Rosafeira
A familiar fairy hovered in the garden and plucked petals from a red rose bush. Strangely enough, the plucked petals the fairy put into her mouth and chewed.
«You eat rose petals?» Samantha wondered.
«All fairies eat them.»
«But they are bitter and unpalatable, even though they smell nice.»
«They are delicious!» The fairy put two rose petals into her mouth at once.
«Perhaps humans and fairies have different taste perceptions,» Samantha concluded.
«You’re speaking scientifically, just like your father! He tried to teach me chemistry, physics, math and philosophy, too.»
«And you weren’t bored! I thought fairies were more suited to magic than science.»
«That’s true! But I had to gain the trust of the manor master somehow. So I pretended to be interested in the sciences he was practicing, and then I started flirting.»
«And then what happened?» Samantha wondered, thinking that the fairy would tell her about romance and kissing.
«And then Darlina showed up, who had no science or magic in her head, but managed to get your father’s scientific assistants and magic fairies out of the manor,» the fairy said darkly.
«It’s sad!» Samantha sighed, but the fairy had eaten enough and decided to make a wreath out of the remaining pink petals. The scarlet petals folded themselves into the shape of a crown in her hair.
In the bright daylight Samantha was able to get a better look at the fairy. Her dress seemed to be made of flower petals, and her wings were pink and so large that she could wrap herself in them like a cocoon. When she spread them out, they resembled the wings of a giant butterfly. The fairy’s eyebrows and eyelashes were colored pink today, probably from the fact that the beauty ate rose petals.
«By the way, my name is Rosafeira,» she introduced herself, flapping her wings gracefully. «I was named that because I love to eat rose petals.»
Samantha had heard that name before on her way to Ivilor.
«You followed my crew!»
«Yes, I had to escort you to the capital. There are so many supernatural creatures nesting here now, you’ll find yourself a werewolf fiancé without my tutelage. And no fairy mark will keep you safe!»
«No, I don’t like werewolves,» Samantha remembered the mansion with the scratched floor and the ominous beauty of Jessica.
«Your mother would have married a demon if he had been as rich as King Serpin’s counselor,» the fairy threw a lightning bolt at the rosebush, leaving only a handful of ashes.
Samantha prudently did not object. It was obvious that the fairy was still angry and jealous. But destroying the rosebush was unnecessary.
«How long have you been eating rose petals from the royal garden?»
Rosafeira frowned. She couldn’t seem to recall how long she had been stealing roses from all the neighborhood gardens. It appeared that she had been raiding all the flowering gardens and parks in Ivilor.
«It’s only in the royal garden that I feel uneasy,» she confessed. «It’s because of the royal counselor. Even a fairy can’t predict what he’s up to.»
«I’m sorry that fairies have to face such competition in Ivilor, and so am I. It’s like the Mind is telling me without words that it will never let me near the king.»
«Do you even know his name yet?» Rosafeira grinned. «Are you familiar with his claws?»
Samantha’s whole body shuddered. The demon’s black claws were like knives with narrow blades.
«It’s not hard to guess his name. It characterizes him well,» she said. «After all, he practically runs the king like a brain runs a body.»
«Did you see the two of them together at the royal council?»
«It was at the ambassadors’ meeting! The Mind sat on the king’s shoulder and whispered in his ear everything that needed to be said, and the king repeated it, and the ambassadors marveled at his wisdom. In fact, his great wisdom is a demon that no one sees.»
«You’re clever! It takes others a while to unmask the Mind.»
Samantha didn’t give away the swamp witch who had told the secret to unmasking a demon. Rosafeira could have given clues too, but she didn’t.
«You still dream of bewitching the king,» Rosafeira interpreted Samantha’s sadness in her own way. «I can’t help you with that. All my fragile flower charms collapse when faced with dark demonic power. But I can get the king to ask you to dance at tonight’s ball.»
«There’s a ball at the palace tonight?» Samantha’s never heard of it.
