Golden Laurel
The spring archery contest was held according to all the rules. The winner of it would be proclaimed a hero for the day. A wreath of golden laurel would adorn the winner’s head.
Graymore had won the archery contest for many years inВ aВ row. Regular practice with marksmanship and concentration had helped herВ win.
The hunt for the dragon was postponed for exactly one day only because of the contest. If she did not win it, she would not be allowed to go into the woods. How can you hunt a monster of prey if you can’t even win a shooting tournament?
She won the first rounds, but there are more difficult tests ahead. One target succeeds another. The competitors are as talented as she is. She has to beat them all. Graymore was as nervous as a needle. And you can’t get nervous or you’ll miss. Anyone who gets nervous loses their aim. You have to be cool and calculating so your hand doesn’t shake when you shoot.
В«Look! She wins again!В» Some ladies gathered byВ the grove, pointing their hands at her. Their manners were aВ little too plain. They must have come from the country. Graymore almost dropped her bow and arrow when she noticed, from the corner ofВ her eye, that the ladies were true fairies. They were huddled inВ the shade ofВ laurel trees. They were wearing wreaths ofВ thyme and eucalyptus leaves. All winged! Their bare feet did not touch the ground, and their dresses were woven ofВ grass and leaves.
What aВ sight! Fairies flew inВ from the fields toВ look at her. Apparently she was becoming aВ legend.
Graymore took aim at the apple, which she wanted toВ knock down inВ aВ swoop so that it would break into even halves. The squire was already tossing it inВ the air. The arrow, released from the bowstring, split the apple inВ aВ fraction ofВ aВ second. InВ the next round it would be necessary toВ knock down several apples at once with aВ single shot. And then you have toВ shoot blindfolded. Graymore only had one minute ofВ breathing room.
Someone strange inВ aВ cloak embroidered with dragon symbols flashed through the crowd. Could it be aВ sorcerer? Graymore squinted at the bright sun that peeked out from behind the clouds, blocking her view. The bizarre mask ofВ gold and green dragon scales might have been just aВ gimmick. Many young men wore one as aВ sign ofВ their fearlessness ofВ dragons. There was nothing toВ fear from the flying reptiles. After all, the ruler ofВ Livellin was capable ofВ defeating themВ all.
The young man inВ the dragon mask looked directly at Graymore. What bottomless eyes he had! She drowned inВ those eyes for aВ second, and then the herald trumpets announced the start ofВ the next round.
Graymore tried toВ concentrate on the target thrown inВ the air, but the stranger inВ the crowd was inВ her way. It was as if he spoke toВ her without words:
В«FollowВ me!В»
She could not respond. The tournament was more important than fads. Graymore tried to forget about the enticing stranger. She had strong opponents tonight. There was no point in being distracted by trivialities. There are many handsome young men wandering around Livellin. There is always someone to meet here. And you can’t even see this stranger’s face under the mask. What if he’s disfigured or branded? You never know. Criminals were branded in Livellin. He could well be a thief or a rogue who deliberately lures the princess into a trap.
But what eyes he has! They are not eyes, but two bottomless pools the color ofВ heaven. Graymore kept thinking ofВ his eyes as she blindly aimed at the snapped pheasant, and then at the clay jug with the copper coin inside toВ make it jingle while the jug was tossed inВ the air. Before it fell, it had toВ be broken into shards with an arrow. Graymore managed and removed the blindfold from her eyes.
The young man inВ the dragon mask disappeared from the crowd somewhere, and it felt like he was still around.
The last round was to pass an arrow through a narrow ring of fire so that the arrow would not catch fire. It was something that Graymore had managed many times before. She had done it now. The arrow flew through the blazing ring and didn’t catch fire, but the square suddenly burst into flames. A barrel of gunpowder must have exploded in one of the city’s armories.
