Volume 2 Chapter 42 – Sister's Advice (Patreon)

The next morning Morrigan and Alphegor both sat at their breakfast table poking at their food. Neither of them had slept very well, Morrigan catching a few winks towards the morning while Alphegor diligently watched over her, not having slept a wink all night. Neither of them had the appetite to eat, their mind constantly going back to that drop of blood that Azrael couldn't retrieve.

That was the first time Morrigan had truly seen the demon look broken. She didn't know whether it was the oath that was constantly urging him to protect her or whether it was some other, deeper feeling with him. In either case, it was hard to watch him so dejected.

She didn't blame him for it, and neither did Alphegor – it was a fool's errand right from the start. But Morrigan had hoped that perhaps her magic teacher would be able to trick the fallen somehow. But obviously, they already were expecting that, and Azrael's attempt had only put them on higher alert.

The only small consolation came in the form of Haku's recovery. According to the doctor, the dragon had been merely exhausted from enduring so many magical attacks and would recover in due time. This knowledge brought some peace to Morrigan, although it didn't lessen the heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Lady Morrigan, Master Alphegor, you should eat something," Gunna was the only one brave enough to speak up, the other maids staring gloomily at the floor. Due to the large number of guards who had witnessed the whole exchange, it was impossible to keep the matter hidden from the castle staff. So, in the morning, the whole Demon Castle knew what exactly had happened.

"I'm not hungry…" Morrigan mumbled, setting down the fork on the table. 

"Even if you're not, you should eat. It'll make you feel better," the nanny insisted, and Morrigan gave in, cutting herself a small piece of bacon from a creature unknown to her and putting it in her mouth. The meat was delicious and tender and as soon as she had swallowed, Morrigan realized how hungry she actually was. Seeing his daughter eat, the King also forced himself to eat.

"Morrigan!" The door to the dining room burst open, and Deziara ran inside with Lady Lilly following closely behind her. The girl instantly pulled Morrigan into a tight hug, tears streaming down her face. "I can't believe the fallen would stoop so low as to use you use you as a hostage."

"On a day when even attacking your enemy is sacrilege. The fallen should be banished from the Underworld," Lady Lily huffed angrily, placing a comforting hand on Morrigan's shoulder. She buried herself in her older sister's embrace, enjoying her comforting warmth.

"Trust me, I'll do it as soon as the opportunity arises," Alphegor growled, clenching his hands into fists.

"They're going to try to bargain for something outrageous using Morrigan's blood, won't they? We must not give them what they want," Lady Lily said.

"But if they can just…" the word 'kill' died in Deziara's throat, she pulled Morrigan closer. "You can't let them hurt Morrigan either!"

"Do not worry. No harm shall come to her or anyone within the Demon Kingdom while I am King," Alphegor announced and stood up from his chair. "I have to go prepare."

They watched him leave, glum heaviness settling over the room as he did.

"But what can Father even do?" she whispered. The whole night she had been thinking what they could do to convince the fallen to return her blood. But no matter how much she thought about it, her only conclusion was that they were practically at their monster. Alphegor would not do anything to endanger Morrigan so while they held her blood, they could demand anything.

"Father will come up with something! Don't you worry," Deziara tried to reassure her, but it felt like nothing more than wishful thinking to Morrigan. After all, she was the bargaining chip and essentially the core of the problem. If not for her, Alphegor could have easily gotten rid of the fallen. The small number of guards they had with them stood no chance against the demon soldiers within the castle.

There must be something I can do besides wait for the fallen to just make their demands. 

Just as she thought this a second wave of shocked gasps broke into the dining room, this time with less force. Few more of Morrigan's sister had come to console her. She was surprised to see how angry they seemed at the fallen when most of the time, they didn't even give Morrigan any time of day. 

"Enough with your clucking. You are princesses, not maids spreading rumors in the kitchens," Viana walked into the dining room, making everyone gasp in shock.

"Why are you here?" Deziara narrowed her eyes while still clutching onto Morrigan's hand.

"Why do you think I have come? You believe I'd just stay mute in the middle of this crisis, just sipping tea in my bedroom?" she retorted.

"Well… yes," Deziara admitted, and Morrigan had to admit that she was kind of expecting the same thing.

"Clearly you do not understand the gravity of the situation then. This is not some personal slight towards Morrigan alone. This is an attack against the Demon Kingdom as a whole," Viana explained and walked towards Morrigan. Their other sisters parted to let her through and even Deziara released Morrigan's hand that she's been clutching.

Morrigan looked up at her oldest sister, and for the first time, she saw how Viana had something akin to compassion in her eyes. 

"I would like to speak with Morrigan alone. The rest of you will just get in the way," she announced. The girls muttered among themselves for a bit but left the dining room behind. 

"I shall remain since His Majesty appointed me as Morrigan's temporary guardian," Lady Lily announced. 

"I shall remain too," Deziara added in a hurry.

"Do you really think I would stoop so low as to harm my own sister?" Viana said. Deziara narrowed her eyes in response. 

"Yes," she said.

"If I were to do that, then it would be when we do not have fallen trying to take over our Kingdom," Viana explained.

