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Fairies in the garden

Flora watched from the tower window. The winged ladies in the garden resembled butterflies and bumblebees from afar. Was she seeing double? Her father had forbidden any celebrations. The whole castle is in mourning after the funeral of her mother, who was allegedly driven away by the evil spirits of the fields and forests.

The Marquise had been too careless in communicating with the creatures of the fields and had even whipped one of them with her whip. Since then, she’s been withering. The healers could do nothing.

«The fairies killed her,» the maids whispered.

«What would be the point?»

«Fairies love luxury. They probably want to get a local feudal lord, and having a wife prevents them.»

Something told Flora it wasn’t that simple. Sometimes in the portrait gallery, unearthly laughter and music were heard, and ghosts appeared. One of them once bowed to Flora and called her the queen of all magical creatures.

Well, what kind of queen is she!

Flora looked around at her long out of fashion blue dress with a short train. There were no black dresses in her closet, so her mourning outfit was peculiar.

«Do you know that blue is the color of witchcraft?» Someone whispered in her ear. «After all, it merges with the color of night, and all those creatures that dwell in the night and allow people to discover the secrets of forbidden magic arts.»

Flora looked around. There was no one in her room. There was an unusual silence in the castle, too, and outside in the garden a gentle woman’s laughter was ringing. For some reason it reminded her of the chiming of funeral bells.

If they were fairies, they must be leaving soon. Not without reason, the village sorceress Zenobia drew protective symbols at the entrances to the castle. The old Marquis paid her a lot for it. Zenobia’s services didn’t come cheap. But her amulets were considered the most effective in the fight against evil.

Are fairies evil? Flora looked down at their colorful dresses, as if woven from flower petals, their lush hairstyles, and layered wings. The creatures with female bodies and wings resembled fantastic dragonflies. Raphael should have seen them! Flora didn’t understand where her big brother could have gone at a time like this. Rafael kept whining that in the wilderness where they lived there was no one to meet but peasant women, and when the whole garden was full of exquisitely dressed fairies, her brother was not around. Raphael wouldn’t mind flirting with a beautiful fairy.

Whoa! What is she thinking? Fairies are notorious destroyers of young boys. Rumor has it that winged beauties deliberately seduce young men and lure them into the clutches of giants, into the nests of griffins or into tracts inhabited by evil trolls.

But would they destroy a girl? Flora felt an unbearable urge to go out into the garden to the fairies, as if someone had called her.

It would probably be all right if she went down to them. Flora noticed a strange couple among the fairies: a colombina and a jester. Both of them had no wings. They stood frozen in the midst of the general merriment, as if they were wax figures. But they were alive. Columbine looked at Flora with red, angry eyes that glittered like two rubies.

«And we’ve been waiting for you!» Some elf flew up to Flora and held out his hand.

Flora recoiled. The elf had mistaken her for someone else.

«Our master is waiting for you,» he corrected himself. «But don’t worry, we won’t give you away. We’ll find you such a mask that he won’t even recognize you. Let’s go to the masquerade!»

Many of the fairies in the garden were indeed trying on masks. So they’re going to the masquerade?

«Did Father really let the fairies and other evil spirits have a masquerade party in the castle? Is it to pay off the fairies? Or else they’ll trample the fields with their night dances? I’ve heard from the servants how much damage they do to the plowmen.»

The elf didn’t understand her.

«You must be kidding me,» he scratched the back of his golden-blond head. «This is not the time to play fantasies. We have to go to the dance, and then we’ll play hide-and-seek. By the way, where did you hide your wings?»

So he thought she was a fairy! Flora looked doubtfully at the silk cape that stretched from the lace standing collar to the train. Such capes had recently become fashionable in Serpentine. Behind them, it was hard to see that she had no wings.

Flora considered that some fairies who do not soar above the rose bushes, but walk along the paths of the garden, temporarily fold their wings behind their backs as if they were a cape.

«So the masquerade would take place at the castle?»

«It is of course not!» The elf laughed infectiously, as if she had said something very funny.

«Where is it?»

«It is in the fairies’ residence.»

Flora had never heard of such a place.

«Let’s hurry!»

The elf flapped his wings and flew over the beds of peonies. In flight he resembled a huge golden bumblebee.

«Do we have to fly there?»

«It is not necessarily!» The elf jumped onto the bridge that stretched over the garden. It certainly hadn’t been here before. The bridge was blue and airy, as if it had been chipped away from a rainbow. It was a rainbow! Flora gasped as she saw the bridge widen in the distance and become seven-colored. The other end of the bridge was reaching up into the sky.

Could a rainbow really shine in the starry heavens? In the realm of fairies, anything must be possible.

«It’s time!» The elf held out his hand to Flora again.

«Can I step on this bridge? Will it hold me?»

The elf, silently, grabbed her hand and dragged her onto the bridge, over which the hastening fairies were already hovering in flocks. They were whispering excitedly about something.