«You look as if you’ve fallen from the moon!» Rosafeira flapped her wings in amazement.
«I come from the village!» Samantha corrected her.
«I also came from the countryside, but I already know the schedule of palace events,» Rosafeira said arrogantly.
«You are a fairy and I am a simple girl!»
Apparently, even the village fairies are quicker than the village girls.
«Come on! We need to find the right dress for you,» the fairy put her wing around Samantha’s shoulders.
«What do you mean?»
«The dress will impress the king.»
Choosing the dress took all day. Rosafeira made Samantha try on her entire closet. When the choice was finally made, Samantha was as out of breath as after a jog. Even though the laces and clasps were fastening themselves under the fairy’s guidance, trying on dozens of outfits was exhausting.
«This is the one!» Rosafeira critically examined the white muslin dress with lush lace on the skirts.
«It looks like a bride’s dress!»
«It would be a subtle hint that the king should ask for your hand in marriage.»
«I doubt he’s thinking of marriage at his age.»
«He is not, but his ministers have tried endlessly to match him with one princess or another. Alas, they’ve all gone missing because of it.»
«Who are they? Are they princesses?»
«No, they are ministers!» Rosafeira tried on Samantha’s tiara. «I’ll tell you in confidence. All the ministers have been clawed by the Mind. He doesn’t want Serpin to marry. Because then his power in lvilor will be over. That’s probably soon enough.»
Rosafeira decided to put a twist on her potential bride. She gathered a pile of rose petals from the garden and threw them on Samantha’s dress. Strangely enough, the fragrant petals clung to the muslin as if sewn on. They made the dress look more festive.
«The Foreign Minister tried to escape from the Mind in the mail carriage, but suddenly he heard someone’s claws scraping the roof. And the carriage fell into a cliff. And the Minister of Commerce was poisoned by a new kind of wine. The merchants who brought the wine were blamed for his death, but I saw the black claw put poison in the wine. And the finance minister, the Mind locked up in the treasury so long that he starved to death on a pile of lvilor’s gold.
«Wait! Why are you telling me such horror stories before the ball?» Samantha’s nerves were frayed. She wished the fairy would sing her a song.
«You should know who you’re fighting.»
«I’m just going to the ball!»
Samantha was not expected in the ballroom. Many graceful and beautiful ladies had already gathered there. Rosafeira hid under the archway at the entrance. Now she’s going to work her magic.
«Look, she must have wasps and bumblebees hiding in her dress,» sneered some lady, pointing a folded fan in Samantha’s direction. «Those who decorate their clothes with fresh flowers usually pick up insects too.»
Everyone began to back away from Samantha. Soon she would be boycotted in lvilor. All it was because of the novelty brought by the fairy. Samantha wanted to tear the rose petals from her dress, but they were too firmly attached. They could only be cut off with scissors.
Meanwhile, Rosafeira was releasing glowing pollen into the air. Strangely enough, her charms worked. Ten minutes later, the crowd of beauties had to part. King Serpin had come to open the ball. His black favorite was not with him. She guessed the Mind can’t stand balls.
Samantha instinctively glanced up at the ballroom chandelier. Could a dexterous demon be hiding beneath it? It was at that moment that Serpin approached her to ask her to dance.
The music began to play. The first waltz was like a dream. Samantha had only waltzed with her dance teacher before. He was an unattractive older man. Dancing with the young and charming Serpin was like floating in the clouds. Samantha felt like she was flying over the hall.
Too bad the magic ended quickly. A snide laugh sounded from somewhere above. The chandelier pendant flew down and would have hit Samantha in the darkness if Serpin hadn’t quickly pulled her away.
The king looked at the black brazen creature that shook its claws in anger as it lurched at the chandelier. Then it jumped onto the drape and disappeared behind the window.
As soon as the demon was gone, so was the king. Serpin excused himself by saying that he had urgent matters of state to attend to and the ball must go on without him. The urgent business, apparently, was the demon. As soon as he appeared, the king forgot everything and everyone. What an addiction!
