by Alex Sapegin
“Pretty,” thought Ania, skeptical of her appearance. No ordinary mortal ever talked to her like that.
“Do you really think I’m pretty?” stopping her trox next to Andy, the girl asked. Guga, irritated by the sharp stop, flared angrily. Ania, correcting her braid, smiled dazzlingly. “And who is more beautiful, I, Delia, or the mistress?”
Andy did not fall for the trick. He hung down from the saddle and, without stopping, picked a large field flower and presented it to the sida. Ania mechanically took the silver bloom and froze, wide-eyed, looking at the retreating man’s back. Manyfaces, is he a madman? Goddess of the All-Merciful, what have I done?
“Ania, a silver one. Has he proposed?” A grinning Thygar appeared from behind.
“It’s just a flower.”
“Tell the group about it. It will be a fairy tale: ‘I was given a silver bloom. I accepted the offer of a stupid shkas.’ Ha ha ha!”
“Shut up!”
“What? Are you going to tear my head off?”
Ania sharply pulled the reins. The trained trox, waving his short right wing over the head of the scoundrel, instantly turned around. Thygar, fleeing from a blow that could deprive a person of his life, staggered to the side and down; his trox jumped sideways at the offending bird.
“You nasty...!” Snatching a dagger from its sheath, the dragon straightened in the saddle and then almost choked. A thin dart with a luminous magical tip rested on the buckle of his belt. One careless movement and an explosion would be inevitable.
“Why do I need your head? One move and your insides will discover the charm of the free flight.”
“What are you doing??”
“Shut up! Do you need me to say it again? Your brains were never in the right place, Thygar. Now you will go to the others and pretend that nothing has happened; otherwise, the whole princedom will know that you have lost to a woman!” said Ania. There was a shadow of doubt on the were-dragon’s face, but he had no choice. He didn’t think for long.
“Fine. Take the dart away.”
“Apologize for calling me ‘nasty.’ ...And whatever else you were planning to say.”
“Hag!”
“Well done, that’s me! I am waiting!”
The dragon apologized. Ania put the dart away.
“Do you seriously think that you will get away with it?” he asked, moving away.
“Challenge me to a duel.”
“You’re crazy!”
“A minute ago you said I was a hag.”
“What’s going on here?” Breaking through the bushes, the princess’ bird came out into the clearing with its rider. “Traitor! Have you given Ania a silver one?” she asked, noticing the crumpled flower in the sida’s hands, which she hadn’t thrown away.
“Not me.”
“Who then?”
“Ask Ania, your grace.” Thygar smiled mockingly.
* * *
Once again he’d done something wrong. Andy couldn’t stop reproaching himself. Targ, how much can I get caught by my own stupidity? I should have asked someone about the flowers. Maybe give flowers to girls just isn’t something they do? In a whole month spent among the elves, he never saw a bouquet or any elf giving flowers to women. Although, it wasn’t a fact that the comparison with forest elves was applicable to hillock sidas or dragons. The forest elves have enough flowers in the settlement. The entire middle and upper layers of the Mellornys are overgrown with different colors. It’s better not to climb up to the middle tier without a mosquito net; otherwise, no one could guarantee you wouldn’t be stung in the hand or face a couple times.
Ania was simply smitten on the spot by my trick, and how surprised her eyes were! Andy smiled involuntarily at the recollection. Beautiful eyes….
Because of his thinking pleasant thoughts and not so pleasant thoughts, the rider failed to notice Coal had stopped near the bank of a mountain river. At that moment, the rider could have been taken with someone’s bare hands, warm. In his pensive reflections, Andy probably would not have reacted to the signal of the “spider web.” The princess’ entourage came out further up the river. Among the compact crowd, Andy could see the golden hair of the mistress of the wandering caravan. The dragon was discussing something with her attendants. Usually calm, Ilirra was waving her hands like a mill for some reason. What the dispute was about, he couldn’t hear. The loud murmur of the water drowned out the sound. Who cares…?
