Unconquered Sun (12 page)

Animals from it were confused and moved back to doors even more, understanding that their further presence is undesirable here. And the Fairy addressed a table meanwhile and began to serve it "manually" (well not nevertheless to do by a magic wand!), with impatience expecting Prinze.

4.

And Prinze, meanwhile, sadly sat on the river bank, observing as the blood-red decline dies away in clouds. The melancholy for the solar stranger pierced his heart with the heated steel needle more and stronger. When the last beam of the setting sun and twilight a dark cover went out fell by the river and coastal valleys, Prinze decided that it is time to go home. Not to sleep to it on the naked earth, really! Hours of loneliness which he so passionately wanted to receive for reflection did not give anything special to it: he did not understand what happens to it also that to do to it farther.

In such condition of full uncertainty of Prinze crossed a house threshold. What his surprise when instead of a modest hut to his look the magnificent Marble Palace with the columns twined the flowers exhaling some unusual luscious and sweet aroma with the parrots and canaries chirping around appeared was. Everywhere quiet and soft romantic music sounded.

- What here occurs? I do not understand, - muttered Prinze, without noticing anybody (The fairy specially hid for one of columns, that, being unnoticed, wholly to enjoy the triumph of the skilled worker of bewitching magic). - However, all this has no value. Unless all this can be compared to perfect beauty of the Gold Tower and its marvelous hostess? - Prinze added aloud and, sadly having sighed, started wandering in a bedroom.

To tell that the Fairy was shocked, so to tell nothing. Some time she could not recover. The phrase "a gold tower" absolutely destroyed its hypothesis of intrigues of mermaids and dryads who hated gold, as well as any other metal, and full immunity of Prinze to its magic - by the way, not the weakest in Tselestiya! - painfully pricked her vanity.

But the Fairy did not despair.

"Let all this tinsel did not make impression on it, but, eventually, there are I!" - she thought. - "I am better than all this fake charm and Prinze so just will not pass by me!"

It followed the husband in a bedroom.

The prince stood, indifferently, at an open window and looked at the full moon which just heaved in dark sight. He did not pay attention neither to a canopy, nor to petals of the roses covering a marriage bed at all.

Yellow-silvery light fell directly on his face distorted by some internal suffering. The green jack boots smeared with its river silt rolled at a threshold. The hunting jacket ruthlessly spoiled silk sheets of a bed from an ivory, rolling on them a shapeless green heap.

The fairy only sighed, looking at such barbarous relation to so carefully created romantic image of a matrimonial bedroom, but just she got used to such behavior of Prinze for a long time. These men always such dirty creatures! And husbands of beautiful fairies, unfortunately, not an exception …

The fairy quietly as the kitty, approached the husband behind and gently put the thin white handle to him on a shoulder. The prince did not even shudder, continuing, as captivated, to look at the moon.

- My dear Prinze, forgive me for this scandal, for the fact that I hurt you …

- It is not necessary. I understand everything, the Beautiful Fairy, and I do not become angry about you, - by passionless and some others voice Prinze spoke, without tearing off a look from the full moon.

- Well, here and well, road. Let's go, already late, it is time for us to go to bed. - And with these words she took Prinze by hand and led. The prince did not oppose. It was similar to a soft rag doll - weak-willed, obedient, meek, but also - insensible. Prinze's consciousness was somewhere away, held down by fetters of a hypnotic dream.

The fairy took off sweaty and dirty clothes from Prinze and led him in a bath. There it, without hurrying, washed his body warm water, umastit fragrant rose attar and wiped a fragrant towel. The fairy did it with great pleasure, she always madly liked to care for Prinze.

Before a mind's eye of the Fairy a light chain fine days when it picked up Prinze in the wood - covered with wounds, blood-stained, dirty, in the torn clothes, the patient - and though by means of magic ran those, but, in no small measure, the love and care put it on legs. How many nights she carried out then without dream at its bed, expelling from his soul black sorcery by kind magic how many hours it washed its wounds curative solutions, rubbed curative ointments in his skin - not to count! And it were the best days and hours in her life, - it understood it distinctly now. It is better to create this share good for love there is no power on earth!

And now it seemed to the Fairy for a moment that those times returned … But is not present - the Prince did not react to anything as a rag doll, and the Fairy had even a feeling that it washes not a body of the beloved husband, and a corpse, training him for a funeral.

