The few candelabras in the hall and the chandelier went out. A gust of wind that blew in through the window must have extinguished them. The ball continued in the shaded surroundings. No one would even notice that she had broken the rules. Graymore stepped toward the stranger. There was no invitation to dance, but he eagerly put his arm around her waist and spun her around in a dance. This was a dance that Graymore did not know. The steps were too complicated. Sometimes she had to fly above the floor in her partner’s arms. Maybe he was an elf with his wings hidden under his cloak.
В«Are you from the northern woods?В» Graymore broke the prohibition against talking. It is unlikely that the spirit ofВ aВ captive dragon had come for her toВ speak toВ her on purpose. Most likely she was aВ winter elf, as the northern woods are full ofВ them. The thickets there are teeming with the harsh but beautiful elves ofВ winter. Since they themselves for their stubborn temperament are not invited anywhere, what could he do but sneak into the ball.
Her partner said nothing. And his hands were not cold at all. Maybe it was the velvet gloves. The gloves threatened to turn into mittens, because sharp golden fingernails protruded from his fingers. They were red-hot to the touch. Graymore even burned herself on them. She guessed her partner wasn’t a winter elf after all. Otherwise he would have brought the cold with him to the castle. But then again, if he were a dragon-agent, the candelabra wouldn’t be extinguished by his approach. As soon as dragon ambassadors arrive or fly in, all the candles are ablaze. Graymore knew this for a fact, for once a dragon-worshipped minstrel was sent to her to declare dragon war. There was fire in the dragon-slave’s eyes. As he spoke, sparks spewed. As he entered the throne room, all the fireplaces and candles flickered, even the pillars. But once Graymore had defeated the dragons and unmasked the minstrel, he was just a shy boy who claimed to have been grabbed by a clawed paw at a dusty crossroads and dragged off into the heavens. That was all he could recall. Before his captivity, he had heard a voice calling to the crossroads, telling him to obey. But dragons can’t talk, can they?
Could her dancing partner speak?
He just picked her up and almost flew above the floor withВ her.
В«You are not one ofВ my courtiers!В» She looked closely at the eyes beneath his mask. They were golden as sparks. В«You are not aВ knight, nor an advisor, nor an ambassador! IВ do not know you.В»
В«You know me!В» The voice beneath the mask resembled aВ hiss, but it caressed the ear nonetheless.
В«And who are you?В»
В«Suppose IВ am your conscience.В»
В«How interesting is it!В» Graymore snorted, suspecting something fishy. It is time toВ call for the guards, for she is unarmed now. Even the dagger she usually wore behind her corsage she had left inВ her bedroom. She should have known that even on the day ofВ her victory over the dragons there would be danger! Today is her triumph, after all, and an attractive and dangerous stranger leans toward her and whispers as if she has lost.
В«IВ am your conscience! IВ am your destiny!В»
Graymore tore off his mask and screamed. Beneath the mask blazed solid fire. The stranger had no face at all. Only flickers ofВ flame burst from the exquisite jabot, forming aВ head. The dancer turned into aВ pillar ofВ fire, hovering above the hall. Graymore fell toВ the floor as soon as he let her out. There were no burns on her, but it was as hot as the inside ofВ aВ furnace.
Graymore screamed for so long until the column ofВ fire, formerly aВ stranger, dissolved into darkness. The candelabra inВ the hall were lit at aВ very bad time. Everyone could see that the dragon-winner was screaming inВ terror. The crowd stared at Graymore inВ bewilderment.
«Perhaps she’s had too much to drink,» the guests whispered.
«It’s bad luck to scare a dragon maiden on her moment of triumph,» the ministers murmured.
Graymore could hear every rustle and understand the words of any who stood far away. Her hearing was sharpened. It sounded like someone’s magical interference.
The situation was uncomfortable. Graymore jumped up from the floor and hurried out ofВ the ballroom. Outside the windows, the motley lights ofВ the fireworks were still blooming. They resembled heavenly bouquets.
