"You didn't know? Well, of course you wouldn't. Surely the little cockroach would guard her nasty secret as well as she could," Asdeus cackled.

"Shut up!" Morrigan snarled, trying to break free of the invisible bonds.

"No, I don't think I will. Deziara is your sister, isn't she? She should have the right to know who you truly are," Asdeus walked up to Deziara and then with a flick of her wrist forced the girl upright. "You see that little maggot on the floor over there. That is a human."

"What are you talking about? She's clearly a demon," Deziara objected.

"Oh, but that's just a shell. Underneath hides a nasty, little human. What shame you must feel, having a relation to such a disgusting creature," the demoness laughed maniacally. Deziara's face was filled with shock and disbelief.

"Morri, she's lying, isn't she?" the girl pleaded, and Morrigan's heart clenched.

Would Deziara even accept me as a sister anymore if she knew of my past? But I can't lie to her either. That would only make matters worse.

"I was a human before I was reborn as a demon. My mother Eirwen pulled my soul into the body of her child. While I couldn't accept it at first, I have come to understand that I am a demon now, not a human," Morrigan said, then felt her head slam against the floor below.

"Dirty, little liar! You will always be a human and nothing more than a human. Your kind should be happy to lick the dirt of demon's shoes and you have the gall to argue against me!"

"Morri!"

Morrigan winced as the pain radiated from her cheek.

I need to break free of these invisible bonds and at least get Deziara out of here. I doubt Asdeus would be interested in chasing her.

"Let us go!" Deziara shouted, but then was promptly forced onto the ground, her legs and arms painfully scraped against the floorboards.

"Leave Deziara out of this! It's me you bear your grudge against, isn't it?"

"Oh, still trying to look noble? Then again maybe your disgusting human self has developed a twisted sisterly feeling towards Deziara. I wonder how you would react if something were to happen to her? Would you scream for her?" Asdeus twirled her finger, and Morrigan saw how Deziara's arm slowly began to twist. Deziara screamed in pain, desperately trying to regain control over her body.

Something snapped inside Morrigan as she saw her sister scream. Unbearable heat and anger rose within her like a smoldering fire. It became hotter and hotter, until it felt like it would burn Morrigan from within. She directed this heat towards Asdeus, and a flaming blue fireball appeared and flew towards the demoness as quickly as a bullet. She managed to erect a protective force field at the last second, but the impact was so strong that Asdeus was knocked off her feet.

The invisible strings holding Morrigan disappeared and she took the opportunity to rush towards stupefied Deziara. As soon as she had grabbed onto Deziara's hand, Morrigan imagined herself turning into a shadow and dragging Deziara along with her. She had never actually tried taking live people with her in her shadow form, Azrael had warned that it could quickly eat away at her magic reserves. The sensation was odd – she still had the wide vision and freedom of movement, but she felt much heavier and more restricted.

"You're not getting anywhere," Asdeus snarled, getting up from the floor. But Morrigan didn't wait for her to recover, instead slipping underneath the door and out of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse from the outside. The surrounding area was dark with similar warehouses populating the area.

Morrigan rushed some distance away, then materialized out of her shadow form. Much to her relief, Deziara was right next to her, panting heavily.

"Father!" Morrigan yelled just as fuming Asdeus ran out of the warehouse. The moment the demoness heard her shout, she stopped dead in her tracks, anger contorting her features.

"We'll meet again, cockroach!" Asdeus spat, creating a portal in front of her with a wave of her hand. Just as two dark shadows appeared in front of both girls, the demoness and her portal disappeared.

"Morrigan, Deziara, what is going on?" the King called out, looking around the area, his eyebrows twisted in an angry scowl. "How did you two get so far away from Demon Castle?"

Deziara's eyes filled with tears, and she launched herself at Alphegor, wrapping her hands around him. Alphegor looked at Morrigan for answers, his expression both angry and worried.

"It was Asdeus…" Morrigan said and slumped to the ground, her legs giving out underneath her.

***

"I cannot believe you two would sneak out of the castle without even telling anybody!" Alphegor roared at the two girls who were sitting on the sofa in the living room, both of their heads hanging low.

"And you four – just allowing princesses to leave as they please? Have I not made it clear that they are not to go out without my explicit permission?" The King turned towards the guards who were kneeling on the ground with their heads pressed against the floor.

"We are so sorry, Your Majesty!" they all said in unison.

"Fired! All of you! Get out of my sight before I decide to turn your heads into the castle gate decoration," Alphegor yelled, and the demons crawled away keeping their heads as low to the floor as possible.

"We thank you for your merciful decision," they muttered as they retreated.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Father, isn't that a bit excessive? We kind of forced them to go along with it," Morrigan objected, but seeing the icy glare on Alphegor's face, she quickly sunk back into the cushions.

"Their job is to protect you! A job they have FAILED," Alphegor raged. "And I thought you two would have known better by now after that whole excursion with Azrael."

"Father, do not be mad at Morrigan. It was I who pushed the idea," Deziara spoke up in a shaky voice.

"Then it'll be you who will suffer the punishment. What was going through your head? Do you not understand the dangers that lurk outside the castle? Do you not know how many would seek to harm you for just being my daughters?" Alphegor rubbed the bridge of his nose, then slumped down on the sofa across from them. "Tell me exactly what happened?"

Morrigan looked at Deziara, hoping she would explain, but the girl was staring into her tightened fist, doing her best not to cry. With a shaky voice, Morrigan spoke up, "Everything was fine at first. We disguised ourselves and strolled through the market, enjoying the foods that were offered."

"Deziara was disguised too?"

