Masquerades of fairies

«What’s the matter with her?» The cat pointed doubtfully with its left paw at Flora.

«You must be joking?» Drusilla marveled at the cat’s tone.

«I…» Flora didn’t know what to lie this time and pressed her hand to her forehead.

«Are you dizzy?» Drusilla asked sympathetically.

«Do you have any potions for headaches?» Flora decided to distract her.

«I have a lot of them, both to cause pain and to relieve it, but you mustn’t take them, or the other that sits inside you may be released, and your body will no longer belong to you. It’s so young, so fresh. Where will you find another like it? The young Marquise was the only noble beauty in this wilderness. And peasant bodies never satisfied you. It’s her spirit rebelling inside you. It makes you dizzy and forget things from time to time. And it is impossible to evict her from your body. Otherwise the body will grow old very quickly. And you’ll have to find a new one.»

Ah, that’s it! Flora listened and gradually became terrified. If Drusilla thought she was talking to some sorceress who had taken over her body, it meant that Flora was under regular magical attacks. That’s why the blackouts and strange dreams. Some evil spirit tried to take over her body, but failed. Let Drusilla think she’s talking to a great sorceress, not the Marquis’ naive daughter Flora.

«This body is fine. I got over the one who squeezed me out of it,» Flora decided to play along with a touch of sneer. «Let’s forget about her! From now on, think of me only as Flora, and don’t mention the other one.»

«The main thing is that this body should last you longer. There must be traces of death and the magic that destroys it. Let me see!»

«Don’t!» Flora wanted only to remove Drusilla’s hand, but the witch shrieked and didn’t stay on her feet. Flora’s touch struck her in the chest with a bolt of lightning.

«Oh, I’m sorry! I can’t believe it’s me!» Flora watched in consternation as Drusilla rose with the help of a broom that flew up to help.

«You’re so strong! You’re the Queen of Evil!»

Flora was surprised herself. Probably, by displacing the magical invader from her body, she had taken away some of her magic powers.

«Don’t tell anyone that I went to the Fairy Masquerade last night,» she warned Drusilla.

«Of course, Mistress,» Drusilla shook off the strange green dust that was everywhere. Sometimes the dust clouds took the shape of moaning or hissing faces.

«I’ve got to go!» Flora hurried away before Drusilla realized and bewitched her. «Good night!»

«When are witches’ nights ever goodnight!» Drusilla snorted, and Blackie wagged her tail happily at Flora. The cat was clearly relieved that her guest was leaving.

«Who did think I was the witch!» Flora wondered as she walked down the corridor. The door behind her had already disappeared. The fire rose glowed in the candelabra like a star. Flora decided it was best not to leave the magical object in front of everyone and took the rose to her bedroom. At least no one would see it there.

«That’s right!» This time the mask supported her. «Traces of magic should be hidden from people.»

«I’m human, too,» Flora muttered.

«Are you sure about that?» The mask’s words were tinged with sarcasm.

«Yes!» Flora looked at herself in the wall mirror. «I’m human!»

Her own reflection suddenly winked at her, and Flora recoiled from the mirror. Better not look in mirrors at night anymore. Flora had heard from someone that evil spirits could appear in mirrors at midnight. Or maybe it was the clever Drusilla who put a spell on all the mirrors in the castle.

«The spirits of the looking-glasses are joking with you,» consoled the mask.

«That’s all! And I thought I was turning into a wicked witch. By the way, do you know who Drusilla has confused me with?»

The mask must have known, but it didn’t say a word, only laughed deafeningly in response. Her laughter rang out over the night castle.

The dragon’s advice

There was a note waiting for Flora in the morning, scribbled on an autumn leaf. Some tiny elf riding a kingfisher had slipped it through the crack of an opened window. The event felt more like a dream, so Flora wiped her eyes.

«I think the tiny elves are called pixies,» she mumbled in her sleep.

«They are,» sang the mask on the bedside table.

«Ouch!» Flora woke up immediately and completely. If the living mask was not a dream, then the elf on the kingfisher was not a dream either.

The kingfisher and the elf flew away as soon as Flora picked up the note, that is, the bright orange maple leaf.

«Is it already fall? Or do elves know how to color leaves?»

«It’s from the regions of fall,» the mask determined. Apparently it didn’t need sleep, as it didn’t look sleepy.

«Where are these regions of fall?»

