I put her diary in my pocket and decided that by all means I should return it. Probably, I made a miscalculation, taking Rose with me into the flight, but it was not possible to resist. In the wardrobe I found that camisole, in which I was dressed yesterday and was convinced that a single button was missing. There is a proof for Rose that her visitor was a creation from another world, but she is smart enough to be secretive and not tell anyone about her secrets. If she told, a trap would wait for me in the castle next night. Since I managed freely to penetrate inside, without a trap, nor placed networks, it was possible to believe that Rose was silent. Staying invisible, I walked around most of the castle, and accidentally looked into the room where the towns tailor worked. She pushed the train of the wedding dress with the pins, and there was a queen herself and gave instructions. I did not want Odil to feel my presence, and I also did not want to leave without learning, why the wedding dress was here. I heard the words «Tomorrow will try it on the princess.» I became angry at the end. So Odil decided to acquire an ally in the war, and now this aspirant to the hand of the princess entered the capital, secretly, under the cover of the night, so that the plans were not broken.
I waited until there would be no one in the room, and then hacked the door, went to the mannequin and ripped out the outfit in a moment by a hand with golden claws. They appeared only when the dragon acutely needed a victim. The shreds of the spoiled scarf and sparkling rags could not satisfy the need of blood. Small pearls from the dress, crunched under my feet when I left away. On this night I did not visit Rose, I had a case more important. I hurried to another no less important meeting.
I was angry like never. Even Percy, kindly having met me at the gate of the capital and who offered me a horse, so as not to search the city on feet, just in case he went aside, barely had time to transfer reins to me. Its good that he accounted for my desire, before I hacked the first stable. In such a mood, as now, I was capable of everything. I hid a clawed hand in the folds of the raincoat, but the horse, even though it was a punished elf, frightened snapped under me. Such rider did not please everyone, because if I did not find my rival, then I could tear the throat of any animal which would be near me.
I caught up I was looking for in a deserted and dark street. A black cloak was waving behind me, claws on my hand were hot and burned. Light moon. My opponent left the horse in a paid stable and now he was looking for an opened tavern. From the tavern, where he had time to look before, he was lured out by one of my fairies a beautiful, winged, deft intriguer, she was ready in everything to help the emperor. In the castle, he was going to go during the day. Interestingly, he thought, having seen a rider with a dazzling and white skin that it was the personification of the angel of death. I didnt have time to read his thoughts. The rage took a lot of strength, including the magical.
«Who you are?» he whispered and barely backed out of the road. In the voice, it was clearly distinguished the fright, a relatively reverent thrill in front of the highest sign.
«You know the old proverb «At midnight on the city streets rides death?» I asked in an inspected tone and took out a hand with the golden claws from the cloak. He did not even have time to scream. The sharp claws dug in an unprotected throat. Blood was applied along the embroidered collar, and my rage began to cool. I left the corpse right on the pavement. In the same way, I once left my bloody messages to Odil on the tracks of the royal forest. Only this time the message was intended not only to her. I tore to pieces the shirt on a dead body and wrote with sharp claws on his chest my note. Unlike paper, the skin was torn and bled, but the scratched letters turned out to be more or less smooth. The famous stamp, just a few words «the one you remember,» should have said a lot not only to Odil, but also to Rose.
Somewhere in the distance there was a fight of tower chimes. This sound was supposed to be the last thing that the victim heard before his death, but the clock was late or simply, I had too hurried. Remembering that the horse of the murdered remained in the stable, I headed there. Percy, hidden around the corner with the charming winged patriot, did not even try to delay me. I remembered how Chimera killed the horse of Francesca, just also, I scratched the throat on someone elses horse and those who were stupid enough to regret it. Calmly stand in the stalls were only those who recognized in me the strongest than everyone who still gave orders.
I left, leaving a bloody trail. A hand who took a normal look was much more pleasant without the heavy claws, but even on smooth skin remained blood. There was a big noise in the city. Percy, who remained to post the events, then reported to me. He was always interested in the scandalous news, especially when he himself knew who had caused an alarm. There was much gossip and people built assumptions. Odil also knew who was to blame of the alarm, or rather guessed, reading the bloody letter. And Rose even if she was not allowed to approach the crime scene, for sure, heard news from the courtiers. I was sure that she had enough intelligence to connect the details of the puzzle. She compared the facts and guessed that this was her mysterious friend who did her a next service.
