«Its a good thing I didnt get my hands on any,» Clement rejoiced sincerely. «Still, theres a chance of ruin if the knights of Shai invade here.»
«Why do you fear for my life savings?» Raymonda was furious. «Dont worry! If I have to be gone for a long time, it means the cave is so protected by magic that no one will find its entrance. And its not the only cave where I save my money.»
«And youre a rich bride!» Clement cracked a joke. Raymonda was too serious.
«And I am dangerous!» She flashed her eyes, which instantly turned orange like flames.
Okay, if she wanted to be quiet instead of talking, fine. Clement felt so happy in her company anyway that he whistled songs to himself as they walked through the meadows and fields into the night. For some reason Raymonda wanted to travel at night. She could see well in the dark. Clement didnt even ask where they were going or why they were going there. The important thing was that Raymonda was with him. And he expected no other bride than her. To know he was engaged to her was bliss. And her dragon character would probably soften in time.
«By the way, why didnt you tell me you were my fiancée?» Clement decided to ask.
She gave a dismissive chuckle.
Why had she been leading him on from the start? She was playing with him like a cat with a mouse. Or rather, like a dragon with its prey.
«By the way, am I the groom or the victim?» Clement asked the question directly, at the risk of exposing himself to a torrent of fire breath.
«I dont know yet!»
Raymonda hovered over the thicket of tall grass, and Clement struggled his way through it. He produced a dagger which he could use to shear back the stalks and clear a path, but Raymonda warned him:
«Dont dare!»
«Why is it not?»
«The grass is magic. If you cut it, itll grow twice as tall.»
Thats probably why it was so tall. It reached to Clements waist. Someone had already tried to mow it down.
The tree up ahead was magical, too. It stood in the middle of the meadow, huge and gnarly, like a giants severed head.
She strode up to it and stroked its bark gently, as if she were greeting an old friend. The trees branches stretched out from the lush crown like vines and lay on the ground, creating a cover like an arbor. They are more flexible than willow branches, and the leaves on them resemble in shape the badges of card suits and the coats of arms of some countries that have long since disappeared.
«Once there were battles fought here and powers crumbled,» Raymonda explained. «Now theres only the tree, but its a wise one.»
Several of the branches suddenly sprang to life, lifted from the ground like slender fingers and touched Clement, unmistakably feeling the injured areas on his skin. There was nothing left of the burns and scratches in a jiffy.
«So the tree really is a healer!»
«And you thought I was lying to you?» She took an oddly shaped leaf or two and put it in her purse. «Its also an oracle.»
«Isnt it?» Clement was more interested in the rainbow-like color of the leaves. And its bark had fanciful growths that, in the dim light, might be mistaken for living, supernatural beings. Several birds flitted from the top of the tree. These are the real Syrines and Alconostes!
The living roots continued to grope Clement, though no wounds remained on his body. Clement trusted them now, like a doctor, so he willingly opened his palms as the branches began to glide along the lines of fate.
«He has a noble soul!» A hoarse voice was heard from within the tree. «It is an excellent choice! You are a perfect match! The archer and the dragoness! You are a prince and a princess!»
The giant face of the oracle seemed to fade into the bark of the trunk for a moment. Clements heart gave out. Hooray! The oracle tree had predicted good things. So the scoundrel in the square was wrong. His ominous visage made him want to believe less than the lush tree. Though beneath the sprawling crown lurked magical figures sprouted in the trunk and small magical creatures, as well as syrene. Clement whistled.
«Would I have a bird like that?»
«Would you propose to her too?» Raymonda mocked him. «Or make her your mistress?»
As luck would have it, the bird came up with a beautiful female head, braided hair, and a tiny corolla of turquoise.
«Mind you, if you marry me, I will let the minions go no further than into the furnace. That is in the dragons mouth!»
«You mean youll burn them all?»
«And you, too!»
«Wont you be sorry?»
«Would you pity the minions you havent even had yet? How do you know they wont turn out to be scheming witches you want to execute?»
«Its too cruel a burnt offering anyway.»
«I promise Ill burn anyone who annoys me or contradicts me. I will start with my rivals.»
«And that will be until youre disenchanted?»
«As your uncle hinted, I dont think thats possible. But spells are good for me. I can remove all my rivals and enemies with fire. Your kingdom will burn. So, youre not going to marry me, are you?»
«Absolutely not! Ill find a way to tame you.»
She breathed fire into him, and nothing! He didnt burn. Only the heat ran through his skin until he was red. It was as if he had been bewitched. And it is not by his uncle. Uncle couldnt do that.
«And your uncle is right! You are the special one! If I cant burn you, it cant be otherwise.»
Raymonda suddenly respected him. As it turned out, even she could be impressed by something.
Well, the tree had to do the healers job again, probing the branches to see if the fire had left any small injuries on his body.
«I once watched a great battle here!» Raymonda said dreamily.
Clement thought a ghost battle was about to break out in the field, but there was nothing behind him but a statue of a fairy that stood on a pedestal right in the middle of the thicket of grass. She looked beautiful and a little ominous. She seemed to come to life as soon as the moonlight touched her.
«Why hadnt I noticed her before?»
It was as if the marble fairy had just grown up in the middle of the field.
«Dont go near her!» Raymonda was frightened. «Dont even look at her!»
«But why is it?»
The statue seemed very beautiful to him. What could be wrong with it? Except that it was in a strange place.
For some reason Clement had an unbearable urge to lie down and fall asleep right now, right there, at the foot of that strange statue. In spite of Raymondas warning, he moved toward it. The beautiful bride cursed noisily behind him and repeated the warning several times:
«Moon statues are dangerous!»
But Clement could no longer hear her. It was as if the marble fairy was calling out to him and he could not resist the call.
What could Raymonda do? She flipped on the dragon almost instantly. The smoke seemed to envelope her in its familiar pattern of glitter. And before he knew it, Clement was sitting on the back of a dragon, flying higher and higher into the starry sky. As the night breeze refreshed his head, Clement couldnt understand why he was so attracted to the fairy statue. He had the impression that it was the marble statues turn to swear at the dragon. After all, she had missed her prey, and once again Raymonda had saved her fiancé from danger. Apparently being a heroine has become a habit with her.
Forest Realm
The winged creatures were hovering in a dance over the halls, partly overgrown with moss. A carpet of leaves grew in the galleries, partly framed by trees rather than walls, and it was pleasant to tread on, even barefoot. But the pixies, too, had taken up residence in it. The little creatures were scandalous. Clement began to fear them.
The reflections of the elves in the mirrors were very willful and behaved very differently from their owners. Often they squirmed and mimicked the movements of their owners.