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Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 57
Two days later, Prince Rubets-Mosalsky was already in Tula and informed Dimitri that Fyodor and Maria Godunova had been poisoned. Having crossed himself, the tsarevich ordered to get ready and the next day went to Moscow. On the way, he drove into villages and villages, everywhere he was met with bread and salt, joyful cries and assurances of humility. The prince spoke kindly to everyone, promising to be not a judge, but a father.Finally, on June 20, 1605, Demetrius entered the capital through the Serpukhov Gates. Ahead of him marched the Polish guards, an equestrian squad with trumpets and fluttering banners, drummers marched behind them, priests with crosses walked sedately behind them, behind - Cossacks, archers in scarlet caftans and other troops. The procession was closed by a huge number of carriages and wagons, in which the boyars and prominent citizens from all over the Russian kingdom rode. In the midst of all this splendor, on a richly decorated horse, the prince rode in fu
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 58
Two days before his mother's arrival, Dimitri went to meet her. He himself wondered how eager he was to see this woman. During those fourteen years that he was in a new body, he got used to it and to the idea that Maria Nagaya was his mother. And now, previously deprived of maternal love, he was in a hurry to meet the one that would give him sincere, disinterested care.Dimitri was waiting for Mary in the village of Taininskoye, where rich tents were set up. In the early morning of the eighteenth of July, a messenger arrived with a message - the queen mother is following and "will soon be there." In impatience, the king jumped on his horse and galloped towards her.Soon the cortege of Maria Nagoya appeared. Dimitri set off his horse at a gallop, and, approaching, dismounted and rushed to his mother's carriage. She pulled back the curtain, looked at her son for a long time ... and tears gushed from her eyes. She opened the door and took Dimitri in her arms, and he clung to her chest an
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 59
Three more times Dimitri came to Xenia, trying to get her to talk. Every time she had her mother with her, whom he immediately sent away, but he did not succeed in dispelling the horror that fettered the girl at the sight of him. Gradually the king began to lose patience and get angry. “But what is it?” he thought furiously. He tried again and again to find the words, trying to get through to her heart, but nothing worked. The girl was mortally afraid of him, and at the slightest attempt by Dimitry to touch her, she pressed herself frightened against the wall. Her resistance turned on and irritated him. Finally, unable to stand it, he barked:- Don't you dare piss me off! My will is royal, I want to - I'll take it by force!Xenia cringed, huddled into a ball, but said nothing. Dimitri took a breath and said sternly:- God knows, I wanted to be kind. Next time, I hope you'll be nicer to me. And no - so do not blame me. You are my heart, and I do not intend to wait more.***The Pope se
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 60
Finally, the messengers of the Mnisheks arrived: Marina with her father and retinue drove up to Moscow. Demetrius ordered to send a carriage covered with silver and a dozen white horses to meet the bride. In the village of Krasnoe, Mnishekov was met with rich gifts by Demetrius' uncle Mikhail Nagoi and Prince Rubets-Mosalsky.Such a huge number of guests needed to be accommodated somewhere, and Dimitri ordered the Sloboda and townspeople to temporarily transfer their homes in China and the White City to the Poles, but this was not enough, and the tsar ordered the Arbat and Chertolsky monasteries to be vacated in order to accommodate foreign guests there. Moscow murmured. But Dimitri, excited by the upcoming meeting, did not pay attention to this. Having changed into simple clothes, he, accompanied by Buchinsky and Shuisky, went incognito to watch the ceremony of Marina's arrival.On May 3, the motorcade of the Mnisheks drove into Moscow and along the old Smolensk road, called Orbat, h
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 61
Taking a breath, Dr. Gold looked out the window and said:“It’s already getting dark, you’re tired, and I’m tired beyond measure. I didn't expect my story to take so long. If you come tomorrow, I will have time to rest and continue. And now I just have to finish the sad story of Dimitri. However, you yourself probably know what happened to him.- I'm ashamed to admit it, but no, - the vicar shook his head, - I only briefly heard about False Dmitry, I don't know any details.- Well ... Late in the evening on Friday, July 16, 1606, I left the Marina, returned to my palace and, flushed with alcohol, fell asleep soundly. But at dawn I was awakened by the ringing of bells: they sounded the alarm in the church of St. Elijah on the other side of the Fire. Still not fully awake, I rushed to the window and shouted to the Germans on guard:- What's happened?“It seems that Moscow is on fire, your royal grace,” one of the guards yelled back.There was a knock on the door, and Basmanov, who usual
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 62
Lord, how I want to eat!Laszlo Molnar was terribly hungry. When did he last eat? Seems like the third day. Yes exactly. The good priest that day threw him a pfennig with the inscription "FÜR DIE ARMEN" [i] , and the happy Laszlo was able to buy rye bread and a bowl of porridge. But is this enough for a long time? The day before yesterday he had eaten the last crumbs, and since then he has never been lucky. Oh ho ho, what to do?Her legs, weakened by hunger, refused to obey. Laszlo made his way to a haystack in the meadow and fell down on it with relief. You need to rest a little, wait until this strange burning sensation in your chest ends, and then go to the village - suddenly you can beg for something. If today he does not eat, tomorrow he will not have the strength to rise. The old man knew this for sure, because he had been wandering for more than a year.Once upon a time, Laszlo had a wonderful wife, a house, a mill, thanks to which he received his surname [ii] . They did not li
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 63
Day after day, in clear weather and rain, they moved west and constantly gave performances. We stopped at inns for the night, choosing a cheaper room. In the autumn the old man bought a sheepskin coat and no longer looked like a tramp. He saved every pfennig, but did not spare the best bones for Barat: he wanted to somehow express his love and gratitude to his friend. Moreover, he took the dog to the barber, who washed and combed the brown wool. Barat began to look much prettier.Every night in a dream, Laszlo saw their future house. It remains to accumulate quite a bit, a few months - and the dream will come true. Maybe even next summer ... They will settle together with Barat somewhere on the outskirts of Pozsony, they will earn a living by performances, and Laszlo will devote the rest of the time to the garden, grow many flowers, vegetables, greenery, and maybe even start some kind of some livestock so that the dog always has meat. A wattle fence will be placed around the house, an
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 64
The walls of the hall, topped by a vaulted ceiling, were hung with halberds, muskets, and stuffed animals. From all sides, the heads of boars, foxes and wolves stared at Istvan with dead eyes. He shuddered and at that moment on the stairs leading to the second floor, he noticed the very maid whom he had seen through the window. The girl smiled and waved her hand towards the right wing of the house:- Ban Tomas is waiting for you in the library.“Thank you,” Isstvan nodded. "So my new father's name is Tomasz."The first door led to the library, and the newly minted young man resolutely stepped inside. There were several open bookcases, a large oak dining table, and half a dozen curule chairs. In one of them sat a pale, thin man of about fifty with a gray mustache and a goatee beard.“Ah, Pishta,” he smiled, and his face lit up with joy. - Come in, sit down.The young man settled down next to Tomas, handed him the potion, and looked at him expectantly.- Thank you. That's what I wanted