Demon Queen Wants to Paint

"No, no, no!" Rosa squirmed with all of her one year old might, trying to resist Gunna's attempts to put on the frilliest black and pink dress Rosa had ever seen in her life.

It was the day when Rosa officially lived in this demonic realm for a whole year. Or in other words – her (second) first birthday.

"Lady Morrigan, please stay still. I understand that you're nervous, but we have to prepare for the party," the bearded nanny puffed out after her twelfth attempt of putting on the dress was swatted away.

I'm sorry, Gunna. Normally I wouldn't cause you trouble, but today is different. I have to avoid that party at any cost.

"No, no, no!" she flailed her tiny arms, continuing her tantrum.

"Is Morrigan ready?" Alphegor suddenly stormed into the room, wearing the most extravagant black, red and golden suit Rosa had ever seen in her life.

"I'm sorry, Master Alphegor. Morrigan must be awfully nervous. She just doesn't want to get dressed," Gunna fumbled through her words, her hands trembling at the sight of the Demon King.

"That's unusual. Morrigan usually isn't one to cause trouble," Alphegor squinted at the dwarvish woman, then turned to Rosa who had puffed out her cheeks double the usual size.

"Come on, let's get dressed and go to your party. I have invited the whole Demon Kingdom to celebrate!"

And that's exactly the problem! I don't want the whole Demon Kingdom to see me. I already have assassins trying to kill me, no doubt sent over by my gracious 'family'. I don't want the whole kingdom to send more assassins after me. 

"No, no, no!" Rosa shook her head violently, having no intention of complying. Gunna looked absolutely helpless, just holding the unwanted dress in the air. Alphegor chuckled and took the dress from the nanny.

"It'll be fine, little one. I'll be with you the whole time," he assured her, and Rosa paused to look at him. But Alphegor used this chance to swiftly pull the dress over her head. 

"No!" Rosa gasped with indignation and glared at him. Alphegor just chuckled in response and picked her up.

"Now we just need to do something about your hair. Stay still for a bit while I comb it," he said, and grabbed the comb from the nearby dresser. Rosa winced as the comb neared her hair, being certain that the demon would pull out a good chunk of her hair. But to her surprise, he started at the tips and then slowly moved his way up. Even Gunna appeared surprised by his gentleness.

"I never thought… you would be good at this sort of thing, Master Alphegor," the nanny voiced Rosa's thoughts.

"You forget that I have twenty-three daughters. Did you seriously think that I had never combed any of their hair?" he replied, but there was none of the usual sharpness in his voice.

"I-I'm honestly not sure…" Gunna said awkwardly, and then handed Alphegor the hair ribbons that matched Rosa's horrid dress. For a moment Rosa considered making another scene, but curiosity got the better of her. She had to know – can the Demon King actually tie ribbons in a girl's hair?

She felt him parting her hair into two, and then gently pulling up half into a tail. After a bit of fiddling the ribbon was tied, and he moved onto the other side. Once that was done too, he moved towards the mirror to show his handiwork – two perfectly tied tiny twintails. 

"Wow!" Rosa clapped, genuinely impressed. Many fathers fumbled with making girl's hair, and yet the big, bad Demon King himself could do it. Alphegor looked at her with a somewhat disgruntled expression, but it quickly changed into a more relaxed one.

"Well, you're ready now. Let's go to your party!"

"No," Rosa whined quietly, praying that some unseen force might still rescue her. 

***

What the hell is all of this? 

Rosa stared in disbelief at the sight before her. For the first time since her birth in this world, Alphegor had brought her outside of the castle. It was still within the castle walls, of course, but she could see how odd the outside was in the Underworld. Endless sky was replaced with darkness. No stars, no moon, no light. The only sources of light were the magical lamps that were set out within regular integrals throughout the yard, some larger to illuminate a larger area and some smaller for individual tables.

There were thousands of demons outside waiting for them to emerge from the castle, and a wave of loud cheers erupted from the crowd the moment the castle doors opened, almost forcing Rosa to cover her ears.

The front yard, well yard wasn't the right word, it was a ginormous space spanning at least two football fields, had smaller and larger tables set out, as well as some attraction areas. Rosa couldn't quite tell what those were as they were too far away. There was no shortage of food or drinks, dishes nearly piled on almost on top of one another. But even with seemingly never ending amounts of tables, it still wasn't enough – leaving many demons standing. 

Much to Rosa's horror, she discovered that not all demons were as humanoid as Alphegor's concubines or Rosa's half-sisters. Further in the back she could spot demons with bright red skin, large wings, disproportionately large limbs and other odd features. Some even had more animalistic features like fluffy tails or ears or animal-like muzzles. 

"I welcome all of my subjects to the grand celebration of my youngest daughter's Morrigan's first birthday!" Alphegor's voice boomed through the area, and the crowd once again erupted into cheers. Rosa held onto his coat with trembling hands – she could never handle crowds well, and usually avoided any large gatherings. And yet here she was – in the center of attention of a massive crowd. She began feeling nauseous.

"Feast to your heart's content, my dear subjects, but remember that is all possible thanks to the little demoness I hold in my arms," a cold warning slipped into the Demon King's voice, but the crowd still reacted with a loud cheer. Satisfied, Alphegor nodded and began descending down the castle stairs. When he reached the party area, dozens of concubines began swarming around him like wasps around rotten fruit.

"Your Majesty, let me congratulate the Princess on her birthday!"

