Читать книгу Lilophea, the Bride of the Sea King - Natalie Yacobson - Страница 6

Morissa was glad that she had successfully traded the monkey. The amusing little beast was worth nothing more than a kiss. She had trained him to sit on her narrow shoulder, where he could only fit with difficulty, and always had his tail around her neck to keep him from falling over.

“I’ll call him Traitor, because he only wants to jump on someone else’s shoulder where there’s more room,” she said.

“Better the Cheater,” said Lilophea, noticing the way the monkey had deftly removed the ring and pearl from the gift chest.

“Traitor sounds more romantic, it’s as if I were a fairy who bewitched the cheating lover into a monkey and now takes him with her,” joked the girl.

Cheater meanwhile offended snorted and dropped the ring, as if burned on it. He even blew on his paw.

“Your jewelry chills me,” said Morissa reluctantly. “I tried it on while you were away, and it looked as if I were freezing at the bottom of the ocean, snow and angry swordfish. It was horrible! I took them off right away, and I felt warmer. Aren’t you cold in them?”

“No!” Lilophea wore a pearl bracelet made of many strands, and she felt no cold at all.

“You’d better be more careful. The pirates in the harbor are wondering if it’s easy to kidnap the Princess,” Morissa hinted.

“And they weren’t teasing you.”

“I could betray them to the harbor-guard, but they gave me Traitor for that. And he’s so pretty!”

“Not for nothing, it is for a kiss. Which means you didn’t get him for free.”

“A kiss is not money. It didn’t make me poorer.”

Lilothea did not remind Morissa that she couldn’t get any poorer, because she was penniless. Her father was losing everything. She would have been better off looking for a worthy match at court, rather than tangling with dubious individuals at the wharf. She even got herself a telescope so she could watch the smugglers from the gallery by starlight. Strange how no one had ever caught them in the dangerous vicinity of the royal castle. Dashing fellows! She even began to respect them for their courage and recklessness.

“They’re in a hurry to earn their keep,” Morissa explained. “Not everyone loves a girl for free.”

“How do you know?”

“They only socialize with those who wear a bright yellow and red dress, and that’s what only portly whoremongers dress like. They always have brightly colored faces. If we can get them, we could walk through the town incognito, and no one would suspect us of being noble ladies.

“It’s too risky,” Lilophea began to suspect Morissa. She might be conspiring with the pirates to sell the princess to them. A penniless freedwoman at court is sometimes capable of all manner of intrigue to secure a well-fed future. Morissa’s prospects were grim. As soon as she was old enough no one would hold her as a lady-in-waiting or a maid of honour. And her father had bankrupted the estate. Where could she go? Except marry a pirate or a smuggler and sail the seas with him.

“I’ll go to the ball,” said Morissa, smoothing her canary yellow dress with puffed shoulders and spreading the feathers of her lemon-colored mask. “I will go with the Traitor. He’s my beau tonight, and let everyone else be jealous.”

She already knew that no one would be jealous. Stately and rather handsome, Morissa was not particularly popular with refined courtiers, but she was easy to get along with all sorts of criminals: pirates, bandits, smugglers. They all tried to oblige her. But at the masquerade ball, where she was going, most likely no one would even notice her. Perhaps such an exotic appearance as hers only appealed to rugged men.

“She looks like a mulatto,” said the peacock, as soon as her maid left.

“Who is she?” Lilophea wondered.

“Well, let’s say, even a Creole or a Quaternary.”

“What does that mean?”

“That she has an admixture of black people’s blood in her.”

“Are there people with black skin?”

“People are rare. Mostly wild island tribes that try to enslave. But I have seen with my own eyes black-skinned wizards and peri.”

“Tell tales!” Lilophea was indignant. It was curious that somewhere there were creatures so unlike the usual people around her.

“There are whole islands in the sea with black peri.”

“What are peri?”

“They are Genie girls. They twirl around the fires at night, like pillars of fire, and lure sailors with their charms to the slaughter. And they are supposed to be kind. That depends on whom! One plucked feathers from my tail to make herself a fan. Can you imagine?”