«They don’t know yet that I found you,» the elf whispered in Flora’s ear, putting his arm around her waist. «But soon they will find out, and they will be very disappointed.»

«Why is it?»

«It is because their rival will steal the dragon from them again.»

«What dragon is it?»

Flora was stunned by the golden light that spilled over the bridge like a dawn. Two huge golden wings almost struck the bridge, but at the last moment they avoided the collision by flapping smoothly over Flora’s head.

It really is a dragon! Flora didn’t know whether to scream in horror or admiration. The golden dragon was magnificent.

«Can it breathe fire, too?»

The elf didn’t hear her question.

«Wow! The dragon flew right past you! He must have some business with the Marquis.»

The elf looked discouraged.

«All right, let’s go to the masquerade! The dragon will probably be there soon, and then the fun will begin.»

The first masquerade

The rainbow bridge went behind the clouds. At first it was blue, then multicolored. Flora would have fallen off it if the elf hadn’t supported her.

One end of the bridge rested against the cloud castle.

«No, this is not the place for us! This is where the Celestials dwell!» The elf dragged Flora past. The bridge diverged in several directions like a labyrinth. Fairies hovered above it or glided across it. One of the fairies grazed Flora with a purple wing.

«Ah, Adora, she is the purple carnation fairy. She’s your biggest rival right now. She dreams of the dragon as her lover.»

«But can he be anyone’s lover?» Flora was surprised. A dragon is not a boy.

«A lot depends on the dragon. All fairies dream of conquering him.»

The elf started whistling some frivolous song about a girl who attracts a dragon magnetically. All the fairies took offense.

«They are as beautiful as flowers!» Flora admired the beauties, from whose backs grew flower or dragonfly wings. One fairy’s wings were seven-colored like a rainbow, another’s were spotted like a butterfly, and a third’s wings resembled a lush flower.

«They are all gossips and schemers!» The elf characterized them.

The fairies’ masks were amazingly varied and imaginative. There were wing-shaped half-masks, and masks with bird beaks or tinkling pendants of beads, and golden plates without slits for eyes and mouths. Can fairies really see through a mask?

Some fairies had masks made entirely of flower petals, others of shells, some of coins, some of singing pearls. The masks on the holders squinted as if alive when the fairies took them away from their faces.

«They were made by the great master Donatello, a disgraced troll. He lives like a hermit and makes masks out of magical materials. This one he made for you.»

The elf pulled a silver mask that squinted, opened its mouth, and flapped its wing-shaped ears.

«Her name is Variable. She can help you take on any appearance you want for a little while.»

Wow! A mask has a name!

Flora was stunned.

Under the bridge was a sheet of water. Was it some kind of lake or even a sea? Right on the water stood a palace that looked like a whole island.

«Almost reached the residence of the fairies,» whistled the elf.

«Wow! Fairies live on the water! Is the palace floating?»

«No, it is of course not.»

«Then it stands on the back of a water giant?»

«The palace is on an island, you are silly!» The mask in Flora’s hands hissed.

Flora was taken aback. Her own mask is swearing at her. More accurately, it’s the elf’s mask, not hers. But it’s still offensive.

«I don’t see the island, I only see the palace,» Flora pouted.

«The palace takes up the whole island,» the elf explained hastily.

The gondolas in which the fairies were riding glided along the water to the palace. Unusual gondoliers, who looked like lanky elves, were rowing with oars.

The bridge, alas, did not run to the palace windows, but stretched past them across the sky.

«There’s no way across!» Flora was frightened. Fairies have wings, but she doesn’t.

The elf put his arm around her waist and lifted her into the air. In a few moments they were both standing on the balcony of the shining palace. Its walls and columns were literally glowing! Wow!

Flora marveled at the fruit trees rooted in the palace floor, the miniature waterfalls flowing from the walls into pools and the tapestries of fresh flowers.

«Don’t yawn like a country bumpkin!» The mask hissed. «You’d better put me on!»

«Won’t you try to dislodge my head from my shoulders and take its place?»

«You’re so clever!» The mask snorted.

«And you’re beautiful!» Flora looked at the mask, which looked like a face taken off some deity.

«Put me on if you don’t want to fall victim to the fairies,» the mask advised.

Flora hesitated. Carrying the mask in her hands and talking to it was much more pleasant than trying it on her face. In case it burned or bit, or tried to stick to her skin and take away Flora’s identity. She’s alive! She’s dangerous to mess with!

«Put it on, don’t be afraid!» The elf-guide urged. «There will be no problems. I guarantee it.»

Should we trust him? Flora was already regretting coming here with him. The prospect of wearing a living mask did not please her at all.

«They’re probably looking for me at home by now.»

«I don’t think so!» The elf winked slyly.

«Why is it not? Can you see what’s going on many miles away?»