I doubt that Rose wanted to drop a curtsy before her parents chosen one. With such a very self-will, it would be preferable to make a choice unassisted, and she did it. She chose the worst of all evils.
Neglecting the arguments of the reason, as soon as it was dark, I went again to a familiar window. It was very high necessary by the moat, and was not available for the one who could not fly, as Rose herself had already noticed in her diary. Usually, the windows were hospitably open, but this time someone closed them, and before the glass put the lead binding. Shantel guessed too quickly, even Vincent did not suspect me and she already has suspected something. I decided to turn into a golden winged snake.
As soon as Rose entered the bedroom, she immediately opened the window and pushed the binding. She waited for me, but saw on the windowsill only the thing that it was promised to her for a long time my theaters mask. I managed to drop easily it up the edge of the wing, so that Rose probably thought it seemed that the subject was materialized from the air. I knew that now Rose spins a mask in her hands and wants to ask some questions. I really wanted to look at her, because this visit could be the last. I broke off from the wall to which I was pressed and flew up the windows level. Rose was amazed. She opened her mouth from surprise, but the words were frozen on her lips. She saw in front of her a very beautiful golden creature. Only here the dragon was not so harmless as a sea skate. Another girl at the place of Rose awarded such a spectacle only if she was chosen as my next victim. But Rose, as I have already noticed, was special. Too bold to call for help, she firmly pressed the mask and silently, but with interest looked at such an unusual phenomenon.
The creature from another world waved the wings and disappeared, and Rose did not move away from the window.
I went down to the inner courtyard with a certain goal. The sentries that looked down from the bastions would see in front of them just a nobleman, which could visit the castle or consist in the kings retinue. A deep well, filled with water, would help the winged snake in a moment to disappear, diving deep into and emerging already in the nearest river. In the courtyard there was only one thin and rather strange boy. The one I was looking for. It was a boy with burnt skin. He deftly attributed his misfortune to what he tanned while he traveled around the desert, but even with such cunning, like his, he could not cope with envious competitors. Musicians who were long at the court did not want to endure a novice. Now that the case took the most serious turnover, Harry ran away from the feast room and thought over his failures alone. More precisely, he thought about where he was going to go now.
He even put out the lantern so that no one could prevent him. It was inconvenient to go to a person if he would be alone, but maybe I was exactly that whom Harry had long expected.
He felt someone touched his shoulder, but when he turned around, I was already far from him. By joyfully burning of his eyes, it was immediately possible to understand that a meeting with an unearthly creature was a miracle that he dreamed of many years.
«Monseigneur Your Majesty..,» Harry was confused, obviously not knowing how to contact me.
«Only monseigneur is enough,» I allowed graciously. «Your Majesty» sounds in my opinion too pompously, besides in the country where there is already one king.»
«Besides, there are too many kings, but they have no of your power to be completely taken,» Harry picked up. He obviously knew a lot or managed to ask.
«Who told you about me?» I asked, although I already knew the answer in advance.
«They,» Harry glanced at the illuminated window. There was a workshop of six spinners.
«You are in a difficult situation, Harry. In general, like any minstrel. It seems not the servant, and not the courtier. So there is something between an artist and a temporary job seeker.
«If I found Mr. like you, to whom I could serve constantly,» Harry said deftly. He himself rushed to service, so why I did not invite him.
«Thats just what are you suitable for? Do you have any special talent, which is not useless for the owner like I.»
«For example?»
I clicked my fingers, carving a spark of fire, of which there was a tiny silhouette of a soaring bird in the air. The demonstration of magic produced a strong impression on Harry.
«For example, a magic talent,» I explained.
«Any bird,» Harry pointed with his finger to the silhouette melting in the air, «and any animal will not be able to resist the sounds of my viola.»
«Do you charm only animals?»
«People, unfortunately, I can not. Otherwise, my current situation would not be so bad,» he stated with sincere bitterness, obviously stuck on sympathy.
«Okay. Tomorrow closer to the night leave the castle and go towards the wasteland. You will get to the dissolution of the roads, try to get away from the cross and wait. Exactly at midnight I will send someone after you. You will immediately recognize my subjects. Dont be afraid of anything, go for the conductor, even if it is a gnome or an elf, or a winged capricious lady. Their appearance should not confuse you, like their manner, otherwise you will not be able to take care of you among us.»
