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Flora looked at the beautiful lady who was standing in the garden with the troll. She was a slender, tall blonde. Her blonde curls were arranged in a fancy hairstyle. A luxurious mauve cape completely concealed the lady’s back. Underneath it, it was not visible if the lady had wings.
«Is she a fairy?»
«It is not exactly!» Charles pulled Flora away from the window. «They call her Babette. I don’t think that’s her real name.»
«So you know her?»
«It is in passing.»
«What does that mean?»
«It means we only say hello sometimes when we bump into each other in the mortal world, but we don’t know any secrets about each other.»
«That’s funny! Somehow I think she came to see my father,» Flora couldn’t take her eyes off the lady’s dress. What kind of fabric is it? It’s like a starry sky, but it’s elegant. The lady suddenly looked directly at Flora and whispered something to her ugly companion.
«She has noticed you,» Charles was frightened. «This is not good.»
He dragged Flora more insistently away from the window, but Flora did not give in. Why should she be frightened of some lady? Babette didn’t look like a monster, unlike her companion. He’s the one to be afraid of.
«Her escort is a troll?»
«You’re so clever!» Charles chuckled. «People usually take him for a hunched old man, but Babette lies that he is her elderly husband, whom she married only because of his considerable wealth.»
«So he’s her husband?»
«It is in no way! She’s not crazy enough to marry a troll!»
«Then who is he to her? Is he her beau?»
«He’s more like her servant.»
«Are trolls ever someone’s servants?»
«Sometimes they are. But trolls are always prone to rebellion. I knew a king who made trolls serve him. They fought for him, hauled blocks in the quarries, even mined diamonds in the mines, but one day they got out of control and instead of working they tore the king apart. That was fun!»
«That’s horror, not fun!» Flora objected.
«I saw it with my own eyes! It was fun. I was hovering in the air above the place where the group of trolls attacked the king, and I laughed for a long time. It was so funny! The king was waving his scepter, giving orders, and the trolls were disobeying him. It was a triumph of justice and a lesson for ambitious people. Whoever wants to exploit the trolls will have trolls for dinner.»
«Don’t you realize how monstrous this is?»
Charles shrugged ridiculously.
«I hadn’t thought of that.»
«And you’re telling me this before dinner!»
Charles didn’t even realize that creepy stories about trolls spoiled his appetite.
«You were interested in the troll in the garden, and I remembered something about them.»
«I was interested in a dapper troll in a fancy camisole, not cannibal trolls!»
«Get away from the window!» Charles suddenly got scared.
«You’re not saying that Babette’s troll will eat me too?» Flora joked. But considering what she had just heard, it was better not to let the troll in for dinner. Otherwise it would eat the guests.
The strange couple was still strolling between the blue rose bushes, which seemed black in the darkness. The garden lanterns threw scant patches of light past them. Babette’s partner kept to the shadows, but Babette herself glittered with jewels that could only be compared to a star. Her piercing gaze was still on the window where Flora was looking out.
«It’s too bad she noticed you,» Charles sighed.
«Who is she, anyway, that you’re so afraid of her? I didn’t see her at the fairy masquerade, so she’s not dangerous.»
«Don’t be so sure!»
Before Charles could say that, Flora shrieked in surprise. Babette was standing right in front of her, as if she had grown out of the floor. How could she have gotten into the castle so quickly! She had been in the garden a second ago! The blond lady looked like a pale ghost. Her eyes were glowing with a red light. Flora was frightened for some reason. Babette seemed to intend to do something spooky. She looked at Flora as if she were an enemy, and then suddenly opened her palm and wanted to blow a handful of sparkling pollen from it into Flora’s face.
Next to this pollen, even the flowers in the vases wilted. Even though the pollen is glowing, it seems to be a tool of black magic.
«Get out!» Ashes and cinders fell from the fireplace. They fell directly into the glittering pollen and onto Babette’s luxurious dress. The lady was gone in a flash. The garden was empty, too. No troll dressed as a beau was there, but the fairy of ashes looked out of the fireplace and clenched her fists victoriously.
«If she comes here again, I’ll fill the whole castle with ashes!» said the fireplace fairy.
«Wait! And why did she annoy you so much?» Flora called out to the fairy, but it was useless to hope for an answer.
The sneaky ash fairy had already cleverly climbed back into the fireplace chimney.
Dinner with the dragon
From the fireplace came the cheerful songs of the ash fairy, which obviously had to be considered victory hymns, because the fireplace fairy had chased away the dangerous guest. But what was Babette dangerous about?
No one would dare to receive in the castle a guest whose companion is a troll. Not even the Marquis, who messes around with astrologers, would refrain from such a thing.
Today at dinner to the Marquis de Rione was a whole group of alchemists, astrologers and stargazers, among whom there was even one fortune-teller. Obviously, the fortune-teller worked exclusively for the elite, because her dress was fashionable and expensive, and around her neck she wore a pentagram pendant made of pure silver.