Andy reined in Coal. The hass, accustomed to hygienic procedures, immediately flopped to the ground, ready to get his scales rubbed with oil.
“You’ll wait.”
Looking at its owner, who was mowing grass on the coastal clearing with a small sickle and laying it on the place where he was going to set up his tent, the hass snarled at him in an offended manner. And what about him?
“Do not growl,” the mower turned to the offended transport. “I’ll set up the tent and then get started on you.”
After completing his work and wiping down the lizard, Andy unpacked one of his saddlebags and took out a bundle containing a bunch of long white horse tail hairs and enchanted to prevent breaking, some fishing hooks, several bobbers of light wood resembling cork, and two thin strips of lead for sinkers. The actual fishing rods grew abundantly along the river—take your pick. After building a simple fishing rod, he walked along the river. The fisherman’s bait was a whole canvas bag of larvae and worms he found under some driftwood.
“Will you have some fish?” Andy asked Coal. The lizard didn’t move, but you could read the answer in its eyes. “Yes, of course, a hefty helping if you please.” Andy smiled and set to his task.
* * *
With a dry click, a branch cracked. The light, cautious step told him it belonged to a woman. Andy, ignoring the sound, stayed focused on the dancing bobber. He had a bite. The bobber, pierced by a blue trox feather, dove sharply underwater. If Andy could pull sharply on the line, the fish would be hooked, and would soon be flopping about the hands of the fisherman. Planting his trout-like prey on a skewer that already contained about a dozen of its fellows, Andy turned. Ania... were you expecting someone else?
The sida was standing with her head down. A light breeze played with her green cloak and did not forget to ruffle her copper curls. Thin elf’s thin fingers clutched the broken flower Andy had given her and trembled nervously.
“I cannot accept your silver bloom, Andy,” the elf said in a cracked voice, stretching out the wilted beauty.
The flower! So that’s the reason. My bad feeling was right. The silver bloom was once a bright blue flower with wide silver veins on petals, a sunny center and a completely silver stem. Now the petals had faded, resembling a dirty puddle reflecting the sky. No wonder the elves don’t give the girls flowers…. You can give your head to the chopping block that way—the flowers serve as proposals! Why would she be so nervous otherwise? She cannot…. A cold lump of regret and melancholy settled in Andy’s chest. He looked at the drooping symbol of the offer and couldn’t force himself to take it away from the pale girl, suddenly realizing that he did not want to at all. He liked Ania. She wasn’t more beautiful than the other women in the retinue, but there was something about her that made him think about her constantly. Despite his will, Andy’s hand stretched forward. For an instant, he touched the elf’s narrow, hot hand with his, and the silvery bloom was transferred to him.
Flowers. In all worlds, they were a symbol of love, but here their magical beauty took on a much wider significance. Andy looked at the broken flower. It was a fitting symbol. His love was just as broken. The villain fate had brutally laughed at him, depriving him of Polana and deceiving Frida. True, the vampire didn’t occupy the same place in his heart as Polana, but she was a real bright spot in his life.
Andy could see that an invisible weight was lifted from Ania’s shoulders. The sida sighed in relief. The color came back to her cheeks, but the elf’s green eyes remained sad. She cannot…. The weig
ht Ania had cast off now settled on Andy. He touched the blossom and closed his eyes, only now realizing who he was and who she was. What kind of love could they have? A simple one, like many people probably do—plain old love at first sight.
“I understand,” he said quietly. It was possible he had ruined her life with his little flower.
“Thank you.”
Andy scoffed. Not the kind of thing you’re supposed to thank people for. Although, by local custom, perhaps they do!
“Is this why the princess was flapping her arms all over the place?”
“Her lady has the right to do whatever she wishes with her arms.” The sida’s voice was icy.
“Alright. It’s really all the same to me. Is something threatening you?”
“Yes, I might be thrown out of the royal court as someone who has put the princess’ honor into question.”