В«Put out the fire!В» Graymore commanded her servants and squires. She herself was left alone. One noble was attacked. AВ man cut off his purse and fled across the blazing square. The flames did not burn him. But he himself had time toВ take down the flag and throw it into the fire. It is an insult toВ Livellin. Graymore drew an arrow from her quiver, took aim, and struck the runner down. The shot must not have put him toВ death, otherwise how could he be questioned later.
The fire was partially extinguished, but the flags that were flying inВ the square were burnt out. Bad omen! Graymore, without waiting for the guards, went toВ the thief. He appeared toВ have dropped dead, pierced byВ her arrow, but as she turned the corpse over he was breathing. He was either covered inВ pockmarks and warts, or not even human, but some kind ofВ troll.
The guards came up, but Graymore wanted toВ interrogate the captured man herself. He laughed dryly before she even asked the first question.
В«There is but one ofВ aВ dynasty ofВ rulers left inВ Livellin, and soon it will be gone too,В» he hissed. В«They will come for you, and you will change.В»
She did not have time toВ ask what he meant byВ that, for he had gone out ofВ breath, but just as he was being presumed dead, the dead man suddenly came toВ life, plucked an arrow from his chest, sprang toВ his feet, and crawled away down the gutter ofВ the nearest building. It looked like aВ troll, but not aВ human. He was moving so fast that his lightning-fast movements could scarcely be traced byВ sight.
В«Go after him!В» Graymore ordered the guards.
The fire went out. Strangely enough, it appeared where the statuesque stranger in the dragon mask had passed. Graymore looked around for him. He could not have burned in the fire. She didn’t want to believe that outcome. She wished she could see him again. But she wouldn’t even recognize him without his mask.
The thief’s words lingered in her brain. Who would come for her? Are they dragons? But they usually fly, not walk. So he didn’t mean dragons.
Graymore, ofВ course, won the archery contest again. The tournament director put aВ laurel wreath on her head. The laurel has long been awarded toВ heroes. She is aВ hero toВ her country! She would surely be chosen queen, not her brothers.
Something rang inВ the wind. AВ single golden laurel appeared among the laurel trees inВ the grove! It was its leaves tinkling inВ the wind. Can aВ laurel be golden? The wreath for the victor is made ofВ gold byВ jewelers. But the golden tree, with its golden roots inВ the ground, seemed like aВ miracle. The fairies were gathered around them, whispering excitedly. Graymore was too shy toВ approach them.
Though she was wearing her wreath ofВ victory today, it did not give her the right toВ communicate with magical creatures.
«She is a poor girl!» The fairies whispered. «She doesn’t even know what awaits her.»
В«If she stays here!В» interrupted the chorus ofВ fairies one fairy who was sitting on the branches ofВ aВ laurel tree, which was turning golden byВ her presence. The gilding slowly ran down from the top ofВ the tree.
Graymore gasped. These are real fairies who can work miracles. If you ask them about her future, unlike the phlegmatic skeleton, they will answer exactly what awaits her. After all, everyone knows that fairies are the most talented soothsayers.
And about whom they are now talking? Who is inВ trouble?
В«If she knew the secrets ofВ her kind,В» the fairies whispered. В«She would not have been so careless. She would not have made so many mistakes. She is wasting her great gifts. She looks for enemies inВ the wrong places. And they are right at her side. They are almost inВ her heart.В»
«They are not in her heart!» The tree fairy objected again. «She doesn’t like them. Blood does not mean much. Often love in a family is only a formality, not a feeling. We know little of those who are kindred to us.»
В«Her kin are dragons.В»
В«It is not yet.В»
«And what about his kin? The most beautiful king in the world wears scales instead of jewelry. He burned his own kingdom because he couldn’t control his temper. Can he be bewitched?»
«He can! But is it worth it?» The fairy on the laurel yawned. «I’m going to sleep here,» she declared.
«Don’t you dare! Or the whole grove will be gold.»
В«So be it! The princess deserved it. She fought gloriously for the laurel wreath ofВ victory. Let the laurel here be golden inВ her honor.В»
The fairy fell asleep, and the crown ofВ the tree covered her with leaves as if she never existed. The other fairies whispered together.
