One Century toВ Marriage. Prisoners of the Magic Kingdom
Natalie Yacobson
Princess Marianne fell in love with an elf she saw at a tournament. Alas, Marianne is not free. She already has a fiancГ©. The elf has entered into a duel with her fiancГ© without warning of the law of the magical world, which can separate the lovers for a century if the rival dies. Marianne is kidnapped by ice dragons and taken to the castle beyond the clouds, where the queen of the fairies, also subject to the law of one century before marriage, is languishing in prison.
One Century toВ Marriage
Prisoners of the Magic Kingdom
Natalie Yacobson
Переводчик Natalia Lilienthal
© Natalie Yacobson, 2022
© Natalia Lilienthal, перевод, 2022
ISBNВ 978-5-0059-1965-6
Создано в интеллектуальной издательской системе Ridero
MedeaВ Shai
The red and white fairy fought fiercely inВ the sky above the battlefield. Their bright robes merged with the sunset glow. They say it is not good toВ see them. But King ofВ Aluar did not believe inВ omens. Today he was going toВ win aВ great victory. Never mind that the fortresses ofВ the black kingdom, which emerged as if from nowhere inВ the wasteland, were supposedly guarded byВ evil spirits.
King Conrad believed neither inВ evil spirits nor inВ an entire kingdom under the strange name ofВ Shai. It could grow on the wasteland all byВ itself overnight. An ambassador who had lost an important message inВ the wastelands supposedly saw this black wonder with his own eyes. Towers like darkness grew straight out ofВ the dry, barren ground, and spikes ofВ iron stretched across them. And then there was the shrieking ofВ aВ multitude ofВ monsters. It sounded more like the fiction ofВ aВ boy who had failed an errand and feared punishment.
There was no point inВ punishing him. The boy himself was sick with some horrible disease. He must have caught it on the badlands. His skin was green, his eyes were overgrown with aВ black film, and his fingers were covered with fur and claws.
And later was aВ declaration ofВ war, written inВ red on aВ scroll ofВ perfectly black parchment. Fine letters appeared inВ bloody ligature:
В«We will attack human lands until someone defeatsВ us!В»
It was a clear threat, but the signature «Fairies’ Queen Medea Shai» might have belonged in the banter section.
No fairies’ queen in a land where everything is poisoned and scorched by dragon fire. It is dangerous to go there. The ambassador who passed through there is a case in point.
Conrad would have thought the message aВ practical joke, but Aluar had indeed been plagued byВ wildlings at twilight. They could easily be mistaken for monsters. And they attacked at dusk every time. The frightened people began toВ beg for protection. The commoners could be ignored, but the nobles also suffered. Several knights, who had gone toВ fight the outlaws alone, were mauled alive. InВ the royal castle, incidents began toВ occur that caused panic. The cauldrons inВ the kitchen began toВ ooze volcanic lava and nearly burned down the entire castle, or all the statues suddenly came toВ life and began toВ strangle the guests with their marble hands. All the ambassadors fled from Aluar, spreading rumors ofВ the curse. Conrad himself saw none ofВ this, so he slept soundly. And yet the ill ambassador assured that aВ black-winged lady had come toВ him and threatened toВ destroy the whole kingdom.
Rumors are often more dangerous than war. The situation had become so tense that Conrad had no choice but toВ call inВ the militia and march on Shai.
They were already waiting for him there. It was an army of black armor, remotely resembling dragon scales. It lined up in endless lines. The black warriors emerged as if they’d risen from the ground as the sun set. There were countless of them.
But Conrad was no coward either. Young and willful, he was more eager to fight than any of the victims who’d filled him with complaints about the Cursed Kingdom, as they called Shai.
The king was sure he would win. AВ couple ofВ years ago, when his father died suddenly, he had already had toВ fight the invaders. The price ofВ power was military strength. Conrad knew how toВ lead an army and fight inВ such aВ way as toВ destroy the enemy. Should he be afraid ofВ an army ofВ black demons?