«I can hear,» the elf perked his ears. «Your brother is raging and cursing at the servants. And I have no right to divulge your father’s secrets. Everyone in the castle is busy. No one will miss you.»

Flora was disappointed.

«By the way, did you know that one night in the fairies’ residence can be a century? You’ll come home and everyone there is old and dead. You’ll have to come back here again to be alone.»

«Are you kidding me?»

«It is absolutely not!» The elf waved affably at the firebird that sat on a perch under the ceiling and replaced the lamp. «There is a source of eternal youth here somewhere, and there is none on earth. There it is!»

In one fountain, beating straight out of the wall, the water was iridescent.

«A single drop will smooth out wrinkles or heal wounds,» the elf boasted. «Check it out!»

One of Flora’s hands was pricked with thorns of garden roses. The girl dipped her palm into the rainbow fountain. The scratches healed instantly.

«You see! All humans can be healed here, but this is the realm of the fairies. Humans are rarely allowed in. Although once, a mortal king was invited here by a carnation fairy in love. Now all that’s left here is his crown. There it is,» the elf picked up a precious crown of rubies and emeralds from the floor. «The king’s bones had long since been scattered to ashes.»

Flora didn’t like it. It is too ominous. The elf offered her a royal crown to try on, but Flora declined. It was bad luck to try on a crown of dead man, and the king who owned the crown was already dead. She wondered what had happened to him in this palace? Did he stay here for a century before reaching the source of eternal youth? How did that happen? The fairies didn’t let him through?

«It was a futile attempt!» The stone horned face on the wall said.

Flora glanced at her arm and noticed that the scratches had reappeared.

«It is strange!» The elf looked at her skin. «It usually works! You can’t be enchanted, can you? Or sick with the leprosy of the gray trolls? Or are you dead? Only water doesn’t heal the dead.»

The elf felt Flora’s pulse with long, thin fingers. Creeper leaves sprouted in his fingers.

«I’m alive!» Flora wrenched his hand away.

«Your heart beats very slowly, as if someone had forced it artificially.»

«Are you implying that I was dead and some sorcerer brought me back to life?» Flora joked.

She was immediately reminded of a recent incident when she had fainted and spent a long time in unconsciousness. It really was as if she had been dead, and then someone had called her back to the living again.

«Let’s have some fun!» Flora wanted to forget this episode from the past. The present was like a fairy dream, if only there wasn’t danger coming from the fairies. Somehow they looked too predatory.

It wasn’t just the flower fairies that were having fun in the ballrooms. There were also sea fairies, covered with shells, and water fairies, whose trains spread out on the floor with water, and even flaming fire fairies, from whose footsteps on the floor left traces of sparks.

Fairies are not only garden fairies. Flora noticed that her dress was covered with forget-me-nots. The flowers must be a disguise so that the fairies would take her for their own. The mask winked slyly at Flora. Did the mask conjure up the forget-me-nots?

The fairies twirled in a strange dance right in the air.

«When he comes, I will enchant him with my fragrance,» hummed the lilac fairy, in whose hair and skin sprouted bunches of purple and white lilacs. «For the rose is no longer here, and lilac is the most beautiful flower after the rose.»

«No, jasmine is the prettiest,» objected the jasmine fairy. «He’ll like me better.»

«He didn’t notice you last time, and he flirted with me,» boasted the rhododendron fairy. «He loves my flowers.»

«But not you,» the magnolia fairy said cheekily.

«But he didn’t flirt with you at all!»

«It is exactly! I’m going to fly up to him first tonight. Everyone knows he respects bold women. Rose charmed him with her courage, but she’s not here right now. There’s a vacancy!»

They must mean the Rose Fairy, Flora decided to herself.

Because of some gentleman who was not at the ball yet, the beautiful fairies were ready to fight in flight. They were already sharpening their claws when the gold coin fairy flew past them, her outfit and jewelry literally jingling. She glanced disdainfully at the gardening community and snorted:

«What makes you so sure he’ll join in the fun tonight?»

«He hasn’t missed a single fairy masquerade since he ascended the throne,» the exuberant garden fairies replied in unison. It seemed to Flora that now they were going to fight with the coin fairy, because they saw her as a rival.

«Today he has to choose a new friend, and it will not be you,» said the fairy of the burdock fairy with a belligerent brow.

«He shouldn’t! He doesn’t owe anything to any of us, but we’re only here as long as he lets us,» the coin fairy flew past with her chin held up proudly. Coins sprinkled from her hem and lined the floor in a glittering path. Flora bent down and picked up one of the coins. It bore the image of a dragon on one side and a crown on the other.

Curious, what country are such coins from? Flora still hadn’t seen such coinage anywhere.

«Who are they waiting for?»

«It is the most beautiful emperor in the world,» answered the elf.

«A mortal emperor is coming to the fairies’ masquerade?»

