Dragon’s Empire – 1. Curse of the younger Prince

«I have no more heir, but maybe someday you will return here to take care of my ominous heritage. Are you bold enough to take on such a cargo? If so, I will show you a place where the keys are hidden.»

«Yes, someday I’ll be back here,» I not think that I promised. It seemed to me that in this moment the triumphant laughter came across the door, from which the chains were shouted and ran.

Although I was and uncomfortable, but on the way back I asked exactly how the son of the baron died. Are there any wounds on the body?

«No,» he shook his head calmly. «Only his shirt was broken, and three scratches and a red handprint remained on the throat.»

«Maybe it was not a palm, but a paw of some kind of creature?» I expressed my assumption.

«No, it was a track from a very elegant female hand. I can’t say anything else. My help was late,» he showed me a cache, where he hid the keys from the locks. I tried to remember the simple cipher. Although if the story of the Baron is truthful, then these keys had to be destroyed long ago, and the door to leave the locked forever. I looked at the door covered by the web of a heavy chain, and her species made a depressing impression on me. In my heart, cold and fear were sought. It seemed that from under the ground, despite the cast-iron barrier, I heard a joyful, victorious laughter and someone’s voice, at the same time, and a terrible and attractive, whispering to my ear:

«You finally come back! We waited for you so long!»

Deceiver

On the way home, I tried to observe the silence, so as not to tell the brother about my night adventure. The baron showed us on the map the shortest path and explained how we can drive around dried forests. In the capital, I was hoping to relax, persuade Claude to walk along with me past shops selling flowers and baubles. Alas, the city met us with sullen silence. Stone streets were empty, shutters on the windows are closed. And today there was not a soul around. Even closely pressed to each other, stone houses seemed uninhabited. The city looked abandoned, as after rat’s invasion.

We turned to the main street, but here it was also quiet and deserted. Only in one alley I saw a girl. She dressed in a wool shawl and pressed a bracket with a silk goods to the chest. I called her, but she ran past, without even paying attention to us.

It seems she is in a hurry to the square of two swords. Let’s go there,» suggested Claude.

I sighed quietly, but obeyed. The square of two swords, named so in the emblem of one duke’s family always caused me dislike, because there were executions. The heat of fire and the whistle of the ax at the frontal place every time spoiled me a mood, although numerous yawns flocked there from all over the capital. For the first time in life, I found myself in such oppressive loneliness, in the center of the empty city.

Claude leaned and raised a colorful poster from one counter.

«Oh, that’s what some robbers execute today,» he will notify me. «There must be all the townspeople gathered to see.»

He sent a horse to the sinister square. I followed him, although I didn’t want to look at the execution at all. On the wall of the gray house in front of the square hung a shield, and two crossed sword were drawn on its smooth surface.

Claude was right. It seemed that today all residents of the city were glanced at the place of execution and only the most god-fearing remained sitting in their tightly locked houses. From the saddle, I could only see the heads of citizens.

Some boy volunteered to hold our horses, while we go through the square. We rushed into the thick of the crowd to listen to people talking about. Claude joined the sides enthusiastically. I also considered people from the crowd until I saw a strange lord dressed in all black. He, as if, wore mourning on the occasion of execution. He looked completely supernatural. Mysterious and bold eyes have long been followed after me. Somewhere I saw this man, but only where and why he seems to me so elusive and ghostly against the background of a noisy crowd. He stood, leaning her back to the wall of some house, and looked at me.

I wanted to get lost in the crowd and even pushed Claude forward, but, turning around, I noticed with surprise that the stranger still does not take eyes from me. This time, in his glance flashed something unkind.

«Claude,» I grabbed my brother for the sleeve. «Why does he look at me, that man in black?»

Claude looked at the side where I pointed to him and seems to be confused.

«I think because you are extremely beautiful,» he immediately found with the answer and pulled me, as far as possible from the subject of my observations. «Let’s go better from here. How do we know what kind of people will break off at the place of execution.»

