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 huffed 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 it. 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 piled 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 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 me, 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 bluish green gem.
"An alexandrite?" 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 shape-shifting 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?
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"Your Majesty, we have also prepared gifts for Her Highness," the overly cute, pink concubine said sweetly while her daughter, dressed in equally pink attire, nervously held a pink satchel tied with bright gold ribbon.
That has to be poisoned right? Or cursed? Rosa eyed the satchel suspiciously.
"Put your gifts on the gift table along with the others," Alphegor said dismissively, and Rosa sighed with relief.
"But, Your Majesty, we all worked so hard to pick the perfect present…" the concubine objected, but Alphegor silenced her with a bored wave of his hand.
"As did every other guest here. Your gifts will be opened later."
The pink demon girl gritted her teeth, and Rosa thought she would fling the satchel across the table. But the girl managed to collect herself and instead exited the hedge surrounded area to probably deposit the gift along with the others. Or throw it in the nearest trash. Two other demon girls followed her, except for Deziara who was fidgeting from side to side, holding something behind her back.
"Father! I wish to g-give a gift to my s-sister now!" she spoke up and slowly edged closer to them. Alphegor appeared a bit annoyed, but didn't outright dismiss the child.
"And why is that?"
The question clearly caught the girl by surprise and she looked down at her shoes.
"I l-left a bad impression on my sister when we first met. I wanted to remedy that, Father," she stammered. Rosa had a suspicion that her mother was the one who put her up to this, but, on the other hand, she was just a child. There was no need for Rosa to make matters more difficult, she decided to act as an adult.
"I want to s-see my sister's gift," Rosa said, and Deziara's mother lit up with a victorious smile while the other concubines glared at her. Deziara also smiled and confidently walked up to Rosa, revealing a teddy bear from behind her back. It was a gentle sandy color with a giant pink ribbon around its neck and cute button eyes.
"Cute," Rosa said before she could stop herself and reached out towards the teddy. This place severely lacked cute things, so the teddy appeared out of place. But it also felt like such a normal, human gift. It reminded her of Earth.
"Well… as long as Morrigan likes it," Alphegor sighed, clearly not agreeing with her sentiment. Deziara, on the other hand, blushed from the compliment and quickly retreated back to her mother.
"Thank you," Rosa said, and Deziara nodded demurely.
I know you're probably only trying to get into Alphegor's good graces, but I still appreciate the gift.
"Alright, with gifts out of the way. Let's begin the feast!" Alphegor announced, and all adults around the table picked up their wine glasses while the girls picked up their juice glasses. "May Morrigan live long and grow strong!"
Alphegor's voice was once again loud and booming, reverberating through the whole area. Cheers erupted from behind the hedge, and Alphegor finished the drink in one swift swig. The concubines and girls took a small sip of their drinks, while Azrael and Lucius also finished their drinks albeit with less gusto than the King.
"Now, tell me, Princess. What would you like to eat?" Azrael moved his chair closer, and bent forward to be as close to Rosa as possible. His smile was radiant, almost blinding.
Gosh, haven't you ever heard of such a thing as personal space?
Rosa tried not to admire his handsome features.
And why do all demons have to be so good-looking?
"Back off, Azrael. I'll be the one to feed my daughter!" Alphegor growled, and began piling dish after dish on Rosa's tiny plate. Rosa helplessly stared as the pile grew larger and larger.
"Your Majesty," Lucius interjected before the pile could topple over. "I don't think the Princess will be able to eat so much."
"I'm just making sure she has plenty of options to choose from," Alphegor interjected and then pushed the towering plate closer to Rosa. "Go on, choose whatever you want."
Rosa took the small fork placed in front of her and then just stabbed it into the thing closest to her. She couldn't even quite look at what she had picked up, as all four women at the table were glaring at her, eyes filled with jealousy. When she put the food in her mouth, she recoiled – liver.
I hate liver!
"It seems His Majesty doesn't know Princess's tastes too well," Azrael laughed. Alphegor glared at him, and Rosa wondered if she should eat the liver just to avoid the Demon King's rage. It wouldn't be directed at her, but she still didn't want anyone to suffer on her behalf.
She glanced at the liver again, hoping that maybe it would look more appetizing than she remembered. While it had some fancy glaze on it and was cut in a more pleasant round shape, at its core it was still liver.
"I am sure that the Princess was just surprised by its great flavor. Just give her a moment and I'm sure she'll eat the leviathan liver without any issues," the blonde concubine with a short bob cut smiled pleasantly at Rosa.
Leviathan liver? Rosa resisted the urge to gag, and throw the thing on her fork into the bush.
"I am sure that is the case," Alphegor agreed and looked at her with hopeful eyes. Now she truly was with her back against a metaphorical wall. She swallowed and looked at the unappetizing piece on her fork.
I don't want to eat this…
She slowly brought the liver closer to her lips, imagining that it was just a tough piece of pork.
"What are you two talking about? It's her birthday! She should be eating desserts, not liver," Azrael exclaimed and put a dark chocolate cupcake in front of her.
Yes, my savior! I owe you one.
Rosa grabbed the cupcake without any hesitation, abandoning the sad liver piece, and took a bite before anybody could object. The flavor was rich but not overly sweet – a perfect chocolate dessert.
"I suppose you're right in that regard," Alphegor begrudgingly admitted, and then snapped his fingers. A servant appeared right next to him the very next second, making Rosa flinch from their sudden appearance.
"Yes, Your Majesty?" the demon servant asked solemnly.
"Bring the birthday cake!" he ordered with a self-satisfied smirk.
Somehow I have a bad feeling about this.
The servant disappeared after a curt nod. For a moment everything seemed peaceful, but then she heard some low grumbling, like a heavy vehicle driving on a road.
