Demon Queen Wants to Paint

"Today was a busy day wasn't it, Lady Morrigan?" Gunna chimed as she gently scrubbed Rosa's arms with a sponge. 

"Mhm," Rosa muttered and absentmindedly burst a soap bubble with her tail. She was becoming better at controlling it, but still found no good use for it. It was too weak to hold things with and not very attractive either. Like a rat's tail with a pointy end.

Her mood was somewhat gloomy since Azrael had found all those cursed objects and the soul worm among her presents. She still didn't quite understand what exactly the soul worm did, but from the whispering and muttering among Faenor and Gunna she had gathered that it could cripple one's cognitive ability beyond repair. To think she had almost come in contact with such a horrifying creature.

Bathroom door swung open, and Alphegor strode in, wearing his usual evening garb – a simple black shirt and gray pants. Despite the simplicity of them, the Demon King still managed to look regal and dignified.

"Good evening, Master Alphegor," Gunna greeted him with a bow, and he acknowledged her presence with a curt bow.

"You may go for today."

"But what about Lady Morrigan's bath?" the nanny asked nervously.

"I'll finish it myself."

His gaze left no room for questions, so Gunna bowed and quickly excused herself out. Rosa looked at Alphegor quizzically – after Gunna poured only the minimum required amount of water in her bath, the King didn't oversee the process anymore. 

Alphegor walked over to the baby bath that was set down next to the large bath, and got down on his knees.

"Is the water warm, Morrigan?" he asked with a somewhat bittersweet smile, and dipped his hand inside the soapy water.

"Warm," Rosa confirmed, and carefully studied his expression. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but it seemed like there was a lot on his mind.

Even the Demon King has some worries.

Alphegor absentmindedly grabbed the sponge and began wiping Rosa's back. He was surprisingly gentle, not daring to press too hard. His eyes seemed to be filled with sadness, and she began feeling bad for him.

I wonder what happened to make him feel so down. Maybe I should lighten the mood a bit.

She thought that but she wasn't exactly sure how to cheer a demon up. Without any good ideas in her mind, she flicked her tail and sprayed a mixture of soap suds and water on Alphegor's face. The Demon King froze, but before he could properly process what had happened, she sprayed him again.

Now that's something not many people can get away with. 

"You little rascal," Alphegor growled and mercilessly covered Rosa with the foam from head to toe. She was trying to get the bubbles off, but there were too many. Before she could begin to panic, the King unceremoniously dumped warm water over her head, washing the suds away.

"Bully…" Rosa muttered in her human tongue, not knowing the word in demon language. The Demon King just laughed and then pulled her out of the water, wrapping her up in a soft towel.

"Time for you to go to bed," Alphegor said, and carried her to the bedroom still wrapped in a towel.

"No sleep," Rosa protested. Ever since she had started sleeping in Alphegor's room, her bedtime had also become much earlier since she couldn't just pretend to be asleep until Gunna left. Alphegor was always in his room in the evenings, and never left no matter how long she pretended to be asleep. Mostly he would just be doing some paperwork by his desk until he decided to go to sleep himself.

"Yes, sleep," he objected sternly and put her on the bed. With smooth, gentle motions, he began drying her hair which she didn't resist.

"Not sleepy."

"Today was a long day. You should rest," the sad note returned to his voice, although Alphegor's expression remained unreadable as he dressed Rosa in pajamas. "Need to potty first?"

Rosa shook her head furiously. Thankfully, diapers were a thing of the past, but she was still uncomfortable that somebody always insisted to be around when she went to do her business. She understood why they did it, of course, but that didn't mean she liked it.

"I went!"

"Good girl," Alphegor ruffled her hair, and then grabbed a brush to untangle the mess he just made. Rosa observed as the demon carefully brushed her hair, his face a cold, unreadable mask. Almost unreadable. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that the corners of his lips were slightly downcast, his eyes squinted ever so slightly and his fingers tense around the brush.

