Amaranta-2. Captive of Elf’s King

Girlfriends who came with Amanaran have not complained about anything. But immediately after the wedding, her nurse was sick and died. Amaranta herself learned about it only recently from Adelina’s gossip.

«It was not worth the old woman to disclose the mouth and warn about Guest from another world,» Infanta said. «With everyone who is trying to warn people from them, the trouble happens.»

Probably, so she herself did not pay any attention to the flow, unexpectedly arising over the jug, full of water. Blue silhouette has grown over the water like a genie, which threw out of a narrow tank. He had something in his hands. It seems, lily from the pond.

«I brought you a gift,» he smiled enchantingly.

And, probably, now he will begin to ask for a sign of friendship with her, she drove out of here fiery elves. She would drive away from the castle and water beings, and fiery. But just how to do it?

Fortunately, the flow of her thoughts he did not read. Otherwise, he would be offended.

«I picked it specifically for you. Usually I don’t pick lilies, but the gift for you is a special case.

Amaranta reluctantly took a flower. Did you never know what kind of readiness could be the water elf. It is necessary to take a gift extremely careful. Lily to the touch was cold and humid. Instead of a yellow core in the pile of petals suddenly, the features of a pleasant female face. The face lived! It winked and smiled.

«How wonderful! Is this a magic lily?»

«She was a lively real girl. I drowned her,» Stream admitted proudly.

From such a gift immediately became bad. Amaranta did not know where to put a lily and put her on a small malachite table. It would be wiser to put it into the water, but Stream was steamed over a jug with water.

«How could you drown a girl! It’s cruel!»

«And you see what evil are the girls themselves,» he raised the curtain and pointed to the lawn in the garden, where Angus was practically precipitated her own maids-in-honour in trying to flirt. «Want, I’ll drown them all.»

Amaranth squeezed his fingers so that the coarse covers. It is impossible to desire. And the elf was tempted by hiding it with the freshness of the spring.

«Girls are charming, like flowers, but how many tricks in them, cunning, desire to grow up rival. To become the first each one is ready for any cruelty. Then they will still find this beautiful excuse. Any rival will easily shoot you on the hunt to take your place and say that it was by chance that in fact she was aiming in deer, but missed. Lilies are clean, so let the girls become lilies. It is better than to find your poison on rivals, while pretending to be timidations. Weak, beautiful, cunning…» He squeezed the water fists. «Let it be better to be lilies in my pond.»

«What lady so cruelly did with you that you now hate them all? «Although the conclusion was suggested by itself, she was worth it to pronounce it out loud, an elf of water was so convincing.

Stream in rage squeezed his fists and splashing a whole fountain of water splashes on the carpet. She implied him!

«Smart, though mortal!» he muttered, as if the aqueous stream was unlikely, stumbled upon sharp stones. He disappeared.

Lily managed to let the roots directly in the table. Amaranta moved from her. The entire flower head suddenly became female. She was very awkward held on the multiple green stems. Even a little bit and the whole room will to be the lake!

«You’re right! It was not necessary to deceive him but I needed that he flooded one vessel.»

«Can he?»

But the lily did not hear her, but told her past.

«Then he lured me into a pond. He promised the largest pearl.»

The voice resembled the rust of the breeze on the water.

«I’m sorry!» Amaranta felt the door handle and left the room as soon as possible. It’s better not to go here! We will have to crawl into boudoir.

The boudoir near the bedroom was small, but cozy. Here everything was decorated in purple colors: sofa, armchairs on bent legs, silk upholstery on the walls. It was worth storming the pillows on the sofa, as from there was flew the luminous insect size with a little finger. Again the focus of Spark! Although no, the tiny fairy was not similar to the fiery, rather she was floral.

«Can not be more inactive!» she squeaked offended.

Well, here, she was still offended! Itself after all hid in other people’s things. Amaranta has already doubted that this castle belongs to her and Angus, and not the evil spirits, which settled here.

«Who are you?»

«Cannes,» presented herself the Fairy, who walked under the ceiling. On the flower of Cannes her skirts and were really similar. Interestingly, but the petals grow straight from her skin?

«I somehow saw Cannes in Aluar. These are exotic flowers. They were brought from behind the sea,» admitted Amaranta.

