At night, Peter, like a true gentleman, solemnly declared:
I agree with your choice in advance. Decide!
With anyone?
Of course!
Well, what do you think: in the future or the past? Daria still didnt want to go against his wishes. But Peter confirmed the original: decide for yourself!
Sleepless and slightly intoxicated, they did not approach, but gently floated to the door of the store, just in time for the opening of the local miracle shop. Daria was the first to pass, and Peter, after briefly trampling on the street, joined the crowd of customers and crossed the threshold of the trading floor. Their plan in theory was simple: to sneak unnoticed into the warehouse, close the door of the barrel, press the cherished button and fly away from here to this very mother. The second point of the plan was to take care of Grunya and Borya in advance, the birds sitting in the cage. This was an indispensable condition for Dasha when planning a trip, which they discussed in between, which is very attractive to erotomaniacs. Daria managed to negotiate with her girlfriend in the morning, who promised to visit her house and feed the winged ones, so the feathered issue was already resolved, and there was only one thing left: to break through to the goal an iron barrel.
Half an hour later, as soon as it became possible, Daria asked a colleague to replace her for a minute behind the counter, and she rushed to the back room, Peter followed her. We went in, closed the door and began to look for the unit: thank God, on the spot! Their hearts were pounding with excitement. Daria looked hopefully at Peter, and he winked at her and abruptly slammed the lid of the barrel, but the long awaited click did not follow the time machine did not start Thinking took only a few moments:
Dasha, batteries!
How much?
Six pieces!
She quickly looked around the shelves, found a box with batteries, deftly took out the right package from it and gave it to Peter. Peter quickly replaced the old batteries with new ones. Before closing the lid, he looked back at Daria and asked:
Do you believe in miracles? and, seeing the tense expectation in her eyes, he admonished her before slamming the lid: Go ahead, my love!
The inner lock clanged like a magic chord, and immediately a low vibrating sound began to press on the ears. Peter smiled encouragingly at his beloved, who was watching the mysterious device. Before her eyes, the iron barrel gradually melted into the air and disappeared, a small orange ball appeared instead, which began to grow rapidly and turned into the throne of the lord of space and a wanderer in time: a comfortable, large armchair with a hood and a wide stand with a screen. Daria ran up to Peter and hung on his neck for joy. Peter hugged her, then gently sat her down in a chair, and he settled down next to her.
The opportunity to look into the mysterious tomorrow, to witness the upcoming events, certainly intrigued the girl, but the past centuries, the refined French aristocratic society attracted her more. An era of glory for France Even in her youth, standing in front of a mirror, she dreamed of herself as Queen Margot or Lady Winter. She was able to evaluate the intelligence, beauty and influence in the society of these bright historical figures from books, and the outfits shown in the films, palace splendor and luxury completed the picture that beckoned like a magnet. But can she be blamed for this many girls dream of the same! Peter looked questioningly at Daria, and she, encouraged by his gaze, reached for the Past button.
Time July 15, 1663.
Place France, Versailles, the palace of King Louis XIV.
A royal choice, commented Peter: even in such a situation, he did not lose his sense of humor. After answering the questions, the travelers saw a warning highlighted in red on the screen:
Attention! In order to avoid a dangerous situation, the return is activated at any moment of the journey by the command I want to go back
Daria shivered from nervous tension. Peter felt her condition and hugged her tightly by the shoulders. Suddenly, the door leading to the trading floor opened, and a lady administrator appeared on the threshold, attracted by a suspicious noise in the warehouse. When she saw the couple sitting in the chair, she only had time to ask:
What are you doing here?
But they didnt hear her anymore: time and space disappeared, absorbing them together with the mysterious apparatus.
CHAPTER 7. VERSAILLES
And here they are in Versailles, young, beautiful, dressed in luxurious fashion outfits. However, they are no longer Peter and Daria, but Count Petronel de Armand de Burlemont and Countess Dorian de Burlemont, representatives of the French nobility.
Hows that? Peter asked with a victorious smile.
I dont believe my eyes! Daria exclaimed, beaming with childish delight.
The Comte de Burlemont stopped at the statue of the great Gaius Julius Caesar, whose cult was highly appreciated by French art connoisseurs.
Suae quisque fortunae faber, he recalled the saying of the great Caesar in Latin, and the Countess echoed it in the purest French:
Each blacksmith of his own destiny
It is hardly possible to describe the impressions of the Palace of Versailles. As soon as Countess Dorian crossed the threshold, her heart fluttered the arrivals immediately found themselves in the thick of the events of the royal court.
Now Im going to see what Ive been dreaming about all my life! she thought.
Daria and Peter walked across the sparkling parquet floor across the hall.
The King s senior chamberlain announced:
Comte de Burlemont de Armand Petronel.
She heard his voice:
We are happy to see you, Count, and admire the Countess, about whose beauty we have heard so much.
Have you heard? Daria was surprised, not daring to utter these words or even show it, but clearly flattered by His Majestys compliment. Peter, on the contrary, perceived these words differently: a burning jealousy pricked his heart, and a vague, cold anxiety arose in his soul
The day after the reception in Versailles, Peter and Daria went for a walk in Paris. In the evening they went to the hotel, where they stayed for the night.
How are you, honey? So many events! Its nice, it turns out, to be in the role of the nobility and receive the attention of the king himself!
Im so stunned, Im in an amazing fairy tale all day! Everything we have seen and heard today has deeply impressed my imagination. I feel elation, and at the same time, my beloved, I am tormented by forebodings.
Daria told Peter: it was just as dangerous to refuse the monarch as to accept his courtship favorably. Those ladies who became favorites of Louis XIV were in danger of being poisoned by competitors.
Peter thought about it, and then asked:
Are we able to resist this? and he answered himself: Alas, no! Lets not give in to despair! In any case, we are not in danger today.
Shall we order a dinner worthy of an earl and rest from our misgivings? Daria suggested.
Lets leave it as it is for now. Isnt that enough for today? Peter repeated Darias words, spoken by her in that former world.
Dasha appreciated the memory with dignity and smiled understandingly, throwing herself into the arms of her beloved. Secretly, sideways, she looked in the mirror by the huge bed in the boudoir: there were reflected two figures, female and male, similar to the actors from the movie about the three Musketeers, the treacherous Milady and the fearless DArtagnan
The beautiful Burgundy wine turned their heads, and they forgot themselves after love on satin sheets. When fatigue set in, Peter quickly closed his eyes and passed out. He dreamed that he was arguing with Julius Caesar about power and democracy, and Daria tossed from side to side and could not fall asleep for a long time: even during intimacy with her beloved, she could not forget the kings gaze and felt his presence next to her with horror.
CHAPTER 8. COUNTESS DORIAN
After a sleepless night and painful thoughts, Daria initiated Peter into her plan: she would take any opportunity to have an audience with His Majesty, and then rely on the good will of the monarch. And who in the world could have predicted how the story would develop further? She secretly hoped that the king would not refuse her request related to their future fate. Peter was not so optimistic and believed that although Louis XIV was not distinguished by vindictiveness, he would hardly put up with a rival in his person. The kings attention to his wife was fraught with imminent danger for him.
However, unfortunately, events developed so rapidly that the de Burlemont couple was not ready for this. Confirmation of this was the night arrest of Peter on false evidence of high treason. Formally, these slanders had to be considered by the court, but there was no doubt that his fate was predetermined You can get rid of the Comte de Burlemont by bricking him up in prison.
Two days later Daria was standing in front of the king, confident that His Majesty would listen to her words:
Sire, let my husband stand trial, and then he will easily prove that he was the victim of erroneous accusations. The Count has never conspired against Your Majesty. He just couldnt do it
I dont understand you. Kindly express yourself more clearly, Ludovics face assumed an interested expression.
Sire, I will tell you a secret a secret that any sane person can hardly believe. Nevertheless, without fear of being accused of mental illness or witchcraft, I beg you to listen to my words and not rush to reject them without due attention.
The contemptuous irony of the king did not bode well, but Daria continued.
I am in despair, Sire. But the truth is that my husband and I are your guests from the future. We arrived in France from distant Russia during the reign of Your Majesty from the twenty-first century
The King frowned and calmly said:
I assumed that everything would come down to witchcraft and magic.
He headed for the exit, and then, stopping, addressed her:
I can only promise to clarify some circumstances concerning your husband. I will ask you not to leave Paris for the next ten days.
Daria realized: apparently, the king had already decided for himself the fate of the count.