«No, he is not mortal, of course,» the elf even laughed. «When did mortals survive here?»

Flora even took offense. Does he think she’s a fairy? She had no wings, but the forget-me-nots on her corset wrapped around her back as if to hide her folded wings.

Some fairies folded their wings like a cape as they walked around the hall, while others spread their wings out to take up more space.

«There are not enough cavaliers here,» Flora remarked as the elf spun her around in a dance.

Many fairies danced with each other or in round dances. They didn’t care that they were alone, for soon someone would come for whom they were all ready to compete.

«Soon this masquerade will turn into a fairy tournament,» the elf said, «but I believe you will win.»

«But I don’t want to take part in the competition, no matter what it’s for,» Flora shuddered at the sight of the delicate fairies’ sharp claws. «I’m not willing to sacrifice myself for even the best prize.»

«It is nonsense! You don’t have to sacrifice anyone. All it takes is for him to see you, and you’ll be a winner again.»

«Is it again?»

«When you become Empress, appoint me as your advisor,» the elf said, as if he hadn’t heard her and was babbling on and on. «I have long wanted to take a high post at the magical court, but there is so much competition! I’m always being passed over.»

«And you’re counting on my help?»

«I realized a long time ago that honest magic won’t get you closer to the throne! Alas, even in the magical world, everything is by proxy.»

Flora sighed. The elf would be very disappointed when he realized that she wouldn’t be of any use to him. He might even try to cast a spell on her.

«You have me confused with someone else,» she hinted cautiously.

«You can’t be confused with anyone, even if your mask is perfect.»

What mask does he mean? Was it the one that squinted slyly in her hand and winked repeatedly? Or some other mask?

Flora didn’t like that the elf was looking at her as if her very body was a mask. At her own risk, she put the mask to her face. It stuck to her skin like a wet leaf. It was really trying to blend in with Flora’s face. Good thing the mask was on a holder. A tug on it and she let out a disappointed gasp. She had to give up her position.

«I smell mortal!» The flameless fairy widened her nostrils predatorily.

«Is it here?» The violet fairy said. «I don’t think so.»

«I’m not wrong.»

«But tonight is not hunting night. The gates are closed to humans.»

«Maybe someone slipped in by accident, or maybe the Dark Lord sent us a gift.»

The rumors spread throughout the hall, and soon the gathering of fairies was buzzing like a beehive.

One fairy, flying by in search of a mortal guest, hit Flora with her wing.

Somehow the fairies had failed to denounce her. Could they really have mistaken her for a fairy? How could that be? Out of caution, Flora put the mask to her face. The mask became hot. Flora felt that the mask wanted to hide her from the predatory fairies.

It’s not nice to wear a mask that makes faces over your face and gives off frivolous smiles, but there’s nothing to be done.

«Why did I have to come here?» Flora berated herself.

It was as if the fairies had gone blind. They couldn’t find one ordinary girl among the whole magical gathering. Serves them right! While they were looking for her, they should get away from here. The elf might well carry her back on his wings. Was the elf was on her side? Flora was beginning to doubt him. He seemed to value the dream of his own elevation more than her safety.

A witty thought occurred to one fairy, and she began to whisper it to everyone.

«Let’s take off! All are at once!»

Why would they do that? Flora didn’t realize right away. It was only when the swarm of fairies took to the air that she stood alone on the floor. You can’t fly without wings!

«She’s mortal!» As the fairies unmasked her, the mask gasped. She was good for nothing. And it was vouched for by Donatello himself, the great master of magic masks.

«Perhaps the mask is not his work, or perhaps I didn’t pay him enough,» said the worried elf.

The fairies pounced on Flora as a pack.

«Stop it! She’s my companion,» the elf tried to protect her.

Flora was relieved. Well, at least she had an elf on her side! Too bad the elf’s defense was nothing, against a whole pack of clawed and winged beauties. They showed great aggression.

«Mortal! Come to steal our suzerain!»

«Let’s eat her alive!»

«All Earth girls are so clever!»

«She came here on a day like this! And you led her through the guards!» One fairy clutched at the elf’s hair. She called a kraken sleeping in the water under the palace windows, which woke up from the fairies’ cries and swarmed with its tentacles in the water. If it wrapped its tentacles around the palace, it would be the end of everyone. Or rather, she’s the only one who’s dead! The fairies will fly away, but she’ll stay buried under the ruins.

«She could take away our last chance!» The fairies screamed. «Let’s kill her! Let’s use her blood for elixirs!»

Flora prepared for the worst, but then one of the locked doors burst open. All the fairies panicked. They immediately fell behind Flora and began to fancy themselves. Could it be that magical emperor they were all waiting for?

Flora was curious to see him too, but the wings of the fairies blocked her view. And from the direction of the open door came the sound of rumbling footsteps.

In the dragon’s arms

«It sounds like the emperor has claws on his feet,» Flora said by ear.