I wanted to remind Claude that he himself decided to look at the execution, but did not do this. We just took our horses and continued the path in complete silence. For the first time in a long time I felt a strange fatigue. It seemed that the black wings of some birds slammed over my head. And above the castle flashed the rays of a bloody sunset, similar to the bright all-consuming fire. For a minute I even came out that the main tower is glowing, and the red flames of the flame break out from the windows of my apartments. Only with difficulty I managed to shook the obsession.

Claude and I slipped past the guard and omnipresent royal secretaries. On the go, I managed to shout at one of them, that we will tell you everything as soon as we rest. Judging by the surprised expressions of persons, I realized that the castle had already begun to happen to whether it was not worth ordering a requiem. Only Florian did not leave hope to see us alive. After stormy greetings, he began to talk quietly about how he worried, as he watched his dear from his balcony or even surrounded by a suite went to the forest to meet us.

«Did you believed that one wild boar can cope with both of us?» laughed Claude.

«I’m not only talking about the wild boar,» said Florian excitedly and looked at the sides. Only, making sure that there is no one near us, he continued. «Did you not hear that death wanders around the city. And if they returned at night, they could quite be the following victims. Several citizens died and even travel merchants. In the royal port is also restless. Sailors are afraid of something, one of them swear, he saw how a strange woman in a dark cape wanders at the pier. They even say that she does not look like a living person, that it is white and cold, as a revived statue. According to their expression, a marble hand can strangle anyone. Others come to the head of the guard and explain that they saw in the streets a man in black, and then at the place where he stood, accidents occurred. So that the folk excitement calmed down, had to condemn several robbers on the execution.

«And what do you think about all this?» I asked.

«I prefer not to go to the city after the coming of darkness and advise you the same thing,» Florian brushed aside. «You personally, Edwin,» he turned to me, «I advise you to close the window of your bedroom before bedtime, and I will lock the shutters every night.»

This time I could not hold back a laughter.

«Who, in your opinion, will be able to get to my window, on a smooth fortress wall, while bypassing the sentries and not be wounding about sharp spikes?» I asked. «For this you need to have wings.»

«There are also winged creatures in the world, «Florian shrugged vaguely, clearly he didn’t tell everything.

«Well, I will not mind if at night to me in the window will fly a nightingale or a crimson. I love birds and specially open my window for them.

«I would not advise you to do this,» Florian objected completely seriously. He never allowed himself to smile and only read the instruction. Probably, he considered me an incorrigible joker, but I could not resist jokes when I looked at the gloomy expression of his face, tightly compressed lips. In the beautiful years of his youth, he tried to seem thoughtful and wise.

«Well, well, I will do how you want, even if you order me to lock all the windows in this castle overnight,» I agreed. «I can right now nail up windows in my apartments.»

«No, no need to do this,» this time he smiled after all. «By the way, I invited a merchant to the castle, which brought the amulets for the welfare of its owner.

I wanted to refuse the amulet proposed to me, but could not. A merchant with the chests of his goods was waiting for us in the courtyard. He caused my curiosity. I managed to talk with him just a few minutes, but, obviously, I made an impression of an educated person on him, because I received a big book in the binding of morocco as a gift.

«It’s an expensive thing, I can’t take it just like that,» I protested and reached for the wallet.

«No,» the merchant hurriedly stopped me. «Perhaps once this book was really expensive, but now it’s just a parchment with the text of spells written in a language that no one understands.»

«So why do you think that I can read them and understand?»

«It is unlikely that among my buyers will meet another such enlightened person as you,» my interlocutor replied.

I wanted to say that all my enlightenment takes the origins of conversations with random counterparts, but changed my mind. Meanwhile, the merchant said softly on some dialect, on which sailors spoke in the port, and which I learned to understand.

«You are so young, but in your eyes the ancient mind glows,» he fell silent, but for some reason it seemed to me that he wanted to add «and ancient evil.» I have already heard this phrase as a child when our old teacher read us out loud some book. Why, when a person grows, so many fragments of happy childhood eclipses from his memory. I adopted a book with gratitude, although I didn’t even know what to do with her. Put on the shelf for decoration? But why do I need a book that I can’t read?

When I stayed alone, I revealed the gold-plated latches, opened the book and started flipping the pages, as if trying to determine what was written on them. All letters were neatly bred on the handful parchment with black and aluminum paints. Scarlet letters, as if burned against the background of dark symbols.

