Amaranta’s Tapestry
Natalia Yacobson

Translator Natalia Lilienthal

© Natalia Yacobson, 2024

© Natalia Lilienthal, translation, 2024

ISBN 978-5-0064-3000-6

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Elf Mask

And here’s the castle at the end of the path! It was not as gloomy as it looked in the picture. Its walls were thickly lined with wattles of red and white roses. Gloria looked closer. Those roses weren’t in the engraving. The engraving isn’t that old. And if they had been planted recently, how had they grown so large? The flowers seemed to be whispering:

«Go away! This is a place for Elves’ sacrifices. Run, mortal!»

The horses snorted. The coachman could barely hold them back. Gloria had once seen a trampled victim of a carried horse and now lived in constant fear of being carried by horses.

No one had ever called her mortal until now. With her waist-length mop of red hair, she herself resembled a mischievous fall fairy. She was the only redhead in her family. No one knows who. And what does her niece look like? She was actually on her way to see her niece. After all, the cousin she needed to visit was supposedly kidnapped by elves.

Legends and legends! Most likely, Amaranta was the victim of jealousy. She loved to provoke men into duels. Someday she was going to get in trouble for it herself.

«Go back!» This time the voice came from the branches of an oak tree, somehow colored in autumn. It was summer! Why were there brightly colored autumn leaves on the tree? They swirled and fell beneath the wheels of the carriage. Gloria saw tiny pixies on each leaf. It was probably just imagination. She’d been frightened by the legends of Amaranta’s abduction by the elves. That’s why she’s imagining all this nonsense.

«Go away!» The insolent voice sounded from the branch of an oak tree where someone was sitting, though you couldn’t see it behind the lush foliage. «The Sea King will let you back through his domain. You won’t drown! But they won’t let you out of here!»

A creature the size of a lynx was dangling its legs on a branch. It was white as snow. The wings behind its back were made of snowflakes. Did the coachman see it? And why had the carriage stopped?

Gloria got out of the carriage. Puddles glistened under her feet, and yet it hadn’t rained. The weather had been clear since morning. The coachman wasn’t on the coach either. Where had he gone? Gloria looked around helplessly. There was no one around but fantastic tiny creatures. But a stately gentleman suddenly separated himself from the thicket of trees and stepped right into the road. He was dressed in all green. Because of this, Gloria almost mistook him for a living tree.

«Don’t listen to them! Don’t go! We need you here! Every beautiful girl here counts! And there are never enough of them.»

Gloria didn’t know what to say. The stranger spoke to her simply, as if he were an old friend. A mask of gold leaf glittered on his face. Behind it, only eyes of an unusual iridescent hue and golden eyebrows were visible. For some reason it felt like the mask was growing right out of his skin.

«Let’s dance!» The stranger wrapped his arms around Gloria’s waist in a frivolous manner. His arms, too, appeared to be covered with gold leaf. It was probably a fashionable piece of jewelry in Ilior.

It was indecent and absurd to dance with a stranger right on a traveled country road, but Gloria had no time to refuse. The gold-masked cavalier whirled her into a dance. The fall of leaves from the autumn tree intensified. Leaves fell on the road, got tangled in Gloria’s hair and became golden in color. Music seemed to be playing somewhere in the distance. Gloria listened. It sounded like a procession of lutes, flutes, and tambourines.

«Is there a festival in Ilior today?» Gloria asked her dance partner.

«No, just an ordinary day,» he replied nonchalantly. His voice was melodious, and his iridescent eyes were mesmerizing.

«It feels like you have a holiday every day.»

The stranger laughed and suddenly lifted Gloria in a dance above the ground. It didn’t seem like it to her. Her feet didn’t touch the ground. For a minute they floated, twirling in a waltz while the leaves swirled around them.

«They say only fairies and elves have a feast every day,» Gloria reminded herself.

The Chevalier’s face darkened. He set Gloria back on the ground and touched his fingers to her cheek.

«Beautiful mortal girls are always at a premium. And there are always too few of them. My lord’s cauldron craves new beauties every day. I’d tell you to run, too, if I wasn’t afraid of losing you. You know how hard it is to suffer for someone for all eternity when that person is no longer alive.»

Gloria was frightened, but the stranger pulled her to him, and suddenly she felt calm and good. He bent down to kiss her. What if he really was an elf? Gloria fumbled for the cape-like wings behind his back.

The cavalcade was indeed coming this way. Gloria saw cavaliers, ladies, unicorns, and even some monsters.

«It is another one!» A lady applauded when she saw Gloria, and then she suddenly frowned. «She’s a redhead! That’s against the law! Elar, let her go!»

Some beasts in the procession roared dangerously and scraped their claws on the ground. Elar wouldn’t let her go. But Gloria was afraid. The breath of the oncoming travelers was fiery. They would burn her! Even the leaves on the tree are on fire. Someone in the leaves is laughing.

«Get out of my territory in the name of Dagda!» Someone shouted.

The marvelous procession vanished as if they were not there. Only curses were heard in the void, where no one was standing. But from the direction of the Count’s castle, a small group of armed knights rode by. They were definitely the guides that Count Angus had sent to fetch his wife’s cousin. And they somehow managed to drive away the unusual creatures. The knights are just ordinary people. The contrast with the marvelous procession was stark. Gloria wanted to howl at the fact that it was humans and not elves. But the procession was dangerous. They definitely meant her harm. So why was she saddened by their disappearance? The wistfulness gripped her heart.

Gloria was alone on the road. Elar was gone, but a single gold leaf from his mask lay in the road dust and glistened. She bent down and picked it up. It could be kept as a talisman. After all, from the looks of it, it was a leaf from the elf’s mask.

Arrival at the castle

«Who were they?» Gloria still trembled at the memory of the monsters that the beautiful ladies and gentlemen seemed to hold on magical leashes. Was she imagining it?

«Who are you talking about?» Earl Angus, who was leading a group of knights, gave a stern look.

«I am talking about those gentlemen and ladies on the road. They were carrying creepy beasts?»

«You imagined it.»

«No,» she almost showed him the leaf as proof.

«This forest is capable of illusions.»

«They only say that about mirages in the desert.»

«Now you know there are mirages in our forests,» Angus flicked a stray strand of hair from his forehead. He was a very handsome brunet. And though his face had a spider web of deep wrinkles, he still looked stunning. It was clear at once why Amaranta had gone to him across the sea. There were no such handsome men at home. Angus handled the white horse skillfully and rode ahead of the troop.

Gloria was flattered that it was not some ordinary chief of guards who had been sent for her. The master of the castle himself had come to meet her. But the coachman had disappeared without a trace, and the horses were gone too. The carriage was left standing on the road. Angus had promised to send one of the stable boys to fetch it.

Something stirred in the foliage overhead. This time it was not a pixie, but a bird with iridescent plumage. It flew swiftly toward the heavens, as if it were a spy in a hurry to report something to the heavenly spirits.

«I once saw something in the forest that still makes my blood run cold,» Angus whispered.

«Then you must all the more believe me that I saw some people on the road.»

«All the people who are here live either in the castle or in the village. And the village is a long way from here.»

«It couldn’t have been ghosts.»

Angus remained silent.

The castle up close was even more magnificent than in the engraving Amaranta had sent Gloria. Even though she had married a foreign ambassador, she often sent gifts home. And now Amaranta has disappeared. How could a young, healthy woman just disappear? Was she murdered? Gloria was suddenly afraid. What if she was on her way to a bandit’s nest? Although all the knights looked decent, except a little gloomy and very silent. You can’t get a word out of them. Angus was the only one who spoke to her, and that was because she was boring him with questions.

The roses at the entrance to the castle, tightly wrapped around the arches and columns, even one of the doors, so that it was impossible to open it. How they had grown! Isn’t there a gardener here to cut them back? And should they be trimmed? They smell so wonderful! Gloria inhaled the fragrance. It was the smell of paradise. So why does Angus wrinkle his nose at the sight of roses, as if he sees a monster in them? Men in Ilior can’t stand roses?

«Here she comes! She is another elf bride!» A low whisper came from the roses, as if there were pixies hiding among them. Gloria looked closely at the white roses. They all seemed to have female faces. She must be having sunstroke to be seeing these things.

«She is a lover, not a bride. Elves should not marry mortals!» This time the whisper came from the red roses. Their buds seemed to be scarlet mouths. «Nothing comes out of the relationships of elves and girls but passion and poisoned fruit. Look at Dagda’s children.»

Gloria has heard that name before recently.

The accompanying knights squinted at Gloria strangely.

«You’re a redhead!» Angus explained leading her into the castle hall through an entrance lined with wattles of red and white roses.

«Is it a crime to be a redhead?» Gloria wondered. In the hall she noticed two figures, a scarlet one and a white one. The ladies themselves resembled roses, but once they entered the lobby, they were gone.

«Red hair color is associated with prancing fairies. They came to seduce and drive mortal men crazy,» Angus explained with a serious look. He wasn’t flirting with her at all. Gloria even felt offended. Usually men were always flirting with her. Angus, for all his attractiveness, was as cold as ice.

«I’m not a fairy, or I’d have wings,» she snapped.

«There are wingless fairies, horned fairies, and even fairies with hooves instead of feet.»

Gloria defiantly lifted the hem of her lush green skirt as she crossed the threshold, showing her slender ankles.

«I’m not a fairy,» she repeated. «Or even a mermaid.»

She found the joke mischievous, but Angus didn’t even smile.

«Why are you a redhead if you’re not a fairy?»

«How would I know? I was born a redhead, and many people think it’s very beautiful.»

«But Amaranta was blonde.»

«She’s my cousin, not my own sister. But there’s a family of baronets in my homeland where the sisters have different hair colors. One is blonde, the other is brown, and I’m friend with both.»

«You shouldn’t have come,» Angus said, turning the coals in the fireplace with a poker. Gloria thought it odd that the fireplace was burning in the middle of a hot summer. It was cooler in the castle than outside, but not so cold as to be freezing.

«Why should it be?»

«The forests of Ilior are full of wild animals, aggressive birds, poisonous insects, and brigands. Don’t go into the forest at dusk. It is no way!»

«Or else I’ll get mauled by wild beasts?»

«Or wild elves,» said one of the knights behind him.

His words sounded like a cruel joke, but no one laughed. How strange everyone was! Gloria looked around, and Angus suddenly put his arm around her waist and put his palm to her forehead as if he were going to peel her skin off.

«What’s matter with you?» Gloria was outraged.

«I’m sorry!» He let go of her immediately. «I wanted to see if you were wearing a mask.»

«Is it a mask? What makes you think that?»

How could he mistake a clean, pale face for a mask? Gloria didn’t even have freckles.

«Fairies wear human faces like masks,» Angus shrugged.

Everyone here is crazy! What fairies are they talking about? There aren’t even any maids around.

