Morrigan woke up, in her bed in the Demon Castle. Gunna was snoozing on a chair next to the bed, and judging from how her shoulders sagged, it appeared that she'd been there for a long time.

How long did I sleep? My body feels so stiff.

She slowly slid out of her bed, while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Despite how much she slept, the mental exhaustion still lingered. When it was time to forge the magical contract for the two kings to sign, things got… heated. There were long debates on what to add in the contract, how to properly phrase things and also how to avoid any loopholes.

At that point every minister got involved and argued on every single point of the contract, saying how it could be misinterpreted in that way or there was this possible loophole in this clause. It was a nightmare and it took no less than six hours (with a short 20 minute break in the middle) for the whole thing to be written. And then it took another hour to convince both kings to sign it.

As Morrigan clambered out of the bed, Gunna began to stir and her eyes soon opened. The nanny looked confused for a moment, but she saw Morrigan and instantly pulled her into a deep hug.

"Oh, poor child. I heard everything that happened to you. It is just awful what those fallen have done. You know I'm never quick to judge the races as a whole, but in this case, all the demons were right. The fallen truly are scum – attacking such a young child and using her life for political gain," the dwarfish woman huffed, her eyebrows scrunched up in anger. This was probably the angriest Morrigan had ever seen her nanny.

"It's alright, Gunna. It's over now. The peace treaty is signed with a binding magical contract which cannot be broken," she replied.

"Even so, it is absolutely barbaric. Good thing about that magical contract. With it we don't worry, since there isn't a single case of magical contract being broken," Gunna said encouragingly.

Not even a single case? With the civilization in this world being so old, far older than the one on Earth, if nobody has discovered how to break a magical contract until now, then what are the chances of it ever happening? Plain impossible. That puts my mind at ease.

"This matter is now settled, Lady Morrigan. How about we forget all about that unpleasant event and instead get ready for the day ahead? Today it is scheduled that the whole royal family is going to eat breakfast together," Gunna chimed. Morrigan barely managed to suppress a groan. Seeing all the concubines and her sisters was the last thing she wanted right now. But it's not like she had a choice, so she nodded and allowed Gunna to get her ready.

***

This is the worst.

All of the concubines and princesses were gathered at the large dining table in the main hall, chattering and happily enjoying their meal. However, their gazes would constantly travel to Morrigan, occasionally hidden sneers appearing on the corners of their lips. Nobody dared to say anything openly, but what they were thinking was clear – Morrigan had made a mess of things again.

After all, the fallen had taken her blood and used it as leverage against the Demon Kingdom. It didn't matter that it was taken forcibly or that she helped with solving the issue. She could have single-handedly saved the world, but if she made a mistake while doing it these women would latch onto it. They would still sneer and point their fingers at her behind her back. Rosalie, Miriam and a few other of the oldest princesses as well as their mothers looked awfully satisfied with this outcome. It was clear that this was a golden opportunity for them. A chance to claim the title of the Crown Princess for themselves.

Viana, however, didn't appear pleased in the slightest. Her expression was glum while her mother chattered happily with the other concubines, her spirits as high as they could be. Morrigan looked at her eldest sister who looked back at her. She looked forlorn and even somewhat guilty and soon lowered her gaze to the still full-plate in front of her.

"I'm glad that was resolved nicely, wasn't it?" Deziara said, looking hopefully at Alphegor and Morrigan, trying to cheer them up. But the king looked rather glum, no doubt already dreading all the paperwork he would have to go through to make the peace treaty with the fallen actually long-lasting and sustainable.

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"Yes," he replied in an absent-minded sort of manner.

"I have to say, Your Majesty, this is truly a golden opportunity. A peace treaty with the fallen. We should cherish and strengthen it further," Lady Viviane said, the wine clearly getting to her head already. "Imagine if we were to connect our kingdom through the sacred vows of marriage? We could gain an effective spy on the inside and rule the Fallen Kingdom from within. We should send out strongest princess to–"

"Silence," Alphegor growled, and the whole room went deadly silent as he glared at Viviane.

