Rhianon shrugged her bared shoulders in contempt, but the images of the terrible premature deaths of those who had become famous were still vivid in her mind. One of these men had even become a court poet, he was granted a title, given an estate, made welcome at all the banquets, the other peasant boy would rejoice to tears that he was out of the mud for his talent almost made a prince, but he just stood in the corner with glowing eyes, drank a lot, did not want to look at women, and once confessed that there is someone who is always watching him from the void and even more owns him. His personal demon was the companion of all the brilliant and illustrious. After such a confession, he was found dead the next morning. It happened long ago, when Rhianon’s father, King of Loretta, was still alive, and she remembered to this day. And even his father’s death did not make such a terrible impression on her as that untimely death. After that, something dark and creepy seemed to take up residence in the castle and remained there until the corpse was burned in the main castle square. Rhianon shuddered in fear and disgust, so as not to betray all her feelings, she could only pretend that she knew nothing of it.
«What is the meaning of this?» She asked as if she hadn’t already done so.
«Haven’t you ever heard of a personal demon, Princess?» It was as if he knew already, and he laughed at her incredulity. It was as if he was looking at her from inside herself, but it couldn’t be. She has no talent for which such an attack as a black companion can be unleashed upon her. The flame within that made the princess dangerous.
«Don’t call me that,» she looked around the mirrors, as if not inserted but grown between the cavernous partitions, searching in vain for his reflection.
В«No one can hear us here,В» tried toВ calm her the voice, but Rhianon somehow still thought that these mirrors, as if grown from crumbling walls, can serve as aВ window toВ the outside world.
She noticed tiny, strange-looking insects crawling over the scraps ofВ gilded frame visible from the sandstone and stone. How strange, thought Rhianon, the pieces ofВ mirror growing directly from the cave stone, as if inseparable from it, and on the other side ofВ them might well be the fun ofВ the magical folk imprisoned there. Or not imprisoned at all, but just like her, peering through aВ window into an alien world. She thought she heard laughter and clinking glasses and music. On the other side ofВ one ofВ the mirrors it was as if the merriment ofВ the feast had reachedВ her.
«They, too, were singing and cheering and challenging each other, just like humans, but they weren’t humans at all.»
«Would it be possible to have a look at them sometime?» She knew the risk. But the world, not even open yet, only reflected behind one of the mirrors, drew her irresistibly toward it. After all, nothing bad could happen if she just looked at them once. It is the dream of all men that touching the forbidden will leave them without consequence. There haven’t been any such people who have succeeded, if the rumors are to be believed, yet, but who knows, maybe she’s the lucky one. Gee, how the bottom of a moment of fairy intimacy can cloud a mortal’s mind. She immediately forgot almost everything, the past full of troubles, the danger that still threatened her, and even the silvery haze that had already enveloped her shoulders.
«I’ll take you through all the worlds and show you anything you want to see, but first give me a name,» the voice asked softly, and the shimmering smoke, already shaped like a young man’s head, was bent right up to her ear. «Call me whatever you like, whatever comes to your mind.»
«Orpheus,» she said almost automatically, in memory of the harp, whose enchanting sounds she heard beneath her tower in the evening, and of course in memory of the harpist himself. The sound of her new acquaintance’s voice was just like that harp, just as piercing, invading her brain and completely enchanting. – Is that all right with you?
«Of course,» he pulled back from her shoulders so quickly it would have seemed like an acrobat’s trick, no longer a shapeless smoke but the man she’d met in the tavern. He looked a little different now, as if he had been transformed from a pale buffoon to an almost handsome man. His eyes, at any rate, shone like jewels and his smile became charming. He sat up high on something resembling a long golden pole, stretched flat between the mirrors. Well, with his dexterity and seemingly weightless body he belonged there. It seemed that Orpheus was so dexterous, that he could make his roost from dust particles flying in air. Orpheus. She thought that’s what she called him.
«May I have it back, unless you wish to try it on, ma’am?» He pointed to the cap in her hands.
«Oh, of course,» she stood on tiptoe and held it out to him, watching with interest as the thin, spidery fingers curled in a tenacious grip on the soft velvet. As she passed back to her master, the bells began to jingle merrily again. Admittedly, Rhianon couldn’t figure out why he’d left his cap on the stairs if he valued it so much. And where the thin golden perch had come from, she never understood. Yet it was all so curious to watch.
«Where are my own clothes?» She had only now thought to ask; of course, the dress suited her very well and caressed her skin nicely, but she could not go far in the woods and muddy country roads in such an outfit. In addition, the whole conspiracy came to naught, since she was again dressed as a princess and could, walking around alone, cause a lot of speculation and suspicion. It is better to return the breeches and the pageboy’s coat. They may not be so luxurious, but they are quite comfortable for the journey she has embarked on.
