Masquerades of fairies

An impostor

In the white blizzard, the outlines of hovering figures shone through. They seemed to be ghosts, not blizzards. Ghostly arms and wings reached for Flora. The ghosts of not only humans, but also fairies and elves seemed to be lost among the snowflakes. They all turned equally white, and their voices resembled the whistling of the wind.

«At your residence tonight they are preparing a celebration in honor of the anniversary of your becoming our empress,» Batiste said on the way.

Flora felt sick. He, too, had mistaken her for the Empress of the Evil Spirits. Similar appearances mislead both humans and non-humans. It’s the eternal problem of doppelgangers. Apparently, she’s the doppelganger of the Empress. But by pretending to be her, Flora felt like an imposter. It’s like she’s taking a swing at someone else’s throne.

«I hope no one from the Lake Fairy Residence was invited to my reception?» Flora quickly put on the appearance of royalty. She was already used to getting into character.

«It is of course not. There are only stray fairies. They are not welcome at the emperor’s court and can sneak in here.»

«Is that so?» Flora shivered. The fur of her collar prickled her cheeks. It felt like she was wearing a wolf skin that had been removed.

The living wolves had not been slow to appear. Their skittish gray bodies flashed through the trees. Flora shrieked:

«It is wolves!»

She’d never seen wolves so close before. Strangely enough, Batiste wasn’t afraid. He’s probably a wolf hunter, not just a dragon hunter. The wolves surrounded him and Flora on all sides, but Batiste didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

«Stand aside!» He shouted at them. «Don’t you see the mistress has returned?»

The wolves, strangely enough, drew apart to the left and right, as if they were in two lines. Flora eyed them warily as she passed, but not a single wolf tried to attack her. Maybe they weren’t hungry. Or are they not wolves at all, but large dogs? More, the animals look like wolves. Some of them have silver fur.

«I usually live in Roshen,» Baptiste said as if nothing had happened. «The borders of the city must be guarded. My packs are stationed there. We wolves are the guards of the city.»

Does he really call himself a wolf? He looks like an aristocrat. Flora would call him dapper. Except the wolf fur on his camisole was alarming. If Baptiste was wearing a wolf mask, she’d think he was going to a masquerade party.

«It’s a long way from here to Roshen,» Flora said.

«Your magic sleigh can get there in a quarter of an hour.»

She wished he wouldn’t demand it of her now! Then let him delude himself about her as much as he likes. Flora was used to misleading people.

The trunks of some of the trees looked suspiciously like female figures. The snow-covered branches seemed like hands. There were also trunks that resembled the figures of young men.

«They were hunters, berry pickers, adventurers. You’ve made everyone stiff,» Baptiste glanced at the trunks with distaste.

And this Empress is cruel! Flora herself would never do such a thing, even if she had magical powers.

«We’re almost there!» Batiste pointed at the snow fairy floating in the heights. Up close, the fairy appeared to be nothing more than a caryatid. Her wings were propping up the portal of a large white marble palace. Flora had never seen such a magnificent structure. It looked like the palace of a queen. The columns and arches were covered with rose-shaped moldings. There were several caryatids. They were all fairies, and they all seemed alive. Above the entrance was an epitaph.

«It’s a crypt!» Flora exclaimed.

«It was a crypt for the great queen and her dynasty, but it has become a palace for you,» explained Batiste.

«A crypt cannot be a palace!»

«It can be, if it is the palace of the Empress of all evil spirits.»

He was probably right about that. Where else would the empress of cursed creatures, vampires, werewolves, and wandering fairies live if not in a crypt? Flora softened. If there was an incense roaster in this crypt, she would gladly warm herself.

Shards of sarcophagi and tombstones were visible at the entrance, but inside the crypt stretched a huge hall ready for a ball. Probably it was not a crypt at all. Flora turned around. The sarcophagi were here, but the wolves were gone. Instead, young slender men in wolf masks and fur-lined cloaks stood outside in the blizzard. They were probably guests who had come to the reception. But why aren’t they going inside?