"It's alright, Father. There is no reason to get angry. It was merely a joke," Morrigan said. Not that she felt sorry for Lady Viviane, but the look of horror Viana had when her mother spoke up. Morrigan would hate for her to get punished along with it. After all, it felt like they were finally starting to understand each other, if only a little bit. "It was most pleasant having breakfast with you, but I am afraid I have to excuse myself. I want to check on Haku's well-being."

She walked out of the dinning hall with her head held high, however as soon as the doors closed behind her, she melted into shadows and rushed to the dragon stables outside. Much to her relief she found Haku chomping on a large piece of meat, unscathed and uninjured.

"Haku, you're alright!" she said and went to hug her dragon friend. He quickly swallowed the meat he was eating and cooed at her. He flicked his tongue in an attempt to lick her, but she dodged him.

"No licks. You stink like meat," she wagged her finger, and he whined. Morrigan scratched the scales underneath his chin, and Haku wagged his tail in satisfaction.

"I'm really glad you're okay," she whispered, pressing her forehead against her friend.

"Dragons are not so easy to injure or kill," Galandir suddenly spoke, and Morrigan jumped back in shock. The boy was carrying a bucket of water, which he poured out into Haku's water bowl.

"Can you just walk around like that? Are you okay?" she asked. It wasn't like she wasn't happy to see the boy walking around freely. But it felt a bit odd, knowing that just a few days ago he was still imprisoned. Even if her sneaking him out of the prison felt like a lifetime ago.

"Of course I can. I am not a slave anymore!" he retorted, setting the bucket down.

"You're not?"

"Why are you so surprised? You're the one who demanded my freedom in the first place. I've been assigned to care for Haku by that annoying white-haired friend of yours," the elven boy explained and went up to the dragon, patting his shoulder affectionately. Haku blew a puff of smoke at the boy as if to confirm his words.

"Really? That's great! I mean… you're not really free to return to the Overworld but–" she stammered, wondering whether the boy was bitter by this outcome.

"Maybe I am not free to go there yet, but in retrospect, this actually might be better. It's not like I have a home to return to, and who would even want to deal with some orphan kid? It is not too far-fetched to say that the fallen might try to send somebody after me for revenge. After all, I foiled all their plans," Galandir said, then sighed.

"I do miss the sun and the sky and the wind, but I'll be safer here. I have a job, warm food to eat every day, a safe place to sleep, and a giant debt to repay."

The boy chuckled, and Morrigan saw how there was a bit of hope in his eyes. If previously they seemed resigned to his grim fate, then now they shone with new determination. A warm feeling bloomed inside her chest. She had done something good. She had managed to save this child and that thought gave her strength and also hope. Hope that perhaps one day she could free more slaves. Or perhaps end slavery as a whole, even if the path to doing that would no doubt be long and hard-one.

"It truly is a huge debt. I hope Azrael pays well for being a dragon keeper," Morrigan chuckled, but the smile on Galandir's face vanished.

"It pays well enough, but that is not the kind of debt I was talking about," he said, looking her in the eyes. She cocked her head in confusion when the door swung open and Azrael came into the stables, whistling without a care in the world.

"Hello, squirts. Up to no good again?" he snickered.

"We were just talking. Besides you're the one who is always up to no good," Morrigan retorted.

"Oh, I certainly used to be the biggest troublemaker around these parts, but I'm afraid at this point you have taken that title from me," the mage grinned and pointed at Morrigan, who crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. She didn't cause that much trouble. Did she? Maybe a little, but she certainly wasn't as bad as Azrael.

"What do you want?" she grumbled.

"It's like you forget what my job is around these parts. It's to teach you magic. With this whole fallen debacle over – we need to return to your lessons. Bring that Burmese Ruby and let's see what ability it gives you."

"About that – I already absorbed the ruby," Morrigan admitted sheepishly.

"Oh, good. Saves us some time. What ability did you get?" the demon asked, a bit of excitement flickering in his eyes. "No, actually, nevermind. Just show me."

"Well, there's a bit of a problem…" she stammered.

"What problem?" Azrael raised his eyebrow, and Galandir also cocked his head curiously, having listened to the conversation intently.

"I have no idea what ability it gave me!"