«They are in the Empire of Magic, of course.»

«Do I have any acquaintances there?»

Flora unfolded the sheet. The letters were scratched on it as if with claws, but the calligraphic handwriting gave away Edwin’s hand.

«Yes, it looks like I know someone there now,» Flora said, but as soon as she began to read, the note was not from Edwin. There was only one sentence written in it:

«Don’t attend any more fairy masquerades!»

And a signature:Dragon’s Advice

Wow! Edwin has an intelligent dragon! Who would have thought?

«I wonder if this dragon can talk. He wasn’t very talkative with me last night.»

The mask laughed snidely. Flora didn’t pay any attention to her. Who would understand these magic items! Maybe the mask is crazy for laughing at something all the time. Flora couldn’t even figure out what it was laughing at.

«I guessed it!» Flora guessed. «Edwin was too shy to write me the note himself, so he decided to sign it with a dragon. After all, a dragon is only a beast, albeit a magical one. He won’t be accused of courting a lady.»

«Do you think Edwin is so shy?» The mask squinted sneeringly.

«He’s young. All young boys are shy.»

«He just looks young, and he’s a wizard. Do you know how many different magical offenses he’s had on his conscience? He once put an entire kingdom to sleep with magic, and his dragon burned down so many cities!»

«You’re lying!» Flora straightened the ball gown she had slept in without undressing and fixed her hair. Now she could go out into the garden to see if there were any traces of the fairies.

There was a surprise waiting for her in the garden – another note from the dragon. This time the inscription was scorched by fire on the trunk of a centuries-old oak tree.

«Do not be frivolous! Do not follow in the footsteps of the fairies!

Your dragon.»

«And that’s being impertinent!» Flora took offense. The letters were still hot and sparkling. So they had been scorched recently. Did the gardeners see the dragon? They definitely didn’t see any fairies last night because they were asleep. The servants go to bed early to save candles. None of them reacted to the fairies laughing at midnight, but not seeing a whole dragon in the morning was incredible.

«He’s only giving you a warning,» the mask squeaked.

«Are you protecting him?» Flora shook her so-called friend in her hands. «I don’t need dragon advice. I’m smart myself!»

«So smart that yesterday you almost died in the claws of the fairies!» parried the mask.

She’s right! Flora lost all her aplomb.

«Why did I study fine arts, geography, and even philosophy if I’m not smart enough? You should deduct it from the governesses’ salaries. Their lessons were wasted on me.»

«I only respect magic lessons,» the mask snorted. «I could give you a couple.»

«No, thank you.»

«Are you afraid of getting more stupid?»

«I’m afraid you’ll cast a spell on me.»

«I’ll do it!» The mask took offense. «I treat you with all my heart, and all you do is hurt me!»

«Do magic masks have souls?»

«It’s just a figure of speech.»

«You’re hard to understand.»

«Unlike you, I don’t make dangerous friendships with dragons.»

«I’m not friends with dragons either,» Flora said, catching herself in a lie. If she didn’t make friends with a dragon, how could she explain the dragon’s insolent behavior? He was bossy, leaving inscriptions with fire in the garden. In one bed, the petunias have been trampled and a large dragon claw has been left in the loosened earth. The maids would be horrified when they saw it. Flora rushed to fix it. Raking the ground with her hands to hide the monstrous mark was not possible. Flora began to vigorously trample the flowerbed to layer her footprints over the dragon’s trail. That way it would be hidden.

«What are you doing? Dancing in the flowerbed?«A surprised cry was from the garden gate.

«Raphael!» Flora only now noticed her brother. How foolishly things had turned out! Stomping on the flowerbed, she looked like a witch with disheveled hair dancing on the bare earth among the plucked flowers.

«Mama loved those petunias,» Rafael reminded her resentfully.

«She also loved orchids, tulips, daffodils, camellias, chrysanthemums, geraniums, and many other flowers I can’t even remember the names of.»

«That’s right, you have amnesia, sister!»

«I don’t have amnesia!» Flora got angry.

«Well, you only forget things that it’s to your advantage not to remember. For example, when you broke your mother’s necklace, you immediately forgot about it, and the maids were whipped for the offense.»

«You’re so vindictive! I don’t even remember that!»