The huge hall was as bright as daylight, though no chandeliers or candles were visible. There was a ghastly crowd: trolls in camisoles, jeweled goblins, underground dwellers, a flock of vampires, and even a dozen witches. Well, at least there were no fairies. That’s a relief. Flora was relieved until she noticed a group of fairies in dark mourning robes in the corner. Those weren’t exactly the kind of fairies that were at the masquerade. They seemed to be grave fairies. Flora had read stories about them. They dwell in cemeteries, scare travelers and can drive a person crazy with their kiss. Each fairy held a fanciful mask. In front of the face of the tallest grave fairy, obviously the main of the pack, the mask was carried by two obliging bats.

And there was a masquerade! Well, where to go from masquerades? Flora was ready to be anywhere but at the masquerade. After all, from the last fairy masquerade she had very unpleasant memories. She would have left if it hadn’t been warmer indoors than out.

«It is another masquerade!» Flora stomped her heel. There was a crack in the floor from which a leprechaun had crawled out. Are even these crumbs here? What a bunch! A whole lot of evil!

«You used to love masquerades,» Batiste whispered in her ear.

«Now I hate them!»

«Shall I tell them to stop the festivities?»

«No, let them have fun if they’re here,» Flora was afraid to give orders for the Empress of the Evil Spirits. What if she got in trouble for it? It was one thing to pretend to be a ruler and quite another to claim her power.

She spoke too loudly about fun. How could a gloomy crowd of evil spirits be called fun? The grave fairies cringed unhappily when the trolls tried to flirt with them. One grave fairy conjured up something, and a troll, who was so irresistible, suddenly started dancing and twirling like a drunken man. It almost started a fight.

«I’ll put things in order,» Batiste promised, but the bat fairy hanging from the ceiling suddenly noticed Flora and fluttered her wings nervously:

«Mistress has come!»

The unusual fairy’s voice echoed through the hall. Everyone immediately fell silent. Even the red wine, which was being poured into a goblet by a vampire, froze with an icy stream.

«Announce the start of the ball,» Batiste advised.

Flora’s tongue was slurring as she spoke. Nevertheless, the music started immediately. There was no orchestra in sight. The fairies swirled in a dance over the hall.

A new golden mask suddenly appeared in Flora’s hand, also alive, but more polite. At least she didn’t dare to openly be rude. Probably mistook Flora for the empress as well. This mask had a halo in the form of wings and a hoop of a crown on a golden forehead, and also a relief of stars on one cheek. Flora gazed at it mesmerized. Curious if her old mask would be jealous, learning that she found the other mask more luxurious.

The masquerade was getting more and more interesting. Grave fairies set off fireworks of black sparks. Pixies flew from the ceiling and sparkled, dancing ghosts separated from the walls. Everyone saw Flora as the mistress of the feast. Goblins and trolls bowed low to her, grave fairies and ghosts crouched in curtsy. What would happen if the real empress came here now and exposed the impostor? Flora felt like a thief who had been mistaken for the mistress by a servant in someone else’s house.

«Let me ask you to dance,» suggested Batiste.

Flora did not want to stand like a pillar. That was the only reason she agreed. Dancing with Batiste was like waltzing with a wolf. Flora felt she was the game and he was the hunter. Perhaps it was because Batiste had a piercing gaze.

«You remind me of a wolf,» she admitted honestly.

«I am a wolf,» he confirmed unashamedly.

«Is it figuratively or literally?»

It is literally, of course.»

«Are you kidding?»

«How can I joke with you, Your Majesty?» Batiste blinked in amazement. «Don’t you remember how you turned me into a wolf yourself? Now I am the leader of the pack. All of us wolves serve you and the emperor, but we don’t interfere in your private affairs with him, so I won’t tell him I saw you here today. This is your secret hiding place. The emperor can’t get in here unless you let him. But he knows all sorts of clever magic tricks, so I’ll be a fish when I see him. The thing is, I have to report to him every century. The Emperor wants to know how things are going in Roshen. If you remember, Roshen was a stronghold of faith in you centuries ago, but now it has changed in both power and religion. It is now ruled by dragon viceroys and guarded by my wolf packs.

Flora listened to Batiste and blinked in surprise. He seemed to be telling her a fairy tale.