"But you would do it!"

"Deziara, at times like these our inner conflicts are put aside. Let your sister talk," Lady Lily urged her daughter towards the door, and the black-haired girl begrudgingly went along, staring back at Morrigan. 

As the door closed, an awkward sort of silence fell over the room as Viana and Morrigan stared at each other. Morrigan had no idea what her sister wanted to say that had to be hidden from others, but she kept her guard up. Much to her surprise, she saw Viana sigh and how the older girl looked tired as if she hadn't slept well.

"I don't envy you, little sister. You've been put in a very difficult situation – becoming the fallen's bargaining chip."

"It's not like I asked for it," Morrigan grumbled.

"Of course not. Who would ask for it? But the situation is the way it is and we need to find a solution," Viana said resolutely, then motioned Morrigan to sit down. She obliged and Viana sat down in the chair across from her. "You and I both realize that if the fallen ask for it, Father will give them the whole Kingdom if only to protect you."

"He wouldn't go that far…" Morrigan said, but there was no confidence behind her words.

"He paid three million gold for a slave just to please your silly little whim. A truly stupid move if you ask me, but that's not important right now. Do you think there's something Father wouldn't do if your life was on the line?" she said, her voice cold and stern. There was a bitterness to it.

"He'd do that for any of us," Morrigan said.

"I'm not so sure…"

"Yes, he would!" Morrigan objected, looking Viana straight in the eye and a slight smile graced her lips.

"If you say so. But those hypotheticals don't matter right now. The fact is that the fallen have your blood and that they will demand whatever they please in exchange. Father will obviously try not to meet their demands outright, but if they just wave your blood around and threaten to kill you, then in the end he will cave in," Viana explained, and Morrigan had to nod in agreement. The feeling in her chest was awful. She was just one person and yet the fate of the whole Demon Kingdom rested on her shoulder.

"That means it is up to you to negotiate for your own life," Viana said and Morrigan looked up at her in surprise. 

"Up to me? But what can I do?" Morrigan asked. She had been trying to think of a solution the whole night, but the only real idea she came up with was sacrificing her own life. Not something she was eager to do, having already died once.

"As I said – negotiate. Offer them something that they cannot resist," Viana said.

"But what can I offer? After all, they can demand anything from Father and he can offer much more than I can."

"There is one thing he would never offer," Viana said and then pointed at Morrigan, "You."

"Me? But they already hold my life in the palm of their hand," she asked, not understanding what her sister was hinting at.

"Then offer them more than your life. Offer them your future. We, the princesses, are born as bargaining chips. One day all of us will be married off somewhere to strengthen the relationship with this duke or that count or whatever neighboring country," she explained, and realization finally hit Morrigan.

"You want me to offer myself up for marriage?" she asked.

"No. I do not want you to marry some fallen scum. But that might be the only way to get out of this mess without Father handing half of the Kingdom to the fallen or you dying," Viana explained, her lips pursed into a thin line.

Is she angry? Because of the situation I'm in? No, I'm sure that she is more angry that this situation exists in the first place.

Morrigan thought for a moment and then said, "But if I were to agree to marry a fallen, then wouldn't it be the same as handing over the Demon Kingdom on a silver platter right now?" 

"No, you'd have to leave to live in the Fallen Kingdom and the Crown Princess title would be passed to someone else," Viana said, and a realization hit Morrigan.

"You just want the position back for yourself," she accused and jumped up from her chair. She couldn't believe that even at this time, Viana was still plotting how to improve her own position.

But what would happen if I offered myself for marriage? Would the fallen even be interested in such a bargain? After all, they can already demand whatever they want and it is likely that they already know. Otherwise, why would they target me specifically? 

"I admit, I would not be against becoming the Crown Princess again. However, if it were me in your shoes then I'd do the exact same thing. We need to think about the well-being of our Kingdom first and foremost. If there was another way to retrieve your blood, I would have offered it. But sadly I do not have any such magic tricks up my sleeve," Viana shrugged.

As Morrigan pondered Viana's offer, she began thinking whether there was some way of tricking the fallen into giving up her blood willingly. After all, without her blood, all their leverage would be lost. But they without a doubt knew that their whole plan depended on it and would guard the blood with their lives. If there were a way to make them lower their guard.

"Magic trick…" Morrigan muttered.

"What?"

"We can use magic, right? Can't we trick them somehow into giving up the blood willingly?" Morrigan said and began pondering whether any of her magical skills could give her an edge. Turning into a shadow won't help, any magical fire attacks were also pointless. The forcefield couldn't protect her from any magical attacks. But what about something more subtle?

"How would you do that? If you're thinking about illusion magic then know that maintaining a large illusion for a long time is very exhausting. And if even one thing is out of place then those within the illusion will notice."

"How do you know… Wait… Can you use illusion magic?" 

"I can," Viana admitted and for a moment she looked a bit guilty.

"You created that illusion in the maze didn't you?"

"Yes, I did. But that doesn't really matter right now, does it?" Viana said.

"Viana. I'm going to ask you for a favor."

< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >