himself from sitting down. He’d rather stand.
«I’ve long kept a list of all the enchanted ladies around the globe. There are quite a few of them. Some have been turned into a peacock, some into a swan, some into a cat the size of a man, and some into a flower of a thorny rose that catches strangers with its stems. There are those who have been robbed of their minds or their beauty by magic. And there are those who have been turned into vicious vampires through sorcery. But Princess Raymonda is the first to be turned into a true dragon.»
So she is a princess after all! That’s what Clement thought. He wasn’t wrong!
«Magic works differently on everyone, depending on the wishes of the one casting the spell,» the uncle went on to spout. He loved to lecture on spells. «The more a witch or sorcerer was offended, the harder the curse was, but sometimes it had side effects. It is in the case of Raymonda. She turned out to be stronger than the one who bewitched her. And now he’s afraid of her himself. That’s why she’s perfect for you.»
«But whether I’m right for her? She seems to dream of having a dragon knight.»
She stomped her foot and the walls of the cave began to crack.
«Careful, my dear, or the whole place will collapse,» his uncle was frightened. «You still haven’t learned how to control your power.»
«Why would I want to do that? Being strong is an advantage. Maybe I don’t even want anyone to cast a spell on me at all.»
Raymonda whistled a song of graceful charms while scribbling witchcraft-like letters on the wall of the cave with her fiery breath. Abraham moved cautiously away from her. It suddenly dawned on Clement that his uncle was afraid of her. Even he is powerless against her fire, just as he is powerless against the enchantments placed upon her.
«Do you want the secret kingdoms of the forest to fall under the rule of Shai’s ruler? His magic is spreading like black claws through the thicket, and soon it will reach them.»
Raymonda frowned. Abraham’s eyes pierced her.
«If the usurper is not expelled from the human kingdom, the elves countries bordering the Aluar risk falling under his influence. You don’t want your winged blond buddies to become his slaves.»
«Sometimes they’re so insolent, it’ll be a lesson to them,» Raymonda didn’t like to give in.
«I didn’t think you’d have to be persuaded. Do you really dislike Clement so much that you’re willing to give up everything you used to cherish?»
«He turned out to be kind of unreasonable.»
«But he’s prettier than any of your former suitors. So why are you displeased?»
«You promised me a great warrior. He doesn’t quite live up to the name.»
«I promised you a great hero,» said uncle Abraham diplomatically. «A great hero is not always a great warrior. There are also great wise men. With Clement, I’ve always relied on his intelligence, not his strength. He’s more of a scholar than a fighter.»
«He’s neither,» said Raymond scornfully.
«But he’s the best shot in the universe!«His uncle’s praised him. «You should have seen him shoot. He could knock down a dragon on the wing.»
She hissed and hissed a great hiss of flame, but Abraham was quick to turn away. He crouched over the smoky green cloud like a genie. How did it form so quickly under the ceiling of the cave? With the feather of his turban his uncle had hit the stalactites.
«I beg your pardon, my lady!» The flash of flame made him look polite. «I misspoke. I meant to say he could easily bring a pigeon down.»
«I should have been more suited to a knight than an archer. I want him to fight sword tournaments for me.»
«My Lady, you yourself are a paragon of strength and fury,» Abraham addressed her in an elegant voice. «Why do you need a mighty warrior when you alone are stronger than all the knights put together?»
The uncle was respectful and polite. There was a great risk that Raymonda would burn both her cave guests, uncle and nephew.
On the one hand, Clement was happy that his betrothed was not some sickly young lady, but a self-assured beauty. She had dragon charm. Uncle hadn’t let him down after all. It was worth thanking him, if only he could persuade Raymonda not to give up a marriage imposed by circumstances. Clement was not so naïve as not to realize that Raymonda needed him only for some ambitious purpose. Court ladies are not amorous, unlike cavaliers who sigh for them. And what to speak of the dragon princess! Though she is of fire, she is as cold as ice when it comes to love feelings.
«You speak to me as if I were an outsider!» Raymonda frowned. She seemed to have known Abraham for a long time. «Why should you? It is because I’ve changed a little since I turned into a dragon.»
«By the way, how do you feel about your new appearance?» My uncle was glad to see her at her mercy, and so he switched back to the familiar «you,» as if Princess Raymonde were as related and apprenticed to him as Clement himself. Abraham was used to teaching magic to royalty. Maybe Raymonda’s magic skills were his doing?
«Scales like armor, but fire sometimes suffocates from within. I need to burn something or someone. For instance, if I don’t breathe out a jet of flame on the first thing that comes up (even a field of plowmen I pass by), I’ll suffocate,» she described her current state.
«So you can’t control yourself?» Abraham looked worried.
«Not always!»
«And when Clement is around you don’t feel an influx of magical power? They say it’s supposed to happen to the protector of the chosen one.»
«Who says so?»
«Well,» his uncle hesitated. «My living witchcraft folio says so.»
«And these…» «Raymonda retracted the claws she’d already released. «You can’t argue with witchcraft books. You still keep them in chains, like prisoners, so they don’t draw an army to the library. Think what it would be like if their voices turned a mass of people into zombies, ready to wreck the world. By the way, if your nephew wants to get great power, he should talk to your books. They might make him lose his will and make him smash everything, or they might make him the wisest! He may be the lucky one.»
«He might be more comfortable with you.»
«I am not with him. He is more of a burden than a gift. And what guarantee is there that he’s the one I’m looking for? You remember how many mistakes I’ve made.»
«Don’t be so fussy! He may be the one who can help you.»
Clement suspected something was wrong. Wasn’t it her job to help him?
«He’s cute, but he’s talentless,» Raymunda pronounced.
«He could be the Chosen One who could save everyone, humans and your supernatural friends alike. If he weren’t, Shai’s Lord wouldn’t be after him.»
She had her ears pricked up long before Clement could hear the sounds below the cave. A party of riders was galloping through the valley. In the darkness they could not even tell if they wore black armor or regular armor.
«If they weren’t from Shai…»
But Raymonda was already at the cave’s exit, hovering in flight over the rocks and blowing out a jet of hot, bright fire. The orange flames seemed like dawn in the night. The squad of riders burst into flames like a handful of matches.
And she could do that without turning into a dragon! Clement couldn’t help but marvel. Well, now! He was beginning to admire her atrocities instead of dreading them. He would soon get to the point of what the rogue had foretold of him in the Piazza.
Raymonda