“You could write a whole novel of adventures about your life before you came to my prosperous palace under the guardianship of a royal daughter.”

“By the way, I was the one who came under your tutelage, not the one who got in. You frowned for the first minute, wondering whether I should be invited to live in your chambers or sent straight to the pigeon-house with the other peacocks.”

“It’s not a dovecote, it’s a greenhouse,” said Lilophea, who had some difficulty in guessing that he was referring to the glass structure in the garden.

“If the peacocks are white, it’s a dovecote.”

“No one’s ever seen a blue one here before you.”

“And in countries other than Aquilania, peacocks are mostly blue or blue with green flecks.”

The Seneschal flew around the room worriedly.

“So are we going to the masquerade ball?”

“I don’t feel like it,” Lilophea went through the pearl and coral jewelry in the chest. It felt so good to touch them. It was as if water were gurgling inside them. And the miraculous mirror showed ever new vivid pictures of the amazing underwater world, where the tridents of newts shoot lightning bolts, and mermaids ride in a chariot drawn by sharks or stingrays. Truly magical stuff!

“By the way, I got you a mask to match that beautiful mauve dress with the cape you never wore.”

Seneschal had indeed got a mask of feathers and sequins. It resembled the tufts of a peacock. Lilothea put it to her face. It really looks magnificent, and the princess is unrecognizable in it, except for the tiara. And the purple bouffant outfit is worth wearing for once. The peacock helped her tighten the lacing in the back like a caring chambermaid. The corset was so tight it was hard to breathe. You wouldn’t think a peacock could pull the laces down like that with one beak.

“Come on, let’s go!” He flew ahead, of course, and talked nonsense until they reached the door of the ballroom. Here the Seneschal fell silent as usual. He does not want to be caught and put in a cage for chattering so that in the future he will entertain the king and his ministers exclusively. Perhaps even give them some advice for everyone’s amusement. The scholarly peacock is an unheard of wonder. It can be bragged about in front of ambassadors. He circled over Lilophea’s head like a devoted cavalier.

How long since he sang that she didn’t believe the waterman? He could even now sing for the amusement of all the guests and visitors. They, too, must be warned not to believe the watermen and water waders, or suddenly they crawl right out of the sea.

Instead of water girls, Nereida was carelessly bathing in the fountain near the entrance to the ballroom. Her graceful head stood out against the border of balls and shells. She had lost all shame. At court one must be mindful of propriety. She smiled defiantly at the princess.

“You’re in a hurry to have fun!”

“Yes I am, and what is about you?”

“I prefer to watch from a safe distance.”

“Bathing in the fountains is not permitted.”

“But it’s not forbidden either.”

“That’s because no one’s thought of climbing into them yet.”

“Don’t worry, the guards won’t catch me.”

Lilophea really noticed that there were no guards around for some reason. Usually they were standing guard at the door. Maybe they’re having fun, too.

“Swimming in the sea isn’t enough for you anymore?”

“I like all kinds of portals.”

“What do you mean?”

Nereida was slow to respond, and Lilophea remembered that before entering the ballroom, the mask must be put on her face, otherwise everyone would recognize her as a princess and the fun would not be so interesting. The beauty of a masquerade is that no one will recognize you. A masquerade is like a game of hide-and-seek. Will anyone guess your identity or not? Nereida was in no hurry to go to the masquerade, and Lilophea passed her by.

“It’s not nice to leave a friend,” came a resentful cry from the fountain and the princess was followed by a splash of water.

“So you’re already friends,” the peacock whispered indignantly. “You’ve only talked to her twice, and she’s already asking to be your friend.”

“Don’t you like her?” Lilophea noticed that the peacock kept well away from the fountain while she talked to Nereida. And for some reason Nereida was still squinting at him angrily. Apparently their dislike was mutual. There are some ladies who dislike even very beautiful birds. Personally, she liked it better in the company of a peacock than a cavalier or a friend. The peacock is much easier to handle. He has a funny way of talking. And if he becomes too annoying, he can simply be locked up in a cage. But you can’t get rid of the Sultan that easily if he comes to visit.

