Dinner with the dragon
From the fireplace came the cheerful songs of the ash fairy, which obviously had to be considered victory hymns, because the fireplace fairy had chased away the dangerous guest. But what was Babette dangerous about?
No one would dare to receive in the castle a guest whose companion is a troll. Not even the Marquis, who messes around with astrologers, would refrain from such a thing.
Today at dinner to the Marquis de Rione was a whole group of alchemists, astrologers and stargazers, among whom there was even one fortune-teller. Obviously, the fortune-teller worked exclusively for the elite, because her dress was fashionable and expensive, and around her neck she wore a pentagram pendant made of pure silver.
«This is Lady Serpina,» whispered Charles, whom everyone present either did not notice or took for a distant relative of the Marquis. «She predicted the fate of the king himself and received a considerable reward. In confidence, I’ll tell you that all her predictions do not come true. But she is good at making dust in the eyes.»
Charles chuckled, but no one heard him. Not even the fortune-teller herself.
«That’s very interesting,» Flora looked among the guests for Edwin. His golden-haired head would have been easily spotted in the gray mass of guests, but he wasn’t here. How could he have been so indelicate? He had promised to come to dinner and he hadn’t! Flora was so angry that she almost hurt herself with the tines of her fork. She had no desire to eat when she remembered that fairies had recently danced on this very table where the guests were sitting. No one else knew that the table had recently been the scene of dancing, so the other guests ate with gusto.
Charles ate for ten. Flora hadn’t realized that elves liked simple human food so much. Father was whispering animatedly with the stargazers. Raphael arrived late for dinner and immediately reached for the carafe of strong wine. Flora sighed, realizing that her brother was an incorrigible drunkard.
She took a cabbage pie from a wicker vase and nibbled at it with boredom. Her napkin was immediately covered with crumbs.
«Look at my children!» The Marquis demanded from the stargazer sitting next to him. «Do they have any potential?»
The stargazer nervously adjusted the cap on his head, which he did not remove even in the dining room.
«If there was, I probably would have noticed it long ago,» he muttered.
The Marquis had obviously expected a different answer.
«What do you think,» he tugged at one of the astrologers. «Will my son, or at least my daughter, be able to show any magic talents in the future?»
The astrologer tried to determine, even looked through the lorgnette.
«No, both of your children do not have the slightest bit of magical potential. I am absolutely sure of it!» The astrologer disappointed the Marquis.
Charles did not hold back his laughter and urgently covered his mouth with a napkin.
Why was he laughing so hard? Flora looked at the elf with judgment. Her father was obviously very worried and didn’t hide it. Why did he need her or Raphael to be able to do sorcery? If he wanted to protect the castle from the raids of evil, he could always hire some wizards.
«I had hoped that Raphael would have some magic in him,» the Marquis admitted.
«Your son may still have the rudiments of star study and magic,» the lady Serpina hastened to reply, «but your daughter certainly does not. She has no talent for magic. I guarantee that even the lessons with her of an experienced wizard will not bring any results.»
Here Flora was ready to applaud the fortune-teller’s acting talent. Astrologers and stargazers are good too. How can you sit next to a potential witch and not even consider that!
«Did you hear them?» She whispered to Charles.
«Why are you so surprised?» He smiled broadly. «They are only human!»
«They are men who have mastered the forbidden arts!»
«They are clever charlatans,» Charles objected and put a large piece of roast quail into his mouth. «The Marquis has no knowledge of magicians, but his cooks are excellent. They make the best lasagna here, and the mushroom pies are delicious, too.»
Elves can be gluttons! Flora moved away from Charles, who called himself a gourmet and was in a hurry to try all the dishes. Lady Serpina had a sweet tooth and devoured one dessert after another. The other guests preferred strong drinks. Only Flora neither ate nor drank anything. She had a bad feeling. It was like a tight spring in her stomach. Could all the food be poisoned? Drusilla could have put poison in her cooking. She is a witch, after all.
Drusilla herself appeared at the edge of the table, looking young and in a gorgeous black dress. She was mistaken for a companion of one of the guests. She made some sign to Flora, but Flora could not interpret it.
«He’s flying!» The ash fairy hissed from the fireplace. «He’s already over the castle!»
Was she talking about the dragon? It would be a trick if the dragon came to dinner without Edwin! She was tired from the feast, having barely sat at the table for half an hour.