“Seriously, tell me why the princess wants to do that? Your fault in what happened does not exist. You took the silver flower without thinking it over.” An investigator and an analyst woke up in Andy. A fragmented mosaic began to come together into a certain picture. But there were not enough facts to collect the image completely.
“It is her full right.”
“No one doubts Ilirra’s rights.”
“The princess has a reason not to like me. I can not say anything else.”
“Do you want me to say it?” asked Andy, pointing to a crooked stump with many boughs, whitewashed by the water and the sun. Ania sat down on a comfortable thick root, folding her hands on her knees.
“Ilirra was a very clever little thing, I must say. My hat is off to her.” The elf knitted her brows, uncomprehending. She was hearing about the hat for the first time. “I will speak a little later on the reasons for the princess’ dislike toward you, or my assumptions about the reasons for it. But for now, let us consider the fact of that scoundrel Thygar being accepted into the detachment. I’m talking about my humble self. I think I became interesting to Ilirra specifically as part of her plot against you. She deliberately invited me to the virk and sent me behind the detachment, and assigned you to watch over me. A sensible move. She created an external point of tension. It’s no secret that a team is best unified by the presence of an external threat or something unpleasant for all the members. The whole retinue began to look at me as a pariah. And to make sure the half-wit Ilirra sheltered would not do anything wrong, she gave him, in essence, a personal nanny. Does not that situation lead to any thoughts?”
“Go on.”
“Yes… Then a group of Thygar’s friends or supporters immediately emerged. No one likes freaks; that is not surprising. They perceived my defeat of the dragon as a personal insult, but they are not intending to get involved. Thygar must resolve the matter himself and defend, as it seems to him and them, his honor. Attaching you to me, a shkas, led to their dislike automatically spreading to you as well, the involuntary chaperone. Psychologically, everything was thought out correctly. She only had to warm up the hostility occasionally. Here I made a mistake during the demonstrative showdown that was arranged for me. I should not have given her ladyship that refusal, but only the grave will correct my faulty nature.” The sida, throwing a strand of hair from her eyes, smiled. “Petty insults in the following days completed the work. The detachment realized that I was an unnecessary link in the chain, and only the princess’ word is restraining her from banishing the freak. The effect was achieved. And now about you. You did not take part in the silent persecution of the shkas; I will not ask why. Your rejecting the position of the rest became an opposition to the entire collective. The princess then skillfully prompted Thygar’s and Delia’s ambitions. Now there were two targets. The masculine members of the virk have focused their hatred on me, and the ladies have declared their objection to you, am I right?”
“You are right. The situation is exactly as you describe.”
“Thank you for the kind words.”
“You are welcome.”
“All right, courtesy aside, moving on. Now, Ilirra just had to wait for you to make some sort of mistake, and to my great regret, I gave her a great chance to take you by the throat.”
“I did it….”
“What did you do? Took a silver flower?” Andy interrupted. “Do not embarrass my hass. You just did not expect such antics from me. People do not act like that in princely chambers.”
“It is what it is.”
Andy picked up a fishing rod, rummaged through his bag, took out a fat larva, and planted it on the hook. “The princess reminds me of a fisherman.” He cast his bait into the water. “Ilirra’s patience can be envied. Once she cast the bait, she, like a true fisherman, waited for a bite. And in the meantime, she gently warmed the passions of her support team.”
“Interesting comparison.” Ania stood up from the broad root and sat on the shore next to Andy.
“And as soon as the fish bit, she skillfully hooked it.” A smooth jerk, and another swimmer was flopping in the fisherman’s hands. “Now, about her reasons for disliking you.” Andy took the fish off, corrected the bait, and asked a question: “Have you known the princess long?”
“I have lived for two hundred years in the prince’s court, and Ilirra has never had any friendship with anyone.” The girl tilted her head to her left shoulder. “I would not say that the princess and I were very close, but we greeted one another when we met,” she added cautiously.