В«She is aВ poor princess!В»
Is this any way to honor a winner? Graymore was hiding behind the laurel tree and eavesdropping on them. Did they know she was watching them? The fairies flew past her in a slew of glittering figures. One even whipped her on the shoulder with a wing and didn’t notice. Graymore looked in their wake and groaned. The laurel beneath her hands turned golden. The fairy had fulfilled her promise.
Flames inВ dreams
Graymore was thrashing about on the king’s bed. She dreamed of a dragon. They were either fighting or making love with him. Suddenly, instead of a dragon, there was a young man. Handsome as an elf, but his breath was fiery.
В«Your blood is fiery,В» said Graymore, В«but you are not aВ dragon. How could thatВ be?В»
He kissed her, breathing fire on her lips. She was toВ burn. That was the end ofВ the dream.
She was toВ burn with love inВ the literal sense, not inВ the poetic sense. It was aВ fiery romance!
Graymore could have indulged inВ dreams ofВ the hero ofВ her dreams all day, but business was urgent. She must pack for the road. If she did not defeat the dragon on the southern border, no one would.
The squires looked at the princess with reverence, as if she were aВ heroine.
В«You are not coming with me,В» Graymore informed them.
There was an answering gasp and aВ gasp ofВ amazement.
«You can’t really go to the dragon’s lair alone, can you?»
В«OfВ course IВ can!В» Graymore was picking out the weapons she would take withВ her.
She had correctly calculated that if there was only one dragon, she wouldn’t need any helpers. She would be doubly unhappy if she were mistaken and the dragon had flocks of winged helpers in the bushes. Then she’d be walking into a trap. Graymore weighed the pros and cons, and decided that a dragon could have no helpers. She’d swallowed up all the dragons in her area long ago. So she had nothing to fear. No one will come to the dragon’s rescue.
«Won’t you even take us with you?» The squires lamented. They were all young and pretty. Everyone liked the princess, without exception.
В«IВ will not need you or any ofВ my knights toВ fight the dragon. IВ ride alone,В» Graymore repeated inВ aВ peremptory tone.
В«Do you need someone toВ help you hunt aВ dragon? How could you not take us with you?В» The prettiest, most daring ofВ the squires insisted.
«I am bewitched by the dragon’s fire, but you are not,» Graymore replied. «I can’t risk you all on a whim. A dragon would burn you in a single breath.»
The squires grimaced. Everyone knew that dragon fire does not burn an enchanted princess. But about the fire that rages within her when aВ dragon approaches, Graymore preferred not toВ tell anyone. Outwardly she remained invulnerable, her body unburned byВ dragon fire, but her soul burned.
The memory of her dream lover made her soul burn. Graymore struggled to concentrate on her choice of weapons. She would need an axe, a chain, throwing daggers, a mace, darts, a spare quiver of arrows, and, of course, a huge, sturdy bag to put the severed dragon’s head in. Graymore had no doubt that she would overpower and kill the beast.
«Don’t be so sure of yourself,» the laurel fairy whispered as she flew past the window of the royal castle.
В«Did she really tell me that?В» Graymore frowned.
«You are jealous!» One of the squires scolded the fairy and immediately cried out. He’d accidentally bitten his tongue. Swearing at fairies was dangerous.
Graymore was not angry at the fairy. After all the laurel trees inВ the avenue had turned gold, fairies could be forgiven for idle chatter. Let them snicker. Everyone knows fairies are sharp-tongued and love toВ banter with mortals.
«I wish I could catch a fairy and ask her for a fortune!» Graymore sighed wistfully. «It’s a pity fairies aren’t dragons, you can’t catch them.»
В«You can beat aВ dragon,В» the elder squire announced with aplomb.
Graymore patted him on the top ofВ his head.
«I know you’re a fan. One day I’ll teach you how to hunt dragons.»
The squire flushed toВ his ears.
«If there are dragons left when I return from the Southern Woods. I’m probably overconfident, but I think I’m going to catch the last one.»