The flowers in the vase on the table suddenly burst into flames and shrank. In a moment, only a husk remained of the bouquet. Oddly enough, instead of the smell of burning, the scent of forget-me-nots wafted through the air. Drusilla’s whole body shuddered as the doors to the dining hall opened with a jerk. The last guest had arrived. No one was expecting him except Flora, but one seat at the table was suddenly free for him. It seemed to have been taken a second ago.
Flora blinked in amazement as she watched her guest remove his cloak. Edwin had come alone, without a dragon. That should have been rejoiced, and she was saddened. The dragon would have protected him from unpleasant company. Often her father’s friends acted like a pack of wolves. Today, they had swooped in to question the new guest. Edwin just snapped his fingers, sending out golden sparks, and the guests suddenly went numb.
Drusilla covered her face with a black lace fan that came out of nowhere in her hand. She avoided looking at Edwin. Apparently she had done something to annoy him and now feared revenge.
Charles, too, hastily covered himself with a napkin. You could tell from his look that he wanted to hide. The joking mood was gone. The elf was in a panic.
«What’s wrong with you? You’re not sick?» Flora touched the elf’s shoulder and felt him shiver.
The guests stared in bewilderment at Edwin, who had not touched his food or wine. Lady Serpina liked the handsome guest and tried to flirt with him, but she choked on her wine and coughed. Flora was sure it was no accident. Rafael sobered up immediately when he noticed a young man of his own age at the table. He’d always wanted to make more friends of his own age. Had he known that the young man next to him was a wizard who was probably hundreds of years old.
Astrologers, alchemists and stargazers appreciated Edwin’s expensive camisole and precious rings. They were always on the lookout for new patrons, so the guest intrigued them. One marquis looked at Edwin as if he were an enemy.
«Have I not paid my debts?» He asked the guest directly.
Flora was surprised. How could her father owe something to a real charmer? The circle of communication of the marquis was exclusively charlatans. When did her father meet a real magician somewhere?
«Debts, tribute… let’s leave these conversations for later,» Edwin suggested.
It was hard for the Marquis not to lash out at his guest with his rapier. Flora’s father’s fingers reached for the weapon. Such behavior was unusual for him. Did the Marquis know that Edwin was a sorcerer and could harm everyone present if he wished?
«When will you return the noble woman you stole from this castle?» The Marquis attacked the guest, ignoring the murmurs of the crowd.
«It was not I who stole her.»
«But you are responsible for all these creatures that are climbing around, you!» The Marquis accused.
«Wouldn’t it be better to hold the King of Argania responsible?» The prophetess smiled coquettishly. «It is his duty to protect his subjects from any misfortune. I will speak to him about it the next time I am at court.»
«Lady Serpina, this is an argument between two men,» the marquis said.
The soothsayer cringed when she heard herself called by her common name rather than the proud nickname of the Seer. She nervously fiddled with her pentagram-shaped pendant.
«I see that the dispute between you two will soon be resolved,» she predicted.
«Then Monsignor Edwin will give me back my wife,» the Marquis roared, forgetting all decorum.
«He’s not a necromancer, Papa, to bring back the dead,» Flora said in defense of her guest.
Edwin glanced at her as if he had just noticed her, and suddenly a scarlet rose bloomed on Flora’s plate, so lush that everyone gasped. The flower opened with hundreds of petals and resembled a pyramid.
«It is enough of these tricks!» The Marquis intended to cause a scandal.
«Papa, you are so angry about his dragon?» Flora intervened again. «The dragon isn’t here. There’s nothing to worry about.»
«Are you so sure of that?» The marquis looked at his daughter sternly.
«It is danger!» The ash fairy squeaked in the fireplace. Why is she so hysterical all of a sudden? A dragon is probably flying over the castle right now. Strangely enough, Flora was not afraid of the dragon, but of her angry father challenging Edwin to a duel. If she had known in advance that such a scandal would occur, she would not have invited a guest she hardly knew to dinner. The Marquis de Rione not only knew Edwin by name, but apparently had some long-standing dispute with him.
«Perhaps we should have cooked some bulls for dinner, since we were expecting a dragon,» the marquis muttered. «Dragons prefer cattle carcasses, after all.»
The castle lord stared at Edwin as if accusing him of something.
«Papa, Edwin is not a dragon!» Flora tried to reassure her father. «I can vouch for the fact that he is a very worthy young man.»