It was a good thing he hadn’t brought the court wizard, who had been in his father’s service. He would have seen bad omens in all this. He was a foreteller of misfortune. Ever since Conrad was born, he had been foretold nothing but bad fortune, that he would not live to see his coronation day, that he would fall prey to evil spirits and foreign usurpers, that he would be cursed and forgotten. And he became king and victor, spitting on all the prophecies. The wizard seemed to have had no choice but to shut his mouth, but he cawed like a crow, continuing to foretell misfortune. And so he did! Shai’s kingdom had become a barrier to trade routes and any relations with other powers. Behind Aluar was only the sea, but ahead on the road to the wider world, Shai had risen. So we must tear it down from the face of the earth! Black fortresses that resembled dragon’s teeth on the horizon disfigured the landscape. They must be destroyed soon. And to do that, we must first defeat the enemy troops.
The red and white fairy clashed furiously, hovering over aВ field that was about toВ bleed.
В«IВ tell you this is pure love!В» The white fairy screamed, her voice lost inВ the roar ofВ weapons and armor. В«He will die ofВ pure and sincere love! Love, like aВ white rose with thorns, will sprout inВ his breast and warp his whole heart. They will both perish from love!В»
В«IВ insist that it is passion,В» the red fairy shouted scandalously, fluttering her flaming wings that made the air burn. В«Passion is like aВ red rose with poisonous thorns. It sprouts not inВ hearts but inВ two bodies, devouring them completely. These two will be mine!В»
What are they two! Conrad looked around perplexedly. What is love? What is passion? There are only armies ofВ stern warriors unaccustomed toВ tenderness here. And all ofВ them can neither look nor hear the two fairies. They can tear their own throats out. Let them scream. There is something tragic inВ their screams. They were dancing inВ the air, locked inВ aВ fistfight.
Darkness fell, and they were gone. It was probably just a game of sunset rays. Some hunchbacked creature, like a rhinoceros in a herald’s dress, blew a black horn and retreated behind the flank of the enemy armies. It’s time to fight!
There will be no negotiations for peace! Shai is toВ be destroyed. Conrad rushed forward, but inВ time toВ notice how the hooves ofВ his horse pressed two roses: aВ red and aВ white. Why would there be roses on barren ground, parched byВ dragon fire? Witchcraft was involved. Not for nothing did the threatening letters come supposedly from the queen ofВ the fairies. It was aВ veiled hint that powerful sorcerers had taken up residence inВ Shai. Though what could they do against aВ sword? Conrad had heard that evil spirits were afraid ofВ steel.
He slashed left and right. The battle was the fiercest he had ever fought. The blood made even the skies above his head seem red. The limbs he chopped off from his enemies fell to the ground, and indeed turned out to be the paws of monsters. They moved even after they were severed. The enemy troops trumpeted a black horn as their warriors fell dead. Every time! From the resounding sound of the many horns, there was a rumble in his ears. And something suspicious was happening on the field among the dead bodies. The king wasn’t the only one who noticed it.
«They’re coming back to life!» Conrad’s marshal pointed somewhere forward. «The corpses are getting up and going back into battle.»
«You imagined it!» Conrad did look closely. It seems to be true! Maybe they just weren’t finished? Though how could a badly wounded warrior stand up as if nothing had happened? The monstrous bodies that had been churned through the meat grinder would stand up as good as new and fight again.
«We’ll never beat them that way!» Conrad bit his lips in annoyance.
Magic is a nuisance! No matter how much you work with your blade, it’s all blown away in one fell swoop once they blow the horn. So we must take the horns from them. But how is it? There are many of them. They blow here and there. Each warrior has a black horn. We have to kill them all to take their horns. And you can’t kill them because they come back to life. You can’t kill them all at once.
A new, powerful rumble of horns sounded from on high. Conrad looked up and saw, instead of the beast blowing the horn, a huge black dragon with its mouth open and a growling sound. Now that’s someone who could take down an entire army in one fell swoop. But unfortunately the dragon didn’t belong to him. What a pity! What can be done to tame such an animal?