«Just be glad you weren’t mauled before he got here,» the mask in her hands snickered. She loved to sneer.

«I should throw you out!»

«Just try it!» The mask’s twisted holder instantly stuck to her hands.

«You’re so clingy!»

«I want to be the mask of the Empress herself.»

«You’ll be disappointed! I’m definitely not going to be an empress.»

«I still have the right to fight for my place in the sun,» said the mask insolently. «Maybe one day my luck will shine.»

Instead of luck, something like dawn shone through the door. Had the sun really fallen into the fairies’ residence? The glow was so bright that Flora squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, she noticed that the hodgepodge of fairy wings that had obscured her view of the hall had disappeared. The fairies had scattered in different directions.

That’s good! Otherwise we had to stare at winged backs instead of a fascinating sight. Flora expected to see a fairy handsome man and was disappointed. Instead, a glittering beast strode into the hall.

It was a dragon!

But what kind of dragon was it? Its skin shines like the sun! Is it golden? Where is the emperor? Is it behind the dragon’s back? Or is he not here yet and the dragon came here by mistake? Either way, he saved Flora. A mob of angry fairies could have torn her apart, and an elf wouldn’t have helped.

The dragon roared, and the fairies suddenly became frightened. They all scattered hastily to the wall niches and corners. A few fairies even flew into the chandelier.

The dragon stepped on the marble floor, leaving scratches on the tiles. The scratches were immediately smoothed out, but the fairies’ fear of the dragon did not go away. They had done something that he could not forgive.

Flora belatedly realized she was alone in the center of the hall. Again her inability to fly had failed her. Too bad fairies had wings and she didn’t. Otherwise she would have flown away frightened now too.

Apparently, the dragon had mistaken her for prey, because it reached out a paw toward her. For a moment, Flora felt like a toy. The elf thoughtfully fluttered away.

The dragon’s touch was like some kind of ritual before a sacrifice. The huge paw could have crushed Flora, but hesitated. It was as if the dragon recognized her.

What eyes it had! Real aquamarines! No, they’re sapphires! How quickly they change color! Flora stared into them like a kaleidoscope.

«You’re the first dragon I’ve ever seen in my life,» she whispered.

It was naive to think that a dragon could understand her. It could hardly speak human language, but fairies, judging by their behavior, understood dragon language perfectly.

The dragon picked Flora up, spun her around a bit, and then set her back down. It resembled a strange dance. It made her dizzy, but Flora liked the sensation of flying.

The fairies were jealous at the height, but did not dare to approach. It would only take a dragon protector to scare off a whole pack of fairies. Flora was content to meet a dragon, if he didn’t eat her at the end, of course. You could expect anything from dragons, after all. Flora had heard somewhere that innocent girls were sacrificed to them. Dragons are notorious lovers of earthly beauties. But what was a dragon doing at a fairy masquerade?

«Did you come here by mistake?»

The dragon understood her and shook its horned head negatively.

The mask in Flora’s hand suddenly laughed. What did she find so funny?

The fairies weren’t laughing, but were whispering excitedly. They clearly didn’t like what was happening. Flora thought for a moment that she was dancing around the hall with a beau in a golden dragon mask. It must have been the magical mirrors set up in a circle that sent her such visions. The feeling of the dance was very real. Flora covered her eyes for a moment and almost touched the face in the scaly golden mask. Too bad there wasn’t really any cavalier nearby, there was only the monster. The dragon delicately placed a paw on Flora’s arm, as if asking her to sit in a flying palanquin.

«Do you want to carry me away from here?» Flora was frightened at first. Dragons were known to kidnap innocent girls and carry them away to their lair. It wasn’t hard to imagine a dragon cave full of human bones and gold coins.

Becoming a dragon’s victim is scary, but falling into the claws of evil fairies is no better. Flora chose the dragon. She stepped into its paw and immediately found herself clutched in its golden claws.

The dragon flew out of the fairy palace and carried her high above the kraken’s tentacles stretching out of the water. Now they would grab the flying dragon. Flora squawked, but the dragon roared again, and the kraken pointed its tentacles at the palace, scaled its walls, and crawled limbs through the windows. The fairies shrieked in outrage, as if a beehive had broken out.

«He’s going to crush them along with the palace!» Flora turned around in the dragon’s claws and noticed that the kraken’s tentacles were blocking all the fairies’ exits.

«It serves them right!» The mask said. «Boorish! Too bad they’re immortal and will still survive.»

The dragon flew over the bridges spanning the sea.

«Ah, it is the rainbow of the sea!» The mask enthusiastically named the bridges. «How wonderful it is to travel on a sea rainbow!»

Flora did not interrupt her. They were not traveling over the bridges, but flying over the bridges in the claws of a dragon. The mask was enjoying the walk. Flora liked flying in the sky herself. The stars were so close! The night wind blew in her face. Or maybe it wasn’t the wind, but the oscillation of the air masses under the dragon’s wings.

