Right hand. Prince of Darkness

The man, who must have been the leader of the party, signaled to the others to dismount. Two approached the body of the rapist, the latter remained in place, taking the reins from the hands of the officer. He approached me and deigned to introduce himself:

– I’m Quentin Lott, head of security patrol. The Villa is usually quiet, but this night we decided to drive around the area. I see that our intuition did not deceive us.

His voice softened noticeably, and I made a mental note to myself – the tears of a beautiful young girl have a great effect on men. And Ville, apparently, is a local town on the outskirts of the county of Thornfolk that interests me. That is why my journey started from here.

– Tell me what happened.

I sobbed for order, but did not have time to open my mouth: one of the comrades called out to the officer:

– Quentin, there’s a body! – And for greater accuracy added: – Dead.

The look that Lott had given me turned stern again. The law enforcement officer clearly did not feel joy from the circumstances of our meeting. And that’s right: what is the order from his position? The corpse of a recently strangled man, and an unfamiliar girl who appeared from nowhere at the crime scene. Order is when murderers kill, rapists rape, and respectable citizens sit at home behind seven locks.

“So what happened here anyway?” The officer furrowed his eyebrows.

I burst into tears more than before.

– What are you, Quent, really? One of those who examined the body approached us. – You see, the girl is quite upset.

It seems that when communicating with each other, the members of the squad do not worry too much about the hierarchy. It is not surprising: there are few people, all from a tiny town, I suppose they know each other since childhood.

The guy gently stroked my head. This one did not stuff himself into lovers, he simply decided to take part.

– Judge for yourself, – he again turned to the main thing, – they strangled the peasant – they didn’t poison him, they didn’t put a dagger in his back. Strangled, moreover, it seems, with bare hands, and he looks so healthy. Do you think a girl could?

– Okay, I see it myself, – Lott grumbled. – Why are you mad at me? Need to figure it out. And she is a witness.

– Will you tell? – affectionately asked the, that stood nearby. I nodded, wrinkling my nose. – That’s good. Did you know him? The boy nodded his head towards the corpse.

– Not. He attacked me. I wanted to rape. – I sobbed again and puffed out my chest, showing off the dress, which this infection really managed to wrinkle and even tear at the seam. The men nodded sympathetically, believed, therefore. -And then a miracle happened! The man rode on a white stallion. Young, noble, perhaps. Beautiful. I rolled my eyes romantically. – He dismounted – and ka-a-ak will push this bastard away! They ka-a-ak will grapple in a fight! My soul is gone. And then he fell. And this one, the handsome one, looked at me like that, they say, don’t be afraid of anything, – I lowered my eyes down, pretending to be embarrassed, – jumped on a horse and galloped away. I didn’t even get to thank him. And now with hope she looked up at Lott. – Will you really find him? – Can you send me a message?

– Ugh you! he spat at his feet. – But we didn’t have enough to look for a prince on a white horse. All right, guys, get the body and let’s go. What’s your name? he asked, jumping into the saddle.

– Tess White. I am from a village near the Small Lake. Ask there, everyone knows me.

– Ask if you need it.

I looked after the guards and even waved to the friendly boy when he looked back. The wind quickly dried her tears, a faint smile played on her lips. You will not find any Tess White in the village, Mr. Chief of Security Patrol. And outside it is better not to look. It is of no use to you. Return home and offer a prayer to the Prince of Light for descending the hill safely and without loss.

Chapter 2

Ville was a quiet provincial town, so it is not surprising that any event aroused particular enthusiasm here. Today, the event was a wedding. The pandemonium of people forced me to linger, stopping my chariot for a while (it was by no means harnessed by a horse, as usual with the locals, but more on that later). However, I’m not offended, it was even curious to watch the course of this simple celebration.

The girls dressed up, weaved white, red and orange ribbons into their hair, fastened beads that were tasteless, as for me, around their necks. The men also tried to dress decently, with varying degrees of success. Traditional waistcoats or caftans were worn over the shirts, and even those who usually did not have such a habit tried to comb their hair.

It’s not worth talking about the bride and groom, these, of course, were discharged and happy with life. From the bride, it really blew with simple female happiness, insidiously waiting for her right outside the door of the temple. The groom smiled from ear to ear, as if his whole life was not supposed to turn over in just a quarter of an hour…

Wait, what is this?!

I sniffed. Humans do not have sense organs that could perceive witchcraft in the same way that hearing detects sound, and smell detects smell. But for me, this sensation was more like a scent, and therefore it seemed natural to breathe in through the nose. And the groom, it turns out, was bewitched! And, apparently, a solid potion was used.

I had to make an effort to pick up the drooping jaw. Now that’s fun! Here you have a boring provincial town! Maybe he is on the outskirts, but the passions boil cleaner here than in other dramatic plays. Y-yes, do not envy the guy. He comes to his senses in a few days, weeks – or months, depending on when the little wife stops feeding him her drug, but there is nowhere to go. A wife in front of the Prince of Light and people is serious, and by then, maybe the children will be on the way. The girl did her best!

I squinted, biting my lip slyly. One idea came to my mind. Why not have some fun? Step in and see what people do next. I smiled and quietly snapped my fingers.

The groom stumbled, blinked, turned his head in disorientation, as if he could not understand how he had ended up here. Of course he remembered everything. And how he made an offer, and how he came to the temple, and even how he stood here a minute ago with a happy smile of an idiot. Only now, when the witchcraft subsided, he assessed events in a completely different way and desperately tried to figure out how he had come to such a life. Why on earth did you decide to marry, especially on this misunderstanding in a white dress? The last thought was so clearly read on his face that I almost laughed out loud. And she leaned forward, eagerly absorbing other people’s emotions, trying not to miss a single second of the performance unfolding in front of the temple.