«Fight me!» The beautiful voice came from the commander of the enemy armies, whom Conrad had never seen until now. But now the rows of monster warriors parted. On horseback rode someone wrapped in purple silks. His helmet, elaborately carved in the shape of a black dragon’s head, covered his neck and face. The leader of the alien armies seemed to have a dragon’s head growing out of his shoulders instead of his normal head. Nothing surprising when you look at his ugly troops! The leader of the monsters can be nothing but a monster himself. But here, hands in scaly gloves rose gracefully to remove his helmet. These are not the hands of a knight. They were too fragile. And why remove the helmet before battle? Why leave your head unprotected?
Such aВ foolish commander would be easy toВ deal with. Conrad gripped the bloody sword tighter. And the enemy warlord had just freed his head from his helmet and turned out toВ be aВ beautiful black-haired girl with eyes so lingering that it was impossible not toВ submit toВ her gaze. Conrad felt himself drowning inВ those eyes.
«The gaze of the fairies’ queen is more powerful than any weapon,» someone whispered to him.
Above the battlefield hovered an unusual black bird with aВ red stone inВ its forehead. Not long ago aВ dragon had flown there.
The rider who led the monster troops also had aВ red stone on her forehead.
В«And is it so?В» She smiled as she unsheathed her sword, strapped toВ her saddle. Behind her two dark wings fluttered open. AВ fairy indeed! Conrad was taken aback.
В«If you want my kingdom and my dragon, you will have toВ fightВ me!В»
Her sword hissed like aВ living thing. The metal begged for blood. Its whispers reached his ears. Conrad had heard ofВ such swords. They start cutting indiscriminately as soon as you take them out ofВ their sheaths. But somehow the mistress ofВ the sword knew how toВ control it. The grip was inВ the shape ofВ aВ salamander wrapped around her palm.
В«IВ am Medea ShaiВ», queen ofВ the black fairies,В» she said.
More like queen ofВ the black beasts. There were no fairies behind her, but the monsters multiplied like locusts.
В«IВ am King Conrad ofВ Aluar,В» he introduced himself, knowing he would not be able toВ fightВ her.
She shouldn’t have to remove her helmet if she wanted to keep fighting him. No one would fight a woman so beautiful.
But the blackbird thought otherwise. It was still hovering over the battlefield, screaming with malice, and the red stone inВ its forehead was like aВ living flame.
Castle ofВ the Queen ofВ the Black Fairies
And just like that, the war was over! Who would have thought? InВ most cases, after the leaders have agreed toВ negotiate, there is no smell ofВ truce, but inВ the case ofВ aВ male leader and aВ female leader. And such aВ seductive one,В too!
Conrad swallowed hard. No one said it was the end of the war. Medea Shai had merely invited him to spend the night in her castle. Her army of black monsters parted, letting the king’s small detachment through. Perhaps she wished to show him some hidden weaponry, which, upon seeing it, he would immediately decide to pay off rather than fight.
Conrad felt himself already surrendered. ToВ follow the beautiful queen into her fortress was the same as surrendering at the mercy ofВ the victor.
The fairies’ queen’s face was as pretty as an adorable child, but her body, with its high breasts and slim waist, looked inexpressibly seductive. She’d dropped her robe for nothing, leaving her in a deep-cut purple gown. Conrad felt the heat in his loins. He had to avert his eyes from her, lest he attack her in the presence of his own knights. He had never been a rapist. His good looks allowed him to get women for nothing.
The sand around the fortress was as black as ash. Probably a dragon had scorched all the land around it. But then why hadn’t the fortress itself been burned?
The ghastly gargoyles and harpies that propped up the vaults ofВ the gate were alive. They grinned angrily at their guest and winked at him. Their snide laughter echoed inВ his ears even after Conrad had entered the castle.
Why were they so triumphant? Do they think they are winners already? The same creatures were nesting inside the castle. Some ofВ them propped up the vault, some crawled up the columns and played the role ofВ caryatids. They could hang or stand motionless for quite aВ long time, pretending toВ be statues, and then they came toВ life and laughed so hard that it made your blood run cold.