"Let's go and see it," Alphegor said, picking Rosa up. The others around the table also followed, eyes full of curiosity. As they exited the hedged space, Rosa's jaw dropped open. On a giant platform with wheels, there stood a cake the size of a small house. Each layer was three times larger than Rosa, and each of the massive layers was decorated with utmost care. Everyone gaped at the giant marvel unable to comprehend the absurdity of its size.
How do you even bake something this big? There's no oven to fit this thing into. Did they just combine a bunch of smaller cakes into a huge one? Or perhaps only part of it is edible?
"Your Majesty, this cake…" Lucius pointed at it while desperately trying to keep his expression under control. But Rosa saw his eyelid twitch occasionally.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" Alphegor laughed proudly. "Big enough so every citizen of the Demon Kingdom could have a slice."
Rosa saw how the Prime Minister was doing mathematics in his head as he looked at the cake from top to bottom, his expression hardening.
"I'm sorry to say this, Your Majesty, but even with a cake of this size, you wouldn't be able to provide every citizen of the Demon Kingdom with a slice of cake."
That much was obvious – no cake, not even this monstrosity, could provide enough cake for a kingdom. Rosa had no idea how large the Demon Kingdom was, but it had to be at least as large as the country where she had come from.
"But it should be more than enough to provide for all the guests, no?" Alphegor retorted and waved towards the crowds of demons packed into the castle yard. They cheered in response, equally horrified and awestruck by the giant birthday cake.
"Now, then, Morrigan. Why don't you do the honor of cutting the first slice?" The Demon King looked down at her, and at the same moment a servant appeared with a dull-looking knife in hand. Alphegor took it and then held the handle towards Rosa.
She nervously reached out to the knife, fully expecting to drop it to the ground, but Alphegor kept his hold on it and guided it towards the cake alongside Rosa. There was a warm feeling in her gut as they cut the cake together. It slid smoothly down the soft spongy dessert, and they ended up with a small, neat square piece of rich looking red velvet cake.
The crowd erupted into cheers again, and Rosa couldn't help but flush. All this fuss because of her birthday.
Nobody on Earth ever cared much for my birthdays. Sure, my parents would set up a celebration when I was younger, and they'd buy me cake, but it was more out of obligation rather than actual care for me. And once I started showing interest in art, those celebrations ended.
Rosa shook her head – there was no guarantee that these parties would continue when she got older. Currently she was just a novelty – an oddly clever baby with a vast magical potential. Once Alphegor realized that she would not become his perfect demon heir, no doubt he would be just as disappointed as Rosa's mother had been.
"Hey, what's that?" Alphegor suddenly pointed towards the spot they had just sliced into, breaking Rosa out of her thoughts. Something red glinted deeper inside the cake, but it didn't match with the rest of it. The color was smoother, shinier. It reminded her of scales.
Rosa looked quizzically up at Alphegor, and saw a mischievous glint in his eyes, his lips curling up in a restrained smile.
Oh, he must have hidden his gift inside the cake. I wonder what it is.
"Present?" Rosa asked him, and the crowd cheered at her guess.
"Young Princess is so smart!"
"She can already speak, it's amazing!"
"Truly the daughter of our Majestic King!"
The crowd kept praising her, and Alphegor hummed with satisfaction.
"Yes, a present from me to my dearest daughter!" Alphegor announced in his booming voice for everyone to hear. Multiple servants scurried over and began methodically cutting the cake, and placing the slices onto plates, thus slowly digging out the present underneath.
Rosa watched with bated breath as more and more of… something was revealed, but she couldn't understand what it was exactly. It was just red, shimmering and scaly.
Perhaps it was just a container for the present. He probably wouldn't have wanted to ruin it with cream and icing.
Slowly, more of the present emerged until finally two servants grabbed hold of a giant, red egg and put it in front of Rosa and Alphegor.
"Egg?" Rosa asked.
Certainly an unusual choice of container for a present, but it is pretty.
"Not just any egg! This is the egg of a fire dragon," Alphegor announced proudly. There was a stunned silence for a moment, until Azrael began clapping, rousing the crowd from their stupor. Slowly, they joined into the cheers although it felt much more forced than before.
"Your Majesty, don't you think a dragon egg is a bit much?" Lucious whispered as he leaned closer to the King. "Couldn't it cause some repercussions from the dragons?"
"Hahaha! There's nothing to worry about. I'll make sure that no dragon dares to step foot into the Demon Kingdom," Alphegor laughed like a madman while Rosa stared at the egg, pale as a sheet.
She didn't know much about dragons, but from the stories she read before coming to Doppelta and from the ones Faenor read for her, she knew they weren't exactly friendly. Usually described as vicious beasts guarding hordes of gold, stealing princesses and burning down cities as if it were as natural as breathing.
He just wants that dragon to eat me as soon as it hatches!
"Is this the offspring of that dragon I killed?" Azrael mused loudly as he bent down to inspect the egg closely.
"Indeed, it is. And it'll be your task to make sure that the hatchling obeys Rosa," Alphegor announced with a smile, and now Azrael looked just as pale as Rosa, despite his dark skin color.
"Wait… me?"
"Yes, you. You're the one who killed the dragon, so it only makes sense that you clean up after your own mess."
How did Azrael's punishment become my birthday gift?
Rosa glared at the white-haired demon, who just sighed in exasperation.
"I knew you wouldn't just let that go. I just hoped that swearing an oath to the princess would have been enough to appease you."
"Clearly, you don't know me very well then, Azrael," Alphegor replied with a smirk, and then retreated back to the celebration table. Rosa just prayed that she wouldn't have to open any more presents.
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