"Morri! You're finally back!" Deziara greeted Morrigan with giant tears in her eyes, gluing herself to her as soon as Galandir had put her down on the ground. "What took you so long?"

  "I told you she was fine," Viana rolled her eyes, but nonetheless carefully examined Morrigan head to toe. "You do seem quite worn out."

  "It took a lot of magic energy to repaint that black orb," she said sheepishly.

  "But you did it! We saw. The whole chasm instantly changed!" Deziara cheered and pointed towards the now not-so-black chasm. It now glittered with the starlight from below and now the chasm looked more like a tear in the ground which led to outer space. The sight was mesmerizing.

  "We expected you to return soon after the scenery changed, but we waited and waited and you didn't come," Viana muttered.

  "Ritual took quite some time," Morrigan scratched her head awkwardly.

  "I knew you'd return to us safe and sound," a deep, rumbling voice that she did not recognize suddenly spoke.

  "Who said that?" Morrigan whirled around, frantically looking for the source.

  "I didn't hear anything," Deziara raised her eyebrow.

  "Neither did I," said Galandir.

  "It is me. Do not be alarmed, Morrigan," Haku stepped forward, looking into her eyes.

  "Haku!" Morrigan exclaimed in shock, walking up to her scaly friend. "I can hear your thoughts?"

  "Yes. I'm not sure what happened down there, but as soon as you returned, I felt that I could communicate with you," he nuzzled against her affectionately.

  "You can hear Haku talking?" Deziara exclaimed. "Wait… Haku can talk?"

  "Of course, he can. Did you take him for some common beast incapable of coherent thought?" Galandir threw an accusatory glance at the black-haired princess, who raised her hands up in the defense.

  "No, of course not. But it is quite surprising, nonetheless. How come you can understand him now, Morri?" she asked.

  "I don't think it's understanding, but rather… hearing his thoughts," she looked at Haku, who nodded his head in response.

  "Yes. I cannot speak with my mouth, but I can think just like you or Deziara. But it is very pleasant that you are able to hear me now," the dragon rumbled in her mind, his tail wagging excitedly, forcing servants and guards to take a few steps back.

  "So our Crown Princess has acquired Telepathy from the stars. I guess it makes sense why she was down there for so long," Azrael suddenly spoke up, still looking rather sullen.

  "Telepathy?" Viana looked at the mage quizzically. "The stars give different abilities?"

  "Apparently. Not like we have a large data pool to compare with. I did expect something flashier for our little firecracker," Azrael scratched his chin thoughtfully.

  "You're the one who always wants the flashy abilities," Morrigan retorted. "But if I have Telepathy now, then how come I'm not hearing everyone's thoughts?"

  "Because you're still a newbie. Train and likely you'll be able to hear anyone's thoughts unless they are deliberately protecting themselves against such things. I believe that at the start you'll only hear the thoughts of those who want them to be heard – like our dragon friend over here," the mage explained.

  "That's interesting," Deziara smiled, then looked at Morrigan and smirked. "Azrael is a big sulky baby!"

  Morrigan sputtered at the blatant insult that nobody else heard. Azrael raised his eyebrow suspiciously.

  "You said something to her didn't you?" he pointed an accusatory finger at Deziara.

  "Nope, why would I?" she snickered. "Now I can tell you what I want without worrying about the consequences! This is the best."

  "Is there a way for me to answer?" Morrigan asked the mage.

  "If you concentrate on the person then you should be able to convey your thoughts to them. The link should go both ways," he explained.

  "Now we'll be able to talk behind Azrael's back," Morrigan told Deziara.

  "Yes, this is great! Secret sister communication!"

  The two of them smiled at each other, at which Azrael growled in dissatisfaction.

  "For the plotting princess to get telepathy out of all abilities. This will surely bring more trouble," Azrael grumbled and headed towards the carriages. "Let's get going. We've spent too much time in this dark already."

  "Who is the bigger troublemaker out of us two?" Morrigan tried to send this thought to Deziara, Viana and Galandir. Galandir and Deziara snickered and even Viana had a small smile on her lips.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  "Quite a nifty ability. This will be very useful, especially whenever I'll need to relay you any information without others knowing," Viana responded in Morrigan's mind.

  "Perfect communication between the Queen and her Prime Minister," Viana responded as they all slowly made their way to the carriage. This trip was about to get much more interesting.

  ***

  "How much longer?" Morrigan whined directly into Azrael's mind, who had hoped to take refuge in his own carriage.

  "Princess, this is an invasion of privacy!" he grumbled in response, although his thoughts didn't sound as clear as when she was standing next to him. Apparently, the further away Morrigan was from the one she wanted to convey her thoughts to, the worse she heard them. It made sense in a way since Azrael and Father could also use Telepathy to an extent, but only when they were touching the person.

  This was a bit of disappointment since she couldn't just directly talk to her father back home, but she understood the limitation. It was already an overpowered ability, being able to speak to someone at such a great distance would have been too much.

  "No, it's not. It's not like I can hear your inner thoughts or anything like that. Only the stuff you want to convey to me," she retorted in her mind.