"I've brought a special present for Her Highness, if you'd allow me…"

"No, Your Majesty, my present is far superior I am sure the Princess would…"

"Silence," Alphegor said in a quiet, but stern voice and the buzzing stopped. Rosa still clung to him, wishing to all the holy beings she knew to be anywhere but here. "Morrigan will decide on her own which presents she will accept."

The concubines turned their gazes to Rosa, smiling sweetly while their eyes bore into her like poisonous needles. 

Why me? 

Rosa turned to Alphegor hoping that he'd at least have the courtesy to listen to her request.

"Hungry…" she managed to squeak out. Her voice sounded unsteady, but she was only a baby so she could probably still get away with that. 

"Then we shall go eat!" Alphegor announced loudly, and the swarm of concubines parted, allowing the King to go to his designated table. Rosa could see their glares as they retreated, and wondered how many of them planned to assassinate her. She shook her head at the unpleasant thought, and instead decided to focus on the food. 

The Demon King's table obviously was the grandest table out of them all. It was surrounded by a dark hedge, effectively hiding them from the other guests. Alabaster statues stood in each corner of the hedge, and the table itself was filled with the best looking foods, drinks and desserts she had ever seen. In fact, it looked so good, Rosa could barely stop herself from salivating.

As they approached the table, she saw that there were already demons sitting by it – four concubines Rosa met in the family gathering before, their daughters including Deziara, Azrael and another older looking male demon. It was the first time Rosa had met a demon who did not look young. He couldn't quite be called old since he had no gray hair like humans did, but his skin wasn't as pristine and smooth, and there were small wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

Rosa looked at Azrael guiltily after Alphegor sat down with her in his lap, but the demon just smiled at her without a hint of malice in his eyes. Unlike the four concubines who didn't bother to hide their disdain for Azrael. At least their malice wasn't directed at her.

I guess they can't glare at me since Alphegor is here.

"Happy birthday, Princess Morrigan. Here's my gift for you," Azrael pulled an ornate black and gold box from under the table and put it in front of Rosa. "You just have to pull the ribbon for it to open."

"How rude! His Majesty has barely sat down and you've already opened your mouth without even greeting him first. As a matter of fact, by what merit are you even allowed to sit at this table?" the concubine with wavy, purple hair said incredulously while waving her black fan as if moving it faster could make Azrael disappear.

"Peace, Vivian. Azrael has sworn an oath to Morrigan so as her first subject, magic teacher and guard, he is allowed a spot at her birthday table," Alphegor explained, seemingly in too good a mood to reprimand the concubine in earnest.

"An oath?" all of the concubines echoed as one, their glares growing in intensity. 

"That's right! So go ahead and open your present, Princess," Azrael nudged the gift closer. Unsure of a better course of action, she reached out and pulled on the golden ribbon. The box opened with a soft pop, revealing a golden necklace with a bright red gem in its core. Another wave of gasps came from the concubines.

"A protection talisman?" Alphegor mused and lifted the talisman by its chain, watching as light reflected on its golden surface.

"Yup, one of the best ones I've ever made, Your Majesty. No physical attacks can harm the Princess if she's wearing it. Doesn't matter if it's arrows, fists, swords or hammers. Heck, you could probably drop a mountain on her head and she'd still be fine," Azrael chattered excitedly, and shot a knowing smirk in the direction of concubines.

"Thank you…" Rosa muttered as Alphegor placed the talisman around her neck. It felt large and heavy at first, but then it shrunk in size as if to fit Rosa specifically. She touched it in awe.

"Yeah, it also adjusts its size to the wearer. Figured that might be useful since the Princess still has a lot of growing to do," Azrael announced proudly.

"That is an unusually thoughtful gift coming from you," said the older demon. "I didn't think you were capable of that much thought."

"You underestimate, old Lucius. I can be very thoughtful when I want to be," there was a mischievous spark in Azrael's eyes, but Lucius just waved it away.

"Young Princess, allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Lucius Dammerung, His Majesty's right hand man, and also the Prime Minister of the Underworld," Lucius stood up from his seat, and bowed respectfully at Rosa. 

Finally, somebody actually introduces themselves to me.

"Hello…" Rosa replied nervously. 

"My, so the rumors are true – you're already capable of talking. It is most encouraging to have such a capable, young Princess," Lucius said with a small smile, and then produced a box from his coat pocket. "I have also prepared you a gift."

Alphegor took the little box and opened it in Rosa's stead, quickly breaking the ribbon. Inside was a small blue gem. 

"An aquamarine?" Alphegor asked with a smile. His pleased expression signaled that this was another good gift.

But what use does a baby have for jewels? Or even if I wasn't a baby what would I do with them? It's not like collecting expensive trinkets will help me get home.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Of the highest quality. Her Highness should be able to learn powerful water manipulation magic from it," Lucius explained proudly, and Rosa could hear Azrael scoff.

Learn magic from a gem? How does that work? 

Rosa peered curiously at the crystal, but to her it looked like any normal gem.

"It might be too early for the Princess to learn new magic," Azrael protested somewhat meekly.

"With Morrigan's capabilities, I'm sure it won't take long. You'll make sure of that, won't you Azrael?" Alphegor smiled at the white-haired demon who swallowed hard, his previous nonchalance gone.

"Of course, Your Majesty. We'll be training hard," Azrael replied, and shot Rosa a piteous look.

We're both in trouble, aren't we?