Gallery of magical portraits
Edwin didn’t show up until an hour later. The door itself swung open in front of him. He most definitely did not put the key in the lock or touch the door. The lock clicked and opened on its own. She guessed that’s what wizards always do, that’s why all doors are open to them.
Edwin was wearing a new silk robe embroidered with a pattern of salamanders. He hadn’t changed into a camisole for some reason.
«Salamanders are fire creatures, aren’t they?» Patricia looked at the pattern. She felt like a queen herself, dressed in a luxurious purple gown with a long train. The only thing missing was a crown, but the helpful pixies had fixed her hair with tortoise combs.
«Let’s go to the feast,» Edwin ignored the question.
Patricia wanted to rebuke him for locking her in, but her tongue felt numb. She had to follow Edwin in silence. The salamanders embroidered on his robe seemed to wriggle as if alive.
The island castle was striking in its grim splendor. The first floor was replaced by bridges and columns that propped up the upper galleries. The walls were decorated with a string of paintings in exquisite frames. Here one could see gilding, silver, and frames made of precious stones. In the past, Patricia would have gotten a pirate’s thrill at the sight of such treasures, but for some reason she didn’t want to rob Edwin. Instead of taking anything, she just walked around looking at the sapphires and rubies, her magic saber hovering over her head as if it were protecting her from ghosts.
Patricia found it odd that all the paintings were portraits of ladies only. Apparently, Edwin liked to look at the image of beauties. There were blondes, brunettes, shades and redheads. Even the portrait of a pretty girl with dark skin was framed in an expensive frame of emeralds.
«It’s an island princess,» Edwin explained. «Palmyra.»
The background of the portrait did indeed show palm trees, peacocks, and a tropical coastline.
«What island is she from?» Patricia asked.
«Her island no longer existed.»
«Was it destroyed by the flood or by dragons?»
«It was a long time ago,» Edwin walked past the portrait of Palmyra. There were other paintings hanging in front. Patricia paid more attention to the elegant frames than to the beauties. Jasper, jade, carnelian, turquoise, onyx, even diamonds – everything was used in the frame design. The frames themselves were oval, rectangular, square and even diamond-shaped or polygonal. One frame consisted entirely of live butterflies. Patricia jerked her hand away, barely realizing it. On another frame sat a wreath of angry pixies. It seemed they were half stuck in the gilding and couldn’t get out. There were frames made of flowers, thorns, bright fall leaves, shells, and even snowflakes. Patricia touched a snow frame and felt the cold. The snow was real. Only a wizard could create such a frame for a painting. A portrait framed with shells and pearls looked suspiciously like a mermaid’s.
The most modest frame was made of grass, reeds, and straw, but the weaving was so fine that the frame seemed like a masterpiece.
«It adorned a portrait of a simple country girl who was so beautiful that her image was worth immortalizing,» Edwin explained.
Patricia had the feeling that the portrait of the wheat-haired beauty was watching her with a lively gaze. What if Edwin had imprisoned living women in portraits? Patricia had heard that magicians could do that. She decided to test the master of the castle and said deliberately.
«I noticed that the collection is missing a portrait of the most beautiful girl in the universe – the goddess Alais. Have you overlooked her?»
«How do you know about her?» Edwin marveled. «Until now, only magical creatures had honored her.»
How does she know about the golden goddess of dawn and all magic creatures? Patricia didn’t remember it herself. It must have been the King of Opal who had spoken of Alais.
«I don’t remember,» she admitted honestly.
Edwin decided to respond to honesty with honesty.
«The only portraits in this gallery are those of women I knew personally. I have not yet met the goddess Alais, but the prophets say it is only temporary. Someday she will emerge from the deserts, when she’s tired of playing with the lives of earthly kings. Our meeting is a foregone conclusion. When it will take place is only a matter of time.»
The gallery stretched into infinity. Patricia was tired of the variety of portraits and their frames. The images of women seemed alive. The paintings smelled like magic. It reminded Patricia of her enemy and his niches with the remains of former queens.
«Are you, by any chance, working with the King of Opal?» She asked Edwin.
«It is not in the slightest.»