It was a pity she couldn’t see the emperor the fairies had been waiting for. But the situation was tense. If the dragon didn’t carry her away, the fairies would just tear her apart.

Instead of dragging her to a lair full of coins and bones, the dragon gently placed her on the tower of her father’s castle.

«Thank you!» Flora said.

Did the dragon understand her? He hovered above the castle for another minute.

«Oh, how beautiful it is!» Flora said with a gasp as the dragon flew away. The glow faded in the distance over the sea bridges.

«He saved me! Can you imagine? Everyone is afraid of dragons and warns against dealing with them. But the dragon saved me!»

«From what was it?» The mask in her hands squinted hypocritically. «Was it from a wonderful night’s ball? We could have danced till morning. I would have flirted with your suitors for you.»

«What do you mean? They were all evil fairies! They didn’t have enough suitors of their own. They nearly tore me apart! Didn’t you see?»

«You should have asked me to turn you into a fairy, or one of them, or a fairy queen. That would have scared them. I can make you look like anything for a while.»

«Do I have to ask you to do that? You wouldn’t drink the life out of me for giving me a disguise for an hour, would you?»

«It is not your whole life, it is just a drop.»

«You are rascal! You are vampire!»

«I need something to eat, too,» the mask even took offense.

If the mask fell asleep, it became motionless.

Flora closed her eyes dreamily and remembered the flight. The dragon had carried her over the sea and the bridges. The starry heavens were as close as the canopy of a bed. In flight on the dragon it seems that the sky is a canopy over a sleeping world.

Flora has become a dreamer. Flying is so romantic. Except the dragon isn’t Prince Charming, but he’s a loyal protector. He didn’t eat her at the end of the journey. Flora’s heart raced as she thought she saw the golden glow of the sea again.

«I think I’ve fallen in love with a dragon,» she whispered.

«Yes, is it really?» The stranger emerged from the darkness.

Flora shuddered. Where had he come from? Was he hiding on the parapet of the tower? Why hadn’t she noticed him at once? And why was he wearing a golden mask? Is he in a hurry to the masquerade, too? One end of the sea bridge suddenly came to rest against the tower. It’s as if it was made for a stranger.

«Since when do you feel sympathy for the dragon, young lady?»

«Ever since the dragon saved me,» Flora stammered. The stranger was being insolent, and it embarrassed her.

«It was I who saved you,» he said suddenly.

«It was not you, but the dragon!»

«Is it really?»

«That’s right! The dragon saved me.»

«And if the dragon belongs to me. What do you owe me for riding it?»

«Who are you? Are you a friend of my brother?»

Flora squinted. Looking at the stranger was difficult. His mask shone too brightly. It was like the sun in the night! The mask was humbly silent in his presence and pretended to be inanimate. So there was something wrong with this stranger. Usually, the magic mask is very talkative. Even at the ball, she wanted to be flirtatious with someone even though her mistress might be torn apart. And some guy scares her.

«I am the dragon master,» he introduced himself and kissed Flora’s hand. His kiss burned her skin like fire.

Dancing with the wizard

«Why don’t you take off your mask?» Flora blew on her burned hand. «Or do you have dragon scales on your face?»

The stranger seemed offended, deciding she thought he was ugly. What did he expect, hiding under a mask? It was the night of the fairy masquerade. He’s probably going to the masquerade, too. Maybe he’s an elf.

As soon as he took off the mask, Flora gasped in admiration. A more beautiful face she had never seen in her life. Surely the stranger must be an elf.

«I am Flora, the only daughter of the local Marquis de Rione, the owner of this castle,» she immediately introduced herself. Such wording added to her importance, for her father was the only marquis in this pear. Majorate was not observed here, so she could have called herself a marquise, but for some reason she did not dare. A stranger might think she was already married. She didn’t want that. Perhaps she should have mentioned that she had no fiancé yet. She was drawn to the stranger like a magnet. She wanted him to feel something romantic for her.

«I’m Edwin,» the elf said reluctantly.

«You are just Edwin! And have you got the titles? What are you?»

«I am the dragon master. That’s enough to respect me.»

That’s right! A dragon can only be owned by a very noble man, or rather a very noble elf.

«Where do you live? Do you have your own castle?»

«Yes, I do.»

«Are your estates large?»

«They are larger than this manor.»

«Then what are you doing here?»

«I flew to the fairy masquerade and my dragon noticed you needed help. The fairies attacked you.»

«Did they mistake me for someone else?»

«Fairies don’t usually make mistakes.»

«But in my case, they did.»

«Are you sure?»

«I am!»

Edwin’s skin and golden hair glowed by itself. She guessed all elves glow in the dark like stars. Flora liked Edwin so much that she instantly forgave him for burning her hand. He must have picked up dragon manners from his time with the dragon.