«Don’t be so familiar to me again,» Gloria shook off her dress. «Remember that I’m not your wife or even your fiancée. Don’t confuse me with the missing Amaranta.»

For a moment there was an oppressive silence. Gloria looked at Angus. He was young, and there were already strands of gray in his hair. What had he seen in the woods to make him gray before he was thirty? Was it true that sacrifices to the gods of the ancient tribes were made in the forests?

«Gloria!» Angus sank tiredly into the chair by the fire. «I’m not going to marry again. So if you’ve come to take Amaranta’s place…»

«I had no such intention. I’m a relative. How can you marry a relative!»

«Amaranta’s friend Adelina was like a sister to her, and as soon as Amaranta disappeared, she started trying to marry me.»

«I’m more delicate. And I’m not getting married at all! I’m a feminist.»

Angus furrowed his beautiful eyebrows.

«What do you mean?»

«It is a woman who fights for her independence from men.»

«Apparently it’s a new-fangled word. It hasn’t been heard in Ilior yet.»

«You live in the middle of nowhere!»

«And I’m happy here!»

«But there are terrible tales of bloodthirsty elves and sacrifices to the ancient forest gods. I heard on the boat that a certain goddess, Dana, is still honored here.»

«It is enough!» Angus put the sword down on the table with a clatter. The hilt glittered dangerously with some strange symbol that looked like a pentagram. «I’ve had enough talk of elves. They stole everything from me.»

Is it everything? He lives in a castle, in luxury, has an army of his own knights, and thinks he’s deprived!

«I don’t believe in elves,» Gloria hissed. «Some gang of jokers and pranksters hiding in the woods and taunting you.»

Angus only snorted dismissively. Why argue with a fool?

Gloria stomped her foot and went into the library, its doors open. Angus didn’t follow her. She’d have a good day on her own. Gloria pulled the first book from the shelf, opened it, and a rose-blossomed meadow appeared instead of pages. Gloria felt the silky petals under her feet. Was she dreaming or was this happening? Where had the library gone? She walks through a meadow overgrown not with daisies but with roses. The variegated meadow resembles a carpet or a tapestry. But in the middle of the meadow, a deep hole appears. Someone is calling from the hole. Someone’s black clawed hands reach up, grabbing grass and roses. Their touch makes the roses wilt.

«Pull me out, mortal!» A voice hissed from the pit.

Gloria held out her hand, and suddenly there was a clatter, like a shovel hitting the lid of a chest buried in the pit. The vision was cut short. The meadow, overgrown with roses, disappeared. Around again was the library. A sharp bird’s beak tapped on the copper binding of a closed window.

Gloria noticed that a beautiful iridescent bird had flown up to the window. It looked more magnificent than a peacock. But it was shattering the shutters like a woodpecker.

No one even told her that in Ilior there are birds with plumage as seven-colored as rainbows. What wonders there are in the world!

Gloria had been afraid of birds ever since her partner had been pecked by a flock of seagulls that had flown right onto the ship. Michaela was gone. Her pecked corpse was buried at sea. Gloria didn’t want to repeat her fate, so she stepped away from the window. The rainbow bird banged its beak on it in vain.

«Fly away!» She said, but the bird didn’t think twice. It was as if it was waiting for something or someone.

The fairies’ child

Gloria arrived in time for dinner. It wasn’t hard to locate the feast hall. Except that no one was preparing for the feast on the occasion of her arrival, but there were voices arguing. There was whispering and the clinking of weapons, as if they were preparing for battle. Gloria cautiously peered inside. A mountain of swords, maces, and sticks were piled on the floor. All weapons made of iron. In Gloria’s mind, iron was somehow associated with something unpleasant.

Could this place be preparing for war? But with whom was it? No one was attacking Ilior. Otherwise, she would have heard news of war while she was still in port. Perhaps there was a conflict between the feudal neighbors and now there was a battle brewing, which could be stopped immediately by sending a message to the king. Only he can stop his vassals.

The aging but mighty knight named Ambrose played his stick as easily as a child’s rattle. He had the strength of a regiment! The more graceful Angus, also fully clad in armor, was going through swords. Could they be preparing for a duel? But they don’t behave like rivals at all. The pantomime is more like preparing for defense.

«Is she really your child?» Ambrose frowned.

«She’s not a monster like the others. She looks human.»

«Then she stays with us?» Ambrose jabbed his wand into the table with a frustration that shattered it. Angus didn’t even flinch. He was used to aggression from his knights.

«Where could she go? She’s the heir to the castle.»

«Wouldn’t you rather marry your charming guest and have new heirs?»

«Stop it!» Angus slammed his fist on the mantelpiece so hard it cracked. Gloria shuddered. If these two argue, they will smash the whole castle.

«The subject of the new wedding is out of the question!» Angus put a stop to it. «I’m still married.»

«It is to a woman who is officially dead.»

«Public opinion is far from the truth. You know that.»

«I also know about changelings. There’s definitely a changeling living in our castle. It is a child of the fairies.»

«She’s my child! You’ve seen the difference between human and elves’ children.»

There was a frightening silence. Gloria could hear her own heart beating a drumbeat.

«Are you leaving her with us because otherwise there will be another war?» Ambrose broke the silence.

«No, it is because she really is my daughter.»

«I think you’re considering that we’ll lose the next war with them. They’re not human.»

«I don’t want a war, but I want Amaranta back. And there’s no way to do that without a war with the forest creatures.»

«Are you sure the creature we saw is Amaranta and not some Elves’ illusion? Girls kidnapped by them usually rot at the crossroads, and the blood rose sprouts in their heart. Yesterday, old Hans found the corpse of an elf victim. Today he has nightmares. He assures me that the elves will come for him. Just knock on his window at night.»

«Keep a sword or a hunting knife on him.»

«He is a peasant. He doesn’t know how to fight.»

«What’s the art of fighting got to do with it? They can’t stand iron and running water. The mere sight of an iron object can scare them away.»

Ambrose sighed heavily.

«Are you telling me to prepare for war?»

Gloria didn’t listen to the end of the dialog, because the knight’s heavy armor clattered toward the door. She run before they caught her. Instead of dinner, she snuck into the armory. Not the best place to hide if the knights are on their way to prepare for war. The castle wasn’t under siege yet, though, and she could use a sword, too. Gloria picked up the first sword she could find, with a beautiful gilded hilt in the shape of a zigzag dragon. It was worth the effort to pick it up. She doesn’t know how to fight like that at all. She’s a lady, but the sword suddenly jerked in her hands like a living thing and soared into the air as if it had been snatched up by someone invisible. The blade of the sword wrapped around her own throat. There was no way to even scream. It was about to slash her, but instead of the sharpness of the blade, Gloria felt the prickly leaves. The sword suddenly grew stems and roses.

«Careful, mortal!» Someone said and chuckled softly. «Or you’ll hurt yourself going to war with the elves.»

Gloria was furious. That voice was mocking her. But where was the speaker? All she could see were piles of weapons. The sword whose blade was wrapped in roses was certainly a beautiful sight. Gloria’s heart softened for a moment. She loved flowers more than weapons. But if a war had to be fought to save her cousin, she was willing to be a knight.

However, the sword twisted again and tried to hurt her. Though it was no longer sharp because of the roses, but it could hit hard. Its handle is heavy. The iron dragon hit Gloria in the temple and almost killed her. It felt like the dragon handle was biting her.

«Stop it, Fior!» A childish voice shouted.

The sword immediately hovered motionless in the air.

«Or else your father won’t forgive me?» Someone asked who seemed to be suspended in the sky, because the voice came from the ceiling.

«Yes!»

«Well, I don’t care! I’m already in disgrace.»

The tip of the sword dodged and severed one strand from Gloria’s head. The strand disappeared instantly, as if someone invisible had clutched it in his hand. A large red rose bloomed on the tip of the sword.

«He won’t hurt anyone now!» A beautiful little girl, dressed luxuriously like a princess, came out of the alcove of the armory.

«So you’ve been hiding here all the time!» Gloria was surprised. «I didn’t even notice you when I came in. You must be Janet.»

The girl had a cute little heart face, big almond-shaped eyes, and bowed lips. The dress, with its tight corset and standing collar, would have been more appropriate for a grown-up lady. Janet was uncomfortable walking because of the puffy brocade skirts. It was curious where they wove such brocade that literally shines. The crests embroidered on the border were definitely not of Ilior.

«You’re Janet, right?» Gloria didn’t like the girl’s long silence.

«Take the sword,» ignoring the question, the girl advised. «Otherwise he’d go back to his battle dance.»

The sword still hung in the air. It was dangerously close to Gloria’s face. If it hadn’t had roses on it, it might have disfigured her now. Gloria hesitantly reached out and gripped the hilt. The sword no longer resisted her.

«It’ll have to peel the roses off before it can fight,» Gloria reasoned.

«It fights on its own!»

«You talk about it as if it were alive!»

The girl didn’t answer.

«Are you Janet,» Gloria asked her. «Or are you not Janet?»

There’s no telling how many children the local knights might have. But why dress a child like a queen? A girl is uncomfortable in such a heavy dress.

«Humanly speaking, my name sounds like Janet,» she said at last. Her manners, like her attire, were like a queen.

«And I’m your aunt. My name is Gloria.»

«I know!» Janet stunned her.

«Did your mother tell you about me? I was a teenager when Amaranta came to live here in Ilior. Our homeland was Aluar, the country across the sea.»

Gloria squatted down to equal Janet’s height and placed the sword on the carpet. Roses from it stretched across the carpet. Yes, it’s like nature’s kingdom in here! Gloria felt not the carpet but the soft meadow beneath her fingers. How like the fairies’ jokes! Janet, too, looked like a dwarf fairy, not a child. Though her face is childlike, her eyes are too wise, too mysterious.

«I see you’re one of ours,» Janet touched Gloria’s cheek with her palm.

«I mean your family,» Gloria said. The child must have meant it.

«It is of us-" Janet shook her head negatively. «It’s rare for one of us to go into the castle. It’s full of iron.»

What kind of fairy tale games does she play? She listened to her father’s tales of evil and decided to play along.

«Why don’t we play charades, or fantasy, or maybe ball?» Gloria suggested, but Janet was already backing away.

Overhead, someone chuckled softly. Gloria looked up. It was no one on the ceiling. The invisible man’s laughter came straight from the void. Could it be imaginary? But the rose-trimmed sword didn’t seem to her. Gloria picked it up, struggling to pull it from the roses that had sprouted on the carpet. If war was coming, the sword was best kept.

Dragon’s tree

There was a war manual in the castle library. Gloria quietly snuck it away. It would probably tell you how to wield a sword. But it was hard to get the roses off the sword. It was like they were stuck to it. And as soon as she pulled them off, they grew back.

«I guess it’s not our destiny to fight! We’ll have to be friends!» A voice sang in the heights.

