Morrigan rose from her bed a bit after seven, which was more than an hour earlier than usual. Her heart was beating fast and she felt nervous jitters all over her body. Like little pinpricks, they didn't allow her to remain still and forced her out of the comforts of the bed. It was the day when the foreign delegations would arrive.

The preparation time for the Festival flew by in what felt like an instant. Between her lessons with Lady Lily, Azrael and Lord Weisedun, as well as her own individual learning time which she dedicated purely to honing her artistic abilities, she basically had no free time left.

Morrigan got out of bed and ran out of her room, through the living room, and knocked on Alphegor's bedroom door.

"Come in, little one," he replied, and Morrigan swung the heavy door open. The King was already up from his bed, browsing through his wardrobe.

"Good morning, Father!"

"Good morning, Morrigan. Couldn't sleep anymore?" He turned towards her and smiled.

"No. I feel so nervous. My mind is just going through a thousand scenarios where things go horribly wrong," she said, and peered into his wardrobe, wondering which outfit her father was going to wear. He pointed to a grand red one, and Morrigan shook her head. It was a wonderful suit, but a bit too fancy for welcoming a delegation. Alphegor nodded in agreement.

"And what's the worst-case scenario?" He pointed at a more demure black and gold suit. It certainly would look great on Alphegor, but this would be more suited for a smaller party or a dinner in a more relaxed environment. She shook her head.

"Worst case scenario is – that I accidentally lose control of my powers and set the Prime Minister on fire," she said. By Prime Minister, she thought of the one coming from the Fallen Kingdom, not Lucius. She had no idea what kind of person they were, but they must be really important to have been sent to represent the whole country in the stead of their King. Although Morrigan believed that the King was just too cautious to come himself.

"Worst case? That is the best-case scenario," Alphegor laughed, and she couldn't help but laugh along.

"Father! We need to establish a peaceful relationship," she elbowed him lightly, and Alphegor wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"They could peacefully surrender to us," he whispered, and she laughed. For the most part Alphegor was trying to find peaceful solutions, however if things were not to go his way, then he wouldn't be against using force.

I need to make sure that the relationship between demons and the fallen remains friendly. Or at the very least civil.

Alphegor pointed at a dark royal purple suit with golden embellishments. It was neither too grand nor too simple. It would display Alphegor as the King that he was, but at the same time wouldn't make him look overly pompous.

"That's the one," she approved. "Shall I call for the servants?"

"Yes, I think it's time to get ready. Go call for Gunna and wear that dress you showed me the other day. That alone should knock them off their feet," Alphegor smirked, and Morrigan blushed, remembering how he had praised her as the most beautiful demon in the whole Doppelta, gushing over her and nearly calling over an artist to have her painted.

"It's just a dress, Father," she muttered and inched towards the door.

"It's not the dress that mattered but rather the wearer. In my opinion, you look good in anything, but that particular dress is quite well matched," Alphegor hummed with satisfaction, and Morrigan made her escape before he went to another flurry of praises. Last time, he kept talking about how nice she looked throughout the whole dinner.

Morrigan called out the name of Alphegor's butler and then returned to her room to ring the bell that would summon Gunna. Less than ten minutes later, the dwarf nanny was in her room with three maids alongside her.

"It's time to get ready! Today is an important day," she addressed the demon maids and Gunna, and all of them nodded, their faces stern as if preparing for war.

"Do not worry, Lady Morrigan. We shall make sure that nobody will be able to turn their eyes away from you," Gunna said, and the maids nodded along with her. Usually, the demonesses didn't treat the nanny very nicely, but at times like these they all had a scary sense of unity.

***

After two hours of intensive preparations – washing, skin care, dressing, hairstyling, and make-up, Morrigan was finally ready. Her long red hair glistened like rubies, her skin shone with health and the elegant, black dress with red embellishments that matched her eyes fit her body like a glove.

Say what you will about demon personality, but their tailors are amazing. The level of detail on this dress would make every designer on Earth green with jealousy. Not to mention that it is actually comfortable.

Morrigan exited the bathroom, Gunna and maids looking proudly over the fruits of their labor. It didn't matter who was a demon and who was a dwarf – the sense of camaraderie was undeniable.

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"Ready to go, Princess?" Azrael perked up from the living room sofa where he had been waiting for her. He was assigned as Morrigan's official escort, a position he was more than eager to accept. Morrigan had no doubts that he was cooking up some schemes involving the fallen delegation.

"Ready!" she said resolutely and looked at him. Azrael was wearing a fancy white and dark purple suit which matched with his hair and eyes. Much to her dismay, she was forced to admit that he looked rather handsome. If only that mischievous glint in his eyes didn't give away his true intentions.

"Excellent! Let's show those fallen scum who is boss," he got up from the sofa and extended an elbow towards her.

"You cannot call them scum from this point on. Got it? I don't want the whole thing to fall apart just because you couldn't contain your tongue," she reprimanded him and took a firm hold of his hand. Despite her strong tone, her hands were trembling from nervousness.

