Читать книгу The Dragon's Vow or the Stubborn Bride - - Страница 2

Mirre Blackrock, a pupil of the capital's Boarding House for Noble Elementals named after Teresa the Magnanimous in Verlore, Onyx Rocks

Having settled down on a wide window sill in our shared bedroom for twenty pupils, I placed a book under a sheet of paper and hastily wrote a letter to my older sister. My neighbors and the girls from the room opposite gathered with us, sitting on the beds in twos and threes, to admire the lucky one, that is, me, and at the same time express to her, that is, to me, a collective “Fi!”

Fortunately, there were those here who rejoiced at my luck. Unfortunately, they found themselves in the minority, or rather, alone, so skirmishes broke out in the room every now and then. Quiet and even relatively polite. For others, we would be punished – it is not right for noble eshsheri to behave like market women.

Therefore, the girls whispered animatedly and sighed enviously, every now and then glancing sideways in my direction, but they did not allow themselves more than poisonous statements.

– Lucky you, Mirka!

– Still would! Her father is a dean at the academy. It's no surprise that she was chosen.

– That's it! So, did your father bother? I see…

– What are you talking about! I seriously didn’t know?!

– The first time I've heard!

– Don’t be jealous! Or have you forgotten what score Mirre received on testing last year? – my only friend Samantha sarcastically reminded. – A hundred out of a hundred! And Grymza said that she would have made an excellent battle mage if she had been born a boy. So there’s nothing to talk about!

The discussion went in a new circle, but I didn’t listen anymore. During the two years that I spent at the Boarding House of Teresa the Magnanimous, who during her lifetime was still such a bitch, I managed to become completely disillusioned with both local teaching methods and the noble eshcheris in general, which is why I was glad with all my heart that I was leaving. Another dream coming true!

The thrill of anticipation, concentrated at my fingertips, poured out in neat lines onto the paper:

Hello, beloved sister!

I don’t even know where to start… I’ll start, perhaps, with the main news – I’m going to the Academy of Wind and Storms! Yes, yes, you heard right…

I had almost finished the letter when the girls jumped out of their beds and stood with their hands folded on their stomachs, as decency required. Having quickly said goodbye to my sister, I crumpled the scribbled sheet into a ball so that it would fly further and, opening the window sash, threw it outside. True, I didn’t have time to get back into service. So she stretched out in the place where she was found. I don’t know about other educational institutions, but the order in our boarding house was cleaner than in other barracks. The mentors trained their pupils with all their might, trying to make them exemplary eshsheri and ideal future wives for elemental magicians. True, in their opinion, the ideal wife was a submissive, and better yet, a completely weak-willed creature, who did not have her own opinion, but was capable of “carrying out a number of laid down instructions. Somehow: estate management, playing music and other arts, etiquette, politesse and much more.”

Only girls with gifts studied at Teresa the Magnanimous Boarding School, but for some reason very little attention was paid to magical sciences. Basics of elemental magic. The history of the magic of Balaria, general information about the races of Balaria, about magical sources and their influence on all living things, and a few more theoretical subjects, but that’s all!

And practice is only twice a week! And even then, for the most part, we learned to “pacify the gift.”

Certainly! After all, this is so important for the noble eshsheri! Otherwise, if the Mother of All That Existed didn’t bring him, she would smash the crawler in a quarrel with her beloved, or hit him with the fist of the wind in response to impolite treatment, and even smear the unfortunate man against the wall.

In general, the gift of pupils was considered only as a guarantee of the appearance of a strong heir in the family, but nothing more. But I hoped to develop the gift, and not to pacify it, which I repeatedly tried to tell my dad and mom, who traditionally did not hear me.

“This is the best boarding house in the capital, baby! I learned everything there myself,” repeated Calle Blackrock, nicknamed the Crystal Princess.

The first beauty in Onyx Rocks at one time and a very weak mage, whom no one married for a long time, despite all her beauty and excellent marks in home science. Now I couldn’t help but think that my mother put too much effort into taming the gift when she was studying here. I know that when she insisted on studying at this boarding school, she only wanted the best for me. But our understanding of this “best” was very different. In general, there is no hope for my mother, and my father… An experienced dean, he always took the side of the teachers. He said that the mentors were right and knew better. And in general, “they have experience,” “you’ll understand as you grow up,” and stuff like that. So I had to train in secret, fortunately I managed to find opportunities.