«But you’re a wizard too.»
«I’m on my own.»
«What’s your connection to the dragon ship?»
This time Edwin didn’t answer right away.
«There is a connection,» he said cryptically, «though I thought it had been lost long ago.»
«What do you mean?»
«It would take too long to explain.»
«So you control the dragon ship?»
«It is not me!» Edwin looked away, as if he wanted to hide his gaze.
«Then who is?»
«The fire ship you saw off my island runs itself. But can it be called a living thing now? I can tell you one thing for sure. It’s a danger to you.»
«A couple of times it passed by without igniting the part of the sea where I was swimming.»
«Not you, but your pirate ship with its terrifying crew,» Edwin grinned. «You’ve got quite a company this time, even two village fairies.»
«Not village fairies, they are wandering fairies.»
«It’s practically the same thing.»
Patricia couldn’t object because she’d never seen a village fairy in her life. Those fairies that nested in the court of the King of Opal, were a refined society.»
«You are the only worthy member of the crew of „The Bloodsucker,“ so I invited only you,» Edwin admitted.
«The master of the castle invited a pirate captain? I don’t believe it,» Patricia kept her hand on the hilt of her saber. Surprisingly, the saber didn’t fight. Magical weapons are sensitive to danger.
«The master of the castle has invited you, whoever you are.»
The candelabrum flew ahead of Edwin. Or did it just seem that way? Patricia rubbed her eyes.
The portraits of the beauties resembled the Milky Way. All the women were like stars.
«How many portraits is it!»
«It is more than a thousand.»
«That was not a question.»
«I’ve given you an answer. Does it suit you?»
«What do I care? It’s your family.»
«It’s not really mine.»
«It’s strange that your family is all women. They’re very beautiful, but there’s not a single man among them. It doesn’t even look like a family. They must be the castle owner’s favorites, right?»
«They’re all the castle owner’s wives.»
Edwin must have been referring to the former owner. It was unlikely that he had married so many times himself. In any case, the fairy heads said he had only one wife.
«The owner of the castle has so many wives! I don’t believe it!»
«Why is it not?»
Patricia remembered that even the King of Opal didn’t have so many wives, though he only married to sacrifice his wife, but she only speculated aloud:
«One would have to live an eternity to have time to marry them all.»
«Who told you that the castle master didn’t live forever?»
«So you’re saying that the castle master is an immortal being.»
«Why wouldn’t he be?» Edwin’s eyes glittered strangely. «You yourself control an entire team of immortal beings and you don’t believe in the existence of another immortal creature?»
«None of my team members have married a thousand times each, even as an immortal.»
«The master of this castle wouldn’t have either, but he had no choice.»
«Why is it?»
«He’s a dragon.»
Patricia was stunned.
«Is it a dragon? Is he in this castle?»
«Don’t be afraid! He doesn’t come here very often.»
«Comes here, not sails here?»
«Is there a difference?»
«I like dragons that fly better.»
«Why is it?»
«They’re more gallant.»
Edwin laughed.
«What’s so funny?» Patricia took offense. «It’s a tragedy at sea because of one water dragon.»
«Is it a tragedy for pirates?» Edwin grinned again. «Well, I’m not a pirate to share your grief over a burned sea.»
«You have to be sympathetic, or you’ll be known as an unfeeling chump. Does your dragon already have a reputation for arson and debauchery?»
«He is an arsonist, yes, but not a libertine. The dragon is a one-woman man,» Edwin frowned. «I wanted to love only one chosen girl, but you made me love many, because you came to live in their bodies, and I had to search for you again and again. I looked for you so long. I thought I’d lost you. And now you’re in a new body.»
Yes, he’s crazy! Patricia was frightened and felt a pang of regret. It was a shame that such a handsome young man had turned out to be insane. Love would never work with a madman. He would be gentle now, and then he would think he was a dragon and strangle his beloved.
Edwin touched her hair.
«It’s like a flame! I’ve always loved flames. A girl with hair the color of flame is a dragon’s girl!»
«I mean, for the master of the castle! But he has too many wives already!»
«I mean for me!» Edwin clarified.
So he didn’t mean the former castle master, but himself! Patricia glanced at the useless saber that hovered nearby, but did not try to defend her. In front of Edwin, even the magic saber was fading. Could it be that magic weapons don’t touch crazy people? Or was it powerless against dragons? During her stay on the island, Patricia had concluded that it was possible to communicate with a dragon, but it was better to run away from a mad dragon. She turned on her heels.
Would they let her escape the island? The fairies’ heads can’t hold her back. A flock of dragons hovering over the castle would be more dangerous.
«Patricia,» Edwin called out to her. He said her name with difficulty, as if it disgusted him. Or did he want to call her something else?
«Don’t go! Just because I’ve had so many wives doesn’t mean I’m so bad that you have to run away from me.»
«So all of these were your wives?» Patricia turned around reluctantly.
Edwin nodded. He seemed to look a little guilty, as if he was sorry for them all. He hadn’t nailed them all with dragon claws, had he? In a fit of madness, a dragon will do anything! He was dangerous to be around, but for some reason Patricia didn’t want to leave him. Being near him was like being in a fairy tale. Edwin was as handsome as people could ever be. Even in the darkness, his hair and skin glimmered.
«Where have they all gone?» Patricia asked about the island master’s wives.
«They are gone!»
«Are they dead?»
«It is sort of! Centuries have passed. Mortal women don’t live that long.»
«So if you married me, I’d be dead in a century and you’d choose a new wife? At least mourn for a century for decency’s sake before you remarry! You are polygamist!» Patricia was so angry she wanted to fight. It was jealousy. She had never felt anything like this before she met Edwin. Her heart felt like needles, and over her head she felt as if Medea Shai’s dark wings were flapping and a fairy’s voice was whispering in her mind: «He is mine, not yours, for you will die, but I am a fairy, only I can live with the dragon for all eternity».
How sad! And how realistic! Patricia even glanced up at the ceiling, but the clots of darkness beneath it were not forming into the figure of a fairy queen. So Medea Shai wasn’t here, only her magic was still warding off Edwin’s rivals.
«Don’t be angry! Do you want a present?» Edwin treated Patricia like a capricious child and decided to humor her. He exhaled a thin jet of flame that formed into a large fire rose that hung straight up in the darkness.
Patricia recoiled from the fiery flower.
«I’m not taking that!»
«Don’t worry. It won’t burn your fingers!»
Patricia walked past her defiantly, but the fire rose followed her through the air, dispelling the gloom.
«You used to love roses,» Edwin reminded her.
«I like roses, but I don’t like magicians! Your magic tricks annoy me,» Patricia wanted to hurt Edwin. In fact, she hated only one wizard, the King of Opal, and that was for an objective reason. The king had deprived her of her family. Patricia did not consider practicing magic a sin. She stared jealously at the portraits as she walked through the gallery. The gallery seemed endless.
«I thought the castle had another owner before you, and at least some of the wives belonged to him,» she sulked resentfully.
«There was no other owner before me. I built this castle myself on the high seas. Do you like it here?»
«It has good defenses,» Patricia listened to the roaring of the dragons above the towers. «You can’t be attacked from the sea, and there’s no land in sight.»
«You think there’s not enough land and lush gardens? Gardens can be created on land,» Edwin breathed out another stream of flame, and it formed into orange trees, fruit bushes, flowers, and hanging plants. They stretched along galleries, arcades, and colonnades whose bases rested directly on the sea bubbling beneath the castle.
The structure was very fanciful. It is clear that it was built by a magician. The pillars supporting the passageways and galleries obviously rest on the sea bottom. She wondered how deep it is. Would a storm blow the castle away? Does magic save it from flooding and storms?»
«It’s beautiful, but risky,» Patricia characterized.
Her companion hummed understandingly. If the fortress collapses into the sea, the dragons living in it will fly away. Could Edwin fly? How is he going to escape if his castle sinks? Maybe we shouldn’t guess, but ask him directly. He’s there now, even though his mind seems far away. Edwin looks so unapproachable! Even when he is close, it seems that he is actually standing on a pedestal somewhere, and you can’t reach him.