Harrys eyes flashed with gratitude, but I made him a sign to keep silence.
«And it has been said too much, and here is someone elses territory and other peoples spies.»
«Why dont you want to take it all?» Harry was sincerely amazed.
«Because there is nothing here that I could envy,» I threw sharply before leaving Henry in the same loneliness. He had a hope now.
I decided that Harry would rule the living creatures in the basements of my theater. For a person, such work, of course, was not at all sugar, but if the minstrel would be able to charm of his music the rats, then it would be no harm from it. I called the main theater in my empire «Theater of Shadows», in memory of that I saw in the valley. Rats were found in the basements, not because I could not destroy them, but because I designed such a terrible army in case of any war. The army of rats could destroy any of the rather attractive cities of Henri or Odil. Then they didnt want to fight with me. But in my absence, the future military forces did not want to behave comfortably. In addition to me, they did not obey anyone, and no one had a desire to mess with them. But Harry with his music would be able to lure them back into the basements every time they want to look for food in the wardrobe or in the hall of the theater.
In the forest I noticed a group of loggers, who were responsible for providing fuel to royal castle. A pretty attractive young page who understood well in the forests life, discouraged them to cut young trees, and pointed out the dried trunks, just suitable for the castle. He himself took the hatchet to help them. The clever boy was so beautiful that I was jealous of him himself. I tried to find out what his name was, but in his quite tangled thoughts I could read only one female name. In addition, the very thoughts were almost inaccessible. It seemed rather strange that he had in his memory only name of princess. I wanted to lure him into the thicket, and finish with another victim. I tried mentally to call him to me, but nothing has been achieved. Only at the third attempt, I succeeded. The page turned, obviously noticed my silhouette among the trees and obediently followed me into the forest.
«Wait!» called a womans voice. The page took off his beret, and a wave of long curls fell on his back.
«Rose!» this time I was, however, stunned. Of course, I knew that she had made a habit of walking around on the streets dressed as a page, but did not think that one day this masquerade will make such an impression even on me.
There was an owl behind me on the tree. The sound of its voice seemed ominous. Rose saw something over my shoulder, and her pupils were dilated from terror.
«I knew that this tree is cursed,» she said, pointing ahead.
There was just the one spreading elm tree under which I left torn carcasses of animals that have reported them to Odil, but now I did not feel the smell of blood. All shed blood for a long time absorbed in the ground here, and to the terrible memories suddenly mingled another frightening sound, the creak of dry branches and the friction of the rope, as if something heavy swinging above the ground. Hanged! I knew it even before I turned around and a dead man reminded me a rag doll. It was she. It was a woman in a red dress with a bruised skin.
«This is Janet my maid,» Rose said. «The one that did not have a bad habit to check what makes Ms. at night.»
The owl sat on that same branch, which was attached to the rope.
«I hate that old elm,» said Rose.
«I hate it too,» I remembered that in this place I had killed a gamekeeper who served Odil. It was cruel, but then it seemed to me that in this way I would be able to remind her that the predator was near and she had to beware.
Rose raised her ax high and wanted to throw it into a bird, brazenly stared at us with its unusual perch.
«Why?» I asked.
«This owl has too a piercing look,» Rose reluctantly lowered the ax, but still tightly kept for it. «I never have seen owls with red eyes.»
«Have you seen bats?»
«The bats flew behind my carriage from Lara. They still accompany me there and everywhere, hide in the walls of niches, on dusty attics. They are vile creatures, but intelligent.»
«Dont offend them,» I said. «They themselves are not looking pretty enough, but they appreciate beauty. Since they liked you so much, it means they will not give you offence.»
«I want to believe in it,» Rosa sighed heavily, moved away from me in a few steps and sat down on the stump. I knew that Odil was pretty cruel, but the fact that she executed the maid for such a small guilt, even for me turned out to be an unpleasant surprise.
«Tomorrow I will be sent off from the castle. I overheard one conversation,» Rose said. «I don `t like it.»
She talked to me, as with an old acquaintance or simply took everything that was happening for a dream. I leaned back to the stem of ash, crossed my hands on my chest and feverishly pondered. Could I invite her to my gloomy country. Then life there would probably become somewhat lighter.
The year I gave her on thought has not yet passed. For the year she could change her mind. I took out of the frozen hands of Rose an ax, went to an ominous oak, swung and made a small cut on a thick trunk.