«I don’t believe in werewolves,» Flora stammered and gasped when her dance partner’s palm turned into a wolf’s paw.

«You may not believe it, but there’s a werewolf wolf right next to you,» Batiste handled Flora delicately so as not to scratch her. The wolf’s claws disappeared instantly. «I don’t like being a wolf myself, but you’ve condemned me to it.»

«Are you angry with me?»

«It is not anymore,» Batiste admitted honestly, «but there was a time when I was furious. I wanted to tear you and the dragon apart. The dragon once seduced and killed my sister Daniella. Her ghost told me what happened.»

«You believed the ghost?»

«I come from a famous family of witch doctors. We can understand the language of ghosts.»

«Is it really?» Flora was even more surprised. «What’s your relationship with the dragon?»

«I swore to avenge him and I did. Then I realized that it would be fairer to give up revenge.»

How complicated! Flora was about to ask Batiste more, but the music was suddenly interrupted by a terrifying scraping sound. It was coming from beneath the floor.

«Are there visitors from the underworld?» Flora wondered.

«It is worse! Augustine is back! He could give us all away! We must make sure he doesn’t see you!» Batiste quickly covered Flora, but she looked over his shoulder and almost screamed in terror.

Someone creepy and monstrous was crawling across the floor of the luxurious hall. All the wonderful guests were cautiously stepping in front of him, as if he was the boss or he could curse them if they disrespected him. But can one curse the cursed?

The monstrous creature spotted Flora and crawled faster. Straight towards her! It must have recognized her as an impostor at first sight and now it wanted to grab her to throw her out of the masquerade in disgrace or something even worse. Flora tried to hide her face under the mask. The creeping monster lost its bearings for a moment, but the insidious mask suddenly opened its golden mouth and sang:

«Mistress is here! She is right in front of you!»

«I remembered that I have urgent business to attend to!» Flora rushed out of the crypt palace and ran back to the archway. One of the revived caryatid fairies tried to hold her back. Cold marble hands clawed at Flora’s shoulders, but Flora managed to break free. She threw the mask directly into the snow. Why pity such a traitor.

Another obstacle awaited ahead – the young men in wolf masks surrounding the crypt. Strangely enough, they didn’t try to detain Flora. Batiste didn’t rush after her either, but the scrambling sound emitted by the creeping monster could be heard from behind. Flora ran like a man possessed.

In which direction the archway was located, she didn’t remember. But she did have a dragon coin. A flip of it and Flora found herself next to the arch. Inside the archway, the summer forest was green. Creaking and wheezing could be heard from behind. The monster kept up.

«Always at masquerades I have an accident!» Flora sighed and stepped through the archway, hoping the creeping monster wouldn’t follow her.

The tower in the forest

Instead of the familiar forest of trees, Flora found herself at the foot of a gloomy tower. The forest was all around her, but it was different, unfamiliar. Flora did not know the names of many of the trees. The walls of the tower were lined with vines. A stone staircase spiraled around the tower to the very top. Out of curiosity, Flora climbed up the steps. They led to the parapet, but Flora didn’t reach it, noticing a niche in the wall. The niche turned out to be a human-sized window. Flora stepped through it and found herself in a small, cozy room. Apparently some aristocrat lived in the forest. Good, if not a werewolf.

Flora examined the elegant furniture. There didn’t seem to be any scratches on it, which meant no wolves lived here. An exquisite sofa on curved legs was upholstered in expensive silk, and a carafe and candlestick stood on a malachite table. There was a marble bathtub in the corner, but no bed. But behind the velvet curtain on the wall hung a portrait of an incredibly beautiful brunette. Flora gazed at her. The lady’s black curls resembled living snakes. They came down below her waist. The luxurious purple dress was trimmed with ermine. Her head was adorned with a crown of gold, forged in the shape of laurel, wings and roses. And behind the painted lady’s back, enormous patterned wings protruded. So it’s a fairy! Probably it is the queen of the fairies.

There was no dust or cobwebs on the picture frame. Either the painting is magical or the tower’s owner regularly cleans up the place. So he’s not far away. Flora felt embarrassed to have entered someone else’s dwelling. She thought the tower was uninhabited.

