Volume 2 Chapter 39 – Blood Spilt and Blood Taken  (Patreon)

"Our time has been cut short, it seems," the fallen man snarled as he looked at Morrigan who had a victorious smile on her face. All she had to do was hold out until the guards or ideally her father came to her rescue. "Forget the dragon and the boy – get Princess's blood! I don't care if she lives or dies."

Oh shit…

Morrigan paled as all of the dark figures turned their attention to her. Before she could even realize what was going on, a barrage of various spells was flung her way. Haku stepped in front of her, spreading his wings and protecting her from the majority of spells. Galandir erected a thick icy wall in front of them, blocking whatever attacks managed to get past the dragon.

"Haku, are you alright?" she called out, unable to see behind the ice.

"Worry about yourself first. Dragons are highly resistant to magic attacks," the elven boy reprimanded, creating more ice in places where some spells had managed to break his defense. However, his icy wall didn't remain standing for long as the fallen man lunged straight at it and broke it with his fist as if it were made of twigs.

Morrigan created a forcefield in order to stop his advance, but noticed Haku lying limp on the floor.

"Haku!" she called out and her concentration on the forcefield slipped. The fallen man took the opportunity and broke through it, grabbing Morrigan by her neck. She grabbed onto his hands, struggling to free herself, but the pressure on her neck was increasing and she felt like it would snap at any moment. Instinct took over and she allowed angry blue flames to come out of her palm and burn the man. 

He howled in pain and dropped her, but as he did, his nails painfully scratched against her neck drawing blood from the wound. She coughed and sputtered as she tried to regain her breath.

"I got what we needed. Retreat," he commanded and opened a portal, jumping into it without hesitation. The black figures were about to follow him, but a dark shadow arose in front of the portal and dark tendrils spread from the darkness reaching to capture the intruders. Some were too shocked to react and got captured by the tendrils, however some managed to evade them and lunged for the portal.

However, not a single one then managed to reach it as Alphegor's sword mercilessly cut them down, quickly building a pile of corpses. The portal closed, leaving only a handful of struggling figures encased in dark tendrils. Morrigan looked at the scene in horror – Haku lying limp on the floor, her father with a bloody sword in hand standing above a pile of corpses.

"Morrigan! Are you alright?" Alphegor ran up to her checking for injuries and saw the deep scratch mark on her neck. His face contorted with rage and fury, and she saw how his red eyes almost began to glow from his anger. "Whoever did this is going to pay!"

"I can heal her!" Galandir hurriedly offered, and Alphegor looked at him incredulously, having only just noticed the boy.

"Why are you here?" he growled.

"I got… him out, Father," Morrigan explained weakly, clutching at her injuries and feeling the blood seep through her fingers. Seeing that, the King's expression turned to that of worry and he ushered the boy over.

"Quickly. And if you do anything to harm her, I will torture you for a hundred years," he warned. But Galandir wasn't affected by his threat and instead hurried over to Morrigan, pressing his hand against her injury. A burning sensation appeared in her neck and she screamed.

"It'll be over soon, bear with me for a bit," Galandir said while Alphegor took a firm hold of Morrigan's hand and soothingly rubbed her shoulder. After a few agonizing minutes, the injury on her neck was fully healed, not leaving even a scar behind. The only reminder of it was the still fresh blood on Morrigan's and Galandir's hands.

"Your Majesty, what–" the guards rushed inside the stables and looked around the gruesome scene in horror.

"You lot are too slow. Rally the guards, strengthen the defenses in the castle," Alphegor commanded.

"Father! They got my blood and are likely heading for the Royal Treasury!" Morrigan spoke up, and everyone besides Galandir looked at her in shock. But the King quickly regained his composure.

"Secure the intruders. Interrogate those who are still alive and find out everything you can," Alphegor commanded. The guards nodded, turning their attention to black figures. Morrigan's already queasy stomach churned yet again as she imagined that they would no doubt torture them for information.

"Understood!" the guard said, and the remaining guards each took hold of the remaining intruders as Alphegor released them from the dark tendrils. As they did so, Morrigan realized that Haku still lay limp on the floor and scrambled out of her father's grasp to run up to him.

"Haku, are you alright?!" she called out desperately, inspecting him for any injuries. There were a few gashes on his tender wing membranes, however, his scales looked largely unharmed. But lack of reaction from the dragon, made hot tears well into her eyes.

"He's been knocked out cold, but he'll be fine. He's still breathing," Alphegor explained, pointing at his chest that rose each time Haku took a breath. Morrigan relaxed but still didn't leave the dragon's side, instead patting his scales in hopes he'd wake up.

"Azrael!" Alphegor called and the white-haired demon soon appeared out of shadow.

"What can I do for yo– What in the name of darkness happened here?"

"Intruders. Move the dragon to a safe location within the castle, then head for the dungeon. There is a possibility that the enemy will head there," Alphegor said.

"The enemy? Who?" Azrael asked, perplexed.

"The fallen. They're the ones behind this attack," Morrigan said, and Alphegor alongside Azrael looked at her with grave expressions.