Flora nervously fixed her hair, which was tangled in the leaves and flowers of a nearby acacia tree. Flora’s reflection in the garden pond looked like a disheveled witch. Rafael himself was not looking his best. His shirt was torn, his camisole had been lost or lost at cards, his boots had burned holes in them, and his hands had burns. He must have been drinking and partying all night, maybe even had a fight with someone.

«I hope you didn’t lose everything.» Flora asked in a venomous tone.

«On the contrary, I won a lot.»

«Then where is your camisole and your winnings?»

«You see, the thing is, I was counting coins on the way, and I was attacked by creatures attracted by the glitter of gold.»

«Were they fairies?» Before, Flora would have thought her brother was making things up, but after her encounter with fairies yesterday, she wouldn’t have been surprised if those winged wretches had attacked Raphael as well. Her brother is so cowardly! Even if he had a sword and had perfectly mastered the art of swordsmanship, he would not have defended himself against the fairies. After all, fairies are ladies, and ladies Raphael respected.

«What fairies are there,» he dismissed it. «A rabble of evil spirits: ugly trolls, gray elves, dwarves – all surrounded me at the crossroads and I had to play with them until morning.»

«So?»

«You can’t win to wizards!»

«You didn’t make all that up?»

«Look!» Raphael lifted his cuffs and showed the burns in the shape of clawed paws. «Our land is full of evil! We have to get out of here, and fast.»

«Father won’t allow it.»

Flora thought it was better not to tell Raphael about the fairies, otherwise he would lose the whole castle to them, or maybe he would just give them away for a kiss.

«By the way, did you catch leprosy from the gray elves? I’ve heard they carry magical contagion.»

«Who did you hear that from?»

«I don’t remember!»

Flora really didn’t remember.

Raphael looked around warily.

«I don’t seem to feel sick.»

«All infected people feel healthy at first. The disease doesn’t kick in right away.»

«You’re a healer?» Rafael had a frightened look on his face.

«Your friend gave me a lecture yesterday about what a bad castle we have.»

«What friend is it?»

«It is an aristocrat named Edwin.»

«I don’t know any Edwin.»

«But he was here yesterday.»

«It was an aristocrat in the middle of nowhere! He was a messenger from the King, perhaps.»

«He is more like a traveler. I invited him to dinner.»

«It’s good to have someone to talk to other than the prim astrologers my father invites. The frequent visits of alchemists and astrologers probably made our castle a bad place. When Father dies, I’ll drive them all away. I can’t stand minions and crooks.»

«How can you talk about Father’s death when Father is alive and unhurt?»

«My mother was alive and unhurt, and then suddenly…» The words froze on Raphael’s lips. «If mom were alive, she would have dispersed those alchemists.»

«I’ll find out what happened to Mom,» Flora promised herself. A chain of tiny footprints could be seen on the path. If only Raphael hadn’t noticed them. Only fairies could have such graceful feet.

«Floretta!» The brother had gotten into the habit of calling her by her pet name, so something was wrong. She was usually called Floretta by her mother or nanny. Flora was immediately alert.

«What do you mean?»

«Don’t go to crossroads in the evening, even garden crossroads,» Rafael advised. «The evil spirits love to catch travelers at crossroads.»

And at masquerades, Flora wanted to say, but she had the good sense to keep silent. Raphael wouldn’t have understood. He himself was now terrified of crossroads and gambling trolls.

Advice from the fairies

As soon as Raphael had left the garden, Flora breathed a sigh of relief. Now she had time to cover the dragon’s trail. Her absent-minded brother hadn’t noticed it, or he would have panicked by now.

She had to hurry before the gardener and his helpers got here. There’s no way to trample the dragon’s trail. It’s too big. Maybe we should try to cover it with a rake or a broom. She wished she had Drusilla’s broom right now. She was sure the witch’s broom could do a fine job even with a dragon’s mark.

Laughter sounded from behind the briar bushes. It resembled the chiming of bells. It was the way fairies laughed at a masquerade. At the memory of fairies Flora was terrified. She was more afraid of fairies than she was of the dragon.

If fairies got into the garden, they would definitely try to strangle her or tear her apart.

The rosehips at this time of year were blooming with tiny roses. They were supposed to be white, but for some reason they were blue. Are there blue roses? Flora looked around the bush in surprise. It looked like magic. It was as if the fairies had enchanted this bush.