«Why is the way to the fairy masquerade through the Earth Garden?» Flora wondered. «Is my ancestral castle enchanted?»

«I don’t think so. The portal to the fairies’ residence opens in a new place every time. Someone must have practiced magic in this castle if the portal was found in your garden this time.»

«It wasn’t me!» Flora hastily hid behind her back her mask. It laughed at her mistress.

«Then perhaps a witch has taken up residence in your towers.»

Flora didn’t like that assumption. Maybe Edwin was joking. Sometimes he seemed to speak in riddles. He was difficult to talk to, but you could drown in his eyes.

Flora was extremely disappointed when he said:

«I have to go.»

«But why is it?»

«I must return to the fairies’ residence to restore order. The fairies can’t keep harassing random guests.»

«Do you think those beasts will listen to you?»

«They’ll have to,» Edwin’s eyes glittered coldly.

«And who are you for the fairies to listen to? Are you a local steward?»

«It is something like that.»

«You’d better stay here. It’s safe.»

«I wouldn’t say that,» Edwin sniffed the clear air above the towers. «There’s an aura of black magic over the castle.»

Again he alludes to the witch in the locked towers. This is too much! Flora was angry, but she still didn’t want to let Edwin go. It felt like if he left, the sun would set.

«Will you pay us a visit? Come to dinner tomorrow.»

«You’re inviting me?» Edwin looked surprised, as if she’d said something stupid.

«Of course I am.»

«What if the dragon comes with me?»

«I don’t suppose it would want to join a human dinner?»

«What if he did?»

«His face wouldn’t even fit through the door,» laughed Flora.

«Suppose he can shrink in size when he needs to, and he can even sit at the table with you.»

«I don’t think he’d like salads, pies, and baked apples. And I don’t think dragons drink wine.»

Edwin laughed.

«Are you so sure?»

Flora blinked her eyelashes. His laughter sounded like the tinkling of bells. The laughter of elves must mesmerize people and rob them of their considerations. She was willing to promise Edwin anything.

«How many dragons do you know personally?» Edwin asked her with a laugh.

«Only one so far, it is yours.»

«And not very close. You’ve only ridden it once. But I controlled it.»

«Would it have thrown me off otherwise?»

«It could have been worse.»

Edwin’s eyes glittered so dangerously that Flora backed away from him, her back against the parapet. There was nowhere else to retreat.

«What could be worse than falling off a dragon’s back and being smashed to bits?»

«It is being eaten by a dragon,» Edwin said helpfully.

«Your dragon eats people?»

«Sometimes he burns them,» was the streamlined answer.

«If you bring him to our feast and he manages to squeeze through the door, he should be offered a meat menu. I’ll keep that in mind.»

«What if the dragon decides to snack on the guests?»

«My father often has strange guests, so I don’t mind, as long as he doesn’t touch any of my family.»

«How easily you bargained with the dragon,» Edwin laughed again.

What did he find so funny about such horrifying topics? Flora felt uneasy.

«If you can persuade your dragon to eat the witch who lurks in my father’s castle, I’m welcome. I don’t feel sorry for witches,» Flora joked.

«And if the witch is you?»

«I’m definitely not a witch!»

«Can you prove it?»

«Witches are old, scary and fly at night on broomsticks.»

«Some witches are young and attractive,» Edwin said with the confidence of a connoisseur.

«But everyone flies on broomsticks.»

«So if you fly, you’ll think you’re a witch?» Edwin suddenly switched to «you,» as if he were an old friend, and put his arm around Flora’s waist.

«I won’t fly, because I don’t have wings like a fairy. Nor can I fly with brooms like a witch.»

«But you can dance with me. Maybe something will come out of it.»

«I don’t think a dance will make a flight,» Flora put her hand in Edwin’s confidently. He danced a circle with her across the roof and then suddenly pulled her away from the hard surface. Flora thought he was only helping her to jump up in the dance, but as time passed, she felt no ground beneath her feet. Edwin continued to lead her in the dance already through the air. They danced over the parapet of the roof, then over the garden. In another moment, they would rise into the starry sky.

«You’re an elf! That’s why you’re flying!» Flora tried to feel for the wings behind his back, but only touched his cloak.

«I’m only proving to you that you’re a witch, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to fly at night over the castle.»

«That’s cheating! You flew me!»

«Only witches can communicate with spirits who take them on night flights.»

Flora didn’t know what to say. Edwin had stumped her. He reluctantly returned her to the roof and muttered.

«You’re a witch after all, if you’ve managed to charm me.»

Only a witch could charm an elf, Flora suggested.

«I didn’t mean it,» she squeaked, but Edwin suddenly decided to give her a gift — a rose from the flames. The flower came out of nowhere and burned in his hand. The petals, the stem, and even the thorns of the rose were made of fire.

«Take it!»