"You're going to explain everything that just happened. Including the reason why is the elven boy outside his prison cell," Alphegor growled, and Morrigan shrunk back, hiding behind Haku.

I am in deep trouble now.

***

Morrigan and Galandir sat on the couch in Alphegor's office while Alphegor and a very confused-looking Lucius sat on the couch across from them. 

"Your Majesty, what exactly is going on? Why is this slave and Princess Morrigan covered in blood? And what was that blue fireball earlier?" the older demon asked, his gaze darting from one person to the next.

"Morrigan will explain everything. From the beginning," Alphegor commanded, tapping his finger impatiently against his knee. She took a deep breath, mustering the courage to speak.

"I snuck into the prison to get Galandir out of there," she admitted with her head hung low, although she did not regret her actions. 

"W-What?!" Lucius sputtered in shock, then looked helplessly at Alphegor, who looked mildly annoyed at the fact. "You snuck into the prison to get a slave out of there but…"

"Seems my daughter has developed a bit of a soft spot for the boy," the King noted bitterly and glared at Galandir, who also hung his head low, more out of fear rather than any reverence towards the King.

"But even so… sneaking into prison… Princess Morrigan, I had always thought you were more mindful than that. If people were to find out… " Lucius's face paled in horror, and Morrigan feared that her action might have added a new wrinkle to his complexion.

"Yes, that would instantly ruin their public opinion of you and make them rally against you as the Crown Princess," Alphegor explained, and Morrigan realized just how bad that would be for her. More assassination attempts, a possible uprising, or perhaps even worse. 

"Even so, the way you treated Galandir was unfair. Putting a child in prison to later have him work in the dungeons is absurd!" She protested, looking her face straight in the eyes. 

"So I should just let him go free?" He challenged her.

"That is what he asked of you. And you promised to fulfill his request," Morrigan objected, not wavering under his intense stare.

"Three million gold is not a small amount of gold."

"You promised him freedom."

The two stared at each other stubbornly, not willing to budge. After a long, tense minute, Galandir spoke up.

"I am willing to repay my debt through hard work," the boy said.

"What?" Morrigan looked at him incredulously. "You don't know what the dungeons are like."

"The boy said he'll repay his debt," Alphegor objected, then looked at the elven boy. "And so he shall work to repay it."

"Father, sending a child…" Morrigan objected, but Alphegor held his hand.

"I understand your concern. I shall not send him to the dungeons. He'll work as a servant in the Demon Castle instead. However, he will not be able to leave the castle as I do not trust him simply not run away at the first opportunity."

"That is acceptable, Your Majesty," Galandir said and bowed his head low.

"Alright, I'll consider this matter settled. Morrigan, tell us what happened once you left the prison," Alphegor said, not allowing her to raise any objection. She huffed a bit in annoyance, but since there was no time to spare, she continued her explanation.

"According to Galandir, the fallen were planning to get my blood right from the beginning to get into the Royal Treasury. The one who scratched my neck was a fallen and he looked a lot like Mrs. Heinspiel," Morrigan said. Alphegor's and Lucius's expressions turned grave at this.

"It must have been their son. But they claimed that he remained in the Fallen Kingdom," Lucius said.

"Apparently not. Morrigan, did he manage to get your blood?" Alphegor asked, and she nodded. His expression grew even darker and the room grew silent as the King got up from his seat and began pacing around the office.

"But you sent Azrael there. He'll be able to protect the Royal Treasury, right?" Morrigan said hopefully. "Especially since he knows he is coming."

"I highly doubt their true goal was the treasury," Alphegor said. Morrigan noticed how Lucius' eyebrows had twisted into a deep, concerned scowl.

"Your Majesty, what are we supposed to do?" the older demon asked, his voice sounding as if all hope was lost.

"We have no choice. We're going to have to negotiate with them," Alphegor said and clenched his hands into tight fists.

"Negotiate? Why would we negotiate with intruders?" Morrigan looked at her Father in confusion. She then looked at Lucius for explanation but the demon would not meet her gaze head on.

Something else is going on here besides the attack on the Royal Treasury. They wouldn't be this worried about that. After all, it's not difficult to bolster the defense of the treasury further.

"Boy, when you snuck into the castle on that first night, what did they ask you to do and why?" Alphegor asked, his expression oozing with hatred. Galandir flinched back a bit at the sudden animosity, but held his gaze.

"They told me to sneak into the Princess's bedroom and get her blood while she was asleep. They said it was necessary to get into the treasury," he explained, then quickly added. "I never had any intention of hurting her! They said one drop was all they needed."

"Your Majesty, I don't think the boy is lying. There was no reason for them to explain the details to this slave," Lucius intervened and Alphegor's gaze softened slightly.

"What is going on exactly, Father? I can tell this is about more than just the treasury," Morrigan asked. An urgent knock sounded on the door.

"Your Majesty, the fallen are requesting an audience with you," a guard called through the door.

"Lowly mongrels! I should raze their whole kingdom to the ground," Alphegor growled, his eyes turning red from anger.

"Your Majesty, we should approach this most cautiously," Lucius said and looked piteously at Morrigan. She looked at him in confusion and then at her Father who looked to be on the verge of tears.

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