It’s a good thing only ambassadors have come from across the sea so far. None of them has approached the princess in person. All negotiations for a possible alliance were conducted only with the king and his ministers. Even all gifts were passed through the king. Lilothea received rolls of fine brocade, spices and silk. She could assume that the Sultan himself, arrived in Aquilania disguised as an ambassador and demanded a masquerade ball to suit the bride-to-be. Also, all the gifts left at the fountains might have been from him. Only this assumption was contradicted by the boxes of jewels from Etar, which turned out to be quite ordinary jewels of opals, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, even amber. But among them were neither unusually large pearls, nor coral, nor rare sea stones. Not to mention the coldness of the water and the visions that did not emanate from them. So it was not the sultan who had given the chests of pearls as a gift after all. But that would be a fairy tale.

“Don’t make friends with just anyone,” the Seneschal advised. “It can turn into trouble.”

“Is it in your case?”

“Have I ever caused you any trouble?” He flapped his luxurious wings vigorously, trying to keep up with her.

“Well, except for the chatter…” she tried to remember. What had he done wrong already? The princess herself had admired his abilities and taken him in. Had he behaved with dignity? He was certainly not grateful to Lilophea. He took her shelter for granted.

“It was dangerous to meet strangers!” He repeated like a parrot.

“Well, I met you!”

Lilofea expected that such insolent and truthful remark will be followed by a barrage of objections, but the peacock somehow dejectedly hushed. Did he really think he was a danger to her?

She felt unusual in his company, but he certainly couldn’t be dangerous.

“Those creatures of the water…” he murmured.

“Nereida is just spoiling. She probably wasn’t allowed to do that at home. I think she came with ambassadors from Etar, which means that in her homeland, she even had to cover her face with a veil. By the way, we should go back and ask her about her country.

“No need!” The peacock was frightened. “You shouldn’t talk to crazy people who bathe in fountains. She might want to drown you in it!”

“Stop it!” Seneschal was understandable. Having found a worthy hostess, he feared he would not lose his nourishing place. If anything happened to her, where would he find the second princess, and how could he become her pet? No wonder he was jealous of everyone.

“Tonight you’re the only one who’s my beau! I promise not to dance with anyone else.”

It would look like fun. She would be spinning around her own axis in the ballroom and a peacock would be flying over her head. But, alas, the young men reached out in succession to ask her to dance. Lilothea wished she had started a ballroom card. It was hard even to remember who she had promised the cotillion and who the quadrille. All around were masks. She should try to remember her admirers by them. Forest elf mask, black dragon mask, scarab mask, falcon or eagle mask, even a mask of peacock feathers, to which Seneschal grunted unhappily.

She did not get to dance with the peacock. Morissa, on the other hand, was luckier. No one asked her to dance at all. Apparently, both the princess and the hapless girl were easy to spot, even under a mask. Morissa came in wearing a half-mask in the form of a dragonfly. The monkey sat on her shoulder, and no other suitor was expected for the evening. Neither pirates nor cutthroats were invited to the ball, of course. Morissa walked dejectedly among the dancers. Even the monkey was not particularly faithful to her and kept trying to jump on the shoulders of the more elegant ladies, which sometimes raised a squeal in the hall.

“Traitor! Get back!” Morissa shouted at the unfaithful pet. Sometimes one shout was not enough to calm him down and she had to catch him with her hands. It was no accident that she had chosen such an expressive name for him. The beast had indeed proved itself to be a thorough traitor. Lilophea thought, with a chuckle, that a guy who wanted to cheat wasn’t that easy to deal with. Morrin, for instance, can’t be caught with the hands, and you can’t keep him away from a whole group of girls he’s flirting with. The newt mask is clearly him. But the adorer of beauties suddenly lifted the mask to smile at passing Lilophea, and it turned out that it’s not Morrin at all. Apparently he’d borrowed the camisole and mask from the lord, too.

And where is Morrin? Have the royal privateers been invited to the masquerade ball, or are they not allowed here either?