«I’ll burn myself,» Flora was frightened, but Edwin put the fiery rose into her hand, and surprisingly, she was not burned.

But Edwin himself disappeared as if he had never been there.

A real witch

«Flora de Rione!» The mask suddenly called her by name.

«How did you know my full name?» Flora glanced warily at the mask, which was squirming and making funny faces in her hands. The holder grew hot.

«Oh, put that disgusting thing away!» The mask wailed. Its thin voice resembled a ringing sound. It seemed that it wasn’t the mask screaming, but the vase shattered and the shards fell to the floor.

«What do you mean?»

«It is this one!»

«Is it a flower?» Flora was astonished. Why didn’t the mask like flowers?

The mask blinked its empty eye sockets in agreement.

«And hurry up!»

«But it’s not disgusting! It’s a rose!»

«It’s fire! I’ll burn myself on it!»

«I don’t burn myself on it. You’re too sensitive for a gold plate,» Flora held the flaming stem in her hand and didn’t even feel the heat.

«You look dead,» the mask squinted at her. «You are senseless, like a corpse.»

«Are you insulting me?»

«I’m just characterizing you. How can a living girl not get burned by fire? Only the dead aren’t afraid of pain.»

«Maybe the rose is enchanted.»

It was given by a wizard who can fly and wields a dragon! Flora’s never had such a friend before. It’s not a friend, it’s a fairy tale! If only he hadn’t forgotten about the dinner invitation. Flora was afraid of losing such an acquaintance. Where else would she meet a magician? A new friend could be useful. If you asked a wizard for a favor, he’d roll mountains.

The mask whimpered and whined, fearing the flames from the rose would disfigure it.

«I’ll melt!» She whimpered.

«It is all right,» Flora stuck the rose into the empty hole in the candelabra.

The mask took a breath of relief. Then suddenly it cried out again in terror. Flora carried it right over the fireplace.

«Ouch, it’s hot!» The mask began to melt right in Flora’s hands, but when she took it to the shade, the melted edges were immediately restored.

«How magical you are!» Flora marveled.

«And you’re magical too!»

«What makes you think so?»

«Fire doesn’t burn you.»

«It doesn’t?» Flora thought it was funny. She put her hand to the fire in the fireplace. Indeed, it doesn’t feel hot. Flora moved her hand lower right up to the tongues of flame. It didn’t feel hot, no burn left on her palm.

«Maybe communing with a wizard conferred magic? By the way, I wonder who lit the fireplace at this late hour. All the servants are asleep.»

«No, it is not all of them,» determined the mask, listening to the silence. Her golden ears perked up. «Someone is wandering the corridor.»

«I don’t see anyone. Maybe it’s my brother back from the village tavern. He drinks there and plays cards all night long.»

«No, it’s not Rafael de Rione,» the mask objected.

«How do you even know my brother’s name? Do you read people’s minds?»

«No, I read the inscriptions on your coats of arms, shields and tapestries.»

Flora only now noticed the commemorative plaques on the walls. There they marked victories in war, weddings, birth dates, and, naturally, birth names. But the letters were so small that you couldn’t read them without a magnifying glass, and the plaques themselves were high up under the arches of the entrances. You’d have to have wings to fly up to them and read them. The plaques were for fashion, not for information.

«You have a dragon’s eyesight,» Flora praised.

«I can also flap my wings and fly to the ceiling,» the mask boasted.

«Don’t show me to Edwin,» the mask squeaked.

«Why is it not? Do you think you’re ugly? Or are you afraid he’ll cast a spell on you? You’re already bewitched.»

The mask remained silent, though Flora shook it this way and that.

«I am not a toy!» Tired of being squeezed, the mask finally declared. «Treat me gently. I am your friend from now on.»

Flora had never had a friend before. After all, there is no one to get acquainted with, and to be friends with peasants does not allow etiquette. But with a magic mask can safely be friends with a marquise, and even the queen. Magic is a rank above earthly titles and privileges.

«There is someone nearby,» the mask warned again. Its whisper sounded like the hiss of melting metal.

This time the mask was right. An old housekeeper named Drusilla was awake. She was sitting on the sill of an open window, stroking her broom lovingly for some reason. The old woman was wearing a pointed hat and a dark dress, the kind of dress one normally wears to a funeral. Where were the cream-colored collars and lace that the housekeeper usually wore?

«See you later!» The housekeeper waved to the stars as if they were her friends and hurried forward down the hall. There was no bunch of keys in her hands, but she somehow managed to open the door at the end of the hallway. Flora didn’t remember there being a door here before. At the end of the hallway, there was usually a dead end. Apparently, the dead end has a sliding panel. Either there’s a hiding place behind it, or some kind of utility room. The smell of herbs wafted from it.

Drusilla entered a secret room where a cauldron was sizzling and bundles of black herbs were drying. The mirror on the wall suddenl