«You collect swords from Menuel!» Medea Shai was delighted at the sight of his collection. Others were frightened by the hilts in the shape of wings, but she was fascinated by it.
«There are legends that such swords fly into the heart of the enemy, if you send them, even through the country, strongly wishing someone death,» Conrad remembered the fables of arms dealers. «Such a sword will find its prey and plunge into it.»
«Its not a legend, its the truth,» the queen of the fairies interrupted him, almost harshly. «True, there is a spell you must first recite before you can send a sword to seek out your enemy. I can teach you»
She was silent for a moment, and her brow furrowed in incomprehension. Her wings twitched nervously.
«But why should I teach you anything? Youre mortal, arent you? Not even a mundane elf! I always wanted to marry an elves king. No more, no less. And now Ive changed my mind. I dont believe it.»
She gently brushed a lock of hair from his forehead.
«You were so extraordinary. I didnt expect a human to have the consciousness of an elf.»
«Was it all because of the armory? Has your opinion of me increased so much because I keep Menuels swords in my possession?»
«Its not an arsenal, its a treasure trove.»
Medea Shai manipulated one of the swords in some way, and the steel notched wings flapped like they were alive. The sword hung in the air.
«Who do you want it to kill?» She asked him curtly.
At first Conrad didnt even believe her.
«Do you mean it?»
«And yourself, what do you think?» Medea Shai flapped her wings sharply and knocked over the sword basket. They scattered across the floor. Their clanging sounded like the echo of a bloodbath.
«I dont want to hurt anyone since I met you,» Conrad admitted.
Medea Shai frowned. The streams of gloom that flew from the tips of her wings grew thicker.
«Its strange! I usually bring out the darkest qualities in even the nicest people,» she thought aloud.
«So its different with me.»
«But every king has at least one mortal enemy. You name it!»
Well, all right.
«It is King Meron of Arador.»
By naming the name Condor didnt think he was signing his death warrant. The sword dashed through the open window of the armory and flew over the sleeping city like a big arrow.
«In an hour it will have done the job!» Medea Shai promised.
Her luxurious wings scuffed the walls of armoires and spears stacked in niches. Conrad was again afraid she would hurt herself. With wings like hers, its hard to walk around earthly apartments. Theres too little room, and she doesnt want to fold her wings with a cape behind her back like her fairies do. She is, after all, a queen.
Condor noticed the dark-winged fairies circling above the tallest tower spire.
«They are my retinue,» Medea Shai explained.
«Dont they want to fly into the castle?»
«Theyre more at ease in the heights.»
Conrad didnt insist. The fairies looked ominous. They seemed to be calling for a storm. Black storm clouds were gathering where they were dancing.
«Will you grace the royal tournament with your presence?» Conrad gestured to the queen of the fairies. Even though she is a magical guest, but we must observe the etiquette. But to enter through the windows instead of the doors, as Medea Shai had already done, was a clear violation of all the rules.
«That is unnecessary!» She shrugged. «I dont like mortal tournaments. Magic tournaments are more fun.»
«But there arent any in Aluar.»
«We shall remedy that,» «Medea Shai levitated off the floor to catch up with Conrad and kissed him. The kiss of a fairies queen must make everyone lose their mind. Conrad momentarily forgot what he was about to say. Medea Shaes lips tasted and smelled of the dark forest, pine and witch berries. Conrad was ready to forget everything and make love to the fairy right now in the armory, among the scattered weapons, regardless of the risk of severe injury. But there was a sharp whistle outside the window. It was the winged sword coming back. It flew back on its own, moving the notches of its hilt like real wings. Its blade was covered in blood. A flap of Aradors coat of arms clung to its hilt.
«Your opponent is dead!» Medea Shai took the sword, twirled it in her hands, and suddenly licked the blood from the blade. «And he was no longer young, but cunning. It would have been nice to get to know him while he was still alive. I can talk to the dead, too, but its not as interesting as talking to the living.»
The sword dropped from her fingers and took its former place in the hollow of its holder. The blood wasnt caked on it, but disappeared, as if the steel had absorbed it.
«You said it would take an hour for the sword to do its job, and it came back much sooner.»
Medea Shai only grinned wryly. He must have been the one who lost track of time while he was kissing the fairy.