There was a scraping sound from outside. Flora looked out the window and was frightened. The same creepy creature she had recently seen at the masquerade was crawling up the steps into the tower. That was how it had managed to cross the winter arch! Flora had thought it couldn’t do that. Now there’s no escape. The only way out of the tower is cut off. There’s only a window, no door, and the monster’s crawling towards the window. Of course, you can climb the parapet, but you can’t fly from there without wings. That’s when you start to regret blowing off the dragon. If only now he would come and take her away from the creeping monster!

Flora panicked. Was there any way to summon the dragon or Drusilla and her flying broom? A witch could save the day, too.

«What was there to do?» Flora thrashed around the tower while the scrambling and wheezing got closer and closer. There were no weapons to defend themselves in the tower. But there were bats nesting here. They swarmed at Flora as soon as she opened the door of the old closet.

«Get out!» Flora waved them away aggressively, and the cloudy mirror on the wall already reflected the monster crawling over the window sill. The chimes were just striking midnight. Where had the clock come from on the forest tower? Flora hadn’t noticed them, but their sound was so loud that it seemed to shake the tower.

For want of a better weapon, Flora grabbed a candlestick from the table. And it would do! The candelabrum was heavy, cast iron. You could hit the monster over the head with it and run away.

«Put me in my place!» The tiny cast-iron fairy that was the handle of the candlestick suddenly came to life and spoke to Flora in a demanding tone.

«I must be going mad!» Flora almost dropped the candlestick.

«You are a cheeky girl!» The cast-iron fairy continued to raise a scandal. «You are thief! You took me without asking! I’ll report you to the tower owner!»

Does the tower have an owner? It would be a good idea to call him for help. The beast was already crawling across the floor toward Flora. With the monotonous beat of the clock, it changed. Its claws retracted, its posture straightened, and now it was no longer crawling, but standing on two legs. It straightened, and was suddenly human. The candles flickering in the candelabra illuminated the pleasant face and blond hear.

The clock struck twelve. The stranger straightened to his full height. He was definitely not a monster; he was probably a cripple. Flora remembered the name Batiste had spoken at the masquerade and instinctively repeated it aloud:

«Are you Augustine?»

The young man immediately nodded. Yes, that was his name. And he himself could walk, not only crawl. He took a graceful step toward Flora. Was he not a cripple? Hardly had the tower clock struck midnight when it appeared that the cripple could walk. What a miracle! The healthy Augustine turned out to be a handsome, slender young man with a cap of golden hair and blue eyes. His face resembled Edwin’s.

Flora felt embarrassed. Barely had Augustine ceased to be a cripple before she began to like him. How could she mistake him for a monster? He was so sweet.

«You dropped your mask,» Augustine handed Flora a gold mask on a twisted holder.

Flora recoiled. She would not take this traitor in her hands again. The beautiful mask was going to betray her to the monster. For that, she wanted to throw it into the fire. Flora even considered snatching the mask from Augustine’s hands and holding it up to the candle flame in the candelabra. The candlestick with the scandalous cast-iron fairy had to be put back in its place, only when it was back on the table. The fairy calmed down and corrected the flames of the candles with its cast-iron wing so that they flickered more evenly.

The mask looked so peaceful, as if it didn’t think it was a traitor at all. Come to think of it, what had she done wrong? Yes, she had summoned a monster to Flora, but if the monster had embraced Flora and suddenly turned into a handsome young man, nothing bad would have happened. The charming young man strongly resembled a young practitioner of black magic. His camisole and breeches were black, not counting the border of golden lace. This seemed to be the uniform of a student of the famous School of Witchcraft. Flora herself couldn’t remember how she knew of it. There, both students and apprentices were given a uniform of black velvet, edged at the collar and cuffs with white or gold lace. Gold lace was considered a mark of special distinction. So Augustine is a powerful magician.

«I have a lot of your masks piled up,» he admitted, opening a dresser drawer. «I’m picking them up for you. Here, look!»