Samantha bit her lip in annoyance, and the other ladies gloated. The king had dumped her so quickly, which meant he didn’t like her as a dancer. They didn’t notice the demon, and if they had, they would have fainted.
However, the favor that fell to the country lady, brought her and a few imitators, who began to ask her which dressmaker Samantha dressed, and who did her hair? She had to lie shamelessly. She couldn’t tell everyone that a fairy had dressed and combed her hair.
Rosafeira had already flown away. There’s no proof of her existence now.
A young marquise has asked Samantha for her scarf.
«I’ll return it, and in return you can wear any of my dresses. They were made by the best dressmakers in Aluar,» she promised.
Aluar was considered the center of fashion, but even there they probably didn’t make the kind of clothes a fairy could make. Samantha nodded politely, but she wasn’t going to accept the offer. The Marquise threw her rose scarf over her shoulders.
«I’m sure the king will like me with it,» she said and left.
Samantha didn’t stay at the ball either. The place was boring without Serpin. The music was playing, but there was no one to dance with.
«How choosy you are! You don’t like anyone but the king,» Rosafeira said as she flew down from a high column and suddenly found herself next to her. She smelled pleasantly of flowers and charms.
«I once had a crush on a park architect,» she confessed. «He was a nice educated young man, and you don’t even like dukes and earls. I wish they were all kings.»
«Stop it!» Samantha blushed involuntarily. «It has nothing to do with the crown. I’m just attracted to Serpin. True, he looks like an elf or an angel.»
«But there’s a demon lurking behind his shoulders.»
«Why talk about bad things?»
Samantha stepped away from the fairy and suddenly heard a hiss behind the closed door.
«I’ll kill her,» hissed a familiar husky voice. «She won’t get the crown!»
«But Mind, she didn’t ask for the crown,» objected the king’s pleasant baritone.
«But she did,» shrieked the demon’s shrill voice. «Better to throw it away than to give it to a village beggar!»
A heavy object was thrown through the opening. Samantha recoiled, lest she be killed by it. Then she gasped in surprise. Beneath her feet on the marble floor was a magnificent royal crown with rubies and pearls.
Before she could believe it wasn’t a dream, a black clawed foot came out of the door and took the crown back. The door slammed shut noisily.
«We should have taken it while we had the chance!» Rosafeira flew up from behind. «Apparently, to be queen, you’re too slow.»
Samantha never realized if the fairy was joking or being serious.
Golden Apple
In the afternoon, Samantha noticed a stranger wearing a familiar scarf in the corridors of the palace. Could this be the same Marquise who had lent her scarf yesterday? It was unlikely that she would return it. For some reason, many superstitious people believe that if you wear a thing that was worn by some lucky person before you, then you will be lucky. As if luck can be infected!
Everyone noticed that the king liked Samantha. Some of the ladies started imitating her. Some had a similar fan and some had the same hairstyle. Yesterday Samantha was reviled for her rustic taste, but today she was followed like a standard.
Samantha followed the Marquise and noticed that she had indeed managed to briefly attract the King’s attention. Samantha had to stop in front of the magnificent casement doors. The Marquise slid behind them.
Perhaps it was time to leave. This was hardly the time to demand her scarf back. For a moment there was calm outside the doors, and then the sounds of an argument came from there. Either the Marquise was being grumpy or she had to defend herself against someone.
Samantha pushed on the doorknob. It gave way. Behind the door was a luxurious boudoir, and a creepy black creature was skittering about. It stared at Samantha with eyes as surprised as if it had seen a ghost.
«Are there two of you?» The demon, whom Samantha had seen on the way to Ivilor, grumbled unhappily.
«Two? No, I’m one,» Samantha felt foolish for having spoken to him. «I’m sorry, I haven’t had a chance to tell anyone but the fairies about you yet, but I’ll run right away and report you to the court.»