Then she threw with a nightgown Prinze and led him in a bed. It went obediently as a doggie, completely indrawn. The fairy laid it on a silk sheet and covered with a duvet and laid down nearby. Some time she silently thought what to do farther. The prince lay with open, almost unblinking eyes and looked in a ceiling, in one point, without showing any signs of activity, and did not even sleep (that, at least, would be explainable!). Even it seemed to the fairy that she lies not with the loving spouse, and with a log, a doll or even with a corpse and from it she felt a little ill at ease. Of course, Prinze differed in quite modest and shy character earlier - and it affected the matrimonial relations - but IT never was!

At last, the Fairy did not sustain also itself embraced Prinze and kissed him. Her lips were burned again by intolerable heat, and Prinze remained is not mobile. In his head sounded the same refrain: "Come, come, become the Sun, become a pure current, leave this dirt, this nasty thing and not purity of mortal flesh! Be cleared, melt in eternally shining Stream …". Two insufferably bright spheres and the heat proceeding from them persistently were always on the mind, consumed soul and a body completely. The prince just did not feel touches of the Fairy as their person with the freezed extremities does not feel. It was in private with melancholy for embraces of a strange solar Being.

And the Fairy quietly began to cry. It buried in a pillow as the girl whose heart was broken by the first one-way love - loudly, violently, with a sobbing. Her thin white body shivered with sobbings, and from celestial-blue eyes on a silk pillow the same celestial-blue tears slid.

1.

IT could be happy. The birdie was snared, and a birdie, apparently, not simple. Not some pathetic dwarf fit only for small technical work. Not the grain-grower, the dealer or even the nobleman-knight who could become the next gold idol, and someone other, absolutely unlike the others. For IT there was to dart enough only one glance to see, how in a mirror, all depth of soul of the next victim. And now what she saw in soul of this oddish little man was necessary to IT on temper.

Yes, it was the person, but not idle time, and the husband of the fairy. It is visible because his soul and a body are covered as some protective cover with an easy pink haze.

"It also is clear", - she thought about herself, - "marrying the fairy, people get a pink substratum for preservation of eternal youth and health, and at the same time their consciousness becomes to almost completely under control fairies, their influence … For so many thousands of years they did not change at all - all also lust after power over people!"

"But, on the other hand", - right there she mentally objected herself, - "fairies just like that do not take themselves anyone, no! To them the best representatives of weak human race get, and it is already quite good".

But most of all it was necessary to IT on temper that in this person there was no fact that to IT it was especially disgusting: neither a mad self-interest of dwarfs, nor carefully covered with hypocritical altruism of love of power of fairies, nor insatiable thirst of sensual pleasures of ordinary people. On the contrary, all thoughts of this person consisted from enough strange images: from the animals and birds running on the woods and fields, from flowers and trees, novel islands in the blue sea and the fine ships floating somewhere afar on a surface of the sea depths filled with treasures, and mysterious forest thickets, the executed riddles …

"Quite strange, it is necessary to tell, thoughts for a male adult human individual!" - she thought. - "Such impression that he still was not above children's age …"

Yes, there was it that in caught in ITS network there were dreamers, but their dreams were much more predictable: magnificent houses, heaps of gold, the beautiful half-naked maidens kowtowing crowds of slaves - all is beaten and it is boring … Such captives were good only to become obedient slaves to ITS Gold Hall, and here … If not an adult body of the man, she could think that the child was caught in its net.

"An interesting copy, but it is necessary to probe it on the place, is closer, maybe, it also will be suitable for execution of the Plan …"

Mental signal - and at the same moment the door of the malachite room was opened. The big, high and slender golem entirely made of pure gold entered it. Light getting into the room through windows special, invisible to an eye was pleasantly reflected in the surface of his body given a mirror-like polish.

Judging by bearing, the golem was a military. The body represented it a continuous military armor, and the head was closed by an impenetrable helmet with a deaf visor. Only it had no sword - probably, he owned some other, more perfect weapon. On frontal part of a helmet and on a breast plate the gold solar disk with female features and empty eye-sockets was engraved. The top part of the sun the royal crown over which two letters - N and Page were written crowned.

The gold knight bowed to madam invisible to an eye.

