All of the demon king's instructions were carried out as quickly as possible, and at dawn the envoy set off in the direction of Kaldwind. When the diplomat arrived at the gates of Sturfjell, he was full of determination and anger, and knew that he would soon be able to have a lot of fun with the humans. The demon king had given him the order to kill King Kaldwind, and he had even thought of a way to do it: everything had to be beautiful, spectacular, so that others would not be punished. And he had a special handwriting, which he would gladly show to the whole world.
The gates of the city opened, and the demon was taken to the palace as he had demanded. A few hours of waiting, and he was finally ushered into the throne room. The assassin was jubilant in his soul, mocking the wretched humans and more confident in his abilities than ever. He was not shy in expressions, "poking" the king Derek Merkswerd and completely ignored his personal guards. What can humans do against demons? Nothing, of course. The conversation was coming to an end, and the demon was already seriously annoyed by the king's smile and his self-confidence, so he decided to wipe the grin off his face and execute the sentence. But no such luck: for reasons unknown, the demon's magic ran out, and soon his head was separated from his body by King Derek's sword. The demon's head was packed in a beautiful chest, decorated with jewels and flowers, tied with ribbons and sent to Flammehav, Queen Varma as a gift. To her, for women panic when they receive such surprises, at least they get angry. That way the rumors would spread faster through Røvann, and then spread throughout the fire kingdom. Let the demons know that the humans no longer fear them and are ready to fight back.
The gift was given to the queen through foreign merchants: they often stopped by the palaces of high-ranking ladies, where they were well paid for goods and small services of other nature. Some passed secret letters to relatives and lovers, some asked for something special, and some paid for the satisfaction of their fantasies. For money, merchants were ready to tolerate anything, because sometimes the payment for one small favor could provide their families with everything they needed for a year.
– My queen, the merchants have arrived and wish to show off their wares and present you with a gift from King Kaldwind," Queen Varma was informed by her personal butler.
– Accepting gifts from defeated rulers is so tiresome! – Varma yawned, elegantly covering her beautiful mouth with a thin palm.
– You are right, Mistress. But this is a new king. The old one is dead, and his successor is certainly trying to please you," the butler said flatteringly.
– Of course, because no one wants a war with us. No one will ever have the courage and stupidity to threaten Flammehav! – The queen went to the window to look at the wagons of goods.
– If you wish, I will inform the merchants that you are not in the mood, Mistress.
– No need, let them show me what they've brought. And I wonder what the King of Men has decided to make me happy. – Varma looked around at the newcomers, sneered, and returned to the black leather couch.
– As you command. – The butler bowed and left the chambers.
Demoness, as it is supposed to royalty, was restrained and calm, only a slight grin gave away her true attitude to what was happening. From dresses and fabrics were already sagging shelves of her numerous closets, jewelry barely fit in the countless boxes. This demoness was eighty-seven years old, but she maintained her appearance with magic, making her look twenty-five years old. The queen was amused by the way the foreign merchants humiliated themselves in front of her, trying to find the right words and not to make unnecessary movements.
