The night was deaf and dark, even the dim light of the moon in the distant gloomy skies could not dispel the darkness. Here he was too weak and helpless to illuminate the possessions of evil forces, and not far from the rocks, there was a beautiful palace, but its beauty was too weak to attract people in comparison with the devilish legends about the eternal heaps of rocks and swan lakes beyond the borders of the kingdom.
Everyone knew that the legends tell the truth, and they have no reason to lie. Everything was true: witches, demons, beautiful captives of evil, the very girls turned into swans by the black demon of darkness, all heard the sad songs that were heard at night. There, far beyond the rocks, the hostages of darkness at night took on their real appearance and sang and danced all night, but no one dared to approach them, to the beauties who were so careless that they went to the rocks, and then the devils revenge found them. No one knew why he was taking revenge on this world and all those girls in whom at least a drop of deceptive and enchanting beauty was preserved.
A piercing wind blew and carried the dry leaves from place to place like a round dance of night shadows. Odette shrank from the cold, she didnt know how she got here. What ghost brought her into this enchanted world? The only thing she remembered was the tale of her maids of her beautiful mother and the spirit of evil that killed her. Everyone tried to hide this story from the little princess, but still one day she heard it, and she remained an eternal imprint of horror in her heart.
The rocks filled everything around them with a blue-bluish color, he was beautiful and cold, like the endless kiss of the wind, only the wind flew into these gloomy possessions, until Odette herself stepped here.
She was wearing a light, light dress, but even it was luxurious, like a princesss outfit, her long wavy hair fell in a light cover over her shoulders, her face was beautiful, she herself was a worthy daughter of Diana. Although no one dared to pronounce this name since the moment of death of the graceful queen.
Odette did not want to seek adventure at all, but some evil fate drew her here along with him, some voice called her, breaking through the veil of her dreams.
Suddenly, a shadow flickered around the bend in the maze of rocks, and Odette froze in place, as if a ghost was showing her the way. She did not think long and decided to go to the call.
As soon as she moved forward, a black bird flew right over her head, it was a gloomy eagle, but what he did here, it was the first bird that flew to the witchs rocks and how unusual it was, how bold was the look of shining eyes, as if they were full of human hatred and mysterious pain.
Odette turned her head, wanting to follow the birds flight. Suddenly, in the distance, there was a sound like a quiet, ominous laugh. There was something dark and triumphant about it. Fear seized Odette, but she slowly moved forward. Her journey was long and dangerous. Some kind of indistinct burning flame blew into her face and burned her eyes so that she involuntarily closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she saw what was behind the bend of the rock.
The rocks were a real labyrinth, it was impossible to predict what was hidden behind the next turn, and there could be any danger, although even the robbers did not look here, because they were also people who were afraid of ghosts, only witches gathered here at night, and Odette believed in this legend, like everyone who lived in the country.
She plucked up the courage to bend over to see what was happening there, beyond the rock, and saw a burning bonfire, a huge cauldron with some kind of scalding brew, and three figures standing around it.
They were dark, almost indistinguishable, but Odette could see their dirty black robes and long hair falling almost to the ground, and the gnarled nails on their bony hands, barely covered with dark skin like ash from a fire.
Odette pressed herself against the rock and looked closely, their faces lit up by the glare of fire, and the terrible deformities of the three witches were barely discernible in them. It was difficult to describe their ugliness, but besides that, each of them had their own terrible flaw, and Odette shuddered when faced with it. Her eyes darted from one witch to another, each of them turned out to be even more unpleasant than the last.
The first had one eye missing on her swarthy face, but not in the same way as in people, as if it shouldnt have been on her face at all by nature. Dirty skin had grown there, as if from birth, the second eye was mobile and vicious, like some ominous light of a cursed swamp, it sparkled and shimmered with its red, almost bloody fire and burned brighter than the flame of a fire.
Her long hand reached out to her friend, the next witch. The one was much worse than the first. Both eyes were missing on her face, but they were not gouged out such was the eerie nature of the creation of the night. She seemed to see everything without eyes. She did not need them to have her evil power over the world and to frighten all people. Her face expressed too much. Large nostrils felt everything around them and slowly inhaled the rotten smoke of the fire, scarlet lips were thicker than those of a common man, and yellow, huge and rather rare teeth peeped out from under them.