CHAPTER 9. PARTING
Thanks to the patronage of a nobleman from the royal entourage, who clearly sympathized with her, the Countess de Burlemont achieved the almost impossible: a meeting with Count Petronel in the Bastille prison, from which only a few came out alive, and dozens and hundreds of people disappeared without a trace, who got there only at the behest of the king, without any investigation or trial. In the very place that was terrifying only at the mention of him.
At noon on the twenty-third of July, the carriage with the Comtesse de Burlemont stopped not far from the prison gates. The fortress was a huge quadrangle with eight towers twenty meters high and a deep moat. A suspension bridge is thrown over a moat filled with water. After crossing the bridge to the gate, Daria handed the Dukes letter to the commandant through the window. At least half an hour of agonizing waiting had passed when the bolts rattled and the heavy door, studded with metal strips, opened. Daria, dressed in a black robe and a black hat with a veil, followed two jailers through a narrow corridor with many bars with locks and went out into the courtyard of the building. Her escorts led her along a cobblestone path to one of the five-story towers, where another supervisor, a portly, gloomy-looking one, let her in. The two of them went down a narrow staircase to the underground chamber where Peter was imprisoned. Keys rattled, and the narrow door to the casemate opened.
Fifteen minutes, the fat man said triumphantly, reveling in his little power, and slammed the door from the outside, leaving the prisoner and the Countess alone.
When Daria crossed the threshold of this dungeon, she felt sick from the smells and darkness. Dampness permeated the walls and the floor, strewn here and there with straw on the cold sand. Peter was sitting on an iron bed attached to a long wall. Light penetrated into this room from the corridor through two narrow openings located at the very bottom of the door, and painted his prison uniform in gray tones.
Petronel! Daria exclaimed and rushed to him in despair. The prisoner looked exhausted and depressed.
Dorian! Peter found the strength to hug her. Then he pulled away and stared in surprise at the beautiful face that reflected both the joy of meeting and the shock of what he saw. His voice, as before, remained as euphonious. How did you get in here?
My beloved, my heart breaks from what I see. My friends helped me arrange our meeting, I got an audience with the king and appealed to his Majesty for a sense of justice. You may be released soon, but it will be possible only by a court decision.
Peter listened attentively to Darias words, lowering his head. Then, looking at her as if he had seen her for the last time, and with a calmness that betrayed the full horror of his situation, he asked:
Do you really believe Im going to get out of here? The reason is not in me, but in your beauty and the brightness of the feelings that it causes. The kings sympathy for a married woman is a death sentence not only for the Comte de Armand de Burlemont.
Peter looked at Daria and smiled. She was suddenly afraid.
What should we do? she exclaimed. There was no trace of her former determination. Darling, I have revealed to the King the secret of our time travel, but it does not seem that such explanations could be taken seriously.
If we dont change the course of events, we wont see each other again. Peter spoke as if he had thought it over for a long time. My fate is sealed, and no one can change it. Your fate as a favorite of Louis XIV is so unique and unpredictable that I have not the slightest right to ask you to give it up. Ahead of you is success in society, golden mountains, dangers and imminent oblivion. But there is another scenario
Which one? Daria exclaimed, experiencing conflicting feelings, but still sincerely wanting neither to leave nor to betray her beloved.
We have the opportunity to return to the twenty-first century together. To return to where they came from, and, perhaps, by those who left that time. But listen carefully if only one person, you or I, decides to make a time jump, the car will move with him, and the second one will not be able to return. This is irreversible. I think you wont judge me: I want to avoid death, so Im flying. But you are free in your decision
Daria sank down on the bed next to Peter without strength. After a short silence, she asked:
Im desperate to have to make such a cruel choice, because I only love you. But will you be able to understand and forgive me if I stay? It is unlikely that my words will soften the bitterness of separation, but I swear: the reason is not affection for someone, even if it can connect me with the king of France. I choose a Time and a way of life where, alas, there is no place for the person I adore, and no one can replace him for me. I may regret it later
Ive already forgiven you, because I love you too. I will feel happy if your dream comes true, even when I leave you. Know, Dasha, that you are always with me: your eyes, your kindness, the feelings that you gave me
Petya, I will never forget you. And Im sorry again
She began to cry, clinging to his chest. The lock on the cell door grated, and the jailer, without wasting words, pointed to the countess with his hand to exit.