There was a persistent knock at the door. I broke away from the book and let the valet, who courteously reminded that it was time to change to the evening reception. On the way to one of the halls, I looked into the mirror and saw some fabulous, mysterious stranger there. Is it really my reflection? It appeared to me very dazzling and someone else’s, as if the gold-haired ghost looks at me from a dark mirror.

In the spacious hall under the sounds of the flutes were spinning in dance only two – three pairs. I decided to play chess with one of the nobles, and we took a table at the window. Time was nearing night. I won several parties in a row and already looking for a reason to retire when I heard the heralds’ tubes. The king appeared in support of his suite. I looked for a long time as the stone sparkle in his crown, how the folds of his mantle fluttered when he is walking. Probably Claude has already managed to tell him about the battle with the wild boar. For the first time my crowned father looked at me with gratitude and even with respect.

«Edwin!» Claude took me under the elbow and took to the side. «The father told me to present you one lady. She just returned from the journey and can tell you a lot. Let me introduce you to Lady Silvia.»

A slim lady turned to meet us. Curls of reddish hair covered her back and shoulders, even lay down on a smooth forehead. For some reason it seemed to me that she had never come out on the sun in her life. Only this could explain the painful pallor of her face. The white openwork dress only emphasized the marble white skin. Black eyelashes beautifully bent over expressive eyes. In a deceptive light from the walls, it seemed to me that the girl’s face was just a smooth gypsum mask framed by rag curls of the hair.

I approached her, more and more convincing that she was just a doll, which was forced to speak and move with help of some kind of cunning mechanism which was inserted in her head. Maybe in front of me really was the creation of a puppet master.

Lady Silvia stood motionless. Just noticing me, she cried softly and would fall, if Claude did not support her on time.

«You must have not got used to noisy reception, Milady,» he said, helping her to get to the nearest sofa.

«No, just not to the fire,» she dismissed when Claude tried to sit down near the fireplace. She settled in the chair, which stood rather far from the fire. Maybe she was afraid that the flame even in a distance could burn her white, gentle skin or spark, accidentally escaped because of the low fireplace, it would fall on her dress. Never have a single lady fainted from the presence of a prince. Claude also did not understand anything, but, nevertheless, he tried to bring Silvia to feelings. I could only retire. Several ladies standing at the exit from the hall, seeing me, sat down in low courtesy. I answered them with a nod of head. Other courtiers, found in the galleries, also bowed to me, someone made a compliment, and only this strange Sylvia for some reason was frightened of me or of someone who was invisible attended behind my back. I turned around, thinking that I would see the ugly shadow behind my back, but I saw only how the black smoke was swept away, taking the shape of the winged being. Just a shadow curve from some kind of subject, but it seemed to me frightening and mysterious.

There was a candle on my table. I could not fall asleep for a long time, listening to silence. It seemed that sometimes a quiet, silk rustle hears outside the window. So rustled the dress of the late queen – my mother, when she went in support of her maids of honour along the narrow corridor in her bedroom. From her kingdom, she led several astrologers in the royal castle, which to this day gave some valuable advice to the king.

Again I heard some sounds. Only now I remembered that, contrary to the promise, I forgot to close the window. I wanted to rise from the bed. The candle was almost burned down and dropped only weak reflections on the morocco’s cover of the book. From the side of the window there was a quiet flap of wings. Did some kind of bird decide to take off so high? Maybe it decided to make the nest on the windowsill? I turned to the window, and what I saw seemed incredible to me. In the arched opening of window, was a graceful female silhouette. I looked at the white marble shoulders, hands, prayer-crossed on the chest, the pile of dark curls and two transparent, sparkling wings behind her. The face of the night guest was also strikingly beautiful. She did not look at me, her lips barely moved, as if in prayer. And I was afraid to twitch her and feared that, bypassing the window opening, she would fly straight into the room, put off the candle with her wing and would speak about the ancient secrets. I carefully rose from the bed and, trying to stick in the shade, approached the window. Suddenly the winged guest raised her eyes.