Orpheus shrugged his shoulders expressively.
В«Somewhere where it will lead the pursuers astray,В» he said nonchalantly.
В«You mean the sentinels?В» Rhianon was surprised.
В«Well, they have hounds.В»
В«And wizards, ofВ course,В» she realized.
«Oh, don’t worry, child,» he scrambled from his golden perch at a pace that would have startled a trickster. «After all, they’re only human, and the very concept of magic came to them from us. And if we give something to someone temporarily, we can take it back at any time. All you had to do was to come to us, or rather to our border, and now you’re more important to us than anyone who imitates us on earth.»
«Yes, let’s say they took magic from you, but now they have their own rules.»
«And you think they know what they do and how they do it, if they don’t even suspect that we give it to them. We make fun of them because of a mirror,» he pointed to the nearest wall, «because of one of those mirrors, and there are windows like that scattered all over the universe. I can, of course, admit that there is one force we fear, but it doesn’t come from the human world.»
В«What does it mean?В»
«From where we all come from,» he answered cryptically. «You know, my dear, we’re just a splinter, too. And what we’re chipped from, oh, it is better that no one knows.»
He took something that looked like aВ blowpipe from the folds ofВ his robes and quickly played it, covering one hole and another with his thin, nimble fingers. It should have sounded disgusting, but strangely enough it sounded good. Like the notes toВ aВ long-forgotten song or aВ nursery rhyme, but how could you play it all at such aВ pace.
«Well, I promised to show you what’s on the other side of the mirror,» Orpheus stopped playing, but the music remained as if hanging in the air. «Choose any mirror?»
She looked around. The room now seemed to her no longer an oval, but a complex polygon, like a multi-faceted gem imprisoned in the womb of a cave and who knows where the light pouring in refracted in each facet, creating different scenes. Behind each mirror a new picture awaited. Rhianon saw sunflower fields yellowing with sunflowers, where, like motley butterflies, the most unimaginable creatures with and without wings were flying in a wild dance; there were also mountain ranges, canyons, fortresses on the rock, meadows, river lagoons, uncultivated croplands or closed deep clefts, and everywhere they were – not people. Even at the bottom of the ravines their voices echoed, and sparks of color flew from the charms they conjured.
Rhianon turned away from the scene ofВ the macabre carnival, where the creatures dressed inВ red were dancing wildly, quite attractive though dangerous. After thinking for aВ while, she stopped at the very first mirror she saw. From behind it she could still hear the sounds ofВ the feast and hear the wine glasses being filled.
В«It is aВ good choice,В» Orpheus nodded approvingly and bowed his hand toВ her as if she were his lady at the ball. В«Follow me, Princess.В»
«Shh,» she put a finger to her lips, letting him know not to call her that anymore, no matter what world they found themselves in, human or not, and she didn’t want anyone there to know about her title and flight. There were few who were capable of informing. She wasn’t the only one who had ever entered a magical world. Maybe someone in the castle could communicate with these creatures, too. Then they might let them know. Any tiny fairy caught could spill everything she knows to get away. Not to mention leprechauns or dwarves or some other insidious creature. Orpheus seemed to understand her and nodded. Anyway, this time he obeyed the order. Since she had given him the name, he no longer laughed at her at all, as if he had become part of her, or for some unknown reason was obliged to obey her orders. Maybe he would even be forced to do her bidding. This was the first time Rhianon had dealt with such a creature, and he never ceased to amaze her.
He led her straight through the mirror, ignoring the long, agonizing moan that the cavernous wall made. The glass was as insensible as ripples inВ the water, and the opening must have closed the moment she stepped through it, following Orpheus, who was clutching her arm, because she was pinned byВ the train. She tried toВ free it and could not. The mirror was hard again. Behind it she could still see the cave and some tiny black creatures now scurrying about there, while on the inside the wall had become smooth and colorful, decorated with some elaborate tapestry.
В«Do you like it?В» Someone from behind the banquet table called out toВ her inВ aВ low voice.
Rhianon nodded; the tapestry impressed her inВ some way, but she could not say exactly what it was. Threads lay upon each other, joined together, creating an intricate pattern. There were skies, an abyss, and aВ transverse line ofВ verdant forests, and all these places were full ofВ unimaginable creatures.
«Doesn’t your lady want to come to the table?»
В«Yes, IВ do,В» Rhianon took the liberty ofВ answering for the pandering Orpheus, and she pulled harder on the train toВ free it, but the case yielded only aВ little.
Someone at the table laughed resoundingly, sparkling wine was still pouring into the goblets as if there was no end toВ it, not only was the tabletop piled high with viands, fruit and grapes were also rolling across the floor as if they were growing out ofВ it, some ofВ them turning into golden balls, or so it only seemed.