Gloria looked around. No one was in sight.

No one noticed her stealing the book from the library. She doubted any of the knights would approve of her swordsmanship lessons. In Ilior, there was no question of a girl knowing how to wield a weapon. At home, in Aluar, Gloria had been trained to shoot, but even there fencing was forbidden for women. And she dreamed of learning to swordfight. Of course, it was foolish to worry about self-defense in a castle full of knights, but they didn’t keep Amaranta safe. If someone kidnapped her, all the knights of Angus were powerless to protect her. But if Amaranta had known how to wield a sword, she could have fought back on her own.

Her cousin was a sissy and a dreamer. Gloria grew up more practical. She realized that being able to stand up for her was the most important thing in life.

A lush scarlet rose bloomed again at the tip of the sword. Gloria struggled to tear it off.

«What is the hell?»

«It’s not devilry. It’s magic,» the invisible man’s teasing voice whispered in her ear.

«They are the same thing!» She snapped back, not knowing who she was talking to.

The sword didn’t turn against her anymore, but it didn’t want to obey her. The dragon handle kept slipping out of her fingers. Perhaps it was best to read the martial arts manual carefully before training. Gloria opened the dilapidated book. She wondered if the castle has a magic manual. After all, the sword seemed to be enchanted.

Someone chuckled briefly behind her shoulder, as if catching her thoughts. What a seductive voice! Gloria looked back. Behind her back was the familiar emptiness, but someone’s presence was felt nearby.

«Come to me!» The same voice called out.

– Where are you?»

No answer.

«Well, where to go?» She couldn’t take it anymore.

«It is inside the tapestry!»

What tapestry? She’d only seen trellises and lambrequins. There was a large tapestry with a hunting scene in the hall, and a couple of other tapestries with pastoral scenes in the corridor. So which tapestry is the invisible man hiding behind? Gloria didn’t believe that someone could be lurking inside the tapestry. But behind the tapestry is very convenient to hide, especially if there is a niche in the wall under it.

Gloria went out into the corridor to look at the tapestries. There were at least a dozen of them. One could get confused as to which one to look for.

Voices came from the feast hall again. Angus was arguing with someone again. And that someone was very scandalous. He was smashing dishes, jingling cutlery, clawing at the table. Maybe there’s an animal in there. But the voices were only human, no growling.

«I thought you agreed to let Amaranta go, and now you want her back. That’s insensitive,» said someone sly and arrogant.

«I was under a spell. Now I’m awake.»

«Are you awake?»

Gloria listened. The second voice was unfamiliar to her. It certainly didn’t belong to any of the knights. Curious, who was Angus talking to? Gloria peered into the hall. Angus was standing there alone near a large tapestry.

How strange! Could there be someone hiding behind the tapestry? But the second voice had gone as if it hadn’t even been there.

«Do you need something?» Angus saw her and became alert, as if he’d caught a spy in the act.

«I’m looking for Janet,» Gloria said.

She strode defiantly into the room and looked in every corner, even under the table, before pulling back the edge of the huge, luxurious tapestry with a trembling hand. The tapestry was very beautiful, colorful and covered with intricate designs. It resembled both a map and a painting with many characters. And besides people, it depicted fairies and elves. But behind the tapestry was a void. Gloria gasped in disappointment. She had thought that behind it was a niche where Angus’s mysterious interlocutor was hiding.

«This tapestry was a gift for my wedding to Amaranta!» Angus explained, and laughed as if he had said something very witty.

Gloria felt a chill run down her spine at his sinister laugh. It was the laugh of those who summoned demons into their dwellings.

The tapestry was indeed embroidered with a wedding scene, but not a human one, but an elves’ one.

«Whose gift was it?»

Angus didn’t answer. Maybe he’d lost his mind. How could he forget the name of the person who had given him such an expensive gift for his wedding? The tapestry was probably given by King of Ilior himself. Amaranta loved to flirt with and charm kings. She was a coquette. Her husband, on the other hand, was a grim character. Angus is a tough warrior. What could he be?

On the pretext of looking for Janet, Gloria managed to search the place. The hall was definitely empty. Unless there was a secret passage somewhere. Then we’d have to come back here and look for a sliding panel in the walls. Gloria was familiar with the secret passage system. She herself had spent her entire childhood in the old castle.

«It is another duenna!» Angus grumbled after her.

Good thing Janet didn’t think she was a duenna. Gloria walked on, puzzled. How to explain to the child that she was neither a nanny nor a governess? She was a relative and a friend. Gloria didn’t have much experience in dealing with children. Perhaps she should behave directly to instill confidence in the child. Maybe try reading stories to Janet. The girl’s red-haired head flashed in the castle courtyard. Gloria went there and was stunned.

Janet was playing ball with strange, ugly creatures that seemed to have crawled out of the ground. It looked wild! Janet is a dainty girl, and her friends have claws, tails, and rough feet, but they are not animals. They deftly catch the golden apple-shaped ball and laugh, even making some jokes. They’re monsters!

«Get away from her!» Gloria grabbed the whip, apparently forgotten by the stable boys, and rushed at the freaks.

Janet looked at her surprised and angry.

«Go and mind your own business!» She said as if she were an adult. «My brothers and sisters have a right to visit me.»

These things have indoctrinated her that they are her brothers and sisters! The horror! Many of them have scales stretching across their skin and wretched wings fluttering behind their backs. Can’t Janet see that these are creatures from another race – from a non-human race!

One creeping monster sprang up, wrapped its claws around Janet’s shoulders, and whispered something in her ear. Its breath was black smoke. But the ball they were playing with was a real golden apple.

Is there such a thing as a tree that grows golden apples? It must have been made by a jeweler from Rhodolith. After all, the nearest town to the county, Rhodolith, is famous for its jewelers. But a gold object must be very heavy. You’d have to have a lot of strength to toss it around like a light ball. Janet had that strength. She was a child, but she could probably lift a sword without help.

The game with the monsters continued on the sidelines. The whole company quickly moved away from Gloria. Gloria did not even notice how they crawled away. They were just suddenly a few meters away from her, as if they had been transported there by magic.

Should we leave them alone? One of the monsters playing with Janet crawled into the well and hid there. One thing to keep in mind for the future was not to drink the water. Gloria had gotten used to drinking wine on her voyage, because there was not enough drinking water aboard the ship that had brought her to Ilior.

Suspicions about Amaranta’s so-called daughter only grew stronger. What if it wasn’t Amaranta’s daughter at all? First of all, she’s not blonde. Secondly, Angus is too cool towards her, as if he is not her father at all. Thirdly, she looks like a changeling, of which there are so many scary stories. But changelings are usually ugly, and this girl is beautiful. Janet has silky red hair, curly at the ends. She has red eyelashes, iridescent eyes, and bright freckles on her heart-shaped cheeks. This really is a child of fairies! All that’s missing are the wings behind her back.

«Hey! You forgot something!» Janet tossed Gloria a ball, not gold, but red and blue, covered with sharp scales.

Gloria ducked, caught it, and gasped. It was not a ball, but a miniature cannonball. It looked like it had been taken out of the dragon’s mouth and was about to explode.

«It is a dragon’s apple!» Janet explained.

«What is it?»

«It helps innocent maidens defend themselves against castle storms, and it can help someone get an annoying companion out of the castle.»

Janet laughed contagiously. Maybe she was trying to get Gloria into the game. She should throw the ball back to her. But as Gloria swung the ball, sparks flickered across the scales. No, we shouldn’t throw it. It could be explosive and hurt the baby. It might be a good idea to teach those freaks around Janet a lesson, but there was a risk of hurting her, too.

Gloria decided to keep the scaly ball. It was about the size of an apple, and its skin was like dragon scales.

«So, you are a dragon’s apple! Is that what Janet called you?»

The ball sizzled in her hand like a real dragon and got hot. Should she throw it down the well? Gloria pondered, but her hand burned. She couldn’t stand the heat any longer. Gloria unclenched her fingers and the ball fell into the well water. A pillar of fire erupted from the well.

«What did you do?» Janet stared at the explosion, which was part water, part fire. Something huge and flexible, like the scaly body of a dragon, crawled up from the well toward the windows of the towers. Gloria did not immediately realize that it was not a dragon, but a tree. It was covered with branches and scaly fruit like the ball Janet had given her.

«You gave it to me!»

Gloria felt like a fool. She’s a grown-up dolt accusing a little kid of something! That’s ridiculous! Except that the child, judging by the eyes, looked more like an ancient dwarf creature from the world of fairies, which was not the first hundred years old.

«From one apricot seed grows a whole tree, and from one dragon apple a whole dragon!» Janet whistled, looking at the scaly tree stretching from the well to the spires of the castle. «That’s what Iveyna told me!»

«Who’s Iveyna?»

Naturally Janet did not answer, but ran off laughing. And Gloria was left alone to give explanations to the sentries already rushing into the castle courtyard with pikes and halberds. Apparently, because of the trembling in the ground, they thought that a giant was breaking into the castle. And there was only a scaly tree growing here, looking like a gaunt dragon. For some reason, even the guards felt sick at the sight of it. Gloria suddenly realized that she’d done something that would get her kicked out of the castle. Maybe she should blame it on Janet. The child can be forgiven. But blaming her mischief on a child, even a supernatural one, was too mean. Gloria prepared to take the blame. Only no one blamed her for anything. No one even realized that the dragon tree growing out of the well was her doing.

The guards were whispering about the elves’ jokes and some guest still upstairs. Gloria hadn’t seen a carriage or riders ride up to the castle. So where had the guest come from? The guards certainly didn’t mean her. Taking advantage of their confusion, Gloria quietly left. Let them deal with the dragon tree themselves.

Magical threats

«Hey, mortal come here!» A familiar voice called out from somewhere above. The tone was mocking, as if the name «mortal» meant something insulting.

Gloria looked up at the ceiling. No one was there. Only a shiny cobweb stretched across the ceiling paintings. What did she expect to see? Was it an elf floating beneath the ceiling? Or was it a fairy with wings? The voice was most definitely male, though. After a moment, he spoke again.

«Take your sword with you, mortal! You’re about to need it!»

Naturally, there was no sign of the speaker. Gloria was used to listening to the invisible man half-heartedly. She didn’t care what he’s saying! His warnings were useless. And he could not be seen at all. And if you can’t see him, you can’t see him.

«Ouch!» Gloria felt someone pinch her. Probably someone was there after all.

«What do you want?» She snapped, trying to see who was attacking her.

«You can’t fight, but it’s dangerous to walk around the castle without a sword right now,» the voice laughed.

Gloria even took offense. No matter how many times she turned on her axis, she couldn’t see anyone around her. Though she could feel someone’s breathing nearby: above her head, behind her back, or at her side. An invisible spirit was taunting her.

«You’re a ghost!» Gloria guessed.