Grymza, the director of the boarding house, a terrible woman in every sense – both in face and in character – burst into our bedroom, accompanied by several mentors and a curator. She looked around at those present with a stern look and asked:

– What kind of gathering is this? How did you let this happen?

The second question was addressed to our curator, Ashsheri Tix, an elderly, timid lady who was always afraid of everything, especially the wrath of the headmistress.

– Eshsheri, why not in your rooms? – She began to fuss, showing zeal with all her appearance.

– The girls came to see Mirre off. “She’s leaving early,” simple-minded Samantha tried to cover for everyone.

She always does this – she takes the fire on herself, and then she is punished. And never a word of gratitude from anyone, except me, perhaps. This is probably why we became friends from the first days.

But this time Samantha was rescued by stupid Henrietta, without wanting it herself:

– And Mirre threw the garbage out the window! She deliberately decided to set us up because she was leaving!

A short, fair-haired beauty with a childish, doll-like face and lush eyelashes spoke with a disgusting drawl, which spoiled the entire impression of her appearance.

Mother of All That Is, what a fool she is! Who was pulling her tongue?

I was sure that the silly girl was simply voicing the thought expressed by the snake Ashsher. And exactly! The brunette with a sharp nose narrowed her eyes meanly, carefully hiding her smile. Did you want to spoil me one last time? Oh well…

Ashsheri Tix immediately ran to the window and looked out. I didn’t even move, hoping that Simka had sorted everything out.

Grymza looked at me intently and asked:

– Pupil Blackrock, is this true?

– I didn’t throw garbage out the window, director!

Yes, I wouldn’t dare call the letter to my beloved sister garbage, so I didn’t lie one bit.

“There’s nothing under the window,” Ashsheri Tix confirmed my words.

I couldn’t resist and also turned around, noticing a white speck in the bushes at a distance. A fluffy tail flashed and immediately hid. The paint has washed off Simka again! It's time to update.

– What kind of book is this, Mirre?

Ashsheri Tix took a textbook on the basics of elemental spells from the windowsill, which I used as a backdrop.

– Oh, sorry for the mess, eshsheri. I was just refreshing my knowledge before leaving. You are not allowed to take a textbook with you, and the most powerful elemental magicians and dragons study at the Academy of Wind and Storms. I don’t want to lose face in front of the local adherents and disgrace the glorious name of our boarding house.

I said all this, embarrassed, and in such an unctuous voice that I even felt sick. Ashsher was completely warped, but more because of how cleverly I managed to get out.

“Commendable, Blackrock student, commendable.” – Grymza was flattered by my words. “The rest of us have an extra task for the evening, since there’s nothing else to do besides gossip.” Learn paragraphs thirteen through twenty-eight on obedience theory. Let's do an additional lesson.

– Yes, ashsheri director! – the pupils answered in unison, mentally howling.

There was nothing more humiliating than this trashy book. If there was a will, each pupil would burn it, and feed the ashes to Grymza and her henchmen with a small spoon without salt and pepper.

– Blackrock, follow me! – the headmistress commanded, interrupting the flow of my thoughts.

Picking up my half-empty suitcase and coat, which were already waiting on the bed, I joyfully left the room, hoping that I would never return here again.

Still, something bothered me. For example, exit time. It was planned to leave only in the morning, but now, even though it’s evening, it’s not even dark yet! However, I did not dare to ask why this was so. Once again, it’s better not to contact Grymza first – it’s a bad omen. And it was not a matter of superstition, but of her bad character. Now I was most afraid of frightening off my luck, so I was silent until we went out onto the back porch, next to which a gig with a folded phaeton was already waiting on the driveway, Bathmore, the boarding house’s regular driver, was sitting on the box.

Autumn this year came ahead of time, and as soon as the sun leaned towards the horizon, it became chilly, and at night it was downright cold, so I, instantly shivering, began to hastily put on my coat.

“Bathmore will take you to the South Station of the Travel Bureau,” the director deigned to inform Ashsheri, condescendingly watching my awkward attempts to get into the sleeve.

Out of confusion, I couldn’t catch him, and besides, the bag hanging on the crook of my elbow got in the way.

– Right now? But the academy stagecoach will only arrive in the morning!

I really didn’t like the idea of spending the night right at the station.

– The stagecoach is already waiting at the Travel Bureau station. I was informed a little less than half an hour ago, so I came to hurry you up. Are you ready?

