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Antrea, Lint Quarter, Royal Asylum for the Infirm,

day watch

- Well, did not manage to mess around?

Exactly. The hero returned from the campaign, and he was immediately in the forehead. Or on the forehead. No to greet with tears of joy and tenderness on a freckled face!

“I'm glad to see you too.

Alden frowned.

“Actually, I was worried.

- About?

I open the lid of the chest and rummage through a pile of worn camisoles and trousers, donated by the kind inhabitants of Antreya for free use to the inhabitants of the shelter. Considering that these inhabitants are two and a half cripples (to my great happiness), then we can say that goodness is wasted. And I, as a zealous owner, cannot allow this. Absolutely. Therefore, from time to time I myself take advantage of the generosity of the townspeople, only I do not always risk appearing in this form on the street at the height of the day: what if someone recognizes his old suit? I, let's say, will not be ashamed, but the donor may well become. And there will be one more enemy on my head ...

This couple is very, very good. The smell, of course, is musty, but it doesn't smell like old dirt, but about time, the walls of a chest, and a remedy that, in Ollie's mind, can keep all kinds of bugs, caterpillars and moths that love to gnaw on furs and fabrics from clothes.

Your wounds haven't healed completely yet. And generally speaking…

- That's it. "Wa-more." Admit it better that you were simply scared to hang out alone in a shelter. Was it scary?

Alden sighed.

“I was scared when you started looking for this idiot.

- Why? I promised to return on time.

“I promised… But I wasn’t sure myself.

Curious. Ollie's awareness seems to have exceeded its usual limits.

- Why do you think so?

- No, you first answer, why did you hide that the girl can speak?

- I did not hide.

- You were silent!

- You didn't ask.

The mage flared his nostrils angrily.

“You would think if you had asked, you would have received an answer!”

- If yes, if only ... Forget it. At that time, I myself did not fully understand what was happening.

- And now?

“Now I really don’t know. Is everything okay with the body?

From the side of a sullenly frowning Alden comes a grouchy:

- In order. I would rather think about the living than the dead.

- I will think. Necessarily. Has the water already warmed up?

- Maybe.

"Then I'm going to wash up."

It really didn’t bother me to wash: the memory of being in a place poorly adapted for life had to be destroyed as soon as possible. At least external, settled on the skin with dirt and sweat.

A wooden tub, intended for ablutions, was already waiting for me in the kitchen, merrily soaring into the air. I took off my clothes and lay blissfully in the hot water.

- Good…

Alden sat down on the edge of the table.

- How do you feel?

- As always.

- Right?

- Don't be naughty! Let's enjoy the well-deserved pleasure!

In order not to see the boring physiognomy of the ginger, I cover my eyes. But he doesn't give up:

What are you going to do with the snakes?

“Something… I’ll give it to you.” I'm selling it right now!

I run my hand over my stomach, shaking off one animal, the second one slides off my shoulder and slowly sinks to the bottom of the tub. Sleep, poor fellows. So, it's time to return them to the Source - a lake that arose where a stream makes its way to the surface, supplying the inhabitants of the shelter with drink.

I fumble in the water, fish out the "snakes" and hand them to Alden:

- Come on, get busy!

He winces, but takes away the silvery threads, limply limp in his fingers.

- What are you going to do yourself?

- I'll visit the deceased.

Will you describe?

I sigh, leaving the question unanswered. I will, of course, where will I go? It's supposed to be in order.

It was colder than usual in the pantry: Ollie had done his best to keep the dead body of the insane killer safe and sound. But the cold will not cause me any inconvenience, was it in vain that I warmed up, choosing the thickest clothes I had at hand?

Hello my sweetheart. How do you sleep?

Of course she doesn't answer. And will not be able to answer the way I need it. It's a shame, but I have to come to terms with reality: I can only read recent memories lingering in the fluids of her body, and what happened a long time ago will remain a mystery. Is it worth resurrecting accessible memories? No, it's not worth it. What will I see? Will I once again experience despair and rage? Will I experience the fear of approaching death? Will I go through the agony? Really needed. No, my sweet, I will not pollute your peace with harassment. I'll just look at you, but more carefully than before.

I pull back the veil, revealing a body frozen in immobility.

Now it is clear why the protocol was not given to me the first time and why I wrote either “lad” or “teenager”. The girl left her childhood a long time ago. She may have been about eighteen or a little younger, but not a child, by no means. If I could immediately feel the age ... But she started the conspiracy at the right time. Probably, she herself did not understand what she was doing, did not fully understand, but the attempt to avoid my attention was a success. The background was too strong ... Oh, yes, why am I surprised: there were three more people in the room with me who were subjected to a conspiracy. Albeit to a lesser extent, because the attack was directed at me, but they received their portion, and their feelings, refracted and reflected in my direction, did not improve the situation. Not without reason, according to the rules, is it necessary that I conduct a one-on-one inspection! The ancestors were wise, oh wise ...

