Patricia leaned over and gingerly touched the edge of the letter. The fire was hot, and her fingers burned. Real fire indeed! Or was it magical? The flaming lines that could be read were nothing but magic.
«The seas are mine,» Patricia read aloud. «Since I defeated all the water dragons, only I have the right to sail the seas and oceans. Sail away from my territory. Find yourself a quiet bay and a coastal island. Eat bananas and coconuts. Why would you want to be a pirate? Treasure does not bring happiness. Trust a dragon. I have been plundering for centuries. Gold and gems wont bring you happiness. And the black fairies will begin to sharpen their claws against you. They love gold. Theyll tear you apart for it. And the sea wizards are even more insidious! By the way, dont turn the mermaids against me, or theyll all burn. The sea tribes annoy the fire-breathing dragons. I dont like pirates and other seafarers at all. Im cramped at sea myself. Get on dry land while youre still in one piece!»
And it was the signature: «Dragon.»
Patricia was taken aback. Could dragons write letters? She wondered if the dragon wrote the lines with its breath.
Its all threats! Thats very dragon-like. But what reason would a dragon have to hate her? The letter breathes anger.
The letter must have gotten here by mistake. Its definitely not for her. The top of the letter doesnt say its addressed to Lady Patricia or the pirate captain. If it werent for the dragons signature, it would look anonymous.
And who planted it on the deck? How are letters of fire delivered? Patricia didnt know, because this was the first time shed ever seen a fire letter. Not even fairies could write such letters, and they were masters of all magic.
The letter spread mercury across the deck as Patricia finished reading. Wow! The ship creaked, and the fairy trapped in the hold let out a prolonged shriek.
«Lady Captain!» She called. «Come here, quick! Help!»
What a surprise! To hear a request for rescue from a stubborn fairy hostage! Patricia never expected this. Fairies are stubborn to the point of absurdity. This time Aleandra was thrashing around the cage and wailing.
«Shes coming here! Shes going to tear me apart! Im a traitor! She wont forgive me for this! Let me go, Lady Captain, and I promise to give you and your crew a useful magical gift.»
Thats how flattering even a wicked fairy can sing if shes frightened! Patricia liked the respectful address «Lady Captain» very much. But only, what frightened the fairy so much?
«Who is she? Arent you a subject of the King of Opal?»
The fairy frowned. She was hiding something.
«Dont let anyone on your ship!» Aleandra asked. «Draw protective symbols on the deck, forbidding entry.»
«Who can enter a ship on the open sea, where there are no oncoming ships?»
«Fairies can,» the captive proudly lifted her chin. «They dont walk on water, but they can fly right on board.»
«And you think a flock of fairies will come to rescue you?»
Patricia was angry. The fairy was spinning around in the cage so much that the whole ship was rocking. What if the ship capsized?
«Stop it!»
«Let me go or hide me!»
Patricia would have let the fairy go. But she could tell the Opal wizards about her. Better to choose the safer solution.
«How do I hide you?»
«Draw invisibility signs at the entrance to the hold.»
«What are those signs?»
«Dont you know? What an ignoramus! Illiterate aristocrat! Theres a reason you became a pirate,» the fairy got angry. All her politeness was blown away. «Im going to die because of your illiteracy. Better let me out, or my death will be on your conscience.»
«What death? Fairies are immortal!»
Patricia caught Aleandra in hypocrisy. Its a pity we cant let her go. A hostage like that is nothing but trouble.
«All right, Ill ask Zeligena and Nethopyrina. Maybe they know the signs of invisibility,» she promised.
Netopyrina did know the signs. She had drawn them on the door of the hold and on the threshold. Nevertheless, the fairy continued to rage in her cage, and the ship rocked all night as if there were a storm.
«Those fairies make the ship shake like a storm even in the calm,» Patricia complained as the pillow popped out from under her head. The bunk in the captains cabin was shaking. It was impossible to sleep. But when she closed her eyes, images of Queen Esperanza, part of her face rotted to a skeleton, came to mind. You could see the bones of her shoulders under the lace of her neckline and the bones of her cheeks. The half-skeleton, half-queen was alive. She was whispering something, but in her half-sleep Patricia couldnt make out the words. And then some dream character touched Patricias hair. What a familiar touch! It was Beatrice, Patricias sister. Only why in the dream had Beatrice become so dull. The skin on her face is bone tight, her curly hair has faded to an ashy color, almost to gray, her skin is covered with gray spots like magical moles, and two stiff bone wings protrude behind her back.
«Beatrice, are you a fairy too?»
«No, I am a half fairy,» came a whisper from the darkness. «Do you know what it is?»
Her sisters voice broke into a sinister laugh. Behind Beatrices back there was definitely a crypt and black grave fairies feasting on the bones.
Patricia awoke in terror. Someone was walking about the cabin. Some woman with coal-black eyebrows and eyelashes was leaning over Patricia. It was yesterdays guest! Patricia recognized her by her golden crown of hooped wings. The queen of the fairies! Thats why the hostage in the hold was so frightened. If she went under the King Opals banner and the Fairy Queen is still alive, shes a traitor. And treason is serious, even for the fairies.
«She was curious, why did the fairy queen wipe out her subjects? And why does she sail the seas? Or rather, she flies the seas. To Patricias ship, she clearly flew.
The fairy Aleandra, trapped in the hold, miscalculated. It wasnt her that interested the queen of the fairies, but the captain.
«You are such a pretty girl!» The Fairy Queen ran her fingers through Patricias curls. «And you are such a troublemaker! Did you know they hang captured pirates in the town square? A woman pirate is hardly an exception.»
Patricia stared mesmerized at her guest. So she wasnt dreaming about the Fairy Queen. Curious as to why she had flown in without Edwin today.
«Medea Shai?» Patricia remembered her name.
«Shh!» The Fairy Queens black claw pressed against her lips. «Dont dare call the fairy queen by her name, or youll turn into a toad yourself.»
«Calling the Queen of the Fairies by her name is sacrilege?»
«Youre funny!» The guest laughed playfully. The glass in the porthole rang with her laughter. «But I like you. I feel that you can be negotiated with.»
Now shes going to demand the fairy locked in the hold! Patricia has decided that Aleandra must be handed over. Let the queen deal with her herself. Otherwise the ship will rock every time the fairy gets nervous.
«What do you want?»
Medea Shai smiled slyly and snapped her fingers. Immediately, chests of coins and jewelry appeared in the hold from nowhere.
«Is this a ransom for a hostage?» Patricia wondered.
Medea Shai didnt understand her. She had clearly not come here for Aleandra. Then why did the queen bring gold and jewelry? Well, she didnt bring it. She created it out of the darkness.
«Its more than you could loot in a lifetime.»
«Not more, but its impressive,» Patricia nodded grudgingly. She didnt want to admit her worthlessness right away. The sight of the treasure was disconcerting. Even a king doesnt have such riches!
Medea Shai snapped her fingers again. The treasure doubled, then it tripled. The gold clogged the cabin almost to the ceiling. They began to make the cabin seem like a huge dragon cave, bursting with jewels.