There was a whole collection of unusual masks in the drawer. Flora liked the half-mask made of the wings of colorful butterflies. When she touched the mask, the butterflies were alive. Flora immediately pulled her hand away. Another mask was made of stars, a third of thorns and roses, a fourth resembled the head of a horned nymph, and the fifth looked like the skin that had been cut from the face of a beautiful girl. At the sight of it Flora was so frightened that she shoved the drawer of the table, not forgetting to throw the talking golden mask into it.

«Ouch!» Augustine, whose fingers Flora had nearly pinched, cried. His fingers glittered with jeweled rings, one of them with a dragon seal. Flora suspected something wrong at the sight of it.

«I no longer serve him,» Augustine intercepted her gaze and tried to remove the signet ring, but it would not come off. «And I wouldn’t serve him at all if you hadn’t left me. He’s so kind when he’s not conjuring. He’s also a philanthropist and guardian of the poor. Anyway, as soon as you gave me back the receipt for the sale of my soul, and I was left without your patronage, he came and picked me up like a stray kitten. He said since you’d abandoned us both, he and I were brothers in misfortune. For a while, I was considered the brother of the magical emperor himself, honored only slightly less than he was. He taught me magic, and then we got into another argument over you, and even a fight. So now I crawl around as a monster during the day and only become normal at night.»

Augustine flipped open the lid of the chest where the magical books in black bindings, like those in the witches’ library, lay.

«Even these don’t help me,» he reported. «And these are the rarest and most valuable. The witches and warlocks must have praised them for nothing. I never got any good advice from them.»

Flora noticed that some of the books had locks on their frames, and one book was even shackled with thin chains. Evidently Augustine did not want to hear any more of their advice, which was of no avail. Flora sensed a low, caustic whisper coming from the books:

«Whoever messes with a dragon will regret it!»

«Didn’t you hear anything?» She asked Augustine.

The young man brushed strands of unruly golden hair from his ears and listened.

What an ear he has! Perhaps he can hear a field mouse at a distance.

«I hardly recognized you,» Augustine confessed suddenly and made a gesture with his hand. The cast-iron fairy flapped her wings obediently, and the candelabra flew straight to Flora’s face. «Usually, your favorite type of appearance was angelic: blond hair, blue eyes, innocent doll face. That’s what your first favorites were: Fleur and Bianca. Then there were a whole bunch of other blond beauties. They all wore out quickly and their souls, stripped of their bodies, got stuck in purgatory.»

«Why are you telling me this?» Flora was scared out of her wits. It sounded like some kind of witchcraft ritual.

«You’re the one who introduced masquerades,» Augustin shrugged. «It’s so convenient to hide from a dragon in the middle of a colorful masquerade. He wears his dragon form like a mask, if you remember. That’s why your affair with him is an eternal masquerade. Now I’m part of it, too, because I’m wearing a monster mask. The laws of the magic masquerade will eventually affect everyone who loves you.»

Flora shuddered. She had already forgotten about the monster at the masquerade. Was Augustine really a monster? She could not believe it now. In front of her was a young aristocrat of seventeen or eighteen. So much for his looks, but what if he had centuries behind him?

«I once wore a mask in the figurative sense. Then you appointed me governor of Roshen. I dutifully pretended to be a holy man while I ruled the realm. It’s convenient for the queen of the evil spirits to declare her assistant a saint and put the masses in her power. In Roshen, they’ve erected a monument to me as the patron saint of the city. Everyone thinks I willingly sacrificed myself to the dragon to save an entire state. In fact, I became his apprentice. The Emperor of all magical creatures has taught me his secret knowledge for centuries. And I longed for the years in the cells of Roshen, when you visited me almost every night. I decided to use magic to find you, and here you are.

Flora smiled obediently. It was better to pretend to be who he wanted to see, or he would turn into a monster again out of frustration and attack her.

«I wish you’d warned me that overdosing on magic could have side effects,» Augustine sighed.

«I didn’t know that myself,» Flora said.

«Is it really?» Augustine’s face lit up with genuine joy. «I thought you had betrayed me. So we’re back to the way we were.»

Flora instinctively nodded. Why upset a strong magician? It was better to agree with him on everything.