The bride touched the groom on the shoulder, looked anxiously into his eyes. It looked quite natural: the girl was worried about her faltering beloved. But at least two of those present – she and I – knew for sure that the cause of her concern lay elsewhere. Someone made a joke about men’s fear of marriage. Someone decided to blame the weather for everything: they say, in such heat, it won’t take long to lose consciousness. The rest picked up, offered to step under the canopy of the temple as soon as possible. The wedding spun and spun again, some sang, others hurried inside, new guests drove up, and amid the noise, din and flickering of festive dresses, it was no longer easy to catch the groom’s pale, hunted face. Nevertheless, I focused on it: everything else was much less interesting now.

Not more than a minute passed, but I think the groom felt ten years older. Emotions changed at a rapid pace. At first he was simply disoriented, then he was surprised, then he was on the verge of panic, and everything ended with doom. I sighed in disappointment. It is hardly worth expecting more from a person, but sometimes you want to make a mistake… Alas. It must be the fault of all social beings. You can resist the opinions of others, you can even rebel, but only under certain conditions. Not when dozens, if not hundreds of individuals are constantly watching you, and everyone is waiting for the same thing, and you don’t have time to think and mentally prepare.

And here is the result: a man dutifully goes down the aisle, although more than anything in the world he would like to be now far away. From the point of view of any court, it goes voluntarily. Public pressure doesn’t count. You can reject a girl, cancel an engagement, even not show up to your own wedding. But if he came – if you please, act according to the plan. Do not upset guests and future relatives. And do not care that one short scandal is much easier to endure than endless years with an unloved wife. Disappointing everyone at once is so terrible that a person does not even realize the full extent of his horror. He just doesn’t take it seriously. This fear has very ancient roots. Since then, when the disturber of the peace could well have been stoned, and even earlier – simply gnawed.

Well, the facts are there, the guy practically gave up. You can safely go further, the road has long been cleared. And yet something in the eyes of the groom is not completely extinguished. Maybe that’s why I decided to give him one last chance. And, catching his eye, she nodded to the empty seat in the wagon. Didn’t do anything more. I just kept watching to see what he did.

Alas, as expected, the representative of the human race disappointed – his gaze quickly lost interest. Turning away, the groom continued his way to the entrance to the temple, to which there were only a couple of steps. The bride babbled something joyful, and he nervously fiddled with a bracelet woven from fresh flowers, which the newlyweds traditionally wore. I think this decoration of life symbolizes the fragility of marital happiness. Personally, I can’t find any other explanation. Apparently, the degree of excitement of the guy went off scale, because he managed to break the stalk, and withered dandelions fell sadly on the steps.

As listless as the flowers, the groom bent down to pick up this dubious value, and suddenly, with unexpected agility, rushed away. Swiftly, without looking back, skirting the crowded guests at the temple porch. He briskly jumped over the low fence, as if he had specially trained ten times a day, and jumped into my chariot.

– Faster! he grunted, looking over his shoulder, “the sea of guests was restlessly wavering, and a wave of chase could overwhelm us at any second.

I beamed and waved my whip. My “animal”, disguised as a horse, did not even feel it. The mental command, or rather a request, because such a horse cannot be subdued by force, worked much better, and we rushed along the dusty road. Rashtang practically does not need a run: this creature from the world of Darkness loves speed. Now he had to restrain himself with all his strength, because if a horse, harnessed to a chariot to boot, picks up a hundred miles per hour, or, even better, flies over the earth, forgetting the laws of gravity… In a word, people may misunderstand this.

But they correctly understood something else: the groom was literally off the hook. Quite naturally, this worried the bride and her father. And that’s why the rest were worried… Probably, the reason is that they were deprived of the opportunity to rejoice (read: gloat) at the happiness of their neighbor. The crowd is always slow to think, but if it starts to act, it is better to stay away from it. Each individually can be a great guy or a charming woman, but in total, contrary to all the laws of mathematics, they are an insane and merciless creature. Another phenomenon of mankind that does not have a more or less decent explanation.

One way or another, the whole gang rushed after us in pursuit, the most frisky saddled their horses or jumped into their own chariots. The groom, turning around and firmly squeezing the back side with his fingers, watched the crowd with gnashing of teeth.

– Faster! he barked, almost commanding this time, but I wasn’t offended. And with pleasure I conveyed to the rashtang the request to speed up.

Is it necessary to specify with what joy he obeyed?

Exposing my face to the gusts of cool wind, I burst out laughing. The chase was in full swing. People ran, shouted, whistled, jumped, but although some managed to shorten the distance, they could not catch up with us. The chariot bounced over the potholes, the street quickly ran back, the forest loomed ahead. It was what was needed. For the sake of such an adventure, it was definitely worth driving through a small quiet town.

– They will catch up, – the groom shook his head, peering into the carts of especially zealous pursuers.

– No chance, – I grinned.

If the rashtang and I allowed some of them to come closer, it was only so that it would not be too boring.

– Listen, Eitan! – A guy of about twenty-five leaned dangerously over the edge, while the driver drove the chariot, not sparing the poor horse. – Stop! Come back before it’s too late! I understand, I got excited, it can happen to anyone. But it can’t be like that! I tell you as a friend!

– I’ve only known you for three days! – What, to the forces of Darkness, friend?! the groom yelled back, not even thinking of giving up.

We broke away from the pursuers, and he, turning his back to the chase, clutched his head and groaned:

– What kind of enchanting nonsense was going on here? It’s like I woke up from a nightmare, and the creatures from the dream are still chasing me. Or am I crazy? One Prince of Light will sort it out.

– The Prince of Light has nothing to do with it, – I said authoritatively. – The Prince of Darkness, by the way, too. It is exclusively the work of human hands. As in most cases, however. What is your fiancee’s name, by the way?