«This is Lady Serpina,» whispered Charles, whom everyone present either did not notice or took for a distant relative of the Marquis. «She predicted the fate of the king himself and received a considerable reward. In confidence, I’ll tell you that all her predictions do not come true. But she is good at making dust in the eyes.»
Charles chuckled, but no one heard him. Not even the fortune-teller herself.
«That’s very interesting,» Flora looked among the guests for Edwin. His golden-haired head would have been easily spotted in the gray mass of guests, but he wasn’t here. How could he have been so indelicate? He had promised to come to dinner and he hadn’t! Flora was so angry that she almost hurt herself with the tines of her fork. She had no desire to eat when she remembered that fairies had recently danced on this very table where the guests were sitting. No one else knew that the table had recently been the scene of dancing, so the other guests ate with gusto.
Charles ate for ten. Flora hadn’t realized that elves liked simple human food so much. Father was whispering animatedly with the stargazers. Raphael arrived late for dinner and immediately reached for the carafe of strong wine. Flora sighed, realizing that her brother was an incorrigible drunkard.
She took a cabbage pie from a wicker vase and nibbled at it with boredom. Her napkin was immediately covered with crumbs.
«Look at my children!» The Marquis demanded from the stargazer sitting next to him. «Do they have any potential?»
The stargazer nervously adjusted the cap on his head, which he did not remove even in the dining room.
«If there was, I probably would have noticed it long ago,» he muttered.
The Marquis had obviously expected a different answer.
«What do you think,» he tugged at one of the astrologers. «Will my son, or at least my daughter, be able to show any magic talents in the future?»
The astrologer tried to determine, even looked through the lorgnette.
«No, both of your children do not have the slightest bit of magical potential. I am absolutely sure of it!» The astrologer disappointed the Marquis.
Charles did not hold back his laughter and urgently covered his mouth with a napkin.
Why was he laughing so hard? Flora looked at the elf with judgment. Her father was obviously very worried and didn’t hide it. Why did he need her or Raphael to be able to do sorcery? If he wanted to protect the castle from the raids of evil, he could always hire some wizards.
«I had hoped that Raphael would have some magic in him,» the Marquis admitted.
«Your son may still have the rudiments of star study and magic,» the lady Serpina hastened to reply, «but your daughter certainly does not. She has no talent for magic. I guarantee that even the lessons with her of an experienced wizard will not bring any results.»
Here Flora was ready to applaud the fortune-teller’s acting talent. Astrologers and stargazers are good too. How can you sit next to a potential witch and not even consider that!
«Did you hear them?» She whispered to Charles.
«Why are you so surprised?» He smiled broadly. «They are only human!»
«They are men who have mastered the forbidden arts!»
«They are clever charlatans,» Charles objected and put a large piece of roast quail into his mouth. «The Marquis has no knowledge of magicians, but his cooks are excellent. They make the best lasagna here, and the mushroom pies are delicious, too.»
Elves can be gluttons! Flora moved away from Charles, who called himself a gourmet and was in a hurry to try all the dishes. Lady Serpina had a sweet tooth and devoured one dessert after another. The other guests preferred strong drinks. Only Flora neither ate nor drank anything. She had a bad feeling. It was like a tight spring in her stomach. Could all the food be poisoned? Drusilla could have put poison in her cooking. She is a witch, after all.
Drusilla herself appeared at the edge of the table, looking young and in a gorgeous black dress. She was mistaken for a companion of one of the guests. She made some sign to Flora, but Flora could not interpret it.
«He’s flying!» The ash fairy hissed from the fireplace. «He’s already over the castle!»
Was she talking about the dragon? It would be a trick if the dragon came to dinner without Edwin! She was tired from the feast, having barely sat at the table for half an hour.
The flowers in the vase on the table suddenly burst into flames and shrank. In a moment, only a husk remained of the bouquet. Oddly enough, instead of the smell of burning, the scent of forget-me-nots wafted through the air. Drusilla’s whole body shuddered as the doors to the dining hall opened with a jerk. The last guest had arrived. No one was expecting him except Flora, but one seat at the table was suddenly free for him. It seemed to have been taken a second ago.
Flora blinked in amazement as she watched her guest remove his cloak. Edwin had come alone, without a dragon. That should have been rejoiced, and she was saddened. The dragon would have protected him from unpleasant company. Often her father’s friends acted like a pack of wolves. Today, they had swooped in to question the new guest. Edwin just snapped his fingers, sending out golden sparks, and the guests suddenly went numb.
Drusilla covered her face with a black lace fan that came out of nowhere in her hand. She avoided looking at Edwin. Apparently she had done something to annoy him and now feared revenge.
Charles, too, hastily covered himself with a napkin. You could tell from his look that he wanted to hide. The joking mood was gone. The elf was in a panic.