Lilothea recoiled in horror from the bear mask that some fat man had worn. In size, he looked like one of the ministers who strenuously advocated that the princess go to the Etar’s harem. He managed to frighten her. He marched to the table with treats and wines. The fat guests all adored the refreshments, and those who were stout preferred to dance. On the high gallery musicians gathered. The lute, mandolin, harp, and flute sounded. It was a wonderful quartet.

Seneschal flapped his wings to the music, careful to keep his distance straight over his hostess’s head, but Lilophea had to dance with the others. She lost count, memorizing the masks of everyone she danced with. Meanwhile, Morissa was training Traitor, catching him off the plumes of the next ladies he jumped on, and reprimanding him for infidelity. Curious, did he understand anything at all? Seneschal was an exception, he had mastered human speech, but could monkeys speak human?

Nereida’s multicolored hair seems to have flashed in the fountain already in the corner of the room. Or was it colored tinsel? Lilothea wanted to look closely, but the dancing pas got in the way. She had to wait until the minuet was over. And now she had some free time. We could skip the next dance. But then someone in the mask of a water king approached Lilophea. How suddenly he appeared. It was as if he had grown out of the floor! A luxurious mask with spikes of coral stretched a crest on the back of his head and back, oriental clothing hinted at the status of the sultan of a distant overseas country. It was probably him! How greedily he looked at her!

Lilothea wanted to slip away from him and could not. Cold arms encircled her waist. The stranger spun her in a dance. Gliding across the parquet with him was much more pleasant than dancing with others, or alone. The dance was like swimming. The unusual couple was already being looked at enviously by others. Lilophea had such a fabulous feeling, as if she were dancing not with the mask, but with the water king himself.

Suddenly she noticed wet footprints on the parquet. Her beau’s hands were wet, too. They soaked his expensive corset with water. Lilophea noticed that the mask’s eyebrows, eyelashes, and lips were lined with gold ochre, and the forehead was decorated with pearls and coral. What if it wasn’t a mask at all? And would it be an insult if she tried to rip it off him right now to see the face under it? What if there is no other face under it? If there isn’t, there’s no one more beautiful than him. This mask is not just a work of art. Such forbidden beauty can only be created by magic.

Where did the cold and sea breeze suddenly come from in the ballroom? Lilophea tried to break free from the hands that held her and could not. The dance was not over yet. The cavalier wouldn’t let her go. And the peacock suddenly flew up to the ceiling and hovered above the chandelier, as if he’d never met his mistress. What a jittery he had become! Instead of being jealous of his mistress and making snide remarks, he seemed to be frightened.

Lilophea became dizzy. Before her eyes flashed the blues, gold, and purples that made up her partner’s costume. She should have shown up at the masquerade dressed as a waterman. All those coral spikes and gold gills made a strong impression. It feels like she’s being danced on by a real waterman who got in here from a lake in the park. It leaves a wet trail on the parquet. Lilothea slipped. And the waterman backed her up.

“Where did you come from?” She tried to distract herself with conversation from the feeling that she was dancing with an underwater creature. What if it turns out that in fact he is just a sheik or a rajah from a distant country? “Have I not seen you at court before? Have you come from afar?”

“Came from the stream in the garden,” he whispered in her ear, and at once she had vivid visions of someone with blue skin and scales climbing out of the spring among the jasmines and leaving wet footsteps on the grass. She glanced sideways at the floor. Small puddles had already collected there. Water was running off her partner. He’d probably just taken a dip in the creek in the garden and was teasing her. There are some very picturesque places in the royal gardens of Aquilania. And in the evening, in the darkness, few are able to see that a guest is swimming in the pond or the streams. Even in a fountain, like Nereida.

“You decided to live in that stream,” she decided to tease him back. “You have a very underwater look. I’d even say seawater!”

“That’s right, Princess,” his voice sounded serious enough, without mockery. “I live in the sea, not in a stream.”

“Then it is strange why you came from the creek, for the coast is very near. Don’t sea carriages go overland? Did you have to get there some other way?”

“You guessed again, as if you’d traveled on the seafloor,” her partner put his arm around her waist so tightly that it was suddenly very cold. It was as if she had fallen into the river instead of his embrace.