Under the dark eyelashes flashed a cruel fire. There was no one before the window. My guest disappeared as suddenly, as it appeared.

I remembered the instructions of Florian. In this midnight hour I was ready to give the tribute to his mind. How could he foresee it? He also warned me not to go to the city after the coming of darkness, but I could not obey this instruction. If some murderer roams around the city at night, then I have to fight against him, as I fought against many before him. I took the sword, left the bedroom and on the long-mastered route got out of the castle. Soon I had already walked around the dark streets. Sometimes I went out onto wide, well-lit roads. But the robber is unlikely to be painted in such places. Too much light. Snowflakes are circling near the lanterns like silver dust. In several windows, the light was still burning. In one of them I saw the silhouette of the seamstress with the needlework. I wrapped in a raincoat and continued my way. In addition to echo of my steps, I have not heard any sound for a long time. Then I heard the noise of carriage on the deserted street. The crew, almost came up with me. I wanted to leave the road and stand aside, because on this narrow street it was impossible for us to pass on this part of the road, but suddenly a graceful head looked out of the window.

«I am glad to see you, Monseigneur!» sang a familiar voice. This very voice called me from the sleigh, passing by the deserted glade.

«I am surprised how you are not afraid to ride at night on these sinister streets,» said I, standing near the crew.

«I’m trying to imitate your courage,» she answered in all the same playful tone. «And, moreover, you must help me. Have you not noticed that we have just broken the axis in the wheel, so I had to stop. And not because I am looking for meetings with our beautiful lord.»

I looked at the wheel. The axis was broken. We needed a master to replace it. Meanwhile, my random acquaintance was impatiently tangled with the tips of the fingers along the door.

«Unfortunately, I can not fix it just like that. Does your coachman have any tools with him?» I really wanted to help her, without even thinking about the fact that I am a prince, not a coach-builder. Florian would be horrified by one such thought.

«I don’t understand why you need tools,» the lady was displeased. «With your abilities, you continue to think like a simple person. And it surprises me. So you help me?»

«Sorry, but I really can’t,» I looked at the hopeless breakdown.

«No, you can,» the lady said a imperious tone. Her eyes burned in the light of the lantern. – Call for help your secret force and everything will work out. After all, I have no relation to your brothers, you should not hide your talents from me.»

Her words hit me something. I looked at the broken axis and strained thoughts, presenting how slow the tree would grow together how the wheel rises. And indeed, in just a few moments, breakdowns did not happen. The axis moved to the previous place. The wheel looked like a new one, although I did not even touch it. I was amazed. However, the lady took all this, as granted.

«Thank you, Monseigneur,» she nodded, quickly retired the curtain on the window, and the crew smoothly rolled on the street.

I did not even have time to ask her. What does all this mean? Did the wizard stood behind my back, who did it all. I looked at the lantern hanging on the hook and presented how the glass crawls from a strong impact. Only I managed to think about it, like a glass cap scattered on a plurality of sparkling fragments, and a tiny light ground. Only a small iron frame swayed on a hook.

«Excellent, you really know how to do something,» said a voice behind my back. I turned around. For a moment it seemed to me that I saw a tall, gloomy stranger.

He immediately disappeared. There was no sound of steps, and even echo did not respond to his words. The labyrinth of urban streets ran ahead, I wanted to wander around them all night and think that these places were enchanted and uninhabited, but, unlike travelers, who first found themselves in the capital, I knew that at night at every corner a villain with the dagger could wait for the travelers. In one of the poor quarters, I once crossed the swords with a young robber. Among the robbers, he was famous as the best fencer, the first blade of the robbery world. He was so sincerely surprised when I won him that he swore to do an honest craft and that most importantly kept his promise. I helped him get a job in one of those bakers that they supply bread to the royal table. He was so grateful to me for keeping his life and was ready to fulfill any order. I easily found that the building, where his room was located on the ground floor, and I knocked him three times into a low window. Immediately the candle broke out, the bolt clicked and the door opened. On the threshold, sleepily rubbing his eyes, stood my repentant rival. In the night cap, he rather reminded a silly schoolboy, although he could manifest himself as the most dexterous spy and a good comrade in arms.

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