The entourage of the fallen emperor stayed with the titans for longer than initially planned. The years passed and Morana got older and bigger, growing a head taller than her brother and developing into a strong woman. While her uncles prepared the empire for their reunion, she learned how to swing a sword and how to communicate with the massive creatures of the giants' forests.

As always, Morana wasn't the best at sitting still. So after their fourth year with the titans passed, and she was fully grown, she found herself restless. She already explored the caves to every nook and cranny. Pranked every prank she could imagine with Wooyoung. She knew their limited area like the back of her hand, and now that Seonghwa was soon ready to take back his throne, she wanted to go on another adventure.

At first, they were reluctant to allow her. Worried for their only princess. But Morana argued Seonghwa had many heirs aside from her and she was strong for her age. She defeated Yunho in arm wrestling and while that didn't mean she could fight against masses of orcs; she promised to stay in safe areas.

She wanted to visit Lillwen and the nymphs. The queen often wrote Morana letters describing the beauty of her hidden kingdom, so Morana promised her first journey by herself (with Onyx) would take her no further than the near shore.

Seonghwa allowed her because he knew there was no holding her back. While she packed, Mingi sat by her side, awed by how big she had become, and how wilful.

"Come back soon," he pleaded, and Morana sent him a fond grin. She cherished him dearly, her blind father. Still helped him when he struggled with tasks he wasn't used to.

One day, she wanted to visit his home lands. She understood by now Mingi was cast out by his people and she would be sneered at for being half elven, but Morana didn't care.

She said bye to her emmya and her uncles and crouched before the twins, who ran around on small feet. They loved to tug on Morana's horns, but they weren't scared for her when she explained she would leave them for a while. They were young enough to play around with Wooyoung all day, and Morana knew they would have a lot of fun without her.

Yeosang also fretted over her, giving her a dozen tips on survival she all knew. She had to nudge his branches away when he kept tugging on her coat, suggesting she wore her hood.

"I'll be fine," she assured him. She bid her goodbyes to Jongho and Pebble, who wanted to come along to have more wisdom to soak up, but Seonghwa needed them as messengers.

When she finally stepped outside the cave with only Onyx on her shoulder to face a brilliant night sky full of healthy, twinkling stars, Morana relished her breeze of freedom.

Even if she preferred the tickle of excitement to sneak away for her adventures, she knew she had to return in one piece this time, so her uncles would trust her to go out again.

With a hand axe Hlin gifted her on her belt and her sword on her back, Morana whistled for her new friend.

She met another raven in the forests, but this one was sized to the leviathan shape of things in this kingdom. She called her Obsidian, and the intelligent bird was invested in Morana and her friendship with Onyx, whom she got along with so well.

Onyx was also obsessed with Obsidian. Wooyoung explained to Morana he considered Obsidian his oversized girlfriend whenever he tried to ruffle his feathers and did tricks for her in the air.

They couldn't confirm whether Obsidian regarded him as anything more but an emergency snack, but the two got along, so Morana happily hung out with Obsidian when they joined the titans on their hunts. She could fly on the gorgeous raven and use her intimidating size to disappear among her feathers.

Obsidian came rushing, bigger than Mulberry, yet not the size of the dragon Morana saw in that cave. She refused saddles, but her feathers were sturdy to hold on to. While Morana climbed on her back, Onyx paraded before Obsidian, trying to catch her attention.

They travelled for several weeks together.

Their first stop was the Nymphal Shores. Morana had to leave her winged companions with the nymphs at the shore, but the people were kind to her since they recognised her elven heritage and regarded her as an ally. Morana got to explore the gorgeous world underwater, the colours of reefs and fishes she thought impossible, and got to see the beasts of the deep, lurking among ship wrecks and camouflaging their skin against the ground.

Lillwen was her closest friend at that time, introducing Morana to their customs and to methods to calm herself when she was in the open water. Instead of the endless nothingness, she learned to perceive the water as an embrace, closer even than any cave to crawl into.

Morana liked the nymphs. Their gorgeous dresses and their wallowing songs that drew in whales and sea monsters to become their friends. She rarely found it strange how only a few men were around because she was at leisure after growing up with so many uncles.

She had a few realisations about herself when she once floated down a corridor and caught Wynn in an ardent kiss with another female nymph. The two pulled apart when they noticed the shift of the water around Morana's less graceful frame. Wynn apologised to her, but Morana didn't see a reason to. When she rested in her bed of sea weed wrapping her in a cosy embrace that night, Morana thought back to the scene with an uncharacteristic blush.

It hadn't occurred to her before, but she also had two fathers. Why wouldn't the beautiful nymphs couple up with one another?

She asked Lillwen about it in the morning, and the queen was amused by her awkwardness with the topic.

"We only pair up with men for the sake of reproduction and eat them after the act. That is their purpose for our folk. But you are no nymph. You must be at that age soon where your body becomes curious," she explained to Morana, and the girl scratched her head.

"My athair likes a lot of men, but I don't think I am too interested in them."

"I don't think so, either," Lillwen chuckled at her, but she kept her secrets.