«Your fortress is built right on the water?»
«It’s not safe on the water these days, because the sea can turn fiery at any moment. You’d be safer on land. I warned you not to stay on the sea.»
«It was not you, it was the dragon.»
«As you can see, I have many dragons.»
«But the golden dragon is not one of them. And I was warned of danger by a golden dragon, if only an ultimatum written in fiery lines could be considered a warning.»
«I have one golden dragon,» Edwin admitted reluctantly.
«Where is it?»
«Probably is right inside me.»
Patricia didn’t understand him and wanted to ask what Edwin meant, but suddenly the golden dragon’s glittering silhouette appeared in the huge niche. Patricia cried out and backed away, but the dragon didn’t move. Edwin stood motionless as well. It was as if he and the dragon were copying each other. The dragon stood with its claws on the floor, folded its wings behind its back, and was in no hurry to attack. Edwin was also facing the dragon. Patricia didn’t immediately weigh the differences. It was as if the dragon and Edwin were reflecting each other.
At the risk of being burned, Patricia stepped forward to test her hunch and fumbled for the mirror. The golden dragon was just a reflection.
«So you’re a werewolf!» Patricia recoiled. She wanted to run, but the train of her luxurious dress was stuck in a crack in the floor. That’s why the pirate needed more modest clothes! Lush dresses are beautiful, but they’re no good for fighting and running.
Patricia frantically thought of what she should do. She was caught like a mouse in a trap. It was impossible to tear off the fabric. The dress was made of a magic fabric that wouldn’t tear. The pirate’s saber hovers nearby, but she won’t touch Edwin.
As if nothing had happened, Edwin leaned over and released Patricia’s train. The gesture seemed gallant, not dragon-like. But here, Edwin’s fingernails had sharpened. They were golden and resembled claws.
«Don’t worry. I won’t turn into a dragon right now,» he promised, but a dragon shadow flickered in his gaze.
«So you’re the leader of the entire dragon pack?»
«You could say that.»
«What would you say?»
«I don’t like to brag about my titles and ranks.»
«Then you don’t look like the King of Opal.»
Well, that was nice. Patricia was looking for the opposite of the King of Opal in men. She seemed to have found her ideal. But the perfect man had dragon claws.
«Can you become a young man of fire?»
«It is sometimes.»
«And you left a box of ette candy in my quarters?»
«It’s not hard for a dragon to stick its claw through the window of the captain’s quarters.»
«And you spent the night with me in the form of a fiery young man?»
Edwin seemed surprised that she hadn’t forgotten that. He tried to put his arm around Patricia’s waist, but she dodged him.
«Then why was your companion a fairy queen named Medea Shai?»
The expression on Edwin’s face changed instantly. Sincerity and gallantry were blown away.
«It seems that you like not just one girl, but all the beauties at once: both mortals and fairies.»
Perhaps it’s their heads that later adorn the spears at the castle. What if he beheads her in the morning? Did he spend the night with all the beheaded fairies before he killed them?
«Do you really think so?» Edwin’s voice became frustrated and tired. «Come, I’ll show you something.»
After all, he had already shown her a stunning gallery of his ex-wives. Of course, it’s no wonder an immortal being has so many women to choose from. After all, he lives forever and they die. If an immortal being is attracted to mortal women, this outcome is logical. However, why couldn’t a powerful magician invent an elixir of immortality for his beloved? Surely he could! So Edwin likes being a polygamist. Patricia was angry and bit her lip. On the one hand, it’s all right. There are no obstacles, because all of Edwin’s wives are already dead. On the other hand, he is not making a new choice forever, but only for a century. At the end of the century, Patricia will die and he will find a new companion. It’s all predestined! She will not be his one and only love, and he would like it very much!
Patricia furtively admired Edwin. What a pity that the most beautiful creature in the world turned out to be so vicious!
The gallery of women’s portraits did not end. There seemed to be over a thousand of them. Patricia noticed a couple of ethereal beauties among the mortal women and was stunned. There were fairies, sylphs and sirens.
«Are these your wives too?»