So, let's leave a notch as a keepsake: only eye to eye, without strangers. It is desirable that there are no living souls nearby at all. Then the chance to detect danger, if not increased, then at least cleared of unnecessary impurities.

Body structure, what's wrong with it? Thin bone, very thin, but apparently strong. Ligaments seem to be stretched to the limit. Muscles are long, dry, without fat characteristic of sexually mature women. Yes, this is another reason why I mistook her for a child ... I will be more critical in the future.

The figure is so-so, not impressive. Perhaps, over time, she would have gained attractiveness, but now she looks just boyish, and if it were not for the proportions of the skeleton, the girl could well pretend to be a guy.

Face ... Pretty cute, but no more. Yes, her eyes burning with hatred adorned her very much. Perhaps love would change. If I had come. The features are small, slightly pointed. A bird, she is a bird. So we will write in the report. And what about our rear?

I turn my body from back to stomach.

She didn’t become nicer: the shoulder blades stick out, the buttocks are flat. Small of the back…

Stop. Somewhere I have already seen a similar picture.

Can't be…

A letter from time immemorial. Sketches by an unknown draftsman who was a close friend of my ancestor. The same scattering of moles!

Now I'm even more confused.

How is this girl related to the one who has sunk into obscurity? Family ties, definitely! But kinship alone cannot be the reason for appearing in the city and committing a crime. Besides ... Yes, no doubt, she burned the portrait: she did not want to be identified as a distant relative. But why? Afraid? The most appropriate answer. Just what were you afraid of?

However, if the ability to speak with water was inherited, then ... Hhag take it! After one speaker , another may appear. What was the ghost talking about?

"She will come. And the black fire will devour everyone."

Black fire. A beautiful image or something specific? Rather, the first, if we compare someone else's will, mercilessly crushing any consciousness that is nearby, with a flame. Black, bottomless, terrible abyss. A mist creeping in from all sides and chasing away what existed before him. Displacing, but not occupying the vacated house, but destroying the empty walls. However, the deceased was not at all evil or full of hatred for all living things. She was driven by a dream. And a dream is such a strange thing that it is impossible to touch with your hands and even impossible to figure out how it should look like. One has only to imagine and be sure of the correctness of the idea, and the dream immediately becomes a desire. Passion. A need that will burn you from the inside until it can be realized. Burn... Another fire, blacker than that.

It's good that I never really dreamed of anything. Small children's fantasies do not count; I remember how beautiful and magical they seemed, but as soon as they fell into the substituted palms, the charm fled somewhere, leaving me only confusion and regret. Then there was simply no time to dream. And Nais... I never dreamed of her love. For some reason I was sure that this love already belongs to me. Wrong? Who knows…

The rustle of footsteps on the stone slabs of the floor in the corridor. Cautious. And after them - others, hurried, impetuous. I raise my head, meeting the gaze of eyes as bright as the sky. What is she doing here?!

Nais looks at the dead body lying on the table. He watches me, thoughtfully, stroking the pattern of moles on my cold lower back with my fingers. To top it off, he surveys my suit, turns proudly, and walks away, muttering something like, "Pervert" through his teeth. And I stupidly smile and stand like a pillar until Alden appears on the threshold. Which gets nuts from me:

Why did you let her in here?

- "Let go"! You'd think she'd listen to me! Itself is good, the door would not hurt to close!

Did she say why she came?

- To me? The magician rolls his eyes. “The moons will soon fall from the sky!”

— Hhag with the moons! Okay, clean up here, and I ...

“Just don’t overdo it with jokes, your wife is clearly out of sorts.”

A warning is useful only in two cases: if it is timely and if the one being warned is able to heed it. As for me, at this moment even the wisest advice in the world would pass by my ears - unfortunately or fortunately, but there are things that are more important than wisdom, benefit, and much more.

Nais was waiting for me in the office. She sat, lining up the folds of a full skirt in such a strict order that I did not dare to approach even the distance of kissing her hand. Therefore, it remained only to sedately take a seat in his chair and turn to his wife with the question:

"To what do I owe happiness to see you?"

The coldness and haughtiness of the look with which I was rewarded for restrained politeness would be the envy of any tyrant.

“Your behavior is beyond the bounds of decency.

— Let me disagree, I did not violate the rules in any way.

— Really? - She allowed herself a thin, thin smile, parting lips barely touched by lipstick. “The way you behaved on the third day cannot be described in words.

Why? I did as I saw fit. And he had a right to it, daneke.