«In Tuatu de Danan, they grow everywhere. But not all of them are suitable to become my house,» the fairy has become a little more trusting to Amaranta, lowered the flight and sat down on the back of the sofa. Now it is possible to feel her with the tip of the nail. Clothes petals really grew from her right out of the skin.

«What is Tuatu de Danan? Some Paradise Garden or Meadow?»

«No,» the fairy laughed, imitating bells. «It is so called all the magic lands: and the kingdom of fairies, and the kingdom of elves, and the mountains where the gnomes live and underground states. Once there ruled the Goddess Danu. Then she did not, and the possessions were stripped.

«Ah, yes,» Amaranta remembered the walls in the forest.:And in what part of the former Tuatu de Danan do you live?»

«In any way! I now live here in your castle.»

«That’s how!» Amaranta was sure that Cannes was just a messenger.

«I moved here after the union was concluded. All who did not find a place at home slowly poured here to mortals. I decided not to lag behind the fashion. You really have a chic castle. Only flowers are not enough. Usually I will live inside the flowers. I prefer Cannes. Hence my name, as you understood. Or did not understand? Well, you are stupid.»

«And you are not too polite.»

«I am a fairy, I can do something that you mortal can not.»

«But the king of elves does not think so.»

«Do you know him personally?» Cannes alerted. It can be seen, she hid too long in boudoir and did not hear the last gossip. Amarantite did not want to retell them, but she had to. Cannes noticeably nailed. Let her not respected the mortal girls, but hardly it turned out that Dagda himself was carried away by Amaranta, she was somehow forgot about her morality.

Cannes long told about Tuatu de Danan and all its traditions, and by evening she flew after Amana. Spark returned from the hills. Her presence near the Countess did not please him. He even called the fairy a curious insect, but she did not pay attention to him.

Iskra cost to be swollen. He was hiding behind the tapestries in the most cheekly and lived holes in them. But Amarante did not want to join the debate with him.

«After some girl picked my last house for a joy, I mean Cannes’s flower, I decided to fly here,» Cannes said, flying ahead of the Countess as a colorful firefly. She herself with the butterfly’s wings, more resembling petals, was also very similar to the flower, and not on a curious insect, Spark responded about her.

«These earrings are so heavy, which is surprising how you didn’t break the ears,» Cannes noticed unceremoniously.

«Learn to keep your opinion with yourself.»

«And what are they hot!» Cannes flew to one earring and burned down. Spark giggled, hiding behind the tapestries.

There are so many tapestries in this castle! Amaranta wonder how many elves are hidden behind them? Spark, as well as other fiery elves, was immediately noticeable, since they burned the holes in everything, for what they were hiding. They are better not to play hide and seek, they will immediately get out. And other beings that fucked in the Count Castle after the conclusion of the Union… How many of them here and in what corners do they hide? Guests from the Magic world loved to appear suddenly and hide a long time, but did not leave anywhere. Why, because the union with Dagda contributes to their stay here. Amaranta saw the gnomes in the empty boilers in the kitchen, the fiery elves in the oven, goblins in alcoves, where they were before the statues, even strange spine-shaped fairies, wearing a gold cobweb on the ceiling.

«Want, I weave something for you,» offered one such a fairy, having flown on the golden thread from the ceiling, like a spider.

And wove! A golden handkerchief. It almost instantly arose in her hands and lit up in the darkness. Even Cannes became interested.

«Thank you!» Amaranta accepted a handkerchief from the fingers of the fairy. That immediately disappeared on the ceiling, tightening back, like a spider.

«Arahni,» Cannes squeaked, but Amaranta was more interested in her earrings. Is Spark did something, and they became fiery again? At first glance in the mirror it seemed. The earrings broke out orange, and this is again just flowers. Optical illusion! How then can Canna feel the heat?

Fairies-spiders turned out to be many. It was worth only to throw off her head and look at the ceilings, so there they were crawled by whole flocks. Subsecured bodies, although they were golden, and suspiciously resembled gigantic spiders.