«It is no need!» The demon waved his paw graciously. «Come in here, my dear, and shut the door tight behind you. I’ll tell you something interesting.»
«Will you?» Samantha obeyed, stepped across the threshold and closed the door. «I thought you wanted everyone to know about you.»
«It is not in Ivilor’s court, silly! I hoped you’d scare all the surrounding villages with rumors about me, but you were on your way to court. Who’d have thought it? All the provincial girls are coming here nowadays. The king has no shortage of suitors, and I, as his chief and only advisor, have to solve all his problems.»
«Your nickname is Mind?»
«It’s not a nickname, it’s a name! It’s my name because I’m the smartest man in the world!» The black creature wagged its tail angrily.
«Oh! Then you can tell me how to make friends with the king,» Samantha clapped her hands together. Even though the demon wasn’t a good fairy, it might even be useful. Her mother had taught her to use everyone she knew, even the random ones, and then they would become your pieces in the chess game called life.
The imp rubbed his paws together anxiously.
«I’m Samantha,» she introduced herself.
«Are you sure you’re not Sabrina?»
«I remember my name!»
«That’s not good!» The Mind stared at the floor, where the body of the Marquise lay among a pile of rags. The pile of rags turned out to be a canopy, torn to pieces by Mind’s claws, and the Marquise’s face was half-covered by Samantha’s scarf. Deep scratches stretched across the Marquise’s body. The kind only a demon could inflict.
Obviously, the Mind had wanted to pull Samantha down, but had mistakenly pulled down the awning who had borrowed her scarf. He realized he’d missed.
«How I had miscalculated!» The demon scratched his claw between his horns in puzzlement. He came out of the shadows into the light and stood before Samantha in all his terrifying form.
«You are the imp!» Samantha nearly fainted as she looked into his coal-red eyes.
«It is no need to be insulting!» The Mind shook a claw in front of her face. «I am the king’s favorite! Remember that!»
«How can a king love a true demon! That’s nonsense!»
«Serpin just has a more sensitive heart than you. That’s why he loved a demon,» the Mind grinned. «The king and I is a perfect match. He’s the ruler, and I’m his mind. You, on the other hand, are the missing piece.»
The Mind released its sharp claws. Now it would leap at her and wrestle her to the ground like the Marquese Sabrina. Samantha threw herself behind the screen.
«Get away from me! I don’t deal with an evil spirit!»
«But you claim to be king, which means you can’t survive in lvilor.»
Mind’s black claws went through the screen. Samantha barely had time to recoil.
«I’ll find a way to drive you out of Ivilor!» She threatened. Though the threat was utterly powerless, the Mind was furious. He leaped at Samantha. Its sharp claws were about to dig into her throat, but only to tear her collar.
«Ouch!» The demon looked like he’d been burned. «You’re sneaky!»
The Mind blew on its paws. Samantha had already realized what had happened to him. The torn cloth had just slipped off her shoulder, revealing the fairies’ mark. So it could scare away demons, too.
«You ruined my dress!»
«Order the next one from the fairies!»
«It’s not an order, it’s a generous gift!» Samantha tied a scrap of fabric in bows to cover her exposed shoulder. That’s better.
«What do you, you dark country bumpkin, know about fairy gifts?» The Mind squinted at Samantha incredulously, as if it might be blinded by the glow her mark exuded.
«Maybe I shouldn’t be insulted. Just because I come from the provinces doesn’t mean I’m unreasonable.»
The Mind didn’t hear her excuses. It walked around the frame left of the canopy and grumbled:
«You are an uneducated girl! You are sloppy! You can’t get out of my bedroom for an hour!»
«Actually, it’s the king’s bedroom, not yours!» Samantha was angry.
«Everything that belongs to the king is mine. And the king is mine, too!» The Mind bristled.
Samantha backed toward the door.
«The King is not someone else’s property,» she whispered. «He’s a living person.»
«Then why are you looking at him like you want to take him for yourself?»
