Between the lines is written in fire. Natalie Yacobson

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      «It’s an ultimatum, Your Majesty,» stammered the minister who read the message.

      «An ultimatum can be given by a king at war with me, but not by a dragon. By the way, he burned one of the fields.»

      «It is along with the plowmen and their families,» the First Minister corrected the dragon.

      «He attacks like an animal, like a pack of wolves or a bear. Does an animal have the right to make demands? It should be caught and destroyed, so that it does not harm.»

      «But that’s what the knights were sent for. They’re gone.»

      «Then send others.»

      «Others are less prepared to fight the beast,» the First Minister stammered and stuttered with excitement. He couldn’t wait to marry the queen to anyone, even a dragon. He was tired of a woman on the throne. Perhaps he wanted to take her place after the dragon had eaten her. Rosamunda has no living relatives left.

      «It is except us,» whispered the strange creatures crawling along the column. Rosamunda quickly turned away from them. Would the others see them? Do they hear them? Everyone is so frightened by the dragon that they don’t pay attention to the little things.

      «Does the dragon know that I am a young widow and not an innocent maiden?» Rosamunda asked an insidious question, for everyone knows that dragons prefer virgins. «Had he been warned of this?»

      «His demand is clear! He wants you! Perhaps you should say yes.»

      «I don’t think you envision a dragon as your king. You’re probably hoping I’ll disappear into his lair forever.»

      «No! How could I?» The minister lowered his eyes to the floor in shame so she wouldn’t recognize him as a traitor. «We are all truly loyal to you.»

      «It is especially all those who were burned. They could have fought the dragon, but they just gave up. They didn’t even try to run away.»

      «If you knew what a dragon attack was, you wouldn’t be talking like this! It’s much worse than a forest fire.»

      «I don’t believe the burned body of the knight was sent by the dragon itself. Dragons are animals. They have no intelligence. It’s more likely some evil joker carved the body in letters. Probably it is a savage or a fakir. There aren’t many fools that live in deserted places.»

      «It’s definitely dragon fire. It makes the body rot in a peculiar way. The letters on the corpse’s skin turn black before you can read them.»

      «And before they’re read, they’re fiery?» Rosamunda recalled with horror the letters from her secret admirer, but the minister ignored her question.

      «The dragon gives you one day to think about it. Tomorrow night you will either accept his proposal or he will burn your country.»

      That’s the literal message. The dragon is as generous as a king of noble blood. He gives her a full day’s head start. She’ll have time to sleep, and the next day she’ll devise some cunning plan to deceive the dragon.

      During the night, Rosamunda dreamed of a girl with many faces. These faces were scattered on the floor like masks. Every single one of them was incredibly beautiful. All cut from living beauties because blood had caked on them. They were all alive. The girl measured them one by one, and was not satisfied with all of them. Until among the masks she found one that was not human. The face cut from the fairy was squirming and whispering something unhappily, but the sorceress put it on over her. This girl could not be anything but a sorceress, for she stole other people’s faces. And they suited her. Except that her hair changed color with them. Then they were light, then dark, then red, then golden, then greenish, like a mermaid. And what is this girl really: brunette, shade, blonde? Do sorceresses have a specific hair color? And what is her face like? Rosamunda saw only living masks.

      There was a haunting feeling in the dream that she needed to see the true face of the many-faced girl, or the problem with the dragon would not be solved.

      «Look in the mirror,» squeaked someone behind her. It seemed to be some kind of gnome or gnome-like creature. It was short and clawed.

      Rosamunda woke up without realizing what the mirror had to do with it.

      The dwarf sitting on her bedpost clapped his clawed hands together in joy. «I thought the indecent dragon had put you to sleep for good. But now it is twelve o’clock, and my queen has awakened from his spell. I’m so glad!»

      «I wish you’d get out of here!» Rosamunda looked at him in disbelief. There’s trouble where Dandy is.

      It’s light outside the window, but suddenly, right now, the red rain of dragon flame is raining down again, hitting the roofs, and the whole country turns into a hot inferno.

      How to deal with a dragon? This was not the kind of politics she had counted on when she took over the reins of power. You can still negotiate with humans, but not with the dragon! You can’t even settle a dispute with a dragon with a war. He’ll just burn everyone. The whole army! So what do we do?

      «What do you say, Counselor?» She squinted at Dandy.

      «About what is it?»

      «It is about the dragon, of course. That’s our biggest problem right now.»

      «Well, you’re the queen. I’m just an advisor, and not an official one at that.»

      «But you took me to the mountains, and we woke the dragon there.»

      «It would have woken up anyway.»

      Dandy sighed.

      «How do you know?»

      «We all know him well and have studied his lordly ways.»

      «What do you mean? And who are all of us? You mean those sparkling pixies who sang in the cave?»

      Dandy sighed again. He seemed about to burst into tears. Rosamunda had never seen him like this before. Usually, he was not discouraged.

      «What’s the matter with you? Did one of the courtiers offend you? Well, I’ll punish them!»

      «The dragon hurt me!» Dandy sobbed. «He took away all my savings. Said it was a tax on life. And he did the same to other magical creatures.»

      «Can dragons speak?»

      «Yes, they can! And they can breathe fire! They can roast even a magical creature with their breath!»

      «They can write letters with fire, too, can’t they?»

      «I never received any letters from them,» Dandy said judiciously. «But I have received threats mixed with sparks. I even got burns.»

      He unbuttoned his camisole slightly, revealing orange marks like sparks lodged in greenish skin. He’s a freak! But he acts like a trained monkey. And in his camisole he looks like an aristocrat who’s been turned into a miniature monster by some magician. Dandy’s feet are webbed, and his claws are long. The toes themselves are seven or eight on each foot. A spiked tail curls in zigzags.

      Yeah, СКАЧАТЬ