Fairies-spiders worked and made a golden network. Amaranta hid behind the column and secretly watched their work. Although is it possible to spy behind the fairy? Can they see all? Are they not from the kingdom of Medea Shai? It seems that all the monsters nest in her kingdom, and such creatures, though beautiful, but remind monsters. One spider fairy said:

«Say hello, Dagde, when you will be with him…»

«But I… almost don’t know him.» Taking the fairy for the agent of Medea Shai, Amaranta attached a sharp. Did not work!

«Is it really?» a fairy spider grinned. What a poisonous and wide smile, full of sharp needles-teeth.

«Did the Queen of fairies send you here?» Amaranta surrendered. Pretend to be stupid is senseless.

«We have a queen no longer. The king of the elves allowed us to live on his borders. But we are not his subordinates. But in the castle, you can all live since Dagda and Angus entered into an alliance. Doors are open here to all wandering fairies. Э

The people of fairies seem to be called all the magical creatures. The fairies crawled up the column, which was immediately covered with a golden pattern of cobwebs.

«Arahni,» again repeated Cannes.

«Arahni,» Amaranta already heard about them when she drove into the castle from the coast past the forests.

«Golden!» explained Cannes, so that it was clearer. «They weave the web with golden threads.»

At the top gathered a whole flock of Arahni.

«We weave and sew dresses, and you, ladies, carry them,» they quietly sang. «And every dress has special qualities. But not everyone solve them before the outfit will take possession of them.» A circle of wonderful weavers began to seem sinister.

«And can we not drive they away from the castle?» asked Amaranta. Arahni seemed dangerous.

«While the Union is not terminated in any way.»

So she was pleased! Sometimes even an alliance with magic creatures can become burdensome.

«Even if they dissolve it, promise that I can stay here!» asked Cannes. «I can be useful, care for flowers in the garden, bring you news, that is, spying. I am a little and similar to the flower, no one will not even notice me, but I can be sprinkled into any keyhole.»

«Well, stay!» said Amaranta. The tiny fairy did not the same as a whole company of spiders.

«Just don’t put on the dresses that they fall, and advise everyone dear people to you not to wear and not even measure the woven with them, then there are no troubles,» Cannes said.

Probably, the handkerchief was better to throw out, but it is already adherence to the sleeve like a burdock. Do not take away!

«This is nothing!» Cannes cautiously touched it. «The main thing is that it does not touch the skin. Through the sleeve it does not work! But in the dress, woven of them, many lose the mind. They remain forever young, but brainless. A couple of such brainless ladies in gold already wanders in the mountains.

«There are such girls as they need to withdraw with poisonous solutions, «Amaranta said as quiet as possible, so that the arahni did not hear her.

«The poison does not work on them. The first lady at the court of the elves Ivein also dislikes them, but uses with the benefit of themselves. After all, she is in the dresses donated by them, the mind does not lose. They only actually act on mortal. I think if you are a favorite of Dagda, then he sent them here so that they decorate the castle. For example, they can make tapestries.

It would not be superfluous! After all, Spark and his friends walked holes in all existing tapestries. But the ability to enchant the castle a little frightened, because under it you can understand any cunning magic trap.

The golden cobweb above is slightly covered with ice. Arahni was excited about cold.

«Frost! In summer!» Even Cannes was worried.

«According to rumors, Ice Army comes to the king of Ilior,» Amaranta admitted reluctantly.

«Then hence it’s time to fly away!» Cannes was worried. «I do not want to hold the next millennium frozen in the block of ice.»

«Maybe still not so bad.»

«You can easily speak. You have an elf patron, and I have anyone.»

«And what about me? Do you not live in my boudoir?»

Amaranta wanted to console her, but Cannes have already bothered. As if the Firefly, she swayed in height and instantly lost in the labyrinth galleries and arches. Spark giggled over it. If the fairy was afraid of ice, then the spark feels himself as hero. After all, upon the occurrence of an ice horde, who, besides fiery elves, will be able to protect the county?

Golden Shield

In the beginning a hunter then a blacksmith brought an alarming rumors into the castle that strange mechanical beings crawl out of Rodolite. The peasants from the nearest villages planned to arrange a riot. Angus dismissed this news. The threat of war for the whole Ilion was much more considerable than the petty riot of farmers. A few knights is enough to disperse the rebels in the surrounding area. But the war is so easy not to win.