Grymza's question confused me. Usually she was not interested in such trifles as the readiness of her pupils.

“Y-yes…” I answered, finally mastering the sleeve and began to fasten the buttons. But having fastened two, she stopped. – More precisely, no! Ashsheri Director, everything is so sudden! I didn’t have time to prepare to leave… – Seeing that Grymza’s eyebrows were converging on the bridge of her nose, she hastily explained in a whisper: “Can I go to the restroom before the road?”

The face of the woman, whose age had frozen somewhere between the sixth and seventh decades for thirty years, smoothed out.

– Certainly. But hurry up.

– Thank you, eshsheri director!

I put the bag right on the porch and rushed back to the door.

– Blackrock, what kind of gait is that? Why are you rushing like crazy? Where is the dignity? – the whip whistled from behind.

– Sorry!

I straightened up, turned my shoulders and hastily trotted off, as decency required. I broke into a run again when my inappropriate behavior was hidden by the door. I still looked into the toilet. It was true that the matter was necessary, but the main purpose of the absence and the choice of place lay elsewhere. Climbing onto the wide windowsill, I opened the sash of the window overlooking the park and, looking outside, called quietly:

– Simka!

Simka is my familiar Simuran. Actually, elementals don’t have such familiars, but I’m not a completely normal elementalist. I was born an empty nester, and received the gift just two years ago. At sixteen years old, and not at twelve or thirteen, as expected. And even then I received it in an unusual way, but that’s a completely different story*.

My older sister Talaria gave me the SIM card. She saved a little simuran with a broken wing. While he was being treated, the baby’s mother disappeared somewhere, and he had to be left behind. But Simka grew up to be such a hooligan that they willingly gave him away to me, which made me incredibly happy, because I had a pet and a true friend that I had always dreamed of.

Simka and I had love at first sight, but my mother barely survived his stay at the Blackrock estate. Not only did the wolf cub spoil things, but he also scared her on purpose, which is why we all experienced many unpleasant moments. But I was able to insist on my own and pacified both of them – the simuran and my mother too. Surprisingly, my father only chuckled as he watched our battles and flatly refused to take anyone’s side.

– Simka? – I called again, hearing some rustling in the lush thickets of the garden euonymus.

This time we didn’t have to wait long, and from the largest bush, a smiling wolf’s face, white with green spots and stripes, looked out.

– Are you here! “I exhaled with relief and, easily jumping over the window sill, hugged the simuran, who did not stick out of the bushes completely, but only up to his neck. “Is it just me, or have you grown up again?”

Simka licked my nose, making me wince and wipe myself off. I couldn’t talk to him mentally, but the simuran understood me perfectly, and I understood him too.

When I was sent to a boarding school, Simka followed me and lived secretly here in the vast park. How he managed to get food, I never found out. He probably hunted chickens at night in the surrounding villages. Or on rabbits and birds in the mountains, fortunately his wing had grown together long ago, and he flew perfectly. But I would rather believe that Simka steals food from the local kitchen. I heard the housekeeper swear at the cook, and the cook at the unknown thief.

To prevent Simka from being caught, because he is so clean and all white, I regularly tinted his fur with green pigment, which my sister taught me to prepare. Fortunately, the ingredients there were trivial. Now the dye had almost peeled off from the simuran’s fur, and he amused me with his spotted colors, which hid him so well among the white-green leaves and gave my winged wolf a particularly hooligan look of a warrior on a mission. Sometimes they also paint their faces like this in order to be more invisible. As Talaria says: “Rely on magic, but don’t make a mistake yourself!”

– Simka, do you have a letter? – I asked.

The head dived into the bushes, and then looked back, and the simuran put on the ground the leaf crumpled into a ball that I had thrown out the window earlier. I smoothed it out, folded it into a neat rectangle and put it in a special pocket on the magic collar, which was visible only to me and Tali, and also did not interfere with Simka at all.

– Give the letter to Talaria and come back. Yes! I'm leaving right now, not in the morning. First to the Travel Bureau station, remember? My father and I arrived there, and you found me.

Simuran growled affirmatively.

– Here. From there a stagecoach from the academy will pick me up. I’m sure you’ll quickly catch up with us, especially since the road is already familiar to you. All. Fly, don't delay. I want to please my sister with the news as soon as possible.