«I only wanted…» Samantha was suddenly afraid of what she wanted. She wasn’t a princess to want to marry a king.
«Oh, you must be like all the girls I can’t even count,» the Mind stood up on his hind legs and scratched behind his horns with his claw. «One less, one more – what difference does it make?»
The Mind looked at her like he was going to kill her. Samantha hurried out the door and turned the knob. The Mind wouldn’t get out now.
She had hoped in vain to get away from the agile demon. He had found her in the garden. Or rather, it was she who bumped her forehead on the branch of a holly tree, on which the Mind was already sitting. His red eyes gazed at her with scrutiny.
«You don’t look like a demon queen at all, but you smell like one,» the Mind sniffed at Samantha’s hair incredulously. «You know that by defying me, you are challenging the greatest demon in the world.»
«Aren’t you the greatest demon of all?» Samantha squinted at the creature no bigger than a monkey.
«I serve the great demon’s queen,» the Mind frowned.
«I thought you served Serpin.»
«You don’t understand anything,» the Mind whipped her cheek with his tail in frustration.
«Oh! What are you doing?» Samantha recoiled.
«The sooner this fool disappears, the better,» the Mind muttered under his breath.
«What are you talking about? Who should disappear?»
The Mind grinned slyly.
«The edible fruit from this garden is disappearing so fast,» he complained. «The fairy thieves must have taken them. You haven’t seen them, have you?»
«It is only on the way to Ivilor,» Samantha snapped. «By the way, the fairies think that nature is dying because a demon is here.»
«It is a lie!» The Mind bounced on a branch. «I am a balm to the local nature. Without me, everything in lvilor would bloom and wither.»
«But it’s already withering! When I passed the arable fields, there wasn’t a single ear of wheat growing.»
«Forget the fields!» The Mind waved its clawed paw dismissively and almost scratched Samantha. «Think of lvilor. It’s a very rich country. I bet you’d like to sit on its throne and never get off.»
«What are you implying?» Samantha blushed treacherously. Yes, she likes the king, but not because of his wealth, of course.
«Sweetheart, I’m not hinting, but speaking directly,» the Mind’s voice became sly and ingratiating. «Put me on your shoulder and I’ll whisper some important advice to you.»
Samantha backed away. If the clawed creature jumped on her shoulder, it would leave scratches. Mind’s long, sharp claws frightened her. The Mind realized this and gave advice in advance.
«If you want to become the king’s bride, pluck that apple and give it to me!» He demandingly pointed to the branch of the nearest apple tree, on which there was only one large apple left. It stood out brightly among the green foliage. All the other apples had been ripped off by someone. Samantha noticed that the royal cooks never served apples or apple pies. So there’s nowhere for apples to go but to the fairies. Rosafeira told her that fairies only eat fruit or flower petals
«Is it that apple over there?» Samantha wondered how to reach it. The apple tree grew against the garden wall. She would have to climb the molding at the bottom of the wall and then she could pick the apple. But there was no way! As soon as the girl could reach the apple, the branch rose higher, as if it were alive. Samantha almost fell.
«Catch! Otherwise, you’re no queen if you’re so clumsy. A queen must fly like a swan!» The Mind encouraged her.
Samantha had to climb up, clinging to the lower branches. She tore her dress. Now Rosafeira would be angry with her. How could you be so careless with a fairy’s gift!
«Who do you care more about: some fairies or the king?» The Mind seemed to read her thoughts and urged her to climb up. Samantha felt like a monkey. She wished the agile demon would climb up for the apple. But she wants to be queen. So she had to climb trees. The branch with the apple was climbing higher and higher, as if to taunt her. You’ll never reach it!
«Well, the apple can’t grow higher than the top of the tree,» Samantha consoled herself. The top of the tree was just above the wall. All you have to do is climb to the top of the wall and you can reach it. But even then, the branch managed to stretch upward. Who’d have thought it could stretch like a string?
She thinks it’s time to stop. She can’t reach the apple. She’ll fall off the garden wall and into the moat.