Odette looked at the third witch, her face was as disgusting as her two sisters, there was no mouth on her face, it was overgrown with smooth and gray skin, there was no nose either, only two small specks shone in the place where he should was to be located. But she spoke, like everyone else, and her voice was raspy and disgusting, it sounded like the sound of a flowing water or the sound of a falling tree, although it was not clear how she could speak without lips, probably it was another mystery of witchcraft
The hair of the witches was prohibitively long, they were stuck with mud and dirt, and they themselves were of a resinous color and curled at the ends like snakes, but the fire did not touch them, although they fluttered next to the flame, as if it were an unspoken agreement of witchcraft and lords of bitter fires. Suddenly Odette thought that she knew what the mistress of all this nightmare looked like and that her hair was red like fire.
Odette watched the three witches for a long time and did not even notice how they began to talk among themselves. Their voices rang out in the valley between the rocks. It seemed that the fire itself flames in time with them and merges with their even more burning flame.
«Today is that night,» one of them hissed, «a sacred night, and we must meet her with a new victim, I hope you have lured someone to the rock today.»
«Yes, our new victim will come soon, we have completely bewitched her,» the second remarked mockingly.
«I hope shes attractive?» croaked the impassible witch, although it was not clear where her voice was coming from; from the depths of her grim figure or hell itself.
«Of course,» the second answered her, «it is such a pleasure to kill beautiful and young.»
She smiled longingly in anticipation of diabolical delight, which made her face even more terrible and disgusting. Odette clung to the rock in horror to see if they were talking about her. They lured her to a rock and now wanted to kill her. She wanted to run away from here as soon as possible, but her legs did not obey her, they were completely numb, as if in a dream, and she could neither walk nor run, she seemed to be rooted to a rock.
«You remember what happened on the same night many years ago,» meanwhile the witch said.
«You remember what happened on the same night many years ago,» meanwhile the witch said.
«Yes,» her friend responded, and a fiery eye flashed with a wild light, «exactly so many years ago the beautiful queen died, she should have gotten to us, but this scoundrel took her soul from us.»
«Its right that the mistress killed her. Diana was just an angel of strife, so many lovers suffered because of her, she ruined her beloved king and she herself had to die.»
«She was too young, but it is the souls of the young that give immortality.»
«Her daughter is to be queen tonight, but well intervene, dont we?»
They all laughed deafeningly, their laughter filled the entire space between the rocks..
«And Rothberts daughter,» meanwhile, they said, «she must also be with us.
«He himself will consecrate her, besides, it is better not to have anything to do with him, because he can destroy us all, and then we will cease to exist.»
«No,» said the other, «this will never happen, at least as long as our mistress is alive, we are under her dark protection.»
«Odile is a real beauty, but her soul is dark, and woe to those who fall in love with the curls of her dazzling black hair.»
«Yes, such a person died, because she is the daughter of the king of darkness, but when will she join us.»
«I would like to kill her,» the one-eyed witch remarked with hatred and fury, «a girl of such beauty has nothing to do in this world, let her live with angels, not with people.»
«But she is a dark angel, and she is Dianas daughter, although she has forgotten her mother, she has the beauty of a dead queen and the evil heart of her father, her hair curls like snakes of death, that will be fun when the young prince gets to us from- for the love of her.»
The witch went up to the fire and threw something that looked like white powder at it, which made the fire burst into a black flame, and the same black smoke went from it, along with the stench of death, which made Odette sick.
«Let it be so,» said the witch, and together they all repeated this short but deadly phrase of the devils spell, and black fire reflected on their faces, and they all seemed even more nightmarish in its reflections.
«And Odette,» one of them said, and the little princess shuddered, «she has a pure heart. How can we get her?»
«Do not be afraid,» one of the witches assured her, «our mistress has come up with an original way of terrible revenge, Odette will regret that she was born at all, this will be her curse.»