Flora didn’t even know the title of a worthy young man, but she gave the recommendation in advance. Edwin sat at the table with the look of an innocent angel. His beauty took one’s breath away. Flora was embarrassed when she intercepted his gaze and wanted to turn away, but she happened to notice that Edwin’s hands, which were lying on the table, were covered with golden scales. Maybe she was only imagining it? Flora spit on propriety and snatched the lorgnette from the astrologer sitting next to her. Edwin’s hands were indeed scaly and his nails were sharpened. The luxurious blue camisole with silver embroidery was also turning to scales. This was some kind of nightmare! Edwin was changing before his eyes. Wings grew out of his back, his handsome exterior burst like a shell. Out of it crawled a very real dragon.
Drusilla and Charles disappeared as if they had never been at the table, and the guests were left alone with the huge dragon. Flora shrieked as the dragon’s paw grabbed Lady Serpina. If the seer could have predicted to herself that she would substitute game for the dragon at this dinner, she would not have come here. With the dragon blocking the way to the door, there was no escape. The Marquis’ guests became appetizers one by one. And then, obviously full, the dragon decided it was time to end the feast.
Flora’s father pulled some kind of amulet from the folds of his clothes and muttered incantations designed to drive the dragon away, but you could just as easily recite poetry or prayers. The dragon didn’t care. He strode across the hall, claws clawing at the floor, and toppled the table with his tail, then suddenly opened his huge maw. The entire castle erupted into flames in an instant.
A dragon worshipper
That’s the way to make a dragon angry! The castle burst into flames like a matchbox. The burning towers collapsed. The fairies of the garden scattered with screams. They were robbed of their home, that is, the garden that was, in fact, their home. The castle also burned and collapsed. It’s chaos!
Only the ash fairies from the fireplace rejoiced and danced on the conflagration. There turned out to be not one, but dozens of them. Apparently, there was a fairy in every fireplace in the castle. The poor fairies will be disappointed when they realize that together with the castle the fireplaces burned down. The ash fairies will also be left without homes and will curse at the dragon.
Flora also lost her home, and with it her freedom. The dragon managed to grab her with his claws and carry her out of the burning castle.
«Stop it! There’s my brother and my living mask!» Flora shrieked and started to resist, but she could see that Raphael was being dragged out of the burning castle by Drusilla. She was also carrying away Flora’s things, among which was a glittering fairy mask.
Then all was not lost! At least some relief! Flora still tried to kick the dragon. He had tricked her! How to get back at him? Trying to bite his paw, she burned herself on the scales.
«You are wild beast!»
The dragon didn’t even realize it was a swear word. He carried Flora beneath the starry skies. Below lay Argania. The entire kingdom seemed toy-like from the height of flight. Flora gazed in wonder at the villages and hamlets. The houses seemed no bigger than peas. The roads between the settlements and the forests twisted in thin ribbons. Then something tall and sparkling appeared ahead. It was a volcano! Why is the dragon carrying her straight into the volcano? Couldn’t he burn her himself? Or did he run out of breath while he was burning the castle? The dragon rose smoothly above the volcano and circled it from above. The fiery lava of the crater only flashed below. Beyond the volcano stretched valleys and some dark growths like the giant’s crooked teeth. It seemed to be a mountain range.
The dragon carried her into the mountains, lowered her onto the plateau, and suddenly he was Edwin.
It can’t be! It’s a dream!
Flora still couldn’t believe that it was Edwin who had turned into a dragon, but his scales still glistened on his palms under his cuffs.
«Why did you bring me here?»
Flora recalled with horror the tales of dragons kidnapping and eating girls alive. He had not harmed her at the masquerade, but had saved her. What if he was just waiting for the moment? Could it be that dragons can only feed on beauties during the full moon? Right now, the full moon was shining over the mountains. Suddenly there was a tinkling laughter.
It was a few masked fairies who had come to the plateau. They have gathered in a corner in a sparkling flock. Was there another magic masquerade in the mountains?
When they saw Edwin, the fairies flew away quickly. They probably know he’s a dragon, that’s why they’re afraid of him.
«That’s it! My masquerade is over,» Edwin proclaimed. He had indeed shed his dragon form like a mask. «You’re found! I could tell by the way the rose on the table in front of you began to grow. You’ve always commanded roses.»
«I think you have me confused with someone else. I’ve never been lost.»
Edwin gallantly extended his hand to help her up. Is this a trick? Will he grab her and tear her apart if she accepts his help? But there was nowhere to go. Flora hesitantly placed her palm in Edwin’s strong hand.