There was such deafening laughter that the walls shook. Gloria even covered her ears. It felt like the giant was laughing.

«I don’t hang out with jesters,» she said as the laughter died down.

Gloria had just reached the floor of the castle, where she could see the branches of the scaly tree through the window. The fruit on them was uncountable. They were all as scaly as the trunk itself.

«Don’t touch it!» The invisible man warned.

Why was he so concerned?

Gloria approached the large, high arched window. The branches of a dragon tree poked through the window. One scaly fruit could be plucked, but Gloria didn’t dare. So these scaly fruits are called dragon apples. That’s what Janet called them, anyway. And they’re as hot as a charcoal fire. You could burn yourself on them. She didn’t want the castle on fire because of them. If they stick through a window in the library, for instance, the whole place could go up in flames. Good thing there’s only one stone wall. It was nothing to catch fire. The fruit sparkled and flared. At night, they’d make great lighting, but you’d have to keep all flammable objects away from the windows. The main thing was to keep the branches from stretching lengthwise and creeping further into the castle.

What if that tree is a living dragon? Where’s its head around here, though? Gloria leaned out the window and took a closer look.

«You are curious, mortal!» Someone upstairs muttered.

If it was the same invisible man talking to her, he had already flown to the top of the dragon tree.

His voice was pleasant, yet taunting. Why did the simple word ’mortal’ sound like an insult in his mouth? Is being a mortal humiliating? The invisible man wailed something over her head, as if lamenting the fact that she wasn’t a fairy.

«Who are you?» Gloria dared to ask.

There was silence in response. The invisible man is playing some kind of game with her. Wouldn’t it be better to play charades and make witty conversation? Gloria called out to the invisible man a few more times, but it was still impossible to get him to dialog.

But in the large feast hall there was a conversation ready to turn into an argument. There were aggressive voices coming from there, and one of them was female.

Gloria was surprised. She hadn’t noticed any adult women in the Count’s castle. Even the servants here were mostly made up of men. This could be because the castle owner was wary of female coquetry, because he had already been hurt very badly by it once. It did not escape Gloria’s notice that Angus was extremely sensitive about Amaranta’s disappearance. It was as if he considered himself abandoned. And yet Amaranta was apparently kidnapped by the elves and is still alive. Angus should be angry at those who stole her, not resentful of everyone else.

But the castle master was used to taking out his anger on those who happened to be at hand. In the great hall, crystal tinkled. It looked like Angus had broken a whole set in the heat of the moment.

«I don’t want handouts from the elves!» He shouted.

«Do you want a war?» Some woman asked.

«Yes.»

«Well, it can be organized, but you’ll lose.»

«Try me! What if I find a warrior who can defeat even an elf king?»

«Did they predict that for you?»

«The Sword of Thorns is awake. It seeks its master. I saw it vibrate as if it was eager to fight. Soon the legendary warrior will appear, and your glorious Elves’ kingdom will come to an end. Then you will fly back to me.»

«Or fall into oblivion with them.»

«I want my wife back! Perhaps all you have to do is cut off her wings and she’ll be back to her old self.»

«Don’t be silly! Or this castle will be in ruins by morning. Remember that next to the elves, there’s a kingdom of black fairies. They too can attack on the sly. You remember you stained yourself once with a pact with a black fairy.»

«That pact was canceled a long time ago.»

«But Medea Shai thinks you owe her. She’s coming to collect with blood and souls. And who will help you then, if not us?»

«Don’t bribe!»

Gloria went into the great hall at the sound of the argument. She was so curious that she forgot the invisible man’s warning not to walk around the castle without her sword.

The great hall was clearly preparing for battle. It made more sense to prepare it for dinner. The hunters had brought in the game. A spit was placed over the fireplace.

Gloria found it strange that all the hunters had pale faces, as if they had returned from a funeral rather than a hunt. Probably they had seen something in the forest that frightened them.

«Did you hunt wild boars or pheasants and partridges?» Gloria asked from the doorway, trying to make her tone more cheerful. The atmosphere in the room was very gloomy.

She shouldn’t have asked.

«Is there another girl living here?» A human voice shrieked with excitement from the bag where the game was supposed to be. «How exciting is that? Does Dagda know yet?»

«Throw the sack into the fire!» Angus commanded, but it was too late. The sack was tied tightly, but the clawed paw had torn it from the inside.

Gloria gasped in amazement. There were nine black clawed toes on that foot at once. What kind of animal has nine limbs on its feet? What are the things found in the Ilior’s forests? What a marvel!»

The hunters had obviously been sloppy in their hunting. The game jumped out of the bag alive, grabbed the mace, and began to twist it over her head as if it were a chain. Gloria shrieked. It was a small monster, not a game.

The creature, the size of a large lynx, had six legs, three tails, and a head with branching horns like a demon. And the little freak had the strength of a giant. Many of the knights gathered in the hall were severely injured in half a minute. Some had their fingers chopped off, some had their arms cut off, some had their hands cut off, some had their legs cut off, some even had their heads cut off, which rolled across the floor and fell at Gloria’s feet.

Gloria didn’t have time to bounce aside. The hem of her dress was splattered with blood. The black creature triumphed, easily deflecting the blows of swords and halberds. How had the hunters managed to put this devil in a sack! Now it was free, and pools of blood ran down the floor of the hall.

«I’ll take the girl with me! I know who to give her to…» the devilish creature snorted, smashing the head of the knight who had fallen to the floor with his mace.

The invisible man was right when he advised Gloria to bring her sword. Though what could she do against such an aggressive creature even with a sword? The knights weren’t doing so well. Arrows from crossbows flew at the recent game, but they couldn’t kill it. The creature easily pulled the arrows from its belly and chest and broke the shaft of each one.

«I am stronger and more agile!» The ugly man danced on the dismembered corpses of the knights, waving his mace. He was chanting something that sounded like a spell. His chants made the surviving knights sick. This lasted until Angus intervened. He managed to put a thin ribbon embroidered with some strange signs on the freak, and strangely enough the little monster lost all his giant strength.

«Ah, you are a treacherous magician!» It hissed and tried to twist away.

«We must gut it and put it in the fire!» Angus commanded, who suddenly looked very tired.

Did he really mean to make a meal out of monster game? As luck would have it, Janet appeared behind Gloria.

«There are guests in the castle,» she whispered.

«Don’t look!» Gloria tried to pull her away, but the child was harder to move than a granite statue.

Janet was unexpectedly strong. How do we get her out of here? We can’t let the baby see the gutting of a game, no matter how monstrous. As Gloria pondered, her gaze came upon an open window. There was indeed a woman in a white ball gown standing there, resembling a pale shadow. Could it really be Amaranta? But after all, Amarantha is dead. Or is she not? Was it probably another woman who looked a lot like her? She didn’t even recognize Gloria.

«Why don’t you go back to living with people instead of these creatures?» Angus said to her.

«I’m not going back,» the lady replied quietly, as if the wind rustled in the window.

«Then it will die.»

«That’s not likely. They never die.»

«But they feel pain.»

Who are they talking about? That monster the hunters caught? It was impossible to kill. It was almost impossible to injure it, either. Though Angus had given orders to disembowel it, it was hardly feasible. The knives only glided through the thick hide without scratching it. But the beast laughed, spat fire, and then sang. Its song made Gloria dizzy. Suddenly a voice called out.

«Come to me, Gloria! Do you want to be my lover and my victim?»

The voice penetrated her brain. It didn’t belong to the creature. The others couldn’t hear it. Only Gloria heard it. And now she was no longer in a hall where live monstrous game was being gutted, but in a field where winged maidens danced in wreaths of flowers she did not know the names of. Someone from the round dance holds out his hand to her. Instead of fingernails on his hand he has golden leaves.

And that’s it! The vision evaporated. She found herself back in the feast hall, as if she had fallen from heaven to earth. One of the hunters took a sickle instead of a knife. The beast was frightened by the sickle and howled in an uncontrollable voice.

«You have no right to use Alais’s weapon,» it howled. «Only she has the right to torture us with them. There is a law that no one but our leader can punish us.»

But the hunters didn’t care about the law. Suddenly the sickle vibrated in the knight’s hand like a living thing and sank into his shoulder. The blade easily passed through the dense armor and plunged into the flesh. Human blood splattered and mixed with the pool of the monster’s blood on the floor. The knight screamed in pain. This distracted his comrades. The disemboweled monster took advantage of this and twisted away.

Gloria couldn’t believe that it was able to jump off the table with its belly open, losing its guts in the process. By the way, his cut gut from the drops of human blood splashed on it, instantly fused.

«Humans are rare creatures,» the monster muttered, glancing warily at the knights.

Gloria herself was not averse to calling the hunters as knackers. How could anyone torture a living creature, even a monstrous one? She moved out of the way so that it could escape unhindered, but its bloody paw still left an imprint on her train. The clawed paw was like a seal on brocade. Even the most diligent washerwoman couldn’t wash it now. Well, it wouldn’t be her last dress.

The monster winked at her with one glowing red eye and was gone. It didn’t even reach the open window, but climbed up the curtain and then crawled across the ceiling. Crossbows were fired at it, but it only showed its split tongue. It could never be caught again.

A frightened Janet cried. And Gloria couldn’t shake the feeling that the monster was still staring at her from the feasting table. Someone’s hands, covered with sharp golden leaves, were caressing her whole body, leaving scratches. The caress is like torture, but it is worth dying to feel it.

«If my people are uncomfortable with you, then I’m leaving,» the ghost-like woman turned to face the window. Behind her back, translucent snow-white wings were precisely rising. The lush dress looked like a wedding dress and the tiara like a royal tiara. Amaranta, if only it was her, resembled a fairy queen. A glittering train glided behind her through the dark space.

«Amaranta!» Gloria called out and went after her, but Angus grabbed her and pulled her tightly against him.

«How dare you!» Gloria wanted to be outraged, maybe even slap him. He’s so insolent, not even willing to let her go after her cousin. Gloria looked down and gasped. It turns out she had almost stepped through an open window high above the castle wall. She would have crashed. Angus had saved her from certain death.

He wasn’t going to explain to her what had just happened. And she more than needed an explanation.

«You’re not a healer, are you?» Angus asked suddenly. «You don’t know anything about herbs, do you?»

«No,» Gloria watched in horror as her hem soaked up the blood on the floor. There are so many maimed people here. And there doesn’t seem to be a healer in the castle. Angus mumbled something about how he’d wasted his relationship with the healers in the nearest village.

«There are some excellent healers in the village nearby, but they’re all a bit witches,» he lamented. «And if you let witches on your doorstep, you’ll be in a lot of trouble.»

«Why did you hunt such a monstrous creature?» Gloria was outraged. «How could you think you were so brave as to hunt monsters? You should have fought the giants!»

«What do you know of our harsh lands, girl?» Angus was angry about something.