Rhianon abandoned her futile attempts toВ tear out the stuck train and looked at the gathering. They were creatures ofВ the ethereal world, with wings ofВ many colors, with skin from which sprouts ofВ flowers or vines sprouted, with eyes that burned with evil fire, with arms full ofВ wool and horns and claws. Such indescribable creatures she could not have imagined.
The scarlet-haired, childlike fairy at the head ofВ the table made an inviting gesture. Her eyes glowed like two rotted beads, and here and there aВ crust ofВ wood crusted over her lily skin. The mushroom fairy, as Rhianon called her toВ herself, because her dress and jewelry took on the coloring ofВ aВ bizarre flyswatter. But Orpheus called her something else.
В«Leave her alone, Athenais, IВ brought her here as aВ guest, not as entertainment for you.В»
«Oh, guest,» Athenais said, and her eyes sparkled slyly. «We’ve been missing her, so beautiful, so sweet…» she smiled, her sharp teeth gleaming dangerously under her blood-red lips. «She is sweeter than the dew on May flowers.»
«I told you she’s not for you,» Orpheus reminded her sharper.
«You mean you brought her here for him,» Athenais’s puppet face mirrored a moment of consternation, even a moment of panic. But what could a fairy be afraid of? Rhianon looked at her with interest.
В«Is it he?В» She said again, and everyone fell silent at once. Not only the talking and the music stopped, but it was as if life itself had frozen for aВ moment.
«Who is he? Haven’t I seen everyone else here?» She turned to Orpheus, because everyone else was unfriendly and silent.
«Well…» he hesitated for a moment. «I think the first thing we need to do is find a fairy to make you a camisole.»
В«Is it here?В» She paused. Rhianon glanced around the feast hall, which, inВ spite ofВ its profusion ofВ luxuries such as drapery, gold tableware, and chandeliers, was more like aВ forest. It was not the trees with pomegranate stones instead ofВ berries that looked artful decorations, but the objects ofВ the interior themselves seemed toВ be merely decorations set inВ aВ wild forest. The wind would sweep them away, and all that was left would be rowan thickets.
Once more the girl tried toВ free herself, but the train stuck tight. True, it was long enough toВ allow her toВ take aВ couple ofВ steps into the depths ofВ the hall; on the third step the brocade crunched, letting her know that the train was tearing.
«That’s all right, get Griselda’s gnats over here, they’ll sort it out quickly,» Orpheus worried. Clapping his hands, he did manage to summon some tiny creatures dragging gold scissors and thread. They looked more like fleas than fairies in size, but they got to work quite bravely. They were called pixies, Rhianon recalled. The tiny dressmakers worked, and Athenais watched her intently from across the table with unblinking, long stares. She had even set the goblet of wine aside, and now her fingers, covered with ingrown wood, were clearly visible. What a creature is it? Rhianon had found the doll peculiar and pretty, but even she shuddered at the sight of such ugliness.
«Restore the pattern, this brocade is very valuable,» Orpheus directed the work. «Not a single sign must be changed…»
Is it a sign? Rhianon hadn’t noticed that the dress was embroidered with signs. They were probably quite tiny, almost indistinguishable to the mortal eye. But judging by Orpheus’ commands and the intense work of the fairies, every inch of the brocade abounded with them. And they could not be confused with anything else. Orpheus repeated this many times.
В«Or else your friend will be ignited?В» Athenais raised her defiantly arrogant voice.
В«IВ am his mistress, not his friend,В» Rhianon stepped forward, not even thinking about how Athenais could know about her inner flame. And when she did, it was too late toВ take it back.
«Ah, that’s how,» the fairy smiled coldly, at that moment looked ominous both herself and her not at all childish, but dwarfed, because the tiny face here and there covered with a crust of wood suddenly seemed old, not doll-like. She must be thousands of years old, like all these creatures sitting at the table with her, Rhianon thought. And she talks to her like a child.
«No offense to you,» the fairy dwarf said, and with a graceful gesture of her tiny hand she adjusted her curls. They, too, were the color of tree bark, brown and stiff, but curled in a way that made her look like a porcelain doll. If only it hadn’t been for the crusts that plagued her skin and the fingernails that looked more like the growths on a tree.
В«Me, too,В» Rhianon said, and her beautiful but human voice boomed over the banquet table like something foreign. There were no bells and no violin inВ her speech. Everyone here should have realized long ago that she was aВ mere human being, yet no one made the slightest attempt toВ attack her, take her captive, or dope her with her wine. The table was as full ofВ fruit as aВ cornucopia, and aВ single crumb ofВ those plums or apples is probably enough toВ poison aВ person. Fairies always did. Their fruit seemed especially juicy, poured with color like sparkling jewels, but their juice was only enough toВ act as aВ potion toВ drive aВ mortal mad rather than quench his thirst.