- You called me, your Perfection? - the deaf, in a military way accurate, but at the same time a lifeless and mechanical voice was distributed.

- Get ready for a trip. Take the fastest dragon of nobody any more - it is not necessary to draw excess attention. You will make the way through the Ant hill, bypassing the Ring. I need this person, urgently, location - sector 45-98, - at these words in the head of the golem arose an accurate fancy of object.

- And on the destination?

- I will make so that he will approach you. Fly as soon as possible more quietly, understood?

- Yes sir, your Perfection.

2.

The prince really felt ill at ease. He almost saw nothing and did not feel. Everything inside at it burned with intolerable fire, blood began to boil in veins. Two big blinding the sun incessantly were always on his mind, and in ears all the same refrain sounded and sounded: "Come, come, join the Stream, become perfect!" From this persuasive metal voice it was terribly hurt by the head, and, in general, Prinze felt as seriously ill fever. It expired then, he was beaten by a fever, but at the same time he could not move as paralyzed.

When it seemed to Prinze that his tortures last already whole eternity, suddenly everything ended. He felt much better and on some inexplicable motivation quickly got up and approached the cracked window.

Against black, without uniform star and a cloud, the sky the full moon - bright, silvery, round burned. To the prince at once was evident that the moon was absolutely unusual - honor with the size in all sky. Also the fact that it had the most real eyes - more precisely, the empty eye-sockets which are filled in from within with bright light - and also a mouth, a nose and a chin was strange. All this gave it similarity to some terrible silver mask suspended on bluish-black scenery in some thrown and empty theater.

- But such moon does not happen! - Prinze thought. - It cannot be such big! Besides it can have neither eyes, nor a mouth …

- Why? - the Moon hit such acquaintances to it by a metal voice absolutely unexpectedly question with a question.

- There is no all also here! - for some reason Prinze took offense. - I never such saw, here!

The moon laughed, having bared is dazzling white teeth.

- You what did not see a lot of things, the little man, and, meanwhile, it exists! You as a rain worm live in the little burrow and except her see nothing and do not know. I know it, as did not dream you. What from you is hidden by those who do not want that you knew too much! - and again in the head the metal ringing of unpleasant cold laughter began to sound.

The prince curiosity sorted. He suddenly invincibly wanted to learn the secrets hidden from it by all means. Constant half-words and utayka of the Fairy, the closed cases with books, persuasive requests to make that and not to do it are all this in a flash emerged in Prinze's consciousness, and it seemed to it that just about on all these utayka, bans and half-words it will find the answer at this strange laughing moon. And only at It!

- Hey, you, the moon, I agree! Open for me unknown, I want to know it, I do not want to be more blind worm, no!

- And whom you want to be, the little man? - with curiosity, having crafty blinked an eye, the strange moon asked.

- I … I … I … - the Prince did not know, as to answer how suddenly in his consciousness from where there was an image. The tall strong man in the armor inlaid with gold, in a continuous helmet stood on top of the high mountain. His face was completely covered by a mask. On a helmet the magnificent purple sultan flaunts. The purple raincoat flutters behind his shoulders, as at great masters of the ancient world. "The gold Knight" seemed such powerful, such strong, such stately that Prinze suddenly by all means wanted to become same, to become the Soldier, the Knight, the Master …

- I want to be the Master, infinitely wise and strong. I want to know and be able everything, I want that before me trembled and submitted to me. I want … I want … I want …

- … And you will be all that whom you want to be … - insinuatingly said a metal voice.

- But how?

- There is nothing more simply! Just go directly into a lunar path and go to me!

During the same moment from the huge shining moon to Prinze the set of beams which, fancifully intertwining among themselves were stretched like the thinnest hands, connected in a long silvery lunar path what is usually on water. It conducted from the Moon directly to a window sill which had Prinze.

- Go, be not afraid, the silly fellow … - indulgent tone the Moon said and again laughed.

And Prinze, having risen legs on a window sill, took the first shy step …

And oh, miracle! His leg as if rose not on the lunar beams piercing night air, and is valid for the real path, that grow white in park at night.

- Wow! - delightfully Prinze exclaimed, and on his face there was the same expression of almost children's naive delight that brought more than once the Beautiful Fairy into affection. - This miracles! - And Prinze put the second leg on a lunar path.