The right to interfere in someone else's life?

I shook my head.

Since when did your life become a stranger to me?

Nais lifted her chin proudly, shaking her fiery golden curls.

- Remembered? I asked them not to seek meetings with me.

- I didn't look for it.

"Then how can you explain your presence in the palace?"

The queen wished to see me.

“But did you know that I would be at the Small Reception?”

Provocative question. My wife, unlike Kallas or the same Viger, does not like to waste time going around the bush.

- Did you know?

Silence will be taken for consent without hesitation. Answer "no"? Then it turns out that I'm lying shamelessly. I'd better keep quiet.

On the face of Nais, a malevolent triumph appears:

“You knew, and yet you arrived at the palace. Dan Ra-Gros doesn't keep his word?

How can you refuse a queen?

She stood up, making me rise to my feet with her movement, straightened the amber silk folds, pulled the lace of narrow cuffs. She turned her head so that the graceful curve of her neck became especially noticeable, and said into space, but to me alone:

“Someone once assured me that there was only one queen for him.

You must remember! It was so long ago, even at the wedding: I didn’t know what words to express my feelings, and I was talking complete nonsense ... She remembers. It cannot be, but it is. Nay…

- And I will repeat.

Blue eyes look at me with the same reproach, but still a little softer.

“I don't believe you, Raiden Ra-Gros.

- In vain. I never lied to you.

- Never ever?

- Not a single time.

I move closer, I can almost feel her breath on my skin. And I struggle with the urge to read what it hides. I fight desperately because I don't want to know how the woman I love sees me. I don't care, as long as... As long as she looks at me.

"Then why didn't you refuse the invitation?"

- I wanted to see you.

Gentle lips reproach:

“You have to be able to deal with your desires.

- I should have come.

- To start a fight?

- Yes.

She lifts her head and looks me straight in the eyes.

- For what? I didn't give you a reason.

- I came up with it myself. Did my actions offend you?

“I would rather agree to be insulted by jealousy than by indifference.

My love, how could you think such a thing? For me to be indifferent? Not a single minute!

Carefully curled curls smell of the sea and flowers. Soft, smooth as silk dresses. No, even softer! My fingers touch the golden cobweb strands that go down to the temple, they are taken aside, revealing the ear, small, soft pink, similar to the mother-of-pearl palace of a pearl shell. I bend over, no longer able to cope with the desire to press my lips to the skin untouched by a tan and carefully protected from the prickly wind. A little more and...

- What is it?

- Mm?

Nais holds a sheet of parchment raised to eye level with two fingers.

- I have no idea.

“A petition… I, Dagerth Illis, of my own free will and with the consent of my close relatives, ask you to accept my service for the benefit of her majesty and allow me to take the place of a bodyguard at…”

The sudden pause was most like the calm before the storm.

- "Under Raiden Ra-Gro, also called the Guardian of Antreya." What does it mean?

- You see…

“Did you take advantage of the young man’s confusion and force him to make amends in this way?”

Well, all efforts have gone to waste. And it started out so great!

- Not at all. Dan Illis himself expressed a desire to take Ballig's place.

“For a man of his origin and position, there are more appropriate ways to serve Her Majesty.

— Oh yes, of course! But his grandfather... Remember Ra-Kimi? So, grandpa set a condition for his grandson: if you want to be accepted into the family, find a common language with Ra-Gro. Why not help the guy?

Nais pursed her lips in disapproval.

“That's not very noble.

Noble or not, it doesn't matter. He probably broke through to the reception, just to be closer to me. But, of course, he could not have imagined how close he would get! In any case, his calculations coincided with mine, and everything went smoothly, and even to mutual benefit.

Interested question:

— Profit?

- Well, yes. Illis needed to get to know me, I needed to go to jail to divert attention. Everything is simple.

- Just?

- Of course.

- Just?

I never noticed that Nais can hiss.

— Daneke…

— I hate it! You men always think only about your own benefit and your convenience! Always lying, always playing with us like dolls!

- Nais...

I try to catch her trembling hand.

- Don't touch me!

"I'm not at all...

- I don't want to see you! And I don't want to hear! Never!

She sighed and ran out of the office. I started to follow, but ran into Alden, carrying a pile of paper sheets. Of course, we collided, the papers flew into the air and slipped under our feet, making it much more difficult to maintain balance. In general, when I managed to get to the porch, the yellow stain of the dress was already at the very gate, and the scenes of reconciliation in public ... They will certainly not be forgiven, because Nais strictly observes decency.

I'm definitely not lucky. And after all, what an absurdity: if the petition lay on the other side of the table, it would not have caught the eye of my wife. Accident. Annoying, unpredictable and, as usual, fateful. But today I had a chance to achieve location ...