Morana left their lands full of questions. She pondered in the evenings while she rested atop of trees where no one would find her and when she caught sight of a human couple fooling around on a clearing near her one day. Morana found her eyes stuck to the breathless giggles of the girl, the quivering curve of her chest when her companion kissed down her body. Though Morana didn't stay around to watch the rest since Seonghwa was touchy about his own intimacy with his husbands near her and made her understand it was rude to intrude, the scene wouldn't leave her mind.

She was at home for a few weeks and sought Aodhán about it. In all matters she didn't trust her uncles with, he was her partner in crime.

"What do you like about girls, Aodhán?" She asked him, since he mentioned in the past how he had a crush on one of the girls from the village near Yunho's home in the human world. He travelled there a few times recently to send off his parents into the next world and Aodhán and Seonghwa accompanied him. The girl he liked sang in the choir at the human funeral and he was deeply infatuated with her.

Of course, as a young prince, he didn't get to fool around with her until Seonghwa was back on his throne, but he often drew her picture and tried learning to play the harp with Jongho so he could play for her.

"They are soft and smart. Their voices are so sweet and they understand so well what I feel."

Of course, there were differences between them. In Aodhán's delicate human side and Morana's war-mongering demon.

But when she looked back at the people she admired, she ended up with a few glaring figures standing out to her.

"I think I also like girls," Morana sighed, and though Aodhán gaped at her at first, he didn't run to tell anyone. He merely huddled closer so she could share her concerns with him, and they whispered to each other until Morana's worries were soothed.

On Morana's next journey, she travelled the Kingdom of Man. She kept hidden in their inns, often warned by Yunho about grabby drunken men who would love to get their skulls bashed in by a demon princess, but she shouldn't make a scene. She got as close to the border to the Cavern of Nightfall as she dared without being seen. The demons largely retreated when the allies got back on their feet, but enough orcs stuck around that her appearance would be mentioned to the enemy.

While dashing through the underbrush on a hunt one day, Morana surprisingly stumbled upon another friend.

A lone goblin girl dared to set foot beyond the borders, not teaming up with the groups that made their kin strong. Her hair and eyes struck a sense of familiarity in Morana. They hunted the same rabbit together, but Morana let it dash off when she recognised the girl.

"Thistle, is that you?" She called over and the goblin nearly jumped out of her skin when she was discovered. But she knew only some would call her by that name.

When she peered over and recognised the wild streak of white in Morana's hair, her horns, her eyes, the girl lit up.

"The princess!" She beamed, much better at speech than when they last met. They hugged and sat at a fire together, roasting another hare to share. Thistle caught Morana up on living by herself and finding strength after their encounter. She helped some human farmers with their animals and - forgiving as humans were of beings different from themselves - she could prove how her elven side nourished their crops and delighted their animals to produce better milk and meat. In return for her help, she received a roof over her head and schooling.

She didn't stay for long so no one would get suspicious of her, but she lived a good life and was happier now. Morana offered to have a word with Yunho and find her a permanent home, but Thistle declined. Even as friends, she didn't want to get the humans near her in trouble. Neither by drawing other goblins near with her scent, nor by making fellow humans wary of them fraternising with the enemy.

Morana liked her endurance, and they travelled together for a while to find traces of the demons. Near inns told them they were still without a leader, but the humans doubted they would ally with Seonghwa again. Or the elves with the demons, for that matter. Many were hurt by them in the war, and the human women they spoke to also refused, tormented by their unwanted offspring.

One night together at the fire, Morana peered up at the stars with sleepy eyes.

"Thistle, have you ever kissed someone before?" She asked the girl by her side, and Thistle nervously played with her fingers.

"Kiss? No... Males scare me." She was also old enough to have children now. Many human women their age did.

"What about women?" Morana asked, and Thistle peered over at her. The same thought crossed them, so they leaned in to try it out.

Like Aodhán had said, Thistle was so soft and cute under Morana's fingers. So delicate and shy that Morana wanted to tease her and make her blush.

They kept it tame since neither knew what they were doing, but Morana was absolutely sure after that.

How her emmya liked men, she liked women.

They travelled for a few weeks more and promised to meet up again when Morana was in the area. Though they parted as friends, a certain shyness persisted and translated in curious glances over their shoulders when they left.

This time, upon her return to the Ruins of Gods, Morana was greeted by Asteria.

"Morana, welcome back. A letter arrived for Seonghwa. Please take it with you," she smiled at the girl when she released Obsidian into her home. She wandered into the caves at leisure, but somehow, something was odd about this letter.

Only Lillwen sent them letters here, all others were gathered in the respective kingdoms.

Especially Seonghwa received no letters since he was still supposed to be dead.

Morana halted under a tree to open it, too wary something might happen if it found Seonghwa. Some spell, some trap.

Nothing jumped at her. Morana barely skimmed the lines for the sender.

Circe.

Wary, Morana stuffed the letter into her pocket and marched into their tunnel system. She was greeted heartily as ever, but her senses remained sharp. She knew not to ask Seonghwa, so she approached Wooyoung once they were alone.

"Do you know a woman named Circe?"

Wooyoung visibly hesitated.

"No... None," he mumbled, and Morana shrugged it off when he asked her back.

She didn't show them the letter.