How marvelous that after the deadly dragon fire, the skies above the city were lit with multicolored flames of joy. Graymore did not immediately see the dark dragon’s silhouette, which almost merged with the darkness of the night. The dragon hovered above the towers, displaying its spiky tail as if taunting:
«You won’t catch me!»
Before Graymore could raise the alarm, the dragon vanished into the night.
Enchanted Princess
The events of the feast were delicately silenced. Compromising the future queen was not an option. Well, if it’s not too much to drink! It happens to everyone! Graymore had never had more than a glass of wine in an evening, but who would believe her. She acted like a madwoman or bewitched at the ball.
You can’t blame magicians you don’t even know. Such accusations had been made before. Back in her childhood days, when healers had failed to cure a strange ailment that caused her whole body to burn as if she were being burned at the stake.
Some sorcerer had bewitched her. So it was said, at any rate. Was it rumor or truth? Where did the frail girl get her strength when it came toВ fighting dragons? Where did her magical instinct for approaching dragons come from? If she is not enchanted, then there is no explanation.
She was probably enchanted out of goodwill. The internal fever that heralded the approaching dragons could be considered a curse. But the gift of defeating monsters was itself a blessing. It was probably the gift of some good fairy who had decided to protect the whole country. Livellin had been besieged by dragon packs for centuries. The kingdom bordered the mountains on all sides, where in all likelihood, there were dragon nests. Somehow the neighboring countries suffered less from dragon’s raids. Dragon’s raids happened to them once or twice a year. But to Livellin, dragons were drawn like a magnet. What do they all want here?
«They want you!» A small voice inside Graymore’s mind prompted.
Probably some joking spirit spoke toВ her. Graymore brushed the voice aside.
She could also have been summoned inВ this way byВ aВ court wizard. Though the Council ofВ Magicians had long since been banished, and there was still one powerful wizard inВ the castle, Gryamore would not consult him now. He would appear before him, and inВ aВ mentor-like tone he would begin toВ instruct her inВ the right thing toВ do. All his advice took the form ofВ orders.
Once she was officially crowned queen, Graymore would not let anyone else tell her what to do. She would change the rules at Livellin’s court as she saw fit, too. There will be no more days of stupor after defeating a dragon.
She proved at the ball that it is possible to break a condition and still not be caught by captive dragons. She wasn’t being guided by any of them right now.
«You’re so sure of that?» The cryptic voices sounded as if they were coming from the cellar, but dragons can’t talk.
Graymore knocked the goblet of wine to the floor. She must not drink another drop of spirits! It’s time to switch to milk and fruit nectar. Milk and fruit nectar would never get you drunk. The wine poured out red on the marble floor, a reminder of blood.
A dragon’s face was in the pool. Graymore flinched, glancing toward the window. There was no dragon hovering outside. She shuddered as if a dragon had gotten cocky enough to peek through the window and reflect in the spilled wine.
Those dragons! They drew Graymore toВ themselves like aВ magnet.
The blood of dragons drew her from a distance. And now she felt a dragon at her side. Well, not exactly near. It was somewhere on the edge of the kingdom. Graymore’s secret vision immediately awoke, and she stopped listening to the ambassador, who had arrived with some sort of report and was now reading it out. The dragon is near, and she sits idle. It is time to grab her bow and sword.
The dragon’s fiery blood drew her like a magnet. Its distant scent served as a stimulant. Not because the dragon was hurt, but because everything in Graymore flashed at the feeling of having a dragon near. And its veins flowed with spontaneous blood.
There was aВ prophecy that the mountain dragon would be her destiny. Probably it was because from its scales she would make aВ perfect chain-mail for herself and become aВ great knight. Everyone knows that armor made ofВ dragon scales cannot be penetrated byВ arrows or blades and does not burn. She needs such armor, which means she must capture the dragon. With dragon armor, she will become aВ great knight who can fight not only dragons but armies ofВ men alone, and only such aВ knight can rule aВ kingdom.
That is how Graymore interpreted the prophecy. She would have to marry one of her cousins who would become king. And she wanted to rule herself. She didn’t want a husband who would limit her power at all. To be an autocrat-that is the main goal! And for that she would have to try and prove herself a true heroine.