- You saw this miracle - will see even more if you want … Go to me, the little man, more safely, more safely!

And Prinze, without thinking twice, ran on this magic lunar path towards to the strange and mysterious Person Loong.

Suddenly for an instant he stopped and looked back. He saw how his favourite Fairy lies on a bed, on a breast, having childly embraced a pillow and, having drowned in it the person, bitterly cries. Her back was so shaken in sobbings that he felt sorry for the crying Fairy, it is a pity to got down.

The prince turned was back, but the Voice behind it stopped:

- Where you, little man? You already made the choice.

- I feel sorry for my Beautiful Fairy! She cries because of me, and I cannot leave her … I love it!

But Prinze as the lunar path under him suddenly started moving did not manage to finish speaking. The window with the crying Fairy began to move away from it promptly. The prince stretched there were to it hands and cried from the dull ache which pierced heart:

- Fe-e-e-e-ya-ya-ya!!! Not-e-e-et!!!

But it was already impossible to return back, to the room, for it. The window became such small, the size no more little finger, besides that the distance between it and Prinze continued to increase. And Prinze began to cry from melancholy and powerlessness.

Then it turned was to the Moon with the person, not expressing anything, except hatred and just anger, but … Did not see any Moon! Instead of it before his look the poker metal face of the tall person, from legs to the head chained in a gold armor appeared. Near a giant the huge, covered with the sparkling gold scales dragon lay on a belly. From its toothy mouth and nostrils uvulas of an orange flame and stinking sulfuric smoke escaped.

- Chto-au-au-au? - not knowingly Prinze on goodness knows where from stared the undertaken newcomers. But did not manage to tell anything else any more as was hit such strong blow a metal fist in a stomach that at it intercepted breath, and before eyes multi-colored fires ran. The prince fell, choking, directly on a grass.

Even the moment - and directly in Prinze's neck pierced something very cold and sharp. On a body the pleasant feeling of rest right there spread. The body became soft, weak-willed as at a doll, and all became indifferent for Prinze on light.

Strong metal hands easily as a plumelet, picked up his body. The prince vaguely saw how him as a rag bag, lower on a back of a gold dragon as attach belts to it as the gold soldier sits down ahead. And then the dragon with a force makes a start from the earth paws.

The prince, in a light slumber semi-reality looked down and saw how such darling to pain and a home became less and less until at all was behind big black clouds.

- Farewell my lovely house, farewell! Once I will see you again? - Prinze whispered, and the heavy sleepiness took control of him, at last, completely. Something clicked at it in the head, and it plunged into outer darkness of unconsciousness.

3.

This night was especially light and pleasant. The full moon, brightly flickering stars covered a bluish-black firmament. The cool night breeze tenderly blew long golden hair of the fairies of patrol of "STING" who took off on an alarm signal.

Award "STING" was the most elite connection of Security forces of Community of fairies. It was charged with the most responsible, most dangerous tasks. And it is not casual - only especially elected representatives of Celestial Empire of the country got to it: the most knowing, the most disciplined, the most brave and unconditionally betrayed to the Sacred Principles of the Order and Prosperity of the fairy. Members of this award never marry, strictly keeping chastity, and directly submit to the most Triune Knowledge. These fairies at once, by results of examinations, receive the highest degrees at fairies - 1 both 2 ranks - and the right to carry a special distinction - stripes with the image of an angry bee with threateningly the put-out sharp sting.

Generally problems of "STING" included investigation and counterintelligence, diversions and raids on backs of the opponent, elimination and arrest of persons hostile to the Sacred Principles, search and theft of the classified information and so forth. They participated in open fights seldom - also ordinary fairies for this purpose will fit … Besides, the problem of the Award included both protection of their Knowledge, and execution of their personal will, the motto of "STING" - "NOTHING EXCEPT" (that for devoted meant, "nothing except will of their Knowledge").

Here and this night the patrol of "STING" - three fairies of the 2nd rank dressed in golden tunics with award symbolics - was lifted not for nothing. Analyzers on the Flying Island responsible for the Order and Prosperity of the western part of Hartlend, the main continent of Tselestiya, informed on strange indignation of the power field around the Limit. A moment - and already three golden high-speed griffins who are artificially created by means of gene magic animals with equestrians on backs promptly rushed to the place of indignation.