What did she say?

Gloria noticed that the tapestry that stretched across the wall was dripping with knight’s blood. Instead of looking stained, it began to glow strangely. And on a ledge of the wall above the tapestry, some beautiful winged creature that looked like a golden-haired elf with green wings was perched on it. It was eating a pear, obviously stolen, from the dinner table, and laughing quietly, watching the people swarming below. The scene of Angus tearing the tablecloth into bandages and working as a doctor seemed funny to him for some reason. Gloria glared at the elf, and he caught her gaze. His eyes were seven-colored, iridescent and sparkling.

«I told you to bring your sword,» they seemed to inform her.

«There’s an elf!» Gloria wanted to denounce him in front of everyone, but the place where the elf had been sitting was suddenly empty.

«Naturally,» Angus muttered. «This tapestry is all woven by elves. Why are you so surprised?»

«I am!» Gloria saw that the elves were embroidered on the edges of the tapestry in gold thread. Only she didn’t mean an embroidered elf, but a living one. But he was nowhere to be found. But on the intricate tapestry in front of her, dozens of his copies were circling in a round dance and winking slyly.

The elf from the tapestry

It was hard to wait for everyone to leave the hall. Gloria wanted to examine the tapestry alone. It wasn’t until hours later that the hall emptied. Some gamekeeper had brought Angus an urgent message, and all the knights prepared to leave. Are they really going hunting again? And who were they going to hunt? Were they demons in the thicket? The disemboweled creature proved that demons can’t be killed, but apparently the warriors are empty-headed. They focus on physical strength, not wisdom.

Janet ran off to tear dragon apples and picked a whole bucket. Her fingers didn’t burn on the hot peel.

«It’s for self-defense,» she explained when Gloria caught her. «Dragon fruit is as good as a grenade. If the black fairies raid the castle, you can throw a dragon apple at them and they’ll explode.»

«Do you mean fairies?» Gloria shivered skeptically. She’d never seen a fairy in her life and never expected to meet one. Since the child believed in fairy tales, let her. It was commendable that Janet was looking for a means to defend herself. Gloria herself also grabbed her sword first and then went to catch the elf hiding on the tapestry.

There was no one behind the tapestry. No one was sitting or even hovering on top of it either. Probably the elf flew away after the knights?

Someone crept up behind her and pulled Gloria’s hair. She swung her sword blindly and seemed to hit someone. There was laughter instead of screams. It was unnatural, like coins clinking on the floor.

«Have you come to tear the tapestry?» A voice asked suspiciously, laughing.

«No,» Gloria would never have thought of that. The tapestry was gorgeous.

«All right, then!»

The speaker was in front of her face, not behind her back as it had first appeared. It was as if he had detached himself from the tapestry. Gloria stared and couldn’t believe her eyes. There was a real elf in front of her! Like in a fairy tale! He was dressed in all green. Green shoots grow from his caftan and even from his skin. On his golden curls he wears a green beret of leaves. Behind his back, thin golden wings glisten.

Wings! Gloria wanted to touch them. She reached out her hand, but the elf deftly intercepted it and brought it to her lips.

«I love courting young ladies!» He kissed her palm and then looked her straight in the eye. Gloria instantly fell under hypnosis. At first the elf’s eyes were as green as a spring meadow, and then they began to shimmer with seven shades of the rainbow.

It seemed to Gloria that the two of them were dancing on the rainbow. And then the rainbows multiplied, as if they were divergent bridges spanning the sky. Her feet slip. The elf was with her in flight. And then someone grim emerges.

Gloria struggled to wrench her consciousness from the tenacious tentacles of hypnosis.

«You are strong!«The elf praised, reluctantly releasing her hand.

«Am I strong? No one had ever said that about me before.»

She was usually described as graceful and fragile.

«I mean, you are morally strong. That’s what’s valued here.»

Gloria watched his wings flutter in amazement.

«Who are you? And what are you doing in the castle?»

«I live, of course,» the elf smiled disarmingly.

«And who let you in here?»

«It is count Angus, of course.»

«So he knows you’re here?»

«It is not exactly!» The elf was embarrassed. «You see, the thing is, I was brought here a few years ago along with the tapestry.»

«It is nonsense!»

There was no need for harmful fairies to be brought into the castle along with her luggage. The elf looked at her long and hard, and Gloria was embarrassed. He was too handsome to argue with. Why did she have to get into an argument with him? She could have made friends with him right away. Though there is a saying that friendship with elves is dangerous. It is especially for young girls.

«I’m Gloria,» she introduced herself.

«I know! I’ve heard what the knights called you. They’re all very nervous around here. They haven’t liked the company of beautiful ladies since Countess Amaranta attracted otherworldly admirers to the castle. I, on the other hand, long for female company, but the wicked Count banished all his wife’s ladies-in-waiting. You know she had maid of honor like a real queen.

«Amaranta has always been luckier than I have been,» Gloria looked at the elf and the tapestry. It seemed the tapestry was beginning to grow green shoots, as was the elf’s body. It must be magical.

«So you live on the tapestry?»

«It is inside it, to be exact.»

«But inside it is nothing but thread. And underneath it is a smooth wall, no secret passage.»

«There’s a whole state inside it,» the elf glittered his eyes enigmatically. «Look!»

He took Gloria’s hand and made it touch the tapestry’s woven pattern of turrets and fanciful elves’ houses. Gloria immediately felt dizzy. It began to seem to her that she was no longer standing in Angus’s castle, but at the gates of the land of the elves. A golden giant’s talking head was looking down at her and asking her something.

«Stop it! You’re messing with my head!» Gloria wrenched the elf’s hand away. «You’re trying to make me believe there’s something inside the tapestry.»

«Well, not inside it… but through it you can definitely travel far away from here to countries and areas that you humans consider to be off limits. The main thing is that once you’re there, no one realizes you’re only human, or you’re finished.»

Gloria snorted incredulously.

«Traveling through the tapestry is from the realm of fantasy, though it is like a map for a traveler through fairy tale places. Only the forest, the sea, and the nearby kingdom of Ilior are borrowed from the actual map. Everything else is fiction.»

The sea, too, was depicted as somehow strange, full of mermaids and watermen. And there was an inscription embroidered along the coast – the domain of King Seal. What cartographer could think of calling the Sea of Pearls that? And why does the tapestry itself look like a map? Something’s not right. In addition to images of terrain, magical or ordinary, the tapestry featured people and mythical creatures. The largest close-up was of a wedding of some kind. An elf wearing a crown was marrying a fair-haired girl.

«The tapestry changes over time,» the elf commented. «It originally depicted Angus’s wedding.»

«Who wove it?»

«They are Arachnas.»

«What are they?»

«They are fairies’ spiders.»

«Are they fairies? Where have you seen fairies?»

«Yes, everywhere!»

«I don’t believe it!» Gloria bit her tongue, remembering that she hadn’t believed in elves recently either. She saw one with her own eyes. Everything seems incredible until you see and touch it. By the way, she had never been able to touch the elf’s wings. Curious what they felt like?

Gloria dodged and caught the tip of a golden wing. Curiosity would do no good. The elf whipped her fingers painfully with the wing and flew away from her. Now he was hovering a few meters above her head, and Gloria stood below feeling like a bug.

«Come down! It’s hard to talk to someone when they’re hanging like a chandelier from the ceiling.»

«Promise not to pinch!»

«Okay, I didn’t know you were ticklish.»

Can you tickle someone’s wings, though? The elf flapped them gracefully, as if shaking off a mortal’s touch.

«By the way, why did you call me mortal? That was your voice, wasn’t it?»

«Aren’t you mortal?»

«Yes, but you made it sound like an insult.»

«It probably was, if you look at it from the elves’ point of view.»

His eyes sparkled slyly.

«Come on, let’s go for a walk!» The elf beckoned her over to the tapestry.

Did he really think it was possible to go inside it? From somewhere came the sound of jingling bells and clattering hooves, as if a cavalcade was galloping close by, but it was unreal. This is a feast room, not a road. The only horsemen here are woven on tapestry. Surely the sounds are just another obsession.

«I’m not going anywhere with you!» Gloria hurriedly removed the hand that the elf tried to grab behind her back. «You remind me of a crazy person! How can you walk on a tapestry? Only a madman could think of such a thing. I don’t believe you.»

«It is fine!»

The elf flew to the corner of the tapestry and suddenly froze on it with a golden vignette pattern. Gloria gasped in amazement. It seemed to be the same elf she had just talked to, and it seemed to be just a gold embroidered image of him.

The image suddenly came to life and winked at her.

«Are you delighted!»

The elf had already stepped down from the tapestry and was standing next to her.

«How do you do that?»

«It’s not a trick. It’s magic.»

That’s why she couldn’t find him behind the tapestry, though she could hear his voice. The little rascal was inside the tapestry, not behind it.

«So you’re a prisoner of the tapestry?»

«What makes you say that?»

«Are you a spirit inside the tapestry?»

«You are wrong again!»

The elf was toying with her and enjoying her reaction.

«Don’t pull that disappointed face! I didn’t screw you alone. I screwed everyone in this castle. Even Angus thinks I’m just part of the tapestry, and I’m really just a wandering elf.»

«Are there any wandering elves?» Gloria’s only ever met traveling peddlers in her life.

«There are definitely runaways! I’m a fugitive, but sometimes I have to be a lookout.»

«I don’t get it!»

«You don’t need to understand! I don’t need to understand with the ladies. I love to play with them, but not many survive after playing with elves.»

«I’m not just a lady! I’m a lady knight!» Gloria belligerently raised her sword, on which a lush scarlet rose bloomed again.

«Ah, old buddy!» The elf stroked the blade of the sword as if shaking hands with an old friend. The sword didn’t hurt him. I guess elves can’t be hurt. Or can they, but the sword doesn’t? Gloria was confused. She knew so little about elves that she was confused. Were there possible in the castle library some encyclopedia about the secrets and habits of the elves? But such reference books were unlikely to exist. If some scholar had compiled them, he must have cheated and invented them. After all, elves are unpredictable people. You’ll never understand them. Do they understand themselves?

Gloria understood one thing. It’s useless to threaten an elf with a sword.

«Aren’t you afraid of death?»

«I’m immortal!»

«Aren’t you afraid of getting hurt?»

«If you’d been in the fairy queen’s dungeons, you wouldn’t be afraid of anything.»

«Are you speaking in riddles?»

«So let’s change the subject to a more understandable one,» the elf flew around Gloria and touched her hair. «It’s like red gold thread. And you’re red yourself, like an autumn fairy. But you’re prettier than fairies.»

«Is there anyone prettier than a fairy?»

«Well, it turns out they are!»

«I am Lady Gloria!» She introduced herself again, emphasizing the word «lady» rather than «fairy,» and wanted to curtsy, but changed her mind. First of all, it was uncomfortable to curtsy with a sword, and secondly, the elf could hardly bow to her, hanging in the air, but he managed to do it.

