«What kind of lady would degrade herself to a mans profession?»
Patricia felt herself covered in mud under the fairys gaze. Fairies are such schemers! One word from them would turn any fame into shame.
«It suits me,» Patricia cut her off.
«You could have been queen.»
«One night of ritual and the next morning you are a skeleton in a crown.»
«At least I wouldnt have to swing a saber. You could stand in a niche like a palace ornament. The grave fairies would serve you well. I think they recognize you for letting you go. I recognize you too.»
The fairy smiled greedily, as if she had met an old rival who was about to be torn apart.
«And the dragon will come for you!»
Patricia didnt know what shed done to the dragon. Maybe she had stolen some magical thing that the dragon had left unattended on the coast or in the mountains. Patricia saw strange marks burned into the sand. They had definitely been left by the dragons breath. Maybe she shouldnt have touched the burned sand. She could have broken some dragon spell by scooping up a handful of that sand.
Patricia remembered the strange sounds that had been heard on the coast then. If only she could apologize to the dragon for intruding on his magic then.
«He can smell you in any guise,» the fairy cheered. «You cant hide from him. Masks wont help.»
By any guise, she must have meant a bandits clothes. Patricia dusted off the lapels of a smart camisole that the goblins had taken off the corpse of the captain of an enemy ship and presented to her.
«Fairies are nothing but trouble!» Patricia muttered.
She must have insulted Zeligena and Netopyrina, because they hissed nervously. You have to be careful what you say when youre surrounded by evil spirits.
«Or maybe hell come,» Patricia decided to mock the evil fairy. «I saw a dragon ship.»
«You saw it?» Aleandra was interested. «Where it was?»
«I wont tell you.»
«You are a liar! You havent seen it, or youd be burned.»
«And if we meet it now, well burn.»
«Yes,» nodded the fairy in the cage.
«Is it everyone? Is it even you?»
«Uh-huh. You cant fly away from him. The whole sea will burst into flames. The waves would surge to the heavens, burning anyone who tried to fly away.»
«Is he a living dragon or is it a ship?»
«It is both.»
«How is it so? Ive never seen it fly. Its bottom always touches the water and the water beneath it catches fire.»
«Hell either burn up all the seas or find one that hides from him. He probably thinks she is in the Underwater Kingdom, so he ruins the water. Before, fire falls only existed in Tioria, but with the advent of the dragon ship, entire seas become fiery.»
«I saw it myself.»
You have only seen it so far, and then youll burn,» the fairy giggled insolently. «Youll get your ass kicked.»
She probably intended to get free and fly away somehow.
«Keep an eye on her!» Patricia told the goblins.
Her own mind suddenly went blank. There was no need to look into the fairys hypnotizing eyes. Patricia staggered out of the hold and into the fresh air. She was about to faint like a sourpuss. And shes a pirate captain. Its a shame shes staggering around like a drunk. Thats the worst thing you can do when youre dealing with an insolent fairy.
There was no flaming ship on the horizon, but a clear picture suddenly appeared in her mind: the silhouette of a slender aristocrat coming out of the fire and treading on the water, leaving fiery footprints. Its a young man. He would be very handsome if he were not entirely made of flames. He reaches out to her and wants to say something to her, and the picture fades.
Patricia woke up from her reverie. There was a burn on her elbow, as if someone had really just touched her with fire.
A fiery stranger
As soon as she fell asleep, she dreamed of the fiery young man again. He was treading on the water, and the water under his soles became fiery. There was a solid bonfire in the sea. The young man looked at Patricia with orange eyes fused from the fire. Behind his back fluttered a fiery cloak. What was the cloak! His eyebrows, eyelashes, hair, skin everything was composed of fire.
The stranger made some signs to her, and symbols of sparks lit up in the air. Patricia managed to read:
«It is an escape! It is treason! It is a change of essence! It is an empty crown! It is the absence of a queen! It is the eternal search! It is an anger that burns everything!»
How did she learn to understand these bizarre fiery symbols? Surely they must be some kind of magic writing. The stranger was tempting her with magic. No, hes not a stranger. Patricia knew him from somewhere. She couldnt remember where.
She woke up terrified. The blazing sea from her dream was still in front of her eyes. The alarm was sounding on deck. The mute was flying overhead like a stray.
Patricia reluctantly got up from her bunk. «Was the fairy villain rebelling in the hold again?»
Bad premonitions gnawed at her soul like worms. They shouldnt have taken the prisoner. A fairy prisoner is a great danger. Those who keep magic creatures in captivity risk being torn apart themselves. Patricia remembered the story of an overseas merchant who came to Opal. He told of a circus for which magical creatures were captured. One of the captured creatures had driven the circus owners mad. It was a syrin or something. Anyway, it sat in a cage and sang magical songs, and the circus owners went crazy. Eventually all the circus pets broke out of their cages and clawed the entire town the circus was in. Patricia didnt even remember the name of the town, but the merchants story impressed her. Queen Esperanza, who was still alive at the time, had laughed for a long time in response to the merchants tales.
«Things are even worse in Opal,» she said.
Patricia hadnt realized what the queen meant. When she learned of the kings magical experiments, it was too late to heed her warnings.
«We burn! Fire!» screamed Netopyrina, hovering over the ship. One of its wings grazed the porthole of the captains cabin.
Patricia shuddered and grabbed her saber. How could one burn on the high seas! The threat seemed to be empty. There is water all around. The fire has something to put out. Unless the fairy trapped in the hold managed to summon magical fire. Theres nothing to put that out. Then the ship would burn, and the fairy hostage would escape. Patricia closed her eyes and imagined the triumph with which the freed fairy would look at the sinking wreckage of the ship before flying away.
There was no smell of fumes yet. Could the alarm be a false alarm? You dumb alarmist!
Patricia looked out the porthole and gasped. The entire horizon was ablaze.
«Theres a dragon ship coming this way!» She exclaimed, pressing her palm against the glass of the window. Her palm burned immediately. The glass in the porthole was so hot it could have melted.
What do we do? The dragon ship was heading straight for Patricias ship. We could try to turn away from it, but the sea around it is burning for leagues around. Theyll never make it anyway.
«Wed need a tailwind so strong we could sail a hundred leagues a second! Thats the only way we can get away from him! Can you conjure such a wind, Zeligena?»
Patricia thought the swamp fairy was standing behind her. A murky, magic aura was spreading through the air.»
«It is a lovely specimen, but alas, she is only mortal,» said an unfamiliar voice.
Patricia turned around. The fiery young man from her dream was standing in the cabin. Strangely enough, he was no longer glowing. Only the outlines around his hair, forehead, and shoulders remained fiery. Even in this state, if he touched something, the cabin would burst into flames. There are a lot of wooden objects around. It is as long as the guest didnt touch anything. Otherwise thered be a fire.