Angus tormented the thought whether he could enlist in the future war the help of the king of elves. Dagda himself did not visit him yet, but sent his servants to make the tapestry as a gift to newlyweds. Now the creatures, called the Arahni, were crawling around the hall for feasts and worked on a bizarre machine brought by elves.

The church, built by Finodirries, as a place for worships remained inactive. But the Finodirirries settled next to it and even built a wall so that none of the people would dare to go on their territory. What they did there, remained a mystery. It seems to be treated the fields. Once, passing by, instead of the seeded fields Angus saw only thickets of turf.

For him it became a bad omen. After all, this is the temple where they were married with Amaranta. If it is the truth, then the wedding seems to be terminated.

Their marriage gave a crack. Amaranta was constantly near, but the feeling was as if she was far away. What Angus did not ask her, everything received only mechanical answers. And Amaranta had very many fans. All his knights suddenly began to care for her alone, as if they had conspired.

«Men like only empty-headed dolls,» laughed Spark on this topic.

Angus did not think so. After all, the fiery elf determined very accurately. Amaranta has become similar to a mechanical doll. In her eyes there is no shadow of intelligence. She did everything, as if on whose will. Maybe some elves were guilty? Angus heard stories about people who physically remain in this world, although their consciousness is captive by elves. Only a physical shell sits at home.

Could this come out and in the case of Amaranta? It will be necessary to ask Dagda when he will apply a visit again.

Angus even tried to call him, pinning his blood to the peace agreement with elves. Instead of Dagda, a beautiful lady came in a wreath of golden leaves, which was called Ivein. She was accompanied by the page, or the younger brother named Ivor.

As far as Angus understood after a brief dialogue, Ivein was the first lady at the court of Dagda. To discuss with her whether Amaranta was winned, Angus did not dare. In addition, Ivein tried to seduce him. To keep the temptation was extremely difficult. After Amaranta she was the most beautiful woman, which Angus saw in his life.

Ivor looked at her attempt to flirt with a big condemnation. Golden leaves ranked in his hair, wings trembled in a short green cloak.

«Dangerous black creatures are sitting in cages in your poultry house,» he noticed gloomily. «You would like to burn them, until they broke out.»

Angus understood this as a hint. So, those monstrous birds, which once caught his grandfather, is to blame for Amaranta. Theobald also assured they tried to influence her when she walked around the birds. He was already warned that these creatures are very dangerous, and he left them from the vanity in the collection. All due to the fact that he was proud of his bird collection, the largest not only in Ilion, but also in all surrounding countries. Those black birds did not die almost a hundred years. To release them is a risk. It is better to burn them with their cages.

«You could profitably sell them or exchanged, if you turn to her majesty Medea Shai, the queen of black fairies,» tactically advised Ivein. «At the same time, it can help in hostilities, if those are expected.»

«It’s not necessary to contact her,» Ivor immediately said. «Her services are expensive than any benefit that she will give you.»

«He is a joker,» smiled Ivein.

Ivor showed a whole golden twisted tongue. Angus shuddered at the sight of it.

«And where is she to find?«Angus was interested.

«There are several ways,» Ivein has bent the fingers, crumpled gold leaves. «Send with a message someone who you would like to sacrifice, at the intersection of roads at midnight. Fill the bowler with the blood of your enemy, boil it on the fire and call her. The easiest way is to get up at night in front of the mirror, taking a large red gem and pronounce her name thirteen times. The stone will have to give her, barely she appears. Otherwise, she will take you yourself. In general, it is a risk to call her, but the risk is justified, because she is very powerful.

«I will take into account!» Angus said. Probably, from the very beginning it was necessary to call an ally-woman from the magic world, not an ally-man. Ivein gave a good advice. – And Dagda will not be against the fact that I will call her?»

«In no case! He does not know how to get rid of her society. You will not be in a burden. You have only one human life, but to endure the company of Medea Shai many centuries turned out to be very burdensome. Dagda will only be grateful that you distracted herit from him.»

Ivein picked up the train, ringing golden leaves, and was already preparing to leave, but suddenly remembered something.

«Oh yes! In no case do not meet Medea Shai with his wife, if you want to protect Amaranta from trouble. Medea Shai cannot tolerate beautiful mortal women.»