“That is as I expected. Opa!” The large fish, not wishing to be planted on the skewer, fell off the hook and flopped back into the water. Andy planted a new worm on the hook and sent it off to fetch dinner for the hungry were-dragon. “So you can distinguish the real daughter of a prince from a double? No?” Andy looked straight into her eyes. The girl was silent, but he did not need an answer. “You do not have to say anything. There can be two reasons for dislike. Correct me if I am wrong. There is some elementary surveillance going on for the beloved daughter of the sovereign at the request of the monarch himself, and the princess was told about this openly. The other reason could be that we are not dealing with a princess. Then it becomes clear why she wants to be rid of you. The double realizes that you can expose her to the others and is trying to remove that threat by dirty yet effective methods.” The elf’s nostrils fluttered from frequent breathing. “It’s not worth it,” Andy warned Ania, who was stretching her hand towards her hip. “You can not kill me, but I am completely capable of killing you.” The rod in his hands shot towards the sida, stopping a couple of millimeters from her forehead. The girl belatedly recoiled back. “If I hit lower, the bridge of your nose would break, and depending on the strength and angle of impact, I can drive the bone into the brain. Judging by your reaction, you guessed about the double long ago, and the pseudo-princess guessed that you guessed, and you guessed that she guessed: oh, what a cycle of guesses we have on our hands! But you kept your conclusions to yourself.”
“Are you prepared to kill the woman you like?” Shaking off her cloak and pants, Ania asked an unexpected question. Glancing at her unperturbed conversation partner, she sat down.
“No,” Andy answered honestly. “But I will not allow anyone to kill me. I have a real Virk, with a capital letter. I cannot die without finishing it!”
The girl opened her eyes wide and looked at Andy in a new way. She was unexpectedly seeing him in a new light.
“But how did you guess?”
“Eyes are given to us to see, and our heads are not only to eat with. It’s no secret that war may break out any moment. During our second stop, I listened attentively to all the news from the world. There were several attacks in the principality on merchants from the empire. At the University of Darius, someone beat up the imperial bookworms. The Emperor never lets attacks on his citizens slide. It is very possible that the attacks were organized by supporters of the empire, but according to rumor, the royal security service could not catch anyone. The northern neighbor now has a reason t
o punish the bold offenders; he will not let them get away with these abuses. And that’s the moment the prince decides to send his daughter on the virk. Which is it—stupidity or a distraction? I’m inclined to think it is the second one, but I was confused by the fact that the dragon sent her to an area where blood can start to flow at any time. Elves and humans in no man’s land are building barricades, buying heavy gunners from the Miur and lining all approaches to the mountain fortresses with cutting stones. Strange solution! It does not fit in any way with what a loving parent would do. I began to look for inconsistencies and reasons. The first discrepancy emerged on the second day. According to the conversations of the retinue, Ilirra was very close to Ruigar, and then everyone witnessed their cool meeting and parting, quite unlike the parting of lovers. I was not deceived by the tears in the princess’ eyes as she returned from her meeting with the governor. Actresses in the theater play much more believably. And did you see Ruigar?”
“And it was after that you took over the rearguard duties?” Ania threw a small pebble into the water; the rapid current immediately moved it along.
“Exactly.”
“What conclusions did you draw after noticing the lack of surveillance?”
“Well, I cannot say that there was no surveillance at all. Birds with magical collars are constantly flying over the detachment, but yes, no one is tracing our path. Prince Ora could not confine himself to birds. Leaving his daughter with just spies would be the height of recklessness. There are a few more small observations that allow us to draw certain conclusions about the “princess.” Two days ago, I read in one of the books I bought of the so-called aura replacement technique, invented two thousand years ago at the Imperial University of Magic. The book also described how to spot a replacement. There are ten features about any given aura. Three of them, when examined in detail, showed an induced or replaced aura. I checked three times. If Ilirra went on the test, why should she mask her aura? Who would she hide from? Why pile such a complex scheme? The fact that the virk is a distraction operation is clear. The detachment is a simple setup. But what it is distracting from, who is being set up and why, remains unclear.