An eternal thirst awaited her if she tasted anything from their table. They say it happens to everyone, they want to see the fairies again and can’t, and the impossibility of that desire drives them mad. After all, the magical world seems so close, yesterday you were in it, and today you can no longer find it.
Rhianon looked at Athénais. Her eyes twinkled as if she wouldn’t mind drawing the princess to herself, treating her to her wine, her fruit, and maybe even bewitching her.
Some furry creatures inВ bright hats were swinging from the chandelier, as if it were attached not toВ the ceiling, but toВ the branches ofВ trees woven above the table. Candles inВ candelabras lit on their own, like fireflies. The pomegranates rolled from dish toВ dish as if they were alive, and Rhianon felt herself drowning inВ an abyss ofВ inhuman, laughing eyes, now green with foliage, now dark with agate. Athenais would not let her go, but she could not hold her back either. Rhianon had already gathered her willpower and was about toВ turn away, when suddenly it was even darker than it had been. The candle lights were still lit, but the feeling ofВ darkness thickening around her like aВ black cloud was so strong and oppressive. It seemed as if the darkness was not descending, but flying wildly and swiftly toward the hall. The candles fluttered inВ the oncoming wind. Soon it would be aВ real hurricane.
Rhianon noticed the consternation and then the wild fear on the tiny faces ofВ those seated at the table.
«It’s him, it’s him,» several voices shouted at once. «Run quickly. He’s coming back.»
She shuddered.
«Who is he,» she wanted to ask, but didn’t, remembering that the first time she’d never heard the answer to that question.
The tiny creatures scurried from the table, some dashing across it, others picking up fruit as they went. Everyone was inВ aВ hurry toВ escape, and only AthenaГЇs alone was still slow, keeping her piercing eyes on Rhianon.
«What does it mean?» the girl asked her, and, like the first time, the question went unanswered, except that someone’s shadow suddenly descended on the table and the unfinished wine in the glasses changed its hue in an instant, thickened, poured over the edge of the tablecloth. How similar to blood, Rhianon’s mind flashed. The fruit was changing, too, rolling across the table like burnt heads, and if it had been worth painting a still life here before, now the girl shuddered with revulsion. It was bones and meat and entrails. She turned away from the table in horror and noticed that the ceiling was gone, too, and that the tree branches woven into the canopy ended in height, revealing a bottomless sky. She spotted there someone’s winged shadow too high above the ground and against such blackness that she became frightened. The wings flapped gently. The thing was approaching swiftly. It was hurtling this way, but already toward another frightening feast.
Now even AthГ©nais preferred toВ run away. Picking up her puffy scarlet skirts and rustling tree bark, she cast aВ vengeful and hostile glance at the thing that had interrupted her feast, and so quickly, as if she feared being burned byВ the sight ofВ it as she had been byВ the sun. And then there was no sign ofВ her. The low, luxuriously dressed figure disappeared behind aВ tree as if she had slipped into aВ burrow.
В«Go away!В» Orpheus was alarmed this time as well, for he had time toВ gather inВ aВ handful as many tiny portly fairies as he could fit into his arms.
Perhaps he was right, he should have fled from the unknown but tangible danger, but Rhianon could not take her eyes off the skies, split byВ the storm and the beating ofВ the black wings. There was evil coming from up there, for sure, but it was beckoning. It pierced her like lightning, like aВ jet ofВ fire through her body, and there, high inВ the sky, aВ dazzling golden beam shone inВ the darkness.
«Let’s go, quick,» Orpheus couldn’t stand it, he grabbed her by the hand and he burned himself. His excited shriek of incredulity lifted Rhianon out of her torpor.
«Yes, of course let’s go,» she agreed, but she really didn’t want to take her eyes off the sky and what might be there. It was what everyone feared, but it was what she longed for. Surely it must have been something startling, if its appearance was facilitated by such a commotion. But Orpheus didn’t let her think about it; he had already opened the door to another world. The mirrored surface rippled and became as if it did not exist. It was time to leave, because now it was no more of an obstacle than, say, the air. The ground in the hall was already shaking. Dried leaves were beginning to fall from the nearby trees. Something was approaching, but Rhianon had already stepped through the mirror following Orpheus and the entrance closed quickly, this one not catching the train she had picked up at the elbow. Rhianon could feel the golden needles of the fairies still working in the fabric on the dress, stitching the tear and tried not to touch the place. The train was so long that it was barely made shorter by the fact that she had wrapped it around her elbow.
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