It was aВ pity that not all dragons were suited toВ be skinned and fitted with ideal armor. She needed aВ special dragon whose scales would not fade after they were flayed from the skin. Graymore had already checked all the dragons she had captured. Once she peeled back the colorful scales, they faded and became colorless. So these dragons are no good. She would have toВ look for aВ special one. She wondered if there was aВ dragon like that nestled on the fringes ofВ her domain. He was inВ aВ province somewhere, just outside the southern ridge ofВ the mountains. Graymore was trying toВ pinpoint its exact location when heralds announced an urgent messenger.
It is aВ dragon! It is on the southern border ofВ Livellin! It has burned the vineyards and wineries ofВ your subjects, dried with its breath several rivers, destroyed the frontier fort, and neighbors say that before it flew toВ us, it incinerated aВ small country byВ the sea.В»
Graymore wondered:
В«Did the dragon make demands? Had he bewitched someone toВ deliver an ultimatum through his lips? Did he demand that cattle or innocent girls be sacrificed toВ him?В»
Usually dragons demanded aВ dozen sheep aВ week and aВ few virgins for aВ snack. The scholars were certain that dragons needed virgins toВ perform witchcraft rituals.
Whether dragons knew how toВ conjure byВ performing rituals, Graymore did not know. But they did possess aВ certain ability toВ perform enchantments. Usually all ofВ their witchcraft talents were limited toВ suggestion. They could hypnotize aВ man with one look. But when Graymore looked the dragons inВ the eye, they had no power over her. It was the further proof that she was bewitched.
«The dragon has not yet made any demands, Your Highness… I mean, majesty,» the messenger did not know how to address her. The formalities were of no concern to Graymore. She will be crowned in due course. She will prove to all that she is capable of reigning alone.
But why did the boundary dragon have power over her? She burned with the feeling that he was close. She was drawn toВ him as if he was aВ lover, and yet he was aВ rival. With every dragon Graymore fought as if she were fighting for power. If she lost once, she would lose her chance toВ rule the kingdom. But she cannot lose, for she is enchanted.
В«IВ promise toВ solve the dragon problem,В» she waved graciously at the messenger. В«Go back toВ your own land, and tell the people have nothing toВ fear.В»
В«But there are none left, my lady. They are all burnt!В»
So they are! Graymore tapped the armrests ofВ the throne with annoyance.
The mesmerizing voice inВ her brain sounded more insistent.
В«Come toВ me!В»
Graymore felt her body being caressed byВ streams ofВ flame. They were no longer burning, but pleasurable. She basked inВ them as inВ aВ warm, fragrant bath.
The fire around her body was invisible, or the messenger and the ambassador, whose report had been indelicately interrupted, would have run away screaming.
«It’s dangerous, my lady!» muttered the messenger. «All those who went to scout have not returned. Many of the glorious knights were left with only burned armor.»
В«Mountain dragons are usually full ofВ treasure,В» said Graymore dreamily. She was not afraid ofВ being burned. When has aВ single dragon ever been able toВ fight her? She alone is stronger than all ofВ them.
В«There was probably an exception waiting ahead.В»
There was that intrusive voice inВ her brain again!
Graymore focused her attention on the messenger. He was shabby and frightened.
В«Have you come toВ ask for help?В»
В«Yes, my lady!В»
В«Well, IВ assure you ofВ it.В»
«But you’re not going to fight him yourself, are you, my lady?» The messenger blushed to his ears and shrank back. «I hear you are a great champion of dragons.»
В«And you doubt IВ can defeat aВ dragon?В»
«Well,» the messenger blushed even more. «You are not the giantess I was told you were. You’re just a pretty lady.»
«Go on, scram!» Graymore was furious. «You’ll find out how fearsome pretty ladies can be!»
The ambassador thought it best toВ go away. Immediately Graymore regretted her overreaction. She should have had the poor man fed inВ the palace kitchen and given him aВ bed for the night. It was clear from his emaciated appearance that he had been running for days.