Someone was still laughing in the thicket. There was a gravel path around the bushes. No one was walking on it, but the imprints of graceful feet were suddenly imprinted on it. Where had they come from? Unless an invisible man had walked here.

Flora stared at the footprints in puzzlement. They looked as if they had been left by feet in winged sandals. Probably some fairy flying over the path had decided to play a prank. Flora stared up at the sky, but the fairy suddenly appeared beside her and laughed. She was translucent for a moment. Then she turned blue.

«How lucky I was to play a trick on you!» The unfamiliar fairy hovered in the air above the path and clapped her hands joyfully. Her nails, eyebrows, and eyelashes were silver, and her dress, hair, and wings were blue. Such beauty! Flora glared at the fairy, forgetting the danger. Somehow the fairy looked suspiciously like a blue rose from a bush.

«Are you a garden fairy?» Flora guessed.

«Uh-huh! I’ve been living in the hollow of an old elm tree for a couple of decades and I know all the secrets of the garden.»

«Are there any secrets in this garden?»

The fairy obviously did not want to answer. She flew forward along the avenue of poplars. Flora followed the fairy. It was strange that at this time of year the down was flying off the poplars. The fairy caught it and laughed. The poplar fluff turned blue in her hands.

When she reached the beech, the fairy tapped the trunk with her hand for some reason.

«What are you doing?»

«I want to call my friends. They live in the yew, ash and cypress trees.»

«Are they fairies like you?»

«Yes, they are.»

«No, you don’t need to call them.»

«Why is it not?» The fairy fluttered her silvery eyelashes in amazement.

«I don’t like noisy company.»

«I heard you and an elf agreeing to go to the fairy masquerade.»

«I didn’t like it.» Flora didn’t specify that it wasn’t the noise she didn’t like, but the claws of aggressive fairies.

«I don’t like it either, that’s why I haven’t attended masquerades for centuries,» admitted the garden fairy.

«How long have masquerades been held in the fairies’ residence?»

«I don’t remember exactly,» the Garden Fairy frowned. «I think since the Empress disappeared.»

«Which empress is it?»

«Does it really matter? Personally, I liked having fun in the company of the local marquise. She was such a fun person.»

«She’s gone,»» Flora said sadly.

«Is she?» The garden fairy was very surprised. «I saw her only yesterday.»

«You couldn’t have seen her yesterday.»

«It was definitely her.»

«You must be mistaken.»

Aren’t there many similar women all over the world? To the fairies, surely all mortals look pretty much alike. Then it’s strange why the fairy didn’t mistake Flora herself for her mother. After all, Flora was very similar in appearance to the late Marquise.

«Let’s dance in the air above the garden,» the fairy grabbed the hesitant Flora by both hands and tried to pull her into flight. «Let’s have a masquerade right here in the garden.»

«No!» Flora struggled to break free. «I’ll fall and get hurt.»

«It is really! You don’t have wings!» The garden fairy seemed to have just noticed this. She flew around Flora in surprise and even tried to unbuckle her corset to see if her wings were hidden underneath.

«I took you for a newcomer to the garden. Sometimes stray fairies come through here.»

Flora didn’t know what to say. The garden fairy must be out of her depth. Or she could be stealing her father’s port and drinking it in the hollow tree. The maids complained that one flask of port had disappeared.

How could the garden fairy otherwise claim to know all the secrets of the estate if she mistakes the master’s daughter for a stranger?

Between the footprints on the path something glittered. It seemed to be a coin. Flora bent down and picked it up. The coin was unusual. It had no crest or tails. There was a silhouette of a dragon embossed on both sides.

«Had the dragon dropped it?» Flora could only think of such an assumption. Although on the other hand, the unusual coin could have belonged to a garden fairy or the young wizard Edwin.

The coin was hot, as if it had been heated on fire. Flora almost dropped it from her fingers.

«Don’t throw it away!» The fairy warned. «The coin is magic. If you throw it, you will find the way to the dragon’s kingdom.»

«Is it to the dragon kingdom! Why would I go there? I’m afraid of dragons!»

«And they love you.»

«That’s not true! The dragon was just told to watch over me and pester me with advice.»

Another piece of advice was scorched on the bench. Why did the dragon ruin the bench! It was expensive, the Aluar’s craftsmen made it from yew and valuable copper. Flora didn’t even bother to read the inscription. She’d had enough of the dragon’s advice.