Odette felt that she was losing her feelings, but nevertheless with an effort she managed to pull herself together, she did not have to utter a word, otherwise she was waiting for death, and not only death, but also the eternal damnation of her soul.
The witches laughed with a vicious, disgusting laugh, which immediately spread over all the rocks.
«Its time,» one of them whispered, and her face twisted in a devilish grin, «I know she will be here soon.»
And then in the hands of one witch Odette saw a small child, he was crying and screaming, and at that moment, when the light of the fire fell on him, a dagger flashed in the hand of another witch. It slowly but steadily approached the heart of the child, it was a terrible bewitching sight, and Odette could not resist.
«No,» she shouted, jumping out from behind the rock, and immediately the fire burst into a bright column of her flame, burning everything around her, but without touching the three devilish figures.
The witches froze in amazement, but then their faces were distorted by ominous grins, and on the claws of one of them bright human blood was already shining. The fire swelled with extraordinary force, and now, as if those silhouettes of witches were not here at all, they disappeared somewhere and the child along with them, but Odette was ready to swear that a minute ago she saw them and almost witnessed a nightmarish ritual
Now everything around was calm, but Odette clearly saw that she was standing on a rock, and in front of her in a rocky hollow a bright fire was burning, its flame warmed with its hot gusts, it was so pleasant in the cold of the witchs night, but at the same time, how- then mysterious and mysterious.
There was a huge cauldron next to the fire, from which from time to time small streams of smoke burst out and disappeared into the crimson darkness of the fire. What was in it, some kind of witchs brew, and in fact, before her eyes, the witchcraft almost killed a living child. Odette could not believe what had happened to her, but it was true, a minute ago she saw all this and could not take her eyes off the witchcraft rite.
Odette slowly approached the fire, now a pleasant warmth and a kind of comfort unknown here emanated from him, his flame blazed slowly and hotly, his scarlet tongues caressed the hot air around the fire and suddenly, in this darkness, some unknown, but ominous voice called:
«Odette, Odette, Odette!»
Odette turned, but there was nothing but the rapid beating of her own heart.
Suddenly the fire burst into a blue flame, and no more heat emanated from it, it turned cold like ice or snow, and pale blue like night clouds. Odette could not understand what had happened, just a moment ago everything here was calm and quiet, and now some ominous spirit crept here and did not give any more peace to this, perhaps, accursed place.
Something said to her «Come to the cauldron», some voice pushed her, but fear was stronger, it could only be overcome by excessive curiosity, and it always appeared in the soul at the most dangerous and inappropriate moment.
Odette walked slowly over and carefully peered over the edge of the cauldron. A strange green brew mixed with something dark crimson resembling blood was boiling and seething in him.
Odette wanted to recoil in horror, but suddenly there, in the green mess, a head with long messy hair appeared, and the hand of the ugly witch grabbed Odette by the clothes. She tried to escape with a scream, but nothing worked, the green hand held her tightly to the dress and did not want to let go for a moment, it seemed that the end of the young princess was coming, but something terrible awaited her, in front of the cauldron next to her appeared disfigured with scars and burns face of a red-haired witch.
«The time has come, beauty,» she hissed, and her angry laugh flooded everything around, not allowing a single drop of silence to take possession of this place, and here, in horror, the princess woke up, the dream was too much like reality.
The full moon was shining over the beautiful royal palace, its walls and Gothic windows were flooded with sparkling, silvery light, as in a charming fairy tale, but it was the fairy tale of the night itself, and it did not let go of anyone from her magical embrace.
The palace was both huge and rich, it was not more beautiful to find it in the whole world, but many years ago the one to which it now belonged was subjected to a curse.
A huge lake overflowed in front of the palace, its dark cold waters glittered in imitation of the moon, and it was reflected with pleasure in them, not allowing the night darkness to fully embrace itself, there was only one thing missing: swans that had fallen asleep at night, but the darkness had its plans.
The deep night covered everything around, but they did not sleep in the palace. In the huge windows of the throne room, a bright light burned and dispelled the darkness around its possessions. The moon was reflected in the waters of the lake, making them beautiful and mysterious.