Between the lines is written in fire

Flames at the tournament

The tournament is to bring out the most skillful knights. It would be nice if Edwin turned out to be the kind of strong knight who could defeat a dragon. Why should he become a dragon slayer for Rosamunda? He doesn’t seem to like her.

As luck would have it, all the once rejected suitors for her hand or their valiant vassals showed up to try their luck in the competition. The kings of neighboring countries, and princes, and even an overseas sultan sent their representatives to the tournament. His knight came with rich gifts and sharp sabers. The only thing missing was the lord of the Magic Empire, but instead of him, his representative Edwin was here. He was the one who was supposed to participate in the tournament.

Rosamunda was nervous. For some reason, she really wanted Edwin to win. That was not patriotic. After all, Edwin is not her vassal. He is a foreigner. Any foreign subject could be an enemy, but Rosamunda somehow didn’t feel like a traitor to her homeland. When a dragon strikes, everyone is a victim, foreign and domestic. If there is a single knight who can defeat the dragon, he will be unanimously declared a hero.

Rosamunda’s maids of honor tried to keep their distance from her. No wonder! The rumor of Winona’s sad fate has already reached everyone’s ears. No maid of honor wants to be the next victim.

Only Dandy is her faithful companion. Even though he’s the size of a lynx, it’s still nice that his fear of the dragon keeps him a step away from the queen.

Rosamunda rejoiced early. Some rude man in a luxurious robe shouted at Dandy, and Dandy was as frightened as if he’d seen a whole pack of dragons.

«Get away from the queen, you little scoundrel!»

Frant hastily hid under the throne, and the boorish fellow spread his sable trim over his shoulders and settled down beside the throne. No one dared to send him away or at least reprimand him. The rude man was probably from a very noble family. But powerful parents didn’t educate their young son. Probably they spent all their time and energy on court intrigue. There’s no energy left for the children.

«Who are you?» Rosamunda did not like the fact that the strange young man attached himself to her like a shadow. His face was as pale as a dead man, but his eyes burned brighter than the ruby hoop on his forehead. It seemed to be the emblem of the Dukes of Dauran.

«I’m Vincent, your new counselor.»

«I don’t recall a council seat being vacant.»

«I’ve come to take my father’s place on the council.»

«And who is your father?»

«He is Duke Alonso of the northern provinces.»

«Can he himself confirm what you say?»

The handsome, pale as death young man did not inspire Rosamunda with confidence.

«He himself had recently been clawed by a dragon.»

At the mention of the dragon, Rosamunda felt confused. She thought she saw a dragon among the knights at the tournament. Or was it someone wearing a dragon helmet? There are not many daredevils who challenge mythical creatures by making shields, armor, and helmets that mimic the body of a dragon.

«You were in such a hurry to take your father’s place that you rushed here immediately?» Rosamunda snickered. «Yesterday Duke Alonso was still alive and arguing with me fiercely about taxes.»

«News of the dragon’s mischief travels the country at the speed of the wind,» Vincent said tactfully.

«Have you received fire letters, too?» Rosamunda was wary.

Vincent is so pale that it is impossible to suppose otherwise. Someone has frightened him to death! Only a dragon could have done that. A dragon’s letters have a magnetic effect on the will.

«So you’re in correspondence with the dragon, too?» She whispered to Vincent.

He was clearly embarrassed. Did he think she was crazy?

«Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I don’t correspond with anyone. It’s out of caution. Messengers are too often intercepted.»

Rosamunda was disappointed. She’d thought she’d found a companion with whom she could discuss her problems and devise some means of self-defense against the dragon tyrant.

«Even if you were able to instantly know the news of your father’s death, say you had a telepathic link with your father, how did you manage to travel to the capital in just a day? Do you have speeding boots or a flying horse?»

There was a moment’s hesitation.

«I didn’t live there.»

«Where did you live?»

«It is someplace else.»

«Where is it?»

«You don’t want to know. It was a bad place. Like I said, my father had me under his thumb.»

Vincent was twisting and turning. What exactly was he so afraid to confess?

«I hadn’t heard that Duke Alonso had a son.»

«I’m kind of a stepson.»

«And can you produce any evidence that you are his legitimate son and official heir to claim his position as counselor?»

«I’m wearing his coat of arms jewelry.»

«And what is beyond that?»

«You think I killed him and took his regalia?»

«I’m merely honoring tradition.»

«Oh, it is the red tape!»

«So how can you prove you’re not a foreign spy sent to the King’s Council?»

«Is there any suspicion of that?»

«You have a strange accent.»

«I’m a bit of a stutterer. My father frightened me as a child.»

«How can I make a stutterer my counselor?»

«You can’t go against tradition. The duke’s loyalists will tell you I’m the son he kept locked up for a long time.»

The Duke’s vassals and kin have indeed arrived at court. Very quickly! It was as if they had been flown here on wings. They all looked pale as if they were ghosts, their eyes were burning feverishly, and their hands were covered with a strange rash like scales. All of them came to Rosamunda’s throne and confirmed that they knew Vincent personally.

«Did you cast a spell on them?» She asked the young man as they stepped back. «They look like zombies.»

«A dragon raided the Duke’s castle in the night. Everyone was frightened,» Vincent explained.