Once in Medea Shai’s castle, you’d better not believe that any objects here can be motionless and soulless. Any pillar or arch can come to life at any moment and attack you with a real monster. There’s no way to feel safe here.
Monsters dangled from the terra-cotta ceilings like giant bats. The doors were shaped like the mouths and heads ofВ monsters. They looked as if they were about toВ come toВ life and speak toВ you.
And these were all the servants of the Fairies’ Queen! How can you call even the most beautiful woman in the world, to whom only monsters obey, the queen of fairies?
There was also luxury inВ the castle. Purple curtains fluttered over niches. Large floor amphorae ofВ red and black roses exuded aВ wondrous fragrance. InВ the middle ofВ one room was aВ tiered fountain, inВ which clumps ofВ dark red roses also grew instead ofВ water. Their color was so reminiscent ofВ blood.
It seemed toВ Conrad that the petals ofВ each rose were opening, repeating the shape ofВ hungry mouths.
В«Make yourself at home,В» Medea Shai walked forward, rustling the gorgeous silks. Her layered skirts also resembled aВ rose. AВ train stretched across the carpet inВ aВ blood-red wave. Some keys inВ the shape ofВ sickles, months, and hearts hung from her belt tinkled melodiously.
There were fairies inВ the castle besides the monsters. They were all black-winged, black-haired, black-robed, and with gray ashy skin as if they had just climbed out ofВ their graves. Conrad had heard legends ofВ grave fairies, but always thought they were fiction.
The black fairies silently brought various dishes ofВ viands, furnishing the round quartz table with them. Even kings did not have dishes made entirely ofВ gold, but Medea ShaiВ did.
InВ her abode, Conrad felt not like aВ guest, but like aВ temple, where some ancient and bloodthirsty deity was about toВ crawl from the altar.
В«Do you like me?В» Medea Shai placed her sword on the table between the trays ofВ figs and grapes. It was good that Conrad did not immediately engage her inВ aВ duel. Her sword snapped open, unleashing several even longer, sharper steel-tongue-like blades from aВ single blade. What if she had pulled such aВ trick inВ combat? He would have been dead or maimed byВ now, inВ spite ofВ his sturdy armor.
Conrad took aВ closer look. Is there aВ hidden spring inВ the hilt toВ release the blades? More like aВ cunning mechanism than magic. But the manticore handle, which instantly came toВ life and mangled its face, dissuaded Conrad inВ an instant. The blades could indeed be mistaken for her tongues.
«I like you,» the queen of the fairies said first, before he could answer. «That’s why you’re still alive. But for how long is it?»
«We’re not going to fight at the feast table, are we?» Conrad thought belatedly that the treats might be poisoned. However, he was in for an even worse surprise. Among the vases and trays of fruit and sweets, one dish drenched in blood stood out too sharply. It is not customary to serve fresh meat to guests unless the guests are monsters. The ghastly warriors of Medea Shae certainly don’t eat meat when it’s roasted. And he just didn’t eat fresh. For it is against human nature. A man should not become entangled with fairies, and he became entangled, enchanted by the beauty of a magical woman.
Blood dripped from the platter onto the table. There was aВ head ofВ aВ man on the plate. Conrad could scarcely recognize it as the head ofВ one ofВ his generals.
В«Ah, pardon!В» The hostess made aВ quick sign toВ her maids, and they hurriedly removed the dish with the mutilated head. One ofВ the black fairies deliberately or accidentally whipped the king inВ the face with her wing.
В«This dish got here byВ mistake,В» Medea Shai apologized with aВ charming smile.
В«And for whom was this dish intended?В» Conrad almost asked. That would have been an unnecessary question, for he had seen for himself the monstrous army ofВ the fairy queen.
В«Sit down, help yourself!В» Medea Shai poured him some wine. There were no chairs near the table except for her throne, but here some glittering creature crawled up behind him and touched Conrad on the shoulder with aВ claw. He turned around and saw aВ pedestal that resembled aВ coiled snake.
He could not sit on it. He didn’t feel like eating either.
«Why such monsters serve you?» – He went straight to what he was worried about.
В«Do you think IВ have toВ fight this war alone?В»