«And I am Fior! I used to be called the Wind Messenger because I delivered love letters from the castle of the Elf King to the castle of the Fairy Queen. They had to be carried at the speed of the wind.»

«Did the Elf King and the Fairy Queen have an affair?» Gloria was keenly interested. Well, how not to believe in fairies, if the case takes such an interesting turn.

«It is sort of! But love played a third role in it. The first place was the benefit from the merger of the two kingdoms. I flew with the song to the queen and was seduced by her sweet promises. I decided to defect. I wish I’d never thought of it.»

Fior took out a harmonica in the shape of a golden caterpillar with a heart and played. The beautiful melody was enchanting. Everything swam before her eyes. The floor became a carpet of roses again.

«Enough! You’re bewitching me!»

Fior stopped playing immediately.

«Look!» He pointed to the tapestry. «It’s a gift from a lovesick elf king to the wife of a mortal earl.»

«I thought it was a wedding present for the Earl.»

«That was the original plan! The elf king and the mortal earl became friends. Then the friendship was cruelly betrayed. It was all because of a woman. Where there’s a woman, there’s war.»

Isn’t she the one he’s mocking? She’ll learn to fight and show all the elves where it’s at! Fiore’s so arrogant.

«You’re smirking at me like I’m walking into a trap.»

«Aren’t you? Look at the tapestry.»

«It looks like a map.»

«That’s right! There’s an elves’ castle! And that black patterned palace is the fairies’ castle! And here’s the trolls’ domain! And these are the magical forests!» The elf poked his golden fingernails into one and another section of the map. «And here is a grove of moon fairies. Do you want to dance there?»

«And how do we get there?»

«It is very simple. It is through the tapestry.»

«It’s also a portal?»

«Let’s go!» The elf grabbed her arm.

«No, I don’t think so,» Gloria pulled away. «I don’t want to get sucked into some creepy place.»

«You’re scary!»

«I’m careful!»

«If you want to be a knight, it’s not their policy to be cautious.»

Gloria didn’t say a word. It was not for him to tell her how to become a knight. The elf himself can’t fight, only fly back and forth. He could only be used as a messenger. He’ll lose a battle unless he flies away before it starts. But he’s very nice to look at.

«You’re special! Not like all the girls before you.»

«What girls do you mean?»

«There were a lot of them: peasants who delivered milk and fruit to the castle, maids, governesses, ladies who came to visit.»

«But why is there none left?»

«And once the young Countess brought with her a whole retinue of young maidens,» the elf recalled self-consciously.

«So where did they all go? Did Angus send them all away?»

«Only the ones he could save. Or rather, he thinks he did.»

«From what did he save them?»

The elf smiled slyly.

«I have a feeling you’re not going to be as easy to deal with as they are. You’re very suspicious and unnatural for a mortal girl, as if you weren’t even human at all, but a cunning fairy. Are you trying to seduce me, poor man?»

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her off the floor, and danced her through the air across the hall. Gloria gasped. Spinning through the ceiling, almost hitting the ceiling with her head, was not her style.»

«Let me go!» She insisted, and was silenced when she met Fior’s eyes. They shimmered and shimmered like rainbows. She had never seen such beautiful eyes in anyone.

«Another elf tried to recruit you before me, and you were nicer to him,» Fior said resentfully.

«How do you know?»

«I watch everything from the top of the tower roofs. Sometimes my wings get stiff from sitting near the tapestry, and I fly around the castle. You know elves have dragon sight. I saw you flirting with Elar on the road.»

«He came on to me. It was like you are now. At least you’re not wearing a mask. He didn’t even take his mask off.»

– Elar doesn’t wear masks. He’s an elf.

«Yes, he does!»

Gloria felt victorious, but Fior only laughed. Apparently he knew something she didn’t.

The sword remained hanging in the air, not falling to the floor when Gloria released the hilt. As if he wouldn’t lunge at them with the point. He knows how to attack on his own, after all.

«If you want to learn how to wield it, you’ll have to ask me for help. I’m the only one who can handle enchanted swords. I can give you swordsmanship lessons.»

«I can teach myself!» Gloria said proudly, and the sword swung nimbly against her own throat. How indomitable!

«It’s already tried to kill you!»

«Weren’t you directing it at that moment?»

«You are clever!» The elf pulled the blade of his sword away from her throat. «I don’t understand why a beautiful girl needs to wield a sword. You can do more with a smile than a long fight.»

Gloria wanted to give him a furious rebuke, but realized in time that the elf was trying to compliment her. He found her beautiful! A blush flooded her cheeks.

«I, too, can do better with charms than with stabbing weapons,» the elf threw a handful of something shiny in Gloria’s direction. He’s trying to cast a spell on her!

«Stop it!»

«How else am I supposed to seduce you?»

«You can’t. I didn’t come here for romance. I came here to solve a family problem.»

«But every girl who sets foot in enchanted territory must be seduced by an elf. Otherwise, Dagda’s cauldron will run dry and we’ll all starve.»

«What cauldron is it? And who is Dagda?» Gloria remembered Angus saying that name to scare the strangers away from her. It had a stronger effect on them than a sword. The whole company scattered. Apparently, sometimes a spell is a more powerful weapon than a sword.

But the sword in her hands is magical! To handle it, you need magic lessons from an elf in addition to dexterity and strength.

«All right, you can teach me,» she graciously allowed.

«And what do I get in return?» The elf decided to bargain.

«What do you want?»

«Let’s start with a kiss!»

The elf brazenly fell to her lips. The kiss was sweeter than honey. But Gloria felt shame and anxiety. It wasn’t a boy, it was an elf! To kiss an elf was to betray the humans. Gloria pushed him away.

«I don’t give advances.»

The elf took offense.

«First train me, and then there will be payment,» she softened.

After flying over the hall, it was nice to feel the hard floor under her feet. Negotiating with the elf was unexpectedly difficult. As soon as someone approached the entrance to the hall, the elf instantly disappeared into the tapestry as if he had never existed. The conversation was not over.

A carpet of roses

Time passed and the elf did not return. How could she make him reappear? For some reason, Gloria ached to see him again. What was so special about him, this elf? Only that he was an elf. A real one!

Gloria paced around the tapestry until her behavior was considered strange. Knights and servants began whispering about her as if she were crazy. Their words were ear-splitting, even though they were standing far away from her. How could it be that she could hear quiet speech at a great distance? Her hearing had not been so sharp before. Had the elf infected her with magic?

Could magic be infected? Gloria frowned. She didn’t know much about magic, and she wasn’t interested in the magical arts. But the promise to teach her how to fight professionally stuck in her mind.

Anyway, the elf promised and disappeared. There was a reason they say all elves were liars. Maybe he was deliberately trying to tease her, when he noticed that she wanted to learn how to wield a sword.

Gloria struggled to find her way to her own bedroom. It was spacious, with a large boudoir and dressing room. It looked like Amaranta’s former quarters. Even her things were still here. Gloria recognized her combs and tiara stacked on the dressing table.

But her biggest surprise was in the bedroom, where everything smelled like a garden. The bed was braided with red roses. The canopy had become a flower garden. The smell was intoxicating. Gloria didn’t mind the roses, but the thorns hurt. For some reason, the only roses in her room were red.

«It’s because of passion,» was a whispered voice to Gloria. «There was only passion here.»

Gloria listened. It was like a whole chorus whispering.

«It’s not a bed, it’s a needlepoint,» she complained as she examined the bed. All the roses had very sharp thorns. But are there roses without thorns? What had she hoped for? The sight of thorns broke the idyll. The bed of paradise was unfit for sleep.

So what to do? Sleep on the floor? Or try to pick roses? There were a lot of them. If you scrub the bed of them like weeds, it’ll take all night. Maybe cut the roses with a sword?

The sword wouldn’t cut them off. The blade only slid along the stems, which didn’t even leave a scratch. Gloria despaired. Should she ask for other quarters? Everyone had already gone to bed. And she didn’t want to break through the closed doors of the castle herself. She didn’t own the place, after all.

«Lie down! Don’t be afraid!» Someone said. «The thorns only hurt outsiders. And you’re Amaranta’s cousin.»

Gloria turned around nervously. She could tell from the tone of the voice that a young man was speaking. He shouldn’t be in her bedroom. But the bedroom was empty.

What the hell is going on? Why was she hearing voices in empty rooms? Gloria never decided to lie down on the spiked bed. Better to sleep on the floor. The couches and sofas in the boudoir were too narrow for a full-length sleeper.

Why should she bother? There are plenty of uninhabited towers in the castle. No one would even notice that she’d broken through the door of one of them. Gloria secretly hid a lock pick in her luggage. What could it be good for? Well, it finally came in handy.

She walked down the corridor, spotted a spiral staircase leading to a tall tower. The tower’s oak door was locked. The doorknob was covered in cobwebs. The keyhole was covered in a strange yellowish mold. Not even a lock pick could open the lock. Gloria was about to look for another tower when suddenly a voice above her ear whispered.

«Just press your palm against the door and say, «I am the elf’s lover, I need your help.»

What a joke! Or fantasy? Naturally no one was standing behind Gloria’s back, but she decided to try her luck, put her palm to the door and stupidly repeated:

«I am the elf’s lover, I need your help.»

It was silly to talk to a door, that is, to an inanimate object. Only a magician or a madman could do that. Gloria felt like a prankster and laughed at herself, but the keyhole suddenly shone brightly. The door opened. The interior of the tower was far from luxurious and very dark. Gloria was afraid to go in. What if it was some kind of magic trap? Was it a joke of the elves, for example? Probably they wanted to lock her in this tower forever, and no one would hear her screams.

Out of caution, Gloria backed away, but a golden light suddenly flashed inside. It drew nearer and formed itself into a figure. And there on the threshold stood a slender lady who seemed to be all gold.

«Good evening, or good night,» said Gloria, stammering. «I didn’t know you lived here. I’m sorry to intrude! I thought there were no women in the castle at all.»

Did the cunning Angus have a mistress living here? Or is it some mad relative who’s been kept locked up on purpose? The lady was behaving strangely. She looked like a golden ghost. Without answering Gloria, she walked past with a look of regal dignity. Her cape whipped Gloria’s shoulder, leaving scratches on her shoulder as if she had stepped on something metal rather than cloth.

Gloria stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded. While she stood there pondering, the tower door slammed itself shut. So be it! Sleeping in such a mysterious tower was risky anyway.

Gloria went down the spiral staircase. There was no sign of the golden lady. But maybe now, in the night, the elf would sprout again from the tapestry in the great hall. Gloria hurried there. Her feet were tangled in something. Had weeds sprouted in the castle floor? In ruins, weeds often sprouted between the stones, but Angus’s castle had not yet become a ruin. The abundance of dust made her sneeze.