«He can get to both you and me in one night,» Rosamunda said warily. «Do you have a beautiful girl living with you, too, whom he harasses and floods with flaming notes? Is it your sister, for instance?»

«I have no sister. I had a younger brother, but he died.»

«Probably it was during childbirth as a baby?»

«It was later.»

«Why didn’t the Duke say anything about his sons?»

«He was too busy with his career. We children became a burden to him.»

«And you’re about to become a burden to me! Can you imagine how angry all older, more powerful colleagues will be at a young counselor?»

«Then make me chief counselor, and I’ll control them all.»

«Why should I make you the one in charge?»

«I’m the only one who can help you deal with the dragon!»

Vincent said it in such a serious tone that the dazed Rosamunda almost fell off the throne.

«Are you joking?»

«The dragon has long since put me out of the mood for jokes,» Vincent said grimly. «But I’ve also found the dragon’s weakness.»

«What is it?»

Rosamunda suddenly believed Vincent. Only fear of the dragon could have made him look so dead. Apparently, the dragon had attacked Vincent personally. It wasn’t hard to imagine the heart-wrenching scene of Vincent hiding in the tower while the dragon’s claw shattered the windows and scrambled to get him like a mouse out of a mousetrap.

«So what is the dragon’s vulnerable place: tail, mouth, spine or belly?»

«It is metaphorically, not physically.»

«So you can’t defeat it directly?»

«But we can take a valuable hostage who will make the dragon cede everything to us.»

«I don’t believe you,» Rosamunda mumbled aloud, but she decided to keep Vincent close to the throne. He might be useful in the fight against the dragon. He knows something valuable, but his fear of the dragon has damaged his judgment, and he is behaving strangely. Now he stares at the fighting spearmen as if he saw a dragon among them. Someone in a horned helmet was indeed present in the ring and fighting quite successfully.

«King Alaric of Sultanit is said to be the most handsome and successful guy in the universe,» Vincent said thoughtfully, as if assessing a rival who could not possibly be there. The king of Sultanit didn’t come to the tournament.

«I don’t know. He’s never asked me to marry him,» Rosamunda said.

«It is no wonder. He’s a prisoner of the dragon.»

«Is he so weak that he’s surrendered? His armies seem to be the most numerous.»

«We’re talking about voluntary captivity.»

«So is he a dragon captive or a dragoness captive?»

He coughed meaningfully.

«It can happen. Sultanit is a powerful country, but ever since the handsome king befriended the dragon, it’s been a mess. The population has been slaughtered by griffins, the army has turned into zombies, and ghosts feast in the king’s castle at night.»

«It is more like fairy tales.»

«But these tales are retold by travelers who have seen everything with their own eyes. They also assure that the young king, since his friendship with the dragon, has become completely indifferent to earthly beauty.»

«The dragon probably bewitched him.»

«Sincere sympathy is not called witchcraft.»

«There are charms and magical attachments.»

«How do you know about that?»

Rosamunda didn’t remember how she knew about it.

«Probably I heard it from fortune-tellers.

She had just noticed the girls in the crowd wearing wreaths of wormwood and burdock. What’s a fortune-teller? Why else would they make such fancy wreaths? Even more unusual girls came wearing wreaths of sorrel, parsley, dill and basil. The green capes behind their backs looked like wings. Were they fairies?

«They are garden fairies!» Vincent spotted them too. «They are very useful creatures! If you’re hungry, they’ll give you free pumpkins or vegetable salad. I love their tomatoes and cucumbers. By the way, you can tell a vegetable garden fairy by the fancy decorations made of radishes, carrots or potato flowers. They are sure to pin something like that to their corsage, and dill and parsley grow right out of their skin.»

«Are you kidding me?»

«It is absolutely not. I borrowed food from them myself when I was starving.»

«You’re the son of a duke, and you starved!»

«My father kept me in a black body! He said I’d never grow up to be a real man.»

«How cruel is it!»

«But now I’m fully fit to serve you, and I have experience. For example, if the whole country goes hungry, I’ll get you food from the garden fairies.»

«Won’t they glamorize us with their vegetables?»

«It can happen. But that’s only if you forget to be friends with them. I once insulted them and got colic from their beets for a week. Since then, I’ve always been nice to the garden fairies.»

«Do you know any garden fairies? What if they live in my garden?»

«You don’t want to talk to garden fairies. They’re all arrogant upstarts, prickly as roses. Every one of them thinks she’s above the queen.»

«How am I supposed to tame them? Burn down all the gardens?»

«The dragon will do that for you.»

«Alas, the dragon does not serve me. He’s at odds with me.»

«Then bring him to your side.»

«It is easier said than done.»

«I’m a counselor. My weapon of choice is words. And you, by the way, have a woman’s charm. It can be a weapon, too.»

«You think it’ll work on a dragon?»

«Even King Alaric’s friendly charm worked like a lethal weapon on a dragon. And the result is the Sultanit is now the most powerful nation in the universe.»

What’s true is true! Rosamunda bit her lip until it bled. Everyone knows that to be in conflict with Sultanit is to sign one’s own death warrant. Is it really about the dragon?

«Do you know why they don’t allow visitors to Sultanit; no merchants, no ambassadors?»

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