He gently pulled her toward him, helping her to her feet. This time Edwin was silent. There was nothing to talk about. She could already see that the dragon was him. Talking was no longer an excuse.
Instead of pouncing on him with reproaches and demands to restore the ruined ancestral castle with magic, Flora simply clung to him. Edwin is near, all evil ceases to exist. There is only him, and it feels good to be near him, as if he were an angel, not a dragon. He is especially beautiful today. Flora gave in to the impulse and kissed him. One moment of happiness is worth a ruined castle.
The kiss was magical. She guessed all wizards’ kisses are magic. Provided the wizard is as handsome as Edwin.
Edwin quickly pulled away from her lips.
«What’s the matter? Aren’t you in love with me?» Why would the dragon want to save her if he doesn’t love her? He doesn’t want to just eat her or sacrifice her, does he? If he did, he could have done it a long time ago.
«You smell of crypts and decay.»
Is he joking? Flora sniffed at the lace cuffs of her dress.
«It is an expensive Aluar’s perfume. Aunt Hortensia brought me it as a gift the last time she visited us at the castle. She chose jasmine and rose for me. It’s considered the most exquisite.»
«I can’t stand roses. They’re treacherous, thorny flowers, and if you’re seduced by their beauty, you’ll only cut yourself.»
«It is because roses often grow in crypts, you’ve mistaken the scent,» Flora explained patiently, having decided that dragons were illiterate in the most basic matters. Yes, they can do sorcery, they can topple a castle with their claws, but they don’t understand anything about perfume and fashion. «Rotting corpses stink, but roses, even if they grow on graves, smell sweet. It’s not the scent of death.»
«I don’t mean the smell of roses, there’s something rotting inside you.»
«Is it perhaps my soul? Only a girl with a rotten soul could love a dragon. You’re a destroyer and an arsonist.»
Edwin took no offense. Women must have said that to him many times before.
«Your body is rotting,» he explained. «It is not alive!»
«How can it not be alive if it talks to you and moves? It can even give you a kiss, and you say it’s not alive! Now you’re going to say it’s not mine at all.»
Flora faltered. She had been told that so often before. Both Drusilla, and the mask, and the elf from the masquerade had made similar hints before. Could there be some truth to them? Or is her scent disgusting to predatory creatures for some reason? All magical predators mistake her for a corpse for some reason. Her father’s friends probably put some kind of protection on her against dragons, vampires, witches, and demons.
«You brought me to the mountains to eat me, and now you’re disappointed that I’m not edible and you’re making excuses,» Flora snickered.
Edwin laughed. His laugh was as iridescent and sonorous as the fairies’.
«What’s so funny?» Flora was indignant. «You just burned down my entire family.»
«That family wasn’t your family.»
«I should know better than you.»
«You’re wrong!»
Flora bit her tongue. Edwin was a magician. And magicians know everything. Maybe he knows something she doesn’t know about herself. Like the fact that she was adopted. She didn’t want to believe that she was only the Marquis’s ward and not his daughter. She was used to thinking of herself as his daughter.
«He is not your father,» Edwin read her thoughts.
Her mother had probably been unfaithful to the Marquis at some point. That’s the answer! Flora calmed down a little. In any case, the Marquis de Rione considered her his daughter and gave her his name.
«And what is about my mother?» Flora became alarmed. «Was she kidnapped and killed by you?»
«It was not me!»
«Are you sure?»
«Why does everyone think I’m the villain?»
«You’re the dragon!»
«There are plenty of other murderers around here, too. You should know how many creatures are lurking around, drinking the blood of random people.»
«My mother was killed by fairies?» Flora guessed. «Is that why they attacked me at the masquerade?»
Edwin shook his head negatively.
«Fairies are vicious, but not that vicious. And what makes you think your mother is dead?»
Flora felt as if a thunderclap had sounded above her, not a measured voice.
«Why should I believe a dragon? All dragons are liars!»
«Do you know any other dragons besides me?»
«No, I don’t. There are rumors.»
«It is well. Otherwise, you’ve made me jealous.»
A golden claw grew on her dainty hand. Flora backed away. The dragon masquerade had stumped her. One minute Edwin is wearing the dragon’s guise like a mask. The next he’s back to being a handsome fellow. Of course, he is dangerous even in his handsome guise, for he can turn back into a dragon at any moment.