Conrad picked up the sword that had just killed his rival.
«What are you doing?» Medea Shai grew wary.
«It boggles my mind to think that an hour ago it was in the heart of my enemy,» Conrad confessed.
«What surprises me is that this sword does not crave your blood. Ordinarily, if you draw it from its sheath, it would be as thirsty as its proprietor. And it only drinks blood.»
Medea Shais slender but incredibly strong fingers slipped over Conrads sword-clutching hand.
«I suddenly realized that you were special» she whispered, and somehow she was frightened. «Youd rather not give Araminta elixirs anymore.»
«Why is it not?»
Medea Shai didnt want to explain. She stormed out of the armory and into the corridors of the castle like an arrow. The footmen and knights, whom she had knocked down, did not understand what was wrong. It must have seemed to them that a black hurricane had just rushed past them. Conrad hurried after the fairies queen. She flew straight to his brides chambers. It smelled familiarly of musk, fresh flowers, and medicine. The two horrid creatures were still swarming over Aramintas bedside, but this time they were no longer medicating her with elixirs, but dressing her cold corpse.
«It is the horror!» Medea Shai folded her wings in a horn.
«You mean her appearance?»
Even the gray faeries, each the size of beetles, crawled away from the bed of relics, expressing distaste.
«I mean her death,» Medea Shai clarified. «She could be raised from the dead, but only the shell would come back to life, not Araminta, who is already dead and accounted for in the records of the Dead Realm. It is too late to bring her back to life.»
«So youre not happy that Im free now and can choose a new bride. Dont you want to be my queen?»
«You are silly! I dont want to lose you for a century. I could fall out of love with you in a year, let alone a century. Fairies are fickle.»
«I will not live a century,» Conrad laughed at that, and suddenly he realized his mistake.
«Dont say that for a century!» Medea Shai reached out to kiss him, but the air around him turned cold to ice. The cabinets and tapestries were covered in an icy crust.
Some icy creatures crawled down the corridors and peered through door crevices.
«We must hide from them before they find me,» Medea Shai worried.
«Who are they?»
«They are the guardians of the law of one century before the wedding. But I will try to deceive them.»
«Who are they?»
«They are the guardians of the law of one century before the wedding. But I will try to deceive them.»
But one of the creatures was already looking right at them from a gap that had suddenly formed right in the wall.
«No, I dont want to go to the castle beyond the clouds! Its too cold!» Medea Shai cried out, but her silhouette suddenly began to pale, covered in an icy crust.
Conrad tried to grab her, but all he felt was ice. Medea Shais fingers managed to press against his chest for a moment.
«The rose sprouted firmly! You will never betray me!» The queen of the fairies exclaimed triumphantly before the dense mist covered her figure for good.
The mist spiraled and vanished, along with all the ice creatures. Only two or three of them crawled around Aramintas corpse, obviously intent on taking her with them. The two servants of Medea Shai, who had managed to dress the princess in her wedding garb, had also disappeared.
The vial of elixir that had been given to Araminta tipped onto the carpet. The liquid gave off a pungent fume. It looked like poison!
Conrad did not know what to do now. Rose squeezed his heart with steel thorns.
«Shes ours for life,» one icy creature wheezed, running its fingers through Aramintas tresses. «And this one stays with you! Bury her with honors and wait a century from now. With any luck, the queen will return to you. There are some trials to be passed before the end of the term»
One icy creature blew on the clock, and it suddenly stopped. One century of waiting appeared to have begun.
Conrad couldnt think of an hour without the fairy queen, and now he would have to suffer without her for a century! And would he live through the century? What if he is not immortal after all?
Elves at the Tournament
Conrad has not yet graced the company with his appearance. Good! Marianne took the empty throne. Good if her brother doesnt come at all. She had enjoyed sitting on the royal throne in his absence.
It was a pity his new ally hadnt come. To see a real fairy was so exciting! Especially it was the fairies queen. She must be incredibly beautiful! Marianne looked out for her in the crowd of courtiers. But there were only elves around. They flooded the tournament. Except for a few monster knights sent from Shai, the contest was becoming purely elves.
The blond winged elves fought solely against each other so far, soaring in battle over the field. Magical sparks were flying from their combat. Someone in the audience had already been burned.