Azrael probably felt it but was kind enough not to comment on it. Perhaps, he was planning to poke fun at her later when the big event was over. But at that moment, he led Morrigan through the castle, where maids and servants bowed their heads as they passed. After a while, they reached the main entrance hall where all the princesses, concubines and other high-standing demons were gathered in groups.

The delegation from the Fallen Kingdom wasn't the only one who'd be arriving, so would the delegations from the other kingdoms. And since it was impossible and also unnecessary for the King to greet them all, each group would be greeted by at least one member of the royal family.

As Morrigan went downstairs she saw Deziara and Lady Lily standing with the Commerce Minister. She gave them a small wave and Deziara waved back, while Lady Lily smiled in greeting. Some of Morrigan's other sisters also waved at her, although the majority acted like Viana, who was pointedly ignoring her existence.

And I'll have to spend the whole Festival in her company. Great!

Much to Morrigan's chagrin, Azrael was leading her straight to Viana, who was dressed in an elegant dark red dress. She, Viana, Azrael, Lucius and Alphegor would greet the main delegation from the Fallen Kingdom.

"Good morning, Princess Morrigan, Azrael," Lucius greeted them with a nod of his head.

"Good morning, Azrael," Viana greeted and curtsied ever so slightly.

"Is His Majesty not here yet?" Azrael asked, appearing rather bored.

"I have not yet seen Father today," she replied, twirling a lock of her purple hair in her fingers.

"Do you know, Princess?" Azrael turned to Morrigan, who was taking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves a little.

"He should be here soon. I imagine he's still getting ready," she replied somewhat absentmindedly and looked up the staircase in hopes of seeing Alphegor.

"Are you perhaps scared, little sister? You look somewhat nervous," Viana smirked, and Morrigan opened her mouth to retort, when the head butler who was standing dutifully by the entrance, spoke up.

"Delegation from the Duergar Country has arrived!"

Deziara, Lady Lily and the Commerce Minister all perked up and walked towards the entrance. Morrigan followed her sister with her gaze, wishing her good luck in her mind and praying for her success. Deziara managed to give her one last smile before the entrance door was shut again.

"So it begins…" Azrael noted. About every five to ten minutes after that the head butler called out the arriving delegations, and the assigned groups went out to greet them. When only three groups remained, Morrigan's nerves felt as tight as bowstrings. Alphegor hadn't arrived yet.

Just as the second to last group was about to leave, Alphegor came downstairs looking as regal as Morrigan had ever seen him. His hair was neatly slicked back and his dark purple suit with its gold ornaments complimented the magnificent crown on his head. It wove around his horns and had sharp points, almost looking like a weapon.

"Good day to you, Father," Viana curtsied gracefully with a smile.

"Is everyone ready?" he asked, the stern kingly persona turned on.

"Of course, Father," Viana replied.

"Sure," Azrael said nonchalantly.

"Morrigan?" Alphegor arched an eyebrow when she didn't reply. It might've looked demanding, but she saw the hint of concern in his eyes. She exhaled and nodded.

"I am ready, Father!"

He allowed a small smile to pass his lips and then stood in front of them – strong and tall. Unyielding like a mountain. A few more tense minutes passed until finally they were the last group that remained in the room. The head butler returned, and Morrigan felt herself go stiff as he opened his mouth and announced, "The delegation from the Fallen Kingdom has arrived!"

Alphegor strode forward, his gait confident and smooth. Viana flowed after him gracefully like a river, Lucius extending his hand to her. Morrigan took a deep breath and then felt Azrael poke her in the side. She was about to glare at him, but then saw that he was offering his elbow to her in support. She smiled sheepishly at him and took it.

Azrael's hand and the sight of her father's strong back brought her courage and she walked forward, allowing Azrael to lead her. As she exited the castle, she saw a carriage ride toward the castle entrance. The carriages in the Underworld were a little bit different than the ones Morrigan had seen in history movies and books. They had no windows, their tires resembled tank tracks and they were pulled by what looked like giant badgers. As if the miniature version wasn't nasty enough.

Four more simplistic-looking carriages followed the main one and around two dozen armored guards rode along their sides. Morrigan tried to catch a glimpse of their features, curious to see exactly what the fallen looked like. But their armor hid everything from sight. Finally, the main carriage stopped by the staircase and Morrigan along with the others observed the guests.

"Announcing the arrival of the Prime Minister of the Fallen Kingdom – Allocen Heinspiel, his wife Valeria Heinspiel and daughter Annabell Heinspiel," the head butler announced. The coachman hurried to open the carriage door and Morrigan finally saw the first fallen in her life.

First came out a thin and tall man with pale skin, white hair and sky-blue eyes. After him followed a short and thin woman with platinum blonde hair tied in a neat bun and bright green eyes. After them, a timid little girl scurried out, hiding within the confines of her mother's skirt.

Their appearance wouldn't be anything special, however all three of them had magnificent black, feathery wings coming out of their backs.

They have wings?!