Gloria looked up to see where her feet had caught. It turned out that two roses had sprouted in the floor. Wow! How did they manage to take root here? Even in Aluar’s gardens it was difficult to graft some varieties of roses, but in Angus’ castle they could grow in the stones. Miracles, indeed!

The miracles had only just begun. As soon as she closed her eyes, a marvelous fragrance hit her nostrils. Some thin voices squeaked something into her ears in an incomprehensible language. Gloria felt her feet treading on something soft. The floor below was not a floor, but a carpet of roses. Was such a thing possible? Or was she dreaming? Gloria pinched herself just in case.

She remembered exactly that it was night, but dawn was shining all around. The castle walls had disappeared. A meadow of roses stretched all around. She had never seen a whole meadow of roses in her life. The flowers grew so tightly together that they looked like a carpet. There was no grass to be seen at all.

Gloria walked boldly forward. Stepping through the roses was very pleasant. Some rainbow-colored insects were circling near her face.

«Gloria!» Someone called from afar. The voice was beautiful, feminine and sinister. A slender figure crowned with golden horns flashed in the distance.

«The tribes of the goddess Danu await the chosen one,» Gloria heard. «Start a war against your cousin. The Elf Queen must be punished! She’s an impostor!»

This is absurd! The words sounded to Gloria like a ridiculous set of phrases. It must be some kind of riddle. Gloria loved solving riddles. She moved swiftly forward to get closer and closer to the stranger, but the farther she walked, the more the horned silhouette receded.

Gloria must have walked a mile by now. The roses beneath her feet grew thicker and thicker. The stems, like living snakes, clung to her ankles.

«You’re here!» The stranger in the golden mask reappeared in front of her as if from the ground. «The sun has not yet set. Dagda’s cauldron is still cold. You’re too early. Or have you come to fight me?»

The question threw Gloria off balance. Yes, she wanted to learn to fight, but she didn’t want to fight him. Fighting was out of the question for now. Instead of resorting to weapons, his hand gently wrapped around Gloria’s waist.

«You’re in my territory,» Elar whispered. «You wanted to see me so badly that you crossed the border without asking? That’s a dangerous step.»

Gloria didn’t know if she should justify herself by saying that she had been in the meadow of roses by accident. Elar was so gallant and so handsome, and though his face was not visible under the mask, it must be very handsome. She reached out her hand to tear off his mask, and then suddenly she was smelled with heat, as if from the mouth of a dragon. The sunny day over the meadow was instantly darkened by the clouds in the sky.

«Let me out!» An unpleasant voice shrieked as if from the ground, and the clawing of claws could be heard. It was as if something alive and monstrous was buried beneath the meadow.

Gloria didn’t have time to remove the mask from Elar. Though he held her in his arms, he suddenly vanished like a ghost. The carpet of roses beneath her feet was no longer there either. Gloria stood on the floor of the familiar castle.

She squatted down and scrutinized the floorboards. No roses poked through between them. Not one, not two. Not even any rose petals lying anywhere. Had she begun to hallucinate like the mad cousin of the Aluar king? Gloria shuddered at the thought that she, too, would be locked in a prison tower if she claimed to see ghosts that no one else could see but her.

Someone was watching Gloria closely from around the corner. Janet was standing there, tearing an already tattered rag doll with her fingernails. Janet’s fingers were doing the work, and her eyes were watching Gloria.

«Why aren’t you in bed at this hour? Go to bed!» Gloria tried to hide her embarrassment at being caught groping the floor.

But Janet didn’t laugh at her adult relative’s antics.

«Don’t believe them!» She said clearly and disappeared into the dark hallway.

Here we go! Janet sees ghosts, too. Gloria should have been glad she had a witness. Instead, she felt creepy for some reason.

Black fairies

«Danu hates Amaranta,» was a voice through the dream. «There was a time when Danu was a great elves’ goddess, but a mortal girl came from across the sea and took away her first place. Now there was trouble!»

Gloria lifted her head from the pillow on the sofa where she had fallen asleep sitting up. For a moment it seemed to her that the same horned creature was standing near the sofa and making signs to her.

The girl instantly jumped up and grabbed the sword lying next to the sofa, but the strange creature was no longer there. It must have been a vision.

Gloria felt a pain in her back. Her whole body ached. Maybe she should try lying on a bed of roses and hope the thorns wouldn’t sting her.

The same golden lady Gloria had let out of the tower slipped past the boudoir.

«Hey, wait!» Gloria went after her. «Who are you? And why did you come in here without asking me?»

That’s a silly question to ask someone whose door you’ve broken open with a lock pick. Gloria embarrassed, remembering this piquant detail, but the lady had already turned around and looked at her with one-toned golden eyes on an all-golden face. Gloria aghast even the eyelashes and lips on it were gold. But what was more amazing was that this face was copying her. The lady appeared to be her twin.

«Oh, the horror is it!» Gloria covered her mouth with her hand, remembering that twins appear to doomed people shortly before death. That’s the popular belief.

Taking advantage of her confusion, the lady quickly disappeared. Now she could not be found in the labyrinth of castle passages.

«Maybe I was imagining things,» Gloria tried to comfort herself. «I’m too young to die.»

The sword in her hand vibrated strangely, as if it were a steel bird trying to break free and fly away.

There was something viscous and slippery beneath her feet. Gloria glanced at the floor. There were flowers growing on it again. So the carpet of roses was definitely not a dream. There it was under her feet again. Only the roses were suddenly black.

Are there black roses? Gloria accidentally struck one of them with the tip of her sword. A red juice oozed from the severed petal, very much like blood.

«Medea Shai is here,» someone whispered in her ear. «Leave while you’re still in one piece.»

The voice was clearly male and familiar.

«Fior?» Gloria looked around for the elf. «It’s your jokes again!»

One of the black roses suddenly began to grow in size until it stretched to the ceiling. And now it was no longer a rose, but a fairy in a black dress and with black wings. She indifferently flew past Gloria, hitting her with her scarf. Gloria gasped. Her skin burned as if it had been struck with a hot iron. If even fairy scarves burn like fire, what would happen if a fairy scratched you or attacked you?

Gloria followed the fairy, even though it was reckless. Roses tangled under her feet, keeping her from walking. There were already several black fairies hovering around the castle. They were probably midnight fairies. Gloria had heard of them as a child, but didn’t think she’d ever see one.

There was a whole pack of black fairies. Where did they come from? It seemed like there wasn’t a single one. Now it’s night, and there are at least a hundred of them in the castle. How did they get through the narrow windows? Or did they come through some other way?

Gloria watched with her mouth ajar in amazement as the fairies hovered above the floor, climbing over cabinets and cupboards, going through some papers in the castle master’s study. It finally dawned on her. They were looking for something!

What they’re looking for is probably very valuable to them. The fairies looked nervous.

«The queen won’t forgive us if we don’t find the treaty,» one of the fairies whispered to the others. The black wings rustled so noisily that Gloria could barely make out the words.

The fairies obviously hadn’t found what they needed and became aggressive. Silver goblets and heavy seals flew down from the shelves. Sentries came running to the noise. The fairies dealt with them instantly. As soon as the black-winged beauties touched the bodies in chain mail, the sentries began to rot before their eyes. Their skin turned black, shriveled, dried to the bone. And now they are no longer sentries, but pathetic rotten relics lying on the floor, with black roses blooming over them.

«An invasion of fairies is a disaster,» whispered Fiore’s voice from somewhere above. «Hide from them in a niche. They don’t look in the niches because they are afraid they will come across the statues of saints Angus brought from Roshen. The sight of St. Queen Rhiannon frightens them very much. If you need to scare the fairies away, tell them that you are under the protection of Rhiannon and Madeel.»

«But that would be a lie,» Gloria whispered back.

«They wouldn’t be able to check anyway. Rhiannon and Madeel had long ago and forever descended into the underworld.»

Fior was out of sight, but a golden web had grown densely under the ceiling where his voice had come from.

Gloria didn’t like his advice. She would not hide. She walked belligerently past the swarming fairies. They paid her no attention. It was a shame. They’d killed the sentries, but they wouldn’t even yell at her. It was zero attention, a lot of contempt.

«Why are they rummaging around like thieves?» Gloria gritted her teeth. «It’s like a pack of black magpies, not fairies.»

«Did you expect them to dance around the castle like forest nymphs?»

Fior was hovering nearby, but he remained invisible. Probably didn’t want the fairies to see him. Can’t fairies even see the invisible? They’re all fairies.

«The Queen of the Fairies is flying here!» Fior whispered and then stopped talking for good.

Gloria did notice a black fairy in a crown. She came straight out of a large mirror as if it were a portal. She was so beautiful that Gloria gasped with envy, but she acted like a hooligan. The first thing she did was to break a floor vase by deliberately whipping it with her wing, and the second she dropped a splinter of black sparks on the tapestry, and it became moldy as if it were the surface of a swamp. Threads of black cobwebs grew from the black fairy’s fingernails, which she directed at the walls. The black web crawled across the castle like a net. The last living sentry became entangled in it and turned to rotting relics in just a fraction of a second. It was as if the web had sucked all the life out of him.

There was no one else to protect the castle from the invasion of the black fairies but a young squire who came running at the noise. Gloria had seen this young man before, but didn’t know his name.

«You are here again! How dare you come back? You brought us so much trouble!» The squire shouted at the fairy.

Did he think that the black fairy came with the intention of making war? And what was this raid if not a fairy attack?

The black-winged fairy began to release a web of nails that quickly coiled around the neck of the screaming young man. Breaking the silence meant he would suffocate from the black nub.

The squire wanted to strike the beauty with his sword, but the blade only slid across the fairy’s skin without wounding her, and immediately turned its point against the young man himself. He howled in pain as his own sword sliced through his shoulder.

«Get out of the castle! Do not disturb my lord!»

«I have a treaty with the Count, by the way.»

The fairy squinted unkindly, noticing that the sword had cut through the web she had woven, but quickly found a way out. She pulled out of her hair a dainty hairpin, which extended its tip into a blade and became a dagger before her eyes. The dagger the fairy aptly threw right into the squire’s throat. He fell down, bleeding.

«Well, there are no more obstacles,» the fairy sighed with relief. A black mist floated in the air from her black sigh. The dagger became a stiletto again and returned to the fairy’s outstretched hand. The squire’s corpse rotted instantly. «The last awake warrior was out of the game. There was no one else to defend the castle.»

The black fairy clapped her hands in triumph over the mold-covered corpse.

«You left me out!» Gloria stepped out of the shadows.

«Is it the girl with the sword?» The fairy’s graceful eyebrows arrogantly arched over squinting eyes. «Don’t hurt yourself, sweetheart. It’s hard and dangerous for a girl to wield a sword. Better learn some needlework.»