"Something wrong?" she ventured to ask, and Alphegor flinched slightly. After a moment he chuckled.

"You're a sharp little one, you know that Morrigan. Sometimes it feels like you're an adult already."

Rosa's heart began beating like crazy.

He doesn't know that I'm actually an adult does he? Have I've been talking too much too soon? Did I get impatient?

"And yet, you are so fragile. Somebody could have seriously injured you today…" the Demon King sighed, sat down and put Rosa down into his lap. She looked up at him and he wrapped his large hand around her own. Both of her tiny arms completely disappeared within his grasp.

"You are still so small. So weak. So fragile," he spoke somewhat absentmindedly.

No, it doesn't seem like a thing. I'm just being paranoid. He was just worried about those cursed items.

"I'm strong!" she objected and puffed out her cheeks, trying to appear braver than she actually was. 

Alphegor laughed loudly, then fell onto his back and lifted Rosa high above him. It was odd looking down on this powerful, tall demon. 

"Of course, you're strong! And one day you'll be the strongest demon out there," he announced loudly, then put Rosa onto his chest and bopped her nose with his finger. "And I'll make sure nobody hurts you until that day comes."

Rosa looked at Alphegor just laying there. He looked vulnerable – almost human. Despite the horns on his head, and the long tail that laid limp on the bed, he seemed like a…

"Father?" 

"What is it, little one?" Alphegor lifted his head, and looked at her with a gentle smile. Something warm and fuzzy swelled in Rosa's chest, but she couldn't understand what it was. She had never felt this feeling before.

"Let's sleep."

"Good girl!" He ruffled her hair again albeit more gently, and both of them got underneath the silky covers. After a few minutes, they both slept next to each other in complete peace and silence.

***

When Rosa opened her eyes in the morning, Alphegor was already gone and Gunna was dutifully sitting in a chair next to the bed, waiting for Rosa to wake.

"Good morning, Lady Morrigan," the nanny chimed, a bright smile sticking out from behind her beard.

"Morning," Rosa half-mumbled, half-yawned in response.

"Let's get you ready for the day," Gunna said, and began their morning ritual. Wash face and hands, dress up, comb the hair, eat some porridge with odd but tasty fruit and play. Rosa could have done without the last bit, but she indulged the nanny to keep up her baby appearance.

After an hour, there was a knock on the door, and Gunna visibly flinched at the noise.

"It is time for your magic lesson…" the nanny said somewhat awkwardly and picked Rosa up. Another impatient knock resounded on the door so Gunna quickened her stride to open it.

"G-Good morning, Master Azrael."

"You're too slow, slave," Azrael's eyes looked like dark, angry thunderclouds.

All because Gunna didn't answer the door the moment you knocked?

"Childish," Rosa muttered at the demon whose gaze snapped to her. It instantly lost some of its ferocity and instead he appeared just mildly annoyed instead.

"What's childish?" he demanded.

"You," Rosa retorted, crossing her tiny arms over her chest. Azrael squinted his eyes at her.

"Slaves need to respond instantly."

"Gunna – nanny, not slave."

"She may be your nanny, but she is also a slave."

"You slave," this childish response forced Azrael to take a step back.

"I'm not a slave. I'm the second strongest demon in the Underworld!" he puffed out his chest and lifted his hand up as if posing for a portrait.

"Gunna, what is 'second'?" Rosa asked innocently, and saw how Azrael's face turned bright red from anger.

It's a good thing he's sworn an oath not to do me harm, otherwise I might not get away with this.

"Oh, well…" the nanny stammered, unsure of how to respond.

"Let's just go to your lesson," Azrael snarled and snatched Rosa from Gunna's grasp. His hold was tight, but not tight enough to hurt her. He stomped furiously towards the training room, while Rosa delighted in his sour mood.

"Smile while you can, brat. We'll see how you'll manage to keep your breakfast in while walking as a shadow," Azrael snickered.