«Maybe after the dragons you’ll hunt griffins, basilisks or Naga? I hear there’s a whole nest of Nagas in the next kingdom.»
В«Nagas, Gryphons, and Basilisks have done nothing toВ annoy me, but the dragons seem toВ have declared war on me. Why would they do that?В»
«It is because you’re the Chosen One,» the squire suggested.
«I think there’s a deeper reason,» Graymore said, choosing her weapon. «I’ll need a little more provisions, but I don’t want to overload the horse. The saddlebags are already full of crafty dragon-catching implements. I must eat the wild apples that grow along the road. The forests of Livellin are full of wild apples and plums. And I can drink pure spring water.»
Graymore ordered the squires toВ sharpen their swords, and she herself went down toВ the cellars where the captive dragons were kept.
В«Will you explain toВ me why you are hunting me? Has your dragon tribe declared war on me or on my realm? What do you want with me? Why do IВ disturb you so much?В»
The dragons only wheezed and snarled in response. They must not know human speech. And their gleaming eyes said they understood. Their eyes are wise, but embittered. The skeleton adviser could translate for her, but he would never insinuate himself into the vaults. He is forbidden to leave the tower. If they put him in a horse-drawn carriage and drag him down to the cellar, he’d probably crumble to dust on the way. Life after death is a risky business. A dead wizard is haunted by various conventions and restrictions.
Graymore stared at the captive dragons for a moment. Her ringed fingers slid over the thick bars of the bars. Usually jewels attract dragons. Graymore was laden with it, but the dragons looked at her with disdain. One even spit fire in her direction. Not surprising, since she was the one who had captured them. If it hadn’t been for her, they’d be free in the sky, not locked up in a dungeon.
The fire spit did not burn Graymore. Dragon fire could not harmВ her.
В«You are so beautiful and so vicious!В» rebuked the princess.
The many-colored dragon eyes gazed at her from the darkness like aВ cluster ofВ jewels. It was as if the dungeon held not dragons but sapphires and rubies and emeralds, as if they were alive inside them. Dragon scales shimmered inВ every hue ofВ the rainbow.
В«How could such beautiful creatures be so vicious and cruel?В» Graymore thought aloud and turned toВ leave. She would get nothing from the silent dragons.
В«How can you be so vicious and cruel toВ cage dragons?В» AВ hoarse voice asked.
Graymore turned around. The voice was definitely not that of a dragon. None of the dragons in the dungeon had spoken to her. So who spoke? Graymore took a torch from a bracket on the wall and looked around. There was no one in the dungeons but the dragons. The guards on duty outside didn’t count. None of them had the audacity to address the would-be queen.
В«The Invisible One speaks toВ me!В» Graymore sighed and pushed the torch back into its bracket. Ripples rippled across the smoked wall, as if it were not aВ wall but the surface ofВ aВ lake. The soot folded into letters, and the letters into an inscription:
В«IВ am waiting for you inВ the southern woods.В»
Graymore gasped and tried toВ blindly grab the invisible man, but there was no one inВ the void. But the head ofВ security came running.
В«Can you read?В» Graymore askedВ him.
В«Yes, my lady.В»
В«What do you see here? Read it!В» Graymore pointed with her index finger at the wall.
В«There is nothing at the wall, my lady,В» the guard admitted frankly.
В«What do you mean? Do you at least see the scribbles that look like letters?В»
The guard shook his head inВ the negative. Maybe he lied that he was literate and simply could not readВ it?
В«Forget it! Keep aВ better eye on the dragons!В» Graymore decided it would be more useful toВ pay the skeleton one more visit before she set out on her journey.
The skeleton advisor was more benign today than usual.
«Are you leaving, then?» He glanced questioningly at the princess’s puffy pink muslin dress for the morning. «Shouldn’t you be wearing something more practical, like blazers and breeches and a helmet and boots?»
В«OfВ course IВ should. That is what IВ intend toВ do, but just before the road, not now.В»