Now that’s an insult. Gloria lunged forward and struck the black fairy with her sword. The sword stabbed lightly into her wrist, preventing her from creating a new web. Black blood flowed from the wound.

The fairy gasped in amazement and froze, hovering in the air. The red carbuncle, which Gloria had at first mistaken for a crown pendant, shone in her forehead like a third eye. The entire flock of fairies scattered throughout the castle smelled the blood of their queen and became alarmed.

«You’ll be sorry!» The black fairy threatened Gloria with the finger of her healthy hand and hurriedly flew away from the sword as far as possible.

The sword absorbed the black fairy blood like it was a sponge. Gloria turned around and threatened the sword at the flying fairies, but it was no longer needed. Apparently, the queen was the strongest of them all. If she was hurt, the others didn’t dare to get in the way.

The fairies were gone in a split second. Some of them flew out the windows, others disappeared into the mirrors. Gloria was left alone amidst the black mummies of the sentries’ dried up bodies.

«You have made yourself a powerful enemy,» – whispered Fior’s voice.

«Just a fairy…»

«It was a fairy queen!»

«Suddenly I was just dreaming.»

Gloria examined the sword. There’s no blood on it. It doesn’t clot that fast. There should have been stains, not brown, but at least black. And there were none. But the ubiquitous Janet watched the fight from the corner and seemed to applaud.

«This isn’t a theater,» Gloria said angrily, and Janet nodded scholarly to her surprise.

«I know, it’s a wrestling match!»

«Go to bed and shut the windows.»

Gloria herself decided to take over the duties of the dead sentries and went around the castle with a watch. The knights were asleep, as if enchanted. The fairies must have spread a sleeping spell around the castle, which somehow didn’t affect everyone. So the fairies have their faults, too. Or they were waiting for someone to meet them. The crowned fairy said she had some business with the castle owner. Gloria thinks Angus is a monk and he’s messing around with fairies. The hermit count is full of surprises.

In Gloria’s bedroom all the windows were closed, but two winged figures were fighting by the bed. Fairies again! Gloria grasped her sword more comfortably, but these fairies were only figuring things out with each other. One of them was red, the other white. They fought, hovering a meter above the floor.

«This bed is not yours,» hissed the white fairy, clawing at the hair of the red fairy. «Why aren’t the roses on it half white?»

«It’s not Amaranta’s bed anymore,» the red fairy defended, scratching the white fairy’s elbows. «Someone else is here.»

Seeing Gloria, both fairies froze in flight.

«And who are you?» The red fairy opened her eyes in amazement under scarlet lashes.

«I live here now!» Gloria confessed and felt awkward, as if she had invaded someone else’s bedroom and not the other way around.

«You’re a guest? Are you a guest? Are you Angus’s second wife?» The scarlet fairy opened her eyes under her purple eyebrows.

«She is Fior’s girlfriend,» the white fairy explained.

Both fairies suddenly stopped fighting and straightened their dresses covered with fragrant petals. Strangely, they began to act like allies.

«This is no place for white roses,» whispered the white fairy.

«It’s no place for red roses either,» the red fairy frowned.

Gloria looked at them like a miracle.

«I hope you haven’t mistaken my bedroom for your own,» she said.

The fairies looked at each other.

«This is not love!» The white fairy said.

«And definitely this is not passion!» The red fairy said.

«Then what is it?» The fairies looked at each other again.

«Who can tell?» The white fairy stomped her foot in a dainty sandal and turned into a white pillar of radiance. The red one followed suit, only the vortex she turned into was purple.

«Roses are not for her!» She could hear the fairies whispering even after they were gone.

«Well, don’t!» Gloria took offense. «I don’t really like roses. I prefer fragrant jasmine.»

As if by magic, the bed suddenly bloomed with fragrant jasmine. Gloria wiped her eyes in disbelief. Now this bed was safe to sleep on. After all, jasmine has no thorns. She would be able to get a good night’s sleep. Thank the fairies!

Magical neighbors

No one said a word about the night’s battle with the fairies. The corpses of the sentries were removed before Gloria woke up. The knights greeted her but remained silent.

Let them hide! She herself did not say a word to anyone about sleeping on a bed of jasmine flowers. By the way, it was a pleasure to sleep on it. The jasmine was fragrant, soft and gentle. This is truly the bed of fairies! And by coincidence, it was given to an ordinary girl.

In the morning Gloria went to visit Janet, who lived in a spacious apartment full of toys, where she was left to herself all day. She had probably once been tutored by teachers, for in one of the rooms hung a blackboard, which was now used only for entertainment. Today, the chalkboard was scrawled with fanciful symbols and silhouettes of centaurs.

Gloria noticed that Janet no longer had any babysitters or governesses. They must have all fled the place, afraid of the devilish things going on in the castle.

«Would you like a lesson in etiquette?» Gloria offered kindly, but there was no response.

Janet plucked another doll as if it were a chicken. What predatory instincts this beautiful girl has!

Gloria gently ruffled the child’s hair.

«Don’t dare!» The child was outraged. «I am the future queen of fairies!»

«What a fantasy!»

«It’s not fantasy.»

«Well, it’s fairy tales.»

She was sure the child has heard too many fairy tales.

«You’re so stupid!» Janet snorted, as if she were the teacher and Gloria the student.

«Fairies are creepy creatures,» Gloria admitted grudgingly. «Did you know that?»

«It is not all of them!»

«Have you ever met one in person?»

Janet hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should confess.

«Flower fairies are very nice creatures,» she said. «Only rose fairies are prickly, like roses themselves.»

«Is it literally or figuratively?»

«Both.»

«That is, they are thorny, and their temper is angry, fiery, in a word, prickly as a thorn.»

Now she was starting to play along with a cranky child. Gloria wondered to herself. Did she doubt the existence of rose fairies when roses miraculously braided all over her bed. In Gloria’s bedroom, at least, there was no watering can from which to water them.

«Rose fairies appear where strong feelings have developed between humans and nonhumans. Human couples don’t interest them, but once a guy falls in love with a fairy, or an elf falls in love with a mortal girl, the fairies start watching the affair develop.»

Janet was thinking like an adult. Gloria was even frightened. Either the child was smart beyond her years, or some ancient spirit was speaking through Janet’s lips, inhabiting the child’s body. If so, it must be exorcized. Gloria had heard of rituals to exorcise spirits and changelings. She’d have to fry an eggshell sometime and see how Janet reacted. If she’s a changeling, she’ll give herself away in no time.

The writing on the board suddenly changed. The images of centaurs were gone. There was the silhouette of a fairy tormenting a knight.

«It’s Elves’ writing,» Janet explained. «To you, they probably look like unreadable hieroglyphics.»

«You should learn Aluar’s language, not Elves’,» Gloria said admonishingly, «because I could take you to Aluar.»

«But there are Elves here, not in Aluar.»

«Are there Elves?»

Janet nodded scientifically.

«What crazy teacher taught you lessons about elves? I hope he’s been fired by now.»

«That teacher’s name is life.»

«I thought it was one of those drunken knights who passed off fairy tales as reality.»

«You’ve seen fairies yourself, and you don’t believe there’s magic here.»

That may be true, but a child can’t believe that or she’ll grow up to be a freak.

«If I told you I don’t believe in magic,» Gloria began.

«I wouldn’t believe you.»

«Why it is not?»

«You’ve already seen our neighbors.»

«Do you say neighbors?» She actually calls fairies neighbors!

«We have magical neighbors, except for King Ilior, but even he often gets a visit from the Queen of the Black Fairies right in the throne room.»

«Your father has a pact with her?»

«And so does the king. You have to make pacts with your magical neighbors.»

«Or…?»

«Or else we’re all gone.»

The writing on the board has changed again.

«Stop it!»

«I’m not the one writing the chalk,» Janet snorted resentfully.

«Then who is? Fior?»

«No, it is someone else.»

The signs on the board were turning into hieroglyphics.

«My teachers say you’re bothering them. You’re interrupting class.»

Gloria was stunned.

«Your father promised you to the elves in payment for peace with them, so you are learning the elves’ language?» Gloria guessed.

«How naive you are!»

And this is coming from a child!

«You said yourself that magical neighbors have to make concessions.»

«Not always! Sometimes you can get along with them. Would you like me to teach you?»

Gloria shook her head no and darted for the door. She felt as if the paws of some invisible creature were at her throat, strangling her. Near the door, the sensation passed, but a monstrous shadow scurried along the wall.

«I’ll go!» Instead of words, a wheeze came from Gloria’s throat, as if she had just been strangled.

«You’ll do the right thing,» Janet said with a nod. «It’s best not to interrupt a magic lesson.»

The door slammed shut behind Gloria as loudly as if it had been pulled down by a giant. There was a menacing hiss from the walls, and Gloria could hear it:

«Get out!»

She had to go to her niece with a sword. How had she not guessed that Janet might have unholy guests living with her! It was too late to correct the mistake.

Gloria clenched her fists and thought gloatingly that once she learned to fight properly, she’d have the place in order.

«To do that, you’ll have to learn magic,» whispered the annoying voice of Fior, who, of course, was nowhere to be seen.

Gloria went to look for him in the tapestry room, and on the way she came across Angus, who was sitting on the floor of the bay window overlooking the garden, drinking wine from the neck of a bottle.

«Drinking is not the best way to deal with problems!» Gloria defiantly crouched down beside him and tried to snatch the bottle.

«What are you doing?» Angus was indignant. «Get off! You’re not my babysitter! If I’d known you’d act like a duenna, I’d never have let you in here!»

Gloria gave up and left the bottle with him. It was already three-quarters empty anyway.

«Why didn’t you tell me anything about the nighttime fairies?»

«Did you see them?» Angus was surprised.

«What do they want from you?»

«A bit of mischief, that’s all fairies usually want.»

«They were babbling on about some kind of treaty… their buzzing gave me an earache.»

«The sentries were even less fortunate,» Angus brushed strands of greasy hair from his forehead. The longer Gloria watched him, the greasier his luxurious hair became. Clearly, the earl hadn’t had a bath in a long time. But he wasn’t lazy about emptying the bottles.

«Usually fairies only want to seduce knights. They suck the life out of them,» he began to explain. «But this is different. My king himself gave the queen of fairies the opportunity to dispose of his troops and lands.»

«Well, you’re keeping up with the fashion,» Gloria quipped.

«I’m in a state of war with the fairies, not in an alliance.»

«Why is it not?»

«They deceived me,» Angus admitted reluctantly. «Or rather their queen deceived me, and all fairies are her subjects, so you can generalize them.»

«Fairies can do a lot of damage. We need to set some traps on them in case they come again.»

«Traps won’t work. I’ve already set snares. Fairies tear them down with a flap of their wings. They also steal babies from their cradles. They make crops rot and milk go sour. Once they put their mark on livestock, there’s an animal epidemic.»

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