LITMIR.BIZ

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twirled a flaming rose in her fingers. Its petals were even hot.

      «Would you like more gifts from my emperor?» Edwin asked.

      «So all these miracles are gifts from your suzerain and not from you?» Rosamunda flared up.

      Edwin silently unfolded a fan made of fire in front of her. All the plates, except the handle, were blazing.

      «It is a blazing fan!»

      He is mocking! Laughing at the queen who was attacked by a dragon! That’s why the gifts are all fire!

      «It’s quite chilly in Dauran. A little fire wouldn’t hurt,» Edwin gave his gift.

      «It is curious thing!» Rosamunda praised, accepting the fan. Maybe the ambassadors don’t know about the dragon, but just want to be helpful.

      «How long will you stay?» She was more worried about whether Edwin would leave right away. Somehow she didn’t want to lose sight of him.

      «We have been invited to participate in a tournament,» said one of the group of ambassadors.

      «It is a tournament in honor of the solstice!» Rosamunda remembered. «It’s still a couple weeks away.»

      «If we’re in the way, we can leave and be back by the day of the tournament,» Edwin said.

      «You are joking! How can you get there and back so quickly? The borders of Dauran alone are over a week away.»

      «Distance doesn’t matter to wizards,» Edwin replied cryptically. «You can fly around the world in one night.»

      «Then teach me how to do it!»

      «It is in any time, Your Majesty,» he stroked the signet ring on his little finger. «I can take you on a tour of the starry heavens, the clouds, the rainbow bridges.»

      Now that was a bit like flirting! Rosamunda’s cheeks flushed. Curious, was it flirting a courtesy? Or did Edwin really like her?»

      Edwin gave another shake of his unruly golden curls, which made Rosamunda faint. The ambassador was slender but strong, broad-shouldered, tall and handsome as a summer elf. Curious, who was he by title? Dressed sumptuously, like the son of a duke or marquis. His camisole glistens with precious stones, his sword has a gilded hilt, and the lace of his collar is like a frosty pattern.

      «Put the ambassadors in the best quarters,» Rosamunda said.

      If it were her will, she would have put Edwin in her bedroom. But stop! She’s not a libertine! Why were such perverse thoughts? Is he bewitching her? He’s a sorcerer! He can do anything. But Edwin did not impose his company on her, but hurried away. It was a pity he wasn’t as clingy as the dragon. You can’t get rid of a dragon that easily. Rosamunda looked warily up at the sky, where a magical rainbow was shining. She wondered if the dragon’s fire would shimmer across it again.

      It was as if Dandy had been frightened by the ambassadors and now he wouldn’t come out from under his throne. Rosamunda tried to reach him, but he hid behind her skirts and clawed at them.

      «What’s the matter with you?» She whispered.

      «The ambassador’s name is Edwin.»

      «What is of it?»

      «I don’t like people with that name, especially wizards.»

      «Is it because their emperor is also called Edwin?»

      «It’s not a good name,» Dandy gritted his teeth in fear. «Bad people use it. They are dangerous people! They are treacherous…»

      Dandy’s teeth chattered as if he were freezing to death, and all around him were fiery things.

      «But Edwin is polite and very handsome.»

      «The dragon is beautiful too, but when it dies by fire, you can’t escape it.»

      That’s what he said. So the danger comes from beautifully dressed people and from dragons with beautiful golden scales. It is not without reason that they say beauty is dangerous.

      Rosamunda sighed languidly after Edwin.

      «It’s a pity he’s not a king and can’t ask me to marry him.»

      But the dragon did. The dragon wasn’t a king either, but there was no escape from his matchmaking.

      Fire-breathing suitor

      Another letter was waiting in the king’s bedchamber. It wasn’t lying on the table or windowsill as usual, but hanging in the air. The scroll unfolded itself as Rosamunda approached it. The letter, of course, was from the same crazy suitor who signed himself «your dragon.» Except that his madness was now worth doubting. There was indeed a dragon over Dauran. And he was indeed a passionate admirer of the queen, dreaming of getting her either as a wife or as a dinner. She wondered what love means to a dragon? Suddenly to love in his mind is the same as to burn and eat. The dragon is probably a savage. But how can a savage write such abstruse letters? Did it have the help of wizards?

      Rosamunda sighed:

      «How tiresome is to have a dragon worshipper!»

      The scroll flamed dangerously at the end. Sparks erupted, brightening the dark bedroom. There were several lines of fire in the letter this time. The letters were burning, but they didn’t lose their shape. How much magic do you have to have to make fiery letters on parchment? Or did it only require the breath of a dragon?

      Rosamunda read:

      «I await your decision! You are treacherous, but I can forgive you. Your appearance has changed, but I still see the same old you under your new face. You are still dear to me. Seeing you on the throne makes me feel as if a rare jewel has escaped from my treasury and I must bring it back to the dragon’s cave. You are like a valuable necklace or crown that I long to put back into my treasury. You are mine, but you are playing on your own. I give you a chance to continue the game. I wait. I have fiery breath and long claws. I am a predator. I’m used to stalking prey and attacking, but I wait you out like a cat waiting for a mouse. I like to play with you, but if I get angry, your perfect new body will be nothing but bloody scraps. Don’t make me angry! I’m out of control when I’m angry. I didn’t torch your entire kingdom, and I really wanted to. I could have taken you out of that blazing castle alone. And I need you alone. All your retinue and dowry can be sacrificed. Rose! Fleur! Bianca! Patricia! Giselle! Portia! Flora! Violet! Rosalinda and Rosabella! You have so many names! It’s hard not to get confused. You yourself remember all those whose faces you wore like masks. I recognize you by your eyes. Do you recognize yourself when you look in the mirror? What if one day you want to look like a handsome young man instead of a girl?

      I often tear with my claws young men whom I suspect to be my rivals and drink their blood. One day for infidelity I will grab you too, carry you in my claws to the top of the highest mountain and maybe kill you. Orit is maybe not. It’s up to you. You have the advantage of beauty. Beauty makes women so forgiving. I’m a dragon, but I’m not blind. If you beg my forgiveness, I can spare you. Be my wife and no one else’s but mine. Is that so much to ask of you? All I need is your devotion.

      A dragon is in love with you and is loyal to you.»

      Rosamunda almost burned herself when she finished reading the letter, because the parchment began to burn right under her fingers. A few fiery lines instantly consumed the entire text.

      How quickly dragon letters burned! If she’d had a chance to reread the letter a few times, she probably would have understood a little more. Everything in the letter was too convoluted and mysterious. It’s as if the dragon admirer is not addressing her, but some multifaceted sorceress. His revelations are too complicated. If only the wizards of the Magic Empire could look at the letter! Would Edwin be able to recover the letter from the ashes deposited on the carpet?

      It’s

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