Swan and Dragon. Dragon Empire

She wanted to ask the stranger who he was. She had seen him before in some kind of ghostly, terrible dream, and now he was there. A phosphoric glow seemed to emanate from his face. A pair of curls fell over his smooth forehead. Oh yes, those curls. They are so reminiscent of… Rose tried to shake off the unpleasant sensation, but could not. The obvious cannot be denied. This young man has hair exactly the same color as dragon scales. Even in the dark, they shine with pure gold.

“Am I sleeping?” Rose asked.

He shook his head silently. The wolf howl outside the window now resembled a lullaby. A faint, wavering light fell like a filamentous veil on the walls.

The golden-haired youth walked for a second to the stove, poked the ash with a poker, and then returned back to Rose. He thrust a pewter mug of steaming drink into her hands.

Rose took a sip. The hot liquid burned her throat, and a pleasant warmth spilled over her body. The aroma of roasted meat spread through the hut and made her feel hungry.

The snowstorm outside the window was getting worse. The wind howled monotonously. Singing, inhuman voices sounded in time with him in the trumpets.

“Winter!” Rose whispered. “Winter has already come!”

Only now she woke up from dreams and began to really look at the world. But what was the use of looking for reality in a world that in an instant acquired a fabulous gloss. In this transformed universe, anything could happen.

“What month is it now?” The princess asked.

“January,” came the reply.

“How long did I stay in the courtroom?”

“For the uninitiated, the days there fly like minutes. Sorcerers prefer violent entertainment. A child who has been imprisoned for six months is released as an old man. For a number of reasons, the entrance to the island is closed to ordinary people. In addition, very often sorcerers themselves cannot keep track of the passage of time in their possessions. They are lucky because they are immortal.”

The young man looked straight at Rose and smiled his cold, charming smile. Judging by his clothes, he was a nobleman. The blue camisole embroidered with gray pearls further emphasized the whiteness of the skin. And a sword with a silver hilt fastened to a sling indicated an aristocratic origin. According to the law, only titled persons and their eldest sons had the right to carry such weapons. Rose studied the chiseled profile of the young man for a long time before she decided to ask:

“Who are you?”

“Don’t you remember me?” He wondered. “Oh yes! I completely forgot. I’m branded now.”

He stressed the last word. The voice now rang with heartache. The right hand clenched into a fist in impotent rage and fell against the wall. From such a blow, the plaster crumbled, leaving a dent in the wall.

“I don’t remember anything other than a frantic flight in the sky and a flaming village,” Rose almost shouted.

With the sounds of her melodious voice, the old calmness returned to the young man. Only a rebellious fire lurked in his eyes.

“I didn’t want to submit to fate,” he said apologetically. “Everyone has their own fate in life. My mentors decided everything for me.”

“What are you talking about?” Rose interrupted him. “You also fell victim to the dragon?”

“Dragon?” he looked at her with such amazement, as if he had heard the name for the first time. For a moment, Rose thought that a black winged shadow flashed through his clear blue eyes.

A frightening silence hung in the room. Without support, the fire in the furnace went out. The coals were smoldering. One could hear the winter wind moaning and raging in the chimney.

“I am afraid,” Rose said under her breath.

The mysterious friend immediately hurried to her, took the empty mug and covered the princess with a blanket better.

“You need to eat and sleep,” he said, “and tomorrow we’ll decide what to do next.”

“Do you know what happened to me?” Rose ventured to ask.

He nodded in the affirmative.

“Do you also know the hunchback in the crown?” she immediately asked the second question.

“This is the leader of all who live on the island. When the darkest of the court sorcerers were driven out for their cruelty, he gathered them all under his banner. The hunchback rescued even the most dangerous sorcerers, sentenced to a fierce execution, so that they would serve him. He wanted to acquire such power and greatness that no master of shadows had. The closed island, shrouded in darkness, has become the refuge of all magicians who are ready to worship shadow and evil.”

Rose noticed that the narrator clearly knew more than he said aloud. If only she could read his thoughts, unlock the heavy locks and remove the fetters from the secret that enveloped this golden-haired head.

The food was surprisingly tasty. After the meal, Rose was drawn to sleep again. While she fell asleep, a gentle multi-string voice still sounded in the darkness, enveloping her in enchantment. She wanted to raise her leaden-filled eyelids and once again take a look at the stately aristocrat, who, like a statue, sat by the cooled stove and looked at the black ash as if it was reviving in his memory a long-gone pain and thirst for revenge.

The night is over. A cold dawn broke. Rose woke up and looked around the empty hut. The mysterious aristocrat is already gone. Without it, the meager interior seemed even more squalid. Only something sparkled on the table. The girl jumped up from the bunk and ran to the table. There was a wallet full of coins, and a short note that she could take the money for herself.