«It’s too high!» Samantha complained to the Mind.
«But a giant could easily reach it,» replied the demon who remained below.
«Where have you seen any giants?» Samantha was ready to bite her elbows in frustration.
«He is in a grove of golden apple trees,» replied the Mind.
«There are no golden apple trees!»
The branch with the apple moved and slipped out of her hands. Samantha dodged and caught the tip of the branch. That’s it! Serpin would be hers! Reason must be downstairs stomping his feet in disappointment. Samantha plucked an apple and gasped. It was golden.
«Mind, how could an ordinary tree grow a golden apple?» Samantha looked down, but the agile demon was no longer in the orchard. But the golden apple suddenly heated up in her hand like a disk of sunlight and burned her fingers. Samantha struggled to hold it. She could not drop the fruit, or she would lose Serpin too. Had the Mind lied to her. How could she not have thought the demon could be devious?
Samantha looked into the moat on the other side of the wall. She felt dizzy.
«Watch out! Don’t fall!» A little voice said.
Samantha looked around. Were the fairies talking to her again? Or were the nightingales in the garden talking to her again?
«Straighten up or you’ll fall off the wall and into the moat!» Samantha received the next instruction. It was now clear that the voice was coming from the apple. Samantha opened her palm a little and noticed that on the side of the golden apple the outline of a face was shining.
«You’re alive!» Samantha almost fell straight into the moat against the golden apple’s advice. «You can talk!»
«I can sing too!» It bragged. «It’s time for you to climb back up the tree. The griffins that fly over the steppe might peck you on the wall, but they can’t see you in the foliage.»
She guessed the golden apple really does have the power to make her queen of Ivilor! It’s already worrying about her as a true queen!
«Thank you for taking care of me and giving me advice,» Samantha thanked.
«You’re welcome!» The apple replied. «Otherwise you won’t live to see the giant who punishes everyone who tears up golden apples.»
Samantha had a cold sweat on her forehead.
«You’ve got to be kidding me.»
Instead of answering, the apple sang in an incomprehensible, unfamiliar language. The golden mouth moved smoothly. The apple’s voice was as shrill as the clinking of metal. Samantha wanted to clamp her ears, but she couldn’t pull her hand away from the wall or she would fall. With her other hand she held the apple. Maybe she should throw it away. It was already clear that it wouldn’t lead her to the throne. It was all an insidious demon’s trick! The Mind had deliberately trapped her.
From afar there was a rumble of thunder. There were the footsteps of a giant. Who knew the golden apple would come alive and sing to summon him.
Samantha tried to climb down from the wall. It was awkward to climb down with one hand occupied. The branches of the apple tree scratched her skin until it bled. And the giant had already stretched his huge arm across the wall of the royal orchard.
«Help me!» Samantha dropped the apple and clung vigorously to the branches of the tree. She only needed to get four or five meters to the ground.
The giant’s grip crumbled the top of the wall. Stones flew in all directions.
«Mind! We’re under attack! Do something!» Samantha heard Serpin’s excited voice.
«Don’t worry! Everything will work itself out!» The Mind picked up the fallen apple and led the king away from the garden.
No one else came to Samantha’s screams. Only a fairy flew out of the honeysuckle bushes, but when she saw the giant, she quickly skulked back.
«Don’t touch me! I didn’t pick the apple on purpose! It was the demon’s fault!» Samantha tried to justify herself, but to the giant her voice was no louder than a mosquito’s squeak.
A huge finger hooked Samantha’s collar. The luxurious silk of her dress cracked, exposing the fairy’s marked shoulder. Noticing the mark, the giant clenched his eyes as if he might go blind. He tossed Samantha aside like a bug, then turned and stomped back.
It was a miracle Samantha fell on the branches instead of the hard gravel path beneath them. The thundering footsteps were getting farther away. The giant was gone, but the breach at the top of the wall remained. Around it, curious fairies were already hovering.