And why did one dragon seem more dangerous to him than a pack? He should have seen the recent dragon raid on the capital of Livellin! He must have slept through every dragon attack. There’d been a few in recent years. If this was the first dragon he’d ever seen in his life, then no wonder he’d be so startled.
She’d seen enough dragons herself. They don’t scare her. Though there was something peculiar about this dragon. Graymore could feel him at a distance, and fire coursed through her veins.
В«Come toВ me, Princess!В»
The voice was in her mind’s throat, sticky as honey. It made it impossible to think of anything else but one dragon in particular. Graymore did not hear the ambassador’s speech continue. She dreamed of the monster in scales waiting for her in the mountains. Their battle would probably resemble a love match. This dragon smells her at a distance, as she does him.
So why has he not come toВ attack the capital if he needs her so much?
Skeleton Advisor
The skeleton was waiting for her in the tower. It was dressed in a sumptuous purple robe and crown, as if it were the ruler of a kingdom. The great wizard’s body had long since rotted away, but the skeleton remained. Sometimes he came back to life and even spoke, but no one knew about it except Graymore.
If she needed advice, she went to the skeleton. So today she went up to the tower for advice. The skeleton, which had been sitting motionless, immediately came to life as soon as Graymore crossed the threshold of the old tower. The jewels glittered enticingly in his bony hands, as if beckoning: try to rip them off me, and then the skeleton’s hand will strangle you.
Graymore had no use for the dead wizard’s jewels. But a footman who once tried quietly to remove a heavy gold chain with a medal from the skeleton’s neck was found strangled. No one had cleaned the tower since. Cobwebs stretched across the walls in festoons. Even the murky gold-framed mirror, thought to be magical, was covered in a thick layer of dust and draped in cobwebs.
The magician’s skeleton itself, barely alive and moving, began hastily shaking the cobwebs from his hands and crushing the spiders. Graymore turned away. The sight of a living skeleton catching the insects that crawled into the tower was not pleasant.
The skeleton already knew why she had come, and smirked defiantly with aВ lipless mouth. How not toВ gloat! The ruler ofВ Livellin could not do without his advice. Graymore wasted no time inВ long formulas ofВ politeness and asked at once:
В«Tell me, should IВ go on the hunt for the dragon that lodges inВ the provinces near the mountains?В»
В«Do you have aВ choice?В» The skeleton was already aware ofВ the unusual dragon. Though the magical observation mirror was covered inВ cobwebs, and the dead man knew exactly what it could show.
«No, I don’t!» Graymore felt herself burning from within. If she did not set out to catch the dragon, she would go mad with searing pain.
В«Then why do you ask, when you already know the answer?В»
The skeleton’s squeaky voice was very insolent. Graymore didn’t like the dead wizard’s self-confidence. She wanted to challenge him, and she didn’t dare. To behave boldly with him was to call trouble on the whole kingdom.
В«Perhaps the dragon would come here instead ofВ settling near the mountains.В»
«I don’t think so. It would wait there.»
В«Is he waiting? But for whom is he waiting?В»
«What if it’s you, Princess?»
«Don’t joke!»
The skeleton fell silent.
В«Why do IВ suffer pains ofВ fire when dragons approach?В»
В«It is because you are aВ true dragon hunter.В»
«No, I’ve been bewitched, so I can’t stand the pain of being near raptors. You probably did it. And the goal was to turn me into a dragon myself, but it didn’t work. Instead of being attracted to their nature, I feel the excitement of war with them.»
В«Or perhaps you burn from their proximity, waiting for one ofВ the dragons toВ become your lover?В»
«Will he be my lover? Don’t joke! They are monsters!» She remembered the dream – an elf with fiery breath.
«What if it’s destiny!» insisted the dead wizard.
В«It is better death inВ battle with dragons than such aВ fate.В»
В«Then kill the next ofВ them! Perhaps this way you will change your fate. Lover or corpse, the choice is yours. After all, you are the ruler ofВ these lands.В»