So the golden-haired youth was not just a dream or a spirit. This is evidenced by a piece of paper covered with even beaded handwriting and a purse with money.

She can’t go back to Mara. And in her native kingdom, the war has already begun. Rose did not know where to go. Plus, she was afraid of the dragon’s wrath. What if he goes after her? She didn’t even know who snatched her from his claws. Or maybe the dragon himself left her to die in the winter forest, and the young nobleman found her and brought her to the hut.

There was something strange and mystical about this beautiful young man. Since he knew all the ins and outs of sorcerers, it means that he himself knew how to conjure. If you believe the legends, then some mortals are related to elves, fairies or even dragons. After all, he could be one of them and scare the monster with his charms or use family ties.

The small hut was most likely intended for a gamekeeper. But whose forests are these? Where to find a guide who will lead her out of the thicket. As soon as Rose thought about it, the glass in the window snapped. Someone’s jaws snapped. Is there a wolf wandering around the hut? However, instead of a wolf’s face, a luminous face with two amethyst eyes peeped into the low window. Rose immediately recognized her familiar snake. He found her again.

The door opened by itself, as if someone had opened it from the outside. The snake’s tail, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, slid over the threshold, lifted itself off the floor and waved gracefully, as if beckoning.

The princess wanted to take a blanket with her, but honesty did not allow this. It’s enough that the stranger left her a purse full of gold. You also can’t stay in someone else’s hut for the whole winter. Rose mentally said goodbye to her mysterious companion and ran out into the frosty morning.

The snow sparkled so brightly and dazzlingly that it hurt the eyes. The icy air burned her nostrils and throat. Between the trees, covered with frost, lay a flat path, as if someone had specially cleared it after a snowstorm.

A light ball gown, unfortunately, did not save her from the cold. Frost chilled to the bone. Rosa was already thinking about whether to return to the hut, when she suddenly saw that the same winged handsome man was hovering between the trees right in the air. The serpent coiled in rings so that it resembled a gilded chain on an invisible gate. Its wings flapped quickly and often, so that the whole serpentine body gently swayed over the snowdrifts.

Then the serpent changed its position, straightened like a string and disappeared around the bend in the road. Rose ran after him, hoping that he would lead her out of the forest. She quickly ran after the flying kite, but could not catch up with him. Fluttering wings and a flying ribbon tail showed her the way. But there was a respectful distance between her and the guide.

Apart from them, there was not a soul in the forest. Even the wolves are hiding somewhere. If the fair-haired aristocrat left along this road, then the snow had already covered the tracks.

Rose began to lag behind her fellow traveler. She tried to run faster, so as not to lose sight of at least the golden glow, rapidly flying forward. Snow crunched, brocade skirts painfully whipped the princess on the legs, but she did not stop for a moment.

Soon a gap appeared between the trees. The kite slowed down a little and slowly flew into the snowy clearing. A two-story tavern with a colorful sign towered proudly over a small pond covered with ice. Rose rushed forward across the clearing. Halfway through, she stopped and turned around to thank her guide, but that was already gone.

It got colder and colder. Lightly powdered snow. Rose wrapped her arms around her shoulders to keep warm. Her outfit was in a deplorable state. The puffs on the sleeves are crumpled, and snowflakes are stuck in her hair.

Rose knocked on the tavern door. She was afraid that in this form she would not be allowed to spend the night. However, the hostess immediately recognized the girl as a noble lady and was gladly ready to fulfill any of her orders.

As soon as Rose expressed a desire to buy warm clothes, the hostess recalled that there were things in the upper room that she would be ready to sell. There were, however, several chests with cheap clothes. Rosa bought trousers, boots and a lined camisole that looks more like a jacket. She tied her own dress in a knot. It was not possible to remove the ring from her hand. It froze to the skin so that Rose could no longer feel it. But the stone on it faded and faded.

Rose looked out the upper room window. A blizzard began. Snow, like a white shroud, covered the entire visible space.

Fate is insidious and whimsical. Until recently, life was easy and calm. And now the existence of the Rose has been clouded by three mysteries. A flying serpent, a powerful golden dragon and a mysterious youth with an angelic face. She didn’t even want to remember the incident in the courtroom. The words “Curse of the Swan” sounded like a terrible hum in her head. Rose shivered chilly. She breathed at the window and with a trembling finger drew the outline of a swan feather on the misted glass. This symbol reminded of how difficult it is to be a defenseless bird in a flock of hunters – sorcerers.

Loud, booming voices sounded below. Apparently, new guests have come to the tavern. Rose came out of the room and began to descend the side stairs, trying to keep in the shadows all the time. Precaution today was not superfluous.