Edwin didn’t want to answer. He bit his lip nervously. His blood was fiery. Patricia was not mistaken when she saw it ignite on her saber and the ubiquitous Beatrice burn herself on it. Though why be surprised? It’s no wonder the dragon lord has fiery blood.
«How do you keep the dragons in line? Is it through magic? Then it’s strange why other mages haven’t poached them from you. The King of Opal, for example, has always dreamed of having his own dragons.»
«It’s not enough to be a wizard to control them.»
«Then what else do you need besides magic?»
«It is an origin.»
«Is it an origin that bestows fiery blood and the ability to turn into a dragon?»
«Yes,» Edwin nodded unashamedly.
«So you don’t become a werewolf, you’re born one?»
«I was born a dragon, but I had to become human, and then I had to become a dragon again. I was confused myself. I thought it was a curse, but one day it turned out to be a blessing. Someday I’ll tell you about how I thought I was just the youngest son of a mortal king with no right to inherit the throne.»
Patricia thought for a moment. How his story was similar to the biography of the emperor of all magical creatures. It had to be juxtaposed at once. Edwin is golden-haired and radiant, and the dragon makes him golden. The island is also called golden dragon’s island. It all fits! If she got to visit the emperor of all magic in the universe, she could only dream of such an ally. With his patronage, she’ll defeat the King of Opal in a heartbeat. She won’t need a fleet. After all, the Magic Emperor is the most powerful, and he likes her. She should have taken advantage of his sympathy right away, but she looked at him like a fool in love and did nothing to gain his favor. All because Edwin himself was far more desirable than all the benefits he could offer. Should she ask him for a favor now? Or maybe give him an ultimatum right away? Edwin clearly wants to make her his next wife. It is in her power to make a condition. She will only marry him if he destroys the King of Opal.
Patricia hesitated to make a condition. For a moment she even felt like giving up revenge to stay with Edwin. Why take revenge on anyone. She could just be happy. Except Edwin doesn’t seem like a simple lover. He seems to be pining for someone who’s gone. She wondered which one? Patricia looked jealously at the portraits. They were all equally good.
«It is this one!» Edwin led her to a portrait of a dark-haired fairy, which for some reason had a special place in the gallery. It hung in the center niche, and wattles of red roses hung along the walls of the niche.
Patricia looked closely at the portrait. It definitely depicted a fairy queen, because the dark-haired head was adorned with a crown of golden wings, roses, and magical symbols. But it wasn’t Medea Shai, it was a different fairy queen.
«Do you recognize her?» Edwin asked.
«That’s the queen of the fairies.»
«That’s right.»
«But where did she come from? Did the fairies have another queen before Medea Shai?»
Edwin was disappointed and released Patricia’s hand. The girl immediately felt discomfort. It had felt so good when Edwin stood behind her and put his arm around her waist. Now only the pirate’s saber was hovering nearby, stubbornly continuing to play the role of Patricia’s bodyguard.
«You are hypocrite!» Patricia scolded it. «Won’t you protect me from the dragon?»
Edwin only grinned. He was amused by the situation.
«A queen of fairies and other magical creatures named Rose was my first wife,» he explained.
Patricia almost blurted out that the beautiful woman was very lucky, but she bit her tongue.
«Then where had she gone? Everyone knows that fairies do not die? Did you divorce her?»
«No.»
«Then how could you remarry? Do dragons have harems?»
«No,» Edwin echoed again.
«Stop speaking in riddles!»
«Am I speaking in riddles?»
«You are deliberately confusing me!»
«I want you to remember everything yourself.»
«What am I supposed to remember?» Patricia was angry.
«That the real queen of the fairies is you!»
Edwin is playing a trick on her. How can she be the queen of the fairies? The winged brunette in the portrait was divinely beautiful. Patricia envied both her looks and her luck in love. Wow! She was Edwin’s first sweetheart. What had happened to her afterward? Couldn’t the dragon have clawed the fairy out of jealousy?
«I am definitely not the queen of the fairies.»
Patricia thought she would disappoint Edwin, but he had an opinion. There was no changing the dragon’s mind.