“Seaways aren’t meant for land, but I’m lucky, all the waterways are connected. It’s easy to get from the sea to a pond or a river.”

“Or even a fountain?” She remembered Nereida.

“It was true again!” The waterman held her tighter against him. “How did you know about the sea coach made of shells and jellyfish? Your mirror is an eye to the underwater world, but it has not shown them to you yet, or I would know.”

Only the one who gave it to her can know about the miraculous mirror. Lilophea involuntarily tensed.

“Who are you?”

“Haven’t you guessed that yet?”

His face, with its bluish skin and golden eyebrows, leaned right up to her face. Why does she think of the mask as a face? She’d have to dodge and pull that mask off him, and then she’d know there was only a man underneath it.

The peacock under the chandelier became very worried and flapped its wings so vigorously that the crawler must have been staring at it. And Lilophea cautiously ran her fingers over the luxurious mask of the waterman. It was not silk or cardboard or papier-mâché that was palpable beneath her fingers. It was real cold skin, smooth and gliding like water. Droplets of moisture protruded from the coral spikes that grew on her head like a crown.

“You are a waterman! A real waterman! Not a mask!” She whispered faintly, but he caught every sound. His golden lips almost pressed against hers. It felt good and cold at the same time. There was only one thought pounding in her head: How beautiful he was, and how much she wanted to go down with him. Around her was a ballroom, but her partner seemed to draw her into the abyss of the sea. How tempting to be there with him, to see the wonders of the sea. But at the bottom she would not be able to breathe and would drown!

On the galleries above, rows of torches suddenly flashed. It was the king ordering them to be lit. Lilophea heard the excited shouts of the heralds. The flames were blazing everywhere, like monochrome orange fireworks. It was getting warm all around, and she was freezing in the embrace of the watery creature. So someone shouted from the other end of the hall. The water creature! How can you call this handsome creature that? Yes, he is unusual. He has corals and golden gills growing right out of his skin, but how graceful his features are. How athletically built he is! With him it is a pleasure not only to dance, but also just to stand beside. She was only embarrassed by the puddles on the floor, in which small fish were already fussing.

“It’s water, not blood,” he remarked, “but I’ll drown your whole kingdom in it if you don’t marry me.”

Lilothea didn’t have time to tell him that threatening was unnecessary. She was ready to go anywhere with him right now, even if it meant dying in the waves. He had bewitched her. But the flames erupted quite close by. Someone threw a torch right at him. It seems the Second Minister had told him to build a bonfire right in the middle of the ballroom so that the unholy things would crawl back out to sea. How could that be? Lilothea wanted to shout something indignant, but the blue-gold figure with gills and tail had already rushed into the nearest fountain. That was it! In a minute the waterman was as good as gone. The guards didn’t even have time to release the hounds.

The torches burned, but the water on the parquet had time to form letters:

“Come to the bridge!”

What bridge? That’s all the water had time to say! The Second Minister ordered torches around everything, and the night got even hotter than it was.

“This is no longer an island of paradise, but a scorcher!” Lilophea appealed to Seneschal, who finally flew up to her head. He came down from the top when it was safe. The torches all around the palace did not frighten him. Apparently peacocks are afraid of cold water, not hot fire.

A fire was indeed built in the middle of the ballroom to chase away any remnants of the sea invasion. The Second Minister will probably even invite clergymen or wizards here to close the impure ways back with witchcraft or prayers. It doesn’t matter what. The main thing is that he vigilantly guarded the royal daughter he liked so much, and with her the safety of the whole state.

He bowed to Lilophea and went with the guards to search and find the waterman, who, in his opinion, had probably not yet swum back out to sea from the palace ponds. How well he appeared to be aware of the habits of the sea-dwellers. She, on the other hand, had not been told a word about them. She was fortunate that he knew nothing about talking birds, or he would have taken Seneschal away from her and locked her up so that he would not teach the princess all sorts of nonsense.

The guests began to disperse, talking excitedly about what had happened. The waterman was long gone. Lilophea was left alone, not counting the Seneschal hovering overhead. She left the ball in the company of a peacock as she arrived.