This is supposed to be an adult demon? He acts no better than a pompous seven year old.

Rosa had no intention of complying with Azrael on that day. In fact, she wanted to get the whole magic training out of the way as quickly as possible in order to read the book Faenor had found for her. It could contain clues on magic that could help her get back to her world or reverse time. Either one seemed like a good solution.

"Alright, squirt. Let's begin your training. Turn into a shadow," Azrael commanded as soon as they stepped inside the training grounds, putting Rosa unceremoniously down on her bum. But she wasn't dismayed and instead put her plan into motion.

Instead of complying with his demands, she cocked her head to the side and pretended not to understand him. "Play?"

"What? Where did you get that from? No, we are training. Turn into a shadow," Azrael said somewhat impatiently and pointed at the wall. Rosa just blinked her eyes at him, pretending to not understand a word.

"You know… like you did the last time? Shadow? Wall? Turn into a shadow!" he said impatiently while gesturing towards the wall with his hand, as if he were playing some sort of a guessing game. He looked so funny in his desperate attempts that Rosa barely contained a laugh.

"Shadow? What is shadow?" 

Azrael groaned and hit his head with his palm, sliding it down his face dramatically.

Pretending to be a fool is more fun than I expected. Should have done this the first time around.

"Alright, alright. I'll show you, you – repeat!" Azrael went up to the wall and then disappeared into the darkness. After a moment he reemerged.

"You saw that right? Now you do it."

"What's that?" Rosa pointed at the dummies on the other side of the room, and began waddling over in their direction. Azrael grabbed her before she could get too far.

"No, we aren't playing with the dummies. You need to train your magic. Turn into a shadow," his eyelid twitched and his teeth were gritted together.

"Magic? Show magic!" Rosa cheered, throwing her hands up in fake excitement. Azrael groaned, placed Rosa on the floor and then crouched down while clutching his head in his hands.

That's what you get for bullying, Gunna. Nobody will call her a slave under my watch.

Door to the training grounds swung open, and Alphegor strode in, followed by a few male demon servants that carried some books and documents in their hands.

"How's the training going?" the King asked, addressing Azrael who straightened the second door opened.

"Not good, I'm afraid, Your Majesty. Princess Morrigan is just too young to understand what she's supposed to do," Azrael said calmly, but Rosa saw the corner of his eye twitch a little.

"Really? What exactly did she not understand?" 

"I asked her to become a shadow again, but she wouldn't do it no matter how many times I repeated the request. Instead she thought we were playing."

"Really? Morrigan, would you mind becoming a shadow again?" Alphegor asked with a sort of satisfied smirk. It's like he knew that Rosa would do as he requested. Normally, she wouldn't agree too readily, but she felt like bullying Azrael a little bit.

She went up to the wall, took a deep breath and thought about becoming darkness, about her vision expanding and the heaviness of her body disappearing. Next moment she was a part of the dark wall. The servants next to Alphegor gasped in shock and awe.

"Young Princess is already able to turn into a shadow? That is most amazing, Your Majesty!"

"Of course!" Alphegor said with his chest puffed out proudly as he walked up to the wall. Rosa materialized right into his arms while shooting a knowing smirk at Azrael, who was turning red from anger.

"You little… You did understand me!" Azrael pointed angrily at Rosa.

"Azrael rude," Rosa stated simply.

"What? Is this still about that slave?"

"What slave?" 

"The dwarf woman. Who even cares about some slaves?"

"Morrigan does. Gunna is her nanny so obviously she wouldn't want her to be belittled," Alphegor paused, then sighed. "I might have overestimated your abilities. Although your magical knowledge is up there with the greatest demons, your manners haven't evolved past those of a twelve year old." 

Alphegor turned on his heel and began walking out of the training grounds. 

"But the lesson…" Azrael called out helplessly from behind.

"I think you need lessons in manners first before you teach my daughter," Alphegor replied and Rosa stuck out her tongue at Azrael.

That'll teach you.