Probably, therefore Dagda and did not lead her to our wedding, Angus thought. Ivein has already come out, right in the window. Ivor followed her. Angus would have been frightened that both guests would break up to death if the wings did not flush behind both of them.

Arahni were making tapestry. Amaranta watched them, standing in the doorway of the Big Hall. They made tapestry as if from nothing. Where does the Golden Thread come from? The bizarre patterns are not finished tapestry in familiar places: the arch at the junction of worlds, the temple, built by Finodirries, forests, full elves, bridges from rainbow and a black tract, followed to the kingdom of Fairies. The last place Amaranta has not yet seen with her own eyes and hoped never to see. As Quentin said, if she once gets there, she will die by sophisticated methods of the queen of fairies. Therefore, it is better not to see.

The tapestry, woven by fairies (even if they are spides, but still fairies) made an impression. It has not yet been completed, but it was already possible to determine that it shows not only earthly kingdoms, but all the lands of Tuati de Danan. Even the black tract of Medea Shai has been born in the lower left corner of the tapestry. Next to it, the pink thread portrayed a red stone, like Corundum. Wrapped with green forest threads alternated with silver and gold groves. Next to the tiny figures of people were embroidered large silhouettes of dragons, giants, goblins and trolls. Does all this evil dwells somewhere outside the county. Amaranta was looking for white silhouettes of ice elves at the tapestry, when in the hall came Thobald and Ambrose. They whispered about something. And it seemed to her what they would say right at her ear. The rumor suddenly aggravated.

«The delegation of elves and fairies in the castle is too big,» Theobald insisted in a habit. «They behave very suspiciously. Why do we need some kind of tapestry from them?»

«They just want to make a gift,» Ambrose turned out to be not so suspicious as his interlocutor.

«Gifts from them are impregnated with magic. And magic is unacceptable for people. My head is spinning near this tapestry.»

«My isn’t. Only all these patterns on the tapestry are blurred, barely concentrate on them. It seems that all these disinanted figures begin to move.»

«It’s all the tricks of fairies!» Theobald clenched fists.

«Maybe no,» Ambrose suggested. «When I look at the candles in the candelabra, I sometimes have the impression that their flames forms fiery figures that dance.»

«And you too!»

«And you don’t have the impression that the Countess is not alone one,» Theobald spoke first. «Now she stands and watches the work of these terrible fairies, as if they were not able to hurt her. And I saw her in the garden, when I looked out of the window. She can not move so quickly, as if she had become the fairy with wings.»

Now Amaranth has already been alerted. They noticed her copy! It is necessary to be more careful in the future. Dagda did not call her on a date so long that she began to wander near the golden roses, waiting for him.

«No matter how bad things came out,» the sounds of the knights dialogue were still coming. «Magic folk at the court of people are dangerous guests.»

«We’re now seem to allies,» said Ambrose.

The procession of elegant ladies and cavaliers, which recently walked in the garden, was promoted to the hall. He headed her, of course, Angus and her own copy. That’s it! Amaranta did not know where to go. It is necessary to disappear until Angus noticed her. One of the Arahni shows with her paw to tapestry. There was nothing to do. Amaranta stepped to her, immediately confused in colored threads, and a miracle suddenly happened – it turned out that she was no longer in the hall with a tapestry, but in an empty poultry house. Blimey! It wondered through the door, and not through the tapestry.

The heart was still alarmed. Does Angus noticed? And what to keep a magic copy in the castle if she herself does not go from the castle? Although who makes she be in the castle? She can walk along the meadows and groves in the hope of meeting there again the king of elves. Or look for a bridge from a white rainbow to go to Belladonna for advice.

Instead, she approached the cage with the fire-bird. It needs to release it! To keep the magic bird in a cage in the castle of people isn’t right. The door latch at the bottom of the rods immediately succumbed. Fire-bird feathers slightly fell her fingers, but the burn on the skin was left. The bird squeezed gracefully from the cage and flew into a large window. Not even nodded as a sign of gratitude. Amaranta watched her anyway with delight. Magic birds are amazingly beautiful and majestic creatures. They are not intended to sit in cages.

But ordinary birds did not want to fly away. They are accustomed to dwell in the poultry house. There are more food here than in the wild.