I kissed my pet right on his wet nose and climbed back out the restroom window. The window was too high. I didn’t calculate something when I jumped out, so I hung on my elbows, vainly groping along the wall with my feet, trying to find at least some kind of support. She found herself. The forehead of a wolf placed itself at my feet and easily lifted me up. Climbing onto the windowsill, I smiled at caring Simka and thanked:

– Thank you!

Simuran wagged his fluffy tail goodbye and took off from the ground with a jump. He opened his mighty wings, the snow-whiteness of which alternated with green, and… He disappeared right into the air, turning into a milky haze, which immediately dissipated. I will never get tired of watching this magic! Not all simurans are capable of this. Probably the only one of mine in all of Balaria.

When Simka delivers the letter to his sister, he will return in the same way to the place where we last saw each other, or where we agreed to meet. True, for the second option it is necessary for the simuran to visit there at least once, otherwise he will have to fly in the usual way and spend more time.

Having finished sending urgent mail, I hurried back. Grymza is probably already tired of waiting and will swear.

– Blackrock, why is it taking so long? Or maybe I should have chosen someone else? “The rebuke came as soon as I appeared on the back porch.

The headmistress, squinting, examined me, as if deciding who would be best to replace me. I went cold. She will do this, and then goodbye to my long-awaited freedom…

– Ashsheri director, please forgive me. I was so excited that I felt sick to my stomach, so I had to stay late,” I began to make excuses.

Even my face became stained from excitement, so Grymza did not doubt my words for a moment.

“That’s great,” she sighed grumpily. – Still, you won’t be able to find another candidate quickly…

Meanwhile, I had already climbed into the gig and sat down on the seat, straightening my back and taking on the most innocent and beautiful appearance, so as not to give her time to come to her senses and doubt me even more.

The headmistress came closer and suddenly covered my hand with hers.

“I want to give you some advice, Blackrock.” Don't rely too much on your father once you get there. And don't boast about his name. Family ties in such matters are not always for the good. And second: the Academy of Wind and Storms is filled to capacity, albeit still young, but already men. Men can be unrestrained in their impulses, so I want to give you something. Here. “She took a pendant on a chain from her pocket and placed it in my palm.

It turned out to be an asymmetrical transparent crystal, lined with black stripes on the inside. All in all, it was about as beautiful as Grymza herself, and would have looked great as her decoration.

– What is this?

I stared at the headmistress, wondering why I needed such a trinket and how it would help at the academy.

Grymza broke into a knowing smile:

– Ugly, huh? “I remained silent so as not to lie to my face, and the headmistress condescended to explain: “This is an artifact of a distortion of appearance.”

– Forgive me, Ashsheri Director, I am sincerely grateful to you and I understand that your gift contains some deep meaning that, due to my age and stupidity, I simply cannot grasp. Could you give me a little hint? – I smiled guiltily, hoping that they wouldn’t drag me out of the gig, completely disappointed in the choice of candidate.

– Why is it unclear? If you need to hide your beauty, just put it on your neck and imagine what you need. Scars, burns, sour mine, just a faded appearance, a tired, painful appearance, warts, whatever!

– Warts?!

I finally stopped understanding what she was talking about and batted my eyelashes.

– Oh, my girl! Nothing can cool a man's ardor more than the right wart at the right time and in the right place. Understood?

– It seems… This is all for disguise, right?

“For camouflage,” Grymza repeated after me and grinned condescendingly. “You’re a smart girl, you’ll figure it out on your own when the time comes.” Do not lose. A rare thing. Most likely, the second one does not exist. The master did it.

Suddenly I realized that she was looking at me almost affectionately. And her face didn’t look so stern now.

– Eshsheri director, and you… Don’t you need it anymore? – Having blurted out the question, I fell silent and swallowed, afraid of my own courage.

It was necessary to blurt out such a thing! And to whom!

But the headmistress only broke into a surprisingly pleasant smile.

“Grymza’s mask has grown on me over the years, baby.” People here are afraid of fire, so I really don’t need the amulet anymore. It’s not like fifty years ago, when I, a girl not much older than you, was forced to take the reins of the boarding house into my own hands. Believe me, it wasn’t easy…” she shared. – All. Enough chatter. Touch it! – the headmistress commanded the elderly, silent driver. – Good luck, Blackrock! Show them all there!

Raising her fist, Grymza smiled at me and, without turning around, headed into the building. I followed her with my gaze until her straight, tall figure disappeared behind the door, and then looked forward to a bright future.