  "But I can still hear you whether I want it or not!" Azrael complained.

  "You're just jealous that you can't do it," she retorted. There was no response, but she could already imagine his frustration. After a moment of silence, she sent a mental message again. "I'm tired. How much longer?"

  "Ugh! Fine! Let's make a detour. There's a pretty nice place close by," Azrael finally caved in.

  "Yes!" Morrigan cheered aloud, startling Deziara and Viana who were sitting in the same carriage.

  "What's up?" Deziara asked.

  "I managed to convince Azrael for us to make a stop at a supposedly nice place close by," she said.

  "I'd like to say that we've already wasted enough time, but…" Viana sighed. "Everyone's tired. We need to rest from traveling and the closest town is still ways away."

  "But what nice place is Azrael talking about?" Morrigan asked curiously.

  "I suspect he's speaking of Lava Resort," the eldest princess responded, and she seemed rather satisfied with the idea of going there.

  "Lava Resort?" Morrigan and Deziara asked at the same time.

  "Yes, it's quite a popular vacation spot. It wasn't in our plan, but quite honestly, we all could use a few day's rest. The servants and guards are also tired," Viana said.

  "If the place is so great and popular, why wasn't it included?" Deziara frowned.

  "Because the moment we arrive the whole Kingdom will know where we are," Viana explained.

  "Isn't that kind of bad?" Morrigan asked.

  "I believe it should be fine. The majority of enemy forces have been either captured or scattered. Father is working hard to apprehend any stragglers, so this should have been a heavy hit for their forces. If they do something, then it'll be much more subtle," Viana said.

  "Haku should be able to sense any trouble," Deziara chimed. Morrigan didn't feel quite comfortable with the idea, but they couldn't just keep traveling through the wilderness all the time. Proper rest was required.

  "Let's go then!" she announced, and both of her sisters nodded happily.

  Merely half a day passed before they reached the famous Lava Resort. Morrigan could instantly see that the 'Lava' in the name was not given merely due to the closeness of a lava river. As their retinue pulled up to the resort, she saw how a bunch of demons were literally swimming in the lava pool nearby.

  "How are they doing that?" she asked in shock. Haku was already eager to jump into the lava, Galandir barely able to hold back the excited dragon.

  "Welcome to the Lava Resort," an attendant said as she emerged from the grand-looking front building. However, she stopped mid-sentence once she saw their new guests. The demon woman instantly bowed her head. "Your Highness! I never imagined you'd visit our humble resort."

  "The journey has been long. Both me and everyone in my retinue require some rest. I hope you'll be able to accommodate us," Morrigan said with a polite smile.

  "She's scared of me," Haku said, cocking his head, then looking at the demons who were staring at the Morrigan with eyes as wide as saucers. "And they are scared as well. Am I that scary?"

  "They're just not used to seeing dragons. I'm sure they'll calm down once they see that you are harmless," Morrigan tried to soothe her friend.

  "O-Of course… A-Although we do not have special accommodations for dragons," the demon woman stammered.

  "I'll happily just sleep in the lava pool. That seems cozy," the dragon said, eyeing the lava excitedly. The pool-goers went pale and slowly began to head to shore.

  "Haku will be alright staying in lava. There's no need for special accommodations. Don't worry. He won't hurt anyone. My dragon keeper will keep him in check," Morrigan said, pointing towards Galandir. The attendant relaxed, if only a little.

  "O-Oh… Well… In that case, follow me inside," the demoness said, nervously tucking her brown hair behind the long ear. Everyone headed inside, quite excited at the prospect of a proper bath and place to rest. The interior of the resort was clearly meant to please, as everything was decorated with Underworld flowers as fake lava rivers flowed through the walls and ceiling. Deeper into the hallways Morrigan noticed bioluminescent plants hanging and lighting out the darkness.

  The soft armchairs and couches which were placed around the place strategically, made everything feel cozy and homely, making Morrigan think of home. She could see how this place got so popular.

  "Y-Your Highness!" The demon man behind the counter looked just as startled as the attendant, but she gave him a significant glare which made him gather his wits. "Welcome to our humble resort! It is an honor to host you here."

  "It is a pleasure to be here. We'd like to remain for a few days and then continue our journey," Morrigan informed him solemnly.

  "O-Of course! We'll have the best rooms prepared for you and all your companions as well as our special relaxation program," the demon man stammered.

  "Special relaxation program?" Deziara perked up.

  "It is our luxury course which includes all the services available at our resort – 7-course dinner, magma spa, magic massage, lava pool among other things," the receptionist seemed to regain some of his confidence. "I'm sure that even you would be satisfied with it."

  I'd be satisfied with a simple bed and bath in a lukewarm wooden tub, but I certainly won't say no to a luxury resort.

  "Please, lead us to our rooms then," Morrigan asked, a smile creeping on her lips already. Looking at her sisters, they looked just as excited to finally get some proper. If nobody decides to interrupt them again. She chose to believe her older sister's judgment – Viana was hardly ever wrong. But then again who knew what their enemy was plotting at this very moment while they were looking forward to relaxing?