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Chapter 92 – Departing

  "We can still cancel this. You do not have to go," Alphegor said, watching as Morrigan was filling up her handbag with some of the most necessary things she'd need for the journey.

  "Father, we already made the official announcement. I can't back out now," she chuckled. The announcement of her tour was made approximately three weeks after her sixteenth birthday. Alphegor had made sure that only the bare minimum of people received the news, making everything as quiet and downplayed as possible. But of course, it still spread through the Underworld like wildfire.

  A few days later, she was getting letters from every prominent house and even from commoners to go and visit their estate or town or business. She couldn't even read through all the letters, that's how many she received. Instead, her maids were tasked with reading through them first to narrow down the list, and only the most important letters got to Morrigan.

  Granted there was still a large amount of letters she had to go through and she even had to cancel some of her lessons in order to properly look through them. However, it wasn't all bad. Some of the locations demons had suggested were truly interesting and Morrigan actually submitted them to her Father to get his approval for visiting them. Most got denied, however, there were a lucky few who got through King's scrutiny.

  "Alright, but if you feel that you want to come home you can just visit the sacred sites," Alphegor bargained.

  "But that's only four places. No, Father, I want to see as much of the Demon Kingdom as possible," she shook her head and continued packing her bag.

  "Okay, if you are adamant about seeing it all, then at least leave that elf here in the castle," he grumbled, not bothering to hide his distaste for Galandir. The King really couldn't stand the elven boy, perhaps even more so than Azrael. Morrigan found it a bit odd.

  Perhaps it was merely due to the fact that she had insisted on freeing him from slavery. But she also had a feeling that Alphegor thought that she had some sort of attraction towards the boy. In her opinion, it was completely preposterous. After all, he knew that she had been an adult woman once. She could not feel any romantic attraction towards a child.

  "But he is Haku's official caretaker. It would be difficult for me to take care of Haku on my own. He's too big," she replied.

  "Then have Azrael do it," Alphegor retorted.

  "You know Azrael barely ever paid attention to Haku. He would just push the job onto somebody else," Morrigan said, and the King sighed. He'd been defeated.

  "I really wish you wouldn't go. I'll worry every single moment you are away," he said and looked at Morrigan with sad eyes. Her heart clenched at the sight, but she knew that this was just another type of attack from her father.

  "You can talk to me at any time using the pendant. Each evening I'll tell you everything that I've seen during my journey," she said and touched the pendant that hung around her neck.

  "You better do. I'll turn the whole Kingdom upside down if you miss even one evening," Alphegor said.

  "I won't. I promise," she said and went up to her father, giving him a hug. Alphegor softened up and returned the gesture.

  "Just please stay safe. Don't stray away from Azrael and keep your eyes open at all times. You can never know where the enemy might strike," he muttered.

  "Of course. If the worst comes to worst, I'm going to summon you," she said and looked up at him. The King smiled and patted her gently on the head.

  "Do not hesitate to call me. Even if you're not fully sure if it's something dangerous – call me," he said. She nodded and the two hugged once more before Morrigan returned to sorting her bag.

  ***

  The time of the departure finally arrived. The whole castle was abuzz as maids and servants were running around, preparing the last things necessary for the departure. Unfortunately for Morrigan, the tour would not be quite as she imagined. Naturally she expected to to travel through the dark Demon Kingdom, going from place to place using one or maybe two carriages pulled by those giant badgers.

  But the reality was a bit different. She was the Crown Princess, and Morrigan often forgot how important of a person she was in this life. She could not just travel light in just two carriages. No, instead there were ten of them. She, Viana, Deziara and Azrael each got their own personal carriage. Then the maids and servants got two carriages.

  As it turned out Galandir wasn't the only servant coming along. Three maids were coming, each attending to their own princess, and then four more male servants excluding Galandir who were tasked with taking care of any less personal necessities.

  Then there were two sleeping carriages for the guards that were coming along. Actually, the guards would be accompanying the entourage on their own dog-mole hybrid mounts. These creatures were rather aggressive and vicious, however, they were the most reliable mounts in the Underworld, being the fastest and having no trouble navigating in the dark. As long as one could control them that is.

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  And then there were two supply wagons which were loaded full to the brim. Morrigan had no idea why they needed so many things. After all, they didn't need food to last them the whole journey – only enough until they reached their next destination. But apparently, there were lots of other things loaded in the wagon, many of them in case of any accidents or unusual situations.

  Looking at the whole entourage from the top Demon Castle entrance staircase, it looked more like a parade. All the carriages were covered with golden and silver embellishments and had the proud landwyrm, the symbol of the Demon Kingdom, painted on all doors.

  "This is a bit much," she mumbled, slowly walking downstairs to the carriages.

  "This is the bare minimum necessary," Alphegor retorted. "In fact, I believe we should add twenty more guards."

  "No, Father! It'll turn into a small army at that point," Morrigan grumbled.