«I’ve had many wives, but I’ve only really been married once,» he confessed.
«Is it to the queen of the fairies?»
«She wasn’t a fairy queen to begin with. She was the daughter of a sorceress princess and my rival. I wanted revenge by kidnapping her, but it turned out I fell in love. Rose became a thorn that lodged in my heart.»
«It’s all romantic, but I don’t want to hear about it!» Patricia apologized. Who likes to hear about their rival? Even as she covered her ears, however, Edwin’s words reached her ears. He had a way of speaking that was impossible to escape.
«Then I gave up propriety, revenge, pride, and married the daughter of my sworn enemies. We lived happily for a while. A century or two passed in harmony. And then Rose wanted to play. She got bored, or maybe her family’s unholy legacy finally kicked in. She decided to take some of the power away from me. And so began a game that lasted forever. Rose made it clear that since she had disappointed me, she could be someone else, and the endless masquerade began.»
Edwin looked around the endless gallery.
«I’ve had my troubles with Rose. There’s a reason she’s named after a beautiful thorny flower. Its thorns can bruise you to death, but it is so beautiful that it is beyond me to destroy it. And now she’s also multifaceted.»
Patricia didn’t understand what multifarious meant, but the number of portraits in the gallery confused her. Had Edwin really been with all these beauties?
«Why did you have to remarry if you loved your first wife so much?» She reproached again.
Edwin sighed heavily. Patricia had to pull away to avoid getting burned by his fiery sigh.
«You wanted variety so badly that now you’re mad at yourself?»
«Rose wanted variety, not me. Hence are all those portraits. That’s her.»
«Don’t lie! All these portraits are of different women!»
«Are you sure about that?»
«I’ve heard that dragons are cunning. Don’t confuse me with another dragon lie!»
«I’m not! Can’t you remember? All these portraits are yours! It’s starting with the Fairy Queen Rose. It’s all you!»
This is madness! Edwin’s confused, and so are the mermaids. Well, why are all the magical creatures picking on her and stubbornly wanting her as their queen?
Patricia could allow that the queen of the fairies could change appearances, but she couldn’t even imagine that she herself could turn out to be the queen of the fairies. It was impossible! If she was a fairy queen, she would have wrested the throne of Opal long ago.
«Patricia! Bianca! Fleur! Rosanna! Rosabella! Igraine! Stella! Boudoir! Morgana! Morwenna! Isabella!» Edwin suddenly began to enumerate. «You had so many names.»
Patricia only liked the name Morwenna. It was the name of the most famous woman pirate who had sailed the seas before Patricia. After all the plundering, she wasn’t captured or hanged. She just disappeared like she was magic. Strangely enough, her portrait was also in Edwin’s gallery.
«I think Morwenna’s portrait of the Lady of the Seas has my magic saber on it,» Patricia was discouraged.
«Morwenna was even harder to negotiate with as you!»
«Was Morwenna, the storm of the seas, also your wife?»
«Does that seem strange to you?»
«No, it explains where she went when neither the authorities nor vengeful pirates could find her. She hid in your island dragon castle, and now her bones are rotting here somewhere.»
«There is no crypt in the castle,» Edwin argued.
«Then where are the bodies of all your wives?»
«That’s a big question for me, too.»
Patricia was stunned.
«So you didn’t kill them all?»
Edwin shook his head negatively.
«Then why don’t you know where they go? Dragons can fly, can’t they? Is it hard for them to find someone by following them from the sky?»
«Where they all are only you can know.»
«You’re wrong!»
«Patricia,» Edwin said her name again with difficulty; he probably wanted to call her Rose. «Why do you refuse to believe that you are you?»
Yes, because she is one! How could she have fragmented into a thousand women who lived and died centuries ago? She did not speak her thoughts aloud, so as not to irritate Edwin. She still had to get his support. It was better to indulge him for now. If he wanted to think of her as the embodiment of all dragon wives, let him. She’ll have to make a concession to him so he’ll do her a favor in return. Who but the lord of all dragons could guarantee her victory over Opal? Next to Edwin alone, the entire fleet of ghosts and even the ships of the watermen seem but a toy armada.