"Y-Yes, Father. I wore a wig and simple clothing."

"Go on, then."

"So once we had eaten, we saw this fortune teller. She offered to read our fortunes and Deziara went to have hers read first," Morrigan said, trying to leave out the part where Deziara was the one who wanted to check out the fortune teller. No doubt it would make the King even angrier.

"And this fortune teller turned out to be Asdeus, correct?"

"Yes, she pulled us into a portal. It took us to some sort of warehouse where we couldn't summon you," Morrigan continued.

"Anti-magic wards?" Alphegor pondered.

"No. We could still use magic. Asdeus did this weird thing where she could control our bodies and force them to move as she wished."

"Wait… she could control your bodies?" Alphegor's face suddenly went pale.

"Yes. We were unable to move."

"Then how did you break free?"

"Asdeus hurt Deziara so I felt this surge of anger inside me. I was able to launch a blue fireball at her. While she was disoriented, I dragged Deziara into the shadows with me and escaped."

"Well done, Morrigan," Alphegor said, a small smile flickering on his face for a second. Then it was replaced with an angry scowl again. "So which one of you girls was the one who wanted to see the fortune teller?"

Alphegor's gaze was cold, sending a shiver through Morrigan's spine. She had never seen her father this angry.

"I-It was me!" Morrigan tried to take the blame. But the King narrowed his eyes at her, and she quickly lowered her head.

"It was me," Deziara admitted, large tears streaming down her face.

"You realize that it was a near miracle that you two escaped," Alphegor stood up again, his figure menacing. "Body control is something only the strongest of demons are able to break out of and even then it is not a guarantee. If Asdeus really has this ability, then the problem is far larger than I initially thought."

"She said that she remained hidden to train this ability," Morrigan added, and Alphegor's face turned grim.

"So she probably hasn't mastered it fully. To think that you two got this close to being captured by her," Alphegor slumped down onto the sofa again, holding his head with both of his hands.

"But it all turned out okay?" Morrigan said, trying to lighten the mood. Heavy silence fell over them, and she lowered her head, looking at her shoes. After what felt like an eternity, Alphegor spoke up again.

"Deziara, as you're the older sister you will be the one to be punished. You're forbidden from participating in the competition."

Deziara opened her mouth to object, but seeing the King's unyielding expression, she lowered her head again and nodded.

"Father, that's not fair. We are both at fault!" Morrigan jumped to her feet in objection.

"So you are. Do not think that you'll go unpunished. You will remain in the competition, but I am taking away that magic paint of yours," he announced, and Morrigan felt her being shattered to pieces.

No! If I was withdrawn from the competition, I wouldn't have objected. But I really want to see what that paint does.

"But Father…"

"No buts! I am already being lenient with you two. If it was anybody else, they'd be confined to their room for months. Your only saving grace is that you actually managed to get yourself out of this mess," Alphegor said with finality, and Morrigan begrudgingly nodded.

There's no way I'm just going to give up on my magic paint. Maybe there's a way I could track where Father hides it.

Alphegor must have sensed her intentions because suddenly the magic paint appeared in front of Morrigan.

"This will remain in my pocket dimension, so don't even think of sneaking around to get it," Alphegor growled, and the paint disappeared. Morrigan's eyes filled with hot tears and her heart clenched with desperation.

"Father, you dummy!" Morrigan yelled as her emotions took over her sense of reason. She jumped to her feet and then ran to her room, slamming the door shut.

She heard a heavy sigh come from her father from behind the door. She sat down on the floor next to it, tears rolling down her cheeks. She knew she had no right to act this way – his punishment was just. But the thought that she wouldn't be able to use the magic paint was so painful. Morrigan was really looking forward to trying it out.

"F-Father, there is something I wanted to talk about…" Deziara spoke up in a barely audible voice. "It's about something Asdeus said."

Morrigan's heartbeat quickened as she realized which topic her sister would bring up.

"What did she say?"

"She… she said that Morrigan is a human," Deziara stammered out, and Morrigan's heart began thundering so loud that she could hear it resounding in her ears.

"What did Morrigan say?" Alphegor's voice became cold and unreadable.

"She said that she used to be human, but that she isn't one anymore. I don't understand. Morrigan is my sister, isn't she?"

"Do not worry, child. Morrigan is without a doubt my daughter and your sister. However, her birth is a bit unusual from that of a normal demon. I could tell you her story if you wish. But regardless of whether you hear it out or not, you must swear to never tell anyone about it for it could put your sister in even bigger danger," Alphegor said in a barely audible voice. "That includes your mother as well."

"I… I want to hear it. If that's alright…" Deziara muttered after a long pause. Alphegor nodded and then retold the story of Morrigan's birth. How he had been unable to find a soul for his and Eirwen's child. How Eirwen had taken over the grueling ritual despite her exhaustion. How she had pulled Rosa's dying soul into Morrigan's body. And how Morrigan remembered her past life.

"So Morrigan's soul comes from a human from a different world while normally a demon child is imbued with a demon soul from the Underdark."

After the story was complete, an eerie silence stretched on. Morrigan's thoughts wandered to what she knew of the Underdark – the deepest sanctuary hidden somewhere in the Underworld where all souls of demons go after death. It was like an afterlife place for demons. Her heart hammered as she wondered whether Deziara would be able to accept Morrigan – a demon who hadn't come from this sacred place.

"I- I need to think about this. I still love Morri to bits, but I need some time," Deziara finally said and left the room, closing the door behind herself. Morrigan wrapped her hands around herself and sat like that for a long time, slowly unraveling all the things that happened during that day.