  "Three of my daughters are going. A small army is not enough. Perhaps I should add forty more guards. No, perhaps a hundred," he said thoughtfully.

  "No, Father! Twenty guards is quite enough. We won't be able to find a place to stay with so many people coming along," she protested.

  "They can camp outside," he objected.

  "No, Father. Enough. I am not a helpless girl," she said and conjured a fireball in her hand. Alphegor stopped and sighed heavily.

  "When did you grow so big and strong?" He looked at her with almost tearful eyes. Morrigan groaned.

  "Father! You are acting like an old man now. I am merely sixteen. Not even halfway to adulthood by demon standards," she said.

  "I wish you could just stay a little girl forever," he said, and there was a sad note in his voice. Even the long lifespan of a demon wasn't enough for the King.

  "It's alright. I'll still be a little girl for a while longer," she said.

  "But you're leaving now, aren't you?" he retorted, and Morrigan could have sworn that he was pouting. The Demon King. Pouting. Now that was a sight you could not see every day.

  "I'll be back before you even notice that I'm gone," she said and hugged him tightly.

  "I'll notice that you're gone the moment that you leave," he said and returned the hug, holding her close for a long time.

  "Me too! I also want a hug!" Deziara's cheerful voice appeared from the top of the stairs and she leapt down, eagerly running towards Alphegor.

  "Of course," Alphegor chuckled, releasing Morrigan from his hold, and instead hugging Deziara. She buried her face into his chest, grinning all the while.

  "I'll miss you, Father," she said.

  "I'll miss you too," he replied and released her.

  "Really, you two. Acting as if we will never see each other again. We will be back in less than half a year," Viana huffed, gracefully descending the stairs. However, all of her haughtiness disappeared the moment she saw Alphegor open his arms, beckoning her into a hug as well.

  She flushed bright red as there were many onlookers observing the sight. But after a short mental battle, she caved in and also hugged Alphegor.

  "I'll miss you as well. Take care of your little sisters," he said.

  "I will, Father," she muttered, still flushed red from embarrassment.

  "I never knew that Viana could be so cute," Deziara snickered.

  "Shush, you! Get into the carriage. We have a long journey ahead," Viana commanded, but her voice didn't carry the same strength it usually had, with her cheeks still being mildly flushed.

  "Yes, yes, of course," Deziara chuckled and retreated into the front carriage. For the part of their journey, the sisters had decided to travel in the same carriage.

  "Don't linger, Morrigan," Viana said, following Deziara. She nodded and then looked at her Father again.

  "Stay safe," he said, his gaze sad.

  "I will," she nodded and hugged him one more time. Then she ran to the first carriage unable to look at him any longer. She felt that if she stayed any longer she would begin crying. Or even worse – change her mind and stay in the Demon Castle. After all, the dangers of the Underworld were real and far worse than anything she had ever seen on Earth.

  But I can't stay cooped up here any longer. I need to see the world outside. I need to know what hides in this world. What people live here? I want to see the wondrous places of the Underworld. And I want to paint them.

  Her heart filled with hope again as she entered the carriage where Deziara and Viana were already sitting. She sat down next to Deziara and nodded.

  "I am ready," she announced to them.

  "Don't worry, baby sister. We'll be with you all the way," Viana said and then looked outside the window, a small smile gracing her lips.

  "Thank you both for coming along," Morrigan said.

  "You couldn't have held me back even if you tried," Deziara retorted and pulled Morrigan into a side hug. The two girls giggled, their hearts racing with anticipation.

  "Oh, it seems like we are ready to depart. Your dragon is coming," Viana said and pointed outside. Morrigan and Deziara both peeked out and saw Haku running towards the entourage. The servants and guards near the carriages panicked, worried that Haku would just send everything flying in every direction.

  However, as soon as reached the closest carriage he jumped up and spread his wings, gracefully gliding over it. Everyone sighed in relief as he landed right next to the first carriage without damaging anything.

  "Hi, Haku. Hi, Galandir," Morrigan waved at her dragon and Galandir who was comfortably seated on his back.

  "Morning, Your Highnesses," the elf boy chuckled and patted Haku affectionately on the neck. "Sorry about that. He is really excited about going."

  "I'm happy to see that, Haku," Morrigan reached her hand out of the carriage window, and the dragon nuzzled against it. He had grown so big that felt like he could destroy the carriage with a single swipe of his tail. But looking into his green eyes, she saw that it was still her old friend. And that wouldn't change no matter how big he got.

  "Just make sure he doesn't damage any of the carriages," Viana grumbled.

  "That's why I'm here, Your Highness," Galandir said dutifully and gently tapped on Haku's shoulder, signaling him to move away from the carriages.

  As soon as he did, the coachman of their carriage blew on a horn, announcing the official start of the tour. The demons who had come to see them off cheered and waved as it slowly began moving forward.

  Finally, the day is here. Soon I'll be able to see the whole Underworld.

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