Flora was five steps away from him as long as she could. There was a cliff behind her. Edwin held her back as she almost took a step into the abyss.
«Be careful! You don’t have wings anymore!» He warned her.
«What do you mean? Didn’t they used to be?» He’s probably confusing her with some kind of fairy.
«But I can always lend you my wings. Would you like to fly? Or dance over the abyss?»
«And then you’ll throw me down?»
«Just because a girl has a dragon suitor doesn’t mean she’ll end up dead,» Edwin said sternly. «I knew a case when a princess’s romance with a dragon ended in marriage. You don’t remember that?»
«No!»
Why would she remember something like that? She spent her whole life in the backwoods of Argania. Nothing interesting ever happened here. Flora often regretted that her father wouldn’t let her into the royal court, and there was no one to meet in the provinces. And then came the fateful hour when she met the dragon! Who would have thought that such a magical beau would fly into such a wilderness! There was only one downside to the encounter: it might end in Flora’s death or in Edwin bewitching her. It seems he had already intended to do so. Glittering star dust formed on the tips of his fingernails.
Flora shrieked, afraid that he was about to turn her into a toad and complete the magic masquerade, but Edwin gallantly handed her a necklace of stars and a bouquet of roses. The roses were black as night, but velvety to the touch.
«You always liked black roses,» Edwin explained.
«I don’t remember such a thing!»
«No wonder! You don’t remember anything! You don’t even remember me!» Edwin put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. The rose thorns couldn’t hurt him, but his burning breath could burn Flora’s face. Too bad she didn’t have the marvelous living mask with her right now. That one would scandalize but protect her from dragon fire. Though the mask itself was frightened of fire, Flora noticed that it was fireproof.
«You’re so cute even in a dead body!» Edwin whispered.
It was an insult again, but Flora let it pass her ears.
«Do you want to fly to a magical empire?»
«Is that where the entire population is made up of fairies?»
«Not just fairies. It is home to elves, dwarves, goblins, trolls, nymphs, naiads, mermaids, woodlanders…»
«It’s too fairy-tale! I’d prefer something more real, but luxurious. Take me to King Argania’s castle!» Flora decided to make the most of her encounter with the dragon. She had long dreamed of going to court. It would take at least a week to get there in a carriage, and even then it would take a long way, but on the back of a dragon you could fly there in one night.
«I don’t like the local king.»
«You stole his wife too?»
«I didn’t steal anyone’s wife.»
«That’s not what my father thinks.»
Flora belatedly remembered that the family castle had burned down. She invited a handsome young man to dinner. He turned out to be a dragon. It was all her fault! How was she supposed to live with that guilt?
Edwin noticed that she had grown sad and hastily agreed.
«Well, soon there will be a masquerade party at the royal castle. The fairies will be there. We can go unnoticed if we come under the dragon and rose masks.»
The dragon mask made of scales could grow right on his face, and the rose petals themselves crumbled and formed into a red and black mask. Obviously, the rose mask was meant for Flora.
«And before the royal masquerade, let me give you a tour of Agrania from a dragon flight. It’ll give you a great view.»
«No, you better take me home!»
«You don’t have a home anymore.»
«It was the dragon that made me homeless!»
«I’ll make it up to you!» Edwin promised.
«Will you burn down some landlords and let me take over their palace, and you’ll guard me in the form of a dragon?»
«That’s not a bad idea! I’d like that!» Edwin pulled her tighter against him and wanted to kiss her. Despite the danger, the moment was magical. Dragon or not, Edwin’s beauty was undeniable. One could only dream of a guy like that.
Something like fireworks sparkled below. There were some strange sounds: whistling, hissing, drumming, even gunshots. Is there a celebration or a war down there?
«Wait for me here for a moment!» Edwin dragged Flora into the center of the plateau. «I’ll disperse them and come back.»
«Who’s down there?» She wondered.
«It is the local werewolf community.»
«Are they dragons, too?»
«No, they are mostly wolves.»
«Why do you have to disperse them?»
«Like your father said, it’s my duty to keep them all under control.»
«Is it all of them? You mean all the creepy non-human creatures?» Flora didn’t have time to ask Edwin that. He instantly jumped off the plateau and became a dragon already in flight. And on the plateau appeared a comfortable palanquin in which to rest, a fan and even a box full of gems. Flora didn’t understand why she needed a fan in a cool climate until the dragon’s fire got hot below.
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