "It'd be a perfect day to have a nice long chat with Father. I wonder what topics he would be interested in. Perhaps the code of conduct that servants of the castle need to adhere to. I am not very familiar with it."

"My apologies, Your Highness! It will not happen again."

"Please, be merciful."

Morrigan snickered. It felt nice to put the rumor-weaving maids into their place.

"Get back to work," Morrigan commanded coldly, and the maids scurried away.

I have no time to deal with them anyway. Haku is waiting for me.

She turned into her shadow form and hurried to the dragon stables. The dragon was already pacing near the entrance, expecting her arrival. They'd been training together for about two weeks, and Morrigan had managed to learn so much from Haku. Turned out that despite the inability to speak, dragons were quite capable teachers.

As Morrigan realized with her time together with Haku, fire magic required emotional control over everything else. She needed to feel how strong the flame needed to be, so if her emotions were out of control due to stress, then it was impossible to control. However, time together with Haku was very therapeutic and helped her to better understand herself as well as him. It also helped that Haku could easily take control of any rogue flames.

"Hey, Haku," she greeted him and wrapped her hands around him in a hug. His tail swished around, hitting against the wall with such ferocity, it felt like the stable would collapse. But since the structure was made out of solid stone, it held firm.

"Ready for some fire practice?" She called out and the dragon leapt up and down in joy. She chuckled and motioned him to bend down. Haku laid down on the ground and put his front paw in a manner that would make it easy for Morrigan to use as a ladder to climb on his back. She nodded at him in thanks and then got into the small saddle that she requested Azrael to get for her.

The saddle was specifically made to account for her size as well as to make flight as secure for her as possible. It included a safety harness around her waist, so that in case she lost her grip, she wouldn't be falling to her death. Morrigan checked that the harness was secure and then gently tapped on Haku's neck with her hand, signaling him to move.

The dragon obliged and they strode out of the stable, ready to fly once again. Much to Morrigan's surprise, she saw Deziara walking through the backyard, waving her hand at them.

"Let's go and see what she has to say," Morrigan said, but Haku was already eagerly running towards the girl. Apparently, the only reason he survived at all was because Deziara had taken it upon herself to care for it. She couldn't convince Lucius and Viana to remove Haku's chains, but at least she kept him fed and entertained as best as she could.

And it showed – Haku always greeted her with great enthusiasm.

"Hello, sister!" Morrigan waved at her cheerfully, but her hands slumped as she noticed a rather serious expression on Deziara's face. "Is something the matter?"

"Morri, I think it's best if you skip your practice for today," she said, and affectionately scratched under Haku's chin.

"Why?"

"Apparently Viana caught wind of your practice with Haku and decided to make a spectacle out of you. She organized a tea party and invited all the most prominent noble demonesses. I heard she even invited Father, although I doubt he'd show up," Deziara explained.

"What do I care for their tea parties?"

"She's organizing it in the castle yard. See the tables over there," Deziara pointed to the far side of the backyard. While it was a good way away from the stables, her practicing fire magic with Haku would certainly be visible to everybody.

That little… she's trying to make a fool of me in front of all the prominent people. No doubt she intends to remove me from the Crown Princess's position. But I won't back off. In fact, I'll use this to my advantage.

"Let her have her fancy party. I'll give them a show they'll never forget," Morrigan announced and patted Haku affectionately. He responded with an approving roar, sensing her intentions.

"Are you sure about this, Morri?" Deziara looked at them with concern.

"I am! Be sure to watch, sister," Morrigan announced.

"If you're so confident about it, then I'll trust you. You've become far bolder since you've returned. I like it," Deziara chuckled, and Morrigan nodded in return. She urged Haku on and took off, flying above the castle.

They began the same way as always, Haku shot fire out of his mouth in various intensities and Morrigan tried to mimic the size of his fireballs. Hers were almost always larger than his, but the fact that she could control their size was already a testament to her improvement.

Once the basic fireball exercise was done, Haku began to fly more frantically, increasing and decreasing his speed randomly, gaining and lowering altitude, and overall making it more difficult for Morrigan. While he did that, she did her best to keep a steady stream of fire coming. Occasionally she would lose her focus and the fire would either disappear or become too strong, but it didn't take long for her to regain control.

Just as they finished this exercise to Morrigan's satisfaction, she saw a group of demonesses coming out of the castle, Viana leading them.

"No fire now, Haku. Let's observe for a while," she said and pushed on his right shoulder indicating to him the direction she wanted to go. Haku obeyed, gently swerving to the right, away from the Demon Castle lights. This way it should be harder for anybody to spot them from the ground. Not impossible, but they'd have to look really hard to notice.

Morrigan and Haku kept gliding in circles around the castle, observing the situation below each time they flew over the tea party. Then Morrigan noticed how Viana was looking up at them and pointing with her finger. The demonesses at the party also looked up.

"How kind of my eldest sister to set up the stage for us! Haku, let's give them a show they'll never forget," Morrigan said, and Haku rumbled in reply. He began spewing fire from his mouth and then made circles around the guests, making them visible to everybody. She could hear the gasps of the noble demonesses even from the high above.

Alphegor then exited from the castle, heading towards the tea party. As he noticed them flying above, the King stopped and smiled. Seeing this gave Morrigan courage to continue, so she took a deep breath and then lifted her hands up. She thought of how she felt when she first saw fireworks on Earth. How they filled her with wonder and joy. She never had a chance to show her father any fireworks – their time on Earth was rather short. But she could try to create something similar.

Morrigan channeled the happy thoughts into her fire magic and the two wisps of fire shot from her arms. At the same time, Haku made the fire that circled around them disappear, turning everyone's focus on the wisps. It climbed higher and then exploded in every direction, blooming in the eternal dark like a giant fire flower. Then Morrigan shot two more wisps and then more and more.

One fire flower appeared after the next and disappeared into the darkness. Morrigan saw how each time a flower bloomed, the demonesses gasped in awe. After she felt like her control of the fire was waning, Morrigan signaled Haku to descend and the dragon landed right in front of the King.

"Father, I didn't think you'd come to watch my magic practice," she said loudly enough for the demonesses to hear.

"I wouldn't dream of missing it," he said and took her in his arms. "Well done, Morrigan!"

"To think that a child so young could control fire with such precision."

"And while riding on a dragon's back no less."

"Imagine what she'll be able to do once she's older."

Morrigan was thoroughly enjoying the praise of the noble demonesses, all of whom smiled at her. All except one. Her eldest sister Viana.