«What’s wrong with you? You’re not sick?» Flora touched the elf’s shoulder and felt him shiver.
The guests stared in bewilderment at Edwin, who had not touched his food or wine. Lady Serpina liked the handsome guest and tried to flirt with him, but she choked on her wine and coughed. Flora was sure it was no accident. Rafael sobered up immediately when he noticed a young man of his own age at the table. He’d always wanted to make more friends of his own age. Had he known that the young man next to him was a wizard who was probably hundreds of years old.
Astrologers, alchemists and stargazers appreciated Edwin’s expensive camisole and precious rings. They were always on the lookout for new patrons, so the guest intrigued them. One marquis looked at Edwin as if he were an enemy.
«Have I not paid my debts?» He asked the guest directly.
Flora was surprised. How could her father owe something to a real charmer? The circle of communication of the marquis was exclusively charlatans. When did her father meet a real magician somewhere?
«Debts, tribute… let’s leave these conversations for later,» Edwin suggested.
It was hard for the Marquis not to lash out at his guest with his rapier. Flora’s father’s fingers reached for the weapon. Such behavior was unusual for him. Did the Marquis know that Edwin was a sorcerer and could harm everyone present if he wished?
«When will you return the noble woman you stole from this castle?» The Marquis attacked the guest, ignoring the murmurs of the crowd.
«It was not I who stole her.»
«But you are responsible for all these creatures that are climbing around, you!» The Marquis accused.
«Wouldn’t it be better to hold the King of Argania responsible?» The prophetess smiled coquettishly. «It is his duty to protect his subjects from any misfortune. I will speak to him about it the next time I am at court.»
«Lady Serpina, this is an argument between two men,» the marquis said.
The soothsayer cringed when she heard herself called by her common name rather than the proud nickname of the Seer. She nervously fiddled with her pentagram-shaped pendant.
«I see that the dispute between you two will soon be resolved,» she predicted.
«Then Monsignor Edwin will give me back my wife,» the Marquis roared, forgetting all decorum.
«He’s not a necromancer, Papa, to bring back the dead,» Flora said in defense of her guest.
Edwin glanced at her as if he had just noticed her, and suddenly a scarlet rose bloomed on Flora’s plate, so lush that everyone gasped. The flower opened with hundreds of petals and resembled a pyramid.
«It is enough of these tricks!» The Marquis intended to cause a scandal.
«Papa, you are so angry about his dragon?» Flora intervened again. «The dragon isn’t here. There’s nothing to worry about.»
«Are you so sure of that?» The marquis looked at his daughter sternly.
«It is danger!» The ash fairy squeaked in the fireplace. Why is she so hysterical all of a sudden? A dragon is probably flying over the castle right now. Strangely enough, Flora was not afraid of the dragon, but of her angry father challenging Edwin to a duel. If she had known in advance that such a scandal would occur, she would not have invited a guest she hardly knew to dinner. The Marquis de Rione not only knew Edwin by name, but apparently had some long-standing dispute with him.
«Perhaps we should have cooked some bulls for dinner, since we were expecting a dragon,» the marquis muttered. «Dragons prefer cattle carcasses, after all.»
The castle lord stared at Edwin as if accusing him of something.
«Papa, Edwin is not a dragon!» Flora tried to reassure her father. «I can vouch for the fact that he is a very worthy young man.»
Flora didn’t even know the title of a worthy young man, but she gave the recommendation in advance. Edwin sat at the table with the look of an innocent angel. His beauty took one’s breath away. Flora was embarrassed when she intercepted his gaze and wanted to turn away, but she happened to notice that Edwin’s hands, which were lying on the table, were covered with golden scales. Maybe she was only imagining it? Flora spit on propriety and snatched the lorgnette from the astrologer sitting next to her. Edwin’s hands were indeed scaly and his nails were sharpened. The luxurious blue camisole with silver embroidery was also turning to scales. This was some kind of nightmare! Edwin was changing before his eyes. Wings grew out of his back, his handsome exterior burst like a shell. Out of it crawled a very real dragon.
Drusilla and Charles disappeared as if they had never been at the table, and the guests were left alone with the huge dragon. Flora shrieked as the dragon’s paw grabbed Lady Serpina. If the seer could have predicted to herself that she would substitute game for the dragon at this dinner, she would not have come here. With the dragon blocking the way to the door, there was no escape. The Marquis’ guests became appetizers one by one. And then, obviously full, the dragon decided it was time to end the feast.
Flora’s father pulled some kind of amulet from the folds of his clothes and muttered incantations designed to drive the dragon away, but you could just as easily recite poetry or prayers. The dragon didn’t care. He strode across the hall, claws clawing at the floor, and toppled the table with his tail, then suddenly opened his huge maw. The entire castle erupted into flames in an instant.
A dragon worshipper