There was no bloodshed. The mortal knights had agreed with the elves that in the first rounds of the tournament, each would fight only members of his own race. And then, as fate would have it! If there were knights of equal strength to elves, then there would be inter-racial duels. So far elves fought elves and men fought men. Boring! Marianne yawned.
For some reason her admirers werent even looking at her. Someone had spread a rumor that she had behaved unworthily, forbidding the elves to be honorary guests of Aluar. Most of the knights sulked at the princess for ignoring their advances. They used to shower her with flowers, gifts, and madrigals of their own composition, but now there is an icy indifference. Only the commoners who watched the tournament from behind the fences pointed fingers at her.
«Theres the princess all the elves are in love with! It was because of her that they made a commotion and began bewitching the townspeople in the streets of the capital, and the peasants in the fields! All evil spells have been summoned by her!»
The Church! What to expect from them? Marianne cracked open the fan. Somehow she wanted to hide her face behind it. And the accusations were groundless! Witchcraft tricks like that are usually done by fairies, not elves.
«Youve been too capricious, and they blamed all their troubles on you,» one of the maidens whispered to Marianne. The princess brushed her off.
Someone had left a magnificent Menuels dagger with an intricate hilt beside the throne. She picked it up, drew it from its sheath, and then heard a whisper:
«I want your blood!»
Who said that? Marinna looked around the stands helplessly. Everyone was busy watching the tournament. No one would speak to her. Except the maid of honor! But this voice was distinctly masculine and hoarse. It sounded as if it were coming from a blade of steel. Blades cannot talk, can they? Though there were many legends of Menuels steel. The doors of the armory where Conrad kept his Menuels swords were forever locked by order of the king. This could have meant that they were either very expensive or very dangerous. Once as she walked past the armory, Marianne had already heard the same hoarse whispering that urged her to break open the door and steal one of the swords. Naturally she did not, though the voice had a hypnotic effect.
«I want your blood, Princess!» Someone whispered again. She no longer doubted that the insolent whisper came from the dagger. She wanted to sheath it again, but the hilt slipped from her hand as if by itself. The blade of the dagger pricked her finger.
How painful! Marianne had not expected that a slight prick with the tip of a dagger could be so painful. A drop of blood dripped onto the ivory and jade throne. A scarlet and white rose instantly grew right on the armrest of the throne.
Marianne watched breathlessly. The two lush roses seemed for a moment like two womens faces, one under a scarlet veil, other under a white one.
Some slender girls in fancy airy robes appeared beside the throne. They were hugging one another by their thin waists. Surely they must have been two friends who had come from distant exotic lands. One lady was dressed in a scarlet dress, the other in white. And both had real wings fluttering behind their backs. Marianne gasped. Surely these must be two fairies in the entourage of the Fairies Queen Medea Shai.
It seemed that no one but Marianne could see them. They both winked at the princess.
«Tonight is no reason to fight,» the two fairies said in chorus. «Ordinarily, our alliance is a tournament, but with you it is already decided. You should not have summoned us.»
«But I didnt call you!»
The two fairies pointed to her sore thumb.
How could you tell? A pair of roses did sprout from her blood. Maybe the roses were a signal to the fairies.
«Ive been dying to see a real fairy,» said Marianne. «Why dont you sit beside the throne?»
The velvet covered pedestals were for guests of honor, but two fairies shook their heads in disapproval. Marianne noticed that their feet in gold sandals did not touch the ground. Both winged guests hovered an inch above the bleachers. And both of them were watching Marianne so intently that she felt uncomfortable.
«Its definitely not passion!» said the scarlet fairy, waving her wings as bright as blood.
«It is love!» joyfully determined white fairy. «It is pure love! How I like it!»
She was staring into the ring where the elves were fighting.
«It is a poor comparison!» Marianne muttered. «I cant stand those impudent elves!»
Her eyes fell on the victor, the one who had won the contest. They say that love is like an arrow through the heart, but Marianne felt as if shed been scalded with boiling water, head over heels.
«Who is he?» She clutched at the lady in waiting behind her.
«Which one is it?» Lady Hilaria, the blonde-haired lady, could barely get her hand out of the princess grasp.