«Keep the coin! If you toss it, you can find a way out of any situation,» the fairy squinted slyly.

She flapped her wings and knocked over a statue of some garden goddess.

«Careful, it’s expensive!» Flora rushed to save the statue, but it was already shattered.

«I don’t like garden goddesses! But if it’s expensive, let it stay here. Just give me the coin.»

Flora was glad to part with the coin that burned her fingers.

With a flap of the fairy’s wings, the statue was whole.

«One coin is worth a whole gallery of such statues,» the fairy explained, but she didn’t give the coin back.

«Is it alive?» Flora recoiled from the statue, which began to make faces.

«No, it’s my magic. It only takes a pinch of magic to revive a statue.»

«You can put her back to sleep, or she’ll scare the guests away with her marble facial expressions.»

The garden fairy stared at Flora in discouragement.

«You’re impossible to understand!» She sighed.

Flora could have said the same thing about the fairy, but she delicately kept silent.

«Do you think that a magician who comes to visit you will be stunned at the sight of just one living statue?» The fairy was busy shaking off the debris from her skirts, which resembled the petals of a blue rose. The statue suddenly fell asleep. At least it didn’t make any more faces.

«Thank you!» Flora thanked.

«Do you want some advice for the future?» The garden fairy was about to fly to the top of the elm trees, but she delayed. «If you find another dragon coin on the road, don’t give it to anyone. Otherwise, you’ll lose your chance at magical luck.»

«Thank you, but I can do without that chance,» Flora muttered, thinking to herself that the fairy’s advice was all she needed.

Why did all magical creatures, except for witches, take her for a naive person? First the dragon came to her with advice, and now the fairy.

«How proud you are!» The garden fairy snorted. «For your information, not everyone can find a coin dropped by a dragon. If I had seen it on the path before you, I would have picked it up immediately, but I didn’t. So I don’t have a gift for finding gold.»

«Do garden fairies need gold? I think you only like flowers and plants,» Flora wondered.

But the fairy had already flown away with the coin. What was she going to spend it on? The Marquis de Rione’s castle was rarely visited even by shopkeepers, not to mention foreign merchants with silks and spices. Father scared them all away.

Besides, why should fairies buy anything when they can conjure up whatever they want? She guessed the garden fairy really believed she could use a dragon coin to find some forbidden path to dreamland. Well, let her dream on!

Flora looked around for the gardener’s tools. There must be some way to cover the dragon’s trail. She was too late. Drusilla’s broom had already covered the flowerbed. Drusilla herself was nowhere to be seen. The witch’s broom could do the job without her mistress.

Flora sighed in relief. How convenient to have a kind-hearted witch who wanted to help you. The broom covered the dragon’s trail almost instantly. Flora, on the other hand, wouldn’t have been able to do it in a whole day.

Garden mysteries

Raphael didn’t know anything about Edwin. So Edwin wasn’t one of his acquaintances from the local taverns. That was comforting. In the beer halls, his brother tangled with the rare hooligans. If only all these drunks and hustlers weren’t his constant company. Brother needs a more aristocratic friend. But where could he get one?

Flora caught herself thinking she couldn’t forget Edwin. He is so elegant, so mysterious! There’s something special about him. It is apart from the charms, of course.

«I feel as if I were in love!» Flora whispered. She was glad that the magic mask was not with her. Otherwise the mask would have laughed!

You have to put up with your own mask’s witticisms! She shouldn’t have gone to the fairy masquerade. Then she wouldn’t have the magic mask now. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have met Edwin.

«I wonder if he’ll come to dinner.»

The witch’s broom, naturally, did not respond. It covered the dragon’s trail and flew back into the window of the castle from which it had flown. It must have flown back to Drusilla. It was strange that the witch’s broom was actively flying during the day as well. Flora was sure that all witches’ tricks worked only at night.

A bush of particularly lush dark blue roses appeared at the garden gate. The gardeners were careful to avoid it, pretending it wasn’t there. It grew right by the side of the gravel path. There’s no such thing as blue roses! It’s a fairy joke! Flora already knew about her, but the others hadn’t even seen her yet, so they blamed it on the curse of the castle.

«All cursed castles are besieged by wickedness,» Flora heard bits and pieces of the head gardener’s assistants talking.

Flora knew what the servants were whispering about and realized that they were right. The fairies